Makeup

Just uttering the words Nars Super Orgasm Blush ($25), makes my cheeks flush with embarrassment. Maybe it was all those Sunday morning Catholic masses, LOL. All I know is when I say the name of this blush, I feel the need to cover the ears of small children (and pets) within the vicinity.

All awkward name issues aside, I have to give Super Orgasm props. It begets cheeks with a perfect, just-pinched, shimmery peach color. Super Orgasm Blush would totally be the stuff of legend if it weren’t for one flaw — massive, meteoric, chunks of golden glitter.

Nars Holiday Collection 2008

Rich, Pigmented Color… YES!

Released as part of the Nars Holiday 2008 collection, Super Orgasm is the amped-up version of Nars’ best-selling Orgasm Blush, touted for years in beauty mags as a universally flattering shade for a boom-chicka-wah-wah glow.

Unfortunately, the light, peachy-pink color never worked on my tanned skin. Instead of a post-O flush, my cheeks looked candy-colored and clownish. Eeek!

But Super Orgasm’s darker, more intense pigmentation works for me. It’s so saturated with color that just one layer produces a beautiful, golden, peachy-pink glow. Oh yes, yes, yes!

Big, Chunky Glitter… NO!

But then comes the glitter.

Sigh.

There’s lots of it. The pieces are very big and unevenly shaped, so they don’t sit on the skin well. Most of the time I see flecks sticking up on my cheeks!

Also, the glitter pieces migrate like a flock of Canada Geese, flying off my cheeks and landing on my nose, chin and forehead.
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If a tube of glitter lipgloss looks like something a gang of tween girls would wear to a Miley Cyrus concert, I usually stay far away. It’s just when glitter goes wrong it can go *really* wrong, you know?

There are those rare times, though, when a truly dynamic glitter gloss takes my breath away. That magical feeling swept over me when I first marveled at Dior Sparkle Shine Glitter Top Coat for Lips ($24.50), a limited edition lipgloss from the Dior Night Diamond holiday collection.

Imagine sucking on a disco ball lollipop for hours; that’s the effect Sparkle Shine gives lips. Infused with a plethora of large green, blue, pink, gold and silver glitter pieces, this bad boy is the mutha of glitter glosses.

Girrrrl… This Is GOOD GLITTER

Dior really should call this stuff glitter with a touch of gloss.

While there are many elegant glitter lipglosses out there, like Chanel Galactic Glossimer, Sparkle Shine stands out because it contains an abundance of glitter (I’m guessing double the average amount).
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Dual Tip Wands from top to bottom: Luscious Lilac/ Double Plum, Strawberry Burst/ Peppermint Patty and Blackberry Bloom/ Pink Champagne

Hey, so how do lip plumpers work? I didn’t know, so I did some digging this afternoon.

Lip plumpers are supposed to give lips a full, plump look. Some of them contain mentholatum (think Ben Gay). The tingling causes blood to rush to the lips, aka making them plump.

Other times the plumping agent comes from peppermint or capsicum plants — basically peppers, again, that trigger inflammation in the lips, causing blood to plump ’em up.

I haven’t had much luck with plumping glosses. They either feel like bees stinging my lips or just generally don’t work well or look good at all. But these Clinique Full Potential Lips Plump and Shine lipglosses get a big kiss. Not only are they allergy tested and pain- and fragrance-free (yea!), but I swear they actually work.

Score all six Full Potential Lip Shades this holiday season in a single swoop with the Clinique Kissable Six lipgloss set ($35, available December). The limited edition set comes with three dual tipped lipgloss wands (effectively two for one) in a cute silver trimmed zipper pouch.

Each of the six sheer shades feels thick and moisturizing and has a light minty taste. Yes, they’re sticky, but wear time seems a little better than average for a gloss, lasting about three hours between applications.

As for their plumpability … plumposity … plumping potential … the effect isn’t dramatic, but I can see a difference in the mirror. My lips do look a little plumper than usual, at least I think they do. It must be due to the capsicum, peppermint AND menthoxypropanediol (a synthetic menthol) these glosses contain.

The Clinique Kissable Six

Luscious Lilac: shimmery light purple
Double Plum: shimmery plum
Blackberry Bloom: shimmery berry
Pink Champagne: shimmer pink with golden pearl
Strawberry Burst: shimmery red
Peppermint Patty: shimmery white

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Only two words can describe Dior Creme de Gloss: Hawt Daym!

Released this fall, these babies have the look of a medium coverage lipstick with the feel of a non-stick gloss. They’re fragrance- and flavor-free and kinda remind me of Laura Mercier Lip Velvets from fall’s Cherries Noir collection.

A Natural (yet Sexy!) Lip Look

I tried two of the 14 Creme de Gloss colors, Delicious Plum (a shimmery cool berry) and Coral Elixir (a shimmery golden coral), and one layer of each was all it took…

Some glosses look goopy and thick on lips. They’re obvious and the opposite of natural, but not Creme de Gloss. It looks almost like something applied inside the lips, or blended into them. The result is a natural, yet still shiny and kissable pout.

Use Sparingly

For me, I think the secret to using these is to use them sparingly. I had to be careful I didn’t apply too much because of how highly pigmented they are. A little goes a long way. In these pictures I’m wearing a single thin coat applied with the doe foot applicator that comes with the tube.

Just for kicks, I tried applying two really thick layers and the results were a HOT MESS! I wanted to post the pictures, but to subject you to that horror would have constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

Suffice it to say, both shades looked scary thick and flat-out gross on my lips. I went to do some work at the computer, and within a few minutes gloss had started migrating and smearing outside of my natural lip lines. ‘Twas reminiscent of paparazzi photos of Amy Winehouse shopping shoeless at a 24-hour grocery store. Not good.
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If there’s a season to go crazy for shimmery glitter-full makeup, then this has got to be it. Even reserved, conservative lines like Bobbi Brown get in on the action. This month Bobbi debuts two glitzy new collections — Copper Diamond and Party, and both are high on shimmer, glitter and metallic finishes.

I wore glitter to the grocery store yesterday thanks to some shtuff from Bobbi’s two new collections. Hey, life is short, and I really wanted spaghetti and salad for dinner!

But my look wasn’t as crazy as it sounds… Although the four products I used do contain shimmer and glitter, they’re still pretty tame, so I didn’t look out of place as I manhandled butter lettuce heads in the produce section, LOL!

Shimmer Brick Compact in Copper Diamond, ($40, limited edition)

I was stoked to try this all-over highlighter. The pan contains five shimmery shades (candlelight, gold, copper, beige and sand) that literally glow on my skin. Bobbi claims that the combination of colors delivers a warm, golden, coppery glow, but on my cheeks I’d call it a transparent golden shimmer. If you’re lighter than I am, you might see more of the actual color than I do, but what I really get is shimmer — and LOTS of it.

Because the Copper Diamond Shimmer Brick packs so much shimmer, I use it with a light touch… Too much shimmer makes my skin look oily, so that’s my one big concern. For the picture above I brushed a MAC 187 duo fiber brush across the entire pan, picking up the combined color, and applied the mixed shade onto my cheeks. Another option would be to use a smaller eyeshadow brush to grab the shades individually and to maybe use them on the eyes as well. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B

Bobbi Brown versus Bobby Brown — Battle of the Bobbies

The Bobbi Brown Copper Diamond Shimmer Brick Compact looks a little like gold jewelry to me, and back in the ’90s, singer Bobby Brown had a penchant for wearing gold jewelry on stage. Coincidence? I think not.

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