Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara - Review

I think I love testing mascaras because it's pretty hard to have a bad reaction to them. A mascara is not likely to cause a break out (not like I break out often, though), I don't have to worry about the color not really "going with" whatever else I'm wearing, so I can wear it every day for weeks, and I don't have to worry about the color not working with my skin tone. I've tried samples of Smashbox mascaras before, and they tend to be middle-of-the-road in terms of performance. With my last order from Smashbox.com, I selected a deluxe sample of their newest mascara, Full Exposure.

According to Smashbox:

Inspired by the on-set technique of layering a lengthening fiber mascara over a volumizing formula, our new studio-tested mascara exposes your longest, fullest lashes. No clumps, no flakes. Just maximum-impact, scene-stealing lashes. • 104% increase in lash volume • 32% increase in lash length • 34-degree increase in lash curl Go on set at Smashbox the day Full Exposure came to life.

For $19, you get a shiny black tube that has the name of the product in white, with a red "x" on it, as an accent. The packaging is fairly standard, nothing terribly excited or depressing about it. Since I only have a sample tube, however, mine is small. The brush is a fiber-type, which I greatly prefer, and seems huge in my sample tube. I'm certain the brush head is full size. Because it's so big, it's hard to maneuver - I usually need to remove the excess mascara that manages to make its way onto my eye lid or under eye area. Not a huge deal, but it's an annoyance, and requires an extra step.

I don't curl my lashes, and I don't particularly notice this mascara making my lashes appear more curled. I can say this mascara seems to add length, and a bit of volume. I find the percentages given by Smashbox to be a bit laughable, though. I don't see 104% increased volume in my lashes. And 32% length? How's that measured, exactly? My lashes certainly appeared longer, but I don't know if they really are a third longer with the mascara than without.

This mascara doesn't wear particularly well on me. I have oily lids, and have found this mascara can begin to melt off a bit, and irritate my eyes. This only occurs during super warm days, where I've been wearing makeup for 12 or more hours though.

This mascara removes very easily, which I really like. Sounds silly, but I'd rather not have to use a ton of eye makeup remover, or have to really scrub my eyes to remove mascara. My eye makeup remover removes this very easily.

Overall, this is a mediocre mascara. It's not amazing, but it's not trash, either. It's merely a decent, average, mascara. If it didn't migrate or flake into my eyes, I'd like it more. As it is, though, it's not bad.

Smashbox Photofinish Light Primer - Review

Are there any products that you feel are so hyped that they must be garbage? That everyone associates with a brand, and they promote the crap out of it, and the brand pays of it wins magazine awards? Well, Smashbox's Photofinish primer is like that to me. I don't want to like it, because I can't believe it's any good. Good products stand on their own, right? A brand doesn't need to convince us to buy it, if it really works - we'll find it, buy it, and recommend it to friends on our own.

Rant aside, I am drowning in Smashbox samples (seriously, if you haven't ordered from their website, you are missing out - 1 free deluxe sized sample with each order, 1 more if you're a Pretty Points Member, and there's Let's Do Lunch for Pretty Points Member... freebie overload!). I decided, after finishing my Korres silicone free primer, I should give these a shot, so I picked the one I felt would best suit my needs - a light-weight, nongreasy primer that will improve the wear-time of my foundation, and help prevent my oily skin from defeating my makeup by the end of the day. Here's what Smashbox says about Photofinish Light:

Our latest primer innovation! Our new oil-free, 60% water based primer is ideal for oily, acne-prone or sensitive skin. This silky blend of vitamins and antioxidants helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and pores for visibly softer skin and can be worn alone or under foundation to increase its longevity. The revolutionary formula has oil absorbers for a smooth matte finish all day, light diffusers to minimize the appearance of imperfections, and vitamin C and peptides to help even skin tone and promote collagen production for a flawless future.

I long to have a nice, luminous-yet-matte, finish. My skin, however, has other aspirations. My pores, like most people who share my oily skin type, are large, especially on my nose, and chin. I'd like to have a primer that helps minimize them. I can't really say that Photofinish Light does this. I believe it does help control oil a little, but I'm not completely matte at the end of the day. I'm pleased to see my foundation is still present on my face, and it hasn't migrated.


Photofinish Light is a white gel-textured primer that blends to clear. It does not offer any SPF value.


This primer doesn't cause my foundation to "stick" to my skin, though. It will still transfer onto my phone, hand, etc, which is sort of annoying. Photofinish Light leaves that silicone-y feel on my skin, and doesn't seem to cling to any dry areas.


A full sized tube is $36 for 1 ounce. Occasionally, QVC or Sephora will offer a larger size at a value price ($49 for 2 ounces at sephora.com). I like this well enough to consider purchasing it, once I've run out of options (which will probably take forever). I don't know if I'd run out now to buy it, though.




Ingredients:


Water (Aqua), Cyclopentasiloxane, Polysilicone-11, Butylene Glycol, Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Carbomer, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Triethanolamine, Decyl Glucoside, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Hexylene Glycol, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Oligopeptide-10.

Smashbox Brow Tech Trio - Review

Brow powder has to be the most unexciting thing to shop for, ever. At least it takes forever and a day or so to finish, though. I had a $10.00 Pretty Points certificate from Smashbox that was close to expiring, and decided to use it towards a product I've been overly curious to try, so for a mere $14.00, I selected the Brow Tech Trio in Soft Brown/Taupe (this product retails for $24.00).


Smashbox says:

We took one of our most popular core products and made it even better. Our brow trios have 2 shades of hair color-coordinated powders for a perfect match every time. Fill in brows with the lighter shade, define with the darker, then use the wax to seal them in place all day. Pair with Angle Brow Brush #12 for flawless application.

I was drawn to this product originally because it does have 2 shades of powder. It appears they no longer sell the single-color pot of brow powder, however, you can by just the brow wax here.


Although I have red hair, my brows are a disappointing brownish taupey color. I pray every day that my hair doesn't fade to this color as I age. If it does, I'm totally going to try using henna to get back the red. Moving on... I'm not close to finishing my MAC Brow Shader in Buttery/Blond Taupe (like I said, it takes forever to finish brow stuff), but I wanted something new, and in particular, I wanted to try Brow Tech, because it is almost always mentioned as a great brow product.

Not surprisingly, the colors of the powders are a soft brown, and a taupe. Like my brows, they are both ever-so-slightly cool. The wax is clear, but definitely provides some "shine" to my brows after I've applied. I appreciate that Smashbox didn't divide this trio into 3 equal parts, because I use the wax more than either powder. I'm still working with the colors to make the best match for my brows, since neither color is dead on, however, I like the ability to create a stronger brow by using more of the darker colored powder, or a softer brow using more of the lighter color. Both powders are very nicely pigmented, and easy to work with. I'm really liking the effect of the wax, as well. I've never had an issue with my brow powder migrating around my face or anything, but the shine is nice, but subtle.


I used my MAC 266 or 208 to apply the powder and wax, and I don't clean my brush after using the powder, as you can tell. After applying the wax, I use a brow brush to fix my brows where I want them (and I have a wild hair or two that just want to stick out a little - the brushing helps reign them in a bit, and ensure the wax is distributed evenly).


Overall, this is a sold product. It's easy to use, pigmented, and does what it should. I think it's a little pricey, however. $24 for a trio that's the same size as the standard MAC (or Smashbox, for that matter,) eyeshadow is a bit much - I wish it were a little bigger. The size issue isn't a terrible problem, since you could depot this and put in a palette, if you wanted to. Additionally, I'm fairly confident, that I won't run out of one particular shade before the other, and the wax hopefully will last as long as the powders, assuming it doesn't dry our or harden in any way. The Brow Tech Trio has it's good points, and it's bad. At this time, It's a suitable replacement for my Brow Shader (that doesn't need replacing, since I have at least 50% left). I'm not convinced I'll repurchase.

Smashbox Soft Effects Powder Eyeliner - Review

I'm a girl who loves her brown liner. Really. I wear brown liner every. single. day. Being pale, black often looks way to harsh, and most the shadows I wear look better with brown liner. I like deep brown liners, because they provide better definition than lighter browns. I don't mine matte liners, but I tend to like some sparkle.

