NOVEMBER'S HITS AND MISSES

These are the items that had the biggest impact on me -- for better or worse -- this past November. 

Items reviewed:

-Chanel Beige Lame

-E.L.F. Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Pink Lemonade

-Lush The Comforter Bubble Bar

-E.L.F. Blush in Tickled Pink

-Dior Couture Golds Palette

What I’m wearing in this video:

-Eyes: M.A.C. Deckchair pigment, Elizabeth Arden Teak, Elizabeth Arden Wheat, M.A.C. Naked pigment, Milani Liquif’eye Liner in Brown and Sephora Advanced Lash Booster in Black

-Cheeks: M.A.C. Pink Cult

-Lips: E.L.F. Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Pink Lemonade

-Face: Garnier Anti-dark-circle roller, M.A.C. Select Cover-Up and Laura Geller Balance ‘n Brighten in Porcelain

-Nails: E.L.F. Royal Purple

DIOR COUTURE GOLDS EYESHADOW PALETTE REVIEW (LES ROUGES OR HOLIDAY COLLECTION)

I’ve always admired Dior’s eyeshadow palettes. Whenever I would walk by one in a store, I would stop, swatch, and drool (away from the tester, of course). Then I would promptly sigh and walk away, all the while wishing I could bring myself to spend so much money on makeup. Most recently, I was attracted to the Les Rouges Or Holiday 2011 display.

The shadows seemed right up my alley – tinged with gold, but still fairly neutral. While in the store, 4 of the 5 shadows swatched like a dream on my fingertips. Thus, after years of pining, I finally caved and bought my first Dior eye palette: the 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette in (554) Couture Golds.

After driving 90 miles per hour and nearly causing several traffic accidents (I kid, I kid.) I arrived home and excitedly opened my new treasure. The palette comes in Dior’s standard packaging: tucked inside a black velvet pouch is a navy blue lacquered case with “Dior” embossed in silver atop a pearly blue “CD” holograph. It contains 6 grams/0.21 ounces of shadow and cost $59.

Despite having a beautiful mix of colors, this palette was an utter disappointment. As I mentioned, most of the shadows seemed very pigmented and silky on my fingertips. It wasn’t until I tried creating a few looks with brushes that I realized I had been deceived.

Colors breakdown (from top left to right, center is last):

• Shimmery white with a hint of champagne. Buttery smooth and extremely pigmented.  Excellent for highlighting the inner tear duct and brow bone (although it did emphasize my need for a good tweezing). Blended easily.
• Shimmery bronzed gold. Buttery smooth and seemed pigmented when swatched, but poor color payoff when applied on the lid. Required multiple layers to have the shadow show up as expected.
• Matte espresso with gold and red microglitter. It appeared to have real depth and dimension in the pan, but was nothing special on the eye. Very chalky and applied unevenly.  Sheer and required multiple layers to create tolerable color intensity. Difficult to blend.
• Shimmery antiqued gold. Buttery smooth with excellent color payoff.  Blended easily. This was my favorite color of the palette, but it was a bit too similar to my skin tone (NW20 in MAC) to show up as intensely as I would have liked.
• Pale gold with gold microglitter. Extremely sheer and difficult to build. When applied, the gold is very faint and all that jumps out is glitter.  Prone to a lot of fall-out. Reminiscent of Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy Rides Again … for grown-ups.

Regular color intensity. White, bronze, espresso, antiqued gold, pale gold. (Yes, the pale gold is there. It's that sheer.)

Concentrated color intensity. White, bronze, espresso, antiqued gold, pale gold.

The looks that I have put together at home took so long and required extra work to make the shadows behave the way I wanted them to.  I don’t know too many women who have the time or patience to spend over 10 minutes on what should be a 5-minute eye.

And because all of the shadows looked pretty much the same on my lid (with the exception of the dark brown), the colors appeared muddy even without blending. Blending required an extremely light hand or else most of the color intensity disappeared, especially with the dark brown.  Also, even worn over a primer, I found that the colors faded over the course of a few hours. Christine from Temptalia rated this palette a B+, but I have to respectfully disagree. Perhaps this is more flattering on warmer skin tones because it brings out the golden nuances of the shadows? Regardless, this was an expensive mess on me.

Overall verdict: Beautiful in the pan, not so beautiful on the eyes.  For the damage done to my wallet, this palette should be of a much higher quality. Instead, it was a complete disappointment and will be returned. 

AN EPIC NORDSTROM HAUL

I love to shop! Anybody who has seen my YouTube channel probably knows that. Last week, Nordstrom had a double points event, so I decided to stop into my favorite store for a refreshing morning facial and some light shopping.  I only intended to purchase the M.A.C. Matchmaster foundation, Vanilla pigment and some Arcona skincare staples. Two hours later, I emerged with this:

Ok, so I went out of control. I wholeheartedly admit it. I’m going to blame my manic shopping spree in part on the fact that I recently finished a 6-week “no buy,” but also.... the holiday makeup collections just looked so pretty! 

It started innocently enough at Arcona. I had a 30-minute facial that transformed my tired, dull-looking skin into that of a goddess.  I bought the Basic-5 kit for problem skin and the Triad makeup removing pads before the SA threw in a few samples. I walked away with enough skincare to last at least 3 months and spending what I had intended.

I then went to the M.A.C. counter where my favorite SA was working. I told her I was interested in the Vanilla pigment and Matchmaster foundation, but she said the foundation isn’t ideal for my skin. Being the doll that she is, she gave me 3 sample jars filled to the brim with my correct shade so that I wouldn’t have to “waste [my] money.” Again, I walked away with what I had expected to buy. Less, actually.

The trouble started when I walked past Chanel. I wanted to try the Vitalumiere Aqua foundation after hearing such rave reviews. I was only interested in picking up a sample when I heard these dangerous words from behind the counter: “Would you like a complementary make over?”

I knew better, but I parked my bottom in that chair and didn’t leave for almost an hour. The makeup artist applied product after product, completely negating my facial. Once she finished caking makeup all over my face (a seriously terrible application), I walked away with the Vitalumiere Aqua in Beige Rose – Pastel, Ombre Essentielle in Beige Lame and Rouge Coco Shine in Boy. The SA threw in a white vinyl Chanel Beaute makeup bag, a disposable mascara wand to de-clump the lashes, a Coco Mademoiselle vial, a sample of the Ultra Correction Lift cream for lips and pint-sized Spark glossimer and Inimitable Intense mascara. Ok, so she hooked me up with gifts, but I spent much more than I had planned!

From Chanel, I wandered past the Dior counter while en route to my car.  I caught a glimpse of the Les Rouges Or collection out of the corner of my eye and stopped dead in my tracks. I swatched the Couture Golds palette and immediately had to have it. (Ironically, a major disappointment. Read about it here.) I also walked away with the stunning cherry red Merveille nail polish. With my wallet bleeding and my head spinning, I went home.

One would think this is the end of my financially woeful tale, but alas…it is not. The next day, I was surfing the web when I stumbled across some other Chanel and Dior holiday items that I had somehow overlooked.  Being the impatient but lazy buffoon that I am, I ordered three more items from Nordstrom to pick up at the store later that afternoon. Thus, to add insult to financial injury, I bought the Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Triomphal, Dior Rouge Dior in Bell de Nuit and the Dior Celebration Collection deluxe multi-look palette…all for an additionally absurd $150.87.

As penance for my spending binge, I’m not allowing myself to buy the new storage unit(s) I’ve been drooling over for months (and really need) and I might start another project pan sooner than anticipated. Maybe that’ll teach me! (Or maybe I should just return most of what I bought.  **Pffft** Fat chance.)

Keep an eye out for swatches, photos and reviews of the items featured in this haul!