Spring has arrived. Here’s a sneak peek 🙂
Tom Ford Violet Blonde is my first experience with Tom Ford fragrances. It turned out to be an unexpected love. I was lucky to be gifted a bottle right before the official release, but to my dismay it was not love at first spritz. I have to admit (in all fairness) I made the mistake of not testing this on myself, but rather on a small piece of paper. Back into the violet box this went and it sat on our shelf for a month until my husband noticed it and asked, “ooh, is that for me?” He can never resist a new fragrance, especially when it comes in a beautifully packaged bottle. He has a knack for finding things that smell good – our house is forever filled with some kind of smell-good scent. (I have to hide my Jo Malone tea fragrances because he loves them so much he runs around our house to “freshen” it with Assam & Grapefruit.) Once again, he decided to use a fragrance to fill one of our rooms with scent. He spritzed Violet Blonde in our bathroom and as soon as I walked in, I fell in love.
Violet Blonde is a new addition to Tom Ford’s Signature Line and comes in three different sizes 1 oz ($65), 1.7 oz ($100 and 3.4 oz ($145). It’s a soft elegant floral with a hint of a powdery finish. In the past few months I’ve started to explore a few more Tom Ford mini vials and am amazed at how his fragrances transform once they dry down on the skin. Violet Blonde is no exception. When first spritzed, there is a fruity floral with a hint of green (what I think is the violet). It dries down to a softer floral and warms up with a slight powdery woody feel. I don’t typically like strong floral or green scents, but I’m enamored with Tom Ford’s Violet Blonde. It’s a departure from what I’m typically drawn to yet I adore it.
I’m sure by now many of you have already tested out Violet Blonde. I love the reviews by The Non-Blonde, Fruity Lashes, The Candy Perfume Boy and Temptalia. What more can I add? Not much. I’m still learning how to review fragrances. I highly recommend you read their reviews to get a better sense of how Violet Blonde behaves on the skin. Their descriptions and reviews are amazing. I agree with Gaia that while this is marketed as a perfume for women, men also seem to love it. My husband adores it. Bottom line: dreamy, feminine, elegant and classic.
All photos taken by me. More details shown below for the inspiration, top notes, middle notes and base notes.
What are your favorite Tom Ford fragrances?
Tom Ford Violet Blonde was gifted courtesy of Neiman Marcus.
© The Beauty Look Book.
© The Beauty Look Book.
I first learned about Dior Golden Era 207 ($22) when Dior first launched their new nail polishes in the revamped formula online at Dior.com. I instantly googled trying to find swatches. I found some via The Purse Forum from sweetart and peach. (who I just found out has a blog called à la peach) and caved when I ordered Silver Lake last month. At this time I’m not sure if it’s just out of stock or is a limited edition – I checked Dior.com and can’t find it listed anywhere.
Golden Era 207 is a luminous sparkling sandy gold with beautiful multi-colored shimmers. There are glimmering particles of silver, gold, red and transparent tiny glitters suspended in a sheer golden-beige base. The finish is rather sheer but layerable. I needed 4 coats to achieve full coverage so I could actually see the gold color (just my preference). With 3 or less the nail polish makes the fingers glow with a soft sheen. I loved how à la peach showed the layering effect with multiple layers (be sure to visit her blog).
Here are some more shots and close ups:
If you look closely you can see the red shimmers:
I looked through my stash and didn’t see anything quite like it. The red shimmers add that extra oomph to make Golden Era truly unique. I think we need more nail polishes like this. (The red shimmer in this is like the flecks of teal in Chanel Quartz – they add extra depth, dimension and sparkle.) I pulled out my other Diors, no dupes to be found from Timeless Gold, Or Divin, City of Gold or Camel.
Swatch comparisons plus two more golds: Chanel Beige d’Or and Estee Lauder Extravagant Pearl.
I really hope this is just temporarily sold out on Dior.com. Golden Era is such a lovely color and being more of a neutral gold, I feel it would be more universally flattering than the Or Divin from holiday this year. Now if I could only find an eyeshadow like this …
One last shot of Silver Lake and Golden Era side by side:
Uncategorized
Le M̩tier de Beaut̩ Antiquit̩ Poup̩e Kaleidoscope РBergdorf Goodman Exclusive for Holiday 2011
December 4, 2011
Many thanks to the NY bloggers who gave us sneak peeks, swatches, and even a few eye-looks of Bergdorf Goodman’s latest holiday Kaleidoscope from Le Métier de Beauté, Antiquité Poupée ($95, limited edition, exclusive to BG). I was hesitant to buy for several reasons, mainly because it contained a warm matte rust shade and also because it was not available for sale online. The Black Panties and Josie pushed me over the edge though, both assuring me that the reddish color warmed up the eye look and was easy to pull off. It looked stunning on Messy Wands as well. I typically try to avoid any eyeshadows and liners that contain red but decided to give this a try and ordered two kits (one as a gift). The colors and descriptions are as follows (thanks to The Black Panties for providing the names for us):
- Dusty Rose – a soft shimmery pink with a subtle gold shimmery sheen
- Burlap Sorrel – a warm shimmering taupe
- Tarnished Russet – matte rust brick
- Ember Ash – a deep shimmering blue-grey
Close ups of the shades #1 Dusty Rose and #3 Tarnished Russet
Close ups of the shades #2 Burlap Sorrel and #4 Ember Ash
I applied it the second I received it using the Couches de Couleur layering technique, starting with the top shade all over the lids, then working my way down, applying the remaining shades in a gradient towards the lashline. The result: a truly stunning smokey eye. I was really amazed at how wearable the rust shade was when layered over the pink and taupe (although I dusted it with a loose fluffy brush to apply sheerly). I’ve tried to show it layered in a few swatches here. The pigment is rich but easily blendable. The shimmer is exquisite. Texture is soft, luxurious and easy to blend.
When I reviewed the Come One, Come All Kit, one of my readers mentioned she purchased the new Antiquité Poupée and said the taupey shimmer was the same as the taupe in Come One, Come All and Splendid Frost. I pulled out all my Le Métier kits and singles to do the comparison myself. Unfortunately, to my dismay, I discovered that my reader was right, the Antiquité Poupée has a repeat taupey shade compared to other previously released kits. I now have 3 of the same shade among 3 different kits. Not a complete deal-breaker for me, but still, I had hoped for something truly unique and different, something more silvery/grey. Here are comparisons for all four shades.
The more I wear this kit, the more I fall in love with it. The color combination is pure genius, especially considering the fact that I have never been able to pull off warm reddish colors. It’s suitable for a daytime look to wear to the office yet also perfect for night by adding a bit more of the darker shades to give a smokier effect. Yes, this kit contains colors that are similar to other existing shades from Le Métier (including the one true dupe in the taupe color), but I still like it. I am now no longer afraid to wear reddish eyeshadows, but my heart still belongs to neutrals and I am hoping that future Kaleidoscopes from Le Métier will include more neutral or cool toned shades.
Bottom line: Was this worth another $95 (times two for two kits)? Almost. One of the two kits I received had a packaging flaw. The glue used for the pans seems to have been so hot it melted the plastic bottoms causing it to shrink which made the actual shadow pans pop up (they were uneven). I was worried that I would damage the product if I didn’t open super carefully so I proceeded to spend over an hour using my blow dryer, flat iron, screw driver and scissors to try and depot/melt/flatten the plastic casing. (This is something I do not recommend, thank goodness there were no shadow casualties. Hours later it was fixed with only a few melted spots on the sides. FYI, the one photographed was the kit that was perfectly intact, the swatches were from the one I fixed.)
Overall I am pleased with this kit. I would have never thought to layer these four colors together and the convenience of having all four shades in one kit is a huge plus. I am really astounded at how beautifully these colors layer together for a pretty smokey eye. The texture of Le Metier’s shadows is hard to beat (in my opinion). If the taupe been different and unique and if the packaging hadn’t been flawed for 1 of the kits, I would have been 100% in love, but I am still one happy girl to be able to own Antiquité Poupée.
From what I’ve read on Twitter and Facebook, I understand this kit sold out immediately, but BG still might have a few more left coming in. If you’re considering this at all, I recommend calling the BG counter ASAP. If you missed out, the upside is that I believe you can achieve a similar effect with other shades from Le Métier de Beauté.
Did you purchase Antiquité Poupée? What were your thoughts?
Answers to a few recently asked questions.
Chanel Rose Caché looks similar to OPI Tickle My France-y, do you know how close they are? They are very close on the nails. Chanel Rose Caché has more warmth and more pink while OPI Tickle My France-y has more grey tones. I don’t have a preference for either color, I think they are both lovely.
I can’t see full posts or photos in my Google Reader or subscription emails. Did you change your feed? Yes, I did. Like many other bloggers I have had my content stolen through my RSS feed to download into a number of spam blogs. Stolen content can be removed via Google forms and by sending out DMCA notices, but it is extremely time consuming and not always effective. Thanks to London Makeup Girl who wrote a helpful article to help prevent content being stolen through spam blogs. I have changed my feed to “short” to only include the first paragraph. I realize this may be an inconvenience for some of my readers, but it is heartbreaking to have my hard work stolen – especially when most of the photographs on this blog are my own (ie they are not stock/promo photos). At this time I do not generate any revenue from ads, affiliate links etc. and it bothers me when others try to benefit from my work to generate traffic/hits/revenue for themselves by stealing. I apologize for any inconvenience to readers who prefer the full feed but I will not be changing it back in the near future. Shortening my feed is one thing I can do to try and protect my content. I could change my format to restricted access but I feel that would be more of an inconvenience. Thank you for understanding.
