I am really excited about the three new make-up lines that Target is carrying.  When I went to check them out, I picked up NP Set’s Lip Gloss Compact in Cuba.  It is a very pretty dark rose color with multi-colored sparkle.  I was also impressed with the packaging: Very simple with alot of product.

It is a good standard lipgloss.  The gloss is slick (which is my thing but may not be yours) with a slight gritty texture (from the sparkle).    Of course, it could last a little longer but I obsessively reapply anyway.

It comes in a compact with no brush so you either need to carry a lip brush (and this is how I recommend applying it) or apply it with your fingers.  This does not lend to applying on the go.

The bottom line is that it is a good standard lipgloss and as it is on sale for $12 according to target.com, you may want to pick it up.

Available exclusively at Target and target.com

Well the fine people at Cargo Cosmeticshas expanded Plantlove into a sub-brand.  Must.stay.out.of.Sephora.  Ok, not really.  Now I haven’t tried any of the new eyeshadows or anything like that, but I will shortly.  The three collections are the Fire Collection, Wind Collection, and Earth Collection and this is what Sephora.com has to say about them:

Inspired by the elements, the Fire Collection provides the perfect tools to heat up your makeup routine. Dazzle with rosy-glow pinks and intense purples in this sizzling collection.

Cargo’s new Wind collection will freshen your spirit with a natural color palette of vibrant pink cheeks and a subtle touch of shadow on the eyes. Light, natural, and loaded with eco-friendly botanicals, let the Wind Collection sweep you away with a refreshing new look.

The new Earth collection brings the breathtaking beauty of nature into focus with intense blues, a whisper of sheer shadows and a flush of soft pink blush. Experience the softness of the Earth collection while shrinking your eco-footprint. The Earth collection pays homage to nature through more than just color.

The full list of products (so far) in this line includes:

Plantlove Botanical Lipstick

Plantlove by Cargo

Baked Bronzer

Baked Illumnitor

Blush

Eyeliner

Eyeshadow

Lip Gloss

Lip Balm

Lip Liner

Loose Mineral Foundation

Pressed Powder

This collection is only available at Sephora and Sephora.com.  Enjoy, chickadees!

For more information and to see this new fab collection:  www.sephora.com

Yes, I will stop with the stupid headlines.  I just couldn’t resist.

Ellen getting fixed up for her Cover Girl Commercial

Perscriptives Daring collection is one of the four fall collections that I absolutely love!   Of course, I love a matte eye look for fall so that might have something to do with it. 

For those of you who are not familiar with Prescriptives Cosmetics, they have some of the best foundation on the market today.  When you go to a counter, they Colorprint you.  That means they determine the undertones of your skin and then design makeup looks around that.  When I was Colorprinted, it was determined that I was  a B/R.  But I still wear makeup out of the other groupings: R/O, Y/O, and R.

In fact, one of the products that I bought out of the Daring collection was the Fall Demensions Eyeshadow Quad for R/O.  All the shades are extremely wearable (including one very pretty dark blue) and make a great matte look with great pigment and depth.   The shades are pongee, relic, exclusive new shade colbalt, and Malt Sparkle.  I have been using Pongee all over my lid, with Malt Sparkle in the crease, and relic on the lid.  I then use Cobalt as an eyeliner.  It is rather conservative but very striking especially if you have blue eyes, which I do.  And all the colors are buildable to whatever intensity you wish them to do.

The quads are $45 a peice so if you want to make one big slurge for this fall, one of these quads should be it.

Other items in the collection include the three other eyeshadow quads for B/R, Y/O, and R.  The limited edition Sparkle Eye Pencil in Plum Sparks and Midnight Sparks, limited edition Lash Envy in Plum and Midnight, Moombeam Reflective Gloss in Eclipse, Comet, Meteor, and Jupiter.  Colorscope Lip Color comes in Champange, Peep, Berry Oodles, and Rose Mystique for this collection.  Colorscope Cheek Color comes in Brown Sugar, Pink Horizon, Cherry Blossom, and Apple Blossom for Daring.

I have not been very impressed with many of the fall makeup collections.  Smashbox came out with Wicked Lovely, which is wicked lovely.  Nars, yeah. Another favorite collection is Avon’s Retro Charm.

There are 4 new eyeshadows: Apricot, Aqua, Black Mineral and Subtle Brown.  All very pretty and wearable.  The Jillian Dempsey for AVON Retro Rouge come in two wearable shades: Vintage Shimmer and Charmed Rose.

Truely one of the best things about this collection is there are options other than a dark lip.  Some of us just don’t look that great with a dark lip.

The Ultra Rich lipsticks (and Glazewear Lip Glosses) come in 4 shades for this collection: Charmed Rose, Classic Nude, Retro Red, and Vintage Vamp.

Also included is the new Perfectly Portable Liquid Eyeliner in Black and Warm Brown and Nailwear Nail Enamel in Charmed Rose, Classic Nude, Pink Silhouette, and Vintage Vamp.

Of course, all the make-up has been designed  by Jillian Dempsey who is Avon’s Global Creative Color Director.

For ordering information, see your favorite Avon Representative, and if you don’t have one just yet, go to Avon.com and get one!  Trust me, discovering or rediscovering Avon will not be a bad thing!

So anyway,I was at Kroger the other day (my local one has just doubled in size and got a full makeover…more organics, yay!), passing through the health and beauty section and was greeted by a computer called The Personal Beauty Consultant.  I stopped to take a look.  I was now intrigued.   The touch screen had points to get a personal beauty consultation, more information and coupons for select Proctor and Gamble products.  I went straight for the coupons and saw that they were for Cover Girl products, some lotions and a few other things. 

According to Cincinnati.com (Kroger is based out of Cincy), this is part of a bigger change that is going on in Kroger Health and Beauty.  In fact, we got just a taste of the massive changes.  In the Cincinnati area, the Health and Beauty section has gotten a major overhall in three of the area’s stores.  The areas are in Anderson Township, Union, and Clermont County near the Eastgate Mall.  The new look includes warm woods, wider aisles, and light-colored trim.

New Kroger Health and Beauty

The changes are being brought on by two factors.  First, the Baby Boomers looking for the “fountain of youth” so to speak.  In other words, more dollars being spent on anti-aging products.  Second, the possibility that cosmetic sales could be drawn away from the department stores.  In fact, this last trend we are seeing more universally.  CVS is rolling out Beauty 360, which will carry higher end brands and be attached to CVS Pharmacies. 

Big changes are on the way, and I am personally very excited.  Competition brings innovation.  This may just make department stores and cosmetic companies in general rethink how they do business.

Information Sources: Cincinnati.com, wwd.com

In addition to saying whether you love or hate a product, other enhancements include:

*Video enhancements and pictures.  Post those before and after photos!

* Staff can add their own recommendations. 

* “Quick Take” where customers can add a few key words about a product.  This would be similar to a tag system on a blog. 

I am very very excited about this.  Most of the customers are not affiliated with the companies so they will offer a truely independent opinion.  I do have a couple of cautions though.  First,would be beauty company staff posing as customers to give their product a stellar rating that the product does not deserve.  Second, individuals who are just out to be hateful or whatnot giving everything a bad rating.  Fortunately, on other sites, such as Lush.com, that offer customer ratings honesty and integrity win out.

Now, get over there and start reviewing!

Information source: wwd.com

My opinion:  Hard Candy makeup has not been my thing in the past.  There is a lot of makeup competition out there for them in terms of Urban Decay, Too Faced, etc.  Fragrance might just be there niche though.   The bottles are very cute and I can’t wait to test the fragrances.

Source: wwd.com

Source: wwd.com