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Eye Makeup

Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette 28 Green-Brown

February 23, 2016
I discovered Natasha Denona’s beauty line earlier this year thanks to Beautylish. I’ve been incorporating parts of her Glowing Skin System into my weekly beauty routine and am a huge fan of her All Over Face and Body Shimmers (full review + swatches in this post here). Her full line was available for preview at IMATS Los Angeles earlier this year with select items available for purchase before the official launch online at Beautylish. Ever since seeing the sneak peek many of you have been asking for a review and swatches of her eyeshadows. You’ve also been wondering when these will launch online at Beautylish. I have a preview of the Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette 28 Green-Brown to share today. This palette launches online at Beautylish Thursday February 25th if you sign up for early access here, and on Friday February 26th for everyone else. The rest of her collection (blushes, eyeshadows, lipsticks, glosses etc.) is slated to be available for purchase from Beautylish in early March.

I was kindly gifted the Eyeshadow Palette 28 Green-Brown and it’s the most glorious palette I have ever seen. It’s an impressive size and comes in a glossy leather compact with a large mirror. There is a mix of greens, browns, champagnes, golds, teals. Several of the colors are brighter greens that are outside of my comfort zone – but they layer amazingly well with the neutrals for a more wearable look. The pigment is very rich in color – some of the best I’ve ever tried. Some shades are very sparkly and prone to fallout when you apply them on the eyes. You will most likely have to clean up under the eye after you apply but once they are on the eyes they stay put and don’t budge.

The actual colors in the palette are not labeled, but they do have labels on the back of the box packaging. Here’s what the palette looks like:

Color labels from the box:

Ingredients:
The shimmers are heavenly and the matte shades have a satiny finish:

A closer look, swatches plus two eye looks, below is the left half:

Right half:

_____________

Swatches done by row, from top to bottom. First Set is Row 1 with:
20M true gold
14M antique olive
10M aluminum
15M bottle green
16M emerald green
58V suede
28P satin tan

_____________ 
Below is Row 2 with:
43P smoky quartz
18M glam greem
45M industrial
21S cream
57V flamingo
64V shell
78M umber

_____________
Row 3 shown below with:
44M indian gold
08V tropic
17M cloudy blue
86P golden aquamarine
85P pininja
59M moonstone
75S skin

_____________
Row 4 shown below:
61P ochre
50M sienna
68M golden flesh
31M cool bronze
62S terracotta
88V arizona
90V sandstorm

_____________

Two quick eye looks for a more conservative/neutral look, you can brighten the look or add more drama by adding the more colorful shades. I like to blend a lot so everything has a more natural washed look.

Look 1 has a mix of Moonstone, Skin, Umber, Shell and Flamingo
Look 2 has a mix of Arizona, Indian Gold, Bottle Green and Glam Green

I believe the Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette 28 retails for $239 and the total weight of each shadow is 2.5g/0.08 oz. (I will double check tomorrow when it officially launches to confirm pricing.) It comes at a very steep price tag, but if you were to buy 28 eye shadows individually, it would cost you a lot more in total (her shadows individually are priced at around $25-$29 each). 
When it comes to palettes my personal rule of thumb for deciding whether or not to splurge is to assess if I can see myself using the vast majority of the colors (as in 75% or more) otherwise the palette often ends up sitting in a drawer unused until I rediscover it and gift it away. For this Green-Brown Palette, there are 3 shades I know that are definitely not me (those three green colors in the third row). That factor combined with the steep price would be enough to prevent me from splurging. I don’t mind spending a lot on skincare or perfumes these days, but for makeup it’s still hard for me to justify spending a lot on a single item. That being said, the texture and pigment of the colors in this palette are very good. Every single color performs well in terms of texture, color payoff and lasting power. Overall performance is excellent as long as you don’t mind cleaning up a bit of fallout after application (but I find that’s the case with all powder shadows in general for me). I think this is a solid palette that will allow you to create a wide range of looks. If you have the budget to splurge on this, the overall value is very good and if you break down the price of the total per shade, it’s actually very reasonable (about $8.50ish per shade).
Bottom line solid.
You can now find the the Natasha Denona Eyeshadow Palette 28 in Green-Brown online at Beautylish. If you snagged one during IMATS or the early access preview, let me know if you have checked this one out yet. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts!
The Natasha Denona Palette was generously gifted free of charge. As always, all opinions my own.
9 Comments
Chanel

Chanel Les Sautoirs de Coco Collection for Spring 2016

February 5, 2016

There’s a new pearly-themed beauty collection that just launched for Chanel this spring. The collection is called Les Sautoirs de Coco which features a mix of pale pearly shades and bright pinks. In past years these white pearl-themed collections seem to have been Asia exclusive colors, sometimes launching later in the US in late summer as Nordstrom Anniversary exclusives. Last year Chanel launched the Collection La Perle de Chanel in the US. This year they have the Les Sautoirs de Coco and it’s nice to see them launching these kinds of mini collections in the US (although it’s hard to believe a year has already flown by!). The inspiration and theme according to Chanel:

“Inspired by Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s love of pearls, a new makeup collection glimmers with iridescent and luminous shades of white, pink and soft grey, while classic black elements bring an unexpected contrast to the soft colour range.”

