Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Vital Radiance UPDATED 2006-02-22

Recent history of cosmetics lines for "older" women is strange, to say the least. Maybelline had its Revitalizing line of cosmetics in the 1990s, represented first by Rosie Vela, then by 30-something Paulina Porizkova (after her contract with Estee Lauder ended in 1993), before it discontinued the line. That was a shame, as the Maybelline Revitalizing line had some silky-smooth matte eyeshadows and subtle blushes.

Revlon has enjoyed more continuity with its Age-Defying line, represented first by Melanie Griffith, and now by 45-year-old Julianne Moore and 59-year-old Susan Sarandon.

Today, the market is brimming over with skin care for women over 50 - witness Olay's Regenerist and L'Oreal's RevitaLift lines. Cover Girl has recalled its long-time model Christie Brinkley to promote its Advanced Radiance Age-Defying Makeup (note, however, Christie's hand is always covering her neck - if you've seen the Total Gym ads she does with Chuck Norris, you know why).

Revlon has launched a complete cosmetics line called Vital Radiance, targeted at women 50 and over. It's too tempting to call this makeup for the AARP set (although I'm only a few years shy of that time when I'll get my invitation to join AARP). Also, brand names that include "vital" and "radiance" for older women are beginning to sound hackneyed.

The foundation is more highly pigmented than others to compensate for loss of color in the complexion. I'll leave it to a real makeup expert, but I question the wisdom of this approach. It seems to me that color should come from a judicious application of blush in a flattering shade.

Eye shadow trios come into soft colors. Mousse shadow contain shimmer, and I questions why Revlon put shimmer into eye shadow intended for women over 50. Consumers will find the price of Vital Radiance rather high, especially for a mass market brand: one small pot of Vital Radiance EasyBlending Mousse Eye Shadowicon costs $14.50, while Maybelline's new Dream Mousse Eye Shadow (an extension of its Dream Mousseicon line, costs less than half that price.


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Vital Radiance Smoothing Eye Primer
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The Style Page especially liked Vital Radiance Smoothing Eye Primericon. This product does indeed smooth the eye area and provide coverage as a base for eyeshadow and contains no shimmer. Some consumers might object to the peachy shade.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Vital Radiance products are wonderful. I've bought several but the price is ridiculous. Get real, we're more mature and wiser than we were so why does Revlon think we're going to spend that much on an eye shadow. If the price had been more reasonable I definitely would have kept on buying the products but they're in the dept. store price range and we all know where to go for that kind of product & price if we're dumb enough to spend that kind of money on a tiny pot of eye shadow.