Smashbox Image Factory and Love Me collections
First picture, left to right: Airbrush Whipped Cheek Color in Berry Bliss, Love Me Blush in Idolize Me
Second picture, left to right: Love Me Lip Enhancing Gloss in Adore Me, Charm Me
Third picture, left to right: Swatches of Adore Me, Charm Me, Berry Bliss, Idolize Me
Let’s start with Airbrush Whipped Cheek Color, which was part of the fall 2012 Image Factory collection. Smashbox describes the blush as a “super blendable, mousselike blush for airbrushed-looking cheeks,” with “ultrafine pigments” that “minimize the appearance of imperfections for a flawlessly radiant glow.” The blush comes in two shades, the peachy nude rose Dusty Rose and the red-based soft plum Berry Bliss.
I received Berry Bliss for review and, I must say, that mousse texture is awesome. It feels squishy and bouncy when you press down on it, but it crumbles a little when you drag your fingers or brush through to gather up color. Nevertheless, Berry Bliss is quite pigmented, and takes a bit of playing with to make sure you don’t grab too much product. I was able to build a healthy-looking glow with Whipped Cheek, and the product feel very weightless when you apply it. It was also easy to blend, and though I’m not sure about it looking “airbrushed,” it had a very smooth finish. The only downside I experienced was a fairly short wear-time—only about three hours—which honestly is pretty disappointing. But the blush’s other great qualities—good pigmentation, smooth finish, interesting texture—help make up for that flaw. I wish it had been released in more shades (maybe a pink, or more straightforward red?), and I hope it gets added to Smashbox’s permanent line eventually.
VERDICT: B+. Good texture and pigment, but that brief wear-time is a bummer.
AVAILABILITY: $29 at Beauty.com.
Moving on to Smashbox’s Love Me collection, let’s look at Love Me Lip Enhancing Gloss.
According to Smashbox, the Love Me Lip Enhancing Gloss will “give your pout, high-impact, pop-art shine,” and will help you “breathe new life into your matte lipsticks”; “apply a coat of this gloss for a lustrous finish.” Two shades were launched: Adore Me, a reddish pink with multicolor sparkle, and Charm Me, a pinkish nude with similarly multicolored sparkle. These lip glosses come in fairly standard packaging—a tube with a doe-foot applicator—and, to be honest, information on them is fairly lacking. Smashbox has another version of Lip Enhancing Gloss, and information about that product says it is “ultra-moisturizing,” with vitamin E and sunflower seed oil, and it’s supposed to go on “smooth” and last for “hours.”
With that info in mind, I tested Adore Me and Charm Me, which are both quite sheer and a little tingly upon first application. Adore Me is very fuchsia on the lips and Charm Me is very caramel; the texture is fairly sticky but not very thick; and I got about a two-hour wear-time with these, with significant fading and transfer during drinking or eating. The best thing about these shades is that they are exceptionally shiny and shimmery, and they’re nice for a natural look with a little more punch. But are they the shiniest glosses around? Doubtful; they’re not even as shiny as Smashbox’s own Reflection High Shine Lip Gloss. And I think the descriptor of “lip enhancing” is a bit misleading—it’s a nice gloss, but nothing extraordinary. A good product, but not a great one.
VERDICT: B-. I really love Smashbox’s Reflection High Shine Lip Gloss, but Love Me Lip Enhancing Gloss isn’t that special—the short wear-time is disappointing, and though the shades are very shiny and shimmery, they’re not exceptional.
AVAILABILITY: $19 each at Smashbox.com.
And finally, let’s consider Love Me Blush in Idolize Me, the only shade available. According to Smashbox, this is an “ultra-luxe blush” that “brings the flush,” and the words “love me” and hearts are embossed like graffiti on the surface of the powder blush. The embossing doesn’t go all the way down through the blush, but I think the pattern will continue for a while as you keep using it.
Idolize Me is a warm, peachy pink with a very little amount of shimmer, and it seems quite perfect for spring. It provides a very natural flush, but because the power formula is a little dry, I got a good amount of blowback when I ran my brush through it. Nevertheless, it blends well and doesn’t look dry on cheeks, and I experienced a longer wear-time than the Airbrush Whipped formula—more like four or five hours than three. Love Me Blush is also quite pigmented, so it will take a little work to figure out how much product will work for you. But that’s not a bad thing, is it? The main flaw here, really, is that the blush is too good. It’s a good problem to have.
VERDICT: A. Good pigmentation, good wear-time, good color. Get it before it’s gone!
AVAILABILITY: $28 at Nordstrom.com.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The products featured in this post were provided to Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog by the manufacturer or their public relations company for review. Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog posts are inspired by personal experience and opinion, and are not paid for or influenced by the manufacturer, PR company, or any other organization unless mentioned.
Photos by Roxana Hadadi.
In middle school, Roxana Hadadi was a cosmetics-scorning tomboy; in high school, a glitter eye shadow- and black nail polish-loving trend kid; in college, obsessively committed to dying her hair unruly colors that upset her mom. Now a bit older and a bit more mature, she’s trying to figure out what hair, body and cosmetics products will work for her, you and your family in About Face, Chesapeake Family’s new beauty blog — and she’ll leave the sparkle makeup and neon highlights in the past. Roxana also writes movie reviews for Chesapeake Family’s Popcorn Parents blog.
