If you’re living in a naturally warmer climate (cough, California!), it’s easy to confuse spring with the beginning of summer as blue skies dominate and the sun shimmers down.  But whether you’re jonesing for a touch of summer in your life or are already breaking out your booty shorts, bronzers are often turned towards for a subtle, sunkissed glow that is an earmark of summer and fun. 

Urban Decay Baked Bronzer ($24.00) looks very much like a the famous MAC mineralize skinfinishes, so if that’s your bag… you should definitely get your butt to your nearest Sephora to check this out!  What I like about the Baked bronzer is that you can use it either wet or dry, and using it wet won’t ruin your product or leave a wet stain/spot behind.  I actually tried a coming-soon shade in Gilded, which will is part of Urban Decay’s Summer 2008 launch.  Original shades Baked and Toasted are fairly uniform in color throughout the product, but Gilded has gold spun through it (very much reminiscent of MSFs!).

Clinique True Bronze Pressed Powder Bronzer ($23.50) is an ultra lightweight powder compact that goes on so smoothly and lasts awhile.  I like that it comes in four shades, which gives possibilities to different shades to go for subtle bronzing or deeper color as they please.  The compact is sleek and transportable, which is great for doing makeup on the run as I know many of us will be spending plenty o’ time outdoors once weather permits.

Xen-Tan Perfect Bronze Perfect Bronze ($28.00) is a velvety smooth bronzing powder that is designed to “never look orangey or pink, even on fair skins.”  Unfortunately, as I’m nowhere near fair, I can’t report on the accuracy of that statement, but it does give me hope for those who have been hesitant about getting into bronzer because of the orange-effect.

Guerlain Terracotta ($42.00) is a luxurious bronzer (hello, it’s Guerlain) that is moisturizing and lasts all day.  The powder is also supposed to help protect your skin against free radicals.  According to Guerlain, “neutral bronze” is suitable for all skin colors, though the product does come in four shades.  If you’re a fan of this brand and have extra cash in your wallet, this isn’t a bad item to splurge on.  Though I personally find that for bronzing, since I rarely use straight bronzers by themselves, that I do not need a product like this (then again - it would last me eternity!).

Stay tuned for part two, with even more bronzers to choose from!

Find these bronzers and more at Nordstrom.com or Sephora.com.

CLINIQUE | This Summer the Bronze Keeps Going and Going… Introducing Long-Last Bronze.

No one ever wants the summer to end, yet somehow the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day just flies by. Well, Clinique can’t promise a longer summer, but we can promise that your makeup will stay put throughout the day from the beach to a BBQ. Traditional summer makeup is light and airy, but because of the heat and humidity it also tends to melt off the minute you set foot outside. Clinique remedies the warm weather makeup conundrum by introducing Long-Last Bronze. Summer 2008 | CLINIQUE, a beautiful bronze makeup collection for the gal who hates to re-apply but loves to look her best.

Stay tuned for a detailed review of Clinique’s latest launch!

But to tease you, check out what to expect and some images… Read the rest of this entry »

While I was in New York for Fashion Week, Megan over at Clinique made sure I had a sample of Clinique’s Almost Powder, a new foundation, that also comes with build-in SPF 15.  This product utilizes new technology in pressing and processing that ends up making production take twice as long as a normal powder would.  It’s even produced exclusively in Japan!

I’ve been wearing Almost Powder for the past week or so, and I have to say, I do like it.  I don’t think it is going to replace my holy grail Studio Fix Fluid (liquid), mostly because I like liquid foundation and the coverage.  However, there are many days where SFF is just a tad too heavy, or I’m not really needing a foundation of that nature.  I find Almost Powder perfect for everyday, incredibly natural-looking skin.  The powder is incredibly silky, and it feels lightweight.  The compact includes a sponge, but I also tried Clinique’s powder brush ($30.00) with it.  I found the sponge was better at reducing any “powdery” spots, and it was a lot faster.  I’m personally not a fan of sponge technology (just seems like it is a bacterial growth zone!), so I tend to opt for the brush method.  The brush was SO soft, and I liked it for initial application and buffing later with a buffer brush.

The coverage you get is lightweight to light-medium coverage.  It basically gave me natural coverage, so I didn’t look cakey or really like I was wearing any foundation–which is always a plus.  I would definitely need to look into concealers if I wanted to wear this on more acne-prone days, though, since it covers, but not quite enough (though not many lightweight foundations do this, so it’s not really a negative).

