Let's begin with some beautiful photos of Guerlain's Liu Holiday 2012 Collection.. the showstopping black lacquer and luxurious gold detailing, what is not to love? The Orient inspired theme here was thoughtfully executed. No overkill, no frills. All you are left with is beautiful, price tag worthy Holiday options. And yes, this is my favorite Guerlain collection in recent memory. Both eyeshadow palettes are top notch in terms of pigmentation, texture, and lasting power. The red lipsticks included in the Liu Calligraphy palette are remarkably moisturizing, considering the slightly waxier consistency (in comparison to the Rouge G formula). Please refer to the video below for all other details!
I love the vivid colors in the YSL Holiday make-up collection and hope you will, too! Some people complain about the lack of pigmentation in designer beauty products, but you will not be able to leverage that complaint against these beautifully executed palettes from YSL this season. When wet, the shadows last ALL day while maintaining their vibrancy! Hope you enjoy the review and this fun twist on the standard smoky eye for the holidays :)
What Mr. Simmonds, the Creative Makeup Director of YSL Beaute had to say about the collection: "During my childhood I was fascinated by the northern lights – also known as Aurora borealis – with its incredible vitality and color, which can never forget in life. You inspired me to this collection with exceptionally bright colors, laced with violet and midnight-blue hues and dotted with pearl highlights … like a grand night sky!"
Makeup Reviewed/Used in video:
Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Espresso
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
YSL Boreal Eyeshadow Palette with MAC 239, Sigma E35, Sigma E45
YSL Shocking Effet Faux Cils Felt Tip Eyeliner Pen in Black
YSL Shocking Volume Effet Faux Cils Mascara in 7
YSL Cream Eyeliner Effet Faux Cils in 7 [Gold] with Sigma Angled Liner Brush
Velour False Lashes in Lash in the City
YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation in B40
YSL Touche Eclat in 8
YSL Poudre Sur Mesure in 3
Becca Mineral Bronzer in Duende with Sigma Duo Fibre brush
YSL Blush Radiance in 7
YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in 1
Chanel Allure Extrait de Gloss in Insouciance
*Mentioned but not Used: Pure Chromatics Eye Palette in 12
Nails:
Tom Ford Dominatrix
YSL La Laque Couture Premiere Neige Top Coat in 33
Earrings:
Betsey Johnson Pearl/Rhinestone Studs [@LBBag]
Hello, everyone! This is probably the longest collection review + tutorial duo video that I have produced in ages. But there was a lot to be said, so many questions to address that I could not afford to leave out. Please note, if you did not properly hear during the review.. Notorious is officially my favorite contouring powder. It might be a satin finish powder, but it is so versatile! D&G's Tan would be my next favorite contouring product for everyday use since that can actually be used as a blush. It just depends on your preferences, but both products should work on all fair and medium to medium tan skin tones! Happy shopping :)
P.S. I didn't even mention the limited edition gold Illusion D'Ombre from this collection because it was very sheer. It fell short of my expectations, for it was missing the lush mousse texture of the Mirifique or Epatant Illusion D'Ombres.
Makeup/Tools Used:
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Liquid Foundation in B30
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Espresso
MAC Painterly Paint Pot as eyeshadow base
Chanel Harmonie du Soir Eyeshadow Palette with Sigma E45 Brush, Chanel 2 Brush [old]
Chanel Automatic Pen Liquid Liner in Black & Inglot AMC Matte Gel Liner in White with MAC 239
Velour Lashes in Lash in the City with Lancome Hypnose Drama WP Mascara
Chanel Notorious Sculpting Veil with Suqqu Cheek Brush
Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in Narcisse with Shu Uemura 20h Cheek Brush
Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet in L'Impatience
Chanel Glossimer in Sweet Beige
Makeup Also Shown/Mentioned in Review: Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder in Tan Dolce & Gabbana The Blush in Tan
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram for beauty updates! @RAEview
Hello, everyone! I wish this video's quality and lighting would have turned out better, but I recently bought a Nikon point and shoot and I am still learning my way around it. I love the results when I use my Canon 7D to film, but my Macbook Pro's OSX was recently updated and I ran into way too many compatibility issues. Canon, I love you but you need to keep up! The Nikon is a lot easier to use since it is a point and shoot, but the color quality is a bit dull and I need to play with lighting tools until I can find the perfect setup. I just barely became fluent with manually controlling all elements of the 7D, but now it is time to start over with the Nikon. I brought out more artificial lighting just to see how it would turn out, and I left the ISO on Auto mode to see if it was any good.. bad Bad BAD BADDD IDEA. The lighting was jumping all over the place, so I sincerely apologize for the wonky results! Plus, iMovie wouldn't allow me to render the video in HD. Sorry! I almost wanted to refilm it and upload it tomorrow, but I am so busy these days that I cannot afford to do that. Nonetheless, I hope you found the review and the additional pictures in the video helpful! I posted some of them here again (plus an extra) just in case you wanted to reference them.
P.S. I just purchased Chanel & YSL Holiday 2012 products, will start photographing them and testing them tomorrow.. and I have a special Tom Ford video coming up! Stay tuned, lovelies..
Makeup Worn/Used:
Burberry Sheer Cover Foundation
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-4 for blemishes
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
Tom Ford Brow Sculptor in Espresso
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
Dior Holiday Fairy Golds Eyeshadow Quint with MAC 239 & Sigma E35
Inglot Gel Liner in 90 with MAC Angled Liner Brush
Ardell Demi Wispies False Lashes with Maybelline Falsies WP Mascara
Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Ave Princess with Sigma F25
Dior 'Diorific' Lipstick in Diva
Nails:
Dior 'Diorific' Vernis in Lady [white]
Dior 'Diorific' Vernis in Diva [black with gold]
Earrings:
Forever 21
Shirt:
Victoria's Secret Pink
Lenses:
Clear Prescription ONLY
Dior Holiday '12 Picks:
I didn't mention it in the video review, but there is another palette in the Grand Bal collection. It has two gorgeously smooth, highly pigmented eyeshadows with two lip glosses in the palette, but I was not a fan of the lip products and it was quite expensive so I had to pass. If you love metallic eyeshadows and are willing to pay the hefty price tag, then this is definitely worth taking a look at.
Then we have the Night Golds palette, which I do not recommend. I purchased and used Fairy Golds in my tutorial, which I found to have smoother texture. The Night Golds was cohesive in color, but not as well executed as Fairy Golds. Night Golds's shadows were more patchy and flaky than what I have generally seen of Dior in the past few years. Fairy Golds might not be to everyone's taste, but Night Golds definitely isn't worth the price tag. Just my two cents :)
*Oops, this is what happens when I'm delirious. The Chanel lipstick swatch is Palpitante. Sorry!
And of course, here are the Diorific lip swatches. The model in the ad campaign was wearing Diorling, but I have enough deep red lipsticks. I wanted something brighter, so Diva was my pick!
