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Fall 2015

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Chanel Fall 2015 Stylo Yeux in Ardent, Érable and Pomme de Pin

August 25, 2015

For fall Chanel has four new Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliners ($32 each) in Ardent, Érable, Feuilles and Pomme de Pin. I picked up four at my local counter but when I got home realized one was the wrong color (it was one of the older shades) so I have three of the four shades swatched. The three new fall colors I have are Ardent which is a shimmering copper, Érable a shimmering khaki taupe and Pomme de Pin a glossy brown-black. All are permanent with the exception of Ardent which is limited-edition. The Stylo Yeux pencils seem to have improved drastically with this release. I’m not sure if all pencils are like this, but the new ones are super creamy and glide on the lids without any tugging. Previous releases are hit or miss with the formula. Some drag a little while others are more emollient. All three in the fall collection have intense pigment and apply easily on the eyes. They are creamy but set within a few minutes. As with my experience wearing all other Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof pencils, they last all day without smudging or fading. I give all three a huge thumbs up. I wish they would make the colors into cream shadows because they are just so pretty.

The three fall shades I came home with shown below in Pomme de Pin 921, Ardent 918 and Érable 919, plus a repromote in Ardoise 912. At the counter the rep went by number when she was pulling the colors, she must have confused 912 and 914. I don’t blame her – I get confused by the numbering system all the time.

Close up photo plus swatches:

Comparison swatches below:

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Khaki Preciuex
Burberry Effortless Kohl in Storm Grey (c/o)

Bottom line all three are winners. Since the formula has improved so much I need to investigate some other existing colors as my Black Shimmer and Ebene seem to have dried up and are tugging at my eyes when I use them. I would have thought Pomme de Pin to be a basic black color but I like that it has some brown undertone to prevent it from looking harsh on my eyes. Ardent is pure love – I like to smudge it upwards with the fingers on the lids as a cream shadow. Erable is beyond gorgeous. I need it in a powder shadow form.

Have you checked out Chanel fall? Did you pick up any of the eye products? I passed on the Illusion D’Ombres. I picked up the quad but haven’t touched it yet – I can’t decide whether or not I can do the khaki colors. I’ll have a review of the 5-pan palette up soon. I’ve been playing with it and am head over heels in love with it. I may need a backup. If you’ve seen/tried it let me know if you think Feuilles is a must-have and I might go back to check it out.

You can find the Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof pencils at all Chanel counters now. Online at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Chanel.com and all other Chanel retailers.

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Chanel Collection Automnales La Base Coat, Le Top Coat and new Le Vernis in Châtaigne, Écorce Sanguine and Vert Obscur

August 25, 2015

This fall Chanel has released a host of new products and colors for nails. There are three new limited-edition Le Vernis Nail Colours in Châtaigne, Écorce Sanguine and Vert Obscur ($27 each for 13 ml / 0.4 fl oz). In addition there is a new La Base Coat, Le Top Coat and a Le Top Coat Velvet (all $27 each). I’ve been playing with these for several weeks – each year it seems as though fall collections arrive earlier and earlier. I’m still in summer mode so I’ve been loving brighter colors but the new shades for fall do not disappoint.

I have a preliminary review on the new base and top coat after testing it with Chanel, Dior and Tom Ford nail polishes (I did skip the velvet version). I tried the original base coat and was never a fan. I found it didn’t go on the nails smoothly and it made nail polishes of all brands drag unevenly along the nail. The new La Base Coat has improved tremendously in terms of how it glides onto the nails. It’s supposed to be a protective and smoothing base with a soft pink tint to even out the nail tone. I find the pink tone does give the nails a very soft even look, but if you wear opaque polishes it doesn’t make a difference. The Chanel Base + Chanel Color combination = pure love. I found that it didn’t perform so well with Dior or Tom Ford – the color drags and you need a slightly thicker coat of color to get an even application. I prefer base the Formula X Base Coat and CND Sticky Base Coat by far in terms of how it performs with a variety of brands.

