Bite High Pigment Matte Pencil in Pomegranate

This is completely not in season but really, what is anymore? Last I heard dark wine lips are in (for fall, but people are already wearing it now. At some point I need to stop thinking anything is "in" anymore). The Bite High Pigment Matte Pencil in Pomegranate may not be dark, but it's another one of those easy-to-apply reds, and I will be terribly remiss if I waited till blue-red lips are "appropriate" to show it to you.

L-R: Bite Pomegranate, Guerlain Rouge G Garconne

I mean, just look at that. 

While Bite calls this a matte pencil, I don't find it particularly so. While not glossy per se, the finish reminds me of licked lips. Bite's also not joshing around on the "high pigment" front. This is a one swiper. I would be really afraid of making mistakes with this (not that the pencil makes it easy to. In fact, I'd say it'll take effort to mess it up) just because it leaves such a stain - but that usually also means the color's going to last forever.

(This review is kind of hard to write because my soulmate Rae has already written a perfect one, see here.)

Bite High Pigment Matte Pencil in Pomegranate retails for $24 and is available at Sephora.

Chantecaille Tiger in the Wild Palette

It astonishes me that of all their past palettes, Chantecaille Tiger in the Wild is the only one still available. If anything I would have thought it would be the first to go. I own three Chantecaille seasonal   palettes (the other two are the New Classics palette and Sea Turtle palette) and saw/swatched a few others throughout the years. You quickly see a very clear pattern emerging when looking at the palettes. The colors they use are always neutral and demure, and fall under what we would usually think of as "universal."

Chantecaille's 4-pan palettes usually include a highlight/base shade, a main eye shade, a liner shade, and a cheek shade. Tiger in the Wild contains a shimmering cream, light taupe, deep grape, and pink coral blush.

Below, I applied Tiger in the Wild in the most basic way possible. I applied the highlighter/base shade all over my lids and under the brow bone, then applied the taupe shade on the lid area. With the Shu Uemura 10F brush, I winged out the deep grape liner shade, and used a pointed brush to target the color on the crease. 

I remember way back when I didn't know much about Chantecaille, all I heard was they had great eyeshadows. People raved about its softness and how smooth it felt, how easy it was to blend. I largely agree - Chantecaille shadows definitely feel good on the skin, but sometimes softness isn't a good thing. While easy to apply, I kicked up a lot of excess shadow when dipping my liner brush (usually stiffer than regular eyeshadow brushes) into the grape shade. While it applied beautifully to my upper lash line, I had to clean up the resulting fallout.

I'm aware that I'm nitpicking. After all, the shadows are buttery, the color choices spot on, the design is quite amazing, and the pans are huge. I personally think Tiger in the Wild is Chantecaille's best palette so far.

Chantecaille Tiger in the Wild Palette retails for $78 and is still available on chantecaille.com.

Full Contouring Tutorial

One of the earlier posts I wrote on Messy Wands was a mini contouring tutorial using NARS Multiples. I called it "mini" because it wasn't complete - I only demonstrated how to shade the cheeks, while contouring can involve the entire face. With summer quickly approaching, my makeup routine is now as simple as my clothing choices. I've been wearing less and less, and the contoured look is one of my stalwarts for something quick, easy, and effective. 

As I mentioned in said mini tutorial, contouring is about manipulating light (or what we perceive as light/shadow) to make your features more pronounced. We have in our makeup arsenal highlighters or luminizers that has light reflecting properties, or powders one shade lighter than your skin tone to give a similar effect, and bronzers to deepen your skin tone to mimic shadow. When used together, it gives dimension to an otherwise flat face (in my case quite literally, which is why I like to contour my nose).  

Below is a guide to how I contour my face, with the hope that it proves helpful to you.

Bare face, with shaded brows, CdP Concealer in Ochre and LMdB Peau Vierge #2

I shade according to the lines in the photo above: 

1. The area below the cheeks
2. The temples
3. The sides along the nose into the eyebrows
4. Along the jawline

L-R: bare face, contoured face

Contoured face

Contoured + blush

As for materials, you can use any texture you like, though I am partial to powders. There are dedicated contouring products out there (like the MAC Studio Sculpt line) but it is likely that you already have everything you need in your hands. You could use blushes or bronzers that are a couple shades darker than your skin tone – my personal favorite is Burberry Earthy.

Suqqu Balancing Eyebrow in Moss Green, Burberry Sheer Summer Glow Palette

For this particular post, I used Burberry Sheer Summer Glow Palette for most of my face, and the Suqqu Balancing Eyebrow palette for the contouring down the sides of the nose (I love that the palette has a dedicated shade just for that purpose!). To enhance the contours, I place highlighter down the center of the nose and the top of the cheekbones as well.

