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.
Beautiful pictures and really informative descriptions!
I absolutely love those shadow combinations! I'm one of those people who can actualy wear mid-tone pinks and corals on my eyes without looking like a rabbit 🙂
Here's an example: I start out with a pretty basic lid color like Sillage and a highlighter like Riviera Rose (Estee Lauder's new Pure Color eye shadow). I use a warm brown like Edward Bess' Mystery along the lash line and up into the crease. Now comes the proverbial pop of color. I use a warm pink like Chanel's Fizz to lightly bridge the contour color with the highlighter. I use it a bit stronger beginning at the crease and then fade it out as I work it up into the highlighter. For some reason, with my skin and eye coloring, it gives tremendous warmth and depth to my eyes. It's the proverbial smolder. This is also a good way to work with corals, but then I use ivory and golden tones.
I think you'll really come to love those shadows once you have a chance to play around a bit. Good luck!
By the way, have you made it to Edward Bess in Beverly Hills yet? Incredible! They've pretty much sold out of everything and are taking orders to ship on September 9 when Neiman's has the annual beauty bag gift. It's worth the trip, though, just to meet Edward and play with the testers.
MatryoshkaDoll – Glad to help!
Eileen – I absolutely love these too, and these are definitely out of my comfort zone. Oooh, Chanel Fizz – I have the older d/c version of this and use it as blush, lol.
I haven't made it to Beverly Hills. It's a 2.5 hour drive for me – a bit of a stretch. I'm thrilled to know they have been doing so well with their launch into Neimans! I would love to go but I have 1 more week of pure freedom before I start my new job. I've been debating on whether or not to go or wait till I can get to NY.
I love EB Mystery. It's just incredible. Did you make it to the counter yet? If so, I'm so jealous!
Yes, I braved the traffic to make it to Neiman's and braved the crowd to see Edward. There was an interesting assortment of people there, but we all shared a love of Edward's elegant and sophisticated esthetic. I went on day two, and many things were already sold out, but I was able to test everything that I was interested in and left after selecting the items I wanted delivered during their September beauty event. I got compact rouge in Love Affair, the new foundation in Light, and lip glosses in Endless Love and Love Always.
As for Edward, what can I say? You can take the gentleman out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the gentleman! Gracious, charming, kind, and enthusiastic. There's nothing blasé about him. He's loving what he's doing and it's infectious 🙂
I love how you described the D&G shadows. After reading your blog, I got myself the caramel blush and now I'm so tempted with the eyeshadow quad. Pinks and neutral soft shades are so up my alley, especially when it comes to work. Thanks for your review! 🙂
Yay! I am getting these things for FNO. I love D&G. D&G are in my top 3 brands. Chanel and Guerlain too. I always rec the quads, but people havent caught on yet. This is soo pretty Sabrina, now that you got this quad maybe will you try the fabulous quad? Sometimes it is great to step out of the comfort zone. I cant wait to add these to my collection. BTW did you get any Chanel SOHO items?
Sabrina,
I don't think I could wear those shades, but I have been so curious about D&G makeup. With no sources in DC, I will give Nikki a call. Thank you for sharing her with us!
that onyx liner looks like it would go really well with the armani blue eyes to kill mascara 🙂