CHANEL

Chanel Stylo Yeux Eyeliner BEIGE CLAIR and GRENAT Review and Swatches

May 8, 2012

I bought the Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliner in BEIGE CLAIR from the Le Blanc 2012 Collection and in GRENAT from the Spring 2012 Collection recently. Both of them are limited editions. I normally don’t buy high end pencil eye liners but Chanel always make me break my rules!

Out of the two Beige Clair is the best purchase in my opinion. I have been searching for a creamy matte flesh-colored eyeliner pencil for the longest time, and I am so glad Chanel has finally released one. I like to wear it along the lower inner rim, as it instantly makes my eyes appear more energized, brighter and bigger. The formulation of Stylo Yeux Eyeliner is hands down the most smudge proof and waterproof that I have ever used. I have quite watery eyes, and Beige Clair lasts on my eyes for the whole day without fading . The color is so versatile so you can also use it as a nude lip liner or a pointed concealer pen.

Grenat is another unique shade. I don’t usually wear colored eye liner, so to me Grenat is nice to have but not a must. It is a rich plummy brown shade, and it would look absolutely gorgeous on green and blue eyes. As for my eyes, it looks the best when it is paired against cool toned eye shadows, otherwise it seems to emphasize the redness of my eyes. The lasting power of Grenat is also phenomenal.

Wearing Grenat on my eyes

Comparing them with Rose Platine.

From left to right: Rose Platine, Grenat and Beige Clair

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Labels: CHANEL • EYELINER

Le Blanc De Chanel 2012 Collection – Joues Contraste Fleur De Lotus Powder Blush Review and Swatches

May 6, 2012

Being an Asian I always find it hard to resist the Asia Exclusive Collection, as the color palette is specifically designed for the Asian coloring, and the quality is often surpassing my expectation. Chanel has released its Le Blanc 2012 collection a while ago, and I literally wanted everything from the collection but my rational side has limited myself to a few products. One of them is the Joues Contraste Fleur De Lotus Powder Blush which I think is an absolute must have.

Whoever owns this beautiful blush would agree with me that the quality is more superior than the regular JC Blush. The powder is still baked, but is more finely milled, softer and offers a better color payoff. Unlike the regular JC which requires more than a few swipes, the Fleur De Lotus only needs less than 2 swipes per side.

Fleur De Lotus is a universally flattering peachy pink color – an everyday “go to” shade that would complement any makeup look. If you like the Nars 0rgasm, Fleur De Lotus is a more luxurious and refined version of it. It contains finer shimmers and the overall powder texture feels smoother. The finish is more subdued than the Nars, and it inherits the unique finish of a baked formula that offers a satiny sheen with a soft flow. Espiegle is another popular JC shade, so I have also included it in the comparison swatches for you.

Wearing Fleur De Lotus

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Labels: BLUSH • CHANEL • NARS

Guest Post – Spring 2012 Blush Round Up

April 3, 2012

I am very honored to have the opportunity to have Elaine from Miss Elaine-nio doing a guest post for me. It was sad to see Elaine quit blogging some time ago, but glad to see she has not held back on her blush addiction! Her famous quote is “Once a beauty addict, forever a beauty addict“, so why not to showcase her stunning collection of the Spring 2012 Blushes with all of you. Enjoy reading.

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Hello!

Firstly, I want to thank my dear friend, Rei, for letting me guest & contribute this post on her blog.

Today, I am going to share my blush picks & thoughts from Spring 2012. This Spring, we’re swarmed with many brands spotting the romantic rose theme & pretty looking blushers.

Summary:

Coffret D’or Smile Up Cheek in 02 Peach (5.5g/ Made in Japan): The finish is extremely glowy though I need to swipe twice for the color to show up better on my skin. The shimmers are very fine (not gritty!) & doesn’t emphasize on my pores. However, I dislike the bulky packaging as the cover is slightly pop-up & tends to take up a lot of space for storage.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Anna Sui Rose Cheek Color in 301 Dreamy Rose & 400 Anna Rose (6g each/ Made in Japan): The blush is palm sized & slightly rose scented. The embossed rose design is mesmerizing & an eye candy.

– 301 Dreamy Rose – mixture of pinks, orange, peach pink.

– 400 Anna Rose – mixture of reds, light & medium pinks.

The Rose Cheeks are very well pigmented & showed up with one swipe.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥

MAC Ombre Blush in Vintage Grape & Azalea Pink (9g each/ Made in Italy): The Ombre blushes are re-promoted items. I am very curious how Vintage Grape, which looked so purple in the pan, would show up on my cheeks. It turned up to be medium purplish-pink (not too dark). Azalea Pink is a combination of lilac & soft pink. The Ombre blushes’re not powdery & showed up well with a dense brush.

Rating (out of 5): Vintage Grape- ♥ ♥ / Azalea Pink- ♥ ♥ ♥

Dior Rosy Glow in Petal (7.5g/ Made in France): I need not say more about this blush as I believed you have read about Rei’’s review here.

A pretty cool-toned blush infused with Fresh Color Reveal, which adjusts the color to create a rosy radiance according to your skin tone. This is the IT blush!

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Benefit Hervana (8g/ Made in France): The pinwheel design had tempted me to purchase this blush. This blush is above my expectations as the shades turned out to be more pigmented than the way it looks in the pan (looks pale).

Hervana is described as orchid-blossom in shade. It consists of 4 shades– lucky shell, divine peach, heavenly rose and berry delight.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Jill Stuart Mix Compact in 106 Sprouting Joy (8g/ Made in Japan): In terms of color, Sprouting Joy is a mixture of its permanent mix compact in Little Bouquet & Romantic Poppy. I don’t think this is a must have as the peach pink shade is dupable.

This is a Limited Edition & comes with a floral printed case.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥

Chanel Joues Constrate in 69 Fleur De Lotus (4g/ Made in France): The Spring JC blush’s texture felt extremely smooth compared to the regular line. The fool-proof peach pink shade spells love & felt extremely luxurious.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥ ½

Lunasol Glowing Powder Cheeks in EX01 Pure Coral (6g/ Made in Japan): I do not fancy the cardboard packaging (seems like a Benefit-wannabe). The shade is not the most unique but it’s well-pigmented & gives a nice translucent finish.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ 1/2

Canmake Cheek & Cheek in 06 (Filled in Thailand/ Made in Japan): I would say to put Canmake Cheek & Cheek blush in 06 in your shopping cart for those looking for a cool-toned blush. The quality is superb for a drugstore brand. Extremely fine & well pigmented. This lilac pink is flattering for Asians.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥ 1/2

Sleek Blush BY3 in Pumpkin (20g/ Made in Taiwan/ Developed in UK): The shades in Pumpkin are vibrant & super pigmented. I find the shades hard to blend especially for P Pie. I had to use a stippling brush to apply & a powder brush to tone down the shades. The shades are pigmented but felt drier compared to its single blushes. Retailing at £10 for 3 shades, though it’s a value for money blush palette but it didn’t impressed me compared its single blushes.

Rating (out of 5): –

Lavshuca Fairy Cheeks in PK (15g/ Made in Japan): Lavshuca Fairy Cheeks reminds me much of Guerlain Meteorites. This blush comes in a round cardboard packaging with a cute puff. The shade is the ‘standard’ pink which I don’t think it’s any unique.

Rating (out of 5): –

Physicians Formula pH Matchmaker in Rose (6g/ Made in USA): Physicians Formula is a US drugstore brand. This is a gift from my friend- Olivia. The light-up mirror is making the blush very classy. However, the blush is about 1-inch thick making it very bulky & less travel-friendly. The texture may not be superbly fine but pigmented. It contains silver shimmers. The blush is said to be able to detect the pH level of your skin & adjusts within 60 seconds to create your perfect shade. Another innovative blush!

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ 1/2

Stila Love at First Blush (6.2g/ Made in China): A continuation of Stila Make Me Blush from 2010, Stila came out with Love at First blush this Spring. The embossed hearts in graduation pinks look lovely on the pan but I find it too overly shimmering for my liking.

Rating (out of 5): ♥

Swatches:

Verdict(s):

I had always been into coral/peach blushes. For this Spring, I am a cool pink blush convert with neutral eye makeup.

Top 3 Favorites: Benefit Hervana, Dior Rosy Glow, Coffret D’or Smile Up Cheek in 02 Peach

Best Quality: Dior Rosy Glow, Chanel Joues Contraste in Fleur De Lotus

Best Looking: Anna Sui Rose Cheeks, Stila Love at First Blush

Best Drugstore: Canmake Cheek & Cheek in 06

Most Innovative: Dior Rosy Glow, Physicians Formula Matchmaker in Rose

Thank you & do share with us your blush picks from Spring 2012?

Any favorites? Any misses?

Cheers,

Elaine

One who loves to share, Japanese cosmetics & a blush addict.

For reference: I am NC-25, OC-C & yellow toned

Disclaimer: All products are bought with my own money, otherwise stated.

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Labels: anna sui • BENEFIT • BLUSH • CANMAKE • CHANEL • Jill Stuart • LUNASOL • MAC

Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush NARCISSE Review and Swatch

March 21, 2012

I took some makeup swatch pictures on a rare sunny day over the weekend. When the lighting was perfect, everything appeared just the way I anticipated. I love the the look of the Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in NARCISSE in some of the pictures, so I thought I will just do a quick review for one of my all time favorite Chanel Blush.

I own quite a lot of Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blushes – all are in the euro baked version and I loved them all. Though many people much prefer the US version, for a blush I really adore the soft and glowy effect of the baked version. The texture of NARCISSE is quite hard and dense, as it doesn’t have a rich pigmentation so I normally apply it with a more coarse brush such as the enclosed brush.

NARCISSE is my favorite pink blush, and it is a soft pale pink blush that leans slightly blue in the pan, but it shows up as a perfect soft neutral pink on me. The finish is very natural and subdued I would say, even though it appears as a relatively matte powder without shimmer in the pan, it creates a natural luminous glow on the skin and this is the beauty of baked powder texture.

Swatched on the back of my hand

On Me:

Just in case you are curious, I had the Shiseido Maquillage Eye Creator by Alexander Wang on my eyes.

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Labels: BLUSH • CHANEL • Maquillage by Shiseido

The Sheer Maxi

March 18, 2012

I have been searching for a sheer and flowing black maxi skirt for the longest time! And Zara seems to always be the problem solver. Wearing it out on a rather perfect windy day was just coincidental.

Saba Shirt, Zara Maxi Skirt, Chanel Tote, Dior Sunnies

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Labels: ACCESSORY • CHANEL • DIOR • Fashion • OOTD • ZARA

Meet My New Everyday Bag

March 6, 2012

I buy myself a new everyday bag every start of the year, and my requirements for it have to be

– black

– roomy

– I can carry it either over my shoulder or with my elbow

– understated – no logo everywhere

– last but not least, it has to be light!

And I have finally found a lovely soft and slouchy grey-black Chanel Tote which is everything of what I am after! It has a distressed leather finish (similar finish as the classic reissue line)- so it looks quite worn already (in my mum’s opinion!) which means I can toss it around everywhere without worrying…The logo is very understated, but the signature Chanel Chain around the bag provides a sense of reassurance.

FYI: It is a size Medium and retails for USD$2900.

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Labels: ACCESSORY • BAG • CHANEL • Fashion • My Favorites • SHOP

Chanel Le Vernis May and June Reviews and Swatches

March 2, 2012

I cannot believe I only did 10 posts for the month of Feb, though I felt I have done more than that…Shame on me! I really wish I can update my blog more as well as catching up on all the blogs that I follow…So I decided to do a quick post on the Chanel Le Vernis from the Spring 2012 Collection for Friday. I only bought May and June and passed on April which just doesn’t appeal to me for some reason…

The colors of May and June are very young and fresh. Chanel is the leading brand for fashion forward colors, and both shades fit right into the pastel-colored theme which is the key trend of the moment. What I love the most about them is they complement my skin tone perfectly! Both May and June are of standard Chanel Le vernis quality – 2 to 3 coats provide an opaque finish and they hardly chip on me.

May is a bright cherry blossom pink in cream finish – a neutral pink that would look lovely on any skintone.

Swatch of Chanel Le Vernis May with 3 coatsJune is a bright apricot shade in cream finish – it wins for its perfect balance between orange and peach which doesn’t pull too yellow/orangey on my skin.

Swatch of Chanel Le Vernis June with 3 coats

So what is your favorite shade of this Spring collection?

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Labels: CHANEL • NAIL POLISH

FOTD Nars Pandora for Smokey Eyes

February 29, 2012

This is another post requested by my readers – A FOTD of dark smokey eyes paired with pale blush and lips. I hardly wear smokey eyes so I thought that was such a good idea for me to practice. I wanted to wear black eye shadows, and the Nars Pandora Duo Eye Shadow was the first one that came to my mind. I bought this duo many years ago when I was in the Nars phase, but had never worn them yet! So I am giving this duo a road test today.

Pandora contains a matte black shade and a shimmery white shade, and it is regarded as one of the most iconic Nars duos (along with Rated R) to be collected. Surprisingly, it is not as difficult to wear as I thought. Both the black and white shades apply smoothly and evenly, and are easy to blend. It is very densely packed so I didn’t experience any fall out with this product using a fluffy blending brush (MAC 217).

Face: I wanted my base makeup to look sheer and natural, so I opted for the Sunday Riley Tinted Moisturizer, and the Bobbi Brown Corrector for under eyes concealing. Then I set my makeup with the Tom Ford Translucent Finishing Powder.

Cheeks: A few swipes of Chanel Joues Contraste in Narcisse.

Eyes: Since Pandora is matte and can look flat on the eyes, I first used the Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill 13 Noifa for a sheer wash of color over the eye socket. This is my go-to product for quick smokey eyes – it blends out beautifully with MAC 217 and the shimmer straight away creates a multi-dimensional layered effect without the need of applying 4 and 5 different shades! I then applied the black shade of Pandora starting from the lash line into the crease for a more dramatic effect. The white shade was added under the brow bone to highlight.

Brows: They were done when preparing this eye brow tutorial, though this post shows the nose contour (step 5) better.

Lips: Applied with the Shiseido Sheer Gloss Lipstick in Doll Pink which is my favorite pale pink lipstick, then MAC Creme Sheen Glass in Partial Pink was layered on top. They go perfectly together!

More pictures:

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Labels: CHANEL • EYESHADOW • FOTD • Giorgio Armani • MAC • NARS • SHISEIDO

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