Christian Louboutin launched new shades of shimmering Loubilaque Lip Lacquer ($85) and Nail Polish ($50) in their Metalinudes Collection. There are three new shades of each and they are absolutely stunning. As a huge fan of both formulas from Christian Louboutin Beaute the new shimmers do not disappoint. The colors are highly reflective with shimmery pigments. Glosses have a high shine and luxurious smooth and semi-thick feel without any grit from the shimmer. The nail polishes are highly metallic shades enriched with chrome-like pigments of aluminum and tan opal mica making them ultra shimmery but completely smooth without any visible brush strokes. I’ve been playing with these for weeks and love every single item. Two of the glosses were sent courtesy of the Louboutin team, the rest was purchased by me. I have swatches of all six items today.
The three Metalinudes Nail Polishes have stunning pigment with metallic sheen. Because of the shimmer they do go on my nails to show the metallic chrome more than the base color when they dry down. I find one coat sufficient but prefer two. Below we have Preciosa which is a metallic silver rose, Goldissima which is a shimmering gold with silver flecks, and Irisa which is a cool-toned silvery mauve. I don’t often wear silvers well because it clashes with my olive skintone but this one is really pretty. Out of the three my favorite is Goldissima.
Swatches with two coats each:
Three Metalinudes Loubilaque Lip Lacquers are just breathtakingly beautiful. They’re like the opposite of that matte liquid lip trend and as a lipgloss lover I could not be more happy with these. Preciosa is a pale shimmering pink, Goldissima is a shimmering warm peachy gold, Bronzissima is a shimmering bronze. Pigment is medium with a slight transparent finish so my natural lip color shows through. If you have less pigmented lips the color will show more true to tube on you. Texture is slightly thick but still smooth – if you’re familiar with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss formula, I would say texture and thickness is about the same. These have shimmers but absolutely no gritty feel. Lasting power is very good – it will transfer if you drink or snack, but if you leave the lips untouched they last for hours. There’s also no sliding around or slipping.
These come with the sponge tip applicator for easy application. The ribbon is removable.
Bottom line gorgeous and well thought out colors and formulas. I give them all a 100% thumbs up although I do understand that this line with the packaging and price points is not for everyone. For me, I felt these were completely worth the splurge. I have yet to be disappointed with a nail polish or lip product that I’ve tried from the line. The quality and pigment to be very good. Still $85 for a gloss is indeed extreme, as is $50 for a nail polish. That being said it’s expected from a luxury line like Christian Louboutin. I get asked over and over again if I think the prices are worth it – I think prices of many things aren’t really worth it, but it won’t stop me from splurging.
Barneys New York is having their summer beauty bag event this week until the 24th of June and I’m thrilled to share a sneak peek of the gift with you today. With any $150+ order online from their beauty department you will receive a gift bag filled with some of their summer beauty favorites. There are two color options of bags to pick from, either pink or blue. Inside mine I received:
Foreo Luna Play in Sunflower Yellow
Molton Brown Bath and Shower Gel Dewy Lily of the Valley and Star Anise 30 ml/1 fl oz
YSL Touche Eclat Glow Shot 3 ml/0.1 fl oz
Natura Bisse Neck Cream 5 ml/0.16 oz
Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask 10 ml/0.38 oz
Moroccanoil Treatment Light 10 ml/0.34 oz
Diptyque Do Son Eau de Toilette 2 ml/0.06 fl oz
Maison Margiela Replica Beach Walk Spray 1.2 ml/0.04 fl oz
Rene Furterer Paris Sublime Curl 15 ml/0.5 fl oz
Starskin 7-in-1 Miracle Skin Mask Pads (sample 1 time use)
La Mer Moisturizing Cream 3.5 ml/0.12 oz
3LAB Perfect Cream 8 g/0.29 oz
111SKIN Cryo Activating Hydra Gel 15 ml/0.5 oz
Rodin Olio Lusso Luxury Face Oil 2.5 ml/0.08 fl oz
Kevyn Aucoin The Eye Pencil in Basic Brown .69 g
Malin+Goetz Lip Moisturizer 0.3 fl oz/10 ml
Acqua di Parma Eau de Cologne 5 ml/0.16 fl oz
lilah b. Divine Duo Lip and Cheek in b. real, b. fearless and b.sassy sampler card
Allies of the Skin 1A All-Day Mask x2 (1.5 ml/0.05 fl oz each)
Woven cosmetic bag
There’s so much to to pick from at Barneys in the beauty department. It’s like beauty heaven. They have Byredo (and still have that gorgeous mint green hand cream duo in stock), By Terry, Tatcha, Peach and Lily and more. Quick update – the gift is available online only.
