Pat McGrath Labs launched a eyeshadow palette called Mothership VI Midnight Sun ($125 for 10 shades, 1.32 g each eyeshadow) and it’s glorious! True to Pat McGrath’s style this palette has a mix of bold and edgy colors with a unique combination of colors. The format and textures are the same as her other Mothership palettes where she has mattes, smooth metallic shimmers and glittery sparkles. For me this is way outside of my comfort zone but I still had fun playing with it. Quality and pigment-wise all the colors are phenomenal. The mattes blend and layer beautifully. As boring as the soft tan brown Taboo looks I found it really nice and flattering! The shimmers are almost creamy to the touch and blend smoothly. The glitters give this multi-dimensional iridescent sheen that is quite amazing – there is some fallout with the glitters as expected but it’s easy to clean up. I recommend applying the sparkles with a damp brush, over a creamy base to help it stick, or fingers in a patting motion.
Swatches and close ups of Midnight Sun which includes all new shades:
Skinshow Moon Glow is a smooth metallic champagne
Bronze Eclipse is a warm shimmery bronze taupe
Vermillion Venom is matte cranberry
Blood Moon 005 is a glittery copper rose metallic
Jubilee is a glittery warm yellow gold
Xtreme Dusk is a deep brown matte
Taboo is a matte medium brown
Wicked Envy is a shimmery olive
Blitz Violet Orchid is an ultra smooth almost creamy blue violet shimmer
The palette is stunning for sure! But I didn’t love all of the colors. Quality and performance-wise it’s excellent, however I cannot wear yellow golds or violet purples – they clash with my skin tone no matter how pretty they are or how hard I try to blend. For her palettes I prefer the color scheme of her previous launch Mothership V Bronze Seduction or any of her 6-pan palettes which I find easier to wear for someone like me who tends to be more conservative on the sparkle for eyes. I do think it is different/unique enough to justify owning if you like all the colors. For me I most likely would not have bought this one as I really try to stick with my rule of buying palettes if I think I will like all the colors. I’m still going to try to make the purple work for me but it’s never really been a color I gravitate towards.
Tom Ford Beauty revamped all of the lip glosses into a new formula called Gloss Luxe ($55 each for 5.5 ml/0.19 fl oz). These have new packaging and a completely different formula from the original lip glosses. The Gloss Luxe has a sheer finish, ultra glossy shine and a moisturizing feel. It’s not sticky but does have a slight tacky feeling to it since it is a gloss but it feels smooth and lush.
There are 20 available right now, I bought 6 and have a review + swatches today. I’ve been such a long-time fan of Tom Ford lip products but with these I have mixed feelings. They are high-shine and hydrating, they have a nice luxurious feel. However I found some of them settled into my lip lines and started to separate after a few minutes. With the lighter neutral colors I didn’t find them to be color-saturated as they described. The colors can be intensified if you layer more on the lips but with each progressive layer the formula starts to get a little too thick and goopy with the feeling like they will slide off.
They are scented with a soft vanilla cake like scent that I find really pleasant. Lasting power is average for a hydrating gloss. They won’t last all day but at the same time they don’t disappear quickly.
For the tubes you have a sponge tip applicator similar to the Lip Lacquer Luxe where the sponge is a little bigger than the opening. There is a little bit of tugging when you take it out of the tube but the gap isn’t as tight as it is with the Lip Lacquer Luxe.
Colors I picked:
Aura is a pale light nude pink, this one settled into my fine lip lines within a minute, not a good look!
Impulse is a sheer pale pearly pink, also settled into my lip lines within a few minutes but it isn’t as bad as Aura
Frantic is a sheer shimmery medium light pink with gold pearl
Ravish is a shimmery medium peach
Wicked is a sheer cool pink without shimmer
L’Amour is a bright sheer pink
I think the brighter and deeper colors are the best options. Overall pigment didn’t translate from my arm swatches to my lips. They’re sheer so it gives the lips a hint of color. Close ups and lip swatches below with three I have full face makeup looks for you. I do think if you have lighter lips versus my pigmented lips the colors will show up better on you.
