Urban Decay Cream Eyeshadows ($17.00 each) came out a few months ago as the newly revamped cream eyeshadows. I had heard many raves for the original Urban Decay cream eyeshadows, and these are definitely up to par! I’m really loving the packaging on this product, because it is a flocked applicator that you just pull out and use to apply (very much like a lipgloss or UDPP). Usually cream eyeshadows are packaged in pots or jars, so you either usey our fingers or a brush to apply.

These eyeshadows are a silicone, gel-based formula that provides a creaseless base layer of color. I tried Grass, which is a really bright pop of emerald, grassy green; Weeds, which is a bright, shimmering yellow-y gold-green; and Radium, which is a bright, shimmering medium blue color. I haven’t road-tested them on my eyes yet, but I did blend them out on my hand to test out the staying power. Verdict? They held up all day, despite several hand washings! Definitely something to consider for the hot, sweaty summer months coming up.

Other Shades:

Asphalt (black with lots of silver and iridescent glitter), Delinquent (deep metallic purple), Grass (metallic junebug green), Midnight Rodeo (pink champagne with lots of silver and iridescent glitter), Moonshine (pale silver with lots of silver glitter), Mushroom (gunmetal with taupe shift and iridescent glitter), Radium (metallic blue), Rehab (creamy taupe), Sphynx (icy pink with silver and iridescent glitter), Suburbia (medium bronze with subtle gold microsparkle), Weeds (medium green with yellow shift and big silver glitter), Whipped (golden peach with subtle gold microsparkle)

See swatches…

Grass, Weeds, & Radium

Laura Mercier’s Gilded Garden Collection debuted for the spring season with several fun, perfect-for-spring products. The collection included eyeshadows in Lilac, Marigold, Orchid, and Pink Tulip ($22.00 each); Stickgloss in Azalea and Tiger Lily ($20.00 each); and Lip Stains in English Rose and Hibiscus ($20.00 each); and the Gilded Garden Mosaic Shimmer Bloc ($38.00).

The Gilded Garden Mosaic Shimmer Bloc features a pretty flowery pattern in it, which just screams “SPRING!” to me.  The two large flowers in a coral-pink and fuchsia-pink are slightly raised. They’re raised enough that I wasn’t able to swatch through to see if they go all the way through the powder. (But I’m hoping they do.)

This Shimmer Bloc is much like Bobbi Brown’s Shimmerbricks in the texture and finish–smooth, but still quite frosty. If you’re not a fan of noticeable shimmer/frost, then I’d definitely stay clear of this. If, however, you love Shimmerbricks, you’ll want to check out Laura Mercier’s Shimmer Blocs.

The overall color you get when swirling the entire Shimmer Bloc together is a almost neutral-but-slightly-cool, frosty pink. It can be used as a blusher or to highlight your favorite pink blushes.

Anyone else have this?

See close-ups and swatches…

Overall, MAC Sugarsweet Collection brings back shadesticks and some old favorites, but I don’t feel it has created any new favorites. The shadesticks are creamier this go-round, and they do feel a little softer. While I have always appreciated the original shadesticks for their color pay off, I just never loved the feel of them on my eye lid, so I had to pass them along to friends. I am looking forward to trying out the newer, creamier versions!The packaging on the shadesticks is nicer, too — almost a slick, shiny plastic casing.

What did you think of MAC’s Sugarsweet collection? What are you loving/hating? Tell me in the comments!

Neither the lipsticks or the tricolour lipglasses really grabbed my beauty-strings–there are a few that caught my eye, but nothing that caused my heart to speed up, you know? I am personally not a fan of sheer glosses, which is why the tricolour lipglasses aren’t up my alley either. The eyeshadows are so-so; they all have decent color pay off and texture, but none of limited colors screamed “must have!” I do think the finish of the mineralize skinfinishes is improved over the last few that have come out; there doesn’t seem to be any large, chunky shimmer–much more refined and subtle so it gives you a gentle sheen over a wallop of shimmer.

Temptalia’s Recommendations

Must-Haves: Lollipop Loving, Stars ‘n Rockets, Butternutty, Red Velvet, Peppermint Patti

Nice-to-Haves: Saint Germain, Sweet Thing, Simply Delicious, Tasty, Aquavert, Cakeshop

Skip: Consume Me

Get in-depth reviews on each of the items from this collection!

