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I can’t believe it’s already March. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I wanted to share a few things I’m loving right now. As always, I’d love to hear what is on your favorites list – please share in the comments below. I often discover new favorites through my readers.
MAC Cremesheen + Pearl Glass in Floating Lotus – these were released a while ago with the Cremesheen+Pearl collection, I’m so glad MAC made the lipsticks and glosses permanent, there are some really gorgeous classic pinks, Floating Lotus is a lovely sheer natural pink
Giorgio Armani Gloss d’Armani #513 – this is one of the prettiest cool beige shimmers, it has a hint of pink and it doesn’t wash out the complexion (swatches here)
Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse – see my review on body oils here, I usually prefer the Caudalie, but right now I keep reaching for the Nuxe
Tom Ford Foundation Sticks in Bisque 04 and Natural 05 – I started with Natural 05 but got a bit of a tan so was in need of one shade darker, it was a good thing I asked the artists at the counter for their help because the odd thing with these is Bisque 04 is actually darker than Natural 05 even though the shades are supposed to be in sequence (lighter shades are supposed to be the lower numbers) I’ll have a more detailed review soon, this is very pricey but it’s an amazing product and worth every penny
L’Artisan Mûre et Musc – a discovery thanks to one of my long time friends, this is a beautiful blend of blackberry and musc, it’s not overly sweet, my review on this from a holiday the trio a few years ago here
MAC Viva Glam IV – this is a classic rose frost, not too red, berry or neutral, just the right mix of pink and rose
Malin + Goetz Lip Moisturizer – this came in last month’s Barneys Love Yourself gift bag, it’s my first time trying anything from the brand, the price seems very reasonable for a lip balm, I’m incredibly impressed, it feels amazing on the lips
Tom Ford Lip Sheer In the Buff – I’ve been wearing this non-stop, some have mentioned it doesn’t show up or is too pale, but for me, it’s my perfect everyday nude (swatches here)
Chanel Glossimer Sonate 179 – from the spring collection, this is a lovely coral gloss from Chanel that actually shows up on my pigmented lips (swatches here)
Tom Ford Eau de Parfum Oud Wood – I don’t wear a fragrance everyday, I’m often rushed in the mornings and this is often last on my list, if I were to have an everyday fragrance this would be it, it’s neutral enough to not be overpowering at the office (review here)
Chanel has brought us four new shades of Aqualumière Gloss in the Jardin de Camélias collection ($29.50 each, 6 ml/0.20 fl oz). Eau de Rose 86 is a pale silvery pink, Rosace 87 is a shimmery light peachy pink, Pink Pivoine 88 is a sheer coral pink and Baie Rose 89 is a cool pink. All the shades are extremely sheer and offer a slight hint of shimmer or tint to the lips. They have a high shine smooth glossy finish.
Overall beautiful fresh colors that are lovely for spring. I wouldn’t call them must-haves since there is very little color payoff. These are extremely sheer glosses but that is expected with the Aqualumiere Gloss formula.
Eau de Rose 86, Rosace 87, Pink Pivoine 88, Baie Rose 89 are currently exclusive to Chanel.com. Will you be purchasing any of these? If you already ordered, what did you think?
There are two new Rouge Allures in the Chanel.com Jardin de Camélias Collection ($34 each, both limited-edition). Charmeuse #142 is a neutral nude beige with a slight shimmer and Fleurie #139 is a soft bright pink with fuschia sparkles. Both are buildable lip colors with a slight transparent quality so you can see a bit of your natural lip underneath. True to Rouge Allure formulas, they are creamy and easy to apply.
Swatches on the hand show that while Charmeuse is a straight beige nude in the tube it pulls a bit pinkish on my olive-toned hands:
Lip swatch of Charmeuse #142:
Lip swatch of Fleurie #139:
Comparisons swatches for reference: Tom Ford In The Buff (review here, swatcheshere), MAC Touche Huggable Lip Color (review here), Tom Ford Paradiso (review here) and MAC Out for Passion Huggable Lip Color (review here):
Charmeuse #142 and Fleurie #139 Rouge Allures are both easy to wear lip colors that require no additional fixing. They work straight from the tube and lasting power is quite good. I like both colors but they are very similar to other colors from Chanel and other brands so you may want to skip if you already splurge on MAC Huggables or Tom Ford Lip Sheers. I ordered them sight unseen so I did not know exactly what to expect from online photos.
Both colors Charmeuse and Fleurie are in the Rouge Allure formula and are limited-edition. In the US they are both exclusive to Chanel.com.
There are two new cheek products in the Chanel Jardin de Camélias collection Sakura #87 Joues Contraste ($43 for 4g/0.14 oz, made in France) and Jardin de Camélias Illuminating Powder ($70 for 16g/0.54 oz). Both products are lovely classics true to Chanel form. It appears that the blush has already sold out online but I’ve pulled quite a few other blushes in attempt to find a dupe. Scroll to the bottom for comparisons.
