Browsing Tag

Spring 2010

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My Dior Picks from Spring 2010

January 2, 2010

The spring theme this year seems to be all about pretty packaging & embossed designs through many of the different lines. Dior is the winner for the prettiest and most feminine designs from what I’ve seen so far.

I found the Dior Spring collection at Bloomingdales and the Coquette quint, Pink Lace shimmer powder, Pink Embroidery lipstick and Silver Pearl nail polish won me over.

The sweet sales associate at Bloomies was kind enough to let me snap a photo with my camera phone even though it didn’t turn out to have the best quality:


Here’s a recap of what’s being released, although in the US, we are getting 3 different lipsticks and at this time I’m not sure if we’re getting the Peach Lace 02 Highlighter (I’m still keeping my fingers crossed).


PLEASE DO NOT REPUBLISH MY PHOTOS WITHOUT PERMISSION. I’ve noticed these have already been uploaded on a few other websites. All my photos are copyrighted, republishing them is stealing and illegal, please remove them immediately.

Pink Lace Poudrier (001)

Coquette Quint (743)

Coquette Quint (743) Swatches

Pink Embroidery Addict Lipstick (663) & Silver Pearl Nail Polish (604)

Silver Pearl Swatch (1 coat)



Initial thoughts: I swatched the Pink Lace highlighter but my camera wasn’t cooperating, but it’s a lovely iridescent pale highlighter, similar in finish to Nars Luxor, but more sparkley. I can’t really tell if the white is overspray, but I love the finish and it comes in a heavy metal compact with a lace design on the outside. The Coquette Quint is lovely and highlight pigmented. The pinks look very similar, but I rarely wear all 5 shades in Dior quints anyways. I passed on the Iridescent Quint because they just weren’t me. The Silver Pearl nail polish is surprisingly pigmented for a Dior nail polish, I only needed one coat. It’s very metallic and while I think it’s pretty, I prefer less-foiled looking shades for the fingers. I think this will look good on the toes. I have yet to swatch the Pink Embroidery lipstick but it looks like a pretty neutral cool rose.

While there was a tester unit out in the case, the Dior rep was off for the day and the sales associate who helped me wasn’t sure if the items could be touched (even though it’s clear they are in the tester packaging). I decided to wait on the other items when I could actually test them. The blush looked absolutely gorgeous, but my experience with DiorBlushes have been so-so, they all seem really sheer and I didn’t want to buy the one from spring without testing it.

Overall a lovely collection with beautiful lace designs. I was a bit sad after swatching these because part of the imprint faded away – but I know it’s bound to happen with use anyways.

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Spring Collection Scans from Maquia February 2010 Issue

January 1, 2010

Happy New Year to everyone! Per reader request, scans of the spring collections. These are from Maquia & Voce which I thought had the best photos/layout. I didn’t scan all the lines, these are mostly the ones in the US and there are a few that I’ve never heard of that are on the same scanned pages.

Chanel

Lancome & Estee Lauder

Christian Dior

Givenchy, Clinique, Shu Uemura

Maquillage

Shiseido, Cle de Peau, Majolica Majorca

Beaute de Kose Esprique Precious, Beaute de Kose, Addiction, Jill Stuart

Align Center

Helena Rubinstein, Suqqu

RMK & Lunasol

YSL, Clarins, Guerlain

Nars and Paul & Joe
Kesalan Patharan, Paul & Joe, Maybelline NY

Anna Sui & MAC

Giorgio Armani

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Giorgio Armani Spring 2010: Nude Contrasts

December 30, 2009

My Armani guy at Saks called me to tell me they got the spring collection in so I rushed over to check it all out. It was all very soft, light, airy and spring-y, reminds me of something a fairy would wear. Very pretty, sparkly and eye-catching! They didn’t have testers yet, but they let me play with the eyeshadow palettes since lately they haven’t been sent testers until a few weeks after they receive shipment of the product to sell.

The collection consists of:

* 2 new Silk Lipsticks: #98 is a pale pink shimmer, #99 is a neutral-warm pinky rose (similar to Nars DV but warmer)

* 3 new Lipshimmers: #62 is a pale buttermilk-cream color, #63 is a sparkley beige, #64 is a shimmery pale pink with a hint of peach

* 2 new Nude Contrasts Palette (4 Eye Designing Colors): # 1 has a pale iridescent baby blue, golden sand, matte black, pale sparkly ivory, #2 has a light golden nude sparkle, shimmery soft pink, matte black, and pale warm cream shimmer

* 1 new Eyeliner (didn’t catch the actual name): 01 is a pure black

* Shimmer Powder 5: repromoted from holiday, a sheer pale sparkle powder (very very sheer)

So far, I believe only the eyeshadow palettes are available online at Giorgio Armani. I’m not sure when the rest of the collection will be up online though.

A couple spring previews from the February 2010 issues of Voce & Maquia for more views:

The haul: Nude Contrast Palettes 1 (left), 2 (right), Silk 98 Lipstick,
Lipshimmer 63 (top), Lipshimmer 64 (bottom)

Close Up of Nude Contrasts 1 & 2

Swatch of #1

Swatch of #2

Lipshimmers & Silk Lipstick

Swatches on bare skin, L to R: Lipshimmer 63, 64, Silk Lipstick 98


Here’s a look from Biteki, while I can’t read Japanese, it indicates the MAC Lipglass is 2N, so I’m assuming the lipstick is also from MAC Warm & Cozy collection. Please note my camera washed out the color on her face, so it looks like she is barely wearing anything – I did the best I could, but hopefully it will give you an idea of how to coordinate the #1 palette. Can anyone translate?


Overall thoughts: The shadows are surprisingly pigmented for lighter shades and they are more sparkly than most Armani shadows which typically have finely milled shimmer. The swatches make the colors all look similar, but in real life they are more contrasted with each other. I think these will make a really pretty neutral eye that will go with a lot of different shades.

The lipshimmers are pretty, #64 is the frostiest gloss I’ve ever seen from Armani, but still lovely. It reminds me of MAC Prrr & Bobbi Brown Pink Sugar though, so if you don’t have access to Armani or want to shell out $$$ for the gloss, you can definitely find cheaper alternatives.

Silk 98 is pretty, it’s a more pink version of MAC Plink! but still on the sheer side. I might go back for 99 at some point because it looked like a pretty rosey pink without shimmer.

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Estée Lauder Michael Kors Very Hollywood Collection Spring 2010

December 26, 2009

This spring Michael Kors has designed a collection for Estée Lauder “Inspired by iconic Hollywood glamour for everyday life.” I’ve been looking forward to the release ever since preview pictures were posted on BeautyEditor.ca back in early November which featured a fresh and modern looking collection. I was excited to see that Nordstrom put out their tester unit a few days ago. The collection is divided into two categories: beige/peach and pink/rose.


What I picked up:

* Blushes in Sunset Coral (a soft healthy coral) & Sunset Pink (a vibrant powdery pink)
* Eyeshadow Duo Blonde Mink (dusty beige shimmer and dusty-brown)
* Lip Gloss in Starlet Rose (pale light cream) & Starlet Peach (soft milky baby peach)
* Lip Sheen in Hollywood Gold (pale beige-gold), Starlet Peach (soft coral peach), Honey Blonde (medium beige shimmer)
* Shimmering Loose Powder (a soft medium pink shimmer powder)

L to R: Sunset Coral & Sunset Pink

Sunset Coral Blush

Sunset Pink Blush

Blonde Mink

L to R: Blonde Mink Eyeshadow Duo,
Starlet Peach Lipgloss, Starlet Rose Lipgloss


L to R: Starlet Peach Lipgloss, Starlet Rose Lipgloss,
Hollywood Gold Lip Sheen, Starlet Peach Lip Sheen, Honey Blonde Lip Sheen

Loose Shimmer Powder


Beige packaging & cute coral boxes


Overall thoughts: I think the colors are great for a fresh and simplistic look. Standouts for me are the lip sheens which are a semi-sheer creamy lipstick. I picked out the most natural beige and peach colors for the lip sheens (there were 2 other colors, a powder pink and bright rose). Most of the lipglosses seemed on the sheer side and have that distinct EL gloss scent (which I’m not sure my nose will be able to stand). The blushes are nice for a healthy glow.

Overall, stunning for Estee Lauder, and definitely great for everyday and extremely wearable, but the colors seem pretty dupeable. In the near future, I will need to think over my purchases more carefully before being sucked in by pushy sales associates. However, the colors are well coordinated and the nude lipsticks are very flattering and wearable where I find most other brand’s “nudes” and “beiges” look like death on my face.

Very pretty and suitable for spring. I think it will be flattering for all ages.

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Clinique Juiced Up for Spring 2010 = Simply Irresistible

December 26, 2009

I normally don’t use a lot of products from Clinique with the exception of 3 staples I purchase repeatedly (Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser, High Impact Mascara and Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliator) but I couldn’t resist the charming designs of the Spring 2010 Juiced Up collection. I like Clinique because of their cute advertising and also because of their generous Gift With Purchase events. I find these to be a great incentive for me to try new things from the line every now and then simply because I leave feeling like I got my money’s worth with all the free goodies they send me home with.

I picked up two items:


* All Over Face Color in Mixed Berries – This comes in an embossed cherry print powder with three variations of pink. The finish is shimmery but not overly frosty, swirled together, you get a very soft luminous pink blush.

* Eyeshadow in Fresh Picked Berry – There were two different eyeshadow choices, I picked up Fresh Picked Berry which has a cool pale pink shimmer and a warm coppery brown. The colors seem pretty dupeable, but I could NOT RESIST that cute cherry design!

Both are on the sheer side like most of the eyeshadows and blushes I’ve tried from the line. They didn’t swatch so well on my skin when I tried to take photos. If you like Clinique, you will like the new items because they are consistent with the other products in the line. If you prefer colors that show up more visibly on the skin these probably won’t be for you. The two items I got are very wearable and natural, so I think they are worth checking out even if you’re not a Clinique fan.

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Chanel Les Impressions de Chanel Nail Polishes & Eyeshadows for Spring 2010

December 16, 2009

So I’m supposed to be studying Securities Law & Business Associations for finals right now but I couldn’t contain my excitement for the new Chanel Spring 2010 line. The spring collection has been trickling instores and my local Saks just got them in yesterday and my favorite SA pulled the testers from the back even though the Chanel rep was off for the day and didn’t have the unit set up.

For official promotional photos, check out Marina’s blog Makeup4All!

A more comprehensive post will be coming soon, but I wanted to show you the three new nail polishes that came out:

  • #503 Inattendu – neutral light peach
  • #505 Particuliere – grey taupe
  • #507 Tendresse – soft pink cream





All three are cream and have no shimmer. Those who love neutrals will like these, although I must admit they are very dupe-able (more dupe swatches to come soon). My biggest weakness is for Chanel – when I got home, I had slight buyer’s remorse feeling that “why did I buy these nail polishes?” when I already have similar colors. But when I put them on, I found they have just the right amount of pigment so that they aren’t too yellowy or white. Often times, peachy colors end up looking yellowy on my skin and pinks look whitish once they are on my nails.

The eyeshadow singles and quads are the winners in the collection for me.

Sillage (left) & Trace (right)

Kaska Beige


More descriptions and details to come in the next couple days featuring the highlight powder, new blush, rouge allures and glossimers. Along with comparisons too!