If you were to only pick one, which would it be? Chanel Noir-Ivoire or Dior Couture Golds? If I didn’t have Endless Shine from last year then I would have just picked the Chanel. Both options are very different though – Chanel duos offer a simple polished refined look while Dior quints give more variety but are usually more shimmery and festive.
What’s the best new highlighter this holiday season? This year is the season of the uber-subtle glow. I would say tied between Edward Bess South of France and Giorgio Armani Madre Perla 1 for the new items this holiday season. Personally I prefer the more visible highlighters of past seasons a bit more but this season offers some lovely options.
There are so many new foundation options out there now. In your mind what is the best one? The right foundation for you will depend on your skintype. Mine is normal, sensitive, small pores. Right now, my top 2 favorites are Dolce & Gabbana’s Perfect Creamy Foundation and Powder Foundation (sorry Chanel, my long time favorites were discontinued, so I found a replacement). I cannot pick between the two. Both are fine on their own. The cream works just fine without any powder and the powder foundation works well by itself, but I prefer to layer them both. The finish is smooth with natural but full coverage.
What’s the best skincare out there? The right skincare will depend on a variety of things like skin-type, sensitivity issues, age among a number of other things. I’ve always felt less is more when it comes to skincare but as I age, my perceptions have changed. These days I use a mixture of Cle de Peau (gentle cleanser and eye cream), Koh Gen Do (masks, cleansing water, massage milk, gommage) Le Metier (peau vierge day cream and cleanser) and La Mer (toner). I would never tell anyone that this is the mixture of things to use – skincare is so personal, no two people are alike. What works for me most likely won’t work the same for you. Some people like gel cleansers, others like ones that foam up. My only advice is that finding the right skincare will take time: lots of research, trial and error, if samples are available then the testing will be easier.
What did you think of the Chanel Rouge Allure Velvets Collection? Will you be reviewing anything? I passed on all the Rouge Allure Velvet lipsticks. I’m not a fan of matte or semi-matte lips. I think it can be hard for me to pull off since I have full lips.
How do the top two shades in Le Métier de Beauté Le Cirque compare to the taupey shades in Splendid Frost/Come One, Come All? I find the shades from Le Cirque to be very different from Splendid Frost/Come One, Come All. Here they are below.
This year, the Eyes to Kill Silk Eyeshadows from Armani for holiday are all about the sparkle. Three new shades in the small twist-off cap pots are $32 each for 4 g/0.14 oz:
- 17 a highly metallic silver sparkle
- 18 an intense sparkling pale gold
- 19 hybrid silver-gold shimmer
I’ve been a huge fan of these cream-powder shadows and loved the other Eyes to Kill shades (see Holiday 2010 here and the March release here) and did not find them too intense with the sparkle factor on the eyes. The newest colors this year are much more sparkly and more appropriate for going out or holiday parties. For the other shades I own, I use both fingers and brushes to apply. With the new holiday shades, I found that regardless of how light I tried to apply, all the shades were extremely sparkly. Blending or patting softtly still resulted in sparkle overload.
In terms of colors, I found that #19 was the most wearable with a slightly more subtle shimmer (but still intense). I would not feel comfortable wearing any of the holiday shades to the office. Perhaps the Gold #18 if I muted the sparkle with a satiny shadow on top. (Note the finish isn’t creamy at all so I wouldn’t recommend using these as a base. The texture is slightly creamy but they act more like a powder.) If you’re looking for a subtle refined glow, I would recommend you opt for Laura Mercier’s Metallic Creme Shadows or Bobbi Brown’s Cream Shadows instead. Here are close ups of the shades plus swatches:
Swatches with two different views, these were all applied with a cream shadow brush (Bobbi Brown and Becca brushes were used to swatch):
Overall lovely and perfect for going out, but the shades are intensely sparkly and might be too much for some. For me, these definitely are not everyday products to wear. #8 looks chunky and loaded with sparkles in the swatches but for some reason it’s quite a bit easier for me to pull off compared to the new holiday shades. If I could only pick 1 shade it would be #19 because the mix of the silver and gold make it more wearable (less contrasted to the skin/eyes). I personally prefer the palettes that were released with the collection because they are more wearable. If you need intense sparkle that lasts, you will love these. The lasting power is very strong. If you’re not a huge fan of a super sparkly (borderline glittery) eye, then I would recommend you pass and opt for the MadrePerla palettes (reviewed here) or something like LM’s Metallic Eye Creams.
Here are comparisons to a few other shades. No dupes to be found from what I own, but here is what is in the same color family L to R: Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge, Rescue Beauty Lounge Decorous, OPI You Don’t Know Jacques, Chanel Particuliere, Dolce & Gabbana Grey Pearl, Dolce & Gabbana Amethyst, Dior Purple Mix, Chanel Rodeo Drive, Chanel Paradoxal, Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant.
In direct sun with flash:
At a different angle:
