Guess What Wednesday

Welcome to the first - well, third - of Guess What Wednesday! I feel like this is a more entertaining way to feature nail polish on the blog, and I hope it is as much fun for you as it is for me. So far my (very observant and smart!) readers have gotten it right within the first guess. Let's see if the streak holds up!

No clues this time. Correct guesses get a virtual monthlong supply of Emergen-C, a current daily staple for me (eep!).

Le Metier de Beaute Fall 2011: Empress Kaleidoscope Lip Kit

Peeking through my window blinds are rays of piercing sunlight, and what should be a day of frolicking outside in the last beautiful weekend of New England is instead, spent gulping down fluid and pills of every variety to combat the onset of flu. I'm in that state of limbo before you descend into a monthlong full-blown cold, or if I play it right, recover before it begins. I'll raise my glass of herbal remedy to the latter!

Here's a long overdue post on the Le Metier de Beaute Empress kaleidoscope lip kit. As you recall, I posted a preview swatch of this a month ago here.

Clockwise: Top to bottom shade

L-R: Bottom to top shade

Empress is part of Le Metier de Beaute's Fall 2011 collection. It is a four-pan lip kaleidoscope that's meant to be layered from bottom to top, though you are free to experiment in any way you like. You can use only the bottommost shade for a darker lip, or just the second shade for a deep, intense red. The keyword with any kaleidoscope (and the entire brand) is to just play around!

When layered, Empress is a quintessential fall tone - a shiny deep berry. In the pictures above, I paired it with the other Le Metier de Beaute fall offering, the Silk Road eye kaleidoscope.

Typical of Le Metier de Beaute lip kaleidoscopes, texturally all four colors of Empire differ. The topmost and bottom two layers are thinner and stickier while the deep red shade is milkier, like a lip creme in pan form. Empress features the familiar burnt vanilla smell present in most lip cremes.

It's been some time since Empress hit counters, but I hope there are still some in stock out there. As per usual, Empress retails for $95 and can be found at Neiman Marcus stores.

Guerlain Holiday 2011: Rouge Automatique in Flirt d'un Jour and Nuit d'Amour

For Holiday, Guerlain released two limited edition Rouge Automatiques, Flirt d'un Jour and Nuit d'Amour. I realized we have not discussed these one-hand-application wonders on Messy Wands, and I duly apologize. I am quite a fan of these lipsticks. It's not the classiest-looking one around - the packaging pales in comparison to the luxurious Rouge G - but it's lightweight and functional. The sliding mechanism becomes extremely handy on days where it takes everything just to balance a bag and books and cup of tea in your hands.

Flirt d'un Jour #169 is an unassuming soft pink, which isn't a bad thing per se. I think plenty will find this to be a My Lips But Better or What I Wish My Lips Were shade.

While the Rouge Automatique formula isn't typically sheer, I did find Flirt d'un Jour to be on the sheerer side compared to the others I own. Edit: 2-3 layers of this will make it opaque. Since my lips are very pigmented by nature, Flirt d'un Jour functions more as a complement than a cover (I urge you to check out Sabrina of The Beauty Look Book's feature as comparison). The slight shimmer you see in the swatch translates to a luminescence that creates a softening effect on my lips. 

Guerlain's other Rouge Automatique offering is much more synonymous to Fall, but truth be told, I was a tiny bit disappointed by Nuit d'Amour #170. What appears as a deep, intense plum on the actual lipstick swatches to a (comparatively) mild berry hue. While it's not unattractive by any means, I was hoping for a shocker shade, and can't help but feel a little let down. That said, I think plenty of women would much prefer the toned down result.

Both Flirt d'un Jour and Nuit d'Amour have a balm-like texture that makes them comfortable to wear. I wouldn't say they are very moisturizing, but they're certainly not drying either. I find that Flirt d'un Jour lasts around 3-4 hours on my lips, while Nuit d'Amore hangs around a little longer. Both are nice shades to own, but not must-haves.

Guerlain Rouge Automatique Flirt d'un Jour and Nuit d'Amour retail for $35 and should be available at Guerlain counters in most major departmental stores.

Chanel Spring 2012 Nails

Image credit: www.style.com

Here's a hot piece of news from the ladies at style.com (click here for full story). You're looking at the three nail colors - April, May, June - slated for Chanel's spring 2012 release. I bet you June's going to be this year's Mimosa. 

Of course, spring collections usually hit counters late December/early January, so come the real April/May/June, these will already be old news. 

Here's a link to how they look on the models' nails: http://blog.stylesight.com/beauty/backstage-beauty-chanel-nails-ss-2012. Big love for April!

P.S.: We're so close to Chanel Holiday. Best Things In Beauty is having a swatch-a-thon of the entire collection, so visit her blog and plan your purchases accordingly.

Sneak Peek: Le Metier de Beaute Lip Cremes in In The Know Bordeaux and Purple Haze

Update: It sure arrived early - In The Know Bordeaux and Purple Haze are now available at the Neiman Marcus site!

Let’s just get this out of the way: one of my all-time most disliked activity is moving in/moving out. There’s nothing like having a dedicated place to mess up and fill with paraphernalia and not worrying about how to move everything to another spot in nine months. The bulk of the earlier part of this month was spent unpacking an obscene amount of boxes at my new apartment - a real doozy, I tell you.

The usual horror was somewhat alleviated by one very very welcome gift. The first package I ever received at my new place was from Le Metier de Beaute PR, who kindly sent me a few pieces from the Fall collection. I was positively effervescent when two particular items caught my eye - a burgandy and a mauve pink housed in unmarked vials. Turns out, they’re sample tubes from the ongoing Le Metier de Beaute and Ken Downing collaboration, this time featuring limited edition lip cremes, set to reach counters in November.

If Messy Wands is known for anything, it would be my undying affection for LMdB lip cremes. In my short year of obsessing over the brand, I’ve seen them come up with new editions of everything from lipstick to nail polish to eye shadows, all but my love, the lip cremes. But now (or soon), we have new wands to play with! In this post I will be showing you both colors as they are, sans embellishment. I will post one on mixing them with other lip cremes on a later date. (For now, you can revisit my original Lip Creme Mixing post.)

Let’s start with Purple Haze. Purple Haze is the pigmented pink (mauvy pink, but still pink) gloss that’s been missing from the current Le Metier de Beaute lineup. This is not the sister to the sheer Sweet Creme. A swipe or two covers up your natural lip color. In its place sits an alternative to the traditional dark-hued fall.

I am a fan of berry and bordeaux lips so I tend to hoard them by the dozens come fall, but I keep forgetting my peeling lips suffer most in colder weather. Purple Haze will serve well in giving my grateful lips a break from those high maintenance colors on days I turn my attention to smokier eyes.

In The Know Bordeaux feels like the lip gloss equivalent of Red My Lips. It’s a rich cabernet with a wet finish that’s understated and tasteful.

I know some women scorn lip gloss (hello Eva Mendes) as if any lick of shine on the lips pronounces instant tackiness. I respectfully disagree, but if you’re inclined towards that view, give gloss a whirl with In The Know Bordeaux and let me know where you stand after.

Formula and texture for both are typical of Le Metier de Beaute lip cremes. Intensely pigmented, moisturizing, ever so slightly sticky, and boasts a 4-6 hour wear. Scent-wise, In The Know Bordeaux sports the familiar burnt vanilla we've come to expect from lip cremes, whereas Purple Haze reminds me of the smell of Vitamin C, in the best possible way of course (apologies for my scent descriptions. It's not among my fortes).

In The Know Bordeaux and Purple Haze will be exclusively available to Neiman Marcus stores and neimanmarcus.com this coming November.

Edit: I know it's some time before these will be released, but I thought you guys might like to know what's coming out in the near future, especially since Holiday collections are beginning to hit stores (eep!). In a week or two I will post comparisons of In The Know Bordeaux and Framboise Creme, as well as any interesting creme mixes I find.

The items in this post were sent to Messy Wands from Le Metier de Beaute for consideration. I was not obliged to post about them, nor do I receive compensation for doing so.

Guerlain Holiday 2011: Parure de Nuit Powder & Blush Palette

Guerlain's seasonal releases never fail to enchant and goad me into purchasing one. more. <insert item> that I do not need. My well-documented lack of self restraint is appalling, but how, dear reader, could anyone resist this:

Especially when it's functional, and pretty darn well.

The best part about the peacock-feather-embossed Parure de Nuit Powder & Blush palette is that the pattern does not go away. Nope. Not on your first swipe, not even on your fifth. I needed a dense brush (and some intense diagonal swiping) to get a dose of that pink pigment, but the beautiful pattern stood dignified against my furious back-and-forth sweeps. The overspray, however, disappears within the first touch of a brush, something I'm really glad for.

Said sweeps also resulted in a really subtle natural flush on my cheeks. A word of caution: people with darker skin tones will find it near impossible to get the pigment to show on them.

If you swirl the pink, white, blue, and beige colors together, you get a powder with the slightest hint of shimmer that can be utilized as an all over face powder or subtle highlighter, delivering an understated glow to your look. For those who dislike the larger shimmer particles imparted by the Météorites Perles de Nuit (review forthcoming), Parure de Nuit serves as a stellar alternative. I find the powder to be so finely milled and comfortable to touch, the words "thin veil of silk" repeatedly comes to mind. It also comes as no surprise that the powder features a heavy fragrance. Guerlain cites one of its legendary perfumes, Vol de Nuit, as the inspiration for this collection. I have never taken a whiff of that perfume, but I’m going to hazard a guess and say hints of it is within this powder. Those with better knowledge on this are welcome to correct me!

The palette is housed in a compact similar to the Blush G Serie Noire that was launched for spring. Its hidden compartment houses a brush with teal bristles that's quite handy when it comes to targeting the pink portions. The palette also comes with a black velvet pouch with blue lining.

Guerlain Parure de Nuit Powder/Blush retails for $67 and is available at Guerlain counters nationwide. As with all seasonal releases, it is expected to sell out very quickly, so grab yours before it's too late!

*For the curious: I am wearing the new Rouge Automatique 169 Flirt d’un Jour in the above photo.

Coming Up On Messy Wands: Guerlain Holiday 2011

Just a quick reminder that the Saks beauty event is still going on, so get your beauty goodies this week if you need to restock anything. If not, Guerlain Holiday arrived at the Boston counter last Friday, so by now it should be available at your local counter as well.

Here's the Guerlain GWP with purchases of $150 and above. It includes a generous helping of the Orchidee Imperiale skincare line, which is amazing (not to mention really pricey):

My pretties from the Guerlain Holiday 2011 Collection! I'll be reviewing these throughout the week:

Also, my Neiman Marcus SA told me Chanel Holiday should arrive just before the InCircle event in two weeks. For a peek at the gorgeous highlighting palette, be sure to visit Best Things In Beauty.