Holiday Sparkle with Prescriptives
Prescriptives Cool Lustre Shimmer Cheek Color ($24.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a gorgeous plummy pink with gold sparkle. It instantly reminded me of MAC’s Stark Naked Blush (swatch. They are very similar, though not exactly the same — but if you’ve always wanted Stark Naked (one of my favorite blushes!), this one is a nice substitute, even if it is also limited edition.
The texture of Cool Lustre is smooth, soft, and the color is noticeable. It’s not ultra pigmented like NARS’ blushes, but it has just the right amount of pigmentation to add plenty of pop to your cheeks–plus, you can always layer for deeper color.
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’ve been looking for a dupe for MAC’s Stark Naked Blush or enjoy yourself a cool-toned plum… you might like this!
Availability: Nordstrom
, Prescriptives
Get Glowy Cheeks for the Holidays with Benefit
Benefit Cosmetics Sugarbomb
($28.00 for 0.42 oz.) is the newest powder addition to Benefit’s line-up. It joins cult favorites like CORALista and Hoola, and Benefit describes it as a “sugar rush flush” for the face.
The powder comes with four triangles of color, which Benefit describes as “rose, shimmering pink, soft plum, and peach.” The powder is designed to be used all at once, rather than one triangle at a time. I’d completely agree with that notion, particularly because the space is just not big enough to really grab one shade over another that well.
When swirled together, the outcome is a beautiful peachy-pink shade with a very, very subtle golden sheen. This is half blush, half highlighter, because it’s not ultra pigmented and on my skin tone (which you could describe as “medium”), while it shows up, it looks very soft. It’s certainly not invisible (which would make it more like a highlighter), but it’s not vibrant. This is good and bad, depending on your usage — but it’s a good thing to me.
It actually reminded me of a peachier version of CORALista, but they are different, since CORALista is much more pigmented and pinker. On my skin, it gives me just enough color and really gives me that “glow.” That super sought after glowy cheek look? That’s what this is in a cute lil’ box.
Both the texture and the results reminded me quite a bit of my beloved Dior Skin Shimmers (particularly Pop Diamond). The shade itself is a reminiscent of NARS’ Orgasm, but it’s less orange (on me) and the shimmer more refined. But here’s something fun: Benefit is way, way cheaper than both. Benefit’s Powders are HUGE–a whopping 0.42 oz.–compared to the average blush that weighs in at a mere 0.20 oz. NARS’ blushes are $156/oz., MAC’s are $88/oz., and Dior’s are $150/oz., but Benefit is $67/oz.
It’s packaged exactly like other Benefit powders, which is in a cute little cardboard box. If you don’t dig Benefit’s packaging, this is probably not going to do it for you either. It’s typical Benefit–and I say that as a good thing–and even though I do prefer sturdier packaging, this will hold up quite well, even if you do keep in your purse. Of course, if you toss it in your bag, the outside will get dinged up a bit, but in the end, it should still survive with the product intact, which is the more important part.
Bottom Line: This is a beautiful get-glowy-cheeks product if you’re light to medium-dark. If you have a deeper or darker skin tone, I think this will end up being more of a highlighter–if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s worth considering, but I don’t think the color will show much very well. I fell in love with this product at first swatch (and I had a hunch it’d be mine kind of color just from looking at it, too) – it’s everything I love: soft, subtle shimmer (think Dior Skin Shimmers, mmm!) that gives me glowy, naturally flushed cheeks. This is something I could wear everyday, with or without other makeup. Benefit, I’m totally impressed by this!
P.S. I also want to give props to Benefit’s website for showing incredibly color accurate photos of Sugarbomb, too. You don’t always see such accuracy in official product imagery, so it’s really a nice touch.
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- Product: 30/30
- Value: 10/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you love glowy cheeks, check out Benefit’s Sugarbomb!
Availability: Benefit Cosmetics, Sephora
Holiday Palettes Revealed: Too Faced Glamour Revolution Palette
Too Faced Glamour Revolution Palette
($39.50) is a new, limited edition holiday palette available exclusively at Sephora. Too Faced calls it a “makeup book,” actually. It contains nine eyeshadows, three lipglosses, a bronzer, blush, and Shadow Insurance (eyeshadow base).
Face
- La Vie En Rose Brightening Blush is a bright pop of petal pink with gold flecks of shimmer. It’s not a neutral nor warm-toned pink, but it’s not too cool to make it difficult to wear for warmer skin tones. It’s actually a very pretty shade. It has a soft texture and is quite pigmented. The shimmer could be more subtle/integrated, but it works well.
- Chocolate Soleil Bronzer is a surprisingly cool-toned chocolate brown. It’s not too pigmented, and I don’t think it’d be my favorite bronzer on my skin tone (which is warmer). It is shimmer-less, but it does have a soft sheen.
Lips
There are three nameless lip glosses in this palette, and I can see why they didn’t bother to name them — they’re unremarkable. They are all incredibly sheer, with the first one looking like a nude-pink in the pot and coming out slightly pink-tinged gloss if I look hard enough. The second is a deeper-nude in the pan, but the actual color in a swatch is just sheer glossiness. The most pigmented is the third, which looks like a medium deep pink in the pan, but it’s just a soft pink gloss. I think Too Faced could have omitted these lip glosses (even if I liked lip glosses in pan-form, these are pretty poor performing) and gone with maybe a highlighter to round out the blush and bronzer.
