Date: Saturday, February 11th, 2012Author:Christine
Bobbi Brown Rose Gold Shimmerbrick
Bobbi Brown Rose Gold Shimmerbrick
Bobbi Brown Rose Gold Shimmerbrick ($39.00 for 0.40 oz.) is supposed to create a “soft, warm pink glow.” Each shade can also be used as an eyeshadow. When blended together, it takes on a warm copper with just a hint of pink/rose. It has a frosted shimmer-sheen and has enough pigmentation to give cheeks a little color (more in the form of warmth) as well as highlight. Laura Mercier Rose Rendezvous is a little darker but similar. MAC Redhead looks nearly identical to me.
The first shade is a soft light-medium pink with a frosted sheen. The second shade is a warm yellow with an iridescent pink sheen. The third shade is a rosy copper with a frosted sheen. The fourth shade is a broze with red undertones and a metallic sheen. The fifth and final shade is a medium coppered rose (it’s more orange than the third shade).
Because all five shades have a high level of frost in their finishes, this is as a very shimmery, high sheen product. If you prefer a softer, subtler, more refined glow (think Guerlain and Chanel), this will likely be too much. If you like products like MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes, Laura Mercier’s Rendezvous, or Estee Lauder’s Illuminating Gelees, you’ll probably like the finish of this. It does ever-so-slightly emphasize pores; I’m sensitive to products that to do this, but it’s minimal enough that you don’t see it unless you’re standing a few inches from the mirror. If you want a subtler shimmer, try using a stippling brush instead of a regular blush or highlighting brush.
I tested out the wear of this Shimmerbrick last week, and it wore for about seven hours before looking slightly faded after eight hours. The texture of the powder is very soft, and it’s not at all gritty–with as much shimmer as there is, it still feels finely-milled and applies incredibly smoothly.
If you love shimmer and sheen, you'll enjoy Bobbi Brown's Shimmerbricks--they're full of shimmer with a really soft, smooth application and texture. Rose Gold has a lot of warmth to it without being orange.
Even though Rouge G still comes out on top as my favorite lipstick (just ever-so-slightly), Rouge Automatique is easily in my top ten (maybe top five even). It’s long-wearing, lightweight, feels comfortable to wear, and the finish is always luminous, which gives lips a healthy, luscious look. The wear is between four to eight hours, but Chant d’Aromes wears just over five for me when I trialed it. The consistency is creamy enough to enable an easy glide across the lips, but it’s not so full of slip that it slides around the lips. For more packaging photos, please see this post.
Rouge Automatique is a top-notch formula, because the creaminess of the texture enables it to glide on, making for an easy application, but it's lightweight and never slippery, so it stays on and wears for hours.
China Glaze & Hunger Games Collection: Colours from the Capitol
China Glaze Colours from the Capitol Collection is slated for March launch. It features twelve shades with each shade being named after a different district. This post features these six: Hook and Line, Luxe and Lush, Mahogany Magic, Riveting, Smoke and Ashes, and Stone Cold. Reader Kim did an excellent job explaining the names-to-district component.
Hook and Line is a warm gray with threads of pale silver. This shade is named after District 4 for fishing. It’s opaque in two coats, but this is a little thick, streaky, and has a ton of brush strokes. The color is a little reminiscent of Zoya Dove but it’s darker and warmer.
Luxe and Lush is a duochrome top coat with various sizes of flakies that reflect gold and pink with a little blue. This shade is named after District 1 for luxury. I applied two coats so you could see it on its own as well as over Smoke and Ashes. I don’t have a dupe for this shade. The closest I could think of were Zoya’s Fleck Effects.
Mahogany Magic is a warm brown with a yellow base. It was opaque in two coats. This shade is named for District 7 for lumber. Illamasqua Taint is a cooler-toned brown. Chanel Khaki Rose is lighter.
Riveting is a vibrant orange with orange-tinted gold shimmer. It was opaque in two coats. This shade is named for District 3 for technology. Zoya Tanzy is a little lighter and has more shimmer/glitter. Nubar Arencia is similar but a touch darker. Milani Metal Gear is darker and the shimmer doesn’t appear as light.
Smoke and Ashes is an inky blue-based black with green and blue shimmer. It was opaque in two coats. This shade is named for District 12 for mining. The base color reminded me of Zoya Cynthia a bit, but it’s blacker. Cult Nails Living Water has a similar look but the shimmer is more dominant and leans bluer.
Stone Cold is a soft black with silver shimmer–and it’s matte. This shade is named for District 2 for masonry. It’s similar to Nubar Midnight and MAC Butterfly. Orly Iron Butterfly should also be a dupe.
The consistency of Hook and Line was the worst; a little thick, not quite goopy but close, which all resulted in a streaky finish. I had better luck with Riveting, Smoke and Ashes, and Stone Cold, which were easy to apply and didn’t have any consistency concerns–they weren’t too thick or too thin and applied evenly without bubbling or pooling along the sides. Luxe and Lush has a thicker consistency, which actually helps the flakies distribute fairly evenly over the nail. Mahogany Magic was on the thicker side, but it wasn’t as problematic as Hook and Line.
THE GLOSSOVER
PRODUCT : 9/10
PIGMENTATION : 10/10
TEXTURE : 9/10
LONGEVITY : 9.5/10
APPLICATION : 4/5
PACKAGING : 4/5
FINAL THOUGHTS
This set of six was better overall compared to the six from part one--only two shades gave me problems, while the other four were easy to work with and had a good formula.
Date: Thursday, February 9th, 2012Author:Christine
Haus of Gloi Perfume Oils for Valentine’s Day
Haus of Gloi has created five scents for Valentine’s Day. Perfume oils are available in small sample vials ($3.00) or a 5ml amber glass bottle ($15.00). The photo above shows several vials of various scents. I’m still working my way through their regular catalog of scents, but I did trial their recent seasonal ones. Their perfume oils last six hours or so on me, with some scents tending to stay longer on the skin.
Come Hither is described as being inspired by herbs and roots used in Hoodoo to attract a mate. It has Bourbon vanilla, tonka bean, rose oil, Queen Elizabeth root, saffron threads, and honey in it. On me, it’s feminine, soft, and rosy–there’s a subtle, sweetened rosiness that is rounded out by an earthy quality. There’s also a hint of herbaceous greens that is most noticeable in the first twenty minutes of wear but fade away shortly after.
Odette is described as “clean sun dried linens, tuberose, ginger lily, and white musk.” It’s a crisp, musky, and floral in the beginning. After a few hours of wear, it transitions into a more sweetened floral. The scent smells fresh and perfect for springtime, but the sweetness does pull it back a bit once it settles against my skin.
Who Needs Love is described as “chocolaty orbs, coated in crystallized coffee – filled with a pomegranate and raspberry filling.” At first, it’s a subtle sweetness mixed with a gentle tartness; there’s the sweet-tart taste of raspberries with the earthy sweetness of chocolate. For a scent with as many food descriptors, it’s not overly foodie. As the scent wears, the raspberry really starts to prevail with the chocolate becoming a backdrop. It was my favorite of the spring scents, which is funny, because I don’t typically like dessert-based scents.
Spring Tonic 1 is described as “Californian lemon, Mexican lime, parsley, and dandelion greens.” There’s a tart bite of citrus initially; there’s the sourness of the lemon, the crispness of the lime, and there’s a grassy element that gives it a green note. It smells like a really fresh, crisp salad. On me, the lemon seems to pull ahead after a couple of hours of wear.
Spring Tonic 2 is described as “fresh cucumber, parsley, and dandelion greens.” Lots of crisp cucumber from the get-go, mixed with the green, peppery scent of parsley. The cucumber wanes a bit, and the scent turns greener, almost grassy.
Date: Wednesday, February 8th, 2012Author:Christine
China Glaze Hunger Games Nail Lacquer
China Glaze & Hunger Games Collection: Colours from the Capitol
China Glaze Colours from the Capitol Collection is slated for March launch. It features twelve shades with each shade being named after a different district. This post features these six: Agro, Dress Me Up, Electrify, Fast Track, Foie Gras, and Harvest Moon. Reader Kim did an excellent job explaining the names-to-district component.
Agro is a rich, dark olive green with subtle yellow undertones and olive gold shimmer and metallic threads. This shade is named after District 11 for agriculture. I used two coats for opaque color, and it had a good consistency. Cult Nails In a Trance is much lighter, more olive green without a blackened edge. China Glaze It’s Alive has similar color components but looks totally different. NARS Mash looks almost the same.
Dress Me Up is a dusty, rose peach with a cream finish. This shade was named after District 8 for textiles. I used two coats for opaque color, but the consistency was a little thick. Zoya Pandora is lighter. Nubar Moire is darker.
Electrify is red and gold glitter suspended in a clear base. This shade was named after District 5 for power. I did two coats by itself, and it’s not quite opaque–with a little patience, I think you could manage to achieve almost opaque color coverage with three coats. I couldn’t think of a dupe for this one.
Fast Track is a grayish beige with pale yellow gold flecks of shimmer. It’s not quite opaque after two coats. This shade was named after District 6 for transportation. China Glaze Knotty is lighter. China Glaze Ingrid seemed really similar when I swatched this initially, but it’s much darker.
Foie Gras is a purple-tinted brown cream. It was opaque after two coats, but it was a little thick. This shade was named after District 10 for livestock. China Glaze Street Chic is browner. Urban Decay Barlust has a similar color but has shimmer.
Harvest Moon is a rich, warm copper with lighter copper shimmer. It was opaque in two coats. This shade was named after District 9 for grain. Zoya Tanzy is much more orange. Nubar Caramello is similar but a little more orange.
The formula was inconsistent, but overall, it fell short of my expectations for China Glaze, which is a brand that usually releases colors with a great formula. The creams had a thicker consistency that almost felt runny. You really need to make sure to wipe off excess before applying to the nail to avoid having a pool of color. Electrify has a thicker consistency, which was expected, because of the clear base, but it distributed the glitter fairly evenly. Agro and Harvest Moon had the best formula from these six, and their drying time felt fast.
THE GLOSSOVER
PRODUCT : 8.5/10
PIGMENTATION : 9/10
TEXTURE : 8.5/10
LONGEVITY : 9.5/10
APPLICATION : 4/5
PACKAGING : 4/5
FINAL THOUGHTS
I wish the formula was more consistent with China Glaze's formula overall, because these felt on the thicker side and took longer to dry than average. Agro and Harvest Moon applied the best out of these six.
Date: Wednesday, February 8th, 2012Author:Christine
Video Review: MAC Vera Collection
First impressions and swatches for the MAC Vera collection that will launch in-stores on the 9th (previously the 16th). Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!