Lipstick ($14.00)

• Bubbles is a frosty silvery-white almost. It’s semi-sheer, so despite being somewhat colorless, you could still wear it without fear. It isn’t as pink as the original Bubbles lipstick.
• Lollipop Loving has a sheer, coral-ish base color with green-gold shimmer. It didn’t seem as green as the original version launched with Heatherette.
• Saint Germain is a cool-toned bright pink. It’s quite opaque, and the texture is very creamy. It isn’t necessarily a color for everyone, but it can be worn with colored lipgloss to make it more wearable, too.
• Sweet Thing is a semi-sheer fuchsia-pink with fuchsia-purple shimmer. It reminded me of Fun ‘n Sexy from Fafi. It looks pretty, but I definitely know I’ve seen this color before!
• Touch is a creamy, semi-sheer brown color. It looks like it has some warmth to it, and I am curious to see how this will look on me. It’s permanent, but I figured I should give it a shot since I really don’t own any brown lipsticks!

Tricolour Lipglass ($17.50)

• Consume Me is a super sheer, lightly shimmered gloss. It really doesn’t have any color from swatching it.
• Just Dessert is a sheer, medium neutral pink. It has more color than Consume Me, but again, they’re all fairly sheer by nature.
• Simple Delicious is a peachy-pink with gold shimmer gloss. It’s a very pretty color, but with its sheerness, I’m not sure just how much color will appear on your lips. It’d look nice over coral lipsticks — like Lollipop Loving.
• Tasty is the most pigmented of the five, and it is a fuchsia kind of color. I imagine it’s easily paired with Sweet Thing lipstick.
• Triple-Yum is a bronzy-brown with lots of gold shimmer. It’s almost as pigmented as Tasty, so I am hopeful some color might transfer to the lips!

Eyeshadow ($14.50)

• Sugarshot is a pale white-gold kind of color. It’s pretty frosty, and it reminds of Nylon, Phloof!, etc.
• Dear Cupcake is a velvety pink-coral color. It has a satin finish, so it looks almost matte, but it does have a light sheen. The color itself reminds me a bit of Paradisco eyeshadow, but the textures are entirely different.
• Stars ‘n Rockets is a fuchsia-purple duochrome with good pigmentation. This is one of my favorite colors made by MAC, and it is definitely worth getting if you don’t have it already.
• Aquavert is a pale, minty-green shade. It’s not a teal; it is more of a green — like a pale spring green. It could be more pigmented, but it’s a nice color to own, because MAC does not have a permanent color all that similar to it. This is a repromote (it came out with Lure).
• Club is a brownish-red duochrome with shimmer that leans greenish-teal. This is part of the permanent line.

Shadestick ($16.50)

• Cakeshop is a greenish-casted gray with a frosty finish.
• Lemon Chiffon is a frosty, pale white with a hint of white gold in it. Reminded me of a yellow-toned Phloof!. Both this and Cakeshop would make good bases, because they are light and should grab color well.
• Butternutty is a pale pink-nude color with the same frosty finish as the other shadesticks.
• Penny is a deep coppery color. While it is pretty, I find it isn’t as versatile as lighter shadesticks, because it tends to eat color. This is a repromote.
• Red Velvet is a deep medium pink with low level frost/sheen (relative to the other four). It reminded me of a less shimmery/frosty Fuchsia pigment.

Mineralize Skinfinish ($27.00)

• Refined is a soft sheen-finish nude-bronze color. On me (NC25/30), it basically acts as a highlighter, and it only gives me a little bit of sheen and shimmer rather than color (virtually no color for me).
• Perfect Topping is a pale, pinkish-peach color. This one showed up better on my NC25/30 skin, but it still will probably end up working best as a highlighter rather than a blusher.

Nail Lacquer ($11.00) (Swatches coming soon!)

• Peppermint Patti is a creamy minty green. It’s fairly opaque–you only really need two coats for it to look smooth!
• Seasonal Peach is a pretty baby peach-pink with a creamy finish. I had this previously, and it is an excellent color for spring/summer.

Bobbi Brown’s Platinum Collection for Spring is a small launch that features a new shimmer brick, Platinum Pink ($40), four shades of Long Wear Cream Eyeshadow ($22), and three shades of (Shimmering) Lip Gloss ($20). The collection is available at Nordstrom.com, for those looking to buy online.

