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Packing Travel

Travel Makeup | Summer Edition

July 1, 2014

As requested, here are the items I brought with me on my recent trip. All the items were carried in my well-loved Bobbi Brown Train Case (from 12+ years ago and no longer available for sale, Old Hollywood Version still available). I tend to overpack for makeup so the case limits what I bring. If it can’t fit, it doesn’t travel with me. I’ve split the items into three categories: Lips, Face/Cheeks and Eyes.

To those who asked to see what I brought with me, I hope this helps! I always have a makeup overpacking problem so my fellow beauty lovers – if you have any tips I’d love to hear what you bring with you on trips/travel whether it’s a weekend getaway, a week trip or extended vacation.

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Beauty Travel

Travel / Trial Sized Beauty – Skincare for Face and Body

July 1, 2014

Since my last trip in April I’ve been on the hunt for more mini-sized beauty items for travel and testing. One area I always neglect in packing is skincare for face and body. I almost never check in luggage so I’m limited to one carry-on and therefore subject to the one quart-size bag rule for liquids. Squeezing in all the items into one bag is a challenge for me but I’ve learned that skipping out on good skincare usually results in ruined skin that takes weeks to recover (at least for me). This time I took extra care to plan in advance and did quite a bit of research in the weeks leading up to the trip looking for good travel-sized minis. This is what I brought with me, all of which fit perfectly into one quart sized bag. I love minis for skincare anyways as a way to test out new items without having to splurge on the full size.

  • SK-II Facial Treatment Cleanser ($70 for full size) was part of a mini gift with purchase from Saks, I frequently check the Special Offers page before stocking up on the full size, this is one of my favorite face cleansers, when I don’t have minis of my regular face cleansers, I squeeze some into a little disposable container
  • Caudalie Cleansing Water (50 ml/1.69 fl oz) the mini size is part of The Favorites Set ($32) which I’ve been a huge fan of, this is a gentle makeup remover that makes the skin feel clean and moisturized (FYI there is a Caudalie GWP online for a Deluxe Size Divine Oil with $50+ purchases using code DIVINE through July 2nd)
  • MAC Cleanse Off Oil / Tranquil ($10 for 30 ml/1.0 fl oz) is one of the mini to-go sizes for MAC skincare, I bought this to test out since I’ve been a huge fan of the regular Cleanse Off Oil, I find the Tranquil version to be more gentle with a moisturizing feel, I prefer the Regular version to remove makeup before cleansing (with long-wear makeup, I’ve found I need a few extra steps to remove every trace of primer, concealer, foundation, powder and blush)
  • Chanel Gentle Biphase Eye Makeup Remover ($34 for the full size) is a mini I stock up on with gift with purchases during Chanel events, it’s the best I’ve tried (I favor it over Lancome) that removes waterproof mascara and long-wear eyeliners without stinging the eyes
  • Giorgio Armani Regenessence 3.R Pre-Regenerative and Retexturizing Lotion ($53 for the full size) is my current toner of choice, it makes the skin feel really and soft and helps to smooth out the surface before serums or moisturizers, I got the mini size with a Neiman Marcus gift with purchase event and saved the bottle, I refill it with the full size when I go on trips or weekend getaways

  • Caudalie Divine Oil ($9 for 15 ml/.05 fl oz) is a must-have for me, I use it almost daily for the legs and arms, I love how this one smells refreshing and especially how it absorbs into the skin quickly, it’s often available in value sets like this Sephora Summer Crushes set and I’ve seen it in seasonal duos, I bought my first Divine Oil because my friend said, “at $9 you won’t be crushed if you don’t like it, but you will, you need to try it, it’s amazing” – she was right, I’m rarely without this one (it’s often in my purse)
  • Caudalie Divine Legs (25 ml/0.84 fl oz) in the mini size is usually part of yet more value deal sets, there’s one for $32 that comes with a 50 ml Divine Oil + 25 ml Divine Legs, I have super sensitive skin that often reacts to tanning and bronzing products, although this one from Caudalie doesn’t tan, it does give a nice bronzed leg effect that I found very natural, since there were mixed reviews on Sephora, I thought getting the set with the mini was good to try, I tested the Divine Legs this past weekend rubbing quickly into the legs after moisturizing with a light layer of the Divine Oil, it dried quickly but I was able to work it in quickly before it set, I wore a black dress and skirt over the past few days so I didn’t notice any transfer to clothing, I’ll have to test this one out a few more times but I liked it and didn’t experience any irritation
  • Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream (30 ml/1 fl oz) is another lovely item from The Favorites Set, I have a number of tried and true favorite hand creams, I picked this one because of the refreshing lightweight scent and compact size
  • Tatcha Indigo Soothing Silk Body Butter (30 ml) is a new addition to Tatcha’s Travel Sized beauty, if you’re on their mailing list you might recognize this as one of the past gift with purchases they offered (they have special promo codes), this one will this one will be available for purchase mid to late July, you can read my full review here, some might wonder if I brought a body oil with me, did I really need to bring a body lotion as well? I could have gotten away with bringing just one, but I like the Tatcha for it’s soothing qualities, sometimes my skin acts up and gets itchy from being dry, the Tatcha Indigo line works wonders for hydration and soothing

  • Chanel Sublimage La Creme Texture Fine ($390 for the full size 1.7 oz) is one of the most amazing face moisturizers I’ve tried and also one of my biggest splurges, it hydrates the skin and keeps it looking smooth and clear, there are often minis available with gift with purchases, sometimes counters have samples to give out (they are more friendly with samples if you make a decent sized purchase) 
  • Ole Henriksen Truth Serum ($15 for 0.5 fl oz/15 ml) is one of my favorite serums, I love the small travel/trial size which is available at a good price, it’s often part of deal sets as well such as The Works, the best part is the mini packaging comes with a super convenient pump dispenser making it easy to use
  • Tatcha Camellia Beauty Oil ($33 for 10 ml) is the cutest mini-sized beauty oil, it’s the perfect size to test out in case you’re hesitant about oils in general (I am), when I travel, my skin tends to dry out a bit, I used this at night before bed to smooth the skin and give it an extra boost of hydration over night, on regular days, I use the oil for day 1-2x per week alternating with my regular serum/moisturizer routine, it gives the skin a super hydrated refreshed feel without feeling heavy (more thoughts on this one here)
  • Tatcha Ageless Revitalizing Eye Cream ($29 for 3 ml) came with a Barneys gift bag event offer, I love testing out mini eye creams and this one is super tiny which was good to fit into the corners of my quart sized bag, I found this one to be a bit heavy for my needs, it’s a rich creamy eye treatment I found good for overnight hydration (applied in small doses) but for everyday it will probably be too heavy for my skin type, this is the beauty of minis, you can test items to see how they work for you before committing to the full size

  • Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray ($14 for 30 ml/1.0 fl oz) has had so many raves on Sephora so I made a quick stop to one of the stores during my trip and picked one up. It’s described as a weightless spray that keeps your makeup looking fresh for up to 16 hours. I attended a wedding over the weekend in semi-humid weather and thought this would be the perfect time to test something like this. Most of the wedding was indoors and it didn’t last 16 hours so I couldn’t really test this to see if it lived up to its claims. I did like the lightweight feeling, it spritzes a super fine layer of mist over the face evenly (huge plus for me) and it kept my makeup looking fresh and melt-free for around 7 hours.
  • Clinique Color Correcting Superprimer ($27 for 1 fl oz, review here) was my primer of choice for the weekend for its smoothing properties, you can see the difference in the texture of the skin once applied, it works well under liquid foundations as well
  • Origins Clear Improvement Mask Pods ($8 for 4 one-time use pods) is another item I picked up during my trip, I loved the concept of the one-time use pods and am usually skeptical about pore-cleansing masks since most usually are either too strong and sting the skin or so gentle it feels like nothing (my favorite from MAC was discontinued). I used one pod during my trip and was really impressed with how well this cleansed and tightened the skin, after one use pores were visibly smaller, there is a slight tingly feeling but it did not irritate or sting the skin, based on the reviews I’ve read and my experience with one pod, this one shows a lot of promise
All the liquid/gel items in my zip-loc quart size bag – yes, they all fit including a mini perfume and bottle of Chanel foundation 🙂

Overall this trip I felt like I packed all the essentials (and then some) for skin care face and body. I did skip bringing shampoo, conditioner and shower gels and relied on what was at the hotel (I was really happy that they had Neutrogena). I ended up using everything I brought with me along with the two items I purchased on the trip at Sephora. I don’t travel often so it’s taken a few tries for me to get the right mix of products while I’m away from home. I think this time I’ve finally found my perfect mix of items for skincare. (If you want to know what makeup I brought with me let me know in the comments below, otherwise you can see what I carried with me on previous trips by clicking on the Travel tag.)

Do you have any favorite travel sized beauty items? What items did you end up loving from mini-testing that made you buy the full size? Any new discoveries lately? Also if you ended up hating something from testing out a mini, I’d love to hear about your experiences.

Some items in this post were provided for review consideration and some minis were acquired from various gift with purchase events. Most items were purchased by me. For more information please refer to my Disclosures.

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Chanel Intime #93 and Confident #94 Rouge Coco Shines | Fall 2014

June 29, 2014

I picked up two of the Chanel Rouge Coco Shines in Intime #93 and Confident #94 ($35 each) from the Collection États Poétiques. Both are subdued feminine colors that give a very conservative natural polished look. Intime #93 is a soft cool-toned pink. Confident #94 is a darker mauve pink. Both are on the cool-tone side but still have enough warmth for my olive skin tone that they don’t wash me out. I found the pigment of both to be quite good with more color than most Rouge Coco Shines that I have. There is a variance in pigment depending how you apply these. Straight from the tube will give a more sheer shine. If you apply with a brush you will get more color. Both shades have a slightly glossy finish. Lasting power is average, short-to-medium as is the case with most glossy sheer lipsticks.

Both shades swatched side by side, one swipe straight from the tube, another with a brush:

Swatched on the lips straight from the tubes:

I pulled a few other lipsticks to compare, no dupes from what I could see but there are definitely similar colors:

Chanel Secret Rouge Coco Shine
Chanel Fetiche Rouge Coco Shine
Chanel Boy Rouge Coco Shine
Chanel Bel Ami Rouge Coco Shine
MAC Viva Glam VI Lipstick
MAC Naked Paris Lipstick
Chanel Culte Rouge Coco (discontinued)

Overall pleased with the wearability of these two Rouge Coco Shines. They are easy swipe and go lipsticks that require no additional work to make them work (if that makes sense). I swatched the other shades on my hand at the counter but at $35 each I found them a bit pricey. I limited myself to two since I had my eye on the blush and glossimers. 

Both shades should be available at Chanel counters now. Online at Nordstrom, Saks and Chanel.com.

Did you get any of the lipsticks or glosses from the fall collection? What did you think?

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Chanel Rose Rêvé #189 and Songe #191 Glossimers | Fall 2014 Collection États Poétiques

June 27, 2014

There are two new Chanel Glossimers in Rose Rêvé #189 and Songe #191 for fall. Both are very light and sheer. Rose Rêvé #189 is a pale sheer cool pink that is very similar but cooler version of Plaisir #164. On my lips this one goes on milky and with my pigmented lips showing through. I like this one better over lipsticks rather than by itself. Songe #191 is a shimmering iridescent oyster that flashes violet and pink. Although it’s on the sheer side it gives a pink brightening effect to the lips on its own. I really like this one.

Here they are swatched on the lips:

Out of the two, I prefer Songe #191 for the shimmer and glossy shine. It has a lovely iridescent quality that makes the color change depending on how the light hits the color. For some comparisons, two views so you can see how different lighting impacts the color with the pretty shimmers:

Chanel Aragonite  #151 Glossimer (discontinued)
MAC Clear Water Lipglass (limited-edition)

I can’t say either are must-haves since they are so sheer but I like the way Songe wears. It looks much better in person than it does in photographs. It has a pretty shimmer you can’t really capture with the camera. Both are available at Chanel counters now. Online at Nordstrom, Saks and Chanel.com.

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Chanel Secret #625, Atmosphère #629 and Orage #631 Le Vernis | Collection États Poétiques for Fall 2014

June 27, 2014
For the Chanel Collection États Poétiques there are three new Le Vernis Nail Colors in Secret #625 Atmosphère #629 and Orage #631 ($27 each for 13 ml/0.4 fl oz, made in France). All three colors are newly released shades. I was the most excited about Atmosphère but after playing with these for a few days, it turns out my favorite is Secret.
I get really excited when I find a good nude nail polish. Secret #625 is a perfect nude with a slight hint of pink. It definitely needs a good base coat underneath. The first coat will be slightly uneven in finish but the second coat levels out the texture and gives full coverage. It’s has enough color for my skin so it doesn’t give me corpse-like hands.

