delicate hummingbird.: brand: SMASHBOX

Showing posts with label brand: SMASHBOX. Show all posts

Aug 18, 2011

Smashbox Fusion Soft Lights in Blushing Pink.

today i want to show you the Smashbox Fusion Soft Lights powder in Blushing Pink. it came in the BCA (Breast Cancer Awareness) set together with Smashbox' #19 Face & Body Brush which i bought on ebay some time ago. i've reviewed the brush here, but since i haven't found a good use for it, i sold it away.
Blushing Pink is a limited edition shade for the particular set, i paid 67$ for both products together (plus 14$ shipping) while the brush costs 52$ regularly and a Fusion Soft Lights powder normally retails for 30$.
the powder contains 8.6g and comes in a rubberized screw top container with clear lid. it contains 5 stripes of different colours which are too narrow to reach individually with a blusher brush, but one could concentrate on either side to achieve different colour results.
there's a pale white pink, a mauvey blueish pink, a tan pink with gold shimmer, a blueish barbie pink with least shimmer and a shimmery bonbon pink. the shades mix together to a rather light cool toned pink with shimmer and a almost frosty sheen. the colour reminds me of MAC's Well Dressed blusher, but applies more intense and a lot more shimmery.
it's not too powdery and has a good pigmentation. it applies and blends easily. however i find this colour a bit too cool and too light on me. some might like this effect of a very cool toned baby pink blush on tanned skin, but at the moment i don't like that look at all. especially since i find the shimmer in this blush quite unflattering, it makes my skin look thick and greasy and emphasizes on enlarged pores.
also i think this colour looks a bit barbie-ish and does clash with many eye make up looks. other than grey or brown it's hard to find a look that won't get a slutty touch to it when worn with this blusher, to be honest (at least on my skin tone). it looks quite unmodern on me.

Smashbox Blushing pink in sunlight: each colour stripe swatched heavily - last swatch is everything mixed together.

Smashbox Blushing Pink in Sunlight: all colours mixed together heavily swatched & blended out.

tihilw

without blusher - with Smashbox Blushing Pink

Jul 30, 2011

brush weekend II: Smashbox Face & Body Brush #19.

this time it's about the Smashbox #19 brush. i bought it on ebay as a BCA (Breast Cancer Awareness) - set together with the Fusion Soft Lights in Blushing Pink (that will be the matter of another post ;) ).
the brush is also available in the regular design with deep red handle in the permanent range of Smashbox and retails for 52$; i paid 67$ plus 14$ shipping for the set. a portion of the profit was initially donated to the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund of the US, i think this is a good cause.
the #19 Face and Body Brush is a huge kabuki type brush with a thick and long handle (which is pink in the BCA set ^^), it's very dense and fluffy.
the thick handle makes it a standing brush, but i find the base to be not totally even so it still jiggles around.
the brush is sturdy and washed well but needed 3-4 washes before it stopped bleeding dark dye. it only had minor shedding and doesn't shed while usage. since it's so big and dense, it needs over a day to be completely dry.
it's made with rather soft natural hair, the official site says that they used a squirrel substitute, which i think is just fine goat hair.
i've heard a lot of great reviews for this brush, how soft it was etc., but i admit that i'm not wowed by it's actual softness. it's about the same softness like my MAC 182 kabuki (maybe even a bit less), and not as soft as the MAC 181 for example. btw, the feeling is far away from real squirrel.
although it's sold together with the Blushing Pink Fusion Soft Lights, i don't find it suitable for blush or highlight application at all (--> too huge), what i would assume the Blushing Pink to be.
it could be a nice mineral foundation brush, even though i find it to be a bit weak at the center, it kind of splays out. but i'm not a mineral foundation user, so i can't really evaluate this.
to benefit from its size, it's best used as a body bronzer/highlighter brush. while i still don't have a serious function for this brush, it just stands there and is nice to look at. maybe i will try it to apply my self tanner with, i've seen an interesting video about that on youtube by MakeupByAlli.