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Sabrina

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On My Radar / New In Beauty

May 19, 2014

On my radar this Monday morning:

Some good inspirational reads:

  • Buy the June issue of Glamour Magazine, I found it incredibly inspirational for life/career especially with the articles My Zo-Called Life on Climbing That Ladder by Zosia Mamet and Step Into My Office with Alex Wagner
  • Love this article #GIRLBOSS: Career Advice That Actually Matters via The Coveteur
  • Fun video on how to take good instagram photos via Song of Style
  • I’m living vicariously through Rae with this epic Asia Beauty Exclusives haul video from The RaeViewer
  • Really good insights and background on How To Get a Job Beauty/Fashion PR, Social Media or Marketing from Zoe London.
Hope you have a good start to the week! P.S. Don’t forget to check out my Ole Henriksen Giveaway, you have two more days to enter!

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Weekend Fun | Beauty, Fashion and Good Eats

May 18, 2014

This weekend one of my besties and I had spent the day in Venice/Beverly Hills. We are both May babies so we celebrated our birthdays with good food, shopping and pedicures. Our girl’s day out included breakfast at Gjelina, pedicures at Olive and June, coffee at the Nespresso Boutique, a quick trip to Barneys New York beauty floor, a stop at Sprinkles, tons of window shopping and people watching. I brought my new Fuji Film Instax Mini 25 for some fun instant print pictures (pink, blue, black, and yellow versions available in the Mini 8 version). If you’re looking for a gift for someone I highly recommend considering the instant print cameras. They are so much fun.

Birthday fun below:

Gjelina on Abbot Kinney is an ultra hip restaurant. It was perfect for breakfast (the bacon is to die for). We went right when they opened so we didn’t have to wait for a table. I can’t wait to try this place for lunch or their takeaway side. If you have recommendations I’m all ears for my next trip. As a bonus for beauty lovers, Caudalie and Aesop are on the same street nearby along with lots of vintage stores.

If you’re looking for an ultra luxurious nail treatment, Olive and June has a multitude of color options from Deborah Lippmann, NARS, OPI, Essie, RGB, Julep and many other brands. We both opted for pink on our toes. I went with a color from NARS. It’s best if you make an appointment in advance. I’ve seen so many fun pictures of this place on Instagram but have never been to it. Many thanks to my friend for picking this out and for making reservations.

I’m a die-hard Nespresso fan. I’ve owned the Pixie and Aeroccino milk frother for several years now and it’s one thing in my kitchen that I cannot live without it. For coffee drinkers Nespresso just released a new coffee Vertuoline machine that you may want to check out. If I had a bigger kitchen I would buy it but our counter space is limited. If you can get to a boutique I highly recommend it. They offer free tastings and demos. The boutiques with cafes have amazing drinks and equally incredible food. My husband happened to be at the Nespresso Boutique in San Francisco at the same time I was at Nespresso in Beverly Hills (what are the odds?) and we found the window displays were the same in each city.

Left: Nespresso San Francisco (hubby) , Right: Nespresso Beverly Hills (me), photos taken at the same time while in different cities (not planned)

We made a quick stop at Barneys (quick so we didn’t do too much damage). I stopped by Surratt Beauty, Make, Chanel and By Terry to check out a few things. More details soon. I also drooled at all the Serge Lutens and L’Artisan fragrances but managed to restrain myself.

One last picture of window shopping at Saint Laurent, Hermes, Celine and Sprinkles fun:

Hope you enjoyed this little snippet from my weekend! If you’re in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills or Santa Monica, I’d love to hear about your favorite hot spots to visit.

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New Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hi-Shine Lacquer Runway Shades | Exclusive to Marcjacobsbeauty.com

May 18, 2014
Marc Jacobs Beauty fans, in case you have been searching for some nail lacquers seen in May/June issues of magazines, there are some new Hi-Shine Lacquer Nail Polishes that are exclusive to Marcjacobsbeauty.com. There are five shades in some stunning neutrals in Tootsie, 9 to 5, Klute, Charlie and Julia ($18 each). I just ordered one of each and will report back with thoughts and swatches when they arrive.

Currently $18 each online at Marcjacobsbeauty.com – have you seen these yet or ordered any of the colors? Since the line has launched have you played with the items from the beauty line? Thoughts or favorites?

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What's In My Bag

Inside My Makeup Bag

May 16, 2014

TGIF everyone! I hope you had a good week and have some down time to relax this weekend. I’m looking forward to meeting up with a few friends, a trip to Barneys and plan on taking lots of photos for upcoming reviews.

