Lancome and stylist L’Wren Scott have released two mini nail polishes for the holiday collection in Le Rouge L’Wren 020 (deep sparkling red) and Le Gris L’Wren 021 (shimmery steel blue-grey). Both are indeed swoon-worthy and I opted for the red one today since there’s nothing like a good red nail polish to make a woman feel like a woman.
Le Rouge L’Wren is a deep wine red with tiny red micro-sparkles that are slightly brighter than the base. From arm’s length you can’t really see the shimmer but the finish is glossy and the red is uber sophisticated. It has just the right amount of red to prevent it from being too vampy. I know I have similar shades in my nail polish stash – I just haven’t pulled any to compare. Off the top of my head I don’t think any have the same red sparkle quality. Now if I could only find a lipgloss the same color …
The holiday nail polishes ($14.50 for 6 ml) come in a mini version of the full size ($18 for 10 ml). It has the same style packaging but comes with a black twist off cap instead of silver. They are too cute!
Here is Le Rouge L’Wren in action:
Applying Bobbi Brown’s Kir Sugar Lipgloss over MAC’s VGVI Lipstick:
Getting ready to go out:
Just posing:
I did get the blue-grey one too. That color will be reviewed soon.
I picked up two more items from the Dior Holiday Collection – the Dior Minaudière in Pink Golds 002 and the 5 Couleurs Gold Edition in 5 Golds 001 (see Part 1 here). Both are elegant, stunning and perfect for taking the holiday season.
The Dior Minaudière in Pink Golds 002 ($80) comes in a heavy but small clutch and contains three sparkley eyeshadows (dark plum, silvery plum taupe and light opal pink). There are two glosses, also sparkly pinks. The detailing on the compact is absolutely divine. I like that there is a slim swiveled covering over the glosses to prevent any debris from the shadows from mixing with the gloss. I’ve never been a fan of Dior’s trendy-packaged items but this clutch was just too pretty to pass up. The colors are dupeable with similar other brands and colors but there is no substitute for the luxurious soft texture and quality of these eyeshadows. They have a multi-dimensional quality that no photo or swatch can truly capture. I love it and also purchased the grey version from Saks (coming soon). It’s not the most practical compact but every once in a while I’ll see something so pretty I really don’t care that it’s impractical.
Beautiful detailing (the tag comes off):
Close up of the eyeshadows and glosses:
The new quint in Five Golds 001 ($58)was one of the items I was most excited about. This one has been a bit tricky to locate. I checked my local Nordstrom, Neimans and Bloomingdales and all had the tester but no product to sell yet. They said their shipment had been delayed for this item. Being the impatient girl that I am, I searched the web and found it online at Sephora. This quint seems different than the regular and iridescent formulas because it’s labeled “Gold Edition.” All the colors are a powder formula but there is no quilting imprint. Also, the bottom left pearly shade seems to have a slight cream-glitter finish. Those who cringe at glitter need not worry – the glitter is fine so it’s not over the top. I would describe the colors as a midnight black with silver microsparkles, a warm copper-gold blend, a warm bronze, silver, and beige-opal sparkle.
Stay tuned for more posts soon. I’ll be reviewing a few holiday palettes in the next few days. I’ve already taken photos but I’m not 100% happy with the results so I’ll have to redo them. Clouds and rain have made taking photographs a bit challenging. Here’s a sneak peek of the Laura Mercier Color Wardrobe for this year. Hope all my lovely readers are having a great week!
Happy Friday everyone! I can’t believe another week has flown by. Some of you are probably wondering if I will ever get to responding to your comments on recent posts. It has been my intention to do so for the past week, but I’ve been short on time and sleep. I will do my best to catch up this weekend. This is kinda a lazy post but know many of you like to see what’s inside my bag. I was able to fit a ton of stuff inside my Marc Jacobs Large Single in Beige from last spring (see my grey one from this fall modeled here). Those wondering where you can find the beige one – it’s probably very hard to find at this point since it was released about a year ago. However there is some good news! The MJ Resort Collection has another beige version which seems less pink and more cream colored but I haven’t seen it so I can’t confirm. You can see it on The Purse Forum’s Marc Jacobs Resource section.
