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Fresh Pinks from Koh Gen Do, Burberry Beauty and Paul & Joe

July 5, 2011

Three fresh pink lip colors from a few harder-to-find brands I think everyone should check out:

Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Lipstick in Fresh Pink PK04 – a sheer fresh light pink with a soft frost ($38 can be found at Barneys.com and KohGenDoCosmetics.com)
Burberry Lip Mist in Fresh Pink No. 09 – a healthy semi-bright cool-pink ($30, can be found at Nordstrom.com)
Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer in Can-Can 06 – a cool-toned healthy pink with slight shimmer and high sheen ($20 check Paul & Joe for locations)

Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Lipsticks have a sheer moisturizing formula. While the color is sheer, it is visible on the lips and gives healthy glowing lips like no other lipstick formula. I’ve reviewed two others Pink Beige and Pink Rose here. Fresh Pink PK04 was provided to me for review. It’s a sheer light pink. Looking at the tube, one might worry that the color would be too sheer. The color does show up on my lips, but just barely. I think those with darker skin or darker lips might find this color too pale.

Burberry Lip Mists are natural lightweight lipsticks with a unique creamy-gelled texture that makes it feel in between a lip balm and natural lipstick. I’ve reviewed a different Lip Mist, Copper, here. Feather Pink is a fresh neutral-cool pink. It goes on smoothly and doesn’t require any tweaking. There is no detectable scent. Lasting power is medium. The texture is smooth and applies evenly.

Paul & Joe’s Lip Lacquers are among my favorites for lipglosses. I’ve raved about the formula in the past, but I don’t think I’ve done very many lip swatches. These are high pigmented high shine glosses that last on the lips a long time. Unfortunately they don’t photograph well because of the shine. It looks brighter in real life than it does on the lips below. Can-Can 06 is one of my most-used lip lacquers.

For more pink loves, you can see my Spring Pinks from April here. What are your favorite pink lip items for right-now?

Koh Gen Do Fresh Pink was provided to The Beauty Look Book without charge for review.

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Burberry Eye Brushes No. 09 Socket Line Brush & No. 10 Definition Liner Brush

July 5, 2011

I’ve been eagerly waiting for Burberry to release their full line of eye brushes. If you’ve been to a Burberry counter at one of the few select Nordstrom locations, you will notice they have a full range of face and eye makeup brushes for use, but to date, there are only four available for sale: the mini face brush ($52), No. 09 Socket Line Brush ($38), No. 10 Definition Liner Brush ($32) and No. 11 Eye Shaper Brush ($38). Visit Nordstrom.com – Burberry Beauty for more details.

Top is No. 09, Bottom is No. 10

I picked No. 09 a fluffy black-bristled brush and No. 10 a pointed smudge brush during Nordstrom’s Trend Show at South Coast Plaza last month. The brushes are beautifully crafted with sleek long handles in black and dark silver. Both of the brushes I picked up are made in France. The bristles are very soft and feel gentle when brushed on the skin. The size of the handles are perfect – not too long and not too chubby. They feel very nice in the hands and are easy to hold.

Burberry Eye Brush No. 09 is very similar to a number of other fluffy brushes. Compared to MAC, Stila and Edward Bess, the Burberry is the least dense, but most similar to Stila’s #9. It still has enough bristles in it to allow control, but this is best suited for blending colors on the lid or for a very soft wash of color. I personally prefer something a bit denser to apply color better, but the Burberry is still lovely, although not a must-have for me since there are other similar options from other brands.

Burberry Eye Brush No. 10 is a soft pointed detail brush good for the corners of the eyes or for smudging darker colors. It’s very soft making this ideal for those with sensitive eyes. This works beautifully with the darker Burberry eyeshadows to create a soft smokey eye by blending out darker shades to soften harsh edges.

Have these made it into my favorites list? (My must-haves were featured here last February.) They are well-made and very high quality, but since I have a sizeable collection of brushes, I didn’t find these to be must-haves. I personally believe there are brushes out there that are less expensive that will achieve the same result. However, if you are looking to expand your brush collection the brushes by Burberry are still worth looking at if you have a Burberry counter near you. I personally won’t buy brushes without being able to touch/test in person first, had I not been able to see these in person I would have not purchased them. Still, if you are able to go to a counter, you will see that the brushes are aesthetically pleasing and have a functional design with well crafted bristles for flawless makeup application.

