The Scarlet Season: Smashbox Siren Lip Enhancing Gloss

Smashbox Siren Lip Enhancing Gloss ($18.00 for 0.20 oz.) is a mostly red, slightly pink-tinged semi-opaque gloss with a coppery red shimmer that’s noticeable but not in-your-face. The best part about this gloss (and other shades in the same formula) is the high shine, ultra glossy look it gives lips. My lips just seemed to look a little bigger, fuller, and just more POW! overall. The formula iteslf is non-sticky, not really thick (but not super thin, either–somewhere in-between), and very moisturizing. The gloss does contain vitamin E, so it helps keep lips feeling their best. It has a soft slightly sweet vanilla scent to it, as well. Siren is a good shade to gloss over a red lipstick for extra shine or wear alone!

The Scarlet Season is a series of posts showcasing and featuring my favorite shades of red lips–from glosses to lipsticks that runs through December 2009. You can sure expect to see a lot of red this holiday season!

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Bobbi Brown Chrome Palette ($75.00) is the stunning eye and lip palette include with Bobbi Brown’s Chrome Collection, and it is also limited edition (of course!). The palette includes ten shades of eyeshadow and four shades of lip glosses.

For Eyes

• White Eyeshadow is just that, a matte snowy white. It’s slightly cool, but it isn’t frosty or cold.
• Polar Ice Eyeshadow is a soft, light gray with a blue tinge and silver shimmer. It goes on a bit sheer, but it can be layered for a slightly more solid look.
• Storm Cloud Eyeshadow is a sparkly medium dark brown. It doesn’t really have anything special about it to make it unique, but it still looks pretty (you just may already have something similar in your stash).
• Iron Eyeshadow is a matte slate gray. It didn’t go on as smoothly as the White eyeshadow, and it felt a little more dusty.
• Thunder Eyeshadow is a glittery dark gray with a touch of black and silver shimmer. This reminded me of MAC’s Knight Divine, though not quite as glittery or gritty.
• Moonlight Eyeshadow is a glittery soft pink with a little champagne tone. Bobbi Brown describes it as a cool purple sparkle, which is clearly not. The back of my palette shows that this is where Moonlight is supposed to be, but I really feel like this and Foil were misplaced/mislabeled.
• Cyber Grey Eyeshadow is a slightly purple tinged smoky silver shimmer shade.
• Foil Eyeshadow is a glittery soft purple-gray — very similar to Cyber Grey, but it has more of a glittery texture. As I mentioned earlier, I think this is really Moonlight and Foil is the other one… as Bobbi Brown describes Foil as “a pale bronze.” Again, I’m just going off the back of my palette (and Bobbi Brown’s website).
• Chrome Eyeshadow is a silver with a little brown thrown in – kind of reminds me of Pewter Chrome Eyeshadow, but not nearly as pretty. (Sorry, I *love* that eyeshadow, so not much can compare.)
• Charcoal Haze Eyeshadow is a matte medium gray-black. This one had the same texture as Iron, but it did seem a little smoother.

For Lips

• Pink Mist Lip Gloss is a medium yellow-pink with multi-colored sparkle. It’s pretty sheer, but I found I could actually see some color when I swatched it on my skin (which I barely could with the Earth Metal palette).
• Winter Bronze Lip Gloss is a copper sparkled bronze shade. On lips, it looks a bit burnished, but it’s not ultra pigmented so it’s more wearable than it looks.
• Berry Lip Gloss is a muted plum-berry with soft sparkle. I liked this shade the most, as it seemed opaque enough to add color to lips, but still soft as I’d expect from Bobbi Brown.
• Chrome Pink Lip Gloss is beige-rose with gold sparkle. It’s pretty, and it’s a shade I could see people loving for everyday.

You know me — I don’t like lip palettes. I don’t like them alone, and I don’t like them when attached to eyeshadow palettes, either. They’re just a no-go for me. I will say that the gloss in these are more pigmented than in Bobbi Brown’s Earth Metal Eye & Lip Palette, which is a plus.  I’m not going to drop points on this product because of that personal bias, so I’m judging on the product included itself, which is better than a lot of lip palettes I’ve tried.

In the palette, you get 10 eyeshadows, each weighing 0.02 oz. (total weight of 0.20 oz.), and you also get four lipglosses, each weighing 0.03 oz. (total weight of 0.12 oz.). A single Bobbi Brown eyeshadow retails for $22 for 0.10 oz. and a single lip gloss retails for $20 for 0.14 oz. The reason for all these conversions is to see exactly how much you’re paying for what and whether it’s worth buying a palette if you like a few shades or if you should look towards Bobbi Brown’s permanent line-up instead. The eyeshadows (by weight) would yield about $44 in value, while the lip glosses yield about $17 — which gives you a total “value” of $61. The palette is priced at $75, so I do think it’s a bit steep, even when you consider the fact that you’re getting a variety of shades all housed in a pretty chrome palette.

I also don’t think there’s quite enough variety between the ten shades of eyeshadows — a few are quite similar (like Cyber Grey and Foil). This is definitely a cool smoky eye palette with a little purple kick. I like that they included three different matte shades in the palette, because I think mattes are often missed in palettes. I do wish they had included a highlighter shade, as I think the White eyeshadow will be too garish on bolder skin tones to work well as a highlighter. In a palette of this size, I’d expect a really obvious highlighter shade.

For me, this palette is just okay. It’s not the best value, and I think Bobbi Brown has better shades (or the equivalent) available in her permanent range. In fact, I definitely recommend her Chrome Eyeshadows (and duh, my #1 recommendation would be for Pewter!) if you’re not liking the majority of the shades in this palette. The eyeshadows are soft, have a smooth texture, and they’re all pigmented. There is nothing wrong with them, but I’m just not loving the color combination overall. Nice but not amazing, you know?

Bottom Line: for those who DO love the majority of the shades in the palette and don’t mind lipgloss in pan form, I think you may like this. It’s housed in chromed-out package (which does hold fingerprints, FYI!), offers plenty of smoky eyeshadow combinations, and is appropriate for the upcoming holiday season.  I also think Bobbi Brown fans may enjoy this more than I did, and I think it’s worth at least a peek next time you’re near a Bobbi Brown counter to see for yourself.

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

• Product: 24/30
• Value: 7/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation:

Availability: Bobbi Brown, Nordstrom

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Guerlain: Perle de Lune KissKiss Gloss

Guerlain Perle de Lune KissKiss Gloss ($29.00 for 0.17 oz.) is one of three new, limited edition shades of KissKiss Gloss from Guerlain’s Holiday Collection.

Perle de Lune is a sheer, milky pale pink (it’s almost colorless, so soft the pink is!) with a large dose of pink, gold, and bronze shimmer. This is a particularly glittery shade of KissKiss Gloss, but it doesn’t feel gritty, so I do like that. I’d also say that this is definitely a shade you’d layer on a lipstick rather than wear alone, but for some, it’s a nice way to add sparkle without adding a lot of color.

KissKiss Gloss is a non-sticky, moisturizing gloss that lasts about four hours or so on me. I love the way it sparkles and glitters on my lips, and they always look fantastic layered over lipsticks. The scent is sort of a sweet rose, which isn’t always loved by lipgloss fans alike, so you may want to give it a whiff before making the leap for this shade. This particular holiday shade reminded me a lot of Chanel’s Holiday Aqualumieres, which also very sheer but had lots of sparkle–almost a mix of Canari and Colibri.

Bottom Line: If you’re a fan of sparkly glosses and don’t need a lot of color in your gloss, Perle de Lune may be right up your alley. It’s a bit of a splurge at $29 and you only get 0.17 oz., so it’s not the cheapest gloss around.  The packaging of this limited edition shade is also very pretty.

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

• Product: 29/30
• Value: 7/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 5/5

Recommendation: For a fun, ridiculously sparkly gloss that doesn’t feel gritty, Perle de Lune makes a great shade for layering.

