theNotice: a beauty blog

The product: L’Occitane Pivoine Délicate Lip Shine in 02 Rose Frémissant

Okay, so I’m maybe having a bit of a Pivoine Délicate “moment” right now. As with the lipstick, I just can’t get over the packaging of these glosses – it’s just so delicate and cute! The entire aesthetic of the line makes me think Paul & Joe Beauté, minus the cat heads and parabens. All in all, it’s pretty damn endearing.

The formula of L’Occitane’s Lip Shines is heavy and thick, but not terribly sticky. The scent is stronger than that of the lipsticks in the line; it’s more strongly floral, though this does fade quickly. There is no added flavour to the gloss (at least, no intentional added flavour, I think), but I can taste the peony if I lick my lips. Which, for the record, is gross and you shouldn’t try it at home.

(It’s the gloss that’s gross, though – not the peony. You’d be surprised just how many fragrance molecules are actually quite tasty without the presence of denatured alcohol.)

L’Occitane Rose Frémissant Lip Shine lip swatch

L’Occitane Rose Frémissant Lip Shine swatch (at right)

Rose Frémissant, the shade of this Pivoine Délicate (the collection) Lip Shine, pairs well with Pivoine Délicate (the lipstick; I know, it’s confusing). On its own, it’s a light pink with plenty of silver shimmer, plus a small amount of gold and fuchsia shimmer. The particle size of the silver shimmer is larger, making it quite obvious both when applied and in the tube.

Like with Pivoine Délicate, I’m not generally a huge fan of colours like this one, but I do think it was executed well. I’d have liked to see less shimmer in the formula, or at the very least less gritty shimmer, but I didn’t find the colour settled into my lip lines or built up in places it shouldn’t be — when worn in moderation, of course. (Put on enough of any light gloss and it’ll go where it shouldn’t, but you should know that by now!)

The verdict?

While I didn’t think this to be a bad product, by any means, I didn’t love it. The Lip Shine doesn’t exude the same kind of elegance as the Pivoine Délicate Lipstick, but I think it can stand alright on its own merits.

If you’re just buying for the gorgeous packaging, I’d recommend the lipsticks in a heartbeat; however, if you’re on the market for a sheer, sparkly, high-shine gloss, this one’s a keeper. The finish & shimmer of Rose Frémissant, as I said, isn’t my cup of tea – but if that’s what you look for in a gloss, then it should probably be noted that L’Occitane does it very well.

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The product: L’Occitane Pivoine Délicate Lipstick in 02 Pivoine Délicate

Pivoine Délicate, one of three lipstick shades in the eponymous collection, is a soft pink with silver reflects. It’s fairly sheer, for a lipstick, and I think I’d group it alongside something like the Rouge Coco Shines – perfect for a really natural, refined lip, but the colour can’t really be built up.

I’m on the fence about the shimmer, though; I almost always prefer creme finishes or (if I must,) micro-shimmer in the same shade as the base colour. Which means that I should hate this one, seeing as the shimmer almost jumps out at you in the bullet – but I don’t. The silver shimmer adds just enough interest to keep the shade interesting, making it something more than just another indiscriminate pink shade.

It’s kind of nice, which is something I didn’t expect to be saying about silver shimmer anytime soon. L’Occitane got the particle size and dispersion amount just right, and it adds a bit of a playful edge to the shade.

L’Occitane Pivoine Délicate Lipstick – lip swatch

L’Occitane Pivoine Délicate Lipstick swatch (left) and Rose Frémissant Lip Shine swatch (right)

This isn’t the kind of lipstick to reach for if you’re looking for something bright and punchy, but I find myself quite fond of it. The formula, despite the sheer colour and rather agressive scent in the tube, feels comfortable on my dry lips and (surprisingly enough), the scent doesn’t give me a headache when I wear it.

Unlike most lipsticks, Pivoine Délicate actually leaves my lips feeling more hydrated when I take it off – quite a feat for a lip balm, much less a lipstick!

The verdict?

At $16 USD/$22 CAD, I would absolutely recommend this. I have to admit, L’Occitane had me at the packaging – the entire Pivoine Délicate collection is just gorgeous; perhaps even moreso than last year’s lovely Pivoine Flora collection. (I don’t know, though. It’s a pretty close call.)

