ProductWhores

Smashbox and Santigold - Spring 2014 Collection

I am totally digging this new limited edition collection by Smashbox and Santigold.  It looks stunning - can't wait to actually get my hands on it all in person in April!

For this exclusive collection, Santigold plays with the notion of approaching the post-2012 Golden Age - an age where the earth as we know it ceases to exist, revitalizing itself and morphing into its own beautifully balanced, utopic mirror image. This is a world where the earth, stars, humans, aliens and all co-exist harmoniously.

She’s partnered with Smashbox to create this vivid and playful color range, influenced by her strong creative sense. Already known for her mix-and-match sensibility, Santi is encouraging her collage style with this collection. From the themed, shade names to the one-of-a-kind ring design, she’s blended her style, hand-crafted artwork, fashion sense and love of color to create this exciting summer line.

ABOUT SANTIGOLD: Santigold is a genre-defying musician, style renegade, and visionary artist across multiple platforms celebrated for her fearless ability to fuse unexpected elements into bold new work.  An artist whose perseverance relies on invention, her singular aesthetic has made her a major muse watched by the inspired world. Her sophomore album, Master of My Make Believe became her first #1 album, topping the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart. She's won an ASCAP Pop Music award (Vanguard Award), and has been nominated for a Q Award, MTV Europe Music Award, and BRIT Award.

COLLECTION INCLUDES:

Eye Shadow Collage: Featuring Santigold’s distinctive collage art, these palettes includes 5 shades of our luxe wet/dry shadows to mix and match any eye look. ($36)

Shades: Earth As We Know It (kelly green, soft sparkling cream, dark matte blue, dark sparkly forest green, raisin with rosegold pearl), Apocalypse Now (shimmery teal, sparkling pewter, matte black, shimmery oyster, bright golden orange).

Be Legendary Lip Gloss: These one-of-a-kind glosses can be worn alone or layered over other shades to give them new life. Show-stopping color. Non-stop shine. Never sticky. GOLD ALL THE TIME. ($20)

Shades: All Gold E’rything (sheer copper sparkle), Hot Lava (orange red)

Be Legendary Lipstick Ring: A Smashbox first! This collectible snake-pyramid ring is adorned with Swarovski crystals and has a

limited-edition shade of Be Legendary Lipstick hidden inside. ($49)

Shades: Still Kickin’ (soft golden coral)

Double-Ended Limitless Eye Liner: Eye liner for the new era! These double-ended liners let you master your own make-believe. Mix and match the bold colors to create endless versions of you.  ($24)

Shades: Azurite Is Never Wrong/El Dorado (bright blue/soft gold), Yellow Dwarf/Green Martian (bright yellow/mint green)

Nail Polish Art Strips: You’ll have the world at your fingertips with these exclusive, mistake-proof nail strips. Designed by Santigold and @TroubleAndrew ($49/Set)
Designs: Serpent Charmer & Eye of The Beholder

Available on Smashbox.com, Sephora, Sephora Inside JCPenney, Ulta, Nordstrom, Beauty.com and select Macy’s on April 1.

Be Legendary

I am actually not a huge lipstick wearer (honestly, I'm a sucker for glosses) but I cannot get enough of the new (limited edition - eeeeeeekkk) Fade to Black Be Legendary Lipsticks shades by Smashbox.  Both colors are stunning (although Cognac is my fave and has become my go-to for Fall)!  Yeah, the colors are killer, but the formula is what really put me over the edge of excitement - super hydrating, glossy and just all around lovely.  How the heck have I not known about these lipsticks before?!  I feel like I was living under a rock and now that I've been set free I've been to Sephora and bought a number of the shades.  I gotta say - best lipstick I've owned.  While all the shades in the collecion are pretty - the real keeper is of course Cognac (the limited edition bad boy) so I of course bought two back-up (I'm insane like that).  Retails for $20.00.

Note: A sample of this lipstick was sent to me by a PR representative working with Smashbox.

Fade To Black...

I am so excited for fall.  Cooler weather, pumpkin lattes, sweaters, boots... and best of all, fall makeup!  I always tend to gravitate towards the fall and winter collections as my favorites of the year and so far, it hasn't been any different in 2013.  My favorite fall palette so far (because there are so many more to come - yay!) is the Fade to Black Photo Op Eye Shadow Palette in Fade In from Smashbox.  Love, love, love.  It has seven different shadows in it - matte warm ivory, matte flesh, shimmery taupe, matte chocolate brown, khaki with golden shimmer, matte dark chocolate and black with gold pearl.  It's such a good combination of light and dark shades, as well as matte and shimmer finishes.  It's perfect for creating both neutral looks for daytime and sparkly looks for nighttime activities.  The black with gold pearly shade is so, so pretty - it manages to be sparkly, but not gritty at all, so it's super easy to blend and it makes for a fabulous smoky eye.  I love the packaging too - it's super sleek and portable.  Easy to travel with, easy to throw in your bag in the morning to touch up your makeup after work if you're heading out without going home.  Just fabulous all around.

