Looking for the best holiday makeup palette, either for yourself or as a gift? Here are our favorites that are out this season. Most of these are limited edition, so if you want something, get it now, before it is gone. Anything on this list would be a perfect gift as well. 

My favorite this year is the Dior palette, pictured above. You can get it at Nordstrom!

If you are reading this in the feed, click on through to the site to see the items.

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 2011 MAC Holiday Collection includes a number of makeup kits that would be great as gifts. I decided to order one from Ice Parade Collection to swatch that looked like it might also serve a good neutral kit that would be good for traveling. I definitely am not disappointed!

The Fabulously Festive Face Kit in winter cool from the MAC Ice Parade Collection brings together a good basic set of neutral shades that would work well for a large number of people. The kit itself is packaged in an interesting clear case with a large silver pocket. It includes three brushes, a lipstick in the shade Hot Gossip, a lipglass in Emancipation, Blush in Mocha, and four eye shadows: Phloof!, Quarry, Dance in the Dark, and Brun.

2011 MAC Holiday Swatches, Ice Parade

Below are swatches of the Ice Parade cool face kit. The photo is taken indoors with flash. I’ll try to get some sunlight photos at some point down the road too.

I do really like this kit as an easy to carry kit of basic shades. I could wear these in just about any situation and the palette portion of the set is a convenient way to carry both shadow and blush.  MAC’s holiday kits are always a great ways to get some good MAC brushes as well. I also personally prefer the shorter handle brushes that they include in the kits. This set would be an excellent gift.

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.

I was asked by Sprint (via Glam media) to write about the most innovative beauty brands. These brands on multiple occasions have been the first to try new creative ideas, leading to further innovations in the realm of beauty. Innovation in beauty products happens all the time and across many different brands, but I chose these five brands based on their fairly constant innovations, whether that be in technology, ecology, color selection, or packaging and marketing. So, here are my five choices for the the most innovative beauty brands:

MAC Cosmetics

MAC cosmetics leads the way in innovation, both in the creation of new products and in the development of color. With multiple special collections and limited edition products released every month, the brand is constantly putting out new shades and new types of cosmetics. MAC led the way in creating tinted blends of pressed mineral powder, blush, and eye shadow, and their lip products  have evolved from their standard excellent quality lipsticks and glosses into specialty high dazzle items such as dazzle glass and the beautiful creamy cremesheen lip glass. No other brand has the range of shades as MAC, who also leads the way in affordable pigment packed makeup. Their innovation is a primary reason why they have so many fans.

Make Up For Ever

Make Up Forever innovated the concept on high definition makeup, which has become a recent hot item in the cosmetic world. Beginning with smooth and illuminating high definition foundation, the line quickly moved into smudge proof and incredibly waterproof items such as the beautiful Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes, which glide on effortlessly and come in 25 shades. The aqua eyes liners set the standard that many other brands now try to follow . Another lovely item from the company are their water resistant lip liners which make for a great long wearing lip color when applied to the entire lip.

Kiss My Face

Kiss My Face has led the way in the realm of eco-friendly cosmetics and skin care. I first knew the company as one of the leaders in biodegradable shampoo and soap and would purchase those items for camping trips. Then, after learning that they were just plain nice items, I explored their wonderful natural lip balms. Over time, the company has put out increasingly more natural products. They were on of the first on the scene before natural makeup became a sought after item and have grown accordingly as demand for those products has risen.

Benefit

Aside from having quality cosmetics and interesting items, Benefit Cosmetics is a leader in packaging and marketing. The company in one of the few to package creative palettes and kits that contain not just pressed powder items, but also tubes, pencils, and glosses. They were the first company I ever saw mass market cardboard and magnetic packaging for palettes as well—something that is durable, lightweight, easy to open, and also more eco-friendly. Each package is unique and creatively named, and is distinctively part of the Benefit brand.

Chanel

Chanel is an innovator in luxury cosmetics. As a luxury line, Chanel has led the way in creating quality high-end cosmetics with a wide range of shades and interesting items. In particular, Chanel has been an innovator in luxury level fragrances, something they have always been known for. Chanel also is the leader in high end nail polishes, putting out several limited edition shades each year that are highly sought after and quickly sold out.

America’s first 4G phone is also the first to deliver download speeds up to 10x faster than 3G and be a mobile hotspot for up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices.  Not to mention front and rear-facing cameras and the ability to stream live video to the Web.  And you get access to over 65,000 apps you’ve come to expect from an Android.  So the only question is, what will you do first with EVO? sprint.com/firsts

o “Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Sprint via Glam Media”

o “The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Sprint”

For more please see our disclosure page.

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!

Nordstrom Beauty Exclusives are available for preorder with shipping starting on July 17, 2009. These exclusive items will be available only through Nordstrom for a limited time. there are a number of lip items available. Here is a sampling. for more visit the Nordstrom website.

The Bobbi Brown Must-Have Set , includes a great lip palette.

You can get this beautiful Chanel Pink Lip Gloss .

With its little keychain and glosses, I think the Clinique Best of Clinique Lip Gloss Set is adorable.

I saved my favorite for last. I think I might buy this one. The Giorgio Armani Summer Sheers Set is a great way to obtain a pretty sheer summer lip look. From the picture I love the shades! It is a bit pricey for my budget though, so I’ll have to ponder it!

I love, love, love, my Laura Geller Lip Dream Creams Palette in Apricot (it also is available in Berry). This palette with four shades of thick, creamy color is describe by Laura Geller as “combining the coverage of a lipstick with the comfort and shine of a gloss.” It is an accurate description.

The shades have a smooth texture and provide good coverage, similar to that of a medium sheer lipstick. But the product ultimately feels like a gloss and has some shine to it like a gloss. The shades also have a bit of metallic sheen that is rather unique and is very pretty. It is a great product! Wear it alone or over your favorite lipstick. The palette also comes with a very nice retractable brush.

Below are swatches of the shades from the Apricot Palette.

This one is a big favorite of mine, and adds to my current very favorable impression of Laura Geller cosmetics.

Comparison Shop for Laura Geller Lip Items

Looking for holiday gifts? Here is a unique one!

DuWop Venom Rocks! Is a set of three limited edition shades of DuWops popular Venom lip plumper. This is a great, under $25 gift for a lip gloss aficionado.

• Liplingo (Pink): a sleek palette with satin matte lipstick and four gorgeous gloss options
• Mini Venom Gloss (Lantana): a tingly lip gloss with the feel of DuWop’s famous Lip Venom
• Duet Gloss Highlighter (Flora): gorgeous shimmery lip gloss on one end, an all-over face highlighter on the other
• Liptone (Melody): smooth, creamy retractable lip pencil

Update: Beauty Addict looked at the DuWop Venom Rocks kit in the store and reports that it is rather tiny. I had not seen it in person.

I may have found my perfect shade of lip gloss. Awhile back I got a sample of Cargo Blu-ray gloss from a Cargo Blu_ray Lip Gloss Quad. The Blu_ray line is promoted as “high definition makeup” that was designed for make-up artists to use for high definition filming. Of course, Cargo promotes and sells it to the everyday buyer too.

The gloss is packaged in a four color palette, but I received a sample of only the rosy pink shade. That shade turned out to be absolutely perfect for me.  You will often read that for a natural, lightly tinted lip, look for a shade that matches the skin on the inside of your lip. The cargo shade was a perfect match for me. The gloss itself is pretty well pigmented and a bit thick, but not sticky. I’m always impressed with high tint that avoids stickiness, it is a hard combination to find sometimes.  The gloss also has a very light and pleasant peppermint scent and flavor.

The look of the gloss is fabulous. It is not too shiny, but not totally matte either. Basically it is a nice even and natural looking color that feels great.

I liked this one so much that I ordered the quad online the same day that I tried the sample. I’ll swatch it when it arrives and post up the picture. Cargo Blu_ray gloss will also be making my best of 2008 list.

Shop for Cargo Cosmetics