Kitten Smudge Pot
Stila’s Fall Collection also included the launch of Kitten Smudge Pot, Black Cat Smudge Pot, and Kitten Lip Glaze. I have to tell you that I am absolutely in love with Black Cat. The swatches don’t even do it justice, just because the way the shimmer/glitter catches the light is stunning. These new products will be available September 2009, but you might see them pop up on stilacosmetics.com earlier (perhaps late August).
- Kitten Smudge Pot is a beige-y champagne shade. It’s definitely neutral, and it’s wearable alone or as a neutral base. It’s fairly frosty, though, so if you’re more of a matte finish person, this probably wouldn’t appeal to you. I like it as a one-swipe-and-you’re-done kind of color. It’s also nice on the lower water line.
- Black Cat Smudge Pot is a fairly opaque black-base smudge pot with golden glitter/shimmer laced through the color. It’s really glitzy and reminds me of Hollywood glamour. This is awesome as a liner, but it also makes an awesome base for that totally dark, black smoky eye.
- Kitten Lip Glaze is a sheer gloss with a peachy base and peachy-gold shimmer. It’s pretty, extremely wearable, and has a little stickiness to it. Compared to the Lip Enamel Luxe, it didn’t excite me so much. For those who love sheer, shimmering glosses with a neutral kick, this is definitely up your alley.
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Stila’s Lip Enamel Luxe Gloss ($22.00 each) is new for fall, and they are simply amazing. Six shades of patent-leather, ultra-glossy opaque lipgloss? I’m so there. I’ve only tried three of the six, and they’re all stunning. The gloss is fairly thick, but I didn’t experience any tackiness really–these feel like lip lacquers or liquid lipstick more or less. These glosses will be available September 2009, but you might see them pop up on stilacosmetics.com earlier if you keep your fingers crossed.
- Joy is a deep red-burgundy, but it’s actually subdued a bit. It’s not a scarlet red, but it’s still noticeably red. This one had the best finish, pay off, and overall look from the three I tried. It was thick, luxe, and covered in one coat.
- Giggle is a hot fuchsia pink. There is *no* room for shyness with this one. You wear it and ROCK IT! I don’t know if I’ve ever come across a brighter pink lipgloss in my life. Extremely pigmented, bright as can be, and super glossy.
- Happiness is a softer, more medium pink. This one felt the sheerest of the three I tried, though it was still mostly opaque, giving my lips a good dose of color.
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La Prairie’s Plumage de Nuit Collection is a sophisticated fall launch that contains two eyeshadow quads, three lipsticks, two lipglosses, two blushes, and a face powder. This is my first experience with La Prairie, as their makeup line is not currently carried my Nordstrom.
The two products I tried were Les Doves Cellular Treatment Eye Colour Ensembles ($70.00) and Maribou Glace Cellular Lip Colour Effects ($40.00). La Prairie is a luxe brand, and with that, luxe prices–it is not designed to be affordable for everyone. Every product from skincare to lipstick to eyeshadow contains their “Swiss treatment benefits,” which have a lot to do with anti-aging and skin health.
Les Doves contains four subdued shades of eyeshadow: a soft, silky champagne-gold; lightly shimmered plummy mauve; a dark chocolate brown with subtle gold shimmer; and a muted grayed teal with silver sheen. Each shadow is very, very smooth–like velvet–and goes on just as the color you see in the pan. All four colors are wearable and seem fitting for the fall season. Even though the colors might not seem like a perfect fit at first, I can see at least four color combinations jump out at me. Though I rarely use an eyeshadow palette/quad exclusively, I like having that option, so I like one that makes “sense.” These eyeshadows have particularly good staying power and wear even without a base–they didn’t fade or crease on me when I gave them a test run over six hours.
Maribou Glace is a sheer, shimmering medium pink gloss. The shimmer is lightly multicolored, and the gloss goes on fairly sheer when applied to lips. It has a nice glossy appearance, though it doesn’t have ultra-shine either. The gloss itself is fairly thick and a just a smidgen tacky, which does improve the wear time (six hours without drinking/eating). The gloss itself is beautiful on if you love sheer and shimmering. It definitely gave my lips that dazzling, shimmering water effect!
La Prairie is available at shoplaprairie.com and Nordstrom.com
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Indian Summer Duo Eyeshadow
NARS’ Fall 2009 Collection is a small launch of three eyeshadow duos, one eyeshadow single, one lipstick, and one nail polish. I was not alone in my excitement for this launch, but I’m afraid for me, the launch was incredibly disappointing. I was particularly excited for Indian Summer Eyeshadow Duo, but the promotional image and the actual product are are so drastically different, I wonder if there wasn’t some sort of mix-up. I even double and triple-checked the labels, because I really couldn’t believe the two were one and the same. The best part of the launch was Mekong single eyeshadow, followed by Tokaido Express nail polish. Nothing else was a winner for me, unfortunately.
You can purchase the Fall collection at NARSCosmetics.com!
Duo Eyeshadows ($32.00 each)
- Indian Summer is a duo of whitish-pink champagne with sparkling white-gold shimmer and yellowed brown with soft gold sheen. The champagne shdae has a bit of a frosty look, while the other color has more of a satin-y finish. The yellowed brown reminded me of MAC’s Soft Ochre eyeshadow, which was just one of those colors that did not work with my skin tone.
- Silk Road is a duo of peachy-pink with soft shimmer and a pinked-up brown with a frosty look. Of the three duos, this was theo ne I liked the most. The shadows were smooth, soft, and had decent pigmentation. They are both incredibly wearable, too. The pinked-up brown does have a bit of a glittery texture, but it didn’t give me too much trouble.
- Brumes is a duo of matte charcoal-gray and a satin-y dark blue-gray with green sheen. Both colors went on easily and had lots of color pay-off. The dark-nearly-navy-gray-blue has a bit of a green shimmer/sheen to it, which was nice.
Single Eyeshadow ($22.00)
- Mekong is a warmed-up deep, rich brown with golden shimmer and sheen. It almost looks like a burgundy-brown when swatched and in the light.
Lipstick ($24.00)
- Fast Ride looks like a dark, intimidating vampy red-wine, but it’s nothing like that on lips. It’s a sheer, glossy reddish-berry with minimal shimmer. On lips, it’s still sheer, and it does have a tendency to settle into lip lines, so I do recommend a base of some sort.
Nail Polish ($16.00)
- Tokaido Express is a dark, subdued plummy brown with golde and violet shimmer laced throughout the base color. It looks a lot more purple in the bottle than it does on actual nails, but when the light hits it, you’ll see more of a reddish-burgundy and the violet sparkles are more apparent.
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Indigo Charm Ink Artliner, Declaring Gold Color Fever Gloss, Indigo Charm Eyeshadow Palette
Lancome’s Declaring Indigo Collection is a large collection filled with a variety of products. In my eyes, it’s almost three distinct collections. Each collection features an eyeshadow palette and then colors and products that complement it.
Color Fever Glosses
- Declaring Gold is a sheer glossy base with golden shimmer.
- Raspberry Glimmer is a subdued raspberryish shade with multicolored shimmer.
- Golden Rouge is a warmed up red with golden shimmer.
- Berry Glamour is a deep, sultry burgundy-wine with golden-pink shimmer.
- Rouge Magnificence is a subdued reddish-pink.
Lipcolor
- Rouge Liberty is a poppy red, seems a bit orange toned on me.
- Front Page is a brownish-burgundy with sheen.
- Paris Rouge is a subdued pink-mauve with multicolored shimmer.
- Berry Sensual is a slightly berried-red.
Golden Audacity Eyeshadow Palette contains four shades of color: a soft, wheat-gold, a dark, cool-toned smoky brown, a warmed-up antique gold, and a softer, more golden-toned antique gold. The Nude Elegance Eyeshadow Palette contains a matte, subdued taupe-beige, a lightly yellowed gold, an antique-gold, and a smoky brown.
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Indigo Paris Le Vernis
Lancome’s Declaring Indigo Collection continues to impress with two more items that deserve their own post.
Indigo Paris Le Vernis ($18.00) is just one of those shades of lacquer that instantly captures your attention, and there’s really no denying how stunning the color is. It’s a rich, deep-dark blue with lighter blue and silver shimmer laced throughout the base color. In low-light conditions, it appears like a semi-glossy dark, navy blue. When the light hits it, all of the shimmer sparkles and glimmers. Beyond being gorgeous, it is also incredibly well-suited for the fall season. When I swatched Indigo Paris, I was too excited to bother with a base, and I forgot to take it off–four days and no chipping and only minor tip wear. Without a base! Lancome’s formula is thick, opaque, and easy to use. Two medium-thick coats of polish will give you shimmering, deep water-blue tips in no time flat.
Another standout product amongst the line-up was La Rose Liberte ($40.00), which is an exclusive, limited-edition highlighting bronzer with an embossed rose design. The rose itself begins as white, but it quickly fades upon first swatch. Luckily, it really is ornamental, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the highlighter itself–who likes colors that don’t go all the way through when they’re actually vital to the compact’s color? Not me! Since that’s not the case here, La Rose Liberte is a soft, shimmery shade of gold with bronzy bits. I personally thought it was gorgeous, though since I’m warm-toned, the color suits me extremely well. I don’t think it is so warm as to be impossible to use for cooler skin-tones, but I’d advise checking it out in person if you are particularly cool.
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