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Sabrina

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Edward Bess Lipstick in Forever Yours

June 16, 2010
It’s no secret there’s a soft spot in my heart for just about everything from Edward Bess. Forever Yours Ultra Slick Lipstick ($32) was part of last fall’s release of three new lipsticks all in slightly different variations of pink-plum-rose tones. Forever Yours is the most neutral of the three pinky-rose shades and gives a nice polished and rosy color to your lips. His lipsticks are smooth, medium-to-full coverage, creamy and lightly scented with a fruity fig scent. Even though this shade was released for fall, it’s versatile enough to wear year round for just about any occasion.

Those not familiar with the line, Edward Bess is currently available exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman in NY – visit his website EdwardBess.com for more info or you can click on the Edward Bess label at the bottom of this post for more photos and reviews I’ve written about his eyeshadows, lipglosses, other lipsticks, compact rouge, bronzers and blush. Also featured here are a few guest reviews from other fellow Edward Bess fans including London Makeup Girl, Leanne, Alexa and Leslie – which I hope will give you a better idea of what others think about his line (what they liked and what they didn’t work so well for them).

Back to Forever Yours – here are some more pictures and swatches. For reference – I have light-medium skin and use Chanel’s Shell Teint Innocence (liquid).

Swatched on my lips:




Compared to NARS Dolce Vita for reference:


I bought this sight unseen last fall and have to admit I was a bit worried purchasing three without seeing them in person first. However, I was thrilled with all three although they were all really similar. There is just a slight difference in undertone between Tender Love, Night Romance and Forever Yours. The brightest one is Night Romance which my mother loves (which is huge because she is a die-hard loyal to Estee Lauder). The girls at the Edward Bess counter are fabulous at describing the colors over the phone. You can also check out this post here for a swatch card of the lipstick and lipgloss shades.
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Revlon Luxurious Color Satin Eyeshadows: Polished Bronze & Nude Slip

June 16, 2010
The Revlon unit at CVS caught my eye with these pretty satin finish eyeshadows. I don’t think I’ve ever tried Revlon eyeshadows before (even thinking back to my high school days). During my early teenage years, I was more of a Cover Girl, Jane, and Clinique kind of girl. These days I typically don’t purchase drugstore items since I am usually left disappointed by the items I pick out, however, I was so awed by the lovely sparkle in the compact that came home with 2 shades: Polished Bronze 10 and Nude Slip 20 and have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the finish and pigment. These were about $4 at CVS.





I’m wearing Nude Slip on my eyes and it gives a lovely wash of shimmer – reminds me of MAC Naked Lunch (although I didn’t pull it out to compare). Both have an incredibly soft texture and are easily blendable. There was a stunning black shimmer that I am anxious to go back and try.
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Weekend Look of the Day: J.Crew White Ruffled Tank & Skirt

June 14, 2010
How was everyone’s weekend? The weather here in Southern California has been a bit odd the past few days – at least by the beach. Sunny bits here and there and then mostly cloudy. This was Sunday’s outfit/look.

Top: J.Crew ruffle tank
Skirt: J.Crew white denim mini
Belt: J.Crew patent burgandy skinny belt
Shoes: Prada flats
Purse: Chanel

I didn’t plan to have mostly J.Crew on – but it seems to happen more often these days, although I do have to say it’s with their older pieces from past seasons. I love how comfortable the ruffle top is, but unfortunately, if it’s not tucked in or tied with a belt over, then it looks like a huge tent.

Face:
NARS Beverly Hills + South Beach Multiples mixed on cheeks
MAC Getaway Bronze Blush on top

Eyes:
Clinique Seashell Cream Shadow as a base
NARS India Song Duo
MAC Orpheus Eyeliner

Lips:
NARS Beverly Hills + South Beach mixed/dabbed on lips
MAC Love Nectar Lustreglass + Beach Lounger Lipglass mixed

I’m really loving those Multiple Tints from NARS (see my review of 2 of them here NARS Beverly Hills & Cadaques Multiple Tints = Pure Genius). Beverly Hills pulls more bright pink than red on my skin for some reason, but I still like it. Works well dabbed on lips for a slight tint. I liked it mixed a little with South Beach. I mixed the two on the back of my hand first and then applied on the lips. For cheeks, I swiped Beverly Hills on each cheek then South Beach on top and blended quickly with the fingers.

