My blog has been featured on Karen’s Makeup and Beauty Blog with a review of one of my latest obsessions, Le Metier de Beaute.
Check out the most comprehensive article and photo gallery on the web about Le Metier products (available exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman and select Neiman Marcus locations) here!
My current must-have for everyone is their Cannes Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss, a gorgeous pink shimmer.
Karen was kind enough to feature me as a guest blogger! I love her fun and creative approach to blogging for fellow beauty addicts like me and follow her postings on a daily basis. Stay tuned and check back for some more reviews and photos on Le Metier in the near future.
I found out about Jouer from an article in Harpers Bazaar featuring some of their products and was immediately intrigued by the cute packaging concept. Jouer Cosmetics was designed and created by Christina Zilber to provide women with personalized beauty. The brand concept was focused around allowing women to create a customized palette of colors in which she developed a unique interlocking compacts to package her products. The line was first launched in 2004, but recently revamped in 2008. The website is also unique, fun and interactive, providing great swatches of each product and brief descriptions of each color. In addition to swatches, each product features four different faces (with different skin tones and hair color). This allows you to see what each product looks like on different faces.
Tint ($20): a creamy cheek tint that comes in a square mirrored compact
* Petal – described as a soft rose pink, has a creamy texture that is sheer, but buildable, has a hint of shimmer in it
Moisturizing Lip Gloss ($20): wand style with the interlocking feature on one side, these have a nice non-sticky texture with a sponge-tip applicator.
* Wind – described as a creamy pink nude, this has no shimmer, and seems more peachy-nude than pink
* Blush – described as a creamy baby pink, perfect description, a great natural youthful pink shimmer that isn’t too pale
Powder Eyeshadows ($20): satin finish and oil free shadows that come in both shimmer and matte finishes, these are in a wet-to-dry formula, but so far I have only used these dry.
* Caramel – described as a shimmering soft gold, this is an accurate description, but it’s not too yellow or metallic, gives a soft warm golden caramel shimmer to the lids
* Buttercream – described as a pearly french vanilla, this is a great soft cream, the shimmer is very subtle on this one
* Truffle – described as a matte platinum grey, more of a dove grey
* Chocolat – described as shimmering bronzed brown
* Amaretto – described as a shimmering bronzed plum, more of a medium taupe shimmer to me than a bronzed plum, but gorgeous
* Espresso – described as a shimmering smokey slate
Overall thoughts: I believe this line is currently available online at the Jouer Website along with Henri Bendel in New York. I purchased these items sight-unseen online and was pleasantly surprised by the super-fast shipping and cute pink box that the items arrived carefully wrapped in. Also a plus – everything arrived very close to the online swatches/descriptions!
The eyeshadows are my favorite out of the products I ordered, but the glosses are nice as well! Good quality products at very reasonable price points. I hope they will expand their product line as well as possible expand their distribution to other locations in the US!
Bobbi Brown has released 6 new illuminating bronzing powders for summer. They come in a round mirrored compact just like her regular bronzers, only all of these new ones have some degree of shimmer. They retail for $33 USD and the colors are Antigua, Aruba, Maui, Bali Brown, Barbados and Bahamas.
The look for the summer features Maui Illuminating Bronzer, Burnt Sugar Metallic Eyeshadow, Black Everything Mascara, Cocoa Lip Color and the new Shimmer Brick for the body.
I have 4 of the new ones pictured here, plus Laguna Bronze which was a Neimans Exclusive in their Cabana Collection this past Christmas.
* Maui – gorgeous healthy but natural pink glow shimmer
* Antigua – soft pink with subtle shimmer (lighter than Maui, gorgeous powder pink, but not too pale)
* Aruba – shimmery golden bronze (this one has the most shimmer)
* Bali Brown – soft medium brown with subtle gold sparkles (the shimmer doesn’t really show)
* Laguna Bronze – very similar to Aruba, just slightly more orangey
The 2 other bronzers were different variations of brown. Right now I’m a Chanel Shell 1.5 in Teint Innocence (equals Armani 5.5 LSF and MAC NC30), so I passed on the Barbados and Bermuda – they were too dark for me right now, but would be great on darker skin tones.
