Dior Rosy Tan Quint

I am a little late getting this one.  I didn't think I was interested until I saw it last night at Sephora and I snatched it right up.  I had been veering away from Dior over the last few months and focusing more on Chanel & Chantecaille.  This quint has restored my faith in Dior.  The texture and quality of every shadow in this palette is remarkable, very smooth, very pigmented.  If you don't have it and like these sorts of colors, do yourself a favor and buy it before they are all gone.

Guerlain Holiday 2010 Meteorites - Perles D'Or & Poudre D'Or

Today I got the loose version of the holiday meteorites and thought I'd share pics.  I shared my thoughts about meteorites in the post HERE earlier this week.

Random Swatching - Spot the Cheap Stuff

I was at CVS yesterday and I'm not really sure what possessed me but suddenly I looked down and had 2 Wet n Wild holiday palettes in my hand.  Oh, yes I do... it was the red eyeshadow.  I wanted *NEEDED* that red eyeshadow.  I figured at $5 it was no big risk so held on to them and ended up buying them. 

Anyone that reads this blog or knows me, knows that I am a label whore.  It's not something I'm proud of - choosing form over function, being a makeup purist, a snob, whatever you want to call it - it's just the way it is.  I used to rationalize it by saying that if I was going to pay $12 for a drugstore product, I might as well just go buy department store brands.  Sounded good to my ears anyway.

Now, when anyone asks me, I tell the truth.  The truth is this:  There are probably many good drugstore products out there and I've come across a few but I always end up giving them away because I can't stand to see WnW or Revlon bumping uglies with my Chantecaille, Dior and Chanel.  There, I said it.  The packaging on almost all drugstore products (except in the asian brands) is sorely lacking.  I buy makeup not because I need it but because I like it.  I like pretty, sparkly, girly things and if I'm going to blow my money on non-essential items, then I'm going all out!

Anyway, I did come home with these WnW palettes and I have to say that I was impressed.  There were 3-4 very good quality shadows in both palettes and 2-3 sucky ones.  Honestly, the same thing happens in Dior quints.  Bad news, the red one (the whole reason I got sucked in) was a piece of shit. 

Up above, you saw some swatches on my hand.  Are there any cheap ones on there?  Are there any high end?  Am I just messing with your head?  :)  Go up and look again and see what you think.  I'm going to give the answers below.
..........
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OK, ya back?  Made your decisions? 

1 = Dior (Endless Shine Quint)
2 = WnW (Coloricon Palette)
3 =  Dior (Endless Shine Quint)
4 = WnW (Coloricon Palette)
5 = Dior (Endless Shine Quint)
6 = WnW (Coloricon Palette)

I wasn't trying to dupe colors, just pulling colors that I had handy and that were in the same color families.  Did you have it right?  I was pretty impressed with the WnW.

Here are some more pics.
7 = Bobbi Brown
8 = WnW
9 = Bobbi Brown
10 = WnW
11 = Chantecaille
12 = WnW
13 = Chantecaille
14 = WnW
15 = WnW

Dior Five Golds Holiday 2010 Quint - Swatches and EOTD

I thought this quint would be really nasty on me.  I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  I fell in love with the two bronzy/gold colors.  I'm always up for silver.  But the black shadow & the champagne one?  Meh.  The champagne one's texture leaves much to be desires.  It's kind of hard and just yucky.

I thought that these colors would be way too warm for me, but I tested it in the store and those bronzes made my blue eyes jump right out of my face.  Maybe I'm having a bad day today, maybe the lighting in the store was more flattering, maybe I'm a nutjob.... whatever the reason, it just doesn't look as good as it did the other night.

If you don't have quadrillions of silvers and bronzes already, then it may be a nice choice for you.  If you (like most of us) already have colors in these color families that you love, I'd skip this one.  It's not bad, it's just not very special or great.

I wasn't planning on taking full face pics, but I couldn't get an up close pic that was true to color, so I had to include a pic of my ugly mug (sans lipstick).  The color is very true in that one.

Products Used:
Laura Mercier Silk Creme
MUFE Full Cover mixed with Dior Skinflash Pen in Gold (under eyes)
Guerlain Meteorites Voyage in Poudre d'Or (LOVE)
NARS Douceur Blush
Dior Five Golds (Champagne, 2 bronzes)
MAC Chamomile on browbone
MAC Petro Blue Pearlglide
Bare Escentuals Buxom Mascara
YSL Brow Pencil #4

NARS Sex Appeal, A Grow-er not a Show-er

I'm sure a lot of you are with me when I say when swatches of NARS Sex Appeal started popping up, I immediately decided to pass on buying. I mean, what's the point? It's INVISIBLE, right? Noooooo. It's really not. It is underneath Douceur on the swatch above. You can kind of see it but still not very impressive. What is impressive is what happens when you put it on your cheeks. Ach, Mein Gott! I can't speak for everyone, but for me - light skinned with ruddy cheeks - this blush is absolutely gorgeous on. It somehow counteracts the redness in my cheeks and gives me a really healthy, natural, pinky peach glow.

