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Sabrina

Base Makeup

Clé de Peau Beauté Concealer in Beige

September 6, 2011

You’ve all read the hype and raves about Clé de Peau’s Concealer virtually everywhere. If you haven’t tried it yet, believe the hype. It’s the holy grail of concealers. The quality, consistency and finish cannot be beat. It has full pigmented coverage but blends out naturally to even out dark circles under the eyes (which I did not know I had before trying this concealer), tone down red areas on the face and brighten the overall appearance of your skin.

I was gifted Beige courtesy of Neiman Marcus and Clé de Peau about a month ago and have been carefully testing it out with a highly critical eye. Upon opening it I was a bit concerned it might be too light for my skin, but after testing it out I’ve found that it’s actually perfect. I am around a MAC NC30-35, Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B30, Guerlain Lingerie de Peau on 03, Dolce & Gabbana Powder Foundation in Warm. Upon first swipe it’s clearly lighter than my skin. Blending it out with the fingers makes the product disappear and blend naturally with my skin to even out any areas that need extra help.

A bit of concealer history for me: I’ve neglected concealer in almost a year now. I’ve postponed repurchasing my usual Chanel or Laura Mercier loves thinking any shade I purchased would soon become too light (I’ve been trying to build my summer tan). Still, even though I’ve tested a hefty number of concealers, I have never been fully convinced it was really a necessity (like foundation or powder or good makeup brushes). Most concealers fail to pass the test of having good coverage, having long lasting power, being non-creasing, being non-drying and a having a good color match. There are many that look great upon immediate application but do not work well with the skin as the day progresses. The Clé de Peau Beauté meets all requirements of what a concealer should do. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad review yet before trying this I was skeptical due to the hefty price tag of $70 a tube. After testing this out for a few weeks I can say this is the best concealer I’ve tried. Whether or not it’s worth a full $70 is another question, but when this is used up I will definitely be repurchasing it.

Application tips: I’ve tested this concealer for several weeks using several methods and found application is key. A huge thanks to Karla Sugar’s in-depth review and also tips from one of my readers Laura R., I’ve found the best method is really to apply over a moisturized face (or if you just use on the eyes, make sure your skin is well moisturized) with the fingers.

I’m going to quote Laura on some of these tips combined with my own thoughts:

  • Prepare face and apply moisturizer, primer, foundation first
  • Next prep the eyes with eye cream by pressing into face, not hard, but not tapping either
  • Apply concealer with your index finger and press lightly and blend 
  • If other areas need concealer to tone down redness or even out the skin, apply with your finger in a press-then-blend method (using the fingers help to warm up the product)
  • Top with a soft dusting of loose or pressed powder (but with a brush)

Things to avoid based on my trials:

  • I don’t recommend applying this over any type of powder, the result will be cakey
  • Skipping moisturizer also results in a cakey looking finish
  • Swiping directly from tube to skin can result with too much product on the face and use up the concealer too fast, if you do this, do with a light hand to avoid too much product to the face which can also result in a cakey look (even after blending)
Clé de Peau’s application tips that come with each concealer:

Plus the ingredients (click to enlarge):

Since first trying this out, I haven’t skipped using it for a day. If I were slightly darker I think Beige would be too light but I haven’t looked at the other shades in the lineup in person but you can see Karla’s swatches here and I found the user comments in the bottom of her post useful. At first glance it would seem better if CdP had a bigger color selection for their concealers – I’m not sure how hard it is to find a color match, I’m glad I found mine, but this is something I highly recommend having an expert try on you in person. They will know which one works best for your skin and show you how to apply as well.
For inquiring minds, other Clé de Peau loves of mine include: La Creme (although I’ve survived off mini samples), Extra Silky Lipsticks and a few of the Lip Glosses.
Have you tried Clé de Peau’s concealer? What shade do you use and what other foundation shades are you?
Many thanks to Neiman Marcus and Clé de Peau for providing this concealer for review.
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Tom Ford Lipstick Swatches: Pinks & Nudes

September 2, 2011
The new shades: Spanish Pink, Pink Adobe, Indian Rose, Nude Vanille, Adobe Smoke

New and original: Sable Smoke, Nude Vanille, Vanilla Suede (to be discontinued), Indian Rose, Pink Adobe, Pink Dusk (original packaging), Spanish Pink

