Smashbox Full Exposure Travel Palette Review

 Hey everyone! I'm back with another review to share with you all. Today I'm reviewing a travel makeup palette, the Smashbox Full Exposure travel palette.

Smashbox Full Exposure Travel Palette
Color Selection	Great mix of colors;  Four matte shades and four shimmery shades; No black, but the cool toned brown works nicely for deepening looks;     Has most of the colors I want in a palette (matte beige, matte brown, shimmery champagne); I'd like a lighter shimmery shade for the inner corners; Not a fan of the blue-ish grey color for myself, but a pretty good option for smokey looks.
Texture and application	Very good texture for the matte shadows. Soft, but not overly powdery; The shimmery shadows are a bit gritty and densely packed. They are a bit hard to pick up on a brush. They are easier to apply with your fingers.
Packaging	Sleek and ultra slim, very light; Perfect for travel, it's incredibly tiny (quite a bit smaller than the Urban Decay Naked Basics); Durable and easy to clean plastic casing; Closes tightly with no risk of opening in your bag; Good mirror size considering how tiny the palette is.
Price	A bit steep for the amount of product you get; Good quality for the price;  I feel like you pay more for the "travel-friendly" concept.
Overall	I'm happy with the purchase even though the palette is a little expensive for what it is. I brought it with me on a cruise and it served me well. I could achieve a lot of looks (although mostly natural/neutral day and night looks) and the packaging saved a lot of space in my makeup bag. So overall it was worth it for me because of the convenience, the packaging and the pretty good quality of the shadows (particularly the matte shades).

Swatches

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette Review and Swatches

I've been hearing about the Naked 3 Palette coming out for a few months now. At first, I kind of thought it wasn't real and that if it were, Urban Decay would have announced it themselves. Turns out, not long after that, they did announce it and Bloggers started receiving it for reviews. As soon as I saw the pictures, I knew I had to get this one! It's the rose gold neutral version of the Naked Palette. Who doesn't love rose gold? I've had it a couple weeks now so I thought I'd give you all an in-depht review!

If you're interested in similar palette reviews you can check out my Nude Tude Review, Stila In the Lights Review and Naked 2 Palette Review

Review

Urban Decay's Naked 3 Palette is another neutral palette from their Naked range. It contains 12 eye shadows including matte, shimmer, satin and glitter finishes. It's an everyday/wearable palette.

Pigmentation
As I mentioned before the pigmentation of the Urban Decay Shadows is outstanding. Most of the shadows in the palette, you can swipe delicately with you brush and you will get a ton of color.  The colors are intense and saturated, including the matte shades which is very impressive considering matte shades are often less pigmented.

Texture 
Most of the shadows aren't too powdery or chalky. The shimmery colors are buttery and the matte colors are significantly softer than most other brands I have tried. The glittery colors have quite a bit of fallout. Blackheart still applies nicely to the lid though, while Dust is kind of messy. Trick feels harder than the other shades and barely comes off on your brush. 

Wear 
I always use these over Urban Decay Primer Potion. They last all day and don't crease. I do use a base though, and I don't have oily  lids, so that's probably a factor to consider.

Application 
Most of the shadows from the Naked 3 Palette apply very well. Dust, like I mentionned before is an exception to that statement. It's a pretty color, but it's patchy and very flaky. Trick is another one that is harder to work with because you have to really press into the shadow to get good color payoff when applied. All the other colors apply evenly, easily and blend very well.

Color selection
Compared to the Naked 1 and 2, this is a lot rosier which I think is perfect for fair skin tones. The palette has a good mix or matte and shimmers which I love and I find that the highlight shade is light enough that it is visible on my brow bone (as opposed to the Naked 2 and the Naked 1 which only has a shimmery one). It also has a good variety of light and darker colors, all of which show true to color when applied. I'm really pleased with this color selection overall.

