Browsing Tag

Eyeshadow

Uncategorized

Bobbi Brown Sparkle Eyeshadows: Black & Black Velvet

September 18, 2010
I’ve never been happier that it’s finally Friday. I survived the first week at my new job and don’t want to think about anything work-related or work-appropriate for the next few days. I thought it fitting to feature the new Sparkle Eyeshadows ($24) from Bobbi Brown’s Black Velvet collection which are loaded with visible sparkle and glitters. Both of which I think are not exactly appropriate for the office but perfect for going out (just my opinion).

A small intro: When I saw Bobbi Brown’s Black Velvet Collection (see my previous review here) all the counters near me seemed to be missing the testers and product to sell for the new sparkle eyeshadow colors. Having dismissed her past sparkle shadows as too glitzy, I wasn’t too concerned that the counter was missing these in their inventory. However when I passed by the counter last weekend and saw these in person I changed my mind.


If you’ve tried her sparkle shadows you know that these are chock full of sparkle. These are Bobbi Brown’s “grown-up take on glitter” and while I’m rarely attracted to glitter for makeup, I am oddly in love with these. The texture itself in the compact seems chunky and testers that aren’t handled with care do tend to look broken or dented with gaping holes. But I think they will hold up better when handled with your own personal love and care. They feel slightly creamy – but this is probably because of the softness. They are very pigmented, easy to blend, easy to layer for a sheer to full coverage smokey eye. I have surprised even myself as I am IN LOVE!

Black Sparkle is a blue-based black while Black Velvet is a smokey metallic mauve-purple. Gorgeous and intense. There is nothing subtle about these, but not too over the top for date night or going out for drinks. I don’t think you need both – if I had to only pick one I would opt for Black Sparkle just because it’s deeper and more dramatic. If you remember MAC’s Style Black collection – these are more complex and deeper than the black or purple shades. They also apply better dry. I haven’t tried these wet, but I imagine they will apply with a foiled-like finish if applied with a damp brush. It will be interesting to see how the shades from MAC’s Villains collections will compare.

These come with a clear flip-top lid, much like the compacted glosses which is nice to keep the glitter from spreading to other shades in the event you put these shadows in palettes:

A few close ups:


Black Sparkle


Black Velvet Sparkle


Swatches:


Overall winners for me. I do recommend you start with a sheer application and layer it for a heavier eye. These are very intense so applying a lot in the beginning might result in a black-and-bruised looking eye. I have lids without a crease so I have applied these along the upper lash line and blended upwards for a smokey liner-type shadow. I have found that applying the metallic shadows from the Black Velvet Collection on top of the sparkle shadows intensifies the look. Do give yourself plenty of time to experiment. I think these need some practice to get used to – I wouldn’t recommend trying these out if you have a short amount of time to get ready unless you’re an expert with dark smoldery shadows.

Enjoy your weekend! I know I will!

11 Comments
Uncategorized

Chanel Soho de Chanel Powder & Stupendous Quad

September 17, 2010
My lovely readers, I only have time for a few brief posts. This is a continuation of the Chanel Soho Story collection. The Soho de Chanel powder is a beautiful soft luminous highlighter. Pigmented enough to show up and has just the right amount of shimmer for a perfect glow. The quad is a lovely combination of soft cool shades which I find also very soft and more pigmented than most Chanel quads I’ve tried. If I could only pick 1, it would definitely be the powder highlighter. The quad pulls more cool but is still neutral enough to work on most skintones.

Photos and swatches:




Mystic Eyes v Stupendous:

Swatched on bare skin:

Sorry I don’t have much time for detailed descriptions. If you have questions – I’ll publish them through my iPhone but won’t have time to answer them until sometime this weekend. Definitely check out Beauty Moogle Zone and Estelle’s Guest Post on Karlasugar for other wonderful details and information.
5 Comments
Uncategorized

Guest Post: Le Metier de Beaute Eyeshadows

September 14, 2010
I’m thrilled that one of my favorite brands Le Metier de Beaute has really taken off in the past year. When I first discovered the brand there were virtually no reviews or photos of the line except from a few lucky New Yorkers. The line was very exclusive to a few select locations around the US. Everyone else (myself included) had to order products over the phone or online sight unseen. For me it was a bit of a risk spending so much on lipglosses and eyeshadows that I had never seen or tested – but I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful colors and high quality. I’m glad the brand is expanding and making itself more accessible. It’s definitely a splurge but the items are indeed lovely.

Today, I have a lovely guest post from a NYer who goes by the screen name Panties on Makeupalley. She took a number of photos from the Le Metier de Beaute counter and was kind enough to e-mail me with a set to share. Check out her profile on MUA for additional photos of Le Metier products among other wonderful things (EB, MAC, Shu Uemura to name a few). These eyeshadows come in a round mirrored black compact and currently retail for $30 each.




I think she’s sparked a few more lemmings for me. I asked her what her thoughts were overall or if she had any favorites? Her response:

“Their eyeshadows are their best products aside from their lip cremes. I’m in love with Chameleon because it really is a unique shade. I actually use Canvas a lot more often than expected because it evens out my eyelids.”

I have to agree with her on Canvas. For me it’s more of a contour color but it does even out the lids. Chameleon does indeed look intriguing – it’s not one that I recall seeing while in San Francisco or Beverly Hills. It definitely looks very unique.

I am still dreaming of the day when I can get to the East Coast! But for now, I am grateful for all the NY makeup aficionados that bring a bit of the city to the rest of us 🙂

10 Comments
Uncategorized

Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2010 Picks: Evocative, Divine, Onyx & Orchid

September 3, 2010
This fall, Dolce & Gabbana has released a palette of interesting and unique colors for their makeup collection. Those who have read my Dolce & Gabbana posts from past seasons know that I used to order from NY, but my 2 go-to sales associates left Saks (much to my dismay). After they left, I went on my search for another makeup artist from the line who was helpful, familiar with the line and knew what she was talking about. A couple of us Dolce & Gabbana fans called around the country searching for the perfect Dolce & Gabbana rep and we found one. For the past few seasons, I have found Nikki from Saks Houston to be a tremendous help in describing shades to me and helping me with my buying decisions as I do not have immediate in-person access to the line. I highly recommend her, she’s wonderful. She even color matched me over the phone to their foundation and it was an exact match.

Onto the fall collection. This season the eyes were a combination of bright and dark. Lips were also an odd combination of vampy dark and bright coral pink. Same with the nails. The collection looks lovely on their spokesmodel Scarlett Johansson, but I’m not sure that most of us can pull off all the items together for a look. I’ll most likely be incorporating their fall shades with other colors from other seasons.

What I picked out:
  • Orchid Classic Cream Lipstick $30 – bright berry mauve pink (non-shimmer)
  • Onyx Crayon Intense $29 – gorgeous gunmetal grey with steel blue tones (shimmer)
  • Divine Smooth Eye Color Quad $59 – beige & brown tan (non-shimmer), cool light fuschia & perfect navy-plum (shimmer)
  • Evocative Smooth Eye Color Duo $36 – bright coral pink (shimmer) & warm brown (non-shimmer)



Divine Quad: Smooth and pigmented. Pricey yes, but the texture and quality of the colors are absolutely divine. Highly pigmented with an almost creamy like texture. Easy to blend. Long lasting. I usually don’t even need a base for their shadows. It’s an odd combination. I haven’t really quite figured out how to pull off all the shades at once. It’s just so pretty in the compact.


The Saks fall catalog just came out. If you don’t receive it, I highly recommend you go to your nearest Saks, they usually have extra copies. The photos are highly inspirational for fall. I found it better than most of this year’s September Issues. Near the back they had a photo of a few fall items. Here is the quad in real life compared to the catalog photo. It’s pretty close, the only difference is the bottom left shade – in the catalog it’s a lovely taupe shimmer. The actual product has no shimmer for that color.

Onyx Eyeliner – This is probably my favorite item in the collection. It’s just breathtakingly gorgeous. I love it that much. Navy seems to be the new black this season for eyes – this one is a beautiful complex mixture of deep gunmetal/steel blue/navy shimmer. My only thing with Dolce & Gabbana eyeliners is that they don’t always last as long as I like. They are softer which makes them apply easier (less tugging) but also that means they don’t last as long. Some are better than others. I love the Coffee color (bronze shimmer). I think if you use an eye base you should be fine.

Evocative Duo – I know what you’re thinking. “What? She bought this?! Is she on something?” LOL – yes it’s way out of my comfort zone, but no I’m not on anything. Another thing I love about Nikki – she knows my taste for neutrals so we talked through this one which went something like this:

Me: How bright is the pink?
Nikki: It’s *very* bright, but works well if you layer it over the brown.
Me: Can I use it as a blush?
Nikki: I can see how it would work as a highlight, but perhaps a blush as well.
Me: How’s the brown in the compact?
Nikki: It’s a lovely brown, we don’t have anything like it.

So I bought it. I knew what it looked like from the promotional campaign so I knew what I was getting into. I have to say, I tried this with the brown first, then the pink layered on top and it was surprisingly wearable. I also tried the pink as a blush and Nikki was right, it’s better as a highlighter, but still really pretty.