The new pinks are very similar. They are lovely with slight variations in their undertone and base. You definitely do not need them all. Had I seen them in person first I would have just picked out one of the new pink shades. See Best Things in Beauty’s take on the pinks she picked out.
  • Spanish Pink is a peachy pink, upon closer inspection, I noticed this one has a bit of shimmer
  • Pink Dusk is a neutral rose pink (the lightest of the rose-pinks)
  • Pink Adobe is a more brown version of Pink Dusk
  • Indian Rose is a slightly deeper mauvey version of Pink Dusk with slight shimmer

The nudes seem to be variations of the originals as well. I do not have Blush Nude, but I suspect it’s very similar to Nude Vanille. I really wish they had kept Vanilla Suede, it has a beautiful shimmer texture I think is unique for a highly pigmented nude.
  • Vanilla Suede is a gorgeous pale golden beige shimmer
  • Nude Vanille is a pale peach cream
  • Adobe Smoke is a caramel nude

Swatches with different angles and lighting, all richly pigmented and smooth. They apply softly but not too soft. The new shades appear to have the same formulas as the original shades. They have a natural sheen you can see in the sunlight. The shimmer is only visible with Vanilla Suede.

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A First Look at Tom Ford’s New Lip Colors

August 31, 2011
Tom Ford’s newest lipstick shades have arrived online at Saks.com. See the full lineup of the new shades here (plus what’s being phased out and what’s staying). I eagerly ordered some neutrals sight-unseen in Spanish Pink 01, Pink Adobe 02, Indian Rose 04, Nude Vanille 12 and Sable Smoke 14 ($48 each for 0.1 oz/3g). There are a few changes in packaging. The lipsticks still come in a heavy weight rectangular twist-up tube but now come in a dark mahogany & gold finish (rather than the white). Without direct light shining on the tubes, they appear to be pure black. Another change is in the engraved lettering on the top. They now say TF instead of Tom Ford. I was able to order two of the original shades online at Saks.com last week – if you’ve delayed your purchasing on the older packaging and shades, act fast! It looks like they will be pulled very soon.

White original packaging versus the new dark mahogany packaging:

*Update* One shot for Amy to compare the Tom Ford packaging to Edward Bess, Chanel, Burberry.

I have not yet had a chance to swatch or play with these. Upon opening all 5 you can tell that they have the same wonderful vanilla scent as the original shades. All the new ones I picked out are cremes with the exception of Indian Rose which appears to have a slight shimmery sheen to the tube. My first thoughts were to wonder if I had lost my mind in ordering so many neutrals all at once sight-unseen. I suspect that Nude Vanille will be a challenge to work with simply because it’s on the lighter side. At this point in time I’m not sure whether I should just leave it untouched to re-gift it or take a risk and swipe it to see if it will work. Given the luck I’ve had with Pink Dusk, I suspect the others will work well with my coloring. I will need to play with these in the next week or so to see.

I apologize I don’t have swatches yet but I’ve been a bit short on swatching time. I haven’t compared any of these to other shades (Pink Dusk included) so I can’t give any assessment at this time. They literally just arrived and I wanted to give a little sneak peek of these in hopes that it will help you know what to expect with the new neutrals!

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Dior Smoky Khaki 481

August 30, 2011
This season seems to be the season of new innovations in eyeshadows. Chanel released their Sophisticated Eye Collection with new quads, singles and eyelash curler and Guerlain came out with nine new quads. Dior has also released a beautiful collection of Smoky Eyeshadow palettes with six new trios that have just started to trickle in stores (I spotted these at Nordstrom). Fab Over Forty has details on the full lineup and Cafe Makeup has a lovely feature on Smoky Pink #051. The trio that captured my attention the most was Smoky Khaki #481 ($48 each).

