I love Santigold; I’ve a few of her tracks in my all-time favourites list (if you’re after recommendations, check out this awesome track – My Drive Thru – with Pharrell and Julian Casablancas – the intro works as a rather fabulous ringtone if you’re interested) but I wouldn’t say I’m especially inspired by her fashion, although that’s more to do with my penchant for boring tops and jeans (with a pair of battered Converse – my staple uniform) rather than a deliberate dislike for Santigold’s fashion choices. Her collaboration with Smashbox is quite interesting as they’re not a pair I would’ve immediately put together; the collection is bright and tribal, with strong, clashing colours and bold packaging, so credit to Smashbox for being up for trying something different.
The full collection consists of nine products in total: 2 eyeshadow palettes, 2 double-ended eye pencils, 2 lipglosses and 1 lipstick ring, the latter of which I would guess to be the most popular since it’s a little bit different and 2 sets of nail wraps. My favourites are the palettes which are extremely pigmented, shimmery shadows that might not be the sort of shades you would normally put together, but they work well for a pop-art style eye; if you decide to go for the aforementioned colour-clash eye then keep your lips nude so you don’t start wandering into drag territory.
The 2 palette combinations are Earth As We Know It (apple green, soft sparkling cream, dark matte blue, dark sparkly forest green and raisin with rose-gold pearl) and Apocalypse Now (shimmery teal, sparkling pewter, matte black, shimmery oyster, bright golden orange) and the shades really are as vivid as they sound. If you’re unsure as to whether they’d be your sort of thing, I recommend waiting until they launch and giving them a swatch as they come alive on the skin. All shades can be used wet and dry, and each palette is £25.
The two shades of lipglosses work really well as part of the collection, but it’d take a brave girl to wear them alongside one of the full eyeshadow combinations! The two shades are All Gold E’rything (sheer copper sparkle) and Hot Lava (orange red). I feel All Gold E’rything is designed more as a top coat for other shades, but it might work on it’s own to add a hit of sparkle. These are£15 each.
Next we have what I feel are the general crowd-pleasers, the Double-Ended Limitless Liners. These come in 2 variants, El Dorado/Azurite is Never Wrong (bright blue and soft gold) and Yellow Dwarf/Green Martian (bright yellow and mint green) and these offer some extremely punchy payoff that you’ll love if your idea of embracing bright colours is to go for a quick hit of colour in a line across the eye, which is personally my favourite way of getting involved. These are £15 each which I feel is really good value.
Another first for Smashbox is a couple of sets Nail Polish Art Strips which I really like the look of; the designs are fun and easy to wear (and not at all scary!) so if you’re a nail wrap fan then these are your new friends. At £10 a pop they’re a little expensive considering you only get one wear out of them, but it still works out cheaper (and quicker) than a manicure. The two variants are Serpent Charmer and Eye of the Beholder.
As you can see, it’s a really different collection for Smashbox and it’ll be interesting to see what Smashbox fans think. Whether I personally like the collection or not, I’m always happy when a brand starts taking a few risks and trying different things as I’m so used to new collections playing it safe, so credit to Smashbox for bringing out something interesting. It all launches online from 14th May 2014 and on counter from 28th May 2014.
What do you think of The Santigolden Age? In other Smashbox news there are some fab new releases coming which I’ll be posting about soon, so keep your eyes peeled as they’re worth getting excited about!
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