Lancome's spring collection has arrived on counters, and it looks quite enticing. It's called Roseraie des Delices (rose garden of delight), and offers a vision of spring in pink and green. This spring, I anticipated neons (especially orange), and we always see a seasonal resurgence in pink, but the green is kind of a surprise. Nevertheless, Lancome, YSL, and Dior are all in agreement about it, so it must be true.

There were originally three nail polishes in this collection (including the mint green the model is wearing), but production issues resulted in the polishes being cancelled. My local counter put three other polishes in the display (rather than leaving gaps), but I didn't swatch them since they're not really part of the collection.

Spring offers two new Color Design Eyeshadow Quints ($49). Tendresse includes a pale, sheer, pistachio green; a mint-chip/Irish Springs green satin; a blue-green teal satin; a high-shimmer white; and a black with very fine, fairy-green sparkles.

Rose Romance features a shimmery pale white-pink; a low-shimmer peach sherbet; a satin candy rose-pink; a shimmery white-pink peony (slightly more pink than the first shade in this quint); and a shimmery satin dark red-purple-brown.

The collection also includes a limited edition embossed powder, La Roseraie ($42). I swatched the two shades individually with sponge-tipped eyeshadow applicators, then blended them with a triangle sponge (light swatch, then heavy). The flower is a warm, light pink; the "background" is a soft white. This product could be a subtle white-pink highlight, or a soft, sheer, light pink blush (depending on your skintone and how much of the "flower" you use).

There are also two Blush Subtil shades ($30), and "Subtil" is the operative word — these aren't super loud. 361 Cosmopolitan Pink is a medium pink. 134 Tangerine Tint is a soft, pinked peach/tangerine (and I LOVE it. Of course).

There are three spring lipsticks, and the first is a bit of a mystery. It's a French Touch Absolu, which means it comes in slightly posher, slightly more compact packaging. It's also a bit more expensive ($35). The display unit, the Lancome website, and Lancome customer service refer to this shade as 316 Cotton Candy. But the packaging (both the tester and the actual product) say 316 Soft Marshmallow. Weird, but the two names refer to the same color. The lipstick is a warm, sheer, pastel pink (cotton-candy-ish, you might say).

The other two lipsticks are L'Absolu Nu (same formula, "regular" lipstick packaging, $29.50). Sweet Marmalade is a sheer peach-pink (#318 according to the display). Rose Candy is a sheer flamingo/strawberry candy pink (#314 according to the display).

There are three Color Fever Glosses ($26), which felt cushiony and not-at-all-sticky on my arm. 386 Green Petal is a very, very sheer mint green (clear, really) with a mint-scent and a medium number of green sparkles. 387 Tangerine Petal is a warm whitened-pink with pink and gold sparkles. 388 Rose Petal is a pale lilac pink with silver sparkles.

Finally, there are two Le Stylo Waterproof eyeliners ($25.50, mechanical). 600 Blanc is matte white; 502 Green Petal is a sheeny, springy, seafoam green.

You can pick up this collection anywhere, but if you're planning to order from Lancome-USA.com, use code NEWYEARLAN to receive a four-piece gift with your $45 purchase. Valid through the end of the month.

Last September, Chanel released a trio of blue nail polishes for Fashion's Night Out. They were $29 apiece, and available in extremely limited distribution. Nearly concurrently, Nubar released a trio of blue nail polishes called The Jeans collection. Various swatches across the web convinced me that the two trios were basically identical, and I concluded that I would rather spend $20 for three polishes than $30 for one.

As we've already discussed extensively, I am enjoying a "blue period" when it comes to my nails. So I decided to start in the middle of the set, with Boyfriend Jeans. It's a muted, Jasper-Johns-Flag, Colorado-sky, Israeli-coat-of-arms, faded-paint-on-a-fence blue creme. What do you think?

I've heard a rumor that Chanel will be rereleasing Coco Blue, Blue Boy, and Blue Rebel this summer (giving me another chance to compare them to my Nubar shades).

