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Sabrina

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Holiday Palettes From Becca: Fallen Angel & Enigma

November 26, 2010

Becca always puts together the most beautiful makeup looks. Check out their features from past seasons under Becca Style – Makeup Looks and you’ll see what I mean. This season Becca has released a new collection called Fallen Angel. The featured looks were just so stunning that I immediately ordered the 2 palettes: Enigma (eyes) $49 and Fallen Angel (lip and cheek) $45.

Enigma Palette has a trio of neutral-cool smokey colors. Amure is a matte soft grey-brown, Silesia is a dark smokey grey-brown-black, Surah is a shimmery mauve. All have a soft velvety texture which make these easy to apply and blend together. I was a bit let down by the palette in the sense that it did not look like the promotional photo online. Still the quality is very good and colors are good neutrals for a soft smokey eye – just not very unique.


Fallen Angel Palette is for lips and cheeks. It appears to have more of a peachy-resort feel rather than angelic. When I think “angel” I think soft pink and champagne. Still this is lovely. Sunrise is a sheer peach (almost clear), Nectar reminds me of Tuberose Lip & Cheek Creme, Narcissus is a pale gold cream highlighter.

As much as I love Becca, I was somewhat disappointed by what came in the mail. Having been somewhat let down (compared to the promotional photos) twice in the past, you would think I had learned my lesson to wait and check out other reviews before ordering again. These palettes are indeed beautiful and very wearable, so don’t get me wrong, I think they are very high quality and worth the price. I was just expecting something different. Below are swatches, the eyeshadows were swatched over a lightly moisturized arm.



One last view for size comparison, the palette colors are similar in size to a MAC eyeshadow. The Becca Shadows are 1.6 g or 2 g each (depending on color) while MAC eyeshadows are 1.5 g each. Do note I find the quality and texture of the Becca much better than most MAC shadows. The creams in the Fallen Angel Palette are 1.3 g each.

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Chanel Riva from the Côte d’Azur Makeup Collection

November 23, 2010
Chanel fans have been eagerly waiting to get their hands on the new Riva Le Vernis ($27) from the Côte d’Azur Makeup Collection. I’m sure you all know by now the color has been released online at Chanel.com and also at select Chanel Boutiques. Mine finally arrived today from Chanel.com in a cute black drawstring pouch.

Here it is with 3 coats:


It’s a creamy baby blue with the slightest hint of shimmer. The finish is much like Jade, Jade Rose and Paradoxal in the sense that you see shimmer in the bottle but it applies more like a cream. Unfortunately, the wonderful high quality Chanel finish seems to be a bit lacking in the new Riva. You can get a beautiful smooth finish with 3 coats, but it definitely takes more care and steadiness to get a non-streaky finish. As my dear friend L.R. (a Chanel fanatic like me) says, “One coat is sad, two is much better, three fits the bill.” I couldn’t have described it better.

Below you can see how pastel and milky Chanel Riva is compared to the blue from Louis Vuitton’s Damier Azur Canvas material.

I don’t have very many blues cosmetics-wise, but here are is my small collection. All Chanel. Left to right: Blue Wish (from the Tokyo Happening Collection), Riva, Azur (from Spring 2008), Nouvelle Vague (from Summer 2010)

All swatched with 3 coats, you can see Riva is lighter and softer than Nouvelle Vague. Swatched next to each other, Nouvelle Vague almost looks blue-green.


One more view of Chanel Riva:

Overall thoughts: The color is beautiful but not entirely unique. If it had more iridescence like Azur I would have fallen in love. For me, Riva is like, but not love. Perhaps it’s just too early to think about powder blues when Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. The formula isn’t the best, but it isn’t the worst either. It’s still very workable with 2+ coats. If you have the slightest inkling that you want this, I’d recommend getting Riva now while you can. We all know that Chanel regret can be expensive (cries for not getting Haute Chocolat). Also, Chanel.com has complimentary shipping through 12/16/2010.

I’ll probably put this aside until Thanksgiving is over. Even though it’s not bright or in-your-face, it’s not one of those typical classic nail colors. I’m not so sure I can brave this at the office during this time of year. Maybe you ladies can convince me otherwise.


If any of you have bought this, how are you liking it? And where/when will you be wearing this blue shade?

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Inside My Marc Jacobs Little Stam

November 22, 2010

Featuring my Marc Jacobs Little Stam. Lacquered Quilting from Fall/Winter 2010 Collection in Pink.


Peeking in:

Inside: Mini calendar, mini Coach Makeup Bag (gifted to me from the 2002-ish), Coconut M&Ms, small wallet, pens, iPhone

Contents spilled:


Inside my over-packed Coach makeup bag: Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Powder Pink, Edward Bess Afterglow Highlighter, Trish McEvoy Little Black Card with Nude Shimmer Powder, Shell Eyeshadow and Raisin Eyeshadow, Diorshow Mini, L’Occitane Hand Cream Fleur Cherie, Chanel Star Glossimer, Chanel Mica Mini Glossimer, Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Ming, mini brushes

Some of you have asked about the way I care for my handbags and why some look brand new even when they are from around 2005ish. Care and maintenance is something I learned from The Purse Forum. I highly recommend visiting the forums there for tips. I view my purses as luxury goods which I handle with care. I only wear super dark denim with my darker purses. Lighter purses are worn with care (usually ok with denim after having gone through at least 3 wash cycles). When not in use, I keep them stuffed with the original stuffing and stored in dustbags out of the sun. When possible, I store them upright, if they are flatter bags, then I lay them on a flat surface in my closet or on my shelves and make sure heavy things aren’t set on top.

Most of the bags I own are still in fairly good condition. Do I have any bags that show wear and tear? Of course – it’s natural that things get worn down with use, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t usable. Wearing down and ripping usually occurs at the bottom corners – places that aren’t always highly visible but have frequent contact.

Again, I can’t reiterate enough how helpful The Purse Forum is. I’ve found tips by designer since certain brands have different styles by material and finish. Of course I’ve been guilty of a number of no-no’s. Carrying pens, hand cream and nail polish in my bag is like an accident waiting to happen. So far, no catastrophes yet for me – but it’s bound to happen one of these days. Sometimes I just throw in what’s convenient and forget what I put inside until a week later.

Anyways, hope you all have a great week! Hope it’s a short one for the US girls and that you get a few days off for the holiday 🙂

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YSL Touche d’Or Highlighter & Colorama Palette

November 18, 2010

I’m slowly getting into YSL. It’s one brand I have long resisted but every once in a while something catches my eye. The holiday collection has the most beautiful highlighters this season with the new touche eclat-type highlighter and soft sparkling pink pressed shimmer powder.

I may be the one lone woman who doesn’t like the Touche Eclat from YSL, but I fell in love with the Touche d’Or Golden Touch Highlighter ($40) for holiday. It’s named “golden” but on my skin it went on more neutral-champagne than gold. It has a beautiful sparkle finish. I personally found it a bit too sparkly for every-day wear on the face, but it’s lovely on the eyes. If you’re looking for a glowy cream highlighter without too much sparkle opt for NARS Luxor Multiple or Edward Bess All Over Seduction in Sunlight or Afterglow.


The pressed Metallic Shimmer Powder in Colorama ($65) is absolutely stunning. It comes encased in a metallic leather compact which is similar in color to the Pink Gold Nail Color. The powder is finely milled and goes on a light pink shimmer. On my Chanel Shell Teint Innocence skintone it’s not too pale that it’s frosty. It has a lovely soft glowy finish on my cheeks. I’m not the biggest fan of the compact design but at least it’s sturdy. The product is just so gorgeous that I can overlook the flashy packaging and still love this. I find this similar in concept to Armani’s Blush #12 – in the compact and swatched on the hand it looks too light to be a blush, but on the cheeks it gives a wonderful soft glow. If Armani’s #12 worked on you, then chances are you’ll really like this highlighter. If Armani’s #12 didn’t work, then perhaps you might find this too subtle. I do think the YSL will serve as a more pigmented highlighter for darker/tan skintones though. The Armani is sheerer in finish which is why it might not show up so well on darker skins.


Swatches on bare skin, one with high flash:

Outdoor natural light:

My local Bloomingdales had a national event with a lovely GWP which made the high price tag more justifiable. My favorite item out of all the goodies was the full-sized powder brush which I look forward to trying out soon.

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Chanel Rouge Noir Le Vernis: Can You Dupe It?

November 15, 2010
Where has the time gone? In August, I featured a Chanel Rouge Noir 18 manicure with the intention of writing a dupe post shortly after. It seems I have lost track of time. Chanel Rouge Noir is one of those shades that has reached cult status as one of the most highly sought after shades. Is it simply because it’s hard to find? I’m not entirely sure. It is indeed a gorgeous dark chocolate cherry vampy kind of shade. I love how it will look reddish with one coat and get darker and more vampy with each progressive coat.

What makes Chanel Rouge Noir unique is the reddish base which prevents it from appearing like a straight black. It has a flawless glossy finish with 2 coats. It’s pure love. It’s currently available in the US in one of the Holiday Trio Nail Sets (with Rouge Noir, Gold Lamé reviewed here and Coromandel reviewed here). For those who don’t like Chanel, can’t find this shade or don’t want to splurge on a trio for 1 color . . .

