I’m currently loving fresh-cut flowers, Dior Spring Ball #343 Nail Polish/Lipgloss/Lipstick (review to come next week), luxury candles, printed Instagram photos via printstagr.am, lacquered trays from West Elm. Weekend loves:
The Non-Blonde – previews of new goodies from Edward Bess
Anything Tom Ford releases these days catches my eye immediately. The new semi-transparent Lip Color Shines ($48 each for .12 oz/3.5g at Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman) released a month ago have been on my radar but the insanely high price tag had me hesitant to buy before trying. Still, after looking at swatches online for hours, I decided to order a few online. I love Tom Ford Lipsticks (swatched here) and Lip Glosses (swatched here) so I figured there was at least one I was bound to fall in love with. I’ve started with Quiver (a pale cool pink), Insidious (a brighter peach), and Frolic (a nude peach).
All the lip shines have a delicious subtle vanilla cake scent (soft, not strong) that lingers for about 20 minutes before fading. The texture of the Tom Ford Lip Color Shines is smooth and creamy, slightly thick, but on the soft side. All the colors I picked have quite a bit of shimmer in the tube, on the lips there is noticeable shimmer, but it’s subtle (not frost). The finish is quite glossy, but the slightly thick texture helps the color adhere to the lips. The colors are on the sheer/natural side but show up.
Close ups and swatches, here you can see the shimmer:
(Sorry for the inconsistent lighting, lip swatches are really difficult for me.) Compared to YSL’s Rouge Volupte Shines and Chanel’s Rouge Coco Shines, I would say Tom Ford’s new sheer lipsticks are definitely similar. The differences:
YSL has the most pigment and darker/brighter color range, these glide on the smoothest
Chanel has a more diverse color range on the neutrals/roses, colors are slightly sheerer than Tom Ford
Tom Ford has the thickest texture, strongest scent and a great neutral range
In terms of lasting power, strongest to weakest is YSL, Tom Ford and then Chanel. However since all are on the sheer/glossy side, the lasting power is still medium like most glossy sheer lipsticks. I’m overall pleased with these, although YSL’s Rouge Volupte Shines win my heart for all over formula, color and price (Tom Fords come in close second).
The price will kill your wallet. For a sheer lipstick, I really expected the price points to be a lot lower. If you’re looking for a similar color to these but want more pigment, here are my suggestions:
Tom Ford Quiver – look at Dolce & Gabbana’s Shine lipsticks in Charm, Rosebud, Love or Emotion
Tom Ford Insidious – check out Chanel Flirt Rouge Coco Shine or Dior Diablotine
Tom Ford Frolic – check out Burberry’s Cameo
I like really these for the quality, feel and natural shine but feel the $48 would be better spent on a regular Tom Ford Lipstick or used towards their blushes. For some reference Karla Sugar and Wondegondigo have all the shades swatched on their blogs.
Did you try or pick up any of the Tom Ford Lip Color Shines? What’s your favorite shade?
Dior Iridescent Leather (#539) 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette was released as a limited-edition item for fall 2008 with the Dandy Lady collection. It is possibly one of the most glorious beautiful palette of shimmery neutrals that has ever been released. I know many have pined over this one if they missed out. The good news is that this is back for a limited time in very limited quantities. It’s available now in the US as an exclusive to the Dior Boutique in Vegas at the Palazzo, Saks stores and Saks.com (check the drop-down function online).
The palette now retails for $60 for 6g/0.21 oz (back in 2008, it retailed for $54). All the shades are highly metallic but still easy to wear. On me it’s a warmer neutral, but on darker skins this pulls more cool-toned. I haven’t done a side-by-side swatch comparison of the original versus the new, but the shades do appear to be identical (they also have the same number).
Since I’ve already featured this before, I won’t be re-doing detailed swatches. I did however try to pull a few comparisons to shades from Urban Decay’s Naked palettes. I could not find any dupes but you can probably get a similar effect with Urban Decay Sin, Virgin, Suspect, YDK and Darkhorse.
For additional reference, here are some prior posts that might help along with some swatches/photos from other blogs/sites:
Here is Iridescent Leather compared to Edward Bess Cosmic Bliss
Here is Iridescent Leather compared to Dior Earth Reflection and Dior Rosy Tan
Dior has released several new shades for spring-summer this month. I am currently testing some new nail products so won’t have time to do a comprehensive detailed review since I’m reserving my fingers for testing. I did want to share a few swatches to help. There are several shades exclusive to certain locations in the US and therefore rather limited, you might want to order sooner than later so you don’t miss out. All retail for $24 each.
Sparkling Shine Collection, available at all Dior counters and online locations consists of:
Princess 553 is a sparkling light baby pink
Spring Ball 343 is a high shimmer baby peach
Délice 433 is a gorgeous medium peach-orange shimmer
Diablotine 643 (reviewed here) is a bright coral red shimmer
Two shades from the Asia Exclusive DiorSnow collection have been launched in the US at Saks Stores, Saks.com and the Dior Palazzo Boutique in Las Vegas (ask for Massiel at (702) 734-1102 she’s amazing).
Nymphea 307 is a pale baby blue with a slight hint of aqua (see it on AudreyEleven and comparisons on Kais Obsessions)
Crystal 205 is a transparent frosted snow-white sparkle (see it on AudreyEleven)
Sephora has launched a series of Color Vision collections focused around color themes. They have released an exclusive lilac shade which is a repromote of a Japan exclusive.
I’ve acquired all except the lilac shade (not sure about pale lavendars, seems a bit too pastel, will have to test in person). For now, here are the live bottle photos and swatches on a nail wheel. I hope this helps!
Shades swatched in outdoor lighting:
Did you pick up any of the spring shades from Dior? If you tried (or bought) the lilac one, what did you think?
My late-week (mid-week, didn’t realize the week is already almost over) lust list includes a mix of tried and true staples along with some new items that are extremely tempting. My resolve is weakening, especially because of Nordstrom’s Triple Points event going on now until the 24th (I have some Dior and NARS items waiting in store from pre-sales that I need to pick up soon).
Diptyque Candles ($28 to $60 for the clear jars) are among my favorite candles. I’ve burned through Baies and Figuier several times over and the jars are easily recyclable into beautiful brush or pen holders. These days I’m always have a candle burning while I’m at home whether it’s Diptyque, Henri Bendel, Jo Malone or something else new. I’ve never tried the Wick Trimer yet, but figured it’s about time I purchase one. Do any of you have experiences with candle trimmers?
Chanel Top Coat ($26) is a staple glossy must-have that extends the life of my manicures that doesn’t cause shrinkage. Mine lasted several years but just started to thicken (I think I didn’t close the lid tightly enough with the last few uses). I need to replenish.
Dior has re-vamped their Addict Glosses ($29.50) once again. I need Nuit Boreale because it looked so gorgeous on Makeup and Beauty Blog (although it’s probably an existing shade re-incarnated with a different name).
NARS Satin Lip Pencils ($25 each) have been all the rage. I love how they look on Café Makeup and Temptalia. I already own Isola Bella, a gorgeous nude-pink and love it. I need a few more of the neutrals. These look like an easy goof-proof throw-it-on kind of pencil.
Did you buy anything for Triple Points? I’ve love to live vicariously through your picks 🙂
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There are a series of mini-releases coming out from Chanel this spring-to-summer. One is called Revelation de Chanel which features several glossimers and a new nail polish called Taboo #583 ($27 for 13 ml/0.4 fl oz, made in France). I found Taboo Le Vernis in Beverly Hills this past weekend at Neiman Marcus (although they did not have testers).
Taboo #583 is a glorious vibrant purple metallic. There is a rich deep purple base that is infused with an iridescent red plum sheen loaded with micro sparkles of silver, blue and purple. Taboo’s shimmer actually shows up on the nails (yay!) but it’s not over-the-top. In the sunlight you can see flashes of plum-red in the bottle. On the nails it’s pure purple, the red isn’t visible but it does prevent this from looking too dark. It’s that red iridescence and sparkle that brings this shade to life even though it is a darker shade. The complexity of this shade made it a bit difficult to photograph, here are several shots to give you a better idea.
Coverage is rich and smooth. Application was flawless with two coats. I used with Deborah Lippmann’s Rehydrating Base Coat and the Dior’s new Gel Top Coat. I did see a tiny bit of shrinkage on three fingers (but not all) with the top coat.
Swatches with any kind of lighting brightens the effect of the shimmer. Taboo’s shimmer is visible, but it’s still a dark purple on the nails without any visible red metallic flashes (except with a flash or in direct sunlight).
In direct sunlight:
Under artificial light:
Another shot with flash, you can see the complex rich sparkles:
Under artificial light:
I couldn’t find a dupe from Chanel or Dior, although I suspect there might be some OPI shades that are similar (I didn’t pull any to compare). Taboo has a beautiful rich sparkle that I find unique. Here is Taboo next to Vendetta and Strong:
Three sets of nail swatches, all the same order and shades, just different lighting to show you the various undertones, shimmers and colors: Chanel Provocation (reviewed here), Chanel Strong, Chanel Vendetta, Dior Licorice (reviewed here), Tom Ford Dominatrix (reviewed here).
I adore Taboo. It’s a beautiful vibrant yet deep purple
that glows without looking fluorescent. It does have a fall-ish feel
(rather than spring or summer) but I still love it. I am dying to check
out the glossimers in the Revelation de Chanel collection. Hopefully
this week!
