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Sabrina

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Do You Have a Beauty Emergency Kit?

May 3, 2010
Last week I had one of those days where I had a million things to do during the day with no time to stop by home before a special occasion dinner. I packed my car with my laptop, papers, textbooks, backpack, purse, a change of clothes and an extra pair of shoes (to transition from day to night) but neglected to pack my makeup bag and brushes to touch up.
Luckily, I had my Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Island Rose (for lips/cheeks) and a mini Diorshow mascara tucked away in my backpack which was enough to freshen my look a bit. But it made me realize I needed to put together an emergency beauty kit to keep in my car for those times I need a last-minute touch up or days I forget to bring my makeup bag with me.

I looked to one of my favorite beauty books by Trish McEvoy “The Power of Makeup” for her tips on what to include in a beauty emergency kit. This is what I put together for my own using my trusty quilted planner:

  • Trish McEvoy Power of Makeup Simply Chic Page (Pink Innocence Lip + Cheek, Nude Innocence Lip + Cheek, Golden Peach AOC, Peony Pink Blush, Sand/Pink Shimmer/Snow/Blackberry Eyeshadows)
  • Laura Mercier Eyemakeup Remover
  • Edward Bess Love Always Deep Shine Lipgloss
  • NARS Luxor Multiple
  • Diorshow Mini Mascara
  • MAC Fix + (travel size)
  • Chanel DPF Compact
  • Chanel Spices Quadra Eyeshadow
  • MAC Cremestick Lipliners in Sublime Culture and Beurre
  • Chanel Ebene Waterproof Eyeliner
  • Laura Mercier Brown Copper Eye Kohl
  • Chantecaille Crystalline Gloss
  • Shu Uemura Tweezers
  • A bunch of mini brushes

My so-called “emergency kit” turned out to be quite a bit more than I intended. It’s probably the equivalent to a travel kit or a weekend-away kit. Yes, I am rather high maintenance, so this will probably be a work in progress. But at least I know that by having this tucked away in my car, I will always be well prepared to touch up, redo or refresh my makeup and not have to worry about finding the time to try and get back to the house before a last minute appointment or spur of the moment evening out.

Do you have a beauty emergency kit? What do you have inside yours?

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Chanel Le Vernis Black Velvet, Gold Lame & Illusion D’Or

May 2, 2010
I promised myself I would never buy anything I thought I’d never wear but have broken this promise several times this past year with Chanel Jade, Chanel Nouvelle Vague, MAC Birds & Berries and now the Chanel Shanghai-Paris limited edition nail polishes. Combine the words “exclusive” and “limited-edition” and I’m sold. Add “Chanel” to that mix and it triggers that need-to-have-it-now syndrome. So of course, I caved with the three newest exclusive limited edition shades from Chanel launched in honor of their Shanghai-Paris runway show. Here are my photos, swatches + comparisons to other shades.

L to R: Dior Black Sequins, Chanel Black Satin,
Chanel Noir Ceramic, Chanel Black Velvet


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L to R: Chanel Antilope, Chanel Golden Sand,
Chanel Gold Lame, D&G Desert


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L to R: NARS Adelita, Chanel Beige D’Or,
Chanel Illusion D’Or, Chanel Galactic Touch


Overall thoughts: Hmmm . . . not so sure about these. I normally love everything Chanel releases but I’m not crazy about these. I was well aware that these were released because of their runway show, so I knew ahead of time that these would indeed be “trendy.” I like the other blacks and golds in my current collection a lot better than these new Chanel colors. I love the concept of Illusion D’Or, but the gold is too bling-tastic for my taste. That being said, I would absolutely DIE if they released a pink version in this formula. Any shade of pink ranging from light pink to golden-pink to bright pink.

These are lovely, but for nails I try to be more conservative. Up until I started blogging, I only wore colors on my toes but have tried to go out of my comfort zone and wear color on fingers. Black Velvet is intriguing because the finish is so different from other shades, but just not practical for an every-day type of manicure. Gold Lame and Illusion D’Or are just too flashy for my taste, although I’m sure I’ll find some occasion to wear them in the future.

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A Few Reader Requests

May 1, 2010
Some of you have requested info, photos and swatches on a few items in the past few weeks. I apologize for the delay, I have not forgotten – here are the swatches and info you have requested. For reference, I am a Chanel Shell 1.5 in Teint Innocence (the liquid version). To see what other foundation shades I am, check out the sidebar – there’s a link to my foundation shades.

