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Sabrina

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Dior Vernis Gris City Collection: Gris Montaigne, Bond Street & NY57th

January 6, 2011


The Dior Vernis Gris City Collection has finally been released on Dior.com. Each shade was inspired by the three greatest fashion capitals in the world, Paris, London and New York. As far as I know the Gris City Collection has been released in very limited supply. In the US, the Dior Gris City colors are exclusive to the NY boutique and Dior.com. They were released in NY for the Dior Boutique re-opening, but I did have several women tell me they were unable to place phone orders. They were told the colors were reserved for sale only for those who attended the event. However, one told me she was persistent and was able to find a sales associate who did a phone-order. I haven’t tried myself. Check out this link here on Chic Profile for additional availability information.

The limited edition collection contains the following shades (L to R in photo directly above and below):

  • Gris Montaigne – inspired by the color theme of the Dior Boutique on Avenue Montaigne in Paris (also part of the Spring 2011 collection, reviewed here)
  • Bond Street – inspired by the chic & urban style of London
  • NY57th – designed for the grand re-opening of the New York Dior Boutique on 57th Street

The nail colors by Dior have been revamped in a strengthening formula. I haven’t tried them long enough to notice a difference in the hardness of my nails, but I am impressed with the formulas of these shades. They do require two coats, but the application is flawless, smooth and fast drying. I’m not usually a fan of revamps, but I like the direction Dior is going with their product innovations and newer formulas.


Many have asked me what I think about the new tapered brush. Two different manicurists I go to did not like the brush. They applied it with the skinny side on the nail, instead of flat and wide. I’ve tried application on my own now about 6 times and I am slowly getting used to it, however, I find the pointy tip makes it a bit challenging to get the color even along the cuticles. It’s perfect for my pinky because it just happens to be the same size as my little finger. For the others it definitely takes practice.

I’m going to split my review up into two parts. Part 1 will feature the Dior Gris City Nail Polishes. Part 2 will feature comparisons. I felt like putting everything into one single post would be overwhelming for you.

I featured Gris Montaigne a few days ago (here) but here are a few more photos. I really love this color, it’s a perfect straight neutral gray.


Bond Street is a deep blue with the slightest hint of teal. It’s not so dark that it looks navy, but it’s close to navy. It’s cream-finish perfection. You’ll see it compared to RBL Teal, Chanel Blue Satin and a few others in Part 2 (coming soon).




NY57th is a steel gunmetal frost with silver pearl. Even though it’s a frost, the brush strokes aren’t too visible which is definitely a plus. Not quite silver and not quite black. This is a true gunmetal color.




Each color retails for $21 each and are listed as limited edition. I bought mine on Dior.com in the US. Gris Montaigne is part of the Spring 2011 collection and I found that color at Nordstrom instore. Are these must haves? Are there dupes? Wait for my Part 2 to see, it will be up very soon so check back around 10:00 am PST.

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Loving Right Now

January 5, 2011

In the new year, I’m currently loving right now . . .

Customer appreciation, more on this to come soon!

Chanel Regard Perlé for Spring 2011, reviewed here

Chanel Rouge Fatal Le Vernis, also shown here

Plum accents

Small Pottery Barn pill box (sold out online, but check your local stores)

Another cure for down days, giggles from the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie children’s book series

My real cure for everything, puppy love from Lucy

I’m loving nail polish in general, but especially the Dior Gris City Limited Edition Colors in Gris Montaigne, Bond Street and NY57th (review to come soon)

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A Closer Look at Edward Bess Blush Allure, Demi Buff & Rose Demure Lipsticks

January 3, 2011
It seems there has been much excitement about the new lip items from Edward Bess even if thoughts about the new packaging have been mixed. My first review was completed about a month ago linked here New Lip Items from Edward Bess. Other reviews, swatches and details of these new colors have been posted by other great bloggers:

Café Makeup – Edward Bess, New Lipsticks & Glosses (Swatches)
Best Things in Beauty – Edward Bess Ultra Slick Lipstick . . .
Blogdorf Goodman – Bess is More

As far as I know, each of these lipsticks are available individually for $32 each but were also part of a trio with all three for $75 during Bergdorf Goodman’s last gift card event. Here is a closer look at the new lipsticks in Blush Allure, Demi Buff & Rose Demure.

After testing these for a few weeks, the formula and texture seem to be the same even though the packaging is different. I find that the fig scent is more subtle, but everything else seems to be the same great consistency, coverage and finish as the lipsticks in the older packaging. The new ones are embossed with Edward’s initials (as seen below).


