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Sabrina

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On My Radar / New In Beauty

September 5, 2014

Happy Friday everyone! September is a big month for beauty lovers, there are a number of new product launches and gift with purchase events. Space NK and Barneys New York have phenomenal beauty gift bags coming up next week, I’ll have more details posted shortly, but I recommend you start making your lists. The price points for the minimum buy is on the higher end, but the gifts they have are best I’ve seen in the industry.

Some items on my beauty radar:
Diptyque has a number of beautiful new items for fall. There is a beautiful La Redoute Candle (1) with a marble ceramic jar. Ambre (2) now comes in larger amber tinted hand-blown glass jar. There is also a new Vanille Candle (3). I smelled it at the South Coast Plaza boutique months ago (they had a preview) and it’s a lovely smokey vanilla, perfect for fall.

Dior has released a new lip item called Rouge Dior Baume (4). Saks has an early exclusive this month. These are supposed to be lip balms with rich pigment. There are 15 shades Dior describes as “easy to wear” ranging from soft nudes, feminine pinks, and luminous fuchsias.

Hourglass Cosmetics fans will be thrilled to know they open their first boutique at the end of this month (5). Also on my radar is their newly repackaged Illusion Hyaluronic Skin Tint (6). I played briefly with the colors at Sephora last week but was in a rush so I didn’t get to look at the colors in detail.

Tom Ford Fall Beauty collections have been incredibly difficult to locate for some. Items have sold out at a record pace online. If you found that you missed out, don’t fret, items keep restocking online so don’t give up. Both of the Contouring Cheek Color Duos in Softcore and Stroked (7) are now online at Nordstrom and have been restocked at Neiman Marcus (see this post for my swatches).

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty has been on everyone’s beauty radar. I have been really impressed with the Lip Lustre Lip Lacquers (8) and K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Lipsticks (9). She has some outstanding neutrals.

Bobbi Brown has a new Limited-Edition set called the Mixed Metals Collection (10). It’s exclusive to Neiman Marcus and Bobbibrowncosmetics.com. I hope to have the swatches completed this weekend to post early next week (keeping fingers crossed I’ll have the time).

The 30 shades of Christian Louboutin Nail Polish have launched in The Pops, The Nudes and The Noirs (11) (featured above). I don’t have a store near me that carries them yet, so I’ll be relying on online reviews and swatches. I did order a few of the colors from Nordstrom sight unseen. My fingers are working as fast as they can to swatch the colors I picked out.
What’s on your beauty radar?
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Haircare

Edward Bess Black Sea Hair Hero

September 4, 2014

Edward Bess’s hair has been a topic of discussion among many women for quite some time. I have often wondered what products he uses on his gorgeous hair (also a bit envious of his luscious locks). He has released a styling cream called Hair Hero ($38 for 6.7 fl oz/200 ml, made in USA, exclusive to QVC through March 2015). It’s described as a miracle styling cream that “magically boosts volume to new heights, sculpts and defines by adding
texture, and even smoothes and tames hair without weighing it down.” Edward’s Hair Hero comes in sleek black bottle with a pump dispenser. The cap twists to lock the pump when not in use. The bottle is quite large which I’m happy about because it will last a long time.

The texture of the styling cream is semi-thick, it’s a soft white cream that is very easy to work through damp or dry hair. Even though it’s thick, once applied on the hair it feels very lightweight making dry hair feel smooth while giving it a slight textured look. It smells absolutely amazing. The scent is difficult to describe but it’s a wonderful beachy scent, like a mix of tiare, coconut, fresh sea. I can’t wait to see how this is used on Edward’s QVC segment on September 5th. It’s free of parabens and sodium chloride so it’s supposed to be safe for keratin and color-treated hair.

