Le Métier de Beauté Tickled Pinks Collection by Ken Downing for Spring 2012

Ken Downing has a gift for forecasting what women will want before we know it. Then he creates demand! In 2011, Downing chose "Koral," also known as tangerine, Pantone's selection for the 2012 Color of the Year, for Le Métier de Beauté's spring/summer collection. For Spring 2012, Ken Downing is thinking pink - "haute pink," for his Tickled Pinks Collection for Le Métier de Beauté.

"My pink inspiration was a melding of the beautiful shades and chiffon floral prints that made a strong showing on the spring runways of [fashion designers] Christoper Kane, Erdem (stunning sun dress shown above), and Jonathan Saunders. London really was a spectacular fashion moment with the most gorgeous prints of the season curated in the eclectic and often eccentric way that only an English garden is curated."

These gorgeous fashions were paired with fresh, feminine makeup in - what else - pink! "I love the combination of lightly bronzed skin and sheer, but saturated pink makeup. That became the foundation for my spring collection with Le Métier de Beauté."

Downing's Tickled Pink Collection takes the English rose downtown. Lips and nails revel in richly saturated, subversive pinks. To achieve the look, begin with Snappy Dragon Nail Lacquer ($18), a knockout hot pink for nails shown at the top of this feature. Paired with the tribal prints that came pounding down Burberry's runways, the look is "floral fierce." Next, layer on the gloss in sheer, saturated hues. A petal pink Lip Crème ($36) packs a punch in the not-so-subtle Two Lips. Complete the look with Mum's the Word, a hot pink Sheer Brilliance ($32) gloss. While the shades look very similar in the photos above, Two Lips is the lighter one (if you can see the difference).

The collection will be available at Neiman Marcus, neimanmarcus.com, and Bergdorf Goodman.

Photos courtesy of Le Métier de Beauté

Givenchy Le Prisme Blush Bucolique in Bucolic Poppy from the Instant Bucolique 2012 Spring-Summer Collection

Last week, I showed you Bucolic Rose from Givenchy's Instant Bucolique 2012 Spring-Summer Collection. I was holding out on you - mostly because of limited time. Today, I end the series featuring the Instant Bucolique Collection with Bucolic Poppy ($49), appropriately named for a poppy that blooms around Memorial Day.

When I ordered Bucolique Poppy at Sephora online, I assumed it would be red-toned, but I was clueless, given the little swatch of color online. I ordered on faith. My faith was rewarded.

Bucolic Poppy is a pigmented rose-colored blush. It's a gorgeous shade that is predominantly rose, but with just a hint of closet coral. With my fair skin, I have to apply Bucolic Poppy very lightly, but when I do, it's glorious.

It's interesting to me that the compact, shown above, with its expansive background of light pink, produces such an intense rose. For these swatch photos, taken in full sun, I applied Bucolic Poppy heavily with a sponge-tipped applicator at the top of my arm and with a dense blush brush below. As usual, I over-applied the blush to get good photos of the color, but I'd never wear Bucolic Poppy this intense. Someone with chocolate skin could - and would look heavenly.

I'm always smitten by rose blushes. This one is one of the prettiest of the new season. I love the color. Applied properly, it makes me look alive, it's flattering to my skin tone, and it reminds me of the saying that originated with Bobbi Brown or her super-rep Tia Hebron, "People are nicer to you when you wear blush." That has become one of my favorite lines. I've tested it and agree. Is it because we look happy with colorful cheeks?

Le Prisme Blush Bucoliques are produced through a new compaction process that allows a gradation in color harmony reinforced by a higher concentration of sparkling nuggets in the bottom of the pan. Honestly, I'm not sure I understand the sunken sparkling nuggets described at Sephora, but the blushes are so nice, I'm not sure I care.

The top level of the compact features the blush, and the pull-out bottom level houses a brush. Givenchy Le Prisme compacts aren't bargain priced, given their size. If you can get past that, I think you'll love them.

Sephora is the exclusive retailer for Givenchy these days. That's where I bought Le Prisme Blush Bucoliques. If Bucolic Rose looked too light/pastel for you, Bucolic Poppy is your shade. Try it!

Givenchy's Instant Bucolique 2012 Spring-Summer Collection is one of the most exciting Givenchy collections I've purchased in years. I'm revved. Check out the collection at Sephora, the exclusive retailer in the United States.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty, except for the poppy, courtesy of guardian.co.uk

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

Givenchy Le Prisme Visage Bucolique from the Instant Bucolique 2012 Spring-Summer Collection

Givenchy's Le Prisme Visage Bucolique ($56) from the Instant Bucolique 2012 Spring-Summer Collection is a face powder with a mix of four harmonious shades. This four shades in this powder combine to form a unique pearlescent blend "for maximum radiance and pastel illumination." "Atomized particles" create a fabulously soft and homogeneous formula that are said to provide a flawless matte finish. I'm wondering how this powder, which I purchased, can add radiance with a matte formula. When I apply it, I don't see any shimmer. I don't see much of anything - except for an even skin tone (nothing wrong with that!). I see a finishing powder in a non-traditional shade.

