Laura Mercier Petite Eye Palettes

Laura Mercier's holiday offering this year is... complicated to say the least. The holiday collection (Club Couture) itself is small: it features two "foiled" eyeshadows in gold and silver and three lip products (two lipsticks, one gloss).

Then there are a plethora of palettes and sets (and certain items exclusive to particular retailers). The items you'll find everywhere are:

• The Colour Wardrobe (a double-decker palette for eyes, lips, and cheeks), $98
• Petite Eye Palettes in warm and cool (four shades in a very slender case), $28 each
• Baked Eye Colour Palette (five baked shades), $48
• Mini Lip Glace set (five mini glosses), $48

There is also a mini brush set ($45), a double-ended brush set ($85), and various bath and body gift sets. I've never owned any of Laura's bath and body stuff, but it all smells so delicious you might be tempted to eat it.
The petite eye palettes come in impossibly sleek and travel-friendly little cases (they remind me a bit of the first generation iPod Shuffle). The colors are all shades from Laura's permanent line.

I'm personally a big fan of Laura's eyeshadows. The color payoff is right for me, and I love the texture and finish (her shadows are predominantly satins and mattes; you generally don't see very frosty or shimmery shadows from her).

Laura Mercier Petite Eye Palettes: Sandstone, Stellar, Bamboo, Truffle, Morning Dew, Rose, African Violet, Twilight Grey

Clarins Holiday 2009: Palazzo d'Oro

I've received a number of reader requests to pay more attention to Clarins, and the pictures I've seen online of their holiday collection this year (Palazzo d'Oro) stopped me in my tracks.

Tracking the collection down, however, was actually somewhat challenging. At Nordstrom and Dillards, when I asked, "do you have Clarins' holiday collection?" they responded, "do you mean the sets?" I finally found Palazzo d'Oro at Macy's — but there are no testers. If you want to try, you must buy. (Perhaps this is not the case in other places; different areas might also find them in different retailers.)

The collection contains an eye palette (four shadows and a cream liner, $66). The top two shades are both shimmery: pale pink and melon-gold. The bottom two are satin warm purple-grey and matte brown with a few tiny gold sparkles. The cream liner is very dark brown and swatched beautifully.

The "face compact" is a highlighter ($57), and should you choose to buy it, your first task will be to scrape off the layer of insane gold overspray (I used a triangle sponge). Once that's gone, you'll be left with a delicate, finely milled gold highlight which is actually very pretty.

Both compacts are ridiculously heavy.

There are two more holiday items, each $23.50. There's a mascara with shimmer (which I did not try), and a Joli Rouge lipstick. The lipstick is really a topcoat — you could wear it alone for a subtle, festive, lipgloss-like shine on your bottom lip (but it looks weird on the top lip). It smells like Juicy Fruit gum, and the gold sparkles feel a bit grainy. The effect is pretty, though, and feels worth it for a special occasion. Now to get myself invited to a suitable holiday gala.

Clarins Holiday: Palazzo d'Oro, Gold Attraction, Joli Rouge Perfect Shine Sheer Lipstick

Choose Your Own Adventure

Hey readers,

A thought just occurred to me (and I hope it doesn't sound tacky to pass the question on to you). Would you rather see lip swatches of all 15 Minutes, with no giveaway (because I assume nobody wants a prize that's been lip-swatched), or lip swatches of some, and others used for prizes? Leave me a comment sometime today to let me know what you would prefer.

Lipstick Queen 15 Minutes of Fame

Amazing story, readers: Lipstick Queen heard about my misunderstanding with Barney's, got in touch with me — and sent samples of all fifteen shades of their 15 Minutes of Fame Pop Art Gloss, as a gesture of swatching goodwill. I'm absolutely blown away!

I hope you won't let that keep me from telling you how impressed I am with these glosses.

I was definitely skeptical from the outset. I hate click pens, mostly because it's so hard to dispense the right amount of product. Click-click nothing, click WOAH too much gloss. I'd also read that the 15 Minutes were nonsticky, and subliminally, I didn't believe it. These days, companies use the descriptor "nonsticky" so blithely that it's started to lose meaning for me.

But applying one of these to my lips was enough to make me a believer. The gloss comes out of the pen as a thick gel, which converts to a sheer, shiny gloss on your lips. Because of the thickness of the gloss, one click was enough to get me started, a second click was perfect to finish the job. I tried on 9 Minutes and it was like applying one of my favorite lipstains... in gloss form. They're not actually staining, that's just what the level of coverage reminded me of. The Pop Art Glosses are unscented, not the least bit sticky, and sheer cream finish (no sparkle).
I still want to show you a few lip swatches of these (because I think the lip swatches will really add to your understanding of what they look like), and I'll be giving the rest away — watch for that giveaway in the near future.

