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Color Focus: Emerald, Aqua, Green and Teal

April 20, 2013
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Teal, emerald, green and aqua seem to be the focus for nails in several collections this season. There are a number of gorgeous new green nail polishes – all of which I was unable to resist. Some are more subtle and subdued while others are bright and electric. The new shades this season inspired me to pull out my other greens for comparison. I’m currently running a top coat experiment so I won’t be able to swatch these on the nails just yet, hopefully these photos will help give you an idea in the meantime.

The inspiration: new shades for summer from Dior, Chanel, YSL, MAC and Deborah Lippmann (spotted near me in stores now at Macy’s, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom):

  • Dior’s Samba Duo ($29, spotted instore at Macys, Nordstrom and Nordstrom.com)
  • Chanel’s Azure ($27, now on Chanel.com)
  • YSL Vert D’Orient #36 ($25 instores and here at Nordstrom.com)
  • MAC Mineralize Lip Balm in Glacé ($20 here at Nordstrom.com)
  • Deborah Lippmann Rockin’ Robin ($19 at in store and online at Nordstrom.com)

All the nail colors in greens, teals, aquas: OPI Thanks a Windmillion, YSL Jade Imperial (limited from spring 2013), Dior Waterlily (limited from spring 2012), Dior Samba Duo (summer 2013), Chanel Azure (summer 2013), Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Dream, Rescue Beauty Lounge Jack (limited), JINsoon Charade (at Sephora), JINsoon Metaphor (at Sephora), Chanel Black Pearl, YSL Vert d’Orient, Deborah Lippmann Rockin’ Robin (spring 2013):

For quick reference here’s one more shot of the bottom wheel at a different angle so you can see the difference in undertone between Chanel Azure and Dior Samba:

I love how vibrant and bright the shades are this season although I do wonder if I will be brave enough to pull them off on the fingers for everyday wear at the office. I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to wear them on the toes. Teal/Emerald as a small accessory or accent piece? Even a blouse? Definitely yes, but on the fingers, I’ll have to experiment to see. More detailed swatches and reviews to come in the next few days as soon I possibly can.

What’s your favorite teal, green or emerald shade for nails? Are you picking up any of the new greens this spring/summer?

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YSL Rouge Volupté Shines

February 15, 2013

YSL’s latest is a new formula of lipstick called Rouge Volupté Shine ($34 each Nordstrom). I ordered mine direct from YSL a few months ago and have fallen head over heels in love with the shades I’ve tried.
  • No 07 Rose Infinite is a natural semi-deep rose plum. It has semi-sheer coverage but you can adjust the intensity. On the lips the intensity of the color increases if you swipe it back and forth 3 times. Applying a similar-toned lip liner first will help the color last.
  • No 08 Pink in Confidence is a soft neutral pink but leans slightly cool on my lips. It has a Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Boy feel in color but the YSL is more pigmented and slightly lighter on me.
  • No 09 Nude in Private is a warm peach. As with all the shades there are subtle sparkles in the tube but on the lips the shimmer and sparkle isn’t very visible.
  • No 11 Beige Instinct is a neutral nude shimmer. In the photo below it looks warm because of the lighting, in real life it’s really more flesh toned.
  • No 15 Corail Intuitive is a shade I picked up at a later date, it’s similar to No 08 Nude in Private but more peach with a brighter look.

Swatched on my arm you can see for a sheer lipstick there is quite a bit of color payoff. Since these are sheer they are still slightly transparent. These have a shiny glossy finish.

Here are swatches in direct sunlight without a flash so you can see the base color better:

I’ve been dragging my feet on reviewing these mainly because of lip swatches. These are difficult for me to capture accurately and it’s hard for me to get consistent lighting but here’s my best attempt. As always note your mileage will vary. I have pigmented lips and olive skin, so these will most likely look different on you.

Right now I’m short on time so I can’t do swatch comparisons to other shades or brands. I would say these are a huge improvement from the Rouge Volupté Perles in texture (less gritty) and formula (smoother) and finish (more natural). These are much easier to apply compared to the original Rouge Volupté formula and the sheer/glossy/shimmer makes it more naturally flattering to the lips. Compared to Chanel Rouge Coco Shines I think these have a similar finish in terms of the shine and gloss but with a bit more pigment (very slight). I haven’t tried other shades like the brights or darks but I can’t wait to experiment.

After searching online it appears most of the shades are online at YSL, but some retailers have select shades (I haven’t confirmed instore though). Nordstrom’s exclusive is No 17 Rose in Tension. Saks’ exclusive is No 18 Prune in Fire. Neiman’s exclusive is No 16 Orange Impertinent.

