Off with their heads! or, What we need is a cosmetics revolution

My favorite lipstick, Guerlain's Rouge G in Gracia, retails for $52. It kills me that it's not refillable, because the case with its built-in mirror is so elegant and so handy for touch-ups.

Currently available for $50.47 on Overstock

Over the years, I've used one tube up, have a second in my purse at all times, with a third in reserve, just in case Guerlain decides to discontinue the shade or formula.

I thought I'd get that out there before I start feeling overly smug about my thriftiness. Because I just found out that Tom Ford's Autumn 2016 collection includes a lipstick that will retail for $60.

Available for pre-order, if you must, here

Sure, it's pretty. But I think not. When I bought my first tube of Rouge G,  it cost $45, which was quite bad enough. The price has been inching up, and when it went over $50, I was already hooked.

But $60? The shades of my Puritan ancestors recoil in horror at the thought. In fact, I think I hear the distant rumbling of the tumbrils and the jeers of an angry mob of sans-culottes.

Oh, and if I ever pop for a Christian Louboutin nail polish

Christian Louboutin nail polish in Lady Peep, $50

lip gloss

Christian Louboutin "Loubilaque" lip lacquer in Bengali, $85

or lipstick?

Velvet Matte Lip Colour in Rococotte, $90.00

You have my permission to send me to the guillotine.

a quick peek at some new goodies

Internet, I have been beside myself. When I returned from Oklahoma, it was to the news that our elderly clothes washer needed a $580 repair. That would have been a foolish waste of money, even for me, so I went to local electronics and appliances wonderland, and bought a very fawncy LG top-loading HE washer.

I was severely tempted by the matching dryer, but talked myself out of it, because my older dryer is working fine. And I don't want to be too matchy-matchy.

Anyway, picking out a washing machine, was, for me, the work of an instant. Getting it installed? Quite another deal. It was almost a week and a half between credit card swipe and the first load going in. And honestly, I didn't know what to do with myself.

Naturally, the laundry situation got pretty dire, so I couldn't wait to start washing. And then I acted like Zippy the Pinhead, mesmerized by the sight (through the clear glass lid) of my wash swishing around.

But you don't want to hear about laundry.

While waiting for the delivery of my new hardware, I did a little shopping. Here is a picture of some new loot, some from Net-a-Porter (fancy!)

That, my friends, is a Givenchy iPhone 5 case. Somebody out there with a degree in art history, tell this hapless English major the source of the artwork. It's dark and Pre-Raphaelite and sort of Goth and I love it, but I'm feeling like an idiot, as though I bought a pair of those Icon shoes because of the pretty dark blue sky and didn't realize I was walking around with Van Gogh's "Starry Night" on my feet.

I'm also wearing a quick swipe of Charlotte Tilbury's iconic Pillow Talk lip pencil, and people, I am in LOVE. It has the softest, softest texture, and it's the perfect color, neither too brown, rusty, or mauve. If you're fair-skinned with not-particularly-pigmented lips, it could be your jam. Well worth the $22.00.

My nails are a base of Revlon's Parfumerie in Lavender Soap, which is almost impossible to apply evenly, as it is a very pale shade with lots of pearl in it, a/k/a streak city.  I applied a third very thick coat to smooth things out and of course munged up a couple of fingers. I'd just received a package from an Amazon seller with OPI's The Color to Watch, so I used some. It didn't help things, because it too, has a tricky/frosty finish. There's a reason these things get marked down.

I love a purple nail, but I've got to get ready for a cocktail party tomorrow and redo fingers and toes with a nice coral creme. I hope. Surely I have a bottle SOMEWHERE.  I'm wearing this

with a pair of gold sandals. And a ton of leg makeup.

I'm busy listening to a Librivox audiobook version of Our Mutual Friend, and it is fabulous. One crazy character after another. And the social climbing is epic! It makes the laundry folding fly.

Shallow is the New Deep, or, a reading list

Like many fat people with degrees in literature, I really love to read cookbooks.

In my years of collecting and reading cookbooks, I've noticed that there are two kinds: books that give you detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to prepare a particular dish, and books by writers who are fascinated with food: its history, its cultural nuances, its sensual delights, its meaning.

In short, sometimes a cookie is a cookie; sometimes it's a Madeleine.

Diana Vreeland working with a model, Harper's Bazaar, probably in the 1930s.

My collection of books about beauty and style can be similarly characterized—it's pretty equally divided between theory and practice. After I started blogging about beauty and style, however, the balance tilted a little. I started acquiring more books that provided specific advice about what women in midlife should be doing to continue to look good.

I've decided that I hate books like that. Especially em-effing Charla Krupp and the way she feeds off women's fear of aging.

Admittedly, in interviews, Ms. Krupp claims to be talking about working women. And I realize that things out there are tough for women in their forties and fifties. But think about it: where are the books teaching men how to continue to look young? They don't exist (which would explain the bad, all-one-color dye jobs I see on some of the older executives of my acquaintance.)

