The Summer Season: Dolce & Gabbana Violet Lipstick
Dolce & Gabbana Violet (#100) Shine Lipstick ($30.00) is a creamy, magenta purple with a very glossy, squishy look. It’s quite pigmented–nearly opaque–and feels incredible on lips. It’s smooth, applies evenly, and looks practically wet on lips. The lipstick has a noticeable rosy scent which may be too much for some, but luckily, I don’t mind heavier scented lipsticks, and I find that it’s not noticeable (to me, at least) when I wear it–it’s more of a scent you can smell when you smell the tube.
I have to admit I was surprised about this shade, because even though I had high hopes for a shade called “Violet,” I didn’t think I’d find a color that’s really not represented by many of the ultra high-end brands.
Is this the right purple lipstick for you? Would you wear it?
The Summer Season is a series of posts featuring bright, vibrant shades of coral, orange, and pink lipsticks and lipglosses — all perfect for a summer of fun — that runs through July 2010.
Dolce & Gabbana Blue Intense Eyeliner ($29.00) is a midnight navy blue with subtle sheen. It has a rather rich look and an incredibly smooth finish. The pencil itself is firm enough to get very distinct, precise lines without fear of breaking the tip. The color applies smoothly and evenly without tugging the lash line or requiring lots of back-and-forth to get the pigmentation you want.
It is definitely a luxury eyeliner, though, and the price reflects that, so I know this won’t be something everyone will want to indulge in. Nevertheless, it’s a quality eyeliner that applies beautifully without budging, smudging, or fading throughout the day. It lasted impeccably through a forty-five minute yoga session (and for me, I’m so out of shape, that one session might as well be eight hours of sweating!), so it’s definitely an eye-worthy liner (oh, the cheese!).
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
Product: 28/30
Value: 8/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you love ultra soft liners like Urban Decay’s 24/7 Eyeliners, these will definitely be too hard in comparison. If, on the other hand, you love the firmness of MAC’s Eye Kohls, this one will be just right.
Dolce & Gabbana Pink Lipstick($30) is a pretty-in-strawberry-pink with a soft, frosted sheen. It’s not an ultra cool pink, though it does have cooler undertones. It is a semi-sheer lipstick that delivers some color but doesn’t totally block out the natural lip color. It wears well–about three to four hours–and feels incredibly smooth and creamy on lips without ever drying them out. Dolce & Gabbana lipsticks do have a particularly stronger rose scent, so those who prefer unscented lipsticks should probabyl pass on this one.
Is this the right pink lipstick for you? Would you wear it?
The Summer Season is a series of posts featuring bright, vibrant shades of coral, orange, and pink lipsticks and lipglosses — all perfect for a summer of fun — that runs through July 2010.
To finish off our Dolce & Gabbana summer preview of the Midnight Bloom Collection, today we’ll look at two new shades of Shine Lipstick (Delicate and Emotion) and one new shade of Lipgloss (Delicious). Shine Lipsticks retail for $30, while Lipglosses retail for $29. Dolce & Gabbana (the makeup!) is only available at Saks.
Shine Lipstick ($30.00)
Emotion (53) is a pinked mauve with a champagne-pink-gold shimmer. It’s like a champagne bronze kissed with fairytale plum. It really does deserve such a whimsical description. These two shades of Shine Lipsticks are particularly lovely–it’s almost like a duochrome eyeshadow, but you know, *lipstick*!
Delicate (56) is a softened coral-peach color base with golden peach and gold shimmer and a champagne sheen. Like Delicate, it has that mix of sheen, frost, shimmer, and color. I’d say this wasn’t quite as opaque as Delicate, but it is still a medium coverage lipstick.
I triedGold Shine Lipstick last December, and even though the color was totally fun and funky (and definitely not similar to anything I already owned, which is kind of a big deal for me!), it didn’t sell me on the Shine formula like these do. Gold showed me lots of shimmer–borderline glitter–but these are softer, smoother. They wear well (four to six hours on me) without drying out lips. Both shades applied evenly and gave nearly opaque color (you can always tell by my lip “freckle”), even though “shine” makes me think sheerer coverage.
If you’re sensitive to scent, you may not like the rosy scent that accompanies Dolce & Gabbana’s lipsticks, though. Packaging is in line with the rest of Dolce & Gabbana: gold metal that looks and feels luxe (nice weight to the lipsticks) but still holds fingerprints. (Seriously, isn’t it about time sometime invented fingerprint-proof metal for cosmetics?)
Lipgloss ($29.00)
Delicious (73) is a medium coral-orange cream finish gloss. It is nearly opaque (again, my lip “freckle” is nearly hidden). Dolce & Gabbana described the shade as “candy pink,” but I really don’t think it fits. I just don’t see any pink whatsoever in this. I even have a slightly naturally rosy pucker, so you’d think it would emphasize the pink, but this reads coral on my lips. Not that that’s an issue, though, because it’s a very fun, summer-appropriate shade. It’s creamy enough to give you that no-shimmer, high-gloss look and doesn’t settle into lip lines much (less noticeable from a normal viewing distance than upclose!).