Eyeshadow
Naturally, the eyeshadow portion of the palette is the highlight of the product, and the eyeshadows are smooth, pigmented, and the texture, overall, is good. The shade range is interesting – a few neutrals, but there are also some pops of color. The palette of eyeshadows does seem to run more cool-toned, though.
- Milk Chocolate is a tauped-up chocolate brown with a matte finish. It feels pretty smooth and doesn’t look chalky.
- George & Weezie is a green-tinged gold with a frosty finish. It has almost a green-gray cast.
- Boy Toy is a frosty cool-toned blue-based pink with silverish sheen.
- Label Whore is a reddish brown with a green-teal shimmer/sheen. I thought this shade was really fun and different — it reminded me of a tealer, more pigmented version of MAC’s Club eyeshadow. This shade is also available as a single.
- London Calling is a soft white-gold with a slightly frosty finish.
- Glamazon is a soft taupe with a pink undertone. It has almost a metallic finish. This shade is also available as a single.
- Dirt Bag is a brown with a touch of burgundy. It has more of a satiny finish than frost, too. This shade is also available as a single.
- Party Girl is a medium purple with a sheen and deeper purple shimmer.
- Neptune is a bright green-based teal with a soft sheen (less frost, more sheen!). This shade is also available as a single.
Bottom Line: It’s a fun, cute palette. It’s not my favorite holiday palette, but it’s a solid one. Everything in the palette seems to run on the cooler side, so it may be a better palette for cooler skin tones. Even though there’s a good assortment of eyeshadows, I felt like they had a few too many frosts and no standout highlighter shade–if this is a palette to get me ready from face to lips to eyes, that’s something I’d look for. Some might find the packaging cute, others may find it cumbersome, because it is a bigger palette and could have easily been made smaller (and thus more portable).
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- Product: 25/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 3/5
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of Too Faced eyeshadows, this is a great way to get several for less!
Availability: Sephora
LORAC Silver Screen Palette ($30.00) is a face palette that contains eight shades of eyeshadow, two shades of blush, a double-ended brush, and a lipgloss. It’s from LORAC’s Hollywood Ice Collection.
The palette is actually divided with both cool and warm eyeshadows — the first row of eyeshadows are warm, while the second row of eyeshadows are cool. The idea behind the palette is having the ability to go from day to night within a single palette. I definitely think LORAC hit a home run on that mark — this can be easily used to create several softer, more neutral looks, while the mauve, silver, and black-blue shade can add drama to any look.
- Warm eyeshadows: a warmed up champagne, a peachy-pink, copper-brown, chocolate brown
- Cool eyeshadows: an icy, semi-matte white, a silvery mauve-plum, a brownish-green-blue (reminded me of MAC’s Club eyeshadow), and a blue-black with blue-green sparkles.
- Blushes: a bright, peachy-apricot and a semi-matte to matte dirty pink
- Lip Polish: a semi-sheer, reddish-brown with gold shimmer
If you’re looking for an easy-to-use palette with both eyeshadows and blushes in one (but thankfully no lip color wells!), I think you might find LORAC to your liking. The quality of the eyeshadows is great — they’re smooth, soft, and pigmented. They’re not ultra pigmented, but I don’t think ultra pigmentation is always necessary (good pigmentation is enough — ultra can actually make a color harder to work with at times!).
The palette is housed in sleek, silver packaging and it’s pretty lightweight. The brush is a throw-in; it’s not spectacular, but it’ll do ya in a pinch. I think they could have gone with a more neutral lip color (I know, gasp!), because I’m not sure that deep of a shade will work for the majority of looks.
Bottom Line: The colors weren’t necessarily to my personal taste, but these are quality shades at an affordable price. It’s hard to beat $30 for this much product!
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- Product: 26/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: Still hunting for a holiday palette? Wanting something with variety? Try LORAC!
Availability: LORAC Cosmetics, Ulta
Lancome Holiday 2009: Lancome Sparkling Cherub Illuminating Powder
Lancome Sparkling Cherub Sheer Warming Illuminating Powder ($40.00 for 0.35 oz.) is very true to its name: it’s a subtle powder that warms up the complexion.
To me, it feels and looks very much like a bronzer. Although it initially looks sparkly, it’s just a gold overspray, so after that top layer disappears, you’re left with a mostly matte combination of colors. The outer right is kind of a beige-y fleshy-tone, while the inner ring is a deeper bronzy shade. I’m not really a fan of overspray, just because all they do is make it look pretty, sparkly, and different than what it really is. I’d rather just see it in its semi-matte to matte form.
It’s not really practical to use each section alone, so together, they mix and create a very lightly warmed-up bronze-orange powdery shade. I could see some maybe using the inner portion alone, but the outer ring is a little thin to make it easy to use by itself.
The design of the cherub is cute, and you’ll see it linger in your compact for several uses (until you flatten him out, LOL), which is nice. I could see myself using this as a light blusher on cheeks or maybe a dusting on my forehead, nose, and chin to add extra warmth during the winter season. I don’t, personally, think I’ll reach for this too often, but if you’re looking for a way to warm up your complexion, this might be it.
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- Product: 24/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: For a cutely designed, subtle bronzer, Sparkling Cherub might have you covered.
Availability: Nordstrom
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
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