The rest of the collection features gorgeous colors that seem flattering for most skin tones. Pigment is medium, like her regular bronzers, but can be built. Shimmer isn’t over the top, except for Aruba, which has the most shimmer, but isn’t quite as frosty as her shimmer bricks.
Some comparison pictures to Giorgio Armani and MAC Powder Bronzers.
Also featured with this collection is a new Bronzing Powder Brush which retails for $50 USD. Super soft and plush, a bit more than I am comfortable spending, but the texture is so soft, it’s well worth the investment. (Similar size bristles to the Laura Mercier Bronzing Brush, just a lot softer.)
The old bronzer brush on the left (in a mini version) versus the new plush bronzer brush on the right. As an FYI, Bobbi Brown is re-doing all her brushes, according to one of my favorite BB makeup artists, they will come in one size for the handle.
My current obsessions include hard-to-find items, particularly the eyeshadow quads from Lunasol, a Japanese Makeup Brand made by Kanebo Cosmetics. I was lucky enough that my sweet sister picked up some items for me while she was in Japan earlier in the spring.
The brand concept is geared towards the Refined Woman. They have several different kinds of eyeshadow categories, their English website is at http://www.lunasol-net.com/en/index.html. Skin Modeling Eyes: 01 Beige Beige, a gorgeous combination of beige-based colors. All shades have shimmer, the pale champagne and chocolate are the most shimmery, the two beige colors have more of a satiny finish. Lighting for Eyes: 04 Neutral, each quad in this series features a “jewelry powder” which is a super sparkley shadow (in this one, the bottom right shade). A gorgeous combination of silvery taupes. Scent Form Eyes: 05 Chocolate Cosmos, my personal favorite, soft velvety texture and rich pigment. Nail Polish: 19 Cool Beige, a sparkly neutral light beige, rich pigment, 1 coat is sufficient.
My review on these items: these are among the best shadows I’ve tried. They have a similar texture to the MAC Starflash Shadows and Urban Decay Shimmer Shadows, soft and velvety and super easy to blend. I find the Lunasol shades to all be very pigmented, both the light and dark. Can’t wait to try more from this line.
The new Lumiere Celestes glosses were featured in the May 2009 Issue of Maquia, a Japanese Fashion and Beauty Magazine. There were two simple classic looks I’d love to share.
* Left photo features Mica Rose Nail Polish and Silex #126 Glossimer. * Right photo features Cosmic Violine Nail Polish and Jupiter #134 Glossimer.
Welcome to my blog and my first post featuring a review on Chanel’s Lumiéres Célestes Collection, released in May 2009. The collection consists of 2 new nail polishes and 8 new glossimers:
Glossimers ($27 USD): • Nebula #122 – medium cool pink with blue and violet shimmers • Venus #124 – vibrant pink with gold shimmers • Silex #126 – hot coral shimmer • Météore #128 – complex mix of rose, copper, pink, brown • Cosmos #129 – berry with reddish-brown sparkles • Mica #131 – pale opalescent pink • Mirage #132 – soft violet plum with pink tones • Jupiter #134 – vibrant red
The glossimers in this collection are highly pigmented with intense sparkle-shimmer. I’m usually more into a natural shimmer, but these are fun for evening or going out. The two new nail polishes are gorgeous though. Cosmic Violine is a prettier version of the Holiday 2008 Haute Chocolat and lighter than Feu De Russie from their Russian Collection.
Comparison pictures of some of the new glossimers:
Corals (Left to Right): Chanel Aqualumiere Candy Glow #68, Coral Reef, Sirop, Silex #126, Big Bang #109, MAC Dazzleglass Utterly Posh
Pinks (Left to Right): Constellation #108, Mica #131, Astral #1o4, MAC Dazzleglass Baby Sparks, Dior Addict Ultra Reflect Organdi Pink #257, Dior Addict Ultra Reflect Jersey Pink #157
Plums (Left to Right): Chanel Aqualumiere Gloss Ironic Tonic #71, Imaginaire #84, Mirage #132, Cosmos #129, Equinoxe #107, Force #39