The new Le Top Coat is a quick dry high shine top coat. I’m a huge fan of the original Laque Brilliance Extreme Top Coat and after testing the new one, I have to say I still prefer the original version by far. I really hope it’s here to stay and that Chanel did not create a new one to replace it, however the original one is now gone from Chanel.com so I will have to stock up. The new Le Top Coat has a thinner more liquidy finish compared to the original. There was a slight learning curve for me to figure out exactly how much to load up on the brush. Too much resulted in it pooling in the cuticles. Too little caused streaking. That being said – once I got the hang of it, I found it was really nice how quickly it dried. It left the nails with a glossy finish, but the original had a more cushiony glossy shine. It works well with multiple brands and there is no shrinkage around the edges if I use it with Dior or Tom Ford. It did help my manicure last without tip wear for 5 days. I found the original version better with manicures lasting up to 7 days without chipping or tip wear.

Onto the colors for fall: Châtaigne is a brown plum vamp cream, Écorce Sanguine is a stunning deep red with the almost-invisible gold shimmer and Vert Obscur is a jelly forest green. I love a good vamp, Châtaigne goes on smoothly without any issues. Two coats will cover the nail entirely. There is a brownish base that prevents it from looking pure black on the hands. It’s still very dark.

Écorce Sanguine is a very special red. In my mind Chanel can do no wrong with reds. Last holiday they released too many similar reds, but this one for fall is deep and bright at the same time. It’s a classic color that doesn’t age the hands or darken. I own way too many reds already but this one has phenomenal coverage. One coat is enough to cover the nail entirely. I always prefer at least 2 coats though. Be sure to check out the swatches on Café Makeup – she captures the shimmer perfectly!

Vert Obscur is the color I was most excited about but ended up being slightly disappointed with it. It’s a gorgeous dark forest green in the bottle. The formula is a bit blotchy with the first coat. It will leave the nail looking streaky. Two to three coats fixes it and it looks better with extra coats, but on the nails it’s so dark it almost looks black. I would have liked it to be a bit brighter or have the green more visible.

Comparisons:

Dior Nuit 1947 (reviewed here)
Louboutin Sevillana
Tom Ford Bitter Bitch
Tom Ford Black Cherry (review here)
Chanel Vamp (swatched here)
Chanel Forbidden (discontinued), Rouge Fatal (discontinued)
Chanel Cinema (swatched here)
Marc Jacobs Jezebel
Tom Ford Black Jade (swatches here)
Louboutin Lady Twist (swatched here)
Burberry Dark Bottle Green (reviewed here)
Rescue Beauty Lounge Small Dim Summer Stars (swatches here)

Overall thoughts on the new Base and Top coat are that I’m undecided. I like they way they perform with Chanel nail polishes, but I was so in love with the original top coat. I think I just need to test them out more. For the new fall colors, I think all three are really gorgeous – I think the red Écorce Sanguine is absolutely stunning but you can get something very similar although most won’t have that gorgeous gold shimmer. I can’t say the other two are must-haves – there are just so many similar colors to Châtaigne and Vert Obscur is so dark it looks black on my hands. Perhaps once the actual fall season rolls around I’ll be more into these colors. I do think they are nice to have – as a die hard Chanel collector, I had to add them to my collection, but I can’t call them must-haves. Right now I have my eye on the Rouge Noir collections coming out, preliminary details and sneak peeks via Specktra.net. The colors look amazing for late fall/holiday collections.

All three Le Vernis colors for fall are limited-edition. The new La Base and Le Top Coats are here to stay. You can find them at all Chanel counters now. Online at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Chanel.com.

Did you try any of the new fall colors? What did you think?

