Splurge or Skip: Estée Lauder Ultimate Red
Whether with your wardrobe or with your makeup looks, nothing represents the holidays better than shimmering golds and vibrant reds.
Estée Lauder Ultimate Red for this season’s holiday collection combines opulent nudes with punches of cranberry reds to create classic looks.
Ultimate Red also offers violet shades with their Limited Edition Signature Eyeshadow Quad with Lattice Pattern ($35 US) in Lavish Plum.
I especially like the second and fourth shades in this palette - the dusty purple grays are beautifully seductive and the dark shadow on the end is soft and easy to blend.
While purples are hot for the winter season and I like the colors in this palette overall, I’m not sure it fits into the spirit of a collection called “Ultimate Red” where everything else is light and shimmery, exuding elegance.
Limited Edition Signature Eyeshadow Quad ($35 US) in Gold Opulence contains all the usual suspects in a gold/bronze palette. All the shades have nice finishes with the exception of the matte charcoal gray on the end which comes off uneven and hard to blend.
If I had to pick from either palette, I’d choose Lavish Plum. But if I had only had a certain budget to splurge on beauty products for holiday, I’d skip both eye palettes and pick up the following:
Estée Lauder Opulent Shimmer Powder ($32 US), with the signature lattice design for holiday, is soft and subtle. It’s perfect for sweeping all over your face to add light to your finished makeup look. Brush along your neck and décolletage for a touch of seduction.
My other pick from Ultimate Red would have to be Opulent Shimmer Gloss ($18 US) in Cranberry. It’s a sheer red with slight pink undertones to soften the shade while maintaining a true red color.
For those who are wanting to try a red this season but are afraid of those bold or diva-like shades, Cranberry makes a great starter shade for crimson-inspired lips.
Gold is more gold than other similar shades I’ve seen. It goes beyond the pearlescent finish with tinges of yellow incorporated in.
I wanted to do a simple look to go run errands on Sunday and swept just a touch of gold from the Gold Opulence palette over my eyes and highlighted with the shimmer powder.
I also swept the shimmer powder over the apples of my cheeks, bridge of my nose, forehead and chin and finished the simple look with Cranberry gloss.
I should mention that I also tried the new TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara with Gold Effects ($32 US) on my eyes to see if I could brigthen up my peepers.
The little flecks of gold on the wand got me excited to try the mascara. But transferred onto my lashes, the gold bits disappear and blend in with my regular mascara, leaving me feeling flat instead of sparkley.
For me, the winners of Estée Lauder’s Ultimate Red collection are the Opulent Shimmer Powder and Opulent Shimmer Gloss in Cranberry.
What about you? If you were going to splurge on this collection, which products would you choose?
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On November 24th, 2009 Marisol said:
Cranberry looks great on you.
On November 28th, 2009 Martan said:
I got the ‘lavish plum ” palette and the the cranberry gloss.
I wasnt sure about the mascara but I think today I am going to buy it.
On November 28th, 2009 Lilan said:
Hi Marisol,
Thanks so much? Are you much of a red lips kinda girl?
On November 28th, 2009 Lilan said:
Hi Martan,
Lavish Plum from this collection is really nice! What’s your favorite eye combo to wear from this palette?