It’s SMASHBOX Full Exposure vs. LORAC PRO Palette 2. They are very similar and both come with a free gift (yeah!) but there can only be one winner! So who will it be? Click after the jump to see the breakdown and see which comes out on top. 

 

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette - $49 @ smashbox.com nordstrom.com.

What It Is: A set of universally awesome neutrals that includes how-tos for six different eye shapes. This versatile palette includes 14 must-have neutral shades—from nudes to blacks—in long-wearing shimmers and velvety smooth mattes. The clearly organized palette—shimmers on top and mattes on the bottom—makes them easy to work with, and the kit also includes a breakthrough eye shape chart to achieve your most gorgeous look, along with a dual-ended brush to use with both formulas, and a bonus Full Exposure Mascara sample. 

- 7 shimmer shades (top row): Chocolate Brown with Golden Pearl, Deep Golden Brown with Gold Pearl, Soft Gold with Gold and Silver Pearl, Light Tan with Gold and Silver Pearl, Golden Wheat with Gold Pearl, Midtone Slate with Silver Pearl, Rich Grey with Multicolor and Silver Pearl 
- 7 matte shades (bottom row): Matte Warm Chocolate Brown, Matte Midtone Brown, Soft Matte Midtone Tan, Creamy Matte Beige, Soft Light Taupe, Ashy Dark Brown, Suede Black 
- Get-the-look eye shape chart 

* Full Exposure Mascara deluxe sample 

My Take: Good selection of colors and effects and if you like nudes, this would be a great palette to own and the price is right. As expected the quality of the shadows is really nice and blendable and I’m pretty obsessed with the disco-inspired Suede Black, which is the bottom right color. Wowza!

Lorac Pro Palette 2 - $42 @ loraccosmetics.com and ulta.com. 

What It Is: Go PRO with LORAC PRO Palette 2! The sequel to our original, best-selling PRO Palette and created by celebrity makeup artist Carol Shaw, this PRO artistry palette is packed with 8 Shimmer and 8 Matte Eye Shadows in all the cool shades you need to create the hottest looks straight from the Red Carpet. LORAC’s velvety-smooth shadows are infused with soothing botanicals and are ultra-pigmented to perform wet or dry so you can shade, shadow, line and define your eyes, just like a PRO.

Top Row: 8 matte shadows: Buff, Lt. Brown, Cool Gray, Nectar, Plum, Navy, Charcoal, Black
Bottom Row: 8 shimmer shadows: Snow, Beige, Rosé, Mocha, Chrome, Silver, Jade, Cocoa

*Mini Behind the Scenes Eye Primer Included

My Take: As you can guess by the #2, this is the follow up to the first one, which I never tried. Like the Smashbox one, it also has a nice selection of shades and effects but I think this collection of colors is more vast. There are some good basic shades in this palette but also some uniques, which I tend to favor as I have more than enough basics to turn to.

So which palette wins the palette war? I’d say the one from Lorac! Overall, I just like that this palette has more of a color selection than the Smashbox one does. I mean both have quite a few shades in common (matte black, a matte nude, a buff color, a shimmery beige and shimmer pewter) but then they each branch out on their own.

I’ve swatched my favorite shades from each palette below. Which do you like better? 

Smashbox from L to R: Ashy Dark Brown (think greige), Slate w/silver pearl, Chocolate Brown w/golden pearl, Rich Grey w/multicolor and silver pearl.

Lorac from L to R: Cocoa (dark shimmer brown), Chrome (medium taupe w/hint of lavender shimmer), Cool Gray (grayish taupe), Plum (dark plum purple). 

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.