I spent the last week in Paris and can’t wait to share more about our trip there. We stayed in the cutest little hotel in the Latin District located in 5th arrondissement. The weather was beautiful and sunny all week long. I hope to share more about Paris in the next few days but for now here’s a quick recap of some highlights. I was thrilled to try Ladurée and Pierre Hermé macarons for the first time. I will say both are very very good, but Pierre Hermé is very special with the mixed flavors and beautiful designs. It was difficult to restrain myself from trying every flavor but they are extremely rich so I limited myself to a few during our four days in Paris.
Food highlights include breakfast at Ladurée and Angelina (the hot chocolate was out of this world). I’ve been beyond obsessed with the chocolate croissants here. If I could eat one from Paris each and every day I would be happiest person in the world.
I stopped by several French Pharmacies that have been raved about by a number of beauty lovers in the US. Bioderma is plentiful here and I am so happy that Beautylish has brought it to the US for us. It was interesting to see all the different formulas, sizes even body/hair care. Travel sizes were available for purchase in two of the formulas. I hope Beautylish will carry more of the line soon! I did a little haul at one and will share more about beauty shopping in Paris soon. Printemps was the most amazing store I’ve ever seen – everyone was super friendly and extremely generous with samples. I could have spent an entire day there. Hermes in Paris was out of this world, it’s nothing like I’ve seen before. Chanel boutiques were packed so I didn’t spend much time inside them, although I did discover a tiny beauty boutique on Rue Saint-Honoré which was very cute.
Sephora on the Champs-Élysées was like every beauty lover’s dream come true – they had almost every brand imaginable, By Terry, MAC, Chanel, Serge Lutens, Dior … and a cute beauty bar where women were getting manicures.
More on Paris soon – there is so much to see, we didn’t get to everything on our list in four and a half days. We have lots to look forward to in the future on our next trip back to France. We did a lot of sightseeing and visited the Arc de Triomphe, Tuileries Garden, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Jardin du Luxembourg and a few other places as well.
Today my husband and I landed in Rome you can follow me along on instagram @beautylookbook for snippets of our trip. If you have any recommendations for Rome I’m all ears! Comment publishing may be slow but I am getting to them as quickly as I can while I soak in all the beauty that is here in Europe.
Dior has some new shades of the Dior Vernis Gel-Shine Long Wear Nail Lacquer out this summer. I have four that I picked out and have swatches to share today. Two of the shades are from the Tie-Dye Collection for Summer 2015 in Sunkissed #239 and Sunwashed #319. The other two are Dior.com exclusives from the Peter Philips Collection called NYC Peach #130 and BKLYN Pink #560 (all $27 each for 10 ml/.33 fl oz).
The four shades are all on the lighter or neutral side, I ordered all of these sight unseen although by now the Summer Collection shades should be readily available at all Dior counters.
NYC Peach is a light medium peach cream with a very tiny hint of shimmer
BKLYN Pink is a medium neutral rose pink that pulls slightly cool-toned
Sunkissed is a soft light peach with a subtle brightening effect
Sunwashed is a light summery yellow cream
On me, NYC Peach is very similar to Sunkissed. They are almost identical. NYC Peach is darker by maybe 1/2 to 3/4 a shade. By comparison Sunkissed almost looks pinkish when you put them side by side. Of course, I can’t pick between the two. They both go on super smooth and give the hands a brightened effect which I find is rare with peachy cream shades. They are both beautiful colors, I don’t think you need both.
