Messy Wands Turns One

2011

2012

A year ago my eyebrows looked like bat wings (and man, was I tanned).

Today, I cringe at my year-ago eyebrows and think mine look so much better now, but I bet next year we're going to have the same conversation about how ill drawn they were. 

I look forward to it. 

Sneak Peek: Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Intense Eyeshadows, Acqua Collection

While a few beauty brands are in the midst of rolling out fall collections (I know we're all tired of hearing this, but seriously, in July?!?), Giorgio Armani Beauty decided instead to release a capsule collection of just six Eyes To Kill Intense Eyeshadows and two eyeliners to tide us over before the big show. The eyeliners are run-of-the-mill black and brown, so I didn't swatch them, though I did purchase them.

L-R: 29 Rose Titanium, 28 Red Platine, 27 Oxidized Silver, 26 Carat Gold, 25 Rusted Gold, 24 Smokey Copper

These colors are true to the eye, though Rose Titanium is pinker and Rusted Gold has more multi-dimensional sparkle.

I don't remember if we already had the ETK Intense conversation on Messy Wands. My take is: great, unique formula, long lasting, amazing color choices, but by virtue of it being in a pot I just don't reach for it as much, and because of that I am now very wary of being drawn to any of them because of the seven I own that I have rarely, if ever, touched. That said (and this comes as a surprise), I find myself curiously attracted to Carat Gold. 

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Intense Eyeshadows retail for $32 and can be found on giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com and nordstrom.com.

Blushing Apples

As far as yesterday's post was about lips, I wanted to talk about cheeks as well (my friend Tracy nicknamed me Cheekz for good reason). Recently I haven't been doing the "pull into hairline" sort of cheek as much as the "dab at the apples" kind, largely because of my obsession with Robin's (Cobie Smulders) makeup in How I Met Your Mother, but we'll stay on topic for now.

Cheeks: Tarte Exposed

How I do it is I use my LMdB Cheek Brush and pick up a good amount of pigment, then press it onto the apples of my cheeks (remember the first point of contact between brush and skin deposits the greatest amount of pigment). From there, I sort of fluff and blend it out.

Eyes: Chantecaille Rose Gold; Cheeks: Chanel Tempting Beige

Of course, if you want to add a little extra something to the look (and it's daytime and totally not appropriate to be sparkling–you listening, Cullens?), try a non-glittery highlighter. In the pictures above I used Dior Airflash Primer, which works great as an opal highlighter as well. I really need to talk about that one day soon.

Swatches of the products in this post:

L-R: Chanel Tempting Beige, Tarte Exposed, Chantecaille Rose Gold

Chanel Tempting Beige is a lightly browned peach and my go-to peach cheek color. I think I've never been tempted (ha!) by any other peach blush because this one is just perfect for me. Tarte Exposed is a lightly browned muted rose.

Now, on to my current TV obsession. Have you watched How I Met Your Mother? I can't believe I waited this long to jump on that bandwagon (in a way, that's great since I could just smash straight through seven seasons). Every time Robin comes on screen I stare at her makeup because a) she's gorgeous, and b) she's made up very well. Her makeup artist applies her blush the above-mentioned way, and she always looks just the right amount of flushed.

Though not indicative in this picture

Did you know Cobie Smulders was also in the Avengers? I never knew till someone pointed out to me that she was Samuel L. Jackson's hot assistant.

Anyone else has the same ardent fondness for HIMYM? Or browned cheek products? Let's discuss!

The Summer Lip Conundrum

I've been trying out the "bronzed summer look" recently and since contouring is one of my favorite things to do, you can imagine how much I'm enjoying it. That said, I'd get my brows, eyes, cheeks done but can never figure out what lip to pair the look with. I have a bronze goddess image in my mind that lacks a pair of lips. Eep.

So today I took it as a personal challenge to find a lip that works! I tried on a couple lipsticks I've been eyeing for a long time but never really had a chance to use, and some well-loved glosses for good measure. (Only while writing this post I noticed I forgot to include a peach selection. Sigh.)

Cle de Peau 206 Sweet Watermelon

I've been trying to make Cle de Peau Enriched Lip Luminizer 206 Sweet Watermelon work on me for the longest time. For some reason this coral pink clashes with everything I wear–in fact, even when I'm not wearing any eye makeup! This looks okay in pictures but in real life I felt it was too warm for the overall look, or specifically my skintone.

