Matte Moon Manicure -NOTD

I had read All Lacquered Up's post on the CND Ruffian Matte Moon Manicure and decided to give it a try. I used RMK polish in EX-22 (a bright bronze) and Paul & Joe polish in oasis 006 (turquoise with gold shimmer) from the summer collection. I did 2 coats of EX-22, with 3 coats of Oasis and topped Oasis with Essie's matte about you top coat. I did it freehand and it came out decent but next time I'm going to try and find some guides so I can have cleaner lines.

I wasn't sure if I would go ahead with the matte topcoat but it does make the polish pop more against the bronze. Here's a pic before showing all gloss vs. matte/gloss:

Index and Middle without matte topcoat.
Ring and Pinkie with matte topcoat.

Let me know if you try this type of manicure and what polish combinations you used =)

Chanel Fall 2010 blushes, lip color and eyeliner *updated*

I've been checking out various stores to see who has this collection and so far I have not seen it at Bloomingdales but the 2 Chanel boutiques I've visit have had the Fall Collection available. All pics in this post are with flash, unless noted otherwise.

The Bergdorf display had the 3 new blushes displayed along with 3 other blushes. I had picked up Rose Bronze which I think is part of the permanent Joues Contraste blush line. Since all the fall blushes have shimmer in them, I was a bit hesitant to purchase them so I decided to wait and give it some thought before committing.

I thought the Rose Bronze would be a nice highlighter and give a bit of a pink sheen without being to frosty.

So after a few days, I did decided to pop by my nearby Chanel boutique and pick up 2 Fall blush colors. The shimmer isn't really that prominent or disco and the colors are quite lovely. I decided to get Pink Explosion and Rose Temptation.

Pink Explosion (on the left) is a cool pink and Rose Temptation (on the right) is a deeper mauve color. As the swatches show, the shimmer does not stand out too much.

*Update*
Since my swatch at home is a bit hard to see,
I decided to take a pic in some brighter indoor lighting. Pic is without flash

Sorry order is reversed-Rose temptation is on the left, Pink Explosion is on the right

This was my first time with the Joues Contraste blushes and I really like them a lot. The powders are soft and it was easy to blend the colors. They do have a rose scent to them in the compact but once you wear the blushes, the scent quickly dissipates.

There were 4 new glossimers and 3 new Rouge Coco lip colors. I picked the Rose Dentelle lip color and Coral Love lip gloss.

Rose Dentelle Rouge Coco (medium pink)


Coral Love glossimer (golden coral)

An interesting item (to me anyway) was the Intense eye liner in Clair, a nude color. I was skeptical when Mac came out when the skin colored Chromagraphic pencils in the Pret-a-Papier collection but was quickly won over when I actually tested out the pencil. Thus, when I saw the Clair eyeliner I wondered how it would compare to the Mac pencil. Turns out Clair is a bit lighter, less yellow and more pink than the NW25/NC30 pencil that I have but is still an effective eye brightener.

Intense Eye Pencil in Clair (no flash)

Swatches:

Left side: Rose Dentelle (top), Coral Love (bottom)

Right side: Intense Eye Pencil in Clair (left), Mac Chromagraphic pencil in NW25/NC30

So that's Chanel Fall for me. I do not know when other stores will get this collection but I expect it to be soon. And just a tidbit-when I went to get the Pink Explosion blush, I was told it was already the last one so if you're interested in that color it may be best to jump on it when you find it.

Chanel Enigma Eye Shadow Quad

I just wanted to share pics of the Enigma quad for Chanel Fall 2010. It's a lovely smoky quad. The shadows go on smooth and there were no problems with pigmentation.

All the shadows have a bit of shimmer to them which I like. The colors are a dusty pink, a taupey mink brown, a dark grey and a dark plum. All pics are with flash, just at different angles. They do not look as faded in real life.

There were 2 eye liners displayed in this collection. A dark plum eyeliner and a nude liner which reminded me of the chromagraphic pencil from Mac. The plum complemented the quad but did not stand out to me. I did not play with the nude liner before I left the counter. In contrast to the dark colors for the eyes; the lip colors and blushes are more colorful~to be shared in the next post.

Chanel Paradoxal Polish for Fall 2010

I went to Bergdorf Goodman today and the Chanel beauty counter was having an event for their Fall collection. Gah, I can help but be confused that it's June and I'm being shown colors for Fall. Anyway, I love what I saw. Here is the first item that won my heart. I'll try to post pics for the other items soon.

Paradoxal polish is a lovely purple grey color. The violet iridescence that you see in the bottle is very subtle once you apply it to your nails. I had to put it on the minute I got home. Ok I did have dinner first but either way- this color is too awesome.

Here's a pic without flash:


This was my previous mani-Illamasqua Jo'mina with a white stamp pattern from Bundlemonster plate 20:

I loved this mani but I was super excited to try out Paradoxal. The other polish for the Fall was Jade Rose and since I had passed on it the first time around, I decided to take this second chance to add it to my collection. Check out Beauty Look Book for great pics of this polish.

Beaute de Kose Fantasist Collection Coffret

Hi! I haven't succeeded in being a diligent blogger these past few weeks. I've been distracted by life and having taken my first European trip ever. Hopefully, I'll be able to post more frequently starting with this entry.

I had read this post on Rouge Deluxe that Beaute de Kose will soon be discontinued. I had tried a few items from this brand and had a fairly positive experience. When I saw the Fantasist Collection online, I figure I would give a few more items a shot before the brand was no more.

The coffret comes in a lovely cardboard box. I was surprised how sturdy it felt. It kind of reminds me of fancy candle boxes.

The interior is even better. I love how colorful it is!

The set contains 2 eye fantasists (GR755 Verdurous Green, BR357 Soil Brown), a mini rouge fantasist in OR281 Sweet Orange, a Face color and a solid perfume.

The eye fantasists are cream shadows and come with a sponge tip applicator. They have a good staying power and blend easily. The lip gloss goes on very smooth and I was surprise how non-sticky it was-perfect for summer:

Gr755 is a shimmery light green, BR357 is a pretty golden brown
OR281 is a pinky coral lip color

Sorry I haven't had the heart to swatch the blush. The lightest color has very little shimmer while the middle and deepest color are shimmery. The solid perfume has a strong rose scent to it mixed with other floral notes. It's nice in the box but not a fragrance I would wear. Overall, a very cute set and the colors are perfect for warmer temps.