Time-Saver: The L’Oréal Paris Color Genius App (and a Wee Peek at Spring)

A few years back I had something of a life-changing moment. While I was on a press trip at a health-conscious spa in Sidney, BC, the PR person decided to take meal decisions out of my hands and plan my menu for me. It was a genius move — I realized instantly that a) I wasn’t going to waste time dithering over which dish to try, and b) I no longer had to worry about making the wrong choice. Having Adele make those decisions for me was freedom.

The Color Genius app by L’Oréal Paris (iPhone only at the moment) is kind of like that. Freedom. No more losing time debating which eye shadow/lipstick/nail polish goes with which outfit. The Color Genius App takes decisions out of your hands and makes goof-proof suggestions that free up your time and get you out the door faster. And you get options: match your outfit, blend with your outfit, or clash (in a good way) with your outfit. And the app doesn’t cost a cent.

Here, I’ll let some of L’Oréal’s celebrity spokesmodels, such as Milla Jovovich, Liya Kebede, Doutzen Kroes and Juliana Margulies, give you the details.

The Color Genius app has just launched in Canada via iTunes. Other brands with free apps include Sephora, Make Up For Ever, Clairol and Nicole by OPI. Click here for the scoop on four more great beauty apps as recommended in The Kit by fellow beauty expert Jill Dunn.

Now take a look at these new L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Eye Shadow Quads ($11.99 each), launching in January. Actually, the above palettes are already on counters in Paris; the North American palettes look a bit different.

These palettes, which range from soft neutrals to bold brights, replace L’Oréal Paris Wear Infinity quads. (Which style appeals to you more, the French design, or the North American?)

Colour Riche Eye Shadow Smokey Eyes Quad in 527 Sultry Seductress.

Colour Riche Eye Shadow New Essentials in 933 Cookies & Cream.

Colour Riche Eye Shadow New Essentials in 103 Good Luck Charm.

How-to tips on the back, natch.

Lipgloss loyalists will love the new L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Caresse Shine Stain Lipcolour ($12.99 each), which comes in 12 shades from pale nude to fuchsia to deep plum. This is a Monoprix display in Paris, where they launched a few months ago.

Beautygeek Liza Herz spotted them when she was in France in September and wondered when they’d hit our shelves — January, it turns out. Her photo is better than mine, see?

Caresse Shine Stain is a stain + weightless gloss, a 30%-water + light oils formula. The finish is a bit different from standard coloured gloss — almost watery, yet with just enough pigment underneath to satisfy those of us who have been playing in lipstick land for the last couple of seasons. It’s really, really pretty.  (Above: L’Oreal Paris Caresse Shine Stain in 183 Pink Resistance.)

Oh wait — why was not having to order my own meal something of a life-changing moment? Made me realize a meal plan like Jenny Craig was the most me-suitable route to dropping some weight and eating better (I’d reached the wings-and-pizza stage of my three years of nothing-but-takeout).

So d’you think you’ll try the app? Like the look of the new palettes? And you must try the Shine Stain. You must.

Tagged as: beauty app, L'Oréal Paris