Blush Allure is a pale nude pink. I find it similar in lightness to YSL’s Rouge Volupte #1. The difference is slight, but Blush Allure is slightly darker and the YSL is slightly cooler toned. You can see below it has full creamy coverage, but on me it’s too light and mod-like on my lips. This color is lovely once blotted down and topped with gloss. This will be one of my higher-maintenance nudes. If you can pull off light pinks like MAC Angel, MAC Hue, MAC Faux, YSL Rouge Volupte #1 then you will love Edward Bess’s Blush Allure Lipstick.

Demi Buff is a brown-nude-pink. It leans more brownish on me although you can see bits of pink in it. It’s not as dark on my lips as Bobbi Brown’s Brownie Pink Lipstick but it is similar (see all the way down at the bottom). Compared to BB, the EB lipsticks are creamier and smoother. Bobbi Brown’s are full coverage but slightly more matte with a drier texture, still creamy in my opinion, but without the sheen.

Rose Demure is a pretty cool pink with a tinge of mauve. This is an odd-ball shade. When I put this on last week it turned blueish and almost fuschia. I was sad and thought this would be a shade I’d have to gift away. However, I tried it again this week and it went on a beautiful cool mauve-pink but without the fuschia/blueish cast. I am glad I gave this one a second chance, however I have a feeling this will be a color I cannot pull off every day. My lip color changes from day to day – sometimes they are really pink, other days they look really pale.

These new shades are beautiful neutrals that lean more towards the cool side of the color spectrum. There are a number of similar nude pinks out there – those who have explored those lighter neutrals know it can be hard to find the right one for your skintone. Too pale and you look like a corpse. Too brown and it goes on dark. Blush Allure, Demi Buff & Rose Demure Lipsticks are definitely worth checking out if you can get to a counter (Neimans at Beverly Hills and Houston or Bergdorf Goodman in NY). These have a beautiful and unique undertone that works with one’s natural skintone. That being said, my heart still belongs to a few of his other shades like Forbidden Flower, Pure Impulse and Forever Yours (all previously reviewed within the last year).

Here are the new Edward Bess lipsticks compared to a few other shades. Take note of four things:
1) In the tube they look strikingly similar, my camera isn’t always so great at capturing the differences
2) Swatched on the arm you can see the difference better (only slightly)
3) On the lips, each of these will look different based on how nude-like shades will react with the natural pigment in your lips. For example, Bobbi Brown Brownie Pink and Edward Bess Demi Buff look similar in the tube and on the arm, but on the lips, I get a straight brown with a slight hint of pink with the BB, while the EB shows more pink on me.
4) While these photos may appear to present dupes on your computer screen, I do not think any of these are dupes.

L to R: Bobbi Brown Blush, Bobbi Brown Blondie Pink, Bobbi Brown Brownie Pink, Edward Bess Rose Demure, Edward Bess Demi Buff, Edward Bess Blush Allure, YSL Rouge Volupte 1, YSL Rouge Volupte 23, Tom Ford Pink Dusk (Chanel Ming added in swatches only)




Have any Edward Bess fans tried the new lipsticks? How do you like them?

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Dior Gris-Gris 034 Quint & Gris Montaigne 707 Nail Lacquer for Spring 2011

January 2, 2011


I spotted Dior’s Spring 2011 collection at Nordstrom but the tester unit seemed to be missing a few things from the previews we’ve been seeing (see magazine scan here). I wasn’t sure if they simply filled in the slots with pre-existing items temporarily or if the US really wasn’t getting all the items we’ve been seeing. The usual Dior rep was off at the time I was there, so I couldn’t verify with her. Some of the items may be Sephora exclusives. I ended up with Gris-Gris 034 Couture Colour Eyeshadow Palette and Gris Montaigne 707 Nail Lacquer – which also happens to be one of the shades from the Gris City nail polish trio.

Gris-Gris 034 is a palette of cool grey, silver, charcoal and sky blue. Using all 5 shades on the eye at one time is not practical for me – the colors are too cool-toned for my skin. I find that the best way to use this is to use 3 shades at the most from this palette and applying the paler shades with a light hand, using a dark grey or black liner smudged, then applying the middle dark charcoal shade on top blending for a smokey eye.

The colors on the outer corners have a high-frost finish when applied with a heavy hand, but blend out to a pretty soft frosty glow. Applied with a softer hand you get a nice dusting of sparkle. The middle shade is a matte dark greyish-black with the prettiest multi-colored micro sparkles. It twinkles when the slightest bit of light hits it. It’s borderline too cool for my skin, it needs a bit of tweaking with something warm like a light dusting of bronzer to make it work better for me.

