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June 2009

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Paul & Joe Beaute: Absolutely Adorable!

June 28, 2009

I’ve been eyeing some Paul & Joe Beaute items ever since I first spotted some pics from the holiday sets and finally broke down and ordered some things from Bergdorfs for their Smart Beauty Event (see one post below on their fabulous gift).

I have yet to see the whole line in person, but was totally smitten with their website which is super cute, unique, and absolutely adorable with their downloads and product design. I’m normally not a huge fan of pink-packaging, but have to saw these items are really cute and take me back to the days when I was little and when Hello Kitty and Little Twin Stars were cute girly.

Again, I have to rave for Bergdorf’s Customer Service – friendly, easy going, patient, and generous with samples and goodies! In addition to the beauty event gift, I also received a cute tote, skincare samples, and a mini container of their #2 Pearl Powder (looks scary orange/gold in the pot, but blends out to a pretty iridescent peach).

The extra goodies:

Eye Shadows are soft and blendable with high pigment. I ordered based on online swatches and descriptions and various blogs. The packaging/boxes only had numbers to identify the product shade, but websites also associate names with them.

Left to right: 003 Fortune, 04 Sepia, 23 Boulevard, 24 Centre Stage, 92 Tapestry

Close ups of each shade:

Pearl Powders are soft loose powders full of shimmer and finely milled. These are in between a MAC Loose Beauty Powder and Becca Loose Shimmer Powder as far as weight/texture go. If you remember those Stila All Over Shimmer Loose Powders – these have a similar texture and feel, but are easier to blend.

Left to right: 01 Secret of Gold, 03 Silhouette

Cute packaging:

Swatches, left to right: 01 Secret of Gold, 02 Blaze, 03 Silhouette
(NOTE: 02 blends out a lot so it doesn’t go on as intense or as orange as this swatch)

Face Colors are exquisite! These remind me of MAC’s Mineralized Blushes, minus the extreme frost. The face colors are still quite shimmery, but gorgeous on.

Left to right: 11 Rhapsody (pinks), 12 Chic (more beigey)

If you are a Paul & Joe collector or have any items you love, please share them! I’m new to this line and need some more details on products and colors!

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Le Metier de Beaute Nail Lacquers & Bergdorf Goodman Smart Beauty Event

June 28, 2009

Many know I am a huge fan of Le Metier de Beaute for their high quality and gorgeous colors. Click HERE for a previous post on the lip glosses, lip cremes, and lipsticks.

FYI, Bergdorfs is having a gift with purchase event. The bag is really cute and it comes with a full size Le Metier Eye Liner and Kevyn Aucoin Shadow Pencil. Click HERE for the details from the Bergdorf Goodman website.

Back to the subject of Le Metier, my newest acquisitions include the new nail lacquers. The description per Bergdorf/Neiman Marcus online:

“Specifically formulated without formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate (DPB), Le Metier de Beaute Nail Lacquers provide long-lasting, chip resistant, protective color and shine. Fortified with strengthening proteins and hydrators, Le Metier de Beaute Nail Lacquers delivers rich, glossy, long-wearing color . . . Benefits include truly intense, multi-dimensional color, resists chipping up to 14 days, and won’t fade, dull or streak, even in strong sunlight.”

I have loved everything I have purchased from Le Metier, however the new nail lacquers are somewhat disappointing. Priced at $15 each, the bottles are so tiny, they are smaller than those NARS mini bottles with about 1/2 the amount of product. The colors are pretty – but . . . I’m not totally in love, mainly because of the size.

Here are four of the colors, Lenton Rose is a shimmery gold, Phlox is a shimmery lilac, Violaceous Splendor is a complex purple-eggplant, Black Orchid is a deep purple:

Also featured from the July 2009 issue of InStyle – the Pink Peony shade which looks like a really cute pink:

Disappointments aside – I have heard from a few sources (who are not Le Metier artists or Neimans employees) that the color does indeed last a long time and that the formula is chip resistant, so you might be getting more for your $$ because of the quality.

* UPDATE on June 29* I just tried one coat of the Phlox on 2 fingers and the formula *IS* truly amazing. One coat was all I needed for a rich, streak-free, high shine color – even my other favorite brands (OPI, Chanel, RBL) need 2 coats. This is by far the best formula of nail polish that I’ve ever tried. That being said, even though I’ll only need one coat per manicure, the bottles are still so tiny it will definitely make me wait to see them in person before I order anymore.

Also, I’d like to ask that those of you who read this blog, please do not use my photos on your own websites without permission. Thank you!

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Giorgio Armani New Maestro Eye Shadows vs. Armani’s Original Eye Shadows

June 25, 2009

This post features a comparison of the new Maestro Eyeshadows that have recently been released with the original versions. There are several new shades in the Maestro Eye Shadow line from #20 to #36, however, many of them are simply re-formulations of original shades.

See the first post here All About Armani: New Maestro Eye Shadows. See yesterday’s updated post with some more additions here Update on New Giorgio Armani Maestro Eye Shadows.

All pictures are clickable!

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Update on New Giorgio Armani Maestro Eye Shadows

June 25, 2009

Those who are familiar with Armani are aware of the product revamps of their lipsticks and eyeshadows. When Armani first released their beauty line, there were 3 formulas of lipsticks: Shines, Sheers, Matte Silks. A new line of Mania Lipsticks was introduced several years ago. Now most recently ArmaniSilks and Lip Waxes have been launched. It appears the same revamp process is happening with the Eye Shadows with the Maestro Singles and Maestro Quads.