I ordered items sight unseen. Based on the online stock photos I knew this collection would either be hit or miss as some of the pink lip colors look very cool-toned, but I decided to go outside of my comfort zone and see if I could try a few new brighter shades. A few weeks ago this was exclusive to Chanel.com, but now appears to be at counters and online at Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. What I purchased:
Glossimers in Babiole, Pinctada and Clarté ($30 each)

Swatches of the items and then some thoughts below on each item:

I’ll start with my favorite item in the collection which is the Perles Et Fantaisies Highlighter. This appears to be somewhere in between a cream and powder. It’s neither creamy nor powdery but it is very smooth with a very subtle glow. I swatched it above with a very heavy hand so you can see the color differences between each shade. On my medium olive skin the highlighter shades both look the same and give a very delicate luminous glow. On the cheeks it gives a soft hint of shimmer. This is one of the most natural-looking highlighters I’ve ever tried. If you find most highlighters too shimmery, too glowy or too frosty, you might want to look into this one because the shimmer is very finely milled. Color payoff is very natural on my cheeks when applied with a blush brush. If you want a more visible glow but want something natural I’d recommend you check out the Hourglass Ambient Strobe Lighting Powders or Hourglass Luminous Light instead. If you’re ok with some serious glow, check out the Natasha Denona Glowing Skin System. The overall effect of the Perles Et Fantaisies Highlighter is very natural but still noticeable.

Given the number of highlighters and glowy products that are out on the market right now, I can’t personally deem it a must-have. I think there are a lot of other options that are more affordable. Still the quality is there with this one. It adds a nice subtle glow without emphasizing pores or making the skin look overly shiny. I do think because of the semi-sheer finish that some will find this simply too natural or sheer to justify splurging. I have no regrets buying it and I do really like it though.

Swatched with a very heavy hand:

Next are two items for eyes. There’s a new Les 4 Ombres in Tissé de Lune. This one reminds me of an older Chanel quad that I cannot recall the name of. This is a pearly quad with the baked formula. I’m not a fan of the baked formula and wish Chanel would skip that kind of formula entirely. The pigment is decent with this one though. The colors apply with visible pigment and they aren’t chalky. However the 3 lighter shades when applied on the eyes end up all looking the same on my skin. They are distinct if you swatch side by side, but once you layer they all kind of disappear into the same light colored shimmer. It will give the eyes a very bright glow kind of highlight that I find pretty. They are pale shades but not too pale or garish (sometimes light shades have a sharp contrast to my olive skintone).

The quad layered on the lids – as you can see below the colors are pretty sheer and all the shades look similar on the eyes. The flash washed out the color a little bit but it leaves a subtle gleam of shimmer on the lids:

There’s a new Illusion D’Ombre in Iridescent. This one is really pretty and gives the lids a wash of opal shimmer that flashes tiny bits of pink. You can layer for more intensity but this is one of those nice brightening kinds of eyeshadows that you can wear all over the lids. It has a very slight duo chrome quality without being too shimmery or frosty. I really like this one.

Swatched below, left is blended and right is layered:

Last but not least are three Glossimers in Clarté which is a sheer opal pink shimmer, Babiole a cool-toned bright raspberry fuschia cream and Pinctada which is a cool-toned bright pink shimmer. I absolutely love Clarté which gives the lips a really pretty wash of color. It has a similar effect to Songe (which I couldn’t find in my stash to compare) in the sense it gives the lips a gorgeous glow with a hint of iridescent shine.

Although I am a neutral lip lover at heart, I do find Pinctada a wearable color even though it’s on the bright side. It’s cool-toned but not too cool that I find it turns blue on my skin.

Babiole is something that doesn’t work for me. The pigment and color payoff is very good, but because it’s so blue-based it contrasts with my skintone and looks garish. I think it looks ok in the detail swatch below, but when you see it against the whole face it just clashes with my olive skintone. I think it looks absolutely gorgeous on Christine from Temptalia – so if you haven’t seen her post, be sure to check out her swatches.