Not to mention that Ms. Krupp's follow-up book is How Not to Look Fat. Which is, you have to admit it, a bit of a giveaway. Fat being the yin to Old's yang. Apparently, Krupp will do whatever it takes to get women to freak out about the effects of the passage of time. Just as long as there's money in it for her.

I'm not saying aging is pretty. And I'm not going to start spouting a lot of new-Age woo about all of us being beautiful. But there are certain advantages to the aging process, beginning with not being dead.

Of course applying makeup is less enjoyable than it was when I was 27. On the other hand, I know a hell of a lot more about makeup and what looks good than I did thirty years ago. (Current Poppy to 27-year-old Poppy: the hot pink duo-chrome pigment was not a good idea.)

But enough about me. Let's talk about Diana Vreeland. She was never conventionally pretty, but she had a fantastic slim figure that made her an ideal clothes hanger. And she had beautiful hands.

Well, guess what--she got older. A lot older.

But she still ran Vogue magazine and coined the term "Youthquake" and basically helped make the British invasion of style happen on these shores. And then kept going. Because she was interested in style qua style, and not just what made her look better.

And so, I've decided, am I. So I have accumulated the following books

And plan to dive in.

In the words of Neely O'Hara "Wow! What an orgy!”

Why you shouldn't listen to a word I say about Chanel's Sublimage Eye, Josie Maran Argan Oil, and some discontinued Dolce&Gabbana lipsticks

This is a series in which, in an attempt to work my way through my sample overload, I spend the weekend trying out samples, then inflict capsule reviews upon the internet.


Why am I deliberately trying to undercut my own so-called "authority?" 

Because I just blogged about how cosmetics and skincare have expiration dates. And now I'm reviewing two products that are no longer available, except on the secondary market.

Chanel Sublimage Eye Crème Riche Régénerante Fondamentale

 

Not the cream I sampled, but bear with me.

Having recently reviewed a different Chanel eye cream, the Hydra Beauty Gel Yeux, I didn't want to bore everyone with yet another Chanel eye cream. Also, I was afraid it would be too rich to wear under makeup and it would make my mascara smudge.  

However, the weather we're experiencing in Chicago is so severe—and yesterday's adventures in testing AmorePacific's cushion compact left my skin so parched—that I stopped dithering and put some on.

The creme soaked right in, and my mascara applied and wore fine. 

I reapplied after coming in from outside, because it is extremely cold outside (0 degrees Fahrenheit/-17.7 Celsius) and my face was yelling at me. I felt better right away. Even though it is quite rich, this creme soaks right in and doesn't make my makeup bleed all over my face.

So yes, I liked the product. 

On the other hand, I was sampling a previous incarnation of Chanel's Sublimage eye creme. The name of the current version is slightly different. It's now called Sublimage Le Creme Yeux Ultimate Skin Regeneration Eye Cream. It costs $225 and comes in a half-ounce pot. 

Which ... no. For the price Chanel charges, you'd think it would come in a nice sleek tube or pump bottle. I don't like having to dip my finger into a pot of eye cream because it's very hard to get the small amount I intend to use. Also, germs. 

And let's face it: this stuff sells for $450 an ounce. And that, my friends, is crazy.

If this were some kind of holy grail eye creme, like maybe it erases wrinkles, lightens dark circles, and folds my laundry, I'd think about popping for the sample sizes that are still all over eBay. They at least come in a tube.

But let's face it; they've probably expired. And there are plenty of eye cremes in the world—including Chanel's latest and greatest. I admit I haven't tried it, but I already know you don't need it.

Verdict: Only if you're super rich and own a time machine.

 

Dolce & Gabbana "Monica" lipsticks

 

The eponymous Monica of lipstick fame.

 
I spent a good deal of the weekend fooling around with a tiny four-pack of lipstick samples from Dolce&Gabbana. Two of the shades were that light beige that I knew would look terrible on me, but I was afraid I was going to fall in love with the other two shades and develop some kind of crazy out-of-control craving to buy a bunch of colors in this line, maybe even the dark purple and neon pink shades that I'd actually never wear.

Crisis averted on all sides! First of all, I didn't like the lipsticks; even the shades that looked OK on the sample cards were too light and gave me that corpse-mouth look that happens when you wear the wrong shade of nude. 

Second, they dried out my lips. (This could be a factor of the severe cold we're experiencing in Chicago, combined with the dry heated air and my advanced years. But I'm blaming the lipsticks.)

Third and most important of all, this particular line must have been a limited edition. I couldn't find the lipsticks on the Dolce&Gabbana website, so I scoured the internet. All the reviews I can find are from 2013. 

OK, yeah, this means those stupid samples have been sitting in my sample stash for three years. Commence shame spiral and all that. 

