Beauty Moogle Zone

MÜLE (뮬) - Sparkling Star Palette (스파클링 스타 팔레트)

2013-05-27T15:15:00.001-04:00

Since it had been awhile since I had seen any new products from Mule, I did a quick search on eBay and spotted a listing for a palette but I thought the price was a bit high. I did a search on Gmarket and found much more reasonable prices so I decided to get over my Gmarket hesitations and placed an order.

The palette was larger than I expected; each pan is about the same as the Mac Pro Longwear eyeshadow pans. There are 2 rows of powder eyeshadows and one row of lip/cheek cream colors.

A tube of Chanel Coco Rouge for size reference

There was a leaflet included that had 2 looks and color names.

Swatches were done indoors on bare skin with natural lighting, no flash.

Shade names are based on google translate results.

First row: Sugar Lily (Lavender), New York Yellow (Gold), Apple Green (Lime green), Shot Black (Charcoal Grey), Talk Pink (Beige Pink)

Second row: Honey Brown (Taupe), Deep Blue (Violet), Strawberry Macaroon (Bright Matte Pink), Luminous White (White with gold sheen), Deep Purple (Brown Purple)

Third row: Holiday Red (Warm Red), New York Pink (Pastel Pink), Holiday Orange (Bright Tangerine), Nude Beige, Splendid Pink (Fuchsia)

The eyeshadows have a nice soft texture and go on fairly smooth although there is a bit of kick up when dabbing with a brush. When applied over primer, the colors last close to a full day with just minimal fading. I've only used the lip/cheek colors on the lips and they have nice pigmentation. They aren't the most moisturizing so I would suggest using a lip balm underneath. To see the palette in action, here are 2 looks from Jung Saem Mool's channel - Look 1, Look 2; I do believe that these are the same looks that are shown in the leaflet.

MÜLE(뮬): Make Your Own Rule Theme 1 Make Up

2013-04-21T17:08:00.000-04:00

I thought I had posted about this make-up collection but quickly realized that I had dropped the beauty blogging ball on this topic. So *cough* these items were purchased last year. MÜLE is the beauty brand from Jung Saem Mool, a popular Korean make-up artist. I had discovered her youtube channel and liked the tutorials that were posted but I had not realized she had released a make-up line till a few other bloggers were tweeting about some of the items. I visited the channel to see what they were talking about and the items piqued my interest. I was still fearful of using gmarket at the time so I ordered a set from evil-bay that included the Artist Essential Primer, Artist Correcealer Balm in Shade 02, Artist Curve Brush & Puff and Moist Fixing Powder.

Boxed items and a pamphlet that was included (along with an intruding cat)

Items unboxed

Artist Essential Primer

A dual phase liquid that consists of 7 plant based essential oils.

Artist Correcealer Balm in Shade 02

Compact includes a fingerprint sponge. There is a mirror under the tips sheet on top.

On the right, there is a removable screen.

Shade 02 has a peach face color and a foundation shade (I'm guessing suitable to about NC30). The foundation has a consistency similar to Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua but has a heavier feel to it. I found the foundation balm to be a bit light for my skin tone and the undertone was a bit off. I can wear this shade during winter months but the color match is so so. I will try to update with a swatch.

Upon opening the lid, the screen is to help remove excess when using the Artist Essential brush and the surface next to the screen is for use with the fingerprint puff.

Artist Curve Brush and Puff

The brushes were the most anticipated items from the set. The brush is very soft and dense and works well with liquid and cream foundations. The puff is nice with cream blushes and I like the option of not having to apply blush with my fingers.

I've washed the brushes a few times and they've both have held up well - no shedding or distortion.

Moist Fixing Powder

A setting powder with pearl particles. Gives a nice soft finish when applied. The puff is designed to emulate a fingertip and you apply the powder in dabbing motions to the face. The top does crew off so you can use a brush if you prefer. This powder reminded me of the Mac Magically Cool Liquid Powder from the Disney Villains Collection.

Here's a video showing all the products in action. This brand is a bit hard to purchase outside of Korea but gmarket is a decent option if you are interested.

