I use the term “reviews” loosely, but as promised in my last post, here are a few quick summaries of other products from the Nuance line. I also have some comments about the brand itself. Other brands, especially celebrity-fronted brands, could learn from Nuance.

The absolute, hands down most amazing Nuance product I have tried is the Shape & Define Brow Kit ($7.99). I love it so much that I have purchased backups.

My natural hair color is a very ashy brown. I’ve never been able to find a powder or liner that was dark enough to darken my brows, which are on the light side, but ashy enough not to look too harsh against my pale skin. This kit in Medium Blonde is the perfect shade. It also comes with a great brush, which actually works better than the Sephora brand brow brush I have. I rarely use the brow wax and highlighter that come in this kit, but see nothing wrong with them. I’m just lazy.

The Flax Seed Age Therapy Serum for hair ($10.39) is a relatively new acquisition, but it has already impressed me with its superficial efficacy, and I’m hoping for even better things in the long term! It smoothed and softened my hair noticeably after just one application (with no silicones), and it really seals in moisture. The scent is pretty. Like all the products I have used from Nuance, it smells natural. No synthetic fruity notes here.

The Detoxifying Facial Cleansing Towelettes have de-throned my Yes to Blueberries makeup removing wipes for the moment. The list of ingredients is shorter by almost half, and the top two ingredients in the Nuance towelettes are water and chamomile extract. They are gentler than the Yes to Blueberries, which also means they are probably not as good for removing makeup, but I don’t use them for that anyway. I just use the towelettes to refresh my face in the a.m. and clean up makeup mistakes during application. Check out the review of these on Clumps of Mascara.

Lastly, the AM/PM Anti-Aging Super Cream ($15.99). This is super hydrating (again, I have very dry skin). I use it at night and it actually seems to continue working all night. Many moisturizers disappear into my skin within 5 or 10 minutes, leaving it feeling just as dry and irritated as before I applied moisturizer. This cream is up there with much more expensive creams in terms of how moisturized my skin feels in the morning.

Overall, these are some things I love about the Nuance brand:

• Cruelty free
• Sample sizes! (many of the hair products and some of the face products are available in sample sizes)
• Everything smells good
• The value is excellent

Last but certainly not least, I have to get on my nerdy marketing soapbox for a moment and point out how smart this brand is. The story behind the name Nuance is “These products are designed to help every woman enhance the nuances that define her individual beauty.” This is a great foundation for the brand. It’s specific, it’s inclusive, and it’s intelligent. It is also reflective of Salma Hayek’s philanthropic work on women’s issues (summarized here).

The consistency between the message, the product, and the actions of the brand communicate authenticity. This is rare, and especially rare with celebrity brands.

Take for example Drew Barrymore’s Flower cosmetic line. She went cruelty free on the cosmetics, but then chose to partner with WalMart, a company that has tirelessly fought to keep a class action lawsuit filed by 1.5 million women employees from being fairly heard in the courts, is charging Mexican credit card consumers an APR of 60%, and recently launched a deceptive “local food” campaign that doesn’t actually benefit small or local farmers much at all.

I understand that digging into CVS’s business would probably yield some unsavory practices as well. And I don’t think I have too many illusions that brands I really like, such as Nuance, have no skeletons in the closet at all. But I really appreciate when a brand appears, after some superficial digging of the kind I did on Nuance, to have a modicum of integrity.

Stepping off soapbox now.

So let’s bring it back down. What are your thoughts on Salma Hayek, Nuance, Drew Barrymore, WalMart, or the importance of a well moisturized face?

Photos courtesy Health.com, CVS.com, and SF Gate. Reviews are not compensated, all products were purchased by me, and you can read more about my policies on my Media & Disclosure page.