A review - Smashbox Full Exposure Pallet

For those who follow a lot of make up blogs you would have read a fair bit about the pallet from Smashbox. I thought I should add my pennies worth to those who have already reviewed.

I like Smashbox as a brand, their formulas blend nicely and their setting powder is one of the best I have ever used. When my other make up supplies run low I will look to restock from Smashbox and test more of their range.

With my animal testing post in mind I thought before sharing my thoughts on the pallet I would share with you the Smashbox stance is on animal testing. Their web site http://www.smashbox.com/ (accessed 22 February 2014) state that "Smashbox is committed to the elimination of animal testing. We are equally committed to consumer health and safety, and bringing to market products that comply with applicable regulations in every country in which our products are sold.
We do not conduct animal testing on our products or ingredients, nor ask others to test on our behalf, except when required by law. We evaluate our finished products in clinical tests on volunteer panels.
Smashbox fully supports the development and global acceptance of non-animal testing alternatives. To this end, the Company works extensively with the industry at large and the global scientific community to research and fund these alternatives."

Anyway onto the pallet.

One of the first things I liked upon opening the pallet was the "eye guide", a leaflet showing you how to identify your eye shape and steps on how to achieve three different looks (day, night and defined).
Brilliant for the beginner but also good for those who have been wearing eye make up for as long as they can remember. There is also a website you can access with more looks (found on the back of the pallet).

The pallet has a matte black case with "Smashbox Full Exposure" written in silver rainbow font. Inside sit 14 neutral shadows, 7 shimmer shades on the top row and 7 matte shades on the bottom row with the double ended brush under the mattes. The shimmer and mattes are paired up nicely to make it easier to know what shades to pick together for a look. Although with that in mind I would say all the colours both matte and shimmer would go with each other.
The shimmer shades are not scary, they have a small amount of shimmer but are blend-able and not too glittery on the eye, making the shades suitable for any age. The shadows have incredible staying power, although this could be down to my eye primer but even so, the colours stay on the lid with no fall out and are there at the end of the day.
The range of shades mean that you could achieve a natural daytime look or a smokey eye nighttime look and everything in between.

I am impressed with the brush that comes with this pallet, normally I would throw the brush that comes with shadows away, preferring to use my full length eye make up brushes. However, I am not throwing this baby away! It is a dual ended brush. one end for matte shades the other for shimmer, the shimmer end is halved with white bristles on one side and black on the other meaning you can use the black side for the dark shades and the white side for the lighter shades (this really suits my OCD).

There is a huge mirror in the lid of the pallet, again so useful and user friendly. Smashbox have really thought about what appeals to users and made sure their pallet tick boxes.

Overall I am impressed with this pallet, the quality and the feel of the product is brilliant and the shades are so wearable. I think the £36 cost is reasonable for the 14 decent sized shadows (plus brush). I would certainly take this pallet with me when I travel and I would purchase for others.

This pallet also came with a sample of Full Exposure Mascara. I have yet to try this mascara but I have heard amazing things about it and it is the next mascara to try once my MAC has finished.

The pallet can be purchased here