The Friday Forum - March 23

It's April in March! Just about all of our flowers and trees have burst into leaf or bloom a month early. These daffodils in my garden are definitely early. Our days have been delightful. Unfortunately, driving rains are predicted for this weekend, and they may wash the blooms right off the flowering trees, including the magnificent cherry trees that are blooming all over town.

Today, let's talk about samples, a perk of ordering online (and occasionally in stores). I'm always grateful to receive samples, but I've been thinking about their purpose. With makeup, they can be useful when they give us an opportunity to try - from a clean source - a lip color on our lips. They can be just as frustrating in the makeup category when the retailer offers/gives us a packet foundation sample in a color that's so far off from our own coloring, we can't learn much of anything that would help us make a purchase decision.

Fragrance samples can be extremely useful. There are usually a few "wears" in them, and they provide us with the opportunity to determine whether a scent compliments our skin chemistry and personal tastes. However, the arrival from Sephora of fragrance samples I didn't request, in place of what I selected, infuriates me. When I already know I despise a scent, I don't want it in my box, polluting my purchases.

Skin care samples are problematic. Have you ever made a decision to purchase skin care after using a single-use packet sample? I haven't. I need at least a few days, and preferably a week or more of use, to determine whether the product will be effective on my skin. About the only thing a packet sample can tell me is whether or not I like the smell and feel of the product. That's not enough. Consequently, I wonder why manufacturers bother to make skin care packets. Is it only because they're inexpensive to produce? Do they think the packets generate good will? The skin care exceptions, for me, are single-use mask samples. I love them. They allow me to experience a single application, and I do know after using one, whether I will purchase the product. Ask your Sisley counter for a mask sample, use it, then tell me you don't want it!

What do you think about beauty samples? Do they entice you to purchase? When? If you could rule the world for a day, how would you manufacture and distribute samples? What do you love? What do you hate?

Do you want to talk about other things? It's time for The Friday Forum, our open chat. What new products did you discover this week? Did you find any deals you couldn't resist? Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Do you have a question others might be able to answer? Want to talk about skin care? What's new in your life? Just use the comments. Don't be shy. Just make sure to ask any question you might have over the weekend. By early the next week, most (not all) readers will have moved on.

This was a big week for me. I received many new fragrances and samples of the glorious new Xerjoff Oud Stars Collection (from MiN New York), my Giorgio Armani Beauty Rouge d'Armani Sheer Lipsticks arrived (by pony express), and my UPS guy dropped off my newest Sephora + PANTONE UNIVERSE selections last night (with their classy packaging). I see the sun rising, so I'm going to try to get photos today - important because no sun is predicted for the weekend. I'm also excited about a possible new partnership with my local SPACE.NK. It's a fabulous store within Bloomingdale's at Tysons Corner Center, and they are interested in helping me provide you with information - and possibly a special gift day for local readers. Stay tuned.

Please remember to support the Giorgio Armani Acqua for Life Campaign to help UNICEF provide clean water for children in need. Armani will donate $1 for the first 100,000 people who “like” the “Acqua for Life” Facebook page from March 1, 2012 to March 31. How hard is that? Just a click.

Don't forget to enter the Bobbi Brown Bare to Bold Eye Shadow Palette giveaway contest. The deadline is tomorrow, March 24, at midnight. It's a beautiful palette.

Garden photo by Best Things in Beauty. Xerjoff photo courtesy of Basenotes; Nude packet sample courtesy of Sephora

Pretty in Pink: Le Métier de Beauté Colour Core Moisture Stain Lipsticks

Le Métier de Beauté's pink-toned Colour Core Moisture Stain Lipsticks ($32) represent the quintessential English garden saturated with color. Pinks abound from the deep magenta of a peony to the lightest petal of a soft pink tulip. These feminine hues look even more beautiful when painted on lips for Spring 2012. The five colors offer the best pinks plucked from the spring garden. It's the perfect time to give them a look-see as you shop for a new spring lipstick.

• Miami - Think of this as your nude pink. It’s just enough of a peachy pink tone to warm up your palette while still maintaining that totally “natural” look. The perfect hint-of-color pink.
• Fiji - The perfect “English Rose” pink. A flush of rosy color that warms any palette for a romantic and feminine swipe of color.
• Cannes - A warm pink with just a hint of shimmer for a glamorous finish.
• Dubai - A richly pigmented pink with a touch of mauve to balance its pinkness.
• Paris - A deep, magenta pink, reminiscent of a peony

Colour Core Moisture Stain Lipstick has a creamy hydrating formula that delivers essential moisture and full-coverage color to lips, while maintaining the lasting power of a lip stain. It has "lip-loving moisturizers" in its formula, including jojoba, lanolin, and shea butter, to keep the lips soft and supple. The full-coverage color looks real, not too opaque as some of the recently introduced saturated lip colors look to me.

These pink beauties are available at Neiman Marcus, Neimanmarcus.com, Bergdorf Goodman, Bergdorfgoodman.com, select Nordstrom stores and Nordstrom.com.

Photo courtesy of Le Métier de Beauté

New: Estée Lauder Pure Color Blush

Estée Lauder has introduced a new generation of cheek color with the new Pure Color Blush ($28). Now our cheeks will be vibrant with fresh, radiant color in an expansive new palette of shades to suit a diverse range of skin tones.

High-performance technology combines with skin-loving ingredients in this ultra-silky, modern powder blush to add instant dimension and glamour to the face, from a soft flush of color to dramatic contours that last all day. Created in collaboration with Estée Lauder’s world-renowned Creative Makeup Director, Tom Pecheux, Pure Color Blush allows women to experience a dynamic new cheek palette of amplified and multi-faceted color with innovative textures and finishes. Cheeks have never been so ready to glow!

There are 16 shades, from bold brights to subtle hues, with a chic, modern point of view that fits seamlessly into the world of Pure Color. The nudes, pinks, peaches, and plums left me with a dilemma. Which to select? I was shopping online had to make some tough decisions. They all looked gorgeous. One of my selections, Alluring Rose, is shown in Estée Lauder's photo directly above.

Pure Color Blush is available in two new finishes that masterfully combine tone and texture. Satin creates a soft, low sheen on the cheeks for "refined luminosity." I like that idea. Shimmer creates maximum-volume shades with prismatic light-reflecting pearls for a sophisticated cheek shimmer. I purchased one shimmer shade, Pink Ingenue, shown directly below (another Estée Lauder photo).

Pure Color Blush’s advanced formula offers the following features and ingredients.

• Exclusive True Vision Technology wraps concentrated pigments in a crystal-like coating to provide lasting, maximum color impact and enhanced wear.
• A skin-loving antioxidant complex featuring cranberry and goji berry extracts and “Luminous Optic” technology brings out the cheeks’ inner glow by adding natural radiance and dimension.
• The lightweight formula dusts skin with a smooth, non-drying, buildable coverage.

The oversized, luxury golden compact provides a generous amount of product for the price. The compact comes with a little contouring brush that was specifically developed for use with the Pure Color Blush formula to provide a radiant, smooth application, maximum adhesion, and the perfect lay-down of buildable color. I'd rather use my Estée Lauder blush brush, but the little brush would do in a pinch.

Here are swatch photos of my new shades, taken with "just enough" sunlight to snap away. I applied each shade moderately heavily with a sponge-tipped applicator. The satin-finish Alluring Rose (#05) is shown at the top of my arm, and the shimmer-finish Pink Ingenue (#13) is shown at the bottom. I really like both of them, even if they aren't exactly what I anticipated from the photos and finish descriptions at the Estée Lauder Web site.

Alluring Rose is a cooler tone than Pink Ingenue. Pink Ingenue has much more brown in it than I had anticipated, but that makes it look extremely natural on my cheeks.

Don't see much shimmer in Pink Ingenue? Neither do I. I have no idea how it was deemed to be a shimmer finish. That may be a good thing. A lot of sparklies on the cheeks can look unnatural.

I'd like to have at least one more Pure Color Blush. I'll be stopping by an Estée Lauder counter to select the third. That way, I can decide by testing whether it will be Mauve Mystique or Peach Passion. You can find these new Pure Color Blushes are all Estée Lauder counters or at the Estée Lauder Web site.

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

Giorgio Armani Acqua for Life Campaign

You know I'm an ardent supporter of beauty companies that adopt worthy causes and make them their own. Last year, I told you about Giorgio Armani Parfums' Acqua for Life Campaign. I'm proud to tell you that the 2012 campaign is rolling.

With your support, Giorgio Armani can raise enough funding for the UNICEF Tap Project to provide millions of days of safe, clean drinking water for children in need. We barely think about the clean water that is delivered so seamlessly to our homes from local utilities. In many countries, clean water is a luxury, and people - children with love and hopes - die for lack of it.

In 2007, the UNICEF Tap Project was born in New York City with a simple concept: restaurants would ask their patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free, and all funds raised would support UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world. The project gained momentum and has grown to raise nearly $3 million in the U.S. to provide clean water for millions of children globally.

Now in its sixth year, the award-winning UNICEF Tap Project, a nationwide campaign sponsored by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, has returned during World Water Week, March 19–25. The UNICEF Tap Project has become a dynamic movement that affords all of us the opportunity to help provide the world’s children with safe, clean water. Through numerous fundraising and volunteer activities, the UNICEF Tap Project celebrates the clean water we enjoy by encouraging celebrity, restaurant, volunteer, corporate, and government supporters to give this vital resource to children in developing countries. The concept is basic and compelling: “When You Take Water, Give Water.” The 2012 UNICEF Tap Project Funds will specifically target children in Togo, Vietnam, Mauritania, and Cameroon.

Giorgio Armani Parfums, recognizing the value of treating the world's children as our own, is participating in the UNICEF Tap Project again this year with the Acqua for Life Campaign. Giorgio Armani Parfums will donate $1 to the United States Fund for UNICEF for each Acqua di Gio Homme and Acqua di Gioia spray cologne or gift set, and 100% of the retail sales price, up to $15.00 per item, for each 10-ml Acqua di Gioia Eau de Parfum Rollerball purchased in the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, or DC through authorized distributors from March 1, 2012 to March 31, 2012. These are beautiful fragrances. If you've been contemplating a purchase, why not do it now? Use the code ACQUA12 at checkout at Giorgio Armani Beauty and receive a limited-edition water and complimentary shipping with any purchase of any 3.4-ounce fragrance purchase or gift set.

Even if you aren't up for buying a new fragrance, Armani will donate $1 for the first 100,000 people who “like” the “Acqua for Life” Facebook page from March 1, 2012 to March 31. How hard is that? I did it in a heartbeat.

You can make a difference, with a single click. Can I count on you for that click?

Photos courtesy of Giorgio Armani Parfums and UNICEF

Xtrème Lashes Long Lasting Brow Pen

After experimenting with the Long Lasting Brow Pen ($24) by Xtrème Lashes, I was excited. I felt like a kid who had been given a new set of markers. Remember that feeling?

I got extremely excited when I tried the pens for the first time. I don't use brow pens on a regular basis, so it's not that easy to impress me. Xtrème sent me press samples, and because I'm a big fan of Jo Mousselli's products, I "dug" right in.

I found that these pens meet their promise - and more. The Long Lasting Brow Pen is an innovative, soft-tipped, long-lasting (yes, I need that hyphen) "pen" that can help you have perfectly sculpted brows, even if yours are far from perfect. The long-lasting, smudge-proof formula fills in sparse areas beautifully. My brows are full, but occasionally, I'll get a sparse area when all the hairs in a spot decide to end their life cycle simultaneously. For anyone who needs more help, perhaps those who always have sparse brows, lightly colored brows, brows that need shape correction with color, or brows that are going gray, Xtrème's pen deposits natural-looking color - amazingly easily. I really like the way these pens write effortlessly. I've had them long enough to report that they don't dry out, and there's no way for them to break either (big smile).

Imagine a pen a bit larger than the felt-tip pens we use for writing on paper - one that deposits its color perfectly and responds to your touch. Want very light coverage? Use the pen lightly. Want heavier coverage. Apply just a bit more pressure. They apply color consistently and "fluidly." I need to emphasize "effortlessly." I really love the way these pens work.

Another plus, the water-based formula removes easily with any eye makeup remover or cleanser. I like Xtrème Lashes Eye Makeup Remover. It's fabulous - gentle and effective. I recently ran out, and I need a new bottle. It's one of the company's fine products I loved from first use and continued to love, right to the last drop. I kept the bottle to remind myself to order more.

The pens are available in two shades, Light and Deep. Here is a swatch photo of both, taken in full sun. Light looks very red, and, actually, it's a little too red for my brow color. It's not too red to wear (you'll have to trust me on that one), but I'd rather have a true dark blonde shade without the red undertone. These pens are so good, I'll bet Xtrème's already working on more shades.

Light is said to be ideal for blonde, auburn (absolutely), strawberry blonde, and light-to-medium brown hair. Deep is designed for those with rich brown to black hair. It's actually my favorite. Figure that out! It may not be dark enough for those with black hair. More colors, please!

You can order directly from the Xtrème Lashes Consumer site. While you're there, check out the other cosmetic products offered by the company. Jo Mousselli founded Xtrème Lashes, which has grown from a small, family business into an international company - for good reason. You can find out more about Jo and her company at this link.

Update: I am thrilled to report, just as I anticipated, that Xtrème Lashes is working on more shades. You are going to love this brow pen.

Photo at top courtesy of Xtrème Lashes; swatch photo by Best Things in Beauty

Giorgio Armani Beauty Rouge d'Armani Sheer Lipsticks - Part 2

I'm resigned to the fact that I must continue to show you the new Giorgio Armani Beauty Rouge d'Armani Sheer Lipsticks ($30) in multiple features. By the time I get home from the office, I've lost valuable sunlight hours and can only get swatch photos of one product - or in today's case, three lipsticks. So, let's look at three more of my newest treasures.

From left to right above, the shades are Plum 601 (Tulip Noire), Plum 602 (Black Lacquer), and Coral 300 (Acid Tangerine). I thought the shades would look good together on my arm.

