Patience is not a virtue I possess. I wanted to wait for Beauty Week at Neimans, but in short, failed. As soon as I saw the new Chantecaille Tiger in the Wild Palette $78, I had to bring it home with me. The minimums of the GWPs are usually high and in past years have been rather disappointing. I didn’t think it was worth waiting for, so immediately straight to the cash register I went. The is different than I expected, much prettier in person, unique for fall in my opinion, but still suitable for year round as it is very classic. The Tiger Palette has an overspray making the colors look harsh and almost sharp. Underneath is a lovely glowy palette of ivory, silvery grey with the slightest hint of sage, a lovely smokey navy-plum, and a soft apricot blush. It’s really lovely. I also picked up Anais Lip Chic $30 (very sheer peach) and Classic Lip Gloss $28 (neutral peachy-brownish, but very pigmented).
Tiger in Wild Palette, Anais Lip Chic, Classic Lip Gloss
With Overspray
Swiped (each shade swiped on the left half of each shade)
Swiped on the left side of each circle
Natural light, swiped on left side of each circle
Swatches
Anais + Classic
Anais Lip Chic (it’s very sheer, I wish I had gone with Capucine for more color)
Applying Classic Lip Gloss on top of Anais Lip Chic (so you can see the color)
Both Anais + Classic
Overall thoughts: Pricey but beautiful. I really love this palette. It has that typical Chantecaille glowy quality for a subtle but not-too-subtle look. I think the blush is dupe-able in other brands. The eyeshadows have this beautiful shimmer that I find extremely unique. The photos do not do it justice. I think the palest shade is similar to Laura Mercier Stellar Eyeshadow. I could not find an exact dupe for the silver or navy-plum shade – but I’m sure there are similar colors in other lines.
Of course, check out Karla Sugar for swatches of the whole fall collection. Note we do have different skintones and swatch differently. I usually swatch with a brush which is why mine are usually sheerer.
I’ve taken a mini break from blogging, but now I’m back from a fun filled weekend in San Francisco. I enjoyed the city, fabulous food and great shopping. Posting will resume shortly and I’ll get back to the e-mails that have been piling up in my inbox in the next week. Stay tuned for more Burberry Beauty reviews!
As we transition to fall, I find that grey is a good safety zone for fashion and beauty when coordinated with other neutrals and even warm shades. Grey accessories also are great because they’re versatile in that they are easy to incorporate into everyday wear. For the kitchen, I lean towards clean white porcelain for my serving pieces. I have one small Le Creuset in Dune (yes, boring I know) which I love, but just added a beautiful grey Staub oval cocette to my kitchen. The items I’m loving right now:
Makeup: Sultry Greys for Eyes, Shades of Silver and Taupe for Nails – Nars Tzarine, Bobbi Brown Rock, Chantecaille Meteorite, Chanel Gris, Bobbi Brown Steel Cream Eyeshadow, Dior Argentic, Chanel Trapeze & Particuliere
See Trapeze swatched here. See Particuliere + comparisons/dupes here.
Clothes: In my closet there are so many shades of grey. J.Crew and Banana have some beautiful silk tops right now that are great for layering and transitioning from day to evening. They have a good range of greys right now. I’m in love with the Aluminum Blouses from Jcrew – they’re almost a blue-grey.
Left:
Banana Republic Tee
J.Crew Lace Skirt
Havaianas in Grey
MJ Large Single Bag
Right:
J.Crew Pippy Top Aluminum (see here)
J.Crew Pencil Skirt Grey
Michael Kors Pumps
Shoes: As much as I love heels, I’m more of a flip-flop sandal kind of girl. I think my Havaianas are my most favorite most-worn shoes. Tory Burch also has good sandals. I have yet to find a good pair of grey colored heels – most that are within my budget are too light for my taste.
Accessories: Gucci Sunglasses found at Off Fifth for a steal (Originally $245, marked down to $90)! Marc Jacobs Large Single in Grey Fall 2010, my newest splurge
Kitchen: Staub just arrived at Williams Sonoma stores and I must say they are beautiful. I have been a huge fan of Le Creuset, but having a smaller kitchen have held off on expanding my cookware pieces. I bought my first Le Creuset 3 years ago in the 2 1/4 quart size, little did I know just how little would fit inside (definitely not a full pot roast). But I’m drawn to things in a “mini” size – they’re always so cute! When I saw the trio of mini Staub cocottes at Williams Sonoma I knew I had to have them. They are running a promotion of the trio as a gift with the purchase of the 4 1/2 quart oval so it was the perfect excuse for me to upgrade to a larger cast iron pot. Now I can make a full pot roast 🙂 I think the little cocottes will be perfect for a side of baked mac and cheese. I really would have loved to get the basil color – it seems like the most beautiful shade of green – but alas, that is online only. I love the grey though!
