Yearly Archives

2011

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Dior Rock Your Nails Collection: First Look

March 14, 2011

Quick swatches of the new Dior Vernis from their Rock Coat Collection. My own review & thoughts to come later this evening! And because I know everyone is going to ask, Blue Label is darker than Bond Street (comparison to come soon). In the meantime, check out Fashion Polish, Joey’s Space, and TriGirl from The Purse Forum for additional swatches, reviews and thoughts.


Left to Right: Perfecto, Nirvana, Purple Mix (Rock Coat Finger is where ever you see the corresponding bottle in the background)


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Chanel Le Blanc: Rouge Allures Désinvolte 86 and Joyeuse 87

March 13, 2011

This will be my last Chanel Le Blanc feature. Rouge Allures Désinvolte 86 and Joyeuse 87 are beautiful combination of bright and fresh. Désinvolte is a soft pinky-peach with a soft sheen. Joyeuse is a sheer hot bright pink. Both go on with a natural sheen and fairly sheer on my lips. These are of the typical Rouge Allure texture – smooth, soft and creamy.

Désinvolte looks like a straight soft peachy-apricot in the tube, however it goes on very sheer on my lips and looks like a pinky-peach than peach. See the hand versus lip swatch. There is a soft silvery sheen to the color which I think is why it goes on so sheer. Due to the limited nature of these I know many of you are wondering if there is anything similar. For Désinvolte, I would say yes. It reminds me of a softer/sheerer version of Chanel’s long discontinued Lola Hydrabase. I think MAC has made quite a few Lustres with a similar finish. Compared to Peregrina Rouge Coco from Spring, Désinvolte is similar but softer.



Joyeuse is a cool bright hot pink with a soft sheen. I love it. For me it’s hard to find a cool hot pink that doesn’t look blueish on my lips (since I have a lot of olive). This one is hard to dupe in my opinion. NARS Venice is significantly more frosty, NARS Roman Holiday is significantly more pastel, MAC’s bright pinks are all a lot more sparkly or opaque. Compared to Jersey Rose, it’s a lot cooler and sheerer.


Here are my comparisons to the peach and pink Rouge Cocos from the Spring 2011 Collection (previously reviewed, swatched, and compared here) plus a few a few more.


Edward Bess Forbidden Flower
Chanel Peregrina Rouge Coco
Chanel Désinvolte Rouge Allure
Chanel Joyeuse Rouge Allure
Chanel Stresa Aqualumiere (discontinued)
Chanel Jersey Rose Rouge Coco

As of now, I believe these two are still exclusive to Asia. The Chanel Beaute Studios I called have said no, they will not be receiving anything from the Le Blanc collections. I have not contacted Chanel.com to inquire about it though. If you don’t want to scour e-bay or have a friend in the Asia regions able to do a custom purchase, you might want to keep your eye on Izzy’s Perfume & Beaute Shoppe, I know in the past they have carried Asia/Europe exclusives from Chanel and Dior. (Not affiliated with them and FYI they have their own prices that are higher than US retail.)
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Chanel Le Blanc Continued: Rose Envolée Quadra Eye Shadow 31

March 12, 2011
Chanel Rose Envolée Quadra Eye Shadow 31 is a beautiful palette of ivory, pink-gold (that flashes mostly gold), candy pink and plum-brown shimmers. The finish ranges from a satiny shimmer to a high-sparkle frost. I typically find the square-pan quads superior in quality and texture to the round-pan versions, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The pigment in Rose Envolée is a lot better than most Chanel quads with the round-pans (this one is Made in France), but the texture is still not as finely milled as the US square-pan version.

I played with it a bit this evening, applying MAC’s Paint Pot in Bare Study as a base, then I layered the ivory, from lash to 3/4 up and blended the pink-gold on top. I then applied Bobbi Brown’s Cocoa Mauve Gel liner and applied the dark chocolate-plum shade on top for a smudged liner. I have yet to figure out how to pull of that bright pink shade.

I couldn’t find a quad dupe, but here it is compared to my other Euro/Asia Baked Version Chanel Quads: Tentation Cuivrée and White Whisper. Note that the round-pan Chanel Quads come with tiny white-tipped applicators that are made of a soft squishy material (softer than the typical sponge-tip we have in the US quads). I find they are not very good at applying the colors, I prefer actual brushes.



Overall love. I still prefer the square pans, but this makes a lovely quad for spring that I think will transition nicely into summer.

As a recap, the Chanel Le Blanc Collection is an Asia Exclusive (like their Think Pink and Beige Collections from years past). I’ve scoured the web and called a couple Chanel Beaute Studios in the US. These beauty studios are just like the Chanel counters you see in department stores, but they also carry a few select pieces from various Imported Collections and the Boutique Exclusives. As of now, I think there are about 5, one at South Coast Plaza Bloomingdales, one in Seattle’s Nordstrom, one in Hawaii, a couple more perhaps. None of the locations I called said they would receive the Le Blanc items and they have no idea of what to expect next for their Imports collection.