Packaging 

LookThe Naked 3 has very similar packaging to the Naked 1. It has the same metal tin feeling that is both durable and strong. This one has sort of a crinkled effect which is cute, but I prefer the more sleek look of the Naked 2. The color of the tin is reminiscent of the color selection that's inside, whilst the naked 2 has more of a cool color which I also think is a cool concept.

Material
I don't have much more to say about the material than what I said about the Naked 2 in my past review so here is a quote I wrote about the Naked 2 a while back : "As I mentioned before, the palette is made out of metal. It's very easy to clean and it's quite sturdy, enough so that I'm comfortable traveling with it, because I'm not afraid the shadows will break easily." 

Size
The Naked Palettes are all long thin rectangular shaped. They are relatively small so that they aren't too bulky if you decide to travel with them, but not super small either.

Mirror
The Naked 3 Palette has the same mirror than the Naked 2 which means I really love it! It's big enough to use and so practical. 

Included items
The palette comes with the same double ended brush as the Naked 2 and with a sample card of all the primer potions that Urban Decay makes. In my opinion this is the most boring palette in terms of the items that are included. I kind of feel like they skimped on that. I much prefer the Naked 1 which comes with a small primer potion. 

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Swatches

My favorite colors are :  Burnout, Limit, Nooner, Liar, Factory, Mugshot, Blackheart

Note : All shadows are swatched dry using my finger over Urban Decay Primer Potion. 

Overall thoughts : Amazing palette and I'm really glad to have completed the Naked family by getting this one (I got the Naked 1 for Christmas, review coming soon!) Now that I have them all I think this is my second favorite palette of the collection. It's very versatile in the sense that it will give you natural and dramatic looks and the quality of the shadows is simply amazing. I definitely recommend it if you like pinkier shades.

Overall Score : 10/10

Would recommend? Yes! ♥

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That's all for my review and swatches of the Naked 3 Palette by Urban Decay. I hope this post was helpful for you all. Would you like to see a Naked 1 review even though it came out ages ago? Also, does anyone have the Naked Basics? Is it worth getting if I have all the Naked Palettes?  Please let me know in the comments if you have any other questions or suggestions :)

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The Perfect Palette Tag

Hey everyone! Today I'm back with another tag that's been going around Youtube for a while : the perfect palette tag! This is 10 questions about your favorite aspects of palettes that you own. Since my favorite makeup is by far eye shadow and since I'm totally obsessed with palettes I was super excited to do this one for you all! I tag all of you to do it if you're interested!

Tag Questions:

1. Best Packaging : Quo Glamour Box Palette

I love everything about this packaging. First off the palette is very small and portable. Next I think the cushion pattern on it is adorable. I love that it is made of super durable plastic because I feel like it is super safe for the shadows. I also love the size of the mirror which is super large considering how small this palette. It's just so practical if you're on the go!

2. Best Color Payoff : The Balm Nude Tude Palette

This one was a toss-up between this, the Naked Palettes and the Stila In the Lights Palette. I ended going with this one though because every single color in the palette is so incredibly pigmented and buttery, no matter the texture. In both the Naked Palettes and the Stila Palette, some of the matte shades are a touch drier (although just as nicely pigmented) which makes application a little more difficult. 

3. Most Versatile : Tarte of Giving Holiday Palette

Not only does this palette have all the matte shades that I need (black, neutral beige, medium brown blending shade), a ton of beautiful shimmery lid shades,  but it also has a few colored options such a a beautiful deep blue shade, a nice matte purple shade, a deep green, some beautiful bronze shades, etc. It's also got a silver and a gold in there. Basically it has everything you need to do a bunch of neutral or dramatic looks.

4. Best For Travel : Sephora Desert Sunset Eyeshadow Palette

Not only is this palette tiny (fits into the palm of my hand), but it's made of a really hard and thick cardboard which feels very secure. It's affordable, the mirror is large enough that you can use it while traveling and the palette includes all you need for a multitude of looks. (including a matte highlight shade, a shimmery bronzer and a shimmery blush). When I travel, I love to go very light, so this is really perfect for me while still giving me a bunch of options. The pigmentation is great too!

5. Biggest Regret : Elf Beauty Book Lip Edition Palette

I've talked about this in the past, but I never ever use this. While I do love some Elf products dearly, this was a total bust for me. All the colors sort of look the same or similar, they're waxy and I just don't reach for this. Wouldn't recommend it. Thankfully it was really cheap.

6. Best Color Names: Nude Tude Palette

I haven't taken another picture of it since it already won one of the categories. I love the Nude Tude Palette names and the whole concept behind the palette. I think the balm did a really good job at giving these shadows a fun name without going trashy (like Nars Orgasm for example).

7. Least Used : 88 Warm Palette

I could have gone with the Elf lip palette for this one also, but that would imply that I actually use it, which I don't. The 88 Warm Palette, on the other hand, I do use, only very rarely. As you can see, it has seen a lot of love in the past and I'm not saying it's not good, only that I have kind of put it aside when I got better neutral palettes. I'm a complete neutral shadow lover so I do invest in that more than anything else, which means now that I have the Naked Palettes, I can really see a difference in the quality of the shadows compared to the 88 Warm. 

8. Most Used : BH 120 Color Palette

This may be surprising, but my most used palette is this bright rainbow colored one. The reason behind this is because I do make a lot of very colorful looks on this blog. While I prefer neutrals on a day to day basis, I really don't wear makeup everyday, therefore I don't use my palettes nearly as often as this one. Sorry if it looks terrible, it's been through a lot (namely my cat who threw it on the floor once).

9. Most Loved : All the Naked Palettes

Overall, my most loved palettes are definitely the three Naked Palettes by Urban Decay. I love everything about them, the color selection, the pigmentation, the ease of application, the packaging, everything. I take them everywhere with me and there are just endless combinations I can do with them. 

10. Desert Island: Stila In the Lights

Not that I would bring any makeup to a deserted island, but let's see this more as if I had to choose only one palette to have for an extended period of time. I think the Stila in the Lights Palette is small, light and portable, the pigmentation is fantastic and it contains all the colors I need for everyday neutral looks. Because of that, I could go on a while using nothing but this and I would be just fine.

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That's all for this tag! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did doing it! Since I'm a palette junkie, it was a lot of fun for me to think of each palette to award every category! Anyway hope you all have a great day! See you all the day after tomorrow for a Naked 3 Palette full review!

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What's in my Z Palette + Quick Review

Hey all! Recently, I ordered the Makeup Geek exclusive Damask Print Z Palette from Amazon.com. I have wanted a Z Palette forever now, so I decided to go ahead and get it to help me store my drugstore shadow collection. The concept is that you remove the shadows that your own from their original packaging, magnetize them and finally place them in this convenient palette. This way, you have everything in one place and it's easy to see and reach for what you have. It's also very easy to store and helps maximize your space.

Here is what's inside my Z Palette

On the left I have a few misc shadow from NYX, Maybelline, Revlon, Rimmel, Wet n Wild and one high end shadow from Estée Lauder (large round pan). On the right, I have all my Wet n Wild trios which were very easy to depot, by the way.

Review

My thoughts on the concept and the product

♥ The process of depotting the shadows itself was pretty straight forward, but it was kind of messy at times and quite time consuming. I'm very happy with the results so I think it was worth it though. If you want to learn how to depot your shadows, there are many very useful tutorials on Youtube on how to do it. I used one of those.

♥ The palette is very sturdy and has a cute print. I love the look of it.

♥ The magnets, while strong enough to adhere efficiently to the palette, don't stick that well.  Mine had trouble  staying glued to the back of the shadows' metal pans. I had to reinforce it with super glue or else the magnet would stay on the palette, but the shadow would fall out of it.

♥ The magnets that come with it are round and quite large which was obviously a problem with the long rectangular shaped pans I wanted to use. I cut them in half using scissors, but it made the magnets crooked and I had to straighten them out individually which made the process even longer. I would say it might be a good idea to forgo the magnets included completely and to get your own from a craft store.

♥ I wish these palettes were less expensive. I paid mine around the 20$ mark. As you can see, it does fit quite a few shadows, but I would of liked to depot more shadows than that. I would say this is about half of the ones I own. If the palettes had been cheaper, I would have gotten two. I still might do that eventually, but now yet.

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Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette Review and Swatches

A few months ago, to celebrate my two years of blogging, I decided to treat one of my readers and myself to a Naked 2 Palette by Urban Decay. I'd been wanting one for ages so I decided to buy one for myself and give one away on the blog.

Ever since I got it, I can say that I have used almost nothing else in terms of eyeshadow. I've had ample time to play around with it and I now feel confident enough that I can give a thourough review of it. If you're interested in similar palette reviews you can check out my Nude Tude Review, Stila In the Lights Review and my BH 120 color 1st edition Review.

Review

The Naked 2 Palette by Urban Decay is a neutral palette containing 12 matte, shimmery and glittery eye shadows. It's an everyday/wearable palette comparable to the Urban Decay Naked 1 Palette and to the Nude Tude Palette by The Balm.

Pigmentation
The pigmentation of the Urban Decay Shadows is absolutely amazing. You only need a tiny bit of these because a little goes a long way. The colors are intense and saturated, including the matte shades. You can use them with or without a base.

Texture 
The shadows are not overly powdery. The darker colors do tend to have a little fallout, especially the black color. There is one glitter color (Chopper) which is very soft, but so much so that a lot will come off when you put a brush in it. Nothing that tapping off your brush won't fix though. Other than that, they are very smooth and buttery feeling.

Wear 
These stay on all day when applied over a base. I cannot really say how they perform without a base since I always use one. 

Application 
Application with the shadows from the Naked 2 Palette is wonderful. The shadows glide on easily and are quite easy to blend. 

Color selection
I think the variety of colors included in the Naked 2 Palette is perfect. Compared to the Naked 1 Palette, the color scheme is on the cooler side, which is right up my alley. I love that it has a matte black shade, several shimmery pale lid colors and a matte highlight shade. The palette has everything I need on an everyday basis.

Packaging 

LookI love the Sleek metallic packaging. It looks nice and sophisticated in my opinion.

Material
As I mentioned before, the palette is made out of metal. It's very easy to clean and it's quite sturdy, enough so that I'm comfortable traveling with it, because I'm not afraid the shadows will break easily. 

Size
The Naked Palette is long and thin. It's not too bulky, making it easy to travel with (as you can see it's a recurrent theme with me).

Mirror
The Naked 2 Palette has a long mirror that stretches across the entire length of the palette. It's nice and big and you can easily use it to apply makeup when you're on the go. It's very practical.

Included items
It comes with a double ended brush and a mini pocket rocket lipgloss which I both never use. I think it used to come with a double ended 24/7 liner, but not anymore which is a complete bummer. (or was it the Naked 1 Palette I'm not sure anymore).

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Swatches

My favorite colors are :  Foxy, Bootycall, Tease, Snakebite, Verve and Busted

Note : All shadows are swatched dry using a brush over Urban Decay Primer Potion. 

 Foxy, Half baked, Bootycall, Chopper

Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol

 Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

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Overall thoughts : I love how versatile this palette is! It has all the colors I could want or need for my everyday looks. It's my favorite palette now and I can't stop using it.

Overall Score : 10/10

Would recommend? Definitely! ♥

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That's all for my review and swatches of the Naked 2 Palette by Urban Decay. I hope this post was informative! Please let me know in the comments if you have any other questions or suggestions :)

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The Balm Nude Tude Palette Review and Swatches

Today I'm giving you a in depth review of the Nude Tude Palette by The Balm. This palette has received quite a lot of hype by the beauty community on the internet recently so I thought I would let you know if it's really worth all that hype! I bought it a few months back when I was in Vegas and I think I've had enough time to experiment with it to tell you what I think of it.

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Review

The Nude Tude Palette by The Balm is a neutral palette containing 12 matte, shimmery and glittery eyeshadows with fun quirky names. It's an everyday palette comparable to Urban Decay Naked 1 and 2 Palette.

