Clinique Spring 2011 Collection - Pretty in Prints

Over the past year, Clinique has ranked up there with MAC and Urban Decay in my shopping list. From skincare to new lip products, this company held me as a captive audience all throughout 2010 and I am hoping that 2011 is more of the same. I primarily look to this line for lip glosses and the Almost Lipstick lip stain and not eye makeup but maybe this year will change that yet too.

The Spring 2011 collection from Clinique is named Pretty in Prints and was designed in collaboration with the design team at Milly. "Accessorize with colour inspired by one of fashion's biggest stars. Milly designer Michelle Smith brings a stylish touch to our spring makeup wardrobe. Our limited-edition Pretty in Prints Compact features a versatile eye shadow quad in browns and pinks plus a coordinating cheek colour. For glossy lips, Milly's limited-edition signature pink shade. Frilly lashes complete the look." Quite a small collection but this looks like a good one, especially the new palette that is the major item of the collection.

Clinique and Milly's collaboration...

Pretty in Prints Compact - Silvery mirrored compact inspired by fashion's own Milly features a versatile eye shadow quad in rich chocolate browns and delicate pinks plus coordinating cheek colour. Comes in its own Milly drawstring pouch with applicators and how-to card

- Eye Shadows - matte deep chocolate brown/medium cool pink/medium bronze shimmer/ivory

- Precious Posey (Blush) - medium cool pink

Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 - Lip gloss juiced up with 8 hours of lasting shine. Spends every minute comforting lips. In 18 glistening shades from sheer to full intensity. Moisture makes each one even more mouth-watering. Protects lip, too. Welcome to our juice bar.

- Milly Pink - medium pink shimmer

High Impact Mascara - New richly pigmented shade gives eyes instant brightening power - it's clinically proven. Kicks up the volume and length of each and every lash for a look that's lusher, plusher, bolder. Pure, deep colour only adds to the impact. Wear it once and you'll feel naked without it. Ophthamologist tested.

- Black - rich black

I really like this collection however the palette looks very close to last winter's Strawberry Fudge palette, which was also pinks and browns. I like both palettes but no one needs both of them and neither is all that unique anyway. Clinique has gone a bit overboard with the pinks and browns lately and they are not really inspiring me to buy any of the new shades. The limited edition lip gloss falls into the same boat for me, really like the shade but don't even sort of need it since I already own several of almost the exact same shade.

I love the collaboration of Milly and Clinique however, I wish it would have given me reasons to buy all the shades. If Milly and MAC paired up perhaps...

photo courtesy of Clinique

Philosophy Spring 2011 Body Products

Philosophy has just released their newest crop of spring fragrances and body products. In addition to the traditional spring based products, they are also releasing a collection based on Easter candy this year. Today we will look at the more traditional spring fragrances and the Easter candy fragrances. The spring collection this year is divided into two major parts, one that is based on candy store items and the other based on spring florals. I am most excited for the floral fragrances but I bet that I will find some in the candy collection that I will want too.

The four floral fragrances are the tops of my shopping list. These two fragrances have been released in the full sized 3-in-1s only. For anyone not familiar with this company, a 3-in-1 can be used as a shower gel, bubble bath, or shampoo. "This moisturizing, multitasking fromula provides a rich, foaming lather to cleanse and condition, leaving skin and hair feeling hydrated and soft." The first fragrance is Orchid Blossom, a scent of fresh orchid blossoms that evokes beauty and elegance. The second fragrance is my favorite of the whole group since lilacs are one of my favorite spring flowers. This fragrance is a much sweeter floral than the other and the lighter of the two scents. The third of the fragrances is Cherry in Bloom and has the scent of the pure light cherry blossom petals. This is one a true cherry blossom and not a mix of notes that most other fragrances on the markets have. The last of the new floral fragrances is Orange in Bloom, a very light orange blossom fragrance. Orange blossoms aren't on the list of my favorite flowers so I will skip out on this one but I love the other three and will end up buying them soon. At this time, these fragrances are only available at Sephora.

The candy inspired part of the collection is the larger of the two parts. My favorite scent of the candy fragrances is Bubble Gum Lollipop, a favorite treat of mine when I was in middle and high school. This one is bubble gum mixed with candy, a surefire hit with those who love yuumy, very sweet fragrances. The second of the lollipop candy scents is a dead-on Tootsie Pop scent. This one is exactly like the chocolate lollipops, yet another favorite candy of mine. This one is named Chewy Chocolate Lollipop. I usually keep chocolate scents for the fall and winter so this one I will buy and put away for next October. The lollipop scents are also available in a set of small sizes of 3-in1s, the three fragrances in this set are the Bubble Gum, the Chocolate, and one named Fresh and Fruity (I can't find this anywhere on the Sephora website so I don't have anymore information on it at this time). My sweet tooth will be working overtime with this collection...

The lollipop collection of fragrances is also available in lip gloss flavors. The Bubble Gum, the Fresh and Fruity, and the Chewy Chocolate are available in single tubes. Both lip glosses are described as "a sweet, high-gloss, high-flavor lip shine". A few more details from the Sephora website are as follows, "This cheery lip shine is lip-smacking delicious. The emollient formula hydrates, smoothes, and softens lips while providing a sheer, beautiful shine and a hint of natural color." The Bubble Gum Lollipop shade is a sheer pink shade with a very sweet bubble gum flavor. Fresh and Fruity is a sheer, soft white shade with an overall fruity fragrance. Chewy Chocolate Lollipop is a sheer light caramel shade that will be best for warmer skin tones. It has a chocolate candy scent. The Fresh and Fruity and Chewy Chocolate are also available in a set of two glosses. "A set that includes Fresh and Fruity Lollipop and Chewy Chocolate Lollipop high-gloss, high-flavor Lip Shines. This set includes two delicious lip shines that will make you feel like a kid again. The emollient formulas hydrate, smooth, and soften lips, while providing a sheer, beautiful shine and a hint of color. Apply them for a fun pick-me-up any time of the day."

The last part of this spring collection is the Easter candy collection. These fragrances are available in full size 3-in-1s and one set of three smaller products. The set is named the Spring has Sprung! Set. "A trio of travel-size shampoo, shower gel, & bubble baths in a variety of delectably sweet scents. This spring set was inspired by the season's most popular candy treats. This do-it-all formula feels bubbly and bright, delivering a rich, foaming lather to gently cleanse and condition skin and hair, delivering pure joy the moment you lather from head to two." This set contains the following three fragrances: Sugar Chick, Chocolate Bunny, and Orange Jelly Bean. Orange Jelly Bean and Sugar Chick come in the full sizes of the 3-in-1. Orange Jelly Bean is a sugary candy scent that is dead-on to the actual candy. Sugar Chick is the fragrance that I think will be the most popular of the group. It has the scent of marshmellow Peeps and will capture all of the fans of this candy. To finish out this part of the collection, Orange Jelly Bean also comes in a lip gloss. This color is a sheer gold shimmer with the orange jelly bean flavor.

Wow! Philosophy is now coming up in the ranks of the huge collections now. I can't even begin to figure out what my favorite products from this collection are and what I would do if I only had to pick one or two products to buy. From the florals collection, my favorite is the Lilac Blossom scent and I also want the Orchid Blossom and the Cherry Blossom 3-in-1s. The Bubble Gum Lollipop is also going to be another favorite of mine, their Bubble Gum Blowout scent was awesome and this one promises to be another winner. I want it in both the full sized 3-in-1 and the lip gloss. I would buy the Chewy Chocolate Lollipop in the 3-in-1 but I don't think the lip gloss shade will be that flattering on me. I will skip the lip gloss in that scent and the lip gloss set. From the Easter collection, I will buy the Spring has Sprung! set first (since I can't get Chocolate Bunny alone) and maybe the large Sugar Chick product. I am wondering if the Sugar Chick scent will be so sweet that I will burn out on it quickly, if so I won't buy the large 3-in-1 and will just stay with the set.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Make Up For Ever Spring 2011 Collection - Tres Vichy

This spring, Make Up For Ever has introduced a small collection focusing only on eye makeup looks. I am a bit disappointed since this company offers high quality in every single type of product that they design. The look that this spring collection was created to make is not one that can be pulled off easily and won't even be an option for those of use who aren't major fans of bright eye makeup and over-the-top eye lashes. The little bows on the eye lashes are beyond anything that I would even try to wear but I do wonder who will pull it off and how they will make it work.