Orchid Lipstick – The one product I am undecided about. It’s a bright cool raspberry mauve. Brighter than this photo shows. It’s definitely out of my comfort zone and is one of those colors that looks like it might pull fuchsia on my lips. This one I have to think about whether or not to keep.


Swatched:

Swatched again with high flash:

Overall beautiful. The swatches were done without a base. As a disclaimer, I am not affiliated with Dolce & Gabbana or Saks. I receive nothing in return for my recommendation of the Saks Houston store. I simply get so many requests for “where to buy” – while I like to let you make the decisions of where to buy on your own, I normally refer people to the company websites for store locations. However, Nikki is such a valuable asset and so many people have asked where I get my Dolce & Gabbana now I felt it would be helpful. You can find the Saks Houston store information on Saks.com. Just because I know people will ask, the direct line is (713) 627-0500, ext 5101 or 5102. She has even been kind enough to let me publish her e-mail address: [email protected]. I personally find calling and speaking to someone on the phone is more efficient and easier to get my questions answered.

Dolce & Gabbana does wonderful GWPs, although the minimums are pretty high (around $150 to $200). Granted you usually get a full sized item which I find very generous, along with some type of fragrance sample. YMMV with these – I find it more satisfying to get a full sized item I know I will use rather than a bunch of minis that I know I will never use. I’m not sure when their next one is for Houston. I know the Beverly Hills store does some nice promotional gifts too. So you may want to create a Dolce & Gabbana wishlist and save up your items until the next GWP event.

8 Comments
Uncategorized

Burberry Beauty Rosewood: The Lipstick, Lip Gloss & Eyeshadow

September 2, 2010
The new Burberry Beauty line has still managed to capture my heart with even more cravings as I was able to visit a counter for the second time this past weekend. On this occasion I visited the location at Nordstrom in San Francisco and was thoroughly impressed with the two Burberry reps I met with – especially with their extensive background and knowledge of the cosmetics industry. They were spot on in describing the avid Burberry Beauty customer, the type of woman who knows what she wants and appreciates the details in everything down to the packaging design and functionality. I added quite a few more products to my Burberry collection (blush, lipgloss, eyeshadow, pencils) – all of which I will review in the upcoming weeks.

I wanted to feature all the Rosewoods in their lineup: the Lipstick #04, the Lipgloss #01 and the Eyeshadow #09. Here are the photos and swatches, read on below for my descriptions.



Swatched on bare skin:

I had already featured Rosewood Lipstick ($30) back in July (Burberry Beauty Soft Cover Satin Lip Cover Lipsticks). I’ve been told this has been their best seller and is currently out of stock company-wide (although I cannot confirm this myself). It’s a lovely cameleon-like color: in the tube it’s a lovely brownish rose with gold shimmer. On my hand it’s a rosey pink. On my lips, it’s a medium-deep browned rose. The shimmer is very subtle so I wouldn’t call it a frost. It’s soft and creamy with a slightly glowy finish. The pigment and coverage is good – but will probably look different on you depending on your natural lip tone. See it on a Chanel Cameo here from Cafe Makeup. FYI I am a Chanel Shell (as seen below). I have been smitten with this!

This past trip to SF, I knew I had to add the Rosewood Lipgloss ($27), even though it was very different from the lipstick with the same name. The lipgloss is a soft light nude-mauve. I hear this has been selling well too. I find it almost identical to Nutmeg (which is just more brown, less pink/mauve – to be reviewed soon). It’s creamy, non-shimmery, and very glossy with an opaque finish. I find it lighter than the lipstick version, but still very pretty.


I also finally caved on Rosewood Eyeshadow ($29). I initially thought it would be too mauve for my skintone. Yes, it’s a lovely taupe shimmer in the compact, but on the skin it pulls purple, especially on the back of my hand and arm. On the eyes, it’s not so purpley, so I would say the swatch might be slightly deceiving. Check out Diane’s review on Orange To LA and Amy’s review on Cafe Makeup for more swatches and thoughts on this gorgeous eyeshadow.



Overall thoughts: Classic, natural, yet polished. It’s pure love and definitely worth every penny.
15 Comments
Uncategorized

Bobbi Brown Black Velvet Metallic Eye Shadows

August 21, 2010
Bobbi Brown has released another collection this fall called Black Velvet consisting of new lipsticks, creamy lip colors, eyeshadows and kohl eyeliner pencils. The standouts to me were the three Metallic Eyeshadows Black Berry, Black Charcoal and Black Cocoa ($20 each).

