Delicate like flower petals, the tender spring tones blossoming right now at Smashbox headquarters are much quieter than last year’s technicolor Heartbreaker release, but I can still hear them whispering sweet nothings to my soul.
Goodies in the new eight-piece In Bloom collection for eyes, lips, cheeks and face (products $20-$48 each) are available now at Ulta, Sephora and smashbox.com.
If Heartbreaker was like cage dancing, then In Bloom is like a Moleskin notebook filled with poetry. 🙂 The release reminds me of the spring release from NARS, with its predilection toward neutrals. Here, too, there’s a lot of super wearable beige, brown, gold and gray going on, but in place of the bright blue, green and purple accents NARS injected into his spring release, Smashbox sprinkled subdued shades of mossy green, violet, pink, peach and coral onto theirs.
In Bloom Eye Shadow Palette, $48
Smashbox arranged the two rows of colors (five each) in this palette so that the each vertical pair makes a color coordinated duo. They’re only suggestions, of course, and the colors are also designed to mix and match. The palette — ballet pink, lavender grey, golden pink, warm taupe, bone, soft violet, marine blue, copper, moss green and nude — includes both shimmer and matte eyeshadows, too.
Cream Cheek Duo in Blushing/Peony, $26
The two cream blushes, one in soft pink and the other in coral pink, in this flexible duo have a matte finish and can be worn on both the cheeks and lips.
Soft Focus Powder Eye Liner in Heather Grey and Dark Brown, $22 each
These powder liners (which look a little like elongated bottles of nail polish, don’t they?) have a sponge tip that makes them a cinch to create soft matte looks in a flash. TIP: Shake the bottles before applying to load the sponge, and then tap off any excess powder from the tip before bringing it up to your lash lines.
Limitless Long Wear Lip Gloss SPF 15 in Timeless and Endless Kiss, $21 each
I’m REALLY excited about these and cannot wait to try shimmery soft pink Timeless and coral pink Endless Kiss. I just 
this gloss formula. Not only is it long lasting on the lips, but it feels so smooth!
Artificial Light Luminizing Powder, $20
Like a quad-core processor, this loose powder is supposed to multitask very well, able to be used as either a highlighter or to brighten skin on the face and body. For a radiant glow, Smashbox suggests wearing it at the inner corners of the eyes, down the bridge of the nose, above the brows and along the tops of cheekbones. TIP: For a subtle super-heroine shimmer, you can even mix it in with body lotion and apply to arms, legs and décolleté.
Photo Finish Lid Primer, $20
This repromoted primer hails from the permanent collection. It’s not listed on the Smashbox website as part of the collection, but it is grouped as part of the release in Sephora stores. It’s a nude matte primer that Smashbox says works on all skin tones, and it comes with a doe-foot applicator.
Photo Set Finishing Powder SPF 15, $28
Another repromoted item from Smashbox’s permanent collection, this translucent loose powder has a big appetite for oil, which it gobbles up while protecting skin from harmful UV rays.
Smashbox In Bloom Spring 2011: Swatches on NC35 Skin
Photo Finish Lid Primer (far left); first row In Bloom Eye Shadow Palette (five swatches in center and far right)
Artificial Light Luminizing Powder (far left); second row of In Bloom Eye Shadow Palette (five swatches in center); Soft Focus Powder Eye Liner in Heather Grey and Dark Brown (two shades far right)
Cream Cheek Duo in Blushing (left) and Peony (right)
Limitless Long Wear Lip Gloss with SPF 15 in Timeless (left) and Endless Kiss (right)
Photo Set Finishing Powder SPF 15
So tell me — does anything catch your eye? 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. TGIF! (You know it’s all I can think about, right? That and makeup, Tabs, Nutella, Ryan Reynolds’ abs, shoes, food…)
Tracy says
January 7th, 2011 at 4:36 pmI’m really interested in those Soft Focus Eyeliners-really cool idea.
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Karen says
January 7th, 2011 at 4:42 pmI thought it was gonna be gimmicky, but it’s actually kinda cool. Do you ever do smudgy liner? It’s really good for that.
Tracy says
January 7th, 2011 at 5:01 pmI do! I will get both of these for sure!
Tracy recently posted … Smashbox Halo Yellow Color Correcting Hydrating Powder
Molly says
January 7th, 2011 at 4:55 pmThat blush is screaming at me to BUY NOWNOWNOWWWW… and the liners. And the.. okay, everything. 🙂
Karen says
January 7th, 2011 at 5:12 pmIt’s super pigmented and has a really nice texture! I hope it has a good wear time. 🙂
Tiffany says
January 7th, 2011 at 4:59 pmMust. Resist. That. Palette. The artificial light powder also looks interesting!
Karen says
January 7th, 2011 at 5:13 pmIt looks like a good work palette, doesn’t it? I like most of the colors with the exception of the very light ones (too chalky on me, but prolly great on you!).
dani@callitbeauty says
January 7th, 2011 at 5:01 pmthe blush duo’s, for sure! i really need to build on my cream blush stash considering i only have 1 at the moment :p
Karen says
January 7th, 2011 at 6:22 pmReally? Have you tried Urban Decay’s new ones? They’re pretty great!
dani@callitbeauty says
January 7th, 2011 at 8:32 pmno, i haven’t! they’re not available in canada yet, i don’t think. which shades do you recommend?