A few other great resources to check out in case you’ve missed them. Café Makeup has photographed the entire brush line here and reviewed two of the eye brushes here. The Non-Blonde has reviewed No. 11 here.

Overall, I like, but don’t love. I simply have too many brushes as it is. I have used both for a few weeks now, both have gone through one brush-washing. Still, Burberry Beauty’s brush line shows promise, especially if they release the other brushes for sale. I have my eye on a few already and am eagerly waiting for their release. The brushes by Burberry are soft, well designed, delicate and gentle but not flimsy. I think many will find them great staple tools.

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Happy 4th of July!

July 4, 2011

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Lancome Eau Fraîche Douceur (Micellar Cleansing Water Face, Eyes, Lips)

July 2, 2011

I’ve tried a number of cleansing waters in the past from lines like Shiseido Pureness, Shu Uemura and Dior. Unfortunately the ones I fell in love with have been discontinued or reformulated and have been looking for another love for quite some time. I tried Lancome Eau Fraîche Douceur, a cleanser-toner, somewhat by accident. It was one of those weeks when I ran out of all my basics for skincare all at the same time. Not having time to shop and replenish that week, I dug into my sample drawer of unused minis from gifts-with-purchases. Lancome’s Cleansing Water seemed to fit the bill for a quick-fix to tone and cleanse in one step. It was a last-resort kind of thing and I’m glad I tried it. It’s done wonders for my skin and has reached the status of one of those life-changer beauty products for me.

Product Description: “Pamper and purify your skin with this refreshing cleansing water that instantly removes face, lip and eye makeup in one easy step. This magic formula with gentle Micellar Technology cleansing agents and soothing Rose de France, lifts and removes makeup and impurities, even waterproof and long-wear formulas, with no need to rinse.”

This Lancome Cleansing Water currently retails for $35 for 6.8 fl oz (see more details on Lancome.com). It’s a gentle makeup remover for the entire face and comes in a sleek clear bottle with a well-designed pump. The packaging is sturdy and easy to use. The pump dispenses just the right amount so nothing is wasted by over-pouring. Although it’s designed as a makeup remover, I use this more as a purifying toner/cleanser.

Two pumps spritzed onto the cotton square is enough to cover the entire face. At $35 I find it fairly expensive for a makeup remover, but for a toner it seems to be decent priced. It will remove mascara and eyeliner, but not 100% for those long-wear formulas. For makeup removal in the evenings, I typically soak a cotton pad with a dual-formula makeup remover (something inexpensive like Neutrogena) to remove the eyeliner and mascara. I then cleanse the face completely with soap and water and dry. Next I tone. This is the point where I will sometimes use Lancome’s Eau Fraîche Douceur instead of toner just to make sure any remnants of makeup left on the skin are completely removed.

For those who haven’t read my skincare posts before, I have relatively normal but extremely sensitive skin. I get red bumps or irritation from quite a few products. With this Lancome Cleansing Water, there was no irritation or drying from daily use of this product. There is a very faint scent which I would describe as “clean.” I was amazed at how much extra makeup was removed from my face even after cleansing the skin with my regular Clinique Foaming Facial Cleanser. It clarifies the skin to make it feel clean but not dry. Some cleansing waters are too rich for my taste leaving a slightly sticky feel leaving a thin film on the surface of the skin. The Lancome leaves no film.

I’ve been using this since around March/April. I do not use it everyday, but alternate with my La Mer and Paul & Joe Toners. Since using this, combined with Chanel’s Ultra Lift Concentrate (previously reviewed here, update to come soon), my skin has improved tremendously. It feels cleaner, there are fewer breakouts and it overall just looks and feels clearer. The mini 1.7 fl oz lasted quite a long time for me. Since using it up, I’ve kept the little bottle and refilled it for travel.

Overall: Highly recommend.

Side note, my current skincare routine includes:

Cleanse with La Mer Cleansing Gel
Tone with La Mer The Tonic, Paul & Joe Refreshing Skin Toner or Lancome’s Eau Fraîche Douceur
Moisturize at day only with Chanel Ultra Correction Lift Sculpting Firming Concentrate or La Mer The Moisturizing Lotion

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Bobbi Brown Bronze Tortoiseshell Eye Palette

July 1, 2011

Bobbi Brown has 2 different neutral eye palette options with her Tortoiseshell Collection: Sand and Bronze. I opted for the darker version, Bronze Tortoiseshell ($60), although both were equally gorgeous. The palette comes in a two-tiered brown mirrored compact and I love that the packaging is beautiful, simple and sturdy with no frills. These palettes have a good mix of textures ranging from matte to shimmer to sparkle. I think Bronze will be an extremely versatile palette that will allow one to create a wide range of looks.

The Bronze Palette is the warmer/darker option of the two in Bobbi Brown’s Fall collection. I find it neutral-warm, leaning more towards warm. The shades in the top layer of this palette:

Banana is a matte yellowish cream (doesn’t show up on my arm, but mattes out the lids)
Gold Nugget Sparkle is a bright gold with micro sparkles (I normally don’t like Bobbi Brown’s sparkle eyeshadow formula but this one is lovely)
Olive Sparkle is a sparkly olive-gold (same lovely olive with gold flecks, subtle enough so the sparkles aren’t like glitter)
Bronze Metallic is a soft warm bronze (not to be confused with her Bronze Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow which is more golden)

The bottom layer colors include:

Tiger’s Eye Metallic is a shimmery orangey amber
Espresso is a matte dark brown
Copper Cocoa Shimmer Wash is a shimmery warm chocolate
Amber Shimmer Wash is a soft peachy orange-gold

When I saw the preview photos pop up a few weeks ago, I immediately dismissed these thinking they would be repeats of prior seasons. Both Sand and Bronze are indeed similar to past creations, and while I’m not a fan of palettes that have more than 5 shades, they are good staples. I wouldn’t call these must-haves. However, Bronze does have a gorgeous palette of shimmers with a few new unique shades. This is very “summery” which I find season-appropriate for right now. Add the fact that I liked 6 of the 8 shades in this palette made it a very easy sell for me. To date, I’ve only had a chance to do one look with this using the top four shades layered and blended together with Espresso applied with a damp brush as a liner. I’m looking forward to experimenting more with this.

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Bobbi Brown Soft Nude Rich Lip Color SPF 12

July 1, 2011

There are three Rich Lip Colors featured for fall Twig, Soft Coral and Soft Nude along with three High Shimmer Lip Glosses in Bare Sparkle, Citrus and Beach. All the colors looked lovely at the counter, but I left with just one: Soft Nude Rich Lip Color ($23). Soft Nude is just that. A soft nude with a hint of pink. It’s a your-lips-but-better kind of color with full rich smooth coverage. It’s very natural but I love it. Soft Nude is one of those nudes that works perfectly. No tweaking or fixing required.

Compared to a few other Bobbi Brown shades, it’s most similar to Heather Pink (previously reviewed here). The difference is Soft Nude is less mauve/pink while Heather Pink has more pink/mauve.

The Bronze Palette swatches will be posted early Friday morning 🙂

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Bobbi Brown Bronze Tortoiseshell Eye Palette & Soft Nude Rich Lip Color Coming Soon …

July 1, 2011

Bobbi Brown’s Fall 2011 Tortoise Shell Collection features two gorgeous palettes of classic neutrals along with beautiful naturals for lips. I had vowed to not cave for another BB palette, but my resolve was weakened by KarlaSugar and Best Things In Beauty. I opted for the Bronze Tortoiseshell Eye Palette (a double decker eyeshadow palette with 8 shades) and Soft Nude Lipstick (a lovely full coverage true nude-pink). Initially I was a bit concerned the Bronze Palette might be too warm for me. Today, DSK Steph’s lovely feature confirmed that the Bronze option is gorgeous, wearable and naturally flattering.