Eyeshadow duos are back, though they’re $27.50 now. As with last summer’s duos, MAC doesn’t identify individual shade names or finishes.

Dynamic Duo 1 features a warm candy pink with gold duochrome shimmer, paired with a slightly chalky matte magenta berry (really the only shade that disappointed me at all in terms of smooth delivery of pigment). Dynamic Duo 2 includes a softly shimmery blue-silver and a vibrant matte cerulean.

Dynamic Duo 3 offers a shimmery blue-purple-steel grey and a matte teal (yowsers). Dynamic Duo 4 has a matte Pepto/Barbie pale blue-pink and a super-dark matte eggplant purple. All in all, the texture and color payoff of the duos is excellent.

The collection also features a few face powders. Pink Cult blush (repromoted from Jeanius) is a dusty bubblegum pink (Matte). I thought — from its name — that Magenta, a matte red-violet, process magenta, was a permanent, pro color (products with simple color names are often pro shades)… but I was mistaken; it’s limited edition. The blushes are $20 each.

Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish was originally released in 2006; recently repromoted in the Cindy Sherman collection of fall 2011. It’s a pearly warm-white shimmery highlight, $29.

I swatched the powders first lightly, then heavily.

The collection also includes three nail polishes (each $16). Vivid Effect is a red-pink coral, an intense hibiscus creme. In the Dark… Purple is grape. Screening Room is a green teal.

There are also four Eye Kohl (non-mechanical pencil) eyeliners ($15 each). Heirloom is a shimmery metallic dishwater blue-purple silver grey. Hyacinth is a satin (low shimmer) justice blue. Resort is a satin grape. Smolder (a permanent shade) is black.

The lips are probably my favorite part of the collection. I’d been vaguely regretting not buying Watch Me Simmer from February’s Shop MAC Cook MAC collection, but it’s already being repromoted, so I got my second chance.

Reel Sexy is a light coral pink Amplified Creme. Watch Me Simmer is a deeper warm pink. Pink Popcorn (Lustre) looks really lavender in the tube, but swatches on surprisingly pink. It’s a very sheer pink lilac with microscopic blue shimmers.

Wag of the finger to MAC for naming the fourth lipstick in this collection Heroine. MAC fans surely remember that there was a Heroine lipstick in MAC’s recent Wonder Woman collection. It was a Frost finish, and a completely different color (frosty red-brown). This Heroine is a grape creme Matte. The lipsticks are each $14.50.

There are also four Cremesheen Glass lipglosses ($19.50). Private Screening is a light warm pink. Star Quality is a bright red-pink coral, a color that J.Crew would probably call “melon.” Cinestyle is periwinkle, pale blue-purple. Colour Saturation is berry.

Reel Sexy is available on Nordstrom.com, Dillards.com, Bloomingdales.com, and MACcosmetics.com — happy shopping!

The Extra Dimension Eyeshadows are $20 each (larger size pans) — and yes, I swatched these dry, with no base or primer. Young Venus is a pale, sparkling frosty ice-pink. Blue Orbit is sparkling frosty periwinkle. Lunar is blackened sapphire — a black base with sparkly/frosty blue shimmer. Grand Galaxy is a sparkling/frosty blue-purple grape. Rich Core is more of a red-purple (also sparkling/frosty). Sweet Heat is a high shimmer, very frosty rosy copper. Havana is a satin/frost warm tobacco brown with no sparkle. Modern Pewter is a frosty shimmery green-silver-gold metallic. Warm Thunder is a sparkly/frosty cool, steely, almost bluish silver. Dark Dare is satin/matte black with a few tiny sparkles.

The three Extra Dimension Skinfinishes are $28 each, and — surprisingly — they’re eye- and lip-safe. Superb is beige-pink with silver multicolored sparkles (click here to compare it to Estee Lauder’s first — and unnamed — powder gelee from fall 2011). Whisper of Gilt is warm pale gold with silver shimmer, and doesn’t really have a counterpart from Estee Lauder. Glorify is burnished copper (click here to compare it to Estee Lauder’s spring 2012 Topaz Chameleon).

