My current favorite lipstick: revealed (and reviewed)

Thanks for all of the great guesses on yesterday's "mystery lipstick" post. It's now time for the big reveal. If you'll recall, the only clue I gave you was that this lipstick retails for under $7...

Keep reading to see if you were right...

What I'm Loving Right Now

It's been a long time since I did a "What I'm Loving Right Now" post, so I thought I'd revisit this feature and tell you what I'm absolutely obsessed with at the moment!

(All links will take you to my original review unless otherwise noted)

Milani Illuminiating Face Powder in Hermosa Rose ($9.49) - I'm addicted to highlighters, and my favorite for months now has been Hermosa Rose. I apply it with a dense kabuki brush, and it gives the tops of my cheeks and the area above my brows the prettiest, most subtle glow. I'm not big on lots of shimmer or sparkle in my highlighters, and this one's just perfect for a soft, natural-looking glow. Plus, it works well with the neutral and earthtone colors I usually wear on the rest of my face and my oily skin loves that it's a powder instead of a cream or liquid highlighter.

What I'm Loving Right Now

I realize that my last What I'm Loving Right Now post was just a week ago, but in the past week I've been revisiting some products that I love so much, I feel compelled to share them with you!

The most complicated purple polish I own

Of all the polishes I've ever swatched on this blog, this City Color shade was, hand down, THE MOST DIFFICULT to capture in a photograph. Why? Well purples are notoriously difficult to capture on film to begin with, but then add in the fact that there's a very slight duochrome tendency to this color, coupled with the fact that it's shimmery and sparkly. Trying to get the essence of this shade in a photograph was impossible, so please please don't rely on one single photo to give you an idea of this color. 

I'm going to refer to this polish as City Color Purple since these colors do not have names. I purchased this shade at Rite Aid for $1.99 and it's part of the Blue Moon Collection which you can see here.

First let's do a comparison with several other purple and blurple polishes I own. I tried to pick the ones that all have some sort of shimmer, sparkle or duochrome tendency to them.

I had no idea when I pulled all of these polishes that City Color Purple was going to look so blue (aka blurple) when compared to the rest of the shades. INDOORS, City Color Purple does not look this blue. It was only out in the bright sunlight that the blue popped.

City Color Twitter Giveaway!

Attention City Color fans (and those who want to try City Color): in honor of City Color's new Twitter account, they've just launched a contest with some great prizes!

When City Color hits 100 followers, they'll choose one lucky winner at random and that winner will receive the following City Color products, all from their new GLO collection (which I recently reviewed here):

4 eyeshadow quads

4 lipglosses

2 blush/bronzers

To enter, all you need to do is follow City Color on Twitter. I'd hurry though, because they're already up to 45 followers!

City Color Glo Holiday 2011 Collection

City Color is a brand that's been stealing my heart lately when it comes to ridiculously affordable drugstore cosmetics. Found at Rite Aid (recently there have been Walgreens sightings as well), I still contend that City Color makes my favorite mint green polish of all time. Also, their pink jelly polish is the one that enabled me to do those Deborah Lippmann Candy Shop dupes a while back.

Recently I spotted the City Color Holiday 2011 collection, Glo, at Rite Aid (click here to see the nail colors). All of the products in the Glo collection retail for $2.99 each.

City Color was kind enough to send me a few products from the Glo collection recently, which I'd like to show you today.

First, here are the displays:

 City Color Glo Bronzer and Blush Trios

(retail: $2.99 each, 0.169 oz)

What I'm Loving Right Now

I'm way overdue for a What I'm Loving Right Now post, but I've got a few gems that I've really been loving lately so let's get started!

Spotted: new nail products!

Here's a mish-mash of new nail products I've spotted over the past few days/weeks; apologies if any of these products are not new to you--I am very behind on getting these sightings up so please bear with me.

Let's start with the Rite Aid sightings:

Essie Cocktail Bling Collection

L'Oreal Project Runway collection: more pics (and good news!)

If you have not spotted this collection at your local drugstores yet, guess what? You can get this collection online. Yep! A huge thanks to Stephanie of In Her Makeup Bag for letting us know that the ENTIRE L'Oreal Project Runway Colors Take Flight collection is now available for purchase on the Ulta website.

