Chanel Topkapi Face of The Day

Sin Wei played model today to help me showcase Chanel Topkapi which I reviewed here. 

Breakdown:

Chanel Topkapi on eyes (taupe all over, bronze on the crease, mustard gold for inner eye highlight and inner lower lashline, dark brown for upper lashline and outer lower lashline)

Shu Uemura P Red 19D on cheeks

Chanel Rouge Coco Baume and Chanel Rouge Coco Mademoiselle on lips

Bobbi Brown Rose Gold Shimmer Brick for highlight on upper cheekbones and temples.

Sin Wei is a little bit lighter than I am so she used her own foundation, which was MAC Studio Fix Foundation in NC40 (I think this is a tad too dark for her! I blame the MAC Sales Assistant entirely...).

I saw Sin Wei wince when I pulled out the Shu blush but I think (fingers crossed) I avoided the dreaded clown cheeks for this shoot :)

We then went to the park to take more photos! Hope you enjoyed this post, and more importantly, I hope I have convinced those of you who weren't so sure about this palette. Its lovely, I promise!

Cindy

ETA (05/04/2012): I made a booboo and incorrectly identified the Shu Uemura Blush. I have corrected it now to P Red 19D.

Le Metier de Beaute - City Girl - Review and Swatches

I love City Girl. I don't love all released kaleidoscopes but I feel that this kaleidoscope was custom made for me. All of the individual shades are great as a single wash of colour and the layered effect is light, subtle and work appropriate.

The first two tiers in City Girl consist of a light champagne pink and a near matte cornflower blue. The pink is identical to the first tier of Antiquite Poupee. I am quite happy to have a second pan as this is one of my favourite shades ever from LMdB. Its a really nice lid colour on me :D

The last two tiers of this kaleidoscope consists of a sparkling lavender and an olive/taupe/grey shade. If you remember my post on Splendid Frost, the last tier is identical to Crystal Ball which is another eyeshadow favourite of mine from LMdB.

Here are swatches of the individual colours and the layered result. If these are your kind of colours, I suggest you track this palette down somehow. The quality is the best I have seen in the market, the shadows are so wonderfully pigmented and finely milled. A dream to apply.

Cindy

Chanel Topkapi - Review and Swatches

I purchased this palette many months ago when it came out, but I haven't had the guts to swatch it. Well, ladies, tonight I finally did it. This is THE palette that any makeup loving lunatic like me should own. Its very pigmented and soft, but not so soft that it creates a sandstorm everytime you put brush to pan.

Verdict: LOVE.... I want to have a backup and a backup of my backup of the Topkapi palette. I have worn this palette once and it was utter and absolute love. It is elegant and the yellow shade is an interesting twist on an otherwise conventional neutral palette.

Cindy

Giorgio Armani Haul - Swatches

So... after a long draught of no posts, I am finally back in full force!! I bought two new eyes to kill intense eyeshadows (#7 Sweet Fire and #3 Purpura) as well as three Rouge d'Armani glosses (# 103 beige, #504 pink and #600 plum).

I think the quality of the eyes to kill intense eyeshadows are amazing. Purpura is slightly sheerer than the other colours from this collection, but on the other hand it is perhaps the most beautifully complex purple I have ever laid my eyes on.

I don't have much experience with the Rouge d'Armani glosses but my initial thoughts on these are that they give a beautiful sheen and it is on the thicker/stickier side so it gives a plumping effect on your lips. The beige is the stickiest of them all. There is no discernable scent on these glosses at all.

The plum is a beautiful gloss, perhaps my favourite out of the three (top swatch). It is elegant and interesting and extremely wearable. It has beautiful multi-coloured shimmer too. The pink gloss is not really pink, it is really a translucent gloss with the shimmer shot through for a beautiful sheen. I had to swatch it heavily for the photo and even then, only the tiniest hint of pink is visible. The beige is a shimmery peach gloss that is more pigmented than the other two glosses. I wonder if the level pigmentation has anything to do with the stickiness??

I included an extra close up shot of the two ETKI shades. I think I will get plenty of use from both these shades :D Purpura reminds me of Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Illusiore so if you already have that, you may not need Purpura. For an ETKI addict like me though, this shade is a must have.

Cindy

Suqqu Blend Color Eyeshadow - 08 Mizuaoi - Review and Swatches

I purchased Suqqu Mizuaoi after hearing raves about in on various blogs. I tested it twice before writing this review, and I must apologize for not snapping photos of it when it was brand new.

Mizuaoi contains four super smooth and silky eyeshadows - a shimmering baby blue, a shimmering peach leaning pink , a matte grape, a matte ivory.

I love both matte shadows, they are among the smoothest and most pigmented mattes I have ever come across. The shimmery shades however, are a different matter. They swatch really nicely, but don't apply so well on the lids. I find them to have sheer to medium pigmentation and has a bit of fallout. I have swatches for you below.

This is a very expensive palette. At approximately USD $100 per palette, I was expecting to be wowed. My advice: Save your money for something better. I think the quality is there, but the colours are easily duped. The pink and blue shades are similar to Chanel's Sparkling Satins, and the grape is similar to the last shade in LMdB's Le Cirque.

Cindy

FOTD Post - Daytime Soft Smokey Eyes

Makeup Used:

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B40

Becca Balearic Love Palette - Marcella 

Bobbi Brown brightening concealer

Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara
Chanel Tweed Rose Blush (not pictured)

Le Metier de Beaute Empress (small amounts of the second and fourth tier for lilac/pink lips)

Cindy <3

Becca Balearic Love Smokey Eye Set - Romanticism Eye Tint and Cabrera Line + Define Pencil Review and Swatches

My last post of the night. Becca Romanticism Eye Tint and Cabrera Line + Define Pencil.

