Palette + Chanel? How I could resist This caught my eye as I was browsing through Chanel.com, and then once again whilst I was walking through Myer. I decided to instead purchase this palette online via a mail forwarding service as (no surprise) it still worked out to be cheaper! But enough about acquisition, let’s talk about this palette.

This limited edition palette is called Ombres Matelassees, and was created to celebrate the opening of Chanel’s latest boutique in Paris. The shade is 51 Montaigne, also the address of said new boutique. The five shadows, besides the last all have a golden hue to them with a shimmery finish. The press of each shadow is reminiscent of Chanel’s signature quilted bags, a beautiful touch.

The shadows themselves range in pigmentation, with naturally the black being the strongest. I wouldn’t say the pigmentation is comparable to Inglot, but in comparison to some of the Chanel eye shadows I’ve tried before, this is rather impressive.

The last two darkest shades can also be used as liner, so the palette is relatively versatile, depending on how dark you dare to go. I’m not sure if this palette is still available at Myer (the only place in Australia I’ve seen it on sale). But it would be worth having a play before you put down any cash as generally speaking this is one heftily priced palette even in America, sitting at $80US.

Last week I did a review on NARS’ Powder Blush Gaiety, and some of you may have noticed an eyeshadow that was photographed with it! That was Lhasa, also part of the Spring 2012 collection

Had to admit, really loved the colour options that came out with NARS’ Spring 2012 collection, they may not appear completely wearable in the pan (for example I thought that the blush would be way too bright for every day wear), but once applied you realise how versatile these colours are.

Lhasa is a taupe eyeshadow with a slight satin finish, in the pan I thought maybe I saw some shimmer, but when swatched you can clearly see it’s virtually matte. On the lid, you could almost consider it matte with some satin. A very wearable colour, everyday I’d pair this with a nude shade over the lid and Lhasa into the crease, but those who dare to wear a little bit heavier makeup during the day could treat this as an all over lid colour easily

The thing about this colour is that whilst it is highly versatile, it’s also highly dupable and I’m sure if I were at home with my makeup, rather than in a hotel room in Sydney *sad face* I could pull out some dupes for you (sorry!). But do check your collection before venturing out for this

This eyeshadow is available for $24US / $45AU either online at Kiss and Makeup NY or Mecca Cosmetics.

Today’s post is all about Laura Mercier, namely a selection of products from their Lingerie Collection for Spring 2012. Probably super late to the party since their Summer 2012 collection is already out! Eep!

One thing I do love about Laura Mercier and many of the other brands who release collections is how manageable the sizes are. Over the last few years I’ve personally gotten a bit sick over the sheer amount of product MAC seems to love to throw out. Don’t get me wrong, I still love MAC but the sheer level of products leaves me feeling slightly overwhelmed to the point where I just can’t be bothered even checking it out anymore. *sad face*

When I look at this collection I think “fresh”, a lot of lovely neutral shades with pops of pink and orange! The palette from this collection is something I am contemplating bringing with me on my overseas trip later this year (yes I plan these things out far too in advanced, I clearly need a life of some kind)

Eye and Cheek Palette

Palettes, especially those with eye shadows or powdered products are definitely my thing. (Believe it or not, I am not at all a fan of cream / lip palettes). This palette is wonderfully versatile, there is a very equal split of matte and shimmer finishes for the eye shadows. All the eye shadows are neutral so perfect for everyday, but the deeper shadows are pigmented enough to achieve sultry smokey eyes.

The cheek colours like the eye shadows are great for a range of different skin tones and as you can see from the swatches below, are not the most pigmented which actually in my world means I can be a little more lazy with my application!

The one thing that does bug me about having cheek colours in the same palette as eye shadows (even more so if the palette contains cream products) is that every time you dip your brush into the blush to pick up some product, you inevitable will always kick up some of the powder into the eye shadows. Which can contaminate them. Not too bad for powdered eye shadows because you can just wipe / blow it off without much dramas, but imagine cream products!

I think you might still be able to get this product locally in Australia as I remember seeing it at David Jones just the other day. Unfortunately I don’t know the Australian price (I purchased it overseas), but I know goes for $60US, so it’s likely around 30-40% more expensive and in Australian dollars.

Lip Shine

I have always been a huge fan of MAC’s Tendertones and use the two that I do have sparingly because I knew that MAC discontinued the range. So I had heard that Laura Mercier’s Lip Shines were very comparable, and I can say that the two products are pretty close. Not absolutely the same, but similar. The smell being the biggest difference, MAC Tendertones have a very fruity scent but Laura Mercier’s Lip Shines don’t have any scent at all.

