This fall, Dolce & Gabbana has released a palette of interesting and unique colors for their makeup collection. Those who have read my Dolce & Gabbana posts from past seasons know that I used to order from NY, but my 2 go-to sales associates left Saks (much to my dismay). After they left, I went on my search for another makeup artist from the line who was helpful, familiar with the line and knew what she was talking about. A couple of us Dolce & Gabbana fans called around the country searching for the perfect Dolce & Gabbana rep and we found one. For the past few seasons, I have found Nikki from Saks Houston to be a tremendous help in describing shades to me and helping me with my buying decisions as I do not have immediate in-person access to the line. I highly recommend her, she’s wonderful. She even color matched me over the phone to their foundation and it was an exact match.
Onto the fall collection. This season the eyes were a combination of bright and dark. Lips were also an odd combination of vampy dark and bright coral pink. Same with the nails. The collection looks lovely on their spokesmodel Scarlett Johansson, but I’m not sure that most of us can pull off all the items together for a look. I’ll most likely be incorporating their fall shades with other colors from other seasons.
What I picked out:
- Orchid Classic Cream Lipstick $30 – bright berry mauve pink (non-shimmer)
- Onyx Crayon Intense $29 – gorgeous gunmetal grey with steel blue tones (shimmer)
- Divine Smooth Eye Color Quad $59 – beige & brown tan (non-shimmer), cool light fuschia & perfect navy-plum (shimmer)
- Evocative Smooth Eye Color Duo $36 – bright coral pink (shimmer) & warm brown (non-shimmer)
Divine Quad: Smooth and pigmented. Pricey yes, but the texture and quality of the colors are absolutely divine. Highly pigmented with an almost creamy like texture. Easy to blend. Long lasting. I usually don’t even need a base for their shadows. It’s an odd combination. I haven’t really quite figured out how to pull off all the shades at once. It’s just so pretty in the compact.
The Saks fall catalog just came out. If you don’t receive it, I highly recommend you go to your nearest Saks, they usually have extra copies. The photos are highly inspirational for fall. I found it better than most of this year’s September Issues. Near the back they had a photo of a few fall items. Here is the quad in real life compared to the catalog photo. It’s pretty close, the only difference is the bottom left shade – in the catalog it’s a lovely taupe shimmer. The actual product has no shimmer for that color.
Onyx Eyeliner – This is probably my favorite item in the collection. It’s just breathtakingly gorgeous. I love it that much. Navy seems to be the new black this season for eyes – this one is a beautiful complex mixture of deep gunmetal/steel blue/navy shimmer. My only thing with Dolce & Gabbana eyeliners is that they don’t always last as long as I like. They are softer which makes them apply easier (less tugging) but also that means they don’t last as long. Some are better than others. I love the Coffee color (bronze shimmer). I think if you use an eye base you should be fine.
Evocative Duo – I know what you’re thinking. “What? She bought this?! Is she on something?” LOL – yes it’s way out of my comfort zone, but no I’m not on anything. Another thing I love about Nikki – she knows my taste for neutrals so we talked through this one which went something like this:
Me: How bright is the pink?
Nikki: It’s *very* bright, but works well if you layer it over the brown.
Me: Can I use it as a blush?
Nikki: I can see how it would work as a highlight, but perhaps a blush as well.
Me: How’s the brown in the compact?
Nikki: It’s a lovely brown, we don’t have anything like it.
So I bought it. I knew what it looked like from the promotional campaign so I knew what I was getting into. I have to say, I tried this with the brown first, then the pink layered on top and it was surprisingly wearable. I also tried the pink as a blush and Nikki was right, it’s better as a highlighter, but still really pretty.
Orchid Lipstick – The one product I am undecided about. It’s a bright cool raspberry mauve. Brighter than this photo shows. It’s definitely out of my comfort zone and is one of those colors that looks like it might pull fuchsia on my lips. This one I have to think about whether or not to keep.
Swatched:
Swatched again with high flash:
Overall beautiful. The swatches were done without a base. As a disclaimer, I am not affiliated with Dolce & Gabbana or Saks. I receive nothing in return for my recommendation of the Saks Houston store. I simply get so many requests for “where to buy” – while I like to let you make the decisions of where to buy on your own, I normally refer people to the company websites for store locations. However, Nikki is such a valuable asset and so many people have asked where I get my Dolce & Gabbana now I felt it would be helpful. You can find the Saks Houston store information on Saks.com. Just because I know people will ask, the direct line is (713) 627-0500, ext 5101 or 5102. She has even been kind enough to let me publish her e-mail address: [email protected]. I personally find calling and speaking to someone on the phone is more efficient and easier to get my questions answered.
Dolce & Gabbana does wonderful GWPs, although the minimums are pretty high (around $150 to $200). Granted you usually get a full sized item which I find very generous, along with some type of fragrance sample. YMMV with these – I find it more satisfying to get a full sized item I know I will use rather than a bunch of minis that I know I will never use. I’m not sure when their next one is for Houston. I know the Beverly Hills store does some nice promotional gifts too. So you may want to create a Dolce & Gabbana wishlist and save up your items until the next GWP event.