There’s no code needed. There will be a pop up option once you fill your cart with the minimum $150 amount. Available while supplies last until the 24th of June online at Barneys New York.
If you’re shopping the event let me know what you haul! I love hearing about your beauty splurges 🙂
I’m a sucker for minis so when I saw the Sephora Favorites Give Me Some Nude Lip Set ($28, limited-edition) it didn’t take me long to buy one. It sold out online but just restocked so if you haven’t seen it yet I hope these swatches will either help you decide to splurge or save $$$. I also got their Beauty Insider Birthday Gift and redeemed my points for a Tarte mini so I thought I’d round them all up in one post here.
The Sephora Favorites sets have a lot of great options to sample products in mini sizes. I have my eye on the Ultimate Travel Bag because it looks like it has a little bit of everything. I bought and reviewed their spring version back in January. The one for summer is just as fun. Quick note first – the current set still comes with the black stuffing, but I swapped it out for some white stuffing I had from a different set simply because it was easier to see the product.
How cute are the minis?! (On the nails is Essie Spin the Bottle)
Inside the Give Me Some Nude Lip Set you get 6 lip products, all are minis except for the Urban Decay lip which is full-sized:
Tarte Lingerie Lippie Matte Tint in Revealed is a mocha brown shade. I love the formula, pigment, texture and finish – I just found the color too dark for my personal preference. It’s a smooth finish chubby stick with a semi velvety finish. It says matte but it’s not flat looking and feels super lush on the lips. I will definitely try to check out other shades in this formula.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss in Kristen is one of my favorite opaque glosses, I already own it in the full size. It’s a neutral pinky brown color and perfect for any occasion. I love the rich opaque pigment and high shine. The color is just perfect.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hi Shine Lip Lacquer in Sugar Sugar is a light nude champagne color. For me this one is best when worn over another lipstick or liner. Alone it has a sharper contrast to my natural lip tone making it look like I have a dark rim around the lips when I wear this because my lip shows through. The glosses in line have a lush cushiony feel without the tacky sticky finish.
Too Faced Lip Injection Glossy in Spice Girl is probably the most painful lip product I’ve ever tried. Tingles scare me because I’ve tried a few in the past where my lips literally flare up from an allergic reaction. This one started to sting within 10 seconds in such a sharp burning manner. I couldn’t wear it long enough to test because it hurt so much. I had it on probably 5 minutes just swatching and photographing it. The color and finish is really pretty but I just couldn’t tolerate the tingle.
NARS Velvet Lip Glide in Bound is another one I own in the full size. I definitely should have read the labels on the box to see if I already owned most of these, but the minis got me. This one is a perfect soft mauve color. It has the word “velvet” in it but on me these still have a slight sheen to them.
Urban Decay Vice Waterproof Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick is a full size metallic rose color. I’ve tried this one before and it was a total fail for me. The color dried on the lips in a way that make them look dried out and shriveled. In the past when I tested this one it dried out my lips so bad they peeled for several days after. They do last a long time as in they don’t budge all day long so if you don’t have sensitive lips this formula might be worth a try. Based on my one experience with this color though I’m passing on all the rest.
