Brand Archives - Page 5 of 111 - The Beauty Look Book

Westman Atelier Holiday Sets 2024

October 30, 2024

Westman Atelier has some beautiful holiday sets this year and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying them this past month! I ordered three sets the day they launched and they’ve been truly perfect for my recent travels. I used every single product throughout my weekend trip in NYC and also for the past couple weeks in Miami Beach.

These sets are quite the splurge but there are holiday sales and savings events coming up. If you haven’t picked one up yet or have your eye on one of these definitely add them to your shopping wish list for the Sephora Sale!

By now I’ve already swatched all three in action on Instagram Reels, but I promised many of you swatches and a review here. Here are the three sets I picked up, I really love that these include some new shades:

Lip Suede Matte Lipstick Trio ($150)
Petite Fete Edition ($60)
Baby Cheeks Blush Stick Petite Trio ($60)

Lip Suede Matte Lipstick Trio

I have to say Westman Atelier wins for the best holiday packaging this year. I love the different colors of the pink and green tones for her limited-editions this year. They’re so beautiful and fun! The Lip Suede Matte Lipstick Trio has 3 full-sized lipsticks. I reviewed the formula when she launched the lipsticks earlier this year and I think the formula is excellent although I still don’t know that I’d say they are worth the steep price tag but they are very good.

Shades in this set:

Dash is exclusive to the set, it’s a stunning red
Fluffy is also exclusive, it’s a nude rose pink
Je Reve is a mauve blush nude, on me it pulls a bit dark but I think it’s a very pretty shade

I rarely wear reds but I do love the one in this set. I love it dabbed on the cheeks very lightly for a soft flush. For a matte the formula is top notch. It’s smooth, super creamy and doesn’t apply patchy. It also doesn’t look or feel dry but they still have a velvety finish. For the price I do think that Prada Lipsticks have a better formula, but the Westman Atelier ones perform well. For skintone reference I wear her Vital Skin Foundation Stick in V or VI and Vital Skincare Concealer in M3.

Petite Fete Edition

The Petite Fete Edition is my favorite of the three sets. It has two new cheek shades in minis and a Eye Want You miniature mascara!

Bubble Baby Cheeks Blush Stick is a cool toned pink with gold shimmer, it pulls cooler toned but the pigment is VERY good. It’s more pigmented than her cream finish baby cheeks and I can also wear this on the lips.
Toast Lit Up Stick is her best one yet, it’s a taupe with a hint of rose pink tones in the sparkle, I love this on the eyes too.

The mascara isn’t the most practical due to the size, but the wand is decent sized and you can definitely coat the lashes, but in general mini mascaras aren’t really my favorite. I do like that you can pack it into a clutch or small pouch if you have limited makeup bag space.

I still think set this is worth the splurge. Below wearing Bubble + Toast on cheeks and Bubble on the lips.

Baby Cheeks Blush Stick Petite Trio

I ended up liking this year’s Baby Cheeks Blush Stick Petite Trio more than I anticipated. It has 3 existing shades but I really love the size of these and the variation was perfect for my trip. I used every single shade on different days.

Mimi is a soft beige nude, this is actually available in full-size format but it’s exclusive to Westman Atelier
Petal is a shade I think we’ve seen in nearly every set, I do think it’s a very flattering one that goes with almost everything though
Poppet surprised me because it’s a VERY intense bright pink, but it blends out really nicely and the pigment is easy to control for a fun holiday pink

Wearing the Baby Cheeks with the Lip Suedes, textured tank from Frame

Super Loaded Tinted Highlights

I also wanted to add a quick look at her Super Loaded Tinted Highlights in a couple new shades. These are very dewy cream highlighters. They’re not quite as glossy as her Lit Up Sticks, but they still have an emollient texture and finish. I know some of you are DIE HARD fans of the dewy glow. If you are you will love these. For me I have mixed feelings. I love some of the shades and right now in cooler temperatures I can wear these, but most of the time they are too emollient for me in hot humid climates.

Peau de Sante isn’t new but still exclusive to her website. This is a stunning pink gold with the prettiest sheen. I think it’s much better than her Peau de Rose since it has some warmth to the shimmer.

Peau de Peony is also exclusive to Westman Atelier’s site. A number of you expressed interest in this and I am sorry it took me forever to post a review. Peau de Peony is a really beautiful cool pink shimmer. The color itself is really stunning but on my olive medium tan complexion it pulls a little too frosted with the contrast and finish of the product. I would 100% wear this if it were in powder format. I have wondered if the Gucci Glow Powder Gel Highlighter in Frosted Lilac would be similar, but I think the Westman Atelier has more visible pink in it. (I have the Gucci one on my Sephora wishlist.)

Wearing Peau de Peony on top of Poppet Baby Cheeks with Dior Addict Lip Maximizer in Frosted Pink on the lips.

I think I can make it work with some layering of a powder on top to tone down the shine, but my overall impression is it’s a bit too cool-toned, a bit too shimmery, a little bit too contrasted for my skin tone right now, but I am going to keep playing with it.

Overall lots to love from Westman Atelier. I think she created some stunning sets this year. I thought her Miniature Brush Set was SO stunning with the new holiday colors but I haven’t really fallen in love with any of her full-sized brushes and decided to pass on the mini brushes: they looked a too small to be practical, the set didn’t come with a travel pouch or case to store the brushes (the box doesn’t look travel-friendly) and the price seemed too steep for me.

You can find the Westman Atelier sets out now. I know several of you have already ordered some, but if you’ve been on the fence I hope these swatches help!

Shop the Post

Available now at Sephora, Nordstrom, Credo Beauty and Westman Atelier.

0 Comments

Chanel Gift Guide Holiday Gift Guide

Chanel Holiday 2024 Gift Sets: Maximum Brilliance

October 29, 2024

Long time no see here! What a month it has been! I have been meaning to write a little life update here to check in and say hello, but things have been chaotic these past few weeks. As most of you know, I am located in St. Pete (the Tampa Bay area) and we just went through two back to back hurricanes. I have been more active on social to share updates on life but haven’t had a chance to share much here on the blog. If you want to see what I’ve been up to everything has been saved to my Instagram @beautylookbook October Life and NYC Highlights!

I’m back with a quick Chanel Beauty review! They launched their Holiday 2024 Collection and Part 1 of their Holiday Gift Sets. There are 6 sets online now with the beautiful soft fluffy zippered bags and this year they have 2 sizes of bags, the standard one we’ve seen for years and then a larger one (so fun!).

I picked up one set Maximum Brilliance Lipgloss Trio ($128) as the others I have my eye on aren’t launching until November 4th (I will pick those up on launch day).

This year the boxes are gold and white and the bags have the cutest snowflake detailing on the zipper. I am not sure about the packaging for online orders but if you purchase in store they also have two options for gift wrapping charms, I opted for the snowflake which is super cute.

These gift sets have full-sized items and usually don’t have a price break for buying the set, but they are beautifully packaged and while you can buy the products individually I really love that you know you’re getting full-sized high quality items.

Maximum Brilliance has three Rouge Coco Glosses in Icing (sheer milky white pink), Bourgeioise (classic mauve with shimmer) and Melted Honey (sheer gold shimmer). All three are super glossy with a thicker texture. They’re hydrating and have a beautiful shine.

Below, also wearing:

Foundation – Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow in BD41
Powder and Cheeks – Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette Dragon (review + swatches here)
Eyeshadow – Urban Decay Moondust Palette 2024
Brows – Glossier Boy Brow Arch in Warm Brown
Nails – OPI Infinite Shine Bubblegum Glaze
Top – Staud Lori Top (wearing a Small)
Earrings – Mejuri Plush Small Hoops

Icing Rouge Coco Gloss

Melted Honey Rouge Coco Gloss

Bourgeoisie Rouge Coco Gloss

Here’s a quick look at what’s online now, there are lots of other fragrance sets and bundles but these are the sets that come with the beautiful gift bags:

Two other sets I know are coming out include one with the UV essential and another one comes with the baume essential in the set. If you have your eye on any I recommend ordering soon or calling your local boutique as they tend to sell out very quickly!

Available now at Chanel.com.

Life update: Lots of things have happened the last month! We had two back-to-back hurricanes. I also took a weekend trip to NYC right before Hurricane Milton and came back just in time to help prepare our home for the hurricane and pack as much as we could to evacuate. In our eight years of living in Florida this is the first time we had mandatory evacuation orders for our neighborhood. Andrew booked us an Airbnb to Miami for a couple weeks since he knew even if the hurricane didn’t end up hitting Tampa directly, the size and strength was going to be destructive enough that it meant power would most likely be off for a couple weeks if not an entire month. With the grounds being so saturated with storms, a lot of the counties would also most likely shut off the water for a few days.

We packed what we could in our car along with the fur babies and drove to Miami Beach. With all the traffic it took us 8 hours to drive from Tampa to South Beach (it normally takes us 4 max). We made the best of our two week evacuation, did lots of exploring, ate to our heart’s content all the way through all our favorite spots, tried some new places and also celebrated 23 years together (we dated 7 years and have been married for 16). We checked the news daily for updates on our neighborhood and home. Our neighbors had also evacuated so they weren’t home either to report on our house. With the power out we couldn’t check on our home cameras to see if our house survived.

We drove home as soon as we received notice the power and water was back. So grateful our home is 100% ok inside and that we didn’t have any flooding or damage to the actual house. So many trees had broken branches or were blown over completely from the roots. Lots of homes had damage on the outside and inside – we were very lucky! Our backyard and fence needs a lot of work and repair but any damage is minimal and all things are fixable.

I hope to resume regular posting this week! I’ve had lots in the works for reviews and swatches. Also have a couple Sephora sale guides and holiday gift guides coming your way. I’ve been working behind the scenes while I’ve been away! Just haven’t had a chance to edit and put everything together to share with you.

Hope you are all well and that you had an ok October. Ours was chaotic for sure but we survived it and I am happy to be back!

0 Comments

Laura Mercier

New Laura Mercier Caviar Collection Launch

October 1, 2024

Laura Mercier revamped quite a bit of their makeup recently with the Caviar Collection. The lipsticks, lip liners, cream shadow sticks and mascara have been completely redone with new formulas, colors and packaging. I received the entire launch in PR and have been playing with the items over the past few weeks. Here are my thoughts on each new product with swatches of everything below.

Caviar Stick Eye Shadow (new formula)

I’ve been such a long-time fan of the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eyeshadows ($33 each) with my top three most-used shades being Rosegold, Copper and Cocoa. They really did improve the formula with smoother application and better pigment. I love that they don’t dry too quickly – I do have enough time to blend before it sets, but once it sets, it does not budge.

A lot of the shades have noticeable improvement in the finish and color payoff. Some of the shades in the original formula like Strapless barely showed up on me. Other more shimmery shades like Sugarfrost or Metallic Taupe were a bit chunky feeling with the sparkle but they have a better smoother texture now.

There are a few of the darker shades that apply patchy like Smoky Quartz, Nuit and Celestial Noir but they can be layered for smoother application – they just take a bit more layering and blending.

I’m very sad they discontinued Copper but Bobbi Brown’s Golden Amber is similar.

Caviar Extravagant Mascara

The new Caviar Extravagant Mascara ($29) is a hit for me. I don’t know that I could call it a must-have or favorite for my super straight sparse lashes, but I think it’s a great formula. It defines and lengthens without any clumping. The brush does an exceptional job at coating all the lashes. I do wish it had more volume but it didn’t smudge or clump and did a pretty good job at holding the curl. I feel like I have the saddest lashes in the world (even my dog Ollie has better lashes than me and my husband has AMAZING lashes) so if it works for me, I think there’s a high chance it will be a good one for most of you.

Caviar Smoothing Matte Refillable Lipstick

I love a good lipstick launch especially one with beautiful packaging. Unfortunately the Caviar Smoothing Matte Refillable Lipsticks ($45) were a miss for me. The pros include beautiful luxe packaging, smooth swatching, opaque rich color payoff, lots of bold colors. Unfortunately these didn’t look so great on my lips. I did not try every single color but I did swipe on 6 of them and all were very dry looking on my lips. I think they could be better if you dabbed them on as a stain but alone they looked very dry. I did love the pigment – they are one swipe wonders. The neutral colors unfortunately do not work with my undertone. I feel like none of neutral shades worked for my olive medium tan complexion. They made me look like death which is too bad because I’ve seen them applied in other videos and they are STUNNING! The bold shades have a better undertone but they are SO bold I would never wear them.

These are also heavily scented with an almost soapy-like floral rose. Granted the scent does fade after a few minutes after applying but it’s a scent my nose does not like.

The Caviar Lipsticks are a miss for me, however if you like a matte finish and find it challenging to find shades that are cool-toned enough, check these out. I know a number of you have told me my personal favorites for neutral lips sometime look straight up orange on you if you have fair or cool-toned complexion. This range has a lot of cooler undertones.

Caviar Perfecting Lip Liner

Last we have a look at the Caviar Perfecting Lip Liner ($29). You girls know I am pretty brutal with lip liner reviews but I want to add a disclaimer that it’s mainly because my lips are on the pigmented side so most of those viral neutrals that look stunning on 99% of you just simply do not show up on me.

I think the new formula is a very nice classic kind of lip pencil. No fuss, nothing fancy, great tones, good pigment. They do feel a little dry on the lips but I really like how they adhere to the lips and they have a relatively smooth looking finish. Lasting power is very good. They aren’t the best but I do like the colors and if you’re looking to try something new I think they are worth checking out since they have a lot of great tones.

Overall, I am very happy that the reformulated Caviar Stick Eyeshadows are a solid A+ formula still. I plan on taking a few of these with me on an upcoming trip. The mascara is also a solid A formula. I do like the tones and formula of the lip pencils, but I think there are better formulas out there like the new Glossier ones, Chanel, Pat McGrath, Huda Beauty to name a few. Lipsticks are a miss for me because of colors and scent, also I tend to not like matte finishes in general so I may have been a bit biased anyways.

You can find the Caviar Collection out now. Available at Nordstrom, Sephora, Kohl’s, Laura Mercier and all other Laura Mercier retailers. Have you tried any of the new formulas? What did you think?

Caviar Collection provided for review.

0 Comments

Diptyque Fragrance Home / Interiors

Diptyque Papier Collection

September 30, 2024

It’s been a while since I’ve added any new Diptyque launches to my home collection as I have been on a self-imposed candle ban trying to use up all the candles I currently have. The new L’Eau Papier Collection caught my eye and by the time it launched I felt like I had used up enough to justify two more splurges. I love the L’Eau Papier Eau de Toilette for a fresh clean mix of white musk, rice steam accord, mimosa and blonde wood accord. They added a Papier (Paper) Candle and Encre (Ink) Candle to the collection along with a few other scented Papier items. I’m 10/10 in love.

L’Eau Papier

The L’Eau Papier Eau de Toilette ($130 for 50 ml to $180 for 100 ml) is a unique clean minimalist kind of scent. It’s light, gentle with a hazy feel. It’s hard to imagine what a paper fragrance smells like but when you smell this scent it just makes sense. Diptyque added this in a few other formats. I decided to try one the L’Eau Papier Hair Mist ($72 for 30 ml) and I love it. It has pretty good lasting power although it is still very soft.

Candles

There are two limited-edition candles in this launch and I love them both. The Papier Candle smells just like the perfume. It’s a very soft and subtle scent but does fill the entire room within a few minutes. I love it. It has a crisp and clean vibe.

Diptyque also created an Encre Candle (ink) in this collection. It’s a mix of Indonesian patchouli and black liquorice and has a smokey vibe to it. It’s a softer creamier version of Feu de Bois. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I’m not really liquorice fan, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised! I think it’s a great summer to fall transition kind of scent.

I’ve been really happy with the purchases, however they don’t really fit the usual Diptyque vibe to me. Most Diptyque scents are more dynamic and a little more complex while this collection is more minimalist and subtle. I still love everything, but if you’re new to Diptyque and these are the first things you end up trying, just know it’s different from most other things Diptyque.

I still think Baies is their best candle.

Scented Matches and Accessories

As a Diptyque fan I also added a few other items to my home collection. I love their glass candle holders and photophores. They launched a Mini Ribbed Candle Holder ($84) for their minis. It’s so cute! When I decided to order it they were sold out online so I called one of the NY stores to have them ship it to my house. It has since popped up back in stock online a few times. You can set an alert if you want to order it online although I don’t know if it’s a permanent item.

