Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall 2011 collection has arrived in-store at select Saks stores. Those who did not like the metallics or dramatics we’ve seen to date this season will be happy to learn a number of brands are going natural and nude for fall. Dolce & Gabbana has released a soft palette of neutrals this season. After seeing a few things at Beverly Hills combined with Saks Houston’s recommendations from Nikki, these are my picks: Shimmer #6 Illuminator powder, Almond #77 Shine Lipstick, Praline #102 Lipgloss, Chocolate Nail Lacquer #203 & Cinnamon #80 Eyeshadow Duo. Reviews to come soon.
Also in the fall collection (sorry I don’t have all the names or descriptions), are two new eyeliners #17 (golden grass green), #18 (high frost white-gold), #28 Mocha Blush, #115 Cocoa Quad, #11 Berry Lipliner. I do not believe these are available online yet. For more information, I highly recommend you contact Saks Houston (ask for Nikki) for descriptions, recommendations & details. The items she sends via phone orders are always packaged in a beautiful exquisite black box.
To date, Dolce & Gabbana Makeup is exclusive to select Saks Stores in Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Houston, Miami, San Francisco & New York. Check Dolce & Gabbana’s website for international locations.
A few comparisons to show the uniqueness of Chanel Rouge Joues Contraste from the Byzance Collection, although my red and dark pink selection for blushes is somewhat limited.
Shown left to right: Dolce & Gabbana Sole, Chanel Rouge, MAC Merrily & MAC Dollymix. All swatched on bare skin, applied with the fingers. I’m a Chanel Vitalumiere in 30, perhaps just a tad darker from getting a bit of sun over the weekend.
A few of you have e-mailed me asking “what are your top picks for nails?” This is a tough question! As with many other products, my favorites are subject to change week after week. I’ve picked 5 color categories of what my must-haves for nails are. My favorites fall mainly within a few select brands, but many of my readers either don’t like the brand, formula or price. However, those who do love the same brands as me, for each category I’ve included my right-now favorites by brand/color. Most of these have been previously featured. (Update: It appears the sidebar google search isn’t working so I’ve linked past reviews to each name as applicable below.)
The Beauty Look Book is going on a mini-summer break from blogging the month of June. I have quite a few projects coming up which will require more time and dedication. But not to worry! Blog posting for me will not come to a complete halt this next month although there will be a significant slow down in the upcoming weeks. I will have limited time to respond to e-mails or comments but will keep you updated on my latest finds in the upcoming month and complete a few more reviews on things I’ve been loving but haven’t had time to write about yet.
The inside my new Chanel feature will be posted sometime later this week.
This is the last post for my series on the Dolce & Gabbana Italian Summertime picks. Perla Shine Lipstick is a shiny cool pale frost, Mandorla Classic Lipstick is a pale fleshy peach, Sole Blush is a vibrant orange-red.
The lipsticks are rich in coverage but extremely pale on my lips. Both require extra work (ie darker lipliner and clear gloss) to make them work. In my opinion they are lovely but not goof proof. Mandorla surprised me – note that it looks like a nude brown peach in the tube but on the lips and swatched it went on quite a bit paler. (Perla has not been lip swatched.) No detectable scent. Opaque in finish. Lasting power above average. Colors are just too pale for my pigmented lips.
Sole is the winner in the collection. I do not have a picture of it on my cheeks, but this applies to give a beautiful healthy flush. It’s on the warm side but not too warm. It doesn’t turn orangey on the skin. It’s simply stunning.
So how do these compare to what already exists? I don’t own many bright orange-red blushes. The only thing I could think of comparable in intensity is NARS Cactus Flower. Check it out on Makeup Magpie here.
Same with the lipsticks, no exact dupes, although I suspect the ones for summer are easily dupeable. Here they are compared to Dolce & Gabbana Shimmer and Chanel Cashmere:
The new eyeliner shades from Dolce & Gabbana summer are Agave #15 (a metallic ivy green) and Bronzo #14 (a silvery taupe). These retail at $29 each at saks and come with an angled smudger at one end with the actual liner on the other. The Dolce & Gabbana eyeliners I’ve tried come in three finishes: matte (like Black), matte base with shimmer flecks (like Coffee or Stromboli) and then a frost (like Shimmer). Agave and Bronzo for summer are the shimmer finish which have a softer but buildable application/finish. They are easily blendable for a smokey eye. The colors are beautiful but lasting power is average and fades by late afternoon. They don’t smudge though unless you rub your eye.
Comparisons to Bobbi Brown Ivy, Chanel Black Jade, Laura Mercier Antique Jade, Dolce & Gabbana Agave, Dolce & Gabbana Bronzo, Dolce & Gabbana Coffee, Urban Decay Underground, Chanel Rose Platine and Bobbi Brown Bronze
I like, but it’s not love. The textures are nice and soft but the color payoff is almost too soft and subtle for my preference. I personally don’t see how either go with the summer quad this year. I do feel that these are better suited to complement the Chanel Perlees Ombres and Regarde Perle from Spring though.
Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Color Quad ($59) is new for summer 2011. It consists of a warm yellow-beige shimmer, a warm chocolate with reddish undertones, a berry shimmer, and a deep blackened purple shimmer. The consistency is soft and velvety like all Dolce & Gabbana quads with finely milled powder and sophisticated shimmer. I personally find the colors rich and smooth, but they do require a more careful application to maintain the pigment. If you apply these like MAC or Chanel, blending can make the colors disappear as they blend into one another. I recommend using separate brushes for the dark and light colors. Sponge applicators work too.
I couldn’t find any dupes, but I did a MAC attempt. The MAC colors are wonderful, but do not compare at all to the soft velvety texture of Dolce & Gabbana. If you see and touch a Dolce & Gabbana quad in person you will be able to notice immediately the powders are finely milled and very high quality.
Compared to MAC Ricepaper, Swiss Chocolate, Trax and Smut
For a cost per product comparison:
MAC 4 pro palette pans = 6.0 g for $44 (1.5 g at $11 each) + $6 for compact = $50
Dolce & Gabbana quad = 4.8 g for $59 (this includes the compact, mirror and sponge applicators)
I’ll let you decide on the value. For me, cost doesn’t just account for the amount of product, but also quality, packaging, where the product is made (Dolce & Gabbana quads are made in Italy). Do I prefer Dolce & Gabbana over MAC? Hard to say – I see them as apples and oranges. Both are great brands, but they represent different things for me. Their products are uniquely designed for different looks, effects and occasions – in my opinion.
Back to Vulcano – it was a tricky one for me to apply. Since the reddish shades (brown and plum berry) go on very red on me, I decided it was ok to wash them out with blending and layering. I tried applying this a couple ways and found that the method used in my recent Chanel Makeover at Nordstrom (here) was a good method to use for this quad:
Step 1: Apply a sheer base like LM’s Gold Metallic Creme
Step 2: Take a dense brush and pack on the berry shade (bottom left) in a messy smudge above the lash line
Step 3: Take the warm chocolate with a corner brush and blend from outer corners to about the middle of the eye, just above the lash line as well
Step 4: Use a fluffy brush to apply the lightest shade on top blending all over
Step 5: Apply the darkest plum shade with a sponge applicator to apply a defined line along upper lashes and bottom outer corners
Step 6: Take that berry shade and mix it with the brown, with any brush that has dark color on it already and retrace over the darkest shade blending just a bit upwards
For me, this isn’t an easy throw-it-on kind of quad to use. I think it would be better for deepset eyes or women who are used to wearing very warm colors (ie NARS Kuala Lumpur). Still it is beautiful and I don’t have any regrets buying it. It will just take more time and care to apply without overdoing the reds.
The promotional image with Scarlett Johansson is beautiful! For the accuracy of the promo photo, the nail color is more pink on me, but same purple undertone. The quad appears very accurate and the lip color appears to be the new Mandorla.
Dolce & Gabbana Passione Nail Lacquer 121 ($20) is new for summer 2011. It’s currently available at Saks. I would describe it as a rich and bright cool magenta. Passione is one of those colors that you can’t really tell if it’s purple or pink or mauve – or a mixture of all three. I think this is one of those colors everyone would describe differently. It applies smoothly with rich color in just 2 thin coats. I find lasting power pretty good for Dolce & Gabbana. No chips, smooth application, just your normal tip wear after a couple days.
Outdoors in direct sunlight:
I couldn’t find any dupes in my collection, although Makeup Magpie did find a dupe (see her post here). Comparisons from my own personal nail polish collection, L to R: to Chanel Pulsion, Chanel Splendeur, Dolce & Gabbana Passione, Dolce & Gabbana Rose, Chanel Fantastic
Overall thoughts: LOVE, although I think this will be better suited for toes for me. It does appear easily dupe-able. I just don’t have any dupes.
