MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation

Studio Sculpt Foundation is a fairly new offering from MAC, released (and made part of the permanent collection) with Well Defined in February of this year.

According to my MAC sales associate, Studio Sculpt was intended to replace Select Tint, providing full coverage (the MAC website says medium, buildable to full) that looks as natural as skin. She went on to say that it’s very good for dry skin, and actually hydrating. Supposedly it will improve your skin’s moisture level up to 21% in three weeks of use. (Not sure how they measure that.)

Studio Sculpt has a gel texture and dries down to a satin finish. It’s long-wearing, water-resistant, and contains SPF 15. (Is it good for photos? Not as good as Studio Fix, says my source.) Studio Sculpt is $28, and that tube holds 40 ml.

Based on arm swatches, I think I’m a NW20, but as you’ve probably heard me say before, I prefer the sheer coverage of MAC Face & Body (in which I wear N1).

Laura Mercier Fresco Collection

Laura Mercier has a new collection out, called Fresco. Like several makeup artists, Laura was a painter before she got into makeup, and this collection is inspired by the soft colors of that (most notably Italian) painting style, in which wet pigment is painted onto wet plaster, and the two dry together.

The collection includes a repromote of Laura's beloved cake liner in Mahogany Brown (click here for swatches, but please note that her cake liners are now $22), as well as several shades of her Satinée Crème Eye Colour (Ecru Silk, Pink Chiffon, and Stone Suede, according to the website, but all five original shades are permanent — click here for swatches).

There are also a handful of exciting new products — the new products are all limited edition.
First of all, there are two Crème Cheek Colour Pots (each $34). They have a flip-top lid with cream blush on top, then a screw-top sifter container of powder on the bottom — but it's best to think of these JUST as cream blush; the powder is so sheer you couldn't use it alone. It's intended as a setting powder for the cream, tinted to match (a meet-in-the-middle alternative to using either another blush or translucent powder on top). I attempted a partially overlapping set of swatches to illustrate this.

There are also two new shades of Satinée Crème Eye Colour: Teal Cashmere and Amber Velvet.
The piece I think everyone's really talking about is the lip palettes ($48). These come in "Fair" and "Medium." Each palette contains a lip brush, six shades of universally appealing, semi-staining, satin-matte lip color and (an identical) lip primer. If I've understood the website correctly, the lip palette names refer to the shades inside, not to the recommended skintones.

The concept behind these palettes is that you play the artist, patting on different layers of color, mixing and matching, using shade one if the pigment gets too dark; intensifying the pigment with shade four.

Laura even has a few recommended "recipes" to get you started (I'm reminded of Jelly Belly's jellybean "recipes"). From the Fair palette:

1. Peach Sorbet (soft peach with rosy undertone): Dab on shade number 4 (Brown), shade number 3 (Terracotta), and shade number 1 (Beige)
2. Sunny Apricot (soft warm pale peach): Dab on shade number 6 (Light Apricot) and shade number 1 (Beige)
3. Soft Pink (pale blushing pink): Dab on shade number 4 (Brown — only a touch) and shade number 1 (Beige to mute)

From the Medium palette:

1. Cherry Crush (raspberry): Dab on shade number 5 (Red) and shade number 3 (Cranberry)
2. Peachy Pink (pinky peach with or without brownish tone): Dab on shade number 2 (Fushia), shade number 1 (Beige to mute), shade number 6 (Light Peach) and shade number 4 (Brown) to neutralize if desired
3. Woody Rose (brown mocha with rosy cast): Dab on shade number 4 (Brown) and shade number 1 (Beige) to lighten and make pinker

Laura Mercier Fresco: cream eyeshadow, cream blush, watercolor palette, Soft Apricot, Sienna Sunset, Satinee Cream Eyeshadow, Teal Cashmere, Amber Velvet

Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss, part 2

Yesterday, we took on the first half of Chantecaille's Brilliant Glosses, luxurious, unscented, non-sticky, cushiony, comfortable lipgloss with a brush wand.

These are $28, found at Chantecaille counters or online at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bergdorf Goodman. They're also online at the newly launched Chantecaille website, which is offering free shipping until August 12.