Insta nails

2012-12-09T03:32:00.000-05:00

I've been a bad blogger but I've been trying to be active and share through instagram...Here are a few polish related pics~

Base is L'oreal Tea and Crumpets. Stamping with a BM plate and topshop polish.

Hare polish in Pegasus and King of Caratflowers

Cirque polish in Galinda and XX

Hungry Asian polish

New Revlon polishes: Eclectic, Enchanting, Urban and Girly

Revlon Girly vs. nails inc. Topping Lane vs. Deborah Lippmann Candy Shop

I used Revlon Eclectic and Enchanting, along with theFaceShop BL601

Laura Mercier Customizable Artist Palettes Sets

2012-12-09T03:19:00.000-05:00

Laura Mercier has released 2 customizable artist palettes sets recently. I had purchased the Laura's Colour Favorites set at Bergdorfs awhile ago and more recently, I ordered the Signature Colour Trend set through the saksfifthavenue website. The mini eye shadows are adorable and the caviar eye liners are one of my favorite Laura Mercier products so I am pretty pleased with both sets.

Top: Laura's Colour Favorites

Bottom: Signature Colour Trend

Each set comes with an empty six pan customizable palette

Laura's Colour Favorites palette

Top quartet: Twilight Grey/Pale Pink/Topaz/African Violet

Bottom quartet: Gilded Pines/Cinnamon/Gold Royale/Pink Pearl

Tightline Cake Eye Liner in Chocolate Brown

Caviar Eye Liner in Chestnut

Second Skin Cheek Colour in Sweet Mandarin

Bronzing Pressed Powder in Matte Bronze

Faux Lash Mascara in Black, Lip Glacé in Raspberry and Crème Smooth Lip Colour in Crème Coral

Signature Colour Trend Palette

Top quartet: Platinum Pink/Steel Violet/Graphite/Driftwood

Bottom quartet: Tiger's Eye/Baroque/Sandstone/Coffee Ground

Tightline Cake Eye Liner in Black Ebony

Caviar Eye Liner in Cocoa Plum

Second Skin Cheek Colour in Orange Blossom

Bronzing Pressed Powder in Golden Bronze

Brush bag with Cheek Colour, Eye Colour, Smoky Eye Liner (I haven't tried this one yet but the full size is awesome) and Flat Eye Liner travel size brushes.

Laura's Colour Favorites palette can be ordered through Neiman Marcus and the Signature Colour Trend Palette is available at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Blog Sale Update

2012-11-12T00:10:00.002-05:00

Just an fyi that my blogsale page has been updated! Please click here to see the items!

Thank you!

L'oreal infallible eye shadows~Miss Candy and US summer releases

2012-07-07T18:04:00.000-04:00

Hello! I'm finally posting these pictures of the new L'oreal infallibles that have been released here in the US and overseas. Hopefully, they're still useful!

Top row: Naughty Strawberry, Sassy Marshmallow and Innocent Turquoise

Bottom row: Liquid Diamond, Endless Sea, Glistening Garnet, Smoldering Plum and Bottomless Java

Close ups of the shadows:

Naughty Strawberry, Sassy Marshmallow and Innocent Turquoise

Liquid Diamond, Endless Sea, Glistening Garnet

Smoldering Plum and Bottomless Java

Swatches:

Natural light

Indoor lighting

Top: Liquid Diamond (grey with pink flashes), Sassy Marshmallow (silver)

Bottom: Glistening Garnet (plummy dark pink), Naughty Strawberry (medium bright pink), Innocent Turquoise (sky blue), Endless sea (medium blue green)

Natural light

Burning Black (black with red shimmer), Smoldering plum (Shimmery dark purple), Bottomless Java (Medium bronze), Continuous Cocoa (Dark brown)

Indoor light

Continuous Cocoa (Dark brown), Bottomless Java (Medium bronze), Smoldering plum (Shimmery dark purple), Burning Black (black with red shimmer)

I had ordered the Miss Candy infallibles (Naughty Strawberry, Sassy Marshmallow and Innocent Turquoise) from Feelunique.com; however, I believe that they have stopped shipping L'oreal products outside of EU :(

I've spotted the other infallibles in a variety of drugstores. I had skipped the earlier US summer releases since they had seem similar to infallibles that I had owned.

