Smashbox Softbox Eye Palette Review, Swatches, Photos
It’s probably to early to say this but I’m leaning towards saying that the Smashbox Softbox Eye Palette is my favorite Summer palette. I’m really loving softer more nude shades of shadow lately. I can’t quite go the bolder, crazy look for Summer anymore. Heck, I really loved aqua at one time as a primary shade for the warm weather but now I’m more about delicate shades of shimmering brown, gold, and bronze and the Softbox Eye Palette brings just that.
Photographers love shooting in natural light to create a diffused, softer look and that’s exactly what this palette does. The shades give a soft focused look that’s romantic and ethereal but still have the fun Summer vibe as well!
You NEED this palette.
A palette of soft shades inspired by Smashbox SoftBox Studio to give eyes a diffused, softly focused eye look!
The palette is made up of nine shades of shadow, two liners, a double ended brush, a mini Photo Finish Lid Primer, and a get the look guide.
This is a flip top compact that features a nice size mirror. The palette isn’t bulky but it won’t travel well as it is a tad big and the flip top might open during transit so if you do want to travel with it you might wish to wrap a rubber band around it to prevent it from accidentally flipping open. I know I personally have plans to take this on vacation with me so this seems a good way to keep things travel safe.
The brush included a fluffy affair that does an excellent job buffing color on the lid and works particularly well with the matte shades in the palette as it does a nice job of color washing onto the lid without causing kick up. The opposite side of the brush features one of my favorite brushes from Smashbox, the #9, which is a flat line brush that makes walking liner across your lash line super easy for a straight line every single time.
Now the shades…this is where the magic happens!
Most of the shades are very delicate, neutral colors but there are a few popping colors as well which takes the palette from simplicity into the realms of fun.
You get:
- Nectar (soft peach matte)
- Vanilla (creamy matte)
- Flirt (light shimmering taupe)
- Lucky Penny (copper penny shimmer)
- Sugar (iridescent pink)
- Stone (matte pewter)
- Sienna (deep shimmering chocolate)
- Nude (nude matte)
- Truffle (darker shimmering taupe)
Liners:
- Bronzer (bronze)
- Taupe (taupe gray)
Although it’s made up of 50% matte finishes I was still very pleased with the formula. You know me, I’m terribly scared of mattes and avoid them like the plague but Smashbox makes a very nice, loosely packed matte that glides on evenly without appearing dry or patchy on my lids. I was very pleased with both Nectar and Vanilla which brightened my eyes up beautifully!
The shimmering shades, needless to say, are just as wonderful and each sports a pigmented formula that blends beautifully.
The matte contrasting with the shimmer finishes creates a very interesting effect. For my first look I combined Vanilla on my brow bone, Sugar on my lid and within my crease, and Nude into the crease. The effect is a super light, softly focused eye look that wakes up my tired, aging eyes beautifully.
For my second look, I learned a rather fun little trick thanks to the video how to on Smashbox’s site. I started off by applying Nectar on my brown bone, and swept the Bronzer liner onto my lash line and topped it with Lucky Penny blending upward. I used a tiny bit of Sienna over the crease and blended gently to create a fusion of the two colors. The technique of applying the liner and topping it with Lucky Penny created a rather fantastic smudged effect. Rather brilliant as you can see from my photos as even though my line wasn’t super straight, the smudged effect still gives a sexy finish.
I really enjoyed using the palette, the possibilities and looks just seem endless here and you can even use use a single shadow to brighten tired eyes up or for a really simple, lightweight Summer look you can go with a bit of gloss, a cheek stain, and sweep on a little bit of Sugar.
Summer eye makeup that’s lightweight and barely there is truly a great one to indulge in this year and Softbox Eye Palette offers endless options to embrace the trend!
Bit worried that the flap closure won’t keep the liners fresh. These may harden out after a few months as they are exposed without any cover but maybe the formula will keep fresh, but that remains to be seen!
- Anyone looking for a soft focused eye look for Summer.
- Those wanting a fresh yet flawless Summer look!
- Those with mature or aging eyes that want a fresh, flirty eye look for Summer (the shades are delicate enough not to age but merely freshen up mature eyes).
- Those who do not like creams and powders in the same palette (the cream liners have no protection against the powders in the palette).
I absolutely loved this palette and thought it was a real winner. The combination of matte and shimmer shades somehow created the perfect contradiction for a fresh, feminine Summer look! The colors aren’t overly bold or vibrant but that doesn’t take away from the palette in the least or make it boring, the colors all work well together to create a perfectly flawless look for the warm weather ahead.
Not so fab with creating a look with eyeshadow? No problem Smashbox includes video how to’s on their site, as well as a step by step guide for creating looks using this palette, plus you can access the how to videos on your cell phone by scanning the tag on the back of the palette box using the Tagreader app.
I really enjoyed this one and thought it was a must have!
You NEED it!
Quite Muse Approved for purchase!
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Available now at www.smashbox.com