I know for most of you, the item that stands out is the shimmer brick, and thus, let’s review the shimmer brick, shall we?

With five stripes of color, shimmer bricks can be used as eyeshadows, highlighters, or blushers. They can be used wet or dry, because they’re very much like baked products. Platinum Pink has a very spring-into-summer kind of feel to me (almost more summer than spring, to be honest). I remember a few readers were concerned with a silver stripe of color, but not to fear, the silver is flecked so much with a yellow-gold sheen it won’t look awkward or misplaced on your face. The colors look pretty when swatched alone, and when swirled and swatched as one, you get a slightly-cool pastel pink shimmery shade.

I find I use my shimmer bricks mostly as blushers/highlighters, so I’m always more interested in seeing how they work together than alone. I do like the shade they create, and the color shows up so-so on my cheeks. It’s not an ultra deep pigmented pink on my cheeks, but it’s a subtle pink flush appropriate for daytime wear or to match bolder eyes/lips with. Shimmer bricks, by their nature, have a lot of shimmer. This one is definitely shimmery, but I wouldn’t call it glittery or chunky in its shimmer either. Of course, if you’re more into subtle shimmer/sheen, I’d pass on the shimmer bricks (if you aren’t able to try them in person, that is, otherwise, at least try!) and opt for something like Dior’s Rose Diamond or Amber Diamond Skin Shimmer, which have a more “sophisticated” sheen.

See swatches, plus a mini-review of Confetti Lip Gloss…

Outside of the shimmerbrick

Top row: Shimmer brick swatches; Bottom: Shimmer brick swirled together; Confetti Lip Gloss (on right)

Confetti Shimmer Lip Gloss ($20) is an adorable shade of medium pink, but it is quite sheer. The color does not strike me as a must-have. It is pretty, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t hold me captive. I always like Bobbi Brown’s shimmer lip glosses, though, just because they are quite shimmery and fun. A nice slicked and shimmered lip works well as an easy, go-to look for the day, so I’ll probably use this then!

Finally, the last products to cover from Givenchy’s Maharani Collection are the two new Rouge Interdit Satin Lipsticks ($27.00 each) in Maharani Rose and Maharani Henna, as well as their Precious Sari Glittering Eyeshadow ($26.00 each) in Maharani Silver and Maharani Gold.

Maharani Henna is a brickish red that goes on smoothly with lots of richness in color. It’s a toned down red for those who find colors like MAC Russian Red just too bold for them to pull off. This is also more of an orange-based red, which may suit some better than blue-based reds. I think if it was more of a jewel-toned red, I might be all over it, but I’m not so excited over this brick-red shade.

Maharani Rose is an opaque medium pink with fairly neutral undretones (doesn’t read too cool or too warm for me). There’s a nice sheen and glossiness to it when swatched, and I love that it’s truly pink. It’s not sheer at all, so you know what you’re getting into. I would say it leans towards being a strawberry-pink over a pastel pink as well. While the shade itself isn’t necessary original, it’s a good color and the Rouge Interdit Satin Lipstick formula is fabulous, so it’s an excellent choice for those who don’t have something similar.

The Precious Sari Glittering Eyeshadows are liquid, metallic shadows. The formula is gel-based and not oily, so it should hold up for at least a few hours on your lids (I haven’t tried it on my lids, I can’t verify wear time). Maharani Silver is exactly that–bold, shimmery metallic silver! Similarly, Maharani Gold is a metallic gold with a little more depth and deepness in color than say gold jewelry, but I think it actually makes it more wearable as it is not as bright.

See swatches & photos!

Maharani Rose

Precious Sari Glittering Eyeshadows

Maharani Henna, Maharani Rose, Maharani Silver, Maharani Gold

Next in Givenchy’s Maharani Collection are the Prismissimes, which are compacts filled with nine shades to be used on the face or the eyes. The Spring collection features #21 Maharani Pinks and #22 Maharani Apricots ($53.00 each). Both palettes feature eight subtly shimmered or matte shadows, plus one frosty shadow smack dab in the middle.

