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Holiday 2011

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Dior Vernis for Holiday 2011 in Exquis 611

October 16, 2011

Dior Exquis #611 ($22) is one of four nail colors in the Dior Vernis d’Or Collection this year for the holiday season. The theme this year for Dior is gold and each of the nail lacquers are infused with gold powder. Exquis has the complexity of colors like Chanel Peridot and Dior Bronze Libertine but I find that Exquis is softer & slightly less edgy making it easier to pull off for everyday. It is an intriguing color of taupe and brown mixed with gold shimmers. Depending on how the light hits your hands sometimes it looks taupe, sometimes it looks dark brown, other times a golden fawn. The finish is smooth and glossy. It requires two coats for full coverage. I’ve grown to love the chiseled tapered brush – it makes application so much easier.

Pretty gold veins:

I could not find a dupe in my stash. I have seen dupe attempts pop up online though some look quite close. The closest I have is Dior’s Bronze Libertine (Neiman Marcus exclusive from last year), but it’s not quite the same.

Some more comparisons on the nail wheel, L to R: Chanel Khaki Rose, Dior Aztec Chocolate, Exquis, Underground, Czarina Gold, OPI Melody in Mocha, OPI You Don’t Know Jacques, Sephora by OPI Already Famous, Dior Bronze Libertine.

Coming eventually, each shade from Dior’s Holiday 2011 collection but for now, here are the four lined up (all are limited edition so I recommend you act fast if these are on your wishlist):

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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 Sweet Beige & Sparkle d’Or Glossimer and Enivrée Rouge Allure

October 13, 2011

My picks for lips from Chanel holiday:
  • Enivrée Rouge Allure – a healthy glowing sparkly pink (applies true to the tube, but the arm swatch below looks sheerer than in person)
  • Sparkle d’Or Glossimer – a transparent gloss infused with gold flecks
  • Sweet Beige Glossimer – pink nude beige with gold shimmers

When I was at the counter there were no testers so I picked the colors I felt were safe. Enivrée Rouge Allure gives a beautiful healthy flushed pink glow. The texture of the Rouge Allures are pure luxury – creamy and moisturizing. The shimmer is a stunner with multi-colored flecks but without frost or grittiness. The glossimers are beautiful neutrals. Sweet Beige covered my entire lip to give a nude-pink glossy pout. The pigment is medium. Sparkle d’Or is a sheer almost clear color that gives a hint of golden sparkle. It’s a good layering gloss. I love that the glosses matched the eye shadow single theme of beige and gold. I did not get good lip swatches but here are a few more close ups.

I do believe Enivrée Rouge Allure is unique and a must-have for the holiday season – it’s not similar to any of the Rouge Cocos, except it’s perhaps similar to the Rose Dentelle Rouge Coco with added complex shimmers. The glossimers are lovely but  fairly standard in my opinion. They are stunners but I think there have been better shades released in past seasons by Chanel.
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Les Tissages de Chanel in Tweed Brun Rosé 70

October 11, 2011

Les Tissages de Chanel in Tweed Brun Rosé 70 ($45) is the newest release for the tweed effect blushes inspired by Chanel’s tweed fabric. These blushes come in a rectangular pan in the classic black Chanel compact woven with two different shades with an overlay of gold shimmers. When applied on the face Tweed Brun Rosé 70 is a warm peachy shade with a hint of brown. I found it very similar to other Chanel Tweed blushes. The undertone is different and appears to be a mix of Corail and Ambre. It’s a more intense version of Tweed Corail – tan ladies who found it a bit too light for their skintone will love the new Brun Rose for holiday.

For me, the color isn’t a must-have simply because of my overload on the peachy colors. It is a beautiful color and the Chanel Tweed blushes are known for giving that subtle but noticeable glow to the cheeks. The finish of Brun Rose is true to the Tweed formula – natural, elegant and refined and easy to apply (practically goof-proof). I think those who are concerned with warmer shades turning orangey need not worry with this color. It didn’t darken on my skin at all, but I definitely recommend trying in person if you have any hesitation.

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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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Lumière Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting Powder

October 9, 2011

Lumière Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting Powder ($72 for 13g/0.46 oz) is the star product of the Chanel Holiday 2011 collection and in my mind the star highlighter of the season. This highlighter comes in a large black compact with an angled brush. The embossed pattern is a beautiful work of art and is simply to die for. In the compact I initially saw a luminous beige soft gold but depending on how the light hits the palette, you can see soft flashes of pearly pink. Do note that the beautiful sparkle that you see in the first photos is only a sheer layer overspray. Had the beautiful shimmer been consistent throughout I would have deemed this back-up worthy. Underneath (what the real product is) is still luminous and glowy but much more subtle and subdued. Swatches, comparisons, and descriptions below. First a few shots of the palette. As you can see when the light hits the sparkle the palette seems to just glow from within.

Once the overspray is removed this is what you see:

Still even with the overspray removed, you can get a beautiful pearly shimmer (this is applied heavily):

Comparisons to some other highlighters with multiple comparison shots so you can see the difference in shimmer. The Lumière Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting Powder has the most finely milled luminescence. The others either have more frost or a bit more sparkle. I love the complexity of the Chanel because it’s not a pure champagne, gold, beige or pink but rather a mix of all the colors. Still it manages to be soft and refined.

Overall thoughts: I wish the overspray wasn’t an overspray but I still really love this. On my face the palette looks chalky on first swipe but blending gives a beautiful subtle glow. This one blows Guerlain’s Holiday 2011 highlighter out of the water but I still prefer the ones I have in my current stash. I prefer the Pearl Glow over the Lumière Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting Powder but I still really like the new one for holiday. I highly recommend you try this in person before deciding to pass. On my skin the Lumière Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting Powder is very sheer simply because of my skintone. I suspect on darker skins there will be more of a contrast and show up better. On fairer skins I think it will be beautiful as well. I actually prefer this one on the eyes as an eyeshadow because it shows up better for me.

For holiday I’m not even going to look at Cle de Peau’s (the price point is pure insanity) but I am curious to see what the MAC Glitter and Ice Shimmer Powders will look like. Guerlain’s pressed highlighter is nice but not a must-have due to the sheerness. Bottom line I think Chanel’s is the best so far for this season.
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Chanel Le Vernis Rouge Carat 587

October 8, 2011

Chanel Holiday has slowly been trickling in and has finally arrived on the West Coast in Southern California at Neiman Marcus. My local counter did not have any testers or display yet but I suspect all counters will have the full collection soon. First up is the newest Le Vernis shade in Rouge Carat 587 ($25) a rich ruby red infused with the most beautiful fuschia iridescence. It has “holiday” written all over it. Karla Sugar gave us a sneak peek at full line up earlier this year. According to her charts, the color appears to be Limited Edition for holiday.
As another reference, I loved Fruity Lashes review and swatches. She has excellent descriptions and I too see Rouge Carat as a red shade even though it flashes pink and looks quite complex in the bottle. To me, the texture seems thicker than most Chanel polishes I’ve tried. It applies beautifully with just one coat and on the nails the pink fuschia shimmer barely shows up. I find that it helps balance out the warmness of the red color making this a neutral red, but it still pulls warm on me. I’ll show a few different angles in an attempt to show the shimmer and complexity.

Here it is swatched with two coats although a single coat was sufficient:

My comparisons show that Chanel Rouge Carat is very similar to Shanghai Red. The difference is that the shimmer and base in Shanghai Red is more pink. More pink and red comparisons below to Rococo Nail Apparel in Trash, Chanel Dragon, Chanel Shanghai Red, Chanel Cherry and Chanel Pulsion.

Bottom line is LOVE. The complexity of the shimmers in Chanel Rouge Carat make it stand out among other red shimmers but it’s still a beautiful classic red. I suspect it can be easily duped by other shades from OPI (who also does an amazing job at creating killer red shimmers) but I feel Chanel usually does it best. I would have liked the shimmer to be a bit more flashy or show up more but the rich pigment and color is beautiful as is and absolutely perfect for the holiday season. That being said, I’m still enamored with the Spring and Fall colors that were released this year so it might be a while before I wear this one as a full mani or pedi.
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