Clarins Fall 2013 Collection - Graphic Expression

I believe that today is officially the end of the fall 2013 collections, we have seen all kinds of shades and collections and I have some new favorites that I added to my beauty product collection for the fall.  The heat wave shows no signs of breaking up so I feel like we have "finished" fall before it has even arrived but very soon I will be breaking out my new sweaters and watching football every Sunday.  We are going to finish with a brand that I tend to use more skincare and tanning products from and need to branch out into their makeup collection.  I love Clarins skin and tanning products and I need to start adding their top rated makeup items to my train case.

The collection for fall is named Graphic Expression and it focuses on new eye and cheek palettes plus a new formula of mascara.  This mascara is unique and is specially designed to nourish and grow lashes while making them look fabulous, a rare combination product.  Normally one must purchase a mascara to wear during the day and then a separate treatment for the night.  I will be interested to see how this mascara performs against the option of using two separate products.  This is a heavy eye makeup collection so I am hoping to find a few products that will fill some of the voids in my train case.

There isn't a formal description for this collection so we are just going to go right into our last fall collection!

Graphic Expressions Eye Quarter Mineral Palette - Highly concentrated in mineral pigments, these eye shadows light up all eyes. Their wet and dry texture is extremely soft on application. Easy to blend and shade, their colours are both subtle and even. Harmonies of satin and iridescent shades offer a variety of effects. For a superb, long-lasting make-up result.
- deep forest green khaki satin/taupe satin/bronze shimmer/gold shimmer

Be Long Mascara - This season's most-wanted mascara takes skimpy lashes and makes them long and lush. Clarins' new growth-activating formula, Be Long Complex, makes all the difference. After 4 weeks of use, lashes increased in length by an average of 1.1mm*. Clarins exclusive applicator brush sees that no lash goes unnoticed—even the teensiest. *Test conducted with 33 women for 4 weeks. Measurements performed on bare lashes. Average result.
- 01 Intense Black - deep black

Graphic Expression Face and Blush Powder Palette - Tinted powder with light beige to illuminate, dark beige to even out skin tone, coral pink to sculpt and a touch of golden light to leave the complexion looking smooth, flawless, and sophisticated.
Joli Rouge Perfect Shine Sheer Lipstick - This lipstick combines the transparent colour and shine of a lip gloss with the creamy texture of a lipstick. A unique extreme shine Maxi Lip Complex helps plump and hydrate for full, soft and supple lips, while the deeply moisturizing and long-wearing formula provides the benefits of a balm with lip care.
- Spicy Cinnamon - warm shimmering brown red
- Royal Plum - deep plum satin
- Pink Camellia - medium neutral pink shimmer

I am already starting to collect a few items for my next Most Wanted list and the last two collections were two of the best ones that we have seen for this fall.  I love the eye makeup palette from this collection and am excited to try out the mascara.  I haven't seen anything like this mascara before and I really want to try it out next time that I need a new mascara (which won't be anytime soon since I have about three tubes that haven't even been opened yet).  I want to work this eye makeup palette into the looks that I create with both of my Naked Palettes and this will be great addition to my traincase. 

I am on the fence with the Face and Blush Palette, I doubt that I would ever use it even though it is quite pretty.  I don't love any of the lipsticks and can easily skip over adding any of them to my collection.

The temperatures are still in the high 90s and I am impatient to start using all the new makeup that I have bought for fall.  I hate this strange period of in between, I am not using the majority of my summer shades as the fall is quickly approaching but very few pieces of my fall line up are appropriate yet...

photo courtesy of Clarins

Clarins Spring 2013 Collection - Rouge Eclat

Now that the winter weather is in full swing, I have returned to one of my favorite cold weather products; the Instant Touch face primer from Clarins.  Each time that I use this product, I think about all the items that I have loved from Clarins so far and about how many more that I always want to buy each time that I visit the counter.  This French company has just introduced their new spring collection, called Rouge Eclat.  This collection introduces a new formula of lipstick to the collection, a product that I will no doubtly want to purchase after I see the shades at the counter.

This collection is very focused on lips (of course) and the new lipstick formula is the hero product here.  I have craving new lipsticks and lip glosses for the past few weeks, I have actually finished two lip glosses since the beginning of the year (not that it made any dent in my collection) but I now feel that I can add a few more hues to my line-up.

"At Clarins, delicate spring colours are cropping up.  Lips whisper “youth” with a new age-defying lipstick. Skin gets a petal-fresh finish. Eyes seduce in incurably romantic hues of iris blossoms."  I can think of so many shades that I will love from this collection, all this talk about petals and blossoms means that this collection will work so well for my cool-toned pale skin. 

The Rouge Eclat collection from Clarins!

Poudre Multi-Eclat Mineral Loose Powder - Ultra-fine mineral powder enhances skin with a lit-from-within glow and a translucent, velvety finish. Protects from dehydration, so there’s never a powdery look. Just a beautifully supple complexion.  Available in three shades to match every complexion.

Rouge Eclat Spring Face Palette - A compact comprised of luminous, ultrafine powders for a matte yet radiant complexion or a natural pink glow.  The compact contains all shades of pinks, peaches, and nudes.

Rouge Eclat Eye Quartet Mineral Palette - Light up your eyes with a highly pigmented palette that provides a soft finish. The mineral formula offers long-lasting hold and both wet and dry application.
- Color base: A taupe shade with light-changing reflections of green highlights.
- Color base: An iris plum.
- Liner: An intense black illuminated with silver pearls.
- Illuminator: A luminous white.

Rouge Eclat Lipstick - An age-defying lipstick with a satin finish.  ect alliance between skincare and makeup.  Nutri-Youth Complex promotes nourishment, protection, reparation and regeneration.  Fine, lightweight veil smoothes with luminous, vibrant color for fuller, younger-looking lips.  An array of satin shades.
- Aubergine - medium cool wine cream

Joli Rouge Lipstick - This lipstick combines the transparent colour and shine of a lip gloss with the creamy texture of a lipstick. A unique MaxiLip Complex helps plump and hydrate for full, soft and supple lips, while the deeply moisturizing and long-wearing formula provides the benefits of a balm with lip care ingredients.
- Pink Magnolia - medium cool pink with silver shimmer

Prodige Lip Gloss - A new, non-sticky gloss formula that delivers mirror-like shine, intense color and long-lasting hold. Lips become smooth and fuller looking. Comes in eight shades.
- Vibrant Rose - bright cool rose with cool shimmer
- Water Lily - pale cool pink with cool shimmer

I will want to try this new lipstick formula out, the shade that is contained in this collection is only one of the shades offered.  On the Nordstrom website, a full range of shades are offered, from the palest nudes to the brightest of reds.  I bet that I will try this lipstick in some kind of bright pink or red for the spring season.  While I am very excited for the new lipstick formula, I still really like all the lip products that have been offered with this collection.  The Joli Rouge formula in the Pink Magnolia shade will be great for me and is one that I would be able to wear all year long.  I am also really excited about the Vibrant Rose shade in the Prodige Lip Gloss, this bright pink will be great for spring and summer.  Lastly, I love the Mineral Eye Shadow Quartet, I can see so many looks that I could create from it.

