Givenchy Le Prisme Blush Blooming Fuchsias Fall 2010 Limited Edition

The limited edition Givenchy Le Prisme Blush Blooming Fuchsias arrived at Sephora just as I thought I was all covered when it comes to blush colors for the new season. But the pretty shade, nice packaging and overall loveliness won me over, so here it is. Givenchy makeup suffers from the Sephora syndrome. It's a great line with high quality products and gorgeous colors; yet many potential customers pass on it since it's a Sephora exclusive. Those of us who avoid the store because of its broken, missing or cootieful testers, horrible loud music and general atmosphere of a high school on the Jersey Shore can always order online, but in many cases (like with this Le Prisme Blush) the photos aren't accurate. I guess that's what beauty bloggers are for.

Blooming Fuchsias blush comes in the quilted Le Prisme format in a special compact that includes a mini brush in the bottom compartment. The brush is much better than those that usually come with blushes- it's wide enough to cover the skin without streaks, so it's usable if you're stuck without a real blush brush. The texture is sliky soft and has no shimmer. The pattern is this abstract splashes of colors, more peony pink than fuchsia, but I'm not complaining. It combines two shades of pink and two shades of beige/tan, so the final result  is a natural warm pink, quite sheer but buildable to the level you want- one side is darker than the other, so you can customize and balance the amount of pigment you pick.

I swatched with the brush that came in the compact, and only swiped it once before taking the picture, so you can see that the lightest application is still visible on my pale to medium olive skin. I think the color would look flattering on most because it is a very natural shade (seriously, ignore the photo on Sephora's website. It made me question both my eyesight and my sanity), but it's probably too sheer for very dark skin.

Givenchy Limited Edition Le Prisme Blush in Blooming Fuchsias for Fall 2010 ($48.50) is a Sephora exclusive. Thankfully it's available online.

Bottom Line: Lovely.

All photos are mine

Givenchy Le Prisme Blush Blooming Fuchsias Fall 2010 Limited Edition

The limited edition Givenchy Le Prisme Blush Blooming Fuchsias arrived at Sephora just as I thought I was all covered when it comes to blush colors for the new season. But the pretty shade, nice packaging and overall loveliness won me over, so here it is. Givenchy makeup suffers from the Sephora syndrome. It's a great line with high quality products and gorgeous colors; yet many potential customers pass on it since it's a Sephora exclusive. Those of us who avoid the store because of its broken, missing or cootieful testers, horrible loud music and general atmosphere of a high school on the Jersey Shore can always order online, but in many cases (like with this Le Prisme Blush) the photos aren't accurate. I guess that's what beauty bloggers are for.

Blooming Fuchsias blush comes in the quilted Le Prisme format in a special compact that includes a mini brush in the bottom compartment. The brush is much better than those that usually come with blushes- it's wide enough to cover the skin without streaks, so it's usable if you're stuck without a real blush brush. The texture is sliky soft and has no shimmer. The pattern is this abstract splashes of colors, more peony pink than fuchsia, but I'm not complaining. It combines two shades of pink and two shades of beige/tan, so the final result  is a natural warm pink, quite sheer but buildable to the level you want- one side is darker than the other, so you can customize and balance the amount of pigment you pick.

I swatched with the brush that came in the compact, and only swiped it once before taking the picture, so you can see that the lightest application is still visible on my pale to medium olive skin. I think the color would look flattering on most because it is a very natural shade (seriously, ignore the photo on Sephora's website. It made me question both my eyesight and my sanity), but it's probably too sheer for very dark skin.

Givenchy Limited Edition Le Prisme Blush in Blooming Fuchsias for Fall 2010 ($48.50) is a Sephora exclusive. Thankfully it's available online.

Bottom Line: Lovely.

