Copper Diamond Shimmer Brick
($38.00) According to Bobbi Brown, there are five shades found within this shimmer brick: Candlelight, Gold, Copper, Beige, and Sand. I like the subtle glow it gave me; it’s very subtle, not too much color–more of a shimmer, highlighting effect. Some shimmer bricks give more color than others, but I’ve always liked the shimmer they’ve given, regardless of actual color (since I still consider these highlighters rather than blushes!). Copper Diamond is probably more suitable for warm-tones, just because it’s so warm itself. I still think cooler skin tones will enjoy this shimmer brick, because it won’t bronze you in a fake, orange kind of way.
Copper Diamond Glitter Lip Balm
($19.00) is a very subtle and sheer lip balm. It’s not sticky or tacky; it barely went on for me, to be honest. I saw a hint of shimmer/glitter on my lips, but the color itself was minimal. I haven’t tried the other shades, so perhaps those are more pigmented–otherwise, I’d skip these and head straight for the new, limited edition glitter lip gloss (the ones in the compact).
Glitz Metallic Eyeshadow
($20.00) is a new shade to the line’s existing metallic eyeshadows. The metallic eyeshadows have a more–you guessed it–metallic finish. I find they’re shimmery/frosty finishes, some of them do seem more metallic than others, though. Glitz itself is a soft, pale yellow-gold that goes on with a nice dose of shimmer and glitz (ha!). I think it’s a great shade for the holidays, as it’s a great all-over lid color to match with festive holiday-red lips! Oh, by the way? While they’re sold in their individual compacts, you can always pop ‘em out and put them in Bobbi Brown’s customizable palettes. Depotting without the hassle that comes alogn with MAC pots–awesome.
Ball Glitter Lip Gloss
($19.00) is actually my favorite product from the two collections. It’s a thick, semi-tacky gloss that is full of glittery bits with decent color. I picked up Ball, which gives lips some warmth and golden shimmer. It’s a great gloss over reds, especially a red like MAC’s Port Red, because of the lipstick’s subtle gold shimmer.
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OVERALL, Little Darlings is less about offering innovative and brand-spanking-new shades as it is about great gifts to give and receive for less. Each gloss set contains five mini-sized versions of popular past and current lipglasses/lustreglasses. The case is cute, and the cover can later be used to hold glosses or brushes, too! Plus, the pigment sets are great way to collect pigments without spending a fortune–whether you’re new or experienced when it comes to MAC.
You can get official collection information here, as well as product photos here. Swatches are here.
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Nelson Chan, a celebrity hair colorist and stylist and founder of Nelson J hair salon in luxe Beverly Hills, offers some tips to budget when it comes to your hair color!
“If budget is preventing a client from coming into the salon every 4 weeks to touch up their base and highlights, I advise women to color the re-growth area at home and then come to the salon only for their highlights and cuts,” explains Chan. “While it’s possible to easily do the re-growth area at home, the highlights are complicated because they require more skill, as their placement is so important.”
Chan offers these tips for at-home coloring:
- Don’t overlap the hair color, only apply it to the re-growth area
- Use ammonia-free hair color to refresh this area, as ammonia damages hair
- Or use semi-permanent colors
- Color re-growth every four weeks (this may save $50 – $100 per month)
- Always follow color with a moisturizing treatment: after shampooing, towel dry hair, then apply moisturizer on ends, letting it sit for 5 minutes before rinsing it out.
“For highlights, you can generally wait up to 2-3 months before coming to the salon if your haircolor and highlights are generally dark. But if your haircolor is light, or if your highlights contrast greatly from your natural haircolor, I recommend coming in every 6 weeks,” states Chan.
He also suggests reducing your visit frequency to save some money on hair cuts, and he says to get creative in styling your hair between visits.
Jergens Naturals has a line of daily moisturizers utilizing a natural approach. These moisturizers contain over 90% natural ingredients while still being effective. The moisturizers use vegetable-derived ingredients leaving them paraben-free. (As a side note, Jergens does not test on animals.) The new line comes in Hydrate, Renew, Soothe, and Refresh. All but Hydrate have 93% natural ingredients (while Hydrate has 92%).
I need me some ultra hydrating moisturizer come winter (especially for my dragon legs), so I opted for Hydrate ($8.49). It contains jojoba oil, agave and cactus extracts. What I like about it is how moisturizing it is without leaving me greasy OR taking ten minutes to sink in fully. I can apply it after my shower, blow-dry my hair (which takes about five minutes or so), and it’s already dry. It’s lightly scented with a scent I can’t quite put my finger on–it’s sort of a fresh, salad-y scent in a way. It’s not that yucky scent often accompanied by organic/natural products (you know, like a compost pile!), though, that’s for sure!
When it comes to keeping my skin soft all over, I often opt for drugstore brands like Jergens (they make one of my summer staples–their shimmer body lotion!). With the holidays coming up and the economy in a crunch, Jergens Naturals Moisturizers are an awesome budget-friendly option!
IsaDora’s Dazzling Diamonds Holiday 2008 launch includes an eyeshadow palette ($21.00) featuring five shades of eyeshadow. I thought I’d share a picture of the palette, plus swatches with you all 
The colors themselves are all on the frosty side, so for those looking for a subtle holiday palette need not consider this one. I found the shades themselves to be rather cool-toned, overall. The light blue definitely be a pale, icy winter blue!
You can find IsaDora online at www.cosmeticmall.com and www.amazon.com this November 2008.
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Kings & Queens Sultan of Granada Lemon Flower Showergel ($9.00) pulled me in with its citrus-lemony scent dusted with a woodiness. It’s not the lemon scent of your dish-washing soap, but something gender-neutral and reminds me a bit of fading summer and the beginning of fall. It’s hard for me to choose between using this and Philosophy’s Caramel Apple in the morning these days, but lately I’ve been reaching for this. At $9.00 for 10 ounces, I feel like I can definitely indulge on this, whatever the economy may be at the time. This particular product is vegan (all of the Kings & Queens line is supposed to be vegan, except the body butters, which contain beeswax), and it’s mineral-oil and paraben free. I’m not too picky when it comes to shower gel–I want a good lather and a pleasing scent. I love perfume-y scents as much as food-based ones when it comes to my shower gel. This one nailed the scent, but what about lathering? Oh, yeah, it does that, too. No problems on that front! So all in all? An affordable shower gel that I love. It doesn’t get much better than that!
