Thursday, November 27, 2014

Chanel Reve D 'Orient Eyeshadow Quad



It's time to get starry eyed with Chanel's new Reve D'Orient Quadra Eyeshadow.

This new quad, which makes it debut on December 1st, is embossed with stars on each of the colors and will give all your holiday looks some sparkle.


Something fellow beauty enthusiasts will understand, I was anxious to try it, I didn't think to take pics before I swatched. So the stars got a little worn . When you pop that compact open after removing from the box, it glows.

The four shades here, white/beige, gold, deep brown and black are all wearable and go well together or separately and they all have good pigment, deep really except for the white which is a little lighter.  There is some fallout but not much. They apply smooth and deep on the first pass.


Reve D'Orient is LE and $ 70. On December 1st it will be available on chanel.com with free overnight shipping on it's purchase.



Tuesday, November 25, 2014

NARS Black Friday Sale


NARS has a little sale beginning this Friday .

The  Give & Take Event is  Friday, November 28th – Tuesday, December 2nd  
and if you want first access to the 20% off event, you can sign up for an email update here.




Monday, November 24, 2014

L'Occitane Immortelle Precious Cream



Dry skin ? With Jack Frost doing his thing really early and in a  big way, our epidermis is bound to feeling a little parched.

L'Occitane has a cream to the rescue for those with  drier skins, new Immortelle Precious Cream , an update/upgrade from their Precious Cream .  This thick cream is loaded with hydrators like shea butter, sunflower seed, evening primrose and borage seed oils  .


It also helps to firm and smooth skin with two patents pending and  an oily extract from the Immortelle Flower. 


This is one of the products that just feels so comfortable on skin , it smoothes right in , and while heavier , sinks in fast .  Dehydrated skin should love it. 

L'Occitane Immortelle Precious Cream is $62 at  L'Occitane 







Sunday, November 23, 2014

MAC X Giambattisa Valli


Are you ready to talk Summer 2015 ?  Yes, yes,it's a ways off, but it also brings the newest MAC designer collab with Giambattista Valli.

Vogue broke the news last Friday of the five new lipsticks and I believe  also lipgloss shades that will hit stores next Summer.

Spring '15 RTW
I generally like what Valli shows during fashion week and always check out the looks, but for those less immersed in fashion, you still may have heard of him as newlywed Amal Alamuddin Clooney wore one of his  couture creations the day after her uber press covered wedding in Venice  .

Fall '14 Couture

New here are lipstick tubes that match the inside shade and they will be matte.
I think all the vibrant colors look great and would love to get my hands on them now, especially that deep plum .

Lipstick image: Vogue.com
Fashion images: Style.com

Friday, November 21, 2014

Breil Watches


Giving the gift of time this year ?  A new watch makes a lovely gift and the right one is an everyday accessory that helps perfect your look.

Italian watchmaker Breil has several new styles that should please any giftee. Dressy or sporty , all have sparkle in the form of Swarovski crystals in the dial   and bezel along with metal or leather bands, and are water resistant.

Style 10020800 - ( black band) is $ 325
Style 10020709 ( pink band) is $ 295


Style 10020801 ( two tone band) is $ 375
Style 10020802 ( silver band)  is $ 355

Breil watches are available at Macys,  www.breilusa.com, Saks, and more.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Flower Beauty Makeup Cases & Brushes



 Do you love a good train case ? Crazy question ? Not if you're a beauty gal. I love them and have several, more than I need most likely but new , nice ones are always popping up.


For  gifting or getting, Flower has a new line of makeup cases out including a  train case.  All are done in a bold flower print in either pink tones or blue tones.


The case has slots at the top for makeup brushes and a full open bottom for everything else. There is a rose goldtone logo plaque and zipper pull.  Measurements are 5.75 H x10.25 W x 5.5 D.


If you do happen to be thinking of gifting this , you might want to tuck some new brushes into those slots too. Flower has you covered there as well with five brushes for face , eye and lips .  The brushes are synthetic and I have to say seem to be good quality. Not easy to find at the mass market level. A good brush is a must, and if you can grab them well priced, even  better. Flower brushes range from 6.98 to 12.98 .


Flower is exclusive to Wal Mart and the Train Case is $18.98 , Ultimate Lip & Concealer Brush is 6.98







Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Skin & Co Roma Citrus Amaro Bath & Body



Want to inject a little Dolce Vita into your routine ? New to Walgreens and Duane Reade stores is Skin & Co Roma  from Umbria, Italy.

 Inspired by the creator's grandmother's hand crafted skincare using  among other things , truffles,the company goes back to 2007 across Europe but has just reached us.  The brand uses some organic ingredients and is sulfate, paraben mineral oil and phtalates free as well as not tested on animals. 

There are four scents collections available and naturally I got the citrus one, Citrus Amaro. The citrus here is not overly pronounced, the scent is more herbal orange  and with one of the ingredients being bitter orange that doesn't surprise me. 

The Smoothing Treatment Body Lotion is a truly lovely product. The lotion is on the thinner side but feels so smooth and instantly hydrating going on.  I got just the lightest bit of scent, mostly herb. I admit I'd like it to be more orange, but it worked so well , I didn't care. Ingredients include olive oil , organic almond and jojoba oils and hyaluronic acid.  


Aroma Cleansing Shower Gel has a stronger orange fragrance  and lathers lightly. It  uses like a typical shower gel, not drying but not heavily moisturizing either. Ingredients include organic olive oil. 


There is also a Face Oil available in Citrus Amaro. Other scents are Fresh Lavender, Rosemary Verbena and Umbrian Truffle

Skin & Co Roma Smoothing Treatment Lotion is $22
Skin & Co Roma Aroma Cleansing Gel is $ 17

More info and gift sets at https://www.skinandcoroma.com/

Line also available at Henri Bendel. 






Monday, November 17, 2014

B. Balenciaga



The new B. Balenciaga  feels like the fragrance I've been waiting to sniff this year.  And I have been waiting months to try it. It doesn't smell like everything else, and it's not fruity sweet. What it is , is quite good.

The fragrance is  very dry , owing mainly to the violet  leaves  and  orris ( iris root)  along with edamame accord . I have to be honest,  I've not smelled edamame before , but it's obviously a green  scent and there is plenty of that in here .

 I love the dry  feel of iris and B.  never goes too powdery.  It's also as I mentioned  a very green scent . The florals are a tease that come and go as you sniff.  Lily of The Valley  is one of the top notes but I don't get much of that pretty floral  at first. More like after 5 or more.  Ambrette seeds, another favorite note of mine, add a little warmth but also continues the dry feel, with cedar well represented as well. There is a peppery spice to the drydown that gives it a little edge.

This wears fairly light ,  more than a skinscent but not heavy or strong and  there is  light sillage. For a day fragrance that has a little verve and a lot of elegance, B. Balenciaga is a perfect choice.

B. Balenciaga comes in a rollerball for $ 25, 1oz EDP for $ 82, 1.7 oz EDP for $ 110 and 2.5 oz EDP for $ 145  as well as shower gel and lotion and is available at  Sephoraand Nordstrom. 




Friday, November 14, 2014

MAC Technakohl Eyeliners - New Shades

Love colored eyeliners? Then the new Tecnakohls from MAC will be right up your alley.

Available on Nov. 28 (exclusively at Macy's until Dec. 11)  will be 26 new shades . That's a whopping liner launch . Personally I can't enough of  liners like this and I want them all. I love that beige  and bronze are well represented.