If you’re a Chanel fan and have been curious about this collection, I hope you found this review helpful. I think there are definitely some items worth checking out – my top three picks are the highlighter, Illusion D’Ombre and Clarté Glossimer. I do think if you’re trying to narrow down your purchases for highlighter this season, skip the Chanel highlighter and opt for something from Hourglass, Natasha Denona or Tom Ford instead. That being said if you’re always in search of something with a subtle glow and find most highlighters too glowy, this one might be one you have been searching for – it has the most finely milled glow that I’ve ever seen in any highlighter. I’m personally not crazy about the Tissé Ombre de Lune eyeshadow quad or the pink glossimers, but that’s mainly because of my color preferences. For lips Chanel just launched the Rouge Coco Stylo lipsticks and the colors look very promising so I would say save your $$$ for those instead. I just received 3 colors today and will have a post next week with swatches – but here’s a quick peek at #218 Script which is a perfectly creamy pigmented neutral beige pink with a bit of brown.

You can find the Chanel Les Sautoirs de Coco Collection now online at Chanel.com, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. All the items are limited-edition.
Did you check out anything from this launch yet? What did you think?
39 Comments
Eye Makeup Marc Jacobs Beauty

Marc Jacobs Beauty Style Eye-Con No. 7 The Social Butterfly // Neiman Marcus Exclusive

February 4, 2016

Marc Jacobs Beauty just recently launched the beauty line at Neiman Marcus. It appears they have the full line of products online, I haven’t spotted anything in store yet, but I suspect it will launch in a few select locations to start (if you’ve spotted it at your local Neimans please share in the comments!). As a huge fan of Marc Jacobs Beauty I was thrilled to find a new eyeshadow palette in the Style Eye-Con No. 7 called The Social Butterfly ($59 for 7 g/0.247 oz) which is exclusive to Neiman Marcus. I ordered it as soon I saw it and it made a quick sneak peek appearance on my Instagram here. Today I have swatches + thoughts to share. As a neutral eyeshadow lover this one does not disappoint and conservative eyeshadow wearers will be happy to know it’s glitter-free. The pigment is super rich and soft with this one, similar in texture to many of the other Style Eye-Con No. 7 Palettes. There is a slightly powdery kick up with these shades when you dip your brush into the palette, but the colors apply easily on the lids, blend well and they stay put.

I will call this a neutral warm smokey eyeshadow palette, althought it has a few cool-toned colors. The overall effect gives a unique natural eye look but you can use the darker shades to intensify the color for a more soft smoldering dramatic effect. Urban Decay Naked Smoky pulled on the cool-side for me overall. The Social Butterfly by Marc Jacobs Beauty is a warmer smokey palette and has a more conservative feel. It comes in a small buttoned pouch just like the other palettes. I don’t store them in these but they are nice to have if you travel, it will keep the outside from getting scratched if it’s stored in a travel bag with other makeup items.

The colors from left to right in the palette are:

  • Matte cream, this is a shade lighter than my natural skintone, it works as a good evening base color, or you can use it as the last step to softly buff any harsh edges from other shades
  • Matte tan, this looks neutral, it pulls a bit warm on me, but it’s not orangey or too warm, pigment is excellent
  • Shimmering golden sand, this one has slight olive tones (very very slight) in it, I suspect it pulls that way because of my olive skin, on the eyes it pulls more true to pan
  • Soft shimmering lavender, most readers know I am not a fan of light purples on my eyes, they often look odd on my skin and give me a pink-eye look but this one is so so beautiful, it’s a soft shade that I think is my favorite, it adds a pop of color to the eyes in a pretty and unexpected way
  • Shimmering warm taupe, my favorite kind of eyeshadow color, this one is stunning
  • Matte brown, this one is best used with a detail brush, it blends well, but if you dip a large shadow brush and try to blend, it will look blotchy
  • Dark intense black with tiny flecks of gold shimmer, also best used with a detail brush
Close ups and then swatches:

Bottom line a classic that I will get regular use out of. It’s a very pretty neutral palette that will give a natural smokey eye look. It’s easy to use and layer the colors together. You don’t need use all seven shades at once, I usually use 5 colors at the most, but layering them does allow you to add depth and more dimension. Although this is different from the Dior Eye Reviver palettes (reviewed here and here), I can’t help but feel that Marc Jacob’s The Social Butterfly is what I wanted those palettes to be. I highly recommend that you check it out. I like that the colors are all neutrals and that each color looks distinctly different on the eyes. With some neutral palettes all the colors can often look the same once swatched.

For quick reference if you’re new to Marc Jacobs Beauty, here are a few other reviews I’ve done in the past linked below including all the Style Eye-Con No. 7 Palettes I own (or you can click the Marc Jacobs Beauty tag at the bottom of this post).

Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquers (all shades swatched)
Le Marc Lip Crèmes (all shades swatched)
You can find Marc Jacobs Beauty products now at Neiman Marcus, Marc Jacobs Beauty and Sephora. The Social Butterfly Palette is exclusive to Neiman Marcus.

Do you have any Marc Jacobs Beauty favorites? 
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Eye Makeup Fragrance Highlighters Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Beauty – New Spring 2016 Launches

February 1, 2016

There are quite a few new items launching this spring from Tom Ford Beauty. There appear to be mini product launches versus a full seasonal collection release. I did some major hauling over the past few weeks and have thoughts + swatches of my picks to share today. Shown above and swatches of what I picked up below:

Honeymoon Eyeshadow Quad ($80, on backorder at Neiman Marcus) 
Lip Color Shine SS16 ($52)

First up are new eyeshadow quads. The good news is that there are new eyeshadow quad colors in Disco Dust, Honeymoon, Last Dance, Starry Night and Lilac Dream. The bad news is that some like Cognac Sable are being discontinued. I picked up two of the new quads, the neutral warm ones in Disco Dust and Honeymoon. I had to call around to several stores to track down Honeymoon a couple weeks ago. I heard these are permanent so even though Honeymoon seems to be sold out for now, it should be available for purchase when they restock.

Both quads pull very warm on me. They also have shimmer in them which is absolutely stunning. Disco Dust has a cool silvery mauve sparkle, a warm satiny tan, a copper peach shimmer and a dark plum brown shimmer. Two of the shades are very similar to NARS Hammamet Eyeshadow Duo (swatched here) so if you’re not a fan of glitter, you may want to check out the NARS.

Honeymoon is one of the warmest eyeshadow quads I own. It has a shimmering tan, shimmery copper bronze, reddish auburn shimmer and reddish plum. This one pulls very warm on my eyes but it’s still very wearable if I layer and blend it and use the two darker shades along the lash line smudged. If you are very fair this one will pull a lot more red on your skin compared to me. On deeper tan skintones, I think this one will look absolutely amazing on.

Swatch comparisons to Charlotte Tilbury The Dolce Vita (another warm quad I have) and Tom Ford Orchid Haze. In terms of neutral quads, Orchid Haze is one of my favorite everyday neutral palettes from Tom Ford.

Quick eye swatch/look of Disco Dust:

There are two scents launched for early spring called Soleil Blanc. Since I was a huge fan of the Shimmering Body Oil from last year, I picked up both the fragrance and oil. I think I could have skipped the Soleil Blanc Shimmering Body Oil, although it smells amazing. I prefer the fragrance simply because it’s stronger and I feel like it’s not as messy as the shimmering body oil. Also this year’s oil seems to be more emollient than last year’s which I found absorbed quickly into the skin. This one has a lingering feel that isn’t greasy, but definitely noticeable, almost like it’s slightly sticky. For both of these, there isn’t much I could find online to describe the notes except that it has floral combined with amber. 
Soleil Blanc Eau de Parfum is a white floral. I don’t find amber notes to be very strong – but when I smell it closely, I can see how there is some blended in because this isn’t an overly powdery floral. It’s a warmer weather scent but I’m completely obsessed with it right now. The Soleil Blanc is what I wanted the Guerlain Terracotta fragrance from a few years ago to smell like (which I found too strong and too floral last time I smelled it).

Next up are one hit and one miss for me. I had very high hopes for the Lip Color Shine in SS16 and Shade and Illuminate in SS16. I almost never try lip color testers at the counters because they are loaded with germs, so I bought the Lip Color Shine without trying it on the lips. On the hands it swatched like a gorgeous glossy nude. On my lips it looks like concealer.

Swatched below is uneven, streaky and concealer-like on my pigmented lips:

If you’re like me and can’t pull off pale nudes, you may want to check out Lip Color Shine in Bare instead which is more pink in color:

Swatch comparisons:

Tom Ford Lip Color in Nude Vanille
Tom Ford Lip Color in Sweet Mystery (swatched)
Tom Ford Lips and Boys in Eddie (swatched here)
MAC Lipstick in Creme de Nude

Last but not least is the new Shade and Illuminate in SS16. This is the first Shade and Illuminate product I’ve tried from Tom Ford even though there are two other shades. This is a sheer dewy cream illuminator duo. The texture is very dewy and glossy for a natural sheen. I don’t think it will be everyone’s cup of tea since it’s on the dewy side. I like using this as a base for powder blushes or bronzers because it gives the skin a natural glow from within look. If you have oily skin you many want to proceed with caution on these. On my skin this gives a barely there glow. I actually still prefer the Edward Bess All Over Seduction highlighters (they are my holy grail cream highlighters), so if you want something more versatile and more visible, check out the Edward Bess ones instead.

Two sets of comparison swatches:

Tom Ford Skin Illuminator in Fire Lust (discontinued, review)
Tom Ford Cream Blush in Pink Sand (discontinued, review here)

Edward Bess All Over Seduction in Sunlight, Afterglow and Paradise

There’s lots to explore from Tom Ford right now. I believe there is a mix of permanent and limited-edition items. I suspect the SS16 items are all limited, but the quads are reported to be permanent. Also new from Tom Ford includes a new Purifying Cleansing Oil that I’ve been testing (review soon). It looks like new items for lips and eyes that just launched online including Cream Colors for Eyes, Patent Finish Lip Colors and High Definition Eye Liners.

Out of the items I reviewed on the blog today, I would say that my top picks are the Soleil Blanc Eau de Parfum, Disco Dust Quad and SS16 Shade and Illuminate Duo. The SS16 Lip Color Shine doesn’t work for me by itself – I suspect it can be easily fixed with a deeper lipliner like MAC Boldly Bare or Subculture though. Honeymoon is all kinds of gorgeous – but does pull dark and warm on me. It’s very pretty on but I prefer Disco Dust.

Have you checked out the new items from Tom Ford yet? Some pieces have sold out on different sites so if you’re shopping online you may have to order from multiple places.

Eyeshadow Quads can be found at all Tom Ford retailers such as Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.

The Soleil Blanc Eau de Parfum appears to be exclusive to Neiman Marcus at the moment.

SS16 Shade and Illuminate + Lip Color Shine can be found at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Net-A-Porter.

52 Comments
NARS

NARS Spring 2016 Color Collection Picks: Hammamet, Impassioned, Instant Crash + Vida Loca

January 28, 2016

The spring collection this year from NARS is called Nouvelle Vogue and for neutral makeup lovers there are quite a few items to fall in love with. I have four items to share a review of today for eyes, lips and cheeks. The colors I picked out are soft and glowy that will give a really lovely fresh-faced natural look.

From top to bottom:

  • Hammamet Eyeshadow Duo ($35, limited-edition) is soft satiny warm tan combined with a shimmering copper tan rose kind of shimmer, on my medium-olive skin this is too warm/dark by itself, but when layered with other shades it makes for a really great transitional blending kind of color, I have a hard time wearing any kind of copper color because they often pull orangey on me. Hammamet doesn’t pull orangey but it does pull very warm. I like layering this with Cordura and Alhambra Duos.
  • Impassioned Powder Blush ($30) is the perfect natural light mauve pink blush, most mauves darken on my skin but this one is on the lighter side so when it warms up, it still remains a natural light pink mauve on my skin
  • Instant Crash Lip Gloss ($26, limited-edition) is a shimmering nude which is absolutely perfect, I thought I owned a lot of colors like this one, but none of the ones I looked at had the same beige undertone with shimmer mixed in, I need to back this one up because it’s limited-edition
  • Vida Loca Lip Gloss ($26, limited-edition) is a peachy pink cream, to me it has a similar effect to the Chelsea Girls Lipgloss (swatched here), this new one for spring is slightly deeper and brighter, you do need a flawless lip surface or else it will emphasize dry patches/lines

Some close ups, swatches and comparisons, up first is Hammamet Duo:

Swatch comparisons to:
MAC Honey Lust (from the 15 Warm Neutrals Palette)
Urban Decay Trick (from Naked3 Palette)
Tom Ford Disco Dust Quad (new, review soon)

Impassioned Blush close ups, I don’t have any swatch comparisons, but I deem this a must-have.

Lip Glosses in Instant Crash (top) and Vida Loca (bottom):

Swatch comparisons to:
NARS Lip Gloss in Striptease
NARS Lip Gloss Chelsea Girls (swatched)
MAC Lipglass in Lust
NARS Lipgloss in Belize

I give Instant Crash Lip Gloss and Impassioned Blush a huge thumbs up. Vida Loca is gorgeous in color but the formula can be a bit tricky to work with if your lip isn’t perfectly smooth (it’s a good layering color though). Hammamet is different from anything I’ve seen from NARS before. On my skintone it pulls too warm to pull off by itself, but when layered with other shades looks really pretty. If you own Honey Lust from MAC or the new Tom Ford Quad I think you can skip this duo.

Have you checked out anything from the NARS Spring Collection yet? It’s available now online and in stores from NARS. It will launch in February at Nordstrom, Sephora, Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and all other NARS counters.

