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Holiday Jet Set from Edward Bess

December 11, 2009

The highly anticipated Jet Set collection from Edward Bess finally arrived at my front door! Krista from Bergdorf Goodman was kind enough to tell me about this set a few months ago and put me on the wait list. Luckily it arrived just in time for their $25 off $100 event!

The set is exclusive to Bergdorf Goodman and retails for $125 but you can also purchase the items individually. Inside the kit:

  • Island Escape Eyeshadow Trio – Comes with an ivory shimmer, a matte medium brown, a matte smokey brown. Great pigment and easily blendable.
  • Island Rose Compact Rouge for Lips & Cheeks – This is a bright watermelon almost-fuschia pink cream with no detectable shimmer in the pot. Even though it looks and swatches bright, it wears very natural and gives a nice pink glow. The texture is creamy and easily blendable.
  • Natural Lipliner – A creamy twist-up neutral pinky-brown.

I’m doing a tag-team post with the FABULOUSLY AMAZING KarlaSugar for the Edward Bess Jet Set. She brought all of us a Sneak Peak of the Jet Set with details and prices (items can be purchased individually) last month. Just posted today, check out her blog for the Swatches of the Holiday Jet Set with comparisons too!

Close up:


This was the look I did today with the kit and it lasted pretty much all day with the exception of the lips after I had my lunch.

Face:
Edward Bess Island Rose on cheeks

Eyes:
Laura Mercier Platinum Metallic Cream Eyeshadow
Edward Bess Island Escape Trio: pale ivory on lid, medium 1/2 way up lid blended, dark as a smokey liner (so it was a gradual dark at lash line to lighter up the lid)
Le Metier Tamarack Eyeliner
D&G Mascara

Lips:
Edward Bess Natural Lipliner
Chanel Formentera Aqualumiere
Edward Bess Sweet Dreams Lipgloss

Overall thoughts – My readers know I’m a fan of Edward Bess products as great line for wearable classic neutrals. For this kit, I have mixed feelings mainly because of the high price tag. The quality and pigment of this kit is just as good as everything else I’ve tried from his line, and I know I will get a lot of use out of each product from this kit because the colors are very wearable and give a natural and pretty polished look.

For me, the winner in the kit is the Island Rose Compact. It looks very bright in the pot and swatched, but blends out to give a perfect natural pink blush. It’s similar to Bobbi Brown’s Raspberry Pink Pot Rouge but warmer and slightly more dewy. (Check karla’s blog for swatch comparisons.)

I like the eyeshadow trio and lipliner for the quality and convenience for a no-fail everyday look, but I feel like the colors can be easily duplicated with other brands. That being said, I do like everything, but if I had seen/tested them in person, I think I would have probably splurged on some more lipsticks from the line.

Anyone else get the Jet Set? What are your thoughts and how are you coordinating the products with your current makeup stash?

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Edward Bess Eyeshadow Gorgeousness

December 9, 2009

It was love at first sight for the Intimate & Dusk Eyeshadows from Edward Bess. I had read about the line before but never really paid much attention until I started receiving the Bergdorf Goodman catalog in the mail. I have Leanne (aka Artbabe) to thank for enabling me – she described Intimate as the taupe “you can’t go wrong with.” I was immediately sold!

I’ve since discovered a few other Edward Bess fans, Alexa (aka Nekochama), Robin (aka Applepark) and Leslie (aka LeslieCZ) to name a few. Thanks to their expertise and glowing reviews have pushed me over the edge to collect all the single eyeshadows he has created.


They are pricey at $29 each but I have to say they are worth every penny if you love neutrals. At first glance, the eyeshadows may seem very ordinary, but when you look closer and swipe them with your finger, you will realize how incredibly gorgeous each shade is. I find the mirrored compact design is refreshingly clean and simple. I will do my best to describe each color:

* Nude – pale buttercream with a very slight luster
* Intimate – a light luminescent warm tan/taupe, hard to describe, but LOVE
* Dusk – a gorgeous complex grey-brown-taupe shimmer that has a bit of gold and khaki
* Escape – warm coppery shimmer
* Mystery – complex dusty coffee brown with slight shimmer
* Night – matte charcoal-black with a satin finish

Nude


Intimate

Dusk

Escape


Mystery

Night


Swatches – these really do not do the colors justice!

With flash:

No flash:


I have to admit at times cannot believe I spent $29 on a single eyeshadow (or all 6 for that matter). But I really love the colors and quality. My favorites are Intimate, Dusk and Mystery. You can see a look I put together using Dusk in A Week of Looks I’m Loving Right Now: Day 1.

While I like Nude and Night, I think they can be easily duplicated with other brands so to me, if I had seen and tested them in person first, I probably wouldn’t have bought these 2.

I like these because they are neutral but not boring. They are timeless and appropriate for any age. There’s just enough sparkle/glow to each shade to give a luminescent glow, but not overly so which will make these work for ladies who avoid shimmer/frost like the plague.

One more view:
* Top Row – Nude, Intimate, Dusk
* Bottom Row – Escape, Mystery, Night


These were all purchased from Bergdorf Goodman. Krista the Brand Manager there for the line has been super helpful in describing colors to me. Love that she is friendly, knowledgeable, and not at all pushy. She actually tried to talk me out of Nude since I was getting the Jet Set (more on this set soon) and told me that the pale shade in the palette was similar to Nude. Also great there with Edward Bess is Susan – super friendly and helpful as well.

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Special 20% Off Offer from The Primping Parleur for The Beauty Look Book Followers

December 7, 2009
Hi readers, I have some extremely exciting news for you! In response to my recent series on Paul & Joe (and massive haulings), The Primping Parleur has been kind enough to extend an offer to my readers, good until the end of December:

20% off your entire purchase of in-stock items at their online boutique www.primpingparleur.com using promo code BEAUTYLOOKBOOKBLOG for the month of December


They carry a variety of unique brands such as Paul & Joe, Becca, Kevyn Aucoin etc. You’ve read about them in my P&J series (check out this post). I’ve found a number of discontinued/limited edition Paul & Joe items there and they have the holiday colors as well as the lip lacquers that I adore. Check out their Ordering Information for shipping rates and more information.

Happy Shopping!

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with The Primping Parleur other than being a happy customer.

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Victoria’s Secret Makeup: Heidi Klum’s Exotic Jewels & VS Makeup Collection

December 4, 2009
I stopped by Victoria’s Secret a few weeks ago and decided to check out the Exotic Jewels Holiday collection by Heidi Klum among other things (thanks to some recommendations). I’m a huge fan of Heidi Klum, she always looks stunning and glowing. I like her modern and chic style – I especially love that she’s been featured for Ann Taylor’s holiday ad campaign. She gives the brand a more modern look.

What I came home with (beauty-related):

* Lipglosses & Lip Lacquers $10 to $14 – The lipglosses are pretty sheer, they are have a non-sticky texture similar to MAC Lip Gelees, but a bit sheerer. The lip lacquers are more pigmented.

* Heidi Klum Perfect Lipstick in Exotic Spice $16 is a great nude nude with good coverage/pigment. It has a tiny bit of sparkle in the tube, but it’s not visible on the lips. I’m not the biggest fan of the packaging and $16 seems steep for something from VS, but the texture is creamy and I love the color. I’m not sure about the regular lipsticks in the VS line, but this one has a chocolate scent.


These blend out very sheer:


* Eyeshadow quads in Eye Contact and Sultry $15: I have to say I am fairly impressed with these! $15 is a steal for this size – you get a decent sized quad. The texture is really soft and pigment is decent and very blendable. I wouldn’t carry these in my purse though – I think the formula is pretty fragile – there were several boxes on the display unit in the tore that had broken shadows inside.


* Heidi Klum Luminous Gems $22 – a bit pricey in my opinion for VS makeup and it seems like you get about 1/2 of what is pictured on the Victoria’s Secret website (in terms of amount of product) , but there is still enough product in the actual container and I can’t imagine ever using this up. Swirled together you get a pink-gold shimmery glow. (Swatch didn’t turn out so hot on my arm.)


I have to admit I bought these mainly b/c I had some coupons to use up. If I had paid more attention to which glosses were “lip glosses” versus “lip lacquers” I probably would have passed on some of these knowing that they were very sheer.

For those who just like sheer makeup and decent prices, I recommend checking the line out too. They had quite a few good neutral nude-pink lipsticks. I didn’t purchase any though.

Do you have any VS makeup favorites?

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Trish McEvoy Gorgeous Blackberry Python Planner from Blue Mercury

December 4, 2009
My fellow makeup enthusiast Parsi told me about a Trish McEvoy Planner set she found at Blue Mercury. I have to say she is one of my best resources for makeup, she always has great information and impeccable taste. So of course I looked it up immediately and it is indeed gorgeous.

The set is called The Gorgeous Blackberry Makeup Planner Collection and retails for $95 and is exclusive to Blue Mercury in the US (it’s a steal if you add up all the items individually). After googling “trish python planner” I found that UK girls can also find this set at Selfridges.