Atmosphère #629 is a unique pearly duo-chrome pink pearl with violet shimmer. It changes color as the light shifts. With one coat it’s more pink/lilac. With a second and third coat it becomes more like a pearl. I wanted to love this but find it looks odd against my skin tone making my hands look a bit sallow. I’m not sure if it’s just the fact that it’s summer and I’m craving bright colors right now that is contributing to my “eh” feelings about this one. I don’t hate it, but I’m not a huge fan. Perhaps it will grow on me. Some have suggested using this as a layering color. I’m not a huge fan of layering but this one does look nice over other colors.

Orage #631 is an indigo grey blue. It has a very slight hint of silver shimmer in the tube if you hold it against the light. On the nails you can see the sparkle in the sunlight but it acts more like a cream. Two coats almost gives full coverage. On me I found it still to be slightly transparent with two thin coats. On the hands it’s dark shade but not quite black. There is enough blue in this one to soften the color and prevent it from looking too harsh.

Some comparisons below. Orage is the only one I could find close alternatives to.

Swatched above:
Tom Ford Sugar Dune (discontinued)
Dior Icy Dew (discontinued)
Guerlain Stardust (discontinued)
Chanel Island (discontinued)
Dior Perfecto (discontinued)
Chanel Steel (discontinued)
Chanel Atmosphere layered over Secret and Orage
Close ups of the comparisons:

Overall three lovely shades for fall … but it’s not fall yet which is probably why I’m not over the moon in love with these. I think they will grow on me. Secret is another perfect nude nail polish I’ll be wearing a lot (going to try it on the toes this weekend). The other two are nice but for me not must-haves. That being said, Atmosphere is very unique and Orage is a nice dramatic dark shade that isn’t too dark.
These are part of the fall collection and should be available at all counters now. Online at Nordstrom,  Bloomingdales, Saks and Chanel.com.
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Chanel Collection États Poétiques | Fall 2014 Picks

June 26, 2014
Chanel Collection États Poétiques for Fall 2014 has arrived online and in stores. The ordered the nail polishes online and then checked out the entire collection in stores last week. The items I picked out include:
I’ll be reviewing the items in the next few days, I have the nail polishes swatched already and will be uploading pics as soon as I can 🙂

Did you pick up anything from the Fall collection? What are your thoughts?
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What's In My Bag

Inside My Makeup Bag

June 26, 2014

Here is a peek at what I’ve had inside my makeup bag this week. The clear makeup bag is from Bobbi Brown which I found as a gift with purchase several years ago during a Neiman Marcus beauty event (for those looking for a clear makeup bag, a few other alternatives from MAC, Make Up For Ever, Sephora, Lulu).
  1. Chanel Les Beiges No. 20 for mid-day touch ups
  2. MAC Sharon Osbourne Refresh Mineralize Skinfinish Duo (still available at Macy’s)
  3. Chanel Hydra Beauty Lip Balm (new for me, review soon)
  4. Jo Malone Grapefruit Cologne (mini from a gift with purchase)
  5. By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock which I works alone on the lids, it’s a medium pink shade with plum shimmer, I swipe directly from tube onto lids and then blend with the fingers
  6. Tom Ford Paradiso Lip Color Sheer (sold out most places, but still on tomford.com)
  7. Burberry Lip Glow Balm in Pink Peony
  8. MAC Brush #168SH (mini size discontinued)
  9. Marc Jacobs Overprotected Lust for Lacquer (love the tingle)
  10. YSL Kiss and Blush #3 Rose Libre still testing these out and figuring out to use these, I like them on the cheeks, for the lips, I’m still undecided
  11. Malin + Goetz Mojito Lip Balm is a staple, love the clear finish, decent price and the unique scent of this one (see Malin + Goetz Los Angeles store feature here)
  12. Guerlain Maxi Lash Waterproof Mascara I rarely touch up with mascara in the middle of the day, but I sometimes carry one with me because in the mornings I typically am running out the door and have missed a few makeup steps before I leave the house, mascara and lips are usually the last two items I apply
  13. Diptyque Geranium Odorata is such a pretty soft floral, the roller ball tip makes it easy to apply quickly, I keep it in the velvet pouch it comes with (not shown above)
  14. NARS Andromeda Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow accidentally made it into the makeup bag this week, but I’m not complaining
To see the full contents of what has been in my bag most of this week, check out the post on Styled Notes. Hope you have a great Thursday! 
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