Clarins Nude Inspiration Fall 2009 – Quick Thoughts and Views

Clarins launched their Nude Inspiration Fall/Winter 2009 makeup collection last week and I was down there to check it out. Taking a departure from other French brands e.g. Dior and Lancome who are going strong for Fall, Clarins decided to take a step back and go nude or neutral. Its quite surprising but not unusual. I believe Bobbi Brown too is taking this route with their Nude Eye Palette of neutral shades for the eyes.

I have some quick thoughts on the collection including my personal favourite product of the lot. You might have already picked it up from a previous post but if you haven’t then read on! 😀

Clarins Color Quartet for the Eyes – #110 Nude (RM145)

For Fall 2009 Clarins has a new permanent eyeshadow quartet in 4 neutral colours. If you don’t have a neutral palette, give this one a try. The colours are soft to the touch and apply smoothly. I prefer this one over Bobbi Brown’s Nude Palette simply because of texture. I think its better. The colour tone is a little warm – just a touch. If you already have too many of the similar colours, you wont’ miss anything by skipping this.

Clarins New Mono Eyeshadow Single – RM60/each

Clarins has 9 brand new single eyeshadow colours in their new collection. Thankfully its not 9 shades of nude or neutral tones but some very pretty colours! My personal favourites are the Silver Green (green-grey with silver shimmer that gives Lancome Erika F a run for its money!) Mystery Grey (deep dark grey-black) and Pink Frost (frostly peachy pink shade perfect for highlighter). Texture is a bit sheer so PAT it on and don’t swipe it on for maximum impact. I’d love to layer Silver Green over Mystery Grey – I’m sure it’ll be amazing!

New Clarins Brow Kit – RM135

A new item, the brow kit is a Star Pick item by the Clarins makeup trainer Michelle. She demonstrated how you can use the brow kit not only for your brows but also as eyeshadow, making it an all in one kit perfect for travel!

The kit contains an angled brush, spoolie and tweezers; 3 shades of brow powder that can double up as eyeliner; brow wax to set your brow hairs and define them better plus hold colour better; and a light pink highlighter shadow shade you can use to highlight your brow area.

After her demonstration I had to agree that the brow kit is a versatile multi-tasking tool. Ask the girls at the counter to show you how you can use it to do brows and eyes – its pretty impressive!

Clarins Joli Rouge lipstick – RM79/each

6 new Joli Rouge lipstick colours debut for Fall 2009. All look dull and brown in the tube. I swear I just took one look at them and ignored them. They looked so dull and boring! Hence no photos 😛

But don’t let the looks deceive you. The colours swatch differently from how they look! So it looks dull and brown but swatches sheer pink, berry or red depending on your skin. I picked up #729 Red Terra – a deep brick red. No prizes for guessing why 😀

Clarins Powder Blush Duo Compact (Limited Edition) – RM160

Every item in the Clarins Fall 2009 collection is permanent except 1 and this one is my star pick item!

The top layer of the compact is a powder in 3 shades with a picture of a wheat stalk embossed on it and dusted with golden shimmer. Yes the gold shimmer brushes off in case you were wondering. The powder is a pressed powder not a powder foundation so its sheer and light and for touch ups or to set liquid foundation.

The bottom layer contains a blush/bronzer duo similarly embossed with a picture of a wheat stalk and dusted with gold shimmer. The blush is a gorgeous peachy pink and the bronzer is light with no orange tones. Use them separately or swirl together – the choice is yours and its pretty either way!

The Face and Blush Duo Compact is so pretty you might just want to keep them in the “Cupboard of Fame” and not defile it. But its not only a pretty compact, its so versatile too that it would be a waste NOT to use it. I was about to plonk down cash for this one right there but to my happy surprise, was told it was in my goodie bag! Yes, I was very happy though I did leave with the Red Terra Joli Rouge in my happy grasp 😀

Overall thoughts on the Clarins Nude Inspiration collection

On an overall basis, I found the compacts in the collection a little too warm. For many Asian skintones, which do tend towards being a little warm anyway, we should not have too much problem with it. If you have very cool skintones, you might have a problem finding a colour that suits you.

The mono eyeshadow colours in the lighter shades were a little too sheer. The darker shades were quite impressive but I only really liked 3 out of 9 new shades. Since its permanent, some day, I’m going back to get Silver Green! 😀

The Joli Rouge lipsticks were a surprise. I’d never owned a Clarins lipstick so it was a nice way to start. I’m quite happy with the texture and colour. Not too strong and its moisturizing.

The star products as highlighted above are the brow kit and the blush-powder duo. The former is a very versatile compact and the latter is a gorgeous compact that does a good job – I can’t wait to take it with me on an upcoming holiday! I will be dusting off the gold shimmer though. Yes it spoils the look but hey, its to be used right? 🙂

Have you seen the new Clarins Nude Inspiration collection? Do you have thoughts you’d like to share? I believe most counters are offering free mini makeovers using products from this collection so its a nice time to try it out. For swatches, check out Beetrice’s report!

Stay beautiful,

Paris B