New from Smashbox — Favorites & Fails

Smashbox has been so generous in flooding me with new releases! I’ve already reviewed their color correcting sticks HERE, but shortly after sharing that post they sent me a bunch more products within a few weeks, so I decided to share my reviews on each of the products that are new from Smashbox with you in one (big) post! While there were several products that have quickly become favorites of mine…a few weren’t so amazing. Let’s dive right in!

Press SampleAffiliate Links

New Products from Smashbox

The first few products new from Smashbox they sent me were the Photo Matte Eyes palette and their new mascara primer paired with other mascaras from them. I was also super excited to see that they included a full sized Smashbox’s 24 Hour Photo Finish Eyeshadow Primer. I’ve heard great things about this, so was curious to see if it would hold up against my very oily eyelids!

Photo Matte Eyes Palette

Retail: $49 | Click for Ingredient List & More Information

You know I love mattes — matte eyeshadow, matte lipstick, matte anything — so of course I did a little happy dance when I realized that this new palette from Smashbox had only matte shades. My cup of tea!

It was nice to see they included a brush with this palette — and that it was actually a nice quality brush. I’ve used it for almost all the eye looks I’ve done with this palette, and have really enjoyed it. Works well!

As you can see from the shadows…this isn’t the most pigmented palette. But I almost think that it’s soft on purpose. They’re very soft and buttery and blend easily. They just take a while to build up the color to full intensity on your eyelids. But for me, I found it took me longer than typical to complete a look.

So…yeah, I don’t think this is a matte eyeshadow palette I’ll pick up very much. In fact, I will probably end up passing it along to one of my sisters who’s just started wearing makeup. Which might be the ideal person for this palette — someone who is beginning to learn how to apply shadows. It would be hard to mess up with this palette, and since it blends so well, they wouldn’t have any issues. Just might take longer to complete a look than when using, say, a LORAC PRO palette.

24 Hour Photo Finish Eyeshadow Primer

Retail: $20 | Click for Ingredient List & More Information

This looks like a silicone primer that blends away to nothing. It does not give any color correcting properties, which doesn’t bother me. I was SO excited to find that this held up my eye looks just as good as my Holy Grail primer that I’ve used for years. I typically wear my eyeshadow for 13-14 hours, and no other primer has been able to keep my eyes crease-free. Not even the cult favorite Urban Decay one (sad, I know). Nothing has ever worked 100% except for my HG and, now, this one. I highly recommend!

Photo Finish Lash Primer

Retail: $22 | Click for Ingredient List & More Information

This lash primer has the most unique wand I’ve seen in a while, but it actually works really well to give the lashes a good coat. It can start to clump the lashes together if you go through it too many times, but two or three passes with the wand gives each of my lashes a good coat. I, personally, didn’t see a huge difference when I used it and when I didn’t. Not to say that it didn’t add volume — it did add a little bit — but not enough for me to warrant a $22 repurchase.

Indecent Exposure Lengthening Mascara

Retail: $22 | Click for Ingredient List & More Information

I really loved using this mascara as a first-step in my mascara routine. The small wand made it really easy for me to get close to the lashes and give them a nice, even, layer. It also added some length — which I loved — and played well when I would layer a volumizing mascara on top. Honestly, I preferred to use this mascara as a primer, instead of the one above.

X-Rated Mascara

Retail: $22 | Click for Ingredient List & More Information

This wand is also unique with it’s triangle-shaped bristles and fast became a favorite of mine to layer on top of the Indecent Exposure mascara. I can’t say I like to use this on it’s own — without a primer-type of mascara applied first, this tended to want to clump all my lashes together. But applied on top of a volumizing mascara….it made the perfect duo for me!

Full Exposure Mascara

Retail: $22 | Click for Ingredient List & More Information

In my eyes, this is a traditional mascara wand and — for me personally — it isn’t my favorite. I feel like I don’t get a whole lot of length or volume, but I have been reaching for it on the days when I have minimal makeup on and want more natural lashes. But this just isn’t what I look for in a mascara, so I don’t plan on repurchasing.

Always On Matte Liquid Lipsticks

Retail: $24 | Click for Ingredient List & More Information

And now for my favorite new product from Smashbox — their new liquid lipsticks! I get so excited whenever I see an announcement of a brand coming out with liquid lipsticks. I know the market is currently swamped with them…but I can never have too many!

I was sent 10 of the 20 lipsticks they released, and among the ones I received was the color “Bawse”, which is the collaboration Smashbox did with Lilly Singh. I don’t follow her personally, but I do know that she is a comedian on Youtube.

I really like that while Smashbox released a bunch of neutral colors, they also have some funky ones. There’s a lip color for everyone in this collection! All of the lipsticks swatch super opaque — these arm swatches are just two swipes.

The applicator is shaped like a spade and has a little hole in the center that keeps just the right amount of product on the applicator. Whenever I apply this to my lips, I never have to go back into the tube to get more. The consistency is a mousse consistency and it dries down pretty quickly, too, but not too fast. All of the shades apply very pigmented — one swipe is all that you need. Miss Conduct can be a little patchy, but that is typical with darker colors.

The wear on this is fantastic! I did an 8 hour wear test on Snapchat a few weeks ago — re-watch it HERE — and it held up impressively well. The initial application held up through drinking and eating two meals, and even though it had faded at the corners of my lips by the end of the test, it still looked great everywhere else. In short, I love these liquid lipsticks….and I think they’ll quickly become my favorite go-to matte liquid lipstick out of my entire collection (and I have a lot of liquid lipsticks!)

And there you have it — a lot of fantastic products that are new from Smashbox…and a few that just didn’t work for me. Now tell me, which ones have you tried, or are planning on trying?

---

Any questions about my disclosure, read here. Thank you for your support!