Smashbox Soft Lights Shimmer Review – Glam Radar

by Maria · November 15, 2014

I was introduced to Smashbox Softlights a few years back when I swapped for one with a friend. These large blush/highlighting/bronzing pressed-powders give the skin a lift with glowing colour and a silky finish. There are several variety of the Softlights Powder including duos, Fusions (striped versions) and various Limited Edition designs. Today I’m reviewing the original, plain Soft Lights. These are finally available in Australia at Zuza and selected Perfume Connection stores for $44AUD.

Smashbox says – Get a gorgeous lit-from-within glow with this silk-like shimmering powder. The illuminating formula softens the way light reflects on your skin and wakes up your complexion for a radiant look. Best of Sephora Award Nominee for Best Blush.

To apply –
Swirl a fluffy blush brush in the powder and sweep onto cheeks as you would with a regular blush or highlighter. Brush onto cheeks, temples, the bridge of your nose and chin for all over glow.smashbox-soft-lights-shimmer-review

My thoughts about Smashbox Soft Lights Shimmering Powder :

 I love the Smashbox Soft Lights! Their generous sizing makes application easy as your brush has plenty of space to pick up the colour, they’re finely milled and leave a beautiful ‘lit from within’ glow minus glitter chunks. The colours, although limited, are flattering and fool proof.

Pros – -Generous size – these will seriously last forever! At 10 grams the Softlights are the same size as Mac Beauty Powders or MSFs, 4 grams larger than a regular Mac blush more than double the size of a NARS blush. -Pretty, flattering colours to suit many skin types. -Super-soft, finely milled texture for a flawless finish, they apply evenly and smoothly.

-Clear lid packaging so you can easily identify colours in your stash.

Cons – -Colour selection is somewhat limited, it would be great to see more permanent colours in this line. -Screw lid packaging (this may or may not be a ‘con’ for you, I just hate screw top packaging!)

-Some of the colours are quite sheer, deeper skintones might find this to be a ‘con’ as some of the colours will only work as a highlight, rather than a blush.

Smashbox Soft Lights Shimmer swatches

Smashbox Soft Lights Shimmer Colours :  These are the colours that I own, there are a few other’s in the range. Some of these colours may have been discontinued.
Lens – This is a sheer peach with a very slight pink tinge and a ton of superfine shimmer. Lens work best as a highlight or with a deeper colour underneath it as it might be too sheer to be a blush on its own, depending on your skin colour. I would call this the younger, more playful sister of the Glow Softlight. Lens is warm, but still looks great on cool toned gals because of its slight pink tone.

Tint – Tint is a great all-round product. It has enough colour to work as a blush (though probably only for medium to pale skinned girls) but it is shimmery enough to use as a highlight as well. The base of Tint is a warm pinky beige that is flattering on both warm and cool skins, the shimmer is finely milled and gold leaning the entire product more to the warm side. I would class Tint as one of the most Shimmery I have tried, so apply sparingly on porous areas such as the nose and chin. (nb. Tint looks all funny in the picture below because it arrived to me completely shattered, yours will hopefully not look like that!)

Glow – 

This shade stands alone from its Softlight sisters because it is practically matte and very high in pigment, especially when compared with the regular line of Softlights. However, I place Glow in the ‘satin’ finish category for the fact that it still imparts a gorgeous healthy glow with minimal effort, it doesn’t look chalky or dull as many matte products can. Glow is a deep peach colour that could possibly pass as a bronzer and really perks up pale skin.

It’s perfect on cheeks, nose and forehead with another of the lighter and more shimmering Softlights on the apples of your cheeks for extra radiance! (Try pairing with Tint or Lens!)

Highlight – This is an unusual colour to describe; I would almost class it as a duo-chrome. At first glance Highlight is a mid-toned yellow, possibly not the sort of colour that you would put on your face. However, it is only when you swatch or apply highlight that you really see it’s hidden, pink iridescence come through. I liken the effect to that of Mac’s Pink Pearl pigment, so that does make highlight one of the more shimmer intense Softlights. It would probably work best as a highlighter (funnily enough) rather than a blush, because the pigment is quite low on this particular Softlight.

Tags: Smashbox Soft Lights Shimmering PowderSmashbox Soft Lights swatchesSmashbox SoftlightsSmashbox Softlights Powder

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