I’ve recently found a few new taupe shades in cream and powder formulas from MAC, Trish McEvoy, Guerlain and Too Faced.
Clockwise from top shadow:
MAC Eyeshadow in Prepped for Glamour Guerlain Terracotta Eyeshadow Pen in Smoky Metal Trish McEvoy 24-Hour Shadow & Liner in Topaz MAC Greasepaint Stick in Dirty Too Faced Single Eyeshadow in Sitcom Siren
Most of the shades look true to what you see in the compact or stick, except for Guerlain Smoky Metal which went on my skin surprisingly warm. I haven’t tried this shade on the eyes yet, but I have tested out the others. MAC Dirty is such a gorgeous shade but unfortunately doesn’t last at all. It is extremely smudgey and by late afternoon gave me raccoon eyes. Trish McEvoy Topaz is more promising. I used it alone blended out on my lids and it didn’t budge at all. I can’t say whether or not it lasted a full 24 hours since I only had it on for the evening (from around 7:00 pm to midnight). But it lasted the entire time and when I got home looked just as good as when I put it on. My SA tested out the steel black grey shade from Trish and said it didn’t last at all on her and seemed way to soft/moist to be a 24-hour product, so YMMV per shade.
MAC Prepped for Glamour is extremely similar to Satin Taupe but the Prepped for Glamour shade has just a tad bit more red/warmth to it. But otherwise, very close. that I can barely tell the difference. Too Faced Sitcom Siren is my first Too Faced product. Pigment/blendability is nice but I actually prefer MAC. Sitcom Siren is a bit too frosty for my liking.
Last week I had one of those days where I had a million things to do during the day with no time to stop by home before a special occasion dinner. I packed my car with my laptop, papers, textbooks, backpack, purse, a change of clothes and an extra pair of shoes (to transition from day to night) but neglected to pack my makeup bag and brushes to touch up.
Luckily, I had my Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Island Rose (for lips/cheeks) and a mini Diorshow mascara tucked away in my backpack which was enough to freshen my look a bit. But it made me realize I needed to put together an emergency beauty kit to keep in my car for those times I need a last-minute touch up or days I forget to bring my makeup bag with me.
I looked to one of my favorite beauty books by Trish McEvoy “The Power of Makeup” for her tips on what to include in a beauty emergency kit. This is what I put together for my own using my trusty quilted planner:
Trish McEvoy Power of Makeup Simply Chic Page (Pink Innocence Lip + Cheek, Nude Innocence Lip + Cheek, Golden Peach AOC, Peony Pink Blush, Sand/Pink Shimmer/Snow/Blackberry Eyeshadows)
Laura Mercier Eyemakeup Remover
Edward Bess Love Always Deep Shine Lipgloss
NARS Luxor Multiple
Diorshow Mini Mascara
MAC Fix + (travel size)
Chanel DPF Compact
Chanel Spices Quadra Eyeshadow
MAC Cremestick Lipliners in Sublime Culture and Beurre
Chanel Ebene Waterproof Eyeliner
Laura Mercier Brown Copper Eye Kohl
Chantecaille Crystalline Gloss
Shu Uemura Tweezers
A bunch of mini brushes
My so-called “emergency kit” turned out to be quite a bit more than I intended. It’s probably the equivalent to a travel kit or a weekend-away kit. Yes, I am rather high maintenance, so this will probably be a work in progress. But at least I know that by having this tucked away in my car, I will always be well prepared to touch up, redo or refresh my makeup and not have to worry about finding the time to try and get back to the house before a last minute appointment or spur of the moment evening out.
Do you have a beauty emergency kit? What do you have inside yours?
You can’t go wrong with a soft peachy-gold eyeshadow for an all-over easy & quick eye look. For girls with medium skintone, there are tons of your-lids-but-better options out there for a no-fail shimmery peach. My all time favorite is Chanel Abricot which I hear has now been discontinued. Luckily you can probably still find it at one of your local counters. Some of the peachy shades look pale on my skin even though they look peachy in the container.
Dior Beige Select, Chanel Abricot, Trish McEvoy Golden Apricot, Bobbi Brown Golden Peach, Laura Mercier Guava (old formula)
MAC Rubenesque & Shu Uemura Cream P Beige
MAC Hush, Motif, Jest, Arena (in pro-palette form)
Urban Decay Blaze, MAC Evening Aura, MAC Say Yeah
Paul & Joe #22, Paul & Joe #003, Armani Maestro #19
MAC Jardin Aires Pigment, MAC Melon Pigment, Laura Mercier Gemstone Mineral Eye Color, Laura Mercier Peach Luster Mineral Eye Color
All the shades grouped together (note, I apologize for the error below, but the color labeled Dazzleray is actually Jardin Aires):
Trish McEvoy’s latest release, The Bronze Collection, is trickling into stores and I am really excited to report that the Irresistible Petal Lip Gloss that was in the Turquoise Petite Python Planner is available separately!