Also wanted your opinions: for the Chanel – is this something I can still pull off or is it totally OUT of style? It’s an older one, I don’t think Chanel makes the line anymore – at least definitely not the brown-on-brown. It’s just been sitting in my closet for ages. I keep forgetting to bring it out. Input would be greatly appreciated 🙂

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Chanel Jade Rose Le Vernis Nail Colour

June 12, 2010
Chanel Jade Rose was released as part of a limited edition collection last September. Luckily for those who missed out the first time, Jade Rose will be re-released with the upcoming fall collection, so those trying to find it will have another chance to buy it. I wrote about it when I received my order last fall and did a few photo comparisons (see here, Chanel Jade Rose Nail Polish) but realized I never featured it swatched on a full manicure, so here it is.

Jade Rose is a creamy nude pink with slight iridescence in the bottle. You can barely see the shimmer-glow once it’s applied on the nails though, unless you are in direct sunlight. The result is a creamy nude pink on me. I gave a bottle to one of my friends for Christmas – she loves this (more so than me), but she is fairer in skintone (probably the equivalent of a MAC NC15) so it looks more peachy on her.





When I first received this, I was less than thrilled. Even for a neutral-lover like me, it was just another boring shade of neutral pink. However, the more I wear it, the more it grows on me. It’s a demure shade of pink that gives a nice classic polished look to the hands without drawing too much attention to them. This required three coats though. Two coats left a streaky finish, even by a professional. I personally could not find a dupe for this.

Compared to my other soft shades from Chanel & Dior, left to right:
Chanel Jasmine, Chanel Lily Beige, Chanel Pink Satin,
Chanel Jade Rose, Dior Porcelain and Chanel Ballerina

Today’s mani + pedi combination:


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Bobbi Brown Pink Oyster Shimmer Brick (Asia Exclusive)

June 11, 2010
You all know that I love the unique and the hard-to-find 🙂 I fell in love with the Pink Oyster Shimmer Brick ever since I saw Haru’s review on Rouge Deluxe back in May (see her review here) and knew I had to find it. I am happy to report that she enabled me to get my hands on the Pink Oyster Shimmer Brick from Singapore thanks to a lovely custom purchase and I am forever grateful. (Thanks Iris! xoxo)

The U.S. market received the Beach Shimmer Brick for the summer collection. You can see my review, swatches and comparisons here. I called my in-the-know sales associates here to inquire about it’s possible release here (especially since Neimans sometimes gets exclusives) – but no luck. At this time, you can only get it in Asia. It’s a lovely block of white gold, sandy beige, pale gold, and light pearly pink shimmers. Swirled together it’s absolutely stunning. It’s definitely more of a highlight power – hard to describe but it gives a nice glow.



Here it is swirled, swatched and compared:

Compared to Pink, Platinum Pink, Pink Quartz:


Pink Oyster (Asia Exclusive, Summer 2010):

Platinum Pink (Spring 2009):

Pink Quartz (Holiday 2007):

Pink (Regular Line):

How much did this set me back? After the exchange rates, a little over $50ish USD each (which included shipping for 2 well padded shimmer bricks). Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Definitely yes. Unfortunately, even in my extensive stash of highlighters, I cannot find a dupe. It’s what I wanted NARS Albatross to be (which turns a horrid yellow-gold on me).
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Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color in Pink Dusk

June 10, 2010
I swore to myself that I wouldn’t even look at the new lipsticks from Tom Ford. I was less than thrilled with the boxy packaging, high price tag, and unappealing ad campaign. The fact that the lighter shades sold out online within days made me feel like it wasn’t meant to be. However my friend and I just happened to see these in LA and the rep at the Beverly Hills Neimans made the experience of trying on these lipsticks so fun, I could hardly say no. I caved and shelled out $45 for Pink Dusk and I have to say I am really happy with my purchase – no regrets at all.