Next are some Beauty Insider Perks. This year you have a couple options for the Beauty Insider Birthday Perk. You can pick between skincare from Caudalie and makeup from Tarte. I opted for the Tarte options but in reality I should have gone with the skincare as they would have been perfect to travel with. The Tarte set comes with the Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Paaarty (1.5 g/0.05 oz) and a Creamy Matte Lip Paint in Birthday Suit (1 ml/0.034 fl oz). Both are really pretty neutrals, the blush is a matte pink brown and the lip paint is a creamy nude pink that doesn’t wash me out. I also picked up a mini Quick Dry Matte Lip Paint in Rose (1 ml/0.034 fl oz) as a 100 point perk. I actually already own this one in the full size but couldn’t resist the mini. It’s a warm rose peachy color on me. I’m not the biggest fan of matte lips or matte liquid lipsticks but the colors from Tarte are pretty good and I can add a bit of balm or gloss on top.
In summary I like Tarte Birthday Suit enough to consider buying the full size. It’s a good neutral nude color that works for my skin tone and doesn’t wash me out. For the Give Me Some Nude Lips set turns out I like the colors I already own the best (NARS Bound, Marc Jacobs Sugar Sugar and Anastasia Kristen). The others were nice to try and even though I didn’t like the colors or formula so much at $28 it was worth it for me to try. That being said $28 could still have gone towards a full size gloss or lipstick that I really wanted – but I never use the lip testers in store on my lips because of all the germs so sometimes it’s hard to guess what a color will look like. I’ll swatch lip products on my hand and then hold it up to my face to see if I can kinda tell what it will look like, but I’m one who cringes when I see others using store testers on their lips.
Bottom line not a total win, but not a total fail either. You can find the Sephora Favorites Give Me Some Nude Lip set at Sephora. It’s limited-edition and they’ve launched a few variations over the past few seasons.
Have you picked up any Sephora Favorites sets lately? If so which sets did you try and what did you think?
Today I have a roundup of some new launches from Marc Jacobs Beauty. This year they’ve launched quite a few new things including a Coconut Collection with coconut-scented face products, new Highliners in a matte gel formula, and new shades of the Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquers. I reviewed one of the new glosses Skin Deep already in this post here, but thought I’d swatch it next to another newer shade I got in Rah Rah! which is a mini that I ordered as a Beauty Insider perk several months ago. The items I have been the most excited for are the Coconut O!Mega Bronzer and Coconut Gel Highlighter in Dew You? – unfortunately both have sold out online several times, even after restocking. I almost gave up on the bronzer but found it in New York earlier this spring. After I got back home to Tampa found it popped up several places online and also in my local Sephora stores. I am hoping they will restock both again because the coconut scent is to die for!
Up first is the Coconut Collection. I received an unexpected press package with four items but by the time I received it I had actually already bought the gel highlighter and bronzer. I also had the primer (when it originally launched, used it up, but never repurchased). So now I have a couple backups and am well stocked on coconut-scented items. I also received a mini setting spray as a Beauty Insider perk from months ago so I thought I’d review the entire collection here for those who haven’t tested it yet.
Below is a closer look at three of the new items. The Coconut Gel Highlighter in Dew You? was previously reviewed and swatched in my spring highlighter edit. It’s a light gold gel highlighter that has a quick dry down with a light golden sheen. It’s very concentrated so I like to dab a little with my fingers as the finishing touch where I want to add a bit of a highlight. The O!Mega Bronzer Coconut Perfect Tan in Tan-Tastic! is a really good soft matte bronzer that doesn’t oxidize on the skin. It’s slightly cooler than the Tantric version. Both have a super smooth finish and look very natural on the skin. I usually prefer a little shimmer in bronzers because matte ones tend to look muddy or darken on me but both of these are really among the best in terms of matte options. The Bronzer Brush is so soft and plush – I love the white packaging although if you already have the original one they perform exactly the same.
