Smashbox BB Water, Art.Love.Color Brush Set & Bestsellers Kit, Review, Swatch & FOTD

I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday. Yesterday I went on a mission to purchase a dress for the ball we are attending next weekend. It was mission impossible considering how much weight I gained in the last two years. I have to start exercising as soon as possible but having a new job doesn't help. I try to remind myself to go one step at a time, like clear the job front, sign up for gym. I usually have the tendency to cop up with things all at once, I like "all or none" but I came to a point it might not work as expected. Long story short, I managed to get a dress, yay! 

This week is going to be super busy so I thought I'd share my thoughts about a few Smashbox products I have been testing recently sooner than later. Smashbox is a brand I was not very familiar to prior to blogging but recently some of their products truly won my heart, such as Bronze Lights and Fusion Soft Lights (reviewed here) and their Contour Kit (reviewed here). I am eyeing Full Exposure Palette too which is a great combination of matte and shimmer. From the products I have tried so far, I am more than impressed how easy to work the textures are and how flattering they look especially on FOTDs since they are designed to picture well. Today I am excited to share my thoughts about Smashbox BB Water SPF 30 Foundation which they is recently released. From their super fun holiday collection Art.Love.Color, I have the Brush Set and Bestseller Kit to show you as well. Right after the jump...

Smashbox BB Water, Art.Love.Color Brush Set & Bestsellers Kit

When I shared the above photo at Instagram, there were many commenter who said that they were were excited about Smashbox Brushes. I haven't tried Smashbox brushes before other than the one which came with the Contour Kit which was less than stellar so I didn't have high expectations on the Brush Set other than the fact that it is a real eye candy. For this year's Holiday Collection Art.Love.Color Smashbox teamed up with an artist from Barcelona, Yago Hortal (check out his page here) and brought his creative and colorful art on their products. I can't stress enough how much I love such kind of collaborations since it makes me learn about the new artist and get some of their art for an affordable price on make-up products. The Art.Love.Color Brush Set is not only very good quality, the handles are so pretty. It includes the following face brushes:

• Foundation Brush: A synthetic flat brush to lay liquid and cream foundation. It has nice density and the bristles are adjusted nicely. 
• Fan Brush: This is a medium sized fan brush to apply powder products with less density, such as finishing powder, highlighter or bronzer. It kept its form nicely after washing and comes in a plastic guard for protection. The bristles are very soft and high quality.

You can see both of the face brushes in the photo below. I liked both of these although I wished there was a Cheek/Face Brush instead of the foundation brush, which I personally don't use. I prefer applying foundation with hand and blend with a buffing brush but some will definitely get a lot of use out of it. Fan Brush is to die for, oh and these are also available separately but with classical red handles.

Smashbox BB Water, Fan Brush, Foundation Brush & Photo Finish Primer

Before I move onto the eyes, a few thoughts about Smashbox BB Water SPF 30 Foundation. It comes in a glass bottle with plastic dropper for application. The consistency is close to serum foundations such as Dior Nude Air (reviewed here) and YSL Fusion Ink (reviewed here), it is very runny so the name "BB Water" is appropriate. Compared to Dior and YSL, Smashbox BB Water is even more lightweight, a little sheerer. It evens out the skin tone but doesn't cover blemishes for which you need a concealer. It has a beautiful skin like finish and it feels like nothing on my skin. I would classify it as a light coverage although it can be build up without getting cakey. It photographs perfectly although it is SPF30 but I didn't try the flash photography so might reflect out there.

You can see below how natural but even my skin looks after Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water. I went for the shade Light for my currently NC20 complexion although I believe Light/Fair would be better in winter. It doesn't dry out my dry to medium skin and lasts well on me. Really loving it, thumbs up!

Before/After Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water Foundation

Thanks to their Best Seller Kit from Art.Love.Color Collection, I had the opportunity to try one of the products Smashbox is known for, Photo Finish Foundation Primer. It feels rich on the skin although it is oil-free. On it the foundation glides on better and lasts a few hours more on me. Since I don't have combination or oily skin, the longevity of the foundations are usually not a problem for me so can't test it too much for that issue but I like the way it doesn't feel heavy and compliments the foundation. Photo Finish Foundation i the kit is 15ml, a little more than the small size primer which is sold out separately for around 14€.

