Review: Studio Gear Cosmetics Holiday Smokey Eye Palette

Fear not, I am still around! With the holidays and all, it's been a little bonkers for me.

Enough intro, onward to the review!

Up on the review block is Studio Gear Cosmetics Holiday Smokey Eye Palette.

Be radiant on any occasion with this sultry, shimmery palette of dramatic shades – perfect for creating a classic smoky eye look, with a hint of unexpected golden glimmer. This collection of four complimentary eye shadows with matching blush deliver several day to night options that are both seductive and wearable. With pure color, pigment-rich formulations, you’ll be sure to smolder all night!

via Studio Gear Website

Packaging: The palette itself comes in a slip cover that slides off. It's a brilliant and eye catching array of yellows and purples. The palette itself is a chic black and grey color scheme, which I think works well with the slip cover. Inside the palette you find the SG insignia design covering the palette. On the underside of the cover, is a step by step guide (not pictured), opposite that is the actual palette, four eyeshadows and one blush.

Frost

Position: Top Left

This is the lightest shade of the four eyeshadows. A frosty, shimmery white. Perfect for the inner color highlight and below the brow.

Thoughts: Not terribly pigmented, I had to work with this one a bit, it's definitely the sheerest of the four.

Platinum

Position: Bottom Left

Second darkest shade. This one is basically a silver with grey mixed. I actually like to use this all over the eye, sometimes alone or smoking it out.

Thoughts: I'm not normally one for silver toned eye shadows, but I do like this one. The pigmentation on it is better than Frost, easy to work with.

Glimmer

Position: Bottom Right

Hard to describe. It isn't quite gold, but it isn't really bronze either. I'd actually like to say it falls between the two. A happy medium, which to me makes this color unique to the palette. 

Thoughts: Definitely the oddity of the four colors, but I like it. It adds to the smokiness, whether you follow the guide and use this as the blending color, or use it as the base color, or even alone.

Coal

Position: Top Right

A charcoal grey, not a true black, with hints of silver added in.

Thoughts: While a matte black, I think would have worked perfectly for a palette of shimmers, this works as well. It isn't terribly harsh, which a matte black can be, it's soft, but makes the point of the smokey eye.

Snowy Glow - Blush

Position: Center

A soft coral-rose pink blusher with the slightest shimmer. 

Thoughts: I love this blush, at first I was iffy, but this is a blush that is buildable. It's sheer, but you can get a lovely flush for your cheeks as you would during the cold months. 

(L-R) Frost, Glimmer, Platinum, Coal, Snowy Glow

Overall Verdict: I definitely do like this palette, although it has its faults (this is my own personal preference at that), namely the sheerness of Frost. Other than that, it's wonderful. The smokey look that you can get from this varies to the degree of darkness you want at the corner, but I do think this is a palette that you can go from a day look to a night look with no issue. On top of that, Snowy Glow is the perfect compliment to the four shadows. It ties everything together.

Price: $40; receive 10% off your purchase using the coupon code SGHOLIDAY

Availability: Studio Gear Cosmetics and select ulta.com stores

The product featured in this post had been sent to me by Studio Gear Cosmetics via the Brand Backer campaign. What appears in this post is my 100% honest opinion on the product, and it is in no way influenced.