Bobbi Brown’s Shimmering Nudes Palette ($50.00) is BB’s latest palette launch. For the past months, I have seen and played with many of her palettes (it seems like every collection is bound to have some sort of coordinating palette!). On the whole, I haven’t been terribly impressed. I admit I like bold colors and rich pigmentation, so naturally Bobbi Brown isn’t a brand that has “TEMPTALIA” written all over it. Knowing this allows me to better appreciate the brand and its products for what they are.
With all that said, this is my favorite Bobbi Brown palette I’ve reviewed and seen to date. Seven shades of soft neutrals ranging from pearlized shimmer wash to metallics. It also comes with an eyeshadow/eyeliner brush (but who really cares?); the brush is workable, but I’d only use it in a pinch myself. So why is it my favorite? There is a nice level of color richness to the shades in this palette; I can see myself creating several glorious neutral and nude eyes using it. (Of course, I have to remember to pull it out, so it might not actually happen…)
The shades you’ll find are: Nude Beach (metallic), Nude Mist (shimmer wash), Naked, Nude Glow (metallic), Mica (shimmer wash), Nude Spice (metallic), and Espresso eyeshadows. And you know what you don’t find? Lip colors. FANTASTIC! The reason I say this is I hate getting eyeshadow residue on my lip colors (or anything creamy). The other part is I’m not a huge fan of lip palettes, because I don’t like to use fingers, only lip brushes, with them aka pain in the rear.
So if you are looking for a good neutral eye palette, you really should head down to your local Bobbi Brown counter and check this baby out. It will definitely suit your needs, methinks!
See swatches… Continue reading →
I always thought Darphin was a skincare only kind of brand, but apparently they offer some makeup, too. I recently tried Darphin Lip Gloss in Illusion ($22.00), which is a cool, light pink color. From their website, lipglosses are described as, “softly enhanc[ing] your lips natural colour and nourish[ing] them with sensual pleasure. Endless sheen and gloss.” The key ingredients are listed as: Wheat Protein Microspheres and Complex, Rosemary and Soy Extract, Vitamin E.
It comes with a small, doe foot applicator for application. I say small because it is notably smaller than many other doe footed applicators I’ve used in my beauty career. So on the plus side, those readers who have thinner or smaller lips might find this a novelty and great change of pace. On the negative side, sometimes it takes several plunges of the applicator to get enough to cover my lips (which are on the fuller side, fyi).
I’m all about a high-gloss product. I love sheen, shine, anything that glimmers and shimmers both indoors and outdoors. Darphin definitely delivers a high-gloss product, and the shimmer is subtle and totally “adult.” It’s not chunky, in-your-face glitter bits. When I wear the gloss alone, it actually looks like there is some luminosity to my lips. Totally bizarre, and it’s not something I’ve noticed before, but there’s a certain softness created by the way the shimmer reflects light. And what you’re all wondering… this is not a sticky or tacky gloss; it reminds me of the texture of Chanel Glossimers a bit. (Doesn’t it seem like high end glosses are of this variety?) The wear time is good, and if you wear it alone, it fades away in subtly and naturally (no ring o’ gloss ’round your lips).
All in all, I liked both the color and texture of the gloss, and considering I don’t have many cool pink glosses in my makeup collection, it was a nice change of pace.
See skin and lip swatches… Continue reading →
If you know me, I’m not a big drugstore shopper when it comes to makeup. I just prefer the experience at the counter, and we all know MAC is a brand near and dear to my heart. So when you have enough makeup to paint ten faces, you just don’t feel as compelled to seek out alternatives at the drugstore, you know? That being said, I was 100% impressed by Sally Hansen’s Natural Beauty Color Comfort Lip Colors. These lipsticks felt ridiculously creamy, moisturizing, and they were rich and intense in pigmentation. At $9.99 a pop, it’s not exactly a bargain, but I imagine, like other drugstore brands, it will go on sale from time to time. Even at the full price, these lipsticks are amazing. I will definitely be keeping these within reach!
See lip swatches! Continue reading →
Philosophy Purity Made Simple ($20.00 to $40.00) is a cult favorite when it comes to finding a gentle, one-stop cleanser. The original is a creamy formula with no real lathering/foaming properties. They recently launched a version that is high-foaming, which is not a creamy formula, and instead pumps out as a foam and then lathers up a bit more while applied. Purity Made Simple is a 2008 Sephora Beauty Award Winner, as well as an Allure Award winner in 2007 selected by readers. It is an “emulsifying cleanser” that gently cleanses while removing dirt and makeup. The original version was actually designed not to foam!
How does it pan out? Foaming or emulsifying? Let me tell you! Continue reading →
Giorgio Armani’s Lip Wax in Cardinal Red (#5) ($26.00) is described as a “bright, transparent red” in color. Lip Wax is a new product designed as a compact lipstick that’s a “blush of color” once applied to lips. It has GA’s Micro-fil technology in it to give you smoothness and act like a second-skin. I definitely consider this product to be more like a lip stain than a lipstick, just because it feels so lightweight and gives you just a touch of color once applied to the lips. It comes in a nifty compact case, gleaming and all, but you’ll need to make sure you have a retractable lip brush at the ready in your purse if you want to tote it around. I think it’d be cool if they could somehow give you a super short handled lip brush inside the compact, just for on-the-go. I also wonder if this could be used as a blush stain… hm. Have any of you tried Giorgio Armani’s new Lip Waxes?
See skin and lip swatches… Continue reading →
Kate Somerville Oil Free Moisturizer ($65.00) recently became part of the Kate Somerville product line after customer demand for a moisturizer that worked well on combination and oily skin. This particular moisturizer is aimed towards those with sensitive, combination-to-oily skin; something that doesn’t aggravate existing acne, too.
Benefits
- Moisturizer (duhhh!)
- Enhances skin smoothness and reduces fine surface lines
- Improves skin firmness and elasticity
- Increases cell turnover
- Helps control and absorb sebum to give you oil-free skin
How-to: Use as part of the AM and/or PM routine by applying a thin layer over clean skin (face/neck). If using a serum, layer on top of the serum.
Key Ingredients: Pepha-Tight (skin tightener, anti-wrinkle, firming, toning, moisturizing properties); Red Marine Algae (APT) (cell turnover, firmness, elasticity, smoothness, reduces fine lines); Sepilift (firmness, stimulation of collagen)
Those are some fancy schmancy ingredients! Find out what I liked (or what I didn’t!) about this moisturizer… Continue reading →