Maharani Pinks contains four shades of soft brown-based beige paired with four shades of soft, subtle pink. In the middle is a frosty, warm, copper bronze color. The way Givenchy does their Prismissimes, the four shades are actually a gradient–meaning there is the lighest brown-based beige, a medium colored, then a medium-dee, and then a darker shade–that are all similar to each other. The same story is repeated with the pink colors, too.

The texture of Prismissimes’ shadows is always velvety smooth. I tend to find that there is not enough variation in one Prismissimes to do a whole host of eye looks, but you can get some good standbys with this quad (what with the beiges) and subtly cheeks with the pinks. For me, each color squaer is too small for me to really love it as a face/blusher, unfortunately. I’d much rather get one of their Prisme Again! Blush Quartets ($40.00).

Maharani Apricots is formatted just like Maharani Pinks, except the colors are a little darker to begin with. Four shades go from light to dark in a neutral brown color family, while the other four are a peachy-brown shade going from apricot peach to peach-brown. In the center is a rich, frosty medium-to-dark brown shade. Again, the textures of this product is the same as Maharani Pinks — smooth and velvety.

Each Prismissime comes with a cute little brush that’s designed to be used as a face brush (since it’s quite wide). What I liked about the brush was that it was also appropriately designed with the same theme as the palettes themselves. It’s just a nice touch, you know? Overall, I’m not sure these are totally worth their value, and I’d probably rather get two of the Blush Quartets instead. Then again, I haven’t tried using either as a face product, and I am curious to see how pinks and browns end up together…

See swatches & photos!

Maharani Pinks

Maharani Apricots

Maharani Pinks

Maharani Pinks

Maharani Apricots

Maharani Apricots

Givenchy’s Maharani Collection for Spring was definitely captivating as soon as I saw the promotional images for the launch. It also sounded extremely warm-toned and flattering for my skin tone, so I’ve been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to check it all out!

The real standouts from the launch are the two blushes–Maharani Orange and Maharani Pink Sari Glow Iridescent Blush ($42.00 each). The packaging for the entire collection is really fabulous with the rich orange and pink-purple with the gold overlay. On the actual blush product, there is a black design overlay, which will sort of flake away as you use the product, but it’s a nice touch. Both shades are amazingly pigmented and perfect for spring and summer. Maharani Orange is a softly shimmered peachy-orange, while Maharani Pink is softer, almost neutral pink with subtle shimmer. I can’t wait to wear them!

Expect a few more reviews from this launch over today and tomorrow I’m off to meet my mom for a lil’ bit and meet my “friend” Charles Schwab to do boring, adult things (booooo!).

See close-ups & swatches!

Clinique’s Fresh Bloom Spring 2009 Collection is really the epitome of spring colors and shades. The promotional images for the launch indicated so, and the products themselves don’t disappoint! I think the Fresh Bloom eyeshadows ($16.50) are darling; the colors are all universally wearable. They’re colorful, but not overly so; they’re not colors you couldn’t work into your office makeup (for most of you, at least!). All four have good color pigmentation, and most of the colors have fairly frosty finishes.

Tiger Lily is a duo of light peachy-pink and coppery-peach.

Maple Blossom is a duo of silvery-gray and brownish-silver (like MAC Club, but better).

Apple Blossom is a duo of soft, whitish-silver and subdued pale, pastel green.

Cherry Blossom is a duo of a whitish-pink and light raspberry-pink.

Clinique also launched four shades of their Long Last Glosswear ($14.00) in Air Kiss, First Blush, Honey Shimmer, and Whisper. I only had the chance to check out First Blush (sheer peachy-pink) and Honey Shimmer (sheer reddish-copper with pink shimmer). I love the Long Last Glosswear formula for its long-lasting power, and I would definitely love to see some really bold, opaque shades launched in the future, as the two I tried from this launch were sheer like others I have tried before. Honey Shimmer was less sheer than First Blush, though.

Temptalia Recommendations

Must-haves: Cherry Blossom (more for a blusher, though!)
Nice-to-haves: Maple Blossom, Long Last Glosswears
Skip: This collection if pastels aren’t your bag!

See photos & swatches!

Maple Blossm Fresh Bloom Eyeshadow

Apple Blossom Fresh Bloom Eyeshadow

Cherry Blossom Fresh Bloom Eyeshadow

Tiger Lily/Maple Blossom

Apple Blossom/Cherry Blossom

First Blush/Honey Shimmer

Honey Shimmer/First Blush