Bronze Goddess (Overseas release) vs Gleaming Bronze (US)

Since these 2 were dupes. I figured that Gold Imperial would be the dupe of Goldmine and Pink Sapphire would be the dupe of Forever Pink. I've recently received the infallibles from the L'or Electric collection that was released in Europe/Asia-hope to have pics posted soon....It's rough keeping up with all the new infallible shades being released but I'm glad this line is expanding in some fab colors.

Les Merveilleuses Ladurée Cheek and Lip products

2012-02-28T01:12:00.001-05:00

Hello! Part of my blogging absence has been due to a vacation to Tokyo! I came back and endured a few days of jet lag. I've finally gotten myself together to share one of my major beauty acquisitions while in Japan.

Les Merveilleuses Ladurée debut in late January with only one counter located in the Misukoshi Department Store in the Ginza area of Tokyo. The parent company for this line is Albion which is also the parent of Paul and Joe Beauté and Sonia Rykiel Beauté. The packaging for this beauty collection is sublime and fitting with the famed Parisian macaron maker.

One of the more intriguing products is the Face Color Rose Ladurée Cheek Color. This item is composed of silk (?) rose petals coated in a colored powder. I bought color o1. The petals are sold separately from the blush holder.

Blush pot (holder) is made of translucent plastic

The lid just sits on top of the base with no actual seal
The Rose Petals comes in a plastic container with a drawstring pouch
So pretty....

In theory, you can swirl your face brush over the petals to pick up the cheek color but the testers at the counter didn't seem to agree....in the end, the most efficient manner was to rub the petal on your skin. I have not tried out the "fresh" petals so there are no swatches in this post for this item.

The other cheek item I purchased was the Pressed Cheek Color in 02. The pigmentation in these cheek colors were definitely stronger than the Rose Petal blushes.

Case on the left and refill in 02 on the right (sold separately)

Refill placed into the case. There is a sticker tab to hold it in the casing.Brush has a compartment underneath the blush

Cheek Color 02 in natural light next to the window

Sorry for lack of a swatch, the sun was setting and I was running out of time. I've worn this blush a few times now and have found it to be lovely. I hope to pick up more when this collection reaches American shores. I've read the estimated time frame is sometime in 2013 :/

The last item(s) I have to share are the lip rouges. They have a soft lipstick feel and subtle shine. I picked up 04 (mauve pink) and 05 (light carmel nude). The Rouges have a Cameo charm on them and have a twist up mechanism. A caveat is that the lip color can be turned up but cannot retract so you will need to be careful how much product is pushed up.

Top: Color 05; Bottom: Color 04
04 close up
05 close up
Swatches!

Hope you've enjoyed the pictures! I will try to capture swatches for the cheek colors soon and share more goods from Tokyo :) For pictures of the Face Color Rose Ladurée in 02, please click here. For counter pictures and more, please see Rouge Deluxe's posts here and here.

L'oréal infallible eye shadows ~ Part 2

2012-01-24T00:16:00.001-05:00

Slowly but surely, more drugstores have been stocking the L'oréal infallible eye shadows. The displays have been emptying pretty quickly but I have seen a permanent spot for them in one drugstore so hopefully more stock will come in soon. I ended up picking up 3 more shades~ Sultry Smoke, Iced Latte and Eternal Sunshine.

Sultry smoke almost looks like a matte grey but there is a subtle shimmer to it. Iced Latte is a shimmery light beige and Eternal Sunshine is a shimmery light gold.

There has been some queries on if Eternal Sunshine was the same as international released color-Goldmine. I found that Eternal Sunshine was not as yellow and leaned towards more of a brass color. Goldmine was also much more shimmery and iridescent than Eternal Sunshine. (I don't have pictures but I am also able to confirm that the Midnight Blue (US) is the same as the All Night Blue (Int).

Top row: Eternal Sunshine, Goldmine
Bottom row: Bronze Goddess, Armani ETK #18

Swatches:

L'oréal infallible eye shadows have been great to use as bases and by themselves. I'm looking forward to more shades being released. For my previous infallible post, please click here.

