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June 2012

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Chanel Premier Regard #38 Quadra Eye Shadow – Fall 2012

June 22, 2012
For the eyes this fall, Chanel has released one quad, two eyeliners and a number of single shadows. First up is Chanel Premier Regard #38 Quadra Eye Shadow ($58 for 6.8 g/0.24 oz). This is a subtle, soft and understated palette of sheer warm taupe-brown shimmer, pale dusty satiny pink, pale satiny peach-champagne and a muted black-grey matte. In the compact there appears to be a mix of satiny-shimmers and soft mattes, on the eyes these appeared mostly matte for me.
This quad took me three tries to get a decent application. By itself with only 1 base (I used Edward Bess’s eye primer), this was a disappointment for me. The colors were too sheer and the only color that had good pigment was the black-grey. I felt like the colors went on chalky and too sheer. The third time I finally found a good method of application. Note this quad needs a bit of extra work to show up (at least on my olive Chanel B30 skin).
Step 1: Prep with a good dose of eye cream on the lids and then apply your usual cream base/primer (I used Cle de Peau and Edward Bess).
Step 2: Mix the pink and peach together and blend over lids to soften the skin (this will be sheer but you can apply with a heavier hand if you want them to show up more).
Step 3: Use some kind of a tan/taupe/light cream shadow and blend along lashline and upwards (this serves as the base for the taupe shade, so apply the cream where you want the powder to go, I used Tom Ford’s Platinum Eye Shadow)
Step 4: Take the taupe-tan shade of the quad and dust over the cream eyeshadow (the cream eyeshadow helps the color adhere and blend well, using just a regular base was too dry for me to get any blendability out of the color)
Step 5: Apply the grey-black as a smokey liner (or as a crease shade, or wherever you prefer!)

Under different lighting:

Swatched, three views:

Right now, I only had time to pull two comparisons. When I first saw the promo photos of Premier Regard, I thought it looked strikingly similar to Winter Nights and possibly Dreams (I think both are discontinued in the US now?). The overall effect/theme is similar but the quads are still different. Here they are below.

Overall lovely and understated. At a glance, this seems to be a quad that is goof-proof and easy to apply. I was disappointed in the pigment by itself. The pink and peach look identical on my skin and borderline dusty. I need a moisturized eye base to prevent them from looking chalky on my eyes. A bit of tweaking and this worked better for me. I will definitely need to experiment more.

Have you checked out Premier Regard? How do you use it?

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Chanel Suspicious #561 Le Vernis – Fall 2012

June 22, 2012

Chanel Suspicious #561 ($26 for 13 ml/0.4 fl oz) is a dark raspberry red cream. The coverage on this shade is amazing and finish is flawless with high pigment and high shine. The color itself is perfect for the fall season and yet still appropriate for right now in the summer, however it’s just not quite as unique as I had hoped for. I still like this color a lot, but have quite a few other shades similar to this one. 

Here it is on with two coats. Sometimes this looks borderline more reddish than raspberry/fuchsia. Next to a pure red, like Chanel Dragon, you can see that Chanel Suspicious is really more pinkish. Unfortunately, my Chanel Dragon is missing in action so I didn’t compare it. I did pull some other fuchsia/raspberry colors to compare below.
First, Suspicious #561, swatched with 2 coats:

Comparisons, left to right: Chanel Riviera, NARS Anardana, Chanel Suspicious, Chanel Pulsion, Chanel Splendeur, Chanel Tentation.

All the colors swatched with 2 coats (except Riviera because I ran out of fingers to swatch them on in one photo):

Overall pretty, rich and lovely for fall. Not quite as unique as some other Chanel shades, but still a classic.

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Chanel Vertigo #563 Le Vernis – Fall 2012

June 20, 2012

Chanel Vertigo #563 is a dark murky color that I find a bit hard to describe. In the bottle the base is a blackened-brown-grey-plum. The color is infused with that signature Chanel subtle shimmer which is visible in the bottle but not so apparent on the nail. Holding the bottle at an angle to the light shows flashes of red, plum and gold in the frost. Due to the complex nature of this shade, sometimes the bottle will look like a dusty faded plum-brown, others a rich dark plum with red shimmer, and other times a flat cool grey-brown with blue tones.
When news first surfaced that Chanel would release a nail color called “Vertigo” this fall, many of us wondered if it would be a re-promote of an older Chanel shade. Good news to long-time collectors: this season’s Vertigo is completely different. See the original Chanel Vertigo on Cafe Makeup (scroll to the bottom) and Caramel Frappe. (I still wish I could get my hands on the original!)

Coverage on Vertigo #563 is rich and smooth. Application is nearly flawless with two thin coats. This gives a high shine finish which doesn’t really a top coat (in my opinion). More close ups below.

Close up of the shimmers:

Below swatches in different lighting show this sometimes looks flat, other times looks warm, and yet other times looks cool-toned.

At first glance, I thought this looked identical to Dior’s Underground and Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Recherche. Comparing them on the nails proved they are different. Chanel has mixed up a color that I find truly unique and different, even if there are other colors that are similar in the same color family. In seeing the photos above it might have you wondering: Is Vertigo plum? Brown? Gray? Black? I hope the two sets of comparisons below help answer this question. My answer is that it’s a mix of all of the above.

First, left to right: Dior Underground (warmer and brown), Chanel Paradoxal (lighter and brighter), Chanel Vertigo, Chanel Strong and Chanel Vamp.

Second, left to right: Dior Aztec Chocolate, Dior Perfecto, Chanel Vertigo, Chanel Black Satin, Rescue Beauty Lounge Recherche

Will you be picking up Chanel Vertigo this season?

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Chanel Frenzy #559 Le Vernis – Fall 2012

June 19, 2012

Chanel Frenzy #559 Le Vernis ($26 US) is one of three new nail lacquers in the Chanel Fall 2012 collection. Previews had been seen earlier this year on the runway (as seen on Cafe Makeup) as being an ultra-light flesh-toned grey. Frenzy is indeed a very pale cool-toned grey with a hint of lilac. In the bottle it looks more greige with a hint of beige. On the nails for my olive skin tone, the color turns cooler and pulls a slight pale lilac. Coverage is very good with two thin coats. Application is easy. Formula has medium coverage. Definitely not sheer but also not full coverage. For me pigment was rich enough to cover entire nail (no white showing underneath).

I pulled a few comparisons for reference. When you compare Frenzy to other shades that might be similar, the color in the bottles for most of these look different. However on the nails, they look similar, there are just slight variations in undertone but it could be my olive skin. I found Chanel Frenzy to be very similar to RBL Grunge (slightly warmer and pinker) and Le Metier de Beaute Faraday (slightly more lilac with shimmer). Comparisons show this might be somewhere in between Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Grunge and Jane. (I do not yet own Jane, but see comparisons on All Lacquered Up and Cafe Makeup.) I was only able to swatch a few on the fingers, I’ve run out of nail wheels. Comparisons below show some true beige nudes like Chanel Beige and some lavendars to show that Chanel Frenzy is more of a cool-toned pale grey with a bit of lavendar, but also has slight beige tones mixed in.

Bottom line I love it. Even though it’s not quite entirely unique and doesn’t have the dazzle that Black Pearl, Graphite or Delight possess, Frenzy is elegant, polished and subdued.
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Dior Les Violets Hypnotiques: Orchid, Shadow and Poison

June 17, 2012

Earlier this year, Dior released a new trio collection of nail polishes called Les Violets Hypnotiques. Back in February, these plum-purple themed shades were exclusive to Europe, later rolled out to Asia, and finally have landed in the US. I believe they are currently exclusive to the Dior Boutique in Las Vegas Palazzo, however there are rumors these will be released at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale (I haven’t confirmed though). The three shades released are Orchid 981 a plum cream with tiny flecks sparkle, Shadow 783 a complex deep purple with red shimmers and Poison 996 a deep rich blackened-eggplant cream. Those who have been long-time Dior fans will see two of these shades as slightly revamped updated versions of prior limited-edition releases. (Comparisons and swatches below.) These all come with the chiseled brush in the new Dior Nail Lacquer formula. The colors are rich and beautiful, however I found ease of application to be slightly inconsistent.

Orchid is a gorgeous deep wine color. It applies as a cream but if you look closely in the bottle you will see tiny flecks of sparkle. These unfortunately are not visible on the nail. The formula goes on sheer/jelly-like making application slightly challenging. I found it difficult to achieve even coverage with 2 coats. Three thin coats gave full opaque coverage but I had to apply with a very slow and steady hand. Below, the first swatch on the left has 3 coats, all other fingers have 2 coats. I found this to be almost identical to Black Plum (released fall 2009).

Swatches below all have three coats:

Shadow is the stunner of the collection. It’s a deep plum infused with suspended red, wine, gold and purple shimmers. The formula on this color was slightly thick so I recommend applying with two thin coats. I found that using a base coat helped smooth out application. Those who remember Dior Licorice from Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale in 2008 will notice Shadow looks familiar. To me they are almost twins, the new Shadow is slightly more purple in the base while Licorice applies more reddish. Also, Shadow looks slightly more “dusty” in finish, I believe it’s because of the base. Below shows two coats. 

Poison is my favorite in the entire collection. It applied the most flawlessly out of the three. It’s a blackened eggplant but has enough blue/purple to prevent it from looking black. It has a similar effect as some other shades such as Chanel Vendetta and Rescue Beauty Lounge Recherche. If you don’t have Poison and are wondering if it’s different enough to justify owning, I would say no. The effect is just too similar. However, I do love this one and have no regrets.

Overall gorgeous. If you missed out on prior releases, this will be the opportunity for you to pick up something similar. Even with the inconsistent formula of these three, I’m still very pleased. Other blogs I recommend checking out for more photos, swatches and comparisons include Joey’space and Fashion Polish. I also love the swatches by AudreyEleven, see them here on The Purse Forum.
These retail for $23 each. I ordered mine from the Palazzo Dior Boutique (702) 734-1102. I cannot rave enough about their excellent customer service (which stands out these days, especially given some recent less than satisfactory experiences I’ve had with a few big retailers). In addition there are a few more items available as part of this special release: a purple lipgloss, purple mascara in the Extase formula and a purple trio.
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Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower and En Passant

June 16, 2012
I’ve discovered a number of wonderful fragrance lines at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills. Each trip I’ve only been able to sample a few since the nose can only take so much and there is only so much arm space before the spritzes start to blend/mix altering the true scent. I’ve been eyeing Carnal Flower by Dominique Ropion for some time but hesitated due to the heavy floral notes and steep price tag. I don’t consider myself a tuberose-loving kind of person, yet I’m strangely drawn to L’Artisan’s Nuit de Tubéreuse. A week ago I had on my wishlist to purchase one fragrance from Frédéric Malle: Carnal Flower, En Passant or L’eau d’Hiver. I had my sister and the sales associate help me choose. The final vote went to Carnal Flower in the 10 ml trio ($155 for the set) so I could split it with my sister. Little did I know that while I was distracted browsing the other goodies at Barneys, my sister (in stealth mode) made her way back to the counter to purchase the En Passant by Olivia Giacobetti trio for me. I didn’t realize until late in the evening after I was home that she had slipped in a little wrapped black Barneys box with a sweet note. I am truly blessed to have such a sweet and thoughtful sister. (Thank you CL!)

The perfumes by Frédéric Malle typically come in two different sizes for the bottles, 50 ml and 100 ml. Prices per fragrance have a diverse range due to ingredients (so I’m told). Carnal Flower unfortunately is one of the priciest at $230 for a 50 ml bottle. Fortunately they also carry these in trios of small 10 ml vials. I find these perfect for me since I have a finicky nose that tires easily of fragrances. Here you can see the size of the 10 ml vials. (On the nails is Chanel Pirate Le Vernis.)

Carnal Flower is strong floral primarily tuberose. There are varying descriptions online of the notes, but what I can smell includes hints of white musk, coconut, jasmine and orange blossom. I agree with Scent Hive that this is a fragrance that will either have you swooning or nauseated. I personally was not fond of the scent upon first impact but fell in love with the drydown. On my skin I found it turned slightly to give a luscious floral that is slightly creamy, most likely due to the notes of coconut and musk. The Non-Blonde described it perfectly as a luscious floral that is well balanced without being too floral. On me the scent gets better as it wears and fades, although the lasting power is excellent and doesn’t fade too much like many other scents. I think it’s a lovely scent, on the stronger side for me, but not too strong that it is overwhelming. One single spray is sufficient for me for all-day wear. I love that it has depth and is complex, but still fresh and soothing.

En Passant is one of the lighter scents by Frédéric Malle. It has been recommended to me on numerous occasions by virtually every fragrance specialist I’ve worked with at Barneys once I tell them that I adore L’Artisan’s L’Été en Douce. The price points for this one is easier to justify ($95 for the 10 ml trio, the 50 ml and 100 ml versions are also lower in price point compared to Carnal Flower). This is a green scent, less complex, more straight or linear (as described by the ladies at the Barneys counter) with blend of cucumber, lilac and wheat. It’s simple, fresh, elegant. The initial spritz feels more floral (noticeable lilac) but dries down to a more green scent that isn’t quite as floral on me. The wheat becomes apparent in the drydown and helps balance out the floral notes. The lasting power of En Passant isn’t quite as good as Carnal Flower, but still decent. There is a softness that makes this a well rounded comforting scent. I adore it.

The travel sizes are sturdy in the packaging but still rather delicate. Definitely too delicate to carry around in a makeup bag or purse. Due to the strong lasting power, I don’t really need to carry these with me in my purse to freshen up. I almost never carry fragrances with me (except for the rare occasion I have a small sample) because I worry about breakage or spilling in my purses. However, I have found that the Trish McEvoy Delicate Beauty Voyager set (reviewed here) I bought houses 2 Chanel lipsticks and 1 vial of Frédéric Malle perfectly if the double-decker card is removed.

Bottom line: I’m in love. Have you tried Frédéric Malle? What are your favorites? I’m all ears for recommendations! The sales associate kindly gave me sample cards of L’eau d’Hiver and Lipstick Rose which I’m dying to dive into.
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Laura Mercier Organza Nail Lacquer – Fall 2012 Cinema Noir

June 13, 2012

The first signs of fall beauty have arrived. The Non-Blonde gave us a first look at Laura Mercier’s first installment for fall 2012 with beautiful swatches of the Mystere Eye Shadow Duo. This past weekend, I spotted the display at Saks and picked up the palest item in the collection: Organza Nail Lacquer ($18), a neutral light sheer beige with a tinge of light pink loaded with tiny gold and silver sparkles. It’s sheer and different from anything I own. It’s reminiscent of OPI’s classic Hollywood Blonde, but a golden version with a slightly more pigmented nude base. I applied this with two coats although I three might be better. Still, two coats resulted in an glowy and sparkly look.

Close up at an angle so you can see the beige base and gold sparkles suspended, if you turn this in the sun you see multi-colored shimmers in some champagne and silvery sparkles:

In terms of comparisons, Laura Mercier’s Organza might remind you of other shades such as Essies Chips No Potatoes (which looked horribly yellow on me) or other Chanel Beige-Golds such as Beige Rose or Beige d’Or. It does indeed have a similar feel, but the base has a slight pinkish mix to help this from looking yellow on olive skintones (like mine). Here are a few comparisons:

I found mine at Saks and this should be arriving at counters now. I’m not sure whether it’s limited edition or not, these days I tend to assume most items are these days. Bottom line, gorgeous, subtle and glowy. I’ve worn this for three days now with no chips or tip wear yet. Laura Mercier’s Organza is perfectly polished without being too distracting or glitzy.
The other two shades released were a warm mink-pink cream and a warm light cocoa. I thought they were too close to my skintone to be flattering for me, but curiosity will definitely lead me to another trip soon to test those on the fingers.
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