1) Can you swatch Edward Bess Bare Rose on your lips alone? Here it is by itself, please excuse the skin I don’t have any foundation or powder on:

2) Please swatch Paul & Joe 06 Nail Polish! I like this better in the bottle. On my fingers, I feel it’s a bit muddy looking. I’ve seen it on my tan friends (who are the equivalent to NC40 and a bit darker) and it looks gorgeous on them though. Here it is (2 coats):


3) How does NARS Love Devotion compare to last year’s Outsider? Love Devotion is brighter and sheerer. Here they are also compared to Beautiful Liar:

4) Can you swatch Shu IR Brown 850 compared to Shu ME 850? Sure, I’ll do one better. Here it is next to the other Shu Uemura taupes that I have. I find it fascinating how the base pulls out different undertones in each taupey color. These are swatched over a moisturized arm:

5) Can you write a post on how you pick out your makeup-of-the-day/look-of-the-day? There’s not much to write about this one. I pick out my clothes first and this is based on my mood. Makeup looks are picked out depending how much time I have and the colors I’m wearing for clothes. Sometimes, I’ll pick one product and create a look around that color. I’d like to say it’s more planned out through a more creative process, but it’s really just based on whatever works.

6) Will you show stash/closet pics? Most likely not. It might seem like I’m organized, but I am far from it. Just ask my husband. Granted, I do keep an organized mess – everything has their own section/pile – but it’s still very chaotic. I will share an old photo of my purse organization (this is an older photo from long before I started blogging, before I started my MBA, back when I was much more organized):


7) Did you purchase the new Chanel Shanghai-Paris Nail Polishes? What are your thoughts? But of course! How could I resist? I wasn’t going to write about these because so many other bloggers did, but since I’ve received several requests, I will. This one will be a bit more comprehensive, so I will do a separate post on this topic in a few days or so.

8) Will you be swatching NARS Versailles? Here’s a swatch, but I plan on this being my next manicure, so stay tuned for more pics! (FYI, I’ve seen this swatched on other blogs and it looked very streaky, I had to apply with a really steady hand to get an unstreaky result on my finger.)


9) Is there a dupe for Rescue Beauty Lounge Pink Shimmer? Yes – I’ve found 2 dupes, Chanel Le Perle (long discontinued) and China Glaze Heaven. They look really different in the bottles, but on the nails, the result is strikingly similar. If you look close you can see the difference in finish and opacity, but’s not really noticable from afar.


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Blog Tools & Widgets

April 29, 2010
My list of blogs I read and follow regularly is growing at an exponential rate making it challenging for me to manage. I wanted to know what all you tech-savy readers like to use to manage your daily reads!

I started my blog off Google blogger which has a nice follower application and a reader list on my personal dashboard. However, it’s a bit small to read and tedious to scroll through since the window space is limited. I like using it to keep track of my bookmarked pages but am looking for additional ideas to manage my own list.

I don’t use Facebook for my blog and I still have yet to figure out how Twitter works. I started using Bloglovin which seems to be very easy to use, but I’d love to hear what forms you all use to get ideas!

For widgets – I try to keep these to a minimum. I removed a number because they were cluttering the blog and making the download slower. But if you have any you absolutely love, I’m all ears 🙂

You can follow me here:
bloglovin
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Rococo Nail Apparel: Stone Cold Karma

April 29, 2010
Rococo Nail Apparel has released a few new shades for spring and Stone Cold Karma caught my eye from SpaceNK. I ordered this online along with a few other shades (will be featured soon). Stone Cold Karma is a grey-mauve cream with a subtle pearl finish that you can only see when you look closely. This is an odd shade because sometimes it looks mauve, sometimes it looks more grey depending on the lighting which you’ll be able to see in the photo swatches below. In this way it reminds me of Chanel Particuliere – it looks brown in the bottle, but on the toes, sometimes it pulls more mauve, sometimes straight grey, sometimes a mushroom brown. Perhaps my eyes are just playing tricks on me.

Rococo Nail Apparel Stone Cold Karma (3 coats):


Manicure: Rococo Nail Apparel Stone Cold Karma
Pedicure: Chanel Particuliere



Rococo Nail Apparel Stone Cold Karma compared to:
Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge
OPI Tickle My Francey
Chanel Particuliere


I had 3 coats applied to get full coverage. It’s lovely, but I think I’m just not really used to greys on my fingers. It’s in the same color family as RBL Grunge and OPI Tickle My Francey. In the bottles, they look really similar, but as you can see in the swatches, they are very different once applied on the nails. Compared to RBL Grunge, Rococo Stone Cold Karma’s sparkles are more visible giving it more depth so it’s not so flat-looking.

Rococo Nail Apparel Nail Polishes retail for $16 each. I found the line at SpaceNK.

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What I’m Loving Right Now (The Non-Beauty Edition)

April 27, 2010
This is my first non-beauty version of things I’m loving right now I thought I’d feature to give everyone a quick break from my beauty obsessions. I’d love to hear more about what you love (outside of makeup)!