The other palette in the Fade to Black collection is the Fade Out palette.  I don't currently own this one yet, but oh, it's coming.  Look at that purple glitter all the way to the right.  It must be mine for that shade alone!  These are the shades in that palette - soft pastel pink, soft shimmery silver, soft matte grey, violet with multicolor sheen, earthy brown with subtle sheen, deep matte purple, black with cranberry pearl.  How can you not want to own a shade that's described as black with cranberry pearl?  I'm not made of stone, people!  I've also been looking for a great purple shadow palette recently because I'm sick of all the ones I have and I like using purple with my green eyes, so this one perfectly fits the bill.  They're each $42, so it's a little bit of a splurge, but nothing too budget busting.  I know what my makeup purchase this weekend will be...  

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Smashbox

Put On Your Halo

I'm in a major foundation phase right now.  I'm not sure why - maybe it's just all the new ones that are coming out for fall - but either way, I feel like I'm trying one new one after another lately.  One of my faves is Smashbox's new Liquid Halo HD Foundation.  The HD friendly formula comes in ten different shades and has an SPF 15 in it.  It's oil-free, so that's a bonus for any of you looking to make your face less shiny.  (All of us during the hot summer months?)  The formula has a Liquid Light Technology that gives your skin a natural, radiant finish because the microscopic, gel-covered pigments mimic photo filters to blur imperfections.  I found that it did a great job at evening out my skin tone and really does blend in incredibly well - it's almost impossible to tell that you're wearing foundation once you blend it in.  My only issue with it (and this is just a personal thing) is that it delivers sheer to medium coverage, and I personally prefer a tiny bit more coverage in my foundation for when I go out at night.  I don't mind the sheerer formulas during the day, but I love a little bit more in the evening.  I did love the finish on it a lot - it was more of a luminous result than a matte one, which I like better.  On me, it lasted through a full day of work before I felt like it needed to be touched up, so I consider that a definite plus.  (How much do we all hate those foundations that quit on you by lunch?  They're the worst!)  Overall, I would say that this is a great choice in a foundation if you like one with fairly sheer coverage (almost like a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream) but if you're someone looking for one to hide even the tiniest of imperfections, you might want to try a sample first before you buy.  Viva la Smashbox! 

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Smashbox

Enjoy The Heat Wave

You guys, it's like a thousand degrees in Los Angeles right now. And that's a conservative estimate.  It's so hot that I've given up on any pretense of not using my air conditioning and have just left it on around the clock.  (That's going to be a fun bill!) It's the kind of hot that makes me grumpy, so I'm very happy that Smashbox's new summer Heat Wave products arrived to take a little sting out of my sweatiness.  It's like the makeup Gods knew I needed a pick me up!

The Heat Wave Eye Shadow Palette is a collection of ten different shades, all in colors I would describe as "soft."  (I have no idea why that's the word that comes to mind when I open the palette, but it is).  There's a good range of shades - everything from blues to golds, but they all apply fairly sheer (although you can deepen the color by layering them or using them wet).  The shadows all blend easily, but they do have a little more fallout than I'm used to from Smashbox, so just be aware of that and keep a Q-tip around to fix it before you head out.  It's the perfect summer palette - easy to use on the go and perfect for day or night.  Pick it up before, like the summer sun, it's gone forever. (Or maybe just until next year. One never knows...)

The other Smashbox summer must have is their Heat Wave Lip Gloss Set.  You get four glosses in shades of pink, orange and copper, all the perfect size for tucking into your bag.  They're not sticky (my pet peeve in a gloss) and they're semi-sheer, so great for the summer when you want to just gloss and go.  I love lip gloss sets because realistically, how often do you use an entire tube of color?  Barely ever.  So this lets you get a range of shades for $29.  So worth it.  Now if I could only get the temperature outside below 95 degrees...  

Note:  Samples of the above were sent by a PR representative working with Smashbox

Master Class

I need another palette as much as I need a punch in the face (in case you're wondering, I do not need to be punched) but the Master Class Palette II by Smashbox is just too pretty to pass up.  Yeah, yeah, it's 59 bucks but the value is crazy considering how much you get.  This is one of those palettes you won't regret buying two seconds after you get it home.