I took my mom to the Sephora VIB event last night. I saw Sex Appeal and decided to give it a try. So, not looking in a mirror (because I know how I am and I would have found something to love about it regardless) I put some on my cheeks while my mom looked on. What was the response of every girl's harshest critic and greatest champion????  The  woman who constantly says "You have too much makeup. You don't need to buy anymore" changed her tune to "Oh, Erika, that's gorgeous. It's so natural looking and it really perks your whole face up." Really, mom? Well, I looked in the mirror and she was right, so in the basket it went. I also picked up Douceur while I was there because somehow I'd neglected to buy it before. PS - Thanks, mama, for going shopping with me. As always, good times! :)

Rock & Republic Blush & Lip Gloss Swatches

I finally got around to swatching all of my R&R blushes.  If they weren't such a steal, I'd be unhappy with AllNighter and X-rated.  It's not that they're bad, it's just that they don't look good on my cheeks.  X-Rated is just tooooooo red for my already ruddy cheeks.  And AllNighter, well, it's goddamn orange.   I know Immoral is orange too, but somehow, I can work with that one.  I knew when I bought them that I probably wouldn't like them but thought I'd give them a shot since they worked out to $7.50 each.

Here are 3 of the lip glosses.  If you're familiar with the way Chantecaille Lip Chics smell, that's exactly what these smell like to my nose.  They're nice, but they didn't wow me.  That said, I'm not much of a lipgloss girl.  I have a couple that I love & use a lot (Guerlain Pomme du Desir is one) but I don't tend to go out searching for them.  Cougar & Mistress are definitely going up on the blog sale.  I really liked Sexy Beast - it's one of my colors that I buy over and over again in different brands and forms.

Eyeliner Comparison Swatches - MAC Black Line, Clinique Egyptian, Stila Moray

I thought that Black Line was very similar to Stila Moray Smudgestick & Clinique Egyptian Creamshaper.  So, today I decided to swatch them side by side and see.

If we consider Black Line the "control", then:

• Egyptian's base is more brown than Black Line's.
• Moray is almost spot on, but it needs more black.  You could probably get the same effect by using Moray over a black liner.  
• They all felt pretty much the same when I applied them, but when I tried to smudge them, Moray & Black Line didn't budge, while Egyptian smeared.
• Stila is $20 for .01oz, Clinique is $14.50 for .04oz, MAC is $14.50 for .04oz.

Here are comparisons to a few other liners just for fun.  :)

Givenchy Le Prisme in Khaki Egerie - Thoughts, Pics, Swatches

I passed these testers probably a hundred times and never had any interest. Until one day, Khaki Egerie drew my eye and pulled me in. If you've used Givenchy eyeshadow quads in the past, you know what I' m talking about... "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, prepare to be cursed out, jeered and discarded."

So, all that in mind, it's amazing that I even took a look at these. The colors of this particular quad though are absolutely bloody gorgeous and they demand to be sweet-talked and stroked.

Breakdown:
✓ Packaging - Boxy and elegant, typical Givenchy
✓ Color Scheme - Beautiful, all colors work well together or you could mix any 2, or a wash of 1.
✓ Texture - Very soft, not too powdery, not chalky.  Just smooth and soft.
✓ Pigmentation - Very pigmented. Not stain your skin kind of pigmentation but you don't have to pack it on.
✓ Pricing - Expensive at $56 but about the norm for a high end quad.  (I'll never rank something crappy b/c it's expensive.  I knew what it cost when I got it. )

Bottom Line:  I'd say this one is worth the price.  I'm not sure about the others because there's nothing terribly unique or enchanting amongst the remaining quads.  If you can find a deal, fo for it!

MAC Pearlglide Swatches - Undercurrent, Black Line, Petrol Blue

I'm not interested in MAC.  It's just not my thing.  However, they have my favorite eyeliner formula ever.  Pearlglides are pretty much the perfect eyeliner for me.  They go on smooth & creamy, very pigmented and within minutes of application they won't budge.  For example, after I took my swatch pics, I took my t-shirt and tried to rub them off.  I wasn't gentle at all, but these puppies didn't smudge at all.  After a few seconds of rubbing, they faded a bit but they stayed right where I had put them.  At $14.50, they're cheaper than Urban Decay 24/7 liners and they are soooooo much better!

A Few of My Favorite Things (October 2010)

Skincare:
Cleanser - First Aid Beauty Foaming, Boscia Makeup Breakup
Scrub - Yu-Be Foaming Skin Polish
Mask - Chantecaille Detox
Treatment - Rexaline Hydra-Force, Sircuit Skin Fixzit
Moisturizer - Rexaline Hydra-Dose (Night), IQ Derma Clear Remedy (Day, freebie w/ dermstore order)
Eyes - Shiseido Nutriperfect Eye Serum, Bobbi Brown Eye Balm (Day), Rexaline Hydra-EyeZone (Night)

Face:
Primer - Nada, haven't found anything that doesn't just make me greasy or break me out.
Foundation - Chantecaille Future Skin (Alabaster), Diorskin Forever Compact (#020)
Concealer - I haven't been using any.  It's not that my skin's so great that I don't need it, it's just that lately I feel like it just makes me look worse.
Powder - Guerlain Meteorites (Mythic), Chantecaille Compact Makeup (Bamboo)
Blush - Becca Sylph, R&R Kinky, R&R Spank
Setting - I've been using Chantecaille Pure Rosewater a lot lately after I do my makeup to take care of any dry/flaky areas due to the weather change.

Eyes:
Primer - NARS Eyeshadow Base
Shadow - Chantecaille Les Muses Ethereal Eyes Palette, R&R Veil, Chanel Taupe Grise & Lotus, Bobbi Brown Day to Night Cool Palette
Liner - Chanel Gris Le Stylo, Stila Smudgestick in Moray, MAC Pearlglide (Bankroll)
Mascara - Chantecaille Faux Cils followed by Bare Escentuals Buxom while still wet
Brows - Diorshow Brow Styler & YSL Brow Pencil #4

Lips:
Gloss - Chanel Extrait in Emoi
Lipstick - Chantecaille Lip Chic in Tea Rose & Anais, Dior Serum de Rouge from the Tailleur Bar Set

Body:
Body Wash - Molton Brown Paradisiac Pink Pepperpod
Lotion - Molton Brown Paradisiac Pink Pepperpod (I wish they made an EDT or body spray of this!)
Perfume - Hermes Ambre Narguile, Dior Hypnotic Poison (I love when fall arrives so I can break these two out, they're two of my favorites), Narciso Rodriguez for Her

Dior Pink Golds Minaudiere Palette Holiday 2010 Swatches

This is a quality piece, a collectible to be sure.  The compact is heavy and beautiful.  I love the little hinged cover over the lipglosses.  I normally hate mixed palettes because I hate the powder migrating into the creams.  Yuck. 

When I first opened the palette, I was a bit disappointed.  On first touch, it feels a bit chalky.  I think you're going to have to play with these a little bit to see which applicator/method works best for you.  I can normally make just about anything work with my fingers.... not this.  It did work extremely well with the sponge applicator included.  I haven't tried a brush yet.  The colors are gorgeous.  I'd call the darkest and medium shades metallic rather than frosty.  The lightest shade is on the frosty side.   The lipglosses seem nice and suit the palette well. 

Bottom Line:  Colors are excellent and all work well together.  Texture (after the initial dip) is fairly soft and well pigmented.  Not a must have unless you are a collector.  I think all of the colors are dupeable.  What cannot be duped is the luxe packaging - and those of us that are high end hoors know that's sometimes one of the biggest deciding factors before making a purchase. :)

Dior Tailleur Bar Palette & Serum de Rouge

This palette is amazing. I'll add pics a little bit later of the packaging & the palette itself. The colors are gorgeous and the quality far surpasses anything I've laid eyes/hands on from Dior.... ever. They are creamy soft (but still powder) and intensely pigmented except for the fleshtone one which I just can't really get to in order to provide a good swatch. $90 is steep. Do you NEED it? No. But you know you want it. :D

Rock & Republic Eyeshadow Swatches

Bobbi Brown Day to Night Cool Eye Palette

I generally don't pay any attention to Bobbi Brown because her stuff usually bores me.  When I saw the swatches for these from KarlaSugar I knew I had to have at least one palette. 

I have to say I am not disappointed.  The colors are gorgeous and have great pigmentation.  They're soft and easy to work with.  The black (Charcoal) is by far the deepest, most velvety black I've ever tried.

This beauty is $45 and limited edition so grab it while you can.  

Chanel Emoi Extrait Lipgloss - Lip Swatch

I adore this color. I was fooling around today with some halloween ideas and put this on and realized I hadn't taken a picture of it on my lips. My nose looks all glowy b/c I used Chantecaille Radiance Aquablush down the bridge. Love that stuff. Anyway, I would have done a full face pic but the Halloween makeup was a total fail. Anyone tried these glosses? Which colors are your favorites?

Chantecaille Lip Chic Swatches - Anais, China Rose, Tea Rose, Zinnia

Please ignore the yucky wrought iron, I took them outside to get truer color pics. :)

These are my favorite lipstick formulas ever.  They feel very soothing on your lips and are excellent for those that don't care for the heavy feel of lipsticks or sticky mess of gloss.  Did I mention they smell like vanilla bean ice cream? These retail for $30 each and can sometimes be found on evilbay for much less.  This is one lip product that I consider worth the splurge.

Guerlain Blush 4 Eclats - Tendre Aurore

This is my first Guerlain blush and I have to say that I am impressed.  It is so soft but not in the usual powdery way (like Lorac or Stila e/s).  It feels velvety to the touch.  Pigmentation is very good.  I actually really love this color but I think it would be something only suitable for fair skintones.  Darker skintones could use it as a highlighter I suppose.  On me, this blush just gives a hint of color and looks extremely natural.  My cheeks but better.  :)  It could be made more dramatic by using the colors separately or you can apply it blended together and then pick up some color from one of the darker shades and go over the area toward the bottom, keeping it light on top and giving you some contour.  These blushes have the signature Guerlain scent - candied violets - which I happen to love.  It doesn't linger upon application but every time you open the compact you get a nice waft of fragrance.

Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Color Swatches

Today I decided to quickly write about Laura Mercier Second Skin Cheek Color (blush). I like these quite a bit - not as much as Armani or Rock & Republic but I do like them better than most. There's a very nice range of colors to choose from. All of the ones I've tried are very nice texture and pretty pigmented. My favorite thing about these (and this won't surprise most of you) is that you can pop them out of their individual compacts and put them into a 6-well palette. The newest additions to the line are Lotus Pink & Lush Nectarine and I have to say they are my favorites. They have a different finish to them than the others. They almost have an iridescent sheen. They're gorgeous and both are very flattering on many different skintones. These are $24 each and the empty palettes cost $10.

Sephora Ultra Shine Lipgloss

When I'm at Sephora, normally I just breeze right past their house brand without a glance.  This weekend, for some reason, the end cap drew my eye.  It was a rainbow of lipglosses on display.  Right off the bat I picked up the newly reformulated Ultra Shine Lipgloss because they had a really good selection of plums, purples and violets.  I swatched probably 7-8 on my hand and ended up tossing #24 Reflex Dazzling Violet & #23 Shimmery Glowing Amethyst into my basket.

When I got out to the car, the first thing I did was put one on my lips, then the other right on top of it (don't act like you don't do the same thing!)  It was instant love.  The Reflex formula *looks* a lot like YSL Golden Glosses on the lips but that's where the similarity ends.  I find the Golden Glosses to be too thin, gritty and let's not forget the smell *shudder*.  I can't think of anything to compare the Shimmery formula to except maybe Chanel Glossimers.  These are pleasantly & mildly scented/flavored, and feel very nice on your lips.  It's a medium-thick consistency and feels very smooth and hydrating.  It's not super sticky for a gloss in my opinion.  It just sticky enough.  For $14, you can't go wrong.

Here's Sephora's blurb on these new glosses: 

Ultra Shine Lip Gloss  

What it is:

A maximum-shine, moisturizing gloss starring a new generation of "multi-holographic" shimmers, for perfect light reflection.

What it does:
The most pigmented member of the Sephora Collection gloss family, this smoothing star comes in a profusion of gorgeous shades. Achieve a lush-lip look with full, smooth, hydrated results.

What else you need to know:
Choose your favorite way to shine:
- Reflex: ultra-opalescent effect for a jewel-like finish
- Shimmering: opalescent effect for an elegant luster
- Shiny: opalescent-free, for a wet-looking effect

A specially designed, hourglass-shaped applicator features a soft, flocked tip that picks up a generous amount of gloss. An elegant, transparent pack shows the shade clearly.

Research Results:
In a consumer test on 11 women (measuring with a corneometer):
- 4 hours after application, lip hydration increased by 50%.