Clarins Colour Breeze Face & Blush Powder from the Colour Breeze Collection for Spring 2012

I found the new Clarins Colour Breeze Collection for Spring 2012 at Bloomingdale's, and I had to try then buy a little of everything. It's a beautiful collection. I'll be featuring my selections this week.

I decided to start by showing you the limited-edition Colour Breeze Face & Blush Powder ($35). It grabbed my eye as I walked by at Bloomingdale's. I stop for new makeup displays (wouldn't that make a funny car sign?).

You won't feel cross-eyed when you look at this palette in person, but my photo directly above may leave you wondering about your eyesight. Apparently, my camera didn't know what to make of those pinwheels.

This face palette offers an ultra-fine, soft powder texture that Clarins says we can use to illuminate our complexions with matte color. That description seems contradictory, but the palette does brighten the skin without sparkling. The powder makes the complexion appear even, creamy, and soft. The powder is enriched with natural extracts of raspberry and red currant seed oil, said to soften and nurture the skin. Clarins is so well-known for its superior skin care, it should be no surprise they've incorporated ingredients that are good to the skin into the makeup.

The Colour Breeze Palette won't provide a lot of color to your face. It's really not a blush. If you are one of the many women who wants to brighten her skin during the day without sparkles (office-appropriate makeup), you're going to love this powder. It adds a touch of warm color. It should be used on the high points of the face as an illuminator or applied all over as a finishing powder (in my opinion). For some reason, it reminds me of the Edward Bess Quad Royale compacts, some of my favorites, but without the shine. The Clarins palette is a lot less expensive.

I worked pretty hard to get my swatch photos. It was cold, so you may notice the little hairs on my arm sticking out (sorry). I used a sponge-tipped applicator to swatch, ensuring that I got equal amounts of the colors in the pinwheels and the base shade. Applied properly with a brush, you won't get as much color as my swatch photos show. Given that my readers are savvy women who "get it," I know you can bridge between these swatches, with heavily applied powder, and the effect we're going to achieve on the face.

Colour Breeze offers a warm, pink pick-up to the face. It's a beautiful shade for spring (or any time of year when you need a little warmth). The palette photo at the top of this feature, taken from the Bloomingdale's Web site, makes the palette appear too dark and too peachy. My palette photo isn't exactly color-true either. It's too dull. The base color is a skin-toned beige. The pinwheels offer a darker beige, peach, and pink, with a touch of gold at the center of each. I can see teeny tiny sparkles in the palette, and if I run the pad of my finger over the colors, I can see them on my skin. However, when applied to the face with a brush, the color enlivens the skin without any overt sparkling. You can see the sun's reflection on my arm above and below the color swatches. You won't see the swatches shine, visual proof that this powder offers a matte finish (let's call it satin since it's not boring).

I love the color. Even though my skin is cool-toned, I can wear warm shades. Makeup artists are always trying to warm my face, meaning, I assume, that they think I look too pale and colorless. I do feel fortunate that I can wear both warm and cool shades. I'd hate to be limited to one or the other! Think of what that would do to my makeup choices.

I'm not sure how well Colour Breeze will work on dark skin, but I think it's a lovely choice for fair to medium skin tones. Check it out. The collection has arrived at the Clarins counter at Bloomingdale's and is also available at the Bloomingdale's Web site. I haven't had to chance to see if it has arrived at Saks. I checked the Clarins Web site as I was writing this feature, and I didn't see it there yet. I'm sure it will be available from Clarins soon.

Photo at top courtesy of Bloomingdale's; other photos by Best Things in Beauty