A few close ups along with finger swatches. All swatches have two coats of the nail polish:
A full nail wheel of comparison swatches:
Chanel Rose Confidential (discontinued)
Chanel Mimosa (discontinued, from summer 2011)
Chanel Les Beiges Le Vernis shades in Beige Rose, Beige Pur, Precious Beige and Lovely Beige (new, review will be posted soon)
I’ve never been a fan of yellow nail polishes, but Sunwashed is a fun color that’s different and light. It is unique and I think appropriate for summer even for the nail polish wearers that wear neutrals – I think it’s fun on the toes. For peach colors, both Sunkissed and NYC Peach are phenomenal colors. If you’re like me, you probably find many peach colors pull brown or warm on the skin and can make the hands look sallow. Both of the new Dior shades have a good mix of white and bright in them that bring life to the hands while still looking peachy. BKLYN Pink didn’t impress me as much when I first applied it. It grew on me as the week progressed. I think it’s a fairly standard pink rose color. I would have loved it if it had some shimmer mixed in or if it was a bit brighter in color. In direct sunlight it looks lovely and bright. In regular light it’s a bit dull-looking (at least on me).
Although Sunkissed and NYC Peach are very similar, I give them both a huge thumbs up. In terms of formula, all of these performed true to Dior’s classic high quality style. Two coats will cover the nail fully and the formula is ultra smooth free of any streaks. Lasting power is very good on me, similar to that of Chanel which lasts 5+ days without tip wear as long as I use a good base and top coat. (My favorite tried and true here.)
For spring-summer, Burberry Beauty has released 6 shades of Lip & Cheek Blooms ($28 each for 3.5 g / 0.12 oz, made in France). These are unique mousse-gel-cream products that have a super cushiony bouncy feel. They look like creams but feel more like a gel mousse in the pots. Each color has a soft but buildable formula that looks velvety on the skin. They swatch much better on the face compared to the way they swatch on the hands or arm. The colors are easy to blend and streak-free on the cheeks. They come in super sturdy glass pots with a nickel twist off cap. I really like the hefty feel of the pots. They feel like they are well made but aren’t too heavy. Burberry sent three shades for review:
Rose No. 01 is a soft pale pink
Orange Blossom No. 07 is a muted orange peach
Poppy No. 09 is a bright red
I stopped by the counter to see all the shades in person. I fell in love with Purple Tulip and Peony but limited myself to one I knew I would get frequent use out of, Peony No. 05 is a bright warm pink. Hydrangea No. 03 is a cooler-toned pink, Purple Tulip No. 11 is a deep vibrant purple. All the shades are swatched below on my arm. The colors are super vibrant in the pot, but they go on lighter and sheerer in color. My arm was quite dry so the Lip & Cheek Blooms didn’t adhere like they do on the face or lips. Here are the colors blended out. You can definitely layer them.
The four colors I have now and swatches:
Rose No. 01 is very light on me. All the colors are non-shimmers. The velvety texture blends beautifully on the cheeks for a stained look. Rose does not show up on my cheeks but it does give the lips a nude pink lip look. My lips have been particularly dry the past week, but I swatched them on bare lips anyways. I also tried mixing these with a bit of Chanel Hydra Beauty Lip Balm which seemed to give them a more creamy glossy look.
Peony No. 05 is my favorite. It has just enough brightness and warmth to make the complexion come alive. I like this on the cheeks because it gives just the right amount of color to give a barely-there flushed look without looking overdone. On the lips I blended it out so you can see how it gives a velvety stain.
Orange Blossom No. 07 is very light on me. It looks bright and juicy in the pot, but on my skin it seems to go more nude. My skin tone is right at the place where this color blended out seems to almost disappear on the lips and cheeks. It is buildable and if you’re fair and want a good peachy color that won’t be too dark or orange, this is something I think you’ll adore. It’s impossible to overdo.
Poppy No. 09 is the only color I didn’t like out of the bunch. It looks so beautiful in the pot but on my olive skin, it pulls warm and just clashes with my skin tone making my whole face look very sallow when I apply it on the lips. Even my husband commented that the color wasn’t working for me. On the cheeks it’s a different story. It gives a hint of flushed red but I rarely wear reds on the cheeks so I’m not sure how much use I will be getting out of this one.