Inside the kit:

  • Petite Refillable Makeup Page with Weekend All Over Face Color & Perfect 1 Blush
  • Lilac Glaze Eye Shadow, Tawny Glaze Eye Shadow, Platinum Glaze Eye Shadow, Blackberry Granite Eye Definer (the Lilac arrived broken, but they are sending a replacement)
  • High Volume Mascara (website says you get the curling one though)
  • Full Sized Gorgeous Lip Color in Blackberry
  • Mini Brightening Pink Beauty Booster Lip Gloss
  • Mini Eye Base Essentials in Bare
  • Sample of Treatment Foundation SPF 15

More views of inside the kit:






I plan on giving this as a gift so there won’t be any swatches.

Trish McEvoy was my first high-end love along with Stila back in 1999/2000. My very first makeover was at Saks in San Francisco where I had my first makeup lesson. For those not familiar with Trish McEvoy – the makeup artists are trained to provide a hands-on makeover experience for you where they have you observe their application technique in a mirror and have you repeat the steps on the other half of your face so you can recreate the look on your own. I have always had a great experience with Trish artists, I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad makeover from them. They really listen to you about your preferences to give you a look that you will be comfortable with.

I love Trish for her high quality color products, but unfortunately cannot use any of her skincare (too strong for my sensitive skin). In recent years, she has revamped her line and packaging several times which can be frustrating and exciting all at the same time.

Also coming out soon is a new Double Decker Card called Champagne Truffles. It will be available at Saks, Neimans and Nordstrom, but you can see it now on Blue Mercury. My local counters say they are expecting to receive it any day now.

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Dolce & Gabbana Golds Quad

December 3, 2009
Part 1 of D&G Holiday Collection was featured back in November with pictures and swatches of the new lipgloss, lipstick, blush and nail polish. Today focuses on the new Golds Eyeshadow Quad.

The quad has a pale pink shimmer, a white shimmer, a soft pale gold shimmer and a soft chocolate brown. This actually reminds me of Chanel’s White Whisper Quad with the only difference being the darkest shade. You can see from the swatch that the light colors look really similar. The texture is divine like all other Dolce & Gabbana eyeshadows – soft and highly pigmented.

Three different views and swatches:




This quad retails for $59 which is pretty steep – I actually received this from Saks NY in a bit of a mix up. When I placed my first order, they didn’t have the Golds Quad in yet so I told them to just call me when it came in and I would decide later if I wanted to buy it. I guess they interpreted that to just do a charge/send once it came in because it arrived at my door about 3 weeks later. Since they had already sent it and charged shipping, I just decided to keep it.

Looks like it will be pretty for a pale silvery eye which will be nice for the holidays and also going into spring if paired with some neutral tans like MAC Soba or Stila Puppy.

Compared to the photo in the Saks Catalog:

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My Foundation Shades

November 30, 2009

Hi ladies, I apologize for neglecting my blog! I’ve been swamped with projects, case studies and exams. I will resume posting later this week.

Many have asked what my skintone is, so I thought I’d swatch all the foundations I currently use. Just be warned that my skin is odd – all the foundations you will see are slightly different in undertone/shade so you may wonder “which is her true match? how can all those shades work for her?” The answer is that my skin is just weird. Most blend out for natural coverage so the shades are more forgiving than a full coverage foundation.

I’m Asian and my skintone is medium with golden/olive tones, usually the 3rd-4th shade from the lightest color, but I usually find it a challenge to find an exact match and typically fall in between shades. Many times I will have two shades to mix and blend depending on how pale or tanned I am.

These are my foundations, left to right:

  • Chanel Hydramax+ Active Teint 10 Sable-Sand (blends out very sheer)
  • Chanel Lift Lumiere 30 Cendre 2.5
  • Chanel Teint Innocence 30 Shell 1.5 (my holy grail foundation)
  • Chanel Teint Innocence 40 Beige 2.0 (my holy grail for summer time)
  • Chanel Teint Innocence Compact 40 Beige 2.0
  • Armani Lasting Silk 5.5
  • Armani Lasting Silk 6.5 (currently mix 5.5 with 6.5)
  • Armani Luminous Silk 5.5 (use in summertime)
  • Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 Natural Radiance
  • Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 Warm Radiance (use in summertime)
  • Paul & Joe Moisturizing Compact Foundation 30 (a bit light for my skin)
  • Paul & Joe Light Cream S Foundation 40 (a bit dark, but I mix this with a pale luminizer, doesn’t apply as dark as the swatch looks for me)
  • Nars Sheer Glow in Punjab


No flash, natural light:


Right now I’m loving Chanel Teint Innocence in Shell and also Paul & Joe’s Light Cream 40 mixed with Laura Mercier’s Natural Radiance Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer.

I always set with a powder. My favorites are Laura Mercier Translucent Loose, Laura Mercier Beige Loose, Chanel DPF Tender Beige, Armani Microfil Loose 02.

My skin is sensitive but normal.

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