Gris-Gris unique in the sense that the formula and finish of Dior Quints are hard to match from any other brand. I don’t know of a similar palette that has all 5 shades in one compact. However, the silvery shades have definitely been done before – but in separate palettes, brands and singles. For your reference, here is Dior Gris-Gris compared to other Dior Quints such as Moonlight, Smoky Crystal and Sky Glow. Below it is also compared to Chanel single eyeshadows in Platine, Silvery and Black Star. While the Gris-Gris shades aren’t identical to any of the other colors, you can see quite a few similarities in other eyeshadows.




For the nails, there was a cream pink and a cream grey shade in the tester unit. I picked Gris Montaigne 707. This comes with the same new chiseled/tapered brush that came with the Holiday Nail Lacquers (see here). I find the metallic Dior nail polishes to be a hit or miss, but this non-shimmer formula has me really impressed! You do need 2 thin coats, but the result is a smooth and glossy and the formula is non-goopy. It also seems to dry faster than most nail polishes I’ve tried. A big thumbs up for me.

Two coats, no base or top coat:

I went through my nail polish stash and didn’t find many non-shimmery greys. The only one I have is RBL Stormy (which you can see is lighter than Gris Montaigne). Here is the Dior compared to other silvery greyish colors.



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Chanel Pearl Drop #511 Le Vernis for Spring 2011

December 30, 2010

I had a girls’-day-out with my mother and sister the other day and we all treated ourselves to a mani/pedi together. My sister texted me earlier in the day, “can you bring a light red for mom?” so I brought 3 different shades of Chanel red for her to pick from. She ended up picking Dragon (one of my favorites). I decided to go light and give Chanel’s Pearl Drop #511 Le Vernis a try even though it is my least favorite color out of all the spring shades (see review and comparisons here). After trying it out on a full manicure with 2 professionally applied coats, my heart softened a little for this color – but only in the slightest bit.

Chanel Pearl Drop #511 is a frost-finish white gold shimmer. The base is mostly white with a bit of pink and the shimmer is golden. It’s not the easiest shade to apply – the frost in this makes it easy to streak if not applied with a steady hand. Also, the gold shimmer makes this yellow, much like NARS Albatross Highlighting Powder. I already have yellow undertones being Asian so I feel like yellowy-golds aren’t the most flattering for my skintone. (If you’re wondering why I have Albatross even though I don’t like it, the compact was received as a gift.)

Now that I’ve ranted enough about it, you might wonder: is there anything good about this color? The answer is yes. I actually like this color in brighter lighting or natural light because it appears less yellow and more pearly. The coverage is decent, but you definitely need 2 coats with this color. It’s definitely a brightening color because it’s on the lighter side. Compared to actual pearls, Chanel’s Pearl Drop flashes more yellow-gold than most pearls do.


With flash:

Outdoors without flash:

My mom and sister were wowed by this color. Their comments were, “it matches your outfit perfectly!” So don’t write this off just because I’m not so wowed by it. Overall I think I am just picky when it comes to lighter colors. If you try this on at the counter, definitely try and apply 2 coats, not just one. My heart still belongs to Black Pearl (reviewed here).


I think it’s pretty but I don’t think it’s a must-have. You can probably get a similar effect with other colors but most will be more gold or more white. The streaks aren’t too visible at arm’s length. At this time I do not know if this is limited edition or not. I found mine at Nordstrom. By this time, most counters in the US should have the spring collection available for sale.
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MAC Chez Chez Lamé, Rosé Olé, Vintage Selection & Let Me Pop

December 29, 2010
I know what you’re thinking: Not another Cham Pale review! Even more so, MAC on this blog?* I realize you’ve seen this collection reviewed practically everywhere, but per request, here are my thoughts on the MAC Cham Pale collection and comparisons to other shimmer powders and paint pots.

Overall impression: I love the theme of shimmering pales (as seen in last month’s Loving Right Now: Shimmering Pales post). I’m all about the glowy and luminous but when I started seeing swatches and reviews on other blogs I was a bit let down. Everything looked so frosty! Still, curiosity got the best of me so I took a peek at the MAC counter the day after Christmas. I can report that my favorite bloggers did an amazing job in swatching with great accuracy. The colors are indeed very metallic in this collection, however I was able to find a few things that worked for me when applied with a lighter hand.

What I picked out, thoughts and descriptions:

Chez Chez Lamé Special Reserve Highlight Powder – This is a soft pale beige gold shimmer. I have a soft spot for MAC MSFs even though they tend to be overly frosty so I couldn’t resist these new highlighting powders. On my skin, the shimmer is more finely milled and less frosty. I also find these less frosty than Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks. I was pleasantly surprised! This is extremely pale however – if you’re a Chanel Shell or darker I would recommend using this with a super light hand to avoid super-frost.

