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Bobbi Brown Beach Shimmer Brick + Shore Cream Eyeshadow

May 15, 2010

I’ve been eagerly anticipating the summer Beach Collection by Bobbi Brown for months ever since I saw the preview sheets at my local counter and it’s finally arrived instore at Nordstrom! The collection also features a few new cream shadows in the metallic and regular formulas. I picked up Beach Shimmer Brick and Shore Cream Shadow.

Beach Shimmer Brick ($38) and Shore Long-Wear Cream Shadow ($22)

The Beach Shimmer Brick is a stunning neutral like many of her other highlighters. It’s a bronzey beige with slight peach tones. The shimmer factor is high in my opinion, so if you like subtle, this may have too much shimmer for your liking.

I compared it to a few other shimmer brick shades when I got home and they all seemed extremely similar. Even after swatching them, I could barely tell the difference – so note, these swatches may indeed be worthless in giving you a good comparison, so I’ll try and compensate by description.

Beach is the most peachy with no pink tones (at least on me)
Sandstone is the most neutral and tan
Beige is the lightest color
Nude is very similar to Beach, just more pink, less brown

Shore Long-Wear Cream Shadow is the perfect nude skin-toned cream eyeshadow I have been searching for. I have quite a few other nude cream shadows, but those who are around Chanel Shell/NC30ish understand the challenge of finding a good nude. Painterly can be a bit pastey looking, Groundwork is a good contour but not quite nude, Layin’ Low can come off orangey if applied too heavily, and Malted can look a bit greyish on our skin.

Shore has a very slight sheen to it, it’s not a full on shimmer like Galaxy, but not a full on matte like Malted. I love it. I would say it’s one step up (darker) than MAC Soft Ochre.

One last view without flash:

Overall thoughts: I really like both, but if you already have Nude or Sandstone Shimmer Bricks, then Beach isn’t really a must have. I do like the shades in the Beach Shimmer Brick individually though – I think they’ll suit darker tan skintones a lot better than her previous shimmer bricks because they have more color.

I personally love Shore, in the container it looks very bland, but I like it on the skin/eyes blended out. I’m a fan of her regular cream shadows because they just melt onto my skin and look very natural.

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Le Metier de Beaute Persephone Eye Kit

May 11, 2010

Some have asked me how and why I started blogging. There were several reasons why I started and I have many to thank for their inspiration and help getting me started. Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog occasionally asks for guest writers and being a regular reader, I thought it would be fun to submit an article to her.

At that time, about a year ago, I had recently discovered Le Metier de Beaute and I had scoured the web to find photos, swatches or reviews but could not find anything other than press release images and stock photos from Neimans and Bergdorfs online. I decided it would be fun to write about my thoughts on the products I had tried from the line to see if anyone else shared the same love.

My experience doing a guest post for her was so much fun as we wrote back and forth brainstorming ideas I decided to try and start my own. So I have Karen (among many others) to thank for helping me get started! This post is a spinoff of that post focusing on the Persephone Eye Kit by Le Metier de Beaute.

Those familiar with the line are well aware of their high quality, beautiful packaging and stunning colors. I can’t say I love everything in the line, but most of the products I’ve tried I have fallen in love with. It’s exclusivity makes it a bit difficult to locate and often times colors are sold out and are on back order due to the high demand.

They have a few kaleidoscope kits in the form of a stacked swivel type design with a flip top mirror. Very innovative, a bit bulky, a bit complicated to use, but fun nevertheless. The Persephone Eye Kit is no longer available, but it is one of the few kits that contained colors permanent from their regular line, so luckily you can still find these shades.

The colors include range from frost, to satin to matte:

Rose Champagne (frost) – a complex but soft shimmery pale rose-pink
Alexandrite (frost) – a beautiful a sparkly eggplant amethyst
Canvas (satin) – a soft, satin, neutral beige-yellow with subtle shimmer
Sequoia (matte) – a medium-dark chocolate brown

Rose Champagne:

Alexandrite:

Canvas:

Sequoia:

The eyeshadows are highly pigmented and easy to blend. My favorite shades are Rose Champagne and Canvas, but all shades work well together. What I typically do is:

Step 1: Use canvas on the lid (from lash to 1/2 way up the eye)
Step 2: Apply Alexandrite with a small shadow brush on the outer corners of the eye blending inward and up towards the middle of the eye
Step 3: Take a smudge brush, mix Alexandrite with Sequoia to line along upper lashes
Step 4: Take Rose Champagne with a light bluffly brush and blend over the eye from brow bone down to blend everything together

I like that the kit has a mix of neutral and cool making it extremely versatile to coordinate with other colors for lips and cheeks. Today’s look combines the Persephone Eye Kit with the new Tenne Tint (reviewed here) and Ibiza Lipgloss (which I thought I had swatched but haven’t yet).

