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Dior Fall 2009 Jazz Club Eyes + Nail Polish + Other Smoky Eye Variations

July 5, 2009

Fall collections are trickling in! So far I’ve seen the fall collections for Chanel, Laura Mercier, Giorgio Armani, and now Dior. After seeing Karen’s fabulous article and swatches on Makeup and Beauty Blog for the Dior Jazz Club Collection Fall 2009, I went to Nordstrom to check out the collection myself.

This is what I came home with:

Smoky Jazz Eye Palette 001, the Total Eyelook Makeup Clutch for Liner, Brow, and Eyeshadows – they’ve included a nice brush!

Left to right: Liner, Eyebrow, Matte Eyeshadow, Iridescent Eyeshadow x2, Topcoat

Night Butterfly 173 Quint (5-Colour Eyeshadow) – this was lighter than I expected based on promotional pictures floating around the web, but Karen’s swatches gave me a good idea of what it looked like in real life before I stopped by the counter:

Black Plum 981 Nail Vernis:

Also picked up the Creme de Glosses and Addict Reflect Lipglosses, but for some reason these are not photographing well. For great pics/swatches, check out Karen’s blog!

Some other smokey eye palette variations for a classic smokey eye or soft smokey eye:

Dolce & Gabbana Champagne (Smooth Color Eye Quad):

Dior Sky Glow 009 Quint (5 Colour Iridescent Eyeshadow):

Chanel Smoky Eyes 93 (Quadra Eyeshadow):

MAC Smoking Eyes Quad – Next to Nothing, Satin Taupe, Showstopper, Smoking:

MAC Trip Palette Sultry Eyes – Sun Cruise Gloss, Freckletone Lipstick, Filament Lustre Eyeshadow, French Grey Satin Eyeshadow, Carbon Matte Eyeshadow (found a month ago at my local CCO):

Looking for some other smokey eye colors? To do a smokey eye, I often layer different shades with a black since blacks tend to turn blueish on my skin. Check out the 5 part series for swatches of dark shimmery eyeliners and shadows separated by color category:

Color Focus:
Smokey Eyes Part 1
Smokey Eyes Part 2 (Greys & Blacks)
Smokey Eyes Part 3 (Black Golds)
Smokey Eyes Part 4 (Mauves & Plums)
Smokey Eyes Part 5 (Blues & Greens)

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More Paul & Joe Beauty: Eyeshadow, Face Color, Pearl Powder and Palettes

July 4, 2009

As soon as I saw the new Paul & Joe summer collection, I knew I had to have the 001 Nugget Eyeshadow. However, they were out of stock at Bergdorf’s so I placed an order with Dermstore online and am pleased with the new items! They have pretty good swatches and also include color descriptions of each item which helped me since I don’t have immediate in-person access to the line to check out the products. The only item I didn’t like was the Nail Lacquer in Dress Up 23 which has big chunks of glitter (website description wasn’t as clear).

Check out the Paul & Joe Beaute Website for cute images like the one above, wallpaper downloads and product information.

Click HERE for the first Paul & Joe post a couple days ago featuring more eyeshadows, face colors and pearl powders.

Eyeshadow Nugget 001

Nugget Comparisons:

1. MAC Lustre Eyeshadow – Honesty
2. Benefit Velvet Eyeshadow – Rich Beach
3. Shu Uemura Pressed Eyeshadow – P Brown 820
4. Bobbi Brown Metallic Eyeshadow – Penny
5. Urban Decay Eye Shadow – Chopper (in old packaging)
6. Paul & Joe – 24 Center Stage
7. Paul & Joe – 001 Nugget
8. Dior Powder Mono Eyeshadow – #535 Beige Sunshine

Face Color Moroccan Orange 08

Pearl Powder Afterglow 04: goes on a shimmery cool pink

Afterglow comparisons (couldn’t find a dupe, so here are some other light shimmery pinks):