For the fall collections, Chanel seems to be releasing quite a few more products than usual with a series of mini collections focusing on eyes and lips. Seasonal collections are being released earlier and earlier each year. Perhaps the reason why they have launched a few mini collections to keep us Chanel fanatics satisfied once the real fall season comes around. Chanel had just released their Eyeshadow Duos only a few weeks ago (I ended up with Taupe-Délicat 20, Misty-Soft 40 and Gris 35) and now another collection has been released called Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss which has a new lipgloss, new rouge allure lipsticks, rouge allure laque repromotes and three new nail polishes.
Amy from Café Makeup has done an amazing series of reviews on the Extrait de Gloss shades she picked out. Her reviews helped me immensely and I just received my package today. I have not yet had a chance to try out the glosses but I immediately dove into the new Le Vernis shades: Rouge Fatal 487, Rose Insolent 489 and Rose Confidentiel 491.
All classic colors, cream finish, rich in pigment, insanely gorgeous:
Rouge Fatal – dark burgandy red
Rose Insolent – vibrant candy pink
Rose Confidentiel – nude rose-brown-caramel-like pink
The swatches, descriptions, comparisons, more swatches and thoughts (swatched with 2 coats, no base coat or top coat added):
Rouge Fatal 487 is a deep burgandy vampy wine red. Chanel always does an amazing job with their reds and I was the most curious about this. I pulled out some similar shades and the closest ones I could find were Rescue Beauty Lounge Killa Red, Chanel Lotus Rouge and OPI Chick Flick Cherry. Note it was extremely difficult to capture the difference between these with the camera, so I will supplement with my descriptions. They are all indeed very similar here is how they differ:
RBL Killa Red – more of a true red, brighter
Chanel Rouge Fatal – most brownish
Chanel Lotus Rouge – my Holy Grail burgandy red, this is similar, but has more blue, no brown tones
OPI Chick Flick Cherry – brighter, redder, more like a cross between a cherry/red apple
* Please read the descriptions rather than going off my swatches for Rouge Fatal, the swatches are deceivingly similar
Rose Insolent 489 is a bright pink with warm fuschia tones. Those who missed out on Riviera from the summer collection will be happy to know this one is virtually identical to Riviera (see my review on Riviera here and here). I have to say their pick for Rose Insolent is odd for fall, even more odd that they released one so similar to a previous collection. The difference is that Rose Insolent is warmer and a bit deeper – but it’s very very slight.
Rose Confidentiel 491 is a brown rose caramel pink. On the boring side in the bottle, but I think this one is my favorite out of the 3 shades. I don’t have anything like it in my stash – often times these brown-nude-pinks tend to look like mud with my skintone. This one is a pretty neutral which is definitely office/work appropriate. I’m thinking it might be similar to Rescue Beauty Lounge Om (which I don’t have yet) but more pink, perhaps more neutral?
(No dupe from my end)
Other thoughts: Someone e-mailed me asking if I noticed a difference in the formula for Chanel’s darker newer shades. She had mentioned that hers seemed goopy and thick which did not apply well. She thought it might be her base coat. I did not have a good answer for her because I have not noticed a difference, but then I usually don’t do my own manicures. Today with the swatching, I noticed a few goopy-clumping issues with all my reds (Chanel, RBL and OPI) which I attribute to the following (after a few tries):
One is that you might not have enough varnish on your brush, if you have too little, you won’t get a good coat, but then you don’t want too much
The other is that, it’s possible you’re not letting your first coat dry long enough
The formula is definitely still superb. If you’re having application troubles, it might be your application technique. If the first coat isn’t perfect, it’s ok, the second coat should smooth things out as long as the first coat is dry enough and you have enough product on your brush. (Disclaimer – I’m not an expert at application, this is just what I noticed while swatching my nail polishes today.)
Overall thoughts: The formula and application of these are typical of Chanel in my opinion. The shades aren’t the most unique and I know there are definitely dupes in other lines in addition to what I have posted. If you missed out on Riviera you will be excited about Rose Insolent. Unless you’re a die-hard Chanel fan or don’t have a lot of nail polishes in your stash, you might be left wanting more with these. I personally would have loved some shimmer, a little more kick, or something more unique – but I have 3 more weeks of freedom until it’s back to the grind, so at least I know I have some non-nude colors that I can wear to work and not feel self-conscious or out of place. On another note, Chanel does a wonderful job on the classic shades – these are perfect in true Chanel style (even if I was hoping for something a bit more unique).
I think they are worth every penny.
I don’t think these have hit stores or counters yet since the duos were just launched. I ordered mine from Chanel.com. These currently retail for $23 each in the US.
Bobbi Brown has released another collection this fall called Black Velvet consisting of new lipsticks, creamy lip colors, eyeshadows and kohl eyeliner pencils. The standouts to me were the three Metallic Eyeshadows Black Berry, Black Charcoal and Black Cocoa ($20 each).
Those familiar with the Metallic Eyeshadows from Bobbi Brown know they have a luxurious texture – soft, pigmented and easy to blend. The new Metallics from the Black Velvet collection seem a bit different from her usual formula. They’re a bit harder in texture with a black base and different colored sparkles. The colors show up well when swiped on the finger but seem sheer when applied on the skin. They remind me of NARS Night Shadows – black base, sheer sparkle. I recommend that you apply these over a cream-based product such as a darker cream shadow or eyeliner – something a bit more emollient to pick up the actual color.
My descriptions:
Black Berry is a burgandy wine in the compact, but applies a deeper wine-plum shimmer
Black Charcoal is a charcoal silver color, applies a soft smokey grey
Black Cocoa is a glimmering chocolate gold, applies a smokey chocolate
Note that all apply well swiped on the finger, but when applied on the skin, you get a black base with bits of the colored micro-glitter (very tiny glitters):
More photos and swatches:
Swatches:
Swatched without a base, then swatched with a base:
Overall gorgeous and unique for Bobbi Brown – at least compared to all her other eyeshadows but I was disappointed in the finish of these eyeshadows because I was expecting the soft velvety texture that her Metallics usually have. When I think of the name of the collection Black Velvet, I think rich and lush textures and pigments. These are more of a soft smoke type of finish. Still good for a soft smokey eye, but alone, the colors are more subtle and you’ll get a slightly different variation of greyed black on the eyes with subtle bits of sparkle. To bring out the color you’ll need to use them over a cream base. I wouldn’t recommend using them wet simply because I think a wet brush will ruin the surface and texture of the eyeshadows. Perhaps using a soft damp brush might work, but I personally wouldn’t risk it. I was able to test them out at the counter and wasn’t quite sure if my fingers were just picking up the colors weird but after getting home and playing around with them a bit, I found out that they were indeed not the typical metallic finish.
I put Black Charcoal on my eyes as soon as I got home and it seems like even with a base it’s hard to see the shimmer. Bottom line is that I’ll need to experiment more with these. I think the intended result is a soft smokey eye rather than a shimmery smokey eye. This may be very much like last year’s Style Black collection from MAC, which took me a few tries to figure out just how to apply them on the eyes the right way.
So don’t write them off simply because I don’t know how to apply these. My regular Bobbi Brown artist wasn’t at the counter today when I stopped by so I didn’t get a chance to have her apply these on me. I’ll probably go back in the next week or so and ask for her tips. She’s a genius when it comes to applying makeup.
I passed on the other 2 matte shadows, I personally prefer the texture and color of Caviar and Smoke. The sparkle shadows that were supposed to be released were not at the counter yet. The lipgloss seemed really sheer. The creamy lip colors were black and then another that reminded me of Clinique’s Black Honey which I might go back for. I didn’t try the new lipstick or metallic lipstick. The Eye Kohls seemed pretty basic and I prefer her gel liners so I skipped those.
Everyone has a different definition of “nude.” Even each brand has their own interpretation of what they envision as nude (see various products with the word nude in their name in this article, What’s Your Definition of Nude?) I have been on the quest for the perfect true nude, but now that I have found it, I’m not sure how I feel about it.
