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Quads

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Giorgio Armani Fall 2010 Picks For Me

August 4, 2010

When I saw that the fall collection from Armani had launched online, I knew I had to get the new Eyes to Kill Mascara in #5 Blue Grey Night ($30) and the Powder Blush Duo ($49). I’ve loved every single powder blush released by Armani and the new one for fall is exquisite. The Fall Quad ($59) purchase, I credit to Gaia from The Non-Blonde (see her sneak peek here) who has a way of creating major lemmings for me.
My sales associate called me as soon as they came in, which I highly appreciate (it pays to be a loyal customer). For some reason, Armani has been distributing extremely limited quantities of stock to the counters near me. For the past year they have received extremely limited stock and usually don’t get testers until months after they receive the product to sell. For this collection, she only received 3 blush duos and 3 quads. There were no testers, but being familiar with the quality of their eyeshadow quads and blushes, I didn’t need to test these before purchasing.


My thoughts on each item:

Eyes to Kill Mascara #5 (not swatched) – For this one they had a brand new tester so I eagerly tried this one out with a tester mascara wand. In the tube it’s a metallic smokey blue-grey. It goes on darker than it appears in the tube and looks lovely on the eyes. This is my first non-black mascara purchase. There are a number of gorgeous shades by Chanel (plum, bronze, aubergine, etc.) however, the formulas cannot compare to Armani’s Eyes to Kill (my all time favorite mascara). The Eyes to Kill Mascaras defines the lashes, thickens, lengthens and holds the curl. All without flaking or smudging or making the lashes feel brittle. It’s pure love and worth every single penny.

Maestro Eyeshadow Quad Fall 2010 – The pigment on this is incredible. The colors however are definitely out of my personal comfort zone. I think the combination of colors are odd for use all at one time. I really have no idea how I will be able to pull off all shades at once. I’m not sure that I think “fall” when I see it. The blue and navy makes me thing “nautical” which is not something I really associate with fall. Still the colors in the palette are stunning and unique to Armani (see comparisons to Maestro Singles 6, 21 and 33 below). In it there is a denim-colored shimmery bright navy, smokey deep brown with plum, pale silvery blue, shimmery olive almost khaki colored brown. The artist suggested mixing the navy and dark brown together for a smokey eye.

Blush Duo Fall 2010 – Lovely fresh hot pink with a soft pale pink. In typical Armani Blush style, soft texture/finish, natural semi-sheer finish, makes the cheeks just glow. The pale side has more color and is more pink than Blush #12. I used this blush duo as soon as I got home mixed together. It’s just so pretty. I’ve compared it below to some other pinks from D&G, Bobbi Brown, Paul & Joe and Armani. No swatch comparisons as blush shades are extremely hard for me to swatch accurately. *Note* someone mentioned this is $80+ on the armani website and is also listed under the cream-blush duo, I think this an error but I’m not certain. Mine was $49 US (before tax) and it’s definitely powder on both sides. The price can be confirmed on Nordstrom.com.

More photos.







I passed on the new Purple Eyes to Kill #7 (simply too purple for me, just as Gaia described). I didn’t see the new lipsticks, but they seem a bit dark for my taste.

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Chanel Quatuor Boutons de Chanel (Nordstrom Anniversary 2010)

July 9, 2010
Ever since I saw the Chanel Quatuor Boutons de Chanel $65 swatched on KarlaSugar (see here for her review) I knew I had to have it. I didn’t even need to see the tester even though it was of the round-pan design – that’s how good Karla Sugar is.

It seems like Nordstrom has been sending out their pre-sales early this year because UPS arrived with a package from Nordstrom today. (I hear from my local store associates that you can pick up your pre-sale items as early as the 13th. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that what happened with SR doesn’t happen with the other “pre-sales.”) I was even more pleased to find out that while these shadows come in the round pan, they are not the baked variety! Yay! I’m not sure if where it’s made makes a difference, but these ones were made in Italy. This quad seems very similar in texture to the Les Folies Noires from the Noirs Obscurs collection.



This quad has four neutral shades in a soft ivory, light brownish-red clay color, soft fleshy peach and a sheer cool-mauve-brownish color. All have the gold Chanel logo as an overspray which disappears after one swipe. The quad seems to be more on the sheerer side for me, perhaps the color doesn’t show up as well as they do on Karla because I’m darker than her, hence the shades seem to blend in with my skin better. I will say that this quad swatches better on the fingers and apply better on the eyes with brush. Once I put them on my arm the color seemed to disappear a little.

