Tom Ford Nude Dip Eye Colour Quad Fall 2014

There has been so much hoopla over the Tom Ford Fall release, it was easy to get caught up with the "must have Fall collection" combined with a need for a rush purchase for fear of it being sold out everywhere.
When the collection was released early on Harvey Nichols I did what any good lemming would and quickly placed my order (I also bought one of the cheek duos).


Nude Dip (£63) contains a golden champagne, rose copper/gold, medium taupe and a dark brown.




The shades are soft, extremely smooth and apply seamlessly. All shades have high pigment and a good wear time.

There is no doubt that these are pretty colours with a very high quality texture and ease of application, however I'm not entirely happy with this. The sticking point for me is the actual finish of the two lighter shades. Whilst the darker shade is a satin and the taupe is shimmery (though quite shiny), the two lighter shades are very high shine, almost metallic. I personally find frosty shades difficult to carry off and there is too much of this going on with Nude Dip. I feel the palette would have been better grounded with the inclusion of just one high shine shade.

Don't get me wrong as there is a lot to like about this palette but I have to apply the lighter shades with an extremely light touch.
I don't regret this purchase as I know how I need to apply/wear it to make it work for me, but I think if you share my aversion to high shine/frosty shades this might not be the must have its been cited as.

I bought this from http://www.harveynichols.co.uk

Chanel Fall 2014 Collection États Poétiques: Poésie, Confident & Innocence

Initially a US release, I was very pleased to see Les 4 Ombres #234 Poésie (£40) included in the Fall États Poétiques collection. I'm a big fan of the new formula of the palettes, Poésie has the same soft, buttery texture, good colour pay off and ease of blending.


With mostly shimmery finishes, It contains a coppery brown, cream, medium/deep brown with a slight hint of burgundy and pale silvery pink with a mauve tone.

Its a great palette to give a soft, shimmery everyday look.


I am loving the Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipshine in shade #94 Confident (£25).


Its a medium rose (slight brown tone) with a shine finish that you can just about throw on with any other makeup. The formula is lightweight, comfortable and hydrating.


By contrast I am disappointed with the Joues Contraste Powder Blush shade #160 Innocence (£31).


Though smooth in feel it has a dry texture and is a bit powdery. It has a semi matte finish (though there are a few sparkles) and the colour is a medium warm rose, which unfortunately applies very ruddy on my pale skin (though pigment and wear time is really good).

My main disappointment with this product is due to its application, as I find this extremely difficult to blend resulting in a very patchy effect.

I fully recommend the palette and lipstick but not the blush, I've had many Joues Contraste's in the past and though I've never found application flawless (perhaps due to my dry skin) I've not had one apply as troublesome as Innocence.

I bought these from Boots

Dior Fall 2014: New 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette Versailles & Rouge Dior in Bar

For this Fall Dior has reinvented the 5 Couleurs palette, the packaging is now more sleek and the reformulated shadows come in matte, satiny, iridescent and ultra-shimmery finishes. I bought #566 Versailles (£42) as it looked like a nice wash of sheer shades and a liner combination. I only quickly swatched some shades of the palettes before settling on Versailles (I had a SA right by my side watching my every movement so felt uncomfortable swatching as thoroughly as I normally would) so it was only when I tried it at home that it became apparent how ultra shimmery/frosty the majority of shades were.  It contains a shimmery/frosty pinky peach, shimmery/frosty golden cream, satin finish cool brown, metallic/sparkle silver and in the centre a metallic/sparkle gold.
In terms of feel and performance the only finishes that I noticed a difference from the old style quints were the gold and silver. Dior's sparkle shades in the past have been rather lacking in pigment and prone to flaking in chunks but these are much smoother and have extremely high pigment that almost gives a wet look.
I do like this palette but have to apply all but the brown extremely lightly so that it doesn't end up too frosty.


I initially reached for a pretty pink Rouge Dior called Rose Tutu, but opted for the more novel #317 Bar (£26).

Unlike the reviews I have read I get absolutely no pink in this shade, for me it applies as a sheer grey beige, only with a lot more shimmer/frost than appears in the tube or from swatching. This really doesn't suit me and I think would work best if you have pigmented lips to allow the natural lip colour to mix in.

The formula feel creamy and smooth, though this shade does highlight dryness and lip lines. I'm annoyed with myself for buying this as I should have trusted my gut rather than being swayed by reviews I had read thus far.


I am going to go back for the Rouge Dior Rose Tutu and will take a look at the more matte shadow palette options but I'd say I'm more impressed with the texture and colour options of Chanel's reformulated palette release than I am with Dior.

I bought these from Boots

Hits and Misses from Burberry, NUDESTIX, Paul & Joe and Kevyn Aucoin

I've had a few disappointing acquisitions lately, as much fun as it is to share the must buys I also think its worth showing the products which don't quite hit the mark.

First up its the Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow Duo in shade #2 Pravella/Janelle (£19). It contains a cool pink and dusty peach. The pigment is quite flexible, you can apply as a bold colour or sheered out.
Swatched below and then on the right both shades combined,

Blended out swatches,

Its packaged the same as the eyeshadow duos so its very streamlined, though I have seen reviews whereby the product was felt to be on the small size.

It applies a bit patchy with a faint bit of tackiness to the touch. My gripe with this is the lastability, as it wears off in patches. I fully understand that if you touch your skin whilst wearing cream products then it will transfer off, but this does it when no contact is made, its very odd but without fail every time I wear this I end up with a very visible patch where its completely disappeared.

 

Next we have the NUDESTIX Lip & Cheek Pencil in shade Love (£24). I didn't pay attention to the brand when it came out as it seemed aimed at the younger, flawless crowd, however Spacenk had a gift with purchase promotion a while back, so I thought I'd give it a go.

 

I like the colour which is a subtle warm pink.

 

What I don't like is that on the lips it shows up any dryness and on the cheek wear time is poor and it feels unpleasantly tacky.

 

 

Next its Burberry Sheer Luminous Concealer in shade #03, Rosy Beige (£26). I've had this before in shade #01 Light Beige and really liked the finish but it wasn't quite enough coverage for my dark circles. I stumbled across a video with Burberry's makeup artist and she said they used shade #03 on every skintone to cancel out circles due to its peachy tone.

Swatched below on the left with Bobbi Brown corrector in light peach on the right, you can see how much more yellow the base is in the BB.

 

Whilst this has a non drying creamy texture and a skin like finish, the actual colour is too peach and too dark and doesn't so much conceal darkness but add a new colour to the mix. This is not so much a miss as I think its a good product, just not for my skintone. 

 

 

To end on a good note we have the Paul & Joe trio in #05 Cherry Blossom (£23 for the trio and £7 for the case).

 

It contains a multi coloured sparkle pink, shimmery golden brown and a satin finish plummy brown.

 

Pigment is excellent and the shades are soft, creamy and apply/blend really well, and there is of course the cute limited edition packaging.

 

 

I bought the Kevyn Aucoin from uk.spacenk.com (NUDESTIX was a gift with purchase) the Paul & Joe from Harrods and the Burberry from johnlewis.com

Guerlain new KissKiss lipstick review

Guerlain has recently revamped the KissKiss lipstick. They are now packaged in sleek shiny black with gold accents.

The collection consists of 25 shades, some with visible shimmer others not. There were some beautiful deep shades that I was tempted by but in the end I went for the more everyday shades.

Priced at £26 each, #368 Baby Rose is one of the shimmer shades. Its a cool toned pink with gold micro glitter.

It has a nice shimmery finish though unfortunately I found the glitter particles a bit gritty in feel and the colour did not apply as evenly as I would have hoped.

#303 Beige Booster is, despite its name, a natural rosy shade.

It has a sheen finish and an extremely smooth texture and applies evenly.

The KissKiss formula is enriched with mango butter which gives it a nice creamy texture, both lipsticks feel hydrating and have an average wear time.
Swatched below:Baby Rose, Beige Booster

Ingredients below (the lipsticks are scented):

I really like the formula of Beige Booster and will likely buy more of the KissKiss range, but based on my experience of Baby Rose I will avoid any more of the shimmer shades.

I bought these from John Lewis.