Karen

*They* say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend.

I don’t know about that… *They* obviously haven’t seen the Estee Lauder Vintage Jewels collection yet because it’s breaking a lot of those diamond friendships.

The collection’s adventurous eye, lip, face and nail shades remind me of jewel-filled pirate treasure chests bulging with amethysts, emeralds and sapphires. Aye, matey! I’ll walk ye plank for these colors!

Try three bejeweled looks in amethyst, sapphire and emerald.

Eyes

Signature Eyeshadow Duos, $25

• Amethyst: shimmery violet and shimmery violet-pink (limited edition)
• Sapphire: shimmery navy blue and shimmery cool-toned grayish blue (limited edition)
• Emerald: shimmery green and shimmery beige (limited edition)

Smoked Eye Pencil, $18.50

• Smoked Amethyst: violet with pearl (limited edition)
• Sapphire: navy blue with pearl (limited edition)
• Emerald: forest green with pearl (limited edition)

Sumptuous Mascara, $19.50

• Black: true black

Lips

Signature Hydra Lustre Lipstick with Faceted Design, $19.50

• Black Cherry: deep cool wine with golden pearl (limited edition)
• Ruby: creamy red with a touch of fuchsia (limited edition)
• Rich Red: creamy medium blue-red

Face

Shimmering Jewel Powder, $32

• Gold highlighting powder for face and body (limited edition)

Nails

Pure Color Nail Lacquer, $18

• Black Berry: creamy deep cool wine (limited edition)
• Ruby: creamy red (limited edition)
• Red Tango: creamy warm red (limited edition)

Blue cast a charm spell on me this fall. I trace it back to my run in with the Cargo Color Palette in Vienna.

I couldn’t wait to try the Sapphire eye products in Vintage Jewels and tested some of them this week, along with a smattering of colorful face and lip items from the collection.

Shimmering Jewel Powder

Shimmering Jewel Powder comes housed in a sleek gold compact with a faceted pattern pressed into the pan — so pretty! It’s a cool-toned highlighter with lots of shimmer, not at all like last holiday’s Platinum Illuminator Loose Shimmer Powder, which was a very warm, peachy gold.

A dusting of Shimmering Jewel Powder delivers plenty of small-to-medium flecks of glittering gold shimmer. It functions best as a highlighter because it’s basically pure shimmer, so I prefer to pair it with other blushes rather than using it by itself. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+

Signature Eyeshadow Duo in Sapphire

I’m so blue… No, not like that (at least not today, LOL!). I mean to say that I’m so into blue eyeshadow right now.

The two shades in this duo don’t exactly fit the swashbuckling, adventurous analogy because of how well they suit novices and the faint of heart. They apply with sheer-to-medium color payoff and are easy to blend, too. That spells easy, which is something I like. 😉

Some girls might find them a little too sheer, but I like how easy they are to control. With these, the sheerness means being able to carefully manage how much color gets applied, from one or two layers for just a hint of color to three to five layers for a more intense look. And if I want something lusciously rich and dramatic, I’ll reach for a wet brush.

They do need a lil’ help as the day wears on, though, fading a touch faster than my MAC or Lancome shadows. If I’m going to dinner after work, the duo comes along for quick touchups. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+

Smoked Eye Pencil in Smoked Sapphire

Um, wow! Pardon my French, but this blue liner is the sh*t! It’s rich and deep like Lake Tahoe and glides along my skin without any tugging or skipping at all.

Estee Laduer should’ve called this a long-wearing eye pencil, too, because DANG, this stuff stays on forever. Once it’s on it hangs around longer than your stalker ex-boyfriend, on *both* the lash and water lines. I think I might love this even more than Lancome Le Stylo waterproof (gasp!), which I’ve been wearing practically non-stop for months, and I’m even tempted to get the two other shades. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara in Black

I think Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara (say that five times fast) plumps lashes fairly well. As for thickening, my results with it haven’t been as pronounced as they are when I use Chanel Exceptionnel, but still… I’d say it makes lashes about 25% thicker.

The formula is a little clumpy, but I’ve found that if I take extra care during application and use the skinny tip of the brush, I can keep the clumps to a minimum.

It doesn’t smudge or flake, but where Sumptuous Bold mascara really excels is in curl hold and staying power. While wearing two coats, my lashes kept the curl all day long.

Wistfully, I wish it lengthened better, but if you’re looking for a basic daytime mascara with pretty good thickening power that holds the curl, you could do a lot worse. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+
[Continue reading…]

Have you seen that commercial for L’Oreal’s new Bare Naturale Mascara ($9) in which Penelope Cruz looks into the camera, bats her eyelashes and then BAM! — they morph into super lashes, all thick, lush and magnificent?

I want those lashes, but after years of mascara disappointment, I have a question for the cosmetics companies of the world: is it too much to ask for a single mascara able to thicken, lengthen AND separate?

Bare Naturale’s tortoise shell tube is a nice departure from all the solid color tubes on the market, and the application brush feels soft against my fingertips.

So, does this mascara bring it?

I applied three coats of Brown-Black and peered into the mirror hoping for some P. Cruz eyelash magic…

[Continue reading…]