1. Becca Loose Shimmer Powder – Angel
2. Becca Loose Shimmer Powder – Princess
3. Becca Loose Shimmer Powder – Gypsy
4. MAC Loose Beauty Powder – Tenderdusk
5. Paul & Joe Pearl Powder – 04 Afterglow
6. MAC Pigment – Fairylite
7. MAC Pigment – Goldenaire
8. MAC Veluxe Pearl Eyeshadow – Wintersky
9. MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow – Little Madame
10. Laura Mercier Lustre Eye Color – Gilded Peony (was LE with the Nordies Peony set)

Eye Color Palette CS Ingenue 01

Eye Color Palette CS Starlet 02

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Giorgio Armani Fall 2009: Manta Ray Collection

July 2, 2009

Last week I received a preview e-mail from Giorgio Armani about their new Manta Ray Collection featuring 5 eyeshadow duos, 2 silk lipsticks, 1 blush, and 1 lip shimmer.

Their star product of the season features their new eyeshadow duos with a snake-like embossed surface described as follows:

“Inspired by the precious and luxurious materials used in Giorgio Armani fashion accessories, the palettes offer a beautiful selection of color harmonies inspired by nature. The collection features subtle hues that offer a new take on the timeless color “Greige,” create by Giorgio Armani. The rich filtered eye tones, presented in a matte Greige compact, give depth and mystery to the eyes with subtle contours and highlights.”

I stopped by Saks and was surprised to see these in store already. The counter did not have testers, nor did they receive everything in the collection yet, but did have all the shadow duos, Blush #12 (pale whitish pink shimmer) and Silk Lipstick #93 (plum-brown cream).

I ended up purchasing the following two items:

* Manta Ray Eyeshadow #1: Described as “charcoal and greige,” this duo seems more like an intense satin black and soft grey/brown/beige with plum undertones. At first glance it looks like a plain brown, but I compared it next to a few other shades and it seems to have slight pink/plum undertones.

* Sheer Blush #12: I am a huge fan of Armani blushes and was really excited about the new #12. It’s described as a “pale raspberry” but this is quite misleading since it’s actually a super pale cool-pink shimmer with lavender undertones. Luckily the counter did have a tester of this item. The makeup artist assured me it went on differently than it appeared in the pot. She dusted a bit on and sure enough, it went on a pretty glowy light pink. Your mileage may vary on this one, so definitely try it out before purchasing.

Close up (clickable so you can see the slight shimmer):

Comparisons, left to right: GA #1, GA #12, GA #11

Comparisons, left to right: MAC Sheertone Shimmer in Shimmersweet, GA #12, Chanel Silk Dream

Above are some comparison pictures to help give a better idea of what the new blush looks like. Overall thoughts are undecided. I usually love Armani, but the look created in this collection isn’t the most flattering. The concept of the eyeshadows are unique but $32 for an eyeshadow and $42 for a blush is pretty steep – I feel like I should have gotten more for my $$$.

For other Giorgio Armani Features, click HERE to see the new Maestro Eye Shadow extensions, Summer 2009, and some Bronzer comparisons.

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Paul & Joe Beaute: Absolutely Adorable!

June 28, 2009

I’ve been eyeing some Paul & Joe Beaute items ever since I first spotted some pics from the holiday sets and finally broke down and ordered some things from Bergdorfs for their Smart Beauty Event (see one post below on their fabulous gift).

I have yet to see the whole line in person, but was totally smitten with their website which is super cute, unique, and absolutely adorable with their downloads and product design. I’m normally not a huge fan of pink-packaging, but have to saw these items are really cute and take me back to the days when I was little and when Hello Kitty and Little Twin Stars were cute girly.

Again, I have to rave for Bergdorf’s Customer Service – friendly, easy going, patient, and generous with samples and goodies! In addition to the beauty event gift, I also received a cute tote, skincare samples, and a mini container of their #2 Pearl Powder (looks scary orange/gold in the pot, but blends out to a pretty iridescent peach).

The extra goodies:

Eye Shadows are soft and blendable with high pigment. I ordered based on online swatches and descriptions and various blogs. The packaging/boxes only had numbers to identify the product shade, but websites also associate names with them.

