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.
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. 🙂
Now, if you crave pigment out to HERE, this might not be your bowl of gravy. With the exception of the heavily pigmented dark brown and the black matte shades, I’d say that most of the shadows in this 14-pan palette are only moderately pigmented.
I think of this as a true neutral neutral palette (neutral neutral?), in that the warm- and cool-toned colors are neither too cool nor warm. Rather, they’re in the Goldilocks zone and should suit most skin tones.
I should point out that I did experience a little fallout (just a tiny bit) with these shadows and some fading after about 7-8 hours of wear (and that was on top of primer), but I generally had an easy time blending them… I did need a few extra windshield wiper swipes to thoroughly buff out the darkest brown and black matte eyeshadows.
Oh, the palette also comes with a tiny tube of Full Exposure Mascara (better for thickening than lengthening) and a dual-ended brush.
I usually end up tossing the brushes that come with palettes, but I think this one’s actually pretty good and not scratchy at all, although I do wish the flat eyeshadow end was a bit denser.
If you lean more toward Bobbi Brown than, say, Illamasqua, you might really like the Full Exposure palette (you may still like it either way).
I think this one will be great for days when I just want to wear something straight-up pretty. Just add pink or peach cheeks and lips and a great set of false lashes. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
1. Cool- or warm-toned eyeshadows? I like a variety: sometimes purples, grays, browns and neutrals.
2. We’re going for a bike ride down to the beach. What’s in your bike basket? A picnic lunch with cheeses, fresh bread, fruits.
3. Mint or pink? Always pink!
4. One thing that makes you happy? Music
5. Good things come to those who ______. Share
Hi Maria,
Thank you for taking the time to fill out the Monday poll. Would you like me to repost your answers with the rest of ’em?
Happy Monday!
Some day I will learn how to properly apply eyeshadow the lower lid. Mine never seems to turn out right if I take it lower than the lashline. Is there some top secret trick I’m missing?
Hi Alison,
Are you taking about the shadow on the lower lash line? If you are, then I think the big thing is to just blend the heck out of that sucker, LOL! I take a soft pencil brush and just buff back and forth for a while. It takes a minute or two to really get it diffused.
This is really beautiful! I threw away many of my eyeshadows, they were several years old, I need to refill my collection. I’ll have to check this out in store!
I’m so behind on your blog!
Hi Chelsea,
I think this palette would look great on you. I can see the medium pigment working well with paler skin tones, especially.
Whatcha been up to lately? Me, same old, same old. My birthday is next Monday so I’m trying to get some birthday plans together.
The usual! Work, hula hooping, aerial and trapeze classes, LOL! Still kind of sore from yesterday (not to mention covered in bruises)! My hoop teacher does private fire hooping lessons, so I think I might buy some of those! We also went to see some friends this weekend for a game night, and I kicked everyone’s butts at Bananagrams and Boggle!
I also took QB to the vet a few weeks ago, not sure if I told you! He’s down to a healthy bunny weight – lost a quarter of his body weight – he was beyond husky! He’s much more spunky and active since the weight loss. The vet’s office is a farm vet, so I got to see donkeys, goats, chickens, and a GIANT rabbit!
Happy early birthday! Mine is next month, no clue what we’re doing yet!
Fire hooping sounds fun! You’re a much braver gal than I. (Any sort of flame freaks me out a little.)
Glad to hear that QB is at a healthy weight and that he’s enjoying himself. Did you guys you a special food? Or was it portion control? Oh, and I bet that giant rabbit was SUPER COOL.
Happy early birthday to you too. Have those fur babies throw you a party. 🙂
I’m a little freaked out by fire too, but that’s being overridden now by the thought of how cool it will look, LOL!
Portion control and changing his diet to include more hay (which he is very very picky about – diva won’t eat many kinds). And the giant rabbit was great! I want one!
Thanks 🙂 Quincy has something great planned, I’m sure!
It will look EXTREMELY cool. If I lived closer I would totally offer to photograph you in action! We’d take some great pics.
I kind of love that QB is a diva about his hay. 🙂 It’s exactly what I’d expect from him. How big was the giant rabbit? ‘Cause Tabs might get one for his birthday…
It had to be about 15 lbs. It was 3 or 4 Quincy’s worth of bunny! (QB is 4 lbs)
OMG, I love it! I think Tabs needs a giant bunny in his life, seriously.
In a parallel universe I think I might be a vet…
The combination of matte and shimmery colors is really pretty! I love palettes because they are great for travel and it’s easy to do so many different combinations.
Are you all caught up on GoT? I can’t believe it’s near the end of the season.
I’m soooo not caught up, LOL! OK, I’m still on season 2, and the dragons have just been kidnapped. I’m *that* behind. Are you still liking the series? Is it just as good as it was in the beginning?
Ohh, I might like to swatch that. I really like the combo of matte and sparkly. All the colors seem great. Not too warm!
Lol @ the mullet reference! This does look like a pretty nice palette but I’m over the whole nude phase at this point. It’s like every time I turn around there’s a neutral palette lol. I’m ready for some cool pops of color!
The palettes is prettyy with a lovely mix of matte and shimmery eye shadows.. yeahh its another neutral eye shadow palette but not the similar eye look..
I just cant get the neutral eyes right, either they look muddy or a sheer mess of shades.. 🙁 .. You do neutral eyes so beautiful and a different look each time.. <3 it!!
OMG Karen, I have swatched this palette a few times and every time I tell myself the top row is far too shimmery/glittery and I should stay away but you just made me want to go back and pick up this palette and to hell with the shimmer! Gah! I think I just might >.<
Hi Paris,
It’s much more mellow on the skin if you pack it lightly with a flat eyeshadow brush. You’ll get just enough sparkle without it looking disco. I did last Saturday!
The eye look is simply gorgeousss!
I have this and I think I need to use it more since I’m on the fence about it right now (probably because I haven’t used it much at all). The looks you created look great, it’s definitely time to whip it out and have a proper play with it.
Angelique. – http://www.eroswrites.com
I am neutral lover too. I can never have enough I am always looking for that shadow that blends and wears well. I am also excited about the new Lorac pro palette I saw on instagram.
Hi Darlene,
I saw that pic too! It looks great.
Mullets make me think of MacGyver (still my ultimate crush, mullet or no), so I approve of this palette! I also like how cool-toned it is (lots of neutral palettes I see seem to lean really warm. Or am I just imagining that?).
Love that smokey eye! 😀
Did you know that the German word for a mullet is ‘Vokuhila’?
Stands for VOrne KUrz, HInten LAng! (Short in the front and long in the back!) 😉
LOL, gotta love a man who can make pretty much anything out of a stick of gum and a paperclip.
The look you did is stunning! I always think this palette is too glittery, but you made it work.