Browsing Tag

Taupe

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Le Metier de Beaute Corinthian Eyeshadow

August 10, 2010
It’s been a while since I’ve added anything to my Le Metier de Beaute collection, but raves and reviews from Josie and Gaia have peaked my interest. My newest discovery is their eyeshadow in Corinthian ($30) which I credit to Josie. (BTW have you checked out her new blog, The Eyes Have It?) Not having in-person access I had no idea what this looked like since there were no reviews or swatches online. She came across this at Bergdorf Goodman and e-mailed me that it was “the most beautiful taupe ever.” Immediately I was sold and ordered it online. It is indeed gorgeous. Complex, frosty, loaded with shimmer. It’s love. I can’t wait for her review and swatches to show up on her blog.


Here it is compared to some other Le Metier Eyeshadows Mulberry & Jojo. Also compared to MAC Satin Taupe and Bobbi Brown Brown Stone Metallic. No dupes in my opinion. The particles in Corinthian are so complex with silvers and taupes, swatches and photos cannot capture how beautiful it is.





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Chanel Taupe Grisé 87 Soft Touch Eyeshadow

June 30, 2010
*Updated – see below at bottom*


Taupe + Shimmer + Chanel = must buy. If there’s a taupe Chanel makes, it’s instantly a must have for me. I am taupe-obsessed much like Elvira and Josie, and there’s no stopping us, ever. Taupe Grisé 87 is the newest taupe released by Chanel for their Fall 2010 collection. My makeup-twin Amy at Café Makeup has given a lovely review here (I call her my twin because we love the same things, although she has fairer skintone = Chanel Cameo/NC15 while I am Chanel Shell/NC30-35).


There a number of other great reviews, photos and swatches out there so the focus of this post will be on comparisons to similar shades.

There are a million other taupes out there (click on the Taupe Label below this post to see the other ones I have obsessed over) but I picked out the ones in my mind I thought, “Could this one be a dupe?” I personally could not find a dupe for this lovely color. There are similar shades, but from what I have, no dupe.

Compared to: Chanel Silvery, Chanel Safari, Chanel Vega (d/c), MAC Moth Brown (l/e), MAC Sweet Sienna (l/e), MAC Smoke & Diamonds (l/e), MAC Clue (l/e), Stila Dapple (d/c), Chanetcaille Meteorite, Laura Mercier Sable

In natural light (still cloudy weather):

Swatched over bare skin:

One more view with different lighting:



Is it a must-have? For me it was being a Chanel fan and a taupe fan. I have no willpower when it comes to Chanel. I played around with it on the eyes today, it works better when applied over a cream base, otherwise it just ended up looking bruisey on my eyes. I would describe it as having a subtle sheen. It looks shimmery in the container but when applied on the eyes, it looks more satin-matte rather than shimmery.

*Update* Upon reviewing my swatches and those on other websites, I thought Taupe Grise looked extremely brown on me compared to other girls. Much more brown than it appears in the container. I swatched it again alone, and then next to MAC Moth Brown to see if perhaps I made a mistake – but no. For some reason, it looks cool in the container, but on my skin, it’s not quite as cool. Here is another swatch comparison. Note that I have olive medium skin. This may look different on you. It’s still a cool colored taupe in my opinion, but next to Moth Brown it just looks warm perhaps because Moth Brown is overwhelmingly cool with an almost blueish sheen.

Hope this helps give you a better idea!

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A Few New Taupes From MAC, Guerlain, Trish McEvoy & Too Faced

May 25, 2010
I’ve recently found a few new taupe shades in cream and powder formulas from MAC, Trish McEvoy, Guerlain and Too Faced.

Clockwise from top shadow:
MAC Eyeshadow in Prepped for Glamour
Guerlain Terracotta Eyeshadow Pen in Smoky Metal
Trish McEvoy 24-Hour Shadow & Liner in Topaz
MAC Greasepaint Stick in Dirty
Too Faced Single Eyeshadow in Sitcom Siren

Most of the shades look true to what you see in the compact or stick, except for Guerlain Smoky Metal which went on my skin surprisingly warm. I haven’t tried this shade on the eyes yet, but I have tested out the others. MAC Dirty is such a gorgeous shade but unfortunately doesn’t last at all. It is extremely smudgey and by late afternoon gave me raccoon eyes. Trish McEvoy Topaz is more promising. I used it alone blended out on my lids and it didn’t budge at all. I can’t say whether or not it lasted a full 24 hours since I only had it on for the evening (from around 7:00 pm to midnight). But it lasted the entire time and when I got home looked just as good as when I put it on. My SA tested out the steel black grey shade from Trish and said it didn’t last at all on her and seemed way to soft/moist to be a 24-hour product, so YMMV per shade.