Burberry Feather Pink Lip Mist

Burberry Feather Pink Lip Mist No. 209 was my first ever Burberry acquisition. It was a welcome gift at one of my first internships and I cherish it to this day. While swatched similarly to Cle de Peau 206, on the lips it's lighter, cooler, and much pinker. While pretty, it somehow also doesn't fit the whole look.

Chanel Calypso

I thought Chanel Calypso Glossimer would do the trick. After all, isn't coral the quintessential summer color?

Eh.

LMdB Indian Summer (Copper Leaf layered over Ginger Snap)

Finally I thought, since I was going for this bronze-y feel copper might be a good direction to head toward, and I do think it does the trick...

Bare lips... okay no, a slick of Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment

But I found that a bare lip works best in the end. I suppose since summer is all about paring down, less really should be more!

(Also, just so there is no confusion. All the products featured in this post wears fantastically and are some of the most comfortable lip stuff I own. I was just particularly hard on them in terms of how well they work with the look I was going for.)

For reference, here are swatches of all the lip products used in this post:

L-R: LMdB Indian Summer layered, Copper Leaf, Ginger Snap, Chanel Calypso, Burberry Feather Pink, Cle de Peau 206

Cle de Peau Enriched Lip Luminizer 206 retails for $60 (the refill is $35 and holder $25. Yikes!), Burberry Feather Pink Lip Mist is $30, Chanel Calypso Glossimer is $29.50, and the Le Métier de Beauté Indian Summer duo is $65.

What is your go-to summer lip product? I would love to get some ideas!

Oh, and Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Guerlain Fall 2012: Femme D'Amour & Femme Fatale

I've been waiting for official word of Guerlain's Fall 2012 collection since seeing a preview on British Beauty Blogger. The Rouge G L'Extrait formula is a matte liquid lipstick/gloss and I heard they're really comfortable. And new blush duos! Oh my word.

Click to enlarge

Official press info:

Guerlain Fall Color Collection 2012

FEMME D’AMOUR & FEMME FATALE

Women have the incredible talent to continuously re-invent their femininity. One day she can be an angelic flirt, the next a passionate seductress. Guerlain’s fall collection pays tribute to these two juxtaposing looks and celebrates a woman’s ability to decide who she wants to be today. The Femme Fatale is steeped in passion and seduction and boasts beautiful red shades. The Femme D’Amour shades perfectly define the angelic, romantic woman with a vast color collection ranging from beige to plum. The look is innocent and fresh, yet still seductive and sensual.

Rouge G Lipstick – Five NEW Permanent Shades - $48.00
Rouge G returns with five new elegant shades marked with the timeless flame of femininity. Poppy red, deep red, intense pink, brick orange and shiny beige.  Jewel shades to arouse every desire! The perfect smile starts with these key ingredients: radiance revealing Ruby Powder, light-reflecting liquid pearl particles, hyaluronic acid spheres and Gugul resin fill out the smile, Vitamin A Palmitate and Tiger Grass plump the lips and mango butter ensures softness.
Five New Shades: 
• 27 Gilda 
• 28 Genna
• 47 Gisela
• 76 Gracy
• B04 Bonnie (Rouge G de Brilliant)

The Lip Liner – One NEW Permanent Shade - $30.00
Designed to enhance the natural tone of the lips, Guerlain's newest shade redefines the shape of your lips while leaving them perfectly outlined.
Now avalailable in “42 Bois des Indes.” 

L’Écrin 4 Couleurs – One NEW Permanent Shade - $59.00
A long-lasting eyeshadow composed of a unique harmony of warm oranges and browns specially selected to allow you to mix and match, to define your own look.
Now available in “14 Les Fauves.”

Kiss Kiss Gloss – Two Limited Edition Shades - $32.00
Lips get drenched in color and moisture, while maximum sheen provides the perfect finishing touch. KissKiss Gloss kisses lips with long-lasting shine, color and comfort.
Two limited edition shades: 
• 851 Sable Show  
• 873 Grenade

Availability 
Guerlain’s Fall Color collection is available beginning August 2012 at select locations of Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Sephora, Bloomingdales and Bergdorf Goodman.