Dior Garden Clutch~Milly Garden-Swatches

2011-12-23T23:46:00.000-05:00

I did manage to stop admiring the Dior Garden Clutch for a moment so I could do some swatching. I picked a flat spot between the rosettes so the overall pattern on the eye shadows were preserved :)

The flap on the right lifts up to reveal the lip colors.

Close-up of the eye shadows. Colors are a dark purple/grey, a light silver/grey and light pink. All the shadows are shimmery/iridescent.

Close-up of the lip colors. One is a lip plumper and one is a regular gloss. I have not worn either color so I can't tell which is which. I am guessing that the pale pink is the plumper and the other pink is the regular gloss.

Swatches~sorry all under indoor lighting. On the right are the lip colors; followed by the eye shadows, no primer.

The pale glosses don't really give off much color. The shadows have good pigmentation, although the palest color only shows up as a iridescent shimmer on my skin.

Quick eotd~

The Dior Garden Clutch in Milly Garden is available now on the Nordstrom website.
The rest of the Dior Spring 2012 is also on the site. Milly Garden is listed as exclusive to Nordstrom, but it may also be available on the Dior.com site in the future. There is also another variation of the Dior Garden Clutch called Granville Garden; to see pics and swatches of this clutch, please see Fruity Lashes' post.

Preview~Dior Garden Clutch-Milly Garden

2011-12-21T22:58:00.000-05:00

I just received my the Dior Garden Clutch in Milly Garden today. Here are a few preview pics :) Hope to have swatches and more pics soon.

*swoons*

Lancôme Glamour Eyes Set

2011-12-15T01:18:00.000-05:00

I found myself at Sephora today and ended up buying the Lancôme Glamour Eyes by Michelle Phan set that I spotted. I don't watch many of her YouTube videos but I bought the set for the Color Design palette that is included. The palette is called Chic-by-Chelle and is labeled as a Sephora exclusive shade. The other items in the set are a full-sized artliner in Noir and a mini Hypnôse Drama Mascara in Excessive Black.

Front of the box

Back of the box

Front flap lifted

Included pamphlet has step-by-steps for Day and Night look.

Pics of the Color Design palette in Chic-by-Chelle:

Swatches~I think my hands were a bit dry so the swatches are patchy.
The shimmery violet does goes on smoother than what the swatch shows.

Base color is a satiny peach, lid color is a shimmery violet, crease color is an ashy brown, liner color is a shimmery grey and the highlighter color is light pewter.

The set is priced at $59.50 which is ok considering a Color Design palette cost $48 and a full sized Artliner is $29. I just wanted to post up some quick pics since I haven't seen any info on this set and if you're a fan of the Lancôme Color Design palettes then it might be worth looking for during your next Sephora store visit :)

L'oréal infallible eye shadows

2011-12-04T23:07:00.000-05:00

L'oréal infallible eye shadows have finally arrived in the US after having been available overseas for some time now. They are akin to Armani Eyes to Kill and have a similar spongy powder texture. Thanks to a few kind international ladies, I've been able to enjoy these shadows before their US debut. Today, I came upon a display of them at Bed, Bath and Beyond and picked up a few. So, here is my current collection.

First 2 rows are the international infallibles
Last row are the US infallibles
Colors from left to right.
Top Row: Purple obsession (shimmery purple), All Night Blue (shimmery navy), Permanent Kaki (shimmery khaki green), Burning Black (shimmery red black)
Middle Row: Sahara Desert (iridescent dark gold), Emerald Lame (iridescent golden green), Black Onyx (iridescent silver black), Bronze Goddess (iridescent bronze), Goldmine (iridescent light gold)
Bottom Row: Perpetual Purple (shimmery purple), Golden Sage (shimmery khaki green), Bronzed Taupe (shimmery taupe), Continuous Cocoa (soft shimmer mink brown), Amber Rush (shimmery copper)

Swatches (no flash):

Top Row: Purple obsession, All Night Blue, Permanent Kaki, Burning Black, Sahara Desert, Emerald Lame, Black Onyx, Bronze Goddess, Goldmine
Bottom Row: Perpetual Purple, Golden Sage, Bronzed Taupe, Continuous Cocoa, Amber Rush