These trios come with a new type of packaging with a sliding top and a mirror that flips open once the top slides back. According to the National Artists at the store, the mirrors are designed at the perfect angle so you can apply your eyeshadow while looking down. The compacts are on the smaller side with a small mirror. It’s great for a detail touch-up but too small to be ideal for normal application (in my opinion). Each trio has three colors with different finishes/textures designed to create the perfect smokey eye by layering. The colors in Smoky Khaki are:
  • Base: golden beige shimmer (soft and buttery smooth)
  • Soft smoky: dusty khaki-brown (subtle shimmer but very fine)
  • Couture smoky: high sparkle khaki gold

Don’t let the sparkle in these palettes scare you. They apply beautifully on the eye without having an overly glitter or frosty appearance. Yes, the sparkle is extremely intense, but the colors look amazing once you apply. The base comes in a soft smooth texture while the other two shades have a slightly harder finish giving them a more sheer finish. The colors are easily buildable though so I found the pigment payoff excellent with a bit of layering.

The trios all come with a small instruction booklet and diagrams. The application recommendations:

I tried this today using my regular eyeshadow brushes from MAC and Trish McEvoy and the result was a pretty polished neutral smokey golden khaki eye. Swatches over NARS Primer:

In outdoor natural light, no flash:

I played with only 3 of the palettes and all seemed to have the same quality and texture and color payoff. I love Dior’s interpretation of the smoky eye this season and am thrilled with the variety and uniqueness of each palette. For me, the traditional smokey eye palette of cream, grey and black doesn’t always work for my skin making me look dead and washed out. The new trios from Dior offer a diverse range of options to give a modern smokey eye. I highly recommend you check these out.
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Le Métier de Beauté East Meets West Nail Lacquer Collection Fall/Winter 2011

August 28, 2011

Messy Wands and The Ultimate Makeup have had us all drooling over Le Métier de Beauté’s East Meets West Nail Lacquer Collection for Fall/Winter 2011 for weeks. I was initially under the impression that the Fall/Winter Silk Road Collection would be limited to the new lip and eye kaleidoscope kits, both of which I felt would be too warm-toned for me. After seeing more news, I was happy to learn that Le Métier has quite a few other items scheduled for release this fall to choose from including nail polishes, lip cremes, plus deep wine colored lip & nail sets (see a few sneak peeks at Best Things in Beauty).

The East Meets West Nail Lacquer Collection consists of four shimmering rich jewel toned colors:

  • Dynasty – a deep shimmering fuchsia
  • Urban Dweller – a rich chocolate plum with gold
  • Anatolia – a rich plum illuminated with bronze and gold shimmer
  • Silk Road – a metallic bronzed copper
All four shades were kindly sent to me by Le Métier as samples for review. I already had my eye on Anatolia  the moment I saw it on other blogs. From the outset, it appeared to be a shade I suspected would rival the long discontinued Tulipe Noire by Chanel. After testing all four shades out, I was surprised to discover that I was most drawn to the chocolate and copper instead of the plums and reds (scroll down for more details).

Dynasty is a fuchsia red shimmer. With one coat a blueish sheen is more visible but with two coats, the color transforms into a deep reddish fuchsia. The formula with this shade was the best out of the fall shades with a smooth easy-to-apply consistency. It does require two thin coats for an opaque finish (one coat isn’t quite rich enough for my preference). The shimmer is very tiny in this so there are no streak marks and the result is a smooth shimmer. Dynasty has a thinner consistency than most nail polishes I’ve tried so I found it dried very quickly.

Urban Dweller is one of my favorites for the color. It’s a rich shimmery chocolate with gold. I love that the brown has just the right amount of plum to prevent it from being too warm. The gold shimmer prevents this from looking too dark. The only downside I found was that texture of this shade is a bit thick making it trickier to apply for me. It’s still easily manageable – just apply with a few single layer strokes and let it dry completely before running the brush over the nail color for a second coat.

Anatolia is a high-sparkle plum red with gold. I thought this would be my favorite but felt the others were more unique. Still this is a stunning shade. The red is slightly transparent and it’s packed with plum and gold shimmer making it look multi-dimensional on the nails. Since the base seems to be slightly jelly-ish, it requires two thicker coats to achieve full coverage. To date, this is the closest shade I’ve seen to Chanel Tulipe Noire,  not a dupe but close. Comparing the two, Le Metier Anatolia has a bit more kick, attitude and dimension since it has a more sparkly finish. I see this as a shade that can be worn year round but will be particularly fun for the holidays. The formula of this shade is slightly thicker than Silk Road (copper) but not as thick as Urban Dweller (chocolate). Apply this one slowly and let the first coat dry before applying a second.