Aura
Impulse
Frantic
Ravish
Also wearing Natasha Denona Foundation X+ in 42WY, Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Powder in Medium, Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel, Tom Ford Acqua Metal Shadow in Violet Argente and Charlotte Tilbury Eyeshadow Palette in The Dolce Vita, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Luminous Bronze Light
I really wanted to love them but I can’t help but feel there are better options out there. For me I felt the sheerness of the colors didn’t make them all worth the price tag. I do think there are some great colors to choose from and they have a hydrating luxurious feel. They’re not bad, but I prefer the Chanel Rouge Coco Glosses, Pat McGrath LUST Gloss, By Terry Lip Experts and the new Cle de Peau Radiant Liquid Rouge Shines are amazing (I’ll review my picks soon). My favorites of the ones I tried were Ravish and L’Amour which I think are worth the splurge. I wish the other ones had better color payoff because they’re just so pretty in the tube and swatched on my hand!
You can find the Tom Ford Gloss Luxe out at all counters now. I bought mine from Nordstrom. Have you tried these yet? What did you think?
There are so many new foundation formulas out this season and today I have a review of the Chanel Ultra Le Teint Velvet Foundation ($50 for 30 ml/1 fl oz). It comes in a small black squeeze bottle with SPF 15 and is available in 13 shades. There are three undertones, B for beige (usually what I wear), BR beige rose (has pink undertones) and BD for beige dore which is the first time I’ve seen this color name but it might not be new. The active ingredients are Octinoxate 5% and Titanium Dioxide 3.1%.
The Ultra Le Teint Velvet Foundation seems to have replaced the Perfection Lumiere Velvet which I used and loved many years ago. It’s been a long time since I’ve used the older formula so I can’t really compare the new to old but from what I recall it has a similar effect. The new Ultra Le Teint Velvet Foundation has a lightweight oil-free fluid texture and smooth blurring effect on the skin. It feels very lightweight and glides on nicely offering medium coverage. It has a powdery feel with the dry down but isn’t too matte. I’ve found it sets quite nicely with a semi-velvet matte finish but not dry or cakey like some matte base formulas have. On my combination skin it lasts nicely all day requiring only a small touch up on the nose mid-day.
I have swatches of a selection of the colors, I didn’t have all the colors to swatch, B40 is swatched twice with both sets on the top and bottom:
A few comparisons to other Chanel base formulas: Les Beiges reviewed here, CC Cream reviewed here
My color match back in San Diego and earlier days of blogging was almost always B30. Since moving to Florida I’m exposed to intense sun and am outdoors more so I’m now a B40 or B50. With this Ultra Le Teint Velvet Foundation formula I found I can get away wearing either B40 or B50 right now. I tried both on my face, 40 on one side and 50 on the other. I can barely tell the difference when it’s blended out even though from swatches there is a clear difference between the colors.
Below is a look at B50. Once applied it adjusts/warms up slightly but there isn’t a huge amount of oxidation or darkening. I would recommend picking your regular Chanel shade with this formula. For application, I tried three ways: with the fingers, with a Chanel foundation brush and with a beautyblender sponge. My favorite way is the sponge method, but the formula is really easy to blend with fingers or a brush.
Full list of ingredients from the box below for the US formula. It does contain alcohol and dimethicone but neither irritated my skin. There are some foundations that have a high concentration of alchohol that irritate and dry out my skin. If you have sensitives your mileage may vary but this one works well with my skin which makes me believe it’s in a smaller quantity than others like the L’Oreal Infallible line (which looks great on the skin, but causes a lot of irritation for me).
Overall it has performed really well for me. I’m relieved the SPF and alcohol content in this base did not irritate my skin as I’ve had a really rough summer testing sunscreens. I give it a solid A+ for me and think the undertone works just right for my skin.
I’m still in the process of trying out a few other foundations including the new Fenty Beauty, Natasha Denona, Charlotte Tilbury and Zoeva formulas. I’ll have a roundup to come as soon as I get through all of them. First impressions are the Charlotte Tilbury one has the most similar effect with the matte finish but isn’t quite as lightweight in feel.
You can find the Chanel Ultra Le Teint Velvet Foundation out now at Chanel.com, coming soon to all Chanel counters (your store might already have it!). Have you tried this yet? What did you think?
Chanel foundations gifted and provided for review.
I’ve been such a long-time fan of L’Occitane skincare and I’m excited to partner with them to share a look at their Immortelle Divine Cream Grand Cru Edition. They’ve created this special launch to celebrate 10 Years of this classic cream. Bigger and better than the original Divine Cream, this limited-edition product packs in even more anti-aging power thanks to the use of highly concentrated Immortelle essential oils.
The L’Occitane Immortelle line has been one of my favorites for years. I love the cleanser and oil and think the line is especially good for the fall and winter season or if you have dry skin.The Immortelle Divine Cream is one of the most beautiful luxury creams I’ve tried for restoring hydration, firmness and improving elasticity of the skin. It has been a go-to for many fall seasons for me and a single jar lasts a long time. What makes the Immortelle Divine Cream Grand Cru Edition so special is that it contains essential oils from 800 Immortelle flowers that were harvested in a limited batch during the summer solstice. This provides the highest concentration of anti-aging ingredients and I find that a little goes a very long way!
For me this is a great anti-aging cream to help smooth fine lines, replump the skin, restore hydration and glow. The texture is super smooth, blends into the skin flawlessly, absorbs quickly and dries down to a soft finish where I can still feel the moisture but not in a super heavy way. I can use this day or night, it’s perfect anytime my skin feels super dry and it is easy to incorporate and switch it in or out of your skincare routine anytime.
If you’re looking for a new moisturizer to try for the upcoming fall season I highly recommend you check out the Immortelle Divine Cream Grand Cru Edition.
Laura Mercier just revamped her Tinted Moisturizer and Tinted Moisturizer Illuminating into new formulas and I’ve been testing them for the past couple of weeks. The original was considered a cult-classic for that dewy no-makeup makeup look and while it was wildly popular I found it hit or miss for me with the colors and formula. The new versions now come with higher SPF 30, new packaging and new ingredients. The active ingredients for the sunscreen include Octinoxate 7.49%, Avobenzone 2.5%, Octocrylene 2% and Oxybenzone 1%. You can find the new versions out now at Laura Mercier and Sephora.
If you were a fan of the original I’d recommend you buy a tube or two sooner than later as they usually pull them from stores and counters when new formulas are released. You can still find it online at a few places right now but I suspect they will be pulled eventually.
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New Tinted Moisturizer – Sand 3N1
It has been a long time since I’ve worn her original Tinted Moisturizer. I reviewed it numerous times over the years and have always had a love/hate relationship with it. In San Diego I could only wear it in winter and even though the formula was sheer I never found the colors to be a good match. Sand is what I wore back in the day but it was always a touch too warm and oxidized just slightly giving my skin a peach look that didn’t quite go with my yellow/golden neck. The new Tinted Moisturizer works much better for my skin type and skin tone right now. Your mileage may vary depending on what your skin can tolerate for sunscreen ingredients but I had no issues, irritation or clogging of pores. There are 20 shades and she has three different color undertones C for Cool, N for Neutral and W for Warm. I find the colors work better for me now with my sunny Florida tan.
The Tinted Moisturizer has a dewy look with a very sheer finish. Coverage is barely there but it does a decent job at evening out the skin in the most natural fresh way. I fully expected it to be too dewy for me and did not think it would last the day in Florida humidity but it surprised me! Indoors it holds up pretty well. Outside even at the beach it holds up ok, it stayed put even after some swimming, but it does get more dewy looking when you sweat. Since I don’t have perfect skin and need more coverage I find layering her Flawless Fusion Concealer and setting with her Translucent Loose Powder or Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Flawless Finish Pressed Powder on top gives me a good look.
I was sent the color 3W1 Bisque which I can definitely wear but I felt it warmed up just a little when it set and was a bit too dark so I bought 3N1 Sand at Sephora. I have a look below with bare skin vs. tinted moisturizer vs. full makeup look below. Coverage is very very sheer. I’ve tested it over bare skin and also over other moisturizers and it works well either way. Moisturizers I’ve tested it with include the Chanel Camellia Water Cream, Farmacy Honey Drop Moisturizer and Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream.
New Tinted Moisturizer Illuminating – Warm Radiance
The new Tinted Moisturizer Illuminating formula comes in 6 shades and has a soft shimmer. It adds radiance all over. As long as I set with a powder the shimmer/dewy effect is cancelled out just enough that I don’t end up looking too shimmery. This has a similar effect to the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter on my skin, but the Laura Mercier is sheerer, more dewy and not quite as pigmented. Below is an application demo, the color sheers out when blended.
Swatches next to some corresponding color names in other formulas, left to right, all Laura Mercier:
Tinted Moisturizer Illuminating Warm Radiance
Tinted Moisturizer 3N1 Sand
Flawless Fusion Concealer 3N
Flawless Fusion Foundation in 3N1 Buff
Tinted Moisturizer 3W1 Bisque
Flawless Fusion Concealer 3W
Flawless Fusion Foundation in 3W1 Dusk
A few swatch comparisons:
Chanel Les Beiges Sheer Healthy Glow Tint in Medium and Medium Plus (review here)
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Illuminating Warm Radiance
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Sand and Bisque
NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in St. Moritz (too yellow for me now)
YSL Touche Eclat All-in-One Glow in B40 (too warm for me now)
Overall I like both formulas a lot more than I anticipated. I have normal combination skin most of the year, although it does get quite dry with the weather changes here and non-stop AC. I almost always prefer medium to full coverage on most days so the Tinted Moisturizer formula isn’t something I feel like I’d gravitate towards on most days. I really love the fresh look it gives but I do need to add concealer and a tinted powder on top to even out my skin the way I want. If you have super oily skin I do think it might be too dewy for you. I like the new formula a lot better than the original.
Compared to other tinted sheer coverage bases I still love the NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer but don’t have a good color match at the moment. The YSL Touche Eclat All-In-One Glow in B40 is too dark for me but I haven’t looked to see if the next shade down is a better match since I like other foundation formulas better.
I think it’s worth looking into if you don’t want or need a lot of coverage. You can find the new Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizers out now at Laura Mercier and Sephora. Some other stores still have the original but I suspect they’ll be pulling them soon.
Have you tried the new formula yet? What did you think?
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizers provided for review.
Chanel just launched their Fall-Winter 2019 Makeup Collection with a cool-toned color palette of black, white and silvery grey. The collection as a whole has a very editorial runway kind of vibe. There are some beautiful pieces I think are going to be gorgeous everyday colors for fall while others pull more edgy and trendy. I’ve put everything to the test and have some thoughts with lots of swatches for you today. I’m still very much in summer state of mind but really enjoyed playing with the new items. In the collection:
There are some really beautiful pieces for the eyes and they far surpassed my expectations. To be frank I don’t get excited about most white, silver or black smokey eye palettes because they’re often too cool-toned for my olive skin. The two quads are beautiful though!
Noir Supreme is different from any other Chanel quad I’ve tested, the texture has an almost creamy feel. Colors are very pigmented but blend out nicely with a brush for a gradient smokey eye. I found I could use colors individually or blended together. You have an olive bronze shimmer, a soft muted navy grey shimmer, warm red and a medium brown. All of the colors have some degree of shimmer and they blend/layer easily with really good pigment.
Modern Glamour looks like your standard palette of silver and matte black, but the colors blend together quite nicely. The top left shade has some warmth to it which makes it more wearable for me. It has a semi-warm/neutral silver, a pale icy white, soft muted matte black and a shimmery steel. Pigment is also really nice with this one.
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Ombre Premiere Top Coat and Stylo Yeux
The stand outs in the collection for me are the two Ombre Premiere Top Coats in Carte Blanche and Penombre. Swatches do not do it justice – you have to see and play with them in real life to truly see how stunning they are. These are best worn as top coats like the name suggests and they add gorgeous shine and dimension to the eyes. Carte Blanch is a beautiful sparkling white with silver flecks. Penombre reminds me of Lancome’s ErikaF but not as green as I remember it being.
There are two Stylo Yeux Waterproof eyeliners which I don’t think are exciting at all, but they do perform well and once they set they don’t budge. Blanc Graphique swatches poorly on the hand/arm but it did apply much better on the eyes. Noir Intense is a deep black matte color. There’s a Le Volume Mascara in Noir Intense but it’s a standard deep black color.
I swatched the shadows with a heavy hand but on the eyes they have a more sparkling almost glittery effect. I normally find white tone shimmers to stark on my skin but Carte Blanch layers really beautifully on top of other shadows.
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Le Gel Paillete Face and Decollete Transparent Shimmering Gel
For the face they launched a shimmering gel called Le Gel Paillete which looks like metallic silver sparkles suspended in a clear gel base. This is very much like the concept of Eye Gloss to me which isn’t something I’m into because of the tacky/shimmery glow it gives. It has a smooth gel finish and tacky feel. It doesn’t set or dry down and the shimmer is barely noticeable when you blend. I tested this on my face and found that it stayed put once it was on the skin and added a glow much like a gel product or gloss would do. As interesting as the concept is, it’s not something I see myself wearing much.
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Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme and Rouge Allure Liquid Powder
There are two lipsticks and two lip powders. The Rouge Allure Velvet Extremes are very matte and opaque with a velvet matte finish. They have full coverage with a few swipes. Rose Nocturne is a neutral-toned rose with a hint of brown, Rouge Obscur is a bold berry color. These are long wearing lipsticks with no scent.
The two Rouge Allure Lip Powders are whipped almost powder like products that come in a squeeze tube with a sponge tip applicator. In my experience the deeper brighter shades apply better while the lighter colors look a little streaky. Timeless is a pale peach that is streaky on my lips. Bois de Nuit is a medium rose which has a soft powder look, I’ve seen this on cooler/lighter skin tones and this pulls more pink on others while on me it’s more warm/rose.
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Rouge Coco Gloss
The two Rouge Coco Glosses come in a Laque Noire deep black berry cream and a Crystal Clear color which is a clear base with tiny silver flecks suspended. I could not get the deeper one to work on its own for me – there was too much contrast between my natural lip and the gloss which is slightly transparent, leaving a streaky mess. I do suspect it’s better as a top coat on deeper plums though. Crystal Clear had some tiny bits of texture in the formula, not really from the glitters which are ultra fine, but some clear chunks of texture. It’s thicker in texture, almost-gel-like. It does add some nice shine but it’s pretty much a standard clear gloss. If you want more visible shimmer with a similar concept I’d recommend opting for the Fenty Gloss Bomb in Diamond Milk or Pat McGrath LUST Gloss in Aliengelic.
Lip swatches on bare lips:
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Le Vernis
There are two Le Vernis polishes for fall in a Pure Black and Pure White. Both are creams, have smooth application and applied perfectly with two coats. I rarely wear pure black or white polishes but Pure White is the first true cream white polish I’ve tried that doesn’t make me feel like I’m wearing white out on my fingers.
Two coats applied for each color with the Le Gel Top Coat on top:
Overall there are some beautiful pieces that are well made with great quality true to Chanel standards. The stand outs for me are both of the Ombre Premiere Top Coats, Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme and Noir Supreme Quad. The Rouge Coco Gloss in Laque Noir and Rouge Allure Lip Blush in Timeless were solid fails for me, but I have seen them reviewed on other people and channels and it looked quite nice on other skin/lip tones. I suspect the dark gloss looks better when blended out, but when I blend it it then becomes too sheer/transparent.
I’ve been a long time fan of the Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colors through numerous reformulations and used to collect all the new colors religiously! They revamped the formula back in 2016 and while I was really sad so many great shades were discontinued I was really happy to find the formula was improved. I’ve reviewed many new colors / formula over the past few years. You can see the original posts here and here. A number of you have asked for an updated Chanel polish roundup so I have one today with my Top 10! Colors that you can still find today although a few of these are limited-edition. I’ve also included a fun twist and added my favorite matching Chanel lips to go with each of the 10 colors. I don’t always match nails and lips, but sometimes I think it’s fun to have coordinating colors!
I really love the formula of Chanel Le Vernis. They’re always smooth and glossy on my tips and toes and last a long time on my hands. I do think proper application is key – I recommend pairing it with a good base and top coat. If you’re finding it chips or you get tip wear I suspect it’s either the application or the top coat you’re using. As much as I love fast drying top coats, many of them shrink when drying and slowly pulls back the color underneath. Not all top coats are compatible with all nail polish formulas. This leads to early tip wear and chipping in my experience. I love the Chanel Le Gel Top Coat, but also find that the Essie Speed Setter or Smith and Cult Top Coat work well.
My top 10 favorite colors right now, all nail polish swatches have 2 coats:
P.S. I am still really obsessed with their La Creme Main and La Creme Main Texture Riche. They just launched a new Le Lift La Creme Main which is more expensive than the other two formulas but has the Le Lift skincare ingredients to smooth the skin. If you follow me on Instagram you may have caught my sneak preview on stories over the weekend. I ordered it the day it launched and will have a review soon, but first impressions are that I really like it.
Also for those who’ve been asking and emailing me – nails are DIY, I do them on my own. How I keep them manicured in this post here. Will try to do an updated one soon as a few of my old staples have been discontinued.
You can find all the colors available now at Chanel.com. Also available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and all Chanel counters.
Do you have any favorite Chanel colors?
Press samples indicated with a *. All others purchased by me.