Top-Bottom: Suqqu Powder Brush, Hakuhodo 210 Blush Brush, Suqqu Eyeshadow Brush L

Hakuhodo 210 Blush Brush

Much of a good contouring experience lies in the brushes you use. It is important to blend the color into the skin while maintaining a defined line, so while your brushes should be soft (bonus points for comfort) it should also retain a firm shape. I've tried a few, such as Shu Uemura 20H (slanted cheek), Hakuhodo S103 (pointed blush brush), and the MAC 109 (rounded blush brush), which is similar to my HG, the Hakuhodo 210 Blush Brush. All are effective and depends on what you personally prefer. I like the rounded shape for the density and firmness, and prefer the Hakuhodo over the MAC due to the softness of the bristles. I also like to use the Suqqu Eyeshadow Brush L where precision is needed (like the sides of the nose). 

I'm Back! + Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light

It is odd to be back in the fray after one of the most decadent weeks I've had in a very long time. I graduated on Monday (where Bobbi Brown accepted an honorary degree! Random trivia: Bobbi Brown went to Emerson College as an undergraduate), and brought my parents around New York, Niagara Falls, and took a (sort of embarrassing but super fun) Segway tour through Washington, DC. I wanted to look at more memorials (other fun facts: I actually have a minor in Visual Studies and the Arts and took a class on urban public art in my final year) and visit more museums and was really excited to see all those works I've only studied on screen and paper, but alas my family was less amused by twisted colored metal and odd shapes on the grass. Perhaps I'll return to DC anon. It is architecturally a breathtaking city.

After my parents left, I spent the entire weekend quite guiltily indulging in, well, fun that I haven't had time to have for the earlier part of the year. I spent the past two days in equal amounts of playing Diablo III, watching Mad Men, and reading The Clash of Kings: A Song of Ice and Fire. Imagine my alternating fist pumps to killing decayed monsters, Peggy Olsen (and goodness I want to move like Christina Hendricks), and crying "Winter is coming!!" to the stubborn warring kings. It was such a good weekend, but once school ends vacations become short. And unemployed graduates need to find jobs (sigh).

I figured a quick one will do after a week of absence, and I checked to make sure this was still available before I posted it. Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light is part of their spring release, an intriguing confection of indigo navy polish with what looks like copper flakies in the bottle.

A shot to show how it looks in the bottle

On application and closer inspection, the flakies are actually red/orange/yellow/green, though when directly in the light it reflects copper. The indigo navy base is jelly-ish, and the formula seems to be thicker than usual, so it was not a breeze to apply. It requires two coats for full opacity.

I received many compliments when wearing this color, and wore it a full five days with nary a chip. It's one of the more intriguing colors that came out for spring, and if you don't mind suffering a little during application (and have an ardent weakness for flakies), I say get it before it's gone!

Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light retails for $18 and can still be found on nordstrom.com and neimanmarcus.com.

I just wanted to let you guys know there won't be any updates this week! My parents are here in the States for my commencement (on Monday! What to wear! What makeup! How should I do my hair!) and I'm being the dutiful tour guide. Just before that picture was taken, we were on the Brooklyn Bridge, smiling into the sun. I hope you guys have a great week ahead while my family conquers the Northeast!

Love,
Xiao

NARS Summer 2012: Liberté Blush

NARS released just one cheek product for summer, the fiery orange Liberté Blush. While it looks scarily bright in the pan, it actually applies as a much softer color, which you can build in intensity if desired. It is easier than I thought it would be to use, perhaps because when applied, the color leans closer to red than orange on the skin. The texture is NARS at its best.

Eyes: Ramatuelle Eyeshadow Trio; Lips: NARS Moscow Pure Matte Lipstick

There is something I struggle with every time NARS releases a seasonal collection. I want it all. Immediately. But their products are really seasonal to me, as in I'll use them for three months and never touch them again. With the advent of having to move again (I've moved house so often in the past four years that all I want to do now is stay at the same spot for the next decade or so), I am starting to question the size of my makeup stash and the rationality of my purchases.

I've had pieces from the summer collection for three weeks now, and after the initial excitement wore off, I can safely say I could have done without the Ramatuelle Trio and Liberté Blush, nice as they are. How bad is it that I started this post wanting to write about the blush only to conclude that the lipstick remains a much more exciting topic? Love that shade.

NARS Liberté Blush retails for $34 and is available at narscosmetics.com.

NARS Summer 2012: Vendanges Sheer Lipstick

I secretly love beauty companies that break "color rules," i.e. pink for spring, bronzers for summer, red for fall/winter. While NARS served up plenty of traditional summer hues in their most recent collection, they sneaked in little surprises that threw me off, like the Vendanges Sheer Lipstick, and for that I am grateful. 

Vendanges is a sheer grape shade that could be layered for a deeper effect, as shown in the swatch picture above. NARS lipsticks are quite comfortable to wear, and the Sheer Lipstick formula even more so. I couldn't feel it on my lips, even while I was applying it! Vendanges is scent and taste free.

Eyes: LMdB Splendid Frost

Since it is so sheer, Vendanges ends up being wearable even though it is usually classified as a fall shade. After all, one can only wear orange/coral/hot pink for so long before itching for something more demure.

NARS Vendanges Sheer Lipstick retails for $24 and is available at all NARS counters and narscosmetics.com. Curiously, it hasn't appeared at my local Sephora yet (they usually get there a lot earlier) but it should any day now!