After spending years ignoring Smashbox, I finally gave the line a try about 2 years ago, and I'm fairly impressed with the products they offer. Now that they're part of Estee Lauder's cosmetics empire, I'll be curious to see what changes will be made to their formulas. Anyway, I've been lusting after their Soft Effects Powder Eyeliners since they debuted in Smashbox's Spring 2011 collection, and finally had the $22 to plunk down (and got a nice Let's do Lunch freebie). After some hemming, I decided on the shade named "Brown." Smashbox's description of this product is:

The prettiest eyes nowadays are defined by diffused, never-harsh lines of color. Our unique powder formula makes application easy by mimicking the effect of a soft-focus lens.

This liner comes in a long, cone-shaped package. The applicator is similar to that of Guerlain's Kohl Liners, except it's a sponge tip, not plastic. It's... uhh.. interesting. The sponge-tipped proboscis is stored in a super tiny jar of liner powder. The problem that comes with this product is this: it's fallout prone. I really struggled with applying this liner without getting liner on the tops of my cheeks, and it think it was because I found it sort of hard to shake off enough powder before taking this product to my lid. I did find, however, the length of the applicator made it easy-peasy to make a winged-out liner look.

That'd almost be a saving grace for the Soft Effects liner, except I also noted this product isn't extremely pigmented, nor is it long-lasting on my lids (after the fallout issues, I didn't feel wearing this on my lower lashline was an option. I tried it. Once. I learned very quick it wouldn't work for me). About half way through my day, this liner had faded substantially. By the end of my day, it was gone.

Overall, I really wanted to like this product. It just didn't work, and it extremely expensive for something that doesn't last all day.

Ingredients:

Boron Nitride, Silica, Dimethicone, Polyethylene, Pentylene Glycol, Pumice, Kaolin, Dimethiconol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Mica (CI 77019).

Smashbox HyperLash Mascara - Review

For the last year or so, I haven't bought any new mascaras. The reason for this absurdity became clear at the end of last year (err, 2009), when I was looking for extras for a swap and I realized I had almost 15 unopened, untested sample-sized mascaras, and I WAS CONTINUING TO BUY MASCARAS. WHY?! So, rather than buy any new mascaras, I thought I'd use one sample per month to work my way through them, and to see what I had been missing from all of these other brands. Some I have reveiwed over at MUA. This one, however, will be reviewed here. Behold! I give you - Smashbox HyperLash!!

Alright. Now that that is out of my system, let's continue. My lashes have darker roots and light, nearly blonde, tips. I wear black mascara almost exclusively, because I love a bit of drama (I always wear eye makeup, and don't care how heavy it looks at times - if I like it, I'll wear it, thankyouverymuch). I dislike rubber-bristle wands, as I feel they don't coat my lashes. I don't curl my lashes (*gasp*), mostly because I don't think I have to (or I'm in denial, take your pick), and I'm lazy. HyperLash is the second mascara from Smashbox I've tried, and like the first, LashDNA, I like it. It doesn't wow me, but I'd consider buying it, maybe.

From Smashbox.com: "Rev up your lashes with this high intensity all-in-one mascara that lifts, lengthens, volumizes (sic?), and defines. The unique dual applicator has a brush on one side, and a comb on the other for beautifully full, amazingly long, clump-free lashes in seconds..." Holy adjectives, Batman!

First, the wand:

This does have rubberized bristles, however they're small, fine, and seem to work way better than LashBlast from Cover Girl. My lashes actually get coated with mascara! There are two different "sides" to this wand. One side of the brush features bristles that are all the same length. The other has bristles that get shorter towards the tip, which is awesome for getting the inner corner, unless you like applying mascara to your eye lid.

I like lengthing and definition from a mascara - oh, and I LOVE volume. This mascara seems to do a little bit of everything. It doesn't excell in one area, nor does it fail in any area. It's just a basic mascara. Does it deserve all of the superlatives Smashbox gives? Not really, for my lashes. It is a nice, black mascara, though. It looks truly black, and I don't find my naturally light tips peaking through.

With an MSRP of $21.00, I don't plan on purchasing this mascara on it's own. I'd rather go with MAC's PlushLash or DazzleLash, since they're around $13.00.

**This review is based on a sample sized tube that came from smashbox.com. There is a belief that sample size mascaras are a different formula than the full size tubes, but... I don't know.