Make Up For Ever Expands its Aqua Range for Summer 2013 — Dive In!

I try not to play favorites when it comes to cosmetic brands, but let’s face it: Make Up For Ever makes it so hard! Their cream eye shadow colors lock onto lids without fading, creasing, or melting. Their lipsticks are saturated with pigment, hydrate and soothe lips, and come in a variety of alluring finishes. Their eye liners glide onto eyes effortlessly and deposit high-voltage color that lasts and lasts. Their foundations manage to deliver excellent coverage and make skin look flawless and airbrushed without ever appearing cake-y or “done.” And their eye shadow, eye pencil, lipgloss, and lipstick colors! The bold, adventurous, delicious colors! Whereas other brands tip-toe timidly along a land of dull taupes, nudes, and grays, Make Up For Ever ventures into electrifying territory, its palette incorporating rich emerald and hunter greens; succulent blood orange, tangerine, and vermilion hues; raspberry, cherry, carmine, and scarlet reds; burgundy plum, futuristic violet, and fig-tinged eggplant shades; cobalt, azure, turquoise, and pastel blues; and so much more.

Some of my favorite Make Up For Ever products belong to its award-winning Aqua range, which features waterproof, tear- and sweat-proof, melt-proof makeup products in succulent shades that convey a youthful kinetic energy. The Aqua range, then, includes the brand’s smudge-resistant, long-lasting, silky smooth Aqua Eyes pencils; its emollient and vivid Aqua Lip liners; its multi-dimensional, crease-resistant, lustrous Aqua Cream eye shadow; and, most recently, its double-sided Aqua Rouge lip colors, which combine highly pigmented, creamy liquid lip colors with clear glosses that lock in color and deliver a vinyl-like finish.

For Summer 2013, MUFE has expanded its Aqua collection, introducing new shades within each product category. Not only will these products withstand the unavoidable perspiration that comes with hot and humid summer days, but they might just live through a splash in the pool and a dip in the ocean (assuming, of course, your head isn’t fully immersed for the entire duration of your aquatic adventures!). And their vivid colors capture the excitement of summer and add a fashion-forward feel to even the easiest, most laid-back ensemble.

Below, check out images of all the new offerings, along with product swatches and additional info!

NEW AQUA CREAM SHADES

I’m a sucker for Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Cream eye shadows — especially come summertime when I seem to sweat powder eye shadows off before I even leave the comfort off my home (and this is even when using top-notch primers to “seal” in the colors!). When I wear an Aqua Cream eye shadow, I know that it will withstand whatever the day holds — whether it’s an unexpected thunderstorm, an air condition malfunction in 93-degree weather, a run through the sprinklers with my son, or just a meeting-to-meeting marathon of a work schedule.  These eye shadows look so lustrous on the eyes and yet it’s not a glitter-packed, disco-like look that feels overly theatrical or juvenile but, rather, a sophisticated sheen that gives each shade greater depth and dimension. In terms of texture, these cream eye shadows are surprisingly silky and soft — not clumpy, tacky, or gummy — so that applying them onto lids is not only easy but is actually pleasant on a sensory level. And, most importantly, these cream eye shadows don’t crease, crack or flake, nor do they fade and lose their lovely luster over time.

For Summer 2013, Make Up For Ever has introduced three new Aqua Cream shades, so that the collection now encompasses a full 24 colors. The three new shades are: #52, a blue-toned, lagoon-like green with a pearly sheen that enhances the overall aquatic feel of the shade; #53, a pearly pastel green reminiscent of sea foam; and #54, a silver-tinged lilac color that might remind you of the tresses of a Japanese animé character. Each of the three new Aqua Cream shades retails for $23 and can be purchased at Sephora.com.

I had the chance to try two of the new shades: No. 54 and No. 52. Check out swatches of the two hues below:

Are you in love yet? Well, wait until you see what they look like on the skin! Check out these pics of me wearing the Aqua Cream No. 52 eye shadow color:

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NEW AQUA EYES COLORS

Even girls who shy away from makeup tend to appreciate the beauty of eyeliner, how it can add just a hint of color to the face, make eyes appear wider, make the lash line appear thicker, and so forth. And, on lazy summer days when a full face of makeup feels as taxing as climbing Mount Everest, a gorgeous eye liner goes a long way. When it comes to summer makeup, then, Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Eyes pencils are an absolute must since they come in a broad range of electrifying shades, they don’t run or smudge, and they glide on without tugging or pulling at the skin (which, on top of being painful, can lead to wrinkles and lines).

