The Nars spring collection has a number of nice items. I put a swatch of the Lhasa eye shadow up on Beauty and Fashion Tech, along with a photo of the full collection. Here, I am covering the Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican rose.

Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils are always nice delightful items. They are thick, full of pigment, and wear very well. I tend to prefer thick crayon type pencils such as these over standard lipstick. The Mexican Rose shade for the spring collection is a nice bright rose that gives a good pop of color, without going overboard. Below is a swatch:

The shade is very pretty, would work well on many different skin tones, and has good pigment, yet is still on the sheer side.  Definitely a good choice for spring!

The Nars spring collection is available now. Get it at NarsCosmetics.com.

Disclosure: This review is based on a product provided by a representative of the company. For more, please see our disclosure page.

Disclosures: Girl Gloss at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page

About the Author: Carleen Coulter

The new MAC Styledriven Collection includes large number of new items that will be part of the MAC Pro Longwear Permanent Collection. All items are highly pigmented and are designed for long wear, hence the Pro Longwear name.

MAC Styledriven Collection Swatches

I posted my indoor photos of swatches from the collection on Beauty and Fashion Tech. I usually tend to feel that the indoor pictures are more true to color, or at least more true to color for most situations and products, but the outdoor photos of this bunch came out pretty true as well. I suppose the more pigment there is, the more similar the colors will be in different light. Only the eye shadows swatches seemed a bit washed out from the sunlight in these photos.

MAC Styledriven LipCreme Swatches

I adore MAC Pro Longwear lipcreme. The lipsticks provide a good moisturizing texture and fells and the color lasts and lasts. I like to pair them with the lip pencils. These are heavy duty shades with a lot of gloss to them. Below are lipcreme swatches of the shades Endless Drama, Soft Sell, Dress It Up, and So Very Good.

MAC Styledriven Lip Pencil Swatches

The Pro Longear Lip Pencils do indeed give long wear. You can use these alone by filling in your lips and covering with a light gloss, for a sheer look, or cover then with a lipcreme or longwear lipglass for some serious staying power.   Below are swatches of the shades Nice N’ Spicy, Staunchly Stylish, What a Blast!, Absolutely It, Morning Coffee.

MAC Styledriven Lipglass Swatches

The Pro Longwear lipglasses also are high on pigment, but I tend to also find them to be on the sticky side. Here are swatches of the following shades: Ready or Not, Driven by Love, Whoops!, Dark As Night, and Infinitely Likeable.

MAC Styledriven Eye Shadow Swatches

The eye shadow in the MAC Styledriven collection holds up quite nicely. The amount of pigment is very high, as one would expect, and the shades really pop. Below are outdoor swatches of the following shades. From left to right: Styledriven, One To Watch, Hot Paprika, Thru the Night, and Legendary Black.

MAC Styledriven will hit the counters September 22, 2011.

Disclosure: This aticle is based on products provided by a representative of MAC Cosmetics. For more, please see our disclosure page.

The MAC Cosmetics Quite Cute Collection is adorable! It is full of cute pastels. Below is a swatch of some of the MAC Quite Cute lip products. From Left to Right in sunlight:  Lip pencils Boldly Bare and In Synch, Lipsticks Playing Koi (satin) and Candy Yum-Yum (matte), Plushglass I (heart) U and Girl (heart) Boy:

Here is a MAC Quite Cute Collection photo:

The collection goes on sale around April 7. You can also see swatches of the eyeshadow quad and two of blushes here: MAC Quite Cute Swatches.

Update: I received a question about the Candy Yum-Yum swatch asking if it was matte. Yes, it is. It also is nicely pigmented. If you like bright pinks such as that, it really is a rather stunning shade, in part because of its matte look. Playing Koi is a satin. I edited the information above to reflect that.

Disclosure: This post is based on products given to me by a representative of the company. For more, please see the disclosure page.

Many different women are afraid to use lipstick or lipgloss. This is mainly because it can stain your teeth, smudge, or wear off. But it doesn’t have to!

Applying Lipstick
Before you apply lipstick to your lips, trace the natural line of your lips with a lip liner of your choice. You need to make sure that your lip liner is the correct color. When choosing the color of your lip liner, try to choose a color that is as close as possible to the natural color of your lips. You do not want to over exaggerate your lips. It is always best to go for gentle and natural lip liner colors. If you do not own lip liner, you may be interested in Bobbi Brown lip liner from Sephora. Bobbi Brown lip liner comes in natural colors that include plum, brown, and rose. Fill in your lips with your lip liner. The lip liner acts as glue for your lipstick. This helps your lipstick stay on your lips.

Next, apply your lipstick. Be careful while you are applying lipstick. You should be extremely careful if you want to wear dark lipstick. This is because lipsticks that are darker in color can stain easier.

Make sure that you apply the lipstick in an even coat. In order to make sure that your lipstick is even, you may want to use tissue to blot your lips. Do not wipe off all of the lipstick. Blotting your lips also make sure that any lipstick that can stain your teeth is removed. Make sure that you apply the lipstick in an even coat. In order to make sure that your lipstick is even, you may want to use tissue to blot your lips. Do not wipe off all of the lipstick. Blotting your lips also make sure that any lipstick that can stain your teeth is removed.

If you are interested in a sophisticated look, you may want to look at the Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick line. Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick offers many different sophisticated colors that work great for any woman. Colors include burgundy red, dusty rose, and even hot pink.

Applying Lipgloss
If you want a youthful and sexy smile during the day or even during the night, you may want to wear lipgloss. Lipgloss can be used to produce a healthy and moist look for your lips. You may be interested in the Dior Addict Ultra Gloss lipgloss line. This line is perfect for women who want to add a little bit of extra shine to their lips. Dior Addict Ultra Gloss lipgloss colors include deep burgundy, dusty rose, vibrant pink, pale pink and golden peach.

Before you apply lipgloss, you should prepare the surface of your lips. You can do this by using colorless lip balm or a conditioner for your lips. This will smooth any dry spots on your lips and help your lipgloss glide on easily. You should also choose the right color. For example, if you want to wear lipgloss during the daytime you may want to choose a color that is close to your natural lip color. Pink, lavender, and clear lip gloss works perfectly.

Dab a lip brush into your lipgloss and apply the gloss onto your upper lip. Next, you should use the brush to paint the gloss from the center of your lower lip to the outer edges of your lower lip. One recommended brush is the Sephora Collection Professional Lip Brush.

The MAC Cosmetics Holiday Collection for 2010 hits the counters on October 28. Entitled A Tartan Tale, the collection focuses this year on tartan cases and bags. There is also a color collection with new  lipsticks and lipglasses.

In the lip department, the MAC Tartan Tale collection includes some nice lip trio and several lip kits that come in their own tartan bags.

Look for the collection in MAC stores and online here at Nordstrom.

Disclosure: this post is based on products sent to me by a representative of the company. For more, please see the disclosure page.

Sue Devitt is one of those cosmetic companies that can get overlooked, but shouldn’t. The company always has quality items and their lip products are no exception. I recently gave a Sue Devitt Lip Intensifier Pencil in Kirakira and a Sue Devitt Microquatic Lip Enhancing Gloss in Telina a try.

The lip pencil is rather neat and unique. It is thicker than standard pencils, yet not as thick as a lip crayon. It also is on the soft side, but not so soft that lining is difficult. The result is that you can line well with it, but also fill in well with it. The shade is also a good neutral that would wear well across multiple skin shades. Since I like to fill in with liner before putting on other lip products, this one has quickly become a regularly used product for me.

The Sue Devitt gloss is also quite nice. It wears sheer, but is still pretty well pigmented. It is not at all sticky and has just a hint of shimmer to it. Mostly it is all shine. The gloss has a brush applicator. I noticed that the shade Telina on the Beauty.com site and in product photos looks rather Fuchsia, when it actually is a nice light pink. So, I grabbed it and the pencil and made swatches. Those are below.

Comparison Shop for Sue Devitt Cosmetics

The Mac Cosmetics Too Fabulous limited edition collection has some great new shades of MAC CremeSheen Glass .  If you haven’t tried CremeSheen, you should! This highly pigmented gloss wears wonderfully and, unlike some of MAC’s regular lipglasses, it isn’t particularly sticky. 

The line also includes some great limited edition MAC Lip Pencils. These are creamy smooth and come in a nice variety of shades.

For great results, don’t just line your lips. Fill them in entirely with a pencil before applying additional color.

Note: This post is based on products given to me by a representative of the company. For more, please see my Disclosure Page.

Hard Candy Cosmetics are back, and they are at Walmart.  I went out and bought a selection of items to try and the lip products were definitely my favorites.  Hard Candy also sent me some eye shadows to try that I will review next week on Beauty and Fashion Tech.

• The Balm Girls tinted balms give a nice sheer tint with good moisture. The package is cute too.
• Mouthing Off Lipgloss is a high shine gloss that is not sticky and has pretty shades.
• Button Your Lips Gloss is a twist up brush gloss similar to Stila’s glosses. This was my favorite of the bunch. Great pigment and low stickiness as long as you don’t try to go to sheer with it. I likes these better than Stila’s actually!
• Visibly Wet Lip Pencil is a creamy, thick lip crayon that also has fairly good pigment and pretty shades.

Below are shopping links for the products at Walmart. You should also be able to find them just fine in the stores, although my local store was sold out of a few items–mostly eyeshadows.

I managed to sneak in a field trip to the MAC store to see the new MAC Holiday Collection . The MAC lip bags this year are quite nice. I like the silver bags, and the colors in both sets are quite attractive. One set is a selection of pretty pinks, and the other collection is akin to brick red in color.

The lip kits are also nice, as usual. One kit has neutral  shades and the other has pinks. There is also a MAC Viva Glam set. Again, I like the cases on these quite a bit this year.

Finally, there are new dazzleglasses out for the holidays, including two very nice pinks. The shades are softer this year, and I rather like that!

Want to shop the collection? You can see, and shop, all of the MAC Holiday Collection at Holiday Makeup!