A huge thanks to reader Kari for sharing pictures of the products she purchased from the L'Oreal Project Runway Colors Take Flight collection that I first showed you here. If you haven't spotted this collection in person yet, I think that Kari's pics can help you get a better idea of what these colors are like, in case you'd like to order from Ulta.

image credit for all of the following photos: Kari for Nouveau Cheap

L'Oreal Amazon's Flash: a gold polish comparison

Since the L'Oreal Project Runway Colors Take Flight collection is limited edition and the nail polishes in particular only have two slots per shade in each display, I thought it might be helpful to show you the polish I purchased from this collection, and do a comparison of this shade to the other golds in my collection. Hopefully this might help some of you better determine if this shade is worth "the hunt".

L'Oreal Amazon's Flash

(retail: $4.99, 0.39 oz)

Spotted at the drugstore: lots of new products (pic heavy)

'Tis the season for new drugstore products, lovelies! I have a feeling these posts are going to be coming even more fast and furious has we head into the holiday season, so let's not waste any time.

Reader Kim spotted the Jesse's Girl Glitter Liners at Rite Aid recently and was kind enough to share some pics (and shade names with descriptions!):

 image credit: Kim for Nouveau Cheap

Spotted: tons of new nail products (pic heavy)

Before I get into this post, I want to mention that the lovely Polarbelle spotted some fantastic new nail products recently at the drugstore, so definitely check out her post here.

First up: I think everyone's seen the mini polish gift sets Wet n Wild releases each holiday season, but here's a NEW one I spotted at CVS and it could not be any cuter:

They're Fast Dry MINIS! How adorable, huh? I put a full-size Fast Dry polish in this pic for perspective:

Reader-submitted drugstore dupes

I've received several emails recently containing great drugstore dupes that YOU have discovered, so I thought I'd put them all into one fabulous post for your reading pleasure!

First up, click here to see That'sSoFresh's dupe comparison of Sinful Colors Envy vs. OPI Jade is the new Black.

Next, we have ShaGLAM's comparison post of Revlon Facets of Fuchsia vs. Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance.

Frequent contributor Maria discovered a great dupe of MAC Girl About Town in the new L'Oreal lipstick, Audacious Amazon's Pout (from the L'Oreal Project Runway Colors Take Flight Collection):

image credit: Maria for Nouveau Cheap

Spotted at the drugstore: lots of new and seasonal products (pic heavy)

I've got lots and lots of new and fun Halloween goodies to show you today, all spotted at Walgreens by my pals Maria and Kimberly.

Unless otherwise stated, image credit for all of the following photos : Maria for Nouveau Cheap

First up, Kimberly spotted one of the Sinful Colors Halloween displays (no new shades here, but if you don't have access to all of the stripers, there are some in this display). There seem to be a few of these Halloween displays floating around in addition to the LE Crackles.

image credit: Kimberly for Nouveau Cheap

Black With Envy vs. Raven's Strength vs. Midnight Haze

If you never did find Revlon Black with Envy (the Chanel Black Pearl dupe), then perhaps you might be happy with the new limited edition L'Oreal shade, Raven's Strength. It's not an exact dupe of Black with Envy, but I do think it's similar (in the bottle, at least). I threw in the new Revlon Midnight Haze for perspective:

Revlon Black with Envy is of course from this collection and is probably the most well-known Chanel Black Pearl dupe to date. L'Oreal Raven's Strength is from the new limited edition Project Runway Colors Take Flight collection, and Revlon Midnight Haze is from the LE Masquerade collection.

Spotted: L'Oreal Limited Edition Project Runway Colors Take Flight Collection

So I finally spotted the new L'Oreal Limited Edition Project Runway Colors Take Flight Collection (whew, that's a mouthful!) at Walgreens the other day and I wanted to share some pics with you.

(Note: some of the polishes are already missing from this display; like most L'Oreal LE collections, the polishes only get one or two slots per shade, which means if you're not the first to grab it, you're out of luck).

Jesse's Girl $2 off coupon from Rite Aid (hurry!)