What sells this foundation is how soft it is and how nicely it settles into the skin.  If you’re looking for a more polished look, without looking like you’re wearing makeup, this is right up your alley.  This is perfect for those on-the-go, and anyone who wants to keep foundation light, minimal, but something that works and really evens out skin tone.

Availability:  March 2008 at counters and www.clinique.com, but currently available for preview at QVC.

I just heard about Clinique launching on QVC, which I think is great for some of you who don’t order online, prefer to see someone speak to you on a product before purchasing, and don’t live near a Clinique counter.  I am a huge advocate of Clinique products, especially their skincare range, and especially since there are numerous users with skin issues, I urge you to check this brand out!

Clinique, the original dermatologist-created cosmetics brand, is scheduled to debut on QVC Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 6 PM (ET). During the two-hour broadcast, Clinique will offer QVC shoppers a selection of product favorites in various sizes and configurations as well as special pricing. Custom fit for every skin type, each beautifully crafted Clinique skincare and makeup product is Allergy Tested and 100% Fragrance Free.

Product Highlights

• QVC to launch the Clinique Almost Powder Make-Up SPF 15, a lightweight powder makeup that provides a sheer, no make-up look.  (Can I just say, this stuff is amazing?  Review is forthcoming…)
• Clinique The Three-Step Deluxe Set – Clinique’s iconic three-step system, custom fit by skin type to cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize, revolutionized the beauty industry and will now be offered in deluxe sizes on QVC.
• Collections created especially for QVC will be available including the Clinique Six-Piece Discovery Kit, the Clinique All About Eyes Three-Piece Collection and the Clinique Black Honey Three-Piece Set.

Additional Clinique products to be featured on QVC include:

• Clinique Turnaround Two-Piece Collection
• Clinique Superdefense Triple-Action Moisturizer SPF 25
• Clinique Repairwear Duo Intensive Eye and Night Cream
• Clinique Superbalanced Makeup 1 oz Foundation
• Clinique The Three-Minute Eye Three-Piece Collection
• Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion or Gel
• Clinique Repairwear Deep Wrinkle Concentrate

ABOUT THE EXPERT: JANET PARDO | Clinique’s Senior Vice President of Product Development Janet Pardo will appear on QVC as Clinique’s resident expert. An innovator in the beauty industry, Pardo has played a key role in creating some of Clinique’s top-selling products.

The Clinique products will be available through QVC at 800.345.1515 or www.QVC.com.

Harsh winter winds can create the worst of chapped, cracked, dried-out lips, and when that happens, it’s a rough time, figuratively and literally speaking. Lips should be smooth and soft to the touch, especially for those who want to wear lipstick. Rougher surfaces make it difficult to both apply lip color as well as have it look nice. Some suffer from chapped lips throughout the year, but take heed, there are some solutions.

LUSH Lip Service ($7.95) comes in a cute, thin tin with a solid lip balm inside.  It’s colorless and leaves a matte finish behind, rather than any glossiness or sheen.  LUSH offers eco-friendly beauty addicts to nab a lip balm that has several organic ingredients by a company who loves to be green.  This lip balm has cocoa butter, beeswax, and shea butter–all major helpers in giving you soft, supple lips.  In addition, there are a number of essential oils used to increase moisturization.  I found this to be a great no-muss, no-fuss lip balm that fits in your pocket (and even better to carry there because the body heat melts it just a touch so it is super easy to apply) or purse.  My only problem is my apartment gets quite cold at night, and I find I really have to use the heat of my finger to soften the top layer to get enough to apply on my lips.  LUSH also offers several flavored lip balms, Honey Trap being one of my favorites from the past