Products featured include: Dual Matte Bronzer in Medium, Mistake-Proof Sheer Application Brush, Classic Lip Color in Natural, Irresistible Petal Lipgloss.
Check out her website, TrishMcEvoy.com – The Bronze Collectionfor more details on each item. Even more exciting – Trish has done a video on the look which can be viewed on her Trish McEvoy FaceBook Fan Page. I just discovered her FB resource and it has a lot of great features! I like the look on the model from the video, although she’s quite a bit darker in skintone than I am, it’s nice to see how the products look on her.
And even better, another view for their promotional photo on the collection. I love that the look is simple and gorgeous and fresh. Photo from Trish McEvoy:
I found some of the items at Saks – the display unit was up, but the products were not yet featured for testing. Thanks to my iPhone, I was to check online for the product names and my SA kindly checked the drawers to see if they had any of the colors in-stock. They had the lipstick and lipgloss. I know Trish products pretty well now, so I didn’t need to test them out before buying. Seeing them in the tubes was enough for me to say, “yes, one of each please!”
Top: Irresistible Petal Bottom: Natural
* Natural Lipstick ($23) is a new formula which is more matte than her other lipsticks. According to her video, this is the first of her new Classic Lip Color line which will consist of shades that are here to stay. It’s a natural pinky your-lips-but-better color. If you found the Chanel Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle too warm for you, I think the Trish McEvoy Natural might be a similar but less warm alternative for you to check out.
* Irresistible Petal ($25) is the third color in her Irresistible Lip Gloss formula (Irresistible reviewed back last July & Irresistible Pink, tried but not purchased) which all have a reflective sparkle quality. These have quite a bit more shimmer with tiny micro-sparkles than her regular lipglosses. I found Irresistible to be just as sparkly as MAC Dazzleglasses, but the newest Irresistible Petal has a more subdued sparkle. It’s a sheer light pink sparkle which has a faint minty scent and smooth glossy finish. The gloss gives me really full lips.
Here they are both swatched on my lips:
I wrote about the Python Planner set from Blue Mercury back during Christmas. The set was intended as a gift, but luckily I got to keep the actual python print planner since my friend liked the regular black quilted petite planner instead 🙂
I have too many planners to count in various sizes. The pros to using these include the fact that they keep you organized, they help you sort all your makeup items and tools, and it’s convenient to carry if you have a larger purse or for travel. The downside is that since it’s designed for Trish McEvoy products, you have to find pan eyeshadows/blushes to fit in her page to make full use of the planner. But if you’re not a 100% Trish user, not to worry, you can still fit quite a bit of other items from other brands into the sets.
This is what I have in mine today:
This is everything I was able to fit into the planner and there was still plenty more room to fit more stuff. Includes a variety of mini brushes, Chanel mascara, Paul & Joe lipliner, Edward Bess Afterglow Highlighter, Trish Eye Base + Lipstick + Luminizer + Petite Page + Lipliner + Lipgloss, Laura Mercier cream eyeshadow, Le Metier eyeliner etc.
How the planner fits neatly into my purse:
My purse contents (I have no idea why there is Splenda in my bag):
Overall thoughts: Both are pretty for spring. The Natural lipstick is indeed very natural looking. It gives me my-lips-but-better with a soft rosey tint. If you want more color, Trish definitely has some brighter lipsticks which are flattering and have a pretty finish. The lipgloss is very sheer, but I love the way it adds a bit of sparkle and it smells and feels great.
I’ve been playing around with my new MAC Too Fabulous Mineralize Blushes and Cremesheen Glass lipglosses all week and tried a few combinations for each product. Eye makeup was very low-key this week, only using a neutral cream eyeshadow + gel liner + mascara.
The new mineralize blushes are really pretty! Those with darker skins will really like the colors. I agree with the consensus among other reviews that these tend to be on the more shimmery side. They aren’t overly frosty when applied with a lighter hand. Those who get oily/shiny fast or have larger pores, I’d say these will probably be a nay for you.
The cremesheen glasses are among my favorite gloss formula from MAC. I like that they repromoted some colors and mixed in some new shades. This gives me ideas on how to use the colors I already have with some new blush colors.