Swatches below also shown next to the Marc Jacobs Beauty Spotlight Glow Stick, O!Mega Bronzer in Tantric which is warmer (on the face here), and Air Blush in Flesh and Fantasy (reviewed here). If you already have the Spotlight Glow Stick I don’t think you need both – they have a similar effect, unless you want something to mix into foundation then the drops make more sense for that purpose. Also the Dew You drops have that amazing coconut smell, but color-wise they look very similar on my skin.
The Under(Cover) Perfecting Coconut Face Primer is one of the nicest primers I’ve used. It is a hydrating formula that smooths the face and primes it well for foundation. I’ve never been a huge fan of primer so if I buy one I tend to use it up but rarely repurchase. This one did work for me to help extend the wear of foundation. It has a light refreshing feel with a hydrating finish. I do think it’s better suited for normal to dry skin. I’ll be testing out more primers with this humidity but for now I’m perfectly happy with my moisturizer, sunscreen + foundation and powder without adding an additional layer.
The (Re)Cover Perfecting Coconut Setting Mist shown below is a mini that I got as a Beauty Insider Perk. The first few times I used it I thought the misting pump was defective but I read the reviews online and many said to use it as the instructions indicated which is to press down on the top COMPLETELY for a super fine mist. If you spritz it like a regular spray, the mist that comes out is uneven resulting in a splotchy application. If you press down all the way the mist does comes out in a super fine even spritz. This is another hydrating product designed to “revive your glow” and I found it very hydrating – probably one of the most hydrating mists I’ve ever tried. Since I don’t have super dry skin I found it too moisturizing for me. I do think this will be good for in flight since my skin tends to dry out during travel. I’ll keep this one in my travel bin for our next trip. I think our instinct is to do a quick spray when it comes to face mists – the packaging on this one is actually pretty well designed, but not really intuitive unless you read the directions on how to spray it. If you have this one and thought it had a defective nozzle give it another try and let me know what you think.
Up next are two Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquers. Rah Rah! is a new shade that I got as a mini beauty insider perk a while back. It looks like a light apricot peach and the pigment is sheer to medium, but on my lips it transforms into a milky almost pinkish color. Your mileage will definitely vary depending on your lip tone. Since I have slightly pigmented lips this looks more pink than peach on my lips. Skin Deep was reviewed here. I’m completely obsessed with this one! There’s more coverage with these two compared to the first round of gloss colors that were launched. In case you missed it, all the original shades reviewed and swatched here. I did side by side comparisons below of what I thought might be similar.
Last but not least are some of the Highliner Gel Eye Crayons. Earlier this year they launched a matte version. These are really under-rated. They’re gel pot liners in pencil form and truly last a long time without smudging or fading. They have a lot of fun edgy colors but I usually only wear bronze or brown (yes, boring but it’s what works for me). Swatched below are the colors I’ve worn and tried. My favorite is Brown(Out). I may have put the parentheses in the wrong places for the labels but I double checked the names and they’re all labeled correctly. Huge thumbs up for their lasting power. I’ve had and used up RoCoco before and really liked the formula. Make sure you cap them tightly though because they can dry out a little at the tips.
Marigold is a bright shimmery yellow gold, Rococo is a shimmery taupe brown, Brownie is a matte warm brown, Brownout is a deep shimmering brown, Earthquake is a matte deep brown, Irony is a matte grey black.
Bottom line if you can find the Tan-Tastic Coconut Bronzer, get it. To date there are very few matte bronzers that work for me. Tom Ford Terra (small size is still the original color/formula), Benefit Hoola and Benefit Hoola Lite are the best ones in my experience for powders. Otherwise most darken or look muddy on my skin. I’m a huge bronzer addict and most of the time I need either a cream or if it’s a powder I need at least a tiny bit of shimmer. Marc Jacobs also makes great matte ones so I highly recommend you try either one.
The Primer and Mist are good if you have normal to dry skin. If you’re like me and have normal to combo skin you may find them a bit too moisturizing, especially with warm weather for the summer time.
