I was lucky enough to be at the mall on the first day that Victoria's Secret cosmetics were available, so I decided to check out the much-hyped line. The sales associate/make up expert was very anxious to explain every product to me in great detail (umm, do I really need to hear the purposes of lipstick and makeup remover...). Anyway, I was a bit unhappy that I couldn't play in peace, but I did end up with a few products:

Liquid Lingerie Oil Free Foundation
This actually is not a bad foundation. I got color #4, which works fine for me, but is a tad less yellow than I am used to. Actually, it looked quite yellow in the store compared to some of the other colors, but when I got home and compared it to my Bobbi Brown Sand foundation, it looked more peachy. The foundation does provide medium coverage and a matte texture. It is not super-drying like some of the "long lasting" foundations, and it was quite easy to blend. I like the product overall, but I suggest that you bring along your regular foundation when you test this one out to help keep the colors in perspective.

Seamless Cover Oil Free Cream to Powder Makeup
This is a fairly nice product. I bought color #2 (note that the color numbers for liquid foundation, cream to powder foundation, and pressed powder do not really correspond - the #4 shade in the cream to powder was way too dark for me, but #4 in the liquid foundation was fine). The product is fairly creamy and blends quite nicely if your skin is moisturized. The first time I tried this foundation, I was unmoisturized and had a patch of dry, flaky skin on my chin. Yikes! Applied without moisturizer, this foundation made the dryness look much worse, and the coverage on my whole face was patchy. I washed it off, added a layer of moiturizer and tried again. This time it looked quite nice. The color was peachy but very yellow based, and the coverage was medium to full. I did not use the cheap, thin sponge included in the compact, but instead I used a wedge sponge. After applying the foundation, I also used the product with a concealer brush to touch up some redness in my face. It worked well.

Powdered Silk Finishing Powder
This product is average. The compact is pretty, but the color selection could be better. They need more yellow shades! I got #2, a peachy color with a bit of yellow. Again, it looked more yellow than it really is when I examined it in the store. Bring along your favorite compact and compare the colors before you buy. Luckily, I have some redness in my yellow-undertoned skin, so these purchases worked fine for me. The powder itself pretty much functioned as a powder should - it provided a matte, smooth finish.

Matte Kisses Lipstick
I bought this lipstick in Spiced Clove, a nice pink/brown shade (actually it's heavier on the brown). I love it! It goes on softly and smoothly, but it looks matte. It also lasted for hours on me. The color and texture are both winners. There are quite a few lipstick formulations in this line. I probably would have bought more lip items if the sales associate would have backed off and allowed me to play.

Exaggeration Mascara
This is the line's lengthening mascara. It is supposedly water-resistant and smudgeproof. I do like this product. It really made my lashes stand out dramatically. I personally have not had a smudging problem with it, but I doubt that I really put it to the test.

Take It All Off Makeup Remover
This product is average - it does remove makeup, and it does leave the skin soft. I'd be willing to bet that it's a knockoff of Clinique's Take The Day Off. I'll use it, but it's nothing spectacular.

Ok, now for my conspiracy theory about this line. Does anyone else find it odd that Victoria's Secret carried Philosophy products for a very brief period of time, the same period of time that they were developing their own line of makeup? It seems that some of their products (like the "colour palettes") are very much based on Philosophy products in terms of color and content. Just a thought...