The Best Seller Kit also has a small size Photo Op Eyeshadow Trio in Filter, a mini size of Legendary Lipgloss in Pink Lady as well as a mini sized Full Exposure Mascara. I have very hard to please eyelashes so unfortunately Full Exposure Mascara was not able to hold the curl. That said, this is the case for 95% of the mascaras I have tried so don't rule it out yet. This mascara has a full fat applicator for volume but it doesn't make the lashes very hard, which is a good thing in my book. Be Legendary Lipgloss has a nice texture , minimal stickiness and a long lasting formula. I am not fan of its vanilla scent but on the lips it doesn't bother me. The shade Pink Lady is a nude, which was very unflattering on me. It washed me out. I will try to wear it as a topper on another lip color and hope that it works better. I think this shade would look better for those with lighter and warmer complexion. 

Smashbox Medium Blending Brush, Angled Brow Brush, Lip Brush, Photo Op Trio Filter, Lipgloss Pink Lady

Smashbox Photo Op Eyeshadow Trio in Filter which comes in the Best Seller Kit has half the size of the regular product. The shades are great for everyday so it is easy to understand that this one is a best seller. All three shades are matte and they apply beautifully.

Before I move on to the eye shadow and lipgloss show case here are a few thoughts about the rest of the brushes which came with the Smashbox limited Art.Love.Color Brush Set.

• Medium Blending Brush: It is a crease and blending brush with bristles made of goat hair. It feels soft yet it is directional. It is not perfectly round so falls a little flat. I used this brush everyday since I got it. It is not as long as some of my other crease ones so can be used for more precise application. All thumbs and toes up for this although I don't see it as a separate item to buy because mind you I would order 3 more of these.

• Angles Brow Brush: A medium sized angled brow brush made of (probably) synthetic bristles.  It is a little rounder so not so much for liner work but just for brows only. I hardly do my brows with powder but tried a few times and liked how it worked in general.

• Lip Brush: A nice synthetic brush with a fine tip for precision. I am used to rectangular lip pencils but this one is nice to define the smallest corners with great care. I can see myself using this brush to smudge eyeliner on the lower lash line or apply eyeliner on the upper lash line too.

Swatch: Smashbox Photo Op Eyeshadow Trio in Filter, Be Legendary Lipgloss in Pink Lady

Below I am wearing Smashbox Photo Op Eyeshadow Trio in Filter with a peachy pink Chanel Illusion d'Ombre on top because my complexion needs it a bit cooler. On my lips I have Be Legendary Lipgloss in Pink Lady which washes me out but goes nicely with the eyeshadow trio. You can see that how nicely the eyeshadow blends although I really had no time to blend it. The success is also partly because of the Medium Blending Brush.

FOTD: Smashbox Photo Op Eyeshadow Trio in Filter, Be Legendary Lipgloss in Pink Lady

Not one of my best looks but here you go, a soft everyday look with nude and naturals. I am loving this scarf by the way. I have just found it in my drawer. I must have purchased it during clearance last spring and forgot about it since it is made of wool and not appropriate for summer. Anyway I am happy to meet it again ;-). It is from Codello in case you have the brand where you live too.

FOTD: Smashbox Photo Op Eyeshadow Trio in Filter, Be Legendary Lipgloss in Pink Lady

Jen has also shared her thoughts about the Holiday Sets, in German, check it out here.

Final thoughts: I am loving Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water for good skin days. It is so light weight and evens out the skin tone wonderfully. From Art.Love.Color Collection, my pick is the brush set, it is great value and all the brushes are very good quality. They are also so pretty thanks to the colorful art of Yago Hortal. The set is limited edition, don't miss it.

How do you like make-up brand vs. artist collaborations? Do you like it or are you indifferent about it?

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent free of charge for my consideration. 
I am not paid for this review. All opinions are honest and my own.