China Glaze Fall 2012: On Safari

By now you might have noticed a coherent theme emerging from fall collections: jungles/safaris/places you might wear khaki pants to. China Glaze is no exception to the rule, with On Safari as the title of its fall collection, you can just imagine what kind of colors they proffer.

On Safari consists of ten cremes and two glitters, including:

• Kalahari Kiss: Light sand brown
• I’m Not Lion: Glistening gold and multi-color glitter
• Call of the Wild: Beautiful chocolate brown-dark cherry blend
• Adventure Red-y: Vivid red
• Desert Sun: Delicious caramel
• I Herd That: Brilliant copper glitter 
• Man Hunt: Bold cobalt blue
• Exotic Encounters: Lush green crème with blue undertones
• Elephant Walk: Cool graphite grey
• Jungle Queen: Smoky violet
• Purr-fect Plum: Bold burgundy 
• Prey Tell: Daringly dark red 

On Safari is also available in two 6-piece sets:

• The "Native" Collection: Man Hunt, Exotic Encounters, Elephant Walk, Jungle Queen, Purr-Fect, and Prey Tell
• The "Tourist" Collection: Kalahari Kiss, I'm not Lion, Call of the Wild, Adventure Red-y, Desert Sun, and I Herd That

I received four random pieces from the collection to swatch, so without further ado...

Desert Sun

Desert Sun was a surprise in that I was so sure I couldn't pull it off, but having it on my fingers changed my mind. Who knew a pumpkin shade wouldn't make my fingers look more yellow? 

Purr-Fect Plum

Purr-fect Plum is the quintessential fall shade (I know I said there's a jungle trend, and I don't care what they tell me. I know wine shades will be "in"), which I thought I should own by now – surprisingly, no. The closest I have are varying hues of rose that are not at all close.

L-R: Butter London Toff, China Glaze Purr-Fect Plum, Rescue Beauty Lounge Bruised

Call of the Wild

Call of the Wild looks like the plummer version of Chanel Vertigo.

I'm Not Lion

I was super excited because I received one of the glitters! I'm Not Lion is (I think? Not super sure about nail definitions) a holographic white/silver/pink/green glitter and of course it's my favorite of the bunch.

Everything is a one-coater and I applied it as such to show you it's possible (though if I were doing a real manicure I would still do two). Application was brilliantly easy and even I'm Not Lion was a breeze to remove.

Based on the press release, individual polishes retail for $7, while the 6-piece set retails for $42. However, I recall previous China Glaze polish purchases at a much lower rate, so remember to compare different sites like 8tybeauty, Amazon etc. before you hit the checkout button.

The products in this post were sent by PR for editorial consideration.

Reads of the Week, 7.1.12

Fall collections are rolling in, thus the beauty blogosphere collectively ruffles its semi-dormant wings. Some posts that caught my eye this week:

Dain from Ars Aromatica writes about Laura Mercier.

Sabrina of The Beauty Look Book reviews Diwali from the latest Chanel exclusive collection Bombay Express de Chanel, and I must thank her again because her comprehensive post made me safe from another $30 nail polish.

Best Things in Beauty reviews Chanel Brume d'Or.

Danielle of Bloomin' Beauty delivers another stunning comparison post of items from MAC Heavenly Creatures. I can look at her arm all day.

That temptress Brooke of BlushingNoir gives us an early look of pieces from Dior Golden Jungle.

British Beauty Blogger updates her site almost feverishly, and it would be hard to single out just one post if not for, um, elephant palettes!

While not directly related to beauty, I love Creature of Design's overview of Preen Resort 2013.

Drivel About Frivol examines minimalistic makeup, reminding me that sometimes makeup can not be frivolous.

Larie of Eye Heart It writes about my favorite drugstore brushes, EcoTools.

Jessica of Getting Cheeky has very enviable lips, this time showcasing MAC Cut A Caper.

Paris of My Women Stuff shares her wisdom on choosing a blog name (and in case you're interested, the story about Messy Wands is here.)

Gaia of The Non Blonde reviews new Edward Bess lipsticks.

TheNotice's short and sweet news update contains everything I'm looking forward to – fall makeup and the Avengers on Blu-Ray. (Who's your favorite? Dibs on Jeremy Renner!)

Time 4 Beauty previews the new YSL nail lacquers.

Hope you had a wonderful week!