Chanel Rouge Cocos: Chintz, Rose Dentelle, Chalys
Rouge Coco is Sweet on Summer, Still
With Chanel’s fall collection, we’ll see an introduction of three new and permanent additions to the Rouge Coco ($30.00) line-up: Chintz (peach rose), Rose Dentelle (rose pink), and Chalys (luminous coral). These three shades pair well with the darker, smokier Enigma eyeshadow quad, but they’re also ridiculously perfect for summer. Considering these launch in July (officially! word on the counter is it’s already popping up at some locations), that’s a very, very good thing.
- Chintz is a peach nude with a subtle hint of rose. It has a barely there shimmer-frost finish with semi-opaque color. I can see this being a great shade to pair with dark smoky eyes or a stronger cheek.
- Rose Dentelle is a soft neutral rose with a part glossy, part frosty finish. It has light shimmer of iridescent lilac and pink that flash when the light hits your lips just right. Like Chintz, it gives nearly opaque coverage but not quite. Chintz and Rose Dentelle look very, very similar when swatched on skin, but they look more distinct on lips.
- Chalys is a darkened coral with a stronger orange tone. It has the same half-glossy, half-shimmery finish that most Rouge Cocos have. I found Chalys to be more opaque than the other two, which was nice.
Admittedly, I am a huge fan of summery shades–I’m always drawn to them. These shades feel very summer to me, though they’ll certainly pair well with fall’s more dramatic eyes and cheeks and be a nice reprieve from the darker, vampier lip trend we always see pop up in the season.
I like the Rouge Coco formula a lot–it feels incredibly lightweight on lips without being drying. They’re not the most moisturizing lipsticks, but they’ve never deprived my lips of their natural moisture, either. Each shade applied smoothly, evenly, and didn’t require a lot of product to get a good amount of color coverage. I also find these shades to be practical and wearable, but they’re not boring either.
Which of the new Rouge Cocos is your favorite?
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- Product: 29/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: For a lightweight lipstick that still packs a good punch of color, Rouge Coco makes a good choice. If you’re jonesing for new-for-fall products but still want summer wearability, these shades are right on the money. You could probably opt for Chintz or Rose Dentelle rather than both, but if you’re a fan of lighter lip shades, you may find it hard to resist getting both!
AVAILABILITY: July 2010
Chanel Vert Khaki Eyeshadow
Crazy for Khaki!
There are two single eyeshadows included with the Chanel Les Contrastes de Chanel Collection: Vert Khaki (khaki) and Taupe Grise (chocolate grey). Each retails for $28.50 and contains 0.07 oz. of product. I originally planned to review them together, but I adore Vert Khaki too much–it deserves its own post!
Confession time: I ADORE OLIVE GREENS. (Is it a confession if everybody already knows? Guess not!) No, but seriously, I totally have a thing for antique-y earth tones. I’m so smitten over Vert Khaki as soon as I gazed down upon it… and then fell head-over-heels in love with it after swatching it. It’s this beautiful concoction of darkened olive green with a metallic gold sheen and flashes of gold and emerald green shimmer. Divine! LOVE!
It has the same silky, soft texture of Chanel eyeshadow, and it’s richly pigmented and a little goes a long way. It’s shimmering without being frosty, and it blends out beautifully with other shadows. Not the most affordable eyeshadow on the market, but at least they don’t skimp on quantity–a little more than average.
I’m excited to try this over a gold base, just to bring out the golden tones in it!
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’re a fan of smoky eyes, Chanel has you covered with the Enigma eyeshadow quad. It’s very dark and seductive, but it seems a little limited in its combinations.
Availability: July 2010
NARS Lip Glosses: Albatross, Luxor, Super Orgasm, Luster, Angelika, Oasis
NARS Sephora Exclusive Lip Glosses
…coming to a Sephora near you! These officially launch on July 29th, and they are exclusive to Sephora and limited edition. Each shade is designed and created after several of NARS’ best-selling blush shades that go by the same name. I showed you swatches and photos a week or so ago, but now I’m pleased to be able to give you lip swatches, too!
NARS Lip Glosses have a thinner texture, and they feel lightweight and don’t dry out lips. They’re not ultra hydrating, but they impart some moisture into lips while you wear ‘em. I find them a little tacky but not sticky, but it definitely depends on how much you apply. They’re scent- and taste-free, and you get a good amount for your $24 (0.28 oz.). Colors are on the sheerer side, like most lip glosses, but they all gave lips a different look than au natural, which is fantastic.
- Albatross is a semi-sheer champagne beige base with brighter champagne gold shimmer with a glossy sheen.
- Luxor is a sheer milky pink base with brighter pink shimmer and a glossy sheen. It’s very similar to Albatross, just pink-toned. Luxor has a bit of an iridescent flash to it, which makes it a step up from your ordinary lip gloss. (This shade is a Nordstrom exclusive!)
- Super Orgasm is a light pink with golden sparkle. It has a slight milky, jelly kind ofl ook, but it gives some color, though it’s hot opaque.
- Luster is a brownish beige with orange-gold shimmer. It’s semi-sheer, and it’s one of the shades that didn’t seem to apply as evenly as I’d have liked. From a normal viewing distance, you couldn’t really tell, though.
- Angelika is a bright pop of blue-based pink with a slight lilac edge. Despite the strong cool undertones, it’s definitely wearable on warmer skin tones.