The newest eye makeup collection from this company...

Star Powder Diamond Collection - The Star Powder Diamond Collection is available in four delicious new pastel and iridescent shades: Diamond White, Diamond Pink with purple highlights, Diamond Pink with gold highlights, and Diamond Green with golden highlights. Thanks to their high concentration in pigments and mother-of-pearls, the shades are more intense and sparkly. To mix and blend endlessly.

- 969 - diamond pink with golden highlights

- 968 - diamond pink with purple highlights

- 967 - diamond white

- 970 - diamond green with golden highlights

Tres Vichy Eye Lashes - Tres Vichy Eye Lashes is a limited edition pair of faux lashes adorned with a pink and white checkered bow. A new bold and creative accessory, by Make Up For Ever of course!

Tres Vichy Palette - In limited edition, the Tres Vichy Palette features two matching shades, hidden in a delicious palette, to play the "Vichy" trend up to the tips of the lashes. The palettes include shimmering diamond white and pink eye shadows (Vichy Blossom Palette) and pearly white and baby pink powder blush (Vichy Trendy Palette).

- 311 Vichy Blossom - diamond white and pink eye shadows

- 312 Vichy Trendy - pearly white and baby pink blushes

I am in love with both of the Tres Vichy Palettes however the eye palette is the only one that ended up on my Most Wanted list this month. I'm not sure how well I will be able to pull off that white shade of blush without looking strange. The false eye lashes are a complete no for me, I have a hard enough time with normal false eye lashes and I would need to master them before I can try the more exotic versions from this company. I love how shimmery the new Star Powder Diamond shadows are, my favorite shades are the 969 and 970.

Very unique collection but the false lashes are way over-the-top for most people that I know.

photo courtesy of Make Up For Ever

Five Favorite - Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Products

True Blue Spa has been a favorite Bath and Body Works product line since I first worked there in college. This line contains very high quality products with high levels of active ingredients that also happen to smell great and are very fun to use. This line was just given a packaging makeover for spring 2011 so I decided to let you all know what my five favorite products from this company are. I have bought all of these products over the past few years and usually ended up rebuying them at least once or twice more.

My five favorite True Blue Spa...

60 - Second Manicure Hand Scrub - One of the best hand scrubs that I have ever tried and it really extends the life of my manicure. It is a sugar scrub with a jelly-like texture and smells like sweet candy oranges. "Why wait? This sugar-based exfoliating treatment makes quick work of dull, dry skin and ragged cuticles to give even the most mani-deprived hands a taste of soft, smooth, spa manicure perfection - in just one minute".

Fresh Foaming Body Buff - A scrub that is spiked with shea butter and is gentle enough to use everyday. The light orange fragrance makes it a perfect wake-up call in the morning and it foams and rinses clean so it can be used as a daily body wash or a twice a week scrub. "If you're like us, you never miss an opportunity to shower yourself with luxury. This pampering, cleansing shower scrub with soothing Orange Fruit Extract lets you buff and polish skin with gentle exfoliators, then lavishes it with a generous dose of nourishing shea butter beads. Shall we start the shower for you?"

Super Rich Body Cream - This used to be known as Lay It On Thick and I have already raved about this product this winter. This is a heavy duty moisturizer with a high shea butter concentration that is very hydrating and helps to heal winter-ravaged skin. "Nothing makes skin feel better than incredibly rich shea butter. This deluxe cream takes it even further with protecting, conditioning Vitamin E and Macademia Nut Oil. Because you know more is really more."

Invigorating Spa Scrub - This salt-based scrub provides one of the best exfoliations of any product on the market. This scrub will get all the dead skin off and I love it use it on alligator skin at the end of the winter. This scrub contains natural mineral sea salt and works equally well for men and women. "Dry skin rubbing you the wrong way, and no time to get to the spa? Just reach for this cooling, exfoliating Sea Salt Scrub with refreshing Eucalytpus to get the job done yourself, a la Spa."

Super Rich Foot Cream - This is the perfect foot cream to get your feet ready for sandal weather. I use this product all year round to help hydrate my feet and get the most from my pedicures. This cream contains shea butter so it hydrates well and yet sinks in easily and leaves litle to no residue on the foot. "To put it simply, nothing hydrates like Shea. Dive foot first into this luxuriously rich treatment made with nourishing Shea Butter, Conditioning Avocado Oil and refreshing Eucalyptus Extract to smooth away rough spots and drench dry skin with unbelievable moisture."

This is great head to toe collection and I really recommend the above five product and the whole rest of the collection. The new packaging is very cute and makes it really easy to tell the different sub-collections apart. I am a bit disappointed that some of the older products don't seem to be available on the website at this time. What are your favorite True Blue Spa products?

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

Bath and Body Works St. Patrick's Day Products

Bath and Body works has jumped on the holiday themed products in a big in the past few months. It started with special limted edition Pocket Bac Sanitizers and now has extended to lip glosses. Valentine's Day contained a bunch of hits with both the Santiziers and the lip glosses. I still love to use my rock candy scented "I Love Bling" sanitizer even though I thought that I would hated anything Valentine's Day themed.

But now that March is here, it is time for me to begin thinking about my favorite holiday of the year, St. Patrick's Day. For this holiday, Bath and Body Works has again released limited edition Pocketbacs and a new lip gloss shade.

The lip gloss is a shade called Kiss Me I'm Irish. It is clear lip gloss that has a sparkle finish and a has a wonderful peppermint flavor. It reminds me of the Twisted Peppermint Lip Gloss that was out last holiday season. Since I love both Twisted Peppermint and St. Patrick's Day, I consider this the ideal mix. I already purchased two of them this season and am deciding if I would need anymore as back-ups.

The Pocket Bac Sanitizer allows me to proclaim my love of the holiday right on the handle of my work and school bag. This sanitizer comes with three sayings on them, "Who's Your Paddy?", "Kiss Me I'm Irish", and "Feeling Lucky?" however all of them are the same green apple scent. The Pocket Bacs contain Tahitian Palm Milk to help protect hands and keeps them soft while killing germs. I have bought a bunch of these already in the "Kiss Me I'm Irish" and "Feeling Lucky?" sayings. I could use these all year round. I think these are my favorite sanitizers that have been released so far.

We only have about two weeks until my favorite holiday of the year. Time to start buying some green and make your plans for the day!

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works

Essie Spring 2011 Collection - A French Affair

"My idea of a French affair...wine, sand, and endless shopping", states Essie, the creator of this cosmetics line. I must say that I fully agree with her statement and it has already endeared me to this collection, whatever colors might actually be present in it. But since the colors are inspired by the South of France, I doubt that I will dislike any shade of the collection. This collection consists of six new shades for spring, one of which has been specially designed to wear either by itself or over another polish for added shimmer. I love polishes that give me dual-usage...

This collection consists of a series of pale shades with one medium blue shade. First, I have to look at the blue shade because I love blue nail polishes and seek long and hard to find more blue shades to add to my collection. This shade is named Coat Azure and is described as "A breathtaking medium blue with shimmer". I love this shade and I feel like when I first saw this shade in a magazine, it photographed with more of a aqua cast than a medium blue. I will have to see this one in person but it looks different in print than it does on the Essie website.

Now we are going to move on the pale shades that are offered in this collection. We have four of these in total because I am going to leave the dual-usage polish by itself. The first shade in this part of the collection is named French Affair, "a sophisticated soft lavender pink". This one appears to have a cream finish or a very subtle shimmer. The next shade is Sand Tropez, which is my least favorite of the collection. "A soft sandy beige" which also appears to be a cream finish. The third shade is named Nice is Nice, which is my prediction for the top seller of the collection. This shade is "a whimsical light lavender", a shade that is perfectly on trend for this season. The last shade of the pale part of this collection is Topless & Barefoot. This one is a very easy to wear neutral and would be a staple in my nail polish rotation, "a barely there soft pink beige".

The last shade is named Kisses & Bises and is the one that I mentioned earlier as being the dual-usage shade in the collection. This is one of the first dual-usage shades that has come out from Essie and is the first one that I really remember over the past few seasons. This one is described as "a kiss of pink shimmer". This would be a great low maintence manicure shade by itself or very beautiful over a cool toned polish. I am wondering how this would work over some of the grays that have come out this season from Dior...

