Sunday, May 7, 2017

Smashbox LA Lights Palette

Hey everyone!!

Okay so today is a going to be a little different, today I'm going to be talking about this Smashbox L.A. Lights Palette.
This palette originally launched in the holiday 2016 season and was an Ulta exclusive and that is when I snatched it up and first reviewed the Smashbox L.A. Lights Palette.
I noticed this past week that this is back up on their website as a new arrival and is still an Ulta exclusive.
So I don't know if they found a stash in their warehouse or it's just back for the hell of it but whatever the reason I thought I'd reintroduce you guys to this bad bitch.
Everything I said about this palette about five months ago is still true, the only difference is that I fucking love this palette even more now and it is something I grab for quite often even when I just need a mirror (lol).


Today we're talking about the
Smashbox Light It Up L.A. Lights Palette: Contour. Blush. Highlight.
(damn, that's a mouthful).


When I first saw this (staring me in the face on my phone at 3am) I knew I had to have it, even after I discovered that I already owned the top row in the L.A. Lights Blush & Highlight Palette in Culver City Coral.
The Smashbox L.A. Lights Palettes rings in at $35 for 3 pans (2 blush, 1 highlighter) and comes in 3 different color options: Culver City Coral, Pacific Coast Pink, and Malibu Berry.
This here Smashbox Light It Up Palette is $39 for 9 pans (6 blush, 3 highlighters).
Clearly this was a deal and I figured it was still more than worth it for the 6 shades I didn't have.

I absolutely love the packaging (all black matte with shiny black logo and red trim) I really dig simple, clean, and especially black packaging which Smashbox does well. Something about it makes me just wanna touch it all over. Plus the mirror is to die for, it's huge, it's the entire freaking lid.
(Quick Note: I bought this online at Ulta and although it didn't say Ulta exclusive, I was unable to find it on Sephora or even the Smashbox website.)

The Blushes:
The blushes in this palette are gorgeous even just to look at and in person the bright, rich, and highly saturated colors almost scared me, they seemed quite bold for everyday colors. Yet I couldn't wait to ruin them with finger smudges.
Exactly as you'd expect they're very pigmented but they're also smooth and almost creamy that they blended nicely with little effort. I'm the kind of girl who goes light on blush so literally one or two tiny taps were more than enough, these will last a long time for you if you're like that too.
These were not powdery whatsoever even after a bit of swirling (since they're quite pigmented you don't have to swirl, I just did it for testing purposes and because I couldn't stop touching them).

This palette includes the Culver City Coral & the Malibu Berry options from the L.A. Lights Palettes, which make up the first and second horizontal rows.
The first row of corals seem like they would be “summery” colors, super bright, and not very functional for everyday use but once blended out they're really not scary at all and actually wearable on the daily even as the colder months approach (makeup has no season in my opinion, it's all personal preference). I was shocked how much I loved these coral shades because I tend to choose more neutral shades and although I do have coral blushes mine are all very muted shades.

The second row of berry shades is probably the prettiest row in the palette, (I actually wanted this one when I bought my L.A. Lights Palette but I'm a chicken shit).
The deep berry vibes of this row practically laughed in my face and scared the crap out of me at the same time, even when I saw it online. My skin is pretty light (which is why I passed on it before) and I was sure the first purplish pink hue (rich berry) wasn't going to work for me but somehow it actually does.
The berries even played well on my “no makeup” makeup days, and will be a perfect winter color. I'm telling you this formula allows these super pigmented colors whether bright or dark to work for even pale and light skin tones without coming off harsh, I found them to be quite natural and seamless with a light hand yet also still pigmented and rich for those who prefer more color or have deeper skin tones than myself.

The third row (this is where things start to go kinda south) consists of 3 shades not available in their L.A. Lights collection. The blushes in this row actually consist of a bronzer and a pinky nude blush.
A bronzer is a great addition to this palette in my opinion, you can definitely get a lot of use out of this palette with the addition of the bronzer in there. The bronzer shade itself is quite neutral, a cool tone with some warmth but not too warm or ashy. They did a good job picking a shade that was useable by both parties (ashies vs. warmies hahaha).
It'd work great for light to medium skin tones and could even be used as a contour depending on your contour undertone preference. If you're darker than a medium skin tone I don't think this will show up on you. As I was swatching this bronzer I thought to myself I kinda like this bronzer which is not common for me (I do not wear bronzer daily FYI) which led me to bust out my Smashbox Step By Step Contour Kit in Light/Medium ($45) and just as I suspected that two timing tramp was the same bronzer from my contour kit (tells myself it's still a good deal).

On to the nude blush, it's probably my favorite in the palette (I can't help it) and they've named it True Flush which is right on because it reminds me of that natural flush of color when someone blushes.
It's more of a pink-y nude and would look good on everyone, any day, with any style of makeup.
This one although a more toned down color is also super pigmented so don't be fooled and go at it like a maniac. With so many bold choices in this palette I think adding some daily staples in this third row was a wise choice on their part.
Rich Bronze, True Flush, Highlight Gold)

The Highlighters:
There are 3 highlighters in this palette.
The first two rows are from the Smashbox L.A. Lights Palettes therefore they match perfectly with their matching blush colors. The coral and berry highlighters are also nicely pigmented, buttery smooth, not powdery, and they both have a slight golden shimmer (not glitter) to them that reflects in the light beautifully. These definitely give you that wow factor in glow and pigmentation.
They're so pigmented and bold though that I can only use them as blush toppers and blush (I knew this when I bought it because I already owned the coral one) but the colors are so beautiful as blush that it's still worth it for me.

The third row highlighter (remember when I said that things went south on this row when I found out my bronzer was sleeping with my contour kit) at first glance it had me giddy like a school boy, I mean who doesn't love a golden highlight am I right?
Well her flirty advances definitely had me fooled. When I swatched this it I immediately noticed the formula was different from the others. This one was powdery when I swirled around in it but in a weird chunky and flaky kind of way (dun dun dun) it still felt creamy though. The swatch was glittery, very glittery, I figured maybe that was just because it was a holiday palette (you know people go ape shit for glitter around the holidays) and had still not given up on it yet. When I applied this to my face though, most of the powder just fell off and all you could see were the glitter and shimmer specks. There was a very sheer hint of gold but mostly just glitter. For some reason this also didn't apply well with a highlighting brush or a fan brush but when I used my fingers it just left flakes of the powder on my face that kind of looked cakey and lumpy. As you can see below the berry and coral look smooth while the gold has texture.
(L to R: Highlight Gold, Highlight Berry, Highlight Coral)


When it comes down to it, there was only 1 pan that sucked in this palette which still makes this a great deal. If you happen to love glittery highlighters then that one won't be a problem for you, although the formula still seemed a little off on that one.
The colors are all so versatile and pigmented that you can easily go from daytime, to glam, to clown. They blend out so effortlessly even a beginner could easily work with this palette.
If I had to do it over again knowing what I know now, I'd still buy it.
If you don't like all the colors in this palette or you're reading this when it's no longer available, then I'd still recommend their L.A. Lights Blush Palettes and their Step by Step Contour Kit.

Let me know in the comments below or on social media if you have this palette and your opinions, especially on that gold highlight (*lol*).
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