FOTD

Chanel Fall 2012 – Ombre Essentielle Single Eyeshadow COMPLICE and Joues Contraste ROSE INITIALE Review and Swatches

September 23, 2012

I bought some makeup from the Chanel Fall 2012 Collection months ago including the Ombre Essentielle Single Eyeshadow in 93 COMPLICE and the Joues Contraste in 72 ROSE INITIALE and I finally got the time to play around with them. A bit of a delay..but with a somewhat busy work schedule, I have not been very prompt with reviewing the new makeup collections lately. I hope I will be more productive in the coming months.

The Chanel Ombre Essentielle Single Eyeshadow in 93 COMPLICE is a beautiful neutral eye shadow. It is a universally flattering champagne color with high shine micro shimmer. The luxurious Chanel packaging and the texture justifies the high price tag for a single eyeshadow – buttery soft, smooth and very finely milled. There are more budget friendly dupes in the market such as Stila Kitten, or MAC Naked Lunch. I can easily enlist at least 20 different brands that make the same shade, and yes I have them all! But I can never resist a timeless champagne colored eyeshadow that I can use everyday, especially since it is embossed with the legendary interlock C!

On Me:

The Chanel Joues Contraste in 72 ROSE INITIALE is a beautiful rosey pink blush with a neutral undertone. Mine is in the US version so as you all know – the texture is softer and more pigmented. It has a satin finish and it has a great lasting power on my combination skin. I would call this a grown-up pink that would complement any makeup look, and the subtle rosey hue appears to make my complexion look more energized.

Lastly, I wanted to give a special mention to my lip color! I suddenly developed an odd obsession for vampy lip color (which is totally not me) since I missed the Chanel PROVOCANTE. And I found this abandoned Guerlain KissKiss Lipstick in Rose Malicieux (bought here) lying in the corner of my drawer (bought it by mistake due to the incorrect online swatch) which I have not even opened. Then I topped it with Stila Lip Glaze in Majesty (another forgotten makeup item…). And voila..I got a nice deep rosey plummy color..though it’s not quite the vampy color. The moral of the story is..don’t throw out your old makeup unless they are expired 🙂 You never know when you will rekindle the love with them!

The Chanel 2012 Fall Makeup Collection can be purchased here in the US. International order is available here.

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Labels: BLUSH • CHANEL • EYESHADOW • FOTD • GUERLAIN • Stila

Giorgio Armani Skin Lacquers Collection – Rouge d’Armani Sheer Lipstick 505 Review and FOTD

July 24, 2012

I don’t get more excited than finding the perfect soft milky pink lipstick – meet my lipstick of the moment which is the Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani Sheers 505 from the skin lacquers collection. Finding a light pink shade that works for me is not an easy mission. Most milky pink can be a little tricky to pull off for Asians with a yellow skin tone. I have made a lot of mistakes in the past (used to wear the most unflattering pink on myself), so I am glad I am a little more “tasteful” now and I know how to work out the right pink for me.

The Rouge D’armani Sheers, skin lacquers collection just landed in Australia , and 505 was the only shade that caught my eye instantly, as it reminded me of my all time favorite light pink lipstick The Shiseido Doll Pink (which is shown in the comparison picture below) . As the name suggests, the formulation is sheer (but not as sheer as Chanel Rouge Coco Shine) with a glossy finish. Two or three swipes are enough for the color to show. The texture is light and has a good slip, and feels quite hydrating on my dry lips with a longer than average lasting power (about 3-4 hrs) than most sheer lipsticks.

Compared to the other light pink (slightly blue based) lipsticks:

From left to right: Rouge d’Armani 505; Shiseido Sheer Gloss Lipstick Doll Pink; MAC Victorian, Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Chance

Overall Look:

Foundation: Laura Mercier Moisturizing Foundation

Eyes: Giorgio Armani ETK 29 Rose Titanium as a wash, and ETK 27 Oxidised Silver over the lid. (both shades are reviewed in this post)

Cheeks: Jill Stuart mix blush 105 sweet lock

I purchased mine at DJ for AUD$52. The collection is also available here online.

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Labels: FOTD • Giorgio Armani • LIPSTICK

Le Metier De Beaute True Color Eye Shadow SPICY and MILAN Review, Swatches and FOTD

June 9, 2012

Thanks Zuneta! Now, if you live outside of the US and have been itching to get your hands on Le Metier De Beaute, Zuneta is probably one of the few sources available internationally. After my success with Jojo, Corinthian and Bordeaux which I think are the must have shades, I immediately ordered some more eye shadows to try. And today’s review is for Le Metier De Beaute’s True Color Eye Shadows in Spicy and Milan.

Spicy is another lust-worthy shade that’s been quite hyped up by the beauty community. It is a warm bronze shade with a rusty gold undertone in its signature shimmer finish. The shade might not be the most unique but what makes Spicy distinctive is its superior texture – it feels creamy smooth and the ultra fine and silky texture makes the eye shadow feels weightless and layers beautifully without looking heavy on the eyes. The overall quality of Spicy is in line with the others which I have already given an in-depth review, so I won’t go into detail here.

Milan is my first LMDB eye shadow in Satin finish. You can see the silver micro shimmer from the pan but they are hard to see once applied on the skin. It is a very safe neutral brown shade, which is great for contouring the eyes or a base color over the crease. Compared to the shimmer finish which I can’t rave enough about, the texture of Milan is under-par in my opinion. It is smooth and soft but my cheaper eye shadows such as Mac or Bobbi Brown are just as good. I don’t regret buying it as I like to collect beautiful makeup, but for those of you who have a tighter budget but still wanting to try LMDB, then the shimmer finish would be a better choice for its unique quality.

Swatches

Compared to Jojo and Corinthian

EOTD: Wearing Jojo as a base, then layered with Milan followed by Spicy.

Overall Look:

Face: Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Makeup (review coming soon)

Eyes: Jojo, Milan and Spicy

Cheeks: Estee Lauder’s Pure Color Blush in Plush Petal 14

Lips: Lancome Rouge in Love Lipstick in 340B Rose Boudoir mixed with Nars Lip Gloss in Turkish Delight.

Bottom Line: Must buy Spicy and skip Milan.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • Le Metier De Beaute

Suqqu Spring 2012 – Blend Color Eye Shadow 11 HIMESANGO Review and Swatches

April 29, 2012

Hi everyone, long time no see! Hope you are all well. I went on a vacation during Easter, and then I have been swamped with work upon return so I decided to take a mini break from blogging. I received a few packages today from all of my blogging friends over the world – can’t thank enough of them! The minute I opened my long awaited Suqqu Blend Color Eye Shadow HIMESANGO 11 from its Spring 2012 collection, I knew I had to share it with you immediately. My heart is singing when I swiped my fingers across these too-die-for eye shadows.

Different to the eyeshadow quad from the permanent line, the spring collection comes with 5 colors. As a taupe lover I bought shade 11 Himesango. All shades are foolproof and they layer together beautifully. If you think the permanent line is not pigmented enough, then this spring Suqqu has delivered an extraordinary eye shadow palette. The pigmentation is richer with an ultra buttery and velvety texture (it almost felt cushiony!). The three shimmery shades contain the finest micro-shimmer, and they apply silky smooth with a delicate gleam . I love the fact that there is always a matte shade included in the palette. Himesango contains an ivory white which feels creamy and serves as an excellent base color. It instantly evens out the lid color and make your eye makeup look “cleaner’. As I have mentioned in my earlier post, Suqqu eye shadows are the most densely pressed and smoothly milled, so you will never experience any fallout with their eye shadows.

Swatches of Himesango

This picture below is out of focus but it shows the gleam well…

On my eyes:

Upper Lid: Applied the peachy shade all over the eye socket, then layered with the taupe shade beginning at the lash line and blending into the crease line. Finished with the lighter chocolate shade intensifying the outer v.

Lower lid: Accentuate the inner corner with the shimmery peachy shade, and rim the outer third with the dark chocolate shade and smudged the taupe shade across.

Overall Look:

Other products used:

Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact in Sweet Lock – reviewed here

Burberry Lip Cover in Tulip Pink – reviewed here

Bottom Line: HIMESANGO is the best Suqqu eye shadow palette I have used! And it is available here.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • SUQQU

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

FOTD: Le Metier de Beaute True Colour Eye Shadows in JOJO, CORINTHIAN and BORDEAUX

February 8, 2012

As promised this is my EOTD/FOTD wearing the gorgeous Le Metier de Beaute True Colour Eye Shadows in JOJO, CORINTHIAN and BORDEAUX. A preview picture first, I thought the eye shadows look much better on the eyes than how it appears in the swatch in my previous post. As Le Metier De Beaute claims – when the colors are layered together, they really bring out the complex undertone of each shade for a perfectly multi-dimensional effect! Overall I am very impressed.

I applied JOJO as a base color all over the eye socket, then applied BORDEAUX along the upper lash line and added CORINTHIAN to the outer v.

On the lower lash line, JOJO was applied on the inner corner and BORDEAUX was on the outer third.

Close-up shots:

FOTD:

Other products used:

Dior Radiant Base

Dior Natural Glow Hydrating Foundation

Nars blush in Sex Appeal

Nars lipstick in Belle De Jour

This could be the shortest post I have ever done haha…Work has been really taking a toll on me lately, and I am very sleep deprived so blogging on a frequent basis is quite challenging for me at the moment. The good news is that retail therapy still works for me, so I hope I will have some time to show you the highly anticipated Chanel 2012 Spring collection and the Burberry 2012 Spring collection in the near future!

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • Le Metier De Beaute • NARS

Tom Ford Eye Color Quad Golden Mink Review, Swatch and FOTD

December 12, 2011

I didn’t update my blog for many days, and I felt bad so I am making sure that the product in this post is extraordinary! – which is the Eye Color Quad in 01 Golden Mink by Tom Ford. I was a little late jumping on the Tom Ford’s makeup bandwagon as his collection has been released in Australia for a while. For some reason I just didn’t have the urge to get my hands on his makeup sooner, and it wasn’t until recent that I read an interview of him talking about beauty. I was really impressed by his knowledge of makeup and was convinced that his views on beauty appear to be in line with my ideal perception. The entire line was created in collaboration with his favorite makeup artist Charlotte Tibury.

Some of my favorite quotes from his interview:

“Number one is to get yourself a good dermatologist. You need to cleanse your skin well and moisturize it. Cosmetics can only improve your looks.”

“Symmetry is what we as human beings find beautiful. I know my face from staring at it in front of a mirror. Be brutal.”

“Makeup is all about light and shadow. People shy away from contour makeup, because it scares them. But it’s as important as the lighting in this room.”

Tom Ford eye color quads contain three different textures – glitter, shimmer and matte. I bought the quad golden mink because it contains two shades of glitter – my favorite texture out of them all, as I had not seen such a high quality texture of glitter eye shadow by any other brand. I normally associate glitter eye shadow as “tons of chunky glitters in a dry and chalky texture with lots of fallout” – just think about MAC and Nars….but Tom Ford offers everything I ever wanted from an eyeshadow to create a beautiful sparkly finish, minus everything I hated. The glitters are extremely finely milled which makes the eye shadow ultra smooth, and it feels moist and creamy upon touching, but applies like a powder shadow and it adheres to the skin smoothly without a single fallout. The finish is sparkly (not metallic) in a grown-up polished way. Under certain lighting it gives a wet look effect which is often seen at fashion backstage makeups that I adore. That is the best description I could think of, but if you get a chance to test them out, you might be just as overwhelmed as I was!

Golden Mink also contains two shimmery shades which are absolutely beautiful – buttery soft and silky with great pigmentation.

My only gripe is the flimsy velvet pouch that comes with the palette – it just feels cheap rather than Tom Ford…

Left: Pale yellow gold (glitter) and beige taupe (shimmer)

Right: Copper gold (glitter) and chocolate brown (shimmer)Swatches:

close up shot:

These eye shadows stay put for the whole day without any fallout. The gold theme of this palette really flatters my complexion, as it doesn’t make me look more yellow nor muddy.

The pictures are only 2-D, so they don’t really capture the multi-dimensional effect of these eye shadows and how they appear differently under different lighting. Thumbs up for Golden Mink, the most beautiful sparkly neutral eye shadow palette that I own, and is not dupable by other brands.

Bottom Line: Tom Ford – the man who does everything to perfection and he certainly knows how to make women look more beautiful. You can’t go wrong with his creations. You can get Tom Ford Eye Shadows here or here in the US.

Tom Ford’s eye color quad is also available here online in Australia.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • Tom Ford

Chanel 2011 Holiday Collection – Rouge Allure Extrait De Gloss Triomphal and Le Vernis Rouge Carat Reviews and Swatches

October 30, 2011

Along with the Lumiére Sculptée Highlighting Powder, I have also picked up the Rouge Allure Extrait De Gloss in 517 Triomphal and the Chanel le Vernis in Rouge Carat from the Chanel 2011 Holiday Collection, which explains why I am painted in red today.

To be honest I wasn’t that excited about this collection after seeing the testers. There were some lovely lippies in pink, rose and beige, but none of them really stood out for me as I am sooo in love with my Suqqu Creamy Glow lipsticks at the moment, so I would rather buy more Suqqu as the formulation is just perfection. Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait De Gloss in Triomphal was a black horse as it wasn’t on my shopping list initially, but after putting in on my lips there was a ‘wow’ moment. I always adore the formulation of Rouge Allure Extrait De Glosses (reviewed here), and this one is just as good – semi opaque with a watery and translucent finish.

Triomphal is a striking rich red with fuchsia flecks but without grittiness. If you are scared of wearing red lips, Triomphal is a good starting point. The translucency and the moist finish makes it more wearable and youthful looking.

Chanel Le Vernis Rouge Carat is a stunning shimmery red with tons of magenta micro glitters! If you are into Chanel nail polishes, this one should not be missed.