Do you guys remember me posting about the Smashbox Petal Metal Covershot Palette all the way back in July? Well, I got the most insanely exciting delivery a few weeks ago from Mecca Maxima – a massive collection of these super travel-friendly eyeshadow palettes in all of the different colour variants, some old and some new to the Australian market. I’m going to quickly take you through the whole PR package that I received (because it’s so pretty) but I will also dive into my personal thoughts on each of the eight palettes, as well as the full swatches!
If you’re just here for the swatches, click read more and then go right to the bottom because I have compiled them all into one photo for you but – otherwise – let’s get into it!
The Collection
The Covershot Eye Palettes are described as “[t]he hottest handbag accessory to drop this season” – they are a collection of travel-friendly palettes in a massive variety of colour schemes, finishes and all having their own ‘distinctive personality’. Each palette has “six complementary accent shadows, alongside two bigger base shades so you’ll never go through your basics too quickly!” These palettes have actually been available at Mecca Maxima for a while but they have new launched a bunch of new palettes – so in my box here, I will be discussing two of the core palettes (the Matte and the Ablaze), as well as a bunch of the new ones (Minimalist, Prism, Petal Metal, Bold Glitter and Metal Metals). These are all retailing for AUD$42 at Mecca – which is a pretty decent price!
In addition to that, I was also gifted their 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer to test out along with these products. This is described as “[a] cult-favourite eye-shadow primer that delivers long-wear results and more vibrant eye shadow results.” It claims to be sweat and humidity resistant, helping shadows to wear for up to 24 hours as well as to give a more vibrant application. This primer is selling at Mecca for AUD$30 – which is also a pretty decent price considering that my usual sells for AUD$35 with a bit less product.
Packaging
These palettes are all just a bit larger than your palm and fits easily into your purse. It has lightweight plastic packaging that is slim and fuss free, making it really suitable for travel or on-the-go touch ups. All of them feature a Lenticular print – so the graphic on the cover actually moves according to the angle. This is actually very simple and dated technology but it is the first time that I have seen it on make up packaging. It gives it a really striking style that has since become iconic of the Covershot Palette packaging and also works well with the Smashbox branding, which is very much about photographic make up.
Opening it up (you will see images below) there is a full sized mirror, which is great for travel. The shadow pans are also laid out very neatly and in a logical manner, so it is easy to use. My only real complaint about the packaging here is that the edges for the cover and the mirror are raw so I feel like it might be easy to scratch yourself on them. I have yet to do it though and I understand that the packaging was stripped down for weight and compact purposes.
Overall, the design is very beautiful and I like that they’re using different designs to express each palette’s ‘personality’. It is really functional. The plastic feels sturdy and, aside from the raw edges, it seems like a good quality case.
24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer
“Never look like a hot mess IRL or in any throwback pic ever again. This ride-or-die eye shadow primer keeps shadow in place, not all over your face for 24 hours. It’s a fade-proof sheer colorless formula that intensifies color and finish ensuring your eye looks survive workouts, nights out and big days.”
Thoughts: This is a soft textured, silicon (dimethicone) based eyeshadow primer with a bright, slightly pink shade – though is mostly sheer on skin. It gives your eyes a smooth base to work with and also helps with the blendability of the eyeshadows as the longevity. The primer also claims to intensify colour, but I feel like that is a rather minor effect.
This 24 Hour Shadow Primer works well in lengthening the wear time of shadows, ensuring that your eye look will last throughout the day without fading. It doesn’t fully protect against watery eyes but will help with with oily eyelids.
Personally though, I don’t see anything remarkable in this primer. It is nice and it works, but not any more so than my regular eyeshadow primer. At AUD$30 it is decently priced (my usual Urban Decay Primer Potion is a bit smaller and AUD$35) so would be worth checking out if you’re looking for a primer to help protect against shadow crease or fading.
Bold Glitter Covershot Eye Palette (daring & vibrant glitter)
“A colorful range of saturated shades with an insanely sparkly finish. Layer them over mattes or rock them solo—these shadows are designed to shine!”