Folly is my only Chantecaille lipgloss to-date. Alone, it wears as a very sheer coral-pink tint on the lips, but I especially love it over Beaute Cosmetics' stain in Neon. I definitely see Flirt (a brighter, juicy, sheer coral- or guava-pink) as my next conquest. Sweet, a shimmery cotton-candy color, first appeared this past spring, with La Baleine.

At the moment, Patina, Crystalline, and Glaze are only sold as a set — but the word at the Chantecaille counter is that they'll be sold individually come-fall. Patina is the color of plush theater seats, a red-velvet-raspberry with a hint of shimmer. Crystalline is a beige-champagne with gold sparkles. Glaze is melon with gold sparkles.

Magic is a true, clear, cherry red.

Once again, Kristina of SasquatchSwatch has been so kind as to allow me to repost her lip swatches. Click here for her review of these glosses.
Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss: Flirt, Sweet, Folly, Follie, Patina, Crystalline, Glaze, Magic

Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss, part 1

In addition to their potted glosses, Chantecaille makes a series of tube glosses (called Brilliant Gloss). These are $28 each, have a brush wand, and are generally more sheer than their potted counterparts. As a side-note, everything at Chantecaille costs $28: the eyeshadows, the blushes, the lipsticks (not lip chics), the potted glosses, and the tube glosses.

Brilliant Glosses wear very comfortably, with an unsticky, cushiony-gel feeling and no scent. I last mentioned them in my Summer Lip Roundup, having fortuitously discovered that orange lipstain topped with sheer coral gloss is dead-sexy for sumer.
Charm is a very sheer baby-doll peach; Mirth is sheer pink. Modern is beige-pink. Charisma (rose-gold) is the only really shimmery shade. Allure is sheer raspberry. Glee is a purple-toned, rose-pink with tiny, subtle pink sparkles. Love is a cooler baby pink (or ballerina pink) with a little bit of shimmer. Elation is a neutral light pink. Because the sheer shades may look very similar on the lips, may not be necessary to collect them all.

Fellow blogger Kristina of SasquatchSwatch (who has much nicer lips than I do) has most generously allowed me to repost her lip swatches of the Brilliant Glosses; click here to check out her review of them.
Stay tuned tomorrow for more swatches, including more pigmented shades.

Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss: Charm, Mirth, Modern, Charisma, Allure, Glee, Love, Elation

Chantecaille Potted Lipgloss

Chantecaille makes lipgloss in two forms. The tube-gloss with the brush wand is called Brilliant Gloss, and the one in the mirrored pot is called "lipgloss." Since that's potentially confusing, and I still have tube-gloss swatches to show you, I'll call these the potted lipglosses.

The potted glosses are $28 each, come in mirrored compacts, and contain SPF 15. They don't come with a lip brush, but I got mine from Sally's Beauty Supply for ~$5.

Dragonfruit is probably Chantecaille's most famous shade, a gorgeous coral pink with tiny sparkles. Amaretto and Nectar look similar, but Amaretto is more nude whereas Nectar is more pink and has tiny sparkles. Cristal, Bellini, and Guava are the sparkly shades, but they're still quite subtle. Compared to the Brilliant Glosses, these are generally more pigmented, less sheer.

Mimosa (peach with tiny sparkles) and Nougat (brown plum) are technically discontinued, but the Chantecaille counter at my Neiman Marcus still has stock. So if you fall in love with either, call Karen or Sarah at 800-756-5784 and tell them you're a reader.

Chantecaille's website is also offering free shipping until August 12, to thank us for our patience during its construction. (Click here to shop online.)
Chantecaille lipgloss: Dragonfruit, Cristal, Crystal, Chrystal, Amaretto, Nectar, Bellini, Guava, Taffy, Campari, Mimosa, Nougat

Benefit Velvet Eyeshadow

On my last trip to Sephora, I saw something new on the Benefit counter. “Velvet” eyeshadows are powder eyeshadows, in packaging that’s very similar to Shu Uemura’s. They’re $18 each, with an incredibly soft, lovely texture. The shades are soft and softly shimmery, and I expect cool brown / warm grey / taupe Where There’s Smoke… to be an instant favorite. I thought Fawn Over Me and Bikini Line looked pretty nice too.

Velvet eyeshadows are available at Sephora or at your Benefit counter.

Benefit Velvet Eyeshadow: Bikini Line, Leggy, Fawn Over Me, Rich Beach, Buckle Bunny, Where There's Smoke, Gimme Some Plum, Dandy Brandy, Like What You Sea

Laura Mercier Grab Bags! Run!

Laura Mercier seems to be exploring creative ways to liquidate backstock of discontinued items — and that means you win. Right now you can buy a "grab bag" full of fabulous favorites for $65. (Click here to browse my Laura Mercier swatches.) Choose from:

Light & Fresh (recommended for fair skintones)

• Margaux Eye Colour
• Eye Book
• Midnight Caviar Eye Liner
• Linen Eye Basics
• Pink Diamond Lip Glacé
• Sterling Nail Lacquer
• Undercover #1
• Opera Cheek Colour
• Mini Translucent Loose Setting Powder
• Chocolate Truffle Crème Body Wash
• Sugar Cookie Candle

Sunkissed (recommended for medium skintones)

• Sparkling Diamond Mineral Powder
• Midnight Sun Eye Colour Trio
• Mahogany Brown Eye Liner
• Chestnut Caviar Eye Liner
• Apricot Face Tint
• Wheat Eye Basics
• Sugar Plum Lip Colour - Stickgloss
• Persimmon Lip Plumper
• 24 Karat Nail Lacquer
• Almond Coconut Milk Candle
• Undercover #3
• Black Granite Long Wear Eye Pencil

Dramatic (recommended for dark skintones)

• Mauve Sunset Eye Colour Trio
• Black Ebony Eye Liner
• Titanium Metallic Crème Eye Colour
• Glamour Faux Eye Lashes
• Bisque Eye Basics
• Azalea Cheek Colour
• Violet Lip Glacé
• Avant Garde Nail Lacquer
• Nuit Enchantées Eau de Parfum
• Chocolate Truffle Soufflé Body Crème

Click here to get shopping — these sets cannot possibly last long.

A Critical Hair Update

Exciting news, readers. You may recall about a year ago I felt compelled to share with you my discovery of the excellent GHD Sea Spray for Matte Waves.

In case you missed the review and find yourself in the same situation, I have fine, curly hair, which, as the seasons change, alternates between a tendency to fall flat and extreme frizziness. I had really turned a corner with GHD's Sea Spray, a soft-hold spray that boosted curl definition without becoming crunchy or tacky. I only lamented that the stuff was $24 a bottle (it has since come down in price to $18), and at the time, there seemed to be no drugstore alternative.

Well, another milestone has been reached. I recently saw an ad in Marie Claire for a new John Frieda product called Spiral Style. My prayers have been answered. Not only is Spiral Style ~$6 a bottle, but it's as good (maybe better?) as the Sea Spray.

Spiral Style is described as a soft-hold spray gel and it's a little more potent than the GHD, which is significantly more effective than John Frieda's previous offering, Dream Curls.

The two products work slightly differently. I had been applying the GHD to semi-damp hair; Spiral Style seems to work best when applied to dry hair. Spiral Style also has a far less satisfying sprayer. Each spritz dispenses a tiny amount, which means there's a lot of spritzing, even for short hairstyles. (If you're switching from one product to the other, there may be an adjustment period.)

To use this product, I wash, air-dry to shapeless, fluffy ridiculousness, flip my hair over, and begin spraying from the back to the front, scrunching as I go. Voila! Instant curls and volume. The bottle claims to work its magic for 24 hours — in high humidity, I can keep it going for 48 without reapplying.

Tomorrow we'll get back to makeup swatches; I just wanted to keep you on top of my fabulous product discoveries.

Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Colour, part 2

Yesterday we started looking at Laura Mercier's Second Skin Cheek Colour. In March of this year, Laura reformulated — and repackaged — her blushes. The Second Skin blushes are longwearing, with light, natural, buildable color. They include "skin-silkening" vitamins and botanicals, as well as light-diffusing ingredients. These blush pans also fit into Laura's $10 3-pan and 6-pan compacts (so you can make your own custom eye-and-cheek palette).

Second Skin Cheek Colours are $24 each — and if your favorite shade of Cheek Colour got discontinued, hurry over to LauraMercier.com, where they're clearing out backstock at a huge discount (valid only while supplies last, of course). Right now, Blushing Apple and Crushed Hazelnut are $11 each.Rose Bloom is a matte pink. Wild Bouquet is a slightly peachy beige-pink. Fresh Ginger is sparkly beige-gold. Spiced Cider is red with a few gold sparkles. Orange Blossom is sparkly pink gold (every line seems to have a shade like this; Orgasm is just the most famous).

I've been browsing through my collection of blush swatches, trying to find comparable shades for these. The trouble is, even if I find a shade that I think looks similar in a swatch, I'm not sure if they'll be similar in actual application. Laura Mercier blushes seem so refined — a little more discreet in their pigment than perhaps NARS or Rock & Republic. If you have the chance to cheek-test these, I definitely recommend it.

Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Colour, part 1

This past spring, Laura Mercier discontinued her blushes (Cheek Colour), and replaced them with a new formula, Second Skin Cheek Colour.

As you'd expect from the name, the new blushes were intended to be natural, buildable, and fool-proof — for a fresh, flawless, glow-from-within look. The powders are also oil-free, infused with vitamins and botanicals.

Second Skin Cheek Colours are $24 each, sold in individual compacts, though the pans (which are the same size as the eyeshadow pans) can be popped out and placed in custom palettes. 3-pan and 6-pan empty compacts are available for $10 each.
Barely Pink is a light, dusty-pink. Winter Bloom is sparkly, bronzed-pink, perhaps a bit like Chanel's Tweed Ambre. Plum Radiance is a ruddy, plummy pink. Rose Petal is a brighter pale pink than Barely Pink, with a hint of warmth. Some liken Rose Petal to Benefit's Thrrrob — in swatches, they don't look exactly the same. I couldn't speak to on-cheek performance. Tender Mauve is rose mauve, just what I think of when I hear the word mauve.

MAC Colour Craft, part 2

Yesterday we took a look at the mineralize blushes and mineralize skinfinishes of Colour Craft (set to release July 9). Today we'll look at the eyeshadows, lipsticks, lipglass, (and brushes).

There are six limited edition Colour Craft eyeshadows ($19.50), each with four shades (overachievers!). I guess this could be the most efficient possible way to pack your makeup bag for travel.

These are mineralize eyeshadows, which means they're baked powders, just like yesterday's blushes and MSFs. Mineralize eyeshadows can be a little trickier to work with than your usual pressed powders. They're generally a little more "textured" and can produce flyaway glitter/pigment. I'm pleased to report these are pretty satisfactory even swatched on a dry arm.

You can work mineralize eyeshadows to their best advantage (1) by pressing the pigment onto your lid, rather than sweeping; (2) by applying them over an eyeshadow base; (3) and/or by using them wet. (This technique is called foiling, and it means dampening your brush with water, Visine, or a products like mixing medium, Duwop Payoff, or transforming potion.)
Assemblage offers a silvery white frost, a totally gorgeous taupe (yes! It's taupe! Why couldn't they make a whole shadow of this?), a pale yellow lustre, and a weakly pigmented black with silver sparkles. Odd Bits is a pink lustre, a very cool/blue gunmetal silver frost, a copper lustre, and a red-purple frost.
Fashion Patch reminded me of Assemblage. It offers a white frost, a reflective cerulean blue, a lavender frost, and a weakly pigmented black with sparkles. Eccentricity is a yellow lustre, a lilac frost, a very warm brown, and a reflective violet.
Natural Flare reminded me of YSL's 5-Colour Harmony for Eyes in Tawny. It's shades are shimmery orange, sparkling honey, pale sparkly yellow gold, and warm sparkly deep brown. Girlish Romp has the nicest overall texture of all. Its shades are oyster white, cantaloupe, lilac, and peony — all softly shimmery and evenly textured.
There are six limited edition lipstick shades in Colour Craft (each $14). Madly Creative is a frosty Rose Quartz. Ever Embellish is rose-brown. Made With Love is a bright coral pink, and it struck me as the pale girl's Costa Chic. I really liked it. Colour Crafted is a pale, cool pink. Trimming Talk is magenta. And Most Popular, a repromote from Hello Kitty, is sheer violet berry.
I saved the most exciting for last. There are six limited edition Colour Craft lipglasses and they remind me of the jellies sandals I had as a kid.