Availability: Nordstrom

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Guerlain: Rubis Rose KissKiss Gloss

Guerlain Rubis Rose KissKiss Gloss ($29.00 for 0.17 oz.) is a lovely semi-sheer shade of plummy brown with gold and plum shimmer throughout from Guerlain’s Holiday Collection.  KissKiss Gloss is one of my favorite gloss formulas, so I’m always excited to see what new, limited edition shades are launched by Guerlain.  It’s a non-sticky, moisturizing gloss that runs sheerer rather than ultra pigmented, but some shades are ultra sheer while others are semi-sheer and provide decent color to lips.  Rubis Rose is one of the latter types — it’s dark without being too dark, so you can wear it alone or over another color to add more depth.

It has a rose-floral scent, a slightly perfume-y scent, which I know some people really dislike, but I like it (I don’t love it, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t bother me).  What I like about the KissKiss Gloss is that it lasts a good amount of time for a lipgloss when its worn on its own — I get about four to five hours of wear before it starts to fade/disappear.  I’ve always loved the sparkle factor, too, which is noticeable and bright and fun.

Price-wise, these aren’t the best bang for your buck, and by their nature, they’re not something everyone is going to rush out to buy.  To each their own, I say!   Price analysis tells us that Guerlain’s KissKiss Glosses are some of the pricier high-end lipglosses, being more expensive than many of its direct competitors like Dior and YSL, but still less expensive than Stila and Smashbox, by the ounce.

Bottom Line: The packaging is pretty and elegant, the formula is stellar, and the color itself is perfect for the fall/winter seasons.  The only downside is the price, and I think Guerlain fans won’t find the price to be much of an obstacle.

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

• Product: 29/30
• Value: 7/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 5/5

Recommendation: If you love the KissKiss formula and are looking for a nice plummy shade, check out the new Rubis Rose!

Availability: Nordstrom, Sephora.com

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Sephora FAME Lip Gloss ($10.00 for 0.5 oz.) are new, limited edition shades exclusive to Sephora (and branded by Sephora) inspired by the film. The launch includes five shades: In the Spotlight (shimmering violet), Raw Talent (shimmering light peach champagne), Rising Star (shimmering vibrant pink), Standing Ovation (shimmering bright red), and Starring Role (shimmering pink with gold sheen).

I tested out two shades: Standing Ovation, which is kind of a sheer, fiery red with golden shimmer, and Raw Talent, which is a sheer, milky champagne with iridescent shimmer. They both relatively sheer, but I did find both added some color to my lips. I liked Standing Ovation more for its wearability, as Raw Talent is a little pale to wear alone for me. These glosses are kind of like lip jellies to me, because they’re thick, non-sticky, and pretty hydrating while you wear them. They wear about average–nothing notable either positive or negative–which is about three to four hours on me.

The packaging is a simple and functional, and these are easy to keep in purses or pockets and reapplying without a mirror is easy enough with the squeeze-tube design. The price tag is easy to swallow at $10 a pop and you do get a good amount of gloss for your money (same size as MAC Lipglasses).

Bottom Line: They’re fun, slightly gimmicky glosses – they’re not the best gloss I’ve tried, but they’re decent.

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

• Product: 25/30
• Value: 9/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation:  Cute, and if you’re a FAME fan, they’re a decent gloss with a high glossy sheen and lots of pretty sparkle, so don’t feel bad just caving for the logo!

Availability: Sephora

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Philosophy Holiday Spice and Everything Nice Gift Set ($20.00) includes Holiday Spice and Everything Nice Shower Gel (8 oz.) and Lip Shine (0.5 oz.). It’s just one of the many gift sets available from Philosophy’s Holiday Collection.

Holiday Spice and Everything Nice is kind of a holiday-esque spicy scent blend with a citrus-y feel. I found it definitely had a slight orange-y citrus scent to it, amongst the holiday spice. I can’t really describe what it smells like, except Christmas, to me. Philosophy doesn’t do much better, as they describe this scent as, “a sensational blend of citrus and all your favorite warm holiday spices, created to heighten your holiday experience and give you the warm-fuzzies.”