Le Metier de Beaute was exclusively available at select Neimans and Bergdorf Goodman, but they are expanding their distribution. Check out their website for details on locations.

Do you have any favorites from the line? I’d love to hear your favorites 🙂

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Chanel Rouge Cocos Revisited: Perle, Secret & Cashmere

May 7, 2010

My current favorite lipsticks are all from Chanel and I’ve been enamored with the new Rouge Cocos, particularly the lighter more natural shades Perle, Secret & Cashmere. Compared to the Aqualumiere and Rouge Allures, the Rouge Coco has a different texture. I can’t say that one is better than another, they are all simply different. Aqualumieres are the glossiest, Rouge Allures are the creamiest and smoothest, Rouge Cocos seem to be a combination of Hydrabase + RA + Aqualumiere mixed together (in my opinion). I’ve scattered features on the lipsticks I picked out over the past few months. I thought it was time to try a few swatches of these three, note that they all do look very similar:

Perle 02 is a nautral pink with a pearly-champagne shimmer

Secret 03 is a nude beige-peach cream (without shimmer)

Cashmere 04 is similar to Secret, but a peachier version with slight shimmer

My lip swatches are all just the lipstick, but I added a few lipliner swatches of colors I thought would match well with these (see below). What I love about the Rouge Cocos is that they really are a nice “swipe & go” lipstick. The formula is sufficient to give full coverage and the color blends out so nicely, I don’t need lipliners with these.

About the arm swatches, I tried swatching these on my arm/hand but they all ended up looking exactly the same no matter what lighting I tried. But here they are anyways. Oddly enough, my Secret swatched darker on my arm than Cashmere, even though in the tube and on the lips, it’s the opposite (Secret = lighter, Cashmere = darker). I think the shimmer in the Cashmere reflected more in the flash.

These are different in the tube but the difference is very slight. Unfortunately the swatches all look very much the same. I highly recommend you check out other blogs such as Karlasugar, Temptalia, Makeup & Beauty Blog for more swatches, photos etc.

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Do You Have a Beauty Emergency Kit?

May 3, 2010

Last week I had one of those days where I had a million things to do during the day with no time to stop by home before a special occasion dinner. I packed my car with my laptop, papers, textbooks, backpack, purse, a change of clothes and an extra pair of shoes (to transition from day to night) but neglected to pack my makeup bag and brushes to touch up.

Luckily, I had my Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Island Rose (for lips/cheeks) and a mini Diorshow mascara tucked away in my backpack which was enough to freshen my look a bit. But it made me realize I needed to put together an emergency beauty kit to keep in my car for those times I need a last-minute touch up or days I forget to bring my makeup bag with me.

I looked to one of my favorite beauty books by Trish McEvoy “The Power of Makeup” for her tips on what to include in a beauty emergency kit. This is what I put together for my own using my trusty quilted planner:

Trish McEvoy Power of Makeup Simply Chic Page (Pink Innocence Lip + Cheek, Nude Innocence Lip + Cheek, Golden Peach AOC, Peony Pink Blush, Sand/Pink Shimmer/Snow/Blackberry Eyeshadows)
Laura Mercier Eyemakeup Remover
Edward Bess Love Always Deep Shine Lipgloss
NARS Luxor Multiple
Diorshow Mini Mascara
MAC Fix + (travel size)
Chanel DPF Compact
Chanel Spices Quadra Eyeshadow
MAC Cremestick Lipliners in Sublime Culture and Beurre
Chanel Ebene Waterproof Eyeliner
Laura Mercier Brown Copper Eye Kohl
Chantecaille Crystalline Gloss
Shu Uemura Tweezers
A bunch of mini brushes

My so-called “emergency kit” turned out to be quite a bit more than I intended. It’s probably the equivalent to a travel kit or a weekend-away kit. Yes, I am rather high maintenance, so this will probably be a work in progress. But at least I know that by having this tucked away in my car, I will always be well prepared to touch up, redo or refresh my makeup and not have to worry about finding the time to try and get back to the house before a last minute appointment or spur of the moment evening out.

Do you have a beauty emergency kit? What do you have inside yours?

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Chanel Le Vernis Black Velvet, Gold Lame & Illusion D’Or

May 2, 2010

I promised myself I would never buy anything I thought I’d never wear but have broken this promise several times this past year with Chanel Jade, Chanel Nouvelle Vague, MAC Birds & Berries and now the Chanel Shanghai-Paris limited edition nail polishes. Combine the words “exclusive” and “limited-edition” and I’m sold. Add “Chanel” to that mix and it triggers that need-to-have-it-now syndrome. So of course, I caved with the three newest exclusive limited edition shades from Chanel launched in honor of their Shanghai-Paris runway show. Here are my photos, swatches + comparisons to other shades.

