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It Takes More Than Teint Miracle Instant Retouch Pen to Tame My Dark Circles

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To sleep, perchance to dream of disappearing dark circles with the new Lancôme Teint Miracle Instant Retouch Pen ($29.50).

Lancôme calls this illuminating instrument a multipurpose foundation in a pen. Micro-fluorescent particles in the formula supposedly mimic a surge of natural light to illuminate and smooth the skin while reducing the appearance of imperfections on the face.

Brilliant! So does it work?

Well, I think that depends.

Do you adore YSL’s Touche Éclat? It looks like Lancôme does. The similarities between YSL’s award winner and the Teint Miracle Instant Retouch Pen are recognizable from a mile away — the pen packaging, the brush tip, the whole illuminating angle. It’s Touche Éclat déjà vu in a less expensive ensemble ($29.50 vs. $40 for Touche Éclat).
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L’Occitane’s Petal Eye Quartet Paints a Pastel Picture of a Cool-Toned, Watercolor World

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loccitane pivoine petals eye quartet

I must admit, I giggled a little when I read the inspiration behind the new L’Occitane Pivoine Flora collection. They call it “a graceful peony which dances like a ballerina in the Mediterranean breeze.” 🙂 Okay, I’m a card-carrying queen of cheese, and I live for Hallmark movies, but that might even be too much queso for me.

Well, that’s what I thought…until I set my eyes on the limited edition release. The delicate pastels, watercolor imagery and nubby texture on the compacts all paint a picture in my mind that lines up fairly well with the one L’Occitane describes. It’s a dainty (albeit cheesy) world filled with floating flowers and other things that are soft, sweet and feminine — very Paul & Joe meets old-school Stila — and it’s a gaw-geous visual feast for any packaging lover’s eyes.

LOccitane Pivoine Flora makeup collection
A few pieces from the L’Occitane Pivoine Flora collection

The 16-piece L’Occitane Pivoine Flora makeup collection includes…
  • Duo Eyeshadow ($16; available in 2 combinations)
  • Petals Eye Quartet ($26)
  • Healthy Glow Face Powder ($28)
  • Lipstick ($15; available in four shades)
  • Lip Shine ($14; available in 4 shades)
  • Incredible Lip Shine ($12)
  • Facecolor Cream Duo ($16; available in 3 shades)

I spent some one-on-one time getting to know the Petals Eye Quartet ($26) last weekend. With its delicate, cool-toned mauves, purples and pinks, its a girly girl’s palette through and through.

Um, how sweet are those ballerinas on the front? Now look closely at the dresses; each one corresponds to a shadow inside.

This was my first liaison with L’Occitane makeup, but from what I’ve seen here, the eyeshadows bear a strong resemblance to Stila’s. I consider that a pretty good thing. They have a similarly soft, powdery texture and sheer-to-medium pigmentation. All four of the shades blend well, but I do notice some minor fallout beneath my eyes. Applied atop a layer of trusty NARS Pro-Prime, they last about six hours without any creasing, and with minimal fading, on me (I have combination skin).

loccitane pivoine petals eye quartet

loccitane pivoine petals eye quartet
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With the New Becca Automatic Eye Pencils, the Extras Make the World Goa Round

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Not gonna lie, after feasting my eyes on the delicious nail polishes and blushes from the Becca Halcyon Days collection, I didn’t have much of an appetite left for the Automatic Eye Pencils in Goa and Majorca ($23 each). The two twist-up makeup tools were way down at the bottom of my “I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it!” list.

But then I noticed the value-added extras Becca thought to include, like the sponge-tip applicator, hidden pencil sharpener (sweet!), and effortless texture — so smooth that it would give any silk worm a complex. In this case, it was the extras that made me stop and take notice, and I figured, heck, with summer right around the corner, I can always use a couple of new long-wearing, waterproof eyeliner staples.

Becca kept both of these colors conservative, opting for basics to complement the coral, peach and pink shades from Halcyon Days. Goa, a shimmery golden brown, reminds me of a mellower MAC Teddy, and it sits in stark contrast to starless Majorca, a pitch black devoid of green or blue undertones.

I wore both of them a few times last week, and while I like them well enough, I’m not convinced they should be called long-wearing or waterproof.

