A few adorable minis that I can’t get enough of. The packaging of these samples are so cute and the product amount in each is sufficient to last a decent trial period. I’m obsessed with well-packaged useful minis (see more mini love here.) These are so squeal-worthy but oh-so-hard to come by. I’ve found these by luck. Nordstrom Trend Shows are great sources for NARS gifts and minis. Neimans and Saks have beautiful Jo Malone gift-with-purchases (although the minimum spend amounts are steep). The last time I was at South Coast Plaza Nordstrom they had mini Burberry lipsticks – the first mini/samples I’ve seen from the brand. Bergdorf Goodman Beauty Events are known for having beautiful and generous gift bags (although the minimums unfortunately are high as well). Sephora’s point system is nice because they give you options, although I also find the good samples rare.
Tips for finding minis – alas I have none and I have no strategy to share. It’s really a hit or miss, but developing a good relationship with a sales associate helps. They appreciate loyalty by keeping an eye out for good samples, although these days, good samples (as in usable or interesting) seem more and more difficult to come by. Beauty events are great times to try new things to take advantage of their gift-with-purchases. Unfortunately are not consistent. They do not always deliver value. So far this year, I’ve only been enticed by 2 beauty events. One was a Nordstrom Trend Show, the other was Bergdorf Goodman’s Beauty Event.
Where do you find good minis? Or are you facing the same problem as me?
A few comparisons to show the uniqueness of Chanel Rouge Joues Contraste from the Byzance Collection, although my red and dark pink selection for blushes is somewhat limited.
Shown left to right: Dolce & Gabbana Sole, Chanel Rouge, MAC Merrily & MAC Dollymix. All swatched on bare skin, applied with the fingers. I’m a Chanel Vitalumiere in 30, perhaps just a tad darker from getting a bit of sun over the weekend.
The Collection Byzance de Chanel was designed for Karl Lagerfield’s presentation of the Paris-Byzance Métiers D’Art Collection last December. There are four items in this limited-edition collection which include Joues Contraste Rouge, Joues Contraste Or, Quadra Eye Shadow Topkapi and Rouge Allure in Rouge Byzantine. The colors are rich and vibrant and extremely unique.
There are a few lovely preview photos on La Chanelphile and Rouge Deluxe. You can see that this collection is more decorative and costume-like rather than practical for everyday wear. Still, Chanel has managed to create a beautiful collection that can be taken from runway to real-life, although for me, it won’t be for everyday. The window displays at the Chanel Boutique at South Coast Plaza last month were decorated for the new Paris-Byzance releases in leather goods, jewelry, shoes and accessories. The displays were truly breathtaking with the rich and vibrant colors.
Close up photos of the products:
The collection is indeed beautiful and stunning. Even though the blushes are both of the baked formula, they are highly pigmented and apply beautifully. The richness of the collection seems to me like these shades would be better suited for holiday with the red and the gold. With the exception of Topkapi Quad, the other items fall outside of personal comfort zone. I personally do not think any of these are must-haves, although I did fall prey to the “limited edition” factor. I did not want to have Chanel-regret (which can be oh-so-expensive).
After playing with these items this evening, I’ve found that I love the quad, but am luke-warm on the blushes. My swatches turned out horrible so I will not be posting them. After a few hours of looking at the lipstick, I am still too scared to try it. Since my testing/swatching photos will be missing, I’m going to reference other blogs heavily for reviews I found helpful. Below are my thoughts on each item:
Rouge Blush is a stunning red. It’s rich in color and pigment and a little bit goes a long way. For me, this will not be an everyday color. It will be a going-out/special-occasion kind of color. It’s lovely, but too rich for me. I prefer D&G Sole (shown here) because it is warmer toned and works better with my skin. It’s a beautiful shade but I think it will be difficult to coordinate with other lip colors other than red or perhaps a neutral caramel nude? This applied surprisingly smoothly for the baked formula. I expected this to be a high maintenance blush with a slight blotchy finish (because it’s baked). It applied beautifully with a super light hand. The downside is the lack of versatility with this color. It won’t go with just any pink or nude.
Or Blush is a sheer chunky gold shimmer. I’m not a fan. For golds, I prefer something finely milled. This will be lovely for layering over other blushes, however alone, it emphasizes the pores in my cheeks. I don’t love it. This evening I layered Or over Rouge. I could barely see any change. I probably need more experimenting with this, but initial thoughts are “blush fail.”
Topkapi Quad is the winner of the collection. Any taupe lover will think this is a must-have. The colors are rich with finely milled shimmer. It’s just breathtaking with the dark chocolate, lovely taupe, rich sparkly gold and bronzey brown. The quilted embossed surface is beautiful in classic Chanel style. This seems like a versatile quad to use on any occasion for any season. The sharp contrast of the rich gold is beautiful. This evening I applied these from lightest to darkest. They layered beautifully. Some lovely reviews and looks from others:
Rouge Byzantin Rouge Allure is a bright fuschia red. Just one look at this and I know it’s not “me.” It’s too bright, too red, and frankly, it scares me. I can’t bring myself to test it out. My mother, on the other hand, loves brighter reds and looks beautiful in anything pink, fuschia or bright. She has a fairer complexion without the olive that I have. This one will be passed along to her. There are lovely swatches:
Overall thoughts: Chanel has released a unique set of colors with the Byzance de Chanel collection. The colors are beautiful, unique and different than most other collections I’ve seen in a long time. However, the timing of the release seems a bit off to me. I believe the Fall 2011 Illusion d’Ombres overshadows this collection by far. Also given the fact that rumors of Byzance surfaced as early as last December, the delay in the release scheduled in the heat of summer seems ill-timed. Combine all these factors with the fact that these shades are well outside of my comfort zone, and the result is that my feelings about the Byzance items right now are luke-warm. As the holiday season approaches and I have more time to experiment with the reds and golds, I will probably change my mind, but I’m still finding myself obsessed with last spring and summer and now fall. I have a lot to keep me occupied and I think these will be stored away until the cooler season arrives. As an updated side-note, my husband loves the Rouge Blush on me. Perhaps I will give this a second look and experiment with it more.
The Collection Byzance de Chanel items are currently available on Chanel.com for a limited time and in select Chanel Boutiques and Chanel Beaute Studios. I purchased mine from Nordstrom Seattle. They have a Chanel Studio at the flagship store which carries special collections including various imported collections.
Three fresh pink lip colors from a few harder-to-find brands I think everyone should check out:
Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Lipstick in Fresh Pink PK04 – a sheer fresh light pink with a soft frost ($38 can be found at Barneys.com and KohGenDoCosmetics.com)
Burberry Lip Mist in Fresh Pink No. 09 – a healthy semi-bright cool-pink ($30, can be found at Nordstrom.com)
Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer in Can-Can 06 – a cool-toned healthy pink with slight shimmer and high sheen ($20 check Paul & Joe for locations)
Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Lipsticks have a sheer moisturizing formula. While the color is sheer, it is visible on the lips and gives healthy glowing lips like no other lipstick formula. I’ve reviewed two others Pink Beige and Pink Rose here. Fresh Pink PK04 was provided to me for review. It’s a sheer light pink. Looking at the tube, one might worry that the color would be too sheer. The color does show up on my lips, but just barely. I think those with darker skin or darker lips might find this color too pale.
Burberry Lip Mists are natural lightweight lipsticks with a unique creamy-gelled texture that makes it feel in between a lip balm and natural lipstick. I’ve reviewed a different Lip Mist, Copper, here. Feather Pink is a fresh neutral-cool pink. It goes on smoothly and doesn’t require any tweaking. There is no detectable scent. Lasting power is medium. The texture is smooth and applies evenly.
Paul & Joe’s Lip Lacquers are among my favorites for lipglosses. I’ve raved about the formula in the past, but I don’t think I’ve done very many lip swatches. These are high pigmented high shine glosses that last on the lips a long time. Unfortunately they don’t photograph well because of the shine. It looks brighter in real life than it does on the lips below. Can-Can 06 is one of my most-used lip lacquers.
For more pink loves, you can see my Spring Pinks from April here. What are your favorite pink lip items for right-now?
Koh Gen Do Fresh Pink was provided to The Beauty Look Book without charge for review.
I’ve been eagerly waiting for Burberry to release their full line of eye brushes. If you’ve been to a Burberry counter at one of the few select Nordstrom locations, you will notice they have a full range of face and eye makeup brushes for use, but to date, there are only four available for sale: the mini face brush ($52), No. 09 Socket Line Brush ($38), No. 10 Definition Liner Brush ($32) and No. 11 Eye Shaper Brush ($38). Visit Nordstrom.com – Burberry Beauty for more details.
Top is No. 09, Bottom is No. 10
I picked No. 09 a fluffy black-bristled brush and No. 10 a pointed smudge brush during Nordstrom’s Trend Show at South Coast Plaza last month. The brushes are beautifully crafted with sleek long handles in black and dark silver. Both of the brushes I picked up are made in France. The bristles are very soft and feel gentle when brushed on the skin. The size of the handles are perfect – not too long and not too chubby. They feel very nice in the hands and are easy to hold.
Burberry Eye Brush No. 09 is very similar to a number of other fluffy brushes. Compared to MAC, Stila and Edward Bess, the Burberry is the least dense, but most similar to Stila’s #9. It still has enough bristles in it to allow control, but this is best suited for blending colors on the lid or for a very soft wash of color. I personally prefer something a bit denser to apply color better, but the Burberry is still lovely, although not a must-have for me since there are other similar options from other brands.
Burberry Eye Brush No. 10 is a soft pointed detail brush good for the corners of the eyes or for smudging darker colors. It’s very soft making this ideal for those with sensitive eyes. This works beautifully with the darker Burberry eyeshadows to create a soft smokey eye by blending out darker shades to soften harsh edges.
Have these made it into my favorites list? (My must-haves were featured here last February.) They are well-made and very high quality, but since I have a sizeable collection of brushes, I didn’t find these to be must-haves. I personally believe there are brushes out there that are less expensive that will achieve the same result. However, if you are looking to expand your brush collection the brushes by Burberry are still worth looking at if you have a Burberry counter near you. I personally won’t buy brushes without being able to touch/test in person first, had I not been able to see these in person I would have not purchased them. Still, if you are able to go to a counter, you will see that the brushes are aesthetically pleasing and have a functional design with well crafted bristles for flawless makeup application.
Overall, I like, but don’t love. I simply have too many brushes as it is. I have used both for a few weeks now, both have gone through one brush-washing. Still, Burberry Beauty’s brush line shows promise, especially if they release the other brushes for sale. I have my eye on a few already and am eagerly waiting for their release. The brushes by Burberry are soft, well designed, delicate and gentle but not flimsy. I think many will find them great staple tools.
I’ve tried a number of cleansing waters in the past from lines like Shiseido Pureness, Shu Uemura and Dior. Unfortunately the ones I fell in love with have been discontinued or reformulated and have been looking for another love for quite some time. I tried Lancome Eau Fraîche Douceur, a cleanser-toner, somewhat by accident. It was one of those weeks when I ran out of all my basics for skincare all at the same time. Not having time to shop and replenish that week, I dug into my sample drawer of unused minis from gifts-with-purchases. Lancome’s Cleansing Water seemed to fit the bill for a quick-fix to tone and cleanse in one step. It was a last-resort kind of thing and I’m glad I tried it. It’s done wonders for my skin and has reached the status of one of those life-changer beauty products for me.
Product Description: “Pamper and purify your skin with this refreshing cleansing water that instantly removes face, lip and eye makeup in one easy step. This magic formula with gentle Micellar Technology cleansing agents and soothing Rose de France, lifts and removes makeup and impurities, even waterproof and long-wear formulas, with no need to rinse.”
This Lancome Cleansing Water currently retails for $35 for 6.8 fl oz (see more details on Lancome.com). It’s a gentle makeup remover for the entire face and comes in a sleek clear bottle with a well-designed pump. The packaging is sturdy and easy to use. The pump dispenses just the right amount so nothing is wasted by over-pouring. Although it’s designed as a makeup remover, I use this more as a purifying toner/cleanser.
Two pumps spritzed onto the cotton square is enough to cover the entire face. At $35 I find it fairly expensive for a makeup remover, but for a toner it seems to be decent priced. It will remove mascara and eyeliner, but not 100% for those long-wear formulas. For makeup removal in the evenings, I typically soak a cotton pad with a dual-formula makeup remover (something inexpensive like Neutrogena) to remove the eyeliner and mascara. I then cleanse the face completely with soap and water and dry. Next I tone. This is the point where I will sometimes use Lancome’s Eau Fraîche Douceur instead of toner just to make sure any remnants of makeup left on the skin are completely removed.
For those who haven’t read my skincare posts before, I have relatively normal but extremely sensitive skin. I get red bumps or irritation from quite a few products. With this Lancome Cleansing Water, there was no irritation or drying from daily use of this product. There is a very faint scent which I would describe as “clean.” I was amazed at how much extra makeup was removed from my face even after cleansing the skin with my regular Clinique Foaming Facial Cleanser. It clarifies the skin to make it feel clean but not dry. Some cleansing waters are too rich for my taste leaving a slightly sticky feel leaving a thin film on the surface of the skin. The Lancome leaves no film.
I’ve been using this since around March/April. I do not use it everyday, but alternate with my La Mer and Paul & Joe Toners. Since using this, combined with Chanel’s Ultra Lift Concentrate (previously reviewed here, update to come soon), my skin has improved tremendously. It feels cleaner, there are fewer breakouts and it overall just looks and feels clearer. The mini 1.7 fl oz lasted quite a long time for me. Since using it up, I’ve kept the little bottle and refilled it for travel.
Overall: Highly recommend.
Side note, my current skincare routine includes:
Cleanse with La Mer Cleansing Gel
Tone with La Mer The Tonic, Paul & Joe Refreshing Skin Toner or Lancome’s Eau Fraîche Douceur
Moisturize at day only with Chanel Ultra Correction Lift Sculpting Firming Concentrate or La Mer The Moisturizing Lotion