MAC Prepped for Glamour is extremely similar to Satin Taupe but the Prepped for Glamour shade has just a tad bit more red/warmth to it. But otherwise, very close. that I can barely tell the difference. Too Faced Sitcom Siren is my first Too Faced product. Pigment/blendability is nice but I actually prefer MAC. Sitcom Siren is a bit too frosty for my liking.

Swatches with different lighting:



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MAC Smoke & Diamonds Starflash Eyeshadow & Sweet Sienna Pigment Comparisons

July 29, 2009

1. MAC Coco Pigment
2. MAC Sweet Sienna Pigment
3. MAC Smoke & Diamonds Starflash Eyeshadow
4. Stila Diamond Lil Eyeshadow
5. Dior Sky Glow Quint
6. Dior Sky Glow Quint
7. MAC Clue Eyeshadow
8. Shu Uemura ME Brown 850

The swatches really don’t do the colors justice, but at least it will help you see the general undertone of these cool taupe shades. The undertones are similar, but the shimmer/iridescent effects of each shade are different. MAC Sweet Sienna looks darker than the swatch shows with deeper sparkles. I definitely recommend trying these in person first before writing these all off as dupes.

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MAC Style Snob & Satin Taupe Comparisons

July 28, 2009

Taking a quick break from the Essentials & Tools series today. I normally don’t post much about MAC, but the recent Love That Look collection has me all over the new Style Snob Starflash Eyeshadow. I know many have asked how this compares to other colors, so I thought I’d do a comparison post of colors that in my mind could be similar off the top of my head. Swatches allow you to see the difference (swatched over Laura Mercier’s Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer in Natural).



1. MAC Mauvement Pigment
2. Urban Decay Toasted Eyeshadow
3. Bobbi Brown Raisin Metallic (far left from Velvet Plum Metallics Trio)
4. MAC Style Snob Eyeshadow
5. MAC Satin Taupe Eyeshadow
6. Bobbi Brown Velvet Plum Metallics (far right from Velvet Plum Metallics Trio)
7. Stila Grace Eyeshadow
8. Nars Kalahari Eyeshadow Duo
9. Nars Kalahari Eyeshadow Duo

*** Updated 07/29/2009 by request***

1. MAC Mauvement Pigment
2. MAC Innuendo Eyeshadow
3. MAC Style Snob Eyeshadow
4. MAC Subtle Pigment
5. MAC Coco Pigment
6. MAC Sunnydaze Pigment
7. BareMinerals Glimmer Queen Tiffany

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Color Focus: Taupe Eyeshadows

July 20, 2009

Here is a series on some taupe eyeshadows. For me there are numerous shades that could qualify as “taupe”, these mostly range from neutral to cool-toned taupes. For most of the pictures, I’ve included MAC Satin Taupe to help you gauge the colors in comparison to one another. Also note there will be some repeats in some photos!

MAC, Becca & FACE Stockholm Eyeshadows:

MAC Pigments, Paul & Joe Pearl Powder, MAC Solar Bits:

Bobbi Brown Metallic, Bobbi Brown Shimmerwash, Laura Mercier, Scott Barnes Eyeshadows:

Bobbi Brown (some repeats to include Fawn Shimmerwash):

More Laura Mercier & Scott Barnes:

Chantecaille Eyeshadows:

YSL & Chanel Eyeshadows:

Christian Dior, Calvin Klein (original discontinued line), NARS Eyeshadows:

Urban Decay & Giorgio Armani Shadows:

Jouer, Le Metier de Beaute, Shu Uemura & Trish McEvoy:

Better view of Jouer Amaretto & Espresso:

Dior Jazz Club Palette:

Palettes from Lunasol & Dior: