Sometimes, as Smashbox cosmetics has shown me, it's worth it to pay a little extra for makeup that you use every day. Surely, the quality of some department store brands is sometimes no better than their drug store counterparts. In the case of Smashbox cosmetics, however, the expensive brand far outperforms its cheaper competitors. First of all, the packaging is awesome. It makes you feel elite just to touch it, and when you go to the ladies room to powder your nose people see that you have good taste when it comes to the finer things. There's nothing worse than going to the bathroom in a chic club and watching some girl pull a $2 lipstick out of her designer handbag.

In addition to the packaging, Smashbox cosmetics excels in the color palette arena. The hues that you find with Smashbox cosmetics you can't get anywhere else. Sometimes drug store brands will try to imitate certain color schemes, but none of them come close to replicating the Smashbox colors. With Smashbox cosmetics, the color you see in the packaging is the color you get when you put it on your face. Unlike other brands that require you to put layer after layer of color on to get the shade you expect, Smashbox gives you what you need with a single application.

Over the course of my lifetime, I've tried just about every brand you can think of. From the 99 cent bin brands to the most exclusive designers, you'd be hard pressed to find something I haven't put on my face. Since I found Smashbox cosmetics, however, I'll never wear anything else. If you're curious about the brand, I suggest you go to a specialty cosmetics store and ask for a free demonstration or trial. I promise, you won't be disappointed.