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A Few Alternatives to Super Dark Nail Polish (That Are Still Kinda On The Dark Side)

October 27, 2009

When it comes to fashion and beauty trends I am not always brave enough to be a true follower. There are always styles that are cute and chic on others that I could never pull off (for example teal eyeshadow, black lipstick/gloss or leggings with boots). If you like dark nails but feel the new releases are a bit too vampy or deep, here are four softer alternatives I really like:

L to R: OPI Melody in Mocha, Paul & Joe #20 Manhattan, Urban Decay Gunmetal, Dior Lemon Balm, Chanel Noir Ceramic


* I believe the OPI and Chanel are both discontinued, but you can still find quite a few online through swap boards, ebay or discount nail e-tailers

* OPI Melody in Mocha is a complex fawn grey with slight mauve tones and gold shimmer, I was lucky to get one in a swap and love it – I think there are quite a few dupes, there’s one from China Glaze that might be similar (the flash makes it look lighter and emphasizes the silver – in real life it’s not quite as pale for the swatch at least)

* Paul & Joe #20 Manhattan is a sparkley medium-light gunmetal shimmer, it is on the sheerer side so I had to use four coats but the finished result has a lot of depth – it’s hard to explain but it looks different depending on the way the light hits the color

* Urban Decay Gunmetal is currently only available in the Apocalyptic Nail Kit, I really hope it comes out in full size, it’s a deeper gunmetal shimmer with slight brownish tones in it so it doesn’t turn blue on me like most gunmetal shades

* Dior Lemon Balm was a Nordstrom Exclusive for their last Anniversary Sale, I believe you might still be able to find it online at nordstrom.com, it’s an oddly-named color, in the container it looks more greyish, but on the nails and compared to the other greys, it definitely pulls more purple with brown shimmers

* Chanel Noir Ceramic was photographed mainly for comparison purposes, but it’s a nice black with silver shimmers which make it softer and less harsh than most blacks, a close dupe is Chanel’s Black Satin which is darker



One more view:


I’d really LOVE to hear your favorite shimmer nail polishes that are medium-to-dark. I’m always looking for more colors by recommendations to check out. I tend to feel overwhelmed when I shop at Ulta or Sephora for nail products – too many colors to choose from and I usually end up with too many reds that look almost identical.

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New L’Occitane Limited Edition Scented Shea Butter Hand Creams

October 27, 2009

My favorite hand cream is L’Occitane’s Shea Butter Hand Cream. I almost always have a small tube in my purse or car in the Original Formula or Cherry Blossom scent. This holiday, they have released some new scents and kits that are great for gifts. The scents are subtle enough to not be overwhelming but not so faint that you can’t smell them.

The two sets I got were from the L’Occitane boutique and Nordstrom. I plan on splitting them up into little gift sets for friends and mixing them with some other items.


Individually, they retail at L’Occitane Boutiques for $10. However, there are several specials, promotions and sets where you can save money.

At L’Occitane Boutiques, they have a 6-pack set called Hand Cream Bouquet for $45 (comes to $7.50 each) that has 2 regular Shea Butter creams and 1 of each of the new scents Ylang, Rosebud, Frangipani, and Acacia.


If you don’t like all the scents, they currently have a promotion where you can mix and match any 3 for $27 (discount comes to $9 each).

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At Nordstrom, they have a cute 3-pack called Enchanting Hands for $25 that has Shea Vanilla, regular Shea Butter and Frangipani.


There were a few other sets I saw instore that I don’t see online yet. Also new is a hand cream/lipgloss set which is cute. Check out your local Nordstrom for more sets.

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Sephora has a few sets as well. Their Hands Celebration for $25 is a 3-pack containing Shea Vanilla, regular Shea Butter and Lavendar hand creams. Their Hands Delice set for $25 has Cherry Blossom, regular Shea butter and Lavendar hand creams.

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I’m sure there are a lot more sets to check out and I expect more to be released in the next month or so for the holidays.

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Nars Holiday 2009: Taiga Eyeshadow Duo + Mousson Cream Eyeshadow

October 25, 2009

Last week I shared a few other items from Nars Holiday 2009: Luxor, Brousse, Eurydice & Aigle Noir. This weekend I was able to check out the entire tester unit (since it wasn’t blocked by tools and tissue boxes from the event) and picked up two more items Taiga Eyeshadow Duo and Mousson Cream Eyeshadow.