L to R: Dior Black Sequins, Chanel Black Satin,
Chanel Noir Ceramic, Chanel Black Velvet

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L to R: Chanel Antilope, Chanel Golden Sand,
Chanel Gold Lame, D&G Desert

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L to R: NARS Adelita, Chanel Beige D’Or,
Chanel Illusion D’Or, Chanel Galactic Touch

Overall thoughts: Hmmm . . . not so sure about these. I normally love everything Chanel releases but I’m not crazy about these. I was well aware that these were released because of their runway show, so I knew ahead of time that these would indeed be “trendy.” I like the other blacks and golds in my current collection a lot better than these new Chanel colors. I love the concept of Illusion D’Or, but the gold is too bling-tastic for my taste. That being said, I would absolutely DIE if they released a pink version in this formula. Any shade of pink ranging from light pink to golden-pink to bright pink.

These are lovely, but for nails I try to be more conservative. Up until I started blogging, I only wore colors on my toes but have tried to go out of my comfort zone and wear color on fingers. Black Velvet is intriguing because the finish is so different from other shades, but just not practical for an every-day type of manicure. Gold Lame and Illusion D’Or are just too flashy for my taste, although I’m sure I’ll find some occasion to wear them in the future.

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A Few Reader Requests

May 1, 2010

Some of you have requested info, photos and swatches on a few items in the past few weeks. I apologize for the delay, I have not forgotten – here are the swatches and info you have requested. For reference, I am a Chanel Shell 1.5 in Teint Innocence (the liquid version). To see what other foundation shades I am, check out the sidebar – there’s a link to my foundation shades.

1) Can you swatch Edward Bess Bare Rose on your lips alone? Here it is by itself, please excuse the skin I don’t have any foundation or powder on:

2) Please swatch Paul & Joe 06 Nail Polish! I like this better in the bottle. On my fingers, I feel it’s a bit muddy looking. I’ve seen it on my tan friends (who are the equivalent to NC40 and a bit darker) and it looks gorgeous on them though. Here it is (2 coats):

3) How does NARS Love Devotion compare to last year’s Outsider? Love Devotion is brighter and sheerer. Here they are also compared to Beautiful Liar:

4) Can you swatch Shu IR Brown 850 compared to Shu ME 850? Sure, I’ll do one better. Here it is next to the other Shu Uemura taupes that I have. I find it fascinating how the base pulls out different undertones in each taupey color. These are swatched over a moisturized arm:

5) Can you write a post on how you pick out your makeup-of-the-day/look-of-the-day? There’s not much to write about this one. I pick out my clothes first and this is based on my mood. Makeup looks are picked out depending how much time I have and the colors I’m wearing for clothes. Sometimes, I’ll pick one product and create a look around that color. I’d like to say it’s more planned out through a more creative process, but it’s really just based on whatever works.

6) Will you show stash/closet pics? Most likely not. It might seem like I’m organized, but I am far from it. Just ask my husband. Granted, I do keep an organized mess – everything has their own section/pile – but it’s still very chaotic. I will share an old photo of my purse organization (this is an older photo from long before I started blogging, before I started my MBA, back when I was much more organized):

7) Did you purchase the new Chanel Shanghai-Paris Nail Polishes? What are your thoughts? But of course! How could I resist? I wasn’t going to write about these because so many other bloggers did, but since I’ve received several requests, I will. This one will be a bit more comprehensive, so I will do a separate post on this topic in a few days or so.

8) Will you be swatching NARS Versailles? Here’s a swatch, but I plan on this being my next manicure, so stay tuned for more pics! (FYI, I’ve seen this swatched on other blogs and it looked very streaky, I had to apply with a really steady hand to get an unstreaky result on my finger.)

9) Is there a dupe for Rescue Beauty Lounge Pink Shimmer? Yes – I’ve found 2 dupes, Chanel Le Perle (long discontinued) and China Glaze Heaven. They look really different in the bottles, but on the nails, the result is strikingly similar. If you look close you can see the difference in finish and opacity, but’s not really noticable from afar.

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Blog Tools & Widgets

April 29, 2010

My list of blogs I read and follow regularly is growing at an exponential rate making it challenging for me to manage. I wanted to know what all you tech-savy readers like to use to manage your daily reads!

I started my blog off Google blogger which has a nice follower application and a reader list on my personal dashboard. However, it’s a bit small to read and tedious to scroll through since the window space is limited. I like using it to keep track of my bookmarked pages but am looking for additional ideas to manage my own list.

I don’t use Facebook for my blog and I still have yet to figure out how Twitter works. I started using Bloglovin which seems to be very easy to use, but I’d love to hear what forms you all use to get ideas!

For widgets – I try to keep these to a minimum. I removed a number because they were cluttering the blog and making the download slower. But if you have any you absolutely love, I’m all ears 🙂

You can follow me here: