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Diptyque Fragrance

Diptyque Essences Insensées Solid Perfume

September 12, 2014

Box by West Elm

Diptyque has a beautiful selection of new items for fall. I stopped by the boutique earlier this week and left with several items. The first I want to share with you is a new fragrance addition to their Collection 34 line inspired by the address of Diptyque’s first boutique. This fall they’ve introduced a beautiful soft mimosa scent called Essences Insensées which comes in a Solid Perfume ($60 for 3.6 g/0.13 oz) and a new special-edition bottle in the Eau de Parfum ($175 for 100 ml).

Both versions at the beautiful Diptyque store at South Coast Plaza:

I purchased the Solid Perfume option. I have a couple other of the Solid Perfumes in Eau Duelle and L’Ombre dans l’Eau. Both have lasted me quite a long time and I love the design of the compacts. They are easy to carry with you in a small clutch or makeup bag and perfect for touch ups. Also you don’t have to worry about any glass breaking.

Clutch by Whistles

The Essences Insensées is a lovely light weight floral. It has mimosa mixed with May rose and heliotrope. I’ve always been a huge fan of mimosa-scented candles but when it comes to fragrance you wear, I’ve had a difficult time finding one I could wear. Most mimosa scents are very lightweight and lovely but have a powdery touch making them smell like play do once spritzed on the skin (at least to me). What I love about the Essences Insensées is that it’s clearly mimosa but it has other scents mixed in so it doesn’t smell powdery. The solid version smells almost exactly like the spray.  The spray is stronger with a slightly more complex feel. As it dries down the fragrance reveals different layers of scent which I find both soothing and uplifting at the same time. 

The new 34 Essences Insensées has the same size and design of the other solid perfumes but comes in a lovely drawstring pouch and gold metallic case.

Fits into the palm of your hand:

And slips easily into a clutch, shown below:

Clutch by Whistles, Edward Bess Black Sea Cream Wave Lip Tints, L’Occitane Mini Hand Cream, NARS Belize Lipgloss, Chanel card case, Celine cuff and Louis Vuitton Key Ring

When I first smelled a sample of Jo Malone’s new Wood Sage and Sea Salt, I was convinced that would be my next fragrance purchase. I’m glad I waited to see the Diptyque releases in person because I prefer the Essences Insensées by far.

I compared the Essences Insensées to the Diptyque Mimosa candle. The fragrance is less powdery and more wearable. If you want a wearable version of the candle, the Essences Insensées is it.

Bottom line feminine and gorgeous. I’ve been wearing this almost all week long. It wears nicely by itself, but as with most Diptyque fragrances, it’s on the softer side and lasting power is medium. I find it layers nicely with the L’Ombre dans l’Eau.

I purchased mine from the Diptyque store. You can also find it now at Space NK, Neiman Marcus (has a gift with purchase while the beauty event is going on), Beautyhabit (also has a special gift offer with purchase, check their Gift With Purchase page) and Diptyqueparis.com.

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Christian Louboutin

Louboutin Rouge Nail Colour

September 11, 2014

I’ve been putting the Louboutin Rouge Nail Colour ($50 for 0.4 fl oz/13 ml) to the test for the past month on multiple occasions (tips and toes). The bottle is a remarkable work of art made with an extremely sturdy glass bottle and spike handle. My inbox was flooded months ago with e-mails about this polish from readers who had seen it in Europe before we received this in the US. I wasn’t going to purchase one due to the price, but there was so much excitement from some of my readers and after seeing swatches I caved and ordered one. The Louboutin Rouge has sold out multiple times in stores and online. Some of the sites have restocked while others have this on back order. My local stores did not receive any of the polishes so if you’re like me you might have to do a bit of research to track one down.

Louboutin Rouge is a deep rich red that matches the soles of the covetable Louboutin shoes exactly. I’ve found quite a few reds that come close or look pretty similar from arm’s length, but nothing I’ve tried matches it exactly. The formula is very fluid with super opaque coverage. You do need two coats though. With my first few tries I found the brush to be a bit challenging to work with. It’s a longer skinny brush which I found needed a bit of wiggling and angling to control. It is a softer brush which allows you to control it more. I’m used to the dense thick chiseled brushes that are goof-proof, so this one took a few tries but it does apply flawlessly on the nails. (I tend to be challenged when it comes to getting even application around the cuticles).

The bottles are very study and the design is amazing. The bottles have a unique multi-faceted shape. They stand up quite tall (approximately 8 inches tall). Each polish comes with the base encased in a box with a removable cap. There is a circular cut out on the top for the spike.

In terms of lasting power I’ve had phenomenal results. As mentioned in my hand and nail care essentials post, lasting power of a nail lacquer will depend on your nail care, length, daily or weekly activities. Shorter nails will have less contact with hard surfaces (such as keyboards if you type a lot). Also the angle in which you hold your fingers will also determine how much contact the tips have with any given surface.

(the second bottle is a gift I purchased for a friend)

In testing the Louboutin Rouge nail polish, I found without any base or top coat, the nail polish had significant tip wear and chipping on the third day. By itself I found the polish looked amazing but lasting power wasn’t so great by itself, however I do believe this is the case with most polishes I’ve tried. Louboutin does have a Manicure Care Kit with a base and top coat available but I haven’t tested it (not sure if I want to splurge on this). I tested the polish with a few other brands of base/top coat. I really liked it with the Creative Nail Design Sticky Base Coat and Formula X Top Coat. With this combination I was able to get 7 Days of polish wear, no chipping and tip wear didn’t start to appear very slightly until Day 6 on a few fingers.

Swatches with two coats of Louboutin Rouge and the Formula X Top Coat:

Christian Louboutin
book (one of my coffee table must-haves)

I tried to photograph some comparisons but I found the reds very difficult to capture accurately on camera. I have two very close dupes which have a slight difference in real life. I’ll add descriptions as a substitute to help you gauge the difference. I recommend googling reviews to see what others have compared as well.

  • Guerlain Rouge D’Enfer 121 is almost identical in undertone, intensity and pigment, the Guerlain has a more of an orange undertone though
  • Dior Captain is brighter with a jelly finish, it’s almost orange-looking next to all the other reds
  • Chanel Enthusiast (d/c) is 2-3 shades lighter and clearly more orange (although it looks close in the photo)
  • Rescue Beauty Lounge Gondoliere is brighter, more orange, more transparent
  • Chanel Pirate is deeper and has a lot more blue/cool tones
  • Chanel Rouge Rubis is pretty close but slightly lighter in color, the Chanel also has a sheerer finish
  • Chanel Dragon is darker and has more brown

One last photo:

Updated 9/14/2014: Ingredients from bottom of the box label

I’m really pleased with the quality, color and lasting power. I’ve accumulated several Louboutin nail polishes so far (Lady Twist swatched here, some nudes and pops coming soon) and the colors I’ve tested so far are really lovely. The pigment is excellent and smooth. Before I tried the Louboutin Rouge I was worried I wouldn’t like it, but so many of my readers put me at complete ease – I’ve received so many emails and comments from others who have splurged and absolutely adore theirs.

I didn’t want to spend $50 per bottle and I didn’t want to fall in love but I have. I don’t know that I can say these were worth every penny, these are more of a splurge than a necessity, even for the die-hard nail polish collector. The price is extremely high for a nail polish but it is something specially created by a luxury designer. These are a luxurious splurge, but I’m very pleased.

Due to the popularity of this color, you might need to wait a bit to find one since it has been selling very quickly. My local stores did not have this so I ordered online. It’s available at Christian Louboutin, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Sephora.