15 Minutes of Fame Pop Art Glosses are $16.50 each, or you can buy a set of five minis (3 Minutes, 5 Minutes, 11 Minutes, 12 Minutes, and 13 Minutes) for $28. The glosses are here to stay; the set is limited edition for holiday.

We Have Our Winners!

You guys did an AMAZING job with the Lancome holiday contest. Thank you so much to everyone who entered.

I am indeed giving away all five prizes, and here's who they're going to:

StefieJ (who wished for the NARS bridal palette): all three cream shadows (Pink Lace, Garter Belt, and Haute Smoke)

Connie (who wished for a vanity and makeup storage furniture): Luxe lipstick and Feverish gloss

Sandy (who wished Leslie Blodgett would personally teach her how to use BE): Crushed Rose lipstick and Seductively gloss

Shiny922 (who wished she lived in one place so she didn't have to buy duplicates of everything): Coquette lipstick and Untamed Plum gloss

Charlieee (who wished for Urban Decay's Book of Shadows Volumes I & II): Plum Tease Ink Artliner, Rouge Seduction lipstick, and Evening Splendor gloss

Stay tuned! We have more giveaways yet to come!

TFMA: The Marvelous Q-Tip, Part 1

If you've ever worn lipstick or gloss (and if you're reading this, I assume you have), you're familiar with "the line." In the first few minutes after application, product collects where your lips touch, and once it's there, it's usually going to end up on your teeth.

You could eliminate the line by putting your finger in your mouth, closing your lips around it, and drawing it out. But you'll have lipstick or gloss on your finger.

Which brings me to today's Tip From a Makeup Artist:

A better solution (which I just learned) is to clean up the line with a q-tip. Apply your lip-product-of-choice, give it a minute to settle, then take a q-tip and roll it along the inside of your pout. It erases the line, but it also blots the lipstick right where you're most at risk of transfer to teeth. It's so simple, yet genius! And this confirms my suspicion that the q-tip is actually the world's most useful makeup tool. But more on that later.

Cargo Eastern Eye Pencil Collection

There was one more item in Cargo's limited edition display (Pau F actually mentioned it in her comment yesterday!). Between the Hands of Hope Palette and the Mediterranean Nights Palette

there was a set of five eye pencils, and I thought "might as well swatch those, too." Either there's a typo on Sephora's website, or the N had been scratched off my Sephora display, which named this the Easter Eye Pencil Collection (seemed like an odd choice for this time of year).

Now, I have to warn you, I'm ridiculously uncoordinated with my left hand. I'm not very good at drawing neat lines (which is why I almost never swatch on my right arm). Still, these pencils did not bowl me over. I guess I'm spoiled about eyeliner now (thanks, Prestige, MUFE, MAC, Stila, and Urban Decay), but these weren't ridiculously soft or smooth (or pigmented, in one swipe).

If you love the colors, the price is great: $18 for a set of five minis.

Cargo Mediterranean Nights Palette

I thought it made sense — since we looked at the Cargo Hands of Hope Palette yesterday — to take a look at its sister palette, Mediterranean Nights. These two palettes are the same size (large and flat, like a children's book), appeared at the same time, and share space in Sephora's Cargo display.

Mediterranean Nights contains four unnamed eyeshadows: shimmery yellow-brown, shimmery, pale apple green, a shimmery tawny gold, and a matte pale pink with gold sparkles — though the sparkles didn't seem to stick at all.

The palette is $34, probably because it includes two blushes (Rome and The Big Easy) and Cargo's Medium bronzer. The bronzer forms a ring around the blushes, and it looks like it might be difficult to get your brush in bronzer alone.

So between Mediterranean Nights and Hands of Hope, which do you like better?

Cargo Mediterranean Nights Palette: Rome, The Big Easy, Medium Bronzer

Cargo Hands of Hope Palette

Some weeks ago a new, limited edition Cargo palette appeared in Sephora. Called the "Hands of Hope" palette, it features nine shadows, each embossed with a stylized hamsa (a symbol of good luck in the Middle East).

I feel like I'm going to repeat a lot of my Cargo Runway Palette review. The shadows are excellent: great texture, very smooth and pigmented. They're all shimmery, except for that first purple, which is more like a luminous satin. The palette itself is very large and flat — though if Cargo keeps producing palettes like this, you could buy an Ikea wall-mount bookshelf for them and store them upright together.

