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On My Radar / New In Beauty

May 19, 2014

On my radar this Monday morning:

Some good inspirational reads:

  • Buy the June issue of Glamour Magazine, I found it incredibly inspirational for life/career especially with the articles My Zo-Called Life on Climbing That Ladder by Zosia Mamet and Step Into My Office with Alex Wagner
  • Love this article #GIRLBOSS: Career Advice That Actually Matters via The Coveteur
  • Fun video on how to take good instagram photos via Song of Style
  • I’m living vicariously through Rae with this epic Asia Beauty Exclusives haul video from The RaeViewer
  • Really good insights and background on How To Get a Job Beauty/Fashion PR, Social Media or Marketing from Zoe London.
Hope you have a good start to the week! P.S. Don’t forget to check out my Ole Henriksen Giveaway, you have two more days to enter!

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Tom Ford Spring Nail Polish Comparisons to Chanel, MAC, Marc Jacobs, NARS, YSL and Laura Mercier

February 13, 2014

Sugar Dune is more pinkish compared to other nude pinks like Chanel Jade Rose, Tom Ford Toasted Sugar and Tom Ford Show Me The Pink.

Coral Beach is more of a straight peach compared to Chanel Distraction, Laura Mercier Cabana (discontinued) and NARS Vertebra (discontinued from the Pierre Hardy collection).

Incandescent is the perfect mix of copper, gold and rose. It’s not too metallic on the hands which makes for a more neutralish shimmer. Below compared to Chanel Delight, MAC Soiree, Chanel Rose Moire and Marc Jacobs Le Charm.

Indiscretion proves to be a slightly deeper but brighter pink. Below compared to Tom Ford Trophy Wife, Chanel Pulsion, Chanel Rose Insolent and YSL Rose Babydoll.

I hope these comparisons help with your purchasing decisions!

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YSL La Laque Couture Rose Scabiosa #48 and Rouge Pablo #49 | Spring 2014

January 19, 2014

YSL spring has two new La Laque Couture nail polishes in Rose Scabiosa #48 and Rouge Pablo #49 ($25 each for 0.34 fl oz/10ml). Both are rich vibrant creams that have a flawless finish. They have that lovely romantic Valentine’s Day feel. I’ve been a huge fan of the YSL La Laque nail polish formula. The brush is flat and wide but with a tapered edge. I can cover the whole nail with one brush stroke (except for the thumb) which makes for a super easy application. These are two coaters, but the pigment is rich and smooth. Lasting power is quite good – I can get up to 4-5 days of wear without any chipping or tip wear. Quality matches that of Chanel, maybe a tiny bit better in wear time. I use with my regular go-to’s with Deborah Lippmann Rehydrating Base Coat and either Chanel Laque Brilliance Extreme or Rescue Beauty Lounge Top Coat.

Rose Scabiosa #48 is a stunning baby pink with a slight hint of lilac undertone. I usually cannot wear baby pinks like this because I find them to be extremely sheer and streaky or too pale and powdery looking. YSL Rose Scabiosa has impressive coverage and enough pink color in it to suit my skintone. Below it’s applied with two coats:

Comparisons show it is quite different from my other pinks which tend to be warmer in color. Below shown next to Rescue Beauty Lounge Smitten (discontinued), Chanel May (reviewed here), Chanel Melrose (discontinued) and Laura Mercier Flamingo (discontinued, reviewed here).

Rouge Pablo #49 is a dramatic red-pink. It pulls warmer and more red on my hands but when compared to other reds, Rouge Pablo looks more pink. Your mileage may vary depending on your skintone. My mom is a huge fan of brighter reds and pinks for the nails. She tried this one and thought it was too bright for her taste with too much pink (she’s less olive than me in skintone and slightly lighter).

YSL Rouge Pablo is fairly similar to other reds. From arms length it’s almost identical to the ones shown below. It was hard to photograph the differences. Below I swatched Chanel Coromandel (warmer and more orange), Chanel Tapage (lighter and more pink), Chanel Rouge Rubis (almost identical but the Chanel is slightly darker) and Chanel Dragon (darker and deeper with more brown). If you have any of the other Chanels, I would say you can probably skip the YSL, although I do find it to be really pretty.

