To celebrate the marvelous Spring 2014 release of Shu Uemura's third collaboration with famed artist Mika Ninagawa, I will be sharing a pictorial — a photo tutorial — for the sultry 'Forbidden Fruits' Look! This makeup embodies the powerfully evocative, vibrant, and alluring shades that make up the dreamy wonderlands created by Mika. Learn how you can achieve this look after the jump!
The Lancôme Color Design Palette in Aquatic Essence ($49.50 USD) is a quintessential selection of summer eyeshadows. The shades in this palette are vibrant yet wearable, and these six beauties create some of the most beautiful poolside looks. Aquatic Essence was launched several months ago but is officially sold out online. Call your local counters now to see if any are still in stock because this palette is positively worth the effort. Check out the swatches after the jump!
Ellis Faas is a makeup artist that has worked with some of the most world acclaimed fashion design houses such as Armani, Chanel, and Yves Saint Laurent. Her makeup line reflects her vast experiences with color and texture. I love her military inspired sleek and innovative pen packaging, which is striking on a vanity but truly practical for traveling. The twist mechanism provides more control than does a plain squeeze tube, but I found I had to turn it about two dozen times to dispense product with the first use. Thereafter, one to three twists dispenses just enough product for each eye. Light, however, is a different kind of eyeshadow for many reasons. Find out more and view the swatches after the jump!
As soon as I laid eyes on the press images for Dior's Fall 2013 Mystic Metallics collection, I knew I had to own Bonne Étoile. The star embossment is unlike any design Dior has produced in the last several years. It targets the more playful sensibilities, but this eyeshadow palette is a chic take on Fall color. Check out the swatches after the jump!
As many of you know, one of my favorite eyeshadow palettes of all time is Tom Ford's Cognac Sable. Because I am so devoted to the palette, I was reluctant to try any of the others in fear that I would be disappointed. Golden Mink, however, is a more subtle alternative to Cognac Sable and I am happy to announce it is a lovely addition to my Tom Ford arsenal. I have been mixing and matching all eight of the shades, what a lovely natural pair. I will show you swatches after the jump!
The Ombres 5 Lumieres Palette in 13 for YSL's Spring 2012 Candy Face Collection, $56, is breathtaking. It brings out the little girl in me! I purchased it as soon as my local YSL counter received the shipment, even before the testers arrived. The cotton candy color scheme might seem juvenile to some but this eyeshadow palette is surprisingly wearable and it is a great alternative to the various greens that have overrun this season's eyeshadow palettes. Doesn't it remind you of Easter eggs?
Dior has produced a knock-out collection of palettes that are so foolproof, truly easy to use and easy to carry. I'll have full blog reviews, photos, and swatches of each palette [Khaki: used in the tutorial; Pink: not used in the tutorial] posted here next week!
Products Used:
Chanel Perfection Lumiere Foundation in 40 Beige [video review will be posted Thursday!]
Cargo Blu_ray Pressed Powder in 30
Dior Matte Bronzer in 002 Honey Matte
Shiseido Natural Brow Pencil in Natural Black
Dior 3 Couleurs Smoky Palette in Khaki Smoky
Dior Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil in Carbon
Lancome Artliner in Black
Lancome Hypnose Waterproof Mascara in Black
Lash Royalty Pacha Lashes
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful
Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Liberte
Lenses:
Geo Tri-Color Grey from Pinky Paradise
*Use the code -- RAEVIEWONLINE --
for a free animal lens case & mystery gifts :)
Nails:
Butter London Teddy Girl
Don't forget to enter the Genifique giveaway below [see post below]!
Le Metier de Beaute has recently become one of my favorite brands and their signature Kaleidoscope kits are on my must-have eyeshadow palettes list. This particular Kaleidoscope was released during the Holiday 2010 but it's still available at a few Neiman Marcus counters and at Nordstrom.com for $95 - this is not an affiliated link. I'm just making it easier to enable you!
Let's start with the swivel-out compact. It's compact, lightweight, and durable so it's a joy to travel with. I've dropped mine twice now and there isn't a single dent! The only drawback is the weak glue but LMdB is reportedly improving the glue so that the eyeshadow pans will stay put more securely. Now let's talk about the shadows. I'm not an eyeshadow worshipper - rather on the ambivalent side, honestly - but more and more I am apt to reply "LMdB" when I'm asked what my favorite eyeshadow brand is. The shadows apply smoothly and there is very little fall out whether I use a brush or my fingertips.
In Bright Sunlight
Indoors [More True to Color]
Now we'll break down the colors, starting with the warm-toned taupe with a metallic finish. The base appears more intense depending on how much light the shimmers reflect. The next shade in the Kaleidoscope is a cool matte grey and the closest shade I have to it is Guerlain's 186 Eclat Mono. I prefer the LMdB grey because it's better pigmented but the Guerlain 186 is more flattering on me when worn alone, as it has less of a blue undertone. The next shade, the hot color, is a peachy-pink that doubles up as a blush! I was hesitant about using it but it actually adds dimension and brightness without overpowering any other colors on my lids. Finally, the last shade is the cold shadow, the most complex navy in my make-up collection. It's incredibly pigmented and even has coordinating violet and peachy-pink shimmers to compliment the hot shade above it, creating a striking duo that can be worn separately from the traditional LMdB couche de couleur method, which I will dedicate a spotlight post to.
This was my first LMdB purchase and I am proud to say it was one of the best purchases I made in 2010. Make it yours this year before it's too late!
Products Used in Tutorial:
Chanel Pro Lumiere - 20
MUFE Duo Mat Powder - 202
Cargo Blu_ray Powder - 30
Anastasia Brow Wiz - Medium Ash
By Terry Eye Primer - 002
Chanel Ombres Perlees de Chanel - Eyeshadow Quint
Ardell Lashes - 81
Lancome Artliner - Black
Lancome Defincils Waterproof - Black
Chanel Joues Constraste - Espiegle
Chanel Rouge Double Intensite- Cristal Rose
Nail Color: Black Pearl
If you haven't seen the tutorial, here it is!
Haul Photos and Swatches
Ombres Perlees de Chanel:
Espiegle Joues Contraste:
Swatches, from left to right:
Peregrina Rouge Coco [too orange for my taste] and Cristal Rose Double Intensite
Espiegle Joues Contraste and Ombre Perlees Quint
Vernis:
Chanel Black Pearl 513
Chanel Pearl Drop 511
Chanel Peche Nacree 515
The photos do not show the differences between Essie's Show Me the Ring and Pearl Drop but Essie's polish is rather sheer and glittery. Pearl Drop is much richer in pigmentation and looks good with two coats, though you can see a bit of streaking. Overall, Show Me the Ring is close enough to make do but it is NOT a dupe.
Black Pearl is rather unique but it is all up to personal preference. I assume the color hasn't sold out simply because it's not as eye-catching a color as Jade or even Particuliere.
Peche Nacree.. how I wanted to LOVE this so. The formula is the most lacking of the three. It requires the most maintenance, at 3 or 4 coats, and it streaks rather easily. It's not a nightmare but this should not be your first Chanel Vernis or you will be disappointed. Lovely frosted peach, though!
The quint is a must-have for everyone and the blusher is pretty but it's permanent! You can wait and save up for it :) The shadow palette, though, is truly a high-quality piece that is worth every penny. These powder shadows are nearly creamy, so easily buildable and ultimately flattering.
I forgot to take photos of the Cristal Rose but it looks very, very similar to Constellation Glossimer, so close that I do indeed consider it a dupe!
If you have any further questions, feel free to leave them in the comments!
This is my first "large" Guerlain purchase, as I generally buy Guerlain pieces one-at-a-time. I generally stay away from this line because it's quite costly but I've been buying more and more from the brand. I couldn't resist this collection!
This is my first Rouge G. It's a medium rose-pink on my mauve-tinged lips. The color is sheer and lovely but the shimmers are a bit gritty. Other Rouge Gs I have swatched in the past are not so gritty so it may be this particular color's issue. I still like it, regardless! The casing is indeed heavy but not as heavy as I expected. It's a good weight but the magnetic closure is rather weak. I don't find the angle of the mirror that helpful in applying the lipstick but it's better than having no mirror at all!
The Blush G, of course, is phenomenal! This is the item everyone is scrambling to find and I can see why. I can't believe how lovely it is! I only swatched individual colors but when I post a tutorial using this blusher, I will swirl all four shades together. I suggest you use a stippling/skunk brush for application. It's pigmented enough and has a slightly golden sheer. If you can still find it, purchase it right away!
This Soupir eye shadow is now one of my favorites browns. And believe me, I own tons of 'em so this is special. The iridescent shimmers sparkle delicately, not garishly, on my lids. It is smooth and lasts 8 hours, even without a primer! Plus, this eyeshadow is ENORMOUS. It holds nearly double or more than my standard eyeshadow singles so the price of $36 wasn't too daunting considering I will use this for ages. The other colors, the grey and white shimmers, did not swatch well so I wasn't impressed enough with them to take them home with me. The grey was admittedly a bit better than the white, though!
In my most recent post, I stated that the Chanel Tentation Cuivree Quad [Holiday 2010] is not a good purchase because of the excess glitter fall-out and lack of pigmentation. That statement still holds true, but only when based upon one conditional: when the shadows are used dry.
I have been experimenting with the quad non-stop for a week and I had been consistently using the product dry. Today, I finally threw in the towel and used the shadows wet. Why? The fall-out. Standard powder fall-out is tolerable but the glitter was seriously irritating my eyes!
At first, I was apprehensive because I had never used my shadows wet before. Most of my products perform incredibly well as they are so I never had to! But I was determined to make this work so I said, "To hell with it!" and risked the lifespan of the quad.
Conclusion:
There is NO FALL-OUT when the shadows are used WET!!
I simply sprayed each brush with water before picking up shadow. The color was easy to blend and much more pigmented!
I retract my statements in the previous post. The burgundy brown is absolutely DIVINE and can be used as a shadow or liner. Purchase this! <3
Baked products are all the rage still but I don't favor them - never did, never will. They look so pretty, especially so if they're sitting in even prettier Chanel packaging, but they never managed to win me over. Maybe it's because I'm a stout traditionalist.
But some of you notified me that you wanted a review for this Holiday piece because you didn't know whether you should purchase it or not. If you didn't, I'm glad you refrained! The baked Euro formula is complete crap for $56+tax. Jojoba of mymakeupreviews.com is a Chanel fan like me but she rarely purchases, and rarely ever recommends, the Euro quad releases.. I now see why!
Chanel will merge all production to France or France & Italy [it is unclear as of yet] next year so I am praying that they won't discontinue the US shadow formula. I am a die-hard Chanel fiend but I would definitely stop purchasing the quads if that happened. The Euro shadows look enticing in the pan but they are too prone to fall-out and the shimmers are chunky. The pigmentation is sheer to medium. That wouldn't be an issue if they were easy to build up, but alas, they are not. You MUST use a primer with these shadows or they won't last more than a couple hours on the lids. On the other hand, the US shadows I own are gorgeous - velvety smooth with very little to no fall-out. Apparently, it's the mineral oil but I do not care!
Now, for a breakdown of the colors: The ivory-beige shade is lovely as a highlighter. The shimmering pink and copper-brown contain iridescent glitter particles [primary culprit of the fall-out] and the burgundy brown has the best texture of the bunch. The ivory is a touch powdery, while the pink and copper-brown are quite sheer. The burgundy brown, on the other hand, is densely pigmented and can be used wet as a liner. It, however, does not hold a candle to the burgundy brown in my Kaska Beige [US] quad. I will be keeping this, as I have already planned to film a Chanel Holiday tutorial and because the shades are indeed wearable, but I will no longer purchase any Euro/baked quads. If this were a blue-themed quad, it would have gone back already!
For the price, the quality is underwhelming and the color way is not unique enough to merit purchase for most. [Edit: Unless used wet!]
This quad is my second from Guerlain and I'm hooked! I'm lemming the limited edition purple pearls and the gold shimmer spray that were also launched with this Holiday Collection but funds are short at the moment so I may not be lucky enough to procure them before they're gone. A shame.. but life goes on!
Velours d'Or contains a medium peach-gold, deep raspberry-violet, mauve with grey base, and a solid black, all housed in the most luxurious rounded gold compact with black plastic hinge. The mauve isn't as unique as it looks in the pan. On my eyes, it's a rather neutral color. Overall, this is a convenient smoky eye palette without using your typical whites and silvers. I love gold and purple on the eyes so this quad is perfect for me, even though the shades are dupable, other than the mauve duo-chrome in the bottom left corner.
The gold is sparkly yet sheer, reminiscent of many Asian eyeshadow quads like Jill Stuart's Jewel Eyes! I don't love it but I definitely don't hate it. The other shades are of a satin finish, not matte but not loaded with shimmer, either. But forget the color; I'm going to have to work around the bumble bee embossed in the gold shadow because it's just too cute to wash away with a brush. The raised honeycomb patterns on the other three shadows are also lovely but the bee is the star of the show! The colors are pigmented enough for me, as they are near the quality of Chanel, but the case is admittedly more beautiful to stare at than the standard black squares of Chanel.
Most of you know I splurged for the new Guerlain Ecrin 6 Color Palettes a month or two ago and I was ultimately disappointed. I assure you, though, this palette is worthy of its $59 price tag. These four shadows can be easily built up to your desired intensity and the frosty gold shade provides a nice contrast against the satin finishes of the other three shadows so it's a justifiable purchase!