I’ve used this a couple different ways. I have thick unruly hair that has a slight wave. I have to use product everyday to prevent my hair from frizzing up. I don’t color or highlight my hair, but I do blow dry and straighten my hair on a regular basis. I’ve used the Hair Hero on damp hair before using a blow dryer (I’ve always been a Solano fan, but my husband just bought me the Drybar Buttercup Blowdryer because he liked the color, lol). It helped smooth out my hair for the perfect blowout with two pumps. I like to add one more small pump to add to the ends to smooth the hair and keep it in place. My husband noticed the difference immediately and commented my hair looked smoother and more lightweight in a good way.

After application, it does leave a slight residue on the hands (you will need to wash your hands even though it smells incredible). It doesn’t make the hair sticky at all though but rather makes it very smooth. I’ve also used on damp hair and let it air dry. The result is a soft natural wave that isn’t frizzy (which usually happens if I air dry without any product).

Some more shots to show the texture. The Hair Hero gives the hair a smooth finish but still gives it some texture so it’s not flat.

It’s bottom line complete and total love, I can’t get over how amazing it smells, I wish it came in body products. You can find Edward Bess’s Hair Hero exclusively through QVC (through spring 2015). He will be having his first 1 hour segment on QVC this Friday September 5th 9 pm EST. I can’t wait to see how they use it on the show. To stay up to date with Edward Bess and his latest products, be sure to check out his website www.edwardbess.com for news and store listing. You can also follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (his social media handle is @edwardbess).

Many thanks to Edward Bess for gifting me a sample of his new Hair Hero and for enabling me to have smoother hair that smells amazing.

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Base Makeup

Edward Bess Black Sea Extreme Cover Cream

September 4, 2014

I have quite a few things to share with you from Edward Bess. Mark your calendars for this Friday evening because he will have his first 1 hour show on QVC September 5th at 9 PM EST. There will quite a few new items he will be featuring during his show and I’m thrilled to be able to share some of them with you as a preview.

First up is his Black Sea Extreme Cover Cream with Expert Retouch Brush. This was initially launched earlier at the beginning of the year on QVC (video segment still available online). It’s one of those things I dove into immediately and fell in love with, I should have reviewed it months ago, it’s been on my to-do list for quite some time. The Extreme Cover Cream is a full coverage creamy concealer with intense but blendable pigment. They are packaged in small pots with a twist off cap that locks into place to seal the product completely. There is also a brush included. These cover up areas on the face flawlessly and completely. The texture is on the medium-to-thick side so blending is key, but it is very easy to blend. You only need a little bit to get full coverage. No packing on needed.


Rouge Louboutin on the nails
Below is the Light shade shown with the brush, you can see the pots are quite small with a medium-sized brush that has a wide head and flat tip:

The Extreme Cover Cream comes in four shades: Light, Medium, Tan and Deep. I was worried I wouldn’t find a good match due to the limited shade selection, but Medium is a perfect match for me.

Swatched with a small concealer brush, one swipe each shade shows how rich the pigment is:

Here are the ingredients:

Close up of the Medium shade I use to show the texture:

I like the way the brush works to blend the product but since the pots are on the small side and pigment is really intense, I prefer to apply with a smaller concealer brush (like Chanel #10) and then blend out with a Beauty Blender. I know many of my readers are experts on different concealers and know a lot more than I do. I am super picky with concealers, the ones I’ve tried during makeovers or received mini GWPs of often disappoint. They either disappear completely on my skin once blended or look cakey. Until this year I have never really had a need for extensive concealer use. For several years, I have exclusively used two: Clé de Peau Beauté and By Terry Touche Veloutée. This year is the year my skin has acted up and had all sorts of flare ups and issues. So I’ve started using the concealers more. I’ve been using Edward Bess’s Extreme Cover Cream since around March for times I really need full coverage.

It’s ultra creamy and pigmented so I only need a little. It has an emollient texture that makes it blend flawlessly. I always set with a powder and find it stays put all day without budging, but the key is to not use too much. It covers imperfections completely and is also good under the eye (it doesn’t cake but you need to make sure you set it with powder).

For reference, swatches of Light and Medium next to a few other foundations and concealers I own:

It’s bottom line love. It blends out perfectly on my medium olive skin and gives full coverage to areas when I need it. It does have a smooth finish (which is a must for me) although if you have skin texture issues, your skin’s texture will still show through underneath. I only use this on spots that need extra coverage and it layers very nicely over foundation. Since it’s extremely intense I won’t use a lot under the eyes, just an extra tiny dab on days I need evening out is all I need. The shade selection is limited, so you may not fall under the four color options. I hope Edward will expand the shade offerings eventually. The brush is nicely made and also works well to blend out cream products, but it’s a bit large for me for this particular cream. For concealer I prefer using a smaller detail brush.
You can find the Edward Bess Black Sea Extreme Cover Cream now on QVC. There is a video from February’s QVC segment to show it’s applied. I hope it makes another appearance on Friday’s show too!

The Extreme Cover Cream was provided by Edward Bess for review consideration. 

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Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow Instant Soft Focus Beauty Flash

September 3, 2014

 

Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow ($52 for 40 ml/1.4 fl oz, made in Switzerland) is a luminous liquid highlighter. It’s designed to have multiple uses. You can wear it under, over, mixed in with foundation or just by itself. It’s a golden beige illuminator with very fine micro-pearl reflecting particles that give the skin a spotlight glow. I am a huge fan of glowy face products, but rarely find illuminators I feel comfortable wearing all over the face under foundation (I won’t wear Armani Fluid Sheers or NARS Illuminators all over the face). With Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonderglow, I find it adds a really nice brightening effect to give my skin that glow from within look in a subtle way. I have olive medium skin and find it hard to find liquid highlighter that have a true beige, gold or yellow undertone. Most of them have some kind of champagne or pinkish pearl tint, which I like, but sometimes I need variation. Some sites describe this as a primer, I prefer to use it as an all over illuminating base to add a glow, but not necessarily prime the skin.

 

 

Wonderglow is a liquid highlighter with a medium texture. It’s easy to blend but not completely fluid which is nice because it’s very easy to control. You can apply without having to worry that it will run off the back of your hand, brush or face. I like to squeeze a little onto my hand and then apply all over with a foundation brush. Close up to try and show the multi-dimensional pearly quality.

 

 

Swatched straight from the tube and then blended:

 

Swatch comparisons to some other illuminating products:

  • Tom Ford Skin Illuminator in Fire Lust
  • Armani Fluid Sheer 10
  • Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Sunkissed
  • By Terry Cellularose Brightening CC Lumi Serum in Apricot Glow
  • Koh Gen Do Beige Illuminator IL01 (review)
  • NARS Illuminator in Hot Sand (review)

 

Applied straight from the tube:

 

Blended:

 

I am really happy with the Wonderglow from what I’ve tested. I suspect it works well for me because I’m right at the medium skin tone where this is a really good match for me (I use Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting Foundation in Bisque 04 and am a Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet in Beige 30.
I’ve used this both as a base under foundation (applied over moisturizer) and as a highlight to add a dewy glow on top of foundation as well. Both work really well for a subtle effect that is still noticeable. I like to use it under blushes too. I like that it has a texture that stays dewy for a little bit so you can work it into the skin and blend. Some highlighters are either too dewy or dry too fast. This one dries nicely after a few minutes and doesn’t budge on my normal skin. There is a slight floral rose scent but it’s very subtle and fades after a few minutes.
I do think Wonderglow is pretty pricey a $52 but it’s a really nice product and I’m pleased. I haven’t tried her Magic Cream yet so I can’t compare this to it, although I am interested to find out how they both compare (or differ).
You can find Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonderglow in the US at Nordstrom, Net-a-Porter, Bergdorf Goodman and Charlottetilbury.com.
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Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty – Preview of The Beauty Look Book Picks

September 3, 2014

Beauty fans will be thrilled to know that Charlotte Tilbury’s beauty line has finally launched in the US. The range has launched online first at CharlotteTilbury.com, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Net-A-Porter and BeautyLish starting September 2nd. Later this fall, the line will launch in select stores starting October 7th at Bergdorf Goodman in NYC and October 10th at Nordstrom at The Grove in Los Angeles. Launch events will also be hosted with Nordstrom in other cities including Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Orange County, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas through Spring 2015.

