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Chanel Noir-Ivoire Eyeshadow Duo & Féérie Natural Finish Loose Powder

October 14, 2011
The last two items I will be featuring from the Chanel Holiday 2011 collection include Noir-Ivoire Eyeshadow Duo ($42) & Féérie Natural Finish Loose Powder ($52).

Noir-Ivoire Eyeshadow Duo ($42) is a beautiful classic duo of a soft luminous ivory shimmer and a complex semi-satin soft black. In the compact it looks very basic, unoriginal, almost bland. However I found on the eyes it looks quite lovely. The ivory shade is not quite as yellow as the promotional photos show but it does have a yellowish tinge. It’s similar to the Lumière Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting Powder but the powder is more beigey-pink and the shadow is more yellow. The black shade looks matte in the compact but after brushing it on the skin I found that it’s actually not really matte. It’s not really a shimmer either, but I would describe it as a having a satiny finish. I love the complexity of the colors in this because it prevents it from looking too harsh or ashy.

Féérie Natural Finish Loose Powder ($52) is a pinkish-beige soft sheer matte powder with tons of pink and white shimmery flecks. It comes in the finishing powder formula which I found a bit odd. The base is very sheer and light and the shimmer is not quite the glitter size but bigger than a shimmer. It seems too sparkly to use all over the face in my opinion and even as a highlighter seems a bit too glitzy. I think it would make a lovely dusting powder for going out on the cheeks. I don’t think I will be using this on the eyes – I’m worried about the glittery fallout but I haven’t tested this on the eyes yet. It’s simply gorgeous in the tub but too much for me for everyday. I recommend reading reviews from Best Things in Beauty and Fruity Lashes – they both love this powder.

Swatches:

With High Flash:

Comparisons (I apologize for the mis-spellings):

I really love the duo in this collection even though it’s fairly basic. The powder is something I’ll have to play with more. Thanks to alice for pointing out I spelled Noir-Ivoire incorrectly. I hope it’s now updated everywhere in the post (except for the labeling).

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Chanel Blazing Gold & Beige Lamé Soft Touch Eyeshadows

October 10, 2011

Chanel Blazing Gold & Beige Lamé Soft Touch Eyeshadows are the singles for the holiday collection. They are listed as limited edition. This will be a brief review. I played with these over the weekend and both have a stiff harder texture, almost like a matte base loaded with micro sparkles. Blazing Gold is a bright warm sunny gold with gold shimmers. Beige Lamé is a neutral tan beige loaded with multi-colored flecks of glitter. These seem to be best when applied over a very creamy emollient eyeshadow base and are best when patted and softly blended, rather than just blending like a normal lighter shadow. Patting on helps the color and shimmer show up better and helps it to adhere to the eyes. These aren’t quite as bad as the paler NARS Night Series shadows in terms of fall out or sheerness, but almost. I would say these are slightly better in texture and finish than MAC Honesty (which I did not think to compare earlier but will do so later). Initial testing proves that Beige Lame is definitely a must have because of the complexity of the sparkles although the texture requires a different application than I’m used to for most Chanel shadows (which are buttery soft, finely milled shimmer and easy to just brush on flawlessly). I could have lived without Blazing Gold. Swatches and comparisons below.

Sorry to be so brief but I’m short on time today. I will try to answer your questions later this evening. FYI Chanel holiday is now up on Chanel.com 🙂 Happy Shopping!
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Burberry Sheer Eye Shadows: Pearl White, Pearl Grey & Lavender

September 22, 2011

I stopped by the Burberry counter at Nordstrom San Francisco last month and was helped by the most wonderful, artistic & knowledgeable staff. After chatting a few minutes about my past experiences with Burberry, the artist quickly urged me to try something new and non-neutral. He mentioned most women gravitate towards the safe colors of Trench, Gold Trench, Rosewood and Taupe Brown. His observation was that while these colors are good, he felt there were better colors in the Burberry Beauty Range to take a woman’s looks from good to great. I eagerly listened. As I swiped my finger in Pearl Grey No. 17 to see how the color blended on my hand, he picked up Pearl White and Lavender to show me how I could mix and match these two shades with my existing products by blending and layering on the back of his hand. The three new shades I ended up with included: Pearl White No. 01, Pearl Grey No. 17 and Lavender No. 14 (all $29 for 2.5 g/ 0.088 oz).

Pearl White No. 01 is a pure pearly white. It has scared me every other time I’ve been to the Burberry counter so I never gave it a chance or even a swipe. I thought it would be too pale, too chalky and just not me. However, Vaugh, the artist at Burberry, showed me on his hand how Pearl White is not like most other white shadows. Its finely milled texture and beautiful pearly quality gives a beautiful sheen to the skin. It looks amazing when combined with Rosewood on the eyes either as a soft blending shade, a highlighter on the brow, or for a subtle highlight to the inner corners of the eyes. I particularly enjoyed The Non-Blonde’s lovely review and Café Makeup wrote about this shade in a recent Burberry Makeover which will give you ideas on how to coordinate this color. Although Trench is still my favorite nude shade for a base and Porcelain is my favorite for an all over neutral wash, Pearl White is going to become a staple in my stash.

Pearl Grey No. 17 is something I’ve had my eye on for quite some time but never pulled the trigger to purchase. Most medium grey shimmers can look ashy on my olive skin. Most of us first saw Pearl Grey featured on Lisa Eldridge’s Burberry Beauty Review Video (eyeshadow application starts around 4:12), however given her amazing makeup skills, beautiful features and fair skintone, I wasn’t sure this color would be as pretty on me. This color is a fairly sheer grey shimmer with a loose fluffy brush. I found the best application and finish for me was to pack it on with a dense MAC 242 brush directly over a cream base (like Laura Mercier’s Satinée Crème Eye Colour or Metallic Crème Eye Colour). It layers well over Rosewood, but if you layer it on top of too much powder, the color loses its luster and quickly looks dull. Once the color is on the eye, I think it best to not touch or blend too much or else the color/sparkle disappears quickly. It’s fairly cool which is hard for me to pull off easily for everyday, although it makes a lovely going out/evening color.

Lavender No. 14 swatched so beautifully on the back of the hand. Unfortunately, the application to the eyes did not translate quite as well. On the fingers and hands you see a gorgeous blue-purple with a slight lavender periwinkle sheen. It’s quite lovely. When applied with a brush, the shimmer disappears and the color looks a bit flat. I tried this numerous ways with different brushes and bases and have resorted to just applying as a liner with a damp brush. Yes, I can create a smokey eye by layering this with a slightly damp smudge brush, but for deeper vibrant colors like this, I want something with high impact and pigment that is easy to blend (similar to what Midnight Brown is). With a bit of work, this color looks amazing, but I find it too high maintenance to love it. I know that Burberry shades are meant to have a subtle glow and finish but I was still slightly disappointed with this color. If you’ve had better luck with the application please share!

Here are all three swatched, two variations of lighting (I wish that Lavender would look as good on the eye the same way it swatches on the arm or hands):

I pulled a few other shades from Burberry (Trench and Rosewood), Le Metier (Thunder) and Armani (Maestro 21) to compare. I didn’t really try to look for dupes, but just similar shades.

Overall I’m still very impressed with the quality of Burberry Eyeshadows. To date there are only 2 that I’ve tried that I did not love (Midnight Black and Lavender).
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A Few Dior Mitzah Quint Comparisons

September 20, 2011

Although Dior’s Mitzah Quint is quite basic and very neutral, I had a hard time finding another palette similar. I pulled a few with similar tones but none are dupes. Above shows Dior Endless Shine, Chanel Kaska Beige and Dolce & Gabbana Nude. Unfortunately I did not get swatches of all the palettes today before the sun went down and my camera battery died. I do have Endless Shine swatched to compare for you in decent lighting so you can see the difference in shimmer/finish. Most Dior Quints have at least one high frost color, Iridescent Quints have the majority of the shades frosted. As you can see below Mitzah is satiny and almost matte.

Here is Mitzah at night swatched next to a few other palettes, Chanel Kaska Beige, Dolce & Gabbana Nude and Chanel Variations.

Some might say Mitzah is too basic and lacks luster. It doesn’t make the eyes pop or have that intense wow-factor, but it has a kick that gives a beautiful subtle defined eye that can be intensified for a soft-smoky look. I personally love it for everyday. For a bit of an extra shimmer or kick, I’d recommend layering over a more sparkly cream base to add a bit of luster.
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Dior Mitzah Picks: Camel & Ebony Dior Vernis and Mitzah Quint

September 19, 2011

I’ve been eagerly waiting for the release of the Mitzah Collection to Sephora in the US. The collection was designed to commemorate Mitzah Bricard, Christian Dior’s legendary muse who was known for her love of leopard. The Mitzah Collection features pieces for eyes, face and nails in shades of camel, chocolate brown and beige in a jungle-print theme. While traveling in Paris last March, Café Makeup was lucky to find the collection early and shared beautiful photos of the palette and nail polishes. The collection has finally arrived in the US exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com.
My picks included the new eyeshadow quint Mitzah #753, Camel Nail Polish #622, Ebony Nail Polish #912 and the new Golden Brown DiorShow Mascara #598 (not featured). All are currently exclusive to Sephora and are limited edition.

The Mitzah 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette ($60 for 6 g / 0.21 oz) palette is a collection of neutrals with a slight kick. The four outer shades have an embossed animal print in the powder and have a very subtle finely milled shimmer. The shimmer is so slight the colors glow with a slight sheen. The colors in the palette include a dark aubergine-brown, a medium caramel brown, a soft camel with a light orangey tinge, a warm beige and a soft greyed-brown.

After seeing this swatched and reviewed on Beauty Moogle Zone, Café Makeup, Iron Spy I was worried it would be too warm for my olive skin. Still I could not resist the lovely descriptions of the satiny finish and when I tested the palette at Sephora I fell in love. The colors are very soft and refined. I find them a bit different from the traditional Dior palettes which typically have at least 1 high frost shade. This palette has a very subtle sheen in all shades and a very natural finish. If you’re looking for high impact or high shimmer, you might be disappointed with this one but I love it.

It’s usually difficult for me to use all 5 shades in Dior quints, however the Mitzah Quint has a wonderful layering quality and today I put all 5 shades on my eyes. I apologize I do not have photos to share, but for my application method, I started with MAC’s Cream Color Base in Seaside, applied the pale cream all over the lid, then followed with the bronzey top right about 1/2 way up the lid brushing the color back and forth into a soft gradient from the lashline upwards. I then took the bottom right greyish brown and smudged it right along the upper lashlines heavily. Next I took the upper left aubergine and applied it from outer corners about 1/4 way into the eye. Last step was to take the middle orange shade and lightly dip a soft fluffy brush and blend the two dark shades just to soften the edges.

Camel and Ebony Nail Polishes ($22 each for 10 ml / 0.33 fl oz) are both opaque creams. I love this photo from Dior’s International Website. They apply beautifully with 2 coats and have a gorgeous glossy sheen on the nails.

Camel is a yellowed beige and Ebony is a deep cool brown. Both are pure love. I thought Camel might be too yellow but oddly once applied on the skin it just works. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea. This is one you have to see and test in person to really tell. I don’t think it photographs well on the fingers but in person I find it more flattering.

Ebony is a dark beautiful brown cream. It’s very similar to Underground which was released earlier this year. If you have Underground (slightly more purple undertone), you can safely skip Ebony (comparisons to come soon). These shades apply beautifully with 2 coats. The tapered brush makes application easier for those of use who have unsteady hands.

I highly recommend you check out additional swatches and reviews at Joey’space, Fashion Polish, and Café Makeup if you haven’t already. They have lovely comparisons and swatches.

Overall love. Bravo Dior! They did an excellent job creating a beautiful collections of neutrals with a kick. If you’re at all interested I recommend purchasing soon since all pieces are limited edition and exclusive to Sephora in the US. If you’re unsure about the quint because your coloring doesn’t do so well with warm shades, just use the middle shade with a very light hand. The other colors are very easy to wear and even on my warm skin worked just fine. At this time I won’t be reviewing the mascara I purchased. I have several tubes of other brands I have to use up. By the time I get around to opening up this one to test I’m afraid it will be sold out. At Sephora, the mascara tester looked like a dark brassy brown shimmer which I found intriguing.

I’ll be posting comparisons very soon in a separate post. Did you check out the Mitzah Collection at Sephora or elsewhere? What were your thoughts?

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Color Focus: Shimmery Brown Eyeshadows for Fall

September 12, 2011

Shimmery brown eyeshadows haven’t been the focus of fall this year but I still managed to find a few new ones and eagerly grabbed them up. I was recently at a Burberry counter where the artist suggested a few non-brown shades commenting that women often gravitate towards the safety zone of Rosewood, Golden Trench, and Midnight Brown and said he didn’t quite understand it. How many brown eyeshadows can one possibly need to own? I smiled and said “guilty” fessing up to owning way too many browns. Long story short, I still love shimmery brown neutrals. The new shades for fall that caught my eye (clockwise from the left) are Guerlain Les Cuirs 07, Laura Mercier Chocolate Lustre Eye Colour, MAC Take Root Cream Colour Base, Burberry Midnight Brown No. 21 and MAC Carbonized Veluxe Pearl.

Burberry Midnight Brown ($29 for 2.5 g/ 0.088 oz) is my favorite out of all the new browns (possibly my favorite brown of all time) being the coolest toned (or most neutral) with silver/taupe shimmer. It has full rich pigment with a buttery soft texture that is so easy to blend and layer. See it reviewed here, also compared on lighter skin at Cafe Makeup.

Laura Mercier Chocolate ($22 for 2.60 g/0.09 oz) has the most red/plum undertones out of the new shades for fall. I believe this was a repromote from a holiday palette from last year. This is one of the darker shades which has quite a bit of intense & complex shimmer making it unique. Pigment is excellent with a medium-soft texture making it fairly easy to layer. Applying over liners intensifies the color. I wouldn’t recommend applying wet since a damp brush will ruin the surface texture. A slightly damp brush might work (with an emphasis on very light) to apply wet.

