Smashbox Soft Effects Powder Eyeliner Review

I recently got the opportunity to review some products from Smashbox. I received 3 of the Soft Effects Powder Eyeliners to review, (http://www.smashbox.com/SOFT-EFFECTS-POWDER-EYE-LINER.) These are available on the website for $22 USD, and they have 4 colors available on their website.


Smashbox's Description and Tips:


"The prettiest eyes nowadays are defined by diffused, never-harsh lines of color. Our unique powder formula makes application easy by mimicking the effect of a soft-focus lens. 


Be sure to shake well and tap off any excess powder before each use. Then use soft, feathering strokes to apply to upper or lower lashline. 

You can also gently dab Soft Effects on top of a traditional pencil liner to set color and provide added definition."

Packaging for all products:

Very nice! In the same packaging as a liquid eyeliner, and somewhat same application. The tip is rounded at the end; a break from the classic pointed tip :) The tips on Smashbox's website say to use "feathering" stroke, so that's what I have been doing. I'm not sure how much powder can be held in the little container but I'm not willing to dump it out and see! The bottom part that contains the product is the color itself, and the top on all colors is black. The whole liner is shiny.

The applicator ^^

Shades

Black: Pretty self explanatory. A soft matte black.

Brown: Again, self explanatory. A soft classic matte brown.

Aubergine: A soft matte violet-grey.

From right to left: Aubergine, Brown, Black

Here the 3 colors are compared to the previous eyeliner review. You can now see the 2 blacks compared. 

Ingredients

Black, Brown:
Boron Nitride, Silica, Dimethicone, Polyethylene, Pentylene Glycol, Pumice, Kaolin, Dimethiconol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Mica (CI 77019).

Aubergine:
Boron Nitride, Silica, Dimethicone, Polyethylene, Pentylene Glycol, Pumice, Kaolin, Dimethiconol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Mica (CI 77019), Carmine (CI 75470), Ultramarines (CI 77007).

First Impression: 

Interesting applicator, and small container that may not contain very much product. Goes on nicely but applicator is a little bit wobbly. Very soft color and smudges very easily. After I rubbed my fingers over the swatches the product came off.

After throughly trying:

I really think this product isn't heavy duty. I don't think it's meant to stay on all day or to be super-pigmented. The pigmentation is nice, but it's not a sharp color. As it says in the product name,"soft effects." I feel this line of eyeliners would be absolutely wonderful for someone who does makeup artistry for photography; when you try and get a "soft" look for the picture. This product stayed on for about 3-4 hours before coming off completely. This really isn't a horrible time period, but I guess it all depends on what your using it for. To all of the makeup artists for photography out there, I would definitely recommend, but someone who needs a strong and sturdy liner, I wouldn't use this. For $22 I would definitely like to get my use out of it, so make sure if you are going to purchase, you know what this product does!

As far as application, as I said before the applicator is quite wobbly, and I just wish it could be a little more stable. The packaging works just fine, and there seems to be enough product in there to last quite a while. Also, the tips on Smashbox's website, and on the product box, say to tap of excess powder. I had trouble doing this in the opening to the part that holds product. I had the tap in excess powder outside of the packaging and I felt like this was wasting a lot of product. Besides these 2 issues its a good eyeliner, but as I said before, know what your going to use it for before purchasing!

(These products were sent to me for review, but all opinions are my honest. I copied the ingredients from the Smashbox website.)