Quote Of The Day: Raquel Welch

"One of the reasons I look so good is that it takes me about three hours to get ready.”

Raquel Welch, age 69, March 2010

Photo: Faded Youth Blog

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick (RD 198, PK 360)

I bought these two Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipsticks months ago and promptly misplaced both. I was thrilled to rediscover and make them part of my makeup rotation, only to learn this week that Shu Uemura's parent company, L'Oreal, was pulling the entire brand of the USA market. According to WWD, L'Oreal prefer to concentrate the marketing effort on its other major brands (I don't think they ever pushed Shu very hard in this country), and limit the distribution of Shu Uemura to regions where it's already a best seller (i.e. Asia).

It's really sad, as Shu Uemura is a great brand with a lot to offer and many dedicated fans. We can't have too many quality options and the line always had something unique to offer, even for those of us who weren't into extreme false eyelashes. I especially love the packaging- even now that I have a storage system with separate drawers for each major shade of lipstick, being able to actually see the color at a glance is very helpful.

But back to the colors at hand. Rouge Unlimited RD 198 is as true a red as they come. It has a muted satin finish, an incredibly rich pigment and the tenacity of Madonna. It stays put for hours and holds on for dear life. You can still see enough color even after having lunch, though it loses the finish. The lipstick isn't drying and my lips remain healthy looking even after spending a full day with it (two reapplications). I love it very much and usually wear it with an almost bare face (or at least what appears as an almost bare face. You and I know  the secret).

PK 360 has a more conventional look and feel. It's a low key red-based pink with shimmer and medium+ pigment. It's a great everyday color, low maintenance and no drama. It doesn't rock my world like the RD 198, but I reach for it when I'm not in the mood to make big lipstick decisions.

Since Shu Uemura is being phased out, it looks like the stores have stopped restocking sold out colors. I don't remember if I bought these two lipsticks from Barneys or Nordstrom, but it looks like they are no longer available from the major retailers and have moved on to the realms of shady discounters. Your best bet is to check with local counters and see what they still have.

All photos are mine.

Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries- Bare Skin

Bare Skin from Leslie Blodgett, the creator of the mineral makeup sensation Bare Escentuals, was a mostly positive surprise for me. Their mineral foundation doesn't agree with my skin, and I had very low expectation from a(nother) Sephora-exclusive fragrance. But Bare Skin escapes all the pitfalls and clichés you usually find in a perfume accompanied by beachy-tropical marketing prose.

I was fearing a fruity white floral with a pink umbrella on top and a side of coconut tanning oil, but instead got an almost introverted soft musky wood with a peppery opening and a creamy core. There's a very prominent anise note that at some point battles my skin and becomes too minty/spicy for me to enjoy (It can actually turn my stomach on the wrong day). The drydown is all wood with some soft labdanum. It's very pleasant, warm and dry, and can really feel like sun-soaked skin. The floral note is very elusive and pale. There's no tropical lushness, only a whisper of things that will happen come summer.

While the theme isn't very original and creamy woods seem to be everywhere, I prefer Bare Skin to Lancome Magnifique, DSquared SheWood or Lauder's Sensuous. Not bad for a mainstream scent for Sephora shoppers.

Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries- Bare Skin ($55, 1.7 oz) is a limited edition and exclusive to Sephora, online and in store. My samples came with several other Sephora purchases.

Art: Island Muse by Charles Dwyer