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On My Radar / New in Beauty

August 17, 2015

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We had a hot weekend here in Southern California – it was nice to have lots of sunny weather but I do hope it will cool down soon. A few new items on my beauty radar right now:
  1. Louboutin Beauté is launching 38 shades of lipstick in September retailing at $90 each. These are encased in a heavy duty metal cases that look like mini jeweled ornaments. There will be three formulas in Silky Satin, Sheer Voile and Velvet Matte. All will come encased in a gold base and cap except three Rouge Louboutin shades (one in each formula) which comes in a solid black metal case.
  2. Lipstick Queen has six new shades of a Cupid Strikes Lip Pencil ($22 each). These are a lipliner and lipstick in one kind of product. I have my eye on the colors in Golden Arrow and Apollo – they look really pretty.
  3. Clinique for Men launched a new Sonic System Deep Cleansing Brush ($89.50). My husband has been using my Clarisonic for a while (he has his own brush heads) but I’m glad to see some lines launching ones for men’s skin. Reports indicate the brushes are slightly different for men’s facial hair. This one has a nice sleek masculine look to it.
  4. Clarisonic has a men’s tool in the new Alpha Fit Cleansing System for Men ($189). This one is quite a bit more pricey compared to the Clinique. I ordered this already a few weeks ago – the video demonstrated how how versatile it is. My husband likes the look – it has a good design and compact look. He’s testing it right now.
  5. Tom Ford Beauty has launched 13 new shades of Lip Color (in the full size, $52 each). I have my eye on so many colors, in particular Guilty Pleasure, So Vain and Lilac. Some swatches of the colors on the Tom Ford Forum via Specktra.net.
  6. Allure and Butter London teamed up to create a collection of 6 nail lacquers ($15 each). The colors include Disco Nap, I’m On the List, It’s Vintage, Lust or Must?, Nude Stilettos and Statement Piece.
  7. Bobbi Brown has a small Greige Collection with a Eye Palette, two Nail Polishes and two Long-Wear Cream Shadow Sticks. I need to investigate the eyeshadows.
  8. Frederic Malle now carries the travel sized vials individually. They are expensive when you break down the price per ounce but it’s still a nice way to buy a smaller size instead of splurging on the full size bottle if you’re unsure. My go-to scent is Carnal Flower. I have my eye on Eau de Magnolia, Lipstick Rose and Dries Van Noten.
  9. and 10. Last but not least, Burberry Beauty has launched at Sephora.com! The full makeup line is available along with some new releases. Sephora has an exclusive Burberry Beauty Box (VIB Rouge exclusive). Other new items include the Kisses Lip Gloss, First Kiss Glossy Lip Balm, Face Contour Pen for Face & Eyes and a new 3-Piece Nail Color Set for Fall.
What’s on your beauty radar this week?

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Highlighters Tom Ford Beauty

Tom Ford Beauty Moodlight Skin Illuminating Powder Duo

August 10, 2015

 

Tom Ford Beauty has some exciting new releases for fall. It appears new products are launching in a few mini collections, up first is a focus on face makeup for flawless and glowing skin. New products include:
Today I have a review of the gorgeous highlighter duo in Moodlight. I ordered mine online as soon as it popped up for pre-order and it arrived a couple of weeks ago. Moodlight is a powder duo. It comes in the large rectangular Tom Ford compact with a soft iridescent opal white shade and a medium bronzey peach pink champagne. The texture is very soft and easy to blend. Pigment is buildable but visible on the skin. The shimmer is pretty strong in both shades but on me the duo glows without that garish frost. The powders are embossed with the prettiest cross-hatch pattern and TF initials.

 

 

The colors have this beautiful mix of pigments. It makes the skin glow in a youthful way. I suspect on fair skintones, the light shade will be more subtle as it will match your skin and the bronzey shade will look more like a darker bronze. On my medium skin the light color shows up as a gorgeous opal highlight and the bronzey shade appears like a soft peachy bronze contour blush highlight. Darker skintones will see more contrast. The colors are truly stunning – I think this is going to be a universally flattering palette – it will look gorgeous no matter what skintone. Some more photos and swatches below.

 

 

 

 

 

Many have asked for a number of comparisons. I’ve pulled two batches for what I could fit on my arm. My personal thoughts on highlighter are that you can never have enough glow. The Tom Ford Skin Illuminating Duo gives that perfect glow-from-within combination. It mimics the effect Armani Fluid Sheers have minus the oily-overly-dewy factor you can get with warm weather.

 

Comparison Set 1:
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Comparison Set 2:

 

 

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The swatches and photos can’t do Tom Ford’s Skin Illuminating Powder Duo in  Moodlight justice. I’ve swatched it with a heavy hand to show you the color and complexity but it is easy to blend and on the skin it’s not overly shimmery or frosty. If you ask me if I think it’s a must-have I say absolutely yes. It’s like the now-discontinued Burberry Fresh Glow Powders minus the garish frost. If you want my thoughts on what the closest dupe is, I would say that the Edward Bess All Over Seduction Highlighters give the most similar effect but they are creams and slightly more dewy while the Tom Ford is a powder and more shimmery. Here it is applied on the cheeks. On the lips is Spanish Pink. On the eyes is the Nude Dip quad. For skintone reference I’m wearing the Traceless Perfecting Foundation in Natural #5.