Overall really impressed with the two new YSL nail polishes. I’ve been really pleased with the formulas and textures. The application of the YSL colors I’ve tried is among the best out of all the brands I’ve tried. I give both a thumbs up. Out of the two I favor Rose Scabiosa – it’s an impressive baby pink.
You can find the spring YSL Rose Scabiosa #48 and Rouge Pablo #49 at all YSL counters now. Online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and YSL Beauty US. 

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The Top 13 Beauty Discoveries in 2013

December 31, 2013
The top 13 beauty discoveries of 2013 from The Beauty Look Book (reviews from the past year are linked for each item listed):
  1. Caudalie Divine Oil – my absolute favorite beauty discovery this year
  2. By Terry Baume de Rose – pure luxury for the lips, worth every penny
  3. Drybar The Chaser Shine Pomade – my holy grail hair product to add shine, remove frizz, long lasting and smells amazing, my husband also loves this for his hair
  4. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder – the perfect answer to glowing skin and my second favorite discovery this year
  5. Urban Decay Naked3 Palette – lovely rose-gold neutrals
  6. Chanel Taboo Le Vernis – a dramatic purple with red and silver shimmers, The Beauty Look Book’s second most popular post from 2013
  7. Dior Diablotine Le Vernis – the most striking intense coral red shimmer
  8. Tom Ford Illuminating Cheek Colors – unfortunately these were released in very limited quantities, but close alternatives you can get right now are MAC Magnetic Nude Skinfinishes in Magnetic Appeal and Fairly Precious
  9. Edward Bess Black Sea Mousse Foundations – I’ve mixed Light and Medium to get a good match, I’ve found that this is indeed the perfect full coverage foundation that gives a flawless airbrushed look that still manages to look natural, I truly hope Edward releases this to all his counters and in more shades (it was a QVC exclusive that sold out almost instantly)
  10. Chanel Les Beiges Powders – my favorite is 20 for all over, 30 and 40 work wonders for natural contouring and adding a soft glow of color to the face
  11. Diptyque 10-Piece Set – special release this holiday and the perfect way to try multiple scents at a more affordable price than buying the full sizes of each candle
  12. YSL Rouge Volupte Shines – my favorite lipsticks of the year for and The Beauty Look Book’s most popular post from 2013
  13. Chanel Illusion D’Ombre in Initiation – holiday 2013 release and the perfect bronze shimmer
I am thankful from the bottom of my heart for each and every one of my readers. You inspire me every week with your thoughtful and insightful comments/e-mails/tweets. I can’t express enough how appreciative I am for those of you who take the time to share your expertise and add your input to my weekly features. Your experiences, tips and tricks help others like myself figure out what works or how to make things work better. Thank you for following my blog and for your support.

What were your top beauty discoveries this year?

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YSL Prune Minimale No. 7 La Laque Couture

July 28, 2013
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I’ve had YSL Prune Minimale No. 7 La Laque Couture ($25 for 0.34 fl oz/10ml at Nordstrom) for over a year but have never had a chance to review it. Some of the YSL nail lacquers can be hard to find since most stores don’t carry the entire color range. Certain stores have exclusive shades. I’m not sure if Prune Minimale is one of those colors but I’ve only been able to find it at Nordstrom in the US. Prune Minimale No. 7 is a dark vampy plum-brown. In the bottle it appears to a wine color with shimmer. On the nails the shimmer is invisible and it applies significantly darker than what you see in the bottle. It gives full coverage with two coats. Lasting power was quite good – I took it off on day five to swatch comparisons and there was minimal tip wear. From arms length this looks very similar to a number of other vampy shades. I pulled a few to compare (scroll down). YSL Prune Minimale proved to be one of the darker vamps that I own.

The bottles show some shimmers:

Here it is swatched with two coats and one coat of Chanel Laque Brilliance Extrême top coat.

Comparisons below to Chanel Rouge Noir, Vamp, Accessoire and Strong:

I think YSL Prune Minimale No. 7 is a lovely but fairly standard vamp. It’s a sharp classic color that is something you can wear year round. However I was surprised about the attention it received for something I found to be very basic. YSL Prune Minimale received a significant amount of attention over the last week though from co-workers as well as from both of my favorite Chanel and Dior reps at Nordstrom – they all wanted to know what color it was.
Overall I’m impressed with the quality and wear. If you look closely you can tell that it is different from Chanel classics like Rouge Noir and Vamp. It’s about 1-2 shades darker, cooler and more brown than Rouge Noir. So far I’ve only seen it at Nordstrom but if you’ve spotted it elsewhere please share in the comments. (I searched about 10 other retailers online that carry YSL and couldn’t find it listed anywhere.)
YSL Prune Minimale No. 7 retails for $25. You can find it now instores and online at Nordstrom.

