Pammy Blogs Beauty: "Smashbox Week" Begins!!! Smashbox "All Day Beauty Kit" Review: Part 1 (The AM Kit)





Sunday, January 9, 2011

"Smashbox Week" Begins!!! Smashbox "All Day Beauty Kit" Review: Part 1 (The AM Kit)



Welcome to "Smashbox Week" on Pammy Blogs Beauty!

This will be a 3-part series reviewing all of the items in Smashbox's All Day Beauty Kit. Since I tend to get all "wordy" and detailed in my blog posts (lol, those of you who know me and my posts well can attest to that!), I felt that breaking down the reviews into 3 parts would work best! This way you will be able to better navigate my posts and find what you would like to read about! So, I officially dub this "Smashbox Week" on Pammy Blogs Beauty!

The reviews will be as follows:

Part 1: The AM Kit (Intro and Reviews for: AM/PM Makeup Bag, Photo Finish Primer, and Photo Finish Lid Primer reviews)

Part 2: The PM Kit (Color Cosmetics Reviews and Swatches: Eyeshadow Trio in Day-to-Date, Blush/Bronzer duo in Soft Lights AM/PM, and Lip Enhancing Gloss in Scoop)

Part 3: The Smashbox Ulta "Free Gift" (3 Smashbox eye shadow brushes and a carrying case)

How I "stumbled" upon this great value of a kit:

Wow, ya'll, I am so excited about this kit!!! Some of you know that I have been venturing into using more liquid foundations. Typically, I am a "powder girl" just some under eye concealer and a quick dusting of powder...and I'm good to go. But as my skin has become drier, I am venturing out into liquid foundations. I really want to pair liquid foundation with a nice primer so that I can get the most flawless application as possible. I mean, if I am going to go to all the "trouble" of carefully applying a liquid...then I want it to look its best!

When I think of primer, I think of Smashbox, so what better place for a "newbie" primer-user to start looking! To me, Smashbox is the gold standard, it always seems to be the primers that all other primers are compared to. Its a "classic"!

Well, I was *thrilled* when I ventured over to Ulta.com to order it that Smashbox was offering the All Day Beauty Kit with a not only a *full-sized* Photo Finish Primer, but also a full sized shadow trio, a full sized blush/bronzer duo, a small sized eye primer, a mesh bag, and some cards with application tips (all this *and* a free gift with 3 eye brushes and a brush case)...all these products for the *same price* as a regular full sized Photo Finish Primer! Yes, this was a total no-brainer as far as me deciding to order. What an amazing value!!! And, what a wonderful way for me to sample a brand that I had never even tried before! Seriously, amazing deal! I hope Smashbox orders some more Special Edition kits like this!




Now on to the Review!!! The AM Kit! 



AM/PM makeup bag:

What a great makeup bag!!! This is a medium sized black mesh makeup bag with 2 zippered compartments. One size is labeled "AM" (and the "AM" products were housed here when I opened the package: both the Photo Finish Primer and the Photo Finish Eye Primer) and the other side is labeled "PM" (with the PM or Color Cosmetics tucked inside).

  • What a cute way to organize things! I could see how this bag would be a very useful size to bring on a short weekend trip! You could put am products and cosmetics in the AM side and your PM products: eye creams, etc on the other size!
  • I am such a fan of mesh or see-through makeup bags as you can *see* the products that you are looking for and eliminate that whole "digging through your purse ordeal"! You can just grab what you want to use quickly.
  • For me, this is an ideal size cosmetics bag for my handbag. LOVE that it is lightweight and has two compartments! I don't really use the AM/PM labeling. But, one side contains my purse sized cosmetics brushes (a retractable blush brush, retractable kabuki, lip brush, and shadow brush) and lip and eye liners. The other side contains my blush, bronzer, and various lip products and moisturizers. What a nice way to keep your cosmetics organized in your purse!
  • Typically, when a set comes with a makeup bag...the bag gets tossed into my crate with all my other "stray" makeup bags that rarely get used. Well, this one went straight into my purse. Now, that says something!!!



Smashbox Photo Finish Primer:

Now lets talk about this primer! After all, this is the whole reason I purchased this set!!!

I am super happy with this primer! Let me give you some background on my skin type: I have primarily dry skin (I get a bit oilier in the t-zone, but generally gear myself towards products for dry skin). If you would like to read more detailed information about my skin type, please click here. A primer is important to me as I don't want my foundation to accentuate any dryness...so, my skin needs to be nicely prepped. Dryness can make fine lines appear: even if you don't typically have them...and liquid foundations can settle into those fine lines. So, I am looking for a primer to provide a nice canvas for my foundation. I also want it to fill in any dry areas and large pores around my nose. Since my skin is not oily, I do not have any trouble with foundation "sliding" during the day nor do I need my primer to mattify.

