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)!
According to my recent survey, some of you mentioned how you loved certain posts, but wanted ideas on how to coordinate the products with other colors. I’m going to do a five-part series of looks I’ve done recently that I loved. I hope this series will help give you some ideas!
A few things to note ahead of time: I am not a professional makeup artist, but the following looks have been created on my own. My fashion/beauty style is very simple and natural. Style/beauty icons include Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Winslet, Eva Mendes, Lucy Liu to name a few – all women who embrace their natural beauty with subtle, elegant and classic natural makeup.
Look Number 1: a simple smokey eye with soft pink cheeks and rosy pink lips
Cheeks: Stila Lilium Convertible Color on cheeks Dolce & Gabbana Delight Blush layered on top
Eyes: Laura Mercier Platinum Metallic Cream Eyeshadow lash to brow Jouer Buttercream Eyeshadow on lids Stila Black Cat Smudgepot smudged along upper lash line Edward Bess Dusk Eyeshadow applied over the black liner blended up
Lips: MAC Naked Rose Lipliner Edward Bess Tender Love Lipstick Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer #7
Close up photos for eyes: Top Left = Jouer Buttercream, Top Right = Edward Bess Dusk Bottom Left = Stila Black Cat, Bottom Right = Laura Mercier Platinum
Close up photos for lips, Left to Right: Edward Bess Tender Love, Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer #7, MAC Naked Rose Lipliner
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Variation 1: using most of the same colors except includes Le Metier Fresh Blush, Edward Bess Love Always Lipgloss, Laura Mercier Pink Label Lipstick:
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Variation 2: MAC Conjure Up Mineralize Blush, MAC Bare Study Paint Pot, Dolce & Gabbana Stromboli Eyeshadow Duo, Bobbi Brown Black Ink Gel Liner, MAC Plum Lipliner, MAC Scant Slimshine, Laura Mercier Violet Lip Glace (old packaging)
I’ve written about a few makeover events I’ve been to from Chanel, Nars and MAC before, click on this MAKEOVER tag to see the products used in those events for some more ideas!
I love the smokey eye looks that come out for fall but until recently, it seems like most all the lines usually release the typical variations of black and grey for their “smokey look.” I am not one who can pull of black eyeshadow or eyeliner easily because it’s often too harsh or ends up looking blueish on my skin. I have to opt for other deep colors and did a series on Smokey Eye Variations back in June and am so excited that lines are now releasing collections with a “black/smokey” theme that include colors other than just black or grey.
I just discovered 2 new deep purple shimmery eyeshadows from MAC and Dior and thought I’d pull out some of my favorite deep purples to compare.
1. Dior Ultra-Smooth High Impact Eyeshadow in #186 Ultra Violet 2. MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Young Punk 3. Laura Mercier Sateen Eyeshadow in Kir Royal 4. MAC Fertile Eyeshadow 5. Giorgio Armani Maestro #18 6. Bobbi Brown Metallic Eyeshadow in After Hours 7. Stila Poise
A few other pictures of smokey purples:
1. Bobbi Brown Metallic in After Hours 2. Chanel Magic Night 3. MAC Smut 4. MAC Deep Purple Pigment (Pro)
Here are 10 things I am loving right now. Please share your own list with me of things you love so much you think everyone should try it out!
1) Nars Sheer Matte & Sheer Glow Foundations $42 – I am a true skeptic when anyone tries to sell me a foundation unless it is Chanel or Armani. I have super sensitive skin (but otherwise fairly normal) with golden/olive tones and usually have a hard time finding a good match since I typically fall in between shades. I was immediately stunned by the gorgeous new advertisement Nars has been promoting for their new foundations and decided to give it a try.
In the past I had used their Oil Free Foundation and had mixed thoughts about it. I loved the coverage, but always felt like I had a heavy layer of gunk sitting on my skin. Also, I was often matched with Fiji which for some reason turned pinkish on me. The next shades up were either too yellow or too peach.
With this in mind, I went to the counter with a list of shades to try out: Fiji, Ceylan, Punjab & Stromboli. Punjab is my perfect match which was a bit odd because on my hand it looked more peachy but on my face, it blended in perfectly.
Coverage is medium but completely natural and flawless looking. Another plus is that you can barely feel anything on the skin after you apply it. I’ve tried both formulas and they last all day – I do set foundation with my Laura Mercier Loose or Chanel Powder Foundations though. If you haven’t tried this out, RUN to your counter to try it out.
I do recommend you try at least 2 to 3 different shades on your jaw line though.
Left to right: Chanel Teint Innocence Shell, Chanel Lift Lumiere Shell, Nars Punjab, Armani Lasting Silk 6.5
2) Clinique Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliating Cream $20 – I bought this because there was a gift with purchase going on at my local Bloomingdales. I had read reviews and decided to try this because Clinique had discontinued my favorite body scrub (the yellow one in the squeeze tube) and I didn’t like the other tube-packaged scrub. I have to say I was pleasantly suprised. Has a slight minty scent to it leaving your skin refreshed and smooth.
3) Stila Black Cat Smudge Pot $20 – I think I’ve found my holy grail shimmery black eyeliner. Most blacks go on greyish or blueish or too harsh on my skin. This one gives the perfect smokey silvery black liner. I bought mine at Ulta – it should be showing up at Sephoras & Stilacosmetics.com soon. I didn’t retake swatch pictures of this, but click HERE for swatches and comparisons.
5) Le Metier Lip Cremes $36 & Sheer Brilliance Lip Glosses $32 – You’ve heard me rave about these before – pricey, yes, but I absolutely love the formula and shades. My two current favorite colors are Toffee Creme & Cannes. Neimans has a gift with purchase going on right now – check out their website for details. Also click on this LE METIER LINK for more posts and pictures on products from the line.
6) Laura Mercier Mineral Cheek Powders in Pink Spark, Coral & Amberstone $22 – these came out a while back after Laura Mercier started introducing mineral makeup into her line. These are absolutely gorgeous. Amberstone makes the perfect nude cheek for me with a hint of sparkle. Neiman Marcus also has a super cute gift going on right now. Saks will be having their beauty event later this month, and Bloomingdales will have their event mid-October.
7) Nars M. Butterfly Nail Polish $16 – for some reason I haven’t been able to find this shade instock anywhere near me, but it’s still available online. The swatches didn’t turn out so hot, but it’s a gorgeous berry red shade. Nars describes it as a “poison berry.” I have seen testers at Nordstrom and Bloomingdales so they are probably just low on stock.
9) Neutral Pink Eyeshadows: Shiseido Bare Pink, Laura Mercier Metallic Creme in Pink Gold, Laura Mercier Satinee Creme in Pink Chiffon, MAC Naked Pigment, MAC Perky Paint Pot, Bobbi Brown Ballet Pink, MAC Ego Eyeshadow – all of these are like your-lids-but-better natural pink shadows that won’t give you a pink-eye look. I like to layer Naked Pigment over any of these all over the lid and then just add a simple liner in a shimmery chocolate color or deep brown. Sometimes I’ll contour the lid or crease area with a soft brown like MAC Era, Soba, Bobbi Brown Hot Stone or Urban Decay Naked.
10) Sprinkles Cupcakes – have you been to a Sprinkles Cupcake Bakery? Their cupcakes, especially their Red Velvet & Vanilla flavors are absolutely divine and the frosting is pure heaven. Luckily you don’t need to be near one of the few bakeries in order to enjoy these. Williams Sonoma carries the mix which is super easy to make and tastes just like the fresh made ones from the stores. Each come with a recipe card for the frosting too. They have seasonal flavors, right now they just released two new flavors, Spice & Pumpkin. (PS I think if you buy two mixes instore at WS, you save $3.)