Flats by J.Crew and Sandals by Tory Burch – I love J.Crew flats these days because they are super comfy and have are shaped to give just the right amount of toe-cleavage. Tory Burch is a favorite of mine for flip flops when I want something a little more dressy than your average beach flip flops. I’ve been eyeing Tory Burch flats as well, but can’t get over that huge medallion on the tips. They look so cute on my friends, but when I try them on at the store, they just don’t really seem me.


LV Epi Jasmin in Ivoire + Sweet Flowers Scarf – This photo was from several years back, but I still find my Epi Jasmins to be the most classic versatile bags that I own. They have a unique shape and the pattern is subtle which makes it appropriate for almost any occasion. The material is pretty sturdy which is a plus for me. I like their skinny scarves for their delicate designs. They have so many pretty patterns released each season, but I like the ones that are more subtle.

Alain Milliat Jam Gift Set from Williams Sonoma – Saw this cute little box with tiny jam containers and flipped out because the little jars were too cute. Yes, pricey, but I’m a sucker for packaging. Made in France with 63% real fruit and all-natural ingredients. I’ve tried the Strawberry one which is divine and love it. Gotta love Williams Sonoma, there’s always something fun there.


Nielsen-Massey Vanillas – Every baker knows that the Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla is known as the king of vanillas. I love using this for baking, sauces, ice creams. I recently bought a mini trio which has the Tahitian, Mexican and Madagascar Bourbon flavors in a trial sized vial. Check out NielsenMassey.com for more info on the uses of each flavor. I bought this set at Williams Sonoma but you can look at NielsenMassey.com for locations near you at other stores. Most baking ingredients, I’m fine with using the generic grocery store-brands, but I’m an avid fan of using premium vanilla for baking.


Glee – I love this show even though I’m well past my high school days. The last Madonna episode was incredible. I think this is the only high-school based TV show that I can stand watching. A few little known facts about me: when I was in high school, I was also in the choir group, orchestra (played violin) and also involved with other areas in fine arts. I was originally planning to go to art school right after high school, but decided a Bachelor’s Degree in Business was more important for the academic/educational value. My first year in undergrad, I did a full load of academic courses + community college for figure drawing and illustration but both were too much for me to handle at one time. I had planned on going to art school after I graduated, but here I am today almost done with my MBA in finance and management. Back to Glee – of course I had to download the latest songs on my iTunes.


Sunsets – This was a photo I took from last summer, I can’t wait for the end of May when it will start getting warmer hopefully. But I love sunsets anytime of the year.

Fashion Blogs – I was a fan of fashion blogs and style diaries long before I discovered beauty blogs. There are so many great blogs that I’m discovering everyday. I find them truly inspirational even if they don’t reflect my personal style. I love how they coordinate various pieces that I would have never thought of. Check my sidebar for a list of the ones I’m loving right now. If you have any favorites I’m all ears!

* All photos are my own.

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New From Edward Bess: Soft Orchid, Soft Smoke & After Sunset

April 26, 2010
I featured a sneak peek of the newest items from Edward Bess about a month ago and am happy to report my presale finally arrived! I am thrilled with my new purchases – the colors are amazing in texture and finish. The new items I ordered:

Soft Orchid Blush, Soft Smoke Eyeshadow Trio, After Sunset Compact Rouge




I had the pleasure of speaking to Edward over the phone and he was so kind to give me detailed descriptions and he was spot-on in comparing the new shades to his existing line. To recap:

  • Soft Smoke Eyeshadow Trio: which has a pale color similar in concept to their Nude eyeshadow, but brighter less creamy/beige, a soft dove-grey which is described as EB’s first true grey (a sister shade to Dusk which isn’t a true grey since it has a more mossy finish), a deep dark charcoal not quite as dark as Night Eyeshadow
  • Soft Orchid Blush: soft cool pink
  • After Sunset Compact Rouge: described as a burned rose, almost bronzey reddish-brown

I don’t have swatches but I do have comparisons to some other colors, so hopefully this will help you get a better idea of the shades:




I really like Soft Smoke for a good smokey eye. It’s what I wanted Chanel Smokey Eyes Quad to be (but was just not the right combination leaving me with tired eyes). The shades are similar in color family to Night, Nude and Dusk, but just as Edward described, are definitely different in undertone and finish.

The new Soft Orchid blush looks coolish in the pan but is very flattering giving a soft pink glow.

After Sunset is equally stunning – something I know darker skinned girls would definitely love. But as a light-medium girl right now, I think it’s very flattering on my skin as well since it blends out nicely.

All were purchased from Bergdorf Goodman for their giftcard event. For more info about the line, click on the Edward Bess Tag below and you’ll find lots more articles and reviews on his products that I’ve tried plus a few guest articles from other EB fans!

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