Reviews and Other Stuff

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Tom Ford Lip Sculptor & Lip Color Satin Matte Review

tom ford lip color satin matte stiletto and modern love review

 

Tom Ford recently released a couple of new lip products, one of them is the Lip Sculptor which is basically a lip liner with a lip brush, and another one is the newest Lip Color Satin Matte, which is a velvety soft matte lipstick that is meant to be high impact and long-wearing.

I went to my local Tom Ford beauty counter to check out these two new products and also to swatch the colors and find out which ones would look well on my skin tone. I picked two colors from the Lip Sculptor line and also picked two from the Lip Color Satin Matte.

 

tom ford lip sculptor in devour

 

Lip Sculptor ($46) – This lip liner glides comfortably on the lips and it has a built-in lip brush on the other end. It contours, sculpts and defines the lips and it’s great with any Tom Ford lipsticks or with any other lip color as well. This sets into a matte finish and can be easily corrected if the application wasn’t accurate. There are different shades available from this lip liner and they are all beautiful, especially the deep ones. Since this lip liner has an easy-to-glide formulation, this could potentially be worn as a lip color, provided that your lips are not the type that dries easily. Unfortunately, for me, this is too drying when used as a lip shade. On the other hand, since this particular lip liner is quite matte, I don’t really see how the lip brush on the other end can work with this liner unless of course it’s meant to define the lips with a lipstick, which I suspect is what it’s really meant to be. The price of this lip pencil is high, but the quality is very good. Having a few is worth a try.

 

tom ford lip sculptor review

 

Crave – light terracotta

Devour – mauve rose

 

tom ford lip color satin matte in stiletto and modern love

 

Lip Color Satin Matte ($55) – This newest lip color from Tom Ford is very pigmented in just one swipe. It has a creamy feel once applied on the lips, then it sets into a true satin matte. It is one of the most comfortable matte lipsticks I’ve ever tried since it’s non-drying, lightweight, and soft-focus without emphasizing too much lip lines. It has a blotted effect as it wears for several hours. This particular lipstick, however, does transfer but it’s not to the extreme since the color will still remain on the lips. On me, this lasts about six hours after drinking tea or coffee, and about four hours for the lighter shade after eating. The darker shade tends to stay longer. There is no strong scent detected, but only a faint buttery one. However, finding the right shade from this lip color line that would look well on my complexion was such a dilemma. There are for sure several Fall/Winter colors like deep berries and reds but I had a hard time finding the right nude or neutral beige for my light-medium skin tone since most of the nude and neutral ones are either too nude or they’d pull off as bright pink or coral on me. Another thing I noticed is that it’s pretty hard for me to accurately apply this lipstick on my lips since this has a slightly angled flat round tip, as opposed to being more pointy like most lipsticks, so, I always end up overlining my lips. But then, that’s easy to remedy, I just use the lip brush that came with the Lip Sculptor above. Anyway, I can’t seem to find a product that closely resembles this lipstick, especially when it comes to its texture and its finish. For starters, this is definitely not as mattifying as the Tom Ford Lip Color Matte. This lip color is more comfortable and it feels more lightweight. This also feels a bit hydrating but it’s not shiny. I’m thinking perhaps the Dior Ultra Rouge Lipstick might be on par, but I will have to investigate more, and speaking of that, I will be reviewing that lipstick soon. I also think the YSL Rouge Pur Couture The Mats (reviewed HERE) might be similar as well, and probably the Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet too, but the Chanel ones may be a bit more mattifying than this TF Lip Color Satin Matte.

 

tom ford lip color satin matte swatches

 

Modern Love – light coral

Stiletto – blue-toned red

 

tom ford lip color satin matte in stiletto swatch

 

tom ford lip sculptor in devour and crave swatch

Bottom line, this latest Lip Color Satin Matte and Lip Sculptor from Tom Ford are worth the splurge. These perform just like what they claim. The Lip Sculptor is a reliable lip liner that sets well and applies smoothly. It truly contours and defines the lips. The Lip Color Satin Matte is one of the most comfortable easy to wear matte lipsticks I’ve ever tried and I really like its velvety matte effect on the lips.

 

tom ford lip sculptor

 

The Tom Ford Lip Sculptor and Lip Color Satin Matte are out now at Nordstrom, Sephora,ย Saks Fifth Avenue, andย Harrods

 

 

Chanel Beauty New Arrivals Fall 2018

Hi All! The latest releases in Chanel Beauty this Fall are definitely swoon-worthy. There are lots of beautiful bold and deep colors that will make your hearts skip gazillion beats at once. LOL. This Fall, Chanel is going all โ€œmatteโ€ with their products, like matte eyeshadows, matte lipsticks, velvety matte lip powders, and they even added some new shades to one of my favorite matte lipsticks ever – the Rouge Allure Velvet, and donโ€™t get me started on the newest Rouge Allure Velvet Extreme. Oh my, itโ€™s hard to handle all these beautiful Chanel newness. But yeah, I will be reviewing some new shades of the Rouge Allure Velvet and Velvet Extreme pretty soon. So watch out for it here on the blog.

Chanel Beauty Fall 2018

For today’s post, let’s talk about some Chanel Beauty Fall releases in the lips, nails, and eye category. As I’ve said before, they’re mostly mattes, and even their packagings are mattes! Because of that, they feel really cozy to the touch once you get your hands on them. Kudos to Chanel for being so stylistic in their products. You know me, I love mattes, even more so than glitters, and that’s because, for some reason, I just feel like I look better in mattes. My features are a bit exaggerated, so I don’t need a bunch of shimmers to emphasize my look. Mattes give me that sort of “lived in” look that I like.

 

Chanel had released a new matte quad eyeshadow compact (Les 4 Ombres), three new matte shades of their stylo cream eyeshadows, new shades of Rouge Allure Ink, the newest Jumbo Mat Lip Crayon, and two new Le Vernis shades in a velvety texture, among other things.

 

Since I planned to go dark this Fall and all throughout Winter, (LOL, don’t ask me why, I just kinda feel like it) I basically picked up all the dark colors from this latest Chanel Beauty release. I’ve never been able to completely pull off or rock deep and dark colors before, so now is my chance. Ha! Black boots, black denims, black sweaters, black coats, and dark vampy lips! Gurl, I’m just waiting for the weather to turn gloom, and I’ll be all Goth (or Emo) LOL.

Chanel Les 4 Ombres Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow in 308 Clair Obscur review

Chanel Les 4 Ombres Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow in 308 Clair Obscur swatch

 

Les 4 Ombres Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow in 308 Clair Obscur ($61) – I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this quad at first. My first impression of this seems to be that it could look like any other average mix of dupable matte eyeshadow shades. But boy I was wrong. Once applied and swatched on my skin, I noticed that the colors are well-pigmented and in a way sort of unique. Also, all four matte shades complement each other. They aren’t so creamy but they’re very easy to blend, and they last the whole day on me without smudging. The closest dupe for this quad would probably be the Urban Decay Nakedย (swatched HERE) in terms of texture and color range, however, this Chanel Clair Obscur has one shade that’s kinda greige, which makes it look unique and timely. For me, this particular quad is a perfect everyday eyeshadow that can truly emphasize dark brown eyes.

Chanel Jumbo Longwear Mat Lip Crayon in 267 Impulsion review

Le Rouge Crayon De Couleur Mat Jumbo Longwear Mat Lip Crayon in 267 Impulsion ($37) – I’m super impressed with the pigment and lasting power of this twist-up crayon-style retractable matte lipstick. Apart from being easy and accurate to apply (though no sharpener, but not that necessary), this goes on smoothly on the lips. Its color saturation and lasting power are way better than most lipsticks since this is so staining and can last the whole day. The shade impulsion is a gorgeous true deep red that you can’t help but stare at. I definitely recommend this to all of you, and now I feel like I need more of this lip crayon in several different colors.

Chanel Stylo Ombre et Contour Shadow Liner Khol in Contour Clair

Stylo Ombre et Contour Shadow Liner Khol in Contour Clair and Contour Graphique ($34) – These are pen/crayon-style creamy matte eyeshadow/liner with an easy retractable twist-up application. These don’t have any sharpener attached to the other end, but it’s not really an issue. The formula is really smooth and easy to apply for a contoured eye makeup look. They last all day for me without creasing or smudging and they set quite well. The three matte colors are easy to layer, but I decided to skip on the black shade (Contour Sombre) because that one seems too harsh for me. Instead, I opted for the grayish brown and the deep dark indigo blue for that dramatic eye look. I highly recommend these if you’re feeling the matte smoky eye glam this Fall.

Chanel Rouge Allure Ink in 174 Melancholia review

 

Rouge Allure Ink in 174 Melancholia ($37) – I’ve always loved the shades of Chanel Rouge Allure Ink (more shades HERE) even though some of the shades can be a bit patchy when applied. However, once they’re set on the lips, they can be long lasting and not as drying. I find the pigments of this particular matte liquid lip color to be really bold and vivid, and so with the newest additional colors this Fall. I fell in love with the limited-edition shade called Melancholia. This shade’s formulation seems to be even better than the previous ones, although I’m not quite sure because it may be that the darker shades of the Rouge Allure Ink are just not as patchy as the lighter ones. But, it does feel like this season’s formula has improved a bit. This color is deep berry and it feels like a lip stain. Although I don’t coat my lips fully with this, I usually apply a single stroke of color at the center of my lips and smudge it all the way to the corners, to create an ombre lip effect. I love this commanding and dramatic color so much, it’s the perfect shade for light to medium and deep skin tones this Fall.

 

Chanel Le Vernis Velvet Nail Colour in 638 Profondeur

 

Le Vernis Velvet Nail Colour in 638 Profondeur ($28) – I was never really into matte-effect nail polishes, even though I think I may have tried some suede-textured nail colors in the past. I usually like my nails super glossy, but ever since trying this velvet nail colours from Chanel, I felt like I don’t really mind rocking a velvety matte nail color, especially this season. This new Le Vernis (more colors HERE) in velvet texture is just beyond me. You just have to use a base coat then apply two coats of this nail polish (forget about the top coat) and voila! You got beautiful vampy velvety matte nail color that sets immediately when applied. Nails look uniquely polished with shades that are perfect for Fall. The color Profondeur is a velvet wine-red that may look like coagulated blood at first, LOL, but in all honesty, it’s just so different and so gorgeous.

 

Chanel Stylo Ombre et Contour Shadow Liner Khol in Contour Clair swatch

 

Chanel Rouge Allure Ink in 174 Melancholia swatch

Have you tried these already? What are your Chanel Beauty faves this Fall? Stay tuned for more Chanel new releases here on the blog.

 

These Chanel Beauty new releases for Fall are currently available at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Harrods, and Macy’s

 

 

 

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Highlighter Review & Swatches

bobbi brown shimmer brick highlighter

 

Hey there. Ever since falling in love with the Bobbi Brown Mini Glow Set that I got from the last Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, which contains the mini Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Sunset Pink and the mini Face Blender Brush (seen HERE), I knew right then and there that I’ve got to have more of the Shimmer Brick Highlighters especially in their full sizes. I may be late in the game of liking these amazing blush-highlighter hybrids, but I just wanna take a moment to tell you how good these beauties are.

 

bobbi brown shimmer brick in rose and pink quartz swatch

 

The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Highlighters (standard size 0.4 oz: $48, mini 0.14 oz: $25) are the iconic face highlighters loved by a lot of people and is also an Allure Best of Beauty Winner. If you’ve never tried these compacts before and are wondering what’s so special about them, well there’s definitely a lot to love. For starters, these are meant to be as all-over face highlighters that deliver soft-focus color and lit-from-within glow, the kind that is natural and one that gives a subtle shimmer finish. Each compact delivers a glow that can be rosy, bronze-gold, lush coral, or metallic pink, and since there are five shades in one compact, the colors are multidimensional and forever changing once they get hit by the light. The pigments are good in these and they can be layered easily. Blending them is such a breeze and you can never go wrong if you put too much of the product since the colors have a soft-focus effect.

 

bobbi brown shimmer brick in bronze and nectar review

 

I mostly use these as highlighting blushes and these literally made me fall in love with face blushes all over again. I haven’t been a fan of blushes in a long time and it’s a beauty product I normally shy away from because I already have “somewhat prominent” cheeks and I did not want to emphasize them further. Literally, the only two face blushes I could tolerate are the Tarte Paaarty and the Nars Orgasm (or Goulue, but it’s currently sold out). Never knew I could love a multifaced highlighter/blush hybrid like these Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compacts.

bobbi brown shimmer brick in bronze review

bobbi brown shimmer brick in bronze swatch

 

Bronze – deep bronzy glow. True to its description, this is a golden glowy blush/highlighter/bronzer.

 

bobbi brown shimmer brick in nectar review

 

bobbi brown shimmer brick in nectar swatch

 

Nectar – soft, coral glow. Adds a nice coral-pink shimmer flush on the face.

 

bobbi brown shimmer brick in pink quartz review

bobbi brown shimmer brick in pink quartz swatch

 

Pink Quartz – soft, warm pink glow. Appears like a metallic pinkish-pearlized highlighter on me.

 

bobbi brown shimmer brick in rose

bobbi brown shimmer brick rose swatch

 

Rose – soft, rosy glow. Very subtle rosy pink with a very slight shimmer.bobbi brown shimmer brick in sunset pink

Sunset Pink – Nordstrom Exclusive and is still available at BobbiBrown.com. Has a nice complex blend of rosy golden-bronze shimmer. At first glance, it looks like a combination of some of the shades from Bronze and Pink Quartz, but upon application, the closest shade it matches with is Bronze. Swatched HERE.

 

These compacts are so long-wearing that they’d still be on my face for a full day and they definitely elevate my makeup look. Also, they can be used as eyeshadows if you’re traveling and they can literally make you look well put together in a few minutes. Just brush a light stroke of these on the cheeks, add an eyeliner, emphasize the brows, a little lip color and you’re good to go. Oh, and add some hair flip drama, LOL.

 

Another thing I really like about these Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Highlighters is the fact that they’re not orangey or too pinkish, instead, their glow is very natural, versatile, and healthy-looking. You could pretty much wear them beyond Spring/ Summer and the radiance they have on the skin can still be wearable even if you’ve already applied too much product. They’re not super blinding, though they can be if you want a more dramatic effect. They’re just slightly shimmery and they have a nice glowy flush that adds warmth and directs light to the high points of the face. These are definitely my most favorite Bobbi Brown products and the ones I highly recommend.

 

The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Highlighter is currently available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Harrods, Macy’s, Net-A-Porter, Violet Grey, and BobbiBrown.com