L.A. Colors Smokin' 16 Color Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

Sometimes you find those rare hidden gems at the drugstore and just want to buy them in every color. That's what happened to me after I reviewed the L.A. Colors 16 Color Eyeshadow Palette in the shade Sweet back in the fall (see review here). I picked it up for $4 at Five Below but then they disappeared and I couldn't get the other shades and I was so bummed. This week, I was looking around at Kmart and saw that they now carry L.A. Colors! So I picked up another 16 Color palette in the shade Smokin' ($3.99 at Drugstore.com) which is filled with gorgeous jewel tones and smoky shades. The best part? It was $3.99! 

I won't get too much into detail here because the packaging and formula is the same as the more neutral one I reviewed back in the fall (check out that review for a more in-depth look). These have a very soft, buttery texture that picks up easily on a brush (or your finger) and really packs on the pigment! The one drawback is a lot of fallout and some flakes(you have been warned!) but if you're willing to put up with that, you'll get 16 crazy-pigmented eyeshadows for under five bucks...totally worth it in my opinion, even if it's just to play and experiment with.

Shade-wise, this reminds me of the Urban Decay Vice Palettes...not any one in particular, but I see similar shades from all of the different versions, especially these beautiful jewel tones. There aren't any matte shades in here...they all range from slightly shimmery to fairly chunky shimmer (mainly just the white and off-white shades).

These are swatched over bare (just moisturized) skin, no primer. They get even more bright and bold over a base, as you can probably imagine. Either way, they're gorgeous, dontcha think? 

If you live near a Kmart I highly recommend checking these out the next time you're there. They certainly don't live up to Urban Decay or Lorac's eyeshadow formula, but they're amazing for the price and certainly beat out more expensive drugstore versions from Maybelline, Revlon and L'oreal. 

If you can't find them near you, they're available on drugstore.com for $3.99 each. There's also a really pretty neon version called Haute, as well as the neutral one, Sweet that I reviewed back in October! :) 

Have you tried these palettes yet? What are your favorite budget-friendly eyeshadow palettes? 

L.A. Colors 16 Color Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

I was at Five Below last week and spotted some 16 Color eyeshadow palettes from L.A. Colors that I hadn't seen there before, and they were only $4 (you can find it at drugstore.com here for $3.99).  They had a few different ones but this one caught my eye because it has some beautiful nude shades but also some greens and a navy blue. It's called Sweet and there are two other versions...one with bright shades called Haute and a smoky one called Smokin. Let's take a look! 

LA Colors 16 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Sweet

L.A. Colors Eyeshadow Review and Swatches- Jumbo Eye Pencil, Little Black Book, Color Spark Palette, Little Black Book

These days, I'm loving L.A. Colors for their bold, pigmented makeup and super low price points.  Last week, I reviewed some nail polishes from the L.A. Girl line, so this week, I wanted to review some of the eyeshadows from the L.A. Colors line.  

First up is the Jumbo Eye Pencil.  This creamy crayon comes in 24 shades and is a total dupe for NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil, for a fraction of the price.  This one costs $1.75, so it's easy to stock up on a ton of colors without shelling out a lot of money.  

This shade is called Bikini Time and is a really pretty iridescent purple.  This pencil works on its own as a cream eyeshadow, as an eyeliner, or as an eyeshadow base.  To minimize creasing, I recommend using it over a primer, but even without primer, this didn't crease too much on me.  Here's a swatch of Bikini Time:

To purchase the Jumbo Eye Pencil, click here. 

Next up is the Color Spark Palette in Electric.  This palette comes in 3 different color combos- this one has lots of blues and purples. 

At only $3 for 10 shades, this palette is such a steal!  Plus, the complimentary colors can be blended together to create different looks. 

Here are the swatches in the same order as the palette- top row left to right followed by the bottom row left to right:

To purchase the Color Spark palette, click here. 

Next is the Little Black Book Palette in Natural (also available in Glam or Smoky).  This little book is so small, it fits in the palm of your hand- perfect for travel!  It comes with 15 shades and is only $2.  Inside the front cover is instructions on creating a natural eye look. 

The swatches are left to right, top to bottom:

To purchase the Little Black Book, click here.

Last up is the eyeshadow pot, which comes in 24 shades.  At $1.20 

each, these are such a bargain! This pot is a large size, so you're really getting a lot for your money, plus these are just as pigmented as eyeshadows that cost many times this much. 

To purchase the Eyeshadow Pot, click here.

Have you tried L.A. Colors yet?  What are your favorite products?