Who doesn't love a smokey eye??
I think they're a staple look for any girl wanting to have a more dramatic look.
You can do a nude smokey eye for those times when subtlety is needed, go dark and mysterious with greys and blacks, pop with a flash of colour and sparkle the night away with metallics and glitters.
It's probably the most versatile look in the make up book!
Smashbox have brought out the absolutely wonderful Smoke Box which when I saw in CCO in Swindon's McArthur Glen I just had to snap it up.
Firstly the outer packaging looks really simple and I love that they show an image of the contents, it's always good to get a peek of what you're paying for.
I also love the 'colour wheel' type strip along the side showing the colours inside the palette and these are pretty true to form, aside from the metallic ones which don't have their metallic bits on!
The palette itself is as sleek and simple as you've probably come to expect from Smashbox. Similar to Mac they tend to leave their products do the talking and most people would agree that they 're both pretty awesome, so simplicity is key!
It may seem gimmicky to some, but I think keeping up to date with technology and putting a QR code on the back for a Get The Look video is pretty good. YouTube is booming with make up tutorials and its another way for publicity and getting products across to new people.
So inside the palette.
Above you can see there's a mirror that fills the entire size of the case, this I love!
Can always use a mirror like this when you're on the go which is perfect with this palette for day to night looks after work etc.
It also comes with a mini brush which I always ignore. I ignore them mostly out of habit as they're never big enough for holding product to get the look that you know you can achieve with bigger and better brushes but I keep it there for emergencies.
You can see the names of each colour above, I love Alabaster for a base as it's just slightly lighter than my skin colour so blends in perfectly and creates an even base.
Roast, Thunder and Seafoam are the metallic offerings in this palette with Roast being more glittery than the others. Blackout is a perfect matte black for blending and lining the eyes and blackcurrant is absolutely gorgeous.
The colour are swatched below on my arm.
L-R: Alabaster (almost disappears on my skin!), Thunder, Blackout, Roast, Blackcurrant, Seafoam.
Some colours are sheer like Seafoam and for some reason Blackout doesn't show up at all on my arm but when applied it does show up really dark but not as pigmented as Mac Carbon.
Here are some looks I created with the palette:
Using Alabaster as the base, I then applied Thunder over the main lid and Blackout to the crease, before applying Seafoam to the centre of the lid for shimmer.
This is a great easy smokey eye sticking to greys and silvers. The colours are really easy to blend and applied smoothly.
Below shows a second look:
Excuse my unruly brows here!
This look uses Alabaster as a base again, Thunder on the inside lid, Blackcurrant on the outer corner and Roast applied to the centre for some shimmer.
This look can be worn for day time too and I love wearing it as its not a common colour but does look really nice and I get lots of compliments on it.
I do sometimes get some fall out from the product but luckily it doesn't stick to my face and brushes off easily but this can be annoying.
I feel like these pictures don't do the colours any justice though, Blackcurrant is a beautiful colour, as is Roast, Seafoam and Thunder.
Blackout could be more pigmented but when applied to the eye properly it does come out quite black.
Alabaster is a beautiful colour particularly on paler skin as it is a perfect base and blends in perfectly!
Have you tried any other Smashbox eye palettes?
Which is your favourite?
L xxx
