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Sabrina

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I *HEART* MAC Baby Goth Girl

September 27, 2009

Purple seems to be popular this fall and there are quite a few vampy purples that have been released (or repromoted) this season. I did a feature back in July, Color Focus: Dark Vampy Polish with some of the vampy shades I have and a swatch/review on Nars Tokaido Express as well.

I just added MAC’s Baby Goth Girl from the Style Black release to my own personal collection and love it! Although it looks similar to my other vampy shades in natural light, I found it different enough in the undertone and sparkle to make my heart skip a beat when I put it on. Here are some comparisons to other purple shades.

Left to right: Nars Tokaido Express, Chanel Vendetta, Chanel Feu de Russie, MAC Baby Goth Girl, OPI Black Cherry Chutney

Three coats each shade:

Thumb = OPI Black Cherry Chutney
Index Finger = MAC Baby Goth Girl
Middle Finger = Chanel Feu de Russie
Ring Finger = Chanel Vendetta
Pinkie = Nars Tokaido Express

Same order as above, different view:

Close up swatches of Chanel Vendetta, Chanel Feu de Russie, MAC Baby Goth Girl

Swatches in natural light, same order as above:

Thumb = OPI Black Cherry Chutney
Index Finger = MAC Baby Goth Girl
Middle Finger = Chanel Feu de Russie
Ring Finger = Chanel Vendetta
Pinkie = Nars Tokaido Express

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Chanel Holiday 2009 Glossimer Duo: Les Deux Levres Scintillantes

September 26, 2009

US girls who have been eyeing or wishing for that elusive Euro/Canada Praline Glossimer – you are in luck because it is one of the glosses in the Chanel holiday sets! I went back to check on a few things and found out more details about this set which has:
* Glossimers in Spark & Praline (not Giggle like the SA had assumed and told me)
* Mini Nude Lipliner
* Retails for $50 (US)

The three sets I have seen were spotted at two local Nordstroms in Southern California but I have not seen the product is not yet online. As of yesterday, no spottings of the Noirs Obscurs or the Paris-New York Palette although I have seen the palette pop up online at a few places.

Close up of Spark (red gloss), Praline (nude pink gloss), and Nude Lipliner:

Praline comparisons:

Left to right: Chanel Giggle Glossimer, Chanel Praline #46 Glossimer, Chanel Bel Air #147 Glossimer, Chanel Glass Quartz Aqualumiere Gloss #69, Laura Mercier Blush, Laura Mercier Rose Flush, Bobbi Brown Pink Beige, MAC Full on Lust

Same order, different view:

Same order for swatches:

For the Chanel Glossimers, Giggle is the most nude, Bel Air is the most pink, Praline has slight brownish tones compared to both. Check out some more natural pink lipgloss swatch comparisons here Nordstrom Beauty Exclusives Haul Part 1.

I have a few reddish glosses but will have to dig them up. Check back for this post to be updated shortly.

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My Brow Products & Swatches

September 26, 2009

This is a follow up on my Shu Uemura haul from last week to compare Seal Brown with my other brow products. I have dark brown/black hair with red highlights – but you can only see the reddish/brown if I am wearing a black shirt or if I’m in the sun, so just consider my hair black.

Brow products are usually too harsh, ashy or reddish for my hair color. I’ve been matched with all these shades from various makeovers and I am surprised that they all work, however Seal Brown works the best. It looks really light in the pot/swatch, but works really well for a soft natural dark brow.

Here it is compared to Laura Mercier Soft, Chanel Blonde & Chanel Soft Brown with different views/backgrounds and then swatches.

* Note that Bobbi Brown Mahogany Ink is a gel liner, not a brow product, it’s simply swatched so you can gauge how soft the other brow product colors are.

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First Look at the Chanel Holiday 2009 Gift Sets: Trio Exclusif de Vernis

September 25, 2009

I was surprised to see three different holiday sets out at my local Chanel counter at Nordstrom yesterday when the Noirs Obscurs collection hadn’t even arrived yet.

I saw three different sets, although I am not sure if these are the only sets coming out:
* Mini Brush Set $125 for 6 brushes, large face, small blush, eyeshadow, angled brow and a few others
* Lips Set $50 with Praline & Spark Glossimers and a mini Nude Lipliner
* Nail Colour Trio $65 with Allegoria, Tulip Noire (repromote) and Trapeze

I immediately snagged the Nail Set which contains my holy grail plummy-gold nail polish Tulip Noire and the new Trapeze nail polish that is coming out this holiday individually.