I swatched these first lightly (because they can be so intense), then heavily (to show the color):


This collection also repromotes two of the “split-personality” brushes from the Semi-Precious collection (photos here): the 128 split-fibre cheek brush ($32) and the 234 split-fibre eye blending brush ($22.50).

Products are available at every MAC counter and free-standing store, though if that’s inconvenient (or your local counter is sold out of something) I’d recommend Nordstrom.com (free shipping at any price!).

Don’t you like how Nordstrom positioned a spotlight to fall exactly on the powder?

The powder is the centerpiece of the collection. It’s a Brightening Finishing Powder, and the shade is Brightening Nudes. (Asia gets an additional/alternate powder called Porcelain Pearl.) The six shades blend into a glowy, subtle, pale, dusty beige-lilac-blue-pink with a satin finish (there are a very few tiny sparkles).

Brightening Nudes is $50, and comes in a silver compact with a magnetic closure. The biggest surprise? It’s not limited edition. It’s the only piece of this collection that isn’t.

There are four limited edition Sparkle eyeshadows — and Sparkle isn’t a formula Bobbi pulls out very often. I went looking for past Sparkle shadows, and found: Crushed Granite (holiday 2011), Gold Bar and Gold Nugget (Tortoiseshell, 2011), Star (holiday 2010), Pink Granite and Denim (Denim Rose, 2010), Orchid, Lightning, and Cafe Cream (Color Strips palettes, 2010), and Storm Cloud and Moonlight (holiday 2009). The point of my reminiscing is to observe that the Sparkle formula is not as clearly defined as some of Bobbi’s other formulas (eyeshadow, shimmerwash, etc.).

These four shadows are glitter in a clear base. Apply them lightly and you get a glittery accent, a sparkly topcoat. Apply them heavily and you achieve a finish like lamé fabric, like sunlight rippling off a running stream. Silver Moon is a pale, cool, white-silver (with a suggestion of purple?). Mica is darker charcoal-grey at an oblique angle, but reflects bright silver head-on. It also has a few pink sparkles. Ballet is silver and pink with a few gold sparkles. Sunlight is pale yellow with a few silver sparkles. These shadows are $28 each.

There are three new, limited edition Brightening lipglosses in this collection, but since Nordstrom displayed them with the rest of the Brightening glosses, I thought this was as good a time as any to swatch the whole family.

The three shades in this collection are Pink Opal, Pink Lilac, and Lilac Pearl. Feel like you’ve seen Pink Lilac before? You have.

Pink Opal is a milky lilac-pink gloss with deepset pink shimmer. Pink Lilac is an opalescent pale pink with dense silver iridescent shimmer. Lilac Pearl is a milky lilac gloss with purple-pink shimmer. Pink is a pearlescent white-pink with silvery shimmer. Popsicle is a cool rose with shimmer (not to be confused with Popsicle Sheer Color gloss). Nectar is a warm pink with shimmer. Peach is a beige peach with dense shimmer. White is a sheer white with no shimmer. These are $23 each.

There’s one more gloss in this collection. You know Bobbi’s Crystal gloss? The clear gloss in the squeeze tube? Well, for a limited time you can buy Crystal Glitter Lipgloss. It’s a clear gloss with a medium number of round, iridescent, holographic sparkles. It’s $18.

The Brightening Nudes collection is available everywhere. Nordstrom.com offers free shipping at any price, plus if you spend $150, you’ll get the Heather Neutrals mini eight-shade eyeshadow palette, mini Extreme Party Mascara, and a sample of Extra Eye Repair Cream (no code required — this is the same gift from Neiman Marcus’s recent Beauty Week).

Neiman Marcus also offers free shipping at any price with code FSMAR. Plus you’ll get a free mini Extreme Party Mascara with any Bobbi Brown purchase, no code required.

And BobbiBrownCosmetics.com has a whole bunch of code options. Get free shipping on any order (plus a free mini Lash Glamour mascara and a free mini original Crystal gloss) with code PRETTY12 (expires March 9). Or, if you’re ordering at least $65, use code PLUM11 for a free full-size Treatment Lip Shine SPF 15 in Plumberry. Or code GLOSS12 for a free full-size lipgloss in Nougat (these two expire April 13, but can only be used once per account).

Happy shopping!

Sweep this burnished gold highlighter on lids, browbone, cheekbones, shoulders and/or decollete. You can even dab a bit in the center of your lower lip (over lipstick or gloss) for long-lasting shine.

Applied lightly, it’s a fine, sparkling golden veil. But it can be applied more heavily for more pronounced color and shimmer. The oversized compact is $70, available at Nordstrom.com with free shipping.

You makeup aficionados probably already know Guerlain’s national artist, Marcus Monson. On Marcus’s most recent visit to Dallas, I told him I wanted to be “Sun in the City”-ified, and he graciously obliged. He used SitC as a cheek highlight and a brow highlight. The effect was quite lovely.

As with all CdP collections, it’s a small release: two new highlighters (warm and cool), one new eyeshadow quad, and the new Enriched Lip Luminizers (swatched here; they’re replacing the Extra Silky Lipsticks). The display holds 10 (and my counter picked a random set to display), but there are 20 in all.

Random tidbit: Amanda Seyfried is still the face of Cle de Peau. I’ve offered myself as a potential replacement when she eventually steps down.

So the new eyeshadow quad is #208 (202 is a repromote from the permanent line, but I decided to swatch it anyway). In the past, Cle de Peau quads have perhaps tended toward what I think of as a Japanese aesthetic: shimmery, ethereal color and lighter (not smoky) lids. 208 is not only beautiful, but I feel it’s more “American” — more satin/suede finishes, and a color palette that easily lends itself to my traditional lid-crease-outer-v placement.

202 contains a shimmery/sparkly periwinkle (blue-purple) with silver sparkles, a shimmering/sparkling iridescent peach champagne, a shimmery sapphire, and a satin dark, cool brown taupe.

208 includes a shimmery/frosty pale peach-rose-gold, a satin tobacco yellow-brown, a satin deep-dark cool brown, and a satin purple-grey-taupe. Neutral-shadow lovers, I know you must be swooning.

These quads are $55 each (sold as refill pans); $25 for the refillable compact. And if you haven’t experienced them first-hand, Cle de Peau shadows are incredibly soft and extremely luxurious (maybe it’s the Argan oil).

I have absolutely no evidence that this is true, but I’d like to believe that the Luminizing Face Colors were created in response to my wailing over the too-limited Vintage Palette III. The Luminizing Face Colors are more obviously highlighting powders than the Vintage Palette (which was subtle enough to perform better as all-over face powder).

It’s difficult to capture the fineness of Cle de Peau products; sometimes the magic simply doesn’t translate through the camera lens. The Luminizing Face Colors are tremendously delicate and subtle. I swatched them both lightly, and heavily: 12 is a warm, delicate iridescent sparkling shimmer that builds to a pale gold champagne. 11 is a cool iridescent sparkling shimmer that builds to a silvery white. The sparkle you see on the surface of a new powder is just overspray.

These are $95 each (which gets you a complete product: case, powder, synthetic-bristle brush), and when you use it up, refills are available for $55.

The stars of this release are two limited edition Shimmer Bricks (five-shade compacts which can be worn as eyeshadow, or blended together as highlighter). They are $39 each.

Swatched individually, the shades of Rose Gold are a shimmery peony pink, a beige shimmer with super-strong, pale, iridescent pink duochrome (you can see the beige in the photo, but the swatch looked almost totally pink in person), a shimmery rose-pink/rose-gold pink, a frosty rose-bronze, and a red-rose-copper frost.

Blended together, Rose Gold makes a very shimmery cheek color/highlighter. It builds to a surprisingly peachy/beigey sparkly pink. Here’s the light swatch of the blended shade:

And here’s a heavy swatch:

Wild Rose Shimmerbrick is more pink. The individual shades are shimmery lilac-mauve (with silver shimmer), warm (peachy) shimmery pink, a sparkly rose-violet pink, a shimmery violet-pink, and a shimmery cotton-candy-pink. They combine to create a surprisingly warm pink. Here’s the light swatch of the blended color:

And here’s a heavy swatch:

This collection also brings Rich Lip Color SPF 12 back into the spotlight. This “soft matte” lipstick formula debuted in spring 2011 and I’ve been loving it ever since. Of the six shades shown here, all are new except Lilac (which made a limited appearance a year ago), and all are permanent except Miami Coral (you know how Bobbi feels about corals). They are $23 each.

29 Beige Gold is a sheer beige pink. 30 Miami Coral is a light peach-pink. 28 Pink Peony is rose-pink. 27 Nude Rose is brown-pink. 26 Wild Rose is a cool violet-pink. 17 Lilac is a mauve pink.

The lipglosses are all the Rich Color Gloss formula ($23). Rose Gold is a repromote; the rest are new and permanent.

16 Pink Gold is a chewing-gum pink with gold shimmer. 9 Pink Sorbet is a slightly mauvey, blue pink with deep/subtle silver shimmer/sparkles. 10 Angel Pink is brighter and warmer, without shimmer or sparkle. 11 Rose Gold is a shimmery golden caramel. 12 Pink Cocoa is a brown/rose-purple duochrome with a subtle shimmer.

This collection repromotes Rose Gold shimmer wash eyeshadow and Caviar gel eyeliner (example 2), and though I’ve swatched them before, I thought I might as well swatch them again.

Rose Gold is a metallic rose shimmer. I may have previously described Caviar Ink liner as a very dark brown-black, but I think it’s almost more accurate to call it a “soft black.” It goes on dark, so if you don’t usually wear black eyeliner, this one may take you by surprise.

Bobbi eyeshadows are $24, her gel eyeliners are $22.

Bobbi’s Rose Gold collection is available everywhere, but BobbiBrown.com has a pretty nice GWP with $100 purchase: a little eyeshadow palette containing Navajo, Slate, Heather Mauve shimmerwash, Steel, and Caviar, plus a deluxe bottle of Instant Long-Wear Makeup Remover (valid Feb. 28 – Mar. 2) with code BBTOGO1.

Neiman Marcus is also in gift, and you can get the department gift with $100 purchase; the Bobbi gift with $150 purchase. Free shipping can be had at Neiman Marcus (at any price) with code SHIPNM.

Several brands (Lancome, Guerlain, Chanel, Laura Mercier) are making the statement that pink can be worn anywhere — lips, lids, and cheeks. (And nails, of course.)  Hanging around the counters, I often hear ladies express a reluctance to put on pink eyeshadow. Pale pinks are easy, of course, often acting as lid-brightening shades — but PINK-pink? This photo of Ginta Lapina makes me believe that anything is possible with enough eyeliner.

Anyway, Guerlain’s spring collection is full of eyeshadow palettes. Let’s start with the two new eyeshadow quads ($59).

12 Les Aqua is not as similar to the holiday palette (10 Les Ombres de Nuit) as I originally thought. The shades in Les Aqua are a matte, dark, muted, charcoal-greyed blue-green; a satin sky-blue/lagoon-aqua with a subtle gold duochrome; a shimmery Greek blue/justice-blue; and a shimmery white.

11 Les Roses includes a red-purple-brown/burgundy-brown shimmer; a frosty bunny-rabbit white-pink; a matte carnation pink/candy-strawberry pink; and a very similar shade in a satin finish (though it’s just a bit more red-violet than pink).

There’s also a new six-pan eyeshadow palette (Ecrin 6 Couleurs, $84). 66 Boulevard du Montparnasse includes a soft, matte/satin white; a matte/satin dusty pinked-lavender; a matte/satin bruisey purple-rose; a soft, matte/satin black violet; and a shimmery bubblegum pink. The liner shade is a satin black plum when swatched dry. Wet, it brightens into a royal plum.

There are four Rouge G de Guerlain lipsticks in the spring collection, and they’re all quite sheer. 72 Rose Innocent is a sheer, pale, cool-ish pink. 73 Rose Ensoleille is a ruddy peach (my favorite, of course). 74 Rose Piquant is a warm pink. 75 Rose Barbare is a deeper, more red-violet pink. The lipsticks are $46 each.

There are also four Kiss Kiss glosses. 869 Rose in Bloom is a warm, sheer baby pink with lots of gold sparkle. 870 Cherry Pink is a sheer flamingo fuchsia with fewer silver sparkles. 871 Frosted Pink is a frosty, shimmery, pearlescent white-pink. 872 Flush Pink is a warm candy pink with a medium number of gold sparkles. The glosses are $32 each.

And the coup d’grace: Cruel Gardenia, a flower-embossed, pressed Meteorites highlighting powder ($67, and one of this spring’s most sought-after makeup items). It provides a delicate veil of shimmering iridescence; you really don’t see the pale pink until you swatch it heavily.

This collection also includes the nationwide launch of Noir G mascara (Saks had the early exclusive). The mascara comes in the same packaging as the Rouge G lipstick (mirror included), and is refillable. The complete unit is $49; the refill is $26. I got my hands on a sample, and it is an impressive mascara. Every time I wore it, people were really noticing my lashes — Noir G made them full and extremely long, and that can be addicting. But if I’m nitpicking, I worried that it was too mascara-y a mascara. I’m all for implausible lashes, but I want to think “lashes” when I look in the mirror, not “mascara.” I had to remember not to go overboard with the number of coats, or I felt I could almost see the thickening fibers. I definitely recommend a metal lash comb. Noir G mascara is also rose-scented (which I think is nice).

The collection is hot, and for me evoked a sundrenched Caribbean island. Estee Lauder’s creative director Tom Pecheux says he was inspired by the Arizona desert. Either way, I feel warmer just looking at it. Topaz is a semi-precious gem that I first think of as yellow (though I’ve seen blue topaz as well). If, like me, you enjoy collecting random facts, click here to learn more about the gemstone.

The collection includes a Pure Color eyeshadow quint (possibly my favorite Lauder eyeshadow palette to-date) and their second ever Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelee.

Pure Color Five Color Eyeshadow Palette 21 Topaz Mosaic is glorious. Every shade is so smooth and pigmented. The combination of colors is just neutral enough that I feel like I could wear it often, but includes shades I don’t already own (and suddenly need: orange, yellow). It’s versatile but not quirky or one-note. I really think this is the best Estee Lauder quint I can remember swatching.

The palette includes a satin pumpkin, a shimmery tawny golden sand, a satin daffodil yellow, a low-shimmer beige-peach, and a satin red wood-brown. It is $45, limited edition.

Modern Mercury (fall 2011) included Estee Lauder’s first Illuminating Powder Gelee, a shimmery “gel-powder” that could be applied wet or dry. Because it was the first of its kind, that sparkly beige-pink highlighter didn’t have a shade name.

This collection launches the second (also limited edition) Illuminating Powder Gelee, a shimmering, sparkling, warming golden copper highlight that can be used on eye or cheek. It’s 01 Topaz Chameleon, $40, and I swatched it dry (first lightly, then heavily, with a triangle sponge).

This collection introduces Pure Color Intense Kajal Eye Crayons, a chubby pencil eyeliner semi-inspired by the chalk-type kajal eyeliners you can so easily buy in India. The sales associate explained (and it makes sense) that the very sharp point will help you draw a more precise line.

Even though it’s a simple, basic black eyeliner (and maybe a silly thing to lust over), I adore 01 Dramatic Black. I tried it on at the counter and it went on so smoothly and easily. It was actually very easy to apply a thin black line to my inner rim (I tightlined with it, too). Since I applied in the afternoon on a cold day (difficult  to test heat-/humidity-proofing or wear time), I showered and napped in it — no fallout, no smudging.

The new Kajal Eye Crayon is not the same as taller, thinner Intense Kajal Eyeliner that just came out with the Cyber Eyes collection. These chubby crayons have a little less fallout, and they’re a little softer.

Whenever I see the word “kajal” or “kohl” on an eyeliner, I assume it’s meant to be used on the waterline (that it depends on the moisture of your eye to fix it). Kohls are usually smudgy when used on the upper lashline.

The Intense Kajal Crayons are $22 each, available in 01 Dramatic Black and 03 Dramatic Teal. And can you believe they’re limited edition?? Why oh why?