The spring items featured were provided courtesy of NARS for review consideration.

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Bronzer + Blush Eye Makeup NARS

NARS NARSissist L’Amour, Toujours L’Amour Eyeshadow Palette and NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette

January 20, 2016

NARS is killing it this spring. There seems to be something to love in every launch so far this year from the Hot Sand Collection, Velvet Matte Skin Tints and freshly launched Spring Color Collection (a few items to be reviewed on the blog soon but in the meantime check out swatches on my friend Café Makeup’s page). I’m particularly smitten with the Hot Sand/Laguna Cheek Duo and the Velvet Skin Tints are  There are two new palettes this spring, one for eyes and one for cheeks, both limited edition. For eyes we have the NARSissist L’Amour, Toujours L’Amour Eyeshadow Palette ($59 for 12 eyeshadows) and for the cheeks there is the NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette ($65, Sephora Exclusive). Both of these come in some seriously sturdy packaging – they are cased in hefty mirrored compacts and I think the presentation is exquisite.

The NARSissist L’Amour, Toujours L’Amour Eyeshadow Palette has twelve eyeshadows that seem to feature a new formula. Many of you have expressed dissatisfaction in the quality and texture of shadows in previous palettes (in particular the NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette from 2014ish). I haven’t tried all of the palettes NARS has launched, but never had an issue with texture. Size of pans has been significantly smaller in previous releases which I found a bit challenging to dip larger brushes into, but it seems as though NARS took all the complaints of past palettes and made changes for the better with this one.

The texture of these is feels slightly creamy, but they are all powders – pigment is smooth and easy to layer. Some of the dark matte shades will go on a bit patchy if you use a medium to large brush – so I recommend trying a small detail dense brush to layer and blend the dark mattes. Overall performance is really good. With the exception of the one coppery shimmer shade, I would say the effect of this one is cool-toned. I do think you need a slightly creamy eyeshadow base to help bring out the pigment richness of the colors, but they perform really well alone too. My favorites are the Edward Bess Illuminating Eye Base, Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Sticks in Rose Gold and NARS Velvet Shadow Sticks. Application is excellent – there will be a little bit of fall out from the powders when you apply on the eyes, but once you have them on the lids – they stay put without fading or smudging. I found they lasted all day long nicely.

Descriptions and swatches:

Row 1 features four larger pans each 0.11 oz/3.2 g, shades are named I, II, III, IV:

  • Matte creamy neutral with slight pink tones
  • Shimmering champagne with beige/ivory tones
  • Shimmering mauve taupe
  • Matte charcoal

Rows 2 and 3 have smaller pans, but are still large enough that you can easily fit an eyeshadow brush into without having to worry about mixing colors. These are 0.05 oz/1.5g each:
  • Frosted white gold
  • Shimmering warm copper orange
  • Matte mauve
  • Shimmering steel with slight olive undertone
  • Shimmering steel blue grey
  • Matte navy indigo
  • Shimmering cool grey-brown
  • Shimmering grey-black with blue tones and silver flecks

Here’s a quick eye look with the neutrals using the four shades in the top row 1 and a little bit of the last color in row 2. I love that online at the NARS website, they did eye swatches of all 12 shades on three skintones. Check it out here.

If you’re wondering how this compares to the Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette (reviewed + swatched here), I would say both are excellent options. Picking one over the other is challenging because I think they are different in color options and texture. If you’re looking for something cooler-toned and want a palette that can take your look from neutral to smokey, go with the NARS. If you want something with warmer more neutral options, go for the UD x Gwen Stefani Palette. The textures of course are very different in each palette. The NARS has a creamy smooth buttery texture. The Urban Decay palette has a wider mix of mattes, shimmers, and sparkles – also the pink and bright blue offer a more vibrant/less neutral option.

Onto the cheeks with the NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette ($65, Sephora exclusive). Many asked how this compares to the Steven Klein One Shocking Moment Palette from Holiday. I wasn’t able to buy (it sold out quickly) so I can’t compare the two in great detail. The top three shades are the same in each palette. Based on a google search, it appears the newest one for spring offers two shades that are lighter options on the bottom left half and then darker options for the bottom right half. I do believe that the one from holiday had two existing blush colors in Luster and Dolce Vita. The new one for spring offers four new shades on the bottom. This seems to be an all-in-one kind of palette for the cheeks. It has contouring powders, a bronzer, and four blushes (two of which I think could pass for highlighters, at least on me).

The colors in this palette include:

  • Paloma Contour Duo which is available separately. It offers richly pigmented matte powders in a soft pinkish cream color and a deeper contour shade that pulls mauve on my skintone.
  • Laguna Bronzer is a classic shade (also available separately) that warms up the complexion and adds depth without looking orangey or too dark. It’s easily buildable for a natural glow or deeper bronze. In my college days there were many times where this was all I would apply on the cheeks.

The bottom row has colors that are listed as blushes:

  • I is a pale pink that glows. It’s a matte base but if you look closely at the pan you will see tiny bits of finely milled gold shimmer. I was worried this would not show up on my skin, but it offers the prettiest baby pink glow. I hope this makes an appearance in full-size eventually.
  • II is is light pink in the pan, but applies darker on my skin like a soft natural rose pink glow, I adore this shade. It has tiny flecks of silver sparkle but it’s not glittery on the skin.
  • III is a deeper warm reddish color but as you can see from the swatch below, it’s not orangey (however it will pull darker, warmer and almost orangey on fairer skin tones like The Non-Blonde)
  • Goulue is a new shade, currently a VIB Rouge Exclusive at Sephora, it’s a stunning medium-deep rose with golden shimmer

I think this palette will be a versatile one that will go with a wide range of looks for lips and eyes, but the overall color scheme seems to be on the medium to dark side which may be too much for fair skins if you find blushes tend to darken/oxidize on you. For me – I love a strong blush to add a bit of color and life to my face when I wear neutral lips. The texture of the blushes is smooth and easy to blend. I think it contains classics one can wear every day. The colors with the exception of the Paloma duo are all shimmery, but they don’t emphasize my pores or look frosted.

There are a few new launches for face palettes to choose from this spring including the Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Blush Palette (new shades) and MAC Contour and Sculpt Palette (value set with cult classics). You may want to browse stores or research swatches online before committing to a palette. I feel like this season we are on highlighter, foundation and blush overload. I just got both of the other two, I’ll try to review and compare them as soon as I can.

I deem both of these palettes winners in terms of color selection, quality and packaging. They are travel-friendly and I love that they come with in a sturdy compact with a decent sized mirror which makes it easy to apply them on-the-go. They are both limited-edition. I think given the size and packaging the prices are very reasonable for a luxury beauty palette.

You can find the NARSissist L’Amour, Toujours L’Amour Eyeshadow Palette for $59 online at NARS, Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue (for some reason right now it’s listed at a higher price at Saks). The NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette retails for $65 and is exclusive to Sephora online and in stores.

Have you checked out these NARS palettes yet? What did you think?

Both palettes were sent courtesy of the NARS team for review consideration.

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Laura Mercier

A Few New Discoveries from Laura Mercier

December 22, 2015

Several of you have asked for swatches and more thoughts on the Laura Mercier In The Glow Trio ($38, featured here). Unfortunately by this time it has sold out everywhere but I thought I’d share swatches anyways along with a review of other recent discoveries from the line. I’ve had the Lip Glacé ($25) in Rose Gold Accent on my radar for months. I was hesitant about the sparkle but decided to cave and buy it and I’m glad I did. The Lip Parfait Creamy Colorbalms ($25) launched earlier this year. I fell in love with the creamy formula and wanted so badly for Amaretto Swirl to work for me – alas I found it too pale for my pigmented lips and decided to opt for Cinn-ful instead. Last but not least, I’ve been playing around with some skincare. I’m one who likes the soothing calming effects of skincare with rose, but my super sensitive nose makes it hard for me to wear rose-scented products sometimes. The Laura Mercier Infusion de Rose ($24-$68, or $110 for the trio set) items are really good for dry winter skin but are super gentle on the fragrance.

Up first is the sold-out In the Glow Trio Set. It had mini sizes of the Matte Radiance Baked Powder in Highlight 01 (0.06 oz.), Bonne Mine Stick Face Colour in Peach Glow (0.12 oz.) and a Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Rosegold (0.03 oz.). You can buy all the items in the full-size version. I had been wanting to try both of the face products and thought this would be a good starter set to test out the items without splurging on the full size. For my medium-olive toned skin, I found both the cheek products very natural on me. 

Bonne Mine Stick Face Colour in Peach Glow gives a very natural peachy glow. Because it’s a close match to my skintone, it gives a barely there glow. It’s a lovely natural cream blush but I suspect it would be more visible on fairer skintones.

The Matte Radiance Powder seems like a contradiction with the both of the words matte and radiant in the same name. On my arm it swatches like a shimmery pale champagne. On my face it translates into more of a matte finishing glow. Long-time readers know I am beyond obsessed with Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light (it’s my holy grail powder highlighter). The Laura Mercier Highlight 01 Powder by comparison swatches paler on the arms, but applies on the face sheerer and less glowy. I’m probably not fair enough to be able to use it to set my entire face, but it does act more like a soft finishing powder on me.