I console myself with the thought that at least these samples were given to me. At least I didn't spend $9.99 to buy them on eBay.

On the bright side, I hated these lipsticks. This will leave me with a vague prejudice against D&G lipsticks that may, in the long term, save me some money.

Josie Maran Argan Oil

Josie Maran Argan Oil

Yes, I know. You're all already using Argan Oil. There's nothing I can tell you about it. 

I have described myself on more than one occasion as "the last by whom the new is tried." This has never been more true than now, when the product I'm finally trying has been on the market for eight years and has over 6,000 reviews on Sephora. 

So, short and sweet, OK? I bought a twin pack—I think it was with Sephora bonus points—of Josie Maran Argan Oil and her Argan Cleansing Oil. I thought they'd be handy for travel. But the first product I tried was the cleansing oil. It was really heavy and took way too much effort to spread over my face. Massaging it in reddened my skin. It didn't appear to rinse off cleanly. 

I hated it. With the result that its partner, the half-ounce bottle of Argan Oil, just sat there.

In the interests of science, however, this week I have patted a few drops of Argan Oil onto my face; worked a few drops through my hair, and rubbed it into my hands, nails, and cuticles. It has performed like a champion. 

Not that you care, because you probably already use it (or one of the less expensive versions available at health food stores and Amazon) but I like it. 

Even though it smells like tongue depressors. 

 

The Time to Be Lovely is--Always

Tish Jett just informed the internet that this summer, the Musée des Arts Decoratifs (a branch of the Louvre, I'll have you know) is launching an exhibit on Barbie.

Well, I'm here to add even more joy to my European and otherwise well-traveled readers' lives. The Weston Gallery at the University of Nottingham is launching an exhibit on Boots No. 7, which celebrates its 80th birthday this year.

I'm a sucker for retro beauty images.

To make things even better, there will be free lunchtime talks. If I weren't doing my best to send two children to college and putting a new roof on my shack in Newtopia, I'd be on Travelocity pricing flights.

A Cultural History of Makeup? BRING. IT. ON.

I hear a lot of sad trombone noises about American products and how it takes them forever to get to Europe and Australia. Well, let me tell you, when I'm in England, I spend hours at Boots. Literally hours. I love it 11/10, as our dear Faux Fuchsia says. I've discovered some amazing products--in particular Sanctuary Spa Covent Garden's Therapist's Secret Facial Oil, which I've raved about before and which I can now get on Amazon, thank goodness.

I'm very intrigued by this final image, though:

Her eyebrows are on FLEEK.

I realize these are patches. I mean, I have read my Georgette Heyer. But I'm dying to know ... are these merely part of the cultural history of makeup, or has Boots No. 7 started selling them?

The inevitable backlash, or, is it time for a 70s makeup revival?

If you watch YouTube beauty gurus, you might be forgiven for thinking we were living in a sixties revival. Not the Haight Ashbury, peace, love, and patchouli 60s. The Carnaby Street dolly bird Yardley 60s--the sixties of heavy foundation, contour, winged eyeliner, false lashes, sculpted eye shadow, filled brows, and nude lips.

On Jean Shrimpton, this look is beautiful, isn't it?

The thing is, as in many other breathtaking and iconic beauty images, this look is beautifully suited for still photography, less so for real life. That's what we all need to keep in mind. Youtube gurus and beauty bloggers and Instagrammers and Pinteresters are playing to the camera. In real, 3-D natural lighting, contour and highlighting are far less effective. A tilt of the head and you become aware of the dark shading under the cheekbones and the pearly powder on top of them.

For another thing, this look would take about 45 minutes to achieve (not counting the hair!)

So in Into the Gloss, I was interested to see that a makeup artist was advocating a return to a more 70s aesthetic for a recent shoot.

I'm really into washes of color on the eyes at the moment, and I wanted these looks to work for daytime. Colorful hues on the eyes, natural brows, naturally elongated lashes, freckles, skin that glows, and pretty lips is the direction I'm thinking in. And instead of contour, I feel that blush needs to make a comeback again.
 

Can this be the end of cat eyeliner, overlined lips, foundation spackled on every square inch of skin, Instagram brows, and eyes sculpted with six shades of shadow?

I hope so, because one of the young women making smoothies at my gym is starting to show up in false lashes every day. Meanwhile, I'm at the gym, so I'm wearing no makeup whatsoever.

There she is, a flawless glamazon, and there I am, a sweat hog. I'm telling you, it's getting demoralizing.

I bought beauty crappe at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

Of course I did.

I didn't go mental with color, though--just one thing. The Guerlain "rainbow ballz."

Guerlain Les Météorites Summer Edition Perles, exclusive to Nordstrom

They give a nice glow and aren't as crazy pearly/glittery as some other Guerlain limited edition ballz, so yeah. Nice! But not necessary unless you have a thing for violet-scented prettiness.

On skincare, though, I kind of went mental.

Can you handle a little backstory?

You know those "Buy $150 worth of cosmetics and get this tote of deluxe samples!" deals that show up from time to time at high end stores? I've caved many times for those. Many times. Also, I used to subscribe to a couple of beauty boxes.

As a consequence,  I'm drowning in samples. Lately I've been using a variety of tiny sample pots of eye cream, mostly to clear out the clutter. I'd never noticed that one cream seemed better than another.

BUT (and everyone's got a big but)* lately I've been using this Amore Pacific eye cream--a tiny pot of cream that lasted me a full month, using it twice a day. I really, really liked it. And this in spite of the fact that the company uses the usual blather in its promotional materials, and the cream contains the usual unique, exotic ingredients (this time green tea stem cells, whatever the hell that means) that claim to do everything except fold my laundry and put it away.

But I swear, my eye area really did look fresher and felt firmer. I was jonesing for a full-sized pot.

And I don't care what Paula Begoun says; she'd be all "too much fragrance!" and "no open jars; air destroys the product!" But in my opinion, the proof is in how my skin reacts. And it was reacting well to this stuff.

So I'd been trying to figure out how to buy this stuff slightly less painfully, because the retail on the full size is $260. I KNOW. But I really wanted a jar, so I was thinking--wait for a department-wide discount? Ebates? Mr. Rebates? All three?

Then the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale was going online, and I was browsing through the beauty exclusives, and feeling very underwhelmed ("Oh goody, MAC travel sized brushes ... I bet they won't be scratchy and all but useless, no siree, not at all ... because MAC would never release outlet-quality brushes for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale ... Oh, look, here are--what--three? four? beige-to-brown eye shadow palettes to choose from, in case I don't have enough ... YAWN) and I saw this:

'Time Response' Luxury Eye Collection ($473 Value)
$260.00

- Time Response Skin Renewal Crème (0.27 oz.)

- Time Response Eye Renewal Crème (0.5 oz.)

- Treatment Enzyme Peel Exfoliator (0.7 oz.)

- Time Response Targeted Eye Masque (4 masks)

Basically, they're charging the regular price for the regular size of the eye cream, and including three small sizes of some other stuff. I'd like to try the Time Response face cream because I really like the eye cream. And the exfoliator and eye masks will be fun to play with (and hopefully not fall in love with.)

But then! I saw they had an Amore Pacific gift-with-purchase! If I spent $300. Oh Nordstrom, you  manipulative minx!

Here's the GWP:

-Time Response Skin Renewal Crème

-Eye Renewal Crème

-Moisture Bound Sleeping Recovery Masque

-Luminous Effect Brightening Serum

OK, now I can score another tiny pot of eye cream, and another tiny pot of face cream, plus extras.

But I need to spend another $40 to make it happen. So what was my extra Amore Pacific purchase, so I'd qualify for the GWP?

Glad you asked:

'Time Response' Introductory Regimen ($175)

- Time Response Skin Renewal Crème (0.5 oz.) 

- Time Response Eye Renewal Crème (0.1 oz.)

- Time Response Skin Renewal Toner (1 oz.)

- Time Response Skin Renewal Fluid (1 oz.)

-  Time Response Skin Renewal Serum (0.17 oz.) - 

- All Day Balancing Care Serum (0.33 oz.)

- Moisture Bound Skin Energy Hydration Delivery System (1 oz.)

OK. More eye cream, more face cream, and a crazy amount of samples. Clearly, this is tiny pot overkill. And why on earth would someone want or need the Skin Renewal Fluid and the Skin Renewal Creme? Aren't they the same thing, except the fluid is ... more fluid?

But where do I get off trying to sound logical now? Whom am I trying to kid? Not thee, Gentle Reader.

On the down side, I have clearly not helped the drowning-in-samples situation.

On the up side, I've been using the eye cream and the face cream assiduously since they arrived, and I love them. They're so light, yet rich, with incredible slip. Two expensively-moisturized thumbs up.

Also, I've purchased my first Korean cosmetics, which means I can sit with the cool kids at lunch.

But yes, I just spent over $400 on my crow's feet. Apparently, that's who you're dealing with here.

p.s. I opted for Ebates. (That's a referral link. I'll make $5 if you sign up. I know, I know--but I've got crow's feet to pay for, people.)

* Trust me to toss in a Pee-Wee's Big Adventure allusion. Eighties comedies FTW!

Happy Blogaversary to me; or I can't believe it's been eight years.

You know, back in 2004, when I first started blogging--eight years ago on August 10th, in fact--blogging felt far freer than it does now. Self-publishing on the internet (which is all blogging is, when you think about it) was a new frontier. But there were a few unspoken rules.

The first, of course, was that you weren't supposed to blog under your real name. Hence Poppy Buxom, a/k/a Poppisima (a variation provided by my pal Joke--and that's not his real name, either.) It wasn't a privacy issue so much ... well, OK, a little bit of it was for privacy. But picking a blogging name was like picking a new handle for an email account: it was a chance to be creative. To play with your identity.

Also, bloggers started off as writers. Maybe not published writers, but blogging was about the words. You could put up post after post with no photographs, and nobody would complain. Can you imagine? (No photos in this post--I'm kicking it old school.)

Another rule--at least amongst the thirty-something female bloggers I was reading and/or emulating--is that you were supposed to convey a sort of artsy, slackerish image. This is probably because blogging was invented by Generation X, which has been chronically underemployed for decades now. (I realize this is supposed to be the Baby Boomers' fault, but don't look at me; I was a slacker before the term was invented.)

Another rule was honesty. You could be as confessional as you wanted. We were encouraged, nay, expected to blog about our depression, infertility, and marital woes. Which meant that a lot of bloggers were constantly whining about their problems, personal and financial.

Later we got BlogHer and advertising and domain names and twitter and Facebook pages and giveaways and sponsored posts and search engine optimization and whatnot. People started blogging for a living. But way back when, it was pretty much me talking to myself, in the company of a small circle of similarly-pseudonym-ed cronies.

Because of the general poor-me 30-something zeitgeist, I worked hard to conceal the amount of privilege I enjoyed. After all, some of the biggest names in what would be called  mommyblogging were struggling financially. It seemed in bad taste to blog about my latest Mother's Day shopping spree at Neiman Marcus when bloggers I admired were putting tip jars on their blogs.

And really, what was with all the shopping, anyway? Was I completely shallow?

I suppose I was. And am. A better woman wouldn't get so much pleasure out of amassing large amounts of high end crappe. But I am no better than I am, so I do. And I gloat over my pretties like Gollum with his Precious.

This is why I stopped blogging about my personal life, and became a beauty and style blogger for middle-aged women. A lot of my real-life friends read my blog, and I was fine with that. But the game had to change when the kids at my kids' school discovered my blog.

I didn't want to stop blogging, but it behooved me to find a different subject. Something that didn't revolve around my kids. Something that wouldn't embarrass them. Something that would bore the pants off the playground bullies. Something I knew really well, like ... makeup. 

Now, I realize that as we age, makeup has diminishing returns.  I can spend 20 minutes putting on primer, foundation, concealer, highlighter, contour, blush, eyeshadow, eye liner, mascara, brow color, lipstick and lipgloss, and my 15-year-old daughter will swipe on some lip balm and look 100 times more beautiful than I do.

But age has some compensations. When I was a teenager, I lived and breathed fashion magazines. Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Mademoiselle, and Ingenue. (Does anyone else remember those last two?) They were my bibles. I couldn't afford to buy anything in them, but I pored over them.

I knew that one day I'd come up with the money, and I'd go to New York, shop at Bonwit Teller, get my hair done by Kenneth, and eat lunch at La Côte Basque.

Oh, well. I guess it's too late for any of that. But by God, I can still buy Chanel makeup.

You may be wondering, what's with the navel-gazing, Poppy? It was Perilously's Pale entry into the Most Expensive Face competition.

Anyone who's hung around here for any length of time realizes that I love high-end department store makeup. For me, makeup is a luxury, and I really prefer it to feel luxurious. I'm not opposed to drugstore brands, but the packaging rarely thrills me.

No, I long for the stuff you buy at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks. I love the the advertising campaigns, the way the department stores set up the counters, the packaging, the loud snap of the compacts when you open and shut them, and those smells. I love it all.

But I still feel a little guilty about my deep interest in such a shallow subject, not to mention the vast sums I spend on what is, after all, just makeup.

And that's why I get a vicarious thrill out of reading about how someone else spent over $3,000 on one day's face products.

With my Garnier moisturizer, L'Oreal mascara, and Maybelline concealer, I'm nowhere near that figure. And when the blogging sans-culottes go looking for beauty bloggers to take to the guillotine, I might just squeak by.

Review: Chanel's Fleur de Lotus Joues Contraste blush

I came home from Nordstrom with the complete Anniversary Exclusive collections from Chanel, Dior, and Bobbi Brown. I'm planning on reviewing every item between now and August 6, the last day of the sale. Nordstrom card holders have early access to the sale, which doesn't start officially until July 20. 

American makeup fanatics started lusting over Chanel's Joues Contraste in 69 Fleur de Lotus when it was released in Asia in February, 2012. If the posters on the Makeup Board at Makeup Alley are any indication, this is one of the most eagerly-anticipated items in Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale Chanel collection. So it was with great anticipation that I opened my compact--only to discover that I appeared to own its twin.

Placed side to side, my dirt-cheap Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in 20 Peach Satin (which retails for $7.99, but which I bought at CVS with ExtraBucks) seemed identical to my ridiculously expensive Fleur de Lotus, which retails for $43. Here they are out of direct sunlight.

Maybelline Dream Bouncy blush in 20 Peach Satin on left; Chanel Joues Contraste in Fleur de Lotus on right

Hmmm ... on second thought, the difference shows up better in this picture than it does in in the sun. The Chanel is showing up pinker and shimmier, and it is. 

Swatched

Both blushes appear scary-dark in the pan, but both apply and blend down to a very wearable coral shade.

On the left, Maybelline, on the right, Chanel. Nothing else on face but my morning moisturizer. Note my youthful glow. ::coughs:: It was already 95 degrees outside!

I applied the Maybelline with a taklon foundation brush and blended it down, but it's slightly more opaque than the Chanel. I applied the Chanel with the brush in the compact. You can see my freckles much more clearly!

The difference shows up better on my arm when I apply them very heavily; Maybelline applies much more definitely coral, and the Chanel's pink shimmer shows up better.

On my arm, I used a the foundation blush to apply the Maybelline, which is way it shows up so well. For the Chanel, I used the brush in the pan, going over and over to make sure there was good color pay off.

Verdict

 
Fleur de Lotus is a beautiful coral-with-pink shade that would flatter complexions that are anywhere from porcelain pale to medium, and cool to warm. It applies very sheer, but can be built up. The brush it comes with is very soft and makes precise application difficult. For more color pay off, it's best to use a dedicated blusher brush. As for the shimmer, it really doesn't show on the skin. I don't own either Benefit's Coralista or Nars Orgasm, having swapped them both, but as far as coral blushers go, my impression is that Fleur de Lotus is more like Coralista than Orgasm--very soft and wearable, with no glitter, just a rosey shimmer. In fact, Fleur de Lotus shade reminds me of Chanel's Distraction nail polish, which is in heavy rotation this summer. I expect the same will be true of Fleur de Lotus.

---
Elsewhere: My reviews of the rest of Chanel's Nordstrom Anniversary exclusives:

Quadra Eye Shadow in 35 Rives
Illusion d'Ombre in 87 Rivière
Stylo Yeux Waterproof in 86 Beige Clair
Aqualumière Gloss in 80 Alizé and 81 Roselin

Yves St. Laurent to offer an exclusive eyeshadow quad on Facebook [UPDATED]

On Thursday,  July 19, YSL will release a new, limited-edition eye shadow palette, "Devoted to Fans," on Facebook. 

The "Devoted to Fans" quad was produced to thank YSL's Facebook fans. YSL claims that this palette is "the first exclusive entirely digital product for Facebook fans." 

Only 1650 pieces will be produced world-wide, with 500 of these available in the United States. No word yet on price or what the logistics of the sale will be, although you have to have "liked" YSL to be able to buy the palette.

Do I need yet another eye shadow quad? No, I do not. Do I predict a crazy stampede? Yes, I do. Am I fascinated by major high-end cosmetics companies not just marketing, but actually selling cosmetics on Facebook? You bet.

UPDATE: OK, here's the scoop. The quad costs $55. It's sold through YvesSaintLaurent.com. To get it, you have to "Like" Yves Saint Laurent Fragrances and Beauty on Facebook. Then click through the icon of the palette and it will take you to the YSL site.

Review: Chanel's Rives Eye Shadow quad (35)

I came home from Nordstrom with the complete Anniversary Exclusive collections from Chanel, Dior, and Bobbi Brown. I'm planning on reviewing every item between now and August 6, the last day of the sale. Nordstrom card holders have early access to the sale, which doesn't start officially until July 20.

Chanel Rives 35 indoors by lamplight

I thought I'd start by reviewing the Chanel beauty exclusives, because they received the least amount of press. This collection wasn't pictured in the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale catalog, and I've heard that some Nordstroms only received half a dozen or so of each item.

The Chanel Rives 35 eye quad, originally available only in Asia as part of this spring's Fleur de Lotus collection, is the unloved stepchild of the collection. It hasn't generated much buzz, even among Chanel fans.

Rives features four shades of brown and a white. Even die-hard Chanel fanatics are probably wondering whether it would be worth it to buy Yet Another Chanel Neutral Eye Quad. Are these colors unique and special enough to justify Chanel's ridiculous prices?

I'm a huge fan of neutral eye shadows--I really prefer them for those of us past our first youth. They're universally flattering, and they can be light and subtle or dark and dramatic.  As a result, I've accumulated a scary number of neutral Chanel quads.

Poppy's Chanel eye quads.

I hate to say this, but I find the Rives quad unique. Some of the Chanel neutral shades are a bit murky (Prèlude and Enigma, I'm looking at you) but the shades in Rives are sheer, straightforward browns with a beautiful shimmer and without a hint of plum or gray. I think they'd work with every eye color and skin tone, whether your complexion was warm, neutral, or cool.