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YSL Fall Look 2013: Gris Underground 38 and Beige Gallery 39 La Laque Couture

July 6, 2013
For fall I spotted two new shades of YSL La Laque Couture ($25 each, for 0.34 oz/10ml) at Nordstrom in store: Gris Underground 38 a beautiful blue-grey with a hint of lavendar and Beige Gallery 39 a nude tan cream. Both are non-shimmers with full coverage. The quality and wear is quite amazing. The wide brush makes these easy to apply flawlessly. You get full coverage with two thin coats. Dry time is faster than most. I am in love with both new shades.

Before I go on to the individual swatches, I wanted to post a nail wheel comparison. In my mind before I pulled any other colors, I expected Gris Underground and Beige Gallery to be quite similar to other greys and nudes. They proved to be very different from what I expected. Gris Underground is more blue. Beige Gallery pulls more brown.
Here are some colors compared: NARS Storm Bird, JinSoon Auspicious, Dior Gris Montaigne, Chanel Frenzy, Dior Gris Trianon, Butter London Lady Muck, Dolce & Gabbana Anise, OPI Don’t Pretzel My Buttons, OPI My Very First Knockwurst, YSL Beige Leger 22, Dior Trench, Dior Grege, Chanel Beige, Dior Incognito and Chanel Particuliere.

Gris Underground No. 38 is a shade I’ve been searching for for years. It has just the right mix of blue, grey and purple to be that perfect dove-grey nail color. Most others I’ve seen are either too purple or just a straight grey. This one pulls blue-ish on me against my olive skintone. All swatches two coats without any top coat.

Closeup of the comparisons:

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Beige Gallery No. 39 is a beautiful tan nude. I expected it to go on the nails paler than it does, but it is true to what you see in the bottle. It gives a fresh clean nude look without being too nude or brown. Two coats without any topcoat (although these work well with Chanel).

Comparison closeup:

YSL is slowly but surely making it’s dent in my beauty collection. I’ve
fallen in love with their La Laque Couture nail formula for the
smooth application, long wear, beautiful rich colors, easy to use brush
and sleek packaging. The quality is really amazing. My collection pre-fall additions:

Bottom line: both Gris Underground 38 and Beige Gallery 39 are must-haves. I love the neutral but not boring look these colors give. In stores and online at Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus.

Did you check out YSL fall yet? Thoughts? Will you be picking up the nail colors?

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YSL Rose Baby Doll La Laque Couture

May 27, 2013

YSL released a new nail lacquer called Rose Baby Doll ($25 for 0.34 fl oz/10ml) as part of their Rose Baby Doll collection. It’s a stunning deep hot pink rose cream that is perfect for summer. The color has an impressive amount of pigment which provides full coverage with just one coat. It also comes with a well designed wide flat brush that allows for near-perfect application with a single brush stroke. I’ve been testing Rose Baby Doll for several days and it works extremely well with top coats from Chanel, Dior Gel and Posche. I’m on Day Three with no signs of chipping or tipwear. The color is a classic rich sophisticated rose pink that is bright and vibrant but still deep enough to not look neon. However since deep fuschias are fairly standard colors and easy to find among most brands, you will definitely be able to find something similar in color.

Here it is swatched against the YSL Rose Baby Doll ad. The bright sunlight washed out the magazine photo a bit but I found the color to be pretty close to the ad. The color is mostly a fuschia rose, sometimes it looks warmer and with visible red undertones, others it’s more cool-toned.

Some comparisons showed that YSL Rose Baby Doll is closest to Chanel Pulsion. The difference is Chanel Pulsion is cooler and YSL Rose Baby Doll is warmer. The next closest option is Chanel Rose Exhuberant which is just a few shades lighter.

Bottom line: I can’t stop staring at my nails – the color is really stunning. The quality, pigment and lux packaging make this worth every penny. YSL Rose Baby Doll has the perfect mix of fuschia, rose and red to give a deep yet modern looking pink. However given the fact that deeper fuschias have been done frequently with permanent and limited releases, you may want to shop your stash first.
YSL Rose Baby Doll Nail Lacquer is limited-edition, available at Sephora and other YSL retailers while supplies last.
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