Dolce & Gabbana’s Lipgloss is slightly tacky, though I wouldn’t describe it as sticky–just not non-sticky entirely. I typically get about three hours of wear with the gloss alone, which is about average to a little above average for a gloss on me. Like the Shine Lipsticks, it is rose-scented, so sensitive-sniffers beware! Packaging is a clear base with a “gold” metal cap, and of course, pricing is that of a high-end, more luxe brand (think Chanel, Guerlain, etc.).
Dolce & Gabbana is always an indulgence, but in the past few months, I’ve found more products to love than ones that disappoint. I remember being a little wary in the beginning, but their products have really worked well for me so far!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
Product: 28/30
Value: 8/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of shimmer and sheen in your lipstick and don’t mind paying for it, the two new shades of Shine Lipstick are beautiful. Delicate will work beautifully on both cool and warm skin tones, while Emotion will work better on warmer skin tones but is still wearable for those with cooler skin tones (but you may want to pair it with cooler eyes!). Delicious Lipgloss is fun but it’s a warmer coral, so it is better suited for warmer skin tones and would look nice over Emotion.
Dolce & Gabbana — Summer Preview — Laguna Eyeshadow Duo
Laguna Eyeshadow Duo ($36.00 for 0.17 oz.) is new for Dolce & Gabbana’s summer collection (due out in May), and I’m excited to show you a sneak preview of this perfect-for-summer duo! It includes a softly teal-shimmered muted sky blue and a rich, blackened forest green with gold and green shimmer.
At first, I thought that the bluish side was like Benefit’s Mermaid Eyeshadow, but it’s not. It’s more like a blue version, if anything, but after looking at both, they’re definitely not similar. The forest green shade originally reminded me ofNARS Night Porter, but the finish is softer and smoother and it’s a shimmer/sheen rather than a glitter finish.
The texture of Dolce & Gabbana eyeshadows is amazing. It’s soft, smooth, and buttery. I love that Dolce & Gabbana puts out colors amongst more muted shades, too, because I think it gives them more variety. But even better is that their colors actually show-up true-to-pan!
Surprisingly, Dolce & Gabbana is cheaper by the ounce than NARS Eyeshadow Duos–$211/oz. vs. $228/oz. (and not so surprisingly, cheaper than NARS, Make Up For Ever, and MAC singles), but you do get the luxe, “gold” metal casing for your buck, too (but it does hold fingerprints as is typical with metal packaging). I’m actually surprised that these are priced so similarly to NARS Eyeshadow Duos, because the Dolce & Gabbana line-up is more comparable to Chanel and Dior in terms of pricing, typically.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
Product: 29/30
Value: 8/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you love really smooth eyeshadows that go on like butter, Dolce & Gabbana Eyeshadow Duos hit the mark. If you’ve been hunting for a blue that’s not too bright or overwhelming, you may find this duo works well. I think this duo in particularly is suitable for both cool and warm skin tones, too!
Dolce & Gabbana: The Midnight Bloom Collection for Summer 2010
Presenting the incomparable collection of colour cosmetics developed by the sartorial talents of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. Each season, luminous colour direct from the runway is transformed with a discerning eye to produce a transcendent palette. The brilliant design duo create a dynamic portrait of the present and path to the future drawn from hints of the past. The Make Up defies the conventional and celebrates the power of today’s femininity… the look is bold and unexpected, yet softly sensual and seductive.
Introducing the Midnight Bloom Collection for Summer 2010: profound glamour, languid sophistication and cunning romance. A celebration of Dolce & Gabbana’s singular sensibility inspired as always by their cherished Sicily: its glorious past and the dramatic duality of its intriguing present. With Midnight Bloom, Dolce & Gabbana honor their vibrant heritage with signature brilliance and sultry sensuality. The collection is expressly created for the Dolce & Gabbana woman who flaunts her femininity; who trusts in serendipity; who relishes a luxury that’s effortless; who emboldens reality with a touch of fantasy… and celebrates who she is, inside and out.
Eyeshadow Quad ($59.00)
Fabulous (155) (New) includes a spring green, pink lilac, bluish-gray, eggplant
Eyeshadow Duo ($36.00)
Laguna (150) (New) includes an aqua-green, deep green
Crayon Intense (Eyeliner) ($29.00)
Blue (8) (New) Rich blue
Shine Lipstick ($30.00)
Delicate (53) (New) Pink-nude
Emotion (56) (New) Pink
Classic Cream Lipstick ($30.00)
Nude (50)
Lipgloss ($29.00)
Delicious (73) (New) Candy pink
Precision Lipliner ($29.00)
Nude (1)
Luminous Cheek Colour
Tan (22) (New) is a satin brown
Intense Nail Lacquer ($20.00)
Shocking (122) (New) Fuchsia
Nude (210) Nude
Availability: May 2010 at select Saks Fifth Avenue stores and saks.com.
