Lancome Ms. Perfectly Pink Le Vernis ($18.00) is a creamy, darkened fuchsia-bubblegum pink with a glossy shine. It applies easily and goes opaque in just two coats. The formula is thick without being goopy, and it applies evenly and smoothly without a fuss. I did find the brush itself to be a little wider than the average polish, but not quite as wide as some of the OPIs.

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• Product: 27/30
• Value: 8/10
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: This is kind of like a brightened, yet darker, version of Barbie pink, I’d say. It doesn’t seem like a particularly unique/revolutionary shade, but the formula is tops.

Availability: Nordstrom

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Ms. Perfectly Pink Le Vernis Nail Lacquer

Lancome Pink. Party. Pretty. Color Design Palette ($45.00 for 0.253 oz.) is a slim, summer eyeshadow palette that features six shades varying from a soft pink to a deeper black with copper shimmer.   It’s part of Lancome’s Bronze Riviera Collection for summer.

• Flower is a soft, pearly rose-beige with white shimmer.
• Fresh Rose is a coral-rose with a soft pink sheen.
• Kitten Heel is a pinky-peach with golden sheen. This one was like NARS Orgasm in eyeshadow form, aka awesome.
• Tropiques Glow is an orange-copper with a soft sheen.
• Lounging is a warmed-up red-toned medium brown with a very satiny finish.
• Lava is a charcoal black with gold and copper flecks of shimmer. It applies a bit sheerly, unfortunately, because it does look awfully pretty in the pan. Nonetheless, over a darker base, it’d be gorgeous (since the darker base will fill in the sheerness).

All of the shades–except Lava–had great texture and pigmentation. They were smooth, soft, and easy to blend. Lava was on the sheerer side, almost a bit chalky in the base color. Kitten Heel appealed to me the post, being this lovely shade of pink-peach–very summery and flattering, particularly on warmer skin tones.

I do think this palette is naturally more flattering on warmer skin tones, but I can still see it working on cooler skin tones. Flower, Fresh Rose, and Lava are all neutral to neutral-cool, so they can be worn with warmer shades to keep it more wearable on cooler skin tones.

Some combination ideas…

• LID: Flower, LID: Fresh Rose, CREASE: Lava
• LID: Kitten Heel, LID: Fresh Rose, CREASE: Lava
• LID: Kitten Heel, LID: Tropiques Glow, CREASE: Lounging
• LID: Fresh Rose, LID: Lounging, CREASE: Lounging
• LID: Kitten Heel, LID: Tropiques Glow, CREASE: Lava

The packaging is gorgeous and compact. It’s a cardboard-encased plastic palette where the outside is wrapped in a metallic bronze that flashes copper-bronze when light hits it, but looks just bronze at other times (see the photos!). There’s a floral design that wraps around the outside as well–I loved that it actually wrapped around to the back of the palette.

Lancome also put quite a few eyeshadows in this palette, and the price is just right–by the ounce, the eyeshadows cost less than the majority of other high-end brands (including MAC and NARS!).

P.S. — Lancome’s Bamboo Bronzer is now available at Nordstrom!

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

Recommendation: Depending on what you already have in your stash, this palette could make a great addition. It has a balance of neutral eyeshadows paired with warmer shades you’d expect to see in the summer. There are so many color combinations waiting to be done with these, too, which is always a sign of a cohesive eyeshadow palette.

Availability: Nordstrom

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Top row: Flower, Fresh Rose, Kitten Heel
Bottom row: Tropiques Glow, Lounging, Lava

Top row: Flower, Fresh Rose, Kitten Heel
Bottom row: Tropiques Glow, Lounging, Lava

Top row: Flower, Fresh Rose, Kitten Heel
Bottom row: Tropiques Glow, Lounging, Lava

Top row: Flower, Fresh Rose, Kitten Heel
Bottom row: Tropiques Glow, Lounging, Lava

Flower, Fresh Rose, Kitten Heel

Tropiques Glow, Lounging, Lava

Lancome Summer Riviera:  Temptingly Bronze Bamboo Bronzer

Lancome Temptingly Bronze Bamboo Bronzer ($45.00 for 1.41 oz.) wins the award for the prettiest product of the summer. (I would say year, but I suppose that’s just a wee bit premature. But let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised…) This is a collector’s item for sure, even though the bronzer itself is certainly lovely, there’s just no way for what’s underneath the design to compete with the intricate, woven pattern you see first.