Like many of my fellow Chanel fans in the USA – I think it would be amazing if Chanel would carry their Asia, Europe, Canada and other various country exclusive collections online via Chanel.com, even if it is in limited quantities. It would thrill me to no end!

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Chanel Le Blanc Collection: Blossom 152 Glossimer

March 11, 2011

Chanel Blossom 152 Glossimer is part of the Asia Exclusive Le Blanc Collection. It’s a sheer medium pink loaded with sparkles and micro-glitters that flash blue, silver, white, rose and pink. It goes on the lips very sheer and enhances the pink in my lips. The sparkles are visible, but not gritty. Texture is very smooth with a high gloss. Lip swatches and comparisons below.


Swatches indoors with high flash:

Swatched outdoors with flash:

Blurry pic, but it’s a misty morning:

Many thanks again to Rouge Deluxe for helping me with this purchase!
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Chanel Le Blanc … Coming Soon

March 10, 2011

Review of a few Chanel Le Blanc items (only found in Asia) coming soon. Many thanks to Rouge Deluxe for her support & inspiration, and most recently I want to thank her for helping me locate these hard to find Chanel items. {I swoon!}

Rose Envolée Quad 31
Blossom Glossimer 152
Désinvolte Rouge Allure 86
Joyeuse Rouge Allure 87

All content is copyrighted. Please do not republish, hotlink or steal images.

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Bobbi Brown Python & Peony Continued …

March 9, 2011

Here is the second installment of the Bobbi Brown & Tibi collaboration, new for spring 2011. We got our first sneak peek with an exclusive set from Neimans Preview Set (reviewed here). I finally had a chance to see the other items in the Python & Peony Collection and fell in love with the new eyeshadow palette, Lilac lipstick and Pale Peony gloss.

Lilac Rich Lip Color has previously been reviewed and swatched here. To recap, it’s a lovely lilac-pinkish cream color. It’s on the neutral-cool side, but not too cool. Beautiful full coverage, soft lightweight but creamy texture, long lasting. Pale Peony Rich Color Gloss is a sheerish cream pink – compared to other colors in this formula I found Pale Peony on the sheer side, but it still gives a noticeable coverage. There is a slight mint scent. Texture is not as sticky as her regular glosses. Here they are compared to the Pink Lilac Brightening Gloss so you can gauge how cool/lavender/pink these are.

Pale Peony lip-swatched by itself (no liner or lipstick underneath):

I was going to pass on the Python & Peony Eyeshadow Palette mainly because I wasn’t too keen on the packaging. The zip closure is a bit difficult to handle for me (not to mention a bit difficult to hold while applying). However I was smitten with the color palette – I do wish these were available in individual pan form (would have passed on Cool Ivory, Plum Orchid and Eclipse). Opal is a pale cool greyish cream, Lavender is a cool pinkish lilac, Cool Ivory is a grey beige, Cobra is a metallic steel grey, Plum Orchid is a sheer plum, Eclipse is a sheer black. I found the matte colors chalky by themselves, but liked the way they layered over her gel liner or applied with a slightly damp brush.

Over the weekend, I applied Laura Mercier’s Gold Metallic Creme shadow on the lids and topped with Opal 1/2 way up the lid, layered Cobra on top mixed with the Plum Orchid & Eclipse over a dark black liner smudged and then blended.

Today for work, I applied UD’s Sin Primer Potion all over the lids, applied Opal as a wash with Lavender on the center of lids and blended softly upwards. Then I mixed Cobra with Eclipse together as a smokey liner over her Caviar Ink Gel Liner.

Swatched on the arm:

I do think the Lavender in the palette can look a bit too cool if applied with a heavy hand by itself. I’m one who loves light purples but often times in saturated doses it can look very dated. I personally think it looks best when combined with the other colors in the palette. Layering it over a sheer gold cream shadow (not something I think most think of) like Laura Mercier’s Gold Metallic Creme shadow can help balance out the pink/cool tones. If you are finding it too cool – play around with it and layer it on top of other shades or add a smokey silver on top and blend together.

Overall love but I do hope Bobbi Brown slows down with the palettes. I like to pick out my own colors =)

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Prep For Tuesday Morning: Inside My Balenciaga

March 8, 2011

I’ve prepped for tomorrow (the night before) so I can get a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning. Here’s what I’m wearing on Tuesday plus what’s inside my Balenciaga First in Anthracite from S/S 2007 (everything except the Jo Malone Colognes fit):
  • Edward Bess Daydream Bronzer, Sunlight Highlighter
  • Bobbi Brown Pale Pink Blush (her original packaging), Python & Peony Palette, Lilac Rich Lip Color, Pale Peony Rich Color Gloss
  • Laura Mercier Lilac Lip Glace
  • Chanel Cassis Eyeliner, Star Glossimer, Tender Bisque Powder Foundation
  • Mini Brushes, iPhone, Wallet, Jo Malone Vitamin E Lip Balm sample


The items I’ll wear tomorrow
(look replicated from this past weekend):

Reviews on Bobbi Brown Python & Peony Palette along with the Pale Peony Rich Color Lip Gloss to come soon. Lilac has been previously swatched here.