Sakura #87 Joues Contraste is a soft peachy pinky color with a soft shimmer. This is the baked Euro/Asia version of blush which I’ve found to be hit or miss. Some are powdery on the surface with a hard texture underneath which can be difficult to apply. I’ve had better luck with some of the more recent releases but prefer the US formula. Sakura applies quite nicely on the skin with a soft pink glow. It’s a softer sheerer color but you can build it. It’s still very very natural on the skin. Lasting power is medium from morning to the early afternoon (like most powder blushes). There is a slight shimmer to the blush, on the cheeks the shimmer doesn’t show up but it does give the blush depth. This is a much-needed in between shade in Chanel’s line. Most blushes are either more rose or a straight peach. This is a good in between color with a mix of pink and peach.
Jardin de Camélias Illuminating Powder is a very pale ivory tinged with a hint of light rose pink. The color of the product in real life is true to what you see on Chanel.com. There is a slight iridescent quality to the powder when applied on the skin. On my face it just looks like a sheer pale white with a hint of pink pearl. It resembles a soft finishing powder with a hint of an opal pink glow. I personally wouldn’t use this all over the face for me. It can be used to tone down harsh edges of blush. I didn’t remember to photograph swatches of this next to Hourglass Dim Light but the effect is similar. The difference is Hourglass is more beige while the Jardin de Camelias is more pink. The first time I tried this I did not like it. I found it extremely subtle and almost invisible on my skin. I’ve been testing it some more and find it adds a lovely glow when applied on top of any blush (powder or cream). Still, the $70 price tag is hard to justify something that is extremely subtle in effect.
Swatches:
I have two sets of comparisons below. First set shows the colors next to Chanel Rose Initiale (review here), Fleur de Lotus (Nordstrom Exclusive, miraculously still available for sale), Poudre Signee de Chanel Powder (discontinued), Hourglass Luminous Light (review here) and Chanel Rose Tourbillon (discontinued).
I later pulled a few more blushes after someone emailed me asking if the #87 Sakura was the same as the recently released #87 Émotion blush. Although they have the same numbers, the colors are completely different.
There’s no dupe from what I’ve found although MAC Dainty and Tom Ford Frantic Pink (my all time favorite natural pink blush) are very close. If you click to enlarge you might be able to see that the Chanel is more satiny with less shimmer while the MAC/Tom Ford have more shimmer. I tried Sakura on one cheek and Dainty on the other and they were almost identical on my skin.
Did you order anything from the Jardin de Camélias line? What were your thoughts? Or if you were waiting for my swatches, has anything caught your eye?
Chanel just launched the Jardin de Camélias Collection exclusively online at Chanel.com in the US. I ordered the following items:
Sakura #87 Blush ($43, Euro/Asia baked version)
Jardin de Camélias Illuminating Powder ($70)
four Aqualumière Glosses ($29.50 each) in Eau Rose #86, Rosace #87, Pink Pivoine #88, Baie Rose #89
two Rouge Allures ($34 each) in Fleurie #139 and Charmeuse #142
I’ll be uploading more detailed reviews as quickly as I can. I swatched and photographed everything over the weekend but need to do a bit more testing. For now here are swatches for your reference. Quick note on the glosses, they all apply very sheer on the lips like most Chanel glosses do.
Without flash:
With flash:
You can find the collection now online at Chanel.com.
Stay tuned for the swatches and photos of the Chanel Sakura Blush and Jardin de Camélias Highlighter next. I’ll be adding a few finishing touches and thoughts on my review for these during my lunch break. Review should be up the review in a few hours.
Le Métier de Beauté released three new Kaleidoscope Kits at the end of last year in limited quantities at select stores and they are finally available online at Bloomingdales ($95 each). There is a new face kit called The Total Look, a blush kit called Cheeky Chic and an eyeshadow kit called Strada. When my local store received these they did not have testers. I limited myself to one: The Total Look Kit which has two eyeshadows in a bronze and champagne, a pink blush and a light bronzer.
Swatches, note I applied the blush and bronzer with a light hand. The colors are well pigmented once applied on the face but still soft.
I pulled one of my older discontinued kaleidoscopes in the Flawless Face Kit to compare for you (the Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills edition had Jojo Eyeshadow instead of the translucent pressed powder). If you missed out on the older kit, the Jojo Eyeshadow, Whisper Highlighter and Echo Blush can be purchased individually.
For the top two shades, the pale pink in The Total Look is more shimmery and frosted compare to the Whisper Highlighter:
Here you can see The Total Look has a softer effect than Flawless Face:
I pulled a couple different shades from different kits for swatch comparisons. Galatea’s Bronze (discontinued) is darker than The Total Look. Nouvelle Vague’s (review here) shimmery pink is darker than The Total Look. The Blush Kaleidoscope (review here) is darker and more pigmented than The Total Look.
The Total Look Kaleidoscope Face Kit is a classic staple. I’m glad it is finally available for purchase online. I waited to write about this because I suspected like most Le Metier de Beaute kits it would sell out in the blink of an eye and cause those to miss out heartache. Although pricey at $95 per kit, note this breaks down to $23.75 per kit. For the size and price note that many other brands have shadows priced the same or higher per shadow.
If you’re new to Le Metier de Beaute or don’t own a lot of Kaleidoscopes, this is a great kit to start with. If you own a lot, I think you can skip although I found the colors in this one to have slightly different nuances making the colors unique. The convenience factor is a plus. I brought this with me in a couple trips in the past few months. Be sure to check out Best Things in Beauty for her swatches and a snapshot of all three kits.