All photos are mine

Givenchy Le Prisme Blush Blooming Fuchsias Fall 2010 Limited Edition

The limited edition Givenchy Le Prisme Blush Blooming Fuchsias arrived at Sephora just as I thought I was all covered when it comes to blush colors for the new season. But the pretty shade, nice packaging and overall loveliness won me over, so here it is. Givenchy makeup suffers from the Sephora syndrome. It's a great line with high quality products and gorgeous colors; yet many potential customers pass on it since it's a Sephora exclusive. Those of us who avoid the store because of its broken, missing or cootieful testers, horrible loud music and general atmosphere of a high school on the Jersey Shore can always order online, but in many cases (like with this Le Prisme Blush) the photos aren't accurate. I guess that's what beauty bloggers are for.

Blooming Fuchsias blush comes in the quilted Le Prisme format in a special compact that includes a mini brush in the bottom compartment. The brush is much better than those that usually come with blushes- it's wide enough to cover the skin without streaks, so it's usable if you're stuck without a real blush brush. The texture is sliky soft and has no shimmer. The pattern is this abstract splashes of colors, more peony pink than fuchsia, but I'm not complaining. It combines two shades of pink and two shades of beige/tan, so the final result  is a natural warm pink, quite sheer but buildable to the level you want- one side is darker than the other, so you can customize and balance the amount of pigment you pick.

I swatched with the brush that came in the compact, and only swiped it once before taking the picture, so you can see that the lightest application is still visible on my pale to medium olive skin. I think the color would look flattering on most because it is a very natural shade (seriously, ignore the photo on Sephora's website. It made me question both my eyesight and my sanity), but it's probably too sheer for very dark skin.

Givenchy Limited Edition Le Prisme Blush in Blooming Fuchsias for Fall 2010 ($48.50) is a Sephora exclusive. Thankfully it's available online.

Bottom Line: Lovely.

All photos are mine

Is This What We do Now?

Maybe I'm showing my age. Maybe I'm a prude and have lost my sense of humor. But is this really how we sell lip gloss now? I don't know about anyone else, but I just want to feel pretty when I buy and wear makeup.

And don't even get me started on the barely single use sample size. It's not Sephora's fault and they're being more than generous with their VIB and Beauty Insiders perks, but do brands (Buxom by Bare Escentuals and Urban Decay in this case) really think a smeared foil is enough to make us run and buy their glosses? When I'm testing something I like to give it at least 2-3 tries. In the case of lip gloss one usually needs to reapply after a couple of hours, so if the original sample is already gone I will just reach for whatever else is in my bag, and forget all about these ridiculous samples.

Photo by me.

Is This What We do Now?

Maybe I'm showing my age. Maybe I'm a prude and have lost my sense of humor. But is this really how we sell lip gloss now? I don't know about anyone else, but I just want to feel pretty when I buy and wear makeup.

And don't even get me started on the barely single use sample size. It's not Sephora's fault and they're being more than generous with their VIB and Beauty Insiders perks, but do brands (Buxom by Bare Escentuals and Urban Decay in this case) really think a smeared foil is enough to make us run and buy their glosses? When I'm testing something I like to give it at least 2-3 tries. In the case of lip gloss one usually needs to reapply after a couple of hours, so if the original sample is already gone I will just reach for whatever else is in my bag, and forget all about these ridiculous samples.

Photo by me.

Is This What We do Now?

Maybe I'm showing my age. Maybe I'm a prude and have lost my sense of humor. But is this really how we sell lip gloss now? I don't know about anyone else, but I just want to feel pretty when I buy and wear makeup.

And don't even get me started on the barely single use sample size. It's not Sephora's fault and they're being more than generous with their VIB and Beauty Insiders perks, but do brands (Buxom by Bare Escentuals and Urban Decay in this case) really think a smeared foil is enough to make us run and buy their glosses? When I'm testing something I like to give it at least 2-3 tries. In the case of lip gloss one usually needs to reapply after a couple of hours, so if the original sample is already gone I will just reach for whatever else is in my bag, and forget all about these ridiculous samples.