Left to right: 003 Fortune, 04 Sepia, 23 Boulevard, 24 Centre Stage, 92 Tapestry

Close ups of each shade:

Pearl Powders are soft loose powders full of shimmer and finely milled. These are in between a MAC Loose Beauty Powder and Becca Loose Shimmer Powder as far as weight/texture go. If you remember those Stila All Over Shimmer Loose Powders – these have a similar texture and feel, but are easier to blend.

Left to right: 01 Secret of Gold, 03 Silhouette

Cute packaging:

Swatches, left to right: 01 Secret of Gold, 02 Blaze, 03 Silhouette
(NOTE: 02 blends out a lot so it doesn’t go on as intense or as orange as this swatch)

Face Colors are exquisite! These remind me of MAC’s Mineralized Blushes, minus the extreme frost. The face colors are still quite shimmery, but gorgeous on.

Left to right: 11 Rhapsody (pinks), 12 Chic (more beigey)

If you are a Paul & Joe collector or have any items you love, please share them! I’m new to this line and need some more details on products and colors!

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Le Metier de Beaute Nail Lacquers & Bergdorf Goodman Smart Beauty Event

June 28, 2009

Many know I am a huge fan of Le Metier de Beaute for their high quality and gorgeous colors. Click HERE for a previous post on the lip glosses, lip cremes, and lipsticks.

FYI, Bergdorfs is having a gift with purchase event. The bag is really cute and it comes with a full size Le Metier Eye Liner and Kevyn Aucoin Shadow Pencil. Click HERE for the details from the Bergdorf Goodman website.

Back to the subject of Le Metier, my newest acquisitions include the new nail lacquers. The description per Bergdorf/Neiman Marcus online:

“Specifically formulated without formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate (DPB), Le Metier de Beaute Nail Lacquers provide long-lasting, chip resistant, protective color and shine. Fortified with strengthening proteins and hydrators, Le Metier de Beaute Nail Lacquers delivers rich, glossy, long-wearing color . . . Benefits include truly intense, multi-dimensional color, resists chipping up to 14 days, and won’t fade, dull or streak, even in strong sunlight.”

I have loved everything I have purchased from Le Metier, however the new nail lacquers are somewhat disappointing. Priced at $15 each, the bottles are so tiny, they are smaller than those NARS mini bottles with about 1/2 the amount of product. The colors are pretty – but . . . I’m not totally in love, mainly because of the size.

Here are four of the colors, Lenton Rose is a shimmery gold, Phlox is a shimmery lilac, Violaceous Splendor is a complex purple-eggplant, Black Orchid is a deep purple:

Also featured from the July 2009 issue of InStyle – the Pink Peony shade which looks like a really cute pink:

Disappointments aside – I have heard from a few sources (who are not Le Metier artists or Neimans employees) that the color does indeed last a long time and that the formula is chip resistant, so you might be getting more for your $$ because of the quality.

* UPDATE on June 29* I just tried one coat of the Phlox on 2 fingers and the formula *IS* truly amazing. One coat was all I needed for a rich, streak-free, high shine color – even my other favorite brands (OPI, Chanel, RBL) need 2 coats. This is by far the best formula of nail polish that I’ve ever tried. That being said, even though I’ll only need one coat per manicure, the bottles are still so tiny it will definitely make me wait to see them in person before I order anymore.

Also, I’d like to ask that those of you who read this blog, please do not use my photos on your own websites without permission. Thank you!

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Giorgio Armani New Maestro Eye Shadows vs. Armani’s Original Eye Shadows

June 25, 2009

This post features a comparison of the new Maestro Eyeshadows that have recently been released with the original versions. There are several new shades in the Maestro Eye Shadow line from #20 to #36, however, many of them are simply re-formulations of original shades.

See the first post here All About Armani: New Maestro Eye Shadows. See yesterday’s updated post with some more additions here Update on New Giorgio Armani Maestro Eye Shadows.

All pictures are clickable!

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