Silk Road is a metallic orangey copper. I never thought I’d wear a darker warm coppery shimmer on the finger nails. Orange pumpkin colors do not typically flatter my olive skintone. It’s a color I avoid in clothing at all costs. I adore Chanel’s Golden Sand, & Dior’s City of Gold, but those are more golden rather than copper. It was surprise to me how much I love Silk Road on the fingers. The texture of this shade is thinner but the pigment is just amazing. It’s swatched below with just one coat. This shade is proof that I need to go outside of my neutral makeup comfort zone and try different things.

Here they are all lined up and swatched next to each other plus comparisons:

Although $10 is steep for these tiny bottles, I agree with assessment from The Non-Blonde & Cafe Makeup that with this size, one does indeed have hope of using these up. I’ve spotted the Silk Road collection already in stores at Neiman Marcus on the West Coast. I highly recommend you check your local counters if you haven’t already.

Have you picked up anything from the Silk Road collection? Thoughts? What are your favorite Le Métier nail polishes?

The items featured in this post were provided by Le Metier without charge for review.
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Fall 2011 Highlighters: Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Estée Lauder & MAC

August 27, 2011

This year designers have brought us some of the most beautiful bronzers and highlighters I’ve ever seen. For the summer releases we saw gorgeous bronzer palettes from Chanel, Dior & Guerlain with intricate embossed patterns woven with different shades. The trend has continued into the fall season with the release of new highlighters that have unique formulas & textures. When it comes to highlighters, I’ve traditionally been very open to all intensities of shimmer and frost. These days, my preferences have changed and I now look for powders that have a finely milled shimmer without the intense frost and that are also easy to apply with a single swipe on the cheeks or temples. The highlighters I tried this season include Dolce & Gabbana Illuminator in Shimmer, Chanel Ombres Tissées in Beiges, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Semi Precious Crystal Pink, Chanel Pearl Glow Powder and Estée Lauder Pure Color in Modern Mercury.

My thoughts and close ups of each shimmer powder:

Dolce & Gabbana The Illuminator Powder in Shimmer ($47 at Saks, reviewed here and also on Makeup Magpie): I find this shade to be more of a contouring powder for my skin rather than an illuminator/highlighter. On the skin, the powder applies slightly darker than what you see in the compact. The texture is buttery smooth with a finely milled finish. It blends naturally with my skin and to give a gentle glow. It makes the perfect nude contour. This product doesn’t really fit the bill as a highlighter, but as a nude blush or soft contour it’s a winner.

Chanel Ombres Tissées in Beiges ($75 at Chanel.com, reviewed here): I personally adore this palette. The texture and blend of light pinks mix together beautifully to give a lovely glow. The texture is predominantly powdery but has a slight cream texture which I believe helps this adhere to the skin to last all day. In terms of uniqueness for the color payoff, I think you can achieve a similar effect with other pale highlighters. However, the design of the quilted texture is exquisite. (Note the sparkle is an overspray.)

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Semi Precious Crystal Pink ($28 still at Maccosmetics.com, reviewed and swatched on Temptalia and Karla Sugar): This is described as having a pink champagne base with an inner circle having a fusion of pink, dirty green and bronze. It’s almost impossible for me to pass up any Mineralize Skinfinish from MAC. The frost and shimmer is high, but they have the most beautiful multi-colored shimmers. At $28 the beautiful swirls of color are hard to resist. Semi Precious Crystal Pink goes on a nude pink frosty champagne (no glitter). Applying with a skunk brush in one sweep on the cheeks to temples over any blush or bronzer will give a beautiful glow. I tend to use a lighter hand as MSFs tend to have a high impact shimmer and are easy to overdo. It’s versatile and easy to use on the eyes as well.

Chanel Pearl Glow Powder ($60 at Nordstrom, reviewed here and also on Cafe Makeup and Orange to LA): This is currently exclusive in limited quantities to Nordstrom. It’s a subtle glowy highlighter that I find less pink and less frosty than Chanel Beiges. If you asked me to pick only 1 Chanel highlighter this year, it would be the Pearl Glow. The texture is sheer but I love the finish as it gives the most exquisite wash of shimmer that makes the skin simply glow. If you’re looking for something sophisticated, subtle and refined, this is the highlighter for you.

