Brace yourself, pH makeup fanatics. The original is back: O-Gloss ($26) Smashbox’s cult-favorite pH-reactive gloss, returns September 27 as one of five launches the brand is rolling out this month.
As the devotees know, the O.G. became something of a collector’s item after it was discontinued, with old tubes still circulating on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
The timing wasn’t arbitrary. “Everyone is big on nostalgia and it works, but the heritage has to be authentic,” says Michelle Shigemasa, global general manager of Smashbox. “Smashbox is bringing back an actual icon from the 2000s era, and we’re introducing an icon to a new generation. Existing consumers may remember O-Gloss, and Gen Z may know the category but might not know that Smashbox put the idea on the beauty map.”
For those who remember the original launch, the appeal wasn’t just the color-changing gimmick; it was the reaction it got in real time.
“What I remember most about O-Gloss was the big ‘Wait…what is happening?’ moment,” recalls Lori Taylor Davis, Smashbox global pro lead artist. “At the time, we were so accustomed to choosing a lip color from a tube—pink, nude, red, berry—and knowing exactly what we were going to get. But O-Gloss completely flipped that idea on its head. I remember the reaction from artists and beauty editors. They would put what looked like a clear gloss on the lips, and then suddenly there was this beautiful pink flush developing. It felt almost like a little bit of makeup magic happening right in front of you.”
The updated O-Gloss ($26) keeps that same pH-reactive formula—clear gloss that reacts to each wearer’s skin chemistry to settle into a unique shade of pink—while adding six-hour high shine, a non-sticky glass finish, visible plumping, long-lasting hydration and vitamins C and E.
Shigemasa says the comeback taps into more than nostalgia. “It all comes back to personalization, which of course has been a trend for a while now. Because both O-Gloss and O-Noir will show up differently for everyone, in their most flattering shade of pink or berry, this is where personalization, a popular lip format and beauty nostalgia are all converging.”
That personalization thread carries through the rest of the September lineup. O-Noir pH Cheek + Lip Tint ($25) goes on black and shifts to a personalized berry shade—anywhere from raspberry to blackberry—and its buildable, blendable color works on both cheeks and lips. O-Noir pH Gel Lip Liner ($22) works the same pH-activated transformation in a smooth gel liner that can define, sculpt and enhance lips from subtle to bold.
Two formulas that launched earlier this month round out the collection. Full Fill-ter Smoothing Lip Glass Balm ($25) is a cushiony, glass-finish balm that fills the look of lines for fuller-looking lips while delivering eight hours of hydration. It’s available in six nude shades. Studio Extreme Longwear Lip Liner ($25) pairs a creamy, transfer-proof formula with a precision teardrop tip and up to 16 hours of wear. It also in six nude shades and never needs sharpening. (Thank the beauty gods.)