Did you purchase any of the Louboutin nail colors? Which ones?
25 Comments
Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury Neutral Nude/Pink Lip Picks | Nude Kate, Bitch Perfect, Blondie, Sweet Stiletto, Iconic Nude and Pink Venus

September 8, 2014

Today I’m sharing the lip items I ordered from Charlotte Tilbury. The items I have were from a few of her curated look sets The Rock Chick and Uptown Girl. All of her products are available individually as well so I’ve separated my reviews by catetory. First up is the lips which are all neutrals:

  • K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Lipstick in Bitch Perfect ($32) is a medium warm rose pink, this is a medium to full coverage lipstick without any shimmer. I found the texture to be on the semi-thick side, similar to that of Tom Ford Lipsticks, but slightly drier in finish. Bitch Perfect is a lovely flattering warm nude pink shade, I think it will look nice on a number of skin tones. This one seems to be Charlotte’s most popular shade. It sold out quickly with the initial launch and is on back order at several places.
  • K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Lipstick in Nude Kate ($32) is a flesh cream nude. I didn’t know what to expect with this shade since nudes can be hard for me to pull off. This one covers the lip almost entirely and has enough color so it doesn’t wash me out. The thick creamy texture + combination of my pigmented lips isn’t so great on its own and it tends to emphasize my lip lines. I need a balm underneath or a gloss on top to make this one look best on me. Still it’s a really easy to wear nude I think will work on most with light to medium skin (my lips are just weirdly pigmented).
  • Lip Lustre in Sweet Stiletto ($22) is a glossy cream pink. I find it matches the Bitch Perfect lipstick exactly (at least on me). It has good coverage with a slightly tacky finish, similar to that of MAC Lipglasses. The tacky finish makes these last quite long. I’ve found a little goes a long way which is nice since the tubes seem to be on the small side.
  • Lip Lustre in Blondie ($22) is a pale pink beige with silver shimmer. It’s what I wanted MAC Prrr Lipglass to be (which almost always looks white on my lips). This is such a gorgeous beige pink nude shimmer gloss. It’s my favorite out of the lip items I’ve tried.
  • Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Iconic Nude ($22) is a brown nude. It has a super creamy texture with full coverage pigment. I haven’t used a lipliner in ages, but I really like the way these really hug the lips. Due to the rich pigment I like to feather this one on lightly before applying gloss or lipstick. Right now I’m not really into the full lip look with liner+lipstick+gloss simply because I find it too heavy for this hot weather. If you watch any of Charlotte Tilbury’s video tutorials, you will probably find it amazing what a difference layering can make to create different looks.
  • Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Pink Venus ($22) is a rose pink lipliner. It’s a bit brighter than Sweet Stiletto and Bitch Perfect but pretty close in tone. This one is also rich in pigment. Unless you have soft well moisturized lips, I wouldn’t recommend applying this all over the lips since it will make them look overdone and dried out. This one is best when applied in a soft feathered motion to define the lips softly.

Swatches in full sunlight, no flash:

Another view:

Close ups and lip swatches of the lipstick/gloss:

(No lip swatches of the lipliners, but I hope the arm swatches above help)
Since all of these colors are classic neutrals, it’s likely these are very easily dupable. I do really like the color of Bitch Perfect and Blondie because the just work. There’s no fixing needed to make them work for me, meaning you don’t need to add any liner or gloss or color to make the color work for your skin tone (aside from prepping my lips with lip balm first).

I’m overall really happy with my lip picks. I could have skipped both of the lipliners, but have them because they were in the sets I bought. All the items have a soft vanilla scent similar in strength to MAC lipglasses and lipsticks. It’s a pleasant vanilla scent that isn’t too overpowering and isn’t too sweet. Lasting power on the lipstick and gloss are pretty good. As long as you don’t have dry flakey lips, these will look good as medium to full coverage lip items. Of course layering all three of the items together will give you a full coverage highly pigmented look. I didn’t find these drying or hydrating, they felt like normal lip products on my lips.