Mini Candle Holder, Small Candle Holder and Standard Candle Holder.

I also tried two of the Scented Matches Sets ($30 each). These are longer matches in a paper box that were released with their refillable candle collection.

I asked the New York store which ones were their most popular ones and they told me the Moss and Orange Blossom. They are scented which makes them fun but there is really nothing super special about them to justify the splurge (in my opinion). I do think they’re beautiful and having longer matches is always a plus for me so they ended up being worth it just to have and try them. I don’t know that I’ll repurchase them or buy any of the other scents.

Overall love. Have you tried these yet? If not what kinds of scents are you loving for the home this time of year?

Shop the Post

You can find the Papier Collection out now. Available at Diptyque, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and all other Diptyque locations.

P.S. Thank you for everyone who has messaged me about the recent hurricane. We were very fortunate that only the edge of the hurricane hit Tampa Bay. Our area in St Petersburg still experienced massive storm surge (this was the biggest storm surge in over 100 years in our area).

Andrew and I were not located in an evacuation zone so we stayed put and the counties here have been very proactive about warnings, alerts and providing resources for help. So many of the beaches, waterfront areas and many neighborhoods had life changing flooding and damage. We lost power for 3 days but no flooding to our home. So many have been very working hard 24/7 to repair broken power lines, clean up fallen trees. The storm surge was so bad many cars and boats floated to very odd places.

My in-law’s place is by the water and they had a lot of flooding inside their home and there is a lot of damage there. Their place is in a mandatory evacuation zone so nobody was there when the hurricane hit, but the damage is devastating. Andrew and I spent a few days cleaning everything out for them. Still, we have been very fortunate and we are grateful. Thank you everyone for your kind wishes and for checking in on me over the past week.

0 Comments

Bronzer + Blush Highlighters Hourglass Cosmetics

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palettes 2024

September 10, 2024

Hourglass dropped three limited-edition palettes and I literally cannot believe it’s already that time of year. There are three palette combinations in the Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette for this year ($90 each). This year they finally launched palettes with mostly new shades and I could not be more thrilled. You can find them now online at Hourglass Cosmetics for the early access. They will be launching globally at other retailers from 9/20.

The three palette options this year include:

Dragon Palette (lightest)
Evil Eye Palette (medium tone)
Lotus Flower Palette (deeper tones)

You can order a customized palette online at Hourglass, but I ordered these as the pre-made options. For skintone reference I am wearing the Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in 6.5. I wear the Hourglass Veil Skin Tint in Shade 9 (reviewed here).

Dragon Palette

The Dragon Palette has the lightest tones and variations but I think it’s a versatile one and can be worn on light/fair to tan skin tones. I love this one – it really surprised me because it looks very ordinary in the pan but the shimmers and diffused quality of the powders are really flattering. It’s warmer than last year’s Jellyfish palette.

Dream Light Ambient Lighting Finishing Powder – a soft light pearl with a soft opal sheen
Peach Fusion Ambient Lighting Blush – soft shimmery peach
Divine Light Ambient Lighting Finishing Powder – pale transcluent powder with a pink tone
Mauve Haze Ambient Lighting Blush – soft mauve pink
Soft Bronze Ambient Lighting Bronzer – mid-tone neutral warm bronze
Sunlit Strobe Light Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder – metallic champagne

Look below wearing the Dragon Palette on the cheeks, Dragon Bronze on the eyes topped with the Hourglass Voyeur Eyeshadow Stick in Phoenix and Urban Decay Moondust in Cosmic Craze + Phantom Glossy Balm in Crave

Evil Eye Palette

The Evil Eye Palette is the medium tone palette of the three. At first glance I thought it would be nearly identical to last year’s Leopard. Side by side swatches show the tones are indeed different with a cooler pink highlight, more neutral/pink tones vs warmer shades. They are similar but I think there are noticeable differences.

