Smashbox Liquid Halo HD Foundation and Camera Ready BB Cream

I’d previous read raving reviews on Smashbox on Sephora but for some reason never tried their (paraben free, yay!) products. Didn’t realise that they were available in the UK until I happened to walk past one of their counters last week.

I ended up with:
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Dark Spot Correcting
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Light
Smashbox Liquid Halo HD Foundation 1
Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in Fair
Smashbox Artificial Light Luminizing Lotion in Diffuse
Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Pout

Having tried the BB cream and foundation for a few days, I’ll be reviewing these first.

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream SPF 35
The shade I have is Fair, the lightest, and it’s a neutral shade that works very well with my skin – not quite as good a match as Naturaglace Foundation Puree YE1 though.

Touted as a “5-in1 BB cream”, it claims to “prime, perfect, protect, hydrate and control oil in one step to create a flawless face in a flash”.


I generally don’t rate Western BB creams – they tend to be glorified tinted moisturisers rather than an all-in-one skin product like their Korean counterparts – but this is the most impressive Western BB I’ve tried to date. Fairly lightweight, it doesn’t feel cakey or heavy on my skin.


Coverage can be built from light to medium to make freckles (bane of my life) less visible and blur out imperfections so my skin looks more even. Providing better coverage than a tinted moisturiser, it’s moisturising and gives a fresh looking dewy finish that I always look to achieve with base products.


A concealer is still needed if you wanted to completely cover up spots/freckles, whereas a lot of Korean BB creams can also be used for spot concealing. 


Although the SPF 35 is a nice bonus, I wouldn’t feel adequately protected from UV rays if I wore this alone; the small amount of BB cream used simply won’t provide enough sun protection. If anything this gives a false sense of security in that you won’t need to use a separate sun block.

Smashbox Liquid Halo HD Foundation SPF 15
Shade 1 is described as “natural vanilla for fair complexions”. Unfortunately, it’s a little on the pink side and looks slightly ashy on my skin. It’s lighter in texture than the BB cream.

With buildable coverage up to medium, the silky, luminous finish really does give the skin an airbrushed look. So lightweight, it feels like I’m not wearing anything on my skin. Just a shame that the shade is a bit off. I’m going to try shade 2 (warm vanilla for fair/light complexions) tomorrow and see if it’s a better match. Really want this foundation to work for me!

As for the SPF 15, it’s negligible; I’ve always preferred no SPF in foundations as opposed to such a low level, because it’s always too useless on its own and it would be better to have more antioxidants instead. Not a deal breaker though, I always wear at least SPF 30 on top of my day moisturiser.


What I really love about both Camera Ready BB Cream and Liquid Halo HD Foundation, is that they need no touching up whatsoever, and happily stay on my skin for 8 hours.


Comparison swatches to show the colour difference between Camera Ready BB Cream Fair and Liquid Halo HD Foundation 1

Both foundations swatched with Naturaglace Foundation Puree YE1