I bought mine sight unseen but based on online swatches it looks like Charlotte Tilbury has created a number of gorgeous nudes and pinks. I am waiting to see reviews and swatches before I purchase anything else. I would like to see everything in person, but the line isn’t scheduled to launch in stores until October.

Charlotte Tilbury has launched in the US at select retailers. You can find her line now at Nordstrom, Net-a-Porter, Bergdorf Goodman, Beautylish and Charlottetilbury.com.

Did you buy any of her lip product yet? What did you think? Any favorites?
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Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow Instant Soft Focus Beauty Flash

September 3, 2014

 

Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow ($52 for 40 ml/1.4 fl oz, made in Switzerland) is a luminous liquid highlighter. It’s designed to have multiple uses. You can wear it under, over, mixed in with foundation or just by itself. It’s a golden beige illuminator with very fine micro-pearl reflecting particles that give the skin a spotlight glow. I am a huge fan of glowy face products, but rarely find illuminators I feel comfortable wearing all over the face under foundation (I won’t wear Armani Fluid Sheers or NARS Illuminators all over the face). With Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonderglow, I find it adds a really nice brightening effect to give my skin that glow from within look in a subtle way. I have olive medium skin and find it hard to find liquid highlighter that have a true beige, gold or yellow undertone. Most of them have some kind of champagne or pinkish pearl tint, which I like, but sometimes I need variation. Some sites describe this as a primer, I prefer to use it as an all over illuminating base to add a glow, but not necessarily prime the skin.

 

 

Wonderglow is a liquid highlighter with a medium texture. It’s easy to blend but not completely fluid which is nice because it’s very easy to control. You can apply without having to worry that it will run off the back of your hand, brush or face. I like to squeeze a little onto my hand and then apply all over with a foundation brush. Close up to try and show the multi-dimensional pearly quality.

 

 

Swatched straight from the tube and then blended:

 

Swatch comparisons to some other illuminating products:

  • Tom Ford Skin Illuminator in Fire Lust
  • Armani Fluid Sheer 10
  • Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel Sunkissed
  • By Terry Cellularose Brightening CC Lumi Serum in Apricot Glow
  • Koh Gen Do Beige Illuminator IL01 (review)
  • NARS Illuminator in Hot Sand (review)

 

Applied straight from the tube:

 

Blended:

 

I am really happy with the Wonderglow from what I’ve tested. I suspect it works well for me because I’m right at the medium skin tone where this is a really good match for me (I use Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting Foundation in Bisque 04 and am a Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet in Beige 30.
I’ve used this both as a base under foundation (applied over moisturizer) and as a highlight to add a dewy glow on top of foundation as well. Both work really well for a subtle effect that is still noticeable. I like to use it under blushes too. I like that it has a texture that stays dewy for a little bit so you can work it into the skin and blend. Some highlighters are either too dewy or dry too fast. This one dries nicely after a few minutes and doesn’t budge on my normal skin. There is a slight floral rose scent but it’s very subtle and fades after a few minutes.
I do think Wonderglow is pretty pricey a $52 but it’s a really nice product and I’m pleased. I haven’t tried her Magic Cream yet so I can’t compare this to it, although I am interested to find out how they both compare (or differ).
You can find Charlotte Tilbury’s Wonderglow in the US at Nordstrom, Net-a-Porter, Bergdorf Goodman and Charlottetilbury.com.
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Charlotte Tilbury

Charlotte Tilbury Beauty – Preview of The Beauty Look Book Picks

September 3, 2014

Beauty fans will be thrilled to know that Charlotte Tilbury’s beauty line has finally launched in the US. The range has launched online first at CharlotteTilbury.com, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Net-A-Porter and BeautyLish starting September 2nd. Later this fall, the line will launch in select stores starting October 7th at Bergdorf Goodman in NYC and October 10th at Nordstrom at The Grove in Los Angeles. Launch events will also be hosted with Nordstrom in other cities including Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Orange County, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas through Spring 2015.

