Sisley Palette Orchidée for Spring Summer 2012

It's here - the one we've eagerly anticipated for months! I wasted no time in picking up Sisley's beautiful new Palette Orchidée Highlighter Blush with White Lily ($108) for Spring-Summer 2012. It's every bit as gorgeous as we expected.

Palette Orchidée is the centerpiece of Sisley's Tropical Orchid Collection. Isn't it heavenly? For the first time, Sisley is showcasing the emblematic orchid, which adorns all of its products, in a trio of luminous and subtly pearly sun-kissed shades in Palette Orchidée. The highlighting blush with white lily sculpts the face and illuminates the complexion - so perfectly it's remarkable.

In the gleaming silver compact, also stamped with Sisley's iconic orchid, there are three pink-peach shades sculpted in a petal design. Coral pink is interlaced with a delicate silky light brown and sprinkled with gold and pink "dust." Freshness and warmth blend together for a luminous, translucent, and gorgeous finish.

The Palette Orchidée combines the latest technological advances in makeup with Sisley's skin-care expertise. It's feather-light, silky, blendable texture adheres perfectly to the skin, thanks to a complex of esters, mother of pearl, and silicone that ensure a perfect second-skin appearance and buildable coverage. The powder will enhance luminosity and add softness to the skin.

Incredibly lightweight, the Palette Orchidée powder has a special coating to provide translucency and light. The colors will remain pure and radiant with wear, thanks to micronized pigments. Extract of white lily provides a moisturizing and emollient effect to leave the skin velvety smooth, enhance the complexion, and provide skin-care benefits.

As the sun started to make its appearance after a cloudy morning, I dashed outside to get a few photos for you. I understand that each store is receiving limited quantifies of Palette Orchidée, so if you want one, you need to act fast. I'd want one. After seeing it, holding it, and using it, I'm giddy.

I swatched across all the shades, although the shades in the palette are large enough to use on their own. Pick your shade, pink, peach, or golden taupe, the individual shades are glorious. I applied both swatches heavily. I used a sponge-tipped applicator at the top of my arm and a dense blush brush below.

Look at the color! It's got sass and verve. It glows without any glitter ball effect. It warms the skin for spring and summer with a color that's perfect for most of us - a blend of all of the upcoming season's trendiest colors.

One of my swatch photos shows me more pink, and one shows more peach. One photo shows more shimmer than the other. That's the nature of Palette Orchidée, I've observed. It adapts to the surroundings (and I suspect your skin tone) to make you bright and gorgeous. Pink or peach, I'm super-impressed. This palette has it all: glorious, radiant color; an elegant design, and skin-care ingredients that do double duty. Some makeup makes me hyperventilate. Palette Orchidée has that effect.

Palette Orchidée arrived at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria yesterday. If you don't have a Sisley counter near you, give Loula Ayoub a call at (703) 761-1600, extension 3230, at Tysons. You can still get the Beauty Event tote too.

Next up, I want to try Sisley's new Phyto-Blanc Intense Lightening Serum. Unfortunately (for me), I may have to wait a few months while my bank account recovers from Beauty Event.

Photo at top courtesy of Sisley; other photos by Best Things in Beauty