Rosé Olé Special Reserve Highlight Powder – This is described as a soft pink with gold shimmer, on me it’s a peachy-rose, slightly bronzey. Same finely milled shimmer quality on the cheeks. I think this will look great on the eyes. Since it’s darker it’s not quite as contrasted on my skin. I recommend also applying with a lighter hand, I don’t think these will photograph well if applied heavily – you will most likely end up looking oily from the shimmer/shine.

Vintage Selection Paint Pot – I was the most anxious to see how the Paint Pots looked in real life. I thought I would pass on them all as they looked glittery and chunky. They are significantly more sparkly than any other paint pots I’ve seen, yet there were two that I liked blended out. Vintage Selection is a lovely light mauvey-pink sparkle. Those who don’t like micro-glitters may find this too over-the-top. Normally I avoid glitter like the plague, but this one is pretty blended out. Even though these are creams, for some reason I find MAC Paint Pots to be a bit hard to blend and need a bit of help from eye creams.

Let Me Pop Paint Pot – A unique coppery peach that is light enough for me to wear on the eyes without looking ill. This too has glittery chunks, so I recommend if you do venture to try this, try it on in small doses.

The comparisons of similar products with swatches, MAC Chez Chez Lamé:


The comparisons of similar products with swatches, MAC Rosé Olé:


MAC Paint Pots, MUFE Aqua Cream & Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eye Color:


I found most of the Cham Pale colors original and different from others (with the exception of the repromotes). I don’t think this is a universal palette of colors. The paleness of everything will definitely not suit all skintones. The glittery frosty aspect of the lipglosses and paint pots will definitely be out of many women’s comfort zone. I personally don’t know who would wear those glittery lipgelees ever. But to each their own.

If you’re wondering how the shimmer highlighters compare to other high-end brands, well, I still have to tell you they just don’t. Even though these are finely milled and not-too-frosty, The Dior Skinshimmers and YSL Holiday Powder and Chanel just have a more natural glowy quality. Compred to the frost level of NARS Multiples, Blushes, and highlighters, the MAC is more subtle in my opinion.

I was surprised myself that I left the MAC counter with anything – you all know I’m not a huge fan of super-frost or glitter. I won’t say anything is a must-have, but I do recommend if you’re at all interested to explore this collection and check it out in person if you can. You might be surprised to find something fun and different.

* As an update to the rude commenter and others who like to throw insults on a regular basis – I did not mean to imply I am too good for MAC. I do like quite a few items from MAC, in fact a substantial percentage of my collection consists of MAC products, but mainly from older collections. Those who have actually read my blog for a while know I do not typically cover MAC collections by choice simply because it is a widely accessible brand that is well covered in blog reviews, message board reviews and videos. I blog about what I want to blog about and what I like. What I like is variety. If you are offended by luxury brands then this is not the blog for you to read.

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Getting Ready for New Year’s Eve with Metallic Glitzy Nails

December 29, 2010

New Year’s Eve is only a few nights away! I’m keeping it low-key this year with family but it’s still fun to get dressed up in the spirit. This year I’m in the mood for those high metallic, chrome-like/foil-like colors on the nails which is out of the ordinary for me as I’m not the biggest fan of those high-shine metallics. I end up feeling like an ornament or metal statue, but for NYE I think it’s fun. My picks (which I am still trying to decide on) include:
  • Dior Timeless Gold (Holiday 2010) reviewed here
  • Dior Silver Pearl (Last Spring 2010) reviewed here
  • YSL Pink Gold #140 (Holiday 2010) reviewed here
  • YSL Gold #139 (Holiday 2010) reviewed here
  • MAC Soirée (Holiday 2010)
  • OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous (Swiss Collection, Fall 2010)
  • Rococo Nail Apparel R2T2 (can be found in the US at Space NK) reviewed here
  • Rococo Nail Apparel Metal Jacket (can be found in the US at Space NK reviewed here

The fun part about metallic nails is how the colors change depending on the light and how you move your fingers. I love how these have rich pigment and the metallic finish pearl particles make these dry really fast and last long. The formulas of these have a semi-matte finish, not quite like the OPI suede colors, but not like a shiny varnish either. I always love the colors in the bottles, but what goes on the nails is sometimes too intense for my personal taste.





Close ups and on the nails, Dior Timeless Gold, Dior Silver Pearl, YSL #140, YSL #139:


Close ups and on the nails, MAC Soiree, OPI lucerne-tainly look marvelous, Rococo R2T2, Rococo Metal Jacket:


I have too many options and can’t decide! Maybe you can help me pick 🙂 Of course it will depend on what I’m wearing. I have a few outfits picked out which are versatile and will go with any of these nail colors.
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