Smashbox On The Rocks Photo Op Eye Shadow Luxe Palette Review

     For my last birthday, I received this super awesome package in the mail as a present from my sister in law and the first thing I thought when I opened it was that scene from Despicable Me. You know the one...

I don't have the original source for this image but I found it here. 

     My first thought was "It's so beautiful!!!"" And yes, I was just as excited as Agnes. The packaging on this eye shadow palette is truly gorgeous.  The box and palette have the same prismatic diamond design on them and I played with for it for a good ten minutes just admiring the sparkles. I need to learn how to make a GIF or at least be better at videos so I could show you just how pretty this is. 

 


     Isn't it beautiful??? You can almost see the holographic effect in some of the cuts of the diamonds on the cover of the palette. 

     The palette came with this neat little insert with the names and numbers of each color, diagrams for different looks and a clear overlay for the shadows in case there was any confusion. I really like the clear overlay because it helps keep the mirror clean and it's an easy shade reference when I'm following one of the diagrams. I actually did each of the 3 looks the first few days after I got this but was a bad beauty blogger and didn't take any pictures. Boo. I was having camera trouble and am still working out the kinks.

     The eye shadows themselves are laid out in a diamond pattern with a cute diamond gem in the center. The center gem is a bit gimmicky but still pretty. The shadows are extremely pigmented and long lasting. I used my standard go-to primer, (e.lf. glitter eyeshadow primer.) and I had no fading during the day but I did notice some fallout with the darker shades when I was lining my lids. I had to be very careful not to get any on my cheeks because it was difficult to remove without also taking off my foundation. If you set your foundation with a powder it makes it easier to brush those flakes away.

     Almost every color family is represented in this palette including grey, blue and green. I normally am not a fan of those colors for eye shadow, though I will sometimes use a navy shade as a liner for an otherwise neutral look. That said the colors in this palette seem different to me, more wearable somehow. Maybe its the pigmentation or the beautiful finishes. They make me re-think my previous aversions and I find myself approaching these shades with a more open mind. Way to go Smashbox for challenging me to think outside the box.


     My favorite colors in this palette so far are Fizz, Juniper and Framboise. Fizz is a beautiful pink-champagne color with a ton of shimmer. It goes over almost any color to give it a nice glow and a touch of warmth. Juniper is the perfect brownish-purple-taupe. It makes a great lid or crease color for a smoky eye without being too dark. I have a hard time wearing just brown tones so Juniper is great for adding that little bit of color. Framboise is a beautiful semi-matte dark fuchsia which I loooooooove. I can't even express how much I love this color now when I didn't expect to like it very much at first. I never considered strongly pink-toned shadows to be very versatile because frankly, they are just SO PINK. While I don't wear this on it's own that much, it is *awesome* for dusting over your lid when you want to warm up a cool-toned look. It adds drama and dimension without being over the top. As these are very pigmented remember to use a light touch to keep your look soft.

Here are close ups of the shades. 

     The palette itself is pretty hefty. It's definitely more suited for sitting out on your makeup table and looking pretty than it is for tossing in your bag on a trip. It's a bit big and heavy due to its sheer size and large mirror. It's 4" wide, 8 3/4" long and is almost an inch thick. It has a very tight magnet which is a plus though it makes the palette a bit difficult to get into. Smashbox definitely had "luxe" in mind when they made this. They didn't skimp on packaging or materials and it shows. This is really a beautiful palette and I'm glad to add it to my collection. There is just about any color color you could want and they are all beautiful. 

Do you own any other Smashbox palettes? Would you rather have a big beautiful palette or do you prefer small and light?

***Disclaimer: All items mentioned in this or future posts have been purchased by me, at my own expense unless otherwise noted. I am not affiliated with or sponsored by any company or brand so you can be assured my opinions are mine alone. My opinions are based on my own experience and independent research.