Soft Light Finishing Powder – sheer soft peach beige
Rose Gold Strobe Light Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder – metallic rose pink champagne
Pink Fusion Ambient Lighting Blush – soft cool pink glow
Oasis Glow Ambient Lighting Blush – shimmery light apricot/peach/tan
Vibrant Coral Ambient Lighting Blush – pink coral
Natural Bronze Ambient Lighting Bronzer – medium neutral bronze

Look below wearing the Evil Eye Palette on the cheeks, Hourglass Scattered Light Eyeshadow in Reflect, Phantom Gloss Balm in Lucid + Pat McGrath LUST Gloss in Peach Perversion.

Lotus Flower

The Lotus Flower Palette is the darkest variation this year. It’s more neutral in undertone compared to last year’s Snake palette. On my medium tan skin tone the new Lotus Flower pulls warmer than what I see in the pan, but it will probably be more neutral on darker skin tones. I love the colors in this palette, but not so much on my skin tone. The shades are stunning for sure, but since the tones are darker they do require an ultra light hand for my skin tone.

Gilded Strobe Light Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder – a stunning warm golden shimmer
Desert Flush Ambient Lighting Blush – burnt peach
Eternal Light Ambient Lighting Finishing Powder – warm amber tan
Radiant Rose Strobe Light Ambient Strobe Lighting Powder – metallic copper rose shimmer
Red 0 Ambient Lighting Blush – deep berry pink
Bronze Heat Ambient Lighting Bronzer – deep bronze

Look below wearing the Lotus Flower Palette on the eyes and cheeks + Phantom Glossy Balm in Slip

My two favorites are the Dragon and Evil Eye. These arrived at the perfect time as I’ll be traveling soon and will most likely bring one of these with me. Are they worth the price or the splurge? I think they are. I love every single color and each palette has enough shades for a full face look – I often use at least 1 or 2 of the shades on the eyes too.

By popular request, here are side by side swatches of the 2023 palettes vs this year’s 2024 launch:

In case you want a closer look at previous palette launches, here are the blog posts (there are lots more, but here are the more recent ones):

Holiday Palettes 2023: Jellyfish, Leopard and Snake

Holiday Palettes 2022: Butterfly, Elephant and Tiger

Holiday Palettes 2021: Face Universe, Face Universe Unlocked, Edit Vol III

Holiday Palettes 2020: Sculpture Palette, Sculpture Unlocked (quad)

I ordered these palettes the second they launched at the Hourglass website. Since then they’ve added a few more holiday items including a Holiday Brush ($52, 2 variations), new Glossy Balm Duo ($55, Trace and Mystic), Brush Set ($150), Full Face Set + Bag ($270) and a few other sets you can check out here.

Available now at Hourglass Cosmetics. Holiday Launches arriving on 9/20 to Nordstrom, Sephora, Ulta Beauty and all other Hourglass retailers.

0 Comments

Lips NARS

NARS Explicit Lipstick Review

September 6, 2024

NARS revamped their lipsticks with a new formula and refillable packaging style called the Explicit Lipstick ($40, $24 for the refills). These are satin finish with a lightweight formula that offers medium-full coverage and rich color payoff. The NARS team sent a selection of the bold shades to try and as a neutral-lip lover I ordered nudes. Available now at Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, Sephora, NARS and all NARS retailers.

These new lipsticks are a solid win. Classic in formula. Unscented. Hydrating and lightweight. Even after swatching 10+ shades my lips are still fully intact with no dryness or peeling. I do think the formula being on the lighter side almost makes them feel a bit thin but they have impressive smooth coverage. They’re hydrating and comfortable on the lips. I do wish they were just the slightest bit creamier or thicker but I do really like that the texture isn’t too soft or melty. They seem very sturdy.

Many of the lighter neutrals and medium brown tones look extremely similar but there are noticeable variances in undertone. I was thrilled to find that I could actually wear every single shade. Even the lighter ones (yay!!!).

I split the swatches into two categories: the neutrals and the bolds. For skintone reference I wear the NARS Light Reflecting Foundation in Vanuatu (review here). In this post, I’m also wearing the Total Seduction Eyeshadow Sticks in Strip Down and Mambo along with the Patrick Ta Major Dimension III on the eyes and Deep Throat Blush on the Cheeks.

