Smashbox Double Exposure

Smashbox did the world right with this new Palette. I like it so much more than their original Full Exposure!

I generally like Smashbox shadows, they are not the creamiest nor the most pigment in the world, but they certainly are easy to use and good for the general public. But the Full Exposure Pallet just didn’t deliver for me! It was a good idea, beautiful nudes in matte and glittery shades- but there was NO color pay off! This new pallet remedies that fully.

 

The Pallete comes with a double ended brush, a sample of their Full Exposure Mascara and pamphlet describing different eye shapes with instructions for day, dramatic and defined looks. A great addition for anyone who is uncertain about makeup and needs some guidance beyond a typical makeup diagram.

 

 

There are 14 shades in the palette which retails for $52 at Sephora.

These shades are designed to work both dry and wet. I am not going to lie, I was not fully impressed with the shades wet. There were a couple that are truly pigmented and beautiful, but some of them fall flat. I will get to that during the swatches though.

I will say that the Mascara is not my favorite. It does beautifully on my lower lashes, but does not give enough volume to my top ones. My mother is a huge fan of it though, so it will not go to waste! Mom, if you are reading this- You have another mascara coming your way!

Alright, to the palette itself- It is split between cool and warm shades with a champagne white and a matte black in the middle, which I love. I wish there was a matte light shade as both Blanc and Veiled have shimmer to them, but besides that I am quite happy with the color selection! You can most certainly create a verity of looks with this guy

One of my disappointments is that the lighter shades are a little chalky. That, and the shades seem to soak up the water instantly instead of becoming creamy (almost as if they are not supposed to be used with water. very confusing)

Most of the swatches were done with just one swipe, but there were a few that did not show up at all and needed two or three passes.

These are all just my opinion! This palette may react to your skin completely different than to mine. Just keep that in mind. As much as I wish I spoke the all deciding truth, I have been told I do not.

Here from L-R are Silver, Mauve Peony and Blanc. The left is dry swatched and the Right is wet of each set. You can certainly see a deepening of colors and a heightened Metallic quality on the wet ones. I did find Peony and Blanc to be very chalky when applied wet, which was very saddening

 Then we have Midnight, Temper, Haze and Noir. Midnight and Temper certainly become more sparkly when wet and Haze is supposed to become more deep, but I found it more metallic. Noir was the one I had difficulties with as I needed three passes wet before it showed up on my arm! To be fair, I did use it as a liner wet (Picture is below) and it worked well, so perhaps it was     user error this time?

Here I had such difficulties! Quarts, Flushed and Veiled are some of my favorite colors in the palette, however they do not want to show up in my skin tone. Applying them wet should make all three of these more vibrant, but I found Veiled fell short. This one is just too chalky for me wet and sucks up all moisture making it hard to apply.

Out of the entire palette I think I like how these three applied most. Copper, Fig and Espresso are all such beautiful brown shades. Copper is my favorite turning such a deep metallic color. Fig had some issues as the water kept observing too quickly for me to get a good swatch (this was 2-3 passes again).

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Here is the look I did using Peony wet, Copper, Veiled, Flushed and Quarts. And Noir wet as a liner.

 I also have the Full Exposure Mascara on. Its not bad, it just doesn’t give me as much volume as I generally desire.  

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Conclusion: Its a good palette! Its not great, not my favorite but it has some beautiful colors and you can make many looks from this guy alone. I certainly will be grabbing for this palette whenever I want a neutral smokey eye with a little hue of color.

I also LOVE the insert showing different eye shapes how to do different looks. I think that is so helpful for someone just starting out!

Have you tried this one? How does it compare to the original in your opinion?

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And some Bonus pictures for you: I spy my husband making taking selfies even more awkward than it normally is! I didn’t realize till a couple of pictures in that he was photo bombing me, ha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Also, while I was trying to take my swatch pictures my little munchkin beast, Dobby, pounced on my lap ferociously and demanded I pause my actions to caress her belly. I figured you may get the same enjoyment out of these pictures as I did!