MAC Carbonized ($15.00 for 1.3 g/0.04 oz) is the deepest shade with a neutral dark bark-like bark base and soft warm brown metallic shimmers. I find it on the neutral-warm side compared to the others but looking at it alone, it appears to be a full on neutral. It comes in the veluxe pearl formula. I find the texture a bit hard but there is no problem with the pigmentation.
MAC Take Root ($17.50 for 3.2 g/0.12 oz) is an intriguing warm tan fawn color that I think is perfect for contouring the cheeks or eyes. It sheers out to a subtle finish that I think is perfect to use as a base for layering other eyeshadows or blushes. I think on fair skintones this will be too brown almost borderline reddish/orange. For NC30s to NC35s and darker I highly recommend you give it a try at the counter. Even if this isn’t really your color, you might be surprised. See both reviewed & swatched on KarlaSugar and Temptalia.


Guerlain Les Cuirs 07 ($59 for 7.2 g/0.25 oz) is a gorgeous palette of warm neutral browns and beiges. The pigment is very soft on these shades with a slightly harder texture compared to the other quads I’ve tried. The shades do pick up well with a dense brush. For the colors to show up on my eyes without looking too dry, I needed a base that is more emollient and creamy. I haven’t worn this for a full day so I can’t assess the long-wearability of this. The colors are a rich warm chocolate brown (chalky in texture so this one needs layering), a soft beige cream, a soft warm beige tan with shimmer, and a soft neutral beige with shimmer. I find this palette very basic but lovely for a super natural softly contoured eye. It is on the warm side but easy to pull off on all skintones. See it on Karla Sugar, Rouge Deluxe and Best Things in Beauty.

Swatched with a few comparisons (two sets of each variation). Descriptions by comparison:

  • MAC Mulch is a warmer and lighter shimmery brown
  • Bobbi Brown Copper Cocoa is similar to Mulch but slightly more golden
  • NARS Fez is the most coppery and shimmery
  • NARS Galapagos is the most neutral brown like dark milk chocolate
  • NARS Mekong blackened brown with gold flecks
  • Chanel Le Bronze is the lightest bronze

Set 1 with MAC Mulch & Bobbi Brown Copper Cocoa

Set 2 with NARS Fez, Galapagos, Mekong & Chanel Le Bronze

Did you pick up any brown eyeshadows this season or are you maxed out on neutrals? What are your favorite shimmery browns?
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Dior Smoky Khaki 481

August 30, 2011
This season seems to be the season of new innovations in eyeshadows. Chanel released their Sophisticated Eye Collection with new quads, singles and eyelash curler and Guerlain came out with nine new quads. Dior has also released a beautiful collection of Smoky Eyeshadow palettes with six new trios that have just started to trickle in stores (I spotted these at Nordstrom). Fab Over Forty has details on the full lineup and Cafe Makeup has a lovely feature on Smoky Pink #051. The trio that captured my attention the most was Smoky Khaki #481 ($48 each).

These trios come with a new type of packaging with a sliding top and a mirror that flips open once the top slides back. According to the National Artists at the store, the mirrors are designed at the perfect angle so you can apply your eyeshadow while looking down. The compacts are on the smaller side with a small mirror. It’s great for a detail touch-up but too small to be ideal for normal application (in my opinion). Each trio has three colors with different finishes/textures designed to create the perfect smokey eye by layering. The colors in Smoky Khaki are:
  • Base: golden beige shimmer (soft and buttery smooth)
  • Soft smoky: dusty khaki-brown (subtle shimmer but very fine)
  • Couture smoky: high sparkle khaki gold

Don’t let the sparkle in these palettes scare you. They apply beautifully on the eye without having an overly glitter or frosty appearance. Yes, the sparkle is extremely intense, but the colors look amazing once you apply. The base comes in a soft smooth texture while the other two shades have a slightly harder finish giving them a more sheer finish. The colors are easily buildable though so I found the pigment payoff excellent with a bit of layering.

The trios all come with a small instruction booklet and diagrams. The application recommendations:

I tried this today using my regular eyeshadow brushes from MAC and Trish McEvoy and the result was a pretty polished neutral smokey golden khaki eye. Swatches over NARS Primer:

In outdoor natural light, no flash:

I played with only 3 of the palettes and all seemed to have the same quality and texture and color payoff. I love Dior’s interpretation of the smoky eye this season and am thrilled with the variety and uniqueness of each palette. For me, the traditional smokey eye palette of cream, grey and black doesn’t always work for my skin making me look dead and washed out. The new trios from Dior offer a diverse range of options to give a modern smokey eye. I highly recommend you check these out.
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