It Takes More Than Teint Miracle Instant Retouch Pen to Tame My Dark Circles

To sleep, perchance to dream of disappearing dark circles with the new Lancôme Teint Miracle Instant Retouch Pen ($29.50).
Lancôme calls this illuminating instrument a multipurpose foundation in a pen. Micro-fluorescent particles in the formula supposedly mimic a surge of natural light to illuminate and smooth the skin while reducing the appearance of imperfections on the face.
Brilliant! So does it work?
Well, I think that depends.
Do you adore YSL’s Touche Éclat? It looks like Lancôme does. The similarities between YSL’s award winner and the Teint Miracle Instant Retouch Pen are recognizable from a mile away — the pen packaging, the brush tip, the whole illuminating angle. It’s Touche Éclat déjà vu in a less expensive ensemble ($29.50 vs. $40 for Touche Éclat).

The L’Occitane Pivoine Flora Color Creams: Lighter Lovelies Are in Luck When It Comes to These Blush and Highlighter Duos

L’Occitane’s Pivoine Flora Color Cream in Abricot on cheeks
I couldn’t demi plié my way out of a paper bag, but one thing I can do is hoard cream blushes like these Pivoine Flora Color Creams from L’Occitane ($16 each).
Even after six months of ballet lessons back when I was in my 20s, I never looked half as graceful as the dancers on this packaging. These delicate dames look like they land leaps that make less sound than a sigh. I, on the other hand, usually land my leaps off balance, and frequently with a loud thud.

I turn to cream blushes a lot when I’m in a hurry to get out the door. They’re just so blasted easy to apply, even with fingers (apply to cheeks, blend and go).
Each of the limited edition L’Occitane Pivoine Flora Color Cream duos comes with a blendable matte blush AND a shimmery highlighter, so you get your cheek color and glow going from a single, pretty package.
I’ve been playing with two of the three duos, Abricot (a sheer coral-ish peach blush with a pale peach sheen highlighter) and Rose (a reddish pink blush with a glittery pink highlighter). Both of the blushes feel smooth and dry with a texture that reminds me of Smashbox’s Photofinish Primer. I’m not crazy about it, but it’s easy to blend and seems to layer well without looking too heavy on my skin.

Abricot

Lancôme’s L’Absolu Nu Lipstick Really Shines for a Split Second

Whatever you do, keep flaky lips far, far away from the Lancôme L’Absolu Nu lipsticks ($29).
Lancôme’s new lippies come in 16 shiny, translucent shades that look and feel like they were influenced by the delectable $28 Dior Addicts, with a similarly slick, ultra-thin texture.
When I applied a layer of shimmery Coral Sand (the one with silver micro-glitter shown at the top) yesterday morning, I didn’t realize how dry my pucker was at the time, and Coral Sand was not forgiving at all. It latched on to every little flake, emphasizing the facts that 1) I really needed to exfoliate, and 2) I was probably more than a little dehydrated.
But after I scrubbed my lips with Lush Lip Scrub and had a glass of water, L’Absolu looked much better. No more flakes, and my kisser shined like freshly polished jewelry with a slight coral tint.
The strong lip-sticky fragrance, a cross between baby powder and roses, mellows out after about 15 minutes, which is great because that’s right around the time I think it would have gotten annoying, LOL!