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Edward Bess Quad Royale in Summer in Capri

October 28, 2011
Edward Bess has several new exciting products that are being released for fall and holiday. His new face quad called Summer in Capri ($45 for .25oz/7g) has recently been released in-store at Bergdorf Goodman and online on his website. It’s a beautiful highlighter with four shades of tan and peach all of which contain a lovely subtle pearl glow. The powder is encased in a rectangular black mirrored compact complete with a face brush for application. The texture is soft and the powder is finely milled and applies beautifully on the skin to give you that subtle glow from within.

On my face it adds a lovely beautiful soft light peachy glow. The luminosity resembles Chanel Poudre Douce with a slightly more contoured finish since the Edward Bess Summer in Capri has two shades of beige/tan. I really love the little brush that comes in the compact. The handle is beveled to a point which makes it easy to hold and the brush head is wide enough to cover the whole cheek with two sweeps. On the face I’ve worn this over his Daydream Bronzer to add a subtle glow and I love the way it makes the skin look. Each shade individually also works on the eyes (I love it layered over his Sunlight cream highlighter) as a lovely all-over lid color. My favorites for the eyes are the bottom two shades layered together for a very subtle contour.
Best Things in Beauty has a lovely review and managed to get all four shades to show up in her swatches (something I was not able to do). Here is my swatch on the arm (which was very difficult to photograph).

Blended all together on the arm (blurry, but the best I could get):

Out of all the new holiday highlighter options out there this season, I say hands down this is the highlighter of choice for me. Do note that this season seems to be the season of highlighters that offer a very subtle subdued glow. If you’re looking for something more visibly shimmer or glowy you may want to shop your stash as most of what I’ve seen this season from Chanel to Guerlain and even MAC seems to be more on the subtle side. Edward Bess Quad Royale in Summer in Capri shows up on my skin and is easily layerable. Adding a few more swipes on the cheeks over a cream blush makes it show up even better. Due to the subtle glowy finish and lightness of the colors I’m not sure how it would work with darker skintones. I personally adore it and highly recommend. It is a face powder that will work year round for any occasion.
Have you tried Edward Bess Summer in Capri?
P.S. I know I’ve been a bit slow in blogging this week. I hope to catch up this weekend!
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Trish McEvoy Delicate Beauty Voyager Collection

October 24, 2011

In August, Trish McEvoy launched her newest Little Black Card called Delicate Beauty in her Voyager Collection Kit ($85). This is the cutest mini makeup kit I think I’ve ever seen filled with the easy-to-wear colors and mini brushes perfect for those emergency touch-up situations. It’s the perfect little case to throw in even the smallest of purses. Even though I’m not a fan of palettes that mix creams and powders on the same layer (the powder debris tends to get the cream products messy), this was just too cute to pass up.

Size-wise, it’s about the same size as my computer mouse. It’s smaller than my Goyard coin purse and I’ve photographed a mini Chanel sample perfume next to it to show the scale. The colors and descriptions are listed below.

Top Tier:
Eye Shadow Soft Peach – a soft matte pale peach-beige with tiny gold flecks
Eye Shadow Delicate Pink (new) – a soft sheer cool pink
Eye Shadow Fig (new) – matte bark color
Eye Shadow Thunder (new) – satin grey
Glaze Eye Shadow White Peach – frosted medium champagne
Glaze Eye Shadow Romance – frosted pale white-pink
Eye Definer Deep Plum – a deep iridescent plum
Eye Definer Starry Night (new) – a deep navy shimmer

Bottom Tier:
Matte Bronzer Medium – neutral sheer warm bronzer (no shimmer)
Blush Glow – shimmery coral golden glow
Classic Lip Color Vibrant Coral – bright coral-red cream
Beauty Booster Lip Gloss Sexy Petal – sheer sparkly pale pink
Brightening Line Minimizing Concealer Medium

Brushes include:
Brush 48 Blending
Dual Ended Brush 19/42 Laydown and Contour
Dual Ended Brush 11/41A Precise Eye Lining/Smudge
Covered Lip

Overall thoughts: This kit is convenient and totally squeal-worthy because of the cuteness. The colors in this kit are definitely what I would classify as classic no-fail colors. I do feel they are a bit on the safe side (except for that bright coral lip). The upside is that if you own any other Trish Black Cards, you can easily pop out this one and put in your others. I felt the cheek pans were a bit small for my taste but the blush and bronzer can be easily mixed together. The brushes are functional even though tiny. They are all made in China. I would say the quality of the brushes in the set are quite good, but not quite up to par of her regular full sized brushes. Still they function well for detail touchups.

