The Best Christmas Gift Ever!

Smashbox Studio Pop Eyeshadow Palette

So, I am coming home after a looooooong day, to find a package waiting for me.  It has Jasmine's handwriting, and it's my Christmas gift!  I have no idea what it is (she had been building the suspense for a couple weeks), but when I open it, I found this:

:o :o :o... SIXTEEN Smashbox shadows, and four cream eyeliners, all in one handy palette!  Yes, it was the best Christmas gift ever.  My husband, who was a little excited to see what my best friend got me, rolled his eyes when he saw it was makeup.  I, however, was very, very pleased. :)


 

So, it was time to experiment.  A lot.  Because of this palette, I have decided that Smashbox makes one of the best eyeshadow formulas out there.  I have tried LORAC, Too Faced, MAC, NARS, and so on.  I have also tried all drugstore brands.  While most of the high-end brands are decent in terms of color payoff and staying power, Smashbox's eyeshadows top the list.  The Smashbox shadows are a little "drier" than LORAC and Too Faced, but that keeps them from sliding around, fading, and creasing on my oily lids.  When reading the reviews of these shadows, some complained about the dryness.  But, I think that a) helps the shadow stay, b) provides a nice way of layering shadow, and c) it goes on smooth (instead of it getting slapped on with one swipe and you struggle to blend it with your skintone so you don't look like Lady Gaga), and d) it's not that dry.  I will always declare LORAC to be my first high-end eyeshadow love (it was my first high-end eyeshadow purchase, used it on my wedding, etc etc), but Smashbox gives you the ability to provide great layering (if you want it subtle or bold), and it stays put. 

The major caveat to all of this - you need a good eyeshadow primer to understand the quality of an eyeshadow.  My favorite so far is Urban Decay Primer Potion.  I have VERY oily lids, where many eyeshadows can crease even with primer on.  Of course, nothing is 100% perfect, and if I can get a couple of extra hours of wear, I'll take it.  If my day is not particularly stressful (and I don't rub my face or eyes, which I do waaaay too much), this Smashbox eyeshadow lasts for a good 9-10 hours.

Another thing I noticed about the shadows is that there is a bit of fallout, but it's not too bad.  So, you have to be a little careful when applying and be sure to neatly brush off from under your eyes.  As you can see in some of my pics below, the fallout ended up on my eyelashes.  There is also a bit of fall out in the palette itself, so you may want to be a little careful with that as you pick up the shadow with your brushes, it will spread hither-tither (I never thought I would use that word...).

What about the cream liners, you ask?  Well, they are decent.  I am a little surprised that Smashbox put the liners and shadows in one palette without any extra coverage for the liners.  Apparently, Smashbox didn't think about the fact that liners should not be sitting uncovered when eyeshadow is being applied.  Cream Liner 101 teaches you that cream liner should be covered and tightly sealed at all times when not in use.  When I just want to put on eyeshadow, the liner sits wide open and exposed to air.  But, so far they apply well and have not dried out.  They have some sparkle to them so they do not show up very dark, so they add just the right touch of a lined eye without looking overdone.

This palette has so so many great colors for brown skin.  I mean, ALL of them look good.  Here is a list of the colors.  They follow the palette layout and go left to right.

Eyeshadows:

• Nocturnal (deep navy with cobalt blue flecks)
• Lunar (warm shimmering light silver)
• Emerald (shimmering green)
• Nude (matte soft caramel)
• Vanilla (matte warm ivory)
• Obsidian (shimmery dark slate)
• Champagne (shimmery gold beige)
• Bark (dark chocolate brown shimmer)
• Cinder (shimmering taupe)
• Pastel (soft ballet pink)
• Orchid (dark matte purple)
• Flamingo (shimmery coral pink)
• Smoke (matte dark gray)
• Amethyst (shimmery violet with copper flecks)
• 24K (gold)
• Nutmeg (golden bronze)

Eyeliners:

• Bronze (bronze)
• Royal (deep purple with shimmer)
• Picasso (navy blue)
• Nightlife (black with multicolor pearl)

I decided to take pictures of my daily makeup looks and compile them for this post. Surprisingly, my favorite colors have turned out to be 24K, Cinder and Nutmeg.  In the pan, 24K looks like a bright, yellow gold.  But, on my eye, it turns into a pretty, soft gold and makes me feel.. golden.  Cinder looks like a very shimmery silver-gray in the pan, but, when applied, it takes on a soft, taupe look with the right hint of shine.  See pictures below! (Note: I hope to redo some of these pictures, either because the colors just did not come out as true as I hoped).



Here we have Amythest on the lid, Orchid on the crease, Pastel as the highlight, and Royal as the Liner.  I really did not like how this one turned out (for some reason the Amysthest just would not shine that day), and I will likely redo it with a better camera when I get a chance!

Here we have 24K on the lid, Bark on the crease, Champagne as the highlight, and Bronze as the Liner.   The pictures do not do these colors justice, and I will hope to redo this as well.  But, I hope you can see that 24K is not as bright or yellow as it looks in the pan. 

Cinder on the lid, Obsidian on the crease, Lunaras the highlight, and Nightlife as the Liner.  You can see a little sparkle in the liner this time.   Again, these look better in person!



This is clearly taken on a different and better camera.  (The only thing I will admit that a Samsung phone does better than an iPhone, but let's not get started).  This is Nutmeg on the lid, Nocturnal on the crease, Champagne as the highlight, and Picasso as the liner.  These pictures lets you see the nice subtle shimmer that these shadows have to offer.

This is a little mix of shadows just so I could show how a subdued Emerlad looked on my skin.  I put Emerald on the lid, with a wash of Nude over it to tone it down (I freak out about bright green shadow, I'm sorry).  Then I put Slate on the crease, and Vanilla as the highlight. 

 In all of these pictures, I am using L'Oreal HIP Cream Liner in Black (I am still looking for discontinued jars, I only have one left!) and Benefit Cosmetics BadGal Lash Mascara.  I will separately review the mascara because I love it!