Photos by Thaddeus Rombauer for Hourglass Cosmetics
I have some beautiful looks from Hourglass Cosmetics to share with you. Yesterday, makeup artist Gucci Westman for Hourglass Cosmetics created the fresh polished beauty looks for Oscar de la Renta’s spring/summer 2015 show. The created looks were “pretty, polished and with a dash of modern edge”. Backstage at Tuesday’s show, models flaunted luminous skin, berry-stained lips and striking a slightly rebellious note, dramatic winged liner on the eyes.
“I was inspired by some of the more graphic prints in the collection,” said Westman, who combined two Hourglass liners to create the playful geometric shape and deep obsidian shade. “It needed to be appear inky, so I started with Calligraphy Liquid Eye Liner and then applied the 1.5mm Mechanical Gel Eye Liner on top. It’s youthful, cool and fresh.”
To balance the bold liner, Westman fashioned a runway-worthy radiance by using Illusion Hyaluronic Skin Tint and the Ambient Lighting Palette. “Unlike cream highlighters, which are difficult to control, the palette is incredibly easy to use. It’s all about gorgeous, effortless beauty.”
CHEEKS: Create a seamless, soft-focus glow with Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. Lightly contour with Radiant Light, a sun-kissed golden beige. Then apply Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat, a vibrant poppy shade, to the apples of the cheek. Finish up by highlighting with Incandescent Light, a pearlescent shade.
By Terry has released six tinted versions of her classic lip balm in the Baume de Rose Nutri-Couleur ($56 for 7 g/0.24 oz, made in France). I’ve been a huge fan of the regular Baume de Rose and fell in love with the tinted shade in Mandarina Pulp #2. Her lip balm is quite expensive making these a luxurious splurge. It took me several years before I was willing to spend the money one and it was a big ouch to my wallet, but I have been really happy with the formula and have no regrets. The By Terry Baume de Rose (both regular and tinted versions) are super hydrating with a soft rose scent. It’s noticeable but not overpowering. I have sensitive lips that are prone to drying out and peeling with many lipstick brands. In my years of testing lip balms, I’ve found several that I’ve fallen in love with and By Terry has made to my favorites list.
Today I have three of the tinted shades to share with you. I bought these in two moments of weakness while at Barneys on one visit and at Space NK on another. I had a gift card and points burning a hole in my pocket and with one swipe of these I fell in love with Bloom Berry 4, Fig Fiction 5 and Toffee Cream 6 which are more on the grown-up / neutral side versus the brighter Rosy Babe 1, Mandarina Pulp 2 and Cherry Bomb 3 (swatched here). While all the shades are really quite lovely, I think the colors 4, 5 and 6 are more classic colors that are easier to pull off.
Berry Bloom 4 is a lush deep but soft red (versus Cherry Bomb which is almost fuchsia)
Fig Fiction 5 is a blue-toned plum, it looks purple in the tube but the sheerness makes it more forgiving on the lips giving a really nice plum tint
Toffee Cream 6 is a nude caramel pink shade, on me it matches my natural lip color pretty closely so it might look like it’s clear in the lip swatch below, but it is actually quite pigmented and covers the lip entirely
All three shades have sheer to medium coverage in terms of pigment. They are lip balms so they are on the natural side and won’t give you a full opaque lip look. I did find that they had more coverage than YSL Rouge Volupte Shines or Sheer Candy Lipsticks. I would say coverage of the By Terry tinted lip balms is similar to some of the Chanel Rouge Coco Shines, perhaps a tiny bit more color.
Swatches, with flash:
No flash:
Close ups of each shade with lip swatches, I applied these with a lip brush that was on the end of one of my Chanel lipliners for a more precise application. First up is Berry Bloom #4:
Next is Fig Fiction #5:
Last is Toffee Cream #6:
If you’ve been eyeing the Baume de Rose for a while and are wondering whether to purchase the clear version or a tinted one, I would say go for a tinted one unless you plan on wearing it as a night treatment. I will sometimes put lip balm on my lips before I go to sleep but I don’t like having a lot of product on my face at night so I tend to skip it. Both perform equally well in terms of how they make my lips feel really soft and prevent dryness. The regular Baume de Rose is more expensive at $60 but it does have more product with 10 g versus the Tinted version which is $56 for 6 g. (Repost from my Mandarina Pulp review.)
One last view of all three shades featured today:
If it weren’t for my gift cards and points that I had saved up, I would not have splurged on all three shades, I probably would have only purchased either Bloom Berry or Toffee Cream. At $56 each these are insanely expensive but I haven’t met a single person yet who didn’t love these once they bought one (or were gifted one). With so many good lip balms on the market (that are much more affordable), I can’t say the By Terry Baume de Rose is a must-have. There are plenty of other lip products that will work to keep lips smooth and moisturized.