It's amazingly difficult to line up these lipsticks like little toy soldiers. Because of the magnetic feature that allows the cases to snap closed elegantly, the tubes want to stick to each other. They move when I try to line them up. I've never had that happen before. I tried to take photos with the Armani logo face forward, not haphazardly as they appear in my photo.

Here's quick recap on the formula. Rouge d'Armani Sheer Lipstick features a fabulous creamy texture, feather light and translucent, as hydrating as a balm. They are beautifully hydrating on the lips. The brilliant bold colors are sheer, and completely wearable. Don't be mislead by how the colors look in the tube - try them!

A cutting-edge color formulation process, the Color Shine Moisture Polymer, a revolutionary component, is able to retain twice its volume of water and said to enhance color luminosity while locking in hydration on the lip surface for over eight hours. I can't tell you that they make my lips feel hydrated for hours after the color wears away, but they feel nice and creamy while the color is apparent.

Here are swatches, with Plum 601 at the top of my arm, Plum 602 in the middle, and Coral 600 at the bottom. My photos were taken in late-afternoon sunlight with a variety of backdrops.

Plum 601 is pinker than Plum 602. I could never have chosen only one of the three Plum shades, so I'm glad I bought all three (See Plum 600 in yesterday's swatch photos). As soon as I can, I'll swatch all three Plums together.

Coral 600 is extremely sheer and very pretty on the lips. It definitely looks pastel orange on my lips, unlike some orange glosses that give a slight orange tint to otherwise light rose lips. Acid Tangerine is a great name for Coral 600. I love the way it makes my blue eyes pop. It warms my entire face, and I'd recommend it to orange lovers and skeptics alike. I won't hesitate to wear it, unless I'm wearing a bright pink jacket, and I tend to avoid orange. I'm glad I've jumped out of that box.

Tomorrow, I'll show you the two remaining shades I haven't photographed, assuming I have adequate sunlight when I need it. Then, I'll group the shades and show you each color family with its sister shades (with the exception of the Corals - I only purchased one of them).

See a shade you like? You can find the Rouge d'Armani Sheer Lipsticks at Armani Beauty's Web site and Neiman Marcus counters. I'm still waiting for that call from Saks.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencils from the Coffee to Cocktails Collection

I think there's a reason Bobbi Brown shows pencil shavings in the Web site photo for the new Long-Wear Eye Pencils ($24). More on that below. The pencils are featured on the new Coffee to Cocktails Collection display.

The wait is over: for those who want the benefits of Bobbi's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in pencil form, here it is. This richly pigmented formula really goes the distance, staying put for 12 hours. Long-Wear Eye Pencil's densely pigmented formula glides on smoothly, for intense definition that lasts all day, so there's no need to worry about smudging or smearing. Apply in the morning and wear it into the night. Each pencil comes with a complimentary sharpener.

It's a good thing each one comes with a sharpener. Despite the care I took in using the pencils for the first time, putting minimal pressure on them to get my swatch photos, both of them broke right off where the "exposed" color joined with the pencil. Then I had to go inside to sharpen them. Once I did, I didn't like the drawing surface (it was a little "knobby"). I have mixed feelings about these eyeliners.

The colors are gorgeous. I selected Black Navy and Hunter. The other shades available are Black Plum, Jet, Smoke, and Mahogany. All of the names are descriptive of the colors.

In the photo above right, Hunter is shown at left, and Black Navy is shown at right. I took that photo before I tried to use the pencils. Knowing that eye pencils can be soft and break easily, I put very gentle pressure on Hunter to try to draw a swatch on my arm. It broke instantly, so the swatch you see was actually applied with the nub that was left before I resharpened the pencil. As a result of that breakage, I applied Black Navy with even less pressure, barely touching my arm. Snap! The pencil broke off in the same place Hunter had broken, right at the join with the housing.

By that point, I was annoyed and ready to return them (I won't; I'll experiment until I master them). I went inside and sharpened them so that each would have a pointed tip for drawing a fine line. Then I applied Black Navy to my eyelid. I like a straight, thin line, but I ended up with an uneven deposit of color at the base of my lashes, and because the color set extremely quickly, there was no way for me to fix it with a Q-Tip. I removed everything. That's where I am with Long-Wear Eye Pencils: at a standoff.

These blackened colors are beautiful, but I think I'll stick with Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner. I have no problems using it - and no waste. It was a groundbreaking eyeliner. Why mess with success?

It's a rare day when I don't fall in love with Bobbi Brown's new products. Let me know if you have better luck with the Long-Wear Eye Pencils. They are available at Bobbi Brown's Web site and Bobbi Brown counters.

If you have your heart set on a gel eyeliner pencil, Chantecaille makes one in fewer color selections. Chantecaille's Gel Liner Pencil does not break with use.

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