Tamara’s Intrigued: Smashbox’s O-Glow gel claims to generate a natural blushing effect by stimulating skin circulation. I’m intrigued, but the thought of intentionally inflaming my cheeks with a foreign substance strikes me as a bit weird. Does this really work?
The Right Brain Blushes:
Let’s take a look, shall we? According to Smashbox: “This revolutionary silicone-based clear gel works on every skin tone and is microcirculating and skin energizing to keep cheeks naturally flushed for hours.” O-Glow does change to a pink color, but not for the reasons Smashbox gives us. We captured our evaluation of this product in the following pictures:
Every picture tells a story
Picture #1 shows that O-Glow is a clear, colorless gel when it comes out of the tube.
In Picture #2 you see that when rubbed on your cheek, it does turn from colorless to a lovely shade of pink. But is a “micro-circulatory effect” really causing the color?
Picture #3 has the answer: the product changes color even when it’s applied to a piece of white paper. Since paper doesn’t have blood vessels, it’s obvious that the effect has 
nothing to do with the circulatory system.
How does it really work?
So how does it change color? Could it be the Red Dye #27 that’s listed as one of the ingredients? Yep. I’ll spare you the gory chemical details but essentially the red dye is colorless when dissolved in a waterless base. When it comes in contact with moisture, the change in solubility and pH causes the dye to turn bright pink. That moisture can come from your skin, or even just the humidity in the air. So really, this product uses a dye to stain your cheeks just like any other blush.
While we appreciate the clever formulation work required to make a color changing product, we say shame on Smashbox for presenting it in such a misleading way. It’s a cool gimmick, but this product does NOT do what they say it does.
Considering how they’re blatantly lying to us about this blush, Smashbox should be the ones with the red face!
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Susan Says:
I tried this product out a little after it came out in Sephora. I decided to give it a try at the store cause altho the claims made about the product sounded good…i wasnt completely sold that the claims were in fact true, sure enough as proved here i was right to not fall for the marketing gimic. But honestly, true or not…this product looked horrible on my skin and any one else i have seen use it. Plus since its silicone based…its a bitch to get off ur skin once uve put it on.
ams Says:
I bought a really cheap lip balm that worked this way before so wasnt too impressed when I saw smashboxes wonder claims!
Ashley Says:
Tried this on the back of my hand at Sephora yesterday - the color’s too drastic on me but it is a cool effect, even if it’s not the effect they’re advertising.
Lucia Mancuso Says:
I love smashbox - I really do - it is one of my favorite lines… smashbox for make up - philosophy for skin care but I must say that O-Glow Blush is horrible. I go my local shoppers drug mart beauty boutique all the time - I go straight to the Smashbox section and look for new products to buy - I could pretty much by everything they sold - but I sampled the O-Glow and I wouldn’t be caught dead with that on my face.
Gaia, the Non-Blonde Says:
Thank you so much for this post. I tried it when it first came out and hated the bright pink, which I could tell had nothing to do with my unique skin chemistry or whatever. I wrote a review and got tons of semi-hate mail claiming that my problem was not knowing how to apply my makeup. Yeah right.
Tamara Says:
Thank you, BB, for saving me $26 on this stuff, even if it did entail dashing (smashing?) my hopes.
I sang your praises on my blog and in conversation today. You guys rock.
http://digestiondujour.blogspot.com/2007/07/beauty-industry-is-like-bad-boyfriend.html
(Why must veiled references to orgasms, high expectations, and inflated claims of superlative performance infelicitously intersect yet again in the world? Has womankind not yet suffered enough?)
Carleenp Says:
I have seen very few positive comments on this product. Come to think of it, I don’t think I have seen ANY positive comments from neutral sources! Not only does it employ a silly gimmick, but it also just doesn’t tend to look good on people.
jen Says:
Wow… Excellent post. Ironically, the marketing lies about this product were precisely what kept me away! Ordinarily, I love Smashbox, but any product that claims to work with my body chemistry to cause a flush scares me (and my sensitive skin) away.
thebeautybrains.com » Blog Archive » Finding the Perfect Shade of Makeup – From Your Cell Phone Says:
[...] sounds like a fun idea. I can’t wait to run around Sephora with my iPhone, taking pictures of Smashbox’s O-glow! [...]