I fell head over heels in love with the Filmstar Killer Cheekbones Set which was available at Nordstrom during the Anniversary Sale. I couldn’t wait for the line to launch in the US so I decided order a few of her look sets from the UK site along with some other items. I’ll have detailed reviews on all the items, but many of you have asked for a preview post wanting to know what I ordered and whether I thought the sets were worth it (versus buying items individually).

I did quite a bit of research when trying to decide what to buy. Some of the lipsticks and lip glosses looked extremely brown in stock photos so I relied heavily on blog swatches to help me pick out colors. I went with two of the sets simply because I found it easier to purchase an entire look rather than mix and match items. There are definitely duplicates in some of the sets with items such as mascara, makeup bag and some liners. (I gifted my extra makeup bag and mascara to another beauty friend.)

I ordered my items from the UK site and Paypal converted Pounds to Dollars. I think the prices I paid were slightly higher in the UK versus US prices, current US retail prices listed below. (Note all items are available individually as well).
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The Rock Chick Set ($225) includes:

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The Uptown Girl Set ($225) includes:

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Wonderglow Instant Soft-Focus Beauty Flash ($52)
Beach Sticks Bronze and Blush in Ibiza and Moonbeach (not yet available in the US)

There is a lot to digest with her line – it all looks so overwhelmingly good. I’ll have reviews posted in the next week by category: face, eyes and lips with thoughts and swatches. I’m still happy I ordered the sets although you don’t really save all that much buying a set versus individual items. I normally like to pick out items individually rather than stick to one preset look, but the color combinations are really good and easy to use for ideas. Even though I look nothing like the model used for each look, I found the looks helpful to see how soft or dramatic items would look on another face.

I’ve had really good experiences so far. I’m relieved since I spent a small fortune and bought everything sight unseen. More thoughts soon.

You can find Charlotte Tilbury in the US online at CharlotteTilbury.com, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Net-A-Porter and BeautyLish.

12 Comments
Eye Makeup Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Nude Dip Eye Color Quad | Fall 2014

September 2, 2014

 

Tom Ford Nude Dip Eye Color Quad ($79 for .21 oz/6 g, made in Italy) is a stunning palette of shimmery pearlized neutrals. The colors are suitable for everyday and also for evening. I find the color combination and texture pure genius. I think The Non-Blonde put it perfectly when she described the finish as “modern semi-metallics.” Café Makeup also has a really lovely review. The shadows are very smooth but they have a unique texture which gives each color dimension. The colors are shimmery but in a super wearable way. This is a quad that is a bit hard to track down. It sold out online within a few days so I ordered mine over the phone.

 

Some have asked me if I think this really is a must-have or if I thought it would just be a must-have for die hard Tom Ford fans. Based on my testing and counter visits, I haven’t loved all of the Tom Ford quads. Many of the palettes have this high shine glitter which I’m not super comfortable pulling off. I purchased a couple when the line initially launched and ended up selling them used because I couldn’t wear the glitter. More recent quad releases with Orchid Haze and Seductive Rose have given us more options with texture and more shimmer that I find easier to wear for the conservative makeup lover. Nude Dip falls into the category of love. It has a similar texture to the limited-edition Enchanted Quad from last fall (now discontinued). So yes, I do think Nude Dip is a must-have for the season.

 

 

The colors in Nude Dip are timeless neutrals. Each color layers beautifully over each other. In many softer light neutral quads, you end up getting at least 2-3 shades that look exactly the same once applied on the skin. With Nude Dip, each color has enough variation to give a good layered look. There is a soft champagne, a medium peach, a soft taupe grey and a satiny brown.

 

 

 

 

 

On my eyes it pulls more neutral and slightly cool. On fairer skins or those with pink undertones this will pull more neutral-warm. You can see it pulls warm on The Non-Blonde and more neutral on Café Makeup. Each color is multi-dimensional with different colored pearl pigments. In some light you will see more cool-tones due to the reflection. In others you’ll see more of the base which is warmer.