I’ve been playing with these for a few days now. I am particularly impressed with the way you can build the color. They swatch super streaky on the arms but on the face and lips it interacts with the skin in a completely different way. The finish is a velvety blurred matte but still manages to have a brightening effect that isn’t flat like some mattes look. Lasting power is particularly good on the cheeks, Peony and Poppy lasted on me from morning until mid-afternoon without budging. Rose and Orange Blossom did have fading that happened earlier but I suspect it is because they are lighter in color and don’t leave a stain like the brighter colors do. The formula is unlike anything I’ve tried before. You can layer the colors together as well for more dimension or pop. I like Peony + Orange Blossom on the cheeks.
In summary, I like these. If I had to pick 2 I would go with Peony and Purple Tulip (which I don’t have but think is gorgeous). I would have skipped Rose and Orange Blossom because they are light for my skin tone, but I suspect those with fair skin will find them perfect.
For summer Marc Jacobs Beauty has launched a new lip gloss formula called the Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquer ($28 each for 5 ml/0.16 fl oz). There are 18 shades of high-shine lip gloss that come in a wide range of colors from soft nudes, feminine pinks, plums, corals and bolder reds. The textures range from jelly, to cream, to shimmer – all with a smooth lush cushiony gloss feel. In terms of pigment, most of the colors offer sheer to medium coverage. Some you can wear alone while others are best used for high shine or to layer over lipstick. There is a subtle sweet minty scent to the glosses which have a cooling (but not tingling) feel on the lips. The Enamored Lip Lacquers are infused with apricot and passionfruit and feel ultra hydrating and smooth once applied. I’ve teamed up with Marc Jacobs Beauty to share all 18 colors with you today.
First a quick look at the packaging. The new Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquers are similar in design and packaging compared to the original lip lacquers (sheer and full). The tube is now a rounded square rather than a flattened tube but still has the same flexible sponge-tip applicator.
I’ve grouped the colors into three categories, first up are the Pinks and Roses:
Love Buzz is a metallic pink gold, the shimmer is very smooth and gives lips a lush full glossy glow, pigment and coverage on this one is medium, it will cover the entire lip but has a slight transparent quality to let the natural lip shine through
Pink Flamingo is a soft cool pink jelly, this one has no shimmer, finish on this one is sheer
Allow Me is most similar to the original gloss in Kissability, it’s a medium rose with tiny gold flecks mixed in, it has a very smooth non-gritty texture, coverage on this is sheer-to-medium
Love Drunk is a brown-rose with gold shimmer, it’s a few shades darker and more brown compared to Allow Me, coverage is medium
Rebel Rebel is a deeper but soft warm rosy color, it has multi-colored shimmers mixed in with a slight blueish sheen, coverage on this one is sheer-to-medium
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Next up are the Nudes:
Moon Glow is an ultra pale nude cream, if you have pigmented lips like me, it will contrast with your natural lip tone, one swipe may appear chalky, but if you layer this and blot, the color will smooth out, pigment is medium to full depending how you layer it
Pretty Thing is a sheer glossy warm peachy pink nude with a jelly finish, there is no shimmer in this one, on my pigmented lips it evens out the lip tone for a natural your lips but better sheen, coverage is sheer to medium
Sugar Sugar is a neutral beige with gold shimmer flecks, it feels more like a cream shade even though it has a bit of shimmer, coverage on this one is medium
Taboo is stunning metallic nude rose with champagne frost, on the lips the shimmer is very smooth, this is similar to Love Drunk in finish, it makes the lips look full and glossy, coverage is sheer to medium
French Tickler is a sheer iridescent pink beige with tiny silver and champagne sparkles, coverage on this one is ultra sheer, it will add a nice shine to the lips and for me works best layered over other lipsticks (or a liner)
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Last but not least, On-Trend Bolds:
Some Girls is a gorgeous shimmery warm watermelon pink, it has smooth shimmer (no frost) coverage on this one is medium
