What They Say: "DuWop introduces a limited-edition holiday palette that gives you an instant hit of a winter wonderland glow. ICE is a pressed shimmer powder that instantly brightens and highlights the forehead, cheeks, eyes, and décolletage, in a beautiful icy pink shimmer. ICE is extremely versatile and can be dusted over bare skin for just a hint of shimmer that catches the light and brightens the complexion. The silvery pink hues in ICE can help even out the skin tone, hide imperfections, and illuminate the skin. Layer ICE over blush for a beautiful glow or use it as the final dusting to makeup for a radiant holiday look."

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: Do you find yourself looking at all of the highlighting powders and lotions and feeling like some of them aren't really wearable past age 21? Well, thankfully there are several on the market right now that are less SPARKLESHIMMERLOOKATME! and more understatedly radiant. This is one to add to the category. In fact, don't think of it as "shimmer" at all...that might give you the wrong impression. It simply provides a subtle sheen that looks glowy. True, for some it may actually be too subtle, but I like the fact that you can apply it over your blush and other makeup without affecting its color. It instead just adds a thin veil of brightness, not a layer of uber-reflectiveness that won't blend no matter WHAT you do. It's easy to add on cheekbones, eyelids and forehead for a little extra "something" for those special occasions or nights out.

User Tip: Apply a bit of this on the area between your inner eyes and bridge of your nose, where we tend to have extra shadows.

Retail Price: $18.00 (at DuWop.com or go here to find a retail location near you)

DeLush Rating:

What They Say: "Browwow includes a lightly color brow powder, tinted pomade, and champagne shimmer highlighter, all fitted into a copper bronze palette with a large mirror and professional double-ended brush. You no longer have to use many different products to achieve perfectly polished brows – Browwow has all three brow essentials in one convenient compact."

Jamie’s Thoughts: I’m indifferent about this one. The color is fairly neutral, and probably an excellent match for anyone on the pale side of the skin color wheel. The powder crumbles a lot, and the first time I used it, it ended up all over my cheekbones. Not a good look. After some practice, it got better, but I’m fairly sure it had something to do with the brush – it’s difficult to pick up just a subtle amount of anything using a hard, tiny, rigid brush. One should take care when applying this.

The pomade is great and really does its job. It even corrected the wonky part of my left brow that is always a challenge! My brows are so pale that the tinted pomade would be enough color, but for brunettes and blondes, the powder and pomade are a good pairing.

The best thing about this product, oddly, is the highlighter. It is perfectly neutral, and very subtle. It would look fabulous on any age, any skin tone, any woman. Love it!

Overall, I find this average at best. The product is clearly top-notch from a quality perspective, but also fussy. It’s difficult to use, and takes valuable time away from more important parts of my morning routine.

Retail Price: $34.00 (at duwop.com and at Nordstrom, Sephora, and other high-end retailers)

DeLush Rating:

What They Say: "DuWop introduces a limited-edition holiday palette that gives you an instant hit of a winter wonderland glow. ICE is a pressed shimmer powder that instantly brightens and highlights the forehead, cheeks, eyes, and décolletage, in a beautiful icy pink shimmer. ICE is extremely versatile and can be dusted over bare skin for just a hint of shimmer that catches the light and brightens the complexion. The silvery pink hues in ICE can help even out the skin tone, hide imperfections, and illuminate the skin. Layer ICE over blush for a beautiful glow or use it as the final dusting to makeup for a radiant holiday look."

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: Do you find yourself looking at all of the highlighting powders and lotions and feeling like some of them aren't really wearable past age 21? Well, thankfully there are several on the market right now that are less SPARKLESHIMMERLOOKATME! and more understatedly radiant. This is one to add to the category. In fact, don't think of it as "shimmer" at all...that might give you the wrong impression. It simply provides a subtle sheen that looks glowy. True, for some it may actually be too subtle, but I like the fact that you can apply it over your blush and other makeup without affecting its color. It instead just adds a thin veil of brightness, not a layer of uber-reflectiveness that won't blend no matter WHAT you do. It's easy to add on cheekbones, eyelids and forehead for a little extra "something" for those special occasions or nights out.