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Look #1: MAC Rhapsody in Two Mineralize Blush + Paul & Joe Creamy Cheek #02 + Partial to Pink/Boy Bait Cremesheen Glasses mixed
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Look #2: MAC Bi-Tone Mineralize Blush + MAC Love, Henri Lipstick + Moth to Flame Dazzleglass
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Look #3: MAC Buddy Up Mineralize Blush + Trish McEvoy Baby Pink Essential Pencil + Just Superb Cremesheen Glass
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Look #4: MAC Sun & Moon Mineralize Blush + NARS Cafe Con Leche + MAC Ever Hip Lipstick + Richer, Lusher Cremesheen Glass
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Look #5: MAC Deelight Cremesheen Glass + Laura Mercier Chestnut Lipliner + NARS Tutti Fruitti Lipstick + MAC Afterdusk Blush/Stark Naked Blush mixed together
I just got the March 2010 issue of The Book from Neiman Marcus in the mail and two of the previews in their beauty section caught my eye:
1) A Trish McEvoy Planner set retailing for $95, exclusive to Neimans which includes: Petite Planner Page, Eye Base Essentials n Bars, Instant Pick-Me-Up Face Color, Translucent Setting Powder, Deluxe Diamond Eyeshadow in Crystal, Eye Definer in Arabian Nights, Glaze Eyeshadow in Azure, and Irresistible Lipgloss in Petal cased in a faux crocodile makeup planner.
I believe other Trish locations will be receiving the same set (contents) with a different planner in the blue python print similar to the case for the Champagne Truffles Card (reviewed here).
2) I heard of the Laura Mercier Zen palette from my friend Parsi about a month ago and I’m glad to finally see a photo of it because now my lemming is gone. The Zen palette retails for $60. The other items pictured were repromotes so I didn’t take pictures of those items.
I think my wallet is safe. I find the Planner Set is cute, but I’ve caved into one too many “planner sets” which I find end up collecting dust and end up being regifted or swapped away. The Laura Mercier set looks stunning, but I will need to see/test it in person before buying. I’m not the biggest fan of palettes that have creams (lipsticks) and powders (eyes/cheeks) on the same layer because they tend to get a bit messy.
I’m not sure if purple is “in” this season (with the exception of a part of MAC’s upcoming Spring Forecast collection) – but I’m not always one to follow the trends. When I think of spring, I think of soft colors and I love using purple on one feature for the face at a time (to avoid that purple overload look). I pulled out my soft purply colors and was surprised to find how much lilac and violets I own.
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Part 1: Eyes
For eyes, I can’t pull off all purples – some lilacs make me look like I have pink-eye but these are the ones that work for me. I would have to say my favorites are the Armani Maestro Single #10 because it has some slight gold sparkles and the new Paul & Joe Purple Clover from spring (waves to Josie for her wonderful swatch and review here).
1. Giorgio Armani Maestro Quad 6 Mineral 2. Giorgio Armani Maestro Single 10 3. NARS Duo Eyeshadow Violetta 4. MAC Violet, Dear (discontinued) 5. Laura Mercier Luster Eyeshadow Dusk (mini size from GWP) 6. Paul & Joe Face & Eyecolor CS in Purple Clover 066 7. MAC Eyeshadow Pro Palette in Crystal 8. Laura Mercier Mineral Eye Powder in Crushed Amethyst 9. Trish McEvoy Eyeshadow in Haze 10. Paul & Joe Eyeshadow Velvet Ribbon 06 11. MAC Pigment in Kitchmas 12. MAC Pigment in Lovely Lily (l/e) 13. MAC Pigment in Circa Plum (l/e)
* Please note, I’m not a fan of that Nars Violetta swatch, the lighter matte shade doesn’t always go on as muddy dark as it did on my arm
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Part 2: Lips
For lips, I can’t wear straight purples or lilacs for the lips. Most of these are either sheer or have some pink pearl in them to give a soft cool pink lip. My favorites are Laura Mercier’s Violet & Lilac Lip Glaces.
1. Bobbi Brown Brightening Lipgloss Pink Lilac 2. Laura Mercier Plumping Lipgloss in Wild Berry 3. Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Violet 4. Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Lilac 5. MAC Lustreglass in Morning Glory 6. MAC Lipglass Nico Now (l/e) 7. MAC Lipglass Fast Friends (l/e) 8. Nars Chastity Lip Gloss 9. Nars Sweet Charity Lip Gloss 10. Chanel Glossimer in Delight 11. Laura Mercier Stickgloss Lip Color in Purple Haze
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Part 3: Nails
I’m not the biggest fan of purple nails. I got a few of these as gifts yet can’t bring myself to regift them or give them away (because often times it’s the thought that counts). I desperately wanted to love Chanel’s Rodeo Drive (gorgeous violet purple) but it was simply too bright for my comfort. Chanel’s Lilac Sky is much more doable for me. I do like lighter purples for the nails, I also have a photo/swatch of Le Metier Phlox here, but it’s currently MIA.
Pinkie to Thumb: Sephora by OPI Call Your Mother, OPI Parlez-Vous OPI?, MAC Love & Friendship, Chanel Violette (euro exclusive), Chanel Lilac Sky
