The Best Face Palettes for Daytime, Ever

This category covers the very best face palettes available for daytime, regardless of price. Feel free to weigh in on your favorites. This list is actually comprised of two separate lists:
1) The Beauty Insider's Picks: My own personal list of the best products in that category, in no particular order
2) The Popular Vote: The results of a poll I did of over 1000 beauty-savvy consumers, in order of popularity

The Beauty Insider's Picks
1. Sue Devitt Starbrights (“Lyra”): Cheek and lip colors are my favorites, and this small palette features a stunning trio: a creamy gel blush that blends easily, and two shades of softly pigmented gloss that last all day. “Lyra” is a trio of sheer, vibrant reds. $35
2. Body & Soul Cosmetics Gigi Vanity Case: This highly flauntable, retro case is a bargain to boot, combining six eyeshadows and three lipsticks in one slim staple. Eyeshadow shades feature a variety of neutrals and deeps, from matte beige to matte black, and the lipsticks range from pale to plum. The only thing missing is a blush. $32
3. Hard Candy Lunch Box: This is so affordable, adorable, and amazingly portable, it’s hard to believe it contains twenty products and all the brushes you need. Hard Candy packs six lip- glosses, eight eyeshadows, a mini mascara, an eyeliner, two concealers, a powder blush, and a shimmer product into this toy-sized case. $25
4. Lola to Go: I love this racy red suede case, which is stocked with a blush, two lipsticks, two lipglosses, and two eyeshadows, plus the tools you need to pull off a pretty face, anyplace. $45
5. Stila Media Darling Palette (“Press Savvy”): Adorable packaging and cute concept aside, this is one practical palette. “Press Savvy” features a great selection of neutral shades, including four popular shadows (“Jezebel,” “Barefoot Contessa,” “Starlight,” and “Sun”), “Luce” lip color, and “Peach Shine” lipgloss. $36
6. Too Faced Quickie Chronicles (“The Temptress”): I love the kitschy, retro packaging, and the fact that it packs four lip colors, three eyeshadows, and a blush, plus applicators, into one slim case. The shades in “The Temptress” are described as “passionate plums,” with smoky eyes, deep neutral lips, and rosy cheeks. $25
6. NARS Makeup Artist Palette (“Tropical Heat Wave”): NARS palettes are legendary, and with good reason. The sleek black cases are stocked full of flattering, wearable shades. “Tropical Heat Wave” features the best selection of colors for my medium olive skin: the deep, sun-drenched shades are simply stunning. $70
7. Face Stockholm Everyday 4 Pan Compact: This slim black compact lets you streamline your makeup bag with your four favorite everyday shades. Mine contains “Myrrah” brow powder, which doubles as a taupey-brown shadow, pearl eyeshadows in “#11,” a warm shimmery brown, and “#29,” a soft white with shimmery gold highlights, and “Strawberry” blush. I use this almost every day. Palette: $8; pans range from $16 (shadow, blush) to $20 (brow powder)
8. Paula Dorf On Set Face Kit: This is the ideal set for the makeup maximalist, like me, who can’t bear to leave anything behind. Two slim black compacts fit inside a cool black leather case, with room to spare for your other essentials. Not that you’ll need much, because these two compacts have almost everything you need. One features eight shades of eyeshadow, a primer, and a great applicator; the other, eight sheer lipsticks, a cream blush, and a lip brush. $75
9. LORAC Greatest Hits CD (“CD1”): Sure, I love the concept and packaging, but I like the colors even better. This is one of the most neutral, versatile palettes on the market, with five shades of warm-toned shadows, a blush, a lip/cheek tint, and a gloss. $48
10. Popette Palette (“Naturally Popette”): I was tempted to dismiss these palettes because the flashy compact seemed too gimmicky to be good, but I was wrong. This palette features a great assortment of high-quality, neutral, “you-only-better” shades: four shadows, a blush, a lipstick, and two lipglosses. $28

The Popular Vote
1. NARS “Rapture” Palette, $70
2. Urban Decay Face Case in “First Date to Pin-Up” and “Sellout” (tie), $34
3. MAC Nordstrom Holiday 2003 (Discontinued)
4. Philosophy The Little Black Book, $37.50
5. Sonia Kashuk Neutral Face Palette, $14.99
6. Stila Double Duty (Discontinued)
7. Stila Look Book (Discontinued)
8. Laura Mercier Face Paints, $50
9. Bobbi Brown Face Palette for Cheek & Eye in “Basics”, $37
10. Bebe Face/Day (Discontinued)