Pigmentation
The pigmentation of all theses shadows is phenomenal. They are very saturated even without a base underneath. The matte colors are very intense as well, which is a bonus since mattes can be a hit or miss sometimes.

Texture 
The shadows are not chalky or powdery. They are buttery smooth and don't have too much fallout.

Wear 
As far as I have noticed, they stay on all day. However, I tend to use primer underneath everytime I wear them so I cannot say how they would last without it.

Application 
The shadows in the Nude Tude Palette glide on the lid and blend very easily when applied. They don't give off a muddy look when blended out. The exception in my opinion is the color Silly. When blending, the glitter goes everywhere and it becomes a bit patchy.

Color selection

I think the variety of colors included by The Balm in this palette is great. You can do all kinds of looks, from natural to smoky going out looks. It lacks a nice matte highlight shade though. I couldn't just use this palette when I travel because of this. There is a nice mix of matte and shimmer and it includes a great matte black color.

My only complaint is that I'm not a fan of the color Snobby. To me it's too yellow to be wearable and I don't really have any use for it.

Packaging 

Look : The Nude Tude Palette's design is very cute looking in my opinion.

Material : It's made out of sturdy, but light cardboard (unlike the flimsy cardboard used in Stila In the Lights Palette).  The main downside of the material is that it will get dirty relatively easily.

Size : It is small enough to travel with and has a magnetic closure to ensure that it won't open in your bag. It's also very thin which is another plus.

Mirror : The best part about the Nude Tude Palette's packaging is, in my opinion, the really big mirror it comes with. It's really convenient when you're on the go.

Included items : It comes with a double ended brush probably of synthetic bristles. One side has an angled brow/liner brush and the other side is a slanted flat brush. While I don't have a use for the flat side of the brush, I love the liner side. It allows me to skip bringing a liner brush with me when I travel. Very handy!

View of the depth and width of the Nude Tude Palette

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Swatches

To know what my favorite colors in the palette are check out my latest beauty favorites.

Note : All shadows are swatched dry using a brush over Urban Decay Primer Potion. 
All pictures are with flash.



Sassy is a frosty opaque white with quite a lot of shimmer.

Stubborn is a shimmery champagne color with a slight pink tone. Great for a subtle inner corner highlight or all over the lid.

Selfish is a super shimmery taupe color with a metallic finish. It looks more silvery in the pan than when swatched. It has a golden sheen to it.

Sophisticated is a deep cool toned brown with noticable brown flecks of shimmer.

Sexy is a matte reddish brown.

Serious is a matte black. It looks like it might have some glitter from the picture, but that's just fallout from the shimmery shadows in the palette.

Snobby is a shimmy and somewhat sheer yellowish gold color.

 Stand off-ish is a frosty champagne color with loads of shimmer. It has a almost metallic finish. In the pan it looks rather pink, but it gives off more of a subtle gold sheen when applied.

Sulty is a matte warm toned brown color. It's good as a transition color or to warm up a look.

Seductive is a burnt gold color in the pan. The finish is metallic and shimmery. When swatched, it is more of a deep yellow gold.

Silly is a deep warm toned brown with loads of noticeable gold glitter. When patted on, the glitter will show up on the lids, however, when blended out the glitter dissipates.

Sleek is very deep, almost black cool toned brown. It's perfect for deepening a look without going for black shadow.

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Overall thoughts : I love this palette! It has a great color selection, the pigmentation is amazing and the texture of the shadows is very smooth. There are only two colors which I wish weren't included in the Nude Tude Palette, but otherwise I think it's a great mix of light and dark shadow options. It's versatile and super practical. I use it all the time!

Overall Score : 9.5/10

Would recommend? Yes!!

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That's all for my review and swatches of the Nude Tude Palette by The Balm. I hoped this post was informative for you all reading this! Please let me know in the comments if you'd like more in-depth reviews like this or if you have any other questions or suggestions :)

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Have a great week everyone! ♥