Treat’s Cacao Lip Scrub ($16.00) might seem like a small tub, but trust me, a little goes a long way, and this jar should last you quite awhile.  Lip scrubs are designed to exfoliate and remove dry and dead skin cells from the lips.  It is sugar-based as the particles have some roughness to them, but it is still a gentle exfoliant.  This product uses all natural ingredients, so you can actually lick it off (I wouldn’t say I’d love to eat this stuff, but I did test out the flavor, and it wasn’t half-bad), or at least, not fear you’re ingesting something terrible if you accidentally do (or have the habit of doing so!).  The main ingredients are shea butter, sugar, and cacao.  Cacao is an antioxidant with a lot of Vitamin C, which we learned is a vital nutrient for skin health.  I find I only need to use this once a week or less, and I find this less abrasive and harsh than using a toothbrush or washcloth as others have recommended as cheap and easy ways to exfoliate the lips.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick ($17.00) comes in a lipstick tube, making it easy to carry in both your purse or your pocket (I go the pocket route often).  It has SPF15 in it, and while more of us are paying attention to sun protection, I am sure we often forget that perhaps our lips need some SPF, too!  It never hurts, right?  Arden’s Eight Hour family of products is a remarkable line of ultra-hydrating and moisturizing products that last for several hours at a time.  I liked the stick formula, because I didn’t have to worry about clean fingers before applying.  It also went on quite easily, albeit a touch slick.  It left only a semi-glossy sheen, and it can be used sparingly or more generously for a desired feel. 

Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss ($13.50) is a super glossy lip balm (though it really feels more like a gloss, I wouldn’t call it a balm as I associate balms as being more solidified) that comes in a variety of colors.  I tried Apricot, as it is a nice pink with only a touch of peach undertones.  When applied, I didn’t notice much more than a pink tint (and only slightly) on my semi-pigmented lips.  While some of the other lip products I tested seemed to sink into my skin, Superbalm felt more like it was a surface protectant.  It took much longer for me to feel like some of it sunk into my lips (which may or may not be relevant, just an observation).  It definitely feels like a gloss on the lips, and it does look glossy, so this is something you wear alone or on top of a lipstick, but not as a primer to lipstick.  There are eight shades currently available in the Superbalm family, and I think I would love Raspberry (deeper hued) for a slightly tinted ultra moisturizing gloss.

Did you miss part one of this series featuring Eminence’s Citrus Lip Balm, Principessa’s Bacio Me Lip Balm, and Von Natur’s Lip Treatment?  Well, don’t!

Reality TV Star, Whitney Port Celebrated December 14th, “Happy Day” with Clinique
By Spreading Holiday Cheer with Random Acts of Happiness in New York!

This year Clinique recruited Whitney Port as our “Happy Ambassador.” On December 14th, she hit the streets of NYC to spread cheer through “Random Acts of Happiness.” To kick-off the day she took children from Big Brothers Big Sisters skating at Wollman Rink in Central Park. Clinique Happy Day is a day in which all Clinique employees, from the top down, work in-store to make our Clients holiday shopping experience more, well, “Happy.” Below please find suggested captions.

Learn more about this event that occurred earlier today, plus see more photos! Read the rest of this entry »

CLINIQUE LONG PRETTY MASCARA ($14.00)

Long, lush, soft to the touch lashes.Take lashes to new lengths for the softest, prettiest look imaginable. An exclusive new formula extends lashes up to 30%-without flaking or clumping. For full, feathery, natural-looking lashes that go on forever.

• Applicator: Medium-sized brush with a rounded square shape to it.
• Clumping: Not too much clumping, but my lashes are a bit wonky, so sometimes they’d get crossed and stick.
• Curl: This isn’t a curling mascara, but it does hold a curl when you’ve used a lash curler.
• Ease: Quite easy to apply given the nature of the wand, which allows for more precision to get to harder to reach lashes on the inner area and the lower lashes.
• Length: Length that comes out is moderate; it’s not nearly as long as I’d like, but it gives you a decent au natural length.
• Thickening: I was definitely able to extract some thickening out of this mascara, especially on my outer lashes, but not so much on my inner lashes.
• Volume: The mascara gave me fairly decent volume–it looked like I had more lashes than I naturally do–and my lashes looked fuller and more voluminous.
• Best: I think my lashes looked fairly good in the end; although they could definitely be longer, I really liked the overall fullness.   I also liked the price of this mascara, because it’s not so high that it makes it a hard purchase to make.
• Worst: If you’re looking for more length, try Clinique’s High Impact mascara instead, which we loved!

Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Milk ($24.00)

Gentle, milky makeup dissolver removes even long-wearing facial makeup and sunscreens, then tissues off or rinses away with water. Residue-free formula leaves all skin types soft, comfortable. Massage over dry face with fingertips, avoiding eye area; rinse or tissue off. Residue-free formula leaves all skin types soft, comfortable. For all skin types; ideal for drier skins.  

