October 2009

Color Focus: Neutral Sparkle & Glow

October 13, 2009

This is an expansion on some color focus features I’ve done in the past for face/eyes, nails and lips. When I was getting into makeup, there were only 4 loose shimmer powders I knew of and was always looking for something in between since the silver ones were just a tad too white and the bronze ones were way too dark. Now there are a lot more options out there!

I have medium golden-toned skin, so this is a post on more neutral glowy nude-beige products that work for me to give that natural glow. I love these because they are so versatile, you can use these alone or layered over other colors to add shimmer. Laura Mercier Stardust and MAC Silver Dusk are featured even though they are on the paler side and look more silvery because they still work if used with a very light hand.

Loose Shimmer Powders: These are my most neutral natural loose shimmer powders. I have a lot more colors of peach, pink, and bronze variations, but those I will save for a later feature. For these, I would say the most sparkly ones are MAC’s Silver Dusk and Dancing Light. The most subtle ones are Armani’s Midnight Shimmer Powder and Becca Hyawatha. The rest are somewhere in between.

Laura Mercier Stardust:

Laura Mercier Candlelight:

Laura Mercier Starlight:

MAC Silver Dusk:

Scott Barnes Diamond Dust:

FACE Stockholm Gold Shine:

Becca Hyawatha:

MAC Beauty Powder in Dancing Light:

Giorgio Armani Midnight Shimmer Powder:

Swatches: 1) Laura Mercier Stardust, 2) Laura Mercier Candlelight, 3) Laura Mercier Starlight, 4) MAC Silver Dusk, 5) Scott Barnes Diamond Dust, 6) FACE Stockholm Gold Shine, 7) Becca Hyawatha, 8) MAC Beauty Powder Dancing Light, 9) Armani Midnight Shimmer Powder

For liquid/cream products, I find colored products (bronzey and peachy included) more forgiving because you can blend the colors out easily or mix them with your foundation. Nars St. Barts is my holy-grail nude highlighter because it blends out to give that perfect contoured and slightly tanned look without any orange or bronze.

Left to right: Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Topaz, Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Opal, Chanel Brilliance Pur Sunkissed, Armani Fluid Sheer 2, Armani Fluid Sheer 10, Nars Multiple Maldives, Nars Multiple St. Barts

Swatches in the same order as above (note that these are not blended out):

For nails, I’ve always been into that barely-there natural manicured look. These are natural with a pretty sheen. I don’t have swatches as I just got my nails done. I highly recommend searching Nailgal.com for awesome pictures with different lighting and also swatches on different skintones.

Left to right: Chanel Galactic Touch, Nars Adelita, OPI Sand in My Suit, OPI Hollywood Blonde, Rescue Beauty Lounge Ani, MAC Golded

For lips, I have yet to find that perfect glowy lipstick that works all the time. I do have glosses that I love which gives that glow:

Left to right: 1) Bobbi Brown Rose Gold, 2) Bobbi Brown Sand Sugar, 3) MAC C-Thru, 4) MAC Young Thing, 5) MAC Instant Gold, 6) Nars Greek Holiday, 7) Chanel Gold Light #118, 8) Chanel Beige Guitare #121, 9) MAC Sugarrimmed Dazzleglass, 10) Dior Addict #137 Trenchcoat Beige, 11) Laura Mercier Champagne Glace (old packaging)

For eyes, I like to use the loose shimmer powders a lot, but there are quite a few beige-gold shimmer eyeshadows that enhance your skin making it look like a subtle glow. Basically your lids-but-better in a warmer nude glow. MAC Bagatelle is my favorite for this, but has since been discontinued, here are some other alternatives:

1) Bobbi Brown Copper Penny Shimmer Wash, 2) Benefit Rich Beach, 3) Chantecaille Rose Gold, 4) Chanel Gold, 5) MAC Bagatelle, 6) MAC Creme de Miel, 7) MAC Blonde’s Gold Pigment, 8) Paul & Joe Pearl Powder 01, 9) Bobbi Brown Sunset Gold Metallic, 10) Armani Maestro #2, 11) Urban Decay Blaze, 12) Becca Loose Shimmer Powder in Odette

Swatches, same order:

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Color Focus: Milky Pink Lipglosses

October 12, 2009

I have an obsession with light milky nude pinks and am forever searching for that perfect shade that will give me that angelic natural pout (ala Angelina Jolie).

I did a line-up of my milky light pink lipsticks from MAC in my MAC Dsquared² Nude Rose Lipstick feature. Here is my line up of milky pink lipglosses – which I’m sure you will be happy to know include shades from a wider range of brands.