If you’re in search of an eyeliner that stays put I highly recommend you check out the Highliners. And final thought is if you can splurge on a bronzer brush, the Marc Jacobs Bronzer brush is one of the softest fluffiest ones I’ve ever tried. Definitely worth checking out if it’s in your budget.
You can find Marc Jacobs Beauty at Sephora, Neiman Marcus and online at Marc Jacobs Beauty. I’m hoping they will restock the bronzer and dew drops! If you’ve tried these let me know what you thought 🙂
Marc Jacobs Beauty items featured in this post sent courtesy of Marc Jacobs Beauty for review. I did also purchase the Bronzer and Dew Drops separately from Sephora. Skin Deep Lip Gloss also purchased by me from Sephora.
I’m doing some late spring cleaning and will be doing more throughout the rest of the summer, but with a twist – I’m going to be giving them away to my readers! I’ll be going through some of my beauty backups that I bought over the years and will also be going through my accessories closet as well for some more spring cleaning giveaways. The first one is up today where I’m giving away some Tom Ford items, some of which you cannot find anymore today.
1 winner will be selected at random to receive Tom Ford Contouring Cheek Color Duo in Stroked, First Time Matte Lipstick, Lips and Boys in Orlando, Lips and Boys in Luca, Cream Powder Duo in Naked Bronze (all new, these were purchased by me as backups)
Must be 18 years or older
Open internationally
Enter through the Rafflecopter widget below through June 22nd, 2017
Winner will be selected at random (subject to verification) by me within the following week
Please refer to all the terms and conditions in the widget
I’ll be doing more in the upcoming weeks so stay tuned! As a side note this has been a really rough week for me so posting has been very slow. I’ll be catching up on comments and e-mails this weekend. Good luck!
Earlier this spring MAC repackaged their Lipglass ($17 for 3.1 ml/0.10 fl oz). They merged a few of the formulas such as the regular tinted lipglass and lustreglass into one. There are some new shades but a few of the original colors have also made their way into the new packaging, but they aren’t all the same – for example the original Love Nectar isn’t the same as the new one. The packaging itself is larger however it appears product weight has dropped quite a bit. Weight may vary per tube depending on when you got them, but I have a few that say 0.16 fl oz/4.8 ml. This isn’t the first time MAC has repackaged a product and reduced product size/weight – I’m still a little irked about when they redesigned their Pigment packaging with less product, but it hasn’t stopped me from buying new shades. Also they do last a long time so it’s not a deal breaker, more just the principle of price per weight.
I hauled 13 shades but luckily I had quite a few B2M empties to exchange for new glosses. Quite a few had sold out by the time I made my way to the counters and I checked back a few times and many were sold out for weeks. By now I think all the colors have restocked (at least online). A closer look at the packaging. The new tubes have a sleeker more modern look to them.
The shade I picked out are listed and swatched in alphabetical order:
Color descriptions from left to right. They have the same signature MAC lip scent with has a tinge of vanilla but isn’t overly sweet. Sticky level is medium to high but it’s not so tacky that it bothers me as long as I wear an even semi-thin layer.
Beaux is a warm tan beige with a fine pearl, this one has sheer to medium coverage
Candy Box is a cream medium pink, coverage is medium
Cultured is a light pink with a slight pearly lilac tinge, coverage is medium
Love Nectar is a semi-sheer light peachy pearl, it’s lost it’s iridescent quality that it had with the Lustreglass formula, but the new version has slightly more pigment/coverage, this one has sheer to medium coverage
Lust is a peachy pink brown cream, coverage is medium
Nymphette is a frosted pink gold with a lot of gold, coverage is medium
Oh Baby is a sparkling bronze with visible shimmer sparkles, coverage is medium
Oyster Girl is a light opal pink pearl, coverage is sheer-medium
Pinkarat is a shimmering pink with gold, more pink in this one, coverage is sheer-medium
Prrr is a frosted pink with white pearl, coverage is medium to full
Spice is a warm brown caramel cream, coverage is medium to full
Spite is a cool mauve with slight taupe, coverage is medium
Steel Kiss is a silvery mauve with silver sparkles, coverage is medium
Lip swatches below on bare lips. Note that some of these are on the sheer side so quite a few of them look similar on me. Of course they will look different on you depending on how dark/light your skin is and also what your lip tone is. On the face I’m wearing the Sulwhasoo Perfecting Cushion in No. 25 Deep Beige with NARS All Day Luminous Powder Foundation in Laponie (I also wear Punjab).