I fell head over heels in love with the Filmstar Killer Cheekbones Set which was available at Nordstrom during the Anniversary Sale. I couldn’t wait for the line to launch in the US so I decided order a few of her look sets from the UK site along with some other items. I’ll have detailed reviews on all the items, but many of you have asked for a preview post wanting to know what I ordered and whether I thought the sets were worth it (versus buying items individually).

I did quite a bit of research when trying to decide what to buy. Some of the lipsticks and lip glosses looked extremely brown in stock photos so I relied heavily on blog swatches to help me pick out colors. I went with two of the sets simply because I found it easier to purchase an entire look rather than mix and match items. There are definitely duplicates in some of the sets with items such as mascara, makeup bag and some liners. (I gifted my extra makeup bag and mascara to another beauty friend.)

I ordered my items from the UK site and Paypal converted Pounds to Dollars. I think the prices I paid were slightly higher in the UK versus US prices, current US retail prices listed below. (Note all items are available individually as well).
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The Rock Chick Set ($225) includes:

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The Uptown Girl Set ($225) includes:

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Wonderglow Instant Soft-Focus Beauty Flash ($52)
Beach Sticks Bronze and Blush in Ibiza and Moonbeach (not yet available in the US)

There is a lot to digest with her line – it all looks so overwhelmingly good. I’ll have reviews posted in the next week by category: face, eyes and lips with thoughts and swatches. I’m still happy I ordered the sets although you don’t really save all that much buying a set versus individual items. I normally like to pick out items individually rather than stick to one preset look, but the color combinations are really good and easy to use for ideas. Even though I look nothing like the model used for each look, I found the looks helpful to see how soft or dramatic items would look on another face.

I’ve had really good experiences so far. I’m relieved since I spent a small fortune and bought everything sight unseen. More thoughts soon.

You can find Charlotte Tilbury in the US online at CharlotteTilbury.com, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Net-A-Porter and BeautyLish.

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Eye Makeup Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Nude Dip Eye Color Quad | Fall 2014

September 2, 2014

 

Tom Ford Nude Dip Eye Color Quad ($79 for .21 oz/6 g, made in Italy) is a stunning palette of shimmery pearlized neutrals. The colors are suitable for everyday and also for evening. I find the color combination and texture pure genius. I think The Non-Blonde put it perfectly when she described the finish as “modern semi-metallics.” Café Makeup also has a really lovely review. The shadows are very smooth but they have a unique texture which gives each color dimension. The colors are shimmery but in a super wearable way. This is a quad that is a bit hard to track down. It sold out online within a few days so I ordered mine over the phone.

 

Some have asked me if I think this really is a must-have or if I thought it would just be a must-have for die hard Tom Ford fans. Based on my testing and counter visits, I haven’t loved all of the Tom Ford quads. Many of the palettes have this high shine glitter which I’m not super comfortable pulling off. I purchased a couple when the line initially launched and ended up selling them used because I couldn’t wear the glitter. More recent quad releases with Orchid Haze and Seductive Rose have given us more options with texture and more shimmer that I find easier to wear for the conservative makeup lover. Nude Dip falls into the category of love. It has a similar texture to the limited-edition Enchanted Quad from last fall (now discontinued). So yes, I do think Nude Dip is a must-have for the season.

 

 

The colors in Nude Dip are timeless neutrals. Each color layers beautifully over each other. In many softer light neutral quads, you end up getting at least 2-3 shades that look exactly the same once applied on the skin. With Nude Dip, each color has enough variation to give a good layered look. There is a soft champagne, a medium peach, a soft taupe grey and a satiny brown.

 

 

 

 

 

On my eyes it pulls more neutral and slightly cool. On fairer skins or those with pink undertones this will pull more neutral-warm. You can see it pulls warm on The Non-Blonde and more neutral on Café Makeup. Each color is multi-dimensional with different colored pearl pigments. In some light you will see more cool-tones due to the reflection. In others you’ll see more of the base which is warmer.

