Nuance Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek has made the transition from being a Mexican telenovela actress to being a force to reckon with in Hollywood - nominee for Best Actress Oscar for Frida and producer for Frida and Ugly Betty, which itself was based on a telenovela.

Now she’s rolled out Nuance Salma Hayek, a line of skin, hair, and body care products and cosmetics for CVS. The cover story for the September 2011 issue of Allure gave her an opportunity to promote her line (the line between editorial and advertising in beauty and fashion magazines is razor thin).

Salma Hayek on the cover of the September issue of Allure

Buy one get one 50% off specials, CVS ExtraCare rewards, and $5 rewards for $50 spent on beauty products at CVS provided incentives to buy Nuance Salma Hayek cosmetics.

I tried Color Vibrance Lipstick in My Favorite (a pinky shade) and Paprika.  While My Favorite went on smoothly, Paprika had poor color payoff (I seek color payoff when it comes to red lipstick), was uneven in its application, and the color wasn't true.  I returned Paprika to CVS.  My husband was surprised that CVS accepts returns on cosmetics.

I'm a sucker for standout packaging, and the Beautiful Blends Eye Quad and Perfect Lips Lip Quad are packaged in a unique pod in which you open the "petals":

Perfect Lips Lip Quad

Other interesting products are:

• Front and Center Concealer and Brightener, which looks a lot like LORAC's Double Feature Concealer/Highlighter (minus the rollerball)
• Lights, Camera, Action Eye Trio, a single wand that contains "creamy eyeshadow, shimmery highlighter and eyeliner"

The packaging is adorned with delicate long-stemmed flowers - certainly not the bold designs of her talented brother Sami!