Wearing the new $22 Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Candy Shimmer, one of three new spring 2013 shades coming March to Clarins counters and clarinsusa.com

These are those kinds of lip glosses that a friend or your mom gushes over (“OMIGOSH, SO GREAT!), hands you a tube, and at first you think, “Hmm, if you say so,” before plopping it in your purse where you promptly forget about it for a day or two.

Only then, you give it a try, and find yourself reaching into your purse for it over and over again. Next thing you know, you’re addicted! — to the colors, and the gooey caramel flavor and scent, and the soft, smooth, non-sticky texture.

The next day you’re at the Clarins counter, making friends with a complete stranger, nodding emphatically, and trying to convince her that she needs all three of the new spring shades in her life. ASAP!

Pink Petal Shimmer, rosy pink Candy Shimmer and rosy brown Rosewood Shimmer are straight up swipe-and-go sheer purse glosses that have just been leveled up. They shine like pretty baubles, quench my dry lips like glossy Gatorade and just feel so soft and comfy that I could wear them nonstop (I would have to reapply every two hours or so, but such is life).

These three new shades join three existing colors in the permanent collection (Rose Shimmer, Apricot Shimmer and Nude Shimmer) at Clarins counters next month.

From the left: Petal Shimmer, Candy Shimmer and Rosewood Shimmer

Swatches from the left: Petal Shimmer, Candy Shimmer and Rosewood Shimmer

Petal Shimmer

The new $22 Clarins Gloss Prodige Intense Colour & Shine Lip Glosses in Vibrant Rose (on the left) and Water Lily (on the right), both from the new Clarins Rouge Éclat collection for spring 2013; available now at Clarins counters, Nordstrom and nordstrom.com

I’ve always been a doe-foot gal, myself. Especially the flat ones. Flat doe feet, so to speak, like the long, skinny, flat ones that come with the new Gloss Prodiges from Clarins.

Why? The reason’s not very scientific, I’m afraid. I just like the way they work.

So I take the foot and stick it in my mouth…

Wait — let me try that again.

I take the doe foot, and place it between my kisser, point first, so that the flat sides cover the surface of both my top and bottom lips. Then, I slide it back and forth.

Pretty basic…

Clarins Gloss Prodige Intense Colour & Shine Lip Glosses in Water Lily on the left and Vibrant Rose on the right ($22 each)

Water Lily on the left and Vibrant Rose on the right

Clarins Gloss Prodige Intense Colour & Shine Lip Gloss in Water Lily

By the way, since we’re on the subject of these Gloss Prodiges, I like that I don’t need a mirror to apply the lighter shades like Water Lily. They’re just that sheer. But for the darker shades like Vibrant Rose, I do like to check that I’m at least close on the application, LOL! The reflective surface on my iPhone’s screen will usually suffice.

 Loading ...

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Getting cheeky with the new Clarins Rouge Éclat Spring Make-Up Collection Face Palette ($35)…

Eyewitnesses report seeing double rainbows all the way across the sky at the Clarins counter this spring, as a new line of “so intense” lipsticks in bright, fun shades arrived, much to the delight of color lovers (and guys/gals who like rainbows).

If you haven’t tried the new Rouge Éclat lipsticks yet, hint-hint, swing by your nearest Clarins counter when you can, and try Tropical Pink, because in a word (a fake word), ah-MAY-zer-ing!

It and the other opaque, smooth, moisturizing colors in the line do for lips what puppies, kittens and rainbows do for my heart (good things).

And perhaps to offset some of that lipstick intensity, Clarins couples the look this spring with soft, almost bare cheeks, courtesy of the new limited edition $35 Rouge Éclat Face & Blush Palette.

Isn’t it cute? At first I thought the design on the pan was a hibiscus, but now I think it’s an iris flower, which would make sense, as irises feature either prominently or thematically throughout the spring collection (have you seen the Iris Blossom Eye Quarted Mineral Palette?).

Um…doesn’t the Face & Blush Palette look a lot like a bronzer?

Ooh, gurl! — you know how I am about bronzer!

FAKE ANNOUNCEMENT: Meet other like-minded bronzer lovers (feline and human), discuss the pans you’ve hit, and snack on chocolate-chip cookies and lemonade (gravy available) at the MBB Bronzers Anonymous Club. Meetings every Wednesday night at the Tabs the Cat Community Center, 6-10 p.m. Cats and human walk-ins welcome.