I finally got my hands on the new Stila Smudge Pots in Black Cat, Kitten, and Little Black Dress. I found these at my local Ulta – I’ve heard several sighting posts around various message boards. The store near me didn’t have them on display but the manager on duty this morning was kind enough to allow his staff to pull them from the back since I told him I didn’t need to test them out and knew what I wanted to get already.
Here are the new shades compared to Golden Noir from the Indian Summer Collection. Each retail for $20. Not all of them are online yet, but the release dates for each collection are September, so I expect these to be trickling in soon. FYI, from the Barbie Loves Stila collection, there are also two other smudge pot shades. Check stilacosmetics.com for more details.
Left to right: Golden Noir, Black Cat, Little Black Dress, Kitten
Descriptions + links to Stila’s and Sephora’s websites:
* Golden Noir – a black base with gold shimmer, according to stila, “This new twist on the cult favorite Smudge Pot sprinkles genuine 24kt gold flakes into the rich matte black base leaving eyes gilded and glam.”
* Black Cat – a soft black with a cooler base than Golden Noir, but this might be due to the silver sparkles that are in the product (haven’t seen this online yet)
* Little Black Dress – described online as a “black with pink shimmer” this really seems more like a deep purple infused with pink and violet shimmers which was surprising to me, especially since it swatched brighter than what it looked like in the pot
* Kitten – this is a shimmery nude champagne pink, similar to the powder eyeshadow version, seems like an odd shade to have as a liner, but I will probably use this more like a cream eyeshadow
Close up photos of the black smudge pots with flash:
Close up of smudge pots in natural sunlight:
Swatches of the shades with comparisons (with flash on bare skin):
1) Bobbi Brown Black Ink 2) Stila Golden Noir Smudgepot 3) Stila Black Cat Smudgepot 4) Stila Little Black Dress 5) Bobbi Brown Violet Ink 6) Stila Kitten Smudgepot 7) Bobbi Brown Beach Honey Cream Shadow 8) Benefit RSVP Creaseless Cream Shadow
Swatches in natural sunlight without flash (same as above):
1. MAC Coco Pigment 2. MAC Sweet Sienna Pigment 3. MAC Smoke & Diamonds Starflash Eyeshadow 4. Stila Diamond Lil Eyeshadow 5. Dior Sky Glow Quint 6. Dior Sky Glow Quint 7. MAC Clue Eyeshadow 8. Shu Uemura ME Brown 850
The swatches really don’t do the colors justice, but at least it will help you see the general undertone of these cool taupe shades. The undertones are similar, but the shimmer/iridescent effects of each shade are different. MAC Sweet Sienna looks darker than the swatch shows with deeper sparkles. I definitely recommend trying these in person first before writing these all off as dupes.
Taking a quick break from the Essentials & Tools series today. I normally don’t post much about MAC, but the recent Love That Look collection has me all over the new Style Snob Starflash Eyeshadow. I know many have asked how this compares to other colors, so I thought I’d do a comparison post of colors that in my mind could be similar off the top of my head. Swatches allow you to see the difference (swatched over Laura Mercier’s Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer in Natural).
1. MAC Mauvement Pigment 2. Urban Decay Toasted Eyeshadow 3. Bobbi Brown Raisin Metallic (far left from Velvet Plum Metallics Trio) 4. MAC Style Snob Eyeshadow 5. MAC Satin Taupe Eyeshadow 6. Bobbi Brown Velvet Plum Metallics (far right from Velvet Plum Metallics Trio) 7. Stila Grace Eyeshadow 8. Nars Kalahari Eyeshadow Duo 9. Nars Kalahari Eyeshadow Duo
*** Updated 07/29/2009 by request***
1. MAC Mauvement Pigment 2. MAC Innuendo Eyeshadow 3. MAC Style Snob Eyeshadow 4. MAC Subtle Pigment 5. MAC Coco Pigment 6. MAC Sunnydaze Pigment 7. BareMinerals Glimmer Queen Tiffany
