NARS Luxor Multiple ($37.00 for 0.50 oz.) is the newest Multiple to debut as part of NARS’ Holiday Collection. NARS describes it as, “[a]n iridescent pink to be used on eyes, cheeks, lips and body.”

Luxor is an icy pink that almost runs a little lilac on me because it is definite cool undertones. It has a slight iridescence that’s noticeable without being over the top; it’s about the right about of shimmer I’d expect from a product best used as a highlighter. It’s surprisingly pigmented and can definitely be layered for a more opaque look. It does blend easily once warmed against the skin.

I personally prefer to use Luxor in a way that might be considered a little unconventional. I like to pat a little on the areas I want to highlight just before I apply my moisturizer. Once I’ve done that, then I apply my facial moisturizer as usual (which I do apply with my hands and slather all over). I find that it gives the highlighted areas this very soft, refined highlight and lends a certain glow to my face overall (because some, of course, does get mixed up in the moisturizer). It’s an interesting effect, nonetheless. I was inspired to try it this way because of how I use MAC’s Strobe Cream. Luxor reminds me a bit of it, only amped up–like if you took the Cream part out of Strobe Cream and just left the Strobe!

You can also take a fluffy brush and lightly dab on Luxor onto lids to give eyes a more awake look, or you can lightly dust it on your lips before layering on a gloss for some extra sparkle. The more traditional use of this as a highlighter would be to dot it along the areas you’d want to highlight, blend with a stippling brush, and then set with loose/translucent powder. You can definitely do this with Luxor, so have at it — after all, it isn’t called The Multiple for nothing!

My only big issue with The Multiples, in general, is that they’re pretty pricey. I don’t actually feel like you get a ton of product for your money, because I think these can be used up quicker than you’d think. They can be very emollient, so you may end up wearing more than you necessarily need (if you use a brush to apply, it helps to mitigate any potential over-use). I don’t think they’re a rip-off, but they do feel a little overpriced.

My secondary issue is I do find I need to use a translucent powder to set these in place to prevent them from fading too much throughout the day (I then get about four to six hours of good wear before it starts to fade).  Since I’ve found a way to combat fading, it’s not a biggie, and I tend to set my makeup anyway, so it’s not adding an extra, otherwise unnecessary step either.

Bottom Line: I think Multiple fans will enjoy Luxor. I still haven’t found a Multiple that really turns my head as others have, but I am eagerly awaiting the day it happens!

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! :)

• Product: 26/30
• Value: 7/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you’ve been looking for a cream-to-powder cool-toned highlighter, Luxor may be your new best friend.

Availability: NARS

See more photos and swatches… Continue reading »

Benefit Powderazzi ($30.00 for 3 0.10 oz. powders) is part of Benefit’s holiday offerings, and it features three shades of their popular powders: CORALista, Dallas, and Hoola.

This past summer, I reviewed and adored Benefit’s CORALista powder, which is a soft, pinky-coral with subtle sheen. I loved it then, and I still love it now. It’s particularly flattering on my warm-toned skin, and I’ve always been a big fan of wearing coral. I’m glad they chose to include it in their powder trio this year!

Also featured is Hoola, which is a matte medium dark cocoa brown meant to be used as a bronzer. I rarely wear bronzer, but when I do, I tend to gravitate towards very lightly shimmered or matte shades, like Hoola. Hoola also feels more like a neutral shade, so it’s something that has more universal appeal.

The third shade in this trio is Dallas, which is a plummy color with kind of a dirty feel. It reminded me a bit of MAC’s Marign blush, but more on the plum side. It’s not as shimmery as CORALista, but it definitely has a sheen and shimmer to it. I think this is a great shade for the fall/winter, where darker cheeks always feel more appropriate (to me, at least).

The packaging is typical Benefit — cute print on cardboard packaging. I don’t tote my makeup around very often, so I don’t mind cardboard packaging. Others who often toss products into their bag may find the cardboard will take a beating, though it probably won’t disintegrate or anything–it just won’t look perfect.

As far as size goes, you get 0.3 oz. of product total in this kit, and each full-size Benefit powder goes for $28 for 0.4 oz. You’re paying a little extra to be able to try three shades at once rather than picking up one huge-sized powder. This is a good opportunity to try three shades without having to purchase all three separately. If you find you love any of the three enough that you actually finish it, the full-size is available to you.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! :)

• Product: 28/30
• Value: 9/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you’ve wanted to try out Benefit’s powders in the past but haven’t wanted to fork over the money for each one, this trio may prove a better chance for you to try a variety of colors instead.

