MAC Garb Blush
MAC Pret-a-Papier Collection: Blush & Mineralize Blush Review, Photos, Swatches
For whatever reason, I must have spaced, because I did not realize that Pret-a-Papier was such a large collection. I kept thinking it was a dinky little collection, but it’s a full collection. It includes two sheertone blushes and one mineralize blush duo.
Blush ($18.50 U.S. / $22.00 CDN)
- Garb is a darkened nude with an orange undertone. It has a near matte finish, though there is a subtle shimmer in it that’s really not very noticeable. Though it’s only a bit on the warmer side, the obvious orange tone may not work well with the fairest of the fair.
- Instant Chic is a slightly coraled pink with a powdery look. It’s sheerer than Garb, and I found it more difficult to build up the intensity, though. I like the shade, because it’s not quite like anything in MAC’s permanent line, and I don’t know if I’ve seen something like this in recent collections either. I do wish it was a bit more pigmented–I fear it may be a wash on those with deeper skin tones (think NC/NW45 or darker).
Mineralize Blush ($23.00 U.S. / $27.50 CDN)
- Light Over Dark is a duo of golden copper and a darkened, reddish copper-bronze. Both shades have a very frosty finish to them. The size of the compact is large enough to be able to use the shades separately or together, I’d imagine. I’m personally not a fan of this, because it does have a rather frosty finish, which turns out pretty gnarly in photographs!
Instant Chic is the most unique of the three blushes, despite not having the best color pay off (it is a sheertone, though). It’s coral enough to be perfect for summer and add some brightness to cheeks, but it’s not so warm that only warmer skin tones will like it. I do think it’s a better shade for light to medium skin tones, and if you’re of a deeper skin tone, you may want to swatch it in person first.
Any of these catch your eye?
Givenchy’s Summer Collection also featured Fleur de Frangipanier, which is available in two shades: Island Sun (No. 2) and Island Tan (No. 3). Each shade retails for $45 and contains 0.35 oz. of product.
I haven’t spotted Island Sun yet, but I know it is the lighter of the two shades available and also has a significant chunk of pink color to part of its flower, so I’d also presume it runs on the pinker/redder side while Island Tan is more on the warmer/orange side. Givenchy’s Summer Collection is slated to hits stores in May 2010, so you may see it creep onto counters any day now.
Island Tan is a warmed-up, but muted, orange bronze with very, very subtle shimmer. I swatched both heavily and sheerly (and blended out), so you can see the potential intensity along with under more normal usage. It’s a very soft shade of bronze that will certainly be flattering on warmer skin tones, but I definitely think it’ll have a tendency to turn orange on those with pink or red undertones. (I would recommend checking out Island Sun instead!)
The texture of the powder is incredibly silky–it’s fine-milled and smooth to the touch. It blends beautifully and wears well. The shimmer in it is sophisticated and just barely-there, so it’s great for many skin types. Not surprising for Givenchy is the palette itself is beautiful with the raised flower and color splotch pattern. The color splotches range from a bronzed nude to chocolate bronze to peach.
The compact also has a pull-out drawer under the powder that reveals a small face brush, which is usable and certainly a step-up from the majority of included brushes in palettes, but it’s not my favorite! I’m also pleased (and pleasantly surprised!) that Givenchy didn’t skimp on quantity either–you get plenty of bronzer for your buck.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: For those with warmer complexions and yellower undertones, I think Island Tan is a workable bronzer.
Availability: May 2010
Guerlain Terracotta: Blonde Halee
Guerlain Blondes (01) ‘Terracotta’ Light Sheer Bronzing Powder
($50.00 for 0.35 oz.) is a multi-colored bronzing powder. There is also Brunette (02). I actually thought these were new for this year, but after going back to the summer collection details, it’s the 4 Seasons bronzing powder that launched this year. Apparently, Guerlain launched two different types of bronzers, including the one pictured above–that are limited edition and new and different from the permanent versions.
