Looking for makeup inspiration? Look no further, the Smashbox site is here to help...
Hitting the town on a VIP-style night out? If you’re after some inspiration for a hot new makeup look, Smashbox is the site to check out. Celebrities like Julia Roberts, Madonna, Giselle, J Lo and Drew Barrymore are all fans of the stuff.
Smashbox Cosmetics was started by Dean and Davis Factor, great-grandsons of makeup legend Max Factor. Their makeup is totally gorgeous - I don’t own any but I sure as hell want some after visiting the website!
Fans of the brand can purchase the cruelty-free makeup online, or you can use their makeup guides to recreate a celebrity-worthy look from your own supplies.
The appearance: You can easily navigate the site by lips, eyes, body, or whatever type of makeup you’re interested in. Then there are sections like What’s New, What’s Hot, Expert Advice, or, my favourite, Get the Look. The Get the Look section has about 20 different “looks” and step-by-step instructions on how to do them by yourself. I really liked the Soft Bronze Lids look and the Watercolour look.
The content: As expected, the site is a shrine to makeup. Most of the sections are dedicated product information and prices, but the Expert Advice and Inside Smashbox sections are worth a look. You can also find the four New Zealand stockists through the “store locator” section, placed on the bottom-left of the site. For the budget-conscious, there’s a section called Curtain Call, which has some of their cosmetics at discount prices.
The extras: I liked the fact that if you wanted to, you could purchase an entire “look” with one click of the mouse (eg the Classic Smokey Eye look gets you primer, concealer, powder, the total works). It’s a pricey way of doing it, but it’s a nice touch. You can also create a personal Beauty Profile based on hair colour, eye colour and skin tone. Smashbox then recommends products that should suit you – good for the makeup newbies among us!
Overall ranking: 9/10 Smashbox is my first stop for makeup inspiration, but they get a minus-point because their lovely cosmetics are so hard to get hold of!
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