Fresh Lost World Eye Shadow Trio

In a world of sleek metallic packaging there's something charmingly retro about the plastic floral (think Holly Hobbie) compact of Fresh Eye Shadow Trios. But the reason I picked this one, Lost World, was the colors that seemed to fill a small gap in my eye shadow collection. Obviously, I need to own every possible shade ever created.

Lost World holds Maya (a subtle beige shimmer), Torrente (a surprisingly pale sheer celadon) and Lost World (a super pigmented mossy brown). The texture is soft and the quality is a lot better than one owuld expect from the packaging. The shadows blend beautifully once you adjust to the quantity of each one you need to create the desired look. Lost World (the color) is great as a daytime liner when applied with a dense thin brush. I also used it with a fixative gel as a liquid liner and loved the result.

A primer is essential to keep the shadows in place from morning to night. Otherwise the soft and crumbly texture might not last on the lid, especially on humid days or oily skin.

Bottom Line: I really really like it. Corazon Del Mar (taupe ans slate blue!) is now calling my name.

Fresh Eye Shadow Trio ($32) is available from Sephora and Fresh boutiques.

All photos are mine

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream

The 1 oz tube of Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream was a Sephora Beauty Insider GWP, and I must say I'm glad I didn't pay for it. I used to have several favorite products from Fresh and I still remember the wonderful scent of the Bulgarian Rose line. But that was before the company was sold to LVMH and lost its soul.

Kristen, The Beauty Addict, has already touched on the silliness of naming a product Brown Sugar while making it smell of lemon. The very synthetic citrus has nothing of the dark molasses-like aroma you'd expect from the name, and there's nothing rich or comforting in the cream's texture or performance. Maybe someone whose skin is dry and doesn't require deep nourishment from body creams would find it acceptable, but I don't. I kept testing the Brown Sugar cream under several circumstances (day, night, exposed skin, covered skin, cold day and balmy weather), but the result was always the same: within an hour of application I had to reach for another cream or lotion, because my skin was showing signs of dryness.

Bottom line: No.

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream ($35, 6.8 oz) is available from Sephora and Fresh boutiques. As I said above, the 1oz tube I have was a GWP.

Image: ehow.com

Walk The Line- Fresh and Dior Lip Pencils

Talking about lip liners is a bit boring. The subject falls under "if there's something to say about it, you must be doing it wrong", but since lining mistakes would make one channel Pamela Anderson, it is worthy of discussion.

My all-time favorite lip liner is Gypsy Rose from Fresh. They have repackaged it into a double sided pencil together with Poppy Plume, but I'm just happy it's still available. I've been using it for at least five years, maybe longer. It's about half shade darker than my natural lip color and goes perfectly with every plum/rose/mauve gloss or lipstick in my wardrobe. It's easy to apply, says put for hours and does it job in keeping top coats in place.

Yesterday I reviewed the other natural color option, a rosy brown lip stain/gloss, so a good match for that would be Dior lip liner pencil in Natural Beige. The color almost disappears on my lips, which is exactly what I need most of the time. It seals the edges and keeps the lipstick firmly intact, and while it's not as soft as the one from Fresh, it does have a slightly better longevity.

There are other pretty colors in this range and I have my eye on the one in Candy Rose. Testing the shades can be a bit frustrating, as they appear darker on your hand than they'd be on your lips (I'm not the only one who first tries lip products on my hand before putting any on my face, right?), but since the Sephora swatches are a bit off you absolutely must try them in person before making your choice.