 

 

I’ve been playing with Moodlight for several days now. It’s a good highlighter that isn’t overly frosted. It gives a youthful glow + subtle color. I like adding a bit of blush or bronzer for more color, but at my skintone right now I find I can wear it alone. (I wear Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting in Shade 5 Natural now, when I’m lighter I wear Shade 4 Bisque, swatches of all colors here + review on Shade 4 here).

 

 

There seem to be a number of new highlighters that have launched this season. Since I’m a huge highlighter fan I can’t pick just one as my favorite. I do think the Tom Ford Moodlight is a winner and backup-worthy. It lasts all day without getting too glowy-looking. I like that it’s a powder with a slight creamy finish so it adheres well to the skin. Also a huge plus is the fact that it doesn’t emphasize pores (at least on me). I give it a huge thumbs up. It’s mega expensive but worth every penny.
The Tom Ford Skin Illuminating Powder Duo comes in one shade Moodlight. It retails for $80 and is limited-edition. Available now at Tom Ford Beauty counters. Online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Sephora, Saks Fifth Avenue and Tom Ford.

 

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NARS Fall 2015 Collection – Beauty Look Book Picks

July 30, 2015

NARS is among the first to launch their fall beauty collection for 2015. The collection has a mix of bronze and smokey colors for eyes and neutral gloss for lips with a nude shimmer blush. Everything is quite stunning. For the lips NARS relaunched two lipgloss shades in Baby Doll and Chelsea Girls. They now come in wand form without the plastic scent that the potted glosses had (yay!). A couple older formulas/colors for the eyes have been relaunched in the Velvet
Shadow Stick form including Hollywoodland, Goddess and Aigle Noir. My picks include:
Here are swatches of my fall picks side by side:

Baby Doll and Chelsea Girls Lipglosses are both stunning colors. In pot form Babydoll was always a favorite although I hated the taste/scent. The wand form is taste and scent-free. I don’t have the original to compare but from what I remember the pot version was deeper in color on me. The wand form is quite shimmery. With my slight tan this is very cool-toned on me which works but I think it looks better with a neutral lipliner mixed in. Chelsea Girls is a creamy peach pink beige. On the hands it fills in the tiny crevices so I was worried it would emphasize lip lines. I was relieved to find that once on the lips it does not sink into the lip lines and goes on smoothly. It is semi-sheer so my natural lip shows through.

Swatch comparisons to:

Dual Intensity Eyeshadows in Telesto and Pasiphae are the winners in the collection. I’m a huge fan of the Dual Intensity Eyeshadows and the two new colors for fall are exceptionally pretty. They look pretty wet or dry, alone or layered together.

Swatch comparisons to:

Velvet Shadow Sticks in Hollywoodland, Goddess and Oaxaca are shimmery. They have a satiny feel that dries relatively quickly so you need to blend fast once they are on the lids. I prefer to have a slightly creamy base (like a tiny bit of foundation or eye cream) underneath these to help them blend on my eyes better. The pigment is medium to full and the colors are easy to build. They aren’t the most unique shades though so you may want to shop your stash if you want to avoid duplicates.

Swatch comparisons below to:

Tribulation Blush was a surprise for me. When I saw it, I thought it would be frosted and chalky on my cheeks as a blush. On deeper skintones I suspect it will be more like a highlighter. On super fair skin this one might not show up. On medium-tan skin this has the perfect mix of nude and gold to look like a natural glow on the cheeks. It’s an odd color for a blush in my opinion but it works. I like it alone even though it doesn’t add much color. It also works nicely layered on top of neutral blushes to soften the entire look.

Here are a few swatch comparisons next to Charlotte Tilbury Norman Parkinson Highlighter in Dreamy Glow (review soon), Becca x Jaclyn Hill Highlighter in Champagne Pop, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light.

