If there’s one colour in blush that makes me swoon harder than anything else… it would have to be coral. So when Smashbox threw together a blush and highlight compact centered around coral… well… 

Available as of April 2016, Smashbox has released the L.A. Lights Blush & Highlight palette in three different shades: Pacific Coast Pink and Culver City Coral (available at Sephora and Beauty Boutique) and Malibu Berry (available at Beauty Boutique). These palettes feature two blushes alongsidea perfectly matched highlighter centered around the palette’s colour theme (pink, coral and berry).

The pans are encased in an incredibly slim and sleek compact with a mirror that encompasses the entire lid (thank you! So appreciated!). Each individual pan nets you 2.9 grams of product.

The pans are appropriately sized so that I can get even my largest blush brush in there, so you needn’t worry about these being small! There is no dust kick up even when I rub my brush into the pan which is a really nice since I hate when blush powder goes flying everywhere. That being said, these aren’t hardpacked blushes either (you know, when you have to practically scrape at the product to get colour payoff?). The consistency is what I want in ALL of my blushes – no dust kick up, excellent pigmentation and not hardpacked.

Each palette features a “Rich”, “True” and “Highlight” shade. Pigmentation was incredible across the board on all shades, although I will point out that the Highlight shade works more on me as a blush since it does have a decent amount of pigmentation and isn’t just a sheer wash highlighter.

Here’s how the shades look on my face:

Wearing True Coral

Rich Coral is definitely the darkest shade in the palette, but it’s the one I had the most fun with. You can go for a super pigmented look like I’ve gone for, or tone it down my applying a little bit less. (I’m not wearing any highlighter in these shots.)

From the side, of Rich Coral looks a bit less pigmented in my eyes, but still as stunning as ever. You can see it in action as I’m wearing it in my April Favourites video (and pssst, there’s a giveaway in that video!).

Wearing True Coral & Highlight Coral

In these shots I’m wearing True Coral on my cheeks and Highlight Coral on my cheekbones.

Highlight Coral is very low in sheen compared to some of the other highlighters I have, but still beautiful.

Final Thoughts

I can’t say enough good things about this Smashbox Culver City Coral trio! Seriously. This compact is incredible! The blush shades are *exactly* what I’m looking for: pigmentation and colour are second to none! The highlight isn’t exactly what I personally go for since I look for a bit more reflective qualities but that’s my personal take on it. In general, it’s an excellent soft focus highlighter that complements the blush shades very well. I know tons of people are going to appreciate the fact that the guesswork is taken out matching your blush and highlighter because this palette does it for you. The pigment on all of the shades were holding strong after a full workday for me and never looked patchy or faded. If you couldn’t already tell… I *LOVE* this product!

The Smashbox L.A. Lights Blush & Highlight palettes can be purchased on sephora.ca for $40 CAD and on sephora.com for $35 USD.

The product featured in this post was sent to me for review.