User Tip: Apply a bit of this on the area between your inner eyes and bridge of your nose, where we tend to have extra shadows.

Retail Price: $18.00 (at DuWop.com or go here to find a retail location near you)

DeLush Rating:

What They Say(about BronzeRush) "Bronzerush is a palette that has everything you need to add color and life to your complexion. The gorgeous gold metallic kit includes a velvety smooth powder bronzer with a gel-based translucent blush, for a pop of fresh cheek color. Bronzerush gives you a warm healthy glowing tan, flushed rosy cheeks, and an all-over sun-kissed radiance that cannot be achieved by the average bronzer." (about the Rose Eyes Palette) "You can create a new look for every mood, season, or time of day with this gorgeous rose-themed palette. Set includes a true rose base shade, soft pink shimmer, soft rosy bronze, peachy-gold shimmer, and a deep plum-brown cream liner, plus a double-ended flat liner/eye blender brush."

Melissa's DeLush Downlow:(about BronzeRush) The sight of this palette, upon opening, kind of made me nervous. To me, it looked pretty bold. But on I soldiered, and put the stuff on anyway. The bronzer portion is actually less alarming than I imagined. It appears more orange-y in the compact than it comes off on my skin, but it is rather sparkly and maybe just tawny enough that I'd prefer it for spring or summer, but you may like it just fine, especially for those nights out. The little pot of creme blush to add on top for a bit of a rosy hue is NOT super-bright on your skin. It's actually quite sheer, and I thought rather pretty. If you've got slightly oily skin as I tend to get by around 5 o'clock in the evening if I don't powder or blot, this may not stay on as well as you'd like and you probably would prefer a powder blush for more wearability. Otherwise it's these two are a really nice combo.

(about the Rose Eyes Palette) This I absolutely LOVE. The colors are so perfectly matched for highlighting and deepening of the base color, and the generously-mirrored case is slim and compact. I think these colors would be flattering on practically anyone, whatever your skin tone or hair/eye coloring. The shadows are silky and really do wear fabulously - I didn't notice any creasing during the day. I was a little concerned about the cream liner, because it is such a soft formula. While I did smudge it myself a tiny bit when I applied it for a soft-focus look, the lines absolutely stayed put (surprisingly well) for HOURS. (Click the pic to the right to enlarge.)

Retail Prices: (BronzeRush) - $34.00, (Rose Eyes Palette) - $32.00 (BronzeRush is available at shop.duwop.com and the Palette is available at sephora.com)

DeLush Ratings: (BronzeRush)
(Rose Eyes Palette)

What They Say: "Vibrant color is spiked with a wicked tingle and a delicious shine. Each of these lip plumping glosses are enriched with a secret blend of essential oils that leave lips soft, full, and extremely kissable."

(Click pic to enlarge.)

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: If you've ever tried DuWop's Lip Venom products, you know all about the tingle! (Some people are addicted to it.) There's a cinnamon-laced tingle that I actually thought wasn't going to kick in when I first put this gloss on. But...oh wait...there it was. While this is a much less dramatic option than a lot of the lip-plumping products out there (you may like that), it still does make your lips look a little more plush and full. The tingle lasts about 20 minutes or so, slowly dissipating. But it's never so powerful that I find it uncomfortable or distracting as with some other products.

The gloss itself stays on fairly well for a few hours and has a really pretty shine. It's not very sticky and is moisturizing. I would call the color (at least in this case) very sheer, and it is unflavored. In regard to this new shade specifically, I'm definitely digging this sexy gold-flecked Housewives-inspired pink.

Retail Price: $18.00 (at Sephora.com, or go to DuWop.com for a list of retail locations)

DeLush Rating:

From the Sephora website: "Lip Venom is a spicy, tingly gloss that enhances the natural color and shape of the lips by increasing circulation with a blend of essential oils including cinnamon and ginger. The result: shiny, bee-stung lips."

Jen's Experience: What a fun product! Shiny AND tingly.  I saw DuWop's lip venom on the Sephora top 10 for a long, long time, and now I wish I hadn't taken so long to try it.  The first day I used it, I was surprised at how spicy it really was.  Now I'm addicted to the tingly feeling it gives my lips for 10 or 20 minutes after I apply it, and I'm really addicted to the super shininess it gives my lips.  As promised, it also enhances the color of my lips, making them just a bit pinker.

Tips:  Use it for a few days to start seeing the full effect.  You can wear it alone for a pretty nude look, or fill in your whole lip with a lip pencil for some long lasting color.

Rating:

We recently had the privelege of asking half of the creative team behind DuWop some questions about the company, product favorites, and even makeup application! Sit down, get cozy, and learn a little bit about Cristina Bartolucci and DuWop.

DeLush Asks: What’s the biggest makeup mistake you see women making?

Cristina Says: Wearing too much makeup or makeup that is too obvious. Makeup is supposed to enhance our features, not mask them.

DeLush Asks: As usual, there are a lot of makeup trends that have popped up for this season. Which is your favorite?

Cristina Says: I love the metallic eyes we saw on the runway. There is nothing sexier than a smoky eye, if it's done correctly. A perfect smoky eye is clean and crisp, not too dark and overdone. We are launching a smoky eye palette right now called Smoke, which comes in 4 jewel tones- Navy Seal, Olive Branch, Black Gold, and Plum Wine. Each palette has a cake liner and very pigmented shimmery powder, along with a liner brush and a brush to "smoke" the eye. We included directions on the back of the package on how to create the perfect smoky eye-it's a foolproof way to get this trendy look from the runway.

DeLush Asks: Do you have blush or shadow application tricks that you can pass on to DeLush readers?

Cristina Says: I have a great tip on how to apply eyeliner. So many people have difficulty applying eyeliner, but a great way to achieve a perfect line is to pull the eyelid up just under the brow bone with your left hand's middle finger, then apply the liner with your right hand. Holding the skin up ensures that you get a nice, even line, and that it's applied exactly at the lash line.

DeLush Asks: Is there a product from another company that you think has really hit the mark?

Cristina Says: I love the brand Philosophy. I think they have a strong message and their products are all so imaginative.

DeLush Asks: Out of all of the products you’ve developed at DuWop up to this point, do you have a personal favorite?

Cristina Says: Lip Venom is our baby. We are so proud that we created the very first lip plumper on the market, which has inspired dozens of imitations. It was created in 1999 on the set of NBC's "Felicity". After love scenes, my actors would come to me for touch-ups and have these beautiful, flushed plump lips. We wanted to create a product that mimicked the same effect as kissing, so we went to work in Laura's kitchen, mixing up ingredients that would increase the circulation to the lips, like kissing, to plump them up. Once we had a formula we liked, we'd bring it to the set and have Jennifer Garner and Keri Russell test it. Eventually we came up with a formula for Lip Venom.

DeLush Asks: Tell us about your own beauty routine, on a normal day, starting with skincare and ending with makeup.

Cristina Says: I wash my face with La Prairie's Foam Cleanser and apply Clarins Line Prevential Day Cream. After moisturizing, I use DuWop's double-ended Sub-Surface stick to hydrate my undereye area and spot treat any blemishes and problem areas. Then depending on what my day looks like, I use either DuWop's Surface concealer under my eyes and over any redness, or if I have to leave the office for a meeting, our Revolotion Face Tinted Moisturizer which has a little more coverage and SPF. Our Amber Eyes palette is my favorite, as it brings out blue eyes. I blend several of the shades together and line my eyes with the palette's cream liner, then finish with a coat or two of Lashlacquer Mascara in Carbon Black. I dab some Blush Therapy in Vivaldi on the apples of my cheeks, then apply our Venom Gloss in Wisteria, a soft rosy pink. At night I wash my face with the same cleanser as in the morning, but use Clarins Line Prevention Multi Active Night Cream before bed.

Thank you Cristina! Visit DuWop now to check out their latest products and view their revamped website.