For their spring 2013 collection, Smashbox has collaborated with world-renowned artist Curtis Kulig and brings us a collection that is quite pretty to look at twice. They sent over a few items for review consideration. Each item in the collection is etched with Kulig’s iconic “Love Me” mark making them quite the collector’s item.

The Love Me Eyeshadow Palette in Admire Me contains five neutral shadow colors that complement all skin tones and can be used to create both day and evening looks. Three of the shadows (the champagne, gold, and peach colors) have the most luxurious finish. It seriously feels like satin gliding across the skin and the finish is very luminous with a touch of metallic—very J. Lo. There’s one matte (the peachy brown), but the only reason why you can call it matte is because it has no shine to it. Other than that it’s just as silky as the others. The last shade (the deep brown) is more of a satin finish with bronze shimmer. The wear on the shadows is awesome, too—I got six hours before they started to fade WITHOUT a primer (you of course want to use primer or a base with your eye makeup to ensure a full-day without creasing—I test without one to see how pigmented an eyeshadow really is). My only gripe is that because of the way the palette is shaped, it may be harder (totally not impossible though with an eyeshadow brush) to get to the colors that are on the smaller and slimmer side.

Love Me Blush in Poppy Pink is a soft peachy pink with a matte finish. It has a smooth feeling to it and wears about seven hours. While it shows up after a few layers on darker skin, this is better suited for those with lighter complexions looking for a nice peachy pink that doesn’t overwhelm. Smashbox has a great range of blush shades in their regular line that suit more skin tones.

I also received Limitless 15-Hour Wear Cream Shadow in Stone (not part of the Love Me collection), a greenish-slate cream shadow that can be used alone, as a base, or as eyeliner. I love these in shades Icon and Riches—a makeup artist used them on me during a press event at Sephora a few months ago so I was excited to check out Stone. It would make for a nice base for a smoky eye look, but I personally wouldn’t wear it alone because it shows up quite silver on my eyes and can get very “Andy Warhol’s Factory Girl” (which is okay if that’s the look you’re going for) but I would have to pair it with something else for my own liking. The 15-Hour claim was a little bit of a stretch on this one since I noticed fading after six hours. I do remember the other shades I tried lasting longer but don’t recall the exact amount of time because I wasn’t in full-on test mode at the time…lol.

Bottom line: If you have a penchant for pretty limited edition things, you can’t go wrong with the Love Me Eyeshadow Palette in Admire Me. Love Me Blush is nice to check out if you have fair to tan skin. I’d skip Stone and check out the other colors in the Limitless 15-Hour range.

See more of the Love Me collection here.

Prices and where to buy: (see widget below)

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About Danielle

New York City freelance writer, Image Consultant, Makeup Artist, Fashion and Beauty Producer for Bag Ladies Radio, and President of Urban Glamour, LLC. I'm a Hofstra University and Fashion Institute of Technology grad with a penchant for pretty and enjoy bringing out the FIERCE in everyone through personalized thorough image and makeup consultations. Think of me as your style and beauty entourage all wrapped up into one bubbly brown package :) I have had the honor and privilege of working backstage at NYC Fashion Week shows like Karen Walker, Jayson Brunsdon, Sabyaschi, Altuzarra, and Bridal Market Week for Vera Wang. You can also find me running around photo shoots doing makeup and styling. If you have a style or beauty question, contact me. Your question could be featured on the site!

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