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On My Radar | New in Beauty and Deals of the Week

July 23, 2014

New items on my radar in the beauty world:

  • Dior Beauty has launched some new fall products for eyes, lips and nails:
    • 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette ($60) comes in five new shades in Bar 56, Carre Bleu 276, Pied De Poule 96, Trafalgar 876, Tutu 846
    • Rouge Dior Lipstick ($35) is available in five new colors with Carre D’Or 135, Bar 317, Rose Tutu 354, Rouge Massai 869 and Pied-de-Poule 977
    • Vernis Gel-Shine Nail Lacquer ($25) comes in four new cream finish shades in Pied de Poule 206, Rose Tutu 254, Bar 902 and Carre Bleu 769
  • Hourglass 1.5mm Mechanical Gel Eyeliner ($16 for single, $45 for set of 3) is the latest innovation from Hourglass with the thinnest waterproof gel liner that offers precision accuracy with a single stroke, available now at Hourglasscosmetics.com, at Sephora July 29, all other counters August 15
  • L’Occitane Frisson Verbena Collection ($12 to $55) has a range of fresh green and citrus body products perfect for summer, I’m in love with the Frisson Verbena Fresh Shower Gel and Hand Cream (thoughts on these soon)
  • Net-A-Porter Beautified Natural Nomad Pouch ($50) with Tata Harper Fortifying Body Oil and Lotion, Illia Sway Multistick, RGB Nail Polish, Remover Pad and Cuticle Oil, Rahua Volume Spray, Joya’s Composition No. 1 Perfume, LAFCO Hand Lotion
  • YSL Volupté Sheer Candy ($34) has launched in four new shades in Belle Cannelle #14, Rose Candy #15, Cherise Desir #16 and Fraise Ganache #17

Some deals and codes that have come through my inbox recently:

  • Benefit Cosmetics – Free US Standard Shipping on any order with code SUNSHIP
  • Bloomingdales – bRejuvinated Beauty Event Gift with Purchase offers (over 60 offers) through July 28 or while supplies last, plus 4 free beauty samples with any online order
  • Clinique – Three free summer saver minis Moisture Surge Face Spray, 7 Day Scrub Rinse-Off, Acne Solutions Clinical Clearing Gel with any online Clinique purchase, 7/23 – 7/24 or while supplies last
  • L’Occitane – 12 Hour Beauty Break sale, you have 12 hours to shop for select products up to 50% off, online only July 23rd 10:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
    • L’Occitane code offerings while supplies last:
      • Receive 3 Hand Creams + Adorable Pouch with any $25 Purchase with code SHEAHANDS, valid through 7/29
      • Free 50ml Shea Cleansing Milk with any $30 Purchase with code REFRESH, valid through 7/29
      • Free Angelica skincare duo of hydrating Toner and Cleansing gel with $45 purchase, code ANGELICA, valid through 7/29
  • Marc Jacobs Beauty – Free shipping on orders $50+, free mini Highliner in Blacquer with any $75+ order with code MINI, while supplies last
  • Macy’s – Over 150 online only gift with purchase deals from Clinique, Origins, Elizabeth Arden, Laura Mercier
  • Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Gift With Purchase over 70 gifts with purchases available for the sale from Caudalie, YSL, Jo Malone, Jouer, Guerlain, Cle de Peau, Lancome, Estee Lauder, Chantecaille and more
  • Sephora – Online Limited Beauty Insider Offers with $25+ orders (one code per order) while supplies last:
    • Ole Henriksen’s 3 Little Wonders 7-Day Sampler with code WONDERS
    • Choose 1 of 3 Lip Minis from Too Faced, NARS or Sephora Collection with code LIPMINI
    • Fresh Soy Conditioning Eye Makeup Remover with code FRESHSOY
    • Deluxe sample of Ole Henriksen Ultimate Lift Eye Gel with code EYELIFT
    • Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real Push-Up Liner 30-day Sample with code PUSHUP
    • Choose 1 of 3 Deluxe Sized Self-Tanners from Vita Liberata, St. Tropez, bareMinerals with code BRONZED
    • Early Access sample of Josie Maran Argan Black Oil Mascara Deluxe Sample for VIBs/Rouge, use code VIBJOSIE
  • Shu Uemura USA – A Midsummer’s Night Sample Set with any $50+ order, includes Tsuya Radiance Essense, Classic Cleansing Oil (20 ml), Anti-Oxi Deluxe Cleansing Oil (20 ml), Stage Performer Instant Glow (10 ml), Mini PK70C Gloss, use code UNWIND
If you have any good deals or codes, please share in the comments 🙂

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my Fresh Sugar Tulip Giveaway! There are up to four ways to enter and the entry period is almost up. I’ll be selecting the winner over the weekend and announce who won next week.

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Le Métier de Beauté Carnaby Street Kaleidoscope | Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus Exclusive

October 6, 2013

Le Métier de Beauté Carnaby Street Kaleidoscope Eye Kit ($95, limited) is an exclusive release to Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus. So far it’s only online at Bloomingdales.com but you can probably still find this in store or have your Le Métier de Beauté specialist locate one for you. The colors in this kit are beautiful but 2 out of the 4 are repeats from previous kits. I still find the kit worth having but you may want to shop your stash if you have a lot of the kaleidoscope kits.

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Level 1 is a seashell peachy pink shimmer. It’s different from other pinks Le Métier de Beauté has released and makes a stunning all over shade that brightens the lids.

I didn’t have time to swatch the comparisons side by side, but did photograph them side by side to give you a better idea of how each layer compares. Here is Carnaby Street compared to Saint-Domingue (Saks exclusive) and Antique Poupee (Bergdorfs limited release 2011).

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Level 2 is a shimmering complex taupe. I found it to be identical to the taupes from other kits such as Antique Poupee and Come One, Come All.

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Level 3 is a matte mauve. It applies beautifully on the eyes to add a bit of contour and warmth. It’s identical to the mauve shade from Nouvelle Vague.

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Level 4 is a metallic teal. It’s a repeat from the Oscar de la Renta/Ready-to-Wear kit from Bergdorfs back in 2011. I’ve compared it next to the green from Penelope (also discontinued) to show that the Carnaby Street kit is more teal.

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Swatches, two views:

For those trying to decide between the two latest kits from Le Métier, here is Carnaby Street compared to Saint-Domingue (Saks Exclusive). I can’t say one is better than the other, they are both stunning options in my mind. However Saint-Domingue is easier for me to wear. The teal in Carnaby Street is gorgeous but I need to add a bit of brown or black to darken it for my complexion (teals can sometimes make my olive skin look sallow).

Overall, the Carnaby Street Kaleidoscope is a lovely release from Le Métier de Beauté. It is a modern palette of colors with unique shades compared to other brands (although a few repeats from other kaleidoscopes). You can find it online now at Bloomingdales. Did you get Carnaby Street? What did you think?

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Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscope Eye Kits: Carnaby Street (Bloomingdales) and Saint-Domingue (Saks)

September 30, 2013
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Beauty alert: Le Métier de Beauté fans already know about the two latest Kaleidoscope Eye Kits ($95 each). For those who have been waiting to see it go live online, today’s your lucky day. I thought I missed out on Carnaby Street but was happy to finally see it online at Bloomingdales. Saks Saint-Domingue is also live online today. (If you’ve already purchased – please share your thoughts below!)

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Carnaby Street Kaleidoscope Eye Kit is now online at Bloomingdales. They have a promotion going on while supplies last for a full-size Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss with any $125 Le Métier de Beauté purchase (color not listed). Online 9/30-10/6. See Bloomingdales.com for details. Visit Best Things in Beauty for her lovely swatches.

Photo via @lemetierdebeaute instagram:

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Saint-Domingue Kaleidoscope Eye Kit is a Saks Fifth Avenue exclusive. I ordered mine from Saks Houston last week and expect it to arrive any day. There is a beauty gift online as well, with a $100 purchase you get the beauty bag, with any with any $75 Le Métier de Beauté purchase you receive a full-sized Colour Core Moisture Stain Lipstick in Summerland, be sure to use code LMETIER22 at checkout. Valid at Saks.com through
Sunday, October, 6 2013 at 11:59pm(ET) or while supplies last.

Photo via @beautylookbook instagram (sent courtesy of Saks Houston from Nikki at Dolce & Gabbana, (713) 627-0500 ext 5102)

Happy shopping! If you’ve already purchased either of these, can you share your thoughts with the rest of us? Do you love these or can you replicate any colors with previously released kits? Would love to hear about your experience – especially helpful to those of us who can’t get to a counter to test either of these kits in person.

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Rococo Nail Apparel Nude Wardrobe Collection

September 18, 2011

Earlier this year A Model Recommends gave us all a preview/sneak peek of a new collection in the works from Rococo Nail Apparel called the Nude Wardrobe Collection. Six nude nail colors have finally been released to SpaceNK and select Bloomingdales SpaceNK stores in sheer gloss, satin and full pigmented cream finishes. These retail for $16.50 each for 14 ml / 0.5 fl oz.

Following a season of loud and proud nails, this autumn/winter takes a turn for the subtle with nude nails firmly back on the style agenda. Inspired by the catwalk collections Rococo Nail Apparel have created a wearable wardrobe of six nude nail colours each designed to perfect and flatter – whatever the outfit, skin tone or mood. Rococo Nail Apparel have been quietly building a cult underground following since the brand launched two years ago and today continues to predict trends rather than follow the crowd. Commenting on the Nude Wardrobe sisters and co-founders Ange and Vernice Walker say, “The aim was to create an I-want-them-all collection of nudes that each delivers a highly polished and chic finish. We definitely predict nude as the new black this autumn/winter.”

The Rococo Nail Apparel Nude Wardrobe collection includes the following shades (shown L to R below):

  • LAB Nude 1.0 Sheer Gloss – a sheer transparent white gloss
  • LAB Nude 3.0 Sheer Gloss – a sheer transparent cream nude beige, used backstage by Ange & Vernice Walker at the Roland Mouret A/W show during Paris Fashion Week
  • LAB Nude 6.0 Satin Crème – an opaque pale neutral mixture of pale pink & beige & grey
  • LAB Nude 8.0 Sheer Gloss – a transparent warm nude beige
  • LAB Nude 8.8 Crème – a full pigment tan caramel nude beige
  • LAB Nude 9.0 Crème – a soft brown cream, it’s borderline taupe, but not quite

Rococo Nail Apparel succeeded in generating the “I want them all” bug. When I saw these at SpaceNK Bloomingdales in San Francisco I thought that they all looked divine. I’m a sucker for nudes and couldn’t wait to put these on. I’ve applied one on each finger all with 2 coats. The Sheer Gloss finish shades 1.0, 3.0 and 8.0 all seemed a bit streaky with my unsteady hand. Applying 3 coats evened everything out. At the nail salon, a perfect smooth application was achieved with only 2 coats (your mileage may vary) for 3.0.

Here are more swatches on nail wheels (thanks to Cafe Makeup who helped me find these). It was a bit of a challenge to have 1.0 (the sheer white) show up on a white nail wheel since it’s very sheer.

I’ve pulled a few other nudes, beiges and taupes to compare for you. Included are Dior Sienna, MAC Blissed Out, MAC Abalone Shell, Chanel Inattendu, Dior Nude Chic 219 (d/c), Dolce & Gabbana Nude, Chanel Beige Petale, Chanel Particuliere, Chanel Khaki Rose and Dior Camel. (Past available reviews have been linked if you want more detail.)

While 3.0 and 8.0 looked almost identical in the bottles, on the nails 3.0 is paler and 8.0 is more peachy. I had 3.0 applied early last week on the nails and the lasting power was amazing. It lasted a full week without any chipping or tipwear. If my nails hadn’t grown so fast I think I could have worn this past a full week. While the sheer beiges might not be extremely unique and easily dupeable, I found these to be easy to wear and naturally flattering and the quality excellent.
I can see myself getting regular use out of each and every shade. They are all beautiful and easy to incorporate into your weekly wardrobe since they are so neutral, it shouldn’t be hard to coordinate your look with your clothing. I love them all. 1.0 might be a bit of work, but sheer whites can be a challenge to wear on nails anyways. With so many options I can’t decide which one to wear next although I think I have my eye on 9.0 (it looks like a softer lighter version of Chanel’s Particuliere).
One more shot of the collection, all lined up:

Have you checked out the Rococo Nail Apparel new nude shades yet? Thoughts? Did you buy any or did you decide you already had similar shades in your stash? What’s your favorite “nude” nail polish? For a full list of availability, check out Space.NK.Apothecary.com.
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Bobbi Brown Everything Eye Kit – Bloomingdale’s Holiday Exclusive

October 25, 2010
Holiday palettes and kits are being released everywhere and it seems like there’s something new from Bobbi Brown every week. I can hardly keep track. Bloomingdale’s has a new exclusive holiday set this year called the Everything Eye Kit ($85). It comes with a 5-pan eyeshadow palette, full-sized Everything Mascara in Black and a new Thunderstorm Gel Eye Liner.


The palette contains a mix of regular, sparkle and shimmer wash colors. Inside it has (left to right) Navajo, Gold Bar Sparkle, Quarry Shimmer Wash, Pink Copper Sparkle and Caviar. Navajo/Caviar are repromotes. Gold Bar and Pink Copper are labeled as “sparkles” but they seem remarkably similar to those Diamond Dust shadows Bobbi Brown released around 2006. They don’t seem like her regular sparkle shadow formula in the sense that they aren’t chunky but they do have quite a bit of sparkle. Quarry is a gorgeous silvery smokey shimmer – I wish she would release this in a full sized individual color.


Thunderstorm Eyeliner is a new exclusive shade. It’s a dark neutral grey with tiny silver sparkles. It looks remarkably similar to the other darker blacks and greys in the container. I would say Thunderstorm is a less blue version of Graphite Shimmer Ink.

Here it is compared to Graphite Shimmer Ink, Black Ink, Caviar Ink and Gunmetal Shimmer Ink Gel Liners from Bobbi Brown. When you scroll down to the swatches you’ll see the difference between each color. In the pots they all look the same. On the skin it’s a bit different. (Note: A number of these were from various GWPs over past years but I’ve lost track of which ones I received as gifts.)




My thoughts: It’s a pretty set but not a must-have for long-time Bobbi Brown fans – this set will probably be a replica of what you already own. If it weren’t for the GWP for beauty benefits at Bloomies I probably wouldn’t have bought this kit. I do think it’s a great starter kit for those who are looking for a good set of wearable and highly versatile shades. If you don’t have a good dark eyeliner, Bobbi Brown’s Gel Liners are among my favorites. Thunderstorm is a lovely dark smokey shade that will define the eyes without looking too harsh. The sparkle shadows are beautiful and aren’t over the top when applied with a light-to-medium hand.

Do be aware the palette is fairly tiny – it seems to be a trend for many brands this year. If you want a more detailed breakdown of what this costs based on full-sized gel liner and mascara you get:

  • $21 = regular cost of gel liners
  • $22 = regular cost of everything mascara
  • $42 = what you pay for the palette, which is about $8 per shadow (times 5) + whatever you want to estimate for the cost of the dual-ended mini brush

I personally would rather pick out full-sized individual items and pay more for colors I really like. I’ve never been a fan of Bobbi’s mascaras so the one from this set will most likely be gifted away. As much as I love sets and palettes, I am DYING for Bobbi Brown to release individual eyeshadows like she used to – in shimmer wash and metallic formulas please! I am hoping all these companies will get out of the palette trend come spring.

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Bobbi Brown Antigua Face Palette (Bloomingdales Exclusive)

April 16, 2010
Bobbi Brown has released a new palette in the U.S. exclusive to Bloomingdales called the Antigua Palette. It retails for $55 and has the following colors:
  • 3 eyeshadows in Navajo, Oat, Caviar (all matte)
  • 3 lipsticks in Ballet Pink (creamy), Kitten (creamy) and Azalea (metallic)
  • 1 illuminating bronzer in Antigua


The Bobbi Brown collections this year seemed to have been a slight digression from her typical Bobbi-style, but this palette seems to be right on track for her typical classic, feminine, natural sense of color. Four of the shades are repromotes, but the combination is convenient, simple and chic in an all-in-one compact. My only gripe I have is that it mixes powders and creams in the same level which can get messy for the lipcolors if you’re not careful – but the size for the price is great so I’m not complaining.

My descriptions:

  • Navajo is your basic matte bone white (but not stark white)
  • Oat is a medium oat-brown color which appears to be a true neutral (like the name implies)
  • Caviar is a matte black (which is one of the few wearable true blacks for me)
  • Antigua is a soft shimmery pink
  • Ballet Pink is a bright pink base with gold shimmer
  • Kitten is a creamy beige (but goes on a light pinky-beige)
  • Azalea is a cool-plum with subtle gold flecks
Overall thoughts: The eyeshadows are great neutrals, but don’t apply well without some kind of base, so if you tend to find Bobbi Brown’s matte shadows a bit chalky, try applying them over a cream eyeshadow or shadow base. I had initially wished there were more new/exclusive colors to this palette to make it more unique, but I like the fact that it has everything I need in one palette which makes it convenient to put in my purse for touch ups. I like that it has 3 different lip colors which allows you to customize your look for neutral to more dressy. Definitely a winner for me, but mainly because I like all the colors and find that this will be good for a no-fail look when I am short on time and need a quick touch up.

Two more views:


FYI – Check your local Bloomingdales for their Beauty Benefits event GWP. I don’t see the details online, but saw one at my local Bloomies. I didn’t spend enough to get the GWP so I didn’t pay attention to the details, but definitely call yours to see what they have!

Like the concept of her Iluminating Bronzers? Check out some of the other shades like Maui, Aruba, Bali Brown and Laguna Bronze here: Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzers + New Bronzer Brush from last May.

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Chanel Tokyo Happening Nail Colors Spotted!

September 20, 2009

I was at South Coast Plaza today and stopped by the Bloomingdales Chanel Studio and was excited to see that they had all of the Tokyo Happening Nail Polishes in stock!

Other Limited Edition/Online & Boutique Exclusives they had include:
* Tokyo Glossimers in Lune (white), Wish (blue) and Galactic (white-gold)
* Jade Rose nail polish (see pics a few posts down here), but did not yet have Jade
* Symphonie White Whisper Quad, Blanc Petale Nail Polish and a few of the Highlighter Powder (see pics of the highlighter here and nail polish/quad here)
* Candy & Tea Rose Euro/Asia JCs

Being the avid Chanel collector, I picked up one of each, even though on the nails it’s pretty much a clear base with micro-sparkles.

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