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Holiday Palettes From Becca: Fallen Angel & Enigma

November 26, 2010

Becca always puts together the most beautiful makeup looks. Check out their features from past seasons under Becca Style – Makeup Looks and you’ll see what I mean. This season Becca has released a new collection called Fallen Angel. The featured looks were just so stunning that I immediately ordered the 2 palettes: Enigma (eyes) $49 and Fallen Angel (lip and cheek) $45.

Enigma Palette has a trio of neutral-cool smokey colors. Amure is a matte soft grey-brown, Silesia is a dark smokey grey-brown-black, Surah is a shimmery mauve. All have a soft velvety texture which make these easy to apply and blend together. I was a bit let down by the palette in the sense that it did not look like the promotional photo online. Still the quality is very good and colors are good neutrals for a soft smokey eye – just not very unique.


Fallen Angel Palette is for lips and cheeks. It appears to have more of a peachy-resort feel rather than angelic. When I think “angel” I think soft pink and champagne. Still this is lovely. Sunrise is a sheer peach (almost clear), Nectar reminds me of Tuberose Lip & Cheek Creme, Narcissus is a pale gold cream highlighter.

As much as I love Becca, I was somewhat disappointed by what came in the mail. Having been somewhat let down (compared to the promotional photos) twice in the past, you would think I had learned my lesson to wait and check out other reviews before ordering again. These palettes are indeed beautiful and very wearable, so don’t get me wrong, I think they are very high quality and worth the price. I was just expecting something different. Below are swatches, the eyeshadows were swatched over a lightly moisturized arm.



One last view for size comparison, the palette colors are similar in size to a MAC eyeshadow. The Becca Shadows are 1.6 g or 2 g each (depending on color) while MAC eyeshadows are 1.5 g each. Do note I find the quality and texture of the Becca much better than most MAC shadows. The creams in the Fallen Angel Palette are 1.3 g each.

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Laura Mercier Color Wardrobe Holiday 2010

November 1, 2010

This holiday season seems to be all about palettes and sets. Laura Mercier has quite a few options this holiday but the only one that stood out to me was the Color Wardrobe Palette. I purchased this from the last Neimans Incircle Event to take advantage of their gift with purchases but was under the impression the retail value was less than the $98 listed price. I will say my jaw dropped when I saw the price on the receipt. I do think it’s a relatively good value for 6 eyeshadows, 3 blushes (these have more product than a full sized blush), 8 lip colors, and 2 double ended brushes, however if I knew the retail price beforehand I probably would have passed on this.



  • Top Layer, Top Row: Chocolate, Sable, Twinkling Star, Stellar, Tiger’s Eye and Baroque Eye Colours
  • Top Layer, Bottom Row: Spice, Apricot Blossom and Lotus Cheek Colours
  • Bottom Layer, Top Row: Mulberry Stain, Hibiscus Stain, Shy Pink Stain, Plum Lip Glaze
  • Bottom Layer, Bottom Row: English Rose Stain, Brick Red Stain, Mocha Stain, Naked Lip Glaze

If you’re more into the individual products the good news is that most of the lip stains are available individually. I’ve been told that the 2 exclusive eyeshadows Twinkling Star & Tiger’s Eye are going to be released next year (these are a new sparkling formula). The three blushes are gorgeous but are similar to existing colors. I compared them at the counter and they are clearly different but still close to some shades.

Don’t get me wrong – this is a beautiful palette and very versatile to take you from day to night. The lip colors are neutrals with a kick. My favorite items are the brushes (Laura always does great brushes with her palettes unlike many other brands) and the blushes. I just would have rather purchased items individually.

The colors, descriptions, close ups + swatches of the top layer:



Eyeshadows:
  • Chocolate – shimmering deep cocoa chocolate brown
  • Sable – cool silver-taupe
  • Twinkling Star – glittering champagne with a hint of pink
  • Stellar – neutral champagne nude
  • Tiger’s Eye – sparkling warm bronze
  • Baroque – warm tawny brownish neutral
Blushes:
  • Spice – the name says it all, a warm brown spice with slight shimmer
  • Apricot Blossom – reminds me of Orange Blossom
  • Lotus – bright pink with shimmer, brighter/cooler than Lotus Pink

The colors, descriptions, close ups + swatches of the top layer:




