L’Oreal’s website has this handy color picker that matches you up with a shade based on whatever shade you’re using from a different brand.  I’m using the Classic Ivory shade of Cover Girl’s now-discontinued Continuous Wear foundation, and the website recommended Natural Buff for me.

Infallible is “16 hour” makeup with SPF 18. The high SPF is nice, since it’s above the minimum SPF 15 recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology. I’m pretty sure it’s also oil-free. According to the website, it will resist rubbing off, hide blemishes, fight shine, and bring you coffee in bed. Okay, I made up that last one.

The question is, do I like it? The answer is mostly, I do. Natural Buff is perhaps one shade darker than I’d like, but it’s not too dark. It is definitely a full-coverage foundation – a little goes a loooong way. I pumped out too much on my first go. Using a foundation brush seems to be the ideal way to apply it, since it’s really smooth and spreadable. It doesn’t dry too fast (a complaint I’ve read about in other long-wear foundations) so you have some time to work with it. It is nicely blendable – no lines at the chin. The trick seems to be getting the amount right so it doesn’t look too heavy.

It wears well – no settling into my expression lines. I don’t usually have problems with my makeup rubbing off, and this one seems to be no exception. I do seem less shiny. It washes off easily at night with my usual cleanser – no need for a separate makeup remover.

All in all, it’s not my beloved Continuous Wear, which felt like you were wearing nothing. This does have that “I’m wearing foundation” feeling on the skin, but it’s not bad. I’ll stick with this bottle until it’s gone. I do think I’ll give the Lancome Teint Idole a whirl just for comparison, though.

L’Occitane en Provence recently launched a new line of Honey & Lemon products, which are yummy-licious. The current Honey line is being phased out, to be replaced with a new sensitive skin line in the spring, and with these new Honey & Lemon products.

The Eau de Toilette strongly reminds me of L de Lolita Lempicka.  I think it’s the cinnamon and citrus notes (lemon for the EDT, bitter orange for L), as well as the vanilla. The EDT is like L’s lighter, slightly lemonier cousin. It doesn’t have the lasting power (which makes sense since L is an eau de parfum), but it’s also a lot less expensive so you could spritz more often if you wanted to.

I’m really in love with the Delicious Cream.  It’s a lot lemonier than the EDT (in fact, the EDT is mostly a different scent from the body products, although similar), with a pronounced pure honey note. It is super creamy – if you like to slather yourself with a cream, this product will be perfect. Since discovering that daily use of a lotion (any lotion) will keep my legs eczema free, I’ve been enjoying my post-shower slather ritual. This cream makes a “delightful” addition, lol.

The other products are nice too, the shower gel and scrub, and the hand cream is super-rich. The lip gloss is yummy, and also comes in a set with Rose lip gloss and Cherry Blossom gloss. I don’t see it on the website yet, but it’s in stores. There’s also a nice mini-hand cream trio with Honey & Lemon, Rose, and Cherry Blossom hand creams.

I love this time of year because mark. comes out with the cutest gift sets. The Juice Gems are a particular favorite of mine, because they are a really nice lip gloss formula. They aren’t too sticky, they have nice pigments, they don’t taste funky… what’s not to love?

When I saw this really cute set with limited edition colors, I jumped on it.  I love the neutral colors and they are really yummy tasting. They are also mini-size, perfect for tucking into a tiny purse for parties.

I was seriously tempted by some of the bath sets too, but I have enough bath products right now. I might get some for my younger sisters, for Christmas.

Also, I got a sneak peek of a new product coming from mark. They will launch these beautiful shimmer-brick type baked powders, that are modular. You can customize a palette with them, to have either two big bricks, one big brick and two little ones, or four little ones. The colors are beautiful and are for face or eyes. I can’t wait!

I’m in the market for a new foundation. I’ve been wearing Stila Tinted Moisturizer and I think it’s too emollient for me. I’ve worn it all summer, and while I appreciated the SPF 15, I’m shiny all the time. It’s time to move on.

I’m still mad that Cover Girl discontinued their fabulous Continuous Wear formula. There isn’t anything else they offer that comes close to how I liked the Continuous Wear – I’d consider one of the “Clean” makeups but I loathe pouring foundation out of bottles. Give me a pump or squeeze tube or forget it. That’s what stops me from using Stila’s Natural Finish makeup – it’s a lovely product, I tried it on a lot of women when I worked at the Beauty Emporium.

On my list is Teint Idole from Lancome and Infallible from L’Oreal. I’ll try the L’Oreal one first, mostly because it’s cheaper. Also, in a really helpful move, the L’Oreal website has a shade matcher with other brands! You input what shade you are using in a different brand of long-wear makeup and it gives you the corresponding L’Oreal shade. Now that rocks. (It says I’m natural buff, btw. I’ll update later if it’s right…)

I seriously considered going the path of mineral makeup, or going back to powder foundation, but ultimately decided to stay with liquid. I really liked powder foundation when I wore it (settling on Garden Botanika’s Natural Balance formula as my favorite) but the days when I need ultra-coverage are gone. I no longer work under bright, bright lights where every little flaw is exposed. Something a little less bullet-proof will suffice.  I decided against mineral makeup mostly because I’ve gotten really fond of cream blushes and they aren’t very compatible with powder formulas. I may get one of the silk-based setting powders out there though.

What I liked about the Continuous Wear was how un-cakey it was for a long-wear foundation. It had great coverage, and when I used a foundation brush it went on so evenly and blended perfectly. No lines, no settling. It’s like it became part of your skin and moved with your facial expressions, rather than cracking or seeming mask-like. I have high hopes for L’Oreal…

I made another foray into Lush the other day, to stock up on my beloved Flying Fox shower gel. While I was there, I had a chance to poke around and picked up a few other products.

Since I’ve decided I really love Buffy, I picked up You Snap The Whip to give it a whirl. Both of these products are called body butters, which seems a little weird to me – in my world, a body butter is a thick, creamy lotion to be slathed on after the bath. But in the Lush universe, a body butter is something to slather on in the shower, and may or may not have exfoliators. Buffy, as I have mentioned, is quite scrubby. I’ve decided I really like it though… I think it’s gotten slightly less scrubby now that it’s been used a few times.

You Snap is a lot less scrubby compared to Buffy. The pumice is really fine, and the whole effect is more like lightly polishing the skin than really scrubbing it. I think someone with sensitive skin would be really pleased. It is a little weird covering your skin with grayish black stuff though – but rinsing it off looks cool. The scent is the big draw. It smells like black currant, which is a really delicate floral-berry scent. I like how it lingers on my skin. You Snap is also not as oily as Buffy, which some will definitely like. I miss Buffy’s rich buttery feel, but I like that my tub isn’t coated with oil.

I was considering the Aqua Mirabilis body butter from reading about it on the website, but decided against it. The intense peanut butter scent wasn’t appealing to me the day I shopped.

I picked up a Haagenbath bath bomb because I like the chocolatey-minty scent. I haven’t used it yet, though. I was tempted to get a Youki-Hi, but decided to stick to one bath bomb purchase at a time.

There are some new products coming soon that really interest me, as can be seen here. The lotion sounds lovely, and I can’t WAIT to sniff the new solid perfumes.

Oh Lush. To top it all off, they are opening a mini-Lush in the Macy’s at the mall where I work… now I’m really in trouble. All my favorite stores, in the mall where I work?? *sigh*

Bath and Body Works is having a sale on their home fragrance oils – $3 each. I’m finding that the BBW oils are a bit stronger than the ones from The Body Shop although The Body Shop has a better variety of scents.

From Bath and Body Works, Creamy Nutmeg is currently my favorite, although I want to try one called Tree (it’s supposed to be fir with vanilla and musk).

In the Body Shop lineup, Spa Wisdom Dreams and Ripe Fig are my favorites. The Body Shop also has prettier oil burners, too.

Can it really be gift season already? The retail worker in me cringes, but the shopper in me delights!  What’s on my wish list?

The DuWop Discovery Kit has some of my favorites in mini-form – amber eyeshadows, a cute mini of their fabulous cream blush, and the black duo mascara with the clear on the end. Here’s a tip: use the clear mascara for your eyebrows. This puppy travels with me, since it’s a two-in-one. The pink gloss is my favorite shade of pink (not too shocking, but pink nonetheless) and Lip Venom is just fun.

How fabulous is this Tarte palette? It’s a little heavy on the cool colors, but otherwise I love it.

Lights, Camera, Glamour from Too Faced looks really fun too.  The balance between cool and warm tones is better, and I really love the mini Snow Bunny bronzer.

I think this little Unicorn Palette from Too Faced is too cute for words, and how glam are the shades?  I love the deep shadow colors. If I buy one palette for myself this season, this one might be it.

I love Hard Candy eyeshadows, and this little palette is no exception. It’s the darker sister of this one – and I want them both, really. Hard Candy shadows are really silky and they wear really well.

In the bath and body department, I want the Baked Goods set from Philosophy. Cinnamon Buns and Red Velvet Cake are my two favorite scents in the 3-in-1 lineup.