The product gives a sheer coat of colour, does provide some level of moisture (but not as much as a traditional lip balm), and leaves your lips with a beautiful pearlescent gloss finish.

It does suck that these are only available in pot form. I’m in two minds about this, I hate how unhygienic it is, and I hate that it gets my fingers waxy if I’m using it on the go. But I just think that pot packaging is just so much cuter!

Also likely these are still available in Australia, but no clue for how much. These go for $22US in America, so bump that up a fair bit.

I’m a bit on the fence about this particular palette, one of the reasons I decided to branch out is because I’m trying to add a bit of colour into my “every day” makeup routine, I love my nudes and earth tones, but it doesn’t hurt to branch out a little This palette from Giorgio Armani’s Spring 2012 line has amazing quality, which is to be expected from GA. Even though the texture of these shadows are incredibly soft and buttery, the pigmentation isn’t as strong as I’d like to be. Fine for everyday wear, but I wouldn’t complain if GA decided to increase the level of pigmentation, not to the level of their Eyes to Kill line, but maybe something similar? The finish for all shadows is universally shimmery, but no glitters.

All in all, this works better in my opinion as a gift rather than a must have product to own. Or if you are looking for something with more neutral colours, I know this palette also comes in a version with more wearable shades.

I purchased this palette for $59US via a mail forwarder. Unfortunately I have no idea how much this is in Australia, though I think I’ve seen them at counters now (probably for close to double the price)

When the Tom Ford quads first came out, I was all over it! In fact the first quad I purchased was the Cocoa Mirage which is still one of my favourite eye shadow palettes to use! The quality is still second to none~ So I was extra excited when the lovely people at Tom Ford surprised me in the mail with this lovely palette

The palette comes with an ultra shimmer champagne shade, a silver shimmer, taupe shimmer and matte dark brown, a great combination for a slightly more darken neutral to smokey eye.

The highlight of this palette for me was the first shade, it’s very sheer with a very high shimmer pay off. I found it worked better when layered over shades, rather than used on its own. At some angles, it gives off the illusion of glitter, but keep in mind this is a very fine product and so there is really no gritty or chunkiness to the texture of these shadows. This was a real pleasant surprise as most products with a glitter appearance are always gritty.

Similar to my much beloved Cocoa Mirage, this can be used at work for those who are a little more on the daring side. Or if you prefer, it would be a great evening palette, either way the colours are neutral and versatile enough to use for a variety of situations. This product retails for $100AU and can be purchased at select David Jones.

The thing I really love about Lancome (and Chanel) are their blush / highlighters. Just look at the design, it’s absolutely gorgeous! Too gorgeous to use tbh. I remember back in the day when I was completely obsessed with Louis Vuitton (still am, but to a sensible level now… as sensible as splurging on luxury bags can be…) a lot of the girls I knew would buy the LV silk scarves, and instead of wearing them, would frame them up and hang them on their walls like art. This is -kinda- how I see highly artistic makeup. It’s a bit like collecting art. Art that will eventually expire or go bad, but art none the less…. ah…sweet denial.

Anyways, today I thought I’d talk about the Lancome Spring 2012 collection as I know not many people have access nor the ability to try out these products so hopefully I can offer some sort of insight

As you can see above, each of the palettes in this collection had a lovely rose detail on top of them that uniquely identifies them as being part of the Spring collection. It’s a really lovely touch.

Illuminating Smooth Powder – 001 La Roseraie

First up is the Illuminating powder with the most gorgeous detailing. When mixed together I felt this came off as a more frosty light pink blush, which would be much better suited towards lighter skin tones. Since I like a bit of control over how my blush is formulated, I applied the pink portion first which had a very soft sheen, I wouldn’t call it matte. And then dusted some of the frosted portion on my cheek bones.

This blush just gives a very soft flush of colour, not as sheer as say NARS’ Sex Appeal which was almost invisible on my skin, but enough for it to be visible in person, yet appear almost invisible on camera. The blush is buildable if you want a slightly deeper application. I unfortunately don’t think this as a blush would be great for people with very dark skin tones, but it may work well as a pink-tinted highlighter thanks to the level of frost. This blush will set you back $42US.

Color Design 5 Shadow & Liner Palette – 206 Rose Romance

Next was the eye shadow palette, this collection came out with two, a green and neutral. Somehow I am not surprised I ended up with the neutral palette, all the shades are highly wearable except maybe for the pink shade. The shadows pack quite a bit of shimmer in them, nothing chunky or glittery, but this certainly isn’t the palette for you if you lean towards mattes. What I found myself doing for every day, is applying the tanned shade to my lids and the highlighter on my brow bone and inner corner, but only lightly. Then I would take MAC’s Wedge to soften the entire look and blend it down via my crease. It makes it much more subtle if you’re not a high shimmer addict.

The shadows themselves are very high quality, much better than previous Lancome eye shadow palettes I’ve reviewed. The shadows were soft and velvety, almost like butter. You can see in the swatches below how pigmented each of the shadows were, with the pink probably the worst performer. But I’d always wear pink / red shades with caution if you’re new to makeup as too much can make it look like your eyes are swollen. You can purchase this palette for $48US.

L’Absolu Nu Lipcolor – 3337 Rose Candy

Finally the lip colour, the photo makes it appear much darker than it does on the swatch. The swatch is a far more accurate representation of the colour. The colour isn’t deep or highly pigmented, but it is easy to apply and actually quite moisturising. Lancome calls them Replenishing and Enhancing Lip Colour and I think that’s a pretty accurate description of them. I found myself having to re-apply relatively often which is no surprise given the pigmentation and moisture. You can purchase this lipstick for $29.50US.

FOTD

All the products used together, the only product I used not mention in this post was my Studio Fix Powder Foundation (which I finally hit pan on YAY!)

Overall this collection kind of reminds me of the Dior Spring Garden 2012 collection, but less shimmery. It’s a really lovely collection, though I can’t think of any HG items from it, but if you’ve constantly been disappointed by the quality of Lancome eye shadow palettes, I’d recommend giving this one a go, as it’s the best I’ve seen yet.

Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like Chanel has been releasing some beautiful products in their last few collections. They always have this one signature product that just looks amazing in the pan. Of course it only looks great if you don’t use it After a couple of uses the beautiful patterns usually disappear so I think that’s something that always needs to be considered when making a collection purchase. Pretty to look at, but keep in mind it won’t always look the same after a while.

Blush Horizon de Chanel

That aside, here are a few products from the Chanel Spring line that caught my eye. First up is the signature product, the blush. It comes with a mixture of different shades of pinks, that swatch or applies as a soft baby pink shade. The pigmentation is average to slightly about average which is actually what I want in my blush products. I don’t like using blushes that are too pigmented at first swatch, I prefer them to be buildable because I find the application to be so unforgiving if I apply too much in the first go.

It gives a gorgeous soft pop of colour to the cheeks. I wouldn’t call it a show stopper, it’s one of those shades that just compliments you. It doesn’t stand out or draw any extra attention; subtle blushes are my favourite kind.

Les 4 Ombres – 34 Eclosion

Next is this eye shadow palette, which contains four neutral pink shades. You have a semi-matte dark brown, a warm honey gold shimmer shade, a light shimmery tan shade great for highlighting and finally a soft pink shimmer shade for that bit of colour to the eyes.

The palette kind of reminds me of Prelude, which was released late last year. Mostly because the two are relatively neutral and wearable for everyday. However I found Prelude contains far more mattes and generally has deeper neutral shades, where as Eclosion is contains softer shades with more shimmer. Either way I love both The pigmentation is great for everyday wear, but not for say a Book of Fables chapter.

The type of makeup I use for my Book of Fable chapters and makeup I use everyday is very different in both quality, pigmentation, texture etc. I should probably do a post on this instead of breaking out into a mini ramble though huh, hehe.

Rouge Coco Shine

Ah, Rouge Coco Shines, my favourite lipsticks from the Chanel line. I was never a big lipstick fan until I discovered these last year because they are so soft, creamy and moisturising.

The two shades I picked up were Flirt and Canduer. Out of the two, Flirt is far more pigmented, it almost looks like an orange shade under some lights, but really it’s more a coral shade that appears pink when worn. Canduer on the other hand appears like a wearable soft pink shade in the tube, but it barely has any pigmentation when swatched and worn. It’s incredibly sheer, so if I were recommend one I’d probably have to recommend Flirt, even though I personally love Canduer just as much!

Using the blush, Eclosion and Candeur.

Using the blush, Eclosion and Flirt.

The lipsticks set me back $32US each, the eye shadow was $58US and I forget how much the blush is But I know it wasn’t cheap I must truly be an addict because despite enjoying the Spring 2012 collection, I’m already super keen to get my hands on the upcoming Vegas collection!