Smashbox Lighting Theory Palette Review & Swatches

Oh...you...guys! I jumped out on a HUGE beauty limb and purchased Smashbox's Lighting Theory Palette (Exclusive, Limited Edition, Sephora) a couple of months ago! When I started reviewing makeup several years ago, I promised myself I would never need or buy one of these things (multi-functional palettes) ;) HaHaHa I just saw them as having SO MUCH STUFF IN THEM! What do you need all that stuff for!?! Well, now I'm the proud owner of one. HaHaHa How times have changed! LOL What are my thoughts? Let's break it down! Let's break it down! :P I'm gonna break it down for ya! >.<

Sweet-Bittersweet-NotSweet

supersweet(run & buy it) sweet(really good,buy it) bittersweet(ok, issues)not sweet(not good,don't buy this stuff) 

  Smashbox Lighting Theory Palette is Supersweet

This palette reminds me of a small address book. It comfortably fits in one hand. So that's good! The hard silver cover is both chic & durable. As you can see, it's reflective of light (as it's name suggests). A black elastic strap keeps it closed. The palette is split into two sides! On the left, you have a row of color correctors, contour shade, bronzer, highlighter and strobe shades. A hard plastic cover (protector), opens & closes atop these. When "dipping" and "swirling" your beauty blender or brush into these shades it can get a little messy (overlapping onto the black background). So the plastic protector helps everything stay in place. You don't want all of that to transfer to the other side of the palette. On the right, you're given 16 eye shadows and 3 blushes. Information cards are also included in this palette, giving you easy instruction on how to use it all. Overall, the packaging is very neat & tidy. I really like that. Each side is also removable.

Cream Color Correctors

I pretty much dismissed color correctors the beginning of this year! LOL I said to myself, JUST ANOTHER THING TO BUY AND TAKE OUR MONEY. HaHaHa But you know what! I've had a hectic year and dark circles started creeping up. My concealer took care of some of it, but I felt I needed more. So I started dabbling with correctors. Four are included in this palette. The green is to cancel out redness. The lavender is to help with dullness. The peach is for dark circles & hyper-pigmentation (fair-medium skin tones). The orange is for dark circles & hyper-pigmentation for (medium-deep skin tones). These are in cream form! And you know what? They work! You use these for your problem areas and then apply your makeup. I find myself using both the peach and orange. Once I applied foundation, you didn't see any orange. The one, you really have to watch though is the green. Sometimes if I applied too much, it would really peek through. Have you tried color correcting?

Cream Contour, Bronzer & Highlight

I just started warming up to contouring this year! Contouring was the rave last year. I'm always behind, but that's ok. Most of the contouring that I have done is with POWDERS! These are CREAMS! I was very scared to use them. You're given a cream contour, bronzer and highlighter in this palette. Bronze with a CREAM???? Yepppp! Let me tell you, I really like them. They were creamy, not heavy and really easy to apply. I was worried that they would be thick, but they apply with a thin layer. Blending was super easy. Even more so than a powder. With powders, I'm constantly buffing to blend it out. I was impressed. The Highlight really did add light to my face. As you guys know, all of my highlighters and illuminators have been powders. So these were refreshing.

Strobing

I've never tried Strobing. Strobing is HIGH VOLTAGE highlighting. Highlighting to the max! LOL The strobing shades in this palette are luminous pink, gold and peach :) My favorites are the gold and peach for my skin tone. The pink is ok on me, but I feel it will work best with lighter skin tones.

16 Eye Shadows

The first row of eye shadows (L-R): Sand, Totally Nude, Nectar and Almond

These started off very weak! I got really nervous. HaHaHa I even used Smashbox primer on the back of my hand. The first three were lightly pigmented and chalky when swatched. I will say, they looked much better on the eyes than my hand. HaHaHa But Sand was still chalky. Almond was nice.

The second row of eye shadows (L-R): Truffle, Light Wave, Sunrise and Sunlight

These were much better! Truffle is a beautiful grey. You don't see many grey shadows in collections anymore. Then you're given a gorgeous milk chocolate metallic brown and gold shade; Sunlight is a gorgeous coppery-coral color.

The third row of eye shadows (L-R):Optics, Metallic Violet, Metallic Bronze and Metallic Brick

Are any of you guys picking up a trend at this point? Yep, the metallic shades are the winners in this palette. They really stand out. Optics is a beautiful green! Very different. As a lover of the color purple, I love Metallic Violet. It's a rich, deep purple. I think the last two shades would really pair well together. The Metallic Brick has specks of gold in it and really would compliment Metallic Bronze.

The fourth row of eye shadows (L-R): Nocturnal, Black Out, Sumatra and Backlit

I love the last row as well. You're given a black & brown matte! They're very pigmented, so that was good. Do you see Nocturnal? How gorgeous is that blue!?! I also love Backlit because of it's raisin color. It's very pretty.

Blushes

There are three blushes in this palette! Candlelight, Carnation and Spectrum.  I tried all three and they are gorgeous! They're highly pigmented, so a little goes a long way. Honestly, all 3 shades should work for ALL SKIN TONES. I honestly believe it. I'm usually not for shimmery blushes, but Carnation is beautiful. I'm not a PINK makeup girl, and these are gorgeous on! And I'm totally smitten with Spectrum (peachy brown color).

My Final Thoughts: This is a really good palette for Fall/Winter. I was so comfortable with it, that I would just hold it with one hand, while standing in front of the mirror applying my makeup. I felt like a painter. HaHaHa Don't feel intimidated by this palette. I review a lot of makeup, but I'm still learning (application of things). This palette is definitely worth the money and will take your makeup game even further. If you travel, you nearly have everything you could want right here. I hope Smashbox makes more of these. I would love to have one for Spring also.