Elizabeth Arden released a deluge of new make-up products for this spring, so I had a hard time deciding where to start or what to try first. Fortunately, they had Brett Freedman, a make-up artist, on hand to lead the way. I dealt with their new Bronze in Bloom Collection, but I also took a look at their new line of Ceramide Ultra Lipstick. Let’s just jump in with the swatches, shall we?

Bronze in Bloom Bronzer

Eyeshadow Quads

I started off with the Golden Lilac Color Intrigue Eyeshadow Quad, and as per Mr. Freedman’s suggestion, I put a wash of the light champagne up to my brow bone, the brown shadow in my crease, and I blended the charcoal gently around the outer rims of my eyes. I then used a liner brush to paint on the lilac color as an eye liner, taking care to blend it into the charcoal base.

Mr. Freedman noted that these colors look great applied with a damp brush as well; it gives them more staying power and makes them pop. I opted to go dry, since I prefer subtle make-up.

Pure Finish Mineral Cheekcolor

Tropicoral Lipgloss

To complete the look, I used a fan brush to put their Sun-Kissed Coral Pure Finish Mineral Cheekcolor on my cheek bones and did a swipe or two of the High Shine Lipgloss in Tropicoral. Freedman pointed out that a slight gold undertone works best with coral shades; helps impart that lit-from-within quality we’re all vying to get. Both the mineral powder and lipgloss have little flecks of gold in them for the perfect summery tone.

Then I used the taupe shade from the Different Eye Palette Blue Breeze quad all over my lid and painted around my eyes with a mix of the light blue and midnight shades (just a touch). Then I busted out another of Freedman’s gems: I lined the outer half of my eyes, both top and bottom, with the Black Violet Smoky Eyes Powder Pencil and used the Blue Sky pencil on the inner half. I had about twenty seconds to smudge both lines before they set forever – or at least until I took my heavy-duty makeup remover to them. The Black Violet carries more black than violet, and the Blue Sky almost perfectly matches the light blue shadow of the quad. Once I’d blended the dividing lines between the two together, it opened up my eyes, as Freedman promised it would.

Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Vintage Red

For my cheeks this time around I dusted on the Pure Finish Mineral Bronzing Powder. As I soon found out, a little goes a very long way, but it wasn’t anything some concentrated blending couldn’t fix. Now, I got to bust out the Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Vintage Red. It’s actually a soft rose, but I wasn’t complaining. Freedman said several actresses were already hooked on this shade, and now I understand why. The lipstick contains gardenia extract and shea butter to moisturize and protect lips, and the old trusty trio of vitamins A, C, and E protect the lips from premature aging. I so often forget to treat my lips the way I treat my face – they’re lucky if I remember a swipe of lip balm every now and then. It felt great to do something good for them and get pretty, fairly long-lasting color in one quick motion.

Before

After Bronze in Bloom Summer 2011

The Bronze in Bloom Collection retails between $15-$35, and each of the Ceramide Ultra Lipsticks for $22.50. To shop the collection or find retail locations near you, go to www.ElizabethArden.com.

To read our review of Prevage’s latest launch, Clarity, click here.

– Katharine McKenzie

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