Stacey Says:
I knew it! The guy at Sephora tried to sell this to me telling me it would change to the perfect color for my skin. Well, I normally use warm, peachy blushes and never use anything quite that shade of horrific pink. Of course, when he put it on me, it turned that shade as it does on everyone. It looked TERRIBLE. He couldn’t seem to explain why the product came out the same on me (warm skin toned, pretty tan right now) and his hand (cooler skin tone, pale). Here is the answer! Thanks!
Blushing beauty: the Smashbox way… « Glossing Over It…. Says:
[...] But, and I’m not wishing to rain on Smashbox’s parade, Beauty Brains gives us a not-so-gentle reminder that you shouldn’t always believe the hype. [...]
Hayley Says:
Thanks for the review! I was really tempted to buy it but after reading this and noticing that everyone who wears it has the same cheek color, now matter what their skin tone is, I think I’ll pass…
Princess Buttercup Says:
While I agree with the statements made above about the effects of the product, I have to say that O-Glow looks GREAT on me. While I also discovered that the product turns pink anywhere as soon as it hits the atmosphere, the color did not deter me from wearing it. I am a light-skinned African American and the pink is just bright enough to be seen be tame enough to look somewhat natural. I actuall LOVE it and wear it on both my lips, cheeks, and over my eyes as a stain. Seeing all of the complaints above, I guess I would suggest that if you are not olive to dark skin, this won’t be a good product for you, but otherwise give it a shot!
Anon Says:
I agree with Princess Buttercup. It looks great on me, and I have olive toned skin. But the rest of you are probably right that it’s just luck, and there will be a few people who this bright pink shade will look good on. But not everyone. The whole personal blushing colour thing is definately a scam, since I blush bright red, not pink.
Lianne Says:
I agree with the last two ladies…even though it turned a piece of paper pink (too funny) it still looks great on me as does the lip gloss.
It does most definitely look better on darker skin than pale for sure.
Smashbox O-Gloss by Girl Gloss Says:
[...] I was a bit surprised at the release. First off, these products do not somehow magically read your skin tone and adjust to your perfect shade. Instead, they simply change color when applied, and present the same shade for everyone. It doesn’t know squat about your natural skin shade or your best color. That had gotten fairly well reported back when O-Glow blush was released. See, for example, The Beauty Brain’s post: Why Smashbox Should Be Ashamed of O-Glow Blush. [...]
KAN Says:
i used this without any real expectations. It came in a gift set i purchased to get a better deal on some other items i wanted. However, i tried the product and I actually liked it. I’m pretty fair skinned and i usually hate anything but my too faced bronzer. but, O-Glow gives me that cute rosey cheek thing that i always envied. More or less the winter cutie who doesn’t have to wear make up (not me) I wouldn’t imagine it would be a product taht would look good on too many people, but i happen to be one of the few.
Overall, i won’t be running to the store to pick up another tube, but i’ll defintely take advantage of the basically free one i have.
Jan Says:
Wonderful post! How I wish that everyone could read it, as so many are duped by clever marketing campaigns. “Reading” individuals’ skin tones…poppycock! I’m shocked that anyone would believe such nonsense!
Damn You, thebeautybrains.com! « La Petite Princesse Says:
[...] I was going to write about my new favorite product and how it works magically, but the ladies at The Beauty Brains had to go and ruin it for me. I’ve been totally obsessed with Smashbox O-GLOW, the [...]
Tee Says:
I’m light-skinned african american and this product looks pretty good on me as well. I does take serious practice though to get used to putting it on the right way and one tube can last as long as a year.
It stains my cheeks with a sheer translucent pink, making me look like I did a quick jog around the block in high humidity. That being said, it’s great for hot humid days in the summer since it’s almost impossble to sweat off and no one questions why you are pink in the face, since everyone expects some sort of pink face on everyone in high heat. I have tried lots of cheek stains and I just prefer this one, even with their outrageous claims to be so scientific, because it leave a sheerer stain than most.