These are the same (new), gel-like / jelly-like, less sticky formula as my beloved Sugarsweet Tricolor Lipglasses. Unlike the Sugarsweet lipglasses, (1) the colors come to you pre-mixed, and (2) they are far from sheer.

Pretty Pattern is a mauvey brown that will be the most gorgeous nude for darker skintones. Crazy Haute (love that name) is a blue-violet with tiny blue sparkles. Nice Mix Up is orange with tiny gold sparkles. Funky Fusion is hot pink. Eclectic Edge is lilac with blue sparkles. Miss Marble is neutral pink.

There are three brushes in Colour Craft: the 109 Small Contour brush ($32) is the only permanent item in the whole collection. You'll also see the 226 Tapered Blending Brush ($24.50) repromoted from Blonde Brunette Redhead. The new brush in the collection is the 131 Duo Fibre Powder/Blush brush. I haven't seen this one in person yet, but it's a flat, tapered skunk brush meant to be used with the MSFs. The 131 will be $40.

MAC Colour Craft: Color Craft, Madly Creative, Ever Embellish, Made With Love, Colour Crafted, Color Crafted, Trimming Talk, Most Popular, Pretty Pattern, Crazy Haute, Nice Mix Up, Funky Fusion, Eclectic Edge, Miss Marble, Assemblage, Odd Bits, Fashion Patch, Eccentricity, Natural Flare, Girlish Romp, swatches

MAC Colour Craft, part 1

MAC Colour Craft is scheduled to release July 9 in the U.S., and the collection is hotly anticipated for a variety of reasons — perhaps most of all because it includes the limited-edition return of Porcelain Pink mineralize skinfinish and tapered crease brush 226.

I have a lot of pictures to show you for this collection, so in the interest of not writing the longest post ever, I'm splitting them across two days. Today we'll look at the Mineralize Skinfinishes (or MSFs) and Mineralize Blushes.

Mineralize blushes (most recently seen in Sonic Chic and Mineralize / Sheer Minerals collections) are baked powder blushes. The six Colour Craft shades are $21 each, limited edition, and exceedingly sparkly.
Hand-finish is a peachy pink. Fad-dabulous is a guava-melon color. Daft Pink is pink with gold — it reminded me of a swishy chiffon Oscar de la Renta gown — and the sparkliest of the six blushes. Improvise is peach. Cheek & Cheerful is orangey bronze. Style Demon is a bricky red (which reminded me of Merrily).
The collection also includes six Mineralize Skinfinishes ($27 each). What is an MSF? It’s just a baked powder. MSFs are usually highlighters or bronzers, but some are blushes. MAC also makes a product called Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, which is a satin-finish powder that can be used as light foundation or on top of foundation.

The Colour Craft MSFs are all limited edition. Three are traditional “swirly” powders (they look a little like pictures of Jupiter); three are striped (like the ones we saw in Blonde Brunette Redhead).
In the name of science, I swatched the striped MSFs by color, and then swirled all together. Triple Fusion is like a Miami sunset: gold / apricot / pink that blends to a warm beigey apricot shade. Smooth Merge is light pink / dark pink / rose gold that blends to a light pink blush shade. Warm Blend is pumpkin / cocoa / bronze that blends to a warm cocoa shade perfect for darker skintones. All three of these are very sparkly.
Sunny By Nature is rather surprisingly a satin (nearly matte) finish. It’s a golden peach brown — probably a bronzer for most. Cheeky Bronze is very sparkly peach. Porcelain Pink (repromoted from Gold Play and A Muse) is a widely loved, subtly shimmery pale pink. Compared to Porcelain Pink, Triple Fusion looks gold-peach and more sparkly.
MAC Colour Craft: Color Craft, Mineralize Skinfinish, MSF, Sunny By Nature, Cheeky Bronze, Porcelain Pink, Triple Fusion, Smooth Merge, Warm Blend, Hand-Finish, Fad-dabulous, Fab-dabulous, Fabdabulous, Fabulous, Fadabulous, Daft Pink, Improvise, Cheek and Cheerful, Cheek & Cheerful, Style Demon