Contains:

- 28 x 0.04 oz Eye Shadow in Linen, Nectar, Champagne, Vanilla, Golden Orchid, Peacock, Flamingo, Ambient, Chestnut, Mocha, Java, Serpent, Flirt, Mist, Parfait, Opal, Dusk, Rose, Amethyst, Anchor, Haze, Obsidian, Aubergine, Ultramarine, Bliss, Wheat, Sable, Blackout
- 4 x 0.03 oz Cream Eyeliner in Bronze, Midnight Purple, Picasso, Caviar
- 3 x 0.09 oz Blush in Carnation, Flush, Geranium
- 3 x 0.09 oz Bronzer in Rosy, Suntan, Warm Apricot
- 2 x 0.35 oz Soft Lights in Lens, Shimmer

Megatint!

Smashbox's new Megatint Long Wearing Lip Color sounds like a cosmetically-inclined incredibly-sexy superhero who can navigate complex make-up application in a single bound!   And oddly enough, the name (and superhero connection) actually fit the product extremely well!  I'm usually not a fan of long wearing anything (sounds like I have commitment issues as I type it) but really, it's because usually long wearing means incredibly drying.  Not the case with Megatint.  While it doesn't hydrate it definitely doesn't strip moisture and the color stays true for an incredibly long time.  I love the shades (I am especially obsessed with Mimosa which is a really pretty coral, perfect for summer) and love the thin applicator (no mess-ups when it comes to application).  I like that I can wear a lipgloss over it for extra shine, but the coral color sticks around through my many morning cups of coffee (yeah, so what, I have a caffeine addiction).  Retails for $20.00.

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Smashbox.

Love Me

You guys, I have a ridiculous amount of eye shadow palettes.  Like, the drawer I'm storing my favorites in keeps getting stuck shut because one of them gets wedged up and blocks it from opening.  You'd think me having to force open a drawer four times or so a week would convince me to store some of them elsewhere, but I just can't bring myself to do it.  What if I want to use one in the morning and it's downstairs?  That would just be tragic.  So instead, I rearrange them constantly, hoping that'll prevent the blockage, and hold my breath every time I go to open the drawer.  It's kind of sad.  But the real point is, I have a lot of eye shadow, so when I see a palette that makes look twice, it's kind of exciting.  Which is how I feel about Smashbox's new Love Me Eye Shadow Palettes.  How adorable is the one above, with its Love Me message?  So cute!  (And for those of you wondering, the overlay with the words lifts up and out of the way so you can use the shadows easily - you don't have to try and work around it, which is much better than I originally thought).  The Admire Me palette above is a great neutral palette and since it's not big, it's a lot easier to pack for a trip than a lot of my other favorite (but bulkier) nude palettes.  The other palette in the collection, Entice Me, is more colorful, with a mix of pinks, purples and blues, so they're both equally useful, but for different looks. I'm kind of obsessed with them right now.  How can anyone not adore a palette with the word "Love" IN IT?  Someone with a heart of stone, that's who!

Note:  A sample was sent to me by a PR representative working with Smashbox  

Color Me Green

You know how every once in a while, you're putting on a product you use every day and think, "Damn, this thing is amazing.  How would I ever live without it?"  That's how I felt this morning about my Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer.  It's such a staple in my morning routine that I don't even really register that I'm using it anymore, but then I'll forget to put it on one day because I'm running late or something and I'll notice such a difference that I instantly make a mental note not to forget it ever again.  I've probably written about it here before, but I just kind of had to reiterate how fantastic it is.  I use the Color Adjust - Green shade because my skin is really sensitive and tends to get red when it's irritated (Or when it's cold.  Or windy.  Or just because it feels like it.  It's really annoying).  The green tint tones down a lot of that redness while the primer makes my skin perfectly smooth for the rest of my makeup and helps it last all day.  It really is a wonder product.  And it comes in a lot of different Color Adjust shades, as well as the original clear color, so there's one for you no matter what you're trying to fix.  If only the rest of life was that easy...  

HD Healthy FX Foundation

With Sephora's VIB weekend, of which I will never pass up indulging in the 20% off discount, I decided to try some products which get tons of great reviews online to see if they live up to the hype.  While I love Smashbox eyeshadows and liners I had yet to try a foundation until I picked up HD Healthy FX Foundation with SPF 15.  This foundation is spectacularly amazing - with killer coverage (which looks super natural), great staying power and is so soft on the skin - no stickiness at all!  This is definitely my new HG foundation and all of you who were raving about it were right on!  I tend to have dry skin and a lot of foundations with moderate coverage flake on the edges of my nose, but not this one!  It's actually rather hydrating and I am so impressed with how well it evens out my redness and makes my face look stunning. Love, love love it and I recommend everyone give it a try - you will not be disappointed!!