March 2010

Dolce & Gabbana Makeup Saks Exclusives: Caramel Lipstick & Lipgloss

March 20, 2010

Dolce & Gabbana has released a mini collection exclusive to Saks Fifth Avenue which includes Caramel Lipstick, Caramel Lipgloss, Blossom Eyeshadow Duo and Perfection Nail Polish.

Both the Lipstick and Lipgloss versions of Caramel were described to me as a nude color. Blossom Duo was described as having shades of pink and rose and Perfection Nail Polish was described as a beige cream color.

Since I have been smitten with the Caramel Blush from the holiday collection, I decided to order the lipstick and lipgloss version. When ordering things sight unseen, there’s always a chance that something arrives a bit different than expected. I’ve been lucky to have liked most of the things I’ve ordered sight-unseen. Caramel Lipstick ended up being a disappointment as soon as I opened the tube. I was expecting a warm caramel nude, instead, it’s a beige-grey caramel color. The lipgloss is also more greyish than I expected but seems like it will be more workable. The lipstick will definitely be going back for an exchange. I haven’t tested the gloss yet.

The Lipgloss retails for $29 and Lipstick retails for $30.

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Dolce & Gabbana The Roses Lipsticks: Fascination, Baby Darling & Shine On

March 20, 2010

Dolce & Gabbana released The Roses Lipstick Collection which consists of 5 lipsticks to celebrate the beauty line’s one year anniversary. The details and promotional photos can be found at one of my daily reads, Beauty Anonymous. Based on the promotional photos I ordered (left to right):

* Fascination – cool slightly deep pink (no shimmer)
* Baby Darling – shimmery nude peach-pink
* Shine On – shimmery yellowy-gold

The lipsticks are all highly pigmented and have the signature rose-lipstick scent that is in all the Dolce & Gabbana lipsticks. Baby Darling is the most neutral and doesn’t show up as well on my hand but is really pretty on the lips. All the ones I got were in the Shine Lipstick formula. The colors are lovely and very romantic-like.

I’m not sure that I’ll be wearing Shine On by itself since it seems so yellowy but my fellow Dolce & Gabbana fan Parsi has told me she wears this layered with the red and wine shades for extra shine and more depth. This should be an interesting combo! One of the Dolce & Gabbana artists I met a year ago told me that they often layered their Gold Lipstick over Naked Lipstick – he showed me the effect on his hand and it was lovely.

There will be one more post coming up for the new Dolce & Gabbana spring releases!

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Dolce & Gabbana Makeup Spring 2010

March 20, 2010

The Dolce & Gabbana Makeup Spring 2010 Collection has arrived instores in the US and it’s beautiful. The products released have a diverse mix of pink, orange-peach, and purple colors. You can see the full line-up at Karen’s Makeup and Beauty Blog. Below are the close ups and comparisons of the things I picked out.

L to R: Innocence Lipgloss, Precious Lipstick, Petal Lipstick

Innocence Lipgloss Comparisons: Dolce & Gabbana Seduction, Dolce & Gabbana Baby, Dolce & Gabbana Innocence, NARS Turkish Delight, Laura Mercier After Hours, Dior #247

L to R: Dolce & Gabbana Petal Quad, Apricot Blush, Mystery Duo

Natural sunlight:

Petal Quad:

Petal Quad Comparisons:

In natural sunlight:

Apricot Blush (no swatches):

Mystery Eyeshadow Duo:

Mystery Duo – Purple Side Comparisons:

Mystery Duo – Bronzey Side Comparisons:

Swatch comparisons:

The spring collection is lovely, but seems like an odd combination for a spring look. The pigment of each item is incredible. The eyeshadows are soft but highly pigmented and easy to blend. The lipsticks are full coverage and creamy. The lipgloss is semi-sheer and gives a pretty creamy milky pink look that isn’t too milky like NARS turkish delight can be.

As you can see with some of the comparisons, there are definitely some close dupes in other lines. What’s unique about the Dolce & Gabbana eyeshadows is the texture and finely milled shimmer which gives them that extra sparkle and shimmer which the camera can’t fully capture.

I’m still undecided about the Apricot Blush – it just seems darker more brown-orange than I’m used to. I’m debating whether or not to keep it.

There were quite a few other new items in the spring collection which I did not purchase. All these were ordered sight unseen based on descriptions over the phone. The following items are also new in the spring collection (but not purchased) and there were several repromotes:

Ultra Lipliner
Nude Eyeliner
Glam Lipstick
Petal Nail Polish
Drama Nail Polish

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Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2010 Sneak Peek

March 17, 2010

Hi ladies, I just received some of the new Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2010 items from Saks! I’m swamped this week so I don’t have much time to write a full review or answer questions in depth, I will get back to you as soon as I have time – hopefully sometime this weekend.