For quick reference, see a few shades swatched at Best Things in Beauty and all the shades swatched on Kais Obsessions.

Have you tried the Rouge Volupté Shines? What’s your favorite Rouge Volupté formula or color?

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YSL Bronze Pyrite #35 La Laque Couture

January 12, 2013

Last year YSL reformulated and repackaged their nail lacquers into their La Laque Couture. I haven’t had a chance to play much with the new formulas (although I do own three). They come in a lovely square-shaped bottle with a removable cap. The brush is wider than most brands, but also skinny (flat). I normally prefer brushes that are not quite as wide, but the YSL applies very easily with the shape of the brush. Bronze Pyrite #35 is the first YSL nail lacquer (in the new formula) that I’ve tried and so far I’m impressed. It’s part of the spring 2013 line ($25 for 0.34 fl oz./10 ml).
As you can see Bronze Pyrite is a beautiful metallic. It’s a true metallic in the sense that it goes on with a metal finish (rather than sparkle or shimmer). There is a lot of color mixed in. On the nails I would describe it as a pewter. Depending on the lighting, sometimes there is a very slight khaki/greenish glimmer. I was pleased that it applied with minimal visible brush strokes. The pigment is rich and only needed one coat, however 2 coats was best for me.

At an angle you can see a bit of the khaki glow:

Here are a few views of the packaging and brush: 

Here it is swatched on me:

Compared to other metallic/high shimmers, YSL Bronze Pyrite is the most foiled/metallic looking compared to other similar metallics. Chanel’s Graphite has a more complex finish with larger sparkles, Tom Ford’s Silver Smoke is lighter and more neutral with a finely milled shimmer, Dior Timeless Gold has a more sophisticated shimmer and Chanel Diwali has more dimension.

Overall a huge thumbs up. I did get some tip wear on day 3, and on day 5 it started to chip a little. I found it lasted quite well throughout the week.
There is one more shade from YSL spring, a gorgeous seafoam green called Jade Imperial #34. I passed since it seemed so similar to one of the shades from last year’s OPI Holland collection but I didn’t try them side by side to compare.
I purchased mine from Nordstrom.
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Color Focus: Pink Nudes for Nails

August 20, 2012

I have an obsession with neutral pink nudes for nails. I love the clean polished natural look of colors that have a mix of pink with nude/beige/mauve/rose. My current favorites range from semi-sheer to full coverage shades, most are creams but there are a few that have subtle shimmer. The shades I’m loving this season are listed below. All photos are my own.

Row 1: YSL Beige Leger 22, Chanel Jade Rose 493, Deborah Lippmann Naked, Dolce & Gabbana Rose Petal 102

Row 2: Dior Incognito 257, Deborah Lippmann Fashion, Dior Beige Lotus, Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge

Row 3: Dolce and Gabbana Petal, Chanel Rose Cache 521, Deborah Lippmann Modern Love and Dior Sienna

On the nail wheel, with a few true beiges and pinks added to compare, two views:

I believe all these shades are still available for sale with the exception of Chanel Mistral which is no longer for sale (I think). Currently, Chanel Jade Rose is listed as limited-edition on Chanel.com. What neutral pinks are you loving?

Kindly note that all photos and content are my own and copyrighted. Please do not copy, reprint, edit, republish or hotlink images.
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Loving Right Now

May 31, 2012
I’m always drawn to matched lip and nail collections. I loved the Chanel Extrait de Gloss Collection (from 2010, see summary on Karla Sugar) and the recent MAC Fashion Sets, in particular Angel and Please Me (see lineup on Temptalia here, here and here). Right now I’m loving something that’s a little more mixed lip/nail combination and something a little less matched, but still in the same color family. Here are a few mixed and matched combination sets I’m loving right now. Swatches below as well.

