NARS Mousson Cream Eyeshadow ($21.00 for 0.10 oz.) is a new shade of cream-to-powder eyeshadow from NARS’ Holiday Collection. NARS describes this shade as “[a] shimmering, spicy pine named for the monsoon – natural and unpredictable … [i]t has richness and depth, yet allows for a surprising range of intensity.” They later describe the color as “silver sage.”

Mousson is is an antique gold with a green tarnish and silver sparkle. It’s creamy, dries to a mostly powder finish fairly quickly (but not so fast you don’t have time to work with it), and I’ve found it fairly crease-resistant. I would say it’s much better and doesn’t crease easily when set with a powder base or layered over an eyeshadow base like Urban Decay Primer Potion or Too Faced Shadow Insurance. The shade itself is exactly something I’d wear and a color I’d feel compelled to own–you know me and (antique) golds!

NARS’ Cream Eyeshadows aren’t my absolute favorite cream formula to work with (Benefit’s are my current favorite), but I do like it. I just find it does have a slight tendency to crease if you apply too much or you don’t set it with an eyeshadow. For me, I rarely wear cream shadows alone anyway, so it’s not a big deal to use it in conjunction with powder eyeshadow.

Bottom Line: For a fun, sparkly shade of antique gold with a green cast, Mousson might be something you’d like. If you’re not normally a cream eyeshadow fan, while it’s still worth taking a peek at your local NARS’ counter, I’m not sure these will persuade you otherwise at the end of the day.

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

• Product: 25/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you love NARS’ Cream Eyeshadows, I do think you’ll like Mousson!

Availability: NARS

See swatches…

NARS Mousson Cream Eyeshadow from Holiday 2009

NARS Mousson Cream Eyeshadow from Holiday 2009 (left)

What’s your favorite beauty retailer/store? Share!

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I think it’s Nordstrom for me. I get points, and I love their customer service. Sephora is great, but I get SO overwhelmed!

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The Scarlet Season: Cargo Cherry Bliss Lipstick

CARGO PlantLove Cherry Bliss Lipstick ($20.00 for 0.14 oz.) is an earth-friendly lipstick (tube is made out of corn) that also does good, too.  For their celeb-designed lipsticks, $2 from the purchase price goes to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research.   Even the box it comes with can be planted and you’ll see some nice flowers grow.  Cherry Bliss was designed by celebrity Kim Raver, and it is a glossy, opaque cherry red. It’s a bright pop of red with a really glossy finish (but no real shimmer). The formula itself is creamy and moisturizing while it wears really well (about five to six hours).

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!

See more swatches and comparison photos…

The Best of the Best, Volume #010

It’s been a good–but tiring–week!  I’m still getting over this forever lingering cough, but at least I no longer sound like I’m infected with the worst cold/flu ever!  People aren’t running away from me any more :)

What are your weekend plans?  Mine are…

My weekend is gonna suck.  Seriously.  There is nothing promising about this weekend other than the brief moment in time that I’ll spend with my family to celebrate my Mom’s birthday and see my sister (who’s typically away at college) simultaneously.  But otherwise?  I’ve got a 35 page paper to crank out on Behavioral Advertising and Privacy!  Wish me luck–I need it!

This Week’s 5 Most Popular Posts

• Tutorial: Black Smoky Eye was a popular post this week, despite being borderline ancient, and I suspect it was primarily boosted up by those on the hunt for a Halloween smoky eye!
• MAC Mischief Makers Collection has finally debuted in-store and online — get your sets!
• Martha’s Lady Gaga Look was really quite lovely and well-excuted — looks like you thought so, too!
• MAC in Lillyland Collection is a collaboration between MAC and Lilly Pulitzer coming in early 2010.
• CoverGirl’s Latest “Blast” Edition – Smoky ShadowBlast looks and acts kind of like a MAC shadestick and are now available for pre-sale.

This Week’s 5 Most Discussed Posts

• Build a Quad: Soft Fire, our latest feature, debuted this past week and looks like you loved it — so you’ll definitely see it more often in the future!
• Survey Says… November 4th was all about the last products you bought!
• What eyeshadow base are you using? The sheer variety of bases in regular rotation is astounding!
• What’s the best drugstore mascara? We asked, and you told us your favorites!
• Look: White Gold & Teal using MAC’s Mystic Cool Eyeshadow Palette (plus Hold My Gaze!).

Feel free to elaborate on your answer in the comment section!