Of the seven Cover Shot Eye Palettes Smashbox recently released, one of them is an all-matte palette.
And I won't be buying.
My thoughts on the concept, size, and price of the Cover Shot Eye Palettes can be found here.
Honestly, if there was ever a rehab for buying matte eyeshadow palettes specifically, I should probably check myself in. I don't need this palette. I don't need any more shadows and certainly don't need any more matte shadows. But still, when I saw this palette and saw that the tones were slightly pink and purple, I had a moment where I thought maybe, just maybe, I could buy it.
And then I woke the hell up.
Looking at the swatches on Temptalia, this is what the Matte palette has to offer:
- Yellow-toned cream
- Pink-toned cream
- Mid-tone peach
- Mid-tone milk chocolate brown
- Mid-tone brown
- Peachy-pink
- Eggplant
- Black
Yep, guys. That's what this palette has. And I challenge most everyone to look at their collections and tell me that you don't have every single one of these colors already. Personally, I have these colors probably (not even joking) at least ten times over.
These are the matte eyeshadow palettes I currently own:
- Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye
- MAC C'Est Chic
- Viseart Neutral Matte
- Viseart Dark Matte
- Tarte Tartelette in Bloom (honorable mention)
- Becca Ombre Rouge
And I have previously owned:
- Tarte Tartelette
- theBalm Meet Matt(e) Trimony
- Too Faced Natural Matte Eye
- It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty
- Sonia Kashuk Eye On Neutral
- Urban Decay Naked Basics
Because of my clear insanity with matte eyeshadow palettes, I feel like I have a certain understanding of matte palettes that most people do not. And I would like to share that knowledge below.
But to really hammer my point home, I'm going to show some matte eyeshadow palettes.
From my own collection, the palettes least similar to the Smashbox Matte Cover Shot Eye Palette (though still very similar) include the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye:
Photo: Temptalia
Viseart Neutral Matte:
Photo: Temptalia
Viseart Dark Matte:
And Tarte Tartelette in Bloom (honorable mention):
Photo: Temptalia
Outside of my collection, the palettes least similar (but still similar) to the Smashbox Matte Cover Shot Eye Palette include theBalm Meet Matt(e) Nude:
Lorac Pro Matte:
Photo: Temptalia
Too Faced Natural Matte Eye:
Photo: Temptalia
Sonia Kashuk Eye On Neutral:
Now. These are the palettes most similar to the Smashbox Matte palette.
From my own collection, there's the MAC C'Est Chic:
Photo: Temptalia
And Becca Ombre Rouge:
Photo: Temptalia
Palettes outside of my collection that are most similar to Smashbox Matte include Smashbox's own Photo Matte Eyes:
Photo: Aiishwarya
And the Photo Matte Eye Mini:
The It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty:
Photo: Makeup by Tiffany D
Stilla Eyes are the Window to the Mind:
Photo: Sicilianna Beauty
Viseart Cool Mattes:
Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Quad in Plum:
Photo: Temptalia
theBalm Meet Matt(e) Trimony:
Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics:
Photo: Temptalia
And the most similar, Tarte Tartelette:
Photo: Temptalia
Sorry for the bombardment of photos. But I really felt it proves my point without having to say too much myself.
Here's the thing. I have no idea why I am so drawn to matte eyeshadow palettes. I don't like an all-matte eye look, so these are really just companion palettes for me. But how many companion palettes can one person really use?
And it's funny that I have a large number of matte palettes still in my collection because it really doesn't feel like I have that many. The Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye is really my go-to companion palette, and then I use the Viseart Dark Matte for my darker, more colorful looks. And that feels like all I have. I currently have the MAC C'Est Chic in an end of the year declutter pile, but I'm not totally decided on what I'm going to do with it yet. I treat the Tartelette in Bloom as a standalone palette. The Viseart Neutral Matte has been depotted into a large Viseart palette, and the Becca Ombre Rouge is dedicated to when I need to wear professional/conservative makeup. So it honestly only feels like I have two—one for neutrals and one for colors.
I am honestly embarrassed by the amount of matte palettes that I have owned and honestly still own. And what I can tell you from having owned so many of them is that they aren't special. None of them. Some of the formulas are gorgeous, of course, and are of much higher quality than others (for my recommendations, see the ones still in my collection), but the color selection—for the exception of the Viseart Dark Matte and maybe the Viseart Cool Matte—is just nothing special across the board. Once you have one, that's really all you need, and that's if for some reason you're not satisfied with all the mattes in your collection already.
I love matte eyeshadows. I love what they can do to a look, I love how they compliment, emphasize, or tone down shimmers and glitters, and I love when they blend seamlessly. But really, in all honesty, when you find some good matte shadows that you love, you really don't need to search for any more. The Shade and Light Eye has become the most used palette in my collection, and I might even like it more than the Viseart Neutral Matte (maybe). The only thing it's really "missing" for me are plum shades, which is why I purchased the MAC C'Est Chic palette. But I have plum/berry matte shadows in:
- Lime Crime Venus palette
- Ciate London Pretty palette
- Ciate London Smokey Suedes palette
- Inglot custom palette
- Anastasia Beverly Hills custom palette
And because of this, I absolutely do not need to buy another matte palette just because it has some pink, plum, or berry tones.
I haven't seen or read many reviews of the Matte Cover Shot Palette yet, but based on swatches that I've seen, the colors do not look impressive whatsoever. I also find it disappointing that this palette looks so similar to the existing Smashbox Photo Matte Eye palettes. As I've mentioned, it seems as though Smashbox copied the color scheme of popular palettes throughout their Cover Shot line, and with the Matte palette, it's like Smashbox copied their own stuff. I do think this palette has the potential to work for many different skin tones, but I think it still skews primarily for people with fair skin.
On the whole, I think the Matte palette has a really uninteresting color scheme. I think at this point, if a brand wants to add a matte palette to the already saturated market, it has to have a functional and interesting color scheme; be of the best, unimaginable quality; or be of unimaginable quality with a very inexpensive price tag. And the Matte Cover Shot palette isn't any of those things for me. At $29, I think the price is not bad, but I also think that within the same price range, it would be a better buy to go with the Lorac Pro Matte. The swatches of the Smashbox Matte palette look dry and potentially patchy, so I doubt the formula is anything noteworthy. Personally, I hope that my matte palette buying days are over. I have every color I could ever want, and I'm just not interested in adding more, especially a palette that has a common and uninspiring color scheme. There's just nothing special about this palette other than the fact that it has only matte shadows, and I won't be buying.
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