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Diorskin Nude Glow – Healthy Glow Summer Powder in Aurora 001 and Sunset 002

April 22, 2011

The summer collections this year have some of the most beautiful bronzers I have ever seen. I’ve been trying to find Aurora and Sunset everywhere – it appears Saks received their items first in the US and finally Nordstrom just received them this week. (On Saturday Aurora and Nude Tan Quint were both sold out already.) Being the bronzer-obsessive woman that I am, I jumped on both bronzing powders, Aurora 001 and Sunset 002.

The Diorskin Nude Glow Healthy Glow Summer Powder couldn’t be better named. They both give a warm healthy glow. Each shade has a beautiful woven pattern with four different shades in each. Both have visible shimmer and if you swipe your finger into the palette you will see a highly pigmented frost. On the skin, however, the shimmer tones down and you get a beautiful glow. The shimmer, to me, is barely detectable on the face.

Aurora 001 is the lighter softer version with soft peach and different shades of brown and tan. It’s fairly warm, not quite peach, not quite brown, but a peachy-brown hybrid.

Sunset 002 is darker, warmer, deeper and it was borderline orangey when applied with a heavy hand – but I have gotten a bit of color so I think this will be gorgeous on Chanel Beiges/NC35’s (not quite there yet, but almost!). A bit of blending out and it looks just fine on me but I don’t mind a strong bronzer. I always want to be more tan, and unfortunately I’m really fair right now!

Side by side, blurry but hope you can see the undertone:

I couldn’t find any dupes. The woven pattern makes this easy to mix and blend all the colors together so you don’t end up with stripes on the face. Plus the combination of colors makes both of these unique.

Comparison Set 1: MAC Shooting Star MSF, MAC So Ceylon MSF, Dior Sunset 002, Dior Aurora 001, MAC Sunny By Nature MSF, MAC Warmed MSF, MAC Gold Deposit MSF



Comparison Set 2: Le Metier Maldives Magic, MAC Refined Matte Suntan, Dior Sunset 002, Dior Aurora 001, MAC Refined Golden, NARS Irresistiblement



Lucky girl Café Makeup has been able to play with Dior Summer for a few weeks since she found them in Paris. Definitely check out her series to see what Aurora looks like on Liz and Amy’s arm (both are lighter and cooler toned than me).

Overall I love both. I think once I get to be at NC35 I will be able to wear the Aurora 001 and have it show up. Sunset 002 is darker and more orangey but not too orangey for me. If you’re fair like Chanel Cameo or MAC NC30 – it may too much for you.

For reference, I’m currently Chanel Shell Teint Innocence, in between MAC NC30-35. My arm underneath is probably closer to a NC30 because the sun does not hit that area.

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Loving Right Now

April 11, 2011

Right now I’m loving …

Jo Malone Tea Fragrances – layering these together creates the most lovely uplifting scents. I find them simple, pure and refreshing! (each scent reviewed here)

Chanel Ombres Perleés de Chanel, perfect for a lovely glow and easy to apply with fingers (reviewed and swatched here)

NARS Kalahari Duo & Fez Single Eyeshadow – I’ve been using my depotted Kalahari and it was about time for a replacement so I bought a new one. It’s one of my holy-grail neutrals. Fez is a beautiful bronzey copper (swatched here).

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in Ébène is a pure black and stays put all day and Urban Decay’s 24/7 Shadow Pencil Blending Brush is the perfect brush for blending smokey colors (not so great for blending lighter shades all over the lid, but for darker shades and detail areas or smudging it’s great)

Giorgio Armani Blush #2 – the original Armani products were the best in my opinion. Classic nude soft neutrals never go out of style. #2 is a soft luminous peachy pink.

Bobbi Brown Aruba Illuminating Bronzing Powder is a golden shimmer bronze (see it here too)

Chanel Joyeuse from the Le Blanc Asia Exclusive Collection is a beautiful bright pink (see it reviewed here as well)

More bright lips: Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer 02 Can-Can (here too), Dior Model Addict Lipstick (also here) and Chanel’s Rouge Coco Shine in Adventure (I used up the entire sample from the little card I received and went out to buy the full sized version)

What are you loving right now?
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Comparisons For Chanel Misia Rouge Coco Shine & Miami Peach Le Vernis

April 8, 2011


For Chanel Liberte v Misia: Liberte is more milky and less shimmery but more pigmented while Misia is brighter more vibrant and has a sheerer shimmery texture with more red.

For those wondering whether I prefer Chanel’s Miami Peach or Orange Fizz: right now the vote goes to Miami Peach. Do note that Miami Peach is less pigmented with a slight jelly-like finish. The gold shimmer is very fine and not very noticeable. Orange Fizz is clearly more orange and has that amazing rich smooth opaque coverage Chanel is well known for these days, it may be harder to pull off on all skintones.

Hope this helps some!

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Coordinating Brighter Colors With Neutrals

March 29, 2011

I’m a neutral lover at heart but brights are nice to wear in sheer washes mixed in with neutrals. For coordinating brights I don’t there are any rules you need to stick to. Just experiment with different combinations of colors to see what you’re most comfortable with. I mainly pick out colors depending on the occasion or what clothes I’m wearing for the day (one example here with a yellow top, bright coral cheek, coppery bronze eye and nude gold lip). I usually go for something that is as natural as possible and here are a few things I go by:
  • Brighten the face by applying bronzer first then layer a soft wash of bright pink or coral or peach on top
  • Mixing pinks and peach blushes together can add depth and dimension
  • Can you match your lip color to your blush? Sure! For example using different variations of pink can create a pretty coordinated look
  • You don’t have to match lips and cheeks, having a bright coral cheek with a sheer bright or soft pink lip can work well too
  • If something is too bright, you can sheer it out with a soft blending brush or by adding a paler shimmer color on top
A few ideas – use these for color ideas rather than the specific name of the brand or product.