Forbidden Fruit is a sheer jelly orange, coverage on this one is sheer, but the brightness of the color gives the lips a soft wash of color
Whip It is a bright metallic fuchsia, coverage on this one is medium
Uproar is a peachy gold in the tube, on the lips it’s very sheer, almost transparent, it gives the lips a very subtle sheen of shimmer
Hot Hot Hot is a jelly pink red, it has a high shine and you can layer the color for more coverage, pigment is medium on this one
Hey You is similar to Hot Hot Hot but it’s more pink/warm-based (versus blue/pink), coverage and pigment is medium
Pink Steam is a metallic lilac pink, it’s purply in the tube and on the arms, on the lips there is a see through quality that lets your natural lip shine through and looks slightly more pinkish, it’s a very wearable lilac
Boom is a sheer jelly plum, coverage is sheer to medium on this one, the bright color of this gives the lips a tint of lush plum, you can layer for more pigment, but on me it’s still a jelly
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In addition to each individual lip lacquer, Marc Jacobs Beauty has a few #Enamored Lip and Nail Pairing Sets ($46 each) available exclusively online. The colors were personally selected by Marc Jacobs, each set include one nail polish, one lip lacquer and a black zip cosmetic pouch:
#EnamoredWith Desire has Lip Lacquer in Love Drunk + Nail Lacquer in Petra
#EnamoredWith Seduction includes Lip Lacquer in Moonglow + Nail Lacquer in Jezebel
#EnamoredWith Charm contains Lip Lacquer in Uproar + Nail Lacquer in Le Charm (colors shown below)
I’ve been playing with the glosses for a few weeks now and found lasting power to be pretty good given the shine and jelly finish. The Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquers last for several hours without fading or budging if your lips go untouched. The gloss has decent lasting power and will stay put through one cup of coffee, but there will be transfer to the cup. The good news is even though these are sheer, the texture makes them pretty much budge-proof and the color doesn’t fade until several hours into wear. Overall I think there’s lots to love with this formula. If you like high shine glosses with sheer to medium coverage I think you’ll definitely find a color to suit your taste. My personal top three picks include Love Buzz, Pink Steam, Taboo and Some Girls. The shimmery/metallic ones seem to have the best coverage with slightly more pigment. Even though my favorites are on the metallic side, they go on the lips with a smooth lush shimmer that isn’t overly frosted. Long time Beauty Look Book readers know I am a neutral lip lover at heart, but I find the brighter ones very wearable. The glossy finish and semi-sheer color makes these more forgiving on the lips – the shades are perfect for that effortless glow and wash of color that I crave in warm weather months.
There are 18 shades available now online at Marc Jacobs Beauty. Each color retails for $28. Have you checked out the new Enamored Hi-Shine Lip Lacquers yet? If so, what did you think?
Many thanks to Marc Jacobs Beauty for sponsoring this post. The glosses were provided courtesy of Marc Jacobs for this feature. For more details refer to my disclosures.
For summer Chanel has a new limited-edition powder called Lumière d’Été Illuminating Powder ($65 for 8 g / 0.28 oz). It’s called an illuminating powder but to me this is more of a soft satiny bronzer. There is a very slight sheen to this when you swatch it and look at it in the pan. On the skin it looks glowy but not shimmery. It has a similar effect to that of the Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colours in No. 30/40 but with a more bronzed and luminous effect.
The bronzer has an ultra soft but dense texture. It seems a bit harder/firmer in formula compared to traditional powder bronzers, almost creamy but not quite. This makes the color easy to layer and build in terms of pigment. A looser brush will give you a more sheered out glow while a denser brush will give you more color, almost like a contour on my medium Chanel Beige 30 skin. The Lumière d’Été Illuminating Powder comes with the embossed camellia pattern which is so so gorgeous.
On my skin, this is a medium neutral bronze that pulls slightly warm on my medium skin, but it’s not as warm in tone compared to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzers. The warmth prevents it from looking muddy on my skin (I cannot wear cool-toned bronzers or contouring products easily).
A heavy swatch below:
The Chanel Lumière d’Été Illuminating Powder will have a similar effect to a number of other bronzers. If you already own a lot of other bronzing powders you may want to shop your stash. What I find unique about this season’s Chanel is the texture. The firmer/gel-like almost cream to powder texture seems particularly good for warm weather. It adheres really well to the skin but melds in naturally. It doesn’t look fake or look like it’s product just sitting on the skin. I liked that it didn’t emphasize pores or clog pores too. Lasting power is very good from early morning until late afternoon without fading. I pulled a few bronzers and Les Beiges powders to compare:
I’m one who can’t resist a Chanel bronzer, this one is no exception. Right now I am a Chanel B30 but am getting a bit of color so the darkest I will get is probably a B40 (foundation equivalents for me right now are NARS Punjab, Tom Ford Bisque 04 (foundations in rotation listed here). I haven’t used a MAC foundation in years because the formulas don’t work for my skin type (I break out in a really bad allergic reaction to those) but I was always matched to a NC30-35. I suspect if you are anywhere from the Chanel B40 or darker range this bronzer will look more like a subtle natural contour or nude illuminator on your skin rather than a bronzer. I found it worked well on my normal combination skin but if you are super dry, you may need some kind of a creamy base on the cheeks to help bring out the color more.
I give this one a huge thumbs up but I am a huge fan of bronzer in general. There are a number of new bronzer releases out this time of year. I would say the Chanel Lumière d’Été Illuminating Powder is a good in-between option in terms of warm but not too warm if you’re light to medium in skin tone. I’m still testing out a number of bronzers to see which one I like best. Initial thoughts: The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzers are warmer and more luminous, the Guerlain Terracotta Joli Teint Powder Duos are a lot softer and lighter in color if you’re fair and don’t like darker dramatic bronzers, the Guerlain is probably the best bet for you. Tom Ford repromoted both of their bronzers in white/gold packaging and a mini size, both are classics. If you want a matte bronzer Terra has no shimmer.
For summer, Chanel’s Collection Méditerannée has four Rouge Coco Shines ($36 each) in Intrépide 497, Amorosa 487, Rêveuse 477 and Insoumise 507. I picked up three of the shades and think they are perfect summer neutrals. The Rouge Coco Shines this season have pretty good pigment for a sheer lip shine – there is still that sheer semi transparent quality that allows the lip to show through. I like all three for easy swipe-and-go kind of colors. They add a nice color and cover the lip entirely with a natural glossy sheen. On my pigmented lips they look a bit different than what you see in the tube. There’s a lot of color in the base of these but there is a really pretty shimmer mixed into each which make them look slightly different on the lips.
The three shades I picked up are the lighter neutral options: Intrépide a coral pink with gold shimmer, Rêveuse a neutral nude peachy pink with a slight champagne sheen, Amorosa is a cool-toned brown rosy nude with silver shimmer
If you’re familiar with Rouge Coco Shines, you know that they swatch sheer on the hands/arm but meld beautifully with the lips. On the lips the color shows up much better while on the hands and arms you will see the sheen with a slight tint of color.
Applying the Rouge Coco Shines with a lip brush will give more pigment and coverage compared to when you apply straight from the tube. Here are side by side swatches tube vs brush application.
Here are swatches and close ups. Each lip swatch is on my bare lips swiped straight from the tube. Note that I have pigmented lips so my natural lip color makes these look different than they may appear on you. The colors are sheer but still cover the lip entirely.
Intrepide is a soft but bright pink with a coral sheen and gold shimmer:
Rêveuse is a neutral nude peach pink, in the tube it’s peachy, on my lips it looks more nude/pink
Amorosa is a neutral cool-toned brown rose pink, it has silvery shimmers
One last shot of the Summer 2015 Rouge Coco Shines alongside the Stylo Eyeshadows and Bronzer.