The Hands of Hope Palette is $29, and, despite its name, is not a charity palette. Most people (myself included) are most excited about that cool brown (taupe!) third shade — luckyredlisa wisely observed that you could easily pay $29 for that shade alone. Unfortunately, the shades do not have individual names and are not sold separately.

Bobbi Brown Holiday: Neiman Marcus Exclusives

We've looked at a few parts of Bobbi Brown's holiday collection already: the Earth Metal Palette, the Chrome collection, including the Chrome palette. Today I have a few more pieces for you. Neiman Marcus, by virtue of its special relationship with Bobbi, sometimes gets exclusive pieces to collections. This holiday, those pieces are three mini Shimmer Bricks and two Lip Color lipsticks. [Edit: you can find these pieces in Bergdorf Goodman, too, if you happen to be in NYC.]

The mini Shimmer Bricks are $45 each (a regular Shimmer Brick is $38). I was sort of hoping they'd be sold in a set — a trio of mini shimmerbrick cuteness. No such luck. I assume the hefty price of these is based on their heavy compacts. The sales associates at the Bobbi counter were sort of horrified that I swatched these so heavily — and with a sponge. They said to avoid the metallic look, use a light hand and don't swirl your brush in them. I was thinking a skunk brush might be the answer — they pointed out an official Bobbi Brown goat hair Face Blender brush for the job. (I don't think Bobbi has a skunk in her line.)

All three Shimmerbricks had a lot of multicolored sparkle. They were all pretty, but Nectar was my favorite — it reminds me of MAC's Porcelain Pink.

There are also two new lipsticks: Sand and Pink Nectar. Port is being repromoted from the Chrome collection. The lipsticks are regular price at $22, and I LOVE Pink Nectar (it kind of reminds me of my current love, MAC Surprise Me).

Bobbi Brown Neiman Marcus Exclusives: Plum, Sandstone, Nectar, Shimmerbricks, Sand, Port, Pink Nectar, Lip Color

MAC Baroque Boudoir

Usually for holiday MAC releases one big, universally distributed holiday collection (this year it was Magic, Mirth, and Mischief), and then a second, smaller, "couture" collection in swanky packaging, sold through freestanding MAC stores and Nordstrom. This year it's available in MAC stores only, and the ladies at my Nordstrom counter are still in denial.

Baroque Boudoir is also smaller than the last few collections have been. It includes three lipsticks, three glosses, and a clutch. The sheer mystery powders have been re-released, but only in two shades. (According to my source, Dark Secret didn't sell particularly well.)

The lipsticks and glosses are $22 each. The Sheer Mystery Powders are $60 (up from Monogram's $50 and Stylistics' $45). The clutch is $65.
I think it's interesting that the lipsticks are Cremesheens. Based on early product photos, I thought I was going to be all over Prive, but now that I've swatched it, I think it's too blue for me. If I'm interpreting MAC's website correctly, these glosses are some kind of special new formula. They're actually sheer tints with tons of dense sparkle (which gives them their color) and they have brush wands.Sheer Mystery Powders are matte finishing powders. (Mineralized Skinfinish Natural contains light reflectors for more of a satin finish.) Your $60 gets you the heavy, refillable compact and two pans of product (one in the compact, plus a refill). Sheer Mystery Powder is generally sold only during holiday.

There's not a huge gap between the two shades. I'd wear Light Medium (and I'm ~NW20. I wear MAC F&B in N1). Yes, my arms are more tan than my face.

I last swatched the Sheer Mystery Powders in their Kitty Kouture (Hello Kitty) release. Click here to revisit those swatches or remind yourself what Dark Secret looked like.

So will you succumb to the damask packaging? Are any of these products calling your name?

MAC Baroque Boudoir: Baroque Boudoir, Privé, Prive, Treasured, D'Nouveau, Preciousness, The Lap of Luxury, Light Medium, Medium Plus

Last Day to Enter the Lancome Contest!

Don't forget, folks, if you want to enter to win one of four fabulous prizes in my Lancome Holiday giveaway, that contest ends tonight at midnight. Go back to the original post and use the widget to enter!

And if you'd like help make that five prizes (or you want to earn a second entry), come find me on Twitter! I'm only 26 new Twitter-friends away from giving away Plum Tease Ink Artliner, Rouge Seduction Lipstick, and Evening Splendor Lipgloss! Woohoo!