The Romanticism Eye Tint is the epitome of pretty. It looks so beautiful and natural as a sheer wash of eyeshadow all over the lid. What I love about it is the texture. Its so smooth and blendable, and very very creamy. I hate cream eyeshadows that are so dry (MUFE, I am looking at you!) that it tugs the delicate skin around your eyes. I have really oily lids so I don't intend on wearing this alone. Do any of you have experience with Becca Eye Tints? Please let me know in the comments section.

Romanticism is a beautiful mixture of grey and rosey nude (?).... I know I'm not really having much luck in the colour description here but I'd hate to be one of those people who calls any complex neutral a "taupe".

Cabrera Line + Define Pencil is shown below. There is a metallic brown side and a metallic dark violet shade. Both are excellent alternatives to black or dark brown eyeliner.

I tried to recreate the look that the model is wearing in the picture. Here is how I did my "eye" look:

• Smudge violet end of the liner all over your eyelid
• Use Marcella all over the lid and on the crease. Pat, don't brush. The eye pencil is very creamy and it moves around at the touch of your brush.
• Darken the outer v of your eyelid with Romal (see my arm swatch). For a more intense look (ala promo photo), take Romal further into the inner eyelid.
• To complete this eye look, smudge some of the violet eyeliner again on your upper and lower lashlines. Use Marcella to add depth, and also to make sure the eyeliner doesn't budge. Coat your lashes with your favourite mascara (mine is Lancome Hypnose!) and you're good to go.

 

Verdict: Have I said how much I love Marcella?? The violet liner is heaven-sent, it works so beautifully with the Balearic Love palette. I wore this look today and no smudging. Two thumbs up!!

Becca Balearic Love Palette - Review and Swatches

Let me just start off this review by saying that I had very low expectations of this palette. The reasons being:
1. Other bloggers had flogged it,
2. I don't own a single Becca eyeshadow.

Becca Balearic Love had the most gorgeous GORGEOUS promo photo. I have included it below just so you can see why I was drawn to this collection. Its dark, sultry, and sexy. A smokey eye with a twist.

The Balearic Love palette consists of three eyeshadows -Atlas (matte beige brown), Romal (muted dark brown, also matte), and Marcella (deep blackened violet with gold shimmer).

L-R: Atlas, Romal, Marcella

 

Verdict: Love. This palette is all about Marcella. You can achieve the look from the promo picture easily by building up the colour over a good makeup base. My trusty Shu Uemura Cream Eyeshadow in P Beige works just as well as the Romanticism Eye Tint or the violet end of Cabrera Line + Define Pencil in this collection (reviews to come). For a more conservative look, you can use Atlas as an all over eye shade, Marcella on the outer corner, and Romal to line.

Becca's 10th Anniversary Palette in Dusty Rose - Review and Swatches

Next up is the other Anniversary Palette in this collection, Dusty Rose. I just knew that this would wow me. WOW.

Dusty Rose houses four of Becca's cream products. From the top right corner going anti-clockwise, we have:

• Lip Gloss in Cassini - very sheer nude pink
• Creme Blush in Turkish Rose - muted nude rose
• Lip & Cheek Creme in Tuberose -fresh medium pink with a hint of peach
• Creme Highlighter in Narcissus - a highly pigmented light gold

L-R: Cassini, Turkish Rose, Tuberose, Narcissus, Cassini layered on top of Tuberose

Verdict: This palette is a winner for me. I can see myself using all four shades to create a complete daytime look that is fresh, flawless and never overdone. I highly recommend using Turkish Rose all over your cheeks for a natural "base" cheek colour. Layer Tuberose on the apples of your cheeks. Use Tuberose again on the lips, followed by Cassini. Lightly dab Narcissus on top of your cheekbones to highlight. DONE! :)

Cindy

Becca's 10th Anniversary Palette in Vintage Jewel - Review and Swatches

Zuneta had a fabulous 20% off code in February and I took my chance to purchase some newly released Becca products that cost a bomb in Australia. I just don't get it. Becca is an Australian brand, so why should it cost twice as much to buy these products locally?

Anyway, I will be doing a Becca review-athon in the next few hours so you can see what I purchased and just how totally gorgeous and droolworthy these products are.

Vintage Jewel houses four of Becca's cream products. From the top right corner going anti-clockwise, we have:

• Lip Gloss in Cosmopolitan - very sheer deepened berry shade
• Creme Blush in Hyacinth - medium neutral (?) pink ... LOVE this!!
• Lip & Cheek Creme in Snapdragon - peachy coral
• Creme Highlighter in Beechnut - a highly pigmented olive leaning gold

 

L-R: Cosmopolitan, Hyacinth, Snapdragon, Beechnut, Cosmopolitan layered on top of Snapdragon

Close up of Beechnut

Beechnut sheered out

This is definitely a palette for darker skinned gals. That highlighter will not work on anyone who falls in the fair to medium skin range. It can be sheered out to a lovely glowly sheen and it is worth mentioning that Becca's cream blushes/highlighters are really great, second only to Illamasqua's blushes. They are so easy to blend, and nicely pigmented.

Verdict: Vibrant, nicely pigmented (except for the gloss), and easy to use. Highly recommended for darker skin, and will be great in summer.

Cindy

Meet Ellis Red

Ellis Faas L201

Enough said.

Here is a more colour accurate lip swatch...

Cindy <3