Antilope (from Spring 2008) versus Trapeze (holiday 2009): they are very similar, the only difference is Antilope is more frosty and has a slight gold base where Trapeze is a bit darker and more pewter/taupe/silver-cool

Golden Sand, Antilope, Trapeze:

Trapeze Nail Polish, as seen in the October 2009 Issue of Elle, page 275 “Face Time by April Long” – Philips says of Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour in Trapeze “it’s an accessory you can wear with everything.”

For some more tidbits of information on the upcoming holiday collections from Chanel, check out these awesome resources:

Makeup4All – Golden Cage Makeup Collection by Chanel, Holiday 2009
TalkingMakeup.com – Chanel Holiday Beauty Guide 2009
A Blogger that falls in love with Makeup – Holiday ’09 – ’10, Chanel Birds of Paradise

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Color Focus: Deep Purple Eye Shadows

September 25, 2009

I love the smokey eye looks that come out for fall but until recently, it seems like most all the lines usually release the typical variations of black and grey for their “smokey look.” I am not one who can pull of black eyeshadow or eyeliner easily because it’s often too harsh or ends up looking blueish on my skin. I have to opt for other deep colors and did a series on Smokey Eye Variations back in June and am so excited that lines are now releasing collections with a “black/smokey” theme that include colors other than just black or grey.

I just discovered 2 new deep purple shimmery eyeshadows from MAC and Dior and thought I’d pull out some of my favorite deep purples to compare.

1. Dior Ultra-Smooth High Impact Eyeshadow in #186 Ultra Violet
2. MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Young Punk
3. Laura Mercier Sateen Eyeshadow in Kir Royal
4. MAC Fertile Eyeshadow
5. Giorgio Armani Maestro #18
6. Bobbi Brown Metallic Eyeshadow in After Hours
7. Stila Poise

A few other pictures of smokey purples:

1. Bobbi Brown Metallic in After Hours
2. Chanel Magic Night
3. MAC Smut
4. MAC Deep Purple Pigment (Pro)

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First Look at Edward Bess: Naturally Chic

September 24, 2009

What came in the mail from Bergdorf Goodman:

* Ultra Luminous Eyeshadows in Intimate & Dusk
* Ultra Slick Lipstick in Pure Impulse
* Deep Shine Lip Gloss in Soft Whisper

Left is Intimate: which is a gorgeous light neutral nude taupe with just the slightest hint of shimmer
Right is Dusk: which is a deeper taupe grey with slight khaki/coffee tones

Left is Pure Impulse, Right is Soft Whisper: both are gorgeous nudes and I can’t wait to try them (huge thanks to the makeup artist at BG who recommended these two)

I haven’t tried the products yet on the face but I’ve swiped a few to play around a bit and I’m extremely pleased with the natural but high pigmented colors. I will definitely be exploring the line some more in the near future.

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Nars Pleasure of Paris Eyeshadow Palette

September 24, 2009

This is the newest palette from Nars which is currently a Saks Exclusive in the US and available to Narscosmetics.com. The palette was sold out on the Nars website for a couple weeks, so I called the Saks Locator to track one down from store stock and had them order it for me. I did speak with Nars Customer Service a couple weeks ago and they said they were expecting another shipment of this palette by today. So check back online shortly!

Top Row: Nepal, Violetta, Demon Lover
Bottom Row: Fez, Abyssinia, Cordura

I don’t have a lot of purples in my eyeshadow stash, so these comparison photos aren’t necessarily dupes, but comparisons.

1. Laura Mercier Primrose
2. MAC Seedy Pearl
3. Nars Charade Duo (darker side)
4. Trish McEvoy Haze
5. MAC Fertile
6. MAC Blackberry
7. Laura Mercier Bordeaux (old version)
8. MAC Velour (discontinued)
9. MAC Shroom
10. Chanel Lotus
11. MAC Bronze
12. Chantecaille Jasper
13. Trish McEvoy Rose Quartz

See my other Nars Palettes, Nars Best, Modern Love, and Essential Eyes here: Nars Palettes = Pure Love

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