For Summer 2013, the brand introduced two new shades to its already impressive range of colors: #25L, a matte brown, and #52L, a green lagoon color with a metallic finish. Each of the new eye liner colors retails for $19 and can be purchased at Sephora.com.

I’ve been wearing the Aqua Eyes 52L liner quite often, and I absolutely adore it. In fact, I get stopped by complete strangers whenever I wear this eye pencil shade — even when it’s the only real makeup I have on my eyes.

The Aqua Eyes #52L liner complements the Aqua Cream #52 hue quite well — in fact, they’re both described as  being a “pearly green lagoon” shade — but the Aqua Eyes iteration is a slightly deeper shade of green, bordering on a hunter green but, again, with more bluish, teal-tinged undertones. The finish, meanwhile, is lustrous and pearlescent, like the surface of the ocean reflecting the sun’s beams of light. Check out the swatch below:

Here are some shots of me wearing the #52L eye liner:

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NEW AQUA ROUGE SHADES

And now, for my favorites! Whether it’s spring, summer or fall, I can’t resist a bold lip, and Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Rouge lip colors make creating a striking pout so easy! I raved endlessly about the Aqua Rouge lip colors when they first debuted last fall, so I’ve been waiting eagerly for MUFE to introduce new shades — especially since the initial line-up didn’t include as many brights as I would’ve liked. My prayers were answered this season, when Make Up For Ever introduced five new shades certain to make mouths happy.

Each Make Up For Ever Aqua Rouge comes in a sleek, double-ended tube, with one side featuring the opaque, richly pigmented lip color, and the other end features a clear gloss to give the accompanying shade a mirror-like sheen.  To apply, you start by twisting off the side of the tubular pen bearing the liquid lip color, dipping the sponge-tipped applicator wand into the lip color tube, then gliding the applicator over lips. Once you’ve deposited the desired amount of lip color onto your pout, you can either call it a day or twist off the tube on the other end of the Aqua Rouge pencil and dip the brush applicator wand into the tube of clear gloss therein, then swipe this brush over lips to achieve a mirror-like sheen. Because the liquid lip colors were developed using high molecular weight polymers and volatile oils, the pigment is locked into place without there being any unfortunate mishaps (feathering, streaking, color migration, creasing, and so forth), plus the mica and gelling agents in the formula keep lips hydrated and comfortable.

The five new Aqua Rouge colors introduced this season are: #16, a vibrant fuchsia; #17, a dazzling, coral red-tinged orange; #18, a soft coral pink with golden undertones; #19, a clean, blue-toned red reminiscent of pomegranate peels; and #20, a demure baby pink with bluish undertones. Each color retails for $24 and is available at Sephora.com

Below, you’ll find swatches of all the new Aqua Rouge shades. Immediately below, you’ll find swatches of the liquid lip colors without any clear gloss over them:

Next, check out how these colors look when a bit of clear gloss is layered above them. As you can see, the finish changes but the pigment pay-off remains the same, so that the gloss doesn’t work to dilute these colors at all. Incredible, right?

Next, check out what these bad boys look like when applied to lips!

Here’s a couple shots of me wearing the Aqua Rouge No. 20 during a Fourth of July outing. As you can see, it’s a very girly pink that just makes you want to twirl.

Next, check out some snaps of me wearing the Aqua Rouge No. 18 color. This shade is a sunny coral pink, but it has these gorgeous golden undertones that make the shade feel like it was plucked from the inside of a conch shell. It’s a light shade, but it’ still vibrant and luminous, which is why I love it.

Now for one of my faves: the Aqua Rouge No. 16! A true fuchsia pink, this color makes me feel like a rockstar, like a younger Blondie (minus the vocal chops, that is!). Check out the pic below:

Make sure to stock up on some of these great shades!