Lip Stains:
  • Mulberry – warm red brown
  • Hibiscus – bright healthy pink
  • Shy Pink – nude pink
  • English Rose – medium warm pink rose
  • Brick Red – not sure what to make of this color, it’s not really a brick red
  • Mocha – cinnamon mocha brown
Lip Glazes:
  • Plum Lip Glaze – sheer glossy plum
  • Naked Lip Glaze – light peachy-beige, almost clear

Overall a nice neutral polished and classic looking palette that isn’t too neutral. If you’re new to Laura Mercier or are looking for a versatile palette to go with virtually everything in your wardrobe this is a great pick for you. Great for travel and the product sizes are decent. I don’t know that I would be comfortable toting this around in my purse but the compact is fairly sturdy and comes with high quality brushes. It is on the pricey side but if you consider all the items you get, it’s a relatively good value.
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Dior Minaudière in Grey Golds 001 (Saks)

October 28, 2010
I couldn’t resist. Pretty packaging, sparkly black gold + shimmery cool taupe and I was sold on the Minaudière in Grey Golds 001 from Saks. You saw my feature of the Dior Minaudière in Pink Golds 002 last week. Here are photos of the Grey Golds version – my favorite of the two options and as far as I know, exclusive to Saks in the U.S.

On the nails, Chanel Cosmic Violine, top from Banana Republic


The Grey Golds version has a black with gold sparkles, cool shimmery taupe, and a lovely warm white-gold sparkle. The eyeshadows apply true to what you see in the pan. They are softer in texture than the quints making them easier to blend. All shades are very shimmery.

The lip colors are a bit more deceiving. In the compact you see a dark vampy plum and a white-gold sparkle. When you swatch them, the plum actually applies more red and the white gold applies even more sparkly than what you see in the compact.



Here are the shadows of the 2 clutch palettes from Dior:

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Bobbi Brown Everything Eye Kit – Bloomingdale’s Holiday Exclusive

October 25, 2010
Holiday palettes and kits are being released everywhere and it seems like there’s something new from Bobbi Brown every week. I can hardly keep track. Bloomingdale’s has a new exclusive holiday set this year called the Everything Eye Kit ($85). It comes with a 5-pan eyeshadow palette, full-sized Everything Mascara in Black and a new Thunderstorm Gel Eye Liner.


The palette contains a mix of regular, sparkle and shimmer wash colors. Inside it has (left to right) Navajo, Gold Bar Sparkle, Quarry Shimmer Wash, Pink Copper Sparkle and Caviar. Navajo/Caviar are repromotes. Gold Bar and Pink Copper are labeled as “sparkles” but they seem remarkably similar to those Diamond Dust shadows Bobbi Brown released around 2006. They don’t seem like her regular sparkle shadow formula in the sense that they aren’t chunky but they do have quite a bit of sparkle. Quarry is a gorgeous silvery smokey shimmer – I wish she would release this in a full sized individual color.


Thunderstorm Eyeliner is a new exclusive shade. It’s a dark neutral grey with tiny silver sparkles. It looks remarkably similar to the other darker blacks and greys in the container. I would say Thunderstorm is a less blue version of Graphite Shimmer Ink.

Here it is compared to Graphite Shimmer Ink, Black Ink, Caviar Ink and Gunmetal Shimmer Ink Gel Liners from Bobbi Brown. When you scroll down to the swatches you’ll see the difference between each color. In the pots they all look the same. On the skin it’s a bit different. (Note: A number of these were from various GWPs over past years but I’ve lost track of which ones I received as gifts.)




My thoughts: It’s a pretty set but not a must-have for long-time Bobbi Brown fans – this set will probably be a replica of what you already own. If it weren’t for the GWP for beauty benefits at Bloomies I probably wouldn’t have bought this kit. I do think it’s a great starter kit for those who are looking for a good set of wearable and highly versatile shades. If you don’t have a good dark eyeliner, Bobbi Brown’s Gel Liners are among my favorites. Thunderstorm is a lovely dark smokey shade that will define the eyes without looking too harsh. The sparkle shadows are beautiful and aren’t over the top when applied with a light-to-medium hand.