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Jeannine says
January 7th, 2011 at 5:29 pmI keep looking at, walking away from, and then going back to that palette in Sephora (and Nordstrom’s). So far I’ve resisted, but I don’t know how long that will last.
Jeannine recently posted … Holo Comparisons!
snoopysteph says
January 7th, 2011 at 5:40 pmI had that palette in my shopping cart at Sephora.com but just can’t pull the trigger. The colors are super pretty & everyday wearable but something’s holding me back!
kmkz says
January 7th, 2011 at 6:02 pmYou’re right about this being a great palette for work! Matched up with the eyeliners, I think it’ll create a great look for the office. 🙂
kmkz recently posted … burghless- school by March since Im only working 20 hrs a week right now Gotta start paying off these loans
Megan W says
January 7th, 2011 at 6:06 pmI would be interested to try the blush duo and the Timeless lip gloss is really pretty!
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yiota says
January 7th, 2011 at 6:21 pmThe Heather Grey eyeliner looks so good on that model (as well as the entire look) !!! I wanna buy that <3
Ashley says
January 7th, 2011 at 6:41 pmI have an intense addiction to cream blushes right now… I am looking forward to seeing the cream cheek duo in person!
Chris25 says
January 7th, 2011 at 6:45 pmTimeless looks so pretty! I may buy it, despite not being a major lipgloss girl. Btw, Karen, I posted a pic of my sleepy cats on my blog. The black and white female is Rock n Roll and the black male is Jazz.
Chris25 recently posted … Red Creme Nail Polish Swatches
Shanda says
January 7th, 2011 at 7:30 pmpretty on the models but I’m going to pass.
Shanda recently posted … Sephora and Shopbopcom Faces of Fashion
Jenocampo says
January 7th, 2011 at 7:31 pmI tried the creamblush duo…… Fabulous pop of color, highly recommend for the spring!
Nina says
January 7th, 2011 at 8:11 pmi want that palette 🙂
but my little smashbox secret is — i collect their blushes LOL. its either the packaging or just how soft, pigmented and blendable they are… 🙂
mkdallas says
January 7th, 2011 at 10:06 pmSo how do those powder eyeliners hold up, Karen? I swatched ’em both today and liked the way they went on, as well as their soft look…but the reviews on Makeup Alley are the WORST! The main complaint is that they migrate and cause major raccoon eyes in just an hour or two; what’s been your experience?
Kajal Couture says
January 8th, 2011 at 7:20 amI like this color palette a lot. I have started becoming a bigger fan of Smashbox after trying their Halo powder. Have you tried that?
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Vicki says
January 8th, 2011 at 8:51 amI find myself very drawn to the eye palette…. It is pricey but there are alot of colours in there and it’s very pretty.
Saffron says
January 8th, 2011 at 11:14 amWoo those promo photos look majorly 80s! I can practically hear power chords. Mind you, I’m glad to see a lot of curly hair around, for purely selfish and ease-of-finding-product reasons.
Jenn says
January 8th, 2011 at 1:56 pmEek! This makes me so excited for spring! 🙂
Susan Young says
January 8th, 2011 at 4:15 pmSaw the palette in person, ordered it from Nordstrom after swearing off buying more eyeshadows! Sooo pretty and I had this gift certificate…
Sharon says
January 8th, 2011 at 7:42 pmUm, yeah, pretty much everything! It’s got a good variety of untried shades (for me) and I’m really loving that eye palette especially, that and the cream blushes. Plus like others have said it’s ideal for work.
Have a great rest of the weekend!
EB says
January 9th, 2011 at 10:26 amI have the new lip gloss and have not stopped using it. I told my BFF that MAC has some competition as far as I am concerned.
Kim says
January 10th, 2011 at 6:20 amI really like this collection and am intrigued by the liners. I think I may have to try the Heather Grey. The shadows are up my alley too, but I really need to resist more neutrals. Well, honestly, I just get overwhelmed by palettes since one will probably last me a lifetime! 🙂
Christa says
January 11th, 2011 at 3:54 pmSince I missed my email from Sephora telling me the Naked Palette was in ( and immediately sold back out) Ima gonna hafta buy this shadow palette, the liners, the blush, and the glosses!!! LOL does that leave anything out? It’s not very often I love anyone’s entire collection :p. And how nice is it that’ll make a big dent towards this years VIB at Sephora! I just watched the tutorials Smashbox put up on YT (giovannismash). GORGEOUS! I just did a softer focus eye yesterday as I couldn’t be bothered to go all out. Who knew I was actually on trend? Love that!
Vonvon says
January 25th, 2011 at 8:45 pmI like the shades on the bottom row of the palettes!
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kristie says
January 27th, 2011 at 8:02 pmThanks for the beautiful swatches, Karen. What are your thoughts on the eyeshadow palette? Do you like the texture/pigmentation?