Maybelline “The Smokes” Eyeshadow Palette is a new palette of twelve eyeshadow shades that Maybelline has introduced into their line. What’s nice about these palettes is the amount of colors they contain, as we usually don’t see drugstore palettes contain more than 4 or 5 shades. This palette emulates the high end palettes you see in Sephora, where the colors and combinations are endless and right at your fingertips. I was definitely curious to try out the pigmentation and work with these. Though the palette is called “The Smokes,” there are actually quite a few lighter shades, which surprised me. I’ve got my full review, swatches, and an eye makeup look and tutorial for you inside!
Maybelline “The Smokes” Palette contains twelve eyeshadow shades, ranging from light to very dark. The shades themselves have different finishes: matte, shimmer, and glitter shadows are included in this palette.
I was surprised to see how many lighter shades were included in the palette. These make great eyelid colors and they are also perfect as transition shades, which help you blend out the crease colors.
SWATCHES:
TOP ROW: I was curious of the pigmentation, first and foremost. These have pretty decent pigmentation with just one or two swipes. The actual texture of the eyeshadow is a bit “hard” on the fingertips, but when using a brush, it picks up plenty of color. If you wanted these to be even more intense, I would use an eyeshadow primer and a wet makeup brush.
BOTTOM ROW: This row was a little trickier in some spots with pigmentation. Almost every shade was perfect except for those last two, which gave me a bit of trouble. The navy blue (second from last) and the last shade are both matte and needed about three dips of my finger to show up as they did. Again, I would use a good eyeshadow primer and wet my brush to apply this. I’d also consider using an eyeshadow base to intensify the color. As far as the rest of the shades, they were really pigmented and I found myself especially drawn to that metallic silver-grey shade (third from left).
THE MAKEUP LOOK:
- Apply Shade 1 over your entire eyelid after using an eyeshadow primer. This shade is close to my skin-tone, so it’s not about putting down color, but about evening out the eyelid and putting down a good base for blending.
- Apply Shade 2 into the crease of your eye and blend upward generously.
- Apply Shade 3 into the socket of your eye ONLY. Blend this several times back and forth so the crease is intensified. Also, apply this along your lower lash-line.
- Apply Shade 4 into the socket of your eye ONLY, just above where you applied Shade 3, blending it out very softly. Also blend out your lower lash-line shade with this color.
- Last, but not least, apply Shade 5 with a wet brush over your entire eyelid, patting this shade on.
- Apply a black eyeliner to your lower water-line and tight-line your upper lashes.
- Apply a gold eyeliner to your upper lash-line for a “clashing but complementary” effect with the eyelid color. I used Jordana’s Liquid Eyeliner (it was $2.49 at Walgreens!) and I’m obsessed with it.
- Curl your lashes and apply mascara.
Don’t be afraid to mix metals on your eyes! Gold and silver can go together really well, especially if the silver has grey or gunmetal tones in it. I received a lot of compliments on this look while out on Saturday. The gold just adds that extra pop of metallic shine to your eyes, and it is a very subtle, but noticeable effect. The gold can really make your eye color look absolutely stunning, whether you’ve got a ring of gold (like I do), or have hazel or brown eyes.
Overall, I like this palette and think it’s a good beauty bargain. I wish the eyeshadow shades were more plush and soft to the touch, but for the most part, each shade had good pigmentation. It’s a great option at the drugstore that you can pick up last minute that also happens to have a good variety of shades in it. Something that seems to be missing at the drugstore are palettes with more shade options in them, and this palette fulfills that need.
Maybelline “The Smokes” Eyeshadow Palette retails for $9.99USD and under at drugstores and mass retailers nationwide. There are also two other twelve-pan palettes available from Maybelline: The Nudes and The Brights (which I have swatches coming up of).
[ALL PHOTOGRAPHY ON THIS SITE IS TAKEN BY REBECCA KAZIMIR. NO PHOTOGRAPHS ARE TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.]
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