There’s a lot to love with the fall collection. I’m completely in love with both Dual Intensity Eyeshadows, Tribulation Blush and the Baby Doll and Chelsea Girl Lip Glosses. Based on how similar some of the Velvet Shadow Sticks are to other cream shadows I think I could have skipped them but I spotted them in store at my Sephora and couldn’t resist. They are classic neutrals that will go with everything so I know I will get frequent use out of them – they do last longer than the Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks but since the NARS does dry faster they aren’t quite as easy to work with.

The NARS Fall 2015 Collection is available now at NARS Boutiques and narscosmetics.com. It will launch at all other retailers starting August 1st at Sephora, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Barney’s New York, Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Some of the items featured were press samples including Telesto, Tribulation, Chelsea Girls and Baby Doll. Other items purchased by me include the Velvet Shadow Sticks and Pasiphae.

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On My Radar

On My Radar / New In Beauty

July 29, 2015

Happy Wednesday everyone! I have a roundup of new beauty releases on my radar. I was planning to share this tomorrow but there’s a super special amazing deal that can’t wait. Fall collections are trickling in and the new releases look amazing. My first post will be on NARS fall (which is incredible) and I’m currently swatching my picks from Chanel. Several have asked for the post on my travel carry-on contents – I promise to have it up as soon as I can! I’m editing the photos today and tomorrow. Here’s what’s on my radar from the top left then clockwise:

Sephora Pro has launched a collection of 5 brushes in the hakuho-do + SEPHORA PRO Brush Collection. Each brush comes encased in a beautiful rich red box. The brush tips are a pale white and grey color. Handles are lacquered in a shiny red with silver embossed labels. The presentation is just phenomenal. I’m testing the brushes this week and hope to have a review with first impressions soon.

Tom Ford Beauty has some amazing things coming out this fall. I’m most excited about the Skin Illuminating Powder Duo (currently available for pre-order, I’ve ordered it). I’m also intrigued by the Skin Primers that come in a Pink and Peach version.

One of my BFFs shared her love about Korean Skincare Peach and Lily over the weekend. She ordered some of the Cremorlab Sheet Masks and said “you need to try them.” She has super sensitive skin and also knows her ingredients as she works in product development and closely with chemists. If she says something is good I trust her 100% – I’m ordering a few over the weekend. If you have any recommendations I’m all ears!

For Chanel fall I’m obsessed with the new Le Vernis shades in Vert Obscur, Ecorce Sanguine and Chataigne. Two are very very dark but they are perfect for fall. The new Les 5 Ombres de Chanel is to die for. My personal favorites are the four new Stylo Yeux Eyeliners.

Fresh has a new Limited-Edition Rose Face Mask launched to celebrate their 15th Anniversary. They’ve teamed up with London-based artist Jo Ratcliffe to create a beautiful special-edition floral design for the packaging. It’s gorgeous.

Guerlain Fall isn’t expected to arrive until next month but there is a new Terracotta Bayadère Face & Eyes Contour Palette that has caught my eye. I need to check it out immediately.

Marc Jacobs Beauty has three new face products that just launched. I need the Under(cover) Perfecting Coconut Face Primer for sure. It wasn’t on display at my Sephora last week but I hope to check it out soon. There is also a new Re(marc)able Full Cover Foundation Concentrate and a a new brush to go with it called The Face III Buffing Foundation Brush.

Armani has a new Luminous Silk Powder Foundation. I’m a 6.5 in the Luminous Silk and was matched to shade 4 at the counter. I’m not entirely sure it’s the right match but I’m giving it a go anyways. The other colors in the 5, 5.5 and 6.5 range looked very pink to me. I’ll report once I’ve given it a proper test.

Tatcha just launched a new Pore Perfecting Suncreen with SPF 35 (also available in a travel size). I’m really anxious to try this as I’ve been testing sunscreens all summer long. I have high hopes for this one.

Last but not least, many thanks to a couple of my readers who let me know Diptyque is on Hautelook for a limited time. There are a few select pieces available – but the deals are really good and it’s worth a look. I bought two of the Lilac pillars although now I need a photophore to store it. This is my first time ordering from Hautelook.

What’s on your beauty radar this week?

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