As with most Chanel quads, pigment varies from shade to shade. In general, the finish is sheer and the shades are blendable. The lighter shades are meant to be used as a wash and don't leave a lot of pigment. The white looks chalky in the pan, but applies as a wash of sheer, shimmery lightness. The darkest shade is designed to be used as a liner and is much more heavily pigmented.

With makeup fanatics, it's a cliche that the applicators that come packaged with eye shadow and blushes are complete garbage, and should be immediately pitched. This is especially true of sponge-tipped applicators. And it's true that the small, hard black sponge-tipped applicators that come in American Chanel quads are horrible.

However, I got my best results applying these shadows with the plush sponge-tipped applicators they came with. I use a silicone-based concealer as a primer, and I find that other, very pigmented shadows (e.g., Urban Decay or MAC) grab the primer so hard that they become difficult to blend. Not these shadows. They're so soft, it's like working with confectioner's sugar. They blended beautifully when I applied them onto primed eyelids with the sponge-tipped applicators.

Swatches

Here they are in the early morning light. I applied concealer first. For the left four stripes, I used a brush to apply. I started with the lightest shade and worked my way up to the darkest. Unfortunately, the white shade doesn't show at all. You can only see a hint of the shimmer.

Chanel Rives 35 quad, applied over primer (left) with a brush, and (right) with the sponge-tipped applicator

The four stripes on the right are swatched fairly heavily with the sponge-tip. As you can see, the white shade shows up much better.

Here's the quad, outdoors in morning light. The sun has finally come out enough to reveal some of the shimmer.

In this picture, I swatched all four shades on the paper, so again, it's impossible to see the white.

It's rare that I use all four shades in a quad, but these shades work beautifully together.

To buy, or not to buy

Rives is much prettier, less murky, and works better with my fair skin and hazel eyes than either Prèlude, Enigma, or Dunes. This quad is definitely worth a buy--if you're comfortable paying $58 for four eye shadows, and don't, like some people I know, already own 5,000 shades of brown eye shadow.

I don't know whether these are going to sell out, so if you're interested, call Nordstrom. The pre-sale started July 11th; the sale officially starts July 20th and ends August 6th.

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Elsewhere:


The entire Fleur de Lotus collection is previewed on Rouge Deluxe.


Another review, from a Singapore beauty blogger.

I've just invented a new acronym, NASII, which stands for Nordstrom Anniversary Sale induced insanity

OK, it doesn't look like much--NASII--but it's pronounced nay-see to rhyme with crazy, which is pretty much how I acted.

So let me get you up to speed.

First of all, until July 20th, the Anniversary Sale is only available to Nordstrom card holders. You can't even access that section of their website without typing in the last four digits of your Nordstrom credit card number.

I wanted to grab some pictures and maybe find out whether Nordstrom was actually offering Chanel's formerly-exclusive-to-Asia Fleur de Lotus collection, so I dug through my box of rarely-used credit cards, looking for my Nordstrom card. And I couldn't find it.

Because I was a makeup hoor* on a mission, I called customer service, where I was told that they had no record of my having a card. So I applied for a new one.

Then, after a visit to the gym, where my daughter hummed a little hum and pedaled 20 miles on a stationary bike without breaking a sweat and I was reduced to a limp, sweaty, incoherent rag by my personal trainer, we cleaned up our act, fueled ourselves with Mocha smoothies (caffeine and protein FTW!) and headed to the Nordstrom at Old Orchard mall.

Where I promptly lost. my. mind. I've shopped the Anniversary Sale online, but this scene was beyond exciting. It was electric. Not ridiculously crowded, and with lots of sales associates ready and willing to help out. But with sections of the store draped off as seductive little private shopping enclaves, it's very easy to lose it.

Don't believe me? Well, see these collections?

Dior

Chanel

Bobbi Brown

I bought every single item.

And then escaped to the relative sanity of the shoe department. And yes, I understand the irony of calling the shoe department of the department store that sells more shoes than any other--during a sale where merchandise is marked down 30 percent--sane.

I don't know about you, but I blame my trainer.

Swatches and reviews to come. 


* Deliberately misspelled in a feeble attempt to clean up my act.

Beauty Deals and Exclusives at Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale: Dior

Considering that we're just emerging from a hellacious heat wave, it feels ridiculously early to be talking about fall shopping. But that's the beauty of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale; it forces chronically unorganized types like me to plan ahead.

About Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale

Now, when most people think about this sale, they focus on new fall clothes, and rightly so. The anniversary sale is unique because Nordstrom discounts brand-new, just-coming-into-season merchandise long before people like me have started to think about fall clothes. Prices are slashed 30 percent--but then they go back up. So you see, one must think clearly and weigh one's option. Constant vigilance! Or one will end up paying retail.

Of course, for me, the real focus is in the cosmetics department. Products that ordinarily don't see the light of day in the U.S. get brought in. Special collections are put together. Exclusives are made available. Stuff goes on sale. It's a beauty junky's waking dream.

And for once, I'm not focusing only on the offerings at the Chanel counter.

Dior's A Purple Revolution Anniversary Collection 

When it comes to Dior, I'm a newbie. I only have a few Dior products, and the line still confuses me. I mean, what's with this whole Dior Addict name? I don't get it.

But one look at this nail polish collection and I fell like a ton of bricks.  Say hello to Shadow, Poison, and Orchid.

Les Violets Hypnotizes Vernis ($23.00 each)

And here, in a slightly less arty photograph:

Aren't they gorgeous?

I took one look at the photographs and fell in love. Purple is my favorite nail polish color. If there was anything that would make me want to rush through summer, it would be the opportunity to try out some gorgeous new purples on my nails.

Rumors of this collections release started circulating months ago, and I put up with the usual emotional roller coaster ride associated with any kind of crazy infatuation. I suffered through the highs and lows of a lovesick teenager. You know what I'm talking about: they were coming to the States! No they weren't! Dior loves me! Dior loves me not!

But now they'll be coming to Nordstrom. I can practically relax.

The collection also features a purple smoky eyes palette, which I'm not going to talk about because you and I should not be wearing purple, sparkly eye shadow. But the collection also includes two things that might look lovely on us: the Diorshow Extase Mascara in Plum ($28.50), 

and a Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss in Draped Lilac ($28.00)

The mascara and gloss look gorgeous, and I hope, are soft, wearable shades that will be flattering to my fair skin and hazel eyes.

For the record, Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss is my absolute favorite wand gloss, and that's saying a lot. I've bought more than my fair share of ridiculously expensive department store glosses, and Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss leaves Chanel's Glossimers and Guerlain's KissKiss glosses sitting in the road. Does that make me a Dior Addict? Maybe so.

For more pictures and swatches, even of that eye shadow trio that I don't recommend, check out this post in My Beauty Black Book. And join me in counting down to the sale.

Nordstrom's annual Anniversary Sale runs from July 20 to August 6th, 2012. Nordstrom card holders have the option of becoming members of Fashion Rewards and getting first crack at the sale. If I were you, I'd look into it, because sometimes the anniversary goodies blow out of the store. To apply, call 1-800-967-4918.

Findation, the on-line way to match a foundation shade

Now that I've been back from visiting the teenagers at summer camp, I've come to reluctant conclusion that teenagers are just like pre-schoolers, i.e., walking Petri dishes, except louder and more hormonal. Because I have the most god-awful cold, and it's keeping me, if not absolutely bedridden, at least indoors, and glued to the internet. Which is how I found findation.

Findation is an on-line database of foundation colors. You enter the shades of two foundations that are a good color match for your complexion, and it gives you a suggestions of other ones to try. Here's a screen shot so you can see how it works:

It works really well, as long as you don't give it Boots No. 7 Triple Protection Tinted Moisturizer in Fair (which I bought in England) and Natio Pure Mineral Foundation in Light, (which I bought in Australia). Supplied with those two shades, findation decided I was a big show-off who was just trying to prove how well-traveled she is, and only spat out two suggestions.

However, when I fed it Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in shade number 2, and Clé de Peau Silky Cream Foundation in B20, it produced the following matches, weighted, apparently, by accuracy:

• Stila Illuminating Liquid Foundation in 20 watts
• Prescriptives Flawless Skin Total Protection Makeup SPF 15 in Cream 02
• Chanel Vitalumière in 10 Limpide
• Revlon Colourstay Foundation in Buff
• Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX5
• Estee Lauder Fresh Air Makeup Base in linen beige
• Dr. Hauschka Translucent Makeup 00 Porcelaine
• Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick Alabaster 00
• Revlon Photoready Makeup in Vanilla
• Bobbi Brown Face Touch Up Stick in Porcelain oo
• Giorgio Armani Face Fabric Second Skin Nude Makeup SPF 12 1-Pale
• Lancome Teint Miracle 01 Beige Albatre
• MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC15
• Chantecaille Future Skin Porcelain
• Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation 15 Opal
• Chanel Vitalumière Aqua SPF15 Fluid Foundation BR10 Beige Rose Pastel
• Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Mount Blanc
• Chanel Vitalumière Aqua SPF15 Fluid Foundation BR10 Beige Rose Pastel

Here's what is awesome about this: the shades might turn out to be absolutely perfect matches, but they give you a place to start. I don't know about you, but I like to walk up to a makeup counter with an idea of what I want to buy. Maybe even a list. Otherwise, the lolcat part of my brain takes over and I get all I CAN HAS COLORZ?

Also, there are all kinds of companies in their database, so whether you buy your foundation at the drugstore, the department store, or Whole Foods, you can find something to try.

Chanel Collection Byzance Fall 2011 makeup collection

This spring, I spent a while kicking myself for not having gotten my mitts on Chanel's Ombres Perlées eyeshadow palette while it was still available. The colors looked perfect for hazel eyes.

So I went all