Smashbox Full Exposure Palette Review

 Smashbox Full Exposure Palette Review



From the Brand:   
What it is:
A set of universally awesome neutrals that’s essential, effortless, and enhanced for your eye shape.

What it does:
This totally versatile palette is organized with crease-resistant, long-wearing shimmers in the top row and velvety smooth mattes along the bottom. Fourteen essential neutral shades include a range of nudes, blacks, shimmers, and mattes. Use the brilliant eye shape chart, dual-ended brush, and Full Exposure Mascara to complete any look.

This set contains:
- 0.035 oz x 7 eye shadow in shimmer shades (top row): Chocolate Brown with Golden Pearl, Deep Golden Brown with Gold Pearl, Soft Gold with Gold and Silver Pearl, Light Tan with Gold and Silver Pearl, Golden Wheat with Gold Pearl, Midtone Slate with Silver Pearl, Rich Grey with Multicolor and Silver Pearl
- 0.035 oz x 7 eye shadow in matte shades (bottom row): Matte Warm Chocolate Brown, Matte Midtone Brown, Soft Matte Midtone Tan, Creamy Matte Beige, Soft Light Taupe, Ashy Dark Brown, Suede Black
- 0.14 oz Full Exposure Mascara deluxe sample
- Get-the-look eye shape chart

What else you need to know:
Smashbox has taken the guesswork out of application with a cool, new dual-ended brush. There’s a fluffy end perfect for blending matte shades and a flat end to easily lay down the shimmer shades without sparkle overload. Plus, it’s double-sided with black bristles on one side and white on the other, so you’ll never accidentally dip a light shade into a dark shade.


Retails for:  $49.00


Where to Buy:  Sephora stores and Sephora.com, Ulta stores and Ulta.com


My Thoughts:  If you’ve read my review of the Lorac PRO Palette, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of palettes that have coordinating matte and shimmer shadows.  For each shade from soft nude to deep smokey, you get a matte version and a shimmer version in their amazingly pigmented eyeshadow formula.  I love this palette so much it’s joining my Lorac one in my professional kit.  (I’ll be popping off the heavy mirror though to cut down on weight.)  Not only do you get both matte and shimmer of each shade, the left half of the palette is more warm yellow based browns, and the right half is more cool grey based browns and a black, so no matter how you like to do your nude makeup, there’s a perfect shade for your style.

The formula of these shadows is super soft with very little fallout.  However, on first application with it I did find that the mattes are a bit dry looking on the skin and can get a little muddy when blended together.  I’d recommend using at least one of the shimmery shades with the mattes so that you aren’t looking very dated in your look.  In my video review, I’ll show you the shades I used to create the look I’m wearing.

The staying power is fantastic.  Over a primer, you’ll easily get 15 hours or more.  It also comes with a travel size Full Exposure mascara to complete the look.  I love to use the deep matte black shadow pressed over a black pencil liner to give it ultimate staying power and to soften it up a bit for a sexy look.

The highlight of this set is that it comes with a great dual ended shadow brush to give you a variety of looks.  This little baby is staying with me though!  I’ll have to slip a brush guard over one end to store it in my brush cup on the bathroom counter, but it’ll be a huge travel friendly space-saver come Christmas time when we go home to Florida for the holidays.


Final Verdict:  Great palette at a great price.  Very versatile, and cuts down on products when you travel!

**Disclaimer: As with all my product reviews, I was not paid by the cosmetic company to provide feedback or review/promote their products. All the opinions expressed in this article are my own. These items were purchased with my own money. For more information on my policies, please view my Let's Chat page.

Holidays 2013- Too Faced A Few of My Favorite Things Gift Set

Too Faced A Few Of My Favorite Things Gift Set


From the Brand:  What it is: A 28-piece set handpicked by Too Faced Co-founder and Creative Director Jerrod Blandino. What it does: This Sephora exclusive features Jerrod's iconic favorites for the eyes, face, cheeks, and lips and will make your holidays gorgeous. This collection is infused with classic colors that have a playful edge-shades that fit right in for a super swanky blowout or an intimate Christmas day brunch with the family. After hours, zip-up your essentials in Too Faced's signature chevron-print clutch, designed by celebrity decorator and TV personality Mary McDonald.

This set contains: - 1.2 oz x 20 Eye Shadow in Snowflakes, Whiskers on Kittens, Chocolate Milk, Moon on their Wings, Dark Chocolate, Cream Colored Ponies, Honey Honey, Busch de Noel, Evergreen, Blue Satin Sashes, Coquet, Taffy, Crisp Apple Strudel, Woolen Mittens, Soirée, Tinsel, Bluff, Ooh La Orchid, Party Time, Pure Glam - 0.28 oz x 2 Blush in Raindrops on Roses, Melt into Spring - 0.28 oz x 2 Bronzer in Sun Bunny, Chocolalte Soleil - 0.1 oz Lip Injection Color Bomb! in Bee Sting - 0.17 oz Better Than Sex Mascara in Carbon Black - Chevron clutch - How-To Glamour Guide What it is formulated WITHOUT: - Parabens - Sulfates - Phthalates


Retails for:  $59 (original price)


Where to Buy:  I know I got this from Sephora.com, but now that I'm ready to publish my review I can't find this collection anywhere other than Amazon.com where it's going for $95.00.  If you can get your hands on one of these, grab it!


My Thoughts:  I am so incredibly thankful that I found this and bought it when I did rather than hoping I'd get a gift card to Sephora in my stocking and trying to find it later!  I can't believe that it's sold out everywhere!  I can see why though, as this is one of the absolute best palettes I've purchased from  Too Faced.  I buy at least one mega palette like this every year, and I love the versatility of the sets.  They almost always come with the decadent matte bronzer Chocolate Soleil along with the Sunny Bunny bronzers with a shimmer and a pink and peach blush.

The eyeshadows in this are super pigmented, creamy, and are the perfect mix of mattes and shimmers plus neutrals and brights.  There's literally a little something for everyone in this set.  It also comes with Better Than Sex Mascara and a lip plumping Lip Injection Color Bomb in the perfect nude color.

For more on this amazing gift set, check out my YouTube review!




Final Verdict:  If you can find one, snatch that up before it's gone for good!  When they said Limited Edition, the emphasis was on LIMITED!

**Disclaimer: As with all my product reviews, I was not paid by the cosmetic company to provide feedback or review/promote their products. This article contains some affiliate links provided through Viglink.com. All the opinions expressed in this article are my own. These items were purchased with my own money. For more information on my policies, please view my Let's Chat page.

Product Review- Pixi Eye Glow Cube

Pixi Beauty Eye Glow Cube Review

From the Brand: Daylight-hued eye-glow-in-a-cube of silky coordinated lid-finishers wraps your lids in embellished lustrous metallics. Fresh, natural & youthful, this palette enhances with creamy gold, nude, caramel & warm bronze colours.

Beneficial ingredients and what they do:

• Mica provides dense natural pigment
• Vitamin E protects the skin

Retails for:  $28.00


Where to Buy: Pixi Beauty.com, may be available in some Target stores


My Thoughts: The packaging on this eyeshadow palette is super cute to look at, but when you hold it in your hand the plastic does feel a little cheap.  It's a lightweight lucite, and although I haven't tested it out by packing it and toting it around anywhere, I have the feeling in the back of my mind that it would crack somewhat easily.  But like I've said, I haven't tested that, so I could be way off base and it's just literally light in weight to make it less heavy for packing.  But it really is super cute!  I love the clear gem-like front to the case that shows off each eyeshadow pan color beautifully.

The colors themselves are a good range of neutrals to more dramatic colors like the burgundy and cool purple along with a deep slate with slight purple tones and a very wearable soft coral.  They have a good pigmentation and color payout, but I wish there were some matte shades.  They all have a satin finish that's a little too reflective to wear all over the lid without mixing in a matte somewhere.

At first I though the two large pans in the slide out drawer were a blush and a highlighter, but the packaging called them some kind of priming shadow base.  (I threw away the box, so I can't go back and double check exactly now. Sorry!)  I'm not sure how exactly you're supposed to use them, but they make a nice highlighter for the lighter shimmery color, and a soft matte pink tone for eyes or very pale cheeks.  I don't think overall they add much value to the eye shadow palette as a whole, but I'm sure you can find creative ways to utilize them for your own routine and needs.

The finish of the eyeshadows is nice and velvety with very little fallout, and they feel nice on the skin.  They don't look or feel chalky, and they wear decently on their own with no primer.  Although, the way they wear will depend highly on how you apply them, whether your lids are oily or not, and if you use a high quality primer like the Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer.


Final Verdict:  Overall, I really like this eyeshadow palette.  I got it through IPSY, during a limited time sale using their YouTube channel.  It was really confusing, and I wasn't sure I had even gotten it (you had to be an IPSY member and comment on the video, and then they selected people who qualified and charged the card you have on file with them) until suddenly I got a shipping notification in my email inbox.  I only paid $16.99 I think, but for the quality of the shadows and the number of them (16) in the set $28 is a great value.  Especially when you compare it to other high end brands who will sell you a quad for the same price.

 

**Disclaimer:  This article contains affiliate links.  As with all my articles, the opinions expressed herein are fully my own.  For more information on my policies, please view my Let's Chat page.

 

Product Review- Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette

Which shade is YOUR favorite?!

Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette Review


From the Brand: 

What It Is:

Even pretty girls break the rules. Be as rebel as you want to be with 10 powerful after-hours approved (and all new) shadows in the deepest jewel tones, the most bad ass metallics and one scene-stealing pink.

More To Love:

The Pretty Rebel Eye Shadow Palette comes in an extraordinary range of 10 new shades in stunning, high pigment formulations for rich color payoff. Pretty Rebel comes with our signature how-to Glamour Guide with three beauty looks to get you started.

New Shades:

• Girly
• Charming
• Dainty
• Gangsta
• Instigator
• Jailbird
• Totally Fetch
• Ringleader
• Miss Sparkles
• Badass

*Limited quantities available 

Retails for:  $46.00


Where to Buy: TooFaced.com


My Thoughts:  Every time I see a new Too Faced Eyeshadow palette, I need to buy it.  As in, quivering aching need like nobody's business.  I'm addicted like a meth fiend or even just a Breaking Bad fan.  Their eyeshadows are super super pigmented and very velvety soft.  They have an almost creamy feel to them when they are the satiny finish shades like the ones in this palette.  In previous eyeshadow palettes their matte shadows aren't quite so creamy, and their sparkly ones can have some issues with fallout if you don't pack the color on in thin layers over their Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer, but the colors in this particular palette don't have those minor "issues".  (Which is a much better issue than being a meth addict I might add... just sayin'.)

I've uploaded a video to my YouTube Channel showcasing just how gorgeous these eyeshadows are, so you should check that out, too!  I swatch each individual color for you to see, and you can see exactly how pigmented these are with just a light swipe with my finger! I also talk about two other sets I purchased from Too Faced that I'll be reviewing in tomorrow's blog.

My favorite eyeshadow color out of this is definitely Girly.  I'd think that this one would be the hot pink eyeshadow shade, but then again I just associate everything girly with the color pink.  (That one's called Totally Fetch btw.)  It reminds me of the stunning MAC pigment Blue Brown, a chocolate color with duochrome that's completely transforming.  The silver {Jailbird} and gold {Instigator} are so intense, they would be amazing eyeshadows for a really metallic look.   Badass, a slightly purple toned denim blue is so perfect for fall.



Final Verdict:  I'll be wearing these all fall long and well into winter.  There are so many looks that can be created with these colors from very natural to super intense, the Pretty Rebel Palette is a major MUST HAVE for your makeup bag!

Ready to add the Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette to your bag?  Click here to get shopping!  Don't forget, you get FREE samples when you order from them online, and FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50! Get amazing DISCOUNTS and FREE GIFTS from Too Faced Cosmetics! 

 

**Disclaimer:  This article contains affiliate links.  As with all my articles, the opinions expressed herein are fully my own.  For more information on my policies, please view my Let's Chat page.