Availability: November 2009 at Ulta

See more photos and swatches… Continue reading »

Hocus Focus Colourful Face Kit

MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Face Kits

I like that MAC tried something new – a face palette. I haven’t seen them put out a face palette in quite some time, and the tiered system of this compact is convenient. These palettes actually do have some heft to them, so they’re not ultra lightweight or anything. (I was very surprised at how heavy my bag was when I purchased the palettes in general–sure felt like I was walking out with a lot!) I think at the price range, these feel a little steep. It’s hard to tell just exactly how much product you’re getting of each and if it’s really a better deal than if you bought them separately.

Hocus Focus Colourful Face Kit ($38.00 U.S.)

• Pretty Baby is a soft, powdery pink beauty powder. Beauty powders can be used as all-over powders, blushes, highlighters, etc. It’s really up to you on how you want to use it, and depending on your skin tone, what may be the best use for it. I remember when it launched with the Diana Ross collection and I’d use it everyday, but I couldn’t tell you what it did for my skin/face.
• Sunsparked Pearl is a pearly peach highlighter. It’s one of my favorite MAC highlighters, because it has subtle shimmer and a great “glow” factor. I’ve always felt it worked particularly well on warm skin, but it’s also nice on cooler skin.
• Peachykeen is a peachy-coral blush shade that is available all the time. It’s one of my favorite blushes (MAC has an excellent line of permanent blush shades).

Fab-racadabra Bronze Face Kit ($38.00 U.S.)

• Golden is a golden-brown bronzing shade with subtle gold pearl shimmer.
• Buffed & Polished is a glitzy gilded bronze with golden shimmer. It reads a little chunky shimmer to me, though, so it’s not my favorite to use on the face.
• Sunbasque is a deep bronzy peach. Again, it’s an excellent blush and part of the permanent shade range.

I liked the Hocus Focus Colourful Face Kit best. I think it’s wearable for both warm and cool skin tones, and I think it works well to give you a brighter, glowier look without a fuss. The Fab-racadabra Bronze Face Kit is exactly that–a bronzing kit. Since I’d rather just opt for a single bronzer than a whole kit full, it’s not my thing. I think it may lean too orange for some as well.

• Product: 27/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

See photos and swatches… Continue reading »

Conjure Up Mineralize Blush

MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Mineralize Blushes

I think fans of MAC mineralize blushes will enjoy the two newest, limited edition additions released with the holiday color collection. I still prefer pressed powder blushes myself, but these two are exceptionally lovely.

• Conjure Up is a dirty plummy-berry with very subtle shimmer (hardly any at all!) and intense color. Initially, it reminded me of a deeper Stark Naked blush (which I love).
• Superdupernatural is a rusty coral with a subtle sheen. It’s also rich in color and easy to layer for increased intensity.

I’d put both on my must-have list, though Conjure Up would edge out Superdupernatural if I could only choose one. I think that both are flattering for different skin tones, but of course, Superdupernatural may be harder for cooler skintones to pull off. I don’t think cool-toned faces should stay away from it, though, because it doesn’t run very warm.

• Product: 27/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

See swatches… Continue reading »

Les Tissages Lames de Chanel / Shimmering Tweed Highlighter

Chanel Shimmering Tweed Highlighter ($60.00 for 0.45 oz.) is the next level of limited edition, luxurious highlighters from Chanel’s Holiday Collection. If you’ve enjoyed Chanel’s Tweed Blushes, I can only imagine you’re particularly curious about this new item.

Chanel describes this highlighter as, “Holiday beauty furthers the fantasy with three delicately ‘woven’ shades of shimmering colour for cheeks and décolleté. Gold, bronze and copper tones cast a natural luminous glow on skin to highlight and heighten a festive effect. Unmistakably CHANEL: the powder’s imprinted surface, inspired by the iconic tweed.”

It’s a woven mix of metallic, paled down silver-gold (seriously, silver-gold), subtly shimmered fleshy-peach, and coppery-brown, while gold flecks permeate throughout the product. The entire effect is a shimmery golden-bronze color. For lighter skin tones, this can be worn as a light bronzer/blush, but for most, it’s just an excellent highlighter. It feels smooth, soft, and looks like holiday if it were a highlighter. It twinkles, shimmers, and glitters (but not in a disco ball way!).

Value wise, the price tag is steep no matter how you look at it. Even though you get a fair amount of product for your buck, it’s still more than a lot of us want to spend on a highlighter. In the end, it’s slightly pricier than Dior’s SkinShimmers, but not by much. This highlighter is $133.33/oz. whilst Dior’s is $122.86/oz. If you compare it against blush shades, Chanel comes in as less expensive than NARS ($156.25/oz.) and Smashbox ($184.62/oz.)–and significantly less expensive than even Chanel blushes ($300.00/oz).

Bottom line: I consider this a splurge item, but I wouldn’t wait too long, because it is limited edition, and it’s a product that’s easy to fall in love with. I still prefer my Dior SkinShimmers for everyday highlighting, because the shimmer is finer and subtler, but this is definitely going to be a go-to for special occasions! (Besides, Dior doesn’t have a SkinShimmer in quite this tone — Amber Diamond is a bit darker/more copper than golden as this is.)

• Product: 28/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 5/5

Recommendation: For a beautiful holiday highlighter, consider Chanel’s limited edition Tweed Highlighter.

Availability: Chanel in October/November 2009

See more photos and swatches… Continue reading »

Guerlain Meteorites Perles Impériales ($53.00 for 1.2 oz.) is the latest limited edition shade of Guerlain’s famous Meteorites from their holiday collection, slated for release this October.

Perles Imperiales is a soft, icy cool-toned pink highlighter with silvery-pink shimmer. I’m not sure if it’s possible to use this as a blush, as it’s really quite sheer and soft on me, so I do think the best way to use these is as a highlighter/luminizer. The pearls themselves are a mix of medium pink, pale lilac, peach, and burnt peach. What separates Guerlain’s Meteorites from other highlighters is how subtle and fine the shimmer is. It’s just a very silky, smooth highlighter that works well on a variety of skin types. It doesn’t make you look like a disco ball, but it still gives you noticeable “glow.” This is something you can subtly apply all over the face or just strategically to highlight certain areas (e.g. cheeks), which I like.

Guerlain describes Perles Imperiales as, “Easy to apply and almost magical, these famous multiple-effect pearls are as luminous as imperial silk and come in three formats – mini, medium and maxi – in order to optimize their evening-out and corrective action. They are also reinvented in three new shades intended to create a fresh, sublime complexion. Mauve and white illuminators, with pink for freshness and gold for light, brighten and smooth the skin to a sleek satin perfection. The famous Météorites compact features an opulent pouch in shiny black fabric, decorated with light-infused silver and rhinestones.”

The packaging for this limited edition shade is gorgeous. It’s in the same traditional cardboard packaging as the rest of the Meteorites, but the outside is solid black with black rhinestones/sparkles all around the side and then a smattering of silver rhinestones/sparkles on the top. I love how this packaging looks, because I do find the Meteorites packaging, in general, to be a little cheap for Guerlain (since it’s out of cardboard), but they really classed it up with the sequin-like look of Perles Imperiales. I do prefer using a brush like the 165 or 187 by MAC with the Meteorites for best application.

I know some feel Meteorites are pricey, but you always have to look at the volume you get for your buck, too. This is one of the least expensive high-end highlighters, believe it or not! This is priced at just $44.17/oz. compared to my all-time favorite Dior Skin Shimmers, which are $122.86/oz. — nearly three times the price per ounce. I imagine one box of Meteorites will last you quite awhile. There is also something to be said about the design itself–beautiful, colored pearls of powder.

• Product: 28/30
• Value: 9/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you like subtle highlighters, fine shimmer, and luxe products, you might want to check out Guerlain’s Perles Imperiales when you can!

Availability: October 2009

See more photos and swatches… Continue reading »

Bone Beige/Emphasize

MAC Cosmetics DSquared Collection: Sculpt & Shape Duos

MAC DSquared Collection is small launch in-stores today, the 28th. The collection includes two Sculpt & Shape Powder Duos — Bone Beige/Emphasize and Accentuate/Sculpt.

Sculpt & Shape Powder Duos

• Bone Beige/Emphasize is a duo of a soft, lightly shimmered palest cream for highlighting and a reddish-toned light-medium brown for contouring. This is supposed to be most ideal for lighter skin tones (think NC/NW15).
• Accentuate/Sculpt is a duo of a soft, pinky-peach shimmered highlighter and a neutral-cool medium matte brown for contouring. This is most ideal for light and medium skin tones.

Accentuate/Sculpt is my favorite duo, as I feel it’s very universal and can work for a wide variety of skin tones. Sculpt can be layered for deeper color or used lightly for softer color. I personally have all of MAC’s Sculpt & Shape powder line in full-size (they’re the size of blushes–but they can be purchased individually rather than as a duo at PRO), and I love them. They’re great for cheeks and the face, but they’re also outstanding on the eyes for a very natural, sculpted look.

• Product: 28/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you’re looking for a non-bronzer contouring product, try MAC’s Sculpt & Shape line!

Availability: MAC Cosmetics

See swatches… Continue reading »

Smashbox Reign Collection: Regal Fusion Blush

Smashbox Regal Fusion Blush ($32.00 for 0.25 oz.) is a combination blush with one half with a matte finish and the other half with a shimmer finish. It’s described by Smashbox as a “peachy nude.”

When I swatched it, it looked more like a peachy orange to me, but it does work well to flush cheeks on those with warm undertones. I think there is a fair bit of warmth to this shade, so it may not be as suitable on those with cooler skin tones. Like the eyeshadow palettes, it’s difficult to keep the matte and shimmer sides from mixing, and it’s not easy to keep a matte clean of shimmer. Once shimmer crosses over the border… it is such a pain to push it back!

The palette, though, is large enough to grab the half you’d like to use, which is a huge plus. Often you’ll get multiple strips of color in products, but they’ll be so small that it’s near impossible to use them alone. You also get a lot of product for your buck. Normally, Smashbox Blushes are $24 a pop for 0.13 oz. You get nearly double the amount of product for $8 more — so it actually has good value. The Reign packaging just didn’t do it for me, but I know others liked it, so you may want to see it in person to judge for yourself.

• Product: 7/10
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 7/10
• Packaging: 7/10

Recommendation: I liked the concept of a matte/shimmer duo blush, but it’s not as practical as I’d like it to be. The shade is flattering on warm skin tones, but those with cooler skin tones may want to see it in person first.

Availability: Sephora

See swatches… Continue reading »

Illamasqua: Hussy Blush

Illamasqua Hussy Powder Blush ($23.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a matte, bright coral-pink. It’s smooth, intensely pigmented, and blends easily. It can be applied more subtly by using a stippling brush like MAC’s 187, or you can always tone it down if you’ve over-applied with a light dusting of powder.

It wears well and won’t fade on you throughout the day, and the color is not so cool to be unwearable for warmer skin tones, but it is also more pink than coral, making it easy to wear for cool skin tones, too. Sephora describes the shade as “petal pink,” which isn’t inaccurate, but I just keep seeing a bit of coral in it, too. The best part about this blush is the intensity of the pigmentation, because you definitely don’t have to worry about it not showing up on your skin tone! I’d compare the pigmentation to that of NARS’ blushes.

I’m a bit disappointed in the value of these blushes, though. They’re more expensive than NARS blushes, and nearly double the cost (per ounce) of MAC blushes. They’re priced just under (again, per ounce) Stila and Smashbox blushes. I do think they could have given us a little more product for the $23 price tag!

• Product: 8/10
• Value: 7/10
• Ease of Use: 8/10
• Packaging: 7/10

Recommendation: Have trouble finding blushes that show up on you? Illamasqua’s are richly pigmented making them good choices for those who like to put the spotlight on cheeks!

Availability: Sephora

See swatches… Continue reading »

Dolce & Gabbana Provocative Blush

Get Sexy with Dolce & Gabbana’s Provocative Blush

Dolce & Gabbana Provocative Blush ($44.00 for .17 oz.) is a smooth, matte baby doll pink blusher.  It runs just a little cool, but overall, it’s suitable for both cool and warm-toned complexions.

It actually reminds me a lot of one of my all-time favorite blushes, MAC Don’t Be Shy Blush, which was limited edition, so I’m happy to have found an awesome alternative.  This one is actually smoother and silkier in its texture, and the color is quite pigmented (though it is not overly pigmented–I know, some may find there’s no such thing, but I like a good medium when it comes to blush pigmentation).

When it comes the packaging, while there’s heft and it looks gold and shiny, it does show fingerprints, which is a pet peeve of mine.  I really do like the color, and while I’m sure I’ll never get through an entire pan, the amount you get for the price tag is actually less than some of the other high-end brands like Chanel, Dior, Guerlain, etc.  I do consider this more of a splurge/indulgence, but I am pleased with the product’s quality overall (which cushions the blow to the wallet!).

D&G’s makeup line includes four other blush shades:  Nude, Peach, Rose, and Warm.  According to their website, Pat McGrath recommends, “For day, brush a soft rose or peach colour high on the cheekbones in a circular motion using a large powder brush. For evening, contour the face with a blush that is slightly darker than natural skin colour. Brush the contour along the cheekbones, temples, and chin for a subtly sculpted effect.”

• Product: 9/10
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 8/10
• Packaging: 7/10

Recommendation:  If you have the dough and are in need for a light pink blush, you can’t go wrong with Dolce & Gabbana’s Provocative!

Availability: Saks

See swatches… Continue reading »