I am now very excited about all the lipstick and lip gloss formulas from Clarins and will be visiting my favorite counter very soon!

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

Clarins Holiday 2012 Collection - Odyssey

We are now really coming to the end of the holiday collections and I am ready for spring!  At this point, I am not buying any new makeup for the rest of the season since I will be going crazy for the spring collections as soon as they begin releasing in early January.  Right now, I am mostly spencing my money on skincare products as my skin is the worst in the winter months.  I have enough perfumes and color products to last me through the rest of the winter and I have a salon appointment next week to stock up on my favorite haircare products.  So at this point, I am pretty mentally finished with the holidays and any makeup for the winter months.  I still have a few holiday collections but at this point, I am only looking for products and shades that I know that I will be using throughout the whole year and will be more classic and seasonless.  Clarins often has great shades so this is one of the few holiday collections that I am actually still excited to look at!

The newest holiday collection from Clarins is called Odyssey and it contains all shades of deep bronzes and golds.  I am expecting some great eye makeup from this collection however I am expecting very little from the face and lip shades.  On first glance, I can already see that the model has a much warmer skintone than I do and therefore the face and lip products are not going to be very flattering for me...

The Clarins website provides a full description of the overall collection and then of all the products contained in it.  "Clarins’ shimmering, lightweight pressed powder brings a goddess glow to face, neck and décolleté. Matte gold medallion compact—with engraved edges, scrolls and golden mother-of-pearl—is the must-have holiday accessory for all skin tones."  The last item that I need is a product that is too pretty for me to use but I know that I am going to really love this...

Here is the Odyssey collection!

Odyssey Face Palette - Clarins’ shimmering, lightweight pressed powder brings a goddess glow to face, neck and décolleté. Matte gold medallion compact—with engraved edges, scrolls and golden mother-of-pearl—is the must-have holiday accessory for all skin tones.  Clarin’s “Light Optimizing +” complex instantly captures, amplifies and diffuses the light—visibly reducing the appearance of lines and imperfections for an even, radiant result. Our exclusive Plant Micropatch maintains hydration, comfort and a soft skin texture. White Tea extract delivers powerful anti-pollution protection.

Eye Quartet Mineral Palette - ghly concentrated in mineral pigments, these eye shadows light up all eyes. Their wet and dry texture is extremely soft on application. Easy to blend and shade, their colours are both subtle and even. Harmonies of satin and iridescent shades offer a variety of effects. For a superb, long-lasting make-up result.  An anti-pollution active ingredient preserves the fragile skin of the eyelids. It also protects them from harmful free radicals.
- Odyssey - eye shadows in bronze, beige, and taupe are paired with a creamy golden bronze highlighter

Instant Definition Mascara - A dual-purpose, ultra-volume, intense colour mascara with a rich formula that enhances the beauty of all types of lashes.  A complex of red and brown algae extracts rich in minerals: protects, restructures and reinforces lashes. Glycoproteins: coat lashes, restore body and shine.
- Black - deep rich black

Gloss Prodige Lip Gloss - Lip-plumping formula delivers intense colour, mirror-like shine and long-lasting hold. Leaves lips soft, smooth and fuller looking. Available in 8 fashion-perfect shades: Chocolate, Nude, Rose, Candy, Grenadine, Raspberry, Blackberry, Papaya.  The Suprashine Colour complex : delivers intense, glossy color.  Maxi-Lip® peptide : stimulates production of natural collagen and hyaluronic acid for fuller-looking lips.  Radiance-boosting pearls: optimize the reflection of light on lips.  Raspberry seed oil: nourishes lips, leaving them feeling soft and supple.
- Chocolate - deep sheer brown with gold shimmer

I can already rule out the lip gloss shade from this collection, the formula sounds great but I will need to try it in a totally different shade than the one that is featured in this collection.  I will try one of these out in a pink or berry shade the next time that I visit my closest counter.  I am on the fence about the highligher face palette, this product is beautiful and I would love to own it but I doubt that I would ever really use it.  I think that it looks slightly too warm for my skintone and won't be very flattering.  Normally, this would be a big reason for me not to buy it but I just love the packagin so much that I would use it as a compact...I think that I will just have to say no on this one and go after the eye makeup palette.

The eye makeup palette is one product that I really want from this collection, I am not all about the mineral formulas in this product but I love the shades contained it.  I know that I have all of these shades in my collection at least twice or three times over but I love them so much and I know that I would use them all the time.  This is a great chpice for me and one that I know that I would use throughout the rest of the winter months and then well into the spring and summer months.  This is one of the last pieces of holiday makeup items that I will try to find.  I am betting that it will be harder to find but this collection released a bit later than the rest of the holiday collections so I still hold a bit of hope aside that I can still get my hands on this palette.

We have less than five collections left and we will finish them up pretty soon and then I am getting ready to head into the spring months!

photo courtesy of Clarins

Clarins Fall 2012 Collection - Ombre Minerale

Clarins skincare is among a favorite of my serums and primers however I haven't tried as much of the makeup as I would like to.  I rarely visit my local counter at Macy*s since the counter is rather small and focuses more on the skincare and tanners than any of the color products.  They also tend not to always have the latest releases and carry only some of the core products, I wish that I had a bigger counter so that I had more exposure to this brand since every self-tanner or skincare product that I have used was fantastic and I have loved the results that I have gotten from it.

With the facts as stated, I doubt that I will be seeing a huge display of the products at my counter and I may have to order some of these products from the Clarins website.  I should be able to get some of the basics at the counter, I should be able to find the mascara and the eye liner but I may not be able to find the limited edition eye and face products.  I always need more mascara so being able to easily obtain the Instant Definition Mascara should still make me happy...

I found this entire collection on the Nordstrom website as well as the Clarins' website.  In addition the product descriptions and photos, the Nordstrom website has a full description of the collection that ties all the new products and shades together.  From the Nordstrom website, "Clarins is dedicating this season's makeup collection to naturally chic, intensely enhanced beautiful, feminine eyes.  Sparkling results with just a hint of mischief, lots of tenderness or a bit of fun.  You decide on the you wish to achieve!"  This collection consists of six new color products, including some great eye kohls and liner formulas that I really think that I will want to order from Nordstrom!

The Clarins website itself provides full details on all the products and shades so we look at everything in detail and then I can begin getting my shopping list together. 

Here is the Ombre Minerale Collection!

Instant Definition Mascara - A dual-purpose, ultra-volume, intense colour mascara with a rich formula that enhances the beauty of all types of lashes.
- 04 Intense Plum - deep rich plum

Rouge Prodige True Color and Shine Lipstick - An unrivalled formula that delivers long-lasting lip colour, shine, and hold that lasts for hours.  High Fidelity Pearl Technology ensures that colour and shine stay true for hours with this rich, creamy texture provides nourishing skin care benefits to lips.  A wide range of colours to choose from to create your own glamourous look.
- 134 Orchid Pink - deep berry pink cream
- 135 Dark Cherry - deep red cherry cream
- 132 Spiced Orange - medium warm orange cream
- 133 Fig - medium neutral cream

3-Dot Liner - Clarins' revolutionary "trident" tip eyeliner pen gives you precision control for a flaw-free effect.  Three prong applicator fills in the spaces between each lash, dot-by-dot, to accentuate eyes and add volume to lashes.  Rich, deep pigments deliver intense color results and lasting wear.
- Black - black

Colour Accents Powder and Blush - Four harmonious shades in one chic compact bring instant illumination to every skin tone and complexion.  Translucent powder blends easily to smooth skin and even-out imperfections.
- three shades of light bronze and a light pink shade

Kohl Eye Pencil - Discover a velvety-soft pencil with a creative edge.  You control the line - from precisely defined to smoky and smudgy.  New artistic license - that's the point of it all!
- Black - black

Ombre Minerale Mono Eye Shadow - Pure, lasting eye shadows shade, define, highlight, and line in fall's most fashionable colours.  Glide on wet for high-intensity colour; dry for subtle look.  Ultra-soft mineral formula blends easily.  Won't crease, fade, or settle into fine lines.  Available in matte, satin, and pearlized finishes.
- 01 Sparkle White - cool white shimmer
- 02 Nude - pale champagne shimmer
- 03 Petal - medium pink
- 04 Golden Rose - medium gold pink
- 05 Lingerie - medium beige
- 06 Tea Rose - deep warm rose
- 07 Auburn - medium brown
- 08 Taupe - medium gray taupe
- 09 Lavender Tea - medium cool lavender
- 10 Slate Blue - medium blue gray
- 11 Silver Green - medium olive green
- 12 Aubergine - medium red plum
- 13 Dark Chocolate - deep warm brown
- 14 Platinum - deep silver gray
- 15 Sparkle Black - deep black shimmer
- 16 Vibrant Violet - bright purple

I must say that I am most excited about the new eye shadow formula that is offered with this collection, I thought that I would be most into the eye liners but I am really excited about some of the eye shadow shades in this formula.  None of the shades are very unique but I still love so many of them.  I have to say that my favorite is the Vibrant Violet shade, this bright purple will look great with all the purple eye looks that I have been craving for this fall season.  My second favorite shade is the Golden Rose, I am still creating the rose gold eye looks this fall (just slightly heavier on the gold and gold eye liner this time around) and I would love to add this shade to my collection also.  Thos two are my most loved shades and the ones that I must buy.  After I pick up these two shades, I would like to also buy the following: Tea Rose, Lavender Tea, Silver Green, and Platinum.  I am so excited to play around with this formula and I hope that they will appear at my counter in Macy*s.

I am also excited for both of thew eyeliner formulas that are offered with this collection.  The 3 Dot tool looks exactly like what was just offered by Too Faced and is always sold out at my favorite Sephora store.  I might buy this one instead, depending on the availability of the product.  I don't see much of a difference between them, if anyone reading this has used both of them please let me know if I am missing something here.  To finish up thoughts on the eye makeup part of this collection, I want the mascara formula but in the traditional black shade, I wouldn't ever use the plum hue. 

The face powder is take-it-or-leave-it for me, if it looked amazing at the counter, then I would consider buying it but as of right now, I don't need this product.  The last item that I want to check out is the new shades in this lipstick formula, I love the first shade that came up with the product, the deep berry pink shade (Orchid Pink), this shade will look great on me all fall and winter.

This is one of the most wearable fall collections that we have seen so far this season, these products and shades will work in many different scenerios and I can see these products selling out very quickly.  This isn't the most unique or original collection but I still love it all the same.  I can't wait to get a few of these eye shadows and I will report back on them after I get to play around with the shades.

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

French Week Day 3 - Clarins Self Tanning Instant Gel

One of the most iconic French body products comes right from the Riviera and it used by all the of the glamorous women vacationing in the Mediterranean.  I have used Clarins facial skincare products on and off over the past year now and have expanded my collection of this company's products to include their best-selling and top rated Self Tanning Instant Gel.  I bought the last tube on the shelf at Sephora last week so I know that I am not in the minority in using this product.  After a week of using this self tanner every other day, I am hoping to say that I look like I could be spending a long weekend in Monaco.  A lady can dream can't she?!

The Self Tanning Instant Gel is one of the best known and most talked about products from Clarins.  For many poeple in the beauty industry, this is one of the first products that comes to mind when this company is mentioned.  I know that fact holds for myself, I tend to think of tanners and skincare products before I think about the color collection from this company.  In addition, there are certain counters that only carry the body and skin products and very little of the color collection.  Based on how much I love the skincare products from this company, I really need to keep adding more of the color selections to my traincase.

The Sephora website provides a histroy of the beauty company and full descriptions of all the products.  "In 1954, Jacques Courtin-Clarins opened the first Clarins Institute de Beaute in Paris, France, where he developed treatments and products using natural botanical ingredients for the face and body.  The first beauty company to employ 100 percent pure plant extracts.  Clarins used only the best botanicals to complement the appealing textures and scents that made his luxurious products a please to apply.  Still a family-run business, Jacques' sons Dr. Olivier Courtin-Clarins and Christian Courtin-Clarins, continue on in the Clarins tradition today."
This self tanner is formulated to create a great color without the sun and conditioning and improving skin health at the same time.  I am usually happy enough when I can get a great color without harming my skin but knowing that I can help improve my skin with tanning it is an added bonus of this product.

"A self-tanning gel to bring out healthy color in skin.  This lightweight and non-oily gel promotes a natural, golden tan for face and body without sun exposure.  It's instantly absorbed, so there's no need to wait before dressing, with results in two hours.  Clarins Self Tanning Instant Gel is ideal for those who wish to maintain a year-round tanned experience."

This self tanner is famous for many reasons, all of which became very evident with less than a week's use of this product.  I applied the product at night and then left it to develop while I slept.  I have never had good experiences with applying self tanner during the morning and then trying to let it fully develop before heading out.  I prefer to let it really develop overnight and not worry about ruining any of my favorite outfits.  The color is fully developed by the morning and I wake up to a even golden tan. 

I have to apply this product every other day just like every other self tanner.  The color stays even for about two days then it begins to flake and fade like most other tanners on the market.  Reapplying this product every other day wards off fading and spotting issues so I recommend using it in this manner.  This product isn't the best tanner for beginners, this is one of the few products that I have tried that doesn't have some kind of bronze tint.  I was nervous about applying it the first few times since I tend to rely on the bronze shade to guide my application and make sure that i have it even and haven't missed any areas, the clear gel took some getting used to.  The first time that I used it, I had a few issues with streaking but I quickly figured out the best application method.  The gel formula dries quickly and completely soaks in with little residue on my sheets. 

One of my favorite aspects of this product is that it has a very faint floral fragrance, Clarins didn't try to cover up the chemical scents of the tanning ingredients with strong tropical scents.  The tanner scent does come out after the full development of the product so it is evident when I wake up in the morning.  The fake coconut scent of other products can realy get on my nerves so this product was a breath of fresh air in that regard. 

Applying this product every other day will get you beach ready, whatever beach you are lucky enough to run away to.  This tanner is one of the easiest and most effective ways to create and maintain a golden tan without the harmful rays of the sun.  This formula is top rated because it works so very well and helps to maintain the hydration levels in my skin.  The only drawback of this product is that the tube is very small so I will need to buy these two or three at a time to make sure that I always have it to use.
How I wish that I was spending a long weekend on the beach in the South of France!

photo courtesy of Sephora

Clarins Nordstrom Exclusive Summer 2012 Collection - Enchanted Summer

We have already looked at the first Clarins summer collection, Instant Summer showed us some great, easy beauty products for the summer months.  That collection contained a bunch of primers and then few color products, which disappointed me a bit.  The color products and shades were quite nice, I just wished that the collection was larger and contained a more extensive range of products.  I was browsing around the Temptalia beauty blog the other day when I saw another Clarins collection for summer, I quickly went over to the Clarins website in hopes that I would find more products for the summer but the collection wasn't up yet.  Then I later learned that the collection was Nordstrom exclusive and I am very happy to see that it is up on their website.  This product is more much of a traditional color collection and offers a nice range of colors for the season.
This collection is called Enchanted Summer and it contains the eye palette that I had been seeing so much of in the beauty magazines and kept wondering why I could never find this product at the Clarins counter.  Turns out, I was looking at the wrong Clarin's counter!  I would trade in every department store near me to have a Nordstrom closer than an hour and a half away from me...  "An exotic voyage with Clarins, Paris.  Where face, eyes, and lips are lit with the enchanting splendor of gemstone greens, joyful reds, radiant oranges, and uplighting blues."  I am pretty excited to see some more color choices from Clarins since I get great results from their skincare and want to see how there color options perform.

Here is the Nordstrom Clarins collection for the summer...

Enchanted Summer Color Quartet and Liner Palette - The Clarins Enchanted Summer Palette features four luminous eye shadows in a powder motif inspired by exotic travels, plus a pearlized brown eyeliner for a truly intense look.
- medium warm gold/deep warm brown/medium powder blue/creamy off white

Enchanted Summer Color Quench Lip Balm - A rich, melting texture with glossy shine and intense color.  Skincare benefits moisturize and smooth the lips.
- Pink Jaipur - sheer warm peach pink
- Nude Delhi - sheer neutral beige

Enchated Summer Kohl Kajal Eyeliner - Pure, highly concentrated pigments line and define with long-lasting color intensity.
- Instant Black - deep pure black
- Deep Violet - medium blue violet
Wonder Waterproof Mascara - The must-have mascara for summer months that provides triple the result of thicker, more beautiful lashes, separated and curled to perfection.
- 01 Wonder Black - deep black

I have my eye on the lip glosses from this collection, this pink shade looks like it has the potential to be a peachy pink that I could pull off this summer, I want both of these new shades.  I really like the eye quartet too, the blue shade has enough purple in it that I will be able to pull it off when combined with the other shades, I am seeing it used as a crease shade with the creamy offwhite used as the highligher and the bronze or gold on the lid.  I am considering the black shade of the Kohl Eyeliner, I don't think that I will wear it much during the summer but I will during the fall.  However it isn't that important for me to have this exact formula and I would be more likely to buy both the lip glosses and the eye quartet first.

I am so glad that a second color collection came out from this company for the summer season!

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

Clarins Summer 2012 Collection - Instant Summer Beauty

The spring collection from Clarins didn't really do it for me so I am hoping that the summer collection will be better and at least one or two products will pop out at me.  So far, the Clarins color products don't really work for me and the skincare products are some of my favorites so I am hoping that I can find some color products that are as wonderful as the skincare line.  Instant Summer Beauty is the newest collection and contains only products that work quickly and easily to create an effortlessly pretty look.  I already see that one of my favorite products from this line is included in this collection, the Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch primer and this fact really gets my excited for the rest of this collection. 

This collection consists of five products in total; two primers, one bronzer, one concealer, and one lipstick.  I already own one of the primers in this collection and the other one is targeted toward anti-aging and concealing fine lines and wrinkles so I can't really say that I will be looking at this collection in order to find another primer.  I am still shopping around for a new bronzer or two for the summer months so this is the area that I am most interested in over the next few weeks.  I am thinking that I will buy at least two new bronzers this summer so I can best match my fake tan shades.

Here is the newest collection from Clarins...

Bronzing Duo SPF 15 Mineral Powder Compact - Clarin's Bronzing Duo blends complementary shades of sun for made-to-measure splendor.  Guards against pollution with White Tea Extract.  Fights free radicals with Crowberry and Vitamin E.  Delivers UVA/UVB protecting with 100% mineral sunscreens.
- 01 Light - light tan/medium bronze
- 02 Medium - medium tan/medium to dark bronze
- 03 Dark - dark tan/dark bronze

Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balm - Delivers the colour of a lipstick, the transparency of a gloss, and the comfort of a lip balm for smoother, fuller lips.  Available in 4 bold summer shades.
- 03 Crystal Coral - warm medium coral
- 02 Crystal Violet - medium cool lavender
- 04 Crystal Red - medium neutral red
- 01 Crystal Pink - wam medium pink

Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch - This beauty-award winning primer is the perfect combination of makeup and skincare.  With an ultra-light, ultra-smooth texture, it glides onto skin, leaving an imperceptible veil on its surface, filling in and smoothing away the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and pores.  Your skin will be foundation ready to give your makeup a more even and flawless finish.  Can be used alone or mixed with your foundation.

Instant Smooth Line Correcting Concentrate - This magic corrector is rich in Dermaxyl, a line correcting peptide, that can be applied directly onto lines, wrinkles, and enlarged pores throughout the day to keep your complexion smoother and brighter with instant and long-lasting results.  Perfect to diminish the appearance of facial expression lines with line-filling Acacia Micro Pearls.  Slanted tip makes it easy for targeted application.

Instant Light Brush-On Perfector - In one quick stroke, this brush-on perfector helps conceal imperfections and disguise shadowy areas as it firms and smoothes skin.  Oat Sugars deliver an instant tightening effect to skin upon application, helping to diminish signs of fatigue and imperfections as Clarins Light Optimizing Complex illuminates the eye area and smoothes skin.
- 00 Light Beige - pale neutral champagne
- 01 Pink Beige - pale cool champagne
- 02 Medium Beige - medium neutral beige

I am really excited about some of the products in this collection, especially the bronzer and Instant Light Brush-On Perfector.  I think that I would start the summer with the lightest shade of the bronzer and then perhaps buy the medium shade depending on how deep I get this summer.  Somehow I still doubt that I will need the medium shade since I don't get that dark even at the height of the self-tanning season.  The Instant Light Brush-On Perfector really interests me, I want to try using it around my undereye area since the two eye creams that I am using are both only fighting puffiness and not my dark circles.  I love that there is a shade with pink undertones since many concealers can be too warm for my skintone.  The last piece that I want from this collection is the lip balm in the pink shade, it will be very flattering against my pale or tanned skin this summer.

I love this collection from Clarins and it makes up for the spring collection, I will be investing in several products from this collection.

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

Clarins Spring 2012 Collection - Colour Breeze

Colour Breeze is the newest collection from Clarins, created for this upcoming spring season.  This collection is described as "An ode to light." and it contains shades that are sheer and pretty yet very colorful at the same time.  This collection takes many of the runway trends toward very bright and highly colorful makeup shades and brings it down to a level that can be worn by many more ladies in their real lives.  This collection contains pastel eye shadow shades, the one that is on the model is a lovely robin's egg blue.  This certainly isn't the shade for me but I would like to see if this eye shadow is released in a pale pink or a lavender shade with the same pigmentation as this blue one.  The model is wearing a sheer neutral lip, there are two types of lipsticks available with this collection.  One of the lipsticks has a sheer texture, the other appears to be offered in more vibrant shades with a pigmented finish.  As always with Clarins, this collection contains one show-stopping piece.  This time it is in the form of a beautiful face and cheek palette that I would purchase just to gaze at.

Here is the collection from Clarins...

Instant Smooth Line Correcting Concentrate - This magic corrector is rich in Dermaxyl, a line correcting peptide, that can be applied directly onto lines, wrinkles, and enlarged pores throughout the day to keep your complexion smoother and brighter with instant and long-lasting results.  Perfect to diminish the appearance of facial expression lines with line-filling Acacia Micro Pearls.  Slanted tip makes it easy for targeted application.

Eye Quartet Mineral Palette - Highly concentrated in mineral pigments, these eye shadows light up all eyes.  Their wet and dry texture is extremely soft on application.  Easy to blend and shade, their colours are both subtle and even.  Harmonies of satin and iridescent shades offer a variety of effects.  For a superb, long-lasting makeup result.
- Blue Sky - teal/charcoal/slate gray/white

Colour Breeze Face and Blush Powder Palette - Four luminous shades in one radiance-making compact.  Ultra-fine, transparent powder glides over skin with a silky touch.  Delivers a smooth, creamy, fresh matte finish.  All skin tones.

Instant Light Blush - Fluid-cream formula glides on with a sponge to deliver natural-looking, luminous colour.  Plant-based minerals sculpt, smooth, and colour cheeks in three light-reflecting shades: Vitamin Pink, Coral Tonic, Brown Fizz.
- Vitamin Pink - pink
- Coral Tonic - coral
- Brown Fizz - bronze

Wonder Length Mascara - This amazing formula promotes infinitely long, luxurious lashes, curled to perfection after just one application.  Perfectly separated, lengthened, and curled lashes promote a more glamorous look.  Intense colours highlight the lashes and offer optimal hold.
- Wonder Black - true black

Gloss Prodige Lip Gloss - Lip plumping formula delivers intense colour, mirror-like shine, and long-lasting hold.  Leaves lips soft, smooth, and fuller-looking.  Available in 8 fashion-perfect shades: Chocolate, Nude, Rose, Candy, Grenadine, Raspberry, Blackberry, Papaya.
- Chocolate - brown
- Rose - soft cool pink
- Nude -  sheer nude
- Grenadine - bright cherry red
- Candy - medium berry
- Raspberry - pinkish red
- Blackberry - deep cool berry
- Papaya - warm medium coral
Joli Rouge - This classic, creamy lipstick delivers stunning colour and silky-smooth shine.  Formulated with innovative extreme shine Maxi Lip Complex to help plump and hydrate for full, soft, and supple lips.  Deeply moisturizing and long-wearing with a fruity, floral scent, this lipstick feels amazing from the minute you apply it.
- Poppy Red - bright cherry red
- Baby Pink - light blue pink

Joli Rouge Perfect Shine Sheer Lipstick - This lipstick combines the transparent colour and shine of a lip gloss with the creamy texture of a lipstick.  A unique extreme shine Maxi Lip Complex helps plump and hydrate for full, soft, and supple lips, while the deeply moisturizing and long-wearing formula provides the benefits of a balm with lip care ingredients.
- Pink Magnolia - sheer medium cool pink
- Pink-Coral - sheer warm coral pink

My favorite piece from the collection is the Joli Rouge Perfect Shine Sheer Lipstick in the Pink Magnolia shade, I believe that this is the shade that the model is wearing.  It looks like the only shade that it light enough to create that look (unless the model is wearing a gloss that is not listed with the rest of the collection), I have bought so many highly pigmented lipsticks over the past few weeks that it will be nice to have a bit of change and a shade that I can wear with any kind of eye makeup look.  I liek the Baby Pink shade in the full coverage lipstick and this is another one that I want to add to my lipstick collection for this spring.

This is one of the first Clarins collections that I haven't been all that interested in the collectors item, the face and cheek palette.  I don't find this one to be very attractive and I feel like it is a bit of let-down from many of the other offerings in the previous seasons.  I will be skipping over the special palette this season.  The eye shadow palette is another product that I will skip over, the shades are pretty but I wouldn't use these blues.  I will go to counter and check it out in other shades though.  I am interested in the lip gloss, I want to play with them at the counter before I decide which ones I want.  Based on first glance, I like the Rose and Nude shades for the spring and summer.

This collection contains some very pretty items but I am not that interested overall.  I like the concept and I can see that it will be very popular this spring since it helps to bring a huge runway trend to everyone and creates a look that is professional and pretty enough to wear to work but still has personality.

photo courtesy of Clarins

Clarins Vital Light Facial Serum

My skincare choices have consisted of almost exclusively Caudalie for several years, all the way up until I began looking at Clarins products for my French Week 2011 theme week.  I started with one of their primers and quickly fell in love with both that product and what the sales associate told me about the background of the brand.  Therefore I jumped at the chance to try out a huge sample of the Vital Light Serum when Sephora offered it for free on their website several months ago.  After about two weeks with my sample, I fell in love with this product and quickly bought the full size version of this facial serum.  This is the first time that I have ever liked a serum near as much as my beloved Caudalie Vinoperfect Facial Serum, a very huge accomplishment for this serum.

This is the first skincare product that I have used consistently from this company and it was a great introduction to their brnad of high quality skincare.  I have to count the primer that I bought from Clarins as a makeup product since I only use it when I need my makeup to last all day long, I use this product much more consistently than the primer.

The Sephora website gives the best product description that I have seen so far for this serum.  "A superchared serum that defies dark spots, dullness, and wrinkles.  This serum helps to correct the appearance of dark spots.  It also visibly lifts and firms skin while restoring the deep luminosity of a young-looking complexion.  Vital Light Serum features the unprecedented ingredient Hexylresorcinol.  The latest scientifically proven dark spot reducer, this active ingredient addresses dark spots at the source: the pigmentation process.  It is four times more effective than a two percent concentration of hydroquinone, an anti-dark spot ingredient used in the pharmaceutical industry.  This serum also includes a tripeptide and exclusive plant extracts."

"Hexylresorcinol is 100 percent safe, 100 percent kind to skin, and creates zero toxicity.  This product also boosts the performance of Clarins Vital Light Day and Vital Light Night products.  It is allergy tested and non-comedogenic."

The Sephora website provides some of the results of the testing that was done on this product, showing that it is very effective and works the way that it is designed to.  "71% saw a reduction in dark spots.  84% saw firmer skin.  85% saw a more radiant complexion.  88% saw a more even skintone.  57% saw a reduction in wrinkles."

The active ingredients are as follows...

- Hexylresorcinal - The latest scientifically proven ingredient, this safe, gentle alternative to hydroquinone is used to treat hyperpigmentation.  A natural molecule, it reduces dark spots by going to the source of the pigmentation process.
- Spergularia - A pioneering plant extract, it helps lighten dark spots and hyper pigmentation to promote smooth, even skintone.
- Waltheria and Cochlearia - These two pioneering plant extracts reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles while restoring the deep luminosity of young looking skin.

I did a bit of researching into Hexylresorcinal but wasn't able to find much more than I found out about it from the Sephora website, it was originally used to treat small skin irritations and showed so much promise in this area that it was then used in clinical trials to treat the signs of aging.  It showed promise in this area of skincare and as an added benefit, it showed unexpected promise is skin lightening and brightening.  The current ingredient that is most used for brightening is hydroquinone, a bleaching agent that is very effective in small doses but has come under review from the FDA and cannot be used by women who are pregnant or nursing.  It also has no effect on the signs of aging.  This new ingredient is considered to be safer than hydroquinone and still as effective on lightening the skin, it also can be used in anti-aging.

I am a huge fan of this serum, it brightened my skin like almost nothing else that I have ever tried and evened my whole complexion out.  The redness in my cheek area was reduced and my skin looks great without the full makeup routine.  The texture of the product is thinner than the average serum and two pumps covers my entire face.  It has a slightly perfume fragrance, nothing unpleasant but I would prefer it to have less fragrance since it could be irritating to those who have issues with fragrance.  I use this product after cleansing both night and day and I beganto see results in two to three weeks, it first brightened my skintone and then as I kept using it, it evened out my facial redness.  My skin looked clear and bright after three full weeks of use.

Do I prefer it to Vinoperfect?  Yes and no.  Here is a comparison.  Vinoperfect has an anti-oxidant in it, this one does not and I prefer to use some form of antioxidant on my face during the day.  I like that aspect of the formula of the Caudalie serum better.  This serum works much faster since it contains more chemical ingredients instead of the natural based ingredients in the Vinoperfect.  I love both serums and I bet that I will switch on and off between them, I am thinking about using this one at night to continue evening out my skintone and the Caudalie one for the antioxidant protectin during the day.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Clarins Holiday 2011 Collection - Passion

The Clarins holiday collection has just appeared on their website and now I can check out some of the neew colors when I head off to the counter to buy skincare.  I have really been into the primer that I have been using from them and have been trying out some of the samples that the counter manager gave me the last time that I was there.  So far, I am very impressed with the skincare from this company and I am hoping that I get the same types of results from trying their color collection, normally companies have great makeup and fair skincare products so I am really hoping that this company has spectacular makeup products.

Passion is a very small collection, consisting of only four products.  In addition, I believe that only one of them is brand new to the line and will be limited edition (do not quote me on this though), the Passion Face Palette.  When I look at the model for this collection, she appears to have reddish pink eye makeup on, a odd choice for holiday makeup looks.  I'm honestly not sure what I think of the eye makeup in this collection, I have never found red eye makeup to be very flattering on my skintone.  I can't say that I am all that excited about the eye shadow palette in this collection however I find the lip shade that the model is wearing to be quite lovely.
  
The newest collection from Clarins...

Passion Face Palette - An incredibly light compact powder for a perfectly even and luminous collection.  The palette contains warm shades of pinks with gold veining on them. 

Eye Quartet Mineral Palette - Highly concentrated in mineral pigments, these eye shadows light up all eyes.  Their wet and dry texture is extremely soft on application.  Easy to blend and shade, their colours are both subtle and even.  Harmonies of satin and iridescent shades offer a variety of effects.  For a superb, long-lasting makeup result.
- 07 Smokey Passion - deep cool rose/shimmering silver/black with silver glitter/deep warm plum with cool shimmer

Instant Definition Mascara - A dual-purpose, ultra-volume, intense colour mascara with a rich formula that enchances the beauty of all types of lashes.
- Black - true black

Rouge Prodige True Color and Shine Lipstick - An unrivalled formula that delivers long-lasting lip colour, shine, and hold that lasts for hours.  High Fidelity Pearl technology ensures that colour and shine stay true for hours while the creamy, rich texture provides nourishing skin care benefits to lips.  A wide range of colours to choose from to create your own glamorous look.
- 131 Passion Rose - cool medium rose
My first thought when I looked in detail at these products surrounded the eye makeup on the model for the collection and what shades are actaully contained in the eye palette for this collection.  I can tell that the model is wearing the rose shade but when I looked at the picture, it becomes evident that she is wearing an additional shade that is not in the palette.  I can only assume that the makeup artist used the Passion Face Palette on her eyes with the rose shade in the palette, that is the only combination of the products in this collection that would get that reddist shade on the eyes.  Needless to say, I won't be trying to figure out how they did it since I don't want to replicate it.

All my thoughts on the makeup that was done on the model aside...  This is a lovely eye palette and I wish that the model's look was based on this palette since the options for a sultry eye are infinite.  I am looking forward to trying it out at the counter and combining the silver shade with all the of the others.  I can safely skip over the face palette, especially if it really appears that red hue on the skin.  Lastly, the lipstick shade in this collection would be a great everyday neutral to wear in professional environment or against a strong eye look.

photo courtesy of Clarins

Clarins Fall 2011 Collection - Colour Definition

Clarins is another company that I have only used a feew products from but have been getting more and more interested in as the time passes.  When I was researching my last French Week, I bought their superstar primer and fell in love with it within several uses.  While I was at the counter, the sales associate gave me several samples of skincare to start trying and I am looking forward to learning more about this line.  The fall color collection has just released and I am looking forward to checking it soon.  This collection is named Colour Definition and it is another one of the group that focuses mostly on eye makeup.  It is right in line with many of the other collections that we have been seeing this fall, however they are all beginning to blend together since they are all for dramatic eye makeup and contain very few great lip shades.

The Nordstrom website states the following as a description of the collection.  "Clarins has everything it takes to prep your eyes for perfection.  A new lash-defining Mascara with fringe benefits, there's no end in sight.  Fashion-perfect Eye Shadow Quartets that shade, define, illuminate, and line in the season's most coveted colours."  I am really excited to try out a new mascara and the eye shadow quartets look amazing so I want to try these out too.

Here is the collection...

Eye Quartet Mineral Palette - A wet and dry mineral formula that provides softness upon application.  Long-lasting hold.  Includes an inner layout to guide application.  Six fashion-perfect eye shadow quads in sleek, tres-chic compacts.  Clarins' crease-free powders glide on wet or dry to shade, line, illuminate, and define in the flirtiest new palettes: Pastels, Nudes, Rosewood, Indigo, Violet, and Graphite.  Colors with real wear-with-all, from classic tones to unexpected twists.
- Rosewood - glamorous pairings of sheer chocolates and pinks for a casual kind of chic
- Nudes - a must-have mix of sophisticated cream and woods paired with shimmering coral
- Indigo - a rich palette of cool, smoky blues keep eyes in perfect fashion focus
- Graphite - a modern merger of soft pink, silver, gray, and charcoal create the perfect smoky eye
- Violet - a jewel-tone palette of shimmering lilac, plum, and amethyst with a touch of pearly white
- Pastels - a painterly palette of delicate neutrals, with a hint of cool mint, for a flirty eye

Instant Liquid Eye Liner - An easy-to-apply liquid eye liner that ensures a precise, long-lasting line, ideal for enchancing the eyes.  Includes a soft, supple foam applicator that delivers just the right amount of product.
- Black - deep dark black

Instant Definition Mascara - A dual-purpose, ultra-volume intense color mascara with a rich formula that enhances the beauty of all types of lashes.  Features and benefits: three innovative ingredients from seaweeds protect, repair, and strengthen lashes; glycoproteins thicken and coat lashes; brush fibers instantly thicken and coat lashes; revolutionary patented brush with elastomer bristles reach even the shortest lashes.
- Black - deep black

Joli Rouge Color Definition Lipstick - The perfect shine, sheer lipstick combines the transparent color and shine of a gloss with the creamy texture of a lipstick in eight beautiful permanent shades.  The long-lasting formula also provides the benefits of a balm with lip care products to soften and smooth lips.
- Fig Brown - medium neutral brown
- Grenadine - medium berry shimmer

Color Definition 3D Radiance Face Powder - An exceptionally soft lightweight powder that melts onto the skin for a naturally radiant complexion.  The color combination of beige, pink, and peach gives the face a radiant boost.

Rouge Prodige Color Definition Lipstick - Discover the kissing power of Rouge Prodige - our long-lasting, moisturizing lipstick that offers intense color and glossy shine.  A unique, moisturizing lipstick with a texture that melts onto the lips and leaves a veil of perfectly even, intense color.  High Fidelity Pearl technology ensures that color and shine stay true for hours, while the rich, creamy texture provides nourishing skincare benefits to lips.
- Tender Rose - sheer neutral rose
- Paradise Pink - warm coral medium pink
- Miami Pink - bright cool blue pink
- Subtle Rose - medium neutral rose
- Natural Rose - deep neutral rose

I love this collection and I wish that many of the other eye makeup heavy also contained a group of lip shades.  The eye shadow palettes are very well crafted and I love the shades that have been put together in them.  My favorite shades are the Rosewood, Graphite, and Violet.  The Rosewood will work well for a daytime neutral eye look, the Graphite is perfect to create a silvery smoky eye, and the Violet will create a very trendy plum eye.  After this fall, the last thing that I need is yet another eye shadow palette but I still want to buy these very soon.

I love the Rouge Prodige shades that are included with this collection, neutral pinks and neutral roses work very well with my skintone and are great paired with any eye look that I can come up with.  My favorite of the shades is the Tender Rose which is the most my-lips-but-better shade that is in this collection.  I also love the Miami Pink shade which looks closer to Viva Glam Gaga (the original shade), I will use this shade both right now and all next spring.  Last but not least, I must try this new mascara to add to my mascara collection.

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

French Week 2011 Day 3 - Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch

French women are known for their flawless skin and the lack of face makeup that they wear on a daily basis.  In America, I feel like we pile on the foundation, concealer, and powder to cover flaws or try to hid behind a tan (real or fake).  There is a lot that I feel that we can learn from French women and using the correct face products is a big one.  One of the best-selling French beauty lines is Clarins, a line of fantastic skincare, makeup, and tanning products.  Clarins creates many of the top rated skincare products that are on the market today and the best-selling and top rated sunless tanning formulas. 

Clarins was first founded over 50 years ago in a small store in Paris and has since evolved in a worldwide beauty brand.  "Clarins is born!  Mr. Jacques Courtin-Clarins decided to 'take beauty seriously' and opened his first beauty institute on the rue Tronchet offering women personalized treatments and advice.", states the Clarins website in the About Clarins part of their website.  Mr. Clarins the unique Institut face and body treatment methods and created luxury products made exclusively from plant extracts.  The brand was a skincare leader in France by 1980 and within the next ten years, spread out all over Europe as a leading brand of skincare.  In the early 1990s, Clarins expanded the line with the color collection and then went into fragrance over throughout the rest of the decade.  Today, they are a worldwide beauty brand and will only continue to grow larger and better.

My first Clarins purchase occured with the writing of this blog post, I had often looked at their counter before but I had never really stopped and bought anything there.  So what did I buy and why did I decide to purchase the product from Clarins and not another brand?  I purchased their top-selling primer since French women have such lovely skin and I was hoping that I should steal some of their glow for myself.  The product that I purchased fromthe counter that day was Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch, a makeup primer that is made to cure a range of skin issues, from pore size to fine lines and wrinkles.

"The modern, magic makeup base that smoothes skin's surface and minimizes the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and pores for a flawless complexion."  This product is housed in a jar instead of the traditional pump bottle or squeeze tube.  It has a thicker texture than most primers and actually melts onto the skin for blending.  When on the skin, it really helps to minimize the appearance of pores and allows me to use much less foundation and concealer.  I can't comment on how it works for fine lines since I don't have any of those to conceal at the moment.

The Sephora website reports on two more aspects of the product than the Clarins website does, the active ingredients and the findings of the clinical trials.  This product contains three main active ingredients: Acacia Micro-Pearls, Pink Pearl Pigments, and Vitamin E.  Acacia Micro-Pearls help to temporarily refine skin texture, filling in fine lines and wrinkles.  Pink Pearl Pigments optically minimize fine lines and wrinkles while softening facial features.  Vitamin E is used in this product to protect the skin while keeping it comfortable. 

The clinical trial results are quite impressive for this primer.  95% of users reported noticing smoother skin, 77% of users reported fewer fine lines and wrinkles, and 73% of users reported more refined skin textures and pores. 

This product worked best for me in the pore refinining and smoothing aspects.  It really cuts down on the amount of other products that I need to make my face look clear and bright.  The texture of this product is much thicker and I found it more hydrating than most other primers.  That being said, much as I love the improvement that this product gives my skin, I will be putting it away for the fall.  It is just too much on my skin with the very high heat and humidity of July.  On the same note, I also don't recommend this for someone with very oily skin, it will be too thick and hydrating.  However, normal and dry skin types will love this product and will reap all kinds of benefits from it.  Just as the French intended...

photo courtesy of Sephora

Clarins Spring 2011 Collection - Neo Pastels

Neo Pastel is the newest collection for this season from Clarins. I haven't been on the Clarins bandwagon very long but so far everything that I have seen inthe past few months, I have loved it all. Neo translates to "new" so this collection appears as though it will be a new take on the tradition pastel shades that are offered every spring season. Clarins seems to be a more conservative company so I am interested in how they are going to rework pastel shades, keep them fresh, and still able to be worn professionally. "Inspired by art and watercolours, colour goes pastel this Spring". This collection promises to hold lovely eye makeup shades that I will end up wearing all spring.

Time to see this new take on pastels...

Blush Prodige Illuminating Cheek Colour - This soft mineral blush powder glides perfectly over skin and blends naturally and evenly. Each luminous harmony is accompanied by a complementary shade duo to highlight cheekbones with an immediate and natural-looking glow. Matte colors for a natural result and iridescent effects to complement. Catches light and enhances facial features. New gold packaging, engraved leaf, mirror, high quality brush.

- 01 Lovely Rose - midtone rose shades

- 02 Soft Peach - pale peach shades

- 03 Miami Pink - light pink shades

- 04 Sunset Coral - warm coral bronze shades

- 05 Rose Wood - deep warm rose shades

- 06 Spiced Mocha - deep warm bronze shades

Instant Smooth Line Correcting Concentrate - A portable version of Instant Smooth Touch that can be applied directly onto lines for touch-ups throughout the day. The high precision silicone tip targets the heart of the wrinkle to fill it in and smooth it away.

Eye Quartet Mineral Palette - An eye palette inspired by an artist's watercolor palette. Composed of 6 eye shadows, formulated with mineral powders and developed into 3 harmonies (pink, brown, violet), plus an eye liner. Use dry for a transparent makeup result or wet for a more intense result. New gold packaging, large mirror, applicators.

- pale and deep pink/violet/bronze and jet black eye liner

Wonder Perfect Mascara - A multi-dimensional mascara, 3-in-1 mascara, that ensures oversized volume, curl, and length, with an instant and intense effect. From the first brush stroke, lashes are coated from root to tip with smooth, even, deeply pigmented colour and a beautful lash look. 3-in-1 capabilites to ensure impressive volume, length, and curl. Incredibly thick, volumized lashes, perfectly separated, no clumping. Infinitely long lashes, highlighted along their base by a superb eye liner effect. Lashes with a spectaculat curl that always remain supple.

- 01 Black - black

- 02 Brown - medium brown

- 03 Blue - bright navy blue

Rouge Hydra Nude Smoothing Cream Lipstick - A nourishing, moisturizing, and smooth cream lipstick that colours the lips in radiant nude tones.

- 01 Pastel Rose - medium nude rose

- 02 Pastel Coral - warm medium coral

- 03 Pastel Beige - neutral medium beige

- 04 Pastel Brown - warm bronze

Joli Rouge Perfect Sheer Shine Lipstick - High shine enhanced by long-hold, crystal colours, a luxurious texture and genuine lip care benefits that protect and beautify lips all day.

- 01 Melon - creamy sheer coral

My favorite item from this pastel collection is exactly as I thought it would be, I love the eye shadow palette and I can see myself getting a large amount of wear from it this spring. It also answered my question thjat arose from when I initially looked at the promo picture of the collection. The model has on black eye liner, all around the eyes and it looked like nothing else in the collection. I would be more likely to use it to create a cat eye with one of the lighter shades in the palette.

I really like a bunch of the products in this collection aside from the palette. The Cheek Colour looks amazing and I love both the Lovely Rose and Miami Pink shades. I can see both of these shades working well my pale, pink-based skin. Of the lipsticks, I prefer the Rouge Hydra Nude Smoothing Cream Lipstick over the other formula. 01 Pastel Rose I am hoping will turn turn out to be a my-lips-but-better shade that can help me get over MAC's Way to Love. My last pick is the mascara that is included with this collection, the words "impressive volume, length, and curl" have grabbed my attention.

photo courtesy of Clarins

Clarins Holiday 2010 Collection - Barocco

Clarins Barocco collection has been heralded as one of the most beautiful collections of the holiday season. This collection may be small and consisting only of four products but they are four true winners and have hit the tops of everyone's most wanted list. This collection hits on all the major trends of this season; gold eyes, red lips, and flawless skin "Adorned with a precious, jewel-like decoration inspired by the delicate work of a goldsmith". I can't wait to see this collection in person...

Here is the beautiful new collection...

Barocco Limited Edition Face Palette - An incredibly soft and lightweight compact powder, presented in an elegant case: a black lacquered logoed bottom with a glossy white gold lid decorated with a black scroll. A harmony of two complementary shades are stamped into the powder in the emblematic scroll pattern. Beige and a pinky peach. Case protected in a red velvet purse.

Barocco Limited Edition Shimmering Gold Powder for Face and Decollete - A powder formed into gold-dusted nuggets presented in an elegant black cylinder, decorated with a black scroll. Embellished with a beautiful tassel. The delicate powder nuggets are nestled in with an elegant black powder puff.

Barocco Limited Edition Rouge Prodige Lipstick - An unrivaled lipstick that delivers long-lasting colour, intense shine, and exceptional comfort. High Fidelity Pearl technology ensures that colour and shine stay true for hours, while the rich, creamy texture provides nourishing skin care benefits to lips.

- Barocco - deep red cream

Barocco Limited Edition Eye Colour Trio - A palette of three eye shadows presented in a black rectangular case with a glossy white gold lid decorated with a black scroll. Case holds a large mirror and double applicator for precise makeup application. Three festive shades to light up your eyes. An elegant matte black to emphasize and intensify. A subtle captivating "duo" - black and gold mixed together for an instant smoky bronze effect. A radiant pearly gold to give eyes touches of light.

Of course, my favorite item of the collection is the Eye Colour Trio. I want to use the black as the liner, the black and gold as the lid color, and the then the gold as the highlighter. I have high hopes for this and I don't want to be disappointed. I love the whole collection but I am thinking that I could pass on the gold body shimmer. It might be too warm for my complexion and so I bet it would be a waste of money. However, I love the face palette and the lipstick shade. This collection just screams "holiday" to me and I agree with everyone that this is a top pick of the season.

photo courtesy of Nordstrom

Lines That I Have Never Tried

When I look through my train case, it seems like I have makeup from every single line carried in Sephora and major department stores. However, as I read magazines and look through people’s reviews on Makeup Alley, I feel like I only own products from a couple of lines. So I complied a list of several lines that I hear a lot about but still haven’t had the chance to try any of the products from.

The lines are…
- Stila

- Lancome

- Shu Uemura

- Lorac

- Make Up Forever

- Clarins

- Bobbi Brown

- The Body Shop

- Givenchy

I think that I as I begin to look for new fall makeup, I am going to investigate many of these lines. My goal is that within the next six months to a year, I will have tried products from every single one of these line.