Lighten Up With Smashbox Artificial Light By Laurel1 on Nov 30, 2007 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

Smashbox is one of my favorite cosmetics companies. It began by creating long-lasting products for models, then turned to similar products for the rest of us. The three Artificial Light Luminizing Lotions are designed to give skin a luminous glow by affecting the way light reflects off of skin. The three are Glow, which has a slight bronzing effect, Prism, which gives a "healthy pink" look, and Diffuse, which is color-neutral and makes skin glow.

I bought the Smashbox Diffuse hoping that it would help my skin keep looking "dewy" and youthful, and be an effective highlighter as well. I found that if I used it by itself, I bore a distinct resemblance to an extra from Night of the Living Dead; maybe that means the kids who call themselves Goths would love it.

Actually, used in very small amounts at the top of the cheekbone, and along the collarbone if it's showing, Smashbox Diffuse does make a good highlighter. Mixed with moisturizer, or 50-50 with foundation, it does make my skin appear both slightly younger and more glowing. It contains ginko biloba and Japanese green tea, anti-oxidants that help to firm skin and keep it healthy.

On the downside, it feels oily to me, although Smashbox describes the Artificial Light products as "feeling silky." I can't wear it all day, and I certainly can't sleep in it. The current packaging, shown in the picture, doesn't get the bottom fourth or so of the product out, so you have to pry the pump part off and get it out of the bottle with a cotton swab or a finger (Smashbox does plan changes for the packaging). Finally, I feel that $30 is a high price for a product that doesn't really do very much.

With those considerations, positive and negative, in mind, I couldn't give it an overall rating of more than 3.5. If money were no object for anyone, I would probably have given it at least a 4, but most of us can't really afford Smashbox Artificial Light, in any of its three shades.