Overview

Rating: 3/5 stars ★★★☆☆
Price Tag: $10 USD
Weight: 0.49 / 14 g
Where to Buy: Online at eyeslipsface.com

e.l.f. now has four similar palettes—the Made for Matte, Need It Nude, Day to Night, and Everyday Smoky—though they are listed separately online. I decided to try the Everyday Smoky since the Need It Nude palette looks almost identical to the e.l.f. Holiday 2014 Perfect Eyes palette, and also because it looks like a Naked palette dupe.

e.l.f. is a cruelty-free brand that is almost entirely vegan, with the exception of a few Essential line brushes.

Packaging

The packaging should look familiar as it is identical to the one used for the Prism Eyeshadows (my review here). The case is a satin black plastic, with the words “everyday smoky” printed below the e.l.f. logo. The bottom had a silver sticker with the word smoky printed on it. The packaging feels sturdy and has a sleek profile that’s perfect for traveling.

Front and bottom of the Everyday Smoky palette.

Inside the palette are spaces for ten individual shadow pans, as well as a large mirror on the underside of the lid. Unlike the Prism Eyeshadows, there is no applicator well.

Formulation

The formulation is similar to previous e.l.f. eyeshadow offerings in that the quality and color pigmentation are inconsistent.

The matte shades are the worst with sheer finishes and spotty pigmentation. There’s also one of those e.l.f. glitter shades that barely holds together, making it nearly impossible to apply.

Closeup of the e.l.f. Everyday Smoky Eyeshadow Palette

On the other hand, there are a few shadows with very smooth finishes. I really like the buttery texture that some e.l.f. shades have, though only a few have that here. The rest are mostly dry and powdery.

Fallout is a concern for a few shades, particularly the darker ones and that glittery champagne shade.

I usually use the shadows dry, but I did try them wet while testing the palette for this review. Overall the finished result looked a little smoother and slightly less muddy, but also more subdued. The metallic shades were generally not as shimmery as when they were applied dry. The matte shades I tried didn’t look any better; in fact they were lighter and more sheer than when used dry. The only shadows I noticed were better applied wet were the pearl white and gunmetal shades.

Shades

I don’t wear a ton of dark shadows, since I don’t think my eye shape benefits from them, so I mostly stick with the left side of the palette.

Overall I think there’s a good mix of light, medium and dark shades. One problem I have is that the shades can get muddied during application because they have pigmentation issues. Using a good primer can help prevent that.

Not really that smokey…

I know most people describe this as a cool-toned palette, but I feel it’s more neutral. I think that’s because we typically associate nude palettes as neutral when they’re actually on the warm side. These shades are all fairly neutral with few standing out as significantly cool or warm.

Looking at the shades again, I’m not sure that smoky is a good name for it. Really just the four right shades are smoky. The rest are mostly browns, tans, and taupes. I suppose the Everyday part of the name sums up the palette.

None of the shades have names.

Swatches of the e.l.f. Everyday Smoky Eyeshadow Palette.

I’ll start with the leftmost shade and work my way to the right.

Off White [Pearl]

A pearly white. Fairly good pigmentation, though it’s a little sheer. I use this as an inner corner highlight. Not too shimmery, but it does catch the light.

Beige [Matte]

I sometimes try to use this shade in my inner corner, before switching back to the first white shade. I cannot get it to show up at all. It’s very sheer and close to my skin tone. There’s very little pigmentation and it has a chalky formulation.

Champagne [Glitter]

Don’t even bother with this shade. It’s so glittery it barely holds together. You might try using it wet to get it to stay together long enough to apply it to your lids. Watch for the fallout.

Light Taupe [Matte]

I like to use this as crease color. It can be used as an all over lid color, or inner corner highlighter for those with darker skin tones. It has a very sheer finish and can be a little patchy.

Bronzy Mauve [Metallic/Shimmer]

I use this shade most as a lid color and it’s my favorite in this palette. It’s buttery smooth and applies evenly, though it can get muddy if worked too much. There’s a slight purplish undertone to it.

More swatches of the e.l.f. Everyday Smoky Eyeshadow Palette.

Coppery Brown [Metallic/Shimmer]

Sort of a darker shade of the previous color, or at least in the same family. There’s a hint of purple undertones in the shade. It’s very pretty, but can be a little sheer. Also has a nice buttery consistency.

Dark Brown [Matte]

I typically use this dark brown shade in the outer V of my eye. Like the other matte shades, it can be sheer and patchy.

Dark Grey [Matte]

A very dark, but sheer, grey. Pigmentation is patchy. I hardly wear this shade.

Gunmetal [Shimmer/Glitter]

Nicely pigmented and quite dark, this gunmetal is reminiscent of the Urban Decay shade Gunmetal. Lots of fallout here.

Black [Matte]

A very pigmented black shade. You can wear it as a crease color or liner. It’s not as sheer or patchy as the other matte shades. You’ll probably experience some fallout during application.

Dupes

I have two other palettes that I feel are similar to the Everyday Smoky palette.

e.l.f. Everyday Smoky Eyeshadow Palette vs e.l.f. Perfect Eyes Palette.

First up is the Perfect Eyes palette from the e.l.f. Holiday 2014 collection. While it looks nearly identical to the Need It Nude Eyeshadow Palette, there are also a few similar shades to the Everyday Smoky palette. The Perfect Eyes palette is warmer in the photos than it is in person. I think the gold shade is throwing off the other colors.

e.l.f. Everyday Smoky Eyeshadow Palette vs Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Collection in Naturally Gorgeous.

I also thought there was some similarities to the Hard Candy Top Ten Eyeshadow Collection in Naturally Gorgeous. The palette didn’t photograph well as it looks very yellow in the images. Like the Perfect Eyes palette above, I think the gold shades are throwing off the rest of the colors. But since I took photos of the two palettes together, I guess they’re not as similar as I first thought.

Images

Final Thoughts

Pros: Budget-friendly, good mix of shades & finishes
Cons: Powdery consistency, pigmentation issues, some fallout

Sometimes e.l.f. puts out a really great palette and sometimes they don’t. While I don’t think the Everyday Smoky is a bad palette per se, I don’t think it’s one of e.l.f.’s best either. In the end the Everyday Smoky palette is a mediocre eyeshadow palette and that’s disappointing.

Due to consistency and pigmentation issues, I don’t really recommend this palette. I think they’ve made better palettes in the past. If you are interested in trying it, I would suggest purchasing it during a sale. The e.l.f. Studio Prism Palette in Naked would be a better option if you’re looking for a neutral palette.

That said, e.l.f. can put out similar products and they will have completely different formulations. Just because I’m not a fan of this palette doesn’t mean the other three suffer from the same issues.