The Line Up Project

Smashbox's Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner
Review by MUA's Cavewoman


If you haven't ever watched any of the Smashbox Cosmetics presentations on the QVC Shopping Network, tune in sometime to see. Holly Mordini, the president of Smashbox, appears on the shows, demonstrating products, giving application tips, explaining the performance you can expect from the products, and talking about how they were all developed to be used at the famous Smashbox photo studio in Los Angeles. Holly herself is a former model, beautiful and friendly and giving me the feeling that I can totally rock any and all of the Smashbox products as easily as she applies them. She's one of the most likeable of the beauty vendors on QVC, like a girlfriend sharing great secrets with you. A very, very pretty girlfriend.

Well, my "girlfriend" was showing me the newest of the Smashbox cream-style liners, called Jet Set Waterproof. I was so intrigued, watching her apply it not only above and below the lash line of the model, but also on the inner rims with a special bent-angle brush. I felt pretty smug that I already had three of those bent-angle brushes, and her endorsement of that style had me thinking I am no longer a novice at this cream and gel liner stuff.

Since my first Smashbox liner experience (with the three cream liners in the lid of that Wicked Lovely set) was not so positive, I thought I'd try the new waterproof version. I am still looking for a great black liner, so I chose the Midnight Black. I had to wait a bit because a friend of mine was sending it from Texas. Thanks, Andrea! When it arrived, I grabbed the Sonia Kashuk bent-angle liner brush and turned on my magnifying lighted mirror to apply.

The first thing I noticed was the completely slippery texture of the liner. I had not even realized that the surface of the product was so slippery that my brush hadn't even picked up any color! So I poked a bit at the surface to 'break' into the liner itself, and started to apply. Slippery is the best word I can use to describe how this product applies. And do not make a mistake, because it dries very fast and then it's almost impossible to make a correction. I could see right away that the matte black shade was really black and very pretty, but the Kashuk brush was laying down too thick a line, and it wasn't gliding on evenly. Even the smallest little goof shows up with the Kashuk. There's no room for forgiveness. You have to get this stuff right the first time. I did the best I could in smoothing out the liner and making an even, sharp edge, and ended up not liking how much I had applied. So into the brush arsenal I went, and found this super-thin Sephora liner brush that I had not used much since I bought it on a clearance rack at the Cleveland store. I had bought this brush because I didn't have anything at all like it. Now I was glad I had it. You can see from the photo how ultra-thin the bristles are, longish, and with a great point at the tip. I dipped the Sephora brush into the liner and was glad to see how easily I made a perfect, thin line on my other eye. I swiped the Sephora brush under both eyes' lower lash line, and off I went for the day.

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to test if this liner were indeed waterproof. It poured rain all day. I left the house early, made a few stops and ran a few errands, and took a run to my Mom's to take her on more errand-running. Now, a dark, gray, ugly, rainy November day in Ohio may not sound perfect to you, but it did put the liner to the test. I didn't have a minute to check the liner during the day, but when I got home and all the hunting and gathering of the day was put away, I got to sit down with a soft drink and check my Smashbox.

My "girlfriend" was right. Not only did this liner not budge one single bit, it still looked as perfect (well, almost perfect due to the Kashuk brush) as when I applied it. Still a velvety matte black, no cracks, no wear, no peeling, no flaking, no gaps. And when I tried to remove it, it did not want to come off. I used two pads for each eye with the Benefit Gee That Was Quick eyemakeup remover, and still there was liner. I didn't want to rub or tug, so I took out a L'Oreal facial cleansing wipe and it helped greatly to remover the rest of the liner. I don't like using cleansing oil or oily eyemakeup removers on my eyes, I can't stand that film that gets in the eye. So the wipes will work fine to get this stuff off.

I'm rating Smashbox a happy 9 on the rating scale. I'd give it a perfect 10 if only it were not so tricky and slippery. You really need some good technique and skills to work this one. I'm getting there, thanks to a good collection of brushes. Now I can see that each one of these liners works well with a particular shape and style of brush.

Smashbox Jet Set Waterproof comes in only four colors at the moment, but it is a relatively new product in their line, and I hope to see more colors in the future. I'll be tuning in to the Smashbox shows to see what else my girlfriend wants to share with me.

Oh, I have to say Hi to my other new "girlfriend" -- a little boxer girl I met today when I was visiting a friend. Her name is Gracie. Gracie gave me some nice little puppy-licks. She got me right in the eye. The Smashbox didn't budge. That's just a little info in case you need to know that this liner is puppy-lick-proof!

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were purchased by the reviewer.