Estée Lauder Pure Color in Modern Mercury ($40 on EsteeLauder.com, see it reviewed on Cafe Makeup): This is a unique powder + liquid + gel in one highlighter with a highly reflective peachy gold shimmer. Modern Mercury gives a highly pigmented glow without any glitter although it makes the skin glimmer like a crystal in sunlight. I highly recommend you read Cafe Makeup’s review if you haven’t already. She has a lovely set of comparisons as well as a few looks that are highly inspirational. The texture is slightly creamy with a highly metallic finish when applied with a heavy hand. The product blends beautifully and adheres to the skin well to melt into the natural texture of your skin. It makes the skin glow with or without direct light.

All lined up plus swatches on the arm:

I know many of you will want to know which highlighter I think is best. This is an impossible question for me to answer. All these highlighters have their own unique quality that makes them different for  achieving different effects. The best highlighter will depend on what you’re preferences are for price range and shimmer intensity. My recommendations:
  • For the most subtle glow, I’d recommend Chanel Pearl Glow.
  • For a contour nude suitable for even the fairest skintones, try the Dolce & Gabbana.
  • For the most unique texture/finish, Estée Lauder Pure Color in Modern Mercury is a must have (this also lasts long on the cheeks).
  • For the best price, MAC is your best bet.

For inquiring minds, I did check out the beautiful Jacquard Face Palette from Armani but found the frost too strong even though the texture and design were to die for.

Did you fall in love with any highlighters this season? Or did you find them to be duplicates of previous releases? What caught your eye this year? If you see any you like I recommend you purchase soon – most are limited edition!

Note, all content is copyrighted. Please do not republish, re-post, or hotlink images without permission.
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Guerlain Les Noirs 09 Écrin 4 Couleurs

August 26, 2011

After seeing all fall palettes from Guerlain in person at Nordstrom I added Les Noirs 09 ($59) to my collection of Les Bois de Rose 04, Les Gris 05 and Les Fumés 06. The Les Noirs 09 is a classic smokey eye palette with a soft matte black, a gunmetal frosted grey, a satiny dove grey and a pale frosted pink. The colors are simply breathtaking in the compact and apply with a smooth soft finish. The pigment on these shades is soft to medium. The frost for the 3 shimmery shades is simple and uncomplicated. The shimmer is visible on the skin but not overly frosty or glittery.

I played with this a few times this week. The quality and texture of the shadows is excellent however I’m not sure the colors are best suited for me. I find that dark grey and dark black shimmers can be difficult for me to pull off on my eyes and skin. To date, one of the few classic black/grey/cream palettes that work for me is Edward Bess’s Soft Smoke Trio. I also adore Bobbi Brown’s Black Plum Shimmerwash Eyeshadow as a dark black (on me) because it has a bit of brown and plum to give it depth on my eyes.

I typically need to layer blacks and greys over something with a bit of warmth or shimmer such as a dark bronzey-brown liner or cream in order to prevent the colors from looking too harsh or too dull. Most dark blacks wash out my skin. My experience with Les Noirs is typical of my experiences with most classic smoky eye palettes. The greys all looked similar on my skin and eyes even when layered. The pale frosted pink washed my eyes out. The palette is still gorgeous – just a bit more high maintenance for me. Chances are I just need more experimentation with this to get the layering technique down better – but after my first two tries, I know this will require a bit more practice for me to get the colors to work with my olive skintone.  I find that applying the darker gunmetal with a damp brush will bring out the shimmer and depth. Lining with the matte black with a fine tipped brush (also damp) brings out the intensity as well.

You can see this same palette swatched on Rouge Deluxe, Karla Sugar, and Makeup and Beauty Blog.

Comparisons to a few other brands: MAC Shimmertime Pigment, Armani Maestro 29, Guerlain Les Noirs, Chanel Gris Exquis, MAC Black Tied, Burberry Midnight Black, MAC Knight Divine

While Les Noirs is a gorgeous palette, I don’t think it’s very unique. That being said, I think it’s hard to create a good classic smoky eye palette that doesn’t seem too basic. Have you checked out Guerlain fall yet? What are your thoughts? Did you try Les Noirs?
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