Inside my makeup bag this week (way too many lip products stuffed in here):

  1. Tory Burch Watercolor Botanical cosmetic bag (smaller sizes here and here)
  2. Chanel Le Volume de Chanel mini
  3. Diptyque 34 L’Eau du Trent-Quatre Eau de Toilette mini (full size here), seriously considering the full size but I already have 3 other perfumes on my wish list
  4. Guerlain Healthy Glow Terracotta Bronzer (discontinued from holiday, review here)
  5. NARS Mini Blush Brush (from a GWP many years ago)
  6. Chanel Les Beiges No 2 in the darker shade for summer (review soon, original ones in 20, 30 and 40 here)
  7. NARS Angelika Lipgloss is a gorgeous pink color (P.S. Sephora has a super cute 100 beauty insider reward option of a mini NARS lipgloss, it was completely gone from all the stores near me but you can still find it online while it lasts)
  8. Aerin Rose Lip Balm in Pretty, a classic staple nude pink (review and swatches)
  9. MAC Viva Glam VI lipstick, my favorite darker rose brown color (wish they made this in lipglass form too, more VG swatches here)
  10. Caudalie Lip Conditioner from the Favorites Set (feature here)
  11. Edward Bess Defining Eyeliner in Deep Brown, my absolute favorite basic brown eyeliner staple (see my eye essentials here)
  12. Dior Diorshow Brow Styler in Universal Brown, this is one of three brow pencils I’ve been testing out, the super fine tip makes application easy and I like the packaging which is super convenient and easy to use
  13. YSL Kiss and Blush in 2 Rose Frivole, will be testing this more extensively this weekend for a review next week
  14. Edward Bess Deep Shine Lipgloss in Stolen Kiss (on sale right now until stock runs out at Sephora.com)
  15. NARS 413 Blkr Illuminator is a lovely champagne highlighter that’s exclusive to NARS and NARS Boutiques (review here)
  16. Dior mini brush from one of the highlighter sets
  17. NARS Bronzer Brush in the old version, have any of you tried the New Version yet?
  18. Caudalie Hand Cream from the Favorites Set (review here)
  19. Dior Addict Fluid Stick in Tiny Pink 269 (lip swatched here)
  20. Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy my no-brainer swipe and go lipstick
  21. Hourglass Extreme Sheen Lip Gloss in Canvas (review here)
I need to start using smaller makeup bags so I don’t end up carrying around so much stuff. Things tend to pile up each day. What’s been in your makeup bag this past week?

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Bobbi Brown Raw Sugar Shimmer Brick Eye Palette

May 15, 2014
Bobbi Brown has a new bronzy Raw Sugar Collection out for spring-to-summer. The Raw Sugar Shimmer Brick Eye Palette ($48, limited-edition) has been on my radar for over a month. I finally tracked one down in person – it’s quite a bit different in real life compared to the promotional photos online. From the ads I expected a neutral-cool mix of bronze, champagne and taupe. In real life Raw Sugar is quite a bit warmer with no taupe. I still found the mix to be quite lovely.

The Raw Sugar Shimmer Brick Eye Palette is similar to the Shimmer Bricks for the face. The one for eyes is quite a bit smaller in size measuring about 4 x 1.5 inches. The colors are all neutral earthy tones ranging from pale gold to a medium bronze. The pigment is quite good and easy to control. It is on the shimmery side but I don’t find it overly frosty. The texture is soft and easy to apply and they adhere well to the lids (as long as your lids aren’t dry, I recommend using a base or a cream shadow first).

Tom Ford Incandescent on the nails

Click to see the details of the shimmer:

Swatched:

I’ve been using this one by swiping a fluffy shadow brush like MAC 217 (see my brush essentials here) across the left side mixing multiple colors and applying all over the lids, then taking a smaller contour brush like MAC 226 on the right side over the darkest three browns and applying on top near the lash lines. You can control intensity of color and shimmer depending on how much you apply to the eyes and what brushes you use. A denser brush will pick up more color. You can also use a slightly damp brush to intensify the frost/shimmer.

For those who have previous Shimmer Brick Eye Palettes, Raw Sugar is definitely very different from the others. I only have Sequin which is significantly cooler in tone. I couldn’t fit both palettes on one arm to show you how they look side by side but see my review and swatches here. (Sequin was also limited-edition but you can still find it at Barneys right now.)

I’m really happy with the palette even though it looks completely different than the promo photos. It’s warm but not too warm. Also although it is on the shimmery side I find the warmth makes it wearable and not too frosty. For my olive skin I find cooler toned shimmers can look frosty on my skin because of the contrast.