Photo by me.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat & Essie Jazz

I've been having a nail polish crisis. All of a sudden I got tired of super bright colors and ultra shimmer. Everything looked off, too much, overdone and just plain wrong. I also got tired of the three coat ritual to get that perfect utterly unnatural finish. So I dug out my namesake, Gaia by Zoya, which is a white with gold flakes. I used it as a wash of color more than a full coverage manicure, but even that was not quite what I wanted because Gaia looks better mid-summer. I have several beige options but somehow none made me happy, until a quick shopping excursion for other items led me to these two colors.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat is a taupish nude beige with very light shimmer. It's not quite as mushroomy as Chanel Particulier and other colors in that range, but it has a cool undertone balanced by the almost gold shimmer. Essie Jazz is a bit warmer, more opaque and creamy- there's no shimmer there.

Texture-wise, The OPI is much thinner and dries quickly. It's perfect as a quick one coat, not-quite full manicure look, though with a second coat and a clear top it's as elegant and sophisticated as any color can be. Jazz is very creamy and a lot thicker, which means streaky, so I must take more time to let it dry properly and apply a second  coat . It's worth it, though, because the result is quite refined and looks effortless and very chic.

I bought Under My Trench Coat ($9) at Sephora Union Square (also available online) and Essie Jazz ($8) at a J. Crew store.

All photos are mine.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat & Essie Jazz

I've been having a nail polish crisis. All of a sudden I got tired of super bright colors and ultra shimmer. Everything looked off, too much, overdone and just plain wrong. I also got tired of the three coat ritual to get that perfect utterly unnatural finish. So I dug out my namesake, Gaia by Zoya, which is a white with gold flakes. I used it as a wash of color more than a full coverage manicure, but even that was not quite what I wanted because Gaia looks better mid-summer. I have several beige options but somehow none made me happy, until a quick shopping excursion for other items led me to these two colors.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat is a taupish nude beige with very light shimmer. It's not quite as mushroomy as Chanel Particulier and other colors in that range, but it has a cool undertone balanced by the almost gold shimmer. Essie Jazz is a bit warmer, more opaque and creamy- there's no shimmer there.

Texture-wise, The OPI is much thinner and dries quickly. It's perfect as a quick one coat, not-quite full manicure look, though with a second coat and a clear top it's as elegant and sophisticated as any color can be. Jazz is very creamy and a lot thicker, which means streaky, so I must take more time to let it dry properly and apply a second  coat . It's worth it, though, because the result is quite refined and looks effortless and very chic.

I bought Under My Trench Coat ($9) at Sephora Union Square (also available online) and Essie Jazz ($8) at a J. Crew store.

All photos are mine.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat & Essie Jazz

I've been having a nail polish crisis. All of a sudden I got tired of super bright colors and ultra shimmer. Everything looked off, too much, overdone and just plain wrong. I also got tired of the three coat ritual to get that perfect utterly unnatural finish. So I dug out my namesake, Gaia by Zoya, which is a white with gold flakes. I used it as a wash of color more than a full coverage manicure, but even that was not quite what I wanted because Gaia looks better mid-summer. I have several beige options but somehow none made me happy, until a quick shopping excursion for other items led me to these two colors.

Sephora by OPI Under My Trench Coat is a taupish nude beige with very light shimmer. It's not quite as mushroomy as Chanel Particulier and other colors in that range, but it has a cool undertone balanced by the almost gold shimmer. Essie Jazz is a bit warmer, more opaque and creamy- there's no shimmer there.

Texture-wise, The OPI is much thinner and dries quickly. It's perfect as a quick one coat, not-quite full manicure look, though with a second coat and a clear top it's as elegant and sophisticated as any color can be. Jazz is very creamy and a lot thicker, which means streaky, so I must take more time to let it dry properly and apply a second  coat . It's worth it, though, because the result is quite refined and looks effortless and very chic.

I bought Under My Trench Coat ($9) at Sephora Union Square (also available online) and Essie Jazz ($8) at a J. Crew store.

All photos are mine.