 

 

 

 

 

Close ups:

 

 

Some swatched comparisons: Chanel Tisse Mademoiselle is cooler and more subtle, Tom Ford Enchanted (discontinued) is significantly cooler and more pink, Dior Iridescent Leather (discontinued) has been added for another comparison.

 

 

 

Nude Dip is pure love. It’s easy to wear with a nice pearlized texture which adds dimension to the eyes without being too frosty. I purchased mine from a Saks store over the phone. It’s currently sold out online in the US, but keep checking Nordstrom, Saks, Neiman Marcus and Tom Ford – they might restock.  Update – thanks to my readers for letting me know as of 8:00 PM PST it’s up online at Nordstrom! Second update at 9:25 PM, sold out online. As of May 2015, it’s been re-introduced and added to the permanent lineup.

 

Did you pick up Nude Dip? What did you think? You can find it at select Tom Ford counters. Online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Sephora.
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Bronzer + Blush Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Contouring Cheek Color Duos in Softcore and Stroked

September 2, 2014

Tom Ford Contouring Cheek Color Duos ($77 for .70 oz/29 g) are new for fall and come in two shades: Softcore is the cool-toned option with a pale white pink highlighter and medium to deep terracotta pink while Stroked is the warm-toned duo with a soft peachy champagne highlighter and a medium bronzed coral. Both duos have blush/contour shades that are on the shimmery side with highlighters that have high shimmer.

Both duos sold out very quickly in stores and also online when they first launched. It seemed to be a blink and you might miss them kind of thing. Keep checking online because many retailers have restocked. I bought mine from Saks a little over a week ago. You can also find them online at Tom Ford, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Selfridges.

After testing these for over a week, I prefer these as a blush and highlighter duo rather than as a contouring set. The shimmer and color make both duos them more blush-like. Color-wise I adore Stroked (the warm one) and have lukewarm feelings about Softcore (the cool one). I wish the names didn’t both start with a letter “s” though because I often get them mixed up.

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Stroked is easy to wear (for me). The shimmer factor is on the medium/high side but it blends easily onto the skin and the color warms up the complexion. I found the blush color to be very unique with a mix of copper and bronze intertwined with the peachy coral base. The blush is very pigmented so I prefer to use a soft skunk brush to apply the color so I can build it up. The highlighter is also intense which I find best applied with a fluffy brush.

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Softcore is very difficult for me to wear. It is cool-toned and cooler tones tend to clash with my warmer olive skin. The blush is very dark and the rich pigment make it very easy to overdo (even with a light hand) resulting in a sunburned or punched look (yes it makes me look like someone punched me in the cheeks). The highlighter is almost white on my skin and enhances pores if I swipe it one too many times and ends up looking too sharp and frosted. The quality and pigment are still very good, but the colors only work if I use an ultra light hand.

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Swatches and comparisons: left Softcore, right Stroked

Comparisons to:

The blush side of the Stroked Duo is a mix between Love Lust, Ravish and Savage. If you swirled all three colors together, you would get something very similar to Stroked.

Bottom line I love Stroked. It’s really flattering and brightens the face. I was worried it would be entirely orange based on some swatches I had seen online. I prefer applying with a lighter hand but even with a regular one, I don’t find it turns orangey at all on my skin.

Softcore is hit or miss, for me it’s been mostly a miss. I was able to get it to work on me a couple times, but most of the times I tried it, I found it looked too dark/harsh and too cool-toned. I ended up having to redo my makeup entirely, but I’m still determined to try and make it work. It looks better if I use only the blush side on the face and save the highlighter for the eyes. Still for cheeks, I need something that is easy to use, naturally flattering, easy to build – not something I need to be super careful with.

The Contouring Cheek Color Duos retail for $77 each. Both are limited-edition. They are online now at Saks, Tom Ford, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Selfridges.

Did you check out the Cheek Duos or purchase any of them? What did you think? Did they work for your skin tone?
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