theNotice: a beauty blog

This round of Lipstick Bandit posts came with the challenge of the starter lipstick: your very first (for those of us who still remember what our first shade was), or a lipstick that would make a good gateway drug into a full-fledged lipstick addiction.

The lipstick I chose to feature wasn’t my very first lipstick, but it was one of the first that I really fell in love with. I hope you will, too!

The product: Lancome Color Fever lipstick in Rose Tempest

I feel a little guilty about featuring this one, seeing as it’s long since been discontinued, but, well – what can you do, right? It was “the one,” and memories don’t exactly grow on trees. (Though it would be fabulous if they did, wouldn’t it?)

Rose Tempest is an interesting shade; a rather plain-Jane my lips but better sort, but there’s something just so about it. Imagine if you crossed a yellow-based pink with an olive-brown nude, gave it a lovely satin-creme formula, and scented it lightly with rose petals and bright, juicy berries. You’d get Rose Tempest exactly; the perfect daytime lipstick, with an unexpected edge of versatility and luxury. (This would look brilliant on so many different skintones that it’s not even funny, and have you seen that tube?)

A single swipe of Rose Tempest

bare lips

One layer of Rose Tempest on lips

For a dupe, try something like Maybelline Warm Me Up or MAC Modesty. They’re not exact copies (I much prefer the Color Fever formula and scent to both, though of course it isn’t without its flaws), but the shades are almost spot-on.

The Maybelline is great if you’re on a budget, but I’m not fond of scent, and the formula feels much heavier on my lips; on the other hand, I’ve never been a huge fan of MAC lipsticks (I find most of their formulas too drying), and I prefer lip products that are lightly fruity than ones that smell like vanilla.

I don’t get a ton of wear out of Rose Tempest, because I’m rather afraid of what I’ll do when I run out, but, well. If either of these dupes are even half as lovely – you’re going to adore them.

Keep reading! »

At long last – I’ve finally gotten my act together! As promised, here are full-face swatches (honestly, though, what are those called?! I hardly think they can be referred to as “swatches” at this point) of Marcelle and Garnier’s BB creams.

So, without further adieu…

Bare, freshly-cleansed skin!

Marcelle BB Cream Beauty Balm in Light to Medium

For my skintone, Marcelle’s Light to Medium was a good match – darker than I am, but not by too much. I really liked the neutral tone of the product, which did a great job of cancelling out both redness and sallowness, resulting in an overall illusion of evenness and “perfect skin.” (The satin finish is great, too, which also adds to the illusion.)

I was particularly impressed with the way it tackled my undereye circles and the redness I have in my eye area – I probably wouldn’t leave the house without concealer, just on principle, but I’d feel comfortable having forgotten to conceal if I was wearing this.

Wearing Marcelle’s BB Cream (both images)

Left: bare skin / Right: wearing Marcelle’s BB Cream

The weird little box in the left corner is a colour sampling of my skintone – the left side being bare, and the right, with BB cream. For consistency, I grabbed the colours from the same spot on my cheek in both photos. (Freckle-mapping for the win!)

As you can tell from the colour swatches, Marcelle’s BB adds depth of tone to my skin, and has a clever mix of yellow/greyish pigments to neutralize redness.

Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector in Medium/Dark

I was less impressed with Garnier’s product, but I wanted to share photos for a very specific reason – I think it would be great as a Prtty Peaushun-like product (but, y’know, for your face.) As mentioned in the review, I was sent Medium/Dark, which really isn’t a match for me. However, it turned out to be great for faking a darker skintone, with results that are still very “real skin.”

As a BB cream in and of itself, though, I was less impressed – I found it left me overly dewy, a bit sticky, and while it did a good job of adding warmth, it failed to counteract redness.

Wearing Garnier’s BB Cream

Left: bare skin / Right: wearing Garnier’s BB Cream

A breakdown (with scribbles!) »

The product: Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream SPF 15 in Medium/Dark

The look: Garnier’s BB Cream is more sheer than I had expected, and more dewy. You know how I mentioned that the Marcelle BB Cream is really… I don’t know; BB-Cream-ish? I feel like Garnier’s isn’t – I can’t tell how it differentiates from a basic tinted moisturizer, in coverage or in finish.

If you have quite good skin to begin with that just needs a small “pick me up,” this may be an option – but don’t expect it to give your skin any more than a bit of a boost. I think I would have been a lot happier with this if it had been marketed as a sheer, luminizing base rather than a BB Cream or “Miracle Skin Perfector,” because it’s just that: it imparts a warm, dewy finish, but with very little coverage.

Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream in Medium/Dark on NW15ish skin

The shade: I was sent Medium/Dark, which is a massive error in logic that I’m not even going to begin to approach. I had a bit of fun with it, though – sometimes it’s nice to fake out a different skintone for a little while, and it blended in really well, probably because it’s so sheer. I’m fairly certain that Garnier’s Medium/Dark is darker than Marcelle’s Medium to Dark, so if you’re still searching for a drugstore BB cream but you’re on the darker end of the spectrum, this might be a shade option you’ll want to check out.

While I can’t speak for the lighter shade, I found the undertones of this one to run a bit pink – not so much that Asian skintones will find it completely unwearable but enough that it’s noticeable; it adds a bit of warmth by way of red undertones, rather than orange ones.

