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Chanel Holiday 2009: Cage Doree de Chanel

November 11, 2009

The Chanel Holiday Collection finally arrived at Saks last week so of course I rushed over to check everything out.

I featured 2 of the Holiday Sets that came out in September, check out these posts for details and photos: First Look at the Chanel Holiday 2009 Gift Sets and Chanel Holiday 2009 Glossimer Duo.

For the collection, the standouts to me were the aqualumiere lipglosses and lipsticks, although they seemed to be more of a spring resort theme rather than a holiday theme. The lipsticks are unique enough that I couldn’t find dupes or similar colors in my Chanel collection.

Pictured left to right:
Aqualumiere Glosses: Canari, Hirondelle, Colbri
Aqualumiere Lipsticks: Grenada, Tasmania, Galapagos, Maldives
Nail polish: Trapeze


Here are the comparisons to some other Chanel Aqualumiere Glosses and Glossimers within the same color families + swatches:

Left to right – Canari Aqualumiere, Candy Glow Aqualumiere, Coral Reef Glossimer, Hirondelle Aqualumiere, Courtisane Glossimer, Diamond Rose Aqualumiere, Colibri Aqualumiere, Wonderland Glossimer (LE), Whisper Glossimer (d/c)

* Canari Aqualmiere gloss has more pinky-coral in it compared to Candy Glow and Coral Reef
* Hirondelle Aqualumiere is not as frosty/sparkley and more natural than Courtisane and Diamond Rose
* Colibri Aqualumiere is more white than Wonderland (more sparkley) and Whisper (more beige)

Here’s a repeat picture of the Trapeze Nail Polish compared to Golden Sand and Antilope:


For the actual holiday collection, there have already been some great posts and pictures published on various blogs, so I didn’t want to do a rehash of everything. For more great photos/swatches/reviews, check out Makeup and Beauty Blog, Karlasugar, My Makeup Reviews and Beauty Moogle Zone (all linked to the actual Chanel Holiday articles for your convenience!).

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Dolce & Gabbana Holiday 2009 Collection

November 10, 2009

Saks has received their holiday collection for Dolce & Gabbana and the colors are stunning!

There have been some promotional pictures of the Golden Beams holiday collection floating around the web on various blogs like Temptalia.com and Makeup4All.com and in the latest Saks catalog page 43, you can see photos of the Sparkling Lipstick, Royal Nail Lacquer, Magic Lipgloss, and Gold Eyeshadow Quad.

I ordered from Saks NY for the Triple Points event last week and these are the holiday items that came in the mail today (I ordered several items from the regular line too, but those will be saved for another article in the near future):


* Sparkling Shine Lipstick – sparkling warm nude-gold
* Caramel Blush – the perfect caramel nude blush
* Royal Nail Polish – extremely deep purple with reddish undertones and subtle sparkle
* Magic Lipgloss (thanks to the sweet SAs who threw this in as a GWP!) – a rich ruby shimmer

Lips and cheeks: Magic Lipgloss, Caramel Blush, Sparkling Lipstick


Swatches of Sparkling Lipstick & Magic Lipgloss:


Swatch of Caramel Blush:


Caramel (most pigmented) vs Nude (more peachy/light) vs MAC Tendering (in the middle):


Royal Nail Polish: 3 coats with high flash (in natural light the sparkle is more subtle)


Compared to Nars Tokaido Express and Chanel Vendetta:


In natural sunlight: L to R – Nars Tokaido Express, Dolce & Gabbana Royal, Chanel Vendetta


As of this past weekend, the Saks NY store called to let me know they received their Golds Eyeshadow Quad in limited quantities. I decided to pass on this for now since I already have a lot of golds/silvers.

If you have the latest Saks catalog, check page 43 for a better picture:


Overall thoughts: I would say the standout is the Sparkling Lipstick. I love nude-golds and this one is really pretty and natural looking. Will definitely warm up the skin with a soft glow. I’m really happy with the other items as well. The holiday lipgloss is one of the more pigmented ones and the blush shows up better than the Nude Blush on my skin.

The Saks NY girls did a really great job again describing colors to me over the phone (thank you for your patience ladies!) and I couldn’t be more pleased.

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More Dolce & Gabbana Goodies

November 8, 2009

These were from Saks.com from Friends and Family last month. Fuschia Nail Polish, Red Nail Polish, Soft Lipstick, Nude Lipgloss, Tender Lipgloss:

Desert Bronzer:


Compared to Edward Bess Daydream (left), Giorgio Armani #5 (right), Le Metier de Beaute Sunkissed (bottom):


L to R – Soft Lipstick, Nude Lipgloss, Tender Lipgloss:


Another view, Tender Lipgloss (left), Nude Lipgloss (middle), Soft Lipstick (right):


Fuschia (corally shimmer) & Red Nail Polishes:


Overall thoughts: I have to admit I’ve grown to like Dolce & Gabbana a lot more than I initially did. Although I did love everything from my first haul (First Look: Dolce & Gabbana Makeup) thanks to some great recommendations from Melissa at Saks NY – I wasn’t completely thrilled because I felt everything was overpriced.

However, after having tried more of the line, I’ve come to like the high quality of their products. Some can be a hit or miss. For me, I like the nail polishes as long as you get the newer skinny brush (rather than the original fat chunky ones), I love the eyeshadow quads and duos for excellent velvet like texture and rich pigment, and the classic lipsticks are vibrant and moisturizing.

The blushes in my opinion are pretty, but seem to be more on the soft side. I prefer to go a bit heavier with my blush, but they are nice if you like a natural soft cheek (think along the lines of the Laura Mercier reformulated blushes).

The lipglosses may vary per preference. I haven’t been able to try them all, but really liked Baby, Seduction and Sunset. They have a thicker rich texture. Nude and Tender are pretty, but I find them more sheer than rich. Still very pretty.

I have a couple of the holiday items coming in the mail soon, check back for it later this week.

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Color Focus: Purple Nail Polish Photos & Swatches

November 6, 2009

Thanks to several e-mails and other blog recommendations, I checked out the new Hard Candy Mr. Wrong at Walmart and the new OPI Merry Midnight Nail Polishes. Hard Candy Mr. Wrong is very sparkly with a base similar to Dior’s Silver Purple but with chunky gold glitter mixed in. I was initially worried that OPI’s Merry Midnight would be too over the top, but when I tried it on at home, it turned out really pretty. The formula is super sheer though and required 3 full coats for me. Here are a few swatch pictures to compare.

Unique Purples: Hard Candy Mr. Wrong (Walmart), Dior Silver Purple (Holiday 2009), Dior Lemon Balm (Nordstrom Exclusive)


Plummy-Mauve Purples: Le Metier Violaceous Splendor, OPI Merry Midnight, Le Metier Black Orchid

* Note, the OPI Merry Midnight sparkle doesn’t show up so well in the swatch photo, I highly recommend you check out All Lacquered Up or Scrangie’s Blogs for better swatch pictures!

Light purple shades: Like purples, but don’t like darker colors? Check out Le Metier de Beaute Phlox, Chanel Violette, MAC Love & Friendship


If you want to see more purple nail polishes I’ve written about, check out these links:

* Color Focus: Dark Vampy Nail Polish
* I *HEART* MAC Baby Goth Girl
* A Few Alternatives to Super Dark Nail Polish . . .

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A Few Alternatives to Super Dark Nail Polish (That Are Still Kinda On The Dark Side)

October 27, 2009

When it comes to fashion and beauty trends I am not always brave enough to be a true follower. There are always styles that are cute and chic on others that I could never pull off (for example teal eyeshadow, black lipstick/gloss or leggings with boots). If you like dark nails but feel the new releases are a bit too vampy or deep, here are four softer alternatives I really like:

L to R: OPI Melody in Mocha, Paul & Joe #20 Manhattan, Urban Decay Gunmetal, Dior Lemon Balm, Chanel Noir Ceramic


* I believe the OPI and Chanel are both discontinued, but you can still find quite a few online through swap boards, ebay or discount nail e-tailers

* OPI Melody in Mocha is a complex fawn grey with slight mauve tones and gold shimmer, I was lucky to get one in a swap and love it – I think there are quite a few dupes, there’s one from China Glaze that might be similar (the flash makes it look lighter and emphasizes the silver – in real life it’s not quite as pale for the swatch at least)

* Paul & Joe #20 Manhattan is a sparkley medium-light gunmetal shimmer, it is on the sheerer side so I had to use four coats but the finished result has a lot of depth – it’s hard to explain but it looks different depending on the way the light hits the color

* Urban Decay Gunmetal is currently only available in the Apocalyptic Nail Kit, I really hope it comes out in full size, it’s a deeper gunmetal shimmer with slight brownish tones in it so it doesn’t turn blue on me like most gunmetal shades

* Dior Lemon Balm was a Nordstrom Exclusive for their last Anniversary Sale, I believe you might still be able to find it online at nordstrom.com, it’s an oddly-named color, in the container it looks more greyish, but on the nails and compared to the other greys, it definitely pulls more purple with brown shimmers

* Chanel Noir Ceramic was photographed mainly for comparison purposes, but it’s a nice black with silver shimmers which make it softer and less harsh than most blacks, a close dupe is Chanel’s Black Satin which is darker



One more view:


I’d really LOVE to hear your favorite shimmer nail polishes that are medium-to-dark. I’m always looking for more colors by recommendations to check out. I tend to feel overwhelmed when I shop at Ulta or Sephora for nail products – too many colors to choose from and I usually end up with too many reds that look almost identical.

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Macy’s Dior Exclusive Lipgloss & Nail Polish for Breast Cancer Awareness

October 21, 2009

A fellow Dior fan told me about a few exclusives she found at her Macy’s for Breast Cancer Awareness. The two exclusive items include a Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect Pink Layette 067 & Dior Vernis Nail Lacquer Pink Dahlia 251. When you purchase the 2 items together you get a cute little pink envelope mirror in a pink satin pouch. Both are pale shimmery pinks. The lipgloss is very pale and milky (see my other milky pinks lipglosses) and the nail polish is very sheer and needs 3 coats to show up, but reminds me of a more sparkley version of Chanel’s Pink Satin that came out several holiday/springs ago.



Updated nail swatches per request compared to Chanel Pink Satin (3 coats) v Pink Dahlia (4 coats):



I’ve included pictures of the tops of the boxes because I know Dior sometimes has two sets of names for each item, one used in the US and the other in other countries.


The little gift mirror with pouch:


I couldn’t find any information or products online, but check your local Macy’s Dior counter and ask about their exclusives. I believe these might have been part of the Dior Lilas collection that seemed to be available everywhere except the US (we only got the Pearly Lilac Quint).

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Dior Holiday 2009: Smoky Crystal Quint + Silver Purple Nail Polish

October 9, 2009

Dior Holiday 2009 has been spotted at my local Macy’s and I picked up the new Smoky Crystal 089 quint and Silver Purple 782 nail polish from the collection.

I just got a manicure, so I didn’t swatch the nail polish for you. I do recommend you check All Lacquered Up for a swatch of this lovely purple though. The entire holiday collection seemed very cool-toned, most of it seemed like repromoted items with the exception of a new sparkle-chrome-like single shadow and a charm with gloss.

Close up of the new eyeshadow palette:

Comparisons to a few other quints that I have to show how cool-toned it is. It’s even more cool than Sky Glow:

I don’t have dupes for the other shades, but the closest I could find to the bottom left color is MAC Moth Brown. The Dior is even more blue-cool toned than MAC Moth Brown which I consider to be one of the coolest-toned eyeshadows that I have:

OVERALL THOUGHTS: This is one of the iridescent formula quints, so the pigment is very rich. It’s definitely unique and not easily dupe-able in my opinion. Lovely for a soft silvery eye or a smokey eye. There are a lot of different looks you can create with this palette.

UPDATE: I was initially worried this would be too cool-toned or frosty for my medium olive-golden skin, however, I tried it tonight and it worked just fine for me! I even ventured out of my comfort zone and used all the shades tonight and it wasn’t too frosty.

I signed up for a Dior event this next week at my local Nordstrom – so I will see if they can show me more techniques on how to use this.

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