What makes it worth it: It feels ultra gentle on skin, which makes it a viable option for those with sensitive skin prone to irritation with harsher cleansers and makeup removers.  Clinique’s line of skincare is absolutely a great bet for those with sensitive skin as well as those who just want to start treating their skin better.  It offers a full line of fully tested and effective products at a lower price point than most high-end beauty lines.  You get a fairly large bottle for the price you pay, and it would definitely last you over a month, if not over two.  It broke down some of my makeup, but I felt like it didn’t really get all of it.  (How do I test this?  I use the cleanser or makeup remover, and then I take a makeup removing wipe to see what was left behind!)

Why you might pass on it: I don’t feel that this product breaks down my makeup as well as it could; I guess I would prefer something with a richer lather with a thicker, creamy texture.  The texture of the Cleansing Milk is really that of milk.  It has a lot of liquidity and it runs thinly across your face.  It feels a bit messy because of how thin the product is.  To be honest, I’d much rather go with their Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm or one of their Foaming Creams instead. 

Find this product at Clinique counters, boutiques, as well as www.clinique.com and www.nordstrom.com.

Clinique Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent ($14.50)

Fast, rinse-off eye makeup dissolver. For quick makeup changes, repairs. Cleans up eyes easily without disturbing other makeup. No rubbing. No smudging. No oil.  Use day or night. Cleanse one eye area at a time. Moisten 100% cotton ball with Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent; sweep over eye area. Rinse with water.

What makes it worth it: It is an effective eye makeup remover, and the price point is quite low for a high-end cleanser, which is always a selling point (at least for me).  In general, I am not a huge fan of individual makeup removers–I prefer an all-over makeup removing solution–but there are times where you’ve gone heavy on the eyes and need something to really break down all that product to give your eyes some time to breathe.  I loved how this worked well with my sensitive eyes; I didn’t experience any stinging or burning sensation as I removed my eye makeup, even when a drop or two managed to get into my eye.  I personally double my eye makeup remover as a lipstick remover for days I’ve worn bold colors or longwearing formulas.  This bottle will definitely last you a good while before you need a replacement, which is good news for the budget-conscious folk.

Why you might pass on it: There’s no real reason to pass on it unless you already have a favorite eye makeup remover.  This does the job well, so you might want to consider it the next time you are in the market to try something new.

Find this product at Clinique counters, boutiques, as well as www.clinique.com and www.nordstrom.com.

Clinique Superdefense Triple Action Moisturizer with SPF 25 ($39.50)

This is a patent-pending moisturizer that bridges the evolution gap between your skin’s natural defenses and the demands of today’s environment. Helps neutralize the toxic effect of UVA/UVB rays. Helps rebuild skin’s natural defense systems. Scavenges free radicals. Available in Combination Oily to Oily, Dry, and Very Dry formulations.

What makes it worth it: This is a more luxurious, rich facial moisturizer, compared to their Dramatically Different Lotion.  I love a rich formula, especially when it sinks into my skin and leaves me feeling velvety soft in little time.  Who wants a layer of cream on their face all day, right?  I have to admit, the packaging and the technological spiel kind of get my engine revvin’.  It comes in a lovely little pot, and even though you always see these containers and go, “That’s all I get?” you have realize that what you do get will last you at least a month, if not more.  You can use the product sparingly, because you can stretch out a dab or two quite well.  Beyonce moisturizing, Superdefense is meant to address elasticity and firmness problems.  I also love that it contains SPF 25–nothing says anti-aging like sunscreen!

Why you might pass on it: You absolutely cannot put this moisturizer on your eyelids!  Yes, the instructions indicate this, but unfortunately I had forgotten during an application and merely put it all over my face, and this was not a good mistake to make.  So while I get a product that gives me sun protection as well as great moisturizing effects, I cannot use this on my eyes, which means I have to find something that I can.  Sure, your eyelids may not need moisture, but what about some SPF?  Also, with a product like this, sensitive skin may find it too much to handle, since it’s obviously not conducive to the sensitive skin on eyelids, I’d recommend doing a patch test, first (which the directions may tell you–read those, too!).

Find this product at Clinique counters, boutiques, as well as www.clinique.com and www.nordstrom.com.