For me, my first classic milky pink gloss was Nars Turkish Delight, but it can be a bit too pale sometimes without liner or another lipstick underneath. Here are the others in my collection:

(The photograph has been updated to match the list & swatches below, sorry for the confusion!)

1. MAC Prrr Lipglass
2. MAC Pastel Emotion Lipglass
3. MAC Sugar Trance Lipglass
4. Chanel Seashell Glossimer
5. Le Metier Vanilla Rose Lip Creme
6. Chanel Bon Bon #73 Aqualumiere
7. MAC Baby Sparks Dazzleglass
8. Nars Turkish Delight Lip Gloss
9. MAC Angel Cream Plushglass
10. Chanel Sesame Glossimer
11. MAC Partial to Pink Cremesheen
12. MAC Culture Clash Lipglass
13. Dior Clutch Pink #517 Addict
14. YSL Pure Rose #2

Here are the swatches:

Slightly different lighting (just doesn’t have the high flash so the photo is more cool-toned):

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First Look at Paul & Joe Holiday from Guest Writer Joey

October 11, 2009

Paul & Joe has released some really cute items for the holiday including new pearl powders, face colors, eyeliners, eyeshadow palettes, lip lacquers and some new body items. Check out the collection details on their 2009 Smoke & Mirrors Winter Creation Collection on the Paul & Joe Beaute Website or on the Paul & Joe Facebook Fan Page. Joey was sweet enough to bring us a first look at the collection and share her makeover from the Bergdorf Goodman event she attended this weekend!

Left to right: Lip Gloss #10, Lip Lacquer #10, Lipstick #002

Top to bottom: Pearl Powder #002 and Eye Gloss #5

Left to right: Eye Gloss #5 and Pearl Powder #002

I am so thrilled to be writing a guest review for The Beauty Look Book, so I thought it’d be wonderful to feature a brand that both Lina and I have an obsession over: Paul and Joe Beaute!

I (un)luckily live and work nearby Bergdorf Goodman in NYC and today the Paul and Joe counter was having a makeover event to debut the Holiday collection. Of course, I booked myself an appointment with one of the global artists (Jocelyn from L.A.), and since I had already placed my Holiday order, all I had to do was sit and relax.

Jocelyn started by giving me a mini facial, removing my makeup with the Light Cleansing Milk and Refreshing Skin Toner (which I know Lina loves, as do I!). She then massaged my face with the Moisturizing Facial Mask, this luxurious wipe off mask. My skin was finished with a light application of the Moisture Lotion N and Moisture Gel for my undereyes. While I was being treated to that lovely mini-facial, another artist demoed the new Treatment Peel-Off Mask on my left hand. There was a significant different in the texture and feel of my left hand, but I have a sample of the mask at home to try on my face before I buy a full-size.

What I really appreciated about Jocelyn was that she incorporated products I already owned into my look, and did not pressure me to buy anything (it already helped that I had my order placed previous to my makeover). Also, she stopped after every step to show me her progress and obtain my approval before moving on.

For my face, she used the Creamy Powder Compact foundation (my HG!) in shade #40, the new Under Eye Concealer in shade #02, the Holiday Highlighting Powder (the pinker shade) under my eyes and across my cheekbones, and Face Colour #12 (which I have and love) on the apples of my cheeks.

My eyes had a simple gold-brown look. The new warm-brown toned Holiday trio was used (lightest shade allover, middle shade in crease, and darkest in outer corner). Also, Eye Gloss #4 (a pale pink) was used in the center of my lid, and Pearl Powder #002 from the Holiday collection (a reddish taupe) was placed on top of that. The purple-gray eyeliner pencil from Holiday was used to line my lids, and over that went an application of the other Holiday Pearl Powder (a sooty gray) mixed with Fluid Eye Liner (a black) for a sparkly effect. My lashes were Mascara Duo N #1 (black) mixed with that gray Pearl Powder for a sparkly effect.

My lips were Lip Liner #06 (a brick red), topped with Lipstick #063 from the Spring collection (which is what I was wearing when I went for the makeover – Jocelyn loved it and refused to remove it) and the new Lip Lacquer #10, a reddish-plum-brown shade.

To say I was pleased was an understatement! I looked dramatic but sophisticated. I ended up purchasing Pearl Powder #002 and Lip Lacquer #10 from Holiday, Lipstick L #002 from the Summer collection (a sheer vivid hot pink), Lip Gloss N #10 (a pretty sparkly rust shade that I thought would be perfect with NARS Toundra Velvet Matte Pencil), and Eye Gloss N #5, a gorgeous shimmery taupe. Also, I received a gorgeous GWP that included a notebook, a little soap dish, and four generous skincare samples! All in all, it was a wonderful experience; Paul and Joe is a makeup and skincare line to fall deeply in love with, right Lina?