There are some great picks in this collection, especially from the pales. However, this does appear to be another collection that will only work on cool toned skin. While I love having a huge amount of shades to choose from, these can be relly hard to wear depending on your undertones. My favorite of the collection is actually not the blue this time around, I love the Nice is Nice shade (lavender) and then the blue is my second favorite. I would buy both of the shades French Affair and Topless & Barefoot, these will be great additions to my collection of pale neutrals. I must get to Ulta and play with Kisses & Bises but I know that it will be coming home with me...

photo courtesy of Essie

MAC Jeanius

Jeanius is the last of the three new collections that were released this week from MAC. This one is the only full color collection and is the most hyped of the three. It has been a month since the release of Wonder Woman so it is high time for another limited edition color collection for us to drool over and covet. Jeanius is based on the American obsession with denim and therefore contains lots of blue and blue-based hues. Just looking at some of the promotional pictures and the pictures that other bloggers have put up of the collection, I can honestly say that this might be one of my least favorite MAC collections of the past few years.

"Jeanius is a celebration of the journey America made a national obsession. MAC keeps up with a Jeanius collection of moody blues and indigo ink, the quantum of modern cool, with four new limited-life denimized Eye Shadows, Lip Glass, Blush, and Bike Blue Nail Lacquer. Completely riveting." Lots of blue hues just don't work with my eye color and makeup preferences...

Here is the new collection...

Jeanius Eye Shadow - With its photo-transfer denim-finish and limited-edition, goes-with-all-denim shade, this one-of-a-kind powder Eye Shadow finds itself solidly in the ranks of the MAC Jeanius collection. Colourfully shapes the eyes. Hugs close to the skin. Wear with your favorite jeans. Limited edition.

- White Jeanius - white with silver pearl

- Diva In Distress - Midtone gray with silver

- Motorhead - midtone dirty blue with copper pearl

- Stovepipe Black - black with copper pearl

Penultimate Eye Liner - A liquid pen-style liner that provides the ultimate precise, bold line in a rich, deep carbon black shade. Goes on fluidly, in one steady stroke to style any fashion of eye line.

- Rapidblack - true black

Penultimate Brow Marker - A liquid, pen-style marker for colouring and styling the brows to a well-defined, natural-looking finish. Easy to control. Tapered tip provides precision and helps to create the feathery strokes needed to fill in and perfect the brows. Flow-through, quick-drying formula means no smudges. Long-wearing.

- Universal - suitable for all brow tones

Lipstick - Colour plus texture for lips. Stands out on the runway. Simmers on the street! What made MAC famous.

- Acid Washed - grayish beige with gold beige (Glaze)

- Pretty Please - pale pink pearl

- Riveting Rose - deep burgundy with blue pearl

Lipglass - A unique lip gloss available in a wide variety of colours that can create a high gloss, glass-like finish or a subtle sheen. Designed to be worn on its own, over Lip Pencil or Lipstick, Tinted Lipglass is the perfect product for creating shine that lasts. It's pigmented, very shiny, and can impart subtle or dramatic colour. It contains Jojoba Oil to help soften and condition the lips. Tinted Lipglass is packaged in a convenient bottle with a sponge tip applicator that provides a quick, smooth, even application.

- Painted On - grayish beige with gold pearl

- Docile - chrome pink with gold

- Indigo Pink - deep burgundy with pearl

Powder Blush - Colour for the cheeks and face. Various formulas. Different looks.

- Pink Cult - midtone dirty neutral pink

- Overdyed - bright magenta

Nail Lacquer - Revolutionary new high gloss formula. Three long-wearing finishes - Cream, Sheer, and Frosted - Visibly different. Provides no-streak/no-chip finish. Contains conditioners and UV protection. Go hi-lacquer!

- Frayed To Order - white matte with soft pink duochrome pearl

- Biker Blue - black base with purple and blue pearl

My favorite piece of the collection is the Biker Blue Nail Lacquer, I am always on the lookout for the perfect blue shade. This is really the only piece that I really love from this collection, the rest I can just take or leave. I knew going into it that all the eye makeup wouldn't work on me, I love the detailing on the products but I don't really like any of the shades. Lip-wise, I could only pull off the light pink shade in both products, but first I would want to see how close it is to Viva Glam Gaga before I decide to buy it. I like the Pink Cult Blush but this isn't a super unique shade and isn't enough to send me rushing to the MAC counter to purchase it.

Until the next collection I guess...

photo courtesy of MAC