Glowing neutrals
Left to right: YSL Golden Sand #54 Gloss
YSL Golden Shell #51 Gloss
Chanel Island #597 Le Vernis
Chanel Pêche Nacrée #515 Le Vernis

Corals and golds
Left to right: Chanel Nakkar #149 Glossimer
Dior Brown Panama #432 Addict Ultra Gloss
Chanel Holiday #617 Le Vernis
Chanel Delight #607 Le Vernis

Snapshot of jewelry from J.Crew’s Published June Style Guide and online at J.Crew here (I need one of those bracelets!) (Online versions of the J.Crew catalog are published on their website, currently May’s Style Guide is available to browse, I suspect June’s will be uploaded soon)

Pink lavenders
Left to right: Laura Mercier Nude Lilac Lip Glace
Dolce and Gabbana Lilac Nail Polish
Dolce and Gabbana Raspberry Lip Gloss
NARS Ratin Jot Nail Polish

What are lip and nail combinations are you loving right now?
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YSL Volupté Sheer Candy in Lush Coconut 01

July 17, 2011
YSL Volupté Sheer Candy ($30) is one of the newest lipstick/lipbalm formulas from YSL. It comes in 6 different shades (all shades seen and reviewed on Karla Sugar and Best Things in Beauty) and is designed to give a sheer but hydrating tint of color to the lips. I saw these at Sephora about a month ago, had a gift card burning a hole in my wallet and decided to give the light beige-gold, Lush Coconut 01, a try.

Lush Coconut is a pale beige gold shimmer in the tube. On the hands and lips, it’s so sheer, nothing shows up. Just shine. I know these are meant to be sheer, but I was rather disappointed with the finish. For $30, I could have achieved the same effect (hydration and shine) with something much more cost-friendly. The darker and brighter shades do give a tint, but from what I saw/tested, you can also find cheaper drugstore chapsticks that will do the same trick for a much better deal. The formula isn’t long-wearing. It has a somewhat slippery texture and feels like it will slide right off the lips within 2 minutes (even though it does not). Are there any pros? They do have a delicious mango-candy scent, however I wasn’t really keen on the taste from it sliding off my lips within minutes. The packaging is the most beautiful out of all the Rouge Voluptés with the silver tube (instead of the gold). These deliver a high shine which is nice, but it’s not enough to win me over.

Here it is compared to Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Canotier and YSL’s Rouge Volupté Perle in Beige Caress. I prefer Chanel’s even though the swatch looks sheer, on the lips there is a better finish with the Chanel.

Bottom line: Save your money unless you like super sheer and pretty packaging. Normally I like sheer, but I found this one just too-sheer to feel worth the price. Perhaps you will have better luck with the reds in this collection. Still, I think you can find better for cheaper in other brands. MAC Lustres are just one type of sheer lipstick that comes to mind. I did swatch Lush Coconut on my lips for this review, but it looks clear so I decided not to publish the lip-swatch photo. * Update* Per request, I’ve uploaded a lip swatch.

Some might wonder if these might work as a finishing gloss over a lip pencil. Perhaps it would work. I personally would not try it, especially in the summer time. Given the slip of this lipstick, I think that applying these over lipliner would not extend the longevity of the wear. I would be worried that it would make even long-lasting lipliners bleed.
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Getting Ready for New Year’s Eve with Metallic Glitzy Nails

December 29, 2010

New Year’s Eve is only a few nights away! I’m keeping it low-key this year with family but it’s still fun to get dressed up in the spirit. This year I’m in the mood for those high metallic, chrome-like/foil-like colors on the nails which is out of the ordinary for me as I’m not the biggest fan of those high-shine metallics. I end up feeling like an ornament or metal statue, but for NYE I think it’s fun. My picks (which I am still trying to decide on) include:
  • Dior Timeless Gold (Holiday 2010) reviewed here
  • Dior Silver Pearl (Last Spring 2010) reviewed here
  • YSL Pink Gold #140 (Holiday 2010) reviewed here
  • YSL Gold #139 (Holiday 2010) reviewed here
  • MAC Soirée (Holiday 2010)
  • OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous (Swiss Collection, Fall 2010)
  • Rococo Nail Apparel R2T2 (can be found in the US at Space NK) reviewed here
  • Rococo Nail Apparel Metal Jacket (can be found in the US at Space NK reviewed here

The fun part about metallic nails is how the colors change depending on the light and how you move your fingers. I love how these have rich pigment and the metallic finish pearl particles make these dry really fast and last long. The formulas of these have a semi-matte finish, not quite like the OPI suede colors, but not like a shiny varnish either. I always love the colors in the bottles, but what goes on the nails is sometimes too intense for my personal taste.





Close ups and on the nails, Dior Timeless Gold, Dior Silver Pearl, YSL #140, YSL #139:


Close ups and on the nails, MAC Soiree, OPI lucerne-tainly look marvelous, Rococo R2T2, Rococo Metal Jacket:


I have too many options and can’t decide! Maybe you can help me pick 🙂 Of course it will depend on what I’m wearing. I have a few outfits picked out which are versatile and will go with any of these nail colors.
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