I found that that the Lip Shine had a stronger scent than the shower gel, and like most Philosophy shower gels, the scent doesn’t linger much further than the bathroom. (This is good for me, since I usually use a scented body lotion or perfume, so I’d rather not deal with how things layer.) Philosophy’s Lip Shines are non-sticky, slightly jelly-esque, and tend to be more shimmer than color. I didn’t notice much taste (more like tasteless) in the product when I licked my lips, though.

This set isn’t really a value set, because you don’t really save any money by buying the two products together, but you don’t spend more to get them together, either. Also, as far as I know, you can only purchase full-sized shower gels, which are $16 for 16 oz., and this is half the size. Since I’m more of a “gotta try ‘em all” person when it comes to Philosophy’s shower gels, I’m more apt to try out their kits. (But then again, I also collect their Lip Shines!)

I do feel like Philosophy keeps their products are a relatively affordable price point when it comes non-mass brands. One bottle of shower gel lasts me months, and I adore the variety of scents they offer.

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

• Product: 27/30
• Value: 9/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation:  It’s not my favorite scent, BUT I think if you like Christmas-y scents, you may like this one.  I love Philosophy shower gels, though, so if the scent is up your alley, I recommend it!

Availability: Nordstrom, Philosophy

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Chanel Aqualumiere Gloss: Canari, Colibri, Hirondelle

Chanel Aqualumiere Gloss ($27.00) will see an addition of three new, limited edition shades as part of Chanel’s Holiday Collection. The shades include Canari, which is a peachy-melon with golden-peach shimmer; Colibri, which is a shimmery champagne with iridescent shimmer; and Hirondelle, which is a medium pink with pink and gold shimmer.

All three Aqualumiere Glosses appearing with the holiday collection are very sheer shades. They pack pretty shimmer, but they don’t add much in the way of color. Canari goes on as a golden shimmer, which is pretty and definitely holiday-esque–I’d probably layer it over a red for a little extra glitz. Colibri makes my lips appear cooler and paler with iridescent silvery white shimmer. It actually reminds me a bit of MAC’s She-Zam Dazzleglass, but with a little more of a pinkish tone to it. Surprisingly, Hirondelle adds the most color to lips, and it appears as a soft, slightly milky pink with pink shimmer.

Aqualumiere Glosses are sheer, ultra glossy, and non-sticky. It comes with a brush-tipped applicator which makes for fairly easy application. I’m easygoing when it comes to gloss applicators – doe foot or brush, it’s all good! They’re not the most long-lasting lipgloss (I certainly wouldn’t dub them long-wearing) – I get about three hours of wear when I layer one on by itself. Over a lipstick, I do get better results (four to five hours overall for the average pairing). I still prefer some of the earlier released shades of Aqualumiere Glosses–I remember being really jazzed over them initially–but these new shades for holiday are a little too sheer for my liking. I’d suggest checking out permanent shades like Candy Glow and Ginger Shimmer instead.

Bottom Line: Aqualumiere Glosses are, by their nature, sheer, so I’m not going to knock a bunch of points off on that account.  These shades just aren’t to my particular taste, but if you like non-sticky, ultra glossy lipgloss, then Aqualumiere Glosses are always a good bet–just as long as you’re in the market for something on the sheerer side.

• Product: 24/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you’re a fan of the feel and texture of Chanel’s Aqualumiere Glosses, you might want to peep the new shades. They’re very much on the sheer side, though!

Availability: October 2009 at CHANEL counters

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Possessed by Pink! Lip Kit

MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Lip Kits

I cannot tell a lie: I hate lip palettes with a passion. There are many reasons why I passionately dislike lip palettes, and lest you be swayed by packaging and pretty shades, I’ll enumerate my top three for you.