* Tip – At a national artist event for NARS, the artist blended Goldfinger with Nepal together and it created the most beautiful soft rose gold shadow. When using bronzer and a bright blush, I usually apply bronzer first, but most artists at events apply bronzer as the final touch.

* Tip – For the eyes, layering colors can be done by applying the lightest shade first, then the cream, and finally the bronzey powder on top. For MAC Fleur Power Blush, I find it so universally flattering it will go with either a bright lip and a pale lip, or the bright and pale mixed together for a softer peachy glow.

* Tip – Mix pinks and peaches by layering them on top of each other on the cheeks. Depending on your mood or preference, you can adjust the color by applying one color more heavily than the other.

* Tip – Coral blushes can be coordinated with either bright pinks or bright peaches for lips since many have both pink and peach mixed in.

You may notice there are no nail polishes featured in any of these looks. I think bright nails can be mixed and matched in almost any combination to work with a variety of looks. I hope you found this mini series helpful. Summer collections are about to trickle in soon – so I’m sure there will plenty of inspiration for all of you in the upcoming months!

If you have any tips or want to share how you wear brighter colors, feel free in the comments! Makeup events with a good artist can be incredibly useful for tips, tricks and ideas on how to incorporate new things with well-used loves 🙂

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Spring to Summer Colors for Eyes and Cheeks

March 27, 2011

Bright blushes are a definitely must-have for me, although I usually layer two colors for more depth and dimension. Most of the time I will layer a soft wash of bright over a bronzer. For eyes I don’t really wear brights. The brightest shades I have are golds or pinky-peachy shimmers. I’ll feature a few non-neutrals, but for bright eye colors I’m a bit lacking.

Bright pink blushes (L to R)*: NARS Angelika, MAC Pink Swoon, NARS Desire, Chanel Tweed Fuschia

Bright peaches (also see my peach obsession here): NARS Taj Mahal, MAC Style , Bobbi Brown Coral Shimmer Blush, NARS Gilda


Bright corals (clockwise from left): NARS Cactus Flower Cream Blush, Guerlain Série Noire Blush G, Bobbi Brown Pink Coral Shimmer Wash, MAC Fleur Power

Brighter eye colors for me (not necessarily bright for everyone): NARS Goldfinger, NARS Étrusque, MAC Pink Bronze Pigment* (note the picture has been corrected, it’s Pink Bronze, not Pink Gold), Edward Bess Escape (which isn’t bright but I put it in just for a color reference)


The next and final part of this series will include a few tips and look ideas of how I incorporate brights with neutrals.

* Those who follow me on Twitter know that I no longer have my NARS Angelika Multiple since my Jack Russell pup Lucy ate it. Thanks to all who have asked about her! She is fine and dandy just like the vet assured me over the phone. In fact she is acting like it was any other puppy treat. The picture above at the very top was taken pre-puppy-consumption.
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Spring to Summer Sheer-Bright Colors for Lips

March 25, 2011

For lips, I like to wear sheer see-through colors for brights. What I like (left to right from above): NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in New Lover, Dior Addict in Model 564, NARS Angelika Lip Gloss, Chanel Nakkar Glossimer, Chanel Pink Pulsion Glossimer (see it here) Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer in 08 Bouquet, Bobbi Brown Hot Pink Lip Gloss, Edward Bess Island Rose Compact Rouge.

Swatched on arm, same order, in direct sunlight:

One more view, with flash:

I haven’t done lip-swatches of all the colors yet, but here are the ones I do have:

NARS New Lover (also here), this is a unique shade that looks different on everyone. It looks so different on my hand compared to my lips. See it on Cafe Makeup on Liz who is fairer and slightly cooler toned (here) while this is what it looks like on me below:

Nars Angelika Lip Gloss:

Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer 08 (looks brighter in real life, flash washed out color a bit, all my Paul & Joe Lip Lacquers here they are among my favorite lip glosses, I have almost every color):

Edward Bess Island Rose Compact Rouge (also here and swatched for Karlasugar here):

I apologize if all the links have you clicking in too many places. I’ve just referenced them in case you wanted to see more detailed reviews or comparison from past reviews. Have a happy Friday!
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Inside My Makeup Bag

March 18, 2011

My makeup bag started this week with only 4 items (EB Daydream, Lancome Juicy Tube, mini blush brush, Chanel Boy Rouge Coco Shine), but since Monday it’s accumulated quite a few more things this long work-week. Today, what is inside my Laura Mercier zebra print makeup bag:
  1. NARS Tzarine Eyeshadow Duo
  2. MAC Blonde MSF (limited edition from January 2009)
  3. Burberry Misty Blush (new for spring, review to come soon)
  4. Chanel Boy Rouge Coco Shine
  5. Laura Mercier Mini Double Sided Brush
  6. MAC Wolf Pearlglide (limited edition from 2008ish)
  7. Lancôme Yayoi Kusama Edition Juicy Tube in Dot Apricot (now at Nordstrom)
  8. Edward Bess Daydream Bronzer (my holy grail bronzer, reviewed numerous times here)
  9. Le Métier de Beauté Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss Ibiza
  10. Le Métier de Beauté Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss Captiva
  11. Shu Uemura ME Black 990
  12. Bobbi Brown Mini Blush Brush
Close Ups Labeled:


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