Oooh, this couldn't have come at a better time, Rite Aid shoppers! Considering that the Jesse's Girl Julie G. collection just hit stores, here's your chance to snag a bottle for just $1.99 (retail: $3.99) or get $2 off any other JG product (include the new palettes!):

Rite Aid's Facebook page ran a contest earlier this summer to win an exclusive sneak peek of a new Jesse's Girl line of nail polish designed by – and named after – JulieG713, whose beauty tutorials on YouTube.com have been viewed some 94 million times. Rite Aid is offering a $2 coupon right now that is good on Jesse's Girl cosmetics, which can be purchased exclusively at Rite Aid's 4,700 stores nationwide. To print your copy of this limited run of coupons, simply visit the All Things Beauty on facebook.com/riteaid before they're gone and "like" Rite Aid. While there, check out Julie G's video there describing the new collection and announcing some up-coming visits to select Rite Aid stores.

If you want this coupon, HURRY and print it ASAP because it won't last!

What I'm loving right now...

It's been a while since I did a What I'm Loving Right Now post, so I thought I'd share with you some of the drugstore products that I find myself reaching for again and again these days.

 1. L.A. Colors Professional Series 3 Color Eyeshadow in Sand Dune (originally reviewed here). Bronze-y brown shadows are a staple for me, and I find myself reaching for the middle shade in this trio (which I purchased at Dollar Tree for, of course, $1) a lot lately. I'm so impressed by the texture, pigmentation and vibrancy of these little shadows, and that middle shade is just incredibly easy for me to wear from lashline to crease. 

2. CoverGirl Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush in Lush Berry. I've raved endlessly about this product ever since my original review back in May of 2010, and after a good long run of wearing powder blushes and nothing else, I find myself really enjoying the feel of a nice cream blush again. Unlike so many other cream blushes, this stuff LASTS, even in the hot, humid weather we're currently having in San Diego. I can put this on my bare skin (no foundation, powder, or anything else) and I can still see it some eight hours later. Plus, who doesn't like a bit of extra moisturizing from the Olay moisturizer built into this product? The shade, Lush Berry, is just perfect for me--it gives a beautiful, natural flushed look to my cheeks.

3. The (newish) got2b Fat-tastic Dry Shampoo is the one I've been reaching for the most lately out of all my dry shampoos (you can see my original review here). Why? Because it's the closest thing to my beloved Batiste dry shampoo, which I can only get at Sally (and it costs less than Batiste!). Also, got2b Fat-tastic Dry Shampoo smells just like Bath and Body Works Shea Cashmere products, which I LOVE.

4. CVS brand Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover is my Holy Grail eye makeup remover, and I know I've said that many times here. But seriously, it's the only stuff I use when I need extra help in removing my eye makeup, so I had to give it another shout-out.

5. I gave you a preliminary review of Organix Cherry Blossom Poppy Gentle Cleansing Milk last month, so I wanted to follow up and let you know that I've been reaching for it ever since that post. I'm in love with the fragrance, and I just adore how gentle it is, yet how effective it is at removing the makeup, oil and grime from my face. And my favorite part is that it doesn't dry out my skin or leave it feeling tight. But I also love the silky, gel-like consistency of this stuff--it's got such a unique texture for a cleanser.

So, what are YOU currently loving from the drugstore?

Some of the products featured in this post were given to Nouveau Cheap for previous reviews,, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.

Spotted: Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers, new products by L'Oreal and more (pic heavy)

I spotted lots of new things at Rite Aid recently and I've still got TONS of reader-submitted products to share with you in the coming days, so please check back soon if you like these types of posts.

First up, as promised, here are the Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers goodies I spotted, in case you'd like a closer look at some of the things from the 2011 Fantasy Makers collection:

Spotted: Jessie's Girl Julie G and Essie Carry On collections

I hit the jackpot at Rite Aid the other day and spotted two fun new polish collections!

First up, I know that SOME of the shades in the Essie Carry On collection are also at Walgreens and CVS (in fact I posted a pic of the shades at Walgreens a while back--there are four out of the six colors in that display) but Rite Aid has the FULL collection so in case you haven't seen it yet, here you go: