Victoria Beckham Collection for Estée Lauder - Eye Foil

Yesterday was quite a day. Mid-afternoon, I went over to my mother's house to feed the birds, squirrels, chipmunks, foxes, and any other animals who might like what I served. As I went to get back into my car, I saw that my rear right tire was flat! I had driven over to her house with a flat tire. I decided to go to the nearest gas station with free air and pump air into my tire. Once I had finished that, I called the Audi dealer and asked if they could take a look at my tire. They said to bring it right away. So, off I went.

Thank God I bought the tire and wheel warranty when I leased my car. One hour after I arrived, I left with a new tire, which cost me nothing but the time I lost yesterday. When I got home, I realized I had very little good sunshine left to photograph Victoria Beckham's Eye Foil ($36), so I went straight for a swatch and walked far enough up my little street to "get sunshine." While I didn't get a picture of the product itself, it looks exactly as shown above in  Estée Lauder's photo.

This breakthrough liquid eye shadow delivers a high-shine, vinyl-like finish, even after it’s dried - and it dries quickly. Sparkling pearl pigments offer flecks of gold or charcoal foil for a liquid-metal effect.

This is a pretty flexible product. It can be used alone for a stunning pearl effect. It can be used under one of Beckham's Eye Metal Eyeshadows to add an entirely different dimension to the shadows. Or it can be used in the inner corners of the lids. I like it. It adds some pizazz to my eye shadow collection.

I got a kick out of something I read on the Internet the other day crediting Pat McGrath for her "new technique" of using a white or silver shadow or liner on the inner corner. I was stunned. This technique has been used by makeup artists for more years than I can count. It opens up the eyes, and everyone who knows makeup knows that. The article left me wondering if it was written by an intern.

Anyhow, Eye Foil is available (when it's not sold out) in two shades: Blonde Gold, which I purchased, and a dark shade that is also currently sold out. I can't even find the name right now, but I will later. I just got a call from Neiman Marcus that the Guerlain Holiday Collection arrived, and I have to hurry over there to have first choice of my I-wants.

As I mentioned yesterday, the preview products sold out almost instantly. The collection will be officially launched on October 1. Only one store in my area will have it, Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria. If you are interested in pre-ordering from them, give Rahman Malik a call at (703) 861-4673. Naturally, you will also be able to order from  Estée Lauder and Bergdorf Goodman once they restock.

Photo at top courtesy of  Estée Lauder; swatch photo by Best Things in Beauty

Victoria Beckham Collection for Estée Lauder

Victoria Beckham has unveiled a limited-edition color cosmetics collection with Estée Lauder. I introduced it last month, and then I promptly pre-ordered a few of the 15 pieces from Bergdorf Goodman. I'm glad I did. Most of the pieces are sold out and will remain that way until the more universal launch on October 1.

Today, I'll show you Charred Emerald Eye Metals Eyeshadow ($45) and Modern Mercury Highlighter ($65), Both of these are already sold out at Estée Lauder.

According to WWD, Beckham's aim was also to deliver products people could immediately associate with her, “whether it’s a smoky eye, a nude lip, or dewy skin. So I’ve been very honest, very true to myself. This has been something that I’ve wanted to do for so many years,” she said.

To Estée Lauder, she’s a next-generation Estée: Authentic, an entrepreneur, wife, mother, fashion designer - and she’s a beauty maven. Some people in fashion are into fashion, but not beauty. She’s into the whole picture and has a vision. She knows her style, her point of view, and the way she wants women to look, feel, act, and be comfortable in their skin, while having a great deal of glamour at the same time.

There are 15 units, including a limited-edition, portable mirror that casts a flattering light for makeup application. Prices range from $30 for the designer’s signature nude-matte lip pencil to $45 for an Eye Metals Eyeshadow, $95 for the Morning Aura Illuminating Crème and $1,200 for the Victoria Beckham Collection Daylight Edition, a light box that includes a removable lighted mirror as well as eight products. After reviewing the collection online, I selected a few pieces that I knew I would actually wear. I'm impressed with their quality.

Charred Emerald Eye Metals Eyeshadow attracted me because it's green. I love green on my eyes. I took my photos in full, early afternoon sunshine, and that may have brightened the colors a bit. I think Charred Emerald is darker than my photo directly above shows, but lighter than the Estée Lauder photo appears.

This rich color powder eye shadow delivers a high-shine finish to the eye. It is densely pigmented with color that is strong, sexy, and confident. You can wear it alone all over the lid for a modern smoky eye or layered over Eye Ink for an oil-slick finish. Eye Ink is very cool. I'll try to get photos so that I can show it to you tomorrow.

Modern Mercury is a highlighter borrowed from Estée Lauder's past. My photo is too pink. The Estée Lauder photo above is more accurate. A favorite of Victoria’s, this highlighter can be worn as an accent on the cheekbones and with or without bronzer to create a moist skin look. It's a beauty.

My swatch photos are pretty accurate. Charred Emerald blends black and green for an exquisite smoky green look. While we can't all look like the former Spice Girl, we can imagine this look on ourselves for a night out. To me, it's glamorous.

Modern Mercury is a rose gold on my skin - one of my favorite highlighter shades. The compact is huge, which means it will last a very long time. You can apply it very lightly for a subtle gleam or more intensely for a  high-wattage look.

The packaging of these products is lovely. It's a dark blue, accented with gold, and it's heavy. It looks its price, if you understand what I mean. The accents are gold. I guess the direct sun made them look silver in my photo below.

Beckham said, “I want to make women feel empowered, to feel sexy and confident. This makeup collection does that. I’m a girl’s girl, I love to make women feel like the best version of themselves.” I think she's done a great job on her first foray into makeup.

There were a few pieces available at Bergdorf Goodman the last time I looked, but you've got a better chance of finding the collection on October 1 when it launches "officially." I even got a note from Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria saying that they will have the collection available there - the only source in my area. If you are interested in pre-ordering from Neiman Marcus, give Rahman Malik a call at (703) 861-4673.

Photos at top courtesy of Estée Lauder; other photos by Best Things in Beauty

The Friday Forum - August 26 Plus an Exciting Estée Lauder Launch

There's hope for Estée Lauder. Most of you know that after years of profitable, but unexciting existence, Estée Lauder brought in Tom Pecheux, who reinvigorated the brand. Suddenly, Estée Lauder was hot again, and we bloggers had fun with all of the color products he created or inspired. Unfortunately, he left. From that point, the company became what I called the Aerin Lauder Company. Most of the new color introductions were Aerin's, and I found them boring - to the point that I seldom browsed the company's Web site.

More recently, in its efforts to attract Millennials, Estée Lauder made Kendall Jenner its new face (along with blogger Irene Kim) and rebranded many of its new products Estée Edit, which are "curated" by Ms. Jenner and guest bloggers. Intended for rule breakers and risk takers - the way Millennials like to think of themselves - Estée Edit products strike me as modern, but traditional at the same time. In other words, they are a product of marketing. If anything, Kendall Jenner was a turn-off to me.

Little of Estée Lauder's recent marketing has impressed me or enticed me to buy. Then the news broke. Estée Lauder would be partnering with Victoria Beckham to launch a limited-edition color cosmetics line. The collection is set to debut on September 13, with a preview at Beckham's runway show two days before. It will be sold in select retail outlets, including department stores and Victoria Beckham Dover Street, plus the retailer's Web sites. The full collection will be sold at Bergdorf Goodman and bergdorfgoodman.com, Selfridges, Victoria Beckham’s Dover Street store in London and on victoriabeckham.com and esteelauder.com starting September 13. It will launch in the rest of the world from October 1. I can't wait!

In an interview with WWD, Beckham said her aim is to empower women, fill a few market niches, complement her fashion collection, and relay some of the makeup and skin-care wisdom she’s gathered from a life spent on airplanes, red carpets, and in the full glare of paparazzi flashbulbs.

“I was very specific about what I wanted. It was about the must-have items that I felt everybody should have in their makeup bag, things that are really quite difficult to find because I know, I’ve searched,” Beckham told WWD. The aim was also to deliver products people could immediately associate with her, “whether it’s a smoky eye, a nude lip, or dewy skin. So I’ve been very honest, very true to myself. This has been something that I’ve wanted to do for so many years,” she said.

WWD told us there will be 15 units, including a limited-edition, portable mirror that casts a flattering light for makeup application. Prices will  range from $30 for the designer’s signature nude-matte lip pencil to $45 for an Eye Metals Eye Shadow, $95 for the Morning Aura Illuminating Crème and $1,200 for the Victoria Beckham Collection Daylight Edition, a light box that includes a removable lighted mirror as well as eight products.

While the focus will be mostly on lips and eyes, there will also be a bronzer, a highlighter (Beckham convinced Lauder to bring back a version of its limited-edition Modern Mercury highlighter - yea!) and the Morning Aura cream. There is more, but I'll save some surprises for you.

I finally have hope for Estée Lauder again. Victoria Beckham has proven that she has a talented eye, and her experience in the limelight as a celebrity and successful designer should give her the one-the-ground knowledge to develop a cosmetics line that will appeal to everyone, not just Millennials. Are you as excited as I am?

It's time for the Friday Forum. The Friday Forum has always been an opportunity to share information. Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Tell us about it! Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Tell us why! Do you have questions others might be able to answer? We can help! Want to talk about skin care? I'm game. Just use the comments. We have busy weekends and slow ones on the forum. I hope to see you in the comments.

Photos courtesy of Estée Lauder and WWD