All Posts By

Sabrina

Uncategorized

Trish McEvoy Sparkling Bronze Collection

July 27, 2009

Fall collections are already trickling out, but I wanted to do a feature on some pretty bronzey colors from Trish McEvoy who released a small collection of new products in her Sparkling Bronze collection this past May. I love the line for her high quality brushes, unique planner system, and innovative products. This was one of the first high end lines I got into years ago with an interactive makeup lesson at Saks Fifth Avenue where the artist has you repeat the makeup application to one side of your face after each step so you can recreate the look on your own at home.

Every single artist from the line I have met has been amazing – all talented in creating pretty looks, friendly personalities and super fun. It’s been a while since I’ve purchased things from the line because of the continuous product revamps (I must have seen at least 5 different versions of her Sexy Lipgloss as she has changed the formula and color of the years), but still check out her new products every once in a while.

The colors in her Sparkling Bronze Collection feature the following items:

* Bronzer in St. Tropez – a soft shimmery natural bronzer, she describes this as having “the ideal proportions of pink undertones to mimic the prettiest naturally tanned complexion.”

* Lip Gloss in Irresistible – a super sparkly bronze gloss with micro-glitter. I would say this has the same sparkle factor as MAC Dazzleglasses, but this has more pigment. Has a nice slightly minty scent which gives a cooling effect.

* Lip Color SPF15 in Golden Glaze – this is a sheer soft golden color. Reminds me of MAC High Tea lipstick but not quite as pale.

* Pen Luminzer in Luminous Bronze – this is my favorite, gives a soft glow to the skin in a twist up pen.

* Eye Definer Pencil in Sparkling Bronze – a unique dual-sided chubby eyeliner with a smudge tip on one end to blend the color. I wouldn’t really call this “sparkling” but it is a gorgeous deep brown shade.

Top – St. Tropez Bronzer

Bottom – Irresistible Lip Gloss , Golden Glaze Lipstick, Luminous Bronze, Sparkling Bronze

Swatches, left to right: Bronze Illuminator, St. Tropez (applied heavily over foundation/primer), St. Tropez (applied over bare skin), Sparkling Bronze Eye Definer, Golden Lipstick, Irresistible Lipgloss

Comparisons, left to right: MAC MSF Sunny by Nature, Trish McEvoy St. Tropez, MAC MSF Cheeky Bronze (so you can see how pink it really is)

2 Comments
Uncategorized

Fall 2009 Collection Biteki & Maquia Scans

July 25, 2009

This an update to the post below with scans from the Biteki Beauty Book & one from Maquia featuring the fall collections. I’ve scanned most of the pages of the little book with the exception of some Asian brands that I’ve excluded. For photos from other magazines, check one post below.

For my own product photos of some recent fall collections, check out these links:

Bobbi Brown Nude Collection 2009
Bobbi Brown Forest Shimmer Ink Gel Liner & Honeysuckle Lip Crayon
Chanel Fall 2009 has arrived at Saks!
Dior Fall 2009 Jazz Club Eyes + Nail Polish . . .
Estee Lauder Sensuous Gold Fall 2009
Giorgio Armani Fall 2009: Manta Ray Collection
Guerlain Fall Collection 2009
First Look at Nars Fall 2009
Nars Fall 2009 Tokaido Express Swatch + Review

2 Comments
Uncategorized

Fall 2009 Sneak Peek: Paul & Joe, Shiseido, Cle de Peau, Armani, Guerlain, YSL

July 25, 2009

Happy Friday! I’ve recently gotten into Japanese magazines such as JJ, Biteki, Maquia, and Voce thanks to one of my favorite beauty blogs Haru’s Rouge Deluxe. Luckily, there is a Mitsuwa Marketplace near me which has a bookstore inside which has allowed me to find these magazines in Southern California.

This month the September issues have released their fall lookbooks with photographs of the fall releases of numerous brands. Unfortunately, I cannot read Japanese, but luckily, there are many items that release products with numbers in their color name which makes it easy to match the number to the product color names by doing some research . Here are a few pictures of some of the collections I found interesting:

Paul & Joe from Maquia:

Shiseido new eyeshadows from Maquia:

Close up of RD709:

For comparisons, check out this Color Focus Shimmering Sands . . . article.

Cle de Peau from Maquia:

Giorgio Armani from Biteki (looks like the Eyes to Kill Palettes might still be coming out soon!):

Giorgio Armani from June Instyle featuring Eyes to Kill Palette No. 3:

For more Armani Fall Pictures, check out my haul here Giorgio Armani Fall 2009: Manta Ray Collection.

Guerlain from Maquia:

For more Guerlain product pictures, click here Guerlain Fall Collection 2009. Karlasugar has awesome swatches in her Guerlain Fall: Russian Beauty article as well as Yuki’s Lazy Channel.

YSL from Voce:

0 Comments
Uncategorized

Bargain Shopping Haul from Target

July 23, 2009

I have to admit, when it comes to beauty products, I’m a high-end snob 99% of the time, but as soon as I saw Karla Sugar’s review, “New Brush Discovery!” featuring Studio Tools, I ran right away to Target to track down this steal.

What I came home with, from top to bottom:
* Sonia Kashuk Beautifying Blush in Pink #14 – $8.99
* Sonia Kasuk Eye Definer in Iced Coffee #24 – $5.99
* Studio Tools Crease Brush – $1.99
* Studio Tools Smudge Brush – $2.49

Sonia Kashuk Eye Liner in Iced Coffee Swatch & Pink Blush Swatch (can barely see it on the right but goes on better than it photographs):

So far I’m really happy with the brushes. You can’t beat that price. Bristles are full enough so they aren’t flimsy, but still soft enough to move them easily over the eye for blending.

