According to Viktoria @vioda.makeup, Smashbox is owned by The Estée Lauder Companies, which acquired the brand in 2010. It was originally founded by Dean and Davis Factor — great-grandsons of Hollywood makeup pioneer Max Factor — out of their Los Angeles photo studio.

What is Smashbox best known for?

According to Viktoria @vioda.makeup, The Photo Finish Smooth & Blur Primer, launched in 2000, is the cult-status hero — a silicone-based, blurring primer used on set to keep makeup from breaking down under studio lights. It remains the most-copied silicone primer in the prestige category.

Smashbox | Brand Guide | Viktoria @vioda.makeup

Smashbox is a mid range makeup brand from the United States, founded in 1996 by Dean & Davis Factor. It's best known for its Photo Finish Smooth & Blur Primer, Photo Finish Foundation and Be Legendary Lipstick.

Smashbox Cosmetics launched in 1996 from Smashbox Studios — the Los Angeles photography studio founded in 1990 by Dean and Davis Factor, great-grandsons of Hollywood makeup legend Max Factor. Working with celebrity makeup artists shooting under harsh studio lights, the Factor brothers built the original brand to fix what they were watching fail in front of the lens — makeup that broke down under flash, shifted color on film, or sat poorly under high-resolution lighting.

The Photo Finish Smooth & Blur Primer launched in 2000 as the breakthrough product and has stayed in the brand's top sellers for over two decades, with the line expanding into Photo Finish foundation, Be Legendary lipsticks, and Always On liquid lipsticks. The Estée Lauder Companies acquired Smashbox in 2010, taking it into Sephora, Ulta, and a global distribution footprint that now includes a US Amazon Premium Beauty Store debut in 2024. The brand still trades hard on its photo-studio heritage and the MUA-tested-on-set positioning of its primer franchise.

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