Majorca

Of the two, Majorca’s my fave. It kicks it all day long on lash and water lines, but unlike Urban Decay’s long-wearing 24/7s, it never fully sets after it dries, so it stays creamy and, I guess you could say, a little too light on its feet (it tends to move around). The consistency makes it fabulous for soft and smudgy eyeliner looks, but I think it also holds it back from being completely waterproof. I suspect it wouldn’t handle 30 minutes on the treadmill or a day at the pool, but it’s a brilliantly black liner for running errands, even considering that it costs some coin. MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+/A-


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Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, May 23

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  • You might be wondering, “So what the heck is this Monday Poll thing anyway?”
    Well, it isn’t much of a poll. It’s more just a constantly evolving (devolving?), somewhat random list of questions I’ve been putting out to readers every Monday morning for the past three years, which I guess makes this somewhere around Vol. 170. I’ve always enjoyed reading your answers in the comments, and I hope you enjoy reading mine.
  1. Mood:

    2. Super excited! So much so that my heart is beating like a hummingbird’s. Next week I’ll finally be able to share the so-far secret details about that Toronto trip I took earlier this spring, and I seriously can’t wait!

  2. What are you wearing?

    3. My black skinny jeans; a black floral print top with a gray, khaki and beige print; a gray button-down cardigan; black platform sandals; a black Dakine purse that I got from Marshalls for, like, $15 (SCORE!); and gold heart-shaped hoops.

    Oh, and I know it’s not technically part of the outfit, but I’m also toting around a lint brush to periodically pull kitty fur from the black pants. They’re like magnets for the stuff!

  3. What’s one song you absolutely cannot stand?

    4. Ugh, Birthday Sex. As soon as I hear the first few bars, one of my eyelids starts to twitch.

  4. Are you happy with your height?

    5. I wouldn’t mind being a little taller… Forget that — I wish I was a baller! Okay, so maybe not a baller, but I’d take a few extra inches if they were offered. 🙂 I’m only 5’1”, but in my mind I’m epically tall, like 5’6”, LOL!

  5. Of all the places you’ve been, what are some of your favorites?

    6. San Diego for the mellow vibe, comfortable climate and beaches; Paris for…well, just about everything — the museums, the romance, the food (!); New York for many of the same reasons as Paris; and Hawaii for the beaches, the people, the trade winds and the rainbow of colors everywhere.

  6. Something that comes easily to you?

    7. Hmm…buying shoes? But seriously, maybe writing, at least most of the time, except for bouts of writer’s block (when they hit, they hit HARD). Oh, and running isn’t too hard for me, not that I run very far or fast, but once I get going I’m like a hamster on a wheel!

  7. Big, gaudy cocktail rings — yea or nay?

    8. I used to think they were tacky, but not anymore. They make great conversation starters at gatherings and parties.

  8. What are the keys to success?

    9. You tell me. I don’t know if there really are any skeleton keys that work the same way for everyone. I like to think that there are lots of different ways to reach goals, but tenacity, kindness and occasional episodes of good luck rarely hurt.

    Also, as I’ve gotten older, and this is just as disappointing as it is true, but it also seems like the whole “It’s not what you know, but who you know” thing comes into play more often than not.

  9. Imagine you’re at an awesome summer barbeque. Describe what we’d find on your perfect lunch plate.

    10. Roasted, salted corn on the cob topped with melted butter (NOM!), potato salad, Hawaiian-style macaroni salad, chips and a veggie hot dog with lots of ketchup and relish…and maybe also a scoop of steamed rice and a few grilled shrimp (ya know, if there’s any room left on the plate).

  10. Weekly goals:

    11. To stick to my deadlines (something I wasn’t very good about last week); to run at least four miles, three times before Saturday; and to carve out some extra play time with Tabs every day. According to that Jackson Galaxy guy, play is very important for happy kitties.

Hello, hello, and happy Monday, pretty. 🙂 Wow, I feel weirdly great today. Almost manic. I think it might have to do with the stretching I started doing first thing in the morning, but I don’t know. I’m not naturally a flexible person, and I don’t do any upside-down crazy yoga poses or stuff like that, just a few basic leg, arm and back stretches for a few minutes before I get out of bed. It really gets the blood flowing.

  • To complete the Monday Poll, just copy the following list, and paste it with your answers in the comments.



1. Mood:
2. What are you wearing?
3. What’s one song you absolutely cannot stand?
4. Are you happy with your height?
5. Of all the places you’ve been, what are some of your favorites?
6. Something that comes easily to you?
7. Big, gaudy cocktail rings — yea or nay?
8. What are the keys to success?
9. Describe what we’d find on your perfect barbeque lunch plate…
10. Weekly goals:

Sending you positive vibes through the intertubes right now… To receive them, just place your hand on the monitor for five seconds. Trust me, it works. 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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