I’m always on the search for crease brushes like this one. I have so many already (from MAC, Stila, Trish McEvoy, Laura Mercier and Chanel), but some are too big, not full enough (making them flimsy), some are too tightly packed, and some are too short. Before finding this Studio Tools Crease Brush, my favorite was the Stila Double Ended #30, but in recent years I’ve found Stila’s quality to have changed somewhat, especially with their brushes. The double-ended factor also makes storage a pain as one side will always end up somewhat smashed from storing them in various cans and containers.

For Sonia Kashuk, I was really impressed with the items she has! She has a great range of neutral eyeshadows. Unfortunately, the downside of drug-store beauty is that there are rarely testers of products. To me $8.99 for a drugstore blush isn’t exactly “cheap.” I decided to try and find reviews first of other products before purchasing more items.

The texture of the blush is very nice though, soft and powdery. The eyeliner is gorgeous, especially for all taupe-fans.

2 Comments
Uncategorized

Second Round of Dolce & Gabbana Makeup from Saks NY Brushes with Greatness Event

July 22, 2009

I placed an order from Saks NY for their Brushes with Greatness Event and received a cute Stephanie Johnson makeup bag filled with tons of little samples and goodies. Also with Dolce & Gabbana, they were having a gift of their Eyeliner Pencil in Black and a mini Body Cream.

What I ordered:
* Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Nude
* Luminous Cheek Color in Nude
* Classic Cream Lipstick in Charm
* Crayon Intense Eyeliner in Coffee

Left to right: Coffee Eyeliner, Black Eyeliner, Charm Lipstick

Nude Eyeshadow Quad & Nude Blush with Flash:

Close Up of the Nude Eyeshadow Quad:

Close Up of the Nude Blush:

D&G gift with purchase:

Saks Gift with Purchase:

Haven’t had a chance to play with anything yet, but after my first haul back in May, I’ve come to really like the texture of the eyeshadows. Overall, I feel the line is still overpriced but I do like the colors I have purchased. The only thing I don’t love is the Stromboli eyeliner, but I had to get Coffee because I’m a huge fan of shimmery browns. I will try and do some comparison pictures of the lipstick with the others I ordered before in the next week or so.

Interested in more Dolce & Gabbana? Check out this link to see pictures of more eyeshadow quads, lipsticks, and eyeliner:

First Look: Dolce & Gabbana Makeup

Includes pictures of Champagne Quad, Contrasts Quad, Perfection, Naked, Soiree, Velvet Lipsticks (Shine & Classic Cream Formulas).

For swatch of Stromboli Eyeliner, check out the Smokey Series:

Color Focus: Smokey Eyes Part 3 (Black Golds)

2 Comments
Uncategorized

Bobbi Brown Forest Shimmer Ink Gel Liner & Honeysuckle Lip Crayon

July 21, 2009

Bobbi Brown’s newest Ivy League collection is centered around a green-colored theme for fall. Today I picked up 2 items: the new Forest Shimmer Ink Gel Liner and Honeysuckle Lip Crayon. Other items in the collection included a new angled eyeshadow brush, a new eyeshadow and 5 other lip crayons.

The other lip crayons were on the brighter/more intense side. If you’re a fan of bright rich pinks, you will love Wild Rose and Posey. If you’re into nudes, then you’ll like Honeysuckle (for a peachy nude) and Dusty Nude (for a nude brown with slight pink). This first round I passed on Dusty Nude because it seemed similar to some other colors I already own but I will be checking back on it again later.

The new e/s brush was nice, but not a must have in my opinion.

Pics, swatches, and comparisons!

Forest Shimmer Ink & Honeysuckle:

Forest Shimmer Ink versus Ivy Shimmer Ink and Clinique Egyptian:

Swatch comparisons:

1. Bobbi Brown Long-wear Gel Eyeliner Ivy Shimmer Ink
2. Bobbi Brown Long-wear Gel Eyeliner Forest Shimmer Ink
3. Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner Egyptian (now only available in the pencil cream shaper form)
4. MAC Kohl Power Black Karat
5. Nars Eyeliner Kyoto
6. Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil Black Jade
7. Bobbi Brown Lip Crayon Honeysuckle
8. Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Belle du Jour
9. Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Café Con Leche
10. MAC Cremestick Liner Honey B. (this was recently put on the MAC Goodbyes List, still might be available at local MAC stores and Nordstrom counters – happens to be my HG ylbb nude)
11. MAC Cremestick Liner Summerfruit
12. Bobbi Brown Lip Liner Beige

Like greenish shades? Here are some other green shadows:

1. MAC Lustre Eyeshadow Greensmoke
2. MAC Starflash Eyeshadow Mink & Sable (discontinued, but similar to MAC Sumptuous Olive Eyeshadow)
3. MAC Eyeshadow Saturnal
4. Bobbi Brown Long-wear Gel Eyeliner Ivy Shimmer Ink
5. Bobbi Brown Long-wear Gel Eyeliner Forest Shimmer Ink
6. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Rush (has a khaki slight greenish tinge)
7. Bobbi Brown Metallics Trio in Forest Metallics: Sage, Basalm, Forest (note Sage & Forest are available individually)

More green eyeliner swatches:

Color Focus: Smokey Eyes Part 5 (Blues & Greens)

5 Comments