I’m fairly new to Benefit. I’ve tried numerous items in the past, but have avoided the line like crazy because of overly pushy sales reps that pounce on you as soon as you walk in the door of a department store, so I usually check out the items at Sephora where I can try out colors at my own pace. I picked up a few items to redeem my beauty insider points for the mini Lady’s Choice Lipstick which I love for a cute non-shimmery nude pink shade.
Came home with Thrrrob & Dandelion after having a good experience with Coralista. Both are on the sheerer side for me but give a nice subtle glow. Not too crazy about the packaging (feels like it will get dirty easily) or price (I feel $28 is overpriced for Benefit).
Also picked up Fawn Over Me Eyeshadow after having good results with Rich Beach eyeshadow. These are soft and highly pigmented. I definitely recommend you check the rest of the shadows out! Fawn Over Me is a pretty neutral beige shimmer.
Fawn Over Me compared to a couple other beigey shimmers.
The Rouge Allure Laques have finally arrived in the US and I am so glad they have! Featured in the collection are 8 Rouge Allure Lipsticks (I think most are new), 8 Rouge Allure Laques (a luminous satin lip lacquer), 4 (maybe 5) repromoted lipliners, and 4 new nail polishes.
I received a mini flyer in the mail with a special offer of a mini sized sample of Dragon Rouge Allure Laque #75, an intense classic vibrant red shade. This one happens to be from Saks. I believe there is also a promotion going on online with any order to get a mini sample as well.
I’m usually not a fan of satin-finish lip cremes because I find them too thick and matte looking giving my already-full lips a heavy flat look (such as YSL Rouge Voluptes, Laura Mercier Lip Velvets, MAC Matte Lipsticks, Chanel Rouge Doubles). The new Rouge Allure Laques have won my heart with their subtle shine and slight multi-color shimmer giving them some depth which results in a full finish that isn’t too heavy looking or flat on the lips.
Left to right: Mythic Rouge Allure #69, Ming Nail Polish #471, Dragon Nail Polish #475
Close up & swatches of Ming & Dragon Nail Polishes:
Close up of Mythic Rouge Allure Lipstick:
Chanel Mythic Rouge Allure Comparisons to other nude/beige lip colors:
1) Laura Mercier Passion Fruit (mini), 2) Bobbi Brown Metallic Beige Gold (mini), 3) Bobbi Brown Candlelight Shimmer (discontinued), 4) Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous #38, 5) Chanel Rouge Allure Mythic #69, 6) Dolce & Gabbana Perfection, 7) MAC High Tea, 8) MAC Creme d’Nude
Also slipped my mind but another nude shade in Armani is Shine #47 which you can see HERE. They had quite a few pretty pinks, bolder reds, oranges that I didn’t get. FYI – the testers at the counter have a clear glass base for the glosses so you can actually see the color without opening the tube.
Sample Rouge Allure Laque Box, Full Sized vs Sample Size
Stopped by Saks today and saw the new Metallic Long-Wear Cream Shadows out. They have a sheer colored base and most of the pigment is in the metallic sparkles of each shade. They consist of a sheer almost clear base (which you can see below in the swatches),with colored sparkles. The good news is that once applied, these really stick to the skin.
The sparkles are bigger than I’d expect for something from Bobbi Brown, almost like micro glitters. The colors are really pretty in but I was hoping that colors like Antique Gold would show up deeper on the skin the same way it looks in the pot.
It seems like there were a lot of silvery-based colors. And many of them seemed very similar, like different variations of shimmer.
I came home with three: Brown Metal, Chrome Patina and Antique Gold.
Swatches, left to right: Brown Metal, Chrome Patina and Antique Gold
Also featured with the display were 2 gel liners, the cream eyeshadow brush, and gel liner brush, all repromotes.
**** UPDATE 08/21 Friday **** I tried Antique Gold today on the eyes three different ways and have mixed feelings about these new creams. Pros: super sparkley, the sparkles stick to the eye. Cons: the sparkles are a lot bigger than I’m used to for the eye and definitely are noticeable enough to look like micro-glitters on the face, there is a lot of fall out with the glitter even though the majority of the product stays on the eyes, the base is indeed very very sheer. I applied this three ways, 1) alone with a liner, 2) as a base with MAC Go eyeshadow layered over – both of which I ended up taking off because it just looked odd. The final way I applied it was over powder eyeshadow (MAC Go + Mulch) as a top coat and still – too glittery/chunky.
If you want a metallic cream shadow but don’t want chunks of glitter, check out Laura Mercier or Urban Decay for better formulas and colors. Unless you’re a fan of glitter, I’d say pass on these.
The new Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection was just released in the US so I stopped by the MAC store today to check out the new items. Glad to report I only came home with 3 items (normally the damage is worse). I found the lipsticks either too pale or too dark for my lips. Was tempted by the Personal Taste Lipglass (shimmery cool pink) but felt it would be too frosty for my taste.
Came home with The Perfect Cheek Blush, New Spirit & Young Thing Lipglass.
Some comparison shots of The Perfect Cheek Blush with some other MAC blushes such as Blooming, Cubic, Sierra (discontinued) and Angel (discontinued).
I took another mini road trip to Beverly Hills and was able to check out the Dolce & Gabbana Makeup Line in person at Saks Fifth Avenue. Wish I had been able to take pictures of the store display, but forgot to!
Neither the lipglosses nor fall items were in stock yet, but the artist told me they were expecting to receive the Fall Collection by the first week of September and were planning to release the glosses with a new tip (doe foot applicator instead of the flimsy brush) at the same time. I was able to test two of them with the older brush and the formula seems extremely rich and highly pigmented.
The new items I bought (left to right) Ruby Nail Polish, Seduction Classic Lipstick, Cashmere Classic Lipstick, Orange Classic Lipstick
Ruby Nail Polish Swatch:
All my Dolce & Gabbana Lipsticks:
Another view:
Overall thoughts: I was extremely pleased with my experience with the friendly makeup artist who was very patient and pointed out the best selling colors and suggested some interesting lip combos for me. This was my first time seeing all the products in person and I found that I already owned their best selling colors.
The nail polishes were all rich in color with super pigmentation. I was pleased with the large size of the bottle as well. However I do have a rant for the brush which is too long and flimsy and fans out at the bottom making it hard to apply.
The bronzers were pretty but not must haves for me: * Natural is a sunny yellowy color with slight shimmer, interesting color for a bronzer – seems like it would be more of a highlight * Desert is a medium-light tanned shimmer * Sunshine is a medium matte bronze * Bronze is the deepest, which I tried, darker/deeper than Desert, also has shimmer
The blushes were all matte, from what I remember: * Peach is more of a pinky-peachy coral color, rather than a straight peach * Nude (which I own) has more peach tones than nude * Rose is a dusty warm pink rose shade * Provocative was a standout, reminded me of Nars Desire, a pretty hot vibrant pink that gives a pretty pink glow, similar to Bobbi Brown Pale Pink Blush as well
For lipsticks, the majority of them were bold and vibrant. Lots of great berries, reds, hot bright pinks and oranges. I swatched so many, but from what I remember:
* Nude Classic Lipstick is very pale, along the lines of MAC Creme d’Nude * Drama Classic is a purpley shimmer with gold * Ruby and Plum were both very bright, I was hoping for a more classic elegant color, but too garish for me * Sunset Classic Lipstick is a bright orangey coral shimmer with gold flecks, brighter and more intense than Orange * Gold Shine Lipstick was interesting, a true gold shimmer, the shimmer was bigger than most shimmers are in shimmery lipsticks, the artist told me he recommended layering Gold over Perfection to get a pretty nude with depth * Sublime Classic Lipstick is almost identical to Velvet (picture shown above) just has more peachy tones rather than pink * Goddess Classic Lipstick is deeper and brighter than Velvet or Sublime, more like a carnation pink with slight warm tones
For lipliners, I only tested a couple: * Nude is your basic pink-brown, reminded me of MAC Whirl * Another one that was a brownish color, but I don’t recall the number
I apologize for not getting a more comprehensive review of the colors in the line. There were a number of items I didn’t test out such as the mascara, powder foundation etc because of the high price tag.
More Dolce & Gabbana Makeup pictures here of eyeshadows and blush:
One more addition to my stash from the Armani Manta Ray Fall 2009 collection, Silk Lipstick 93.
FYI – I believe the Giorgio Armani Beauty Website has the swatches/descriptions of Silk Lipstick #92 and #93 switched.
#92 is the black plum shade, while #93 is the pale mauve rose color. An accurate comparison picture can be seen in Biteki’s September Issue which I’ve scanned HERE in a previous feature.
Comparison pictures here to other lipsticks that aren’t exactly dupes, but in the same color family, left to right:
Chanel Wild Tulip Hydrabase, MAC Naked Paris, Giorgio Armani Silk 93, MAC Curiositease, MAC Viva Glam VI Special Edition, MAC Scant, MAC Midimauve
This is a follow up on my Sephora Haulings post to show more pics of the new Dior Red Dahlia Nail Polish for Fall 2009 which is a Sephora Exclusive (other counters received Black Plum).
I wasn’t happy with the original swatches because the photos were pulling more red than fuchsia for the Red Dahlia, so hopefully these will give you a better look at what it really looks like.
Black Plum & Red Dahlia
1. MAC Rougemarie (bottle shown) 2. Dior Red Dahlia (bottle shown) 3. OPI Miami Beet 4. OPI Quarter of a Cent-Cherry 5. Nars Jungle Red
1. OPI Quarter of a Cent-Cherry 2. MAC Rougemarie 3. Nars Jungle Red 4. Dior Red Dahlia 5. OPI Miami Beet 6. Essie Private Bash 7. Essie Very Cranberry 8. Chanel Shanghai Red
Two views, left to right: MAC Rouge Marie, Dior Black Plum, Dior Red Dahlia, Nars Jungle Red, Nars Chinatown, Essie Very Cranberry