- Oasis is a mauvey pink with golden shimmer and a glossy look. This one was definitely my favorite, because it gave me some color but looked really lovely all on its own. More jelly, less milky, but still plenty glossy.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of NARS’ Lip Glosses (or even Blushes) and see a shade that suits you, they’re definitely worth a look-see once they launch.
Availability: July 29th at Sephora
Cle de Peau Just Joey (T2) Extra Rich Lipstick
Decadence in Nude
Last week, I shared Red Abundance (R2), one of eight shades of Cle de Peau Extra Rich Lipsticks ($60.00 for 0.14 oz.). This week, I’m sharing Just Joey (T2), which is a browned-tan nude with a little peachiness to it. It is completely opaque in just one stroke, and it delivers a beautiful soft glossed finish without shimmer. This would be a beautiful, upgraded nude on both cool and warm skin tones, but particularly so on warmer skin tones.
The Extra Rich line-up includes a total of eight shades: R1 Black Bacara, R2 Red Abundance, R3 Leonardis, R4 Danse du Feu, T1 Halloween, T2 Just Joey, T3 Baby Julia, and T4 Calliope.
The Extra Rich Lipstick formula is opaque, smooth, and easy to wear. I get between three and five hours of wear, even with more nude shades like Just Joey. It clings and hugs lips without being drying (but actually hydrating), but it is still a lovely textured lipstick. It’s just not this thick or overly creamy lipstick that slips around lips, but it doesn’t feel tight or heavy either. I’ve also found that it de-emphasizes the lip lines with the effect really settling in after about fifteen minutes of wear.
Price aside, is this a nude you’d wear?
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- Product: 30/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 5/5
Recommendation: It’s a fabulously lightweight lipstick with excellent color pay off that delivers exceptional wear with a luxury-level price tag.
Availability: Saks Fifth Avenue
Nail Lacquers: Twinkle, Crystal Eyes, Illume, Color Trip, Imaginarium, Looking Glass
SpaRitual Nail Lacquer in Summer Hues, Part 2
I have six more fun-for-summer shades to share with you from SpaRitual, and all six shades are from their summer collection titled Kaleidoscope. Just like the previous six I reviewed, the formula is excellent. It’s consistent across twelve different shades with varying finishes. It’s thick without being goopy, thin without being runny–in other words, just right! Pigmentation is amazing with most shades requiring two coats for opaque color.
- Twinkle is a blue-shimmered deep navy blue. This is a stunning shade when worn–looks like shimmering deep ocean blue water in the sunlight. Nearly opaque in one coat, but swatched with two.
- Crystal Eyes is a muted indigo blue cream. Just two coats for full color coverage. It’s a nice way to wear blue without being over-the-top.
- Illume is a rich purple cream with red undertones. Two coats in the swatch. It’s difficult to photograph — it behaves and looks much like it does in real life in the natural lightphotos, but the flash makes it glow much more than it actually does.
- Color Trip is a magenta cream. It applies evenly and smoothly, and I think three coats would be just enough — I applied two and there is just a faint appearance of my nail line.
- Imaginarium is a neon hot pink with silver-pink micro-shimmer. This shade GLOWS. I really loved this color, because of the way it shimmered and glowed and was so easy to apply. I did need three coats with this shade, though.
- Looking Glass is a silver metallic foil. Brushstrokes are visible, but they’re surprisingly subtle in the light. One coat is nearly opaque, but I found two to work just right.
Twinkle and Imaginarium were my two favorite shades out of the six here. Twinkle is less unique than Imaginarium, though, so if I had to choose a top pick, it would definitely be that bright neon pink with a lil’ shimmer.
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: Imaginarium has such a bright, fun look to it with its glowing neon color and the subtle shimmery finish.
Availability: Skinstore.com, SpaRitual
Nail Lacquers: Lustress, Love & Happiness, Solaris, Golden Gleam, Optical Illusion, Dreams Becoming Reality
SpaRitual Nail Lacquer in Summer Hues
Just in time for summer, here are six fun shades from SpaRitual that are truly representative of the season. Each shade retails for $10.00 and is vegan and free of DBP, Toluene, Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde Resin. Lustress, Solaris, Golden Gleam, and Optical Illusion are from the summer Kaleidoscope collection.
- Lustress is a deep red-tinted pink with flashes of pink shimmer. It almost looks like glass flecks to me. Just two coats for complete color.
- Love & Happiness is a coral-orange cream. It’s not quite neon, but it’s almost there. Two coats for opaque color.
- Solaris is a bright, neon orange cream. Super, super pigmented — two coats shown, but you could almost get away with one.
- Golden Gleam is a bright yellow gold with lighter gold shimmer and a near metallic finish. Some brush strokes were noticeable, but it wasn’t too obvious. Two coats for opaque color.
- Optical Illusion is a deep olive green base with lighter olive green glitter-shimmer. Just two coats for opaque color, though it was nearly opaque with one coat. Truly a stunning shade!
- Dreams Becoming Reality is a shade from an upcoming fall collection, so I’ll have swatches and more information on it then.
SpaRitual knows how to make a good, consistent formula. The application on all six of these was absolutely superb–smooth, rich color that wasn’t too thick or thin. No streaking, fussing, or dragging. Drying time on the brighter creams seemed a little speedier, but otherwise average and nothing noteworthy either way. Optical Illusion stands out something fierce amongst these, though — a really unique shade that just sparkles in the light.
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: LOVE Optical Illusion! I also really love and appreciate SpaRitual’s formula consistency–it’s a good formula and it’s found in all six.
Availability: Skinstore.com, SpaRitual
