‘Bling Ring’ cosmetics: Glorifying crime or just another tie-in?

The hype over Sofia Coppola’s upcoming film “The Bling Ring” is coming on strong.

The latest to surface in my inbox is a news release from SmashBox cosmetics announcing the launch of its Bling Ring makeup kit -- lipstick, lip plumper, mascara, eye liner, primer and a faux croc clutch. Yes, for $48 (an $81 value!) you can “recreate the fame obsessed glamour of the film’s stars,” the release says.

And that’s not all: “To give fans a glimpse of the celeb fantasy that ‘The Bling Ring’ explores,” Smashbox is giving away a trip for two to the film’s premiere and afterparty June 4 in L.A. (The contest entry period is May 21-28, and info is available here.)

My colleague Adam Tschorn reported on the makeup collection Thursday. And it’s not unusual that a cosmetic company is doing a movie tie-in. But what gets me is all this “celeb fantasy” nonsense.

Celebrities were the victims of the group of teens nicknamed the Bling Ring, whose crimes against them represented a dark side of being rich and famous.

In fact, the real people who inspired the characters portrayed in the film by Emma Watson, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang and Taissa Fariga stole around $3 million in clothes, cash, art and jewelry from celebrities (including Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton) they stalked on the Internet, according to authorities.

Now they are being portrayed on the big screen, while grabbing 15 more minutes of fame through product tie-ins.

I think I’ll pass.

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