I tried the four lightest shades and wanted to love the nudes but they looked like concealer on me. Pink Dusk was the only one that worked for my skintone (within my comfort zone) and is a lovely light neutral creamy pink with a very slight hint of shimmer in the tube. The formulas to me are the equivalent of cashmere sweaters. Creamy and smooth. They have the most wonderful soft vanilla scent (like Sprinkles Vanilla Cupcakes). If you like YSL Rouge Voluptes, you will like these. The Tom Ford is not quite as soft, but almost as creamy.


A few lip swatches, but it’s been a cloudy day so it was hard to get a good swatch. First in natural light, no flash.



Since I know there’s bound to be at least one of you to ask if there’s a dupe, I went through my stash of lipsticks to see. No dupe to be found. In my mind (off the top of my head) I had thought it was similar to Chanel Naive Rouge Allure, but upon pulling it out – I found I was way off. The most similar ones I could find, left to right:

Bobbi Brown Blondie Pink
Chanel Naive Rouge Allure
Tom Ford Pink Dusk
NARS Catfight
Bobbi Brown Uber Pink





You can also see it swatched on Karla Sugar’s Arm and London Makeup Girl’s Lips too.

Overall Thoughts: The color selection was a bit limited in my opinion. The nudes were mostly too pale and then there were 2 middle shades and then the rest jumped to brights and darks. I had my eye on Bruised Plum but knew there was no way I could pull it off.

Are these a must have? No. Especially not at $45 and especially not for a natural your lips but better color. But I am happy with my Pink Dusk and see myself getting regular use out of this shade. That being said, I definitely don’t plan on purchasing more.

$45 is still $45 and there are probably other better things I could have used my money on.

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Beauty Investigation: Is There a Dupe for Chanel Riviera?

June 9, 2010
I recently received an e-mail from one of my readers asking if I knew of a dupe for Chanel Riviera. She had decided to wait a bit to think about purchasing it and by the time she decided to purchase it, the color was sold out everywhere online and at all the stores and counters near her. Knowing that “oh no it’s sold out” feeling all too well, I was more than happy to help. I called & visited a number of local stores (about a dozen) but I too was unable to locate the nail polish – so began my quest to find the perfect dupe.
I narrowed down my search to brands that had testers available thus eliminating brands without testers such as Zoya, China Glaze, Essie and all drugstore brands. I swatched about a dozen hot pinks in my notebook and then went back to each counter/store to swatch the four closest matches on my fingers. I have to admit I was a bit nervous swatching so many shades in my notebook – but the Chanel reps were so sweet at each store. They even chimed in with their input about which ones they thought looked the most similar to the Riviera shade.

For some reason the fuschia undertones of some of the shades were throwing off my camera flash, so it was hard to get an accurate picture. Here are two views (to the best of my ability).

  • Thumb: Sephora by OPI It’s All About Me – about 2 shades darker and brighter and a smidge cooler toned

  • Index: NARS Schiap – same intensity, one shade bluer, looks more magenta

  • Middle: MAC Steamy – closest dupe in my opinion, just a bit more intense/sharper looking

  • Ring: Chanel Riviera

  • Pinkie: OPI Strawberry Margarita – second closest dupe, slightly lighter (only a touch)

So, which are the closest dupes? The verdict: MAC Steamy and OPI Strawberry Margarita. From an arms distance glance – you can barely tell the difference. Here they are photographed next to Chanel Riviera. Note that while they look slightly different in the bottles, on the fingers the difference is not noticeable. Are the exact dupes? No.

I was also asked how it compared to Lancome’s Miss Perfectly Pink and Illamasqua Collide – Lancome’s is significantly cooler toned and Illamasqua is a hot electric neon pink. So if you missed out on Chanel Riviera, not to worry – no need to shell out extra money for the shade on ebay. You can definitely find a similar shade! Not an exact dupe, but yes, similar. (Here’s one more shot with the Lancome – can’t swatch it b/c it’s a present.)


In terms of pigment, I actually found all the dupes to be pretty smooth and nicely pigmented. The Chanel did apply the best IMHO, but after 2 coats, you get the same result.

Note that this is by no means the most comprehensive list – just the ones I found 🙂 I hope this helps some! All work is copyrighted. Please do not republish these photos.

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