That being said these do make an ultra luxurious treat and I think they feel marvelous on the lips. The pots are really big and a little goes a long way so they will last you a very long time (versus small squeeze lip balm tubes which I have sometimes finished up in a couple month’s time). By Terry’s new tinted versions are well designed. The colors have this basic but classic simplicity that enhances the lips in a natural way.
I do think these are something you should be able to test and see in person before you splurge, but if you’re like me, the By Terry line isn’t easily accessible. I hope these swatches help you if you’re shopping these sight unseen.
The By Terry Baume de Rose Nutri-Couleur lip balms come in 6 shades for now and retail at $56 each. You can find them in store and online at Space NK and Barneys New York.
P.S. There are two gift events going on that I think are worth splurging on, especially if you have a wish list going and want to take advantage of a good gift with purchase offer:
Space NK has their amazing Autumn Edit gift bag event for one-day on September 10th in stores and online (details here). You might want to look into signing up for their N.Dulge Points program if you shop there occasionally.
Barneys New York also has their Beauty Bag event starting the same day Wed Sept 10th through Sunday the 14th or while gift supplies last. Details up on Barneys.com now!
I’m currently obsessed with these dark smokey teal shades of nail polish. There are so many different kinds of teal. Some are straight blue-green creams while others have this pretty mix of green, blue, black and silver. Ones I’m obsessed with right now:
Louboutin Lady Twist ($50) is the ultimate luxurious deep teal version of a vamp shade. It has a full coverage with rich pigment. It applied very smoothly but due to the longish brush, I found it took a tiny bit of extra time to get a precise application near the cuticles. I will have a more detailed review on other Louboutin shades coming up, but to sum up, I’ve been very pleased with the formula, coverage and wear time.
JINsoon Heirloom ($18) is a darker deeper version of Chanel Azure, Heirloom is an intense metallic green teal loaded with tons of complex shimmer particles, it applies very smoothly for a metallic. The way this flashes different colors makes it resemble a peacock.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Small Dim Summer Stars ($20) is one of the prettiest complex shades I have ever seen. It’s silver, green, teal, black all mixed into one polish. It has the prettiest micro sparkles mixed throughout so when you look at it on the nails sometimes it looks silvery, other times more green and in other lighting more teal. I loved this one so much I bought a back up.
Marc Jacobs Beauty Sally ($18) is an iridescent blackened green. Don’t let the first coat disappoint you, it will be very very sheer with the first coat, but it transforms into this full coverage beautiful green with the second coat. It’s almost black on the nails but there is still enough color so it does look green with a slight hint of teal
NARS Wrong Turn ($20) is part of the 3.1 Phillip Lim + NARS Collection. This is such a unique color because it changes with a top coat. In the bottle and on the nails it’s a metallic gunmetal grey. Once you add a top coat it transform into this deep teal shade. (See both swatches on Beauty Geeks). It applies like one of those rich metallic shades that adheres really well to the nail and applies flawlessly. It’s a definite must have.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Monologue ($20) is part of the Anatomy of #Kdrama collection (featured here). It’s a deep rich navy blue with a unique metallic sheen. It’s not quite in the teal family, but I had to feature it again for those who prefer something with more blue/navy.
Today I’m sharing the lip items I ordered from Charlotte Tilbury. The items I have were from a few of her curated look sets The Rock Chick and Uptown Girl. All of her products are available individually as well so I’ve separated my reviews by catetory. First up is the lips which are all neutrals:
K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Lipstick in Bitch Perfect ($32) is a medium warm rose pink, this is a medium to full coverage lipstick without any shimmer. I found the texture to be on the semi-thick side, similar to that of Tom Ford Lipsticks, but slightly drier in finish. Bitch Perfect is a lovely flattering warm nude pink shade, I think it will look nice on a number of skin tones. This one seems to be Charlotte’s most popular shade. It sold out quickly with the initial launch and is on back order at several places.
K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Lipstick in Nude Kate ($32) is a flesh cream nude. I didn’t know what to expect with this shade since nudes can be hard for me to pull off. This one covers the lip almost entirely and has enough color so it doesn’t wash me out. The thick creamy texture + combination of my pigmented lips isn’t so great on its own and it tends to emphasize my lip lines. I need a balm underneath or a gloss on top to make this one look best on me. Still it’s a really easy to wear nude I think will work on most with light to medium skin (my lips are just weirdly pigmented).
Lip Lustre in Sweet Stiletto ($22) is a glossy cream pink. I find it matches the Bitch Perfect lipstick exactly (at least on me). It has good coverage with a slightly tacky finish, similar to that of MAC Lipglasses. The tacky finish makes these last quite long. I’ve found a little goes a long way which is nice since the tubes seem to be on the small side.
Lip Lustre in Blondie ($22) is a pale pink beige with silver shimmer. It’s what I wanted MAC Prrr Lipglass to be (which almost always looks white on my lips). This is such a gorgeous beige pink nude shimmer gloss. It’s my favorite out of the lip items I’ve tried.
Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Iconic Nude ($22) is a brown nude. It has a super creamy texture with full coverage pigment. I haven’t used a lipliner in ages, but I really like the way these really hug the lips. Due to the rich pigment I like to feather this one on lightly before applying gloss or lipstick. Right now I’m not really into the full lip look with liner+lipstick+gloss simply because I find it too heavy for this hot weather. If you watch any of Charlotte Tilbury’s video tutorials, you will probably find it amazing what a difference layering can make to create different looks.
Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Pink Venus ($22) is a rose pink lipliner. It’s a bit brighter than Sweet Stiletto and Bitch Perfect but pretty close in tone. This one is also rich in pigment. Unless you have soft well moisturized lips, I wouldn’t recommend applying this all over the lips since it will make them look overdone and dried out. This one is best when applied in a soft feathered motion to define the lips softly.
Swatches in full sunlight, no flash:
Another view:
Close ups and lip swatches of the lipstick/gloss:
(No lip swatches of the lipliners, but I hope the arm swatches above help)
Since all of these colors are classic neutrals, it’s likely these are very easily dupable. I do really like the color of Bitch Perfect and Blondie because the just work. There’s no fixing needed to make them work for me, meaning you don’t need to add any liner or gloss or color to make the color work for your skin tone (aside from prepping my lips with lip balm first).
I’m overall really happy with my lip picks. I could have skipped both of the lipliners, but have them because they were in the sets I bought. All the items have a soft vanilla scent similar in strength to MAC lipglasses and lipsticks. It’s a pleasant vanilla scent that isn’t too overpowering and isn’t too sweet. Lasting power on the lipstick and gloss are pretty good. As long as you don’t have dry flakey lips, these will look good as medium to full coverage lip items. Of course layering all three of the items together will give you a full coverage highly pigmented look. I didn’t find these drying or hydrating, they felt like normal lip products on my lips.
I bought mine sight unseen but based on online swatches it looks like Charlotte Tilbury has created a number of gorgeous nudes and pinks. I am waiting to see reviews and swatches before I purchase anything else. I would like to see everything in person, but the line isn’t scheduled to launch in stores until October.
Preview of Space NK’s 2014 September Beauty Gift Bag (contents spilled)
On Wednesday, September 10th, Space NK will host the “Autumn Beauty Edit” event across all of their 23 U.S. locations.
During this special, one-day-only shopping event, customers will be perfectly prepped for the new season as we present the latest in autumn beauty. Guests can meet with experts from some of Space NK’s finest brands for personalized classes, makeovers, advice and tips. Event times, featured experts and services will vary by location – call your local store for more details.
Exclusively for the event, and while supplies last, shoppers who spend $250 or more will receive a gift featuring a selection of must-haves from 33 of our featured brands (deluxe, travel and full-size items).
This is Space NK’s most popular event of the year so if you’re interested, I highly recommend you call one of the US stores (full listing here) and do a pre-sale to reserve your gift bags (call soon). They sell out every year. It will also be available to online shoppers at http://us.spacenk.com/ on September 10th (US only).
Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencil in Chase (3g)
Malin + Goetz Grapefruit Face Cleanser (1oz)
Mio Boob Tube+ Multi-Action Bust Firmer (30ml)
Molliderm Cream (7ml)
Natura Bissé Oxygen Cream (10ml)
Nia24 Rapid Exfoliating Serum (15ml)
Nia24 Sun Damage Prevention 100% Mineral Sunscreen (1oz)
Oribe Supershine Moisturizing Cream (15ml)
Philip B Oud Royal Forever Shine Shampoo (15ml)
Radical Skincare Multi Brightening Serum (8ml)
Rahua Hair Wax (full-size 89ml)
Ren Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial (15ml)
Rodial Dragon’s Blood Sculpting Gel (15ml)
Roloxin Lift Revitalizing Facial Treatment (2g)
Sai-Sei Mineral Refresh Bath & Shower Gel (9ml)
Sunday Riley Artemis Hydro-Active Cellular Face Oil (3ml)
Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask (7.5ml)
This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray (5ml)
Veneffect Anti-Aging Eye Treatment (4ml)
Verso Day Cream (15ml)
Many thanks to Space NK for sending me an early preview of the gift bag to share with you. This is a phenomenal gift with purchase and I’m completely obsessed with the enormous cosmetic bag (approximately 12 inches by 10 inches). For size reference it’s slightly larger than a Porter or Harper’s Bazaar Magazine. For full product listing and details of items inside the gift, visit the Space NK US Autumn Beauty Edit page.
Will you be shopping for the September 10th Space NK beauty event? (PS, Barneys New York and Neiman Marcus will also be having their events starting on the 10th but I don’t have details yet.)
Edward Bess has released a new lip product called the Black Sea Cream Wave Lip Tint ($31 each for .13 oz/3.8 g, made in USA). These are exclusive to QVC through September of 2015. Edward Bess will be featuring these on QVC tonight (Friday September 5th at 9 pm EST) and I cannot wait to see the full demonstration.
The Black Sea Cream Wave Lip Tints are creamy lip products. They have the cushy and smooth feel of a lip balm but have a high pigment color more like a lipstick. I found them to be extremely smooth and emollient on the lips. On me they applied with more pigment than I expected. These come in three colors: Sunset Allure is a bright coral, Mystic Passion is a red plum, Blushed Dune is a neutral nude with pink/mauve tones. All are cream finishes (no shimmer).
These come in a unique black tube. You open them by pressing the bottom of the tube to pop open the lipstick. The lipstick pops out so you can pull out the lip tint and then twist up the tube. I found it really fun to play with.
Each color gives medium to full coverage. They adhere much better to the lips versus the arms for swatching. I have swatches both ways and close ups. The Cream Wave Lip Tints do have a slight scent to them. I found them to be a bit sweeter than his traditional fig scent he has in his regular lipsticks. The scent does fade after a few minutes and I didn’t notice it after a while. I like the darker ones blotted because they give the lips a natural looking stain. Lasting power applied as a regular lipstick is medium for several hours without fading. They are emollient so if you find glossy finish lipsticks don’t last long on you, these perform like glossy lipsticks. I do find they last slightly longer than Chanel Rouge Coco Shines, YSL Rouge Volupte Shines and Armani Sheers.
In sunlight without flash:
Swatched with flash:
Close ups of each shade:
Another winner from Edward Bess in my book, but I do have a soft spot for everything he comes out with. The Cream Wave Lip Tints are extremely natural looking while still managing to offer enough color to give the lips a polished look. My favorite is the neutral one in Blushed Dune. It’s an easy no-fuss kind of color that you can wear anywhere. I was really surprised by Mystic Passion. It’s a gorgeous wearable plum that has color but isn’t loud. Do note that my lips tend to pull a lot of red in most plums, so this one will most likely look closer to the tube on most beauty lovers. I really like Mystic Passion blotted because it leaves the perfect plum stain on the lips. Sunset Allure is a flawless coral that brightens the face. Even if you can’t wear orangey shades, I think this one is one of the easier orange/corals to wear.
These are designed to be hydrating. I didn’t really feel like they added moisture although they did feel very cream and smooth. A huge plus for me was that they didn’t dry out my lips.
Edward’s show goes live on QVC soon. I can’t wait to hear what you think if you end up trying these out. If you’re unsure about these, I highly recommend you visit each product page on QVC, so many others leave really helpful reviews. Full ingredient listing is also available online.
The Black Sea Cream Wave Lip Tints are currently exclusive to QVC through September 2015.
Many thanks to Edward Bess for providing me an early preview.
Dior Vernis Massaï 853 ($25 for 10 ml/0.33 fl oz) is a classic deep red cream. It was released in the new Gel Shine Long Wear Formula (swatches of multiple shades here) and is also a repromote with Dior’s Fall 2014 collection. Massaï applies flawlessly with two thin coats. You get full coverage and a nice glossy lush finish. It does need a top coat to extend the wear (I like the Dior Gel Top Coat) and I’ve gotten a full week of wear without any tip wear or chipping (more on my nail tips and essentials here). Check my other Dior Gel Shine review on Tra-La-La for close ups of the brush. It’s been redesigned in a curved shape which makes it super easy to apply on the fingers.
It’s pure love. I probably sound like a broken record by now, but I really do think Dior’s nail polish formula keeps getting better and better. It’s always been phenomenal as far as I can remember, but they’ve really improved the lasting power and shine. If you’re looking for a classic deep red that is super easy to apply, this is it.
Massaï currently retails for $25 at all Dior retailers. Mine was gifted to me by Nordstrom which I was thrilled about since I’ve had my eye on it since April. Even though it’s part of the fall collection, I don’t think it is a limited-edition shade so it should be relatively easy to track down.
