REVIEW: Smashbox Full Exposure Palette

My husband surprised me a few weeks ago with something he knew I would love! He picked me up from work with a smirk on his face and I quickly found out why when we got to the car. There was the iconic black and white shopping bag from Sephora waiting for me in the passenger seat and I opened it up to see the beautiful Smashbox Full Exposure palette! He told me that he knew I had been reading reviews about it online and talking about getting it. He actually remembered that I wanted the Lorac Pro palette but they were sold out all around town and knew this was my next top choice. 

This neutral palette is a wonderful mix of matte and shimmer/glitter shades.  It includes a double-ended brush where one end is for matte shades and the other for shimmer. The matte end of the brush is an ivory haired blending brush/ long oval shading brush. The shimmer end of the brush is a short shader brush with black bristles on one side and white on the other. This is a nice touch for application of the lighter and darker eyeshadows.

A mini Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara was also included in this palette. This mascara was a little disappointing. It seemed pretty mediocre as far as mascaras go. It lengthened and volumized okay but I think there are better products out there. (It definitely doesn't beat my L'Oreal Excess Voluminous mascara.) I keep it in my purse for times I need add mascara

Now on to the eyeshadows, which is probably why you're here! In this palette are 7 matte shades, 6 glittery shades, and 1 shimmer/pearl shade. I'll describe each shade in detail below with the official Smashbox description in parentheses.




Mattes: The matte shades have good pigmentation and there is a perfect mix of cool to warm neutrals.

• M1 is a gorgeous warm chocolate brown shade, perfect for a smoky brown crease/outer corner.

• M2 is a warm taupe (matte midtone brown) which is my favorite in this palette. It is the perfect blending/transition color or for the crease if you're doing a natural eye; sometimes its the only color I open it up for!

• M3 is a tan fleshy color (soft matte midtone tan)

• M4 is a (creamy matte beige). It's a nice matte highlighting shade. I also like to use it to blend out harsh lines and soften a look.

• M5 is a cool (soft light) taupe. I honestly don't use cool shades often but love having this for a cool toned neutral smokey eye.

• M6 is a cool gray(ashy dark brown)

• M7 is a suede black. Not the blackest of blacks but still has decent pigmentation.

Shimmers: With the exception of S4, the shimmer shades don't have very good color payoff unless used with a wet brush. I honestly don't use the glittery shades much unless I have a special occasion. They also produce fallout under the eyes.

• S1 (chocolate brown with a golden pearl) I love this color for fun but day-appropriate eye makeup.

• S2 (deep golden brown with a gold pearl)

• S3 (soft gold with gold and silver pearl) I like wearing this one on top of S4.

• S4 (light tan with gold and silver pearl) This is the only true shimmer/pearl shade. All of the other "shimmer" shades are glitter with small color payoff. 

• S5 (golden wheat with gold pearl) This is another one that I love adding on top of S4 for some sparkle.

• S6 (midtone slate with silver pearl)

• S7 (rich grey with multicolor and silver pearl) This is a nice color to add to a smoky eye for a night out.

This palette retails for about $49 and can be found here. I love the range in neutral colors and I feel they can still provide a lot of versatility. The brush that was included is great quality and made perfectly for this palette. I would have given it a higher rating if the shimmer shades were more pigmented. Overall, I give the Smashbox Full Exposure palette a rating of 8/10.