Nuance/Salma Hayek - Ultra Shine Lip Gloss

I've had a girl crush on Salma since the first time I saw her in the movie with Antonio Banderas, Desperado (1995).

I wanted her luscious wavy hair, mile long lashes, natural beauty and yes - perfectly carved, curvy body. I think that's just a given.

And now as a mother at the age of 45, she's as lovely as ever:

(image from Rockefellernews.com)

So I was very curious about her new cosmetic line, Nuance - a CVS pharmacy exclusive. In the past, I have declared that I was so OVER celebrity fragrances but cosmeticsand skincare by actresses I admire? I'm interested. Yes, I realize that sounds a bit hypocritical. Oh well. Plus, I love that she took her inspiration from her grandmother. She studied to be a beautician and blended her creams in potions in her kitchen to supply the wealthy wives and women in Mexico. I was extremely close to my grandmother so her dedication touched my heart.

One of the three items I picked up was the Ultra Lip Gloss in Strawberry:

As far as packaging goes - I love the squeeze tube. It's easy to slip into the pocket of my hoody when I take my daughter to the park. I also like the simple black font of the text - it's not over the top girly but not bland either. I really love the silhouette of the flower. The graphics seem to represent Salma's brand of promoting more of a natural beauty - from natural ingredients and oils.

This is a thick gloss and that surprisingly packs a fair amount of pigment all on it's own. The thickness reminded me of a MAC Lipglass. I'm surprised that the thickness doesn't really annoy me as it normally would.

The shade name is Starwberry however, I don't think of strawberries when I see this color. I actually think of guava flesh when I see this swatch because of the orangey-pink tones I see. It also contains a lot of golden glitter. It's very fine so you don't feel any grit and I also like that the glitter in this gloss doesn't do a whole lot of drifting elsewhere when the color fades. Unfortunately, I only get about 2 hours wear time before I feel the need to reapply but do keep in mind that I do a lot of water and coffee drinking. Ingredients found in gloss are as follows: mimosa extract, mango seed oil and vitamins A, C & E. Yes, it smells like a fruit smoothie on your lips and it's just as conditioning. As a queen of ultra sensitive lips, I can safely report that this didn't make my lips itch or peel the next day. My tempermental lips remained calm and smooth.

Here's my pout with just the gloss by itself. This is a lovely shade for my warm skin tone lady friends. I'm curious what it looks like on my cool toned sisters.

However, the packaging reminds me of something I have seen before (and probably have owned). It's the silhouette of the black flower on the tube.

Now I know where I've seen it:

(Paul and Joe Lip Lacquer - #10)

It's very reminiscent of the Paul and Joe graphic on the lip lacquer tubes. I'm not saying it's a rip-off but this is what the first thing came to my mind.

Final note - I am surprised just how much I like this gloss. I do set my standards low for celebrity lines because I always thought it was just about slapping your name on a label and not getting involved with R&D, Quality Assurance or even Marketing. Salma is really involved in this and I appreciate her partnership with CVS - she is serving quality and luxury to women of all economic backgrounds!


My Final Assessment - I am currently interested in picking up another gloss in clear and pairing this Strawberry gloss with a coordinating lipstick from the line.

This was bought by yours truly.
Ultra Shine Lip Gloss, $7.49/.48oz - currently on sale for $5.99 at your local CVS/ pharmacy