Those familiar with the Metallic Eyeshadows from Bobbi Brown know they have a luxurious texture – soft, pigmented and easy to blend. The new Metallics from the Black Velvet collection seem a bit different from her usual formula. They’re a bit harder in texture with a black base and different colored sparkles. The colors show up well when swiped on the finger but seem sheer when applied on the skin. They remind me of NARS Night Shadows – black base, sheer sparkle. I recommend that you apply these over a cream-based product such as a darker cream shadow or eyeliner – something a bit more emollient to pick up the actual color.


My descriptions:
  • Black Berry is a burgandy wine in the compact, but applies a deeper wine-plum shimmer
  • Black Charcoal is a charcoal silver color, applies a soft smokey grey
  • Black Cocoa is a glimmering chocolate gold, applies a smokey chocolate




Note that all apply well swiped on the finger, but when applied on the skin, you get a black base with bits of the colored micro-glitter (very tiny glitters):


More photos and swatches:



Swatches:

Swatched without a base, then swatched with a base:




Overall gorgeous and unique for Bobbi Brown – at least compared to all her other eyeshadows but I was disappointed in the finish of these eyeshadows because I was expecting the soft velvety texture that her Metallics usually have. When I think of the name of the collection Black Velvet, I think rich and lush textures and pigments. These are more of a soft smoke type of finish. Still good for a soft smokey eye, but alone, the colors are more subtle and you’ll get a slightly different variation of greyed black on the eyes with subtle bits of sparkle. To bring out the color you’ll need to use them over a cream base. I wouldn’t recommend using them wet simply because I think a wet brush will ruin the surface and texture of the eyeshadows. Perhaps using a soft damp brush might work, but I personally wouldn’t risk it. I was able to test them out at the counter and wasn’t quite sure if my fingers were just picking up the colors weird but after getting home and playing around with them a bit, I found out that they were indeed not the typical metallic finish.

I put Black Charcoal on my eyes as soon as I got home and it seems like even with a base it’s hard to see the shimmer. Bottom line is that I’ll need to experiment more with these. I think the intended result is a soft smokey eye rather than a shimmery smokey eye. This may be very much like last year’s Style Black collection from MAC, which took me a few tries to figure out just how to apply them on the eyes the right way.

So don’t write them off simply because I don’t know how to apply these. My regular Bobbi Brown artist wasn’t at the counter today when I stopped by so I didn’t get a chance to have her apply these on me. I’ll probably go back in the next week or so and ask for her tips. She’s a genius when it comes to applying makeup.

I passed on the other 2 matte shadows, I personally prefer the texture and color of Caviar and Smoke. The sparkle shadows that were supposed to be released were not at the counter yet. The lipgloss seemed really sheer. The creamy lip colors were black and then another that reminded me of Clinique’s Black Honey which I might go back for. I didn’t try the new lipstick or metallic lipstick. The Eye Kohls seemed pretty basic and I prefer her gel liners so I skipped those.

26 Comments
Uncategorized

Paul & Joe Autumn Creation 2010: My Picks

August 13, 2010
I tried to resist, but Paul & Joe still has managed to capture my interest despite the odd packaging design for their fall collection. I picked out a few things from their Fall Collection Sparkles: Face & Eye Color CS 068 Paper Moon, Lipstick C in 066 Clair de Lune and 067 Over the Moon.


My favorite item is their Face & Eye Color CS ($35), a multi-purpose powder for eyes and cheeks. The colors are all pigmented with a gold sparkle in 068 Paper Moon. The stripes are similar in size to the Armani Eyes to Kill bulls-eye palettes, but the shape of the Paul & Joe palettes seem to be easier to work with. You will still need a smaller sized brush to keep from mixing the colors. It’s packaged in a cardboard box with an elastic brown strap. The packaging is delicate but simply stunning. I think the lighter shades will make a good highlighter – the trick for me will be to find a brush small enough to pick up only the lighter shades, but big enough for my cheek. I see myself using this for the eyes more than the face.

The Lipstick C ($25) this season seems to be sheerer than most of the Paul & Joe lipsticks I’ve tried. I thought I would be creeped out by the cat head but looking at them in person, the detail is adorable. The lipsticks are a semi-sheer cream with a hint of sparkle. The finish is highly glossy and has a moisturizing feel. It has that signature P&J scent – I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s almost like a soft powder. Note that the glossy finish on these made it difficult to swatch on the arm accurately. 066 is a pink mauve and 067 is a brighter sheer coral pink. I applied 066 on the lips and have to say as much as I love cats, the shape of the lipstick in a cat-head made this difficult to apply on the lips. Innovative and chic, but not very practical for application.


Swatched:

Overall – Paul & Joe still has my heart. I got these from the lovely ladies at Bergdorf Goodman. The collection should be available at most P&J retailers by now – I was a little late with my order this fall.
22 Comments