Many of the older shades have been discontinued, but not to worry – a good number of the shades have been re-introduced with the new-and-improved formulas, however many of them have different numbers.

The first Maestro Eyeshadow release occurred in 2007 with the release of 18 new shades. The next release was Spring 2008 released Maestro #19. Then in Holiday 2008, Armani skipped the numbers in between and released #37 a satin white and #38 a matte dark grey.

Finally within the last month, I found that Armani had released a number of new shades ranging from #20 to #36. See the original post HERE for pictures and descriptions, however, there were still some missing shades that Neimans and Saks had not received in their stock. Also, these have not yet shown up online anywhere. Both the Neimans and Saks stores near me did not yet receive testers, so if you don’t see a new unit out – ask the Armani rep, most likely they have the stock!

Just a week ago, I stopped by Saks and the Armani manager pulled me aside to show me some more new shades.



* Maestro #2 – shimmery neutral champagne (not new, but just new for me)

* Maestro #21 – shimmery dark blue (when compared to the other existing blues, this one is different from all the other existing shades, see a swatch HERE in the Smokey Eyes Series)

* Maestro #22 – this one has replaced the original #3

* Maestro #23 – this replaced the original #4

* Maestro #36 – matte buttercream which is most similar to the original #8, but brighter

Still missing in action: #24, 31 and 33 which I am sure will trickle in very soon. Just to recap – photo from the original post. Click HERE for close ups and more descriptions.

Coming next – comparison photos featuring the new revamped shades to the original formula.

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Color Focus: Smokey Eyes Part 5 (Blues & Greens)

June 24, 2009

Part 5 includes blues and greens with eyeliners and eyeshadows mixed in:
(Note all eyeshadows are applied dry, but with a heavy hand over Laura Mercier Stick Foundation to help the color adhere)

Eyeliner swatches:
1. Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner – Marine
2. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Indigo Ink
3. Nars Single Eyeshadow – Thunderball
4. MAC Velvet Eyeshadow – Top Knot
5. MAC Velvet Eyeshadow – Contrast
6. MAC Matte Eyeshadow – Meet the Fleet
7. MAC Pigment – Naval Blue
8. Giorgio Armani Maestro Eyeshadow – #21
9. Giorgio Armani Maestro Eyeshadow – #23 (same as the GA Original #4)
10. MAC Pro Pigment – Deep Blue Green
11. MAC Lustre Eyeshadow – Greensmoke
12. Chanel Les 4 Ombres de Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow – Murano (bottom right shade)
13. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Ivy Shimmer Ink
14. Chanel Le Crayon Kohl Intense Eye Pencil – Black Jade
15. Nars Eyeliner Pencil – Kyoto
16. Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil – Antique Jade
17. Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil – Black Turquoise

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Color Focus: Smokey Eyes Part 4 (Mauves & Plums)

June 23, 2009

Part 4 includes mauves and plums with Bobbi Brown Black Ink as a true-black baseline:

Eyeliner swatches:
1. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Black Ink
2. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Cocoa Mauve Ink
3. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Black Plum Ink
4. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Black Mauve Shimmer Ink
5. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Violet Ink
6. Chanel Le Crayon Yeux Precision Eye Definer – Violet Smoke
7. MAC Eye Kohl – Prunella
8. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil – Rockstar
9. Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil – Black Violet
10. Chanel Le Crayon Kohl Intense Eye Pencil – Ambre
11. MAC Kohl Power Pencil – Raven
12. Nars Single Eyeshadow – Night Fever (applied wet)
13. MAC Eyeshadow – Smut
14. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow – Black Plum SW
15. Bobbi Brown Metallic Eyeshadow – After Hours
16. Giorgio Armani Maestro Eyeshadow – #18

Shadow swatches (some repeats):
(note for the shadows, skin was prepped with Estee Lauder Idealist to help the shadow adhere to the skin, all shadows applied dry except for Nars Night Fever – but they were all applied with a heavy hand)

1. MAC Eyeshadow – Beauty Marked
2. MAC Eyeshadow – Smut
3. Nars Single Eyeshadow – Night Fever
4. Chanel Ombre Essentielle Soft Touch Eyeshadow – Magic Night
5. MAC Pro Pigment – Deep Purple
6. MAC Pigment – Smoke Signal
7. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow – Black Plum SW
8. Bobbi Brown Metallic Eyeshadow – After Hours
9. Giorgio Armani Maestro Eyeshadow – #18

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Color Focus: Smokey Eyes Part 3 (Black Golds)

June 23, 2009

Part 3 included black golds with Bobbi Brown Black Ink, MAC Smolder, and Urban Decay Zero as a true-black baseline:

1. Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – Black Ink
2. MAC Eye Kohl – Smolder
3. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil – Zero
4. Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil – Black Gold

5. MAC Technakohl Liner – Uniform

6. MAC Kohl Power Pencil – Orpheus
7. Clinique Cream Shaper for Eyes – Egyptian
8. MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil – Buried Treasure
9. Chanel Le Crayon Yeux Precision Eye Definer – Noir Scintillant
10. Dolce & Gabbana Crayon Intense Eyeliner – Stromboli
11. Stila Smudge Pot – Golden Noir
12. Nars Single Eyeshadow – Night Clubbing (applied wet)
13. Trish McEvoy Eye Definer – Lava
14. MAC Solar Bits – Black Ore

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