CHANEL

Chanel Morning Rose Swatch

May 27, 2011

Chanel Le Vernis in Morning Rose from the Summer 2011 Collection is definitely not an ordinary pink once you have it on your nails. It is a universally flattering pink shade with beautiful gold shimmers that would look nice on any skintone.

Swatch of Chanel Morning Rose – Unlike any other Chanel nail polishes I own, what you see in the bottle is what you see on your nails, the gold shimmers in Morning Rose are noticeable under any lighting. The formulation is a little bit on the sheer side but it is very smooth and streak free to apply and to layer. It is swatched with 3 thin coats.

The good news is..I have found a cheap dupe in my collection! It is the China Glaze in 77004 IV – one of my all time favorite pink nail polish.

As you can see, the pink tone is very similar, the only difference is the China Glaze has a cream finish without any shimmers.

{ 15 comments }

Labels: CHANEL • NAIL POLISH

Foundations Reviews Part 1 – Coming Soon

May 25, 2011

Being a self proclaimed foundation addict, I am quite ashamed I have yet done any foundation reviews. So I have set myself a ‘tough’ challenge. I am going to get through the reveiws for all the foundations shown in the picture by the end of June! I am hoping I can do at least 1 foundation review a week.

These are a subset of my foundations collection, they are mainly relatively new or my recent favorites.

Becca Luminous Skin color

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua – ultra light skin perfecting makeup

Dior Extreme Fit – extreme wear flawless makeup

Cle de Peau teint naturel fluide cream foundation

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation

Shu Uemura UV Under base Mouse BB Cream

The rest of my foundations (not in the pic) will be covered in part 2 and 3.

{ 11 comments }

Labels: BECCA • CHANEL • CLE DE PEAU • DIOR • FOUNDATION • Giorgio Armani • Shu Uemura

Chanel Fauve and Taupe Grise FOTD

May 23, 2011

Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Fauve is the eyeshadow I have been reaching for the most ever since I bought it. As I mentioned in my previous review post, I like to use it as a wash all over the eye socket area, it just really complements my skin tone. This is a complete FOTD using Fauve pairing with Taupe Grise.

Eye products used:

1. Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

2. Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Fauve all over the eye socket area as a base and along the lower lash line

3. Bobbi Brown in Taupe along the crease

4. Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Taupe Grise at the outer V and along the outer part of the lower lash line

5. Nars Larger than Life volumising Mascara on the lower lashes

Princess Lee cross 7 False Eyelashes is used on upper lashes, my holy grail lashes!!

A closer look at the lashes. Princess Lee looks so natural whilst making your lashes look fuller, people can never tell I wear falsies if it is by princess lee.

Overall Look:

Face and Lip Products Used:

Foundation: Maquillage Liquid Lasting UV by Shiseido

Blush: Nars DT

Concealer/Highlighter: Chanel Corrector in10 Beige Rose

Lipstick: YSL Rouge Pur Couture in 06 Rose Bergamasque (reviewed here)

Lipgloss: Stila lip glaze in blush

{ 19 comments }

Labels: BOBBI BROWN • CHANEL • FALSE LASHES • FOTD • Maquillage by Shiseido • NARS • Stila

Chanel Ombre Essentielle in Fauve

May 17, 2011

Chanel Ombre Essentielle in 90 Fauve is another limited edition eyeshadow that is only available at some countries. It was released as part of the Sublime de Chanel Collection and the collection arrived in Australia last week! Being a taupe eyeshadow lover and a Chanel fan I knew I had to have it.

Fauve is a mauvy taupe with mainly silver shimmers in it. My first thought when I saw this eyeshadow in real life was the size of the shimmers is larger than usual Chanel . If you own any of the Chanel Ombre Essentielle, I am sure you will agree with me the texture of their mono eyeshadow is much better than that of the Chanel eyeshadow quad. In the case Fauve, it is not as buttery soft (slightly more grainy because of the shimmers) as the other mono eyeshadows such as Taupe Grise – which is the best eyeshadow texture Chanel has ever done!

Comparing to Taupe Grise and Safari, Fauve is a lighter taupe and has the highest amount of shimmer.

Swatches:

Swatched on my eye:

My final thought: I love it! Fauve blended out beautifully, the sparkle appears to be more subdued on the eyes and it sets nicely against my skintone without looking too frosty. There wasn’t any fall out . I like the fact that Fauve can be used as a subtle wash on the lid, it creates such a nice depth to my eyes, whereas Taupe Grise can look too heavy for a day time look when applied the same way.

{ 6 comments }

Labels: CHANEL • EYESHADOW

FOTD – Nars Eyeshadow Palette and OOTD

May 16, 2011

The FOTD and OOTD were from yesterday. I had a wonderful time celebrating a special occasion with my family at an amazing Restaurant – the Quay. I basically wear the same makeup to work everyday, so special occasions like this allow me to have more fun with my makeups. I decided to use my new Nars eyeshadow palette (reviewed here), the rest were chosen to complement the eye look.

Finished Look

I was bored with my fringe, so I pinned my fringe back for the night.

Face Products Used:

Face: Guerlain Radiance concentrate with Pure Gold Makeup Base was applied before the Becca Luminous Skin Colour foundation.

Cheeks: Nars the Multiple Tint in Turks & Caicos layered with Nars Blush in Luster.

Highlight: Shiseido Natural Finish Cream Concealer to highlight my under eye areas, then set it with Benefit powerflage . Shu Uemura Glow as highlighter on my cheekbones and nose bridge.

Note* to my dear reader who has requested for a review of Guerlain Radiance makeup base, I promise it is coming up soon!

Eyes and Lips:

Eyes: Primed my eyes with Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. Nars Silk Road was applied all over my eyelids, then Nars Brumes was applied along my upper and lower lash lines. Koji Ultrafine was used to do the winged out eyeliner look, then finish it with falsies and Fairy Drop volumising mascara on my lower lashes.

Lips: Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Hopi

False Eyelashes Used: my favorite style now!

Closer look at the lashes:

The weather has been so cold lately, I just wanted to cocoon myself inside my soft quilt. I rely on my Jill Stuart coat that has brought warmth to me in the winters.

Coat by Jill Stuart

Dress by Alice + Olivia

Chanel 2.55

{ 12 comments }

Labels: CHANEL • EYESHADOW • FALSE LASHES • Fashion • FOTD • Jill Stuart • NARS • OOTD

Best Foundation Brushes

May 5, 2011

This is just going to be a brief overview of all my best foundation brushes and other tools I have collected so far. As an old Chinese proverb saying “To do a good job, one must sharpen his tools at first”. Since I have so many different textures of foundations, I am always on the lookout to try out different types of foundation brushes to see which combination works.

Prescriptives Foundation Brush:

This was my first ever foundation brush. At the time I bought it there weren’t that many available. I find this brush gives a streaky finish so I quickly went out looking for a better one. At the moment I am only using it to apply cream based blushes.

MAC 187 Duo fiber brush and MAC 188 small Duo fiber brush:

Stippling brush caused a stir when MAC first released them. I bought MAC 187 followed by MAC 188. For foundation application, I much prefer the MAC 188 small as it allows a more precise application. They both give a very natural and airbrushed finish. I like them but I find them too time consuming to use every morning – it takes a lot of time to swirl, buff and polish.

MAC Small Buffing Brush (discontinued)

First of all, big thumbs up for MAC brushes. I have this brush for more than 10 years now and it is still in its pristine condition. When I first bought this brush I had no idea what it can be used for…the MAC girl recommended it as a blush brush..but it’s way too dense! Until I found out that this brush was Kim Kardashian’s ‘s favorite brush to apply foundation (if you haven’t seen it, go to youtube and look for Kim Kardashian’s makeup tutorial). It truly does a wonderful job – it gives a very flawless airbrushed look, just like Kim Kardashian’s complexion. I like it – actually I love it but I am after a brush that gives a more natural finish.

The hairs are soft and super densely packed, leaves foundation streaks free.

Chanel Foundation Brush

One of my most recent purchases and the most expensive brush – cost me $95! I tried it out at the counter and loved it so much I had to bring it home 😛 I will be giving a detailed review for this brush soon but to sum it up – it is big and the bristles feel soft ,velvety and luxurious on the skin giving a flawless yet natural finish. When it was brand new, the bristles even had a rose scent!

BECCA Foundation Brush

Last but not least, my latest foundation brush. I have had this one for about a week now and I hate to admit it is even better than my Chanel Foundation Brush….This brush is not cheap either – cost $78 in Australia. Again I will be giving a detailed review for this brush soon.

I didn’t add any special effect to the picture, the bristles are made of rainbow colored hair!! How awesome is that. I love the shape of the brush, love the feel of bristles and love the finish. Everything about this brush is perfect for me.

Beauty Blender and Three Sisters Sponge

These are my other foundation tools. I bought Beauty Blender because everyone raves about it..unfortunately I don’t love it that much..yet. It is good but it absorbs way too much foundation. Three sisters sponge is a very well known brand in Asia – every asian makeup artist has it in their makeup kit. It is the softest dense sponge I have ever come across and doesn’t absorb that much foundation. For 30 cents a piece, I think the result is just as good as the beauty blender! You can find three sisters sponge on Sasa.

{ 8 comments }

Labels: BECCA • BRUSHES • CHANEL • foundation • MAC

Les Tendres De Chanel in Les Roses

May 2, 2011

Today I have something really exciting to show you – it is the Les Tendres De Chanel in Les Roses. As far as I know, it is limited edition and is only exclusive to Hong Kong for now. It really has got my pulse racing when I first saw it at the counter – a highlighter and a beautiful pink blush combined into one product by Chanel is just a dream product for me!

The box

A close-up shot, it has the same 4 band design as the Soleil Tan de Chanel 4 Facettes Bronzers (from Chanel Spring 2011 collection). The only difference is the brush is made of soft white goat hair instead of black.

Swatched from top to bottom,

– the top 2 shades being the face highlighters

– the bottom 2 shades being the blushes

– all colors mixed together is swatched on the far right

This is how it looks on me – I applied with all the colors mixed together on my cheeks, and then applied the white shade across my cheekbones as highlighter. The texture is soft and pigmented enough to show up as a visible highlighter or blush with one swipe with the brush.

When applied swirled together, it delivers a beautiful soft pink glow to my face with luminosity and dimension. I was a little wary of the white shade to be mixed in or used as a highlighter at the start, as it looked quite frosty when swatched on my arm. I was wrong, the effect is soft and glowy against my skin tone when applied light handed, without making my face look shiny or frosty.

I have quite an extensive collection of blushes, this one definitely tops my favorite. I can’t remember how much exactly it was in Hong Kong Dollars, think it was roughly around AUD$55, almost half the price of how much it would be in Australia!

{ 15 comments }

Labels: BLUSH • CHANEL • HIGHLIGHTER

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipsticks Review – Part 3

April 10, 2011

I was in the shopping mood for more lipsticks today so I made a trip to my favorite department stores, fully tested out the latest sheer lipsticks that seem to be the IT lipstick of the moment- including the revamped Dior Addict Lipsticks; Mac Sheen Supreme Lipsticks ; Estee Lauder’s Pure Color Crystal Lipsticks. In the end I still went back to Chanel and picked up a few more Chanel Rouge Coco Shine! I just think they are the best sheer lipsticks in the market – the formulation is just unbeatable. For a sheer lipstick, the color payoff is excellent after a few swipes. The finish is moist; juicy and watery in a subtle and elegant way, not as wet as lipglosses.

I have previously reviewed and swatched Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in

– Boy; Chance and Evasion here

– Liberte and Aventure here

The 2 newest addition to my Rouge Coco Shine Family are:

– 42 BIARRITZ

– 50 RIVAGE

If I could only wear one shade of lipsticks for the rest of my life – it would be the “my-lips-but-better” shade. Rouge Coco Shine in 50 RIVAGE meets all my requirements – a muted pink shade that brightens up my complexion, makes me look more healthy; energetic and youthful.

Chanel Rouge Coco in Biarritz is my first “fall lipstick” for this year. It looks more brown in the tube than how it translates on to my lips.The sheer formulation gives a soft caramel brown finish. I have a feeling I will reach for this lipstick the most in the next few months.

{ 7 comments }

Labels: CHANEL • LIPSTICK

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