The gold overspray disappears:

In natural light, no flash (still cloudy here in Southern California):

Swatched on bare skin, NOTE they swatched sheer on my arm,
but on my fingers and eyes the color shows up better:



I will say I had no idea these were $65 when I did my pre-sale. Regular quads are $56 which is still highway robbery. At that price, I can’t say it’s a must-have. Pretty, but the price is pretty steep for what you get considering it’s on the sheer side. It seems to have a similar texture/pigment to the Noirs Obscurs quad which was something I was tempted by but passed on because I found it too sheer for the price.
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Lunasol Beige Beige Skin Modeling Eyes

April 5, 2010
One of my very first posts focused on 3 Lunasol Eyeshadow Quads I was lucky enough to get thanks to my wonderful sister while she was in Japan. I’ve received requests for more reviews on Japanese brands, which I would love to do, but I have a very small stash of items that come directly from Japan. I realized I never swatched these, so thought this might be a good time to give a more in-depth review.
I discovered this brand thanks to one of my favorite bloggers, Haru at Rouge Deluxe. I’ve been a long-time fan of hers and her blog is one of my daily reads. I highly recommend you check out her blog (the Lunasol tag is linked above) for more pictures, swatches, reviews and lovely EOTDs.

Beige Beige 01 is reported to be the brand’s Number 1 seller in Japan and comes in the Skin Modeling Eyes formula. It has 3 variations of beige plus 1 glimmering chocolate color. I’d describe this as a true classic beige eyeshadow palette for light to medium to medium-dark skintones + a natural chocolate liner shade that softly defines the eye.

I love the fact that the Lunasol website has a “How To Use” diagram for each eyeshadow palette by formula which I find incredibly helpful, even though with beige colors, it’s hard to go wrong any way you apply the colors. This palette gives you a great fail-proof set of beiges that will give you an enhanced but naturally defined glowing eye look.

Swatches top to bottom are in same order as diagram above, A, B, C, D:

Look I did today with the Lunasol Beige Beige Quad using NARS St. Barts + South Beach Multiples blended on cheeks, NARS Serato dusted on top, MAC Teddy Eyeliner, MAC Spice Lipliner, D&G Sparkling Lipstick, MAC Moth to Flame Dazzleglass.


Are there dupes for this quad? Probably yes, but I haven’t found any other brand that can replicate the texture and pigment of these eyeshadows. The palest shade is the most sparkly, border line glittery, but the others have a sophisticated shimmer that is very flattering and natural looking. The pigment for this quad is very high in my opinion, it has the buttery soft texture of colors from MAC’s Starflash Eyeshadows but better pigment. The swatches on the skin don’t do this quad justice for how the colors look on the eyes! Unfortunately, the pigment did not translate onto my arm.
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Dolce & Gabbana Makeup Spring 2010

March 20, 2010

The Dolce & Gabbana Makeup Spring 2010 Collection has arrived instores in the US and it’s beautiful. The products released have a diverse mix of pink, orange-peach, and purple colors. You can see the full line-up at Karen’s Makeup and Beauty Blog. Below are the close ups and comparisons of the things I picked out.

L to R: Innocence Lipgloss, Precious Lipstick, Petal Lipstick



Innocence Lipgloss Comparisons: Dolce & Gabbana Seduction, Dolce & Gabbana Baby, Dolce & Gabbana Innocence, NARS Turkish Delight, Laura Mercier After Hours, Dior #247


L to R: Dolce & Gabbana Petal Quad, Apricot Blush, Mystery Duo

Natural sunlight:

Petal Quad:


Petal Quad Comparisons:

In natural sunlight:

Apricot Blush (no swatches):

Mystery Eyeshadow Duo:

Mystery Duo – Purple Side Comparisons:

Mystery Duo – Bronzey Side Comparisons:

Swatch comparisons:


The spring collection is lovely, but seems like an odd combination for a spring look. The pigment of each item is incredible. The eyeshadows are soft but highly pigmented and easy to blend. The lipsticks are full coverage and creamy. The lipgloss is semi-sheer and gives a pretty creamy milky pink look that isn’t too milky like NARS turkish delight can be.

As you can see with some of the comparisons, there are definitely some close dupes in other lines. What’s unique about the Dolce & Gabbana eyeshadows is the texture and finely milled shimmer which gives them that extra sparkle and shimmer which the camera can’t fully capture.

I’m still undecided about the Apricot Blush – it just seems darker more brown-orange than I’m used to. I’m debating whether or not to keep it.

There were quite a few other new items in the spring collection which I did not purchase. All these were ordered sight unseen based on descriptions over the phone. The following items are also new in the spring collection (but not purchased) and there were several repromotes:

Ultra Lipliner
Nude Eyeliner
Glam Lipstick
Petal Nail Polish
Drama Nail Polish
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Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2010 Sneak Peek

March 17, 2010

Hi ladies, I just received some of the new Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2010 items from Saks! I’m swamped this week so I don’t have much time to write a full review or answer questions in depth, I will get back to you as soon as I have time – hopefully sometime this weekend.