1. They’re messy. If you even think about sticking your finger into the palette, you’re going to get a messy, germ-tastic palette.
2. They’re never as pigmented as a regular gloss/lipstick. Lip palettes always feel like pale imitations of the real thing.
3. They’re a pain in the butt to use. To keep it clean, you need to use a lip brush every time, and I consider that a pain. I also consider the little lip brush they include a pain in the butt to use, because the handle is so tiny, it’s difficult to hold (at least in my hands).

Possessed By Pink! Lip Kit ($22.50 U.S.)

• Sweet Smile is a sheer, rosy-pink gloss confection. It has a lot of multicolored shimmer.
• Laugh A Lot is a sheer medium rosy pink with a glossy sheen and not much shimmer.
• Tickled is a dark, plummy brown with a glossy sheen.

Heavenly Dish Neutral Lip Kit ($22.00 U.S.)

• Barely Visible is a sheer, glossy nude with lighter gold shimmer.
• Heavenly Dish is a sheer, pale, light pink with a glossy finish.
• Floating Lightly is a sheer dirty brown-beige with a glossy sheen.

I would never purchase these lip palettes if it wasn’t to review for the blog. I wholeheartedly don’t recommend purchasing them. On occasion, MAC will put one or two stunning shades into their lip palettes, and I, inevitably, cave, but this year is a total miss. Skip the palettes. If you want a deal, buy one of the lip bags instead. Or just buy one or two lipsticks/glosses you really like instead. At least MAC only put out two kits this year, as opposed to the three or four they normally launch.

I know there are some of you who love lip palettes, so if that’s you… take my review with a grain of salt. :)

• Product: 20/30
• Value: 7/10
• Ease of Use: 2/5
• Packaging: 2/5

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Dazzleglasses: Phiff, She-Zam, Jingle Jangle

MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Dazzleglasses

A few months ago, we previewed Phiff! and She-Zam, and finally, we can check out the third – Jingle Jangle. (Note: I hope to have lip swatches posted tomorrow or this weekend.)

• Phiff! is a sheer, golden-shimmered shade. It really is more about the shimmer in it than extracting any color. This one felt a little flat to me.
• She-Zam is a sheer, super silver shimmered shade. Like Phiff!, it’s all about the shimmer, but this one has a ton of shimmer in it. It’s glitzy and perfect for holiday. It reminded me of shades like Pas-de-deux lipglass, too. It has a kind of grayish cast with all the silver glitter, but there is also pink and dusty shimmer in it, too. I consider this one a must-have, particularly if you like dazzleglasses.
• Jingle Jangle is a medium pink with pink and multicolored sparkle. I think MAC could have really pushed out an ultra red, glitzy-glam shade here, and they went with a very safe, very ehh kind of shade instead.

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

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Cremesheen Glasses: Ever So Rich, Boy Bait, Partial to Pink

MAC Magic, Mirth, & Mischief Review: Cremesheen Glasses

If you’ve been in the MAC-know for the past year, you probably remember the original launch of the Cremesheen Glasses. The three released with the holiday collection are all repromotes from that launch, so this is your chance to a) stock up if you loved them; b) try them if you passed on them before; or c) save money because you already have/skipped them. I don’t personally love Cremesheen Glasses, as I find them too sheer to bother (they nearly all looked the same on my lips), but I know others love the formula — which is non-sticky, thick, and creamy.

• Ever So Rich is a pale lilac that goes on like a sheer, milky pinky-purple.
• Boy Bait is a sheer pinky-peach. This looks just like a milky nude on me (not particularly flattering).
• Partial to Pink is a sheer medium pink. Like Boy Bait, this looks mostly like a milky pink on me.

You can view the lip swatches I did originally. These just aren’t my thing, but I also think I’m slightly allergic to these (they make my lips tingle and itch), so there’s even less reason for me to like them. I think Ever So Rich is the only shade that I’d feel compelled to get, but I know that has to do with the way it looks in the tube and not so much on my lips.

• Product: 24/30
• Value: 7/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

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