This collection includes three Sensuous Rouge lipsticks ($28, semi-sheer with a moisturizing core and a vanilla scent). 15 Sublime Nectar is new and limited edition, a sheer creme peach-pink. 03 Sensuous Nude and 02 Sultry Caramel are repromotes from the permanent line. (Sensuous Nude: a sheer peach caramel nude that I’m still in love with. Sultry Caramel: shimmery russet red-brown.)

There’s also a new, limited edition Pure Color lipgloss ($22.50). 50 Citron Kiss is sheer yellow with silver sparkles. As I learned with the yellow gloss in Alice + Olivia, yellow glosses settle down into a kind of honey color on the lips. Backstage at fashion week last September, Tom Pecheux explained that yellow gloss is the perfect transitional item to warm up your fall and winter lipsticks, and keep wearing them into spring. Try using it to tone down a too-bright red or pink.

There’s just one limited edition nail polish: 28 Teal Topaz ($19). I found a sales associate wearing it, and she agreed to be my hand model.

Teal Topaz is a teal creme that’s opaque in two coats (indoor lighting makes it look a little more green). I thought it reminded me of Ocean Dip from last summer’s MAC Surf Baby, but it’s deeper, more subdued, not as bright. The color also reminds me of this old Chevy I saw at a stoplight.

This collection is available everywhere Estee Lauder is sold, though NeimanMarcus.com is in gift right now (plus free shipping with code SHIPNM).

Do you love this collection as much as I do?

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?

Though I actually love everything about this collection, the number one thing you need to know about is the lips. I’ve been hunting these lipsticks so long it’s making me crazy — making me want to buy more than I think I would under less stressful shopping circumstances.

Pink Pigeon (Matte) is bright magenta (purple-pink). Scarlet Ibis (Matte, prononced “EYE biss”) is red-coral. Party Parrot (Matte) is intense watermelon pink. Flamingo (Lustre) is a sheer warm pink that’s surprisingly demure on the lips. Morange (Amplified Creme) is a regular permanent shade, construction-orange.

The lipliners are $14 each. Entertain Me and Embrace Me are actually limited edition repromotes (cross-promotes?) from the Tour de Fabulous collection; Redd is a regular, permanent shade.

The collection also includes five eyeshadows ($15 each).

Silver Gull (Velvet) is a matte dove-grey/smoke-grey matte with a few very tiny silver sparkles. I like the color, but the shadow is chalky. Robin’s Egg (Matte) happily reminds me of Cool Heat, a collection from the summer of 2008. If I had a time machine, revisiting Cool Heat would be one of my stops. Anyway, Robin’s Egg is a bright, matte, green teal. Diamond Dove (Matte) is another beautiful color, a dark brown matte taupe. It’s also chalky.

I expected Early Bird (Matte) to be like Free to Be, from Liberty of London (chalky) — but it’s so nice! Early Bird is a lovely, pigmented coral-pink. For the past year, I’ve been obsessed with the promo image from YSL’s spring 2011 collection. Now I want to try recreating the look using Early Bird.

Howzat (Satin) is also very nice: a softly shimmery charcoal repromoted from one of the Snowglobe eyeshadow palettes in the 2011 holiday collection.

There are three new, limited edition nail polishes (each $15). Oriele Orange is a red-orange coral. Sandpiper is a sheer trenchcoat beige. Toco Toucan is a cool fuchsia pink.

And last but definitely not least, this collection repromotes Too Chic Beauty Powder highlighter (previously released in Stylishly Yours). I had forgotten how beautiful this powder is. It’s a pearlescent, gently shimmery, delicate, pale golden shimmer that builds to a glowing golden white as you swatch it more heavily. If you blindfolded me, swatched this on my arm, then asked me to guess what it was, I think I would’ve guessed something much more expensive. Too Chic is $23.

If, like me, you have been stalking MAC’s website hoping they’ll restock, don’t fret. I’m planning to do some comparison swatching, and hopefully we’ll be able to match some of the Iris Apfel lipsticks with their closest permanent and pro relatives.