In the meantime, here are the items I picked out from the spring collection. More details on The Spring 2010 Collection, The Roses Lipstick Collection and a few Saks Exclusives to come in the next few days.

Hope everyone is having a great week!


I will say – for those of you thinking Apricot Blush looks orangey-brown, it is indeed brownish. It looks like the color of a dried apricot. I’m not going to be touching it until I decide whether or not I can pull it off. It’s way out of my comfort zone!

Please do not republish photos. All work is copyrighted. Thanks!
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What’s Your Definition of “Nude”?

December 28, 2009

I love the theme of nude-colored makeup for everything ranging from eyeshadows, lipsticks, and glosses but find it amazing how many different interpretations there are of this word “nude.” I personally associate nude with something the color of one’s natural skin, but with so many different skintones how does one define “nude”? Is there such a thing as a universally flattering “nude” lipstick or blush?


Take for example the following products that have the name “nude” – all of which are very different and not entirely flesh or skin colored.

Blushes (clockwise from top left):
Bobbi Brown Nude Shimmerbrick,
Dolce & Gabbana Nude, Chanel Nude


Eyeshadows (clockwise from top left):
Dior Nude Look 565, Dior Nude Look 365,
Bobbi Brown Nude Eyeshadow, Dolce & Gabbana Nude,
Edward Bess Nude, MAC Nude (d/c), Stila Nude

Lips (left to right): Dolce & Gabbana Nude Lipgloss, YSL #1 Pure Nude, Trish McEvoy Sexy Nude Beauty Booster, Bobbi Brown Stonewashed Nude, Bobbi Brown Nude, Bobbi Brown Nude Glitter, Chanel Nude Rouge Allure, Laura Mercier Nude Lips (sheer), MAC Creme D’Nude, Laura Mercier Barely Nude


Do any of these nudes work to give you a true “nude” eye, cheek or lip? I am still on my neverending quest for the perfect flattering nude blush and lip combo. I find my definition of nude is quite diverse as there are brownish nudes, pale nudes, golden nudes, beige nudes, pink nudes, peachy nudes etc. My holy grail nude eyeshadow is MAC Camel which has long been discontinued.

Tell me your skintone and what your favorite nudes are (nude-colors that is, not necessarily products with the name “nude” in them)!

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All-In-One Convenience with Chanel Quadra Eye Shadows

December 19, 2009

Per reader request, I’ve photographed the new Kaska Beige Eyeshadow Quad next to Demure and Winter Nights for comparison and decided to photograph my entire collection of Chanel quads.


For me, nothing compares to the color palette of Chanel – I usually find that all the shades in each quad coordinate well with each other for a base, crease, liner and highlight. (Exceptions are with the lumieres quads Oasis and Plein Soleil which have a slightly different texture and are more for highlight/contour.) The colors in each quad work perfectly for an all-in-one palette which I find rare in most other pre-made quads. The pigment ranges from medium-light to medium, I like to apply the darker shades with a slightly damp brush. If you like super rich pigment, then these might not be the best option for you. I find Dior Iridescent Quints to be more pigmented, but they have similar intensity to the regular Dior Quints. All of these are the US versions, unfortunately most have been limited edition or discontinued – but check your local Chanel counters, they often still carry some of the older colors until stock sells out. On occasion they will repromote some of the palettes.

Top: 85 Demure, 18 Kaska Beige, 14 Mystic Eyes
Bottom: Dunes, Planetes, 13 Beiges de Chanel

Top: 81 Shimmering Dunes, Spices, 25 Variations
Bottom: Nymphea, 517 Oasis, 527 Plein Soleil

Top: Fascination, Dreams, Golden Eyes
Bottom: Songes, Influences, Winter Nights

Top: 94 Reflets D’Ombre, 16 Murano, Nebuleuses
Bottom: 95 Sparkling Satins, Allegories, Les Divine Mattes


I believe most of these quads have been released in the Asia/Euro/Canada version (ones with the round pans). The only non-US version I have is the White Whisper quad (see photos and swatches here) which was an Asia exclusive, but released through Chanel.com and at select Chanel Beaute Studios and Boutiques. For color releases, I believe Asia gets more colors than we do in the US.

While these are expensive, I do find they last a long time. The most frequently used quad I have is Dunes and does not yet have any dips in it yet. This is by no means an all-comprehensive list of all the quads that have been released – there are quite a few that have been released that I do not own.

What are your favorite Chanel quads? Or are there other brands of quads you like better?

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