Jouer Cosmetics

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This is the second incarnation of Jouer Cosmetics. The first version was available at Sephora and featured a variety of cream-based products in small, white, rectangular, windowed compacts that could connect to one another along their sides. That version disappeared, and the current Jouer line emerged, available so far exclusively at Henri Bendel and at jouercosmetics.com.

Jouer has a variety of cosmetic items from concealers to foundations, blushes, tube glosses, shadows and more, many of which click together not only along the sides, but front to back so that you can create your own personalized travel stack.

I currently have two powder eye shadows ($20 each). Caramel is a soft warm brownish gold with a tiny hint of copper. It creates a lovely natural but defined eye look, but I find it prone to getting that hard "layer" on the surface of the shadow that I often have to scrape away. It is also not particularly pigmented and needs to be applied with a stiff, dense brush for color payoff.

Amaretto, on the other hand, is smooth an pigmented and glides on and blends wonderfully. It is a very complex pewter taupe with gold shimmer and a hint of bronze and plum. It's perfect for a soft smokey look or in the crease, with Caramel or another base shadow, for a subtle defined smolder. This is a unique shade and a favorite.

The Tint in Petal is another product that I like. The Tints ($20) are designed to be creamy multi-use lip and cheek colors. Jouer describes Petal as a "soft rose pink" but there is definitely a warm, almost hint of coral undertone to my eye. These blend onto cheeks with fingertips and have no sticky afterfeel.

I use the Age Repairing Brightener ($32) and Age Repairing Concealer ($24) under my eyes, the Brightener followed by the concealer. The Brightener has a thinner consistency with more slip and comes in a swivel up tube. It is designed to illuminate and fight free radicals. I don't notice an illuminating effect, but the emollient ingredients keeps the concealer, which is heavily pigmented but has a very dry texture, from caking under my eyes. These aren't holy grail products, but do a fine job. I'm not a huge fan of either alone, but they work synergistically.

I bought the Eye Definer ($20) in Olive after reading that it was used on Frieda Pinto for an awards show where her eye makeup was particularly gorgeous. It's a pretty gold-shimmered olive and glides on, but isn't pigmented enough to create a real definition or me. The color is lovely though, especially when layered over a black liner.