Bobbi Brown Raw Sugar Shimmer Brick Eye Palette is limited-edition. Several stores near me sold out of this one because they had events so it took me a bit of hunting to find it. You can find it online now at Nordstrom, Macy’s, Bloomingdales and Bobbi Brown.

Did you check out anything from the Raw Sugar collection? There are some new bronzers, nail colors and tinted lip balms that I passed on but looked lovely.

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Dolce & Gabbana Oleandro Nail Lacquer

May 14, 2014

Above, Garance Doré stationary and Gucci sunglasses with
Dolce & Gabbana Oleandro Nail Lacquer ($25 for 11 ml/.037 fl oz) is a shimmery medium-light pink. It was released almost a year ago with the Dolce & Gabbana Love in Taormina collection (see the details on Makeup and Beauty Blog) but the colors are part of the permanent line. Oleandro is a lovely light pink that has a good mix of color and shimmer. It applies smoothly with rich color with just two coats. I found it to last quite well when used with CND Sticky Base Coat and Top Coat. I was able to get 5 days of wear without any tip wear (no chipping at all).

For those new to Dolce & Gabbana Nail polishes, here’s a snapshot of the brush. The gold caps are removeable. The brush is thin enough to apply easily on the nails.

Here it is swatched with two coats. I like that the pink base is a medium pink and that it’s infused with some lighter shimmer particles. It gives the color some pop. It leans towards being a baby pink without being too pale or pastel.

For comparisons here is Dolce & Gabbana Oleandro compared to MAC Angel (discontinued), Chanel May, Dior Princess (discontinued) and Guerlain Gemma. 

Bottom line love. It’s a lovely delicate pink that still has enough color in it to prevent it from looking like your traditional super pale pink. I’ve had some hit/miss experiences with some of the Dolce & Gabbana shades. Some of the sheer ones are super sheer with a jelly finish. Even though they are designed to be sheerish some (like Pearl Grey, Anise and Pink) I still prefer a bit more coverage. Oleandro on the other hand is rich in pigment and smooth in application. The formula is flawless.
Dolce & Gabbana Nail Lacquers retail for $27 each. I found mine online and also purchase the other shades in store at Saks. For some reason it’s not listed everywhere online, but you can find it now at Sephora.
Do you have any Dolce & Gabbana favorites?
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Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lipgloss in Canvas and Ballet

May 13, 2014

Hourglass has released three new shades of Extreme Sheen High Shine Lipgloss ($28 each for 0.17 oz/5g) in Canvas (dusty nude pink), Ballet (bright pink) and Muse (bright coral). These are slightly different from the existing Extreme Sheens in that the new ones are high impact glosses with super rich pigment. Those who are looking for a glossy liquid lipstick will love these. Hourglass sent two for me to try in Canvas and Ballet. I’ve been wearing these for the past week and have been thoroughly impressed with the natural shine, rich pigment and long lasting power.

These come with a thin sponge tip applicator. They have a texture similar to that of a liquid lipstick but have a non-drying feel. The shine in the formula prevents these from looking flat like most other liquid lipsticks. They have a richer more pigmented look compared to Dior’s new Addict Fluid Sticks but are similar in concept.
Ballet is a rich pink that is very bright on my lips. It’s not quite neon so I can actually wear the color. It covers the lip entirely. Canvas is a nude pink rose also with full coverage. I like that it’s a natural color with rich pigment that doesn’t wash out the skin.

Swatches:

Comparison swatches show how pigmented and rich in color Canvas and Ballet are, left to right: Hourglass Femme Nude 6 (swatched here), NARS Riekugen Satin Lip Pencil. Tom Ford Tawny Pink Lipgloss, Dior Addict Fluid Stick in Kiss Me (on lips here), NARS Isola Bella Satin Lip Pencil, Dior Addict Fluid Stick in Rieuse (on lips here), Tom Ford Sugar Pink Lipgloss, Burberry Pink Sweet Pea Lip Gloss (swatched here), Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Imaginaire

Bottom line love. Canvas is an easy one to fall in love with. Who doesn’t love a good nude pink that doesn’t wash them out? However in an effort to wear more color (per many reader requests), I’ve been pushing myself to go outside of my comfort zone and wear Ballet on multiple occasions. For me it’s definitely bright, but friends and family have all given positive feedback. Both shades will be available in stores starting June.

Available now at: Sephora and Hourglasscosmetics.com
Launching early June at: Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Net-A-Porter.com, and Space NK

This post contains press samples sent by Hourglass for review consideration. For more information please refer to my Disclosures.

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