Project focus 10: Smashbox double exposure palette

We made it! It’s the final product review for project focus 10! All of us are examining eye shadow palettes today so be sure to check out everyone’s articles – links at the bottom of the post.

I got the Smashbox double exposure Palette last November during buyers drug Mart optimum points redemption event:

So it was “free” but it usually retails for $45 CAD.

There are 14 colours in the palette, each consisting of 1.21g for a total of 17g. the box also comes with a deluxe sample of full exposure mascara which I haven’t tried yet.

L to R:
Top row: Silver, Mauve, Peony, Blanc, Quartz, Flushed, Veiled
Bottom row: Midnight, Temper, Haze, Noir, Copper, Fig, Espresso

The colour names are labelled on the back – I wish the names were ideal on the front of the palette along side the shades.

There, that’s better!

All of the shades in the top row are shimmers and metallic, and the bottom row have a mixture of mattes (Noir, Fig and Espresso), the rest are shimmers and satins except for Copper which is metallic. There are a mix of both warm (left side of the palette) and cool (right side) shades but nothing in overly extreme ends of the spectrum. It’s a versatile palette and can create a wide combination of eye looks.

At first glance, this is like any other eye shadow palette, but its claim to fame is that each shade can be used dry or wet. Smashbox claims:
• 14 shadows that become 28—just activate with water!
• Each shadow transforms in 1 of 4 ways, thanks to coated pigments that create multiple effects when wet
• shadows won’t glaze over

Smashbox supplied a guide on how each shade changes with water:

The 4 ways that the colours turns when applied wet: turns metallic, amps up vibrancy, adds sparkle, or gets deeper.

I’ve swatched each shade dry and wet side by side:

You can see that a lot of of the shades don’t benefit from being applied wet! In fact, some colours do worse – the mattes are horrible when applied wet – streaky and patchy. Copper and Veiled look dulled when applied wet. I’d say the only shade that looks like a “new” colour when applied wet is Midnight. other shades apply smoother, acting like cream shadows, as evident in Flushed, Haze and Mauve. Overall, I do not feel like I got “double” the amount of colours, which is really disappointing. I can verify that the pans do return back to their normal state after being dampened – there is a minor shine to the surface but no hardening of the powders. This is visible in the photo below showing the palette in its current state after usage:

I’ve been wearing this palette on and off for the past couple of months and there’s a guaranteed pattern of usage: Quartz, Flushed, Mauve and Copper a lot more of a dip than any other pans. I also like Haze and Fig; and Veiled makes respectable highlighting shade. My least used shades are Silver, Blanc, Peony, Midnight, temper and Noir. The quality is also not consistent between the finishes – the metallics outperform the other finishes (pigmented and smooth), whereas the mattes are not my favourites – a bit dry and tough to blend.

A selling feature of this set was the inclusion of #SHAPEMATTERS insert with how-to’s for 6 eye shapes (BONUS! the box states). Whoop-dee-doo. I took a picture of it and them immediately lost the thing.

One of the greatest misses for me is that there isn’t a matte transition colour in the whole palette. This prevents the palette being a stand alone one. I typically pull out my Smashbox nude eye shadow single to compensate – it’s a warm tan colour that works with any eye look. Also, I must note that the eye shadow single felt so buttery and smooth compared to the mattes in the palette – not the same quality at all.

The packaging is fine – made of a mix of strong cardboard and plastic, measuring 17cm x 7.5cm and 1.8cm high – just too large and bulky for me to ever take travelling. I do like that the lid opens and lays flat and includes a good sized mirror.

The palette comes with a dual ended brush which Smashbox states:
Domed side: absorbs just the ideal amount of water for impactful color
angled side: creates a exact line when wet, a diffused line when dry

The brush is actually quite nice! Both sides are beneficial – the shader side is good for packing on the colour and for blending, and the angled side for a lot more in-depth work like smoking out the corners or lining the lash line.

I was shocked to see the price of this palette at only $45 CAD – it’s superb value with 14 full-sized eye shadows (works out to approx $3.20 each). I think the price was reduced? because I read posts from 2014 when the palette was first launched and they list the price as $52 USD and now it’s showing up as $39 USD. I find it telling when companies do that. recently I was at the Nars counter and they were telling me that they lowered their NARSissist L’Amour, Toujours L’Amour Eyeshadow palette from $90+ down to $76 CAD – I guess they’re not selling well?

The eye shadows are made in the us and the brush is made in China. Smashbox is available at Sephora and buyers drug Mart appeal boutiques in Canada.

Pros:
• Pigmented
• Smooth and blends easily
• Versatile range of colours and finishes
• good value
• included brush is useful

Cons:
• missing matte transition shade
• applying wet didn’t necessarily result in shade change
• Not too long wearing – some fading by 6 hr mark
• only regularly use 4 shades out of the 14

Stash worthiness: 6/10

I don’t dislike this but it’s palettes like this that reminds me why I don’t get lots of large format palettes. They’re just a waste for me considering that I end up using just a handful of the included shades. I don’t want to dissuade people from purchasing this – the eye shadow quality is quite good – but just know that you are not getting 28 shades, just the 14. Do you have this palette, what are your thoughts?

Stayed tuned – next week we’ll be writing our final thoughts on how we did on our project focus 10!

Please go check out my collab clan for their project focus 10 posts:
♦ Ingrid of Curly.Spring.Blossom
♦ Jodi of A Brash Attitude
♦ happiness of Styled With Joy

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