Ordering online has both pros and cons. While it can often times be more convenient, it can be frustrating to get something different than what you see online. I was in San Francisco when I received the e-mail for a 15% off promotion. Being a huge fan of their shimmer powders (both pressed and loose) I ordered a few fall items online from my iPhone because the promotional photos were stunning, but the items that arrived were not quite what I expected.
Prairie Moon Palette comes in a sleek brown mirrored compact (same size and style as all previous Becca palettes). The shades in the palette left to right are:
Macchiato Gloss – sheer light chocolate red
Voile (Demi Matte) – matte ivory
Nappa (Demi Matte) – matte dusty grey-tan-brown
Chenille (Shimmer) – shimmery forest green with grey and gold shimmers
Sagebrush (Compact Eyeliner) – deep forest green shimmer
Here you can see it’s not quite like the promotional photo:
The Macchiato gloss was surprisingly sheer from what I saw in the compact. It has a super sheer tint similar to the Black Chocolate lipgloss from Bobbi Brown’s Black Velvet Collection. I don’t have the new BB to compare to directly, but from what I tested at the counters, the Becca gloss seems to have slightly more pigment.
The eyeshadows have medium pigment and are very easy to blend. In typical Becca style, they layer with each other beautifully. Voile and Nappa seem more of a true matte rather than a demi-matte like other Becca shadows of the same formula. Other “demi-mattes” like Doeskin, Boucle, Tweed, Chantilly etc. all have a soft semi-matte base with the slightest bit of glimmer. I don’t see any glimmer in the Voile/Nappa shades. Chenille is stunning for a sage green-grey sparkle. It’s making me reconsider checking out other khaki greens for eyes. Sagebrush is also beautiful – I’ve swatched it both dry and wet to show you both methods of application. I think these are meant to be applied with a damp brush.
Swatches of Prairie Moon, each photo has the same order:
The color palette goes well with this season’s military theme, especially Chanel’s Khaki Vert:
Fig Beach Tint is also new for fall, online it looked like a pretty mauve pink with a hint of plum:
The actual product is a nude pink. It has a strong artificial cherry scent and the finish is very sheer when blended out. This was also very different from what I expected. When I applied it on my cheeks I could barely see anything. I’ll need to experiment more to see if it will show up better with more layering.
Prairie Moon is not the first Becca palette I’ve purchased that looked completely different from the promotional photo, so this order wasn’t a complete surprise. The palette is still very wearable and the colors are very well suited for the fall season. I think it’s a great palette to keep in your purse for touch ups on-the-go or for a quick look that is easy to pull together. While the eyeshadows have a green/khaki theme they do appear very versatile and I see them going well with most of the colors I have in my closet. However, had it not been for the promotional discount or if I had been able to see or test this in person first I probably would not have purchased these items.
I found out about Jouer from an article in Harpers Bazaar featuring some of their products and was immediately intrigued by the cute packaging concept. Jouer Cosmetics was designed and created by Christina Zilber to provide women with personalized beauty. The brand concept was focused around allowing women to create a customized palette of colors in which she developed a unique interlocking compacts to package her products. The line was first launched in 2004, but recently revamped in 2008. The website is also unique, fun and interactive, providing great swatches of each product and brief descriptions of each color. In addition to swatches, each product features four different faces (with different skin tones and hair color). This allows you to see what each product looks like on different faces.
Tint ($20): a creamy cheek tint that comes in a square mirrored compact
* Petal – described as a soft rose pink, has a creamy texture that is sheer, but buildable, has a hint of shimmer in it
Moisturizing Lip Gloss ($20): wand style with the interlocking feature on one side, these have a nice non-sticky texture with a sponge-tip applicator.
* Wind – described as a creamy pink nude, this has no shimmer, and seems more peachy-nude than pink
* Blush – described as a creamy baby pink, perfect description, a great natural youthful pink shimmer that isn’t too pale
Powder Eyeshadows ($20): satin finish and oil free shadows that come in both shimmer and matte finishes, these are in a wet-to-dry formula, but so far I have only used these dry.
* Caramel – described as a shimmering soft gold, this is an accurate description, but it’s not too yellow or metallic, gives a soft warm golden caramel shimmer to the lids
* Buttercream – described as a pearly french vanilla, this is a great soft cream, the shimmer is very subtle on this one
* Truffle – described as a matte platinum grey, more of a dove grey
* Chocolat – described as shimmering bronzed brown
* Amaretto – described as a shimmering bronzed plum, more of a medium taupe shimmer to me than a bronzed plum, but gorgeous
* Espresso – described as a shimmering smokey slate
Overall thoughts: I believe this line is currently available online at the Jouer Website along with Henri Bendel in New York. I purchased these items sight-unseen online and was pleasantly surprised by the super-fast shipping and cute pink box that the items arrived carefully wrapped in. Also a plus – everything arrived very close to the online swatches/descriptions!
The eyeshadows are my favorite out of the products I ordered, but the glosses are nice as well! Good quality products at very reasonable price points. I hope they will expand their product line as well as possible expand their distribution to other locations in the US!