It's easy with so many skincare brands and products to choose from to get caught up in skin care reviews, so this week I am pleased to bring you something different - a peek at some of the new colors and products available at the cosmetic counters and online for fall. This week we are starting with Clinique and Lorac, then in a few weeks we will also have a Panel review of fall shades for Urban Decay, Trucco and BeneFit. Enjoy!

Clinique Fall 2000
Let me start off by saying that I am NOT a Clinique user. After several failed attempts with their skincare and foundations, and encountering less than helpful salespeople during the majority of my visits to the counters, Clinique is never on the top of my list to review. I was interested, however, in some of the new colors and products coming out for fall, like the new High Impact eyeshadow. Rather than subjecting myself to another miserable trip to the counter, I opted for shopping online. Here are a few things I picked up:

Beauty Spots for Lips ($14.50)
This is a round compact that looks a bit like a doughnut - the outer ring has a shade of their Long Last Soft Matte Lipstick, and the center "hole" is a Glosswear for Lips color. The shades complement each other and can be worn together or alone. You also get a small lipbrush, which is really the best way to apply it unless you want to swirl your finger around in the colors. The color combinations are nice, but I think the packaging is gimmicky and not at all practical. I would rather have the two shades side-by-side in a nice mirrored compact with a place for the brush inside; the case has a plain see-through screw-top lid with no spot for the brush. The colors are nice, but I would rather have more of them in a compact that makes sense. Beauty Spots for Lips come in two limited edition sets, pink chocolate/fuchsia and sugar bean/punchy.

Beauty Spots for Eyes ($14.50)
These shadows come in the same style compact as the lip spots, but the design is actually worse! They could have packaged three colors together in a large pot, like Vincent Longo's Trios (Vincent Longo Eyeshadow Trio ), but instead they give you the tiniest little circle of shadow (they aren't even as big as an American dime!). The surface is barely big enough for an applicator or brush! And speaking of applicators, you get a double sided sponge applicator, but there's nowhere to put it. As for the shadows, I found them unimpressive - too sheer, streaky, with plenty of fading and creasing. Two of the shadows are from the Stay the Day collection, and the third is a Pair of Shades color - none of them did anything for me. You can choose from two sets, willowy/lemongrass/angelfood or magic dust (a two shade set)/buttercream. I would definitely pass on these.

Glosswear Nail Enamel ($11.50)
Strike three! I rarely take the time to do my nails, so when I do, I want them to look great and not need touch-ups every few days. No such luck with this polish. It went on unevenly, had a gummy texture, was already wearing away at the tips at the end of the first day, and was peeling off in large chunks by day three. I can't remember the last time I had such a poor experience with a nail polish. The only good part was the color itself - Berry Infusion, a pretty cranberry fuchsia with a hint of gold shimmer. Other limited edition fall shades include Extra Fuchsia and Hotsy Totsy. Personally I'd rather just search for similar shades in another brand.

See the fall colors at Clinique.com.

High Impact Eye Shadow ($11.50)
These new shadows are supposed to deliver high-pigment color in one swipe, rather than layering to get the color you see in the compact. While they do have deeper color than Clinique's regular shadows, they still don't hold a candle to Christian Dior, MAC, or Bobbi Brown, just to name a few. They aren't as silky and blendable as I'd like, and they crease and fade just like the others. If the regular Clinique shadows don't do it for you, and you want something relatively inexpensive, to be honest I still wouldn't recommend these! You can get something comparable at the drugstore from L'Oreal or Oil of Olay.

See the High Impact colors at Clinique.com.

Lorac Fall 2000
I think Lorac is best known for its collection of celebrity-inspired lipstick shades, created for and named after stars like Meg Ryan, Susan Sarandon, and Demi Moore. This season there are four more: Rita (Wilson), Rene (Russo), Debra (Messing), and Melina (Kanakaredes). Rita is a sheer rose pink, Rene is a warm peach brown with a hint of shimmer, Debra is a cocoa brown, and Melina is a warm plum. All the shades are creamy, emollient and rich with decent staying power.

To top off the new lipsticks, Lorac has two new glosses, Treasure (sheer taupe) and Cherish (sheer plum brown). I have always liked the smooth, lightly emollient feel of Lorac glosses, so these two shades are a nice addition to the existing colors. Treasure works well over dark lipsticks to lighten them and add shimmer; I like Cherish best alone to complement a casual makeup look.

For eyes, there are four new shadows, and I think these are some of her prettiest and most wearable yet. Harmony is a light pink salmon, Serenity is a light copper shimmer, Reverie is a warm peach brown shimmer, and Inspiration is a dark bronze shimmer. They have a nice amount of pigment but are also very blendable, so you can have as dark or as sheer a finish as you like. They also wear well with minimal creasing.

Lorac's new Blush shade, Soul, is also the most flattering and wearable Lorac blush yet. I think it's the perfect blend of peach, rose and tan, so it looks natural without being candy apple red or tutu pink. On a medium or darker skintone you could also use it as a contour shade.