Purple obsession, All Night Blue, Permanent Kaki, Burning Black, Sahara Desert, Emerald Lame, Black Onyx, Bronze Goddess, Goldmine

Perpetual Purple, Golden Sage, Bronzed Taupe, Continuous Cocoa, Amber Rush

Swatches (with flash):

Purple obsession, All Night Blue, Permanent Kaki, Burning Black

Sahara Desert, Emerald Lame, Black Onyx, Bronze Goddess, Goldmine

Perpetual Purple, Golden Sage, Bronzed Taupe, Continuous Cocoa, Amber Rush

I did suspect that some of the US infallibles were re-named versions of existing colors and I was correct. It is worth noting that the US infallibles are made in the US, while the international ones have been made in Italy. But from what I can tell, Perpetual Purple (US) is the same as Purple Obsession (Int.) while Golden Sage (US) is the same as Permanent Kaki (Int). The US versions do seem a smidgen darker which may be due to a different formula(?).

Left are the international infallibles; Right are the US infallibles

I'm glad that the L'oréal infallible eye shadows have finally made it here, although it is quite confusing that some colors been re-named from the international releases. Please see Mona's post here for additional pics and the list of shades released in the US and Justine's post here for additional pics and swatches of the international shades.

Nars Kudoki Kabuki Lip Set

2011-11-06T22:03:00.002-05:00

I decided to show the Nars Kudoki Kabuki Lip set against the Nars Bento Box Set from last year. The Kudoki Kabuki Lip set contains 3 lip colors (Botan, Takebue, and Ougi) vs 2 colors (Sakura and Maiko) in the Bento Box set. The exterior packaging is similar with the lacquer wooden box and the same kabuki lip brush is included in each set.

Nars Kudoki Kabuki set
L->R: Botan (deep pink), Takebue (rose nude), Ougi (brick red)

Here are size comparisons between
the Kudoki Kabuki set (Bottom) and the Bento set (Top):

Bowls from the Kudoki Kabuki set are 0.05 Oz (1.5g);
Bowls from the Bento set are 0.12oz (3.5g)

Shades from Bento set

Sakura

Maiko

Shades from Kudoki Kabuki Lip set:

Botan

Takebue

Ougi

Swatches:

Natural light with flash

Natural light, no flash

Indoor light, with flash

L->R: Sakura, Maiko, Botan, Takebue, Ougi

I think that that the Kudoki Kabuki set does have more wearable colors compared to the Bento set from last year. The quality of the lip colors were similar~very pigmented with a soft creamy feel. They are not the most moisturizing and since my lips tend to be a bit dry, I do like to prep with a balm before applying these colors. The shades in the Kudoki Kabuki set do seem to have a touch of shimmer to them when you look at the bowls but the shimmer does not show up when swatched. The Kudoki Kabuki set is currently available at online at Nordstrom.

Nars Kudoki Kabuki Lip Set-Preview pic

2011-10-31T23:28:00.000-04:00

I didn't get a chance to organize all the pics for the Nars Kudoki Kabuki Lip Set....so just a preview pic for now~

More to come....

Nars Holiday Gift Set - Mie and Hanamichi

2011-10-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

I couldn't wait for the Nars Holiday sets to start arriving. I spotted them at Lord and Taylor online but hit a snafu in trying to place my order, luckily there were available in stores as well so I was able to pick them up during the Friends and Family event. The holiday sets come in black paper boxes with a red band.

First up is the Soft Shadow Pencil Set called Mie. I love the colors of the Soft Shadow Pencils, I haven't tested out the longivity of the pencils although judging from the creaminess, a primer is a must-have :)

L->R: Angle Noir, Tall Tale, Magic Moon, Skorpios, Palladium, and Ballet Russes

Full size Soft Touch Pencil is 0.1 oz, 3g
Mini Pencil is .07 oz, 2g

Swatches~

L->R: Angle Noir, Tall Tale, Magic Moon, Skorpios, Palladium, and Ballet Russes

The other gorgeous item is the Hanamichi Palette:

It comes in its own pouch with a silk tie

There is a mini kabuki brush included

Size comparison against a full size soft touch pencil

Swatches (indoor light, no flash)- I'll try to have deeper swatches soon, but I was trying to not mar the design just yet.

L->R: Background color, golden flower, black flower and red flower

The first two colors reminded me of the Exotic Dance duo so here's a comparison pic:

Top:Exotic Dance
Bottom: Hanamichi
Exotic Dance has more shine to it so the colors are a bit brighter than the ones in the Hanamichi palette in which the finish is more flat.

So far, I think both items are lovely gifts (for yourself or others). I think Mie is more fun especially if you like color. The Hanamichi palette has a gorgeous presentation but I'm still trying to figure out how to maximize use of a red shadow, although for now I'll just enjoy the prettiness :)

Nars Holiday 2011-Color Collection

2011-10-25T22:00:00.001-04:00

Here are items from Nars Holiday Color collection. It's a nice collection, the only letdown for me was the trio-the promo pics seem so awesome but when applied it's just not as vibrant. Anyway here's what I picked up:

Arabian Night Trio
(I wished the colors really did apply like it looks in the pan)

Swatches:

Much like other Night Series shadows-the Arabian Nights colors look very sooty when applied dry and without primer.

Ponderosa Cream Shadow
(I always think of the word "steak" when I hear Ponderosa)

Swatches:

L->R: Ponderosa, Arabian Night trio over Ponderosa
The cream shadow definitely helped to bring out the glittery color more in the Arabian Night Shadows although all three still looked very similar.

Top row: Ponderosa and Arabian Night over Poderosa
Bottom Row: Arabian Night dry swatches

The new multiple in G Spot was an item I wasn't sure if I would pick up but once I swatched it, I really liked the color for fall. It has a subtle shimmer and the color a pretty rosey color (not as brown as the picture looks)

My weakness in life is colored eyeliners:

Top: Campo di Fiori
Bottom: St. Marks Place

Swatches:

L->R: St. Marks, Campo di Fiori and G Spot (light swatch)

And the last item is the Mandchourie eyeshadow duo
(shimmery golden olive blue and matte navy):

Dry swatches

Swatch on the right is the shimmer shade layered over the matte shade. I'm still undecided about this duo. The shadows felt smooth but color payoff was a bit iffy. I'll have to play with it more and test it with some primer :)

So, the cream shadow, eyeliners and multiple were hits for me but the trio and duo haven't quite won me over. I wished the trio wasn't black based and showed up as the pan color. I'm also debating on the Joyous Red lip color. I'm normally not a red lip wearer but I liked that it fell on the more warm brick vibe which I think I could pull off more easily for daytime. All items are now available on sephora.com and narscosmetics.com and I've spotted them in store at various counters too.

Chanel Holiday 2011-A few product pics

2011-10-06T01:32:00.000-04:00

I got the chance to meet with the lovely Macnunu and Asiyakei today. We made trip to Saks and found that the new holiday items from Chanel were available. Here's just a few quick product pics of what I purchased~

Luminère Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting powder

Closer look at the gorgeous embossing

Glossimer in Sweet Beige

Ombre Essentielle in Beige Lamé on top and Glossimer in Sweet Beige

Les Tissages de Chanel Tweed Brun Rosé blush

Will try to have more pics and swatches up soon!

Le Métier de Beauté Oscar de la Renta Kaleidoscope-Ready to Wear

2011-09-11T01:11:00.000-04:00

I had spent my Fashion's Night Out in downtown New York so I was unable to make it to the Le Métier de Beauté event at Bergdorfs with Oscar de la Renta. I visited the counter the day after and found out that they (naturally) had sold out of the Ready to Wear Kaleidoscope. So I took a walk to the Oscar de la Renta boutique on Madison Avenue and happily discovered that the boutique did still have the palette available :)

Yes, I took advantage of my napping kitty.

Included with the palette is a navy velvet pouch and leaflet

There is a red lip crème, a highlighting powder,
shimmery blue shadow and shimmery beige shadow

The lip crème has a coconut scent to it.

I believe this shade is for highlighting cheekbones
but could most likely be used as a shadow too

I love this color-it's navy with a blue green shimmer to it.

A nice shimmery neutral.

Swatches:

I love the pigmentation in this palette. All the colors were smooth and soft. I had been contemplating getting the Silk Road Kaleidoscope palette but since the Oscar de la Renta Ready to Wear Kaleidoscope was meant to be a full face palette-it had a bigger draw for me even though it does carry a higher price tag. I had not even seen a tester for this palette so I'm glad that it does perform. Now I'm going to try and put blinders on before indulging on any more collector items ;)

Dior Mitzah 5 Colour Eyeshadow Palette

2011-09-07T22:36:00.002-04:00

I've been eagerly anticipating Sephora's release of the Dior Mitzah collection and last week the items were finally made available on their website. The Limited Edition Panther palette is currently out of stock but the Mitzah quint palette is still available.

The interior of the velvet pouch has a leopard pattern.

Swatches-Clockwise starting from the bottom left shade.

Colors are a shimmery ivory (that leaned a bit pink on me), a dark earthy brown, a shimmery medium brown , a dark grey brown and the center is camel. The darker colors do have a bit of shimmer too but it was more subtle than the lighter colors.

Here are some comparison swatches:

Top: Mitzah quint
Bottom: Dior Cuir Leather palette (One of my first Dior palettes).
The colors in this palette are more iridescent.

Top: Mitzah Panther palette
Bottom: Mitzah quint

Top: Mitzah Panther Palette
Middle: Mitzah quint
Bottom: Dior Cuir Leather palette

So I had been able to order the Mitzah Panther palette from the Sephora website before it became out of stock. However, it arrived a bit damaged :(

Thankfully it's an isolated spot but still a bummer. I contacted Sephora and they were able to give me a small credit for inconvenience. Since the item is limited edition and out of stock, I am keeping it at the moment. The rep did not know when or if any more stock will become available but mentioned it may come back in stock closer to the holidays. So *fingers crossed* I can get a replacement in the future.

Although it was damaged, my kitty still wanted to claim the Mitzah palette.

Revlon Facets of Fuchsia vs. deborah lippmann Bad Romance

2011-09-05T22:43:00.000-04:00

I'm still trying to get back to more regular posting, but for now I'm back with another comparison post. Revlon has been releasing some interesting polishes and a recent display had a few pretty glitter polishes. I picked up Facets of Fuchsia and was immediately reminded of deborah lippmann Bad Romance so here's the comparison of the two.

Facets of Fuchsia swatches:

Facets of Fuchsia vs. Bad Romance swatches

Facets of Fuchsia (Index, Middle) - 3 coats
Bad Romance (Ring, Pinkie)-2 coats

Facets of Fuchsia has more glitter in it then Bad Romance but the color is pretty much the same. The formula for Facets of Fuchsia is a bit thinner and the base color is sheerer than Bad Romance so I had to use more coats. My preference is for Bad Romance since I liked the look with a bit less glitter so that you can see the base a bit more but Facets of Fuchsia is definitely a great alternative :)

The other polishes I picked up from the same display were Blue Mosaic and Starry Pink.

I'm definitely hoping Revlon continues to release these interesting colors.

Chanel Joues Contraste vs Maybelline Fall 2011 Blushes

2011-08-19T20:21:00.002-04:00

I stumbled upon a new Maybelline display at one of my local drugstores.

In the display were a few interesting blushes. There was a sale on Maybelline Face products so I picked up all of them XD I had to fight with the cashier for the discount because the items weren't ringing up in the system but thankfully, the manager put the discount through.

L->R: Pressworthy Pink, Ravishing Rouge and Stage Glow

No flash, indoor light

With indoor flash

Anyway, Macnunu mentioned they might be dupes for Chanel Joues Contraste so I dug in my stash to see if I had some possible equivalent colors. Here's what I came up with:

Top Row: Chanel Pink Explosion, Rouge and Pink Cloud
Bottom Row: Maybelline Pressworthy Pink, Ravishing Rouge and Stage Glow

(I'll try to update with pan pics later tonight)

So they are pretty close!

Chanel Pink Explosion is a bit warmer in color and more subtle in shimmer than Maybelline Pressworthy Pink.

Chanel Rouge is a brighter red and more shimmery than Maybelline Ravishing Rouge which feels more burgundy.

Chanel Pink Cloud is leans more white and subtle in shimmer than Maybelline Stage Glow which I think leans a bit more silvery.

Overall, the Maybelline blushes were pretty nice. I haven't tested them for wear time but they feel pretty smooth and I had no problems picking up the color. A nice drugstore substitute but I wouldn't say exact dupe for the Joues Constrastes :)

Les Aquarelles de Chanel~Ombres Tissées, Pink Cloud and Vanités quad

2011-08-05T23:49:00.000-04:00

Les Aquarelles de Chanel collection has landed at Bergdorfs. It's a very pretty and shimmery collection. The main palette is the Ombres Tissées Beiges. I haven't had the heart to swatch this baby yet. There is a shimmery overspray that disappears with use (Front Row Beauty has tester pic and swatches here). It's labeled as an eye shadow palette and comes with a sponge applicator but the colors do lend themselves to be used as a face highlighter.

Another piece from this collection is the Joes Contraste blush in Pink Cloud. This shade does not really impart any color on my face but gives it a nice highlight.

The Chanel boutique that I visited did not have the Ombres Tissees or Pink Cloud but they did have a few eye shadows and quads that had been previously released in Europe only. I picked up Fauve and Twilight (pics to come in another post), along with the Vanités quad.

Hope to post swatches soon.

Nars Night Series Palette

2011-08-01T23:21:00.002-04:00

More pictures for the Nars Night Series palette and swatches! At first, I had tried to do the swatches with a brush but the shadows became a smudge-y mess. I realized that finger swatching was the way to go, especially with Night Porter. Night Rider is just a sheer chunky mess no matter what method I tried :(

With flash~

L->R
Top Row: Night Star, Night Clubbing, and Night Porter
Bottom Row: Night Rider, Night Flight and Night Breed

Here is a shot of the polishes in daylight:

I do see the Night Series palette available on the Neiman Marcus website but I have not seen these items anywhere else so far. I purchased them at the Nars New York boutique. *Update* Nordstrom online now has the palette and the polishes.

Nars Night Series

2011-07-29T01:49:00.001-04:00

While in the Nars boutique recently, I saw this small display for Nars Night Series which consisted of 4 polishes and 1 palette. Each of the polishes are based on the "night" eyeshdow of the same name. Here are quick bottle pics and swatches.

L->R: Night Breed, Night Flight and Night Rider

Night Porter

L->R: Night Rider, Night Flight and Night Breed

Night Rider mani
Polishes applied pretty smoothly, although they are on the thicker side.

The Night Series palette is different from the one that was previously released, although half of the palette are repeat colors; Night Star, Night Rider and Night Clubbing.

L->R
Top Row: Night Star, Night Clubbing, and Night Porter
Bottom Row: Night Rider, Night Flight and Night Breed

Will have swatches and more pics in the next post.

Dior Fall 2011~Blue Tie Collection

2011-07-07T22:55:00.000-04:00

Here are the additional pics for the Blue Tie Palette in Smoking Blue and Tuxedo Polish. I had also picked up the Vintage Rose blush and Rouge Serum Lipstick in Coral Crystal.

Exterior of the Blue Tie Palette

Interior

With the lip gloss compartment opened

Swatches of the lip gloss and shadows
(Upper left, lower left, upper right and lower right):

The left side shadows were a bit dry and took some effort to build up the color; it may be because they are more matte than the right side shadows which have more shimmer to them and applied much smoother.

Tuxedo polish in natural lighting:

In dimmer indoor lighting, the polish almost looks black. In natural lighting and brighter indoor lighting the blue shimmer color is more apparent.

Vintage Rose blush:

Sorry, I could capture a decent swatch. The left is a dusty pink, while the right is a shimmery peach.

Out of the five or so new Rouge Serum lipsticks, I picked Coral Crystal.

Love the plush moisturizing feel of this lipstick.

I have not seen this collection out other than at Saks; I can't wait to see which items are available at Sephora/Bloomingdales since the selection can vary a bit.