The question is: Can you dupe it?

I pulled shades I thought would be similar. Some turned out to be very close, others not so much so. Here is Rouge Noir compared to colors from OPI, NARS, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Rococo Nail Apparel and Dolce & Gabbana.

I’ve swatched these with 1 coat and then 2 coats so you can see the reddish base in virtually all of these. What I find intriguing is Chanel Rouge Noir vs. Chanel Forbidden. In the bottles above, Rouge Noir looks darker. However when swatched the results are different. (See more vampy swatches here in different lighting.)

With a high flash you can see the reddish base colors come out:

One Coat Swatched:

Two Coats Swatched (Thick):

The verdict: Yes, it can be duped! My take: the closest colors I found are Rescue Beauty Lounge Au Chocolat and Dolce & Gabbana Dahlia (with 2-3 coats applied).


If you cannot find Chanel Rouge Noir #18 individually, no need to fret. There are quite a few colors that are similar. Even if the colors aren’t an exact dupe, the effect of each are similar enough that you can barely tell the difference from arm’s length. Hope this helps many of you!

A Rescue Beauty Lounge Au Chocolat manicure will be featured shortly. Enjoy the last bits of your weekend 🙂

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Armani Gold Rush Collection Picks Holiday 2010

November 13, 2010
I’ve been a long-time fan of Armani ever since I first saw it at the London Heathrow Airport back in 2001 for their natural looking elegant makeup line. These days their collections seem to have more pizazz with brighter colors that are anything but natural. I still love what they release. This Holiday, the Armani Gold Rush Collection has some beautiful options. My local Neimans didn’t have any testers for the new items but these days I feel familiar enough with the line I didn’t need to test anything to make my purchasing decisions. Also thanks to Karla Sugar (see her Gold Rush Swatches Part 1) I knew I had to have the black and gold shadows.

The items I picked out: Gold Rush Highlighting Shimmer Powder ($55), Eyes to Kill Shadows #13 Black and #15 Copper ($32 each)



The Gold Rush Highlighting Powder is a soft sparkly gold. It’s softer in texture making the shimmer powder pigmented and easy to pick up with a brush. (Some shimmer powders are harder in texture making the finish sheerer.) If you are familiar with the Spring Nude Contrasts Shadows (reviewed here), the texture and finish of the Holiday Shimmer Powder is similar. It’s somewhere in between finely milled shimmer and chunky shimmer with uber-tiny micro sparkles.

* the above photo shows the upper 1/2 with the mirror reflection so you can see the shimmer in different light, the powder is one color, not duo-colored

I don’t have large visible pores on my cheeks (just had foundation/powder on), but when I applied this over my cheeks – I suddenly had visible pores. I tried it again over a foundation/powder/cream highlighter, it had a much better result. It’s not SUPER sparkly but the sparkle is definitely visible. As beautiful as it is, I think this would be better suited for the eyes or décolleté – but that’s only my personal opinion.

Here it is compared to NARS Albatross and MAC New Vegas. From the swatches it’s hard to see the sparkle – I recommend clicking to enlarge for better viewing. The NARS is more finely milled but can go on frosty if applied to heavily. The Armani has no frosty finish, but has visible microsparkles.

The Eyes to Kill Shadows are AMAZING. The Copper Shade #15 is more of a golden-bronze rather than copper but I love it. This is a high sparkle color but blends out beautifully. The Black Shade #13 is a soft cool-toned black. They come with a little black cover inside. I’m not exactly sure what the purpose of these are – they don’t really seal the shadow since there is space around the cover once inside the pot. I’ll have to ask my makeup artist the next time I go. I completely forgot to check the silver shade.

The shimmer is very subtle but this is one of the few cream black shadows that give a soft smokey eye without looking too harsh. I found both blended better with the fingers than a brush. They have an interesting texture – not quite a cream, not a powder, not quite a mousse. It’s like a blend of all three types of shadow formulas. I recommend reading the description on Armani’s Website for a better description.

Left = #15 Copper, Right = #13 Black

* Numbers on the shadows have been updated and corrected, #15 is the Copper Shade, #13 is the Black Shade

Swatch comparisons to the other brands and colors:


Since they didn’t have testers of anything I passed on the lip items since I knew they would be bright. I did pick up a few more Rouge d’Armani Lipsticks (not part of the holiday collection) and the new Eyes to Kill Excess Mascara (all which will be reviewed in the near future).


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