I think each of the three Rouge Coco Shines I picked up are utter perfection. So far, only Amorosa is listed as limited-editon for now. Sometimes with new releases of neutral Rouge Coco Shines I worry that they will be too light or sheer for my pigmented lips and end up being invisible. All three are indeed sheer but have really good pigment and coverage for a sheer lipstick. I’m pleased with each one that they not only show up well but also require no color tweaking to make them work. As with all other Rouge Coco Shines the lasting power is medium to average. I get several hours (3-4) of wear without fading or budging as long as I don’t snack. They have an ultra hydrating smooth feel without any detectable scent as far as I can tell. I don’t think I would call them moisturizing like a lip balm, but they don’t dry out my lips or make them peel by the next day so I give them a huge thumbs up.
Chanel has brought back the Fresh Effect Eyeshadows this summer in five limited-edition shades ($34 each). These are twist up cream shadow sticks with high amounts of shimmer. They have a cooling effect when you apply on the lids. This year’s shadows all seemed to be very rich in pigment. The two I picked up were the only neutrals in the collection. Both blended easily on the lids but seemed to dry relatively quick. If you are one who likes to take time blending, I recommend adding a creamier base underneath to help slow down the drying time of the Chanel Stylo Eyeshadows.
I picked up Laurier Rose 127 and Caroube 147. Both are high in shimmer and rich in pigment. Laurier Rose is a warm golden peachy rose. If you’re one who can’t pull off rose-toned eyeshadows you may want to skip this one. It’s very rosy and warm. I suspect it will look much better on medium to tan or darker skin tones. On me it’s very very warm. I have to tone it down a lot with a lighter champagne shadow (cream or powder) to make it wearable.
Caroube 147 is a really pretty plummy bronze shimmer. This one is my personal favorite. It has a good mix of cool-tones with bronze to make it a nice easy-to-wear color. For me it’s a no-brainer. I can wear it alone or on top of a champagne eyeshadow like Chanel Emerville Illusion D’Ombre, add mascara and be done with a simple eye look.
For both colors I found lasting power to be really good. On the days I tested these, they lasted from early morning until late afternoon without budging, creasing or fading. I like that there is no fall out with these – the texture is creamy but cooling and adheres really well to the lids.
Caroube Stylo Eyeshadow swatched on bare lids, it dried pretty quickly, I recommend a creamy base first to help with the blending and layering. I like Edward Bess Sunlight All Over Seduction (but it’s not shown on the lids below).
Some comparison swatches below to show how deep/shimmery the Chanel Summer Stylo Eyeshadows are:
Tom Ford Cream and Powder Eyeshadow Duo Golden Peach (review)
By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Brown Perfection and Bronze Moon (review of Bronze Moon here)
Chanel Abstraction Illusion D’Ombre
Every season I always look forward to Chanel’s new releases, especially the colors they launch for summer. For me the highlight of the summer beauty for Chanel is the bronzer and lipsticks (review soon). I wanted to love these eyeshadows, Laurier Rose falls short for me mainly because the color doesn’t work with my skin tone although I do really like the formula. It blends well, the shimmer is ultra fine and just enough glitz to show up on the lids. Lasting power is also phenomenal which I think is key for warm weather. Caroube is a winner in my book but not really mind-blowing. It’s a good staple bronzy shade that is easy to wear and something I can see myself wearing all summer long. I’m one who can never have enough bronzy shimmer eyeshadows so I do love this color but I can’t call it a must-have.
There are three other colors of Stylo Eyeshadow in the summer collection in a teal, purple and green. None of which are colors I wear so I passed on those shades. You can find all the colors now at Chanel counters. I bought mine from Nordstrom but you can also find these now at Chanel.com, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. All five shades are listed as limited-edition.
Have you checked out the summer Stylo Eyeshadows yet? What did you think?