Skip this if you’re looking for a bold, scent-free summer lippie, but give it a try if you want a sheer-but-polished shade. The packaging may have grabbed my attention to begin with, but it’s the comfortable, hydrating formula that really sells the Pivoine Délicate lipsticks.

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There is absolutely no way that anything, anything, has any right to be as gorgeously colour-coordinated as this Buxom Color Coreography Eyeshadow Palette (in Tango). I mean — neutrals! Shimmers! Mattes! Silver and burgundy! 

(A huge hat-tip to Jessica, of Beautezine, for the heads-up on these palettes.)

And an upcoming primer:

The new Buxom Stick Around Eye Primer looks pretty interesting, too. It’s not in stock online, yet, but the format has me souring the internet for reviews – all of my eye primers (or, at least, all of the ones that actually seem to work on my lids) are in doe-foot or squeeze tube packaging, so I’m curious to see how a jumbo pencil will hold up.

The ingredients

Color Choreography™ Eyeshadow Palette

Stick Around Eye Primer

Both products are free of parabens and synthetic fragrance.

The product: Burt’s Bees Refreshing Lip Balm with Pink Grapefruit

It’s not okay to eat your lip balm, Rae. It’s not okay. It’s not okay. It’s not okay.

But oh, how I want to! Burts’ (surprisingly tasteless) Refreshing Lip Balm smells incredible – completely evocative of a fresh, juicy pink grapefruit, a bit tart rather than syrupy-sweet. It would be an entirely convincing scent (save for the fact that nature rarely produces anything just this perfectly scented), and the balm itself carries absolutely no synthetic or waxy undertones.

New this April at The Bay (in Canada) and Burts’ online site, Burt’s Refreshing Lip Balm with Pink Grapefruit is 100% natural; free of petrochemicals, phtalates, and parabens. The not-tested-on-animals formula contains key ingredients of beeswax, sunflower oil, coconut oil, and pink grapefruit seed oils (rich in Vitamins C and E).

It moisturizes as well as the rest of the Burt’s Bees stick balm lineup, which is to say: it’s far from terrible, but still not enough for my super-dry lips. If you’re a fan of Burts’ Replenishing (pomegranate), Rejuvenating (acai), or Nourishing (mango) lip balms, though, then you’ll like this one, to – they’re all based on a sunflower seed & coconut oil formula.

Strangely, I find Burts’ un-tinted “fruity” balms to be less hydrating than their tinted ones - the latter tout a formula that’s mainly coconut and vegetable oil, without the sunflower seed oil.

The full ingredients 

The verdict?

Burt, my dear, you and your bees had me at “pink grapefruit.” It’s the one citrus scent that I’m a complete sucker for, whether it’s in a scrub, moisturizer, or delicious buttercream frosting, and finding it in the most recent Burt’s launch was like a Summer dream come true.

Despite not being hydrating enough for me to wear it on its own or as an intensive lip balm, I have still found myself reaching for this over the past little while. It’s alarmingly fresh, and with a price tag that’s less than a latté, you can’t really go wrong. 

Sephora’s yearly Sun Safety Kit is a constant bestseller, and for good reason – I  mean, where else are you going to find that many adorable sample-sized sunscreens and fake-sun creams in one set? (I wanted to say sunscreens, sun creams, and [something else], but then I ran out of relevant word pairs starting with “sun.” Sun dreams? Sun teams?)

Anyhow, more relevant topics; this year brings the sixth edition of the kit, with 100% of the net proceeds going to the Skin Cancer Foundation. As far as I know, this item is not yet available on the Canadian Sephora site, but it’s $30 on the US one.

The 17-piece 2012 Sun Safety Kit includes…

⇒ SPF 20 and over

- Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 25 Mineral Veil + brush

The ultimate finishing powder just got an extra dose of sun protection, for even more beautiful benefits. Apply using the Mini Flawless Application Brush that’s included to ensure medium-to-full sun protection.

Ingredients

Paraben and silicone-free.

- Dr. Jart+  Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45 PA+++

A moisturizer, sunscreen, and treatment serum, this all-in-one product includes advanced brightening properties and  mineral sunscreens to provide broad spectrum sun protection from both UVA and UVB rays so that skin is left looking smooth, perfect, and natural.

Ingredients

- Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Defense Moisture Lotion – SPF 30

An ultra-light, two-in-one antioxidant sunblock and hydrator that is oil and fragrance-free enriched with hydrators, anti-oxidant vitamins and SPF 30 protection.

Ingredients

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