Let's Talk About Sephora

This wouldn't be the first time I'm kvetching about Sephora. Maybe it's my fault for still occasionally shopping there, because it certainly looks like the company has lost interest in me as a costumer. I can still remember that ten years ago Sephora was a lot more fabulous. The stores (at least the ones I frequented in NYC and NJ) were better maintained, the brands offered were more interesting and even the perfume selection was better- more prestige/luxury houses, less mass market. They used to offer the entire range of Cartier perfumes, for example, not just the latest/bigger sellers. There was more Chanel (including makeup!) and Guerlain parfum extraits- can you imagine buying L'Heure Bleue at a Sephora store today?

There were also smaller high quality makeup brands that weren't necessarily geared towards teenagers. I first discovered Skin by Alison Raffaele at Sephora. The same goes for Paula Dorf makeup, Becca Cosmetics and Anna Sui nail polish. All of them are no longer available there, and the bad news keep coming: Both Cargo and Laura Geller makeup brands are being withdrawn from Sephora. You'd be able to find them on QVC, but seriously, I'm not a fan.

But beyond the kiddy brands, the disappearance of old favorites and the clueless SAs (what else is new?), the biggest turn off is the state of the makeup displays. It's the same in every store I visited over the last year or so, from Paramus to the brand new store on Times Square. Testers are broken, missing and dirty. The general feel is that you're going to get a serious case of cooties if you touch anything there, and that, my dear LVMH friends, is the total opposite of luxury.

Photo by me.

Let's Talk About Sephora

This wouldn't be the first time I'm kvetching about Sephora. Maybe it's my fault for still occasionally shopping there, because it certainly looks like the company has lost interest in me as a costumer. I can still remember that ten years ago Sephora was a lot more fabulous. The stores (at least the ones I frequented in NYC and NJ) were better maintained, the brands offered were more interesting and even the perfume selection was better- more prestige/luxury houses, less mass market. They used to offer the entire range of Cartier perfumes, for example, not just the latest/bigger sellers. There was more Chanel (including makeup!) and Guerlain parfum extraits- can you imagine buying L'Heure Bleue at a Sephora store today?

There were also smaller high quality makeup brands that weren't necessarily geared towards teenagers. I first discovered Skin by Alison Raffaele at Sephora. The same goes for Paula Dorf makeup, Becca Cosmetics and Anna Sui nail polish. All of them are no longer available there, and the bad news keep coming: Both Cargo and Laura Geller makeup brands are being withdrawn from Sephora. You'd be able to find them on QVC, but seriously, I'm not a fan.

But beyond the kiddy brands, the disappearance of old favorites and the clueless SAs (what else is new?), the biggest turn off is the state of the makeup displays. It's the same in every store I visited over the last year or so, from Paramus to the brand new store on Times Square. Testers are broken, missing and dirty. The general feel is that you're going to get a serious case of cooties if you touch anything there, and that, my dear LVMH friends, is the total opposite of luxury.

Photo by me.

Let's Talk About Sephora

This wouldn't be the first time I'm kvetching about Sephora. Maybe it's my fault for still occasionally shopping there, because it certainly looks like the company has lost interest in me as a costumer. I can still remember that ten years ago Sephora was a lot more fabulous. The stores (at least the ones I frequented in NYC and NJ) were better maintained, the brands offered were more interesting and even the perfume selection was better- more prestige/luxury houses, less mass market. They used to offer the entire range of Cartier perfumes, for example, not just the latest/bigger sellers. There was more Chanel (including makeup!) and Guerlain parfum extraits- can you imagine buying L'Heure Bleue at a Sephora store today?

There were also smaller high quality makeup brands that weren't necessarily geared towards teenagers. I first discovered Skin by Alison Raffaele at Sephora. The same goes for Paula Dorf makeup, Becca Cosmetics and Anna Sui nail polish. All of them are no longer available there, and the bad news keep coming: Both Cargo and Laura Geller makeup brands are being withdrawn from Sephora. You'd be able to find them on QVC, but seriously, I'm not a fan.

But beyond the kiddy brands, the disappearance of old favorites and the clueless SAs (what else is new?), the biggest turn off is the state of the makeup displays. It's the same in every store I visited over the last year or so, from Paramus to the brand new store on Times Square. Testers are broken, missing and dirty. The general feel is that you're going to get a serious case of cooties if you touch anything there, and that, my dear LVMH friends, is the total opposite of luxury.

Photo by me.

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream

The 1 oz tube of Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream was a Sephora Beauty Insider GWP, and I must say I'm glad I didn't pay for it. I used to have several favorite products from Fresh and I still remember the wonderful scent of the Bulgarian Rose line. But that was before the company was sold to LVMH and lost its soul.

Kristen, The Beauty Addict, has already touched on the silliness of naming a product Brown Sugar while making it smell of lemon. The very synthetic citrus has nothing of the dark molasses-like aroma you'd expect from the name, and there's nothing rich or comforting in the cream's texture or performance. Maybe someone whose skin is dry and doesn't require deep nourishment from body creams would find it acceptable, but I don't. I kept testing the Brown Sugar cream under several circumstances (day, night, exposed skin, covered skin, cold day and balmy weather), but the result was always the same: within an hour of application I had to reach for another cream or lotion, because my skin was showing signs of dryness.

Bottom line: No.

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream ($35, 6.8 oz) is available from Sephora and Fresh boutiques. As I said above, the 1oz tube I have was a GWP.

Image: ehow.com

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream

The 1 oz tube of Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream was a Sephora Beauty Insider GWP, and I must say I'm glad I didn't pay for it. I used to have several favorite products from Fresh and I still remember the wonderful scent of the Bulgarian Rose line. But that was before the company was sold to LVMH and lost its soul.

Kristen, The Beauty Addict, has already touched on the silliness of naming a product Brown Sugar while making it smell of lemon. The very synthetic citrus has nothing of the dark molasses-like aroma you'd expect from the name, and there's nothing rich or comforting in the cream's texture or performance. Maybe someone whose skin is dry and doesn't require deep nourishment from body creams would find it acceptable, but I don't. I kept testing the Brown Sugar cream under several circumstances (day, night, exposed skin, covered skin, cold day and balmy weather), but the result was always the same: within an hour of application I had to reach for another cream or lotion, because my skin was showing signs of dryness.

Bottom line: No.

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream ($35, 6.8 oz) is available from Sephora and Fresh boutiques. As I said above, the 1oz tube I have was a GWP.

Image: ehow.com

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream

The 1 oz tube of Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream was a Sephora Beauty Insider GWP, and I must say I'm glad I didn't pay for it. I used to have several favorite products from Fresh and I still remember the wonderful scent of the Bulgarian Rose line. But that was before the company was sold to LVMH and lost its soul.

Kristen, The Beauty Addict, has already touched on the silliness of naming a product Brown Sugar while making it smell of lemon. The very synthetic citrus has nothing of the dark molasses-like aroma you'd expect from the name, and there's nothing rich or comforting in the cream's texture or performance. Maybe someone whose skin is dry and doesn't require deep nourishment from body creams would find it acceptable, but I don't. I kept testing the Brown Sugar cream under several circumstances (day, night, exposed skin, covered skin, cold day and balmy weather), but the result was always the same: within an hour of application I had to reach for another cream or lotion, because my skin was showing signs of dryness.

Bottom line: No.

Fresh Brown Sugar Body Cream ($35, 6.8 oz) is available from Sephora and Fresh boutiques. As I said above, the 1oz tube I have was a GWP.

Image: ehow.com

Kat Von D Rock'n'Roll Eyeshadow Palette

A couple of month ago I cashed some of my Sephora Beauty Insider points for the Kat Von D Rock'n'Roll Palette. I have to confess that I don't get Kat Von D or any of the body modification culture. I don't understand the aesthetics or anything else about it. I know I'm extreme: none of the women in my family has ever had her ears pierced for three generations, and even though my great-grandmother had hers done when she was very young, as far as my mom can remember, her grandma never actually wore earrings, not even clip-ons. It's interesting, considering they all loved jewelry and had several beautiful statement pieces, but regarded pierced ears as vulgar.

This might or might not explain why piercing and tattoos are so out of my personal comfort zone that I can't look at Kat Von D without cringing. I guess I'm not her target audience and never gave the makeup line a second thought until I accumulated too many points and had to redeem them for something, and the Rock'n'Roll Palette looked decent enough. Which it is, just not really good.

The colors are fine. I wasn't sure about the lavender purple one, but as you can see in the swatches, it's not quite s bright as in the pan. Still, not really my color and doesn't look very healthy against my skin, but that's what you get when you're clearly related to Martians. The two light colors- a shimmery white and a shimmery peach are actually super sheer. I had to pile on five coats to be able to take a picture. The other problem with them is glitter fallout. In the palette they both look more pearly than glittery, but once you apply the eye shadows, there's a lot of glitter landing on your cheeks, and that's over a primer. When swatching I only used a light lotion underneath and had to do some cleanup before I could take a clear picture. The dark glittery charcoal, on the other hand, has a lot less glitter than you'd expect from looking at the palette. It would have made a nice liner if it weren't so crumbly.

I'm spoiled, I admit. The products in my regular rotation, from Armani to Edward Bess, have taught me to expect gorgeous shades and superb quality. Kat Von D's below average color payoff and questionable texture are just not my idea of excellence in makeup. I understand that her prices are very attractive: the current eye shadow palettes in the regular line offer 8 colors for $34 (Dior Palettes run between $42 to $58), but even in the Kat Von D price range you can do better- Cargo palettes are great and priced at $32 and Urban Decay has several options between $30-38.

Bottom line: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Photos of the palette and swatches by me, Kat Von D from hollyscoop.com.

Kat Von D Rock'n'Roll Eyeshadow Palette

A couple of month ago I cashed some of my Sephora Beauty Insider points for the Kat Von D Rock'n'Roll Palette. I have to confess that I don't get Kat Von D or any of the body modification culture. I don't understand the aesthetics or anything else about it. I know I'm extreme: none of the women in my family has ever had her ears pierced for three generations, and even though my great-grandmother had hers done when she was very young, as far as my mom can remember, her grandma never actually wore earrings, not even clip-ons. It's interesting, considering they all loved jewelry and had several beautiful statement pieces, but regarded pierced ears as vulgar.

This might or might not explain why piercing and tattoos are so out of my personal comfort zone that I can't look at Kat Von D without cringing. I guess I'm not her target audience and never gave the makeup line a second thought until I accumulated too many points and had to redeem them for something, and the Rock'n'Roll Palette looked decent enough. Which it is, just not really good.

The colors are fine. I wasn't sure about the lavender purple one, but as you can see in the swatches, it's not quite s bright as in the pan. Still, not really my color and doesn't look very healthy against my skin, but that's what you get when you're clearly related to Martians. The two light colors- a shimmery white and a shimmery peach are actually super sheer. I had to pile on five coats to be able to take a picture. The other problem with them is glitter fallout. In the palette they both look more pearly than glittery, but once you apply the eye shadows, there's a lot of glitter landing on your cheeks, and that's over a primer. When swatching I only used a light lotion underneath and had to do some cleanup before I could take a clear picture. The dark glittery charcoal, on the other hand, has a lot less glitter than you'd expect from looking at the palette. It would have made a nice liner if it weren't so crumbly.

I'm spoiled, I admit. The products in my regular rotation, from Armani to Edward Bess, have taught me to expect gorgeous shades and superb quality. Kat Von D's below average color payoff and questionable texture are just not my idea of excellence in makeup. I understand that her prices are very attractive: the current eye shadow palettes in the regular line offer 8 colors for $34 (Dior Palettes run between $42 to $58), but even in the Kat Von D price range you can do better- Cargo palettes are great and priced at $32 and Urban Decay has several options between $30-38.

Bottom line: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Photos of the palette and swatches by me, Kat Von D from hollyscoop.com.