You can wear the Face & Blush Palette as a blush, bronzer, highlighter or as an all-over face powder, depending on your skin tone and the effect you’re looking for. Clarins gave it a matte finish and designed the semi-sheer, pinkish tan powder for skin tones from light to dark.

For the most part, I wear it as a blush, buffing one or two layers on my cheeks. I particularly love the way it looks on bare skin, but I’ll also wear it atop a small amount of BB cream or tinted moisturizer, where it creates a great, girl-next-door vibe that I like for minimal makeup looks.

I do feel like my cheeks look brighter and more refreshed with it on, but that’s not even my favorite thing about it.

I love the subtle effect, and how the look is soft, but doesn’t fade into the background. This is a face powder that shakes its fist at the sky and says, “Universe, I might not be the brightest or boldest thing in the solar system, but I’m here, dammit, and I’m effing fabulous!”

Try it as a bronzer (doesn’t appear to have heavy orange tones) or blush if you’re a very fair feline, a blush or face powder if you have medium skin tone, and if you’re a darker damsel, see if you can swatch it first, as I suspect it could go a little ashy on darker skin…

If it does, no sweat. Wear it as a soft, non-shimmery highlighter, ala the MAC Beauty Powders, but with the sheen turned way, way down.

Oh, and the formula melts like butter on hot mashed potatoes…

(Guess who didn’t have enough for lunch.)

(more…)

Wearing the new Clarins Rouge Éclat Lipstick in Tropical Pink ($26), one of 15 new shades for spring 2013

Whatever you do, don’t lose your flux capacitor!!

Because when you slip one of Clarins’ new Rouge Éclat Lipsticks on your lips, and blast back to the past in your time-traveling makeup DeLorean…

…you’ll probably want to return to the present at some point to check your iPhone texts and watch cat videos on YouTube.

With these, Clarins aims to turn back time! — on the lip aging process, making them appear more youthful.

So do they work? Do they flip the flux capacitor and send lips back to the kinder, gentler land of ingenue lips? A time when folks clipped pagers to their right front pockets and strangers addressed me as “miss” instead of “ma’am”?

Well, maybe… In a way.

But, in case you were wondering, they aren’t powered by a flux capacitor. Nope, these are actually plant wax powered.

Clarins combined mimosa, jojoba and sunflower waxes to create a formula designed to boost collagen synthesis and fight the appearance of fine lines.

Whether my collagen’s been boosted, I couldn’t tell, but I do feel a little more like my 20-something self than my 30-something self when I wear one of the three shades I’ve tried (there are 15 available) — Tropical Pink, Coral Pink or Rosewood.

But I think that’s more because of the colors Clarins created, playful shades that remind me of the blissful, carefree days when my biggest concern was worrying about the stoner who lived downstairs returning my Beastie Boys tape…

One layer dresses my lips in a slow-jam of opaque coverage, and the smooth finish refuses to cross into the Evil Forbidden Land of Flakes and Fine Lip Lines!

From the left: Tropical Pink, Coral Pink and Rosewood; All three have a light violet flavor and scent that lasts disappears after a minute or two…

Wearing Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balm in Crystal Coral

I’ve been trying (“trying” being the key word here) to get into fighting shape by summer, and part of that has meant “trying” to refrain from eating so many sweets. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of willpower when it comes to skipping my ritual après dinner rendezvous with [INSERT SWEET TREAT DU JOUR], so we’ll see how long this lasts.

I haven’t been at it long. Only about a week, but already, everywhere I turn, I see things that remind me of sweets, like these tubes of Clarins Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balms ($24.50 each), which kindasorta look like Jell-O pops, don’t they? Or fruit-flavored Gummi bears?

Or, be still my beating heart, Jell-O-covered Gummi bears!?

Shoot, if I didn’t know better, I’d probably try to eat one of these hybrid lipstick/gloss/lip balms. But I do, and note: they’re not edible. Luckily for everyone involved, they’re also unflavored (whew!), but they do have a very faint fruity scent.

Look for the new Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balms on Clarins counters this May, where they’ll be striking poses alongside the rest of the new 13-piece Clarins Enchanted Summer 2012 collection, which was inspired by classic Indian colors. The four Crystal Lip Balms join three bronzers, two lipglosses, a quad, two eye kohls and a waterproof mascara.

In the look, exotic, sultry eyes smolder above bronzed, sculpted cheeks and lightly pigmented lips that shine…

Fo’ reals, doesn’t that sound delicious?

(more…)