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Good Taste? These Clarins Spring 2012 Joli Rouge Lipsticks Have It

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Wearing Clarins Joli Rouge Lipstick in Poppy Red

Quick! — your three favorite flavors of fruity candy and gum?

If grape is on your list, these Clarins Joli Rouge Lipsticks from the new spring 2012 Colour Breeze Collection ($24) were made to chew for you.

Especially if you like your grape candy with extra servings of shiny, moisturizing lipstick on the side.

Available in four faintly grape-scented and flavored shades, Poppy Red, Baby Pink, Sheer Pink Magnolia and Sheer Pink Coral are more than just delicious. They’re also creamy and — no, not nutritious. 🙂 I was gonna say rich.

I can’t get enough of the two shades I’ve tried, Poppy Red and Sheer Pink Magnolia. Luckily, I like the flavor and scent, which fade after about 15 minutes of wear, and I don’t find them cloying, too artificial or overwhelmingly strong.


Joli Rouge in Pink Magnolia

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Joli Rouge Lipstick in Poppy Red, $24
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When the Boy Notices Your Skin, That’s Illuminating: New Estée Lauder Illuminating Perfecting Primer

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Oh, El Hub… Bless his heart. As much as I love that man, it took him three days to notice that I had pink streaks in my hair.

THREE DAYS.

And those streaks are not subtle.

So when he turned to me one day last weekend said, “Your skin looks really great today. Did you do something different?” I figured that the product responsible deserved a shout-out.

All hail the new Estée Lauder Illuminating Primer!

Designed for normal, combination and dry skin types, this lightweight $32 liquid primer, which I apply after moisturizer but before foundation, smoothes the skin to downplay fine lines and imperfections, imparts a soft opalescent sheen (like a mellower version of MAC Strobe Cream) and moisturizes with vitamin E and shea butter.

I like the lightweight, lotion-like texture, among other things, which reminds me of Laura Mercier’s Primer, and my nose likes the faint floral scent.

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Unblended (left) and blended (right)
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This Spring Essie Travels Into Unexpected Territory With the Navigate Her Collection

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Pairings that unexpectedly work…

Chocolate and chili powderChocolate and chili powder
I had a chocolate and spicy chili gelato once and was surprised by how much I liked it — after the first few bites, which, yeah, were definitely weird.

Karen and TabsKaren and Tabs
El Hub and I were actually dog people up until Tabs came along… Talk about unexpected detours down Crazy Cat Lady Lane! 🙂

Celebrities and shoesCelebrities and shoes
Dude, I never thought I’d say this, but some of those celebrity shoes are really cute! I practically live in my Fergie boots. And if I had a nickel for every time a pair of Jessica Simpsons at Macy’s stopped me dead in my tracks…

The Essie Travels brights and pastelsThe brights and pastels from the new Essie Navigate Her Spring 2012 Collection
Seriously, creamy avocado and shimmery hot pink? I know! But don’t these polishes look good together?

I’ve been neglecting my poor paws all winter long, but the six new shades in the Essie Navigate Collection ($8 each) promise to change that. Available in February, the playful pastels and bold brights in both cream and shimmer finishes offer an almost endless supply of unusual color pairings for fingers and toes.

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Bottles from the left: Ole Caliente, Orange It’s Obvious and Tour de Finance

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From the left: A Crewed Interest, Navigate Her and To Buy or Not to Buy

I never would have thought to pair some of these colors together, but standing side by side, I think they look pretty darned cute.

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Swatches clockwise from my thumb: A Crewed Interest, Tour de Finance, Navigate Her, Ole Caliente and Orange It’s Obvious
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These Burberry Beauty Lip Glow Glosses Drench Lips in Moisture and Shine

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Wearing Burberry Beauty Lip Glow Gloss in Nude Rose No. 14

If the punchy pink Lip Covers Burberry bestowed upon counters for spring/summer 2012 were a little too pigmented for ya, not to worry, Burberry beauty. The line’s added two new long-wearing Lip Glow glosses ($27 each) that sheer look neat.

Semi-sheer Hibiscus No. 13 and sheer rosy pink Nude Rose No. 14 are like tropical waterfalls, drenching lips in moisture and shine, and what they may lack in pigment (say, compared to the epic holiday Lip Glows), they make up for in casual elegance.

I like wearing them on top of the Lip Covers for added shine and to extend the staying power of both products, but I also like how uncomplicated and pretty they look on their own.


Hibiscus No. 13

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Lip Glow Natural Lip Gloss in wands in Hibiscus No. 13 (left) and Nude Rose No. 14, $27 each
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This Spring, Estée Lauder’s Big Plans for Pigment Involve the Pure Color Blushes

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Wearing Estée Lauder Pure Color Blush in Electric Pink

Holy frickin’ rad, Batgirl! I almost don’t know where to start…

The new Estée Lauder Pure Color Blushes are so packed with pigment that they might even make seasoned MAC addicts shed glittery tears of joy.

Estée Lauder went BIG with these new $28 blushes. Literally. The oversized pans are huge!

To put them in perspective, a husky tabby’s butt barely rivals their size. 🙂

And the powders? Let me put it this way: softer and finer than powdered sugar.

The 16 new powder blushes dance onto Estée Lauder counters, and into EL’s permanent line, next month. This week, I’ve been getting acquainted with one of the shades from that launch and three from a limited edition collection coming in May.


Clockwise from the red pan in the lower left: The Siren, Fearless, Naughty and Electric Pink

Carnation-colored Electric Pink is the shade bound for the permanent line. Soft and wearable, it kinda reminds me of a chillier version of MAC Blushbaby.

Reddish orange Naughty, bright red The Siren and hot pink Fearless, the bright limited edition shades, comprise a three-piece Pure Color Blush Collection By Tom Pecheaux, and when they arrive in May, they’ll be exclusive to Macy’s.

All four blushes apply with vibrant color that stays true from morning till night, and only one thing stands in their way of cheeky domination…

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Swatches from the left: Fearless, Electric Pink, The Siren and Naughty

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Wearing Estée Lauder Pure Color Blush in Siren
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