Smashbox: Hot New Cosmetics Products Reviewed

Here are three new products from Smashbox, rigorously tested in the field and reported here for your reading pleasure. Like all of our previous product reviews, we encourage honest, unbiased reporting, and feedback from our readers! Don't agree with our review? Let us know!

Mascara adverts often promise long luscious lashes, enticing you to buy, brush then flutter flirtatiously. Yes, the models' lashes look long and seductively thick, but is this a realistic outcome? You know... without the airbrushing?

My biggest beef with mascara is the raccoon eye. Though mascara may look lovely on the lashes when first applied, after a few hours, the majority of it seems to migrate to the bags under my eyes. That's why I am happy to report that Smashbox Hyperlash Mascara (top left) is truly an exception.

After putting it on in the morning (it survived an entire day of work and two frazzled rush hour commutes) my lashes stayed thick and smear-free. I continued to test the product well into the evening, wearing the mascara through after-work drinks, and then a hot, sweaty concert. This was perhaps the ultimate test, and the product passed with flying colours. No smearing or smudging, and my lashes were still thick and dark when I got home that night.

Smashbox claims that it's Hyperlash Mascara's staying power is due to the naturally delivered peptides and antioxidant-rich Vitamin E which helps to protect and repair lashes.

Another great eye product is Smashbox's Brow Tech To-Go (at right). Personally, my eyebrows need no thickening help. My brows make Brooke Sheilds' look like Snooki's. However, I tried the product anyway and found that it actually did help with shaping and contouring the brow. I passed it to a fairer haired friend of my mine who promised I would never see it again. The product is two-sided: on one end, there's an angled, long-wearing and waterproof pencil that is enriched with Vitamin C and a soft-hold gel that contains moisturizing jojoba and on the other, a brow brush applicator.

Smashbox's Limitless Long Wear Lip Gloss was the third Smashbox product I tested. With this third product, I'm still on the fence. The shade I've been wearing is called "Boundless" (at left) and each time I've worn it, admittedly I receive compliments. I do love the colour and also appreciate the SPF and long lasting formula.

However, what I didn't like was the sticky factor. With just a bit of wind, I was pulling bits of hair and leaves (just kidding) out of my sticky lips. Plus, it doesn't seem to be the most kissable lip coat. I recommend reserving this for when you're going out in tame weather on a night where you have no intention of sharing a smooch.

Emer Schlosser
		About the author:
		Always a fan of words in various glorious forms – novels, dialogue, lyrics, etc – Emer translated her passion into a writing career in 2005. She has since supplied gossip on celebrities to Canadian Press, interviewed individuals from the arts for Inside Entertainment, expressed her fondness for food for Cheese Boutique’s blog, & co-founded, edited and contributed to iheartthemusic.com. At the moment she’s taking the mystery out of Green Living and providing some great tips on Home Renovation, Decorating & Design and Curb Appeal to the members of casaGURU.com. casaGURU, “the homeowner’s home online”, is a free web community that connects homeowners and local house experts.
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