So, with all that said, here are my thoughts on the primer:

  • I LOVE this silky smooth consistency! This primer just *feels good* going on the skin. I know that this slick/slippery feel is from the silicone. Silicone provides a "barrier" on your skin. It fills in all those pores and creates a very smooth canvas. Yes, the feel is somewhat greasy, but honestly, that is what I expected. Also, with dry skin, this just "felt" good going on!
  • Liquid foundation tritely looks flawless when applied on top of this primer. I also like the look and feel of this product under my usual powder foundation. It just makes my skin look smoother and more even as it allows the foundations to apply to a smoother surface.
  • I did not experience any breakouts following the use of this primer. But, I am typically not breakout prone. Also, I do not wear foundation primer every day. I mostly use this product on weekends when I spend more time on my makeup application.
  • This primer did not irritate my sensitive skin. Yay!!!
  • The primer has a pretty significant "plastic" type smell. The product is not fragranced, but does smell of plastics. While I don't particularly care for the scent, with sensitive skin, I actually prefer that they leave it "unscented" rather than adding a masking scent which in all likelihood would irritate my skin. I always prefer unscented products for skincare.
  • I really like the frills-free packaging. Just a clear tube! Simple and clean design. Love that!
  • Now, this is really one of the very first foundation primers that I have ever tried, so I really do not have anything to compare it to.
  • It is quite pricey. Granted, I got it in a Special Edition set; so, that made it a fantastic value. But, spending $40 on a primer alone is quite expensive! Especially since I know there are some popular lower-priced primers on the market. But, I have yet to try any of those.
  • While I haven't been using this long, I can tell that this item will become a staple in my makeup collection for years to come!!!
Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer:
  • As a huge fan of eye primers in general, I was quite curious as to how I would like this product (stay tuned to Pammy Blogs Beauty, as I am planning an upcoming Eye Primer Comparisons post)! I certainly believe most shadows look better when applied over a primer. I do not have trouble with oily lids or creasing, but do like a primer to increase the vibrancy of the eye shadow color and to increase the length of shadow wear.
  • This primer dries so fast (in a good way)! I love that. You just sweep on the lid with a doe foot applicator, dab with finger, and then it is dry.
  • I was surprised to see that this primer was significantly darker than my skin tone. Granted, I am VERY fair skinned. But, this is certainly the "darkest" eye primer that I own.
  • Shadow applied very nicely over this. Some primers cause the lid to "tug" a bit when blending the shadows, but not this one. It was easy to apply and blend shadow on top of this primer.
  • Shadows wear all day with this primer! Overall, a very nice primer!
Coming soon...the next article in this series:
Smashbox All Day Beauty Kit (part 2): PM Kit, the Color Cosmetics

I hope you enjoyed reading!!! Has anyone else tried this kit??? What an amazing value!!!


5 comments:

Shaylee Anne said...

Looks fantastic!! This must be an Ulta exclusive - I've never seen it! I wish there were Ulta's in Canada, they seem to have some great deals! They actually won't even ship to Canada - Boo!

I'm excited to see the PM side and the free gift! I actually don't think I own ANYTHING from Smashbox now that I'm thinking about it - no wait, I have the Photo-Op under eye brightener which I really like!

I should check into getting some new Smashbox stuff! Sorry for the long comment haha!!

XOXO

Unknown said...

@Shaylee-I love getting long comments from you!!!

And, yes, it is an Ulta exclusive...amazing value. Boo that they don't ship to Canada! I am telling you...based on my experience from this kit (my first Smashbox purchase)...Smashbox is an AMAZING brand...such great quality and everyday wearable items.

Yes, stay tuned for the next post as the eyeshadow trio is my absolute new fav thing!!! Beautiful taupes!!! XOXO Shaylee!!!

Tracy D said...

Pammy - what a great kit! I really like the Smashbox products I have used. The photofinish primer has been a staple for me for years, I believe they have an oil free primer now that I'm curious to try too. I think I spy an eyeshadow trio there, LOVE those. Multi-flash has to be one of my favourites. Looking forward to the week of Smashbox!

Unknown said...

@MyBestBeautyBuys-Hey Tracy!!! So glad to hear that the primer is a long-standlng staple for you! I am loving it!!! Would love to test out the oil free as well! :) And, yes, you do spy an Eye Shadow Trio there!!! It will be in part 2 of my Smashbox Week series (will be posted tomorrow)...and I will go ahead and tell ya...it is my fav item of this whole set! Totally loving Smashbox!!!

Unknown said...

Hey Priscilla! Glad you stopped by my post! :) Yes, these are still at Ulta at mine they were right on top of the Smashbox section. Totally great deal! XOXO!!!



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