The Large Single is a lovely purse but I think I will have to stop using it for work. The handle is on the delicate side and while it is sturdy, it doesn’t seem to be designed to support a heavy bag. If I do use it for work I’ll have to carry a lighter load by limiting my makeup to a lipstick and powder, perhaps one more small compact. (If you scroll down you will see I have my Paul & Joe makeup bag crammed full with way too much stuff.)
What I fit inside:
I love how the Spring 2010 Beige version has the slightest hint of pink to it.
I was in the mood for stormy blue greys this past week as I was anxiously waiting for NARS Full Metal Jacket to arrive in the mail. As soon as it came I put the NARS on the fingers and Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy on the toes. I rarely ever wear blueish shades on the fingers but both are lovely and I definitely see myself getting regular use out of these colors.
NARS Full Metal Jacket is a recent release from their Vintage Collection of nail colors. I had never paid much attention to NARS nail polishes (except Chinatown and Jungle Red) so I don’t remember this one being released before. NARS Full Metal Jacket is a cool frosty grey-pearl with a blueish tinge. It definitely requires a very steady hand for application. I had my nails professionally done to get a smoother application. When I swatched it on my own it was clearly streaky although it’s not something you can notice easily. This color is more on the sheer side. I have this on with 2 coats. I would have preferred 3 though.
Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy is a color I have long resisted. I never understood the appeal to grey toned nails, but Chanel Particuliere changed that for me and ever since I have been curious about all types of greys. Smooth finish. Not quite as impressive as Chanel’s recent cream-finish shades, but almost. With 2 coats it gives full coverage that is smooth and glossy.
If I were to do my mani/pedi over again, I would have used RBL Stormy on the hands and NARS Full Metal Jacket on the toes. Neither are exactly office appropriate for a conservative business environment but not too in-your-face that it’s completely inappropriate.
I am usually able to resist Guerlain because of the hefty price tag but occasionally cave every now and then. One of my favorite Asian blogs Yuki’s Lazy Channel had a lovely preview of the quad & meteorites – I am always amazed at her excellent swatches and photographs. The holiday display was up at Nordstrom and both my mom and I were in total awe at the elegant packaging. She was convinced that I needed the pretty shimmer spray (if you see the packaging at the counter, you’ll see how fun it is to play with it), but I was able to convince her that I would never have an occasion to wear something like that. The Guerlain rep wasn’t there so the sales associates had a bit of difficulty locating where the holiday items were stashed. Luckily they found the quad and I left a happy camper.
Velours d’Or #410 ($59) is a gorgeous palette of gold mixed with contrasting darker colors in purple and charcoal. The gold resembles 24K gold but has a sparkling sheer finish instead of a solid metallic finish. The other shades aren’t completely matte in the compact but apply more like a matte on the skin (although if you look closely or apply over a cream base you may be able to get some shimmer to show). My mom fell in love with the deep purple and wished she could buy it on its own. The packaging has a cute embossed honeycomb bumble bee theme.
Swatched on bare skin by swiping my finger across the shadows and then onto my arm:
I personally don’t have many shades this dark because I don’t use them frequently. I pulled Dior’s Night Butterfly and Armani’s Eyes to Kill #3. As you can see they haven’t gotten much use yet although for this holiday season, previously released palettes seem more season appropriate than what is currently being released.
Rich in pigment and easy to blend. Beautiful to stare at. I’ve still managed to avoid caving on the $84 eyeshadow palettes. I still sneak a little peek everytime I stop by the Guerlain counter. I still can’t pull the trigger but at the same time I don’t know how much longer I can resist! $59 for a quad is still hard to swallow but is still significantly more justifiable than $84.