No swatches for these, but Taiga has a sheer sparkley light golden color and a shimmery olive-greyish green. The duo does seem to be a bit more sheer than most of his eyeshadows, but is still gorgeous in my opinion. Definitely test it out before buying.

Mousson is the prettiest sparkley silvery-green color. I don’t have a crease so I don’t have to worry about creasing. I know a lot of ladies don’t like the Nars Cream Eyeshadows – I must be in the minority because I have several that I use regularly and love. I do find they fade faster than most, but I personally don’t mind!

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Giorgio Armani Holiday 2009: Crystal Palette and Silk 94 Lipstick

October 25, 2009

Giorgio Armani’s Holiday collection has been arriving in stores in limited quantities, so if you like anything, I suggest you grab them fast! I called Saks today to find that they had sold out most of their palettes and had only one left which the SA was kind enough to hold for me.

I came home with the Crystal Palette and Silk 94 Lipstick:



Silk Lipstick #94:


The top layer of the Crystal Palette 2009 and Silk 94 (the embossed parts of the palette are overspray):


The bottom tier of the Crystal Palette:


One more view:


I wish they had released an eyeshadow the same shade as the lipgloss, it would have made a gorgeous eye color! No swatches yet since it’s too pretty to touch!

I don’t remember all the shade names/numbers but this is what I saw:

* Crystal Palette – two tiered compact with crystals that contains a highlight powder oversprayed with silver sparkle, and 4 eyeshadows in shimmery cool charcoal, shimmery multi-dimensional teal, light silvery-blue, cool taupe grey
* Silk 94 Lipstick – sparkley (more shimmery than most armani lipsticks) golden-taupe
* Silk ?? Lipstick – shimmery warm red
* Lipshimmer 61 – matches the gold lipstick, but looks a bit more metallic/brassy
* Sheer Shimmer Powder #5 – I believe Armani had shimmer powders before, I can’t remember how many there used to be, but they are the same size as the blushes/bronzers, this one is a pale iridescent light pink (similar to Chanel Rosee Poudre Douce)
* Mascara Top Coat in a glittery bronze/gold

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More Paul & Joe Lip Lacquers & Nail Polishes

October 23, 2009

Another package arrived from Bergdorfs from Paul & Joe with the new holiday catalog and a swatch card from the Paul & Joe counter of a few lacquers and nail polishes.

I got the nail enamels in #1 Secret of Gold, #3 Lampshade, #4 Provence and #20 Manhattan. I haven’t been able to swatch these, because I just got a manicure. From looking at them in the bottles, I have a feeling these will be on the sheer side which will require at least 3 coats. But at least they are pretty to look at!


Here are the lip lacquers lined up (except for #9 and #10 which I didn’t get), several views:


To reiterate from yesterday’s post, I think I found my new holy grail tube glosses. The pigment is medium – better than MAC Lipgelees (which I found too slick/sheer) and not as highly-fragranced like Lancome Juicy Tubes. If you remember back in the day when Armani had the tube glosses, the Paul & Joe are similar to the Armani with a bit more pigment and not quite as sticky, but still thick enough to feel on the lips. They have a pretty glossy finish.

Swatch card of a few nail polishes and the 2 lip lacquers I didn’t get (thanks Caroline!):

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Paul & Joe Holiday 2009: Face Highlighters, Pearl Powders and Lip Lacquers

October 23, 2009

I have fallen completely head over heels over Paul & Joe’s Holiday Collection and new Lip Lacquers. If you haven’t checked it out, go to the Paul & Joe Beaute website or the Facebook Paul & Joe group page to look at their new holiday items. Josie shared her new items with us last week from her guest review with some gorgeous pictures and detailed descriptions. Check out the article First Look at Paul & Joe Holiday from Guest Writer Joey.

My holiday order from Bergdorfs arrived this past weekend and here is what I hauled along with my descriptions:


* Highlighting Powder in Sheer Radiance 001 (top left) – soft pale peach undertone
* Highlighting Powder in Sheer Glow 002 (top right) – soft highlight with a slight pink undertone
* Pearl Powder Smoke Black 001 – shimmery deep steel grey shimmer with silver flecks
* Pearl Powder Smoke Brown 002 – complex warm auburn taupe shimmer
* Lip Lacquer Nectar 01 (top gloss) – nectar peach
* Lip Lacquer Serenade 03 (middle gloss) – soft pink beige
* Lip Lacquer Riviera 05 (bottom gloss) – a cute coral pink with sparkles

My thoughts, photos and some swatches:

Highlighting Powders: The best thing about the highlighters is the packaging and the cute box it came in. The packaging/size is larger than the face colors and they come with a cute brush. The downside is that the pretty design on the powder is only an overspray so once you swipe it, the design is gone and you are left with a pale iridescent glowy powder.