Edward Bess Sundown Lipstick ($32) is a true nude in the sense that it is flesh toned beige. It’s more of a slightly greyed beige brown in the tube, but when combined with the pink in my lip, it wears to a straight flesh color. If you like MAC Siss, then you’ll probably like this one too (although Siss was like death on me). Sundown is creamy with full coverage. Makes a good base for glosses whether it’s a sheer sparkle or a bright cherry and it definitely tones down the lip better than concealer (which can sometimes be too dry for the lips). I’m not brave enough to wear it by itself – I think it definitely needs some layering with other colors for me.
For nudes, I prefer Pure Impulse on me which almost looks pink next to Sundown. One of my darker skinned friends bought this recently (Filipino, probably around NC45ish) and it was the perfect nude on her. I wish I could have gotten a picture, it was a perfect contrast to her tanned skin. The other nude Edward Bess has is Nude Lotus which I have not tried yet, although it looks absolutely gorgeous on Jennifer from Edward Bess at Bergdorf Goodman (see it on her on their Facebook page).
Here is Sundown compared to Pure Impulse (see the lip-swatch of Pure Impulse here):
Have you tried any of the nudes from Edward Bess? What are your thoughts?
The Compact Rouge ($38) by Edward Bess comes in three shades: After Sunset, Love Affair (coming soon) and Island Rose. It’s a multi-use product for lips and cheeks and comes in a small mirrored compact. I usually find “multi-use” products more suitable for only one of the uses they are intended for. Cream products for lips and cheeks are typically either too pigmented for use on cheeks (more suited for lips) or too creamy for the lips (and more suited for cheeks). Then there are those that are so creamy they end up making your skin look too dewey after a few hours. Not something that deters me from purchasing cream based products, however the Compact Rouges from Edward Bess are amazing in that they work well on both lips and cheeks without giving you a greasy finish.
Rather pricey at the size you get (I admit my jaw dropped at the size when I saw it in person) but I find them extremely versatile and naturally flattering. A little dab goes a long way. The formulas are creamy and easy to blend, but not too emollient so you can use them on the cheeks without worrying about that greasy/oily look as the day wears on. I like that you can control the level of pigment you want with these to get a wide range of finishes from heavy to sheer. I like mine to be applied with a medium hand on both lips and cheeks – I swipe 2 fingers (usually index and middle) across the compact, dot on cheeks in three places and just blend outward.
Compared to other brands, I find it similar in pigment to Bobbi Brown but easier to blend. It’s definitely more pigmented than Paul & Joe and NARS Cream Blushes, but then the Edward Bess is a multi-purpose product for both lips and cheeks (rather than just cheeks). It simply does not compare to MAC Blushcremes or Stila Convertible Colors (in my opinion). The EB is just different. Compared to Le Metier face creams, the Edward Bess is less sticky to the touch, but just as easy to blend. Note these are my own personal opinions, yours may differ based on your experience.
For the swatches below, I have medium skin with yellow tones. Right now the foundations I use are Chanel Shell Teint Innocence Liquid and Armani’s Lasting Silk Foundation in 5.5 + 6.5 mixed together.
The first shade released was Island Rose (a raspberry pink) with his Jet Set Collection last holiday. It was instant love. (Also guest swatched and compared on Karlasugar here.) I use it on a weekly basis. Occasionally they have promotions, the last GWP they had back in April was a free compact rouge with a $125 purchase. I have an extra one I keep in my purse. It’s been a life-saver several times when I had a last minute dinner date and nothing else in my car except my powder foundation and a compact rouge on hand.
After Sunset (described as a burned rose, almost bronzey reddish-brown) was released in April. Photos of the collection here. This is a versatile shade and great for girls who like warmer colors or browns. On me it’s a chameleon-like shade. Sometimes it goes on more neutral (like shown below). Some days it goes on darker and more brown.
Coming up in September, his newest shade Love Affair (a cool watermelon pink) is just as stunning. It is on the cool side. This shade has not officially launched in the US, but is scheduled to be released mid-September.
Here they are all next to each other:
Swatched at two extremes: heavy and super sheer
Note these may look different on you depending on your skintone and how heavy you apply these. I highly recommend checking out other websites such as Café Makeup, The Non-Blonde, Musical Houses. If you’ve tried these, please feel free to chime in your thoughts through the comments. If you’ve swatched/reviewed them, also feel free to link your website/blog for reference purposes.