I spotted a preview of Dior’s Holiday Minaudiere from British Beauty Blogger back in July and have been dreaming about the holiday collection ever since then. The clutch-like compact they designed this year is beautiful! Kari from Fab Over Forty showed us the Saks grey version earlier last week and as soon as I saw it I ran to my Nordstrom to check out the pink version. I put it aside as a pre-sale item for an event but picked up a few other things from their holiday collection that they had in stock (hence the title “round one”).
What I picked up: Pink Stiletto #234 Addict Lip Gloss, Endless Shine #529 Quint, Timeless Gold #226 Nail Polish & Czarina Gold #916 Nail Polish
Endless Shine Quint – This one comes in the Iridescent formula and all shades have a high level of frost, much like Earth Reflection, Goldfever, Crush Glow, Ready to Glow etc. The colors are highly pigmented and smooth making them easy to blend. This quint seems better suited for spring or summer but is still neutral enough to pull off year round. It’s beautiful and much more wearable than the quints from the past few seasons (Misty Mauve, Crush Glow and Ready to Glow). I rarely wear all five shades at one time – there’s simply not enough space on my eyelids to fit all the colors. They do layer and blend together beautifully. Do I think it’s a must-have? Dior quints have beautiful pigmentation and complex colors that you can’t easily find elsewhere. However I think you can definitely find similar shades in other lines. I personally could not find any dupes – the closest quad I could find was Chanel’s Shimmering Dunes which is significantly less frosty and still different among all the colors.
In direct sunlight:
*Updated* better swatches than my original ones:
Chanel Shimmering Dunes versus Dior Endless Shine:
*Update* Comparisons to a few other quints so you can see how different Endless Shine is:
Pink Stiletto Lip Gloss – This is one of those colors that made my jaw drop. It’s a gorgeous light warm pink with gold flecks. Very sheer but just absolutely stunning in the tube. I couldn’t find anything similar – it’s like a pink version of Bobbi Brown’s Rose Gold Gloss but with gold flecks added. Simply stunning. From the photos you may think it resembles MAC’s Nymphette – but it’s very different. This is one you have to see in person to really see how beautiful it is. I haven’t noticed much of a difference between the original addict reflect gloss and the new formula except the packaging/tube size. These are still smooth with a high gloss finish. Lasting power is not the best.
Timeless Gold & Czarina Gold Nail Polishes – I was pleasantly surprised by both shades. There were no testers at the counter yet because they didn’t receive their display but I knew I had to have them both. Timeless Gold has a similar finish to Silver Pearl from last spring. High frost, rich pigment, almost foiled-like finish but has a non-streaky finish. Czarina Gold is a black-gold with a somewhat sheer formula. You will need 3 thin coats for a full finish but it’s also stunning. When I first pulled my other black-golds I thought “oh no, I’ve wasted another $20-something on a color I already have dupes of.” I will say from arm’s length it looks similar to D&G Stromboli and MAC Seriously Hip, but the Czarina Gold is the best in my opinion because the base has the slightest hint of plum-brown which prevents it from looking greenish as some black-golds can look.
Left: Timeless Gold
Right: Czarina Gold
Another interesting detail I noticed – Dior has changed the brush this season to have a wider/flatter tip that is slightly chiseled and tapered. See below how it compares to the old version and also Chanel’s brush tip. I can’t say I like one over the other, although this new chiseled tip is very unique and had me ooohing and aaahing as I was swatching the colors.
Comparison shades: I could not find a dupe for Dior Timeless Gold, although Chanel Kaleidoscope is strikingly similar. The differences are that the Dior is less streaky but it lacks that greenish/olive tinge that the Chanel has.
Czarina Gold comparisons: What you see in the bottles is slightly deceiving, scroll down for the swatches to see what I mean.
The collection is absolutely stunning. When I went to the counter they didn’t have the display unit up but my sales associate pulled everything for me to see. They didn’t have the Five Golds Quint for sale (although the tester is to die for) and the other gloss was way too glittery for my taste. I was surprised there wasn’t anything for the cheeks this season but was happy for my wallet. I passed on all their “sets” (minaudiere excluded) because I felt like the full sized individual items were better suited for my coloring.