 

 

 

 

 

Close ups:

 

 

Some swatched comparisons: Chanel Tisse Mademoiselle is cooler and more subtle, Tom Ford Enchanted (discontinued) is significantly cooler and more pink, Dior Iridescent Leather (discontinued) has been added for another comparison.

 

 

 

Nude Dip is pure love. It’s easy to wear with a nice pearlized texture which adds dimension to the eyes without being too frosty. I purchased mine from a Saks store over the phone. It’s currently sold out online in the US, but keep checking Nordstrom, Saks, Neiman Marcus and Tom Ford – they might restock.  Update – thanks to my readers for letting me know as of 8:00 PM PST it’s up online at Nordstrom! Second update at 9:25 PM, sold out online. As of May 2015, it’s been re-introduced and added to the permanent lineup.

 

Did you pick up Nude Dip? What did you think? You can find it at select Tom Ford counters. Online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Sephora.
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Bronzer + Blush Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Contouring Cheek Color Duos in Softcore and Stroked

September 2, 2014

Tom Ford Contouring Cheek Color Duos ($77 for .70 oz/29 g) are new for fall and come in two shades: Softcore is the cool-toned option with a pale white pink highlighter and medium to deep terracotta pink while Stroked is the warm-toned duo with a soft peachy champagne highlighter and a medium bronzed coral. Both duos have blush/contour shades that are on the shimmery side with highlighters that have high shimmer.

Both duos sold out very quickly in stores and also online when they first launched. It seemed to be a blink and you might miss them kind of thing. Keep checking online because many retailers have restocked. I bought mine from Saks a little over a week ago. You can also find them online at Tom Ford, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Selfridges.

After testing these for over a week, I prefer these as a blush and highlighter duo rather than as a contouring set. The shimmer and color make both duos them more blush-like. Color-wise I adore Stroked (the warm one) and have lukewarm feelings about Softcore (the cool one). I wish the names didn’t both start with a letter “s” though because I often get them mixed up.

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Stroked is easy to wear (for me). The shimmer factor is on the medium/high side but it blends easily onto the skin and the color warms up the complexion. I found the blush color to be very unique with a mix of copper and bronze intertwined with the peachy coral base. The blush is very pigmented so I prefer to use a soft skunk brush to apply the color so I can build it up. The highlighter is also intense which I find best applied with a fluffy brush.

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Softcore is very difficult for me to wear. It is cool-toned and cooler tones tend to clash with my warmer olive skin. The blush is very dark and the rich pigment make it very easy to overdo (even with a light hand) resulting in a sunburned or punched look (yes it makes me look like someone punched me in the cheeks). The highlighter is almost white on my skin and enhances pores if I swipe it one too many times and ends up looking too sharp and frosted. The quality and pigment are still very good, but the colors only work if I use an ultra light hand.

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Swatches and comparisons: left Softcore, right Stroked

Comparisons to:

The blush side of the Stroked Duo is a mix between Love Lust, Ravish and Savage. If you swirled all three colors together, you would get something very similar to Stroked.

Bottom line I love Stroked. It’s really flattering and brightens the face. I was worried it would be entirely orange based on some swatches I had seen online. I prefer applying with a lighter hand but even with a regular one, I don’t find it turns orangey at all on my skin.

Softcore is hit or miss, for me it’s been mostly a miss. I was able to get it to work on me a couple times, but most of the times I tried it, I found it looked too dark/harsh and too cool-toned. I ended up having to redo my makeup entirely, but I’m still determined to try and make it work. It looks better if I use only the blush side on the face and save the highlighter for the eyes. Still for cheeks, I need something that is easy to use, naturally flattering, easy to build – not something I need to be super careful with.

The Contouring Cheek Color Duos retail for $77 each. Both are limited-edition. They are online now at Saks, Tom Ford, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Selfridges.

Did you check out the Cheek Duos or purchase any of them? What did you think? Did they work for your skin tone?
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