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Guerlain Holiday 2009 Bal de Nuit Eyeshadow Quad

October 11, 2009

Guerlain has a lovely collection for this holiday and I picked up the Bal de Nuit quad from Neiman Marcus. I only have 1 other quad from their Fall Collection since most of their eyeshadows have so-so pigment. This one seems to have decent pigmentation, but you will be suprised to hear that the colors didn’t wow me this time.

It’s definitely a great neutral quad with pretty shades, but I found that I had a lot of dupes in my collection. The most unique shade is probably the bottom right chocolately color because it has just the right enough darkness to make it a gorgeous smokey unique brown, but there are definitely similar colors.

Comparisons to the following shades:

* White shimmer is very similar to Bobbi Brown Navajo Metallic
* Pink shimmer is similar to MAC Shimmertime Pigment
* Taupe shimmer is very similar to Nars Ashes to Ashes and Chanel Vega (discontinued, but very similar to Chanel Safari, see TAUPE SHADES HERE)
* Dark chocolate shimmer is similar to Bobbi Brown Java Metallic and Urban Decay Twice Baked

Holiday vs Fall Quads (two views – the flash makes these hard to photograph):

Overall thoughts: It’s nice to have if you’re looking for the convenience of an all-in-one neutral palette. It’s wearable for year round, but not a must have for me. The collection is definitely worth checking out since there are some pretty lipsticks and the holiday ball-highlighter is really pretty too!

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Edward Bess Fall Lipglosses: Nude Satin, Sweet Dream & Love Always

October 10, 2009

Still on the Edward Bess kick, I just received the Fall Lipglosses from Bergdorf Goodman and they do not disappoint.

All the shades are creamy and have no shimmer. They do seem to be on the sheer side, but I’ve heard they are meant to be layered with the lipsticks.

* Nude Satin is a beigey-brown nude, a true nude in my view
* Sweet Dream is the brightest of the three, a deeper pinky berry
* Love Always a pretty slightly cool-toned dusty rose

More views, with flash:

In natural sunlight:

I highly recommend you check out the Swatch Cards that Krista sent me to gauge the colors of these glosses rather than rely on my own swatches of the colors.

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Dior Holiday 2009: Smoky Crystal Quint + Silver Purple Nail Polish

October 9, 2009

Dior Holiday 2009 has been spotted at my local Macy’s and I picked up the new Smoky Crystal 089 quint and Silver Purple 782 nail polish from the collection.

I just got a manicure, so I didn’t swatch the nail polish for you. I do recommend you check All Lacquered Up for a swatch of this lovely purple though. The entire holiday collection seemed very cool-toned, most of it seemed like repromoted items with the exception of a new sparkle-chrome-like single shadow and a charm with gloss.

Close up of the new eyeshadow palette:

Comparisons to a few other quints that I have to show how cool-toned it is. It’s even more cool than Sky Glow:

I don’t have dupes for the other shades, but the closest I could find to the bottom left color is MAC Moth Brown. The Dior is even more blue-cool toned than MAC Moth Brown which I consider to be one of the coolest-toned eyeshadows that I have:

OVERALL THOUGHTS: This is one of the iridescent formula quints, so the pigment is very rich. It’s definitely unique and not easily dupe-able in my opinion. Lovely for a soft silvery eye or a smokey eye. There are a lot of different looks you can create with this palette.

UPDATE: I was initially worried this would be too cool-toned or frosty for my medium olive-golden skin, however, I tried it tonight and it worked just fine for me! I even ventured out of my comfort zone and used all the shades tonight and it wasn’t too frosty.

I signed up for a Dior event this next week at my local Nordstrom – so I will see if they can show me more techniques on how to use this.

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Bobbi Brown Holiday Chrome Palette for Eyes & Cheeks

October 8, 2009

More and more of the holiday collections are trickling in and the Chrome Palette arrived at Neiman Marcus today.

Retails for $75 and the shadow pigment seems a lot better than Earth Metal. I don’t have swatches of this as I am undecided about keeping it. It’s very cool-toned. I do feel it’s a better buy than Earth Metal even though I usually don’t wear cool tones.

Top row has: White Eyeshadow, Polar Ice Shimmer Wash, Storm Cloud Sparkle Eyeshadow, Iron Eyeshadow, Thunder Metallic Eyeshadow

Second row has: Moonlight Sparkle Eyeshadow, Cyber Grey Shimmer Wash, Foil Metallic Eyeshadow, Chrome Metallic Eyeshadow, Charcoal Haze Eyeshadow

Lips: Pink Mist Shimmer Gloss, Winter Bronze Glitter Gloss, Berry Shimmer Glitter Gloss, Chrome Pink Shimmer Gloss

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