I am having so much fun lately playing with all the new spring colors! Over the next few weeks, I hope to bring you reviews of new colors from brands like Stila, Calvin Klein, and Vincent Longo, just to name a few. This week we are featuring Girl Cosmetics, plus a look at Morgen Schick cosmetics from Home Shopping Network. Enjoy!

Girl Cosmetics Spring 2001
With this next generation of products and colors, Girl Cosmetics is really making a name for themselves. They got their big break in 1998 with the Velvet Goldmine collection created for the movie of the same name, and have been enjoying success from it ever since. This new spring collection features some softer colors and a new design to appeal to a wider range of women (and girls!).

Deevine Lipstick ($14)
For spring this creamy lip color comes in 4 new shades: Fetish (pink brown), Vibe (barely there brown), Vida (bronze) and Ripe (berry brown). Each one is super moisturizing and comfortable; even after I take it off, my lips still feel moisturized.

Love Liners ($12)
Virgin, Trouble and Passion lip liners are the perfect complement to the Deevine lipsticks - creamy and easy to apply with absolutely no drag. Virgin is a MAC Spice/Wet 'n Wild 666 type neutral pink/peach/brown shade, Trouble is a light chocolate brown, and Passion is a medium berry.

Velvet Eye Shadow ($14)
Spring's five new shades include Vintage (light ivory), Suede (charcoal brown), Cashmere (light brown), Rhinestone (gold) and Feather Boa (light fuchsia-pink shimmer). Each one is silky soft with just enough pigment to show up nicely with one stroke, or build to any intensity by layering. They also wear well throughout the day with minimal creasing.

Slip Gloss ($14)
These vanilla scented glosses are perfect if you like sheer, no-fuss color and a bit of shine. Slip Gloss comes in Frosting (sheer bubble gum pink), Honey (medium brown caramel) and Brown Sugar (light see-through brown).

Doll Face Dual Finish Powder ($20)
This is my favorite product from Girl Cosmetics. This silky powder foundation has natural looking coverage that I would call somewhere between sheer and medium, but the best part is the light-reflecting finish. You can use it wet or dry, but I prefer dry with the enclosed sponge or a brush. Doll Face powder contains talc, mica, zinc stearate, boron nitride, octyl palmitate, methylparaben and propylparaben. It's safe for acne prone skin and comes in four shades numbered 1, 3, 5, and 7.

The collection also includes Hi-Fi Lipslick high shine lipcolor ($12) in two new shades, Bubbly (gold shimmer with flecks of pink opalescent shimmer) and Mai Tai (sheer fuchsia with hints of gold glitter), DeeLights Shimmer Powder ($18), and Lover Lashes mascara ($15), which I have not yet tried.

Aside from the products themselves, I think the most useful quality is the packaging. Each compact is very small, with the color in the top compartment and a mini application tool and mirror in a lower compartment. For the Doll Face Dual Finish Powder especially, this design is extremely handy; you can literally throw it in your pocket.

You can find Girl Cosmetics in fine department stores like Nordstrom, Sephora and Bloomingdale's, as well as online at GirlCosmetics.com and Sephora.com (great color swatches).

Morgen Schick Perfect Face Kit
($39.95 plus $4.95 s/h)
Every now and then while I'm relaxing in front of the TV, flipping channels, I pause on Home Shopping Network or QVC to see if they are presenting anything of interest to me. Most of the time it's jewelry, cookware, or bed linens, but the last few times I've watched, I've been lucky to land on a beauty or skin care segment. Last week it was Morgen Schick, a model who has created her own line of simple, problem-solving skin care and makeup. I was immediately drawn to her enthusiasm and natural looking glow. What made me pick up the phone and order was the presentation of the Perfect Face Kit. The kit comes with Morgen's Skin Prep (.5 oz), Hide or Hilight Compact (in light, medium or dark), Whisper Set Powder, Schick Stick Cheek & Lip Tint, Takelon Hide or Hilight Brush, and Takelon Whisper Set Powder Brush.

Morgen has her own cleanser and moisturizer, plus a Skin Prep product that is similar in concept to Laura Mercier's Foundation Primer or Ramy Beauty Therapy's Elixir Skin Conditioning Primer; you apply a thin layer of this lightweight gel on your skin after cleansing and moisturizing as a base to make foundation go on more smoothly and last longer. I found it to be non-irritating and easily absorbed, with a cool feeling. I'm not sure I would use this everyday - I think it would depend on the other skin care I was using - but it is nice for a smoother looking complexion.

After prepping your face, Morgen suggests (in the enclosed Face Kit Guide) that you apply your Schick Stick Cheek & Lip Tint before your foundation. Since you aren't covering your entire face in makeup, this technique can work without covering up the blush. The Schick Stick is like other popular liquid cheek tints (BeneFit BeneTint, Lorac Sheer Wash, Philosophy The Supernaturals Tint) but this one is in a pen style package with a sponge blotter on the end. You simply dab the color on your cheeks and blend. Schick Stick comes in one color, Healthy, a brownish rose.

The next step in the kit is Hide or Hilight, a compact with three complementary shades designed to cover problem areas and conceal dark circles and shadows. The compact has one large shade for the face, a smaller second shade also for the face, plus a smaller cream concealer shade for the eye area. Morgen is an advocate of spot concealing only the areas of your face that need it, rather than covering your whole face in foundation. This is a nice approach if you have mostly even-toned skin, don't like the feel of makeup all over your face, or simply don't like the fuss of a full face of foundation. Since getting this compact, I've tried just using the makeup on the places that need it, and it is a liberating feeling to have un-made-up skin showing through.

The Hide or Hilight makeup has a drier feel than most cream makeup (except for the creamier concealer for undereye circles) but it is richly pigmented so you get good coverage the first time. It's easy to apply with the takelon brush and you don't have to worry about smearing it with your fingers. Takelon brushes are also very easy to clean, so you can wash it right after using it, dry it lightly with a towel, and it's ready to go again. Since you have two colors in the compact, you can mix them to get the right shade for your skin; thankfully, this isn't as complicated as it might sound. I just dab the brush a few times in the shade closest to my skin color, then again in the darker shade if necessary (depending on what I'm covering).

The final step is the Whisper Set Powder, a lightweight, translucent (almost white) talc-based powder. Morgen advises using the second takelon brush to apply the powder, also just to the areas that need it (where you put the Hide or Hilight, or where you are prone to shine). The brush is smaller than I expected but works just fine since you aren't powdering all over. With my normal to dry skin that can easily look flaky and parched, this is the ideal approach to powder.

All in all, I like Morgen's philosophy and selection of products. My only gripe is the presence of isopropyl palmitate (a possible acne causer rated 4 out of 5 on a comedogenicity scale) in both the concealer shade of the compact and in the powder. For some people this may be meaningless, for others, a reason not to buy. If it's a concern to you and you still want to try the products, just be sure to use the concealer shade only under your eyes, which tends not to breakout, and keep the powder to a minimum. The main makeup shades of the Hide or Hilight compact are safe for acne prone skin (yay!).