Givenchy says the colors are packaged from the top to the bottom of the pan with a unique compaction process that allows a blurred effect and several color inlays. Honestly, I have no idea what that means, and I have no contacts at Givenchy who might explain it to me. No matter what the technology, this powder is beautiful in the compact, like an abstract expressionist's canvass splattered with pastel, harmonious paints.

I didn't know what to expect when I ordered Le Prisme Visage Bucolique from Sephora. I did expect a light, pastel face powder. What surprised me was the overall white tone to the powder.

I'm not sure why I bother trying to show you powders on my skin that are barely visible, but I hope it helps to show you these swatch photos. I swatched Le Prisme Visage Bucolique heavily at the top of my arm with a sponge-tipped applicator and used a dense blush brush for the larger swatch below. As I swatched, I blended across all four quadrants of the compact. My photos were taken in full sun.

I felt it necessary to point to (or emphasize) the swatches with drawing tools. If you see any shine in the white powder, it's due to sunlight, not the powder. Le Prisme Visage Bucolique take all those pretty pastel colors and translates to white. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The perception of white is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color-sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings.

I located Givenchy's instructions for Le Prisme Visage Bucolique and felt they might shed some light on the company's intentions.

It’s always exciting when winter comes to an end, but isn’t your skin looking more pale than pretty? We thought so. Givenchy has got you covered this spring with Le Prisme Visage Bucolique, a super-cool compact powder designed to amp up the glow without ever looking overdone.

Bucolic Blossoms No. 1 contains four tiny pyramids of softly specked micronized powder that illuminates all skin types with a sheer glowing veil. It’s like a peaches and cream complexion in a compact!

• Buff over foundation in place of powder for a translucent finish.
• Glide over freshly moisturized skin alone for a candle-lit glow.
• Concentrate an additional layer of powder on cheekbones, forehead, and chin to highlight.

I don't see peaches and cream. I see white - very much like Clé de Peau Beauté Luminizing Face Enhancer in Pastel, but without the shimmer. I'm not sure I needed another white-toned powder, but I'm starting to notice a trend. It has to do with skin lightening, brightening, and, yes, whitening.

I think Le Prisme Visage Bucolique is a nice finishing powder for fair skin. As the skin darkens, I would expect it to look ashy. I'd like to know if you've tried Givenchy's Le Prisme Visage Bucolique, available only at Sephora. What do you think?

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

Guerlain Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder in Sun Blondes (04)

Guerlain has added new shades to its stupendous Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder ($50) collection. Sun Blondes (#04) is the latest addition for fair skin types - my selection. There's also a new Brunette shade, Sun Brunettes, naturally!

Sun Blondes is warmer and darker than the existing Blonde (#01) shade. The same is true for Sun Brunettes. I love Guerlain's Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powders. They seem tailor-made for me. They give me a sun-kissed glow that's appropriately tuned to my fair skin. The multiple bronze and rosy hues in the compact mix to create the perfect healthy, natural tint - one that looks like you just returned from a sunny locale. You'll see that there's a lot of copper and pink in Sun Blondes - perfect for the color we blondes tan.

With a unique combination of bronzing shades, vibrant colors, and fine pearlescent particles, Terracotta Light Bronzing Powder has been improved to more perfectly and more flawlessly match the colors we tan. The newest Terracotta Light Bronzing Powder has a lighter texture, the ideal formulation for the first rays of the summer sun, even if you have to hasten their appearance with makeup. Instead of using white pigments that create an opaque effect, Guerlain formulated this bronzer with a crystal pigment that "draws on its light and translucency to intensify a tan’s glow. It allows you to raise the tone repeatedly without worrying about losing its freshness."

Selecting items from the new Terracotta Light display at Neiman Marcus was difficult. It would have been easy, but wallet-busting, to say, "I'll take one of everything." Sun Blondes was my third selection and last (for now). Except...I've actually got my eye on Terracotta Teint d'Ailleurs in Blonde. I suspect I'll cave before the week is out. I'm in a faux tan kind of mood. I saw the gracious, beautiful, blonde Neiman Marcus PR rep at Mazza Gallerie last weekend, and in one week she had "acquired" a glorious tan. I wanted to be her (tall, blonde, gorgeous, and...tan).

I've digressed. Here are two swatch photos of Sun Blondes, applied ridiculously heavily. Terracotta Sheer Bronzing Powder provides a beautiful bronze glow when applied normally. It's definitely sheer as the name suggests. You'll find that Sun Blondes is darker and warmer than the original Blonde shade. It's intended to be used at the height of summer when your face has developed a natural tan due to sun exposure - or to boost your self-tanned look (the only way for me). I think it works perfectly now, as we celebrate our extra day in February, Leap Day.

I applied the strip at the top of my arm with a sponge-tipped applicator, something I wouldn't do if I were applying this powder bronzer to my face. Then I used a dense blush brush to apply the swatch below - again, too heavily. My photos were taken in full sun. They aren't the best color representations I've ever published. Unfortunately, it's a cloudy day and there's no opportunity for a do-over. Please keep in mind that I applied Sun Blondes way to heavily for the photos.

Sun Blondes looks fabulous on my face, with or without foundation. Even though I see shimmer in the mosaic, I don't see it on my face. It buffs into a warm glow that's sheer and natural. I'm wearing it as I write, and I keep stopping to admire my sun-kissed look in the mirror. Move over Blonde; you've got new competition in my house. Your sister Sun Blondes is vying for my attention.

You can find the new Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City Collection starting in March (or possibly now) at select locations of Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Sephora, Bloomingdale's and Bergdorf Goodman. If I were you, I'd go look. I've now featured three items from Sun in the City, and I'm smitten.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty

Givenchy Le Prisme Blush Bucolique in Bucolic Rose from the Instant Bucolique 2012 Spring-Summer Collection

The time is right to revive the senses with springtime shades inspired by fields of lush blooms. The shades are subtle, and the look is fresh, ethereal, and beautiful. It's time to spring into summer!

Every year, we shake off the winter chill and eagerly look for the first sign that the sun is on its way. Like magic, the pinks, mauves, peaches, and lavenders begin to dot the landscape. The colors bloom with the sun’s first rays, then disappear as quickly as a whim. The red-orange poppy dances in the breeze, sunny, golden rapeseed captures the sun’s glow, and wild hyacinth cools the soul with bursts of blush traces.

The fragility of spring is at the heart of the inspiration behind Givenchy's Instant Bucolique Collection for Spring-Summer 2012. Speckled pastel powders for eyes, face, and cheeks leave the skin refreshed and pretty, while eyes get a touch of tender green, pink, soft brown, and mauve - trend colors for the season. The lips get a dose of full-bloom color with poppy red.

Intrigued by Instant Bucolique's inspiration floral inspiration, I ordered several pieces. Today, I start showing them to you with Bucolic Rose.

Givenchy's new, limited-edition Le Prisme Blush Bucolique in Bucolic Rose ($49) is so visually appealing, I ordered it the moment I saw it online at Sephora. I've got quite a collection of Le Prisme powders, going back about 25 years. I used to purchase them at Saks Fifth Avenue, and I "hit pan" on several. They used to be my stand-bys.

In the past, the blushes had color blocks in the quadrants. With these new Le Prisme products, Givenchy is mixing colors in the quadrants, giving the compacts a unique look. No matter how the colors are arranged in the pan, these blushes that add a naturally fresh and pretty flush to the cheeks.

The new Le Prisme Blush Bucoliques were inspired by the playful color of poppies. There are two shades: Bucolic Rose, featured here, and Bucolic Poppy, which I'll feature soon. These blushes are produced through a new compaction process that allows a gradation in color harmony reinforced by a higher concentration of sparkling nuggets in the bottom of the pan. Honestly, I'm not sure I understand the sparkling nuggets described at Sephora, but the blushes are so nice, I'm not sure I care.

I swatched Bucolic Rose with a sponge-tipped applicator at the top of my arm, taking care to pick up all of the colors in the compact. For the lower swatch, I used a dense blush brush and swiped the colors in a circular fashion, in the pan and on my arm. My photos were taken in full sun.

Bucolic Rose is pastel pink when all the shades in the compact are blended. I was a little surprised, but totally delighted by the shimmer light pink blush. I had expected a more neutral shade from the appearance in the compact. The pink is bright. Anyone who can wear this light pink color will find Bucolic Rose a perfect spring and summer shade. The other shade new shade, Bucolic Poppy is a darker rose that those with darker skin may prefer.

The top level of the compact features the blush, and the pull-out bottom level houses a brush. Givenchy Le Prisme compacts aren't bargain priced, given their size. If you can get past that, I think you'll love them.

Sephora is the exclusive retailer for Givenchy these days. That's where I bought my Bucolic Rose Le Prisme Blush Bucolique.

Coming Attraction: Sisley Palette Orchidée for Spring-Summer 2012

I have makeup moments that give me palpitations. My first glance at Sisley's Palette Orchidée for Spring Summer 2012 was one of those moments (click on the photo above to enlarge it!). It's the centerpiece of the Tropical Orchid Collection. Isn't it heavenly? I'm going to need two of them - one to use and one for my makeup museum.

For the first time, Sisley will showcase 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 will sculpt the face and illuminate the complexion - so perfectly I can see it in my mind's eye.

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 (I'm sure) 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.

Sisley's Spring-Summer 2012 look was inspired by the soft, yet exuberant colors of Southeast Asian landscapes - combining warm and cool colors for a chiaroscuro effect ("chiaroscuro" is an Italian term that literally means light-dark). The Phyto-Ombres Eclat shades for the eyes range from soft, pearly pink to intense, luminous violet. Phyto-Lip Shine in sunny orange-coral or summery fuchsia pink will complete the look. This is an exciting collection. I'll have more information for you later.

I've already placed my name on the waiting list for Palette Orchidée. I'm not sure when the Tropical Orchid Collection will arrive at Sisley counters, but I'll be there the moment it does. I'm revved.

Photos courtesy of Sisley