Chanel Illusion d'Ombre-Epatant, Fantasme and Emerveille

The Chanel Illusion D'Ombre shadows were also released in the Fall collection. In the display, the testers do not actually correspond to the actual packaging that you get. There was a display model for the actual jar. I picked up 3 shades; Epatant (a grey khaki), Fantasme (a shimmery white), and Emerveille (a peachy seashell pink).

L->R: Epatant, Emerveille and Fantasme

Each Illusion D'Ombre comes with a mini brush. I actually really like this brush for this shadow. The bristles are in a flat paddle shape with a bit of an angle. It can be used to apply an overall sweep to the lid or as a liner. Swatches below were applied with the brush.

Compact form


The cap becomes the handle


Close up of the brush tip

Pics for the individual shadows:


Epatant
(My favorite)



Fantasme



Emerveille

Epatant and Fantasme are more shimmery than Emerveille so I don't think my swatches below do them much justice. Epantant is a dark khaki grey with silver shimmer. Fantasme doesn't show up as silvery in real life, it's more of a multi-colored shimmery white.

No flash, indoors



With flash indoors

In case anyone was curious, here is how the Illusion D'Ombres compare to the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill shadows packaging wise. Both shadows are listed as 4g/0.14oz.

Illusion d'Ombres have a wider jar but a more shallow container. It is taller than the Eyes to Kill since it has a taller base. Texture wise, Illusion D'Ombres have a more airy mousse feel than the Eyes to Kill.

I've worn the Chanel Illusion D'Ombre shadows for 2 days and I like them a lot. It's been a bit hot a muggy on the days that I've worn them so by the end of the night there is creasing and fading but I think the Illusion D'Ombre overall staying power is decent and the colors are quite nice. I hope they will expand the selection in the future.

Chanel Fall 2011 Polishes-Graphite and Peridot

I made a trip to uptown today and spotted the Chanel Fall 2011 collections at the 57th street Chanel boutique and Bergdorfs. *update* This collection is now also available at the Soho boutique. The most exciting item for me were the polishes :) There were 3 shades released-Graphite (Shimmery silvery grey with a gold overtone), Peridot (Duochrome green/bronze) and Quartz (Taupe with silver sheen) which was the only one I passed on.

Swatches are with 2 coats, no top coat.
Index, Middle: Graphite; Ring, Pinkie: Peridot




Graphite Close-Up
Love how sparkly this color is








Peridot Close-Up
Depending on the angle, it can look more olive green or bronze-y





I like how you can see the color shift at the edges of the nail.



*update*

These polishes applied really well, so far the best out of the other Chanel polishes I can recall at the moment. I think both are great colors and although they are meant for fall, I can't wait to wear them now. From the fall collection, I also picked up the Rose Ecrin blush and Giggle glossimer. Also released were the Illusion d'Ombre shadows~very pretty mousse shadows. I picked up Khaki, Fantasme and Emerveille. Is it too early for Fall collections?

Paul & Joe Confetti and YSL Summer Polishes

Just a quick post on a few new polishes I picked up at Bergdorfs recently.

First up is another polish from Paul & Joe Summer. I was initially going to pass on Confetti because I thought I may have a few too similar polishes but turns out it is pretty unique among my glitters. It's clear with multi colored glitters. I thought it would appear more silver on the nail but you can still see the different colors.

Swatch is about 3 coats


Mobile phone pic. This was 4 coats

The other polishes I snagged were from YSL. Love the bright yellow and blue that are offered as part of their summer collection. I also picked up a creme blush and lipstick but I have not used them yet. The polishes were really smooth and opaque. Swatches below are 2 coats.

Left: Surreal yellow, Right: Utopian Turquoise




Love the brightness of this yellow.




(Sorry for the smudges)

Nars Makeup Your Mind: Express Yourself Eyes Kit

I had attended an event at the Nars boutique last Saturday and while finalizing my purchase, the eyeshadow palette in the Nars Makeup Your Mind: Express Yourself Eyes kit caught my attention. I had already ordered the Nars Makeup Your Mind: Express Yourself book although I had not received it yet when I had purchased the kit.

The kit comes with a pamphlet to give you a few look ideas which are also shown in the full-sized book.

The kit comes with a six-paned eyeshadow palette, eyeshadow primer, mascara and make-up remover


Colors in the palette are:
Top Row: Abyssinia, Silk Road II, Strada,
Bottom Row: Galapagos, Fuji and Brumes II
(The II indicate the shades are from duos).








Swatches:
No Flash


With Flash

I love the colors in this palette and with the exception of the color from silk road, there were no colors I already in my stash. I've tried samples of the eyeshadow primer before but I can't really judge it against the other primers available. The mascara and make-up remover are new items for me to try. There is also a Makeup Your Mind: Express Yourself Lips and another one for the face. Along with the Nars boutique, these kits are available at Nordstorm.

Paul & Joe Summer 2011-Polishes, Bronzer, Eye Gloss

Here are quick pics of items from Paul & Joe Blue Horizon collection. While wandering in Flushing, there was shop that carried a few of the new releases. I picked up polishes in Mediterranean and Venus, the bronzer and eye gloss duo in Delicate. The summer limited edition items have a pretty light blue packaging.

I couldn't resist the Mediterranean polish (016). I almost walked away from it for fear it would be sheer but it looked so magical I knew I had to give it a shot. It has a blue-green jelly base with round flakes and glitter! It did take about 4 coats to get it completely opaque.

It does dry a bit bumpy because of the flakes


Index, middle: Mediterranean
Ring, Pinky: Deborah Lippmann Lady Sings the Blues
I would curious how the glitter flakes would compare between the 2 polishes
Flash makes Mediterranean look more sheer than it really is


Indoor light, no flash

*Update*
Here's a comparison pic between Mediterranean (Index, Middle) and Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe (Ring, Pinky)

Mediterranean has a blue green base with blue flakes while Across the Universe has a dark blue base with green flakes.

Mediterranean is gorgeous in natural light, it does remind me of shimmery waters. I'll upload a full mani pic once my camera battery is charged.

The other polish that caught my eye was Venus (015); a baby blue when sliver glitter.





Pretty, but not as complex as Mediterranean

How could I say no to a pretty embossed bronzer?





Alas, it is in the too pretty to swatch right now category. I saw the tester and the white in the embossing does fade although the fish detail is pretty deeply etched.

The new eye gloss duos feel similar to the original singles. There are five permanent shades and 3 limited releases for the summer. I went for Delicate (a shimmery pink and grey with pink sheen). It is part of the permanent releases.


Dabbed on swatches:




Swatches blended out a bit:

So far, I'm liking everything that I've tried. I'm looking forward to seeing the summer eye glosses and eye colors when they become available.