Clarins Cotton Flower face palette photos and swatches

Clarins cotton flower palette was released for spring 2010. I found this little beauty recently at Winners, which is a Canadian partner of TJ Maxx. They often get Clarins items in, lot's of limited edition products and even some of the permanent line. It's a great way to try out Clarins without spending a fortune.
The palette is so pretty to look at, adorned with white shimmery cotton flowers. The powder itself is flesh toned, with very fine shimmer. Mixed together they create a very natural looking beige highlight. It almost blends in with my skin, but it's got a very slight peachy tone to it.

Swatches :

Here I am wearing it on my cheekbone, even though I put a lot on it is still a very minimal 'glow' effect.

This is a great option for more mature ladies that just want a touch of luminescence. Personally I like a little more shimmer in my highlighters.
It also works alright an all over face powder, but on my skin it looked a bit too warm. I love face powders with a little shimmer in them. I can't find any good ones now that my favorite sally hansen corn silk illuminating powder (HG for 4 years!) has been discontinued :/

Do you like illuminating powders? What is your favorite kind?

Clarins Colour Quench Lip Balm 09 Ultra Violet photos and swatches

I've wanted to try Clarins color quench balms for a while, and recently picked up my first in ultra violet. The color is crazy bright purple in the tube, but looks really pretty and sheer on the lips.

The slant tip applicator makes for easy application and no messy wand. The texture is more of a gloss than a balm, but feels nice and moisturizing on.
This reminds me of Clinique's superbalm only it smells delightful like berries. Clinique's had an awful chemical scent to it I couldn't stand.

ultra violet looks very cool purple:

It sheers out to a nice cool rose color:

It's quite sheer and looks nice and glossy on. The color is just a bit deeper and cooler than my natural lips.

This is a color that would make your teeth appear whiter!

I wasn't impressed with the lasting power, maybe an hour or so for me. It is a gloss. Not a bad product, but not amazing either.

Have you tried color quench balms? did you like them?