Either the shades are too tan, too peach, too brown, too light, too grey, too gold, or even too pink sometimes. Or they are too matte, too shiny, too frosty or sparkly. Picky, picky, picky.
But while indulging in a purely nostalgic visit to the local Elizabeth Arden counter recenty, I finally found the 'perfect nude' lipcolor (for me, that is).
Once upon a time, I was an ardent Elizabeth Arden consumer. There was just something so elegant and exclusive about the brand, I regularly indulged. In my early twenties, it made me feel so 'grown up'. I loved the foundations, eyeshadows and lipsticks especially. And of course, I'd snag the holiday blockbuster from this brand year after year.
Am not sure what happened, but somehow along the way, I gradually stepped away from this beautiful brand. It may have been the Sephora influence with its emphasis on more indie type brands, that drew me away from traditional department store shopping? Hard to say, really.
At any rate, Elizabeth Arden faded hard into the background and finally disappeared completely. I think at the time of her resurrection back into my makeup life, all I had remaining from those old days was a discontinued lipstick (Solar) and a compact of cream highlighter called 'Into the Light', also long since discontinued. Those had been hung onto for purely sentimental reasons. Because I'm weird like that...
Recently, my heart had begun yearning for a visit to the department store makeup counters of yore. Plus I was on a hardcore mission to find a great natural color lip product. So off my sister and I went to the small local Dillard's.
And I mean small. Their cosmetic department consists of five brands. FIVE! Estee Lauder, Lancome, Clinique, Clarins and Elizabeth Arden. Strangely, judging by comments I've read online, these brands have come to be considered 'old lady makeup' by the younger generations. Really!?
I had gone there primarily to look at the Lancome lip products. Sadly, I didn't find much there that thrilled me. Except I did discover they still carried Coquette lipstick (which the sales rep kept calling Corquette! 😂), and as it was an old favorite of mine from times past, I got one. A pretty golden pink, but a bit too glittery to look good on me any longer.
But I hit the jackpot, sort of, over at the Arden counter. I stopped there to see if they had Golden Nude, a shade I'd seen online on the Elizabeth Arden website. A twinge of disappointment. They no longer carried that shade, according to the salesperson.
But wow, what other gorgeous colors they had! As I systematically looked at each and every tester, I eventually picked up a Ceramide Ultra formula lipstick called Sugar. I smeared some on the heel of my thumb. Oh. Oh!
This could be it! I tried it on my lips. It beefed up the color without going overboard. Yes, yes, yes. I liked it! A midtone cool beige with a faintly pink undertone, not too light, not too dark, not too brown, not too anything! My sister loved it, too. Told the saleslady I'd take it. She rummaged around in her inventory drawer. No luck. They were out of stock. 😟
The disappointment was severe. Oh, well, did I really need to be spending $25 on a lipstick anyway? I remember when Chanel lipsticks were $25 and how outrageously expensive I thought that was way back when. But it hadn't deterred me from buying a few...it was Chanel, after all. Totally different story, right? And let's not even talk about the price of Tom Ford lipstick, but I digress.
Okay then, back at Dillard's...I looked at lip pencils...tried a few of those on my hand and found one called Sugared Kiss, a nice neutral that filled the bill.
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| Elizabeth Arden Sugared Kiss Lip Pencil |
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| The Elizabeth Arden Sugar lipstick, from Ebay |
My sister would only be here a couple more weeks and she liked it too. What the heck, I put 2 in my cart and sent over the payment. How bad could it be?
Not bad at all! I quickly received the 2 tubes a few days later. Oh, thank goodness! They were obviously brand new, never opened, and in totally pristine condition, no odor. My Ebay luck was still holding!
I trotted back to my bedroom, fetched out the Sugared Kiss lipliner, slapped it on and layered the Sugar over it. Yahoooo! Exactly what I was looking for in a nude lip. The formulas did not emphasize the lines in my aging lips! Just enough pink to look natural with my skin tone. Not too dark, not too light. No corpse lips. Like Baby Bear, juuuust right.
Nude lipcolor nirvana has been achieved!
Of course, that could not simply be the end of it. Now on the hunt, I perused Ebay on and off for a week looking at all the Elizabeth Arden offerings because, as per usual, I was now obsessed...
Over the next few weeks, I eventually purchased the following, all Elizabeth Arden:
The Golden Nude shade the Dillard's saleslady told me they no longer carried (though still available on the EA website). Though a bit out of my comfort zone, it's absolutely beautiful, a light, peachy beige with barely noticeable golden shimmer. Will look best when I'm a little more tan this summer. Great with a dab of pink gloss on top. Brand new in the box. Under $14. Not the ideal price but better than the retail of $25.
A tube of Starlight lipstick, which I'd call a mid-tone neutral violet, was a trip down memory lane. Long ago it was my favorite Elizabeth Arden lipstick shade, now discontinued. However, the tube I received was fresh and pristine and new in box. I paid around $5 or $6 including shipping. A steal!
Another discontinued shade called Perfect Blossom, which was a total gamble, but I went for it. I thought I'd like it, after googling swatches of it. I was right, it is nice. A neutral pink, it's similar to Sugar but less beige, more pink. Under $9.
A set of three small double-ended lip pencils, Sugared Kiss and Natural. And because one is just never enough, I purchased a third tube of Sugar from the same seller that sold me the first two as well as the aforementioned lip pencils. After all, I gave a tube to my sister, so I need a backup, right?? 😏
Welcome back, Liz!
Till next time,
"I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe the happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe tomorrow is another day, and...I believe in miracles." ~ Audrey Hepburn
"Until I was a teenager, I used red pokeberries for lipstick and a burnt matchstick for an eyeliner. I used honeysuckle for perfume." ~ Dolly Parton
"I came out of the womb waving red lipstick." ~ Rose McGowan
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