The ingredients: ingredient dropdown

Try it if

• You have normal to slightly dry skin that’s just looking a bit lackluster,
• You want a sheer base product to give a bit of a warm glow,
• You’re looking for a drugstore BB cream with a bit (but not a lot) of SPF, or
• You want to “fake out” a slightly darker skintone for an editorial look, rather than out & about in public.

Skip it if

• You’re looking for something that will disguise large pores, uneven colouring (eg. redness, blotchiness, or sun spots), or blemishes.
• You can’t stand scented products – I think this scent is brilliant, to be honest, but much too strong in execution.
• Heavy products drive you crazy (I can feel this when I’m wearing it, even after I give it plenty of time to sink in.)
• You have dry patches, oily patches, or dehydrated patches – I’d say this is best suited to people who are fairly content with their skin to begin with.

Swatched L-R: MAC NW25, Garnier Med/Dark B.B. Cream, MAC NW30, MAC NC30, Garnier B.B., MAC NC35.

All MAC shades are Studio Finish SPF 15 concealers.

The verdict?

Garnier describes their BB Cream as an ”all-in-one every day moisturizer [... a] light, velvety-smooth lotion.” And, honestly, I’m going to have to say that it’s none of the above. It always irks me when a product isn’t bad, but doesn’t do as it should – because as a blogger, what am I supposed to rate it by, then?

If you’re looking for a B.B. Cream that will provide a sheer, dewy, luminizing base, then I would say this is worth checking out. However, if you’re on the market for more coverage, something scent- or silicone-free, or that truly “flawless” finish, this isn’t the product for you.

Garnier’s Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream (quite the name!) retails at a SRP of $19.99 CAD, though you can get a $3 off coupon at their site, here. Full-face comparison photos later this week, if I can find time ;)

The product: Calvin Klein forbidden euphoria (eau de parfum)

Marketed as yet another “fruity floriental,” I wasn’t expecting all that much from the latest euphoria flanker. And, okay, it’s more or less what I’d expected – but in some respects, that could be a good thing.

When you go with a generically seductive fragrance from a brand known for its pretty-but-mainstream offerings, you’re not going to find anything riveting. Which sounds terrible, but it works both ways: the more adventurous a brand is with their scents, the more likely it is that everything is going to end up in a terrible mess of overdone scent molecules and trying-to-hard sillage.

forbidden euphoria, like the classic it is based off of, plays it safe: it’s the kind of scent that most people will kind-of-sort-of like, but perhaps not love.

Launched September 2011, the bottle is a spin on the original just as much as the scent is: the same shape, and the same idea, but this time in a gorgeous, translucent berry. I could photograph this for ages – and, to some extent, I suppose I did. (It’s so easy to go overboard on photo-taking when you’re working with a product that looks like this.)

The Calvin Klein house describes forbidden euphoria as a younger interpretation of euphoria, which is a description I’d have to agree with. It lists top notes of sparkling mandarin, peach blossom, passion fruit, and iced raspberry; heart notes of  pink peony, tiger orchid, and jasmine; and base notes of cashmere woods, patchouli, and skin musk.

(And I’m sorry, but I cannot use the name “forbidden euphoria” without quotation marks or stylized text. I just can’t do it. Please, for the love of grammar, capitalize your bloody product names, industry; you’re driving me crazy.)

Silver to the sides, or silver to the front and back? The adverts say translucent facing forward, but I think the silver looks rather cleaner.

The bottom line

I get an indiscriminate kind of fruity from this scent; soapy and very sweet. (“Soapy” as in commercial soaps and shampoos, not “soapy” as in aldehydes and Chanel No. 5.) I think iced raspberry was a very apt description of it – it’s like someone theorized a raspberry syrup that you’d make a tasty (and extremely alcoholic) drink from, created an absolu, and infused it into forbidden euphoria.

If I had to sum this all up in one word, I think I’d go with “tasty.” (Because, seriously, it’s more mouthwatering than any fragrance has a right to be.) I doubt forbidden euphoria will be winning awards for innovation anytime soon, but it plays its strengths – and (god help me), I kind of find myself accidentally enjoying it every now and again.

It toes the line of headache-inducing and I definitely have to use a light hand with this one, but it’s also the perfect guilty pleasure. Let’s keep that between the two of us, though, yeah? ;)

There’s more! (No, seriously, really is; keep reading.) »

I think one of the reasons why I’m so crazy about Graphites (Clarins Eye Quartet Mineral Palette, $40) is because it’s so low-maintenance – one quad, two brushes, and you’ve got an entire smokey eye at your fingertips.

I did this look to test out wear time, but ended up taking photos of it anyways. (Don’t look at me like that; my total lack of self-control is surprisingly okay with me.) I used Ellis Faas E209 as a base, and it confirmed my suspicions: awful packaging, but the wear time is so much better than most eye primers or cream shadows, on my lids.

For colour, this is mainly the satin black in the palette – foiled onto the outer corner, then buffed and blended liberally across the rest of the lid. A bit of the dark grey to soften the edges, a touch of the pearly hilight in the inner corner, and then a smidgen of that gorgeous, dimensional light silver in the middle of the lid & blended to the sides.

On the cheeks, I believe I’ve got on Estée Lauder Blush All Day in Plum – my first-ever blusher, actually; long since discontinued but one that I still use with alarming frequency. I’m not entirely sure what I have on my lips, but Burt’s Bees Pink Blossom (review) or one of these Clinique Chubby Sticks would be my best guess – I’ve been reaching for both quite a lot recently.

P.S More Graphites…