Full shade list :


  • Sterling -Silver silver
  • Risqué -pale beige
  • Bare Asset- medium beige
  • Twinked- yellow gold with sparkles
  • Brass Band- copper bronze metal
  • $$$- mid-tone gold bronze
  • Alpha-Grey- metal grey
  • Counterfeit- silver grey
  • Funfare- bright true pink
  • Sourpuss- acid green
  • Skyscape- metallic deep sky blue
  • Vent -metallic lime
  • Whirlpool- dark deep blue
  • Take the Plunge -deep ocean blue
  • Cast Iron- elephant grey
  • Bishop Blue- blue-purple
  • Image Conscious- purple
  • Cool Jazz -navy blue
  • Plank- deep bronze brown
  • Broque- deep brown
  • Army Style -military deep green
  • Clay- deep grey
  • Raisinette- brown-purple
  • Steelpoint- deep smoky metallic grey
  • Metalhead- greyish metal blue
  • Superfly -soft black


  • MAC Technakohl Liners are $ 26

    Thursday, November 13, 2014

    Laura Mercier La Petite Patisserie Souffle Body Crème Collection - Holiday 2014


    By now Laura Mercier's holiday gift sets are perennial favorites.  It's hard to beat something with La Petite Patisserie in the name.  Last year all the aunts and cousins got the Hand Crèmes  .  Everyone loved them as they pack loads of shea butter and delicious scent. You can of course get that scented goodness for body too with La Petite Patisserie Souffle Body Crème  Collection . 


    The Souffle Body Crèmes  are a  thick, rich moisturizer for body  with shea, honey and grape seed oils  and come in Mercier's signature scents. If you've tried them you know how good they smell.  Each  super cute  mini jar has  2 oz of product.  A set of these is one lovely gift, but you can also break them up and gift one each  tucked into another  gift. 

    The set includes:
    ·        Crème Brûlée
    ·        Fresh Fig
    ·        Ambre Vanillé
    ·        Almond Coconut Milk
    ·        Tarte au Citron
    ·        Crème de Pistache


     Laura Mercier La Petite Patisserie Souffle Body Crème Collection is $ 58 and available now at www.lauramercier.com

    The Hand Crème  set of four  is also available again for $ 30 . 





    Wednesday, November 12, 2014

    mark. Twice As Nice Necklace


    mark's Twice As Nice necklace  brings major sparkle with  it's 22 Swarovski Crystal accents.


    This dual chain necklace  features two large Vs detailed with the crystals. It has a very '70's Halston vibe going on . It looks very pretty in the box but far better on, in person. Pictures do not really do it justice.The chains are subtle, the Vs are not.


    This will brighten up any V Necks you wear especially, but will go with round necklines as well. The chains are adjustable and they can be separated.


    The necklace lengths are shorter necklace: 17" L (plus 3" L extender) , and longer necklace: 19" L (plus 3" L extender)







    Tuesday, November 11, 2014

    Scala Collezione Rain Hat



    I have a lot of hats. Vintage ones, winter ones and  Summer straw ones. Somehow I did not have a rain hat .  I've remedied that with this new one from Scala Collezione.


    It's a fun bucket style but it's smaller than most buckets I usually see and therefore  more flattering I think. The brim is  3 inches with sturdy nylon  outer material and a pretty polka dot satin liner.


    The  hat comes in four colors, wine, black, charcoal and khaki, my pick.


    Retail is $ 25 http://www.hartfordyork.com/product/7411/scala-womens-hats





    Monday, November 10, 2014

    StriVectin Labs Extreme Cream


    Looking for a heavy duty moisturizer /anti-ager for winter weather ? StriVectin's new Extreme Cream might be for you.

    Extreme Cream is packed with hydrators like jojoba  and olive fruit oil along with the brands NIA 114  to strengthen the skin  barrier against environmental damage and their Energizing Oxygen Complex.



    All that makes for a rich cream that feels light on skin, and plumps and moisturizes throughout the day or night . It sinks in pretty fast too, needing a little time to set in, but not long and works well under makeup.



    StriVectin Extreme Cream is $ 89 at www.strivectin.com , Ulta and QVC