Often during the summer, Lancome releases a specially designed, limited edition bronzing compact (more like compact disc…). This is not your ordinary bronzer, because this is about five times the size of the average bronzer (which is around 0.30 oz., while Lancome’s weighs in at 1.41 oz.). The compact is about the size of a music CD and half an inch thick and in a soft-glossed bronze plastic. Inside is a large-sized mirror (goes with the territory!), and then the holy grail of overlays.

But sadly, yes, as anticipated, all of the prettiness you see is an overlay. The subtle metallic gradient is an overspray that disappears once you start working your way through the bronzer. This is why I say it truly is a collector’s item, because there is no way to salvage or preserve the gorgeous-ness that is the design if you actually intend to use it. There is still a subtle shimmer-sheen to the bronzing powder, so it’s not entirely matte underneath.

The bronzer itself is a soft, silky-smooth sheered down bronze with slight orange undertones. It’s sheer enough that it’s great for those who are new or otherwise afraid of bronzer and going overboard. You won’t end up looking like an Oompa Loompa with this one! I do like that you’ll most likely never run out of bronzer with this compact.

I’m sure some of you are going to wonder why does this product still earn high marks even though the design is an overspray–that’s because it’s a known quantity with the bronzer, it’s not supposed to. It’s like pretty packaging on the inside instead of a funky compact, whether that makes you sad or not!

Can I just say that I would have died if Lancome had made the design go all the way through? I received this one as a press sample, but I’m probably going to buy another one, just to stare at and drool over–and this is something I never do. I’ve long since gotten over “ruining” designs and the like on products, but this one, I hesitated. I snapped a zillion photos, showed the boyfriend, and then said, “In the name of all that is beauty blogging…” and went to town.  But I pouted the whole time!

Ahh!  Just dreaming about a wickedly metallic, glowy deepened bronze that faded across to a brightened gold bronzer AND went all the way through makes me sigh inside.  Who’s with me?  Tell me I’m not alone!

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

Recommendation: If you love bronzer and use it frequently–but want a subtle bronzer–Lancome’s ginormous bronzers aren’t a bad way to go. If you are a collector, the design on this is difficult to pass on!

Availability: Lancome

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Lancome Temptingly Bronze Bamboo Bronzer

All gone

Are you as sad as I am?

Lancome Bronze Riviera Collection for Summer 2010

Be lavished in shades of gold and bronze that jet you away to the beautiful places and faces of the Riviera. The most luxurious elements of nature all come together now to create this summer’s hottest color collection—with pops of pink to add a happy play of color to any look

Color Design Sensational Effects Eye Shadow Palette ($45.00) (Limited Edition)

• Pink Party Pretty

Tropiques Mineral Bamboo Bronzer ($45.00)

• Temptingly Bronze

Dual Ended Eyeliner ($28.00)

• Sassy in Surise
• Sultry in Sunset

Color Design Lipcolor ($22.00)

• Summer Nude
• Sweetly Pink
• Pink Splash

Juicy Tubes 100% Natural Origin ($18.00)

• Pink Precious
• Blushing Beauty
• Rose Pretty
• Sheerfully Sweet

LipColouring Stick with Brush ($23.50) (Limited Edition)

• Sultry Nude

Le Vernis ($18.00)

• Ms. Perfectly Pink

All Over Magic Bronzing Brush ($33.00)

Ageless Minerale Blush ($29.50)

• Sparkling Sand
• Brilliant Berry
• Luminous Rose

Ageless Minerale Blush Brush ($34.00)

Availability: Now @ Lancome

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