Smashbox

The New Smashbox Full Exposure Palette, Also Known as the Mullet of the Neutral Palette World

June 2nd, 2014 by Karen 26 Comments

I know what you’re probably thinking… Cats are the most incredible animals to have ever walked the earth.

Wait — that’s not what you were thinking? Oops! Sorry, my bad. 🙂

After seeing my eye look in the top pic, you might be thinking, “Good grief! Another neutral eye palette, Karen?”

OK, fair enough, but before you leave to pet your cat, who for unknown reasons decided to grace you with his presence today (SHOCKER), hold on a sec.

This new Smashbox Full Exposure palette is like the mullet of neutral eyeshadow palettes! — and I mean that in the best possible way — except that instead of being all party in the front and business in the back, it’s party on the top and business on the bottom. Equal parts play and work.

We’re talking major possibilities.

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette Box — The palette also includes a dual-ended brush and a mini mascara

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette Packaging — The front of the palette’s packaging

Full Exposure and I spent last weekend together. Just the two of us (and El Hub). On Friday night, we did a cool-toned smokey eye (like what I’m wearing in these pics) and went out to dinner. Then on Saturday we did a nude shimmery lid with a little liner, stayed home, did laundry and watched Game of Thrones (the palette is not a fan of House Lannister). I whipped up this warm brown cat eye while unsuccessfully trying to stop Tabs from jumping into a pile of clean shirts and jeans that needed to be folded…

On Sunday I just kept things simple with a nude matte lid and a smidgen of brown liner along my upper and lower lash lines.

So many possibilities!

And with all of the looks I tried, I still always felt like me, and not like “me with a sh*t-ton of eye makeup on,” if that makes any sense.

Full Exposure is one of those palettes that packs just enough pigment to define and call attention to my lids, but not so much that I feel like a rodeo clown…

Hahaha! I just totally made myself laugh. 🙂

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According to Mayan Makeup Calendars, the Santigolden Age Summer Collection Is Right on Time

April 30th, 2014 by Karen 10 Comments

The new Smashbox Santigolden Age Collection Eye Shadow Collages in Apocalypse Now (left) and Earth As We Know It (right), $36 each

Shout-out to the Mayans, yo! The feathered serpents, jaguars, pyramids and gold rings — you know, the usual Sephora fare.

I feel like the 7-piece Santigolden Age collection is about two years late, but hey, I’m not complaining at all. I’m glad that last doomsday prediction was off. 🙂

Smashbox Santigolden Age Collection — The 7-piece Smashbox Santigolden Age collection…

New for summer from Smashbox, the release, a collaboration with American singer/songwriter Santigold, sort of has a Mayan apocalyptic theme. It features two eyeshadow palettes, which Smashbox refers to as Eye Collages; two double-ended eye liners; two lip glosses; and a lipstick…inside a ring!

I hadn’t heard of Santigold before this collection, so I looked her up on YouTube…

Some pretty catchy stuff! Kind of reminds me a li’l of M.I.A.

At first I thought the colors in the limited edition launch seemed all over the place, but upon closer inspection, I think I see how the pieces fit.

There are a bunch of bright-ish colors — blues, greens, oranges and yellowish golds — held together by neutrals (brown, black and beige).

I think it’s definitely a collection for girls/guys who have a “no fear!” outlook on wearing color.

Smashbox Santigolden Age Collection Double-Ended Limitless Liner — Double-Ended Limitless Liners in Azurite Is Never Wrong/El Dorado and Green Martian/Yellow Dwarf ($24 each)

Smashbox Santigolden Age Collection eyes — Who is Santigold?

Smashbox Santigolden Age Collection Eye Shadow Collage Swatches in Apocalypse Now (top row) and Earth As We Know It (bottom row) — Eye Shadow Collage swatches in Apocalypse Now (top row) and Earth As We Know It (bottom row)

Smashbox Santigolden Age Collection swatches from the left: Double-Ended Limitless Liner in Azurite Is Never Wrong and El Dorado, Double-Ended Limitless Liner in Green Martian Yellow Dwarf and Be Legendary Lipstick Ring — Swatches from the left: Double-Ended Limitless Liner in Azurite Is Never Wrong and El Dorado, Double-Ended Limitless Liner in Green Martian Yellow Dwarf and Be Legendary Lipstick Ring

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Is the Summery Smashbox Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette Flexible Enough for Fickle Feline Enthusiasts/Makeup Lovers?

May 22nd, 2013 by Karen 19 Comments

I’m equal parts enthralled and dismayed that there’s a TV show called America’s Worst Tattoos.