Anyway, Blonde contains five different shades that come together to create a red-toned bronze. It’s designed for our fairer, blonde-haired friends, but it’ll work just as nice on our warmer, brunette-haired friends, too–because I am the latter and find this lovely on my skin. I tend to wear it more as a bronzer, but it’s subtle without being orange and the shimmer gives you a little glowiness that’s perfect for summer. I wore it in a very natural look, and I felt like it worked incredibly well to give my cheeks a little definition, glow, and that I-just-got-back-from-vacation look (even though I went nowhere!).
It’s a very fine-milled powder, so it’s subtle and easy to use without going overboard–but you can layer it for a greater intensity. It also has fine shimmer that goes through the compact (no overspray here!) that gives skin a healthier, more luminous look without looking like a glitter ball. A huge bonus is that this bronzer photographs really well and natural, too! I may have to check out the Brunette version to see how it stacks up, but Blonde totally wow-ed me (and I’m not even a bronzer person!).
The pricing is just about what I’d expect from Guerlain, but at least they don’t hold back on the quantity–they give you just a little more than the average bronzer, but it’s not significantly more. Nevertheless, sometimes you’ll see higher prices and lesser quantities, so I always like to see the two still in line. The packaging is also very pretty–it’s a glossy reddish-bronze with a shimmering sparkle almost!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’ve been searching for a light, natural bronzer that’s good on both fairer, cooler skin (aka one that doesn’t turn orange), Guerlain’s Blonde may be the answer! It’s soft and silky with the perfect bronzing color for those with pinker or redder undertones, but it works equally well on those with warmer, yellower undertones–you’ll see the slightly reddish tinge in it, but it works!
Availability: Nordstrom
Going Bronze with Style
Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel ($50.00) is available in two different shades – Terre d’or and Terre Halee — and new for Chanel Les Pop-Up de Chanel Collection. Every Summer, Chanel releases a limited edition bronzer (or two!), and this year is no exception. It has a soft raised wave pattern across the surface, the illusion of summer sand. Both shades are a finely-milled bronzing powder that apply naturally to skin.
If you take a swatch with a sponge-tip applicator (or finger), you’ll find it seems too much for a bronzing product, but when used with a brush, you’ll get a much softer, more natural look more appropriate to bronzing powders. What’s nice about the underlying pigmentation is it can be built up to your preference, plus it works well for a variety of skin tones, too.
- Terre d’or is a lighter, more golden, peachy bronze. It has a very soft, silky feel with a subtle shimmer-sheen. This shade is ideal for light to medium skin tones.
- Terre Halee is a deeper, dirtier bronze with a subtle golden sheen. It has the same feel an dfinish of Terre d’ore–a smooth, silken powder with a light shimmer and soft sheen. This shade is ideal for medium to deep skin tones.
I’m on the lighter side of medium, but I’d definitely classify myself as medium in skin tone. I find I like Terre d’or just a little more than Terre Halee on me, but I like a softer, lighter application of bronzer. The sand pattern is cute without being too-beautiful-to-use or just a mist of overspray, too.
With a whopping 0.38 oz. of bronzer, this should last you all summer and then some. At least Chanel didn’t skimp on product, even if this is a pricier bronzer (but the same price as other permanent shades of Soleil Tan de Chanel).
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: For a very silky smooth bronzer, Chanel’s Soleil Tan de Chanel range is always a good choice. Terre d’or is suitable for light to medium skin tones, while Terre Halee is more suitable for those with deeper skin tones.
Availability: May 2010
Two-Minute Reviews: CoverGirl Eyeshadow Palette, Physicians Formula Healthy Glow, Smashbox Heartbreaker
The concept behind two-minute reviews is mostly products that I photographed, swatched, but I never ended up reviewing. Rather than just bury the photos into the “Unlikely to Review” folder and never let them see the light of day, I decided that perhaps a quickie review was better than no review at all… Let me know if you’d rather a quickie review than no review
CoverGirl Vibrant Browns (#700) Eyeshadow Palette ($7.49) is a palette that features four shades of eyeshadow: a softened, matte black with glitter overlay, subdued blue-toned sheer gray with silver sheen, muted copper with orange-gold shimmer and frost finish, and an incredibly sheer white with sheen. The colors are all on the sheerer side, and the shadows themselves just don’t grab me. I think one or two more muted shades might work, but these altogether just don’t. I find the gold too warm to work with the coolness of the black and gray. Quick Rating: C-
Physicians Formula Healthy Glow Shimmer Strips ($11.95) reminded me of Bobbi Brown’s Shimmerbricks. Healthy Glow is a gradation of light, icy pink to a muted raspberry pink. The colors are better used together rather than alone, as individually, they’re not very pigmented. Together, they create a lightened raspberry with a frosty white sheen. This is great for those with closer-to-flawless skin, because it’s pretty and shimmery–but if you have larger pores, the high frost finish will accentuate them. For a drugstore blush, though, the price is a little steeper than I’d like to see. Quick Rating: B
Smashbox Heartbreaker Collection looked super cute in the promos, but I wasn’t loving it when I saw some of the pieces in person. In fact, I loved the actual box packaging infinitely more than the product packaging! The boxes are cute with doodles and polaroids on it–just sweet and fitting for the theme. The shiny white plastic makes it look and feel on the cheap side, and Smashbox really isn’t a cheap brand. I tend to think of Smashbox as more of a mid-to-high end brand. I tried three products: Starlight Fusion Soft Lights ($30), Rollerball Lip Gloss ($21), and Liquid Liner Pen ($24). I reviewed the eyeliner previously, but I never got around to the other two products. Despite looking rather vibrant in the pan, Starlight is a very soft, lightened raspberry sorbet with a soft champagne sheen. It didn’t show up very well on my medium skin tone, so I wasn’t never driven to wear it in a look (hence this quickie review!). Quick Rating: C+
The Rollerball Lip Gloss was very much the same — it’s clear gloss with icy white shimmer. It’s very slightly pink tinged, but on lips, it looks clear. I also felt like the Rollerball packaging made me feel like I was using Bonne Bell (which is fine… if I’m paying Bonne Bell prices!). Quick Rating: C-
Toki Doki
tokidoki for Sephora: Royal Pride Inferno Bronzer
tokidoki Royal Pride Inferno Bronzer
($22.00 for 0.37 oz.) is a warmed, golden-tan with champagne-gold shimmer bronzing powder. The powder itself has a heart and crossbones raised design in the middle, and there’s no overspray on it, it’s just the same as the rest of the product–which is nice, just because I hate being duped by those oversprays!
Though I was disappointed with the color pay off of Adios Star, I had no such pigmentation issues with Royal Pride. This swatched beautifully–pigmented, smooth, and gorgeous to look at. As far as bronzing goes, I think this will work nicely on lighter medium skin tones to deeper medium skin tones, but it may turn orange on some of the paler beauties. I’d recommend paler and very cool skin tones to swatch in-store if they’re able to.
tokidoki also has Diavolina, which is described as a “medium/tan with gold shimmer.” I felt like Royal Pride was a pretty deep bronzer, but it’s described as a “light/medium with gold shimmer.” I think Diavolina may be best for medium deep to deep complexions, but I haven’t seen it to be sure.
The packaging is made out of plastic, but it feels heavy and thick enough that I don’t feel like I’m using dollar-store makeup (which is always my fear whenever I see a non-beauty brand enter the beauty biz!). It’s solid, semi-clear, and should be sturdy enough to tote around.
You also get a whopping 0.37 oz. of product, which is rather hefty for a bronzing product. MAC Bronzing Powders are also $22, but you get 0.30 oz. I think tokidoki did a good job pricing themselves above mass, but they didn’t price themselves out of range, either. I wouldn’t go crazy buying hundreds of dollars over this without testing it first, but I can see myself picking a few items just to try and see (and if all else fails, take advantage of Sephora’s excellent return policy).
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 26/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 5/5
Recommendation: If you’re looking for a golden-toned bronzer, I think you may like Royal Pride. It’s quite pigmented, so use a light hand or a fluffier brush when you go to use it to keep from overdoing it!
Availability: Sephora