In the meantime, here are the items I picked out from the spring collection. More details on The Spring 2010 Collection, The Roses Lipstick Collection and a few Saks Exclusives to come in the next few days.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

I will say – for those of you thinking Apricot Blush looks orangey-brown, it is indeed brownish. It looks like the color of a dried apricot. I’m not going to be touching it until I decide whether or not I can pull it off. It’s way out of my comfort zone!

Please do not republish photos. All work is copyrighted. Thanks!

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More Chanel Rouge Cocos – Hydrating Creme Lip Colour

March 16, 2010

I’ve been testing out the new Rouge Cocos, one by one, and am pleased to report that I find them to be everything Chanel claims them to be: lightweight, hydrating, full coverage and pure luxury. For the most part, they all seem to be full-coverage, but there are a few shades that seem a bit sheerer than the other which are basically the lighter ones like Perle. Here is the line up of the other shades I have: Perle 02, Secret 03, Cashmere 04, Camelia 10, Bois Des Iles 33, Sycamore 32.

I won’t be posting a swatch line up on my arm, but will be posting a few lip swatches in the near future like I did for Gardenia, Sycamore & Mademoiselle. There are already a number of great blogs who have swatched the lipsticks including Karlasugar, Temptalia, Makeup & Beauty Blog and Cafe Makeup, I highly recommend you check them out! Or even better, run to your nearest Chanel counter to try these if you haven’t already.

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A Few MAC Too Fabulous Lip + Cheek Combinations

March 12, 2010

I’ve been playing around with my new MAC Too Fabulous Mineralize Blushes and Cremesheen Glass lipglosses all week and tried a few combinations for each product. Eye makeup was very low-key this week, only using a neutral cream eyeshadow + gel liner + mascara.

The new mineralize blushes are really pretty! Those with darker skins will really like the colors. I agree with the consensus among other reviews that these tend to be on the more shimmery side. They aren’t overly frosty when applied with a lighter hand. Those who get oily/shiny fast or have larger pores, I’d say these will probably be a nay for you.

The cremesheen glasses are among my favorite gloss formula from MAC. I like that they repromoted some colors and mixed in some new shades. This gives me ideas on how to use the colors I already have with some new blush colors.

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Look #1: MAC Rhapsody in Two Mineralize Blush + Paul & Joe Creamy Cheek #02 + Partial to Pink/Boy Bait Cremesheen Glasses mixed

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Look #2: MAC Bi-Tone Mineralize Blush + MAC Love, Henri Lipstick + Moth to Flame Dazzleglass

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Look #3: MAC Buddy Up Mineralize Blush + Trish McEvoy Baby Pink Essential Pencil + Just Superb Cremesheen Glass

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Look #4: MAC Sun & Moon Mineralize Blush + NARS Cafe Con Leche + MAC Ever Hip Lipstick + Richer, Lusher Cremesheen Glass

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Look #5: MAC Deelight Cremesheen Glass + Laura Mercier Chestnut Lipliner + NARS Tutti Fruitti Lipstick + MAC Afterdusk Blush/Stark Naked Blush mixed together

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One last view of the my picks from Too Fabulous:

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Rococo Nail Apparel Swatches Part 1

March 12, 2010

I’ve been meaning to swatch my Rococo Nail Polishes but usually feel you can get a better idea of the color on a full mani or pedi. I realized it would take me forever to get a manicure of every single Rococo nail polish I have. I have been meaning to do my RBLs but still haven’t been able to get through many due to a few other distractions along the way from MAC Abalone Shell, Lancome Pop Petrol and Chanel Rose Paradise. So I’ve decided to swatch each shade on each finger.

You can see my Rococo Nail Apparel line up here at this post Rococo Nail Apparel from Space.NK.apothecary and a full manicure of Reissue here. Rococo Nail Apparel can be purchased in the US at various SpaceNK locations. I got mine from the NY store and Bloomingdales SpaceNK. Each color retails for $16.50.

I highly recommend these other amazing resources I’ve found for additional swatches, reviews, photos (these are the ones I know of):

* London Makeup Girl
* Visionary Beauty
* Get Lippie
* Beauty Moogle Zone
* New York City Pretty

Swatches Part 1 (two coats each, no top coat)
No Shrinking Violet, Tokyo Nites, Organza, R2T2, Andromeda

No Shrinking Violet – vibrant rich shimmery purple
Tokyo Nites – pretty fuschia red iridescent
Organza – pretty nude with pink iridescence
R2T2 – note in my previous photo, I thought it was called Molten Lava, someone kindly corrected me, the shade is actually R2T2, the formula is Molten Lava, this has a non-glossy foiled finish
Andromeda – complex black/grey base with holographic sparkles

In natural sunlight:

The formulas are excellent and easy to apply and last a decent amount of time without chipping or peeling. The price is decent in my opinion for the size of the product. Check out my previous Rococo posts for additional info/reviews.