Nubar's polishes are available on their website.

I am minorly obsessed with model Ginta Lapina. Her striking face first caught my attention in YSL's spring 2011 campaign.

She was featured again for their YSL Gloss Volupte launch.

So when I saw her name connected with the NARS spring 2012 promo image, I did a doubletake. That's... Ginta?

Here's what she's wearing:

• Santa Fe Sheer Glow Foundation
• Eden Loose Powder
• Zen blush, in the hollow of the cheek and blended up toward the temple for contour
• Gaiety blush, on the apples of the cheeks
• Pro Prime Smudge-Proof Eyeshadow Base
• Lhasa eyeshadow on the lids, blended up into the upper inner corner of the eye
• Albatross blush on the browbone
• Dark Rite Soft Touch Shadow Pencil on the upper lash line
• Rue Saint Honore Larger Than Life Eyeliner on the upper lash line, winged in the outer corner, and smudged on the lower lash line
• Blondie eyeshadow on the brows
• Larger Than Life Lengthening Mascara
• Amazon lipliner
• Valparaiso Pure Matte Lipstick
• Misbehave lipgloss
• Ecume nail polish

Here's what I take away from this: the camera (and makeup) can create almost anything. Also, good lord, models are young. And their photos make them look so much older.

Ginta was born June 30, 1989. She started working in 2005, and has done just about everything: runways (everyone you can think of), advertising, editorial.

Just for fun, please enjoy some more pictures of this chameleon elf child (photos compiled through excessive Googling):

NARS' spring collection officially launches on counters on February 1 (and it's already available online). Based on the promo photo, it looks like a sweltering hot spring. I think by now we're used to NARS marching to the beat of its own drummer; I'm not even going to try to shoehorn this collection into "seasonal trends."

Eyeshadow trio Douce France (named after a 1942 song by French singer-songwriter Charles Trenet) includes a satin/matte pale white pink with very tiny silver sparkles (it would be matte, but the sparkles give it a satin finish), a warm carnation pink, and a very nicely pigmented matte cranberry. It's $45, limited edition.

Paramaribo eyeshadow duo (named after the capital of the Republic of Suriname, the smallest independent country in South America and a former Dutch colony. Where are you NOW, Carmen Sandiego?) includes a frosty yellow-lime and a shimmery browned golden olive. The duo is $34, also limited edition.

It's a good thing Lhasa is permanent, because otherwise I'd expect it to cause a riot. It's a shimmery grey-purple, $24. The shadow is named after the high-altitude Tibetan city, home to several major Buddhist temples.

There's a new, permanent Soft Touch Shadow Pencil: sheeny cobalt blue Dark Rite. It's $24, and NARS recommends wearing it as shadow, as base for powder shadow, or as eyeliner.

The collection also repromotes Larger Than Life eyeliner Abbey Road (peacock blue, $23).

Spring offers three lip choices, all new additions to the permanent line. Bilbao lipstick ($24, named after the city in Spain) is a warm brown-rose with a subtle sheen. It's not a color I would normally swoon over, but it looks great paired with gloss.  Here's a photo from a recent NARS makeover: Bilbao lipstick with Greek Holiday lipgloss.

Valparaiso Pure Matte Lipstick ($25, named after the city in Chile) is a red-violet-berry.

Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil ($24, named after the flower) is a bright, warm, watermelon pink, my favorite color so far of this formula. It's slightly staining, so color carefully.

There are two nail polishes in the spring collection. Diamond Life is limited edition, a shimmery pansy purple. Ecume (white creme) is a repromote. Both are $18.

There's also a new, permanent addition to NARS' blush lineup: cool, whitened, frozen-pink-with-super-tiny-silver-shimmers Gaiety. It's $28, and I wish I owned the discontinued Chanel Narcisse so I could compare the two.

The collection also repromotes Albatross, the lovely, shimmery, permanent, white/gold highlighter. It's also $28.

What will you be picking up from this collection?