Classic Summer Colors and Oversized Blush and Bronzer Palettes Make Me Wanna Swing! (Lancôme Summer Swing)

Ah, good play on the “s” sound, Lancôme, with your Summer Swing Collection, ’cause this lady loves a little alliteration. 🙂

“Swing,” in this particular case, does not refer to playground equipment. Or swing states. Or swingers (Oh, boy! What would THAT collection be like?!). It’s a reference to swing rhythms, as in music, and the sounds of summer.

Summer Swing is a limited edition release, and it’s already been out a little while. Lancôme Global Makeup Creative Director and All-Around Super Cool Gal (that’s her official title) Lisa Eldridge designed it.

I love me some Lisa.

This one goes the traditional route with classic summer colors like bronze, gold, teal, coral and hot pink — colors that really sing on tans and warm-toned skin.

The collection includes two large powder bronzer and blush palettes ($45 each), four liquid metallic shadows ($29 each), four waterproof twist-up eye pencils ($27 each) and three nail polishes ($15.50 each), and they’re all on Lancôme counters and online at this very second.

Lancôme Belle De Teint Bronzer and Blush Palettes

The bronzer and blush palettes look like little works of art! The diamond pattern on the outside is modeled after Mediterranean mosaics, and it’s repeated on the actual pans.

There are two versions — one for lighter skin and one for deeper skin — and each pan has two bronzers around the circumference (one lighter and one darker) and two blushes in the middle.

The pans are big, but you’ll want a petite, precise face brush to grab the individual colors. Something like the MAC 109 works well. Alternately, you can swirl all of the shades together in the pans with a large brush and wear the combined color as a blush across your cheeks. I’ve done it that way too, and I think it’s also pretty.

The potency of the pigments is smack dab in the middle of the spectrum. It’s just right. Basically, when you take your brush, dip it into one of the pans, and then buff and blend, you have room to make mistakes, and with bronzers and blushes that cover a large swath of real estate on your face, having that extra leeway to go from sheer to more opaque is invaluable, particularly if you don’t know what you’re doing (hey, we all have to start somewhere), or if you only have five or 10 minutes to do a full face in the morning.

Lancôme Bronzer/Blush Palette ingredients
Talc, Squalane, Silica, Zea Mays Starch/Corn Starch, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Octyldodecanol, Dimethicone, Aqua/Water, Zinc Stearate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglyce,Rin, Polyisoprene Bht, Tocopherol, [+/- May Contain Ci 15850/Red 6, Ci 15850/Red 7 Lake, Ci 19140/Yellow 5 Lake Ci 77002/Aluminum Hydroxide, Ci 77120/Barium Sulfate, Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499/Iron Oxides, Ci 77891/Titanium Dioxide, Mica]

Thoughts on the other pieces I’ve tried from the collection

The liquid shadows have a light, airy, mousse-like formula and a frosty finish. They’re a breeze to blend.

I like how they blend, but they’re too shiny to wear on their own for me, so I like to layer them underneath a matte or satin shadow to dial down the shimmer.

I can go eight hours with them on my lids without seeing a single crease.

Lancôme Liquid Shadow ingredients
Aqua/Water, Propylene Glycol, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Dimethicone, Aluminum Calcium Sodium Silicate, Talc, Boron Nitride, Lauroyl Lysine, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Trimethylsiloxyphenyl Dimethicone, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dipentaerythrityl Tetrahydroxystearate/Tetraisostearate, Sorbitan Isostearate, Polysorbate 80, Tin Oxide, Peg-75 Stearate, Steareth-20, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Isoceteth-10, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Ceteth-20, Argilla/Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Silica, Alumina, Caprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- May Contain Ci 19140/Yellow 5 Lake, Ci 42090/Blue 1 Lake, Ci 75470/Carmine, Ci 77007/Ultramarines, Ci 77120/Barium Sulfate, Ci 77163/Bismuth Oxychloride, Ci 77288/Chromium Oxide Greens, Ci 77400/Bronze Powder, Ci 77400/Copper Powder, Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499/Iron Oxides Ci 77510/Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Ci 77510/Ferric Ferrocyanide Ci 77742/Manganese Violet, Ci 77891/Titanium Dioxide, Mica]

Note: the waterproof liners don’t retract, FYI, so be careful how much you twist them up.

These are silky smooth and melt like gel liners when you drag them across your skin. They’re also long-lasting on my lash lines but don’t stay put for squat on my water lines.

My sensitive eyes also water quite a bit when I wear the blue shades…

Lancôme Waterproof Liner ingredients
CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, PARAFFIN, PEG-6 BEESWAX, DIISOSTEARYL DIMER DILINOLEATE, HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, OZOKERITE, CALCIUM STEARATE, CERESIN, ALUMINA, TOCOPHEROL, ASCORBYL PALMITATE, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, [+/- MAY CONTAIN / PEUT CONTENIR, CI 42090 / BLUE 1 LAKE, CI 75470 / CARMINE, CI 77007 / ULTRAMARINES, CI 77163 / BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE, CI 77288 / CHROMIUM OXIDE GREENS, CI 77289 / CHROMIUM HYDROXIDE GREEN, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 / IRON OXIDES, CI 77510 / FERRIC FERROCYANIDE, CI 77742 / MANGANESE VIOLET, CI 77891 / TITANIUM DIOXIDE, MICA]

The final verdict

I love classic summer colors! The bronzer/blush palettes are my favorite things from this launch. I like that they’re moderately pigmented because it gives me room to dial up or down the color as much as I want.

As for the liquid shadows, they last a long time, but they’re uber-frosty, and the liners definitely do better on my lash lines than my water lines.

Oh, kale no!

As you know, my relationship with kale is complicated…

It’s love/hate. Mostly hate, haha! I eat it…usually when it’s been obliterated in a smoothie, because I know that it’s good for me.

Anywho, I found a recipe with kale in it that I actually kind of like. It’s the Breakfast BLT Salad from Skinny Taste.

Technically, it’s a breakfast food, but no one will stop you from having it for dinner or lunch.

The secret is to coat the kale with a vinaigrette and massage the living crap out of it, which softens it and makes it more palatable. You also have to completely remove the kale ribs, too, so it doesn’t feel like you’re chewing veggie gum.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen