Overboard Pure Finish Cream Eyeshadow by Elizabeth Arden

Overboard ($21) is one of the Elizabeth Arden spring limited edition Pure Finish cream shadows that I picked up months ago.  It's a medium bright blue in the pot, but sheers out considerably when applied.  

The feel and texture of the cream shadow is so frickin' cool - all spongey and springy to the touch.  I don't have anything else like it, although I'm assuming it's similar in texture to Maybelline's Dream Bouncy Blush.  Just a guess, as I haven't tried those.

Sadly, the finish is a bit less than smooth.  Somehow that fun texture isn't quite translating into the kind of smooth color I prefer in an eye shadow, although I can get some decent eye looks from the product.  As long as you're not violating my personal space, I doubt the less than perfect finish is that obvious. 

I think the difference in color between these two pictures is because I applied the blue over the peachy coppery base shade in this one.

But it's not great, you know?  Come to think of it, I don't have a decent blue cream eyeshadow, which is what attracted me to Overboard to begin with.  Guess I'll keep looking.

Pretty Pink Beautiful Color Moisturizing Lipstick by Elizabeth Arden

Disclaimer:  This was a GWP.

Pretty Pink is one of the lighter pink lipsticks I can wear without verging too far into Magda territory.  I'm sure the cream finish helps, as Magda was fond of light pink frosted lipsticks.  Of course, I could be kidding myself, as I also wore blue eyeshadow with Pretty Pink, which may have put right alongside Magda :-)

Part of the Beautiful Color Moisturizing line, these lipsticks are supposed to wear for 12 hours while still providing moisture to lips.  I've got to call BS on the 12 hours, although I suppose if you never ate/drank/talked/licked your lips in a 12 hour period, it's possible.

I did find Pretty Pink to be comfortable to wear and it didn't dry out my lips, but it also has a rather unforgiving tendency to emphasize imperfections, including any dry bits of skin.  No matter how much I exfoliated, there always seemed to be some.  I find lighter colors to be unforgiving in general unless they are extremely creamy and emollient, and while I wouldn't call Pretty Pink dry in texture, it also wasn't particularly creamy.

Fortunately, you'd have to invade my personal space to see what photos capture up close so well, so I'll continue to wear Pretty Pink when I need a lighter pink lipstick.  I received mine as a GWP, hence the basic black tube as opposed to the usual square shiny gold packaging.

At $25 each I'm not sure I'm wowed enough to rave about the Beautiful Color Moisturizing lipsticks based on Pretty Pink alone, but there are enough pluses (including a light staining quality, which was a surprise for a lighter shade) I'm open to trying more.

Beautiful Color Lash Enhancing Mascara by Elizabeth Arden: Ocean Blue and Black

Blue mascara.  While not something I reach for everyday, I've definitely got a soft spot for it.  So, when I saw Ocean Blue was part of Elizabeth Arden's (EA) spring Beautiful Color collection, in my basket it went.  What I didn't realize is that it's got something a little different going on that makes it unique from the other blue mascaras I've tried.

Housed in a shiny gold rectangular container, the Beautiful Color Lash Enhancing Mascara ($24) is new to the EA line.  Featuring a tri-peptide enhanced formula designed to protect and enhance lashes with continued use, it is supposed to be a clump free, flake free formula that enhances lash length, density and curl.  I also received a deluxe sample in black, so I'll be showing both Ocean Blue and Black today.

Can you tell what makes Ocean Blue different yet?  There are little flecks of mica in the mascara that give it some sparkle and shine!  The downside of the flecks was a bit of clumping, although nothing too terrible, and I like the overall effect. 

Ocean Blue Lash Enhancing Mascara

I've been wearing the black version of this mascara for the past few weeks, and my final verdict is - I really like it!  At first I thought it looked rather dry in the tube, but it applies easily and makes for a very natural eyelash look:  my lashes are darkened, defined, and lengthened.  I notice some slight smudging along my lower lash line at the end of the day, but with my oily skin that's not unusual.

Given that  I was not impressed with a previous EA mascara that I received in a GWP, these Beautiful Color Lash Enhancing mascaras are a pleasant surprise!  Ocean Blue is limited edition, with Black and Black Brown as the permanent colors in the collection.

Black Lash Enhancing Mascara

Factor in the Ceramide Cream Blush in Nectar that I recently reviewed and a few other items I've yet to post about,  my overall impression of Elizabeth Arden's cosmetics is moving firmly into the smiley faced category :-)

Ceramide Cream Blush in Nectar by Elizabeth Arden

Nectar ($24) is my first cream blush from Elizabeth Arden, and I've got to  admit, I'm impressed.  The lightest of the four shades available, Nectar is a soft peach that packs a surprisingly amount of color.  It takes only a few blended swipes to produce a smooth finish that enhances the skin - really quite a lovely formula!

Not only does Nectar enhance my skin with realistic looking color, it also features Elizabeth Arden's patented Ceramide Triple Complex, with vitamins A, C, and E providing antioxidant protection to the skin. 

I may be in the minority, but cream blushes wear well on my oily skin.  I don't completely understand it, as I've read plenty of reviews that comment on the relatively short wear time of cream blushes.  My skin is in oil overdrive now that the temps are warming up, and I got about 7 hours wear from Nectar before I saw fading. 

Nectar cream blush

The Power of Color Collection by Elizabeth Arden

For the second year in a row, Elizabeth Arden (EA) has enticed me to buy with an Upgrade with Order offer, this time called the Power of Color.  My experience with EA's makeup in the past has been less than stellar, but I must have been in a buying mood, because I bought a LOT.  So let's take a look at the Power of Color collection.

The set is $29.50 ($134 value) with any purchase, and you receive:

• Beautiful Color Moisturizing lipsticks in Dessert Rose and Rosy Shimmer (full size):  these new long wearing lip colors (12 hours) claim to keep your lips moisturized all day long via the trademarked system Volulip. 

Desert Rose

Rosy Shimmer

• Beautiful Color Luminous Lipgloss in Sunset (deluxe mini):  Infused with mango and shea butters to condition and help lock in moisture, and Maxi-Lip™ to plump the appearance of lips. 

Desert Rose, Rosy Shimmer, Sunset

• Beautiful Color Lash Enhancing Mascara in black (deluxe mini):  a new formula that contains peptides to enhance the look of lash length, density and curl with continued use.  I haven't tried this yet, but it looks a bit dry to me.  We shall see.

• Cermide Premiere Intense Moisture and Renewal Activation Cream SPF30 (deluxe sample):  contains skin-replenishing lipids called Ceramides and high-performance retinols to help support  skin's natural collagen.  A full size jar will set you back $94, so I'm interested to see what this is all about.

• Eyeshadow and blush palette:  the shadows apply smoothly and have nice pigmentation.  I was a bit disappointed that the darker colors lost some of the vibrancy when applied - they tend to look darker on then the pan color would indicate.  The blush gives more shimmer than color, so I used it as a highlighter.

Romance, Mystic Violet, Tempting Taupe, Misty Teal, Sunset, Classic Khaki

Romantic Rose blush

• Orange tote:  love the look and color and would use as a purse, but the straps are rather thin and would probably tear within a few uses with as much as I pile in my bag.  I'll use it for storage of beauty items not currently in use.

I'm still playing with everything and forming opinions, but overall I'm pleased with the Power of Color set.  More to come later, but I wanted to get swatches up in case anyone else was contemplating purchase :-)

Viridian Bloom Eye Shadow Trio by Elizabeth Arden

I admit it, the stamped flowers and colors of Viridian Bloom enticed me.  I haven't used Elizabeth Arden products in like, forever, and was never a big user of their cosmetics.  I mainly stuck to their fragrances and was a devotee of their Tranquilities blue body spray mist in the early 1990's.  I guess that was one of my earlier forays into aromatherapy, as the original scents were all marketed towards promoting different emotional states, as reflected by the names.  I remember paying big money in my relatively poor state back then for it, long before they slashed prices and started selling them in drugstores.

Viridian Bloom is one of the two eye trios from the New York in Bloom Color Collection.  Viridian means a durable blue green pigment, so that explains the name.  I find cream/turquoise/brown color schemes to be so appealing, which also explains my attraction to this trio.  Just look at how pretty Elizabeth Arden's signature sun flowers are stamped across the shadows!

The compact itself is sturdy, fits in the palm of my hand, and contains a mirror and foam applicator.  The shadows feature three different finishes:  a turquoise metallic, a cream shimmer, and a brown matte.

Applied dry (sun)

Sadly, I did not find the quality of these to be on par with the $32 price.  Pigmentation is lacking, as I found I needed to really bare down hard with my finger or the foam applicator in order to pick up enough shadow to build color.  The brown applied the best and the turquoise provides a sheer wash of color.  The cream provided a few bits of mica type sparkles but very little color.  These can be used wet as well, which did produce more vibrant color.  However, I had a hard time getting smooth coverage, especially with the turquoise.

Applied wet (shade)

I felt like I had to work harder than I'm inclined to make these shadows work for me.  Using a brush did not work with the turquoise or brown, as the shadows were hard and it felt like I needed to scrape the surface in order to pick up the powder.  Perhaps that's because I did use a wet brush when I did the wet swatches, which may have caused a change to the surface.  For the look below, I layered the turquoise color over Urban Decay's 24/7 eye pencil in Junkie, which amped up the color significantly.  I used the brown shade up to the brow bone and under the lower lashes, and the cream on my brow and inner eye area. 

Overall, I'm disappointed in Viridian Bloom.  The compact itself is lovely, but the performance was a bit frustrating.  The description doesn't say if these are baked shadows, but the sheerness of color payoff and how they applied do remind me of  baked shadows.  There are many less expensive baked shadows out there that perform as well if not better, even if they are not as pretty!

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.  

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