Here are the Neutral shades I tried:

Adulterous is a nude blush pink
Blame is a peach pink nude
Envy is a beige
Indecent is a neutral-warm beige tan
Liason is a peachy nude
Exposed is a cool beige
Dirty Talk is a warm coral pink

Bold Shades:

Unashamed is a cool mauve
Devious is a cool rose pink
On Top is a chestnut reddish brown
Excess is a reddish brown
Body Heat is a tan brown
Rendezvous is brown rose red
Desirous is a classic red

Overall a solid A. I don’t know that I would call these the best lipstick formula ever, but they are exceptionally good and I think every color I tried is wearable. I would say my top 5 are: Blame, Liason, Adulterous, On Top, Devious.

I also added swatches of the Total Seduction Eyeshadow Sticks ($32) to this post. These launched over the summer and I love the colors but am still not sold on matte creams. In general I don’t like cream matte shadows because they tend to look dry on my lids, especially when they dry down. These are creamy matte eyeshadow sticks with impressive pigment and once they set they do not budge. Since they set quickly you have to work very fast to blend and on my lids they aren’t forgiving. These are wearable and easy to blend for a matte, but I still prefer a powder shadow format for mattes. I think you can get a similar effect with the Patrick Ta Major Dimension III Palette (swatched here).

Overall love the new lip launch for a classic effortless kind of lipstick. The matte cream shadows sticks are very good, but for a cream I prefer some shimmer or for a matte I still prefer powders.

Available now at Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, Sephora, NARS and all NARS retailers.

Have you tried these yet? What did you think?

Press samples provided for review.

0 Comments

Bronzer + Blush Chanel

Chanel Joues Contraste Intense Cream-To-Powder Blush

September 4, 2024

Chanel launched a new blush formula called the Joues Contraste Intense Cream-To-Powder Blush ($52, available at Chanel.com). It’s available in five shades and the formula is phenomenal. I picked these up my local beauty boutique and fell in love with the soft cushiony texture. These are soft creams that have a nice dry down in powder form. In a world of dewy blush trends it’s challenging to find a cream formula with a good dry down and satiny finish and the new ones from Chanel are exactly what I’ve been looking for. They almost have a subtle blurring effect on me and I love the classic shades.

The name has the word “intense” in it but these really aren’t that intense. They are buildable on color but 3 are more natural and 2 are intense with the bold bright shades, but they are very easy to blend out.

Lasting power is pretty good, but I don’t think I’d be able to get the full 12-hour wear time and for me that is 100% ok. The lightest beige shade did seem to fade the fastest on me but it’s close to my skin tone. I haven’t given each shade a full day wear test, but the other two I did test for an extended period of time held up well for around 4-5 hours for that fresh look.

These are more on the soft matte side, but they do have a luminous glow quality to them without the shimmer.

Beige Eclatant is a soft beige on me, it’s barely visible in photos but in real life it gives a really pretty soft glow
Rose Radiant is a soft warm rose
Rose Ardent is a cooler toned pink rose
Rouge Franc is a bold hot warm red
Grenat Profond is a berry

Below wearing each shade with a different lip color, also wearing:

Primer – Chanel La Base Illuminatrice
Foundation – Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow BD41
Powder – Makeup By Mario SurrealSkin Soft Blur in 2 Neutral Light
Eyes – Natasha Denona I Need a Warm Palette
Brows – Glossier Boy Brow Arch Pencil in Cool Brown
Mascara – Charlotte Tilbury Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara (new)

Beige Eclatant Blush + 31 Le Rouge Satin 1 Rouge Beige (review + swatches here)

_______________

Rose Radiant Blush + Rouge Coco Bloom in 116 Dream (review here)

_______________

Rose Ardent Blush + 31 Le Rouge Satin 2 Rouge Croisiere (review here)

_______________

Rouge Franc Blush + Rouge Coco Flash Nature Getaway in Bisous (from the Takeaways set, swatches here)

_______________

Grenat Profond + 31 Le Rouge Satin 3 Rouge Roman (swatches here)

I tried these with Chanel brushes and I normally don’t have a preference for which brush I use as they’re usually really versatile and multi-tasking. I did really like the small domed one though the Precision Powder Brush N 107 best for these. The size and shape is perfect. They all work well, I just love the shape for this formula.

Left to right: Precision Powder Brush 107, Blush Brush 110, Contouring Brush 109 and Powder Brush 106.