Have you bought any of Trish’s Little Black Cards before? What do you think of her newest one? I found mine at Neimans but I believe this set is available for sale at all Trish McEvoy counters right now.

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Dior Couture Golds 554 Eyeshadow Palette

October 22, 2011

Dior Couture Golds 554 Quint ($59 for 6 g/ 0.21 oz) has finally been spotted in-store at Nordstrom. I’ve looked everywhere online for this and have yet to find it listed anywhere yet. It appears to have had a slight delay in release compared to the other items in this year’s holiday collection (much like last year’s Five Golds). If you’re looking online I suspect it might be a while before we see it show up. I’d recommend you call your Dior counter to see if it has arrived. Couture Golds is a particularly festive mix of golds and creams. The colors in the palette are all high frost/shimmer with the exception of the dark blackened-brown. I would describe the shades as (from top left going clockwise finishing at the center):
  • frosted ivory cream
  • frosted warm coppery gold
  • shimmery warm golden bronze with slight beigey tones
  • dark matte black-brown with gold flecks
  • sparkling yellow-gold champagne that has slightly chunky reflective particles

All have excellent color payoff, except for that dark color which I think needs a dense brush and quite a bit of packing on to get decent pigment. All together Couture Golds has a beautiful glowy quality that is perfect for holiday.

Is this a must-have? My initial thoughts were “yes! this is the best palette of the season yet!” I still feel that last year’s holiday quint, Five Golds wins hands down, but I did think this year’s Couture Golds was a huge thumbs up until I swatched it on the arm and thought it looked oddly familiar – like Endless Shine. Here is Couture Golds with some comparisons and swatches. You can judge for yourself on the similarities. There are differences in sparkle quality and undertone. Perhaps they just look identical because of my skintone. For me, they are too close for comfort. After seeing them swatched side-by-side I couldn’t help but feel a bit let down thinking this was simply a re-hash or a previously released quint. I couldn’t fit everything on one arm, so swatches are grouped into twos.

Overall, I still feel that Couture Golds is the best eye palette of the holiday season. The sparking champagne in the center is so gorgeous with the chunky reflective particles. I prefer it over Endless Shine (even though they are very similar) so I can justify keeping it instead of re-gifting it to someone else. Will I be using Couture Golds this season? Absolutely yes. I just feel it could have been a bit more different than something previously released by the same brand.
Have you seen Dior Holiday in person? What were your thoughts?
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Coming Soon

October 22, 2011

It’s been a very busy month for me. I haven’t had time to respond to many comments or personal request emails. Many have asked for my thoughts on a number of new products – some I have been testing, some I have not. Here is a sneak peek of what I have been testing recently. I will do my best to gather my thoughts and write up my reviews as soon as possible.
What’s coming soon? Dolce & Gabbana’s new Cream Foundation and Brush, Dolce & Gabbana Passion Duo Gloss Fusion Lipsticks, Dolce & Gabbana Holiday Picks, Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge Skincare, Koh Gen Do Skincare Loves, Trish McEvoy’s Delicate Beauty Voyager Card Set, Edward Bess Quad Royale in Summer in Capri, Dior’s Couture Golds 554 Quint (finally spotted in-store at Nordstrom).

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Le Métier de Beauté Ken Downing Lip Crèmes In the Know Bordeaux and Purple Haze

October 20, 2011

The latest from Le Métier de Beauté  includes two new Lip Crèmes named In the Know Bordeaux and Purple Haze. These are exclusive to Neiman Marcus and designed by Fashion Director Ken Downing to go in conjunction with his Bordeaux Lip/Nail duos that were released earlier this fall. The two new Lip Crèmes are all the rage right now, and rightly so. Bordeaux and plum are both key colors this year for fall. You can see raves on Messy Wands, Café Makeup, The Non-Blonde and swatches on Karla Sugar. While the price at $36 is rather steep for a lipgloss, Le Métier de Beauté Lip Crèmes are among the best in formula, color and quality that I’ve tried from all brands. There is full coverage with this hybrid lipstick/gloss formula and no color bleeding. Most lip cremes can be drying or too opaque because of the semi-matte finish. Not with Le Métier de Beauté. The shimmer and pigment give depth to the lips with full coverage.

The two colors from Ken Downing’s Bordeaux Collection:
  • In the Know Bordeaux is a deep wine red with shimmer, this one is highly pigmented and requires precise application, I needed a lip brush to evenly cover the edges of my lip
  • Purple Haze is a beautiful light mauve plum-pink shimmer, this shade is easier to apply and more forgiving with a less precise swipe, goof-proof and naturally flattering

Swatched:

Comparisons to other glosses:

Bottom line: I need a back up of Purple Haze, it’s such a lovely mauvey pink-plum. which I find very unique. I don’t own anything quite like it. In the Know Bordeaux is a color I find difficult to wear for everyday.  The intensity of the color made it difficult to apply in one quick swipe. As you can see from the lip swatch even with a lip brush I still smudged it a bit on the outside rim of my lips. It’s gorgeous for evenings or dates, but I’m still scared of highly pigmented red-plums. Most plums tend to pull more red on me, as you can see from the lip swatch, it’s quite bright on my lips/skintone. Darker-bright-reds tend to age me unless they have a more transparent glossy finish or some hint of pale shimmer. Still I found both stayed put relatively well for a gloss.
Have you checked these out at Neimans?
These glosses were kindly sent to me courtesy of  Le Métier de Beauté for review.
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Dior Vernis for Holiday 2011 in Exquis 611

October 16, 2011

Dior Exquis #611 ($22) is one of four nail colors in the Dior Vernis d’Or Collection this year for the holiday season. The theme this year for Dior is gold and each of the nail lacquers are infused with gold powder. Exquis has the complexity of colors like Chanel Peridot and Dior Bronze Libertine but I find that Exquis is softer & slightly less edgy making it easier to pull off for everyday. It is an intriguing color of taupe and brown mixed with gold shimmers. Depending on how the light hits your hands sometimes it looks taupe, sometimes it looks dark brown, other times a golden fawn. The finish is smooth and glossy. It requires two coats for full coverage. I’ve grown to love the chiseled tapered brush – it makes application so much easier.

Pretty gold veins:

I could not find a dupe in my stash. I have seen dupe attempts pop up online though some look quite close. The closest I have is Dior’s Bronze Libertine (Neiman Marcus exclusive from last year), but it’s not quite the same.

Some more comparisons on the nail wheel, L to R: Chanel Khaki Rose, Dior Aztec Chocolate, Exquis, Underground, Czarina Gold, OPI Melody in Mocha, OPI You Don’t Know Jacques, Sephora by OPI Already Famous, Dior Bronze Libertine.

Coming eventually, each shade from Dior’s Holiday 2011 collection but for now, here are the four lined up (all are limited edition so I recommend you act fast if these are on your wishlist):

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Chanel Noir-Ivoire Eyeshadow Duo & Féérie Natural Finish Loose Powder

October 14, 2011
The last two items I will be featuring from the Chanel Holiday 2011 collection include Noir-Ivoire Eyeshadow Duo ($42) & Féérie Natural Finish Loose Powder ($52).

Noir-Ivoire Eyeshadow Duo ($42) is a beautiful classic duo of a soft luminous ivory shimmer and a complex semi-satin soft black. In the compact it looks very basic, unoriginal, almost bland. However I found on the eyes it looks quite lovely. The ivory shade is not quite as yellow as the promotional photos show but it does have a yellowish tinge. It’s similar to the Lumière Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting Powder but the powder is more beigey-pink and the shadow is more yellow. The black shade looks matte in the compact but after brushing it on the skin I found that it’s actually not really matte. It’s not really a shimmer either, but I would describe it as a having a satiny finish. I love the complexity of the colors in this because it prevents it from looking too harsh or ashy.

Féérie Natural Finish Loose Powder ($52) is a pinkish-beige soft sheer matte powder with tons of pink and white shimmery flecks. It comes in the finishing powder formula which I found a bit odd. The base is very sheer and light and the shimmer is not quite the glitter size but bigger than a shimmer. It seems too sparkly to use all over the face in my opinion and even as a highlighter seems a bit too glitzy. I think it would make a lovely dusting powder for going out on the cheeks. I don’t think I will be using this on the eyes – I’m worried about the glittery fallout but I haven’t tested this on the eyes yet. It’s simply gorgeous in the tub but too much for me for everyday. I recommend reading reviews from Best Things in Beauty and Fruity Lashes – they both love this powder.

Swatches:

With High Flash:

Comparisons (I apologize for the mis-spellings):

I really love the duo in this collection even though it’s fairly basic. The powder is something I’ll have to play with more. Thanks to alice for pointing out I spelled Noir-Ivoire incorrectly. I hope it’s now updated everywhere in the post (except for the labeling).

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