I’m excited to share a look at the latest from Gucci Beauty with you! They recently started to revamp their entire makeup line and I was able to try their new Mascara L’Obscur available now online at Sephora. I’m partnering with them to share a review with you and after putting it to the test I am really pleased to report that I’ve found a winner. The mascara is a nice way to add luxury to your beauty routine.
The Gucci Mascara is currently available in one shade called Eve Black. It’s a rich deep color that defines and volumizes the lashes beautifully. Packaging is super chic with pink and gold tones which makes it a joy to use! The mascara comes with a rubberized flexible applicator that coats each lash perfectly. The small tip at the end makes it possible to apply product to the corners and bottom of the eyes. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was easy to build, adheres well to my lashes and adds volume and definition. There’s no clumping or smudging with this one which is a huge plus. Even though this isn’t a waterproof formula I found it stayed put and lasted all day on my lashes.
It gives a clean polished defined look to the eyes. You can build and layer for more drama but I would say this is a really nice everyday kind of mascara. I will definitely repurchase in the future.
A closer look below, also wearing the Rouge à Lèvres Voile Sheer Lipstick in The Painted Veil which I hauled recently and love! It’s a smooth sheer rose and now I want to try the other formulas too!
There are three La Palette Sourcils Brow Wax/Powder Duos in Light, Medium and Dark. These come with a tinted wax on one side and a powder on the other. The Brow Duos are cased in a compact with four mini tools including a tweezer, spoolie, angled brush and soft small sponge applicator. I tried Medium which is a neutral medium brown color. The wax is soft and easy to apply with the angled brush. It’s been a long time since I’ve tried a wax and this had enough color to wear alone. It filled in my brows and held them in place. The powder is interesting to me. It’s a stiff but pigmented powder. It’s more pigmented than the older brow duos. I haven’t tried a small detail applicator before – most of my brow brushes are angled. The small applicator made it easy to apply in soft strokes although since the handles are so small it took a bit of work to hold. The pros for the applicators are they are compact and easy to travel with. They are usable and well made although full size brushes and tools are easier to hold and use for me.
Lasting power is very good. I didn’t experience any fading or smudging. The brows stayed put all day long!
Natural brows vs just the wax:
Wax plus powder:
Le Liner de Chanel Liquid Liner
Out of the three items in this launch I found the Le Liner de Chanel Liquid Liners to be the most exciting to me! They launched some of the most beautiful shimmers I’ve ever seen! These dry down to a semi-matte finish although the shimmers still have a slightly wet look because of the shimmer. The brush is well designed to apply in one stroke or a feathering motion. I found these took a few seconds to dry depending on how thick a line you draw on. Formula is thin but smooth and very pigmented. Once it sets it does not budge. As one who struggles with pencil liners during the summer months I was really excited to see a brown and plum matte – I think they’ll be excellent for the warm humid months.
Le Volume Stretch de Chanel Mascara
Last is a look at the Le Volume Stretch de Chanel Mascara. This comes in one color and has a rubber twisted brush. I think this is a decent formula to lengthen and define the lashes. The brush did take a bit of practice for me to get used to because of the angles but it’s not impossible to use. It miraculously did not smudge even though it didn’t really hold the curl. I like it a lot but it’s not my favorite. I still think the classic Le Volume de Chanel is the best for me (or the waterproof version). It was easy to remove since it’s not a waterproof formula. Since it did not smudge on me I give it a thumbs up.
Just for fun my little ragdoll buddy keeping me company. He doesn’t like to take photos lol! He’s 7 years old now and I cannot believe it.
Overall a solid line of eye makeup staples. I think the liquid liners are special because of the color selection. I really like the brow duo because of the wax and compact but don’t think it’s essential. The verdict is still out on the mascara because I think it’s really good but I think there are better options.
The Pat McGrath Mothership VII Divine Rose Eyeshadow Palette ($125) has returned and I am so excited to share my review and swatches today. This originally launched last year in limited quantities. It’s made a few restock appearances and has always sold out online. I managed to order this during one of the previous restocks and could not be more thrilled. I really hope they will consider making this permanent! It’s available online at Pat McGrath. UPDATE: Also now available at Sephora as of April 17th!
The Mothership VII Divine Rose Palette has a mix of mattes, shimmers, iridescent shades and one glitter. The pigment is excellent on all the colors with an easy to blend formula. The looks are endless with this one and I think it has a great combination of neutrals, rose tones and more edgy shimmers.
Colors include a mix of mainly new colors with three relaunch colors. Skinshow Nude is also in the Mothership Subliminal Palette, Rose Dusk is also in the Mothership Sublime, Astral Solstice is also in the Mothership Midnight Sun.
Skinshow Nude is a soft shimmery champagne
Velouria is a matte dusty mauve (pulls darker on the skin than what I see in the pan)
Sable Bronze is a shimmery bronze (love this one)
Refined Gold 002 is an iridescent gold
Iridescent Pink 003 is a duo-chrome white pink that flashes a bit of lavender and cooler tone pink
Xtreme Mahogany is a matte rich warm brown
Love Lace is a shimmery taupe with silver flecks
Rose Dusk is a shimmery soft muted rose plum
VR Rose Venus is a duo-chrome orange pink with gold shimmer, the mix makes it look more peachy on my skin rather than orange
Astral Solstice is a chunky ivory glitter that has a super wet look effect
Top Reformation Delia (runs small, recommend sizing up at least 2 sizes)
Lasting power was excellent for me with the combinations I tried. There was some fallout with application as some of the shadows are super soft but it was easy to clean up afterwards. Once on the eyes they stayed put and lasted all day for me. The only color I wasn’t too crazy about is the Astral Solstice because it’s a glitter. Application is ok if applied in a patting motion on the eyes, with a brush the sparkles ended up all over my face.
Overall though I give this palette a solid A for colors, quality and texture. Definitely worth the splurge for me! I think the rose tones are very wearable and have enough of a muted/neutral undertone that it doesn’t give me a pink-eye look. I keep staring at the rose pink box though thinking how awesome it would be to have the colors on the box in gloss, lipstick or blush shades!
I’m back with a Tom Ford Beauty post! By popular request I have a review and swatches of all five new Tom Ford Eye Color Quads in Arabesque, De La Creme, Mink Mirage, Sous Le Sable and Noir Fume ($88 each for .31/9 g). As a long-time Tom Ford Beauty lover I could not have been more excited about new palettes, especially since most of the new ones are neutrals! Unfortunately most of these are strong misses for me and not as stellar as the other quads in terms of pigment and color payoff. Still I think there are some nice wearable options good for everyday wear.
Top Row: De La Creme, Arabesque, Noir Fume
Bottom Row: Sous le Sable, Mink Mirage
More thoughts on each palette below, ranked from best to worst based on my testing experience.
Mink Mirage
Mink Mirage is the best palette pigment-wise and it has all matte colors. I believe it’s replacing Cocoa Mirage which had some of the most boring colors ever but had amazing pigment and actually looked a lot better on the eyes than in the pan. Mink Mirage has a matte cream, a soft matte brown, a medium brown and smokey black. The powders in this one are easy to blend and perform flawlessly for a nice smokey neutral eye. It’s easy to wear for any occasion and quite versatile to take from day to night.
Wearing:
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Sand
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
Charlotte Tilbury Highlighter Wand in Peachgasm
Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in Pillow Talk
Charlotte Tilbury Lip Collagen in Rosy Plump
Tom Ford Eye Color Quad in Mink Mirage
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Noir Fume
Noir Fume is the next best one for a soft smokey taupe eye look. It doesn’t swatch the best on the arm but on the eyes it layers beautifully for an effortless smokey eye. There’s a soft sheer ivory which smooth and evens out the lids. Other colors include a sheer golden brown that almost has slight olive tones, a shimmery taupe and a cool deep taupe grey brown matte.
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De La Creme
De La Creme has the prettiest color scheme out of all the new palettes in my opinion but colors don’t show up on my medium tan skin as well as I had hoped. If you’re light or fair I think it will show up better. It has a perfect warm champagne peach shimmer, a warm copper, a warm soft matte brown and a medium warm matte brown. If I layer heavily on top of a creamy emollient cream base color adheres better on my skin – but I have to pack/pat it on. Any blending causes the colors to sheer out and almost disappear onto the same soft brown wash. I wish this had the same texture as the Nude Dip/Honeymoon quads because I think the color would show up better on the skin.
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Sous le Sable
Sous le Sable also has such a gorgeous color palette and it swatches beautifully on my arm, but on my eyes, it disappears into my skin and pigment is barely noticeable. I have to pack on the colors with a heavy hand to see any distinction between the bottom mattes. The shimmery rose is so SO pretty but doesn’t show up on my medium skin. The pale matte rose has decent pigment but the other three didn’t perform as I had hoped. This made my heart sink – the colors are what I had hoped Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk would look like (which gives me a horrible pink eye look). Tom Ford’s Sous le Sable has more brown undertones making the color scheme better – I just wish the colors would actually show up on my lids.
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Arabesque
Arabesque is the worst of the five. I’m a huge fan of the glitter palettes because I think they make great toppers. I applied these in a patting motion on the lids and there is barely any color. Just sparkle in which case I feel the Golden Peach Cream Eye Duo or even the Golden Mink Quad are much better.
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Out of all five the only two I truly feel are worth the splurge are Mink Mirage and Noir Fume. The other three are definitely not worth the $88 price tag and are huge disappointments compared to other Tom Ford Quads I’ve tried.
I personally think the color scheme of the new launches are truly beautiful, but that’s where it ends for me. Pigment and color payoff are simply not there which is surprising and disappointing to me considering Tom Ford usually launches high quality products.
Have you tried any of the new quads? What did you think? Did they end up working for you or did you find them patchy/sheer? I bought mine from Nordstrom and Sephora. They’re also available at all Tom Ford Beauty counters now.
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.
NARS launched a few new products at Sephora with new shades of the Oil-Infused Lip Tints ($26 each 0.17 oz/5.7 ml) and a pocket-sized eyeshadow palette called the Wanted Mini Eyeshadow Palette ($25 for 6 colors 0.02 oz/.7 g x 6). I have swatches plus thoughts on all the new launches. Per the NARS team everything is limited-edition.
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Oil-Infused Lip Tints
I’ve been a huge fan of the Orgasm Oil-Infused Lip Tint and Orgasm Afterglow Balm so I was excited to try the new lip oil shades. There are three colors and they have the same emollient feel and packaging as the Orgasm oil: hydrating, smooth, not sticky, comforting and offer just a slight hint of color. On me pigment is barely there and sheer. I don’t get a shift on the lips in color like I did with the Orgasm color (review here). They are formulated with raspberry seed oil and pomegranate extracts to hydrate and protect.
Primal Instinct is a sheer beige
High Security is a fuchsia
Disco Infernal is a purple berry
For me I think Orgasm is the best color as it transforms to a healthy soft pink on me. The new ones are nice if you can’t do the color-shifting lip products. I know some of you find they turn into a super unflattering bright pink – these look different on everyone. The new ones are so sheer and have a similar vibe on me, I’d recommend opting for just one if you want to try them. Even though they look practically the same on me, I’ve still been loving the formula for the beach or warm weather days. I wore the beige one out kayaking with my niece and nephew who were visiting in town last week. It stayed put for 5 hours straight without budging or sliding. Lips felt good the entire time.
Swatches are done on bare lips:
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Mini Wanted
NARS launched a pocket size version of one of their best selling palettes Wanted in a super mini version called the Wanted Eyeshadow Mini Palette (originally reviewed here). The mini has 6 shades while the full size has 12. I think the full-size is the better buy and you get more color options for a complete eye look. The mini is one of the smallest palettes I think I’ve ever seen. Quality of the mini is the same as the full large option you can still find at Ulta or Macy’s. Colors applied smoothly without any issue and layer beautifully. The customer reviews online are pretty bad but to me it seems it’s all based on the size and price. I think it’s all based on the packaging presentation – one look at this in person and it’s fairly unimpressive just based on the size. The Natasha Denona Mini Eye Palettes are the same price $25 and are also similar in weight per pan for the shadows but seems to have more positive reviews even though it’s tiny too. Also by comparison the NARS Voyageur Eyeshadow Palettes have 6 shades just like the Mini Wanted, is priced higher at $32 yet has less product (pans are .6 g each). The packaging and presentation looks so much better even though these are small pans as well.
I think the Mini Wanted might be nice if you want to gift something at that $25 or under price point and still have it be from a luxury brand. I do think there are better options out there, but a quick price filter just on Sephora alone shows that most of them will be over the $25 mark.
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Quality-wise everything performs well. The eyeshadows are smooth, nicely pigmented, layer beautifully for a soft rosy eye look. They stay put and don’t have a lot of fall out and blend well. The palette is too small for my taste even though I do love a good mini. I think the full size is a lot better for the price and more versatile.
The Oil-Infused Lip Tints are lovely for that smooth hydrating feel and soft wash of color to tint the lips. They do make the lips look lush and glossy in a really pretty way, but I’m still partial to the first one they launched in Orgasm.
You can find these new launches available now at Sephora.
Have you tried these yet? What did you think?
NARS items featured provided courtesy of NARS for review.
Chanel recently launched The New Eye Collection with four color themes for eyeshadows, liners and tinted mascaras. The texture and pigment of the four Les 4 Ombres Eyeshadows are really quite phenomenal. For those who feel like they want a non-neutral eye color but don’t want something with high shimmer or super warm tones, this collection offers some nice alternatives. I also just saw they released a new Eyelash Curler so I picked that up to round out the collection review.
I have all four quads, five eyeliners, four mascaras plus the curler reviewed. There may be some additional liners in the collection (new and repromotes) as well. In today’s post:
Les 4 Ombres ($62 each for 2 g/0.07 oz) in Blurry Mauve, Blurry Green, Blurry Grey and Blurry Blue
Some quick notes on the formulas before I go into the color themes. Formulas across the board are consistent in pigment, color payoff, lasting power and blendability. The Les 4 Ombres seem to be a significant improvement over previous years’ quads. The mattes are almost creamy to the touch, they’re super soft and easy to blend for a soft smokey look. The shimmers also have a very soft feel to them and adhere well to the skin. Lasting power is very good with better pigment compared to older quads. The Stylo Yeux Wateproof Eyeliners are all smooth in texture (these are twist up liners with a removeable sharpener at the base). In the past this formula has been hit or miss, some have had tugging issues for me. This launch every color is smooth, easy to blend and layer in a feathering motion and there was no tugging. The Le Volume Revolution de Chanel Mascaras offer nice volume without any clumping or smudging. The color is subtle on me once it dries down. Color darkens once it dries on my black lashes, but it is a nice change from the traditional black or brown.
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Blurry Mauve
I’m starting with my favorite color theme of the four with the Blurry Mauve theme. This color theme reminds me a little of the Rouge Noir liners they’ve launched in the past but the red is more muted and color theme has a blurred greyed kind of mix for a more neutral tone. The overall look is a beautiful smokey mauve plum which I think is the easiest for me to wear:
Les 4 Ombres in Blurry Mauve has a satiny matte mauve plum, a shimmering taupe plum, a matte deep wine and a soft mauve matte
My second favorite is the Blurry Green collection which is huge for me as I’m not a green fan. This palette has two olive/green tones with a mix of golden sandy brown shimmers to neutralize the color. I think I can wear this color palette year round but it seems like it’s going to be the perfect fall palette. Lasting power was excellent – it stayed put all day over the weekend from morning to evening, lasted through the heat!
Les 4 Ombres in Blurry Green has a metallic golden sand, a shimmery olive, a shimmery sage green and a shimmery deeper soft brown, this is the most shimmery of the four but isn’t overly frosted. Colors layer beautifully together for a soft smokey olive eye.
Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Jungle Green is the prettiest forest green shimmer eyeliner I’ve seen in a long time. It has a really pretty deep finish on the eyes (swatches better on the eye than my arm).
Le Volume Revolution de Chanel in in Jungle Green is a dark forest green mascara. It almost has a metallic sheen to it but once it dries down looks like a deep blackened green.
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Blurry Grey
The Blurry Grey theme has an interesting twist on the traditional black/white/grey smokey eye palette. The colors pull warmer on the skin compared to what you see in the palette. Overall look on my olive/medium/golden skin is still neutral cool which makes it easier to wear than most smokey eye palettes. Colors are soft and blurred for a nice date-night eye:
Les 4 Ombres in Blurry Grey has a soft blue-grey matte, a soft blurred deep charcoal, a neutral warm almost plum smokey, a shimmery soft silvery
Stylo Yeux Wateproof in in Noir Engimatique is a shimmery cool black and Black Wood is a more neutral soft washed black liner
Last is the Blurry Blue themed collection which I think has a more wearable color palette for blues compared to the more trendy blue and teal colors out there. I cannot pull off teals or blue shades on my eyes, at best I can wear navy. Still the quality is excellent and I think the teal mascara is fun (still subtle but fun). This gives a really pretty blurred out grey-blue eye look, I just didn’t like the blue tones on my skin from the shadow, the liner and mascara are really fun though!
Les 4 Ombres in Blurry Blue has some blue grey tones with a matte grey, a cool gunmetal grey satin, a deep teal and a soft dove grey matte, colors are smooth and easy to blend.
Stylo Yeux in Intense Teal is a bold teal shimmer, once on the eyes it looks deeper/darker and not as bright.
Last but not least is the new Chanel Lash Curler. They discontinued the black lacquered one many years ago. As soon as I found out it was being pulled I stocked up and have been relying on my backups. This new one is silver and made in Japan. It comes with two extra refill pads. A number of you asked how this compares to Shiseido and Shu Uemura. It’s been a long time since I’ve used either so I can’t compare, these days my top go-to’s have been the older Chanel curler, MAC’s Eyelash Curler and Charlotte Tilbury’s. This new one from Chanel performed well, it looks almost identical in shape and size to the older version, just silver. The curler does seem to be slightly more flattened. Overall performance is excellent and I’m really happy with it.
That wraps up the review + swatches of the New Eye Collection. I think it has excellent formulas for those who want an alternative to the black/silver/grey smokey eye. My favorite is Blurry Mauve, for fall I think I’ll be reaching for Blurry Green more. Quality and pigment is really nice and easy to wear. If you want something simple and easy to wear (versus the palettes that have 10+ colors) these quads are perfect.
You can find the Chanel New Eye Collection at Chanel.com now. Their website and boutique had the early exclusive for the launch, but they will also available at all Chanel counters and retailers.
Have you checked out these launches yet? If yes what did you think?
Chanel Eye Collection provided courtesy of Chanel Beauty for review. Eyelash curler purchased by me.
