What is it?
Smashbox Cosmetics was founded by fashion and celebrity photographer Davis Factor (right), great-grandson of Max Factor, whose eponymous cosmetics range was one of the original beauty brands. Factor has photographed celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, George Clooney and Cameron Diaz.
What's the rub?
In the 1990s Factor was working in Los Angeles as a fashion photographer and visited New York, where he came across multiple studios in one location for photo shoots. Factor says Los Angeles didn't have a one-stop studio complex for photographers, makeup artists and stylists, so he and his younger brother Dean created Smashbox Studios. The idea for their own studio cosmetics line came in 1996. 'The idea was to do an artistic factory in LA where these amazing people came together,' he says. 'We noticed the makeup artists were powdering [faces] all the time and we had to stop the shoots so they could do this, so we created an anti-shine foundation. We realised there were so many things we needed that didn't exist.'
What is special about the products?
Factor says they noticed colours movie stars and celebrities liked using and mixed them into wearable shades. When it came to foundation, they found ingredients that were beneficial for the skin. The line originally branded itself as a studio range and it is known for its stay-fast ability without appearing heavy. 'It's no thicker [than other foundations],' Factor says. 'We took our knowledge from the studio and gave it to people, so [staff] training has been a big thing. We [want to] teach people how to do it.' Factor says they now sell in Hong Kong and Taiwan and are creating a market on the mainland.