My mind wanders when it’s on…drifting like an asteroid in the Kuiper belt, but then I start to feel guilty for watching it, because I know that I should probably be doing something productive instead, maybe reading something more substantial, like The Grapes of Wrath or For Whom the Bell Tolls or Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret.

But I have learned one or two things from the show, like that there is A LOT of tattoo regret out there, and that because of my fickle nature, I should restrict myself to tattoos of the temporary Cracker Jack variety.

I’m way, waaaaaay too fickle for permanent ink.

Even if I went with something safe, like a picture of Tabs, how would I decide which one?? A single pic of Tabs to stare at for all eternity? But…he has so many good looks.

T-Money insists on being hand fed at snack time

As an example of my fickleness, I can’t decide whether I prefer the powder eye shadows in the new Smashbox Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette more when they’re applied wet or when they’re applied dry.

I like both ways for different reasons.

Flexible like WHOA!

Smashbox designed this palette of 10 warm and neutral summer shades to be worn wet or dry. A big WHOOP-WHOOP for that, right?

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Smashbox’s Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette

April 25th, 2013 by Karen 14 Comments

The Smashbox Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette ($48), new for summer 2013. Find it now at Sephora stores and online.

Whether You’re Standing in Front of a Mirror or in Front of a Camera Lens, the Six Neutral Shades in the Smashbox Softbox II Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette Just Click

March 11th, 2013 by Karen 26 Comments

Wearing the new Smashbox Softbox II Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette ($39) on my eyes

There I stood, surrounded by piles of jeans, my feet planted shoulder-width apart, as I looked at myself in the three-way mirror of my tiny dressing room doing squats, while the stylist helping me watched from the doorway.

Two, three, four…

I paused, noting 1) the status of my muffin top in the pair of stretchy skinnies I’d just shimmied into, and 2) how the neutrals from new Smashbox Softbox II Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette were holding up (I’d already been wearing them for six hours, and still no signs of creasing or fading, yay!).

“I dunno…” I said, thinking about the jeans. “I feel a lot of muffin going on.”

“Keep going,” the stylist replied, referring to the squats. “Trust me. These start really tight, but they’ll stretch. They’ll be perfect in 10 minutes.”

Five, six, seven…

“The squats speed things along.”

Halfway through my eighth rep, I silently thanked the makeup gods for creating the Photo Op Palette.

Looking for a new pair of jeans is not one of my favorite tasks in the world. I’ll go so far as to say that it’s almost as stressful as shopping for a new swimsuit (first world problems, I know), but it’s always easier when I’m wearing eye makeup that helps me feel pretty.

Smashbox Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette Softbox II small — Smashbox Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette Softbox II

Smashbox Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette Softbox II

Which this palette does. 🙂

Smashbox Softbox II Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette swatches from the left: Russet, Truffle, Bare, Juniper, Sandstone and Sumatra

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Smashbox’s Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette Softbox II

March 1st, 2013 by Karen 13 Comments

Smashbox Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette Softbox II big

Smashbox’s Photo Op Eye Shadow Plaette Softbox II ($39). Available now at Smashbox counters and online.

Smashbox Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette Softbox II box — Smashbox Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette Softbox II

Well, Halo There, Megatint! Okay, That Was Just Ridiculous… Introducing Smashbox’s New Halo Long Wear Blushes and Megatint Long Wear Lip Colors

January 9th, 2013 by Karen 26 Comments

smashbox halo long wear blush — The four new Smashbox Halo Long Wear Blushes ($24 each)

More new spring stuff from Smashbox! — a line of halo-inducing blushes (for angelic cheeks, perhaps?) and lipsticks.

These are the kinds of blushes where you twist and shave off what ya need. Little gimmicky, but I think it’s kinda fun.

When I swatched them, they seemed super sheer, so if you like the look of a lightly flushed cheek, or you just want something clutz-proof and easy, you might want to give ’em a try.

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Smashbox Approached the Love Me Spring 2013 Collection Whole-Heartedly

January 8th, 2013 by Karen 32 Comments

Okay, Tina Turner, what’s love got to do with it?

We’re looking at the new Smashbox spring collection, a six-piece release called Love Me, at the Sephora store in Novato.

Oh, and I’d also like to introduce you to my new friend/Sephora Novato mascott, Husky Dog. 🙂

husky-dog-2 — Have fun swatching. I’ll just stay here and guard this post…

I guess she was hanging out and waiting for her assistant. I tried to strike up a convo, but she paid me no mind…

First off, the two eyeshadow palettes from the collection. If I could only pick two things from the release, these are two I’d get. They’re really soft, almost creamy, and very pigmented. Mmm, hmm…

The line art on the packaging spells “Love Me.” (The heart is the “M.”) And when you open it, you see the curvy lines on the pan.

Nice touch.