Do be aware the palette is fairly tiny – it seems to be a trend for many brands this year. If you want a more detailed breakdown of what this costs based on full-sized gel liner and mascara you get:

  • $21 = regular cost of gel liners
  • $22 = regular cost of everything mascara
  • $42 = what you pay for the palette, which is about $8 per shadow (times 5) + whatever you want to estimate for the cost of the dual-ended mini brush

I personally would rather pick out full-sized individual items and pay more for colors I really like. I’ve never been a fan of Bobbi’s mascaras so the one from this set will most likely be gifted away. As much as I love sets and palettes, I am DYING for Bobbi Brown to release individual eyeshadows like she used to – in shimmer wash and metallic formulas please! I am hoping all these companies will get out of the palette trend come spring.

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Dior Holiday Continued: Minaudière in Pink Golds & 5 Couleurs Gold Edition in Five Golds

October 22, 2010

I picked up two more items from the Dior Holiday Collection – the Dior Minaudière in Pink Golds 002 and the 5 Couleurs Gold Edition in 5 Golds 001 (see Part 1 here). Both are elegant, stunning and perfect for taking the holiday season.


The Dior Minaudière in Pink Golds 002 ($80) comes in a heavy but small clutch and contains three sparkley eyeshadows (dark plum, silvery plum taupe and light opal pink). There are two glosses, also sparkly pinks. The detailing on the compact is absolutely divine. I like that there is a slim swiveled covering over the glosses to prevent any debris from the shadows from mixing with the gloss. I’ve never been a fan of Dior’s trendy-packaged items but this clutch was just too pretty to pass up. The colors are dupeable with similar other brands and colors but there is no substitute for the luxurious soft texture and quality of these eyeshadows. They have a multi-dimensional quality that no photo or swatch can truly capture. I love it and also purchased the grey version from Saks (coming soon). It’s not the most practical compact but every once in a while I’ll see something so pretty I really don’t care that it’s impractical.

Beautiful detailing (the tag comes off):



Close up of the eyeshadows and glosses:


The new quint in Five Golds 001 ($58) was one of the items I was most excited about. This one has been a bit tricky to locate. I checked my local Nordstrom, Neimans and Bloomingdales and all had the tester but no product to sell yet. They said their shipment had been delayed for this item. Being the impatient girl that I am, I searched the web and found it online at Sephora. This quint seems different than the regular and iridescent formulas because it’s labeled “Gold Edition.” All the colors are a powder formula but there is no quilting imprint. Also, the bottom left pearly shade seems to have a slight cream-glitter finish. Those who cringe at glitter need not worry – the glitter is fine so it’s not over the top. I would describe the colors as a midnight black with silver microsparkles, a warm copper-gold blend, a warm bronze, silver, and beige-opal sparkle.







Overall thoughts: LOVE.

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Coming Soon: A Few Holiday Palette Reviews

October 21, 2010

Stay tuned for more posts soon. I’ll be reviewing a few holiday palettes in the next few days. I’ve already taken photos but I’m not 100% happy with the results so I’ll have to redo them. Clouds and rain have made taking photographs a bit challenging. Here’s a sneak peek of the Laura Mercier Color Wardrobe for this year. Hope all my lovely readers are having a great week!

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Bobbi Brown Holiday Modern Classic Lip & Eye Palette

October 1, 2010

A few holiday sets are trickling in stores and Bobbi Brown’s first round of holiday palettes are stunning. The one that caught my eye was her new Modern Classic Lip & Eye Palette ($75) which contains 10 different eyeshadows and 4 lip glosses. I found this at Nordstrom but don’t know if other counters have these yet. I assume very soon if you haven’t spotted them recently.

This comes in a similar size to her Chrome Palette from last year, but the colors in this palette are so much better. The shadows are to die for and come in matte, shimmer wash, metallic finishes. They are all soft and easy to blend with excellent pigment. I only wish she would release more singles instead of palettes. The lipglosses are very sheer but will look stunning over other lipsticks.

  • Regulars/Mattes: Ivory, Birch, Navy Charcoal (although this has slight sparkle), Espresso
  • Shimmer Washes: Antique Pink, Quarry, Heather Rose
  • Metallics: Oyster Grey, Taffeta, Gold Thread


The glosses (first three from the left are glitters):


Overall stunning and absolutely gorgeous. The shades were all swatched without any base or moisturizer so you can imagine how much better they will look when used over a proper base. The swatches simply cannot do these justice. Definitely a winner and a must have, even with the high price tag. It’s extremely versatile and you’ll get a lot of different looks using this palette.

The other eyeshadow and lip palettes were also to die for. I’m just waiting for another event/gwp which I believe will happen soon at Neimans.

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