Lancôme Glamour Eyes Set

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 :)

Nars Holiday Gift Set - Mie and Hanamichi

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 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.

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.

ck Calvin Klein set, lipstick and polish

I remember when ck Calvin Klein first come out and only had some lipstick and lip glosses, now the line has everything from primers to nail polish. I had purchased a few of their lip glosses in the beginning. There one eyeshadow palette I tried was decent but not amazing and some interesting nail polish colors that caught my eye but overall I was never in love with this line or completely interested. However with some of the new offerings I've seen have won me over.

I've been on a creme shadow kick, so when I was trolling the Sephora site one night I saw that the ck line had a few colors listed as new: glamour pink, tropical green and turquoise blue. I had tried tempting glimmer sheer creme shadows when they first came out and I thought these colors might be a bit sheer so I decided to hold off till I saw it in person. It seems that it takes forever sometimes for items on the Sephora.com site to show up in the actual stores but I was happy to see that they actually had these shadows available for me to stick my grubby fingers into. I was pleasantly surprised by the colors. Glamour pink is a nice pastel shimmery pink, tropical green is a nice medium green with golden shimmer and turquoise blue is more of a smokey denim blue, not the bright blue shown online.

Shadow pots and one of my kitties' fat paws.

L to R: Tropical Green, Glamour pink, Turquoise Blue (w/o flash and with flash)

I was also impressed by the delicious fusion moisturizing lip color. I was afraid that these colors would be pretty sheer but they turned out to be well pigmented. They go on smooth, creamy and they do leave my lips feeling moisturized. I ended up purchasing love vapor and orchid madness, both have good color payoff although love vapor is more opaque than orchid madness. I really like the bright pink of orchid madness and since it goes on kind of sheer, it's a bit easier to wear and control intensity.

L to R: Orchid Madness, Love Vapor

L to R: Love Vapor and Orchid Madness (w/o flash and with flash)

Love Vapor with Smile Dazzlegloss

When I was in the Sephora store, I also noticed there were a few new kits offered: a Splendid Glam mini nail polish kit, the Fashion's New Face Signature Collection and the Fashion's New Face Mesmerized collection. I ended up picking up the mesmerized collection since it I like the colors much more. There is a silver glimmer creme shadow, a mini delicious pout lip gloss in orchid, a mini creme lipstick in mesmerized and a nail polish in indigo blue.

Here are swatches of the colors offered in the mini polish kit and 2 of the newer colors. :

L to R: Hint of Pink, Indigo Blue, Heartbreaker, Aqua Splash (mini set colors)
Cashmere (nude color from Signature collection set)
(New Green), Silver Streak

Indigo blue is in both the mini polish kit and the mesmerized kit. For the dark green color: I've only seen in stores and it's not listed online yet.