Shade Range: If you’re a big glitter fan then this palette is going to draw you in like a moth to a flame. The variety here is really great and, essentially, you can find a glitter shade to suit any look that you’re going for. Rather than shade and light, they’ve gone for clear colour variations here (i.e. no dark and link pink, but just a bold pink, bold blue etc). I find that colour range for the glitters to be quite flexible but naturally, this is not a complete palette – the shades themselves can be rather incoherent and randon. It would benefit from having two matte shades (a base and a deeper crease shade) but, as it is, it is a great accessory palette to complement other eyeshadows.
Thoughts: As you can see from the below swatches, this palette does not swatch well with a fingertip – the colour pigment and the glitters tend to seperate and create patchiness. However, I find that these work really well on the eye lid and – with the right primer and brush – can give almost full opacity like in the pan. I lay down a glitter glue over my regular eyeshadow (my go to is the Too Faced Glitter Glue) and then use a synthetic flat brush to pack the glitter onto my lids. The overall look is super bold and bright, with absolutely no fall out or creasing during the day!
Personally, this isn’t a must have palette but it is a great option if you love glittery shadows or want to add it into your collection. It complements other palettes well, but is not suitable as a travel palette as it does not work well on it’s own.
Prism Covershot Eye Palette (planetary pastels)
“These creamy, pastel powders create a spectrum of one-swipe holographic looks. The palette includes 2 duo-chrome shade transformers to give any shadow a game-changing sparkly finish.”
Shade Range: I love how this palette looks in the pan and the shades are also really beautiful on the eyes – after all, I am a total sucker for purples and ‘holographic’ duo-chromes. That being said, a lot of these shades are shimmery metallics and, because of the paler purple shades, many of the looks created with this palette may look quite frosty. Personally, I think it’s quite unique (as it isn’t the type of look I wear often but I like it!). However, I can see that not everyone will like it and may find this colour scheme limiting.
Thoughts: The shimmers on this palette apply very beautifully and blend well on the eye lid. There is a little bit of fall out with the darker shades (in particular the deepened rose metallic on the far right) but it is fairly easy to brush away. The two duo-chromes in the palette are also recommended to be applied with fingers – and it definitely doesn’t perform as well with a brush. The reflect is beautiful and bright, but the overall effect is still subtle enough to be suitable for day to day use.
Matte Covershot Eye Palette (high-coverage, velvety)
“It offers mattes that never fall flat, and it’s lush, soft, and velvety with ultra-high coverage—including matte eyeshadow shades in warm nudes, cool mauves, and a deep, dramatic black.”
Shade Range: This is one of the all-matte variants in the Covershot Palette range and it is half warm and half cool, with neutral browns as well as a soft mauve, pink and black for a cool toned, smoky look (and, unfortunately, the mauve shade did not translate so well in my below swatch photo).
Thoughts: This palette feels buttery to the touch but, unfortunately, didn’t swatch very well at all. I had to go over the below multiple times to make the pigmentation show up properly. That being said though, it does blend out very well on the eyes and has a buildable pigmentation that would also be suitable for make up beginners. I did use a primer underneath it and the shadow had great longevity, still looking good in the evening as when I first applied.
Ablaze Covershot Eye Palette (hot, desert-inspired shades)
“With shades in rich red clay and hot terra cotta, this palette captures the warmth of the desert in a range of sun-drenched shades—these dimensional pigments are perfect for adding depth and contouring.”
Shade Range: I love the shade range in this palette and would happily wear them over and over again. It’s a very warm toned palette but the balance between the oranges and pinks is enough to create variety and depth. For someone who likes slightly bolder eyeshadow looks, this would be a great daily palette. I also like that it has one base shade (which is an essential) and one neutral champagne-y shimmer (which is super versatile).
Thoughts: This palette has an even balance of mattes and shimmers and, even though all of the shades are warm, they vary enough to create depth and interesting eye looks. This is probably one of my favourites, firstly because I love the colour story and also because the formula is really nice! The mattes are soft and easy to blend while the shimmers have really nice pigmentation and a subtle shimmer – no foils or glitters here, but I don’t mind it. Overall, it’s very wearable and easy to work with.
Petal Metal Covershot Eye Palette (petal-soft rose-gold shades)
“This wearable rainbow of petal-soft rose gold glides on in one swipe. Each shade beautifully blooms to create effortless matte day looks and sultry metallic evening looks!”
Repackaging: I thought that this was a new palette before but I actually realised that I already have this! For those who missed out on the Vlada x Smashbox Collaboration – this palette is the exact Petal Metal version but with the normal cover design. I’m glad to see that they didn’t fully discontinue this palette because I personally really like it. It was the first Covershot palette that I tried out and it fully sold me on all others.
Shade Range: This palette is rose gold themed and, naturally, has a lot of metallic rose gold and golden shades, as well as some complimentary nude and champagne tones. There’s a good variety in here, as well as two matte shades that work well in tying up any eye looks. It’s very cohesive and, even though there are some similarities in the shades, I find that I can create a good variety of eye looks with this. The larger pans can also double as highlighters – they are quite metallic but work well applied lightly.
Thoughts: The formula of this palette is really great – hence why it was what drew me towards the Covershot palettes in the first place. It has a very blendable and soft formula, with all of the metallic shimmers applying just as well with a dry brush. The blendability also means that it’s easy to touch up during the day. The metallic finish is really flattering and not overwhelming on the eyes, making this suitable for both casual and evening event make up.
That being said, I am a little confused about its claim that you can create a ‘matte’ look with this when there are only two basic matte shades – if anything, I would consider this a primarily metallic palette.
Major Metals Covershot Eye Palette (hyper-reflective metallic shades)
“Spoil your lids with fit-for-a-queen coppers, royal maroons and brilliant bronzes. These shadows have a creamy powder formula that glides on a molten metallic finish in one swipe.”
Shade Range: This is a full-on metallic palette that is perfect for people that like deeper, rich metallic shades. The two ‘new formula’ shades are quite similar though and I feel like one should be replaced. In addition, I do wish that they included one or two matte shades (perhaps a lighter and a darker one) so that this palette could feel more complete. In this state, it is best used either in conjunction with a matte palette or as an overall wash of colour as a full metallic eye can look overly frosty on the eyes.
Thoughts: That all being said, this palette is super soft and buttery – as you can see in the below swatches. The shades apply very easily only the eyes and don’t need a wet brush, though that or a fingertip will always give an intensified finish. I had a bit of difficulty when blending though as some shades (in particular the maroon) have the tendency to sheer out – which can also be pretty, but I’m not about that sheer life.
To counteract that, I recommend placing the product onto the eyelid with a packaging brush and only lightly blending out the edges.
Minimalist Covershot Eye Palette (effortlessly versatile neutrals)
“Create countless looks with minimal effort. This neutral mix of ultra-blendable mattes and shimmers creates no-makeup makeup looks, contours lids and effortlessly blends a smoky eye.”
Shade Range: This palette has a good combination of both warmer and cooler toned neutrals, as well as a mix of shimmers and mattes that makes it really versatile and easy to use. The shade range here is really good in that you have your base and medium crease shades, as well as darker contour shades and brighter shimmers or dimension. If I were to take one palette travelling, especially if I just wanted something easy and basic, then this would be the one I go for.
Thoughts: This palette has a very soft and blendable formula that is easy to quick to use. I would also recommend this to make up beginners who are after a basic palette. Although there is nothing exceptionally exciting about it, the beauty of this palette is that it works so perfectly. It is pigmented but buildable, so you can create any eye look you want quickly. It is also versatile enough to go from no-make up looks to smoky eyes.
And those are my thoughts on all of the palettes! For people that are wanting a quick and easy way to compare them all, I have also put all of the swatches down below. My personal favourites would be the Ablaze, Petal Metal and Major Metals – which clearly fall into my favourite fiery colour scheme. I also love the cooler tones here though I would like to see a cooler tone palette that is also more bold and bright (rather than wearable neutrals). I also have a love for the Bold Glitter palette and, although I don’t think I will be reaching for it all the time, it will be one that I reach for when ever I want something fun and special.
Overall, I highly recommend trying out the Smashbox Covershot Palettes. They are the perfect travel palette with mostly easy to use and beginner friendly formulas (save for the Bold Glitter and a few other shades that are a bit more tricky but not overly so). I was already a fan of the Petal Metal palette earlier on but being able to try all of these others, I am even more confident in the formula here. Also, there is just so much variety and, while I don’t think it is necessary to collect them all, I feel like anyone can find something to suit them.
If you’d like to pick these out, check out Mecca Maxima – the official Australian and New Zealand stockists for Smashbox.