Pearl Powders: Both Pearl Powders are limited edition and gorgeous for a smokey eye. They have an excellent pigmented base wtih silver flecks. 001 is a gorgeous deep smokey grey without blue undertones and 002 is a pretty auburn shimmer that might be too warm/copper for some, but I love it. With any loose powder, there is always a potential for some fall out. When applying these, they did fall on my face, but once on the eyes, they stayed put.

Comparisons to some other loose powders in the same color family (you can see that the Paul & Joe colors are unique!). Two views with contrasting backgrounds:


Swatch comparisons (applied over Paul & Joe’s Moisturizing Primer #2 as a base to pick up the pigment better):

1) Stila All Over Shimmer #13
2) MAC Dark Soul Pigment
3) MAC Sweet Sienna Pigment
4) Paul & Joe 001
5) Paul & Joe 002
6) MAC Gold Stroke Pigment
7) MAC Copperbeam Pigment
8) MAC Chocolate Brown Pigment

One more comparison set to include MAC Tan Pigment which looks similar in the container, but goes on a lot lighter than it looks in the pot (applied on bare skin without a base):

1) MAC Chocolate Brown Pigment
2) Paul & Joe 002
3) MAC Tan Pigment
4) MAC Copperbeam Pigment
5) MAC Gold Stroke Pigment

Lip Lacquers: These come packaged in squeeze tubes in 10 different shades. The Paul & Joe Beaute website and Facebook Paul & Joe group pages both show excellent photos! These are my new holy grail tube glosses. The pigment is medium – better than MAC Lipgelees (which I found too slick/sheer) and not as highly-fragranced like Lancome Juicy Tubes. The ones I bought are fairly similar: 01 is a nectar peach, 03 is a soft pink beige, 05 is a cute coral pink with sparkles. I don’t have swatches yet because I’m expecting another package soon for most of the other shades. I will post all the swatches together then. Check out Josie’s post for a swatch and picture of gloss #10!


Overall thoughts: P&J Holiday = huge win for me! Gotta love the cute samples and GWP from Bergdorfs that they had from their artist event. Are any of you Paul & Joe fans? I’d LOVE to hear what your favorite products are. I don’t have access to this line in person near me, so I rely heavily on internet blogs, message boards and reviews to try and figure out what to get!

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Laura Mercier Baked Eye Colour Palette for Holiday 2009

October 22, 2009

I normally get excited about all the holiday palettes and kits that come out every year, but felt this year there were too many palettes and not enough individual products to choose from. Laura Mercier has some gorgeous palettes which are nice if you don’t have a lot of products from her line. But if you’re like me and are looking for something you don’t already have in your collection, then you might be more inclined to wait and see what comes out for spring.

She does have quite a few bath & body kits that look interesting, but for her color items, the only thing that really caught my eye was her Baked Eye Colour Palette which retails for $48 and has 5 colors with a double-sided brush.

Left to right: Champagne, Sepia, Mink, Malt and Sterling

Overall thoughts: Champagne, Malt and Sterling are very sparkley and light. If you remember those Diamond Dust Eyeshadows from Bobbi Brown years ago, these are similar in concept. Light base color with loads of silver sparkle. These are nice and not over the top, but since they are so sheer, all three colors look the same on me.

Sepia and Mink are gorgeous shades, but feel a bit “over baked” making the pigment so-so. It’s still workable and they show up if you apply them with a brush that is slightly damp or over a cream base.

The Laura Mercier website states this is a $108 retail value which I am completely at odds on how they calculated this.

If you like Baked Shadows but want more pigmented and fun colors, check out the Gemstone Eye Collection which is exclusive to Saks. I actually never used the kit and ended up returning that kit soon after I received it in the mail because I couldn’t justify the price – but have to say the colors were stunning and if you don’t mind a splurge the brushes are fantastic and colors cute.

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