All of them side by side:
Some thoughts about the new packaging and the color options:
Formula of the Lipglass seems to be the same in texture and pigment. They’re semi-sticky for high shine and on me they do adhere well to the lips which makes them last a decent amount of time.
The Lustreglass shades seem to be more like Lipglass formulas now. Previously the Lustreglass was a thinner lighter texture with a tiny brush tip applicator and sheer coverage. Beaux and Love Nectar are both slightly different in color compared to their original versions. I haven’t had time to swatch the old vs new. I know I have owned 8 of the shades in the old formula – if you want a comparison I’ll try to see if I can find them (if I didn’t B2M them) and do side by sides. Let me know in the comments.
Shade wise there are a couple that are really similar. Nympette has more gold than Pinkarat, I prefer Pinkarat just because sometimes I can’t wear a yellow gold easily with my olive complexion. Lust vs Spice depends on your undertone preference, I prefer Lust because Spice pulls orange on me.
Shades I didn’t like include Steel Kiss and Spite. Both look ok in photographs, especially with a flash. But they have too much mauve/grey undertone to be ok in natural light on me. I can adjust them with a liner or lipstick to warm them up though.
Prrr is still as frosty as it was in the original formula, but for some reason I find the new one more wearable.
Oh Baby is a lot more sparkly than I could show in photographs.
If you want a neutral pinky brown color Lust is your best option. However Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss in Caramel and Caresse have way better formulas and smoother coverage. Swatched side by side here next to both Lust and Spice.
I try to do all the lip swatching in a post in one session for lighting consistency. Sometimes my lips can get super raw from all the wiping and reapplying. This round I decided to use the Bioderma Hydrabio Cleansing Water and the following days my lips were 100% fine. Disclaimer is that the bottle says it’s for Face and Eyes. No mention of whether or not you can use on the lips so I’m not sure if it’s safe. It worked for me though. Just a tip in case you want to try it.
Top two picks are Beaux and Cultured for the best color.
Overall I really like the new packaging style (with the exception of the weight drop). Out of all the other color options the only other one I had on my list is Love Child which I love in the original formula. I may pick that one up in the fall as right now I’m not that into plums for summer. Quality and pigment wise I found these consistent with the formula in the original packaging. Colors have changed a bit though. Overall a thumbs up.
I’ve hauled some pieces here and there from a few NARS collections. The haul has been pieces I’ve accumulated from the Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection, a couple Sun Wash Diffusing Bronzers, a Velvet Eye Shadow Stick in Siros and one of the new Velvet Matte Lip Pencils in Intriguing. I took this photo about a month ago and it’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to swatch and test everything.
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection features sheer tints for the face and lips with bold high pigment options for the eyes. I bought all of these from Nordstrom but some colors have since sold out so I’ll link where you can still find them. Everything is limited-edition. Shown below from left to right:
Multiple Tint in Jo (all shades available at Neiman Marcus) – the cheek tints come in three colors and they are super sheer with a dewy transparent sheen. I loved the color of Jo which is a light very light watermelon pink but ended being too dewy on my skin. It does give the face a fresh glow of natural color. To me this entire lineup seems more like something for fall – if you are living in a more mild cooler weather compared to South Florida I think this will still be ok to wear, for me it was too dewy.
Hydrating Glow Tint in Medium (all shades still available at Saks) is something I hated when I first tried it. The product oozed out all over the place as soon as I opened it and the colors looked so limited I thought for sure I would not find a match. I didn’t like the tip because it seemed like product would pool in the tip. I gave it a test run and love the formula. It’s a super sheer formula so colors are a bit forgiving. Still I do wish they made this in more colors. I prefer the Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer formula by far, but the hydrating glow tint gives sheer even coverage and makes the skin look fresh and glowing without being too dewy or shiny.
Lip Tint in Ephelide (all shades available at Neiman Marcus) is a sheer berry mauve. It has an almost jelly like finish. It’s sheer but still very pigmented to give the lips a soft tint. I bought the most neutral color option and love it for everyday or for something a bit more dressy than nude. Lasting power is so-so because it’s a gloss like formula but with no sticky or tacky feel, but it does staying power is decent.
Old Church Street Eyeshadow Duo is something I knew in my gut that I might not like 100% yet I broke my rule for eyeshadow purchasing and bought it anyways. I personally can’t wear teal without looking super tired. This one is no exception. I adore the left side which is a shimmering soft champagne, the other is a smooth matte teal. Both are excellent in pigment and apply smoothly so formula and color wise it’s an A+. I just don’t do teal well so I can really only wear half of it. I suspect I’m going to gift it away to a friend.
A closer look at the Hydrating Glow Tint:
I was able to get samples at my counter of all the shades:
Swatched next to a few MAC Next to Nothing foundation shades (all of them reviewed here), I don’t have the lighter ones any more since I gifted them away to a friend as I’m more in the medium range:
Next I picked up a couple things from the regular line including the Velvet Lip Pencil in Intriguing and Velvet Eye Shadow Stick in Siros. Intriguing is a warm rose with a velvet finish. Pigment is medium to full and covers the lip entirely. There’s no detectable scent and it lasts a long time. I’m still a glossy girl at heart but these still wear nicely for me. Siros isn’t a new shade (I believe it was launched in the spring) but I picked it up. It’s a gorgeous light bronzey shimmer which I’m obsessed with. Swatch comparisons below.
Lips compared to the following. The NARS Intriguing pulls the warmest on me (lip swatch a bit lower). For a pencil kind of product I prefer the Hourglass out of the three I swatched for the formula/color. The last three are traditional lipstick formulas, all a lot more pink and cooler-toned than the NARS, but still in the same color family.
Last but not least are two of the Sun Wash Diffusing Bronzers in Seaside and Laguna. I tested these immediately as soon as I bought them and fell in love with the soft matte finish they both had. It’s since gotten more humid and wet for weather and suddenly these now look a bit muddy on my skin unless I apply with a super light hand. I suspect I’m just too light for these even though I have a pretty good tan right now. Seaside is the lightest option and also the warmest. Laguna is not the same as the original. If you don’t have the original and are deciding between the Sun Wash version and the other, I’d go with the original. It has a prettiest glow to it without looking overdone.
That wraps up my NARS hauling. Overall thoughts on the Charlotte Gainsbourg collection are that it’s a very pretty collection of products and formulas but seems better suited for fall. If this were THE summer collection for NARS I’d be pretty disappointed as I usually love the fresh warm bronze and peaches they launch. That being said I’ve been plenty busy with the Banc de Sable Palette (now available on NARS) and the Liquid Blush (review here) for my summer beauty fix. I saw a preview of some summer newness on Instagram from @bubblymichelle and hope we get this in the US!
For the two permanent items, I think the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils are great for a matte product. They’re not heavy or cakey like traditional mattes. They glide on the lips nicely and stay put longer than a sheer glossy lip or balm. Siros is pure love for me. I love those kinds of shades and finding a nice copper/gold/bronze that isn’t too warm can be a challenge for me.
For the bronzers at this point I’d say they’re a pass. I’ll be gifting these to a friend as well. I really loved them when the weather wasn’t so humid but it’s just the start here in Florida and it will be months before it cools down. I’m more smitten with the Becca Sunlit Bronzers because they have a nice soft glow to them which don’t oxidize or look muddy on my skin.
