Tuesday 18 January 2011

My Thoughts on Lancôme Spring 2011

Lancôme's Spring collection was inspired by the fashions and trends of the 70's. As you might guess from the title, Ultra Lavande, the colours are based on a palette of Lavender hues. The look Aaron de Mey created for the promotional images has a definitely 70's feel and of course, with all of those purple shades, I couldn't resist a little peak.



The collection includes an two eyeshadow quads, beautiful mirror ball packaged lipsticks, a butterfly and bow print blusher as well as lavender hued lipglosses. There are also two nail varnish, a lavender coloured mascara and topcoat and three Ombre Magnetique cream eyeshadows.



I also spotted the new eyeliners, one lavender and one pink. I hadn't realised until doing a bit of research that the pink shade is designed to be used on the waterline as an alternative to white. I'm not convinced about pink or lavender kohl on the eyes, I require much more definition and I think these would accentuate redness with my colouring. I think whether these would work for you would be very colouring (and possible spring chicken) dependent.



For me the standouts were the blusher, eyeshadow quad and lipglosses. The quad that I swatched had some quite hard to wear colours, the more pastel shades were shimmery and quite sheer in a similar way to the L'Wren palette that I have. From my experience with Les Gris, these textures actually make the colours more accessible. I had my eldest with me whilst swatching and this was his favourite item.  Unfortunately there was only one quad on the display and I'm unsure whether it was the Cold or Warm Harmony. I also swatched the La Rose Butterfly blusher and it produces a lovely cool pink shade when swirled together. It actually reminded me of MAC Hang Loose mineralise blush and think it would create a similar cool luminous glow. I'm not sure if it's an overspray, the tester was brand new so it's hard to say if some of the detail would rub off.

The glosses looked really inviting on the display. The beige, rose and lavender looked very Spring fresh and make a change from the usual array of colours. I've never had a Lancôme gloss (other than Juicy Tubes) and I was interested to see these contain sweet almond oil concentrate. I'm actually wondering if they might be similar to my Hourglass glosses in texture and moisturising ability.



I would have liked to investigate the lipsticks but my shopping buddy decided it was time to move on. The mirror ball style packaging is very nice and I'd like to go back for another look at these, particularly the Berry Rose. I've had success with their lipsticks in the past and one of my favourite lipsticks pre-blogging was an old Lancôme one.

This isn't the sort of collection where you're likely to want to buy the lot. For the more.....ahem....seasoned woman, I think a full on 70's Disco look might be hard to pull off without looking a bit overdone. I think a few individual pieces would create a nice Spring look and would sit happily alongside more neutral colours.

8 comments:

  1. I agree using a pink/Lavender along the waterline wouldn't be something I would use, but I would love to see this on someone.I have to be careful with pinks/lilacs on the face. The packaging looks very nice. I always love seeing new Spring/Summer collections. Years and Years ago I remember buying a bright Turquoise Pencil they brought out in a collection and also a clear gloss which you wore on the eyes! x

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  2. Love the blush. Looks gorgeous!

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  3. Those butterflies are so gorgeous! I wouldn't want to use it, just look.
    x

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  4. I absolutely love lavender and purples, so maybe this is something to look into!

    xx

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  5. I have just reviewed the 4 things I got from this collection on my blog, check it out! http://pleasureflush.blogspot.com/2011/01/lancome-ultra-lavande-spring-2011.html

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  6. I've had a quick look a few times but the overly pastel/lavender theme that runs through scares me slightly, I don't think I can wear those types of colours now that I am older, look too harsh on me I think. I'd like a little makeup shopping buddy, but I fear even when mine gets to the same age as your oldest one he will still be in a destroy makeup mindset x

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  7. I love the way Aaron de mey has applied the eyeshadow which is of exceptional value but the lot doesn't tempt me that much. It is quite usual spring time look I d say nothing original. I liked the lavender lipgloss but how would u wear it? Any ideas? Leinti nti

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  8. @Sherrie: The clear gloss reminds of the story of someone (was it Anna Wintour?) wearing Vaseline on their eyes. I’m a bit funny about brighteners on my waterline. I find most things really to obvious. I’d be interested to see it in action too.

    @dempss: The blush is lovely. I’d love to see how it looks applied.

    @Sparklz and Shine: I know what you mean. It’s so pretty to look at that it would seem a shame to spoil the design!

    @Lorin: Me too. Purples always suck me in!

    @Anitacska: Thank you so much for the link. I loved reading your post.

    @Replica: I know what you mean about the shades. I tend to prefer to look rather than wear with pastels certainly. I think one item against neutrals could really work though. My shopping buddy is past his destroying phase but his tolerance for looking is limited. It is good fun though, even if I had to miss out on the lipsticks.

    @Leinti nti: I would probably wear the lavender gloss over a pink lipstick. Having said that, I do like to wear darker lilacs/light purples on the lip with just liner and mascara. It would really depend on how the colour appeared directly on my lips.

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