i have an irrational fear of wasting a smokey eye on an insignificant day.

This is a review I have been working on for some time. Why? I wanted to get a good feel for this palette before I posted anything. The palette in question is the fairly new, Maybelline The Smokes. After being rather happy with their previous The Nudes palette, I instantly made a grab for this super smokey eyeshadow set. If there is one thing I love in a makeup look, it is a little drama around the eyes. I absolutely adore smokey eye looks - and they tend to be my go-to. Which is exactly why I was so thrilled that there was finally a drugstore palette devoted to the dramatic.

What was it like? Did this palette meet my expectations? Before I get into what it did or didn't do....let's take a closer look at the shades themselves. It included some blues, greens, purples, silvers, browns, and even a black. Colour wise, the shade selection was perfect. The set included some great smokey eye colours. There was enough variety there that you could easily put together a number of different looks. Here is a peek at the palette - along with some swatches.

While I applaud Maybelline for bringing palettes to the drugstore.....this was a miss. And I really didn't want it to be a miss. As you can tell from the swatches above, the pigmentation is a hit or a miss. Some shades are absolutely beautiful. Some shades take a lot of work to use. The lack of consistency is what kills this palette. It isn't something I would take with me on a trip or store in my makeup bag simply because I can't make good use of all of the shades included. Such a disappointment!

The highlight? That sparkly silver shade. It looks absolutely gorgeous and is super pigmented. Quite frankly, this is the only stand out eyeshadow in the palette. There are a few decent ones included - but this is the only one that actually wowed me. The low point? The black shade. When I use a black eyeshadow, I expect it to look black. Not kind of grey. Not sort of dark. Black. This does not. It is very difficult to use. I have found myself applying the silver all over the lid and then using a black shade from another palette to complete the look.

Despite the negative aspects of this eyeshadow palette, I was still able to create a decent make look using it. Take a look and let me know what you think:

Overall, Maybelline The Smokes was a miss for me. There were some lovely shades....but more often than not, I was left wanting more. They failed to offer the same consistency that their previous palette offered. And that is a real shame. Would I recommend this? No. There just isn't enough bang for your buck here.

Have you tried this eyeshadow palette? What did you think of it?

xo Shannon