Rosegold Caviar Eye Color Stick is a no-fuss easy to wear kind of lid color. I use it regularly (at least 2 times every week) as a base or a quick swipe-and-go kind of color. Here’s an eye look with three of the colors including Rosegold in this post here.

I’m glad I was able to test the 2 face products, I will use them to the end. However I prefer the darker Matte Radiance Powders as they show up better on my skin and add life and a very natural contour. The Bonne Mine Cheek Stick is lovely, but also too light for my medium-olive skin to show up other than having a natural glow. That being said it makes for a good base under powder blushes or bronzers.

Up next are the two lip products I picked up: Lip Parfait Creamy Colorbalm in Cinn-ful and Lip Glacé in Rose Gold Accent.

The Lip Parfait Creamy Colorbalm in Cinn-ful is a super creamy lush brown cinnamon color. On me it’s a darker/warmer your lips but better kind of shade. Amaretto Swirl looks like the most wonderful nude and it is – just on me it was too pale. I suspect I could make it work with liner, but I picked up Cinn-ful to test out the formula. It’s one of the creamiest lip balms I’ve tried and even though it’s a balm, pigment and color payoff is quite impressive. Most tinted balms are sheer to medium in color. This one acts more like a lipstick in terms of finish.

The Lip Glacé in Rose Gold Accent is part of the Candleglow Collection. I had my eye on the Candleglow Palette but after seeing it in stores I decided to pass. The colors, shimmer and pigment are all excellent – it still very tempting, but I found the pans of the top four colors too small to justify the splurge. Rose Gold Accent is a sparkling gloss with a baby pink base. It’s basically clear with loads of shimmer on the lips but I like that it makes the lips look full and healthy without being too glitzy. It’s been a while since I backed-up a lip gloss, I may back up this one.

Last but not least is the Infusion de Rose Nourishing Skincare Line. There are three items in the collection which are available in a limited-edition Infusion de Rose Nourishing Collection set for $110 (it’s a $44 savings). I am smitten with all three items, I think they are particularly good for winter weather right now. The rose soothes and hydrates the skin and makes it feel super smooth. I can’t emphasize enough how thrilled I am that the rose scent is very soft and barely there. Some rose-scented creams are so strong I can’t wear them at night because it prevents me from falling asleep. The ones from Laura Mercier are soft enough that it doesn’t bother me.

You can buy all the items separately which includes:

  • Flawless Skin Infusion de Rose Nourishing Oil (1 oz.) is a super lightweight nourishing oil. It conditions the skin and leaves it glowing. I normally wear beauty face oils on weekends (no makeup days) or at night as I find many interfere with the lasting power of foundation. This one worked really well for me under foundation.
  • Infusion de Rose Nourishing Creme (1 oz.) is a smooth feeling cream. It’s emollient and super hydrating. I will say that it is on the emollient side but it doesn’t feel super heavy and absorbs nicely into the skin. A little goes a long way, I really like that it has a smooth lightweight texture.
  • Infusion de Rose Nourishing Lip Balm (0.4 oz.) is a new lip balm. It’s super hydrating and makes the lips feel soft and moisturized. Review in my lip balm roundup here. Right now it’s exclusive to Laura Mercier’s website (if you want to buy it separately). I suspect it will launch at other retailers soon.
I think it’s a winning skincare set. I’ve been testing the items for a full month now and can say they have been really good for dry winter weather but still gentle enough for my normal/combination skin.

I hope you found this mini review helpful. I think the Rose Gold Accent Lip Glace is a winner, even though I usually don’t like super sparkly lip glosses, it’s really pretty on. The Infusion de Rose Skincare collection was a pleasant surprise because I ended up liking the entire collection. I was really lucky to receive the In the Glow Trio as a press sample, but after testing it – I can’t say that I’ve discovered any new must-haves. The only must-have in the set for me is the Rosegold Caviar Eye Stick (and I already own the full size). Still sets are a nice way to test something at a cheaper price before committing to the full size.

Do you have any new Laura Mercier favorites? I just saw the Candleglow Foundation popped up online at Sephora. This upcoming month is going to be the season of new foundations and I can’t wait to test them!

You can find Laura Mercier at a number of different retailers. Online at Laura Mercier, Sephora, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Bloomingdales.
Note if you’re shopping for last minute gifts, many are offering expedited shipping upgrades with qualifying purchases. The best one I’ve seen is Nordstrom is offering expedited free shipping until noon EST by December 23rd on qualifying items, each item has an indicator, no min-purchase needed.
Press samples featured include the In the Glow Trio and Infusion de Rose Set.
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