MAKE UP FOR EVER Uplight Face Luminizer Gel

MAKE UP FOR EVER's new Uplight Face Luminizer Gel ($29) was designed to give you the sculpted glow of celebrities. Their complexions always looks fresh and glowing on screen, on catwalks, and on the red carpet. Just take a look at Jennifer Lopez on American Idol. Her skin shines - in a gorgeous way!

How do the stars do it? With illuminators! Uplight enhances the points of light of the face (or body) for a natural, glamorous finish.

Uplight is a silky gel that lights up the face, making your skin appear healthy, fresh, and radiant. It contains reflecting pigments that capture and diffuse light. With its extremely fluid, smooth texture, it is easy to apply - on its own or mixed with foundation - with your fingers or a brush. The texture reminds me of Giorgio Armani Beauty's Fluid Sheer, a product I adore.

What's in this illuminating gel? It's oil-free; there's a lot of water (70%); it contains mango butter to hydrate; and it's enriched with pearls to capture and reflect light. Formulated for the face and body, this product adds a healthy glow to your skin that will last all day.

Uplight is available in eight shades and three effects: silky, pearly, and sparkling. All you need to do is to apply a hint of illuminator in very light touches on the high points of your face - cheekbones, brow bone, temples - and blend. You will glow.

I ordered two shades - sight unseen - from Sephora. I chose one that appeared to be a pink shade (#22, described at Sephora as a pearly pink flesh) and one that appeared more golden (#12, described at Sephora as dewy golden beige). I wanted to try one dewy and one pearly. When they arrived, I was thrilled. They were so much prettier in person than their little color swatches online. Now, of course, I want more of them. I am such a hoarder.

Here is my swatch photo, taken outdoors in late-afternoon sunlight, of my two shades. I applied both with my fingertips and didn't blend them into my skin. I wanted you to be able to see the nuances of the colors. The one shown at the top is #12, and #22 is shown below. The pearly finish of #22 is definitely shinier than the dewy finish of #12. When I re-order, I know I should stick with the dewy finishes, but there are only two dewy shades. I know I will order #11, even though Sephora's online swatch looks goulish. It's probably gorgeous. I would also like to try #23, described as pearly golden flesh. I think the #22 pearly pink is exquisite, and I would like to try another pearly shade. Should I act my age instead? Why start now?

There are good online swatches at the MAKE UP FOR EVER site. Click on one of the little squares, and a larger, better swatch will pop up. I found them after I had received my Uplights from Sephora.

These lovely luminizers are definitely worth checking out. You can order them at Sephora.

Photos at top courtesy of MAKE UP FOR EVER and Sephora

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MAKE UP FOR EVER Lab Shine Lip Gloss

MAKE UP FOR EVER's new Lab Shine Lip Gloss ($18) roped me in when I saw it online at Sephora. I love glosses, and this one comes in 35 shades and three finishes! I knew I would find a few I loved, and I did.

This gloss combines camelina oil and mother-of-pearl particles that reflect light to create incredible shine that adds the appearance of volume to the lips (shiny lips look fuller). Formulated with hyaluronic acid, it provides intense hydration with a non-sticky texture for a noticeably moisturized pout. Its subtle apricot fragrance adds a sweet scent to your lips - probably the only drawback from my perspective. I wasn't sure what flavor of Kool-Aid I was tasting when I applied it, but I knew it was sweet. I know I'm extreme in my biases about flavored lip products. Many of you like them.

I can get past the fragrance on this gloss because the gloss is so nice. The three finishes are Diamond, Star, and Metal. The Diamond Collection includes 12 shades that give natural color with sparkling, sheer coverage. The Star Collection has 14 shades with a pearly shine for medium coverage. The Metal Collection consists of nine highly pigmented shades that offer full coverage with an intense, chrome finish.

I decided to try two. I purchased D14, a shimmering "Indian pink" from the Diamond Collection and S14, pearly blackcurrent, from the Star Collection. They are very different. D14 is very sheer. S14 has much more pigment. Both shine, but S14 has slightly less shine. I noticed little micro-sparkles in D14. You can't feel them on the lips, but they are there - and beautiful.

I had to take my swatch photo outside on an extremely overcast morning. I could see the sun behind the clouds, but there wasn't enough to light up my photo well. Sorry it's a bit dark, but it is supposed to rain later, so I don't know when my next opportunity will arise. D14 is swatched at the top, applied directly with its own brush applicator. You can see it's a pretty, warm pink. What you can't see in my photo are the teeny-tiny sparkles. They are very pretty. S14 below is my favorite of the two simply because it has more pigment. It's a grape-rose, an exquisite shade.

These glosses are so nice, I'm trying to decide (based on the fragrance, which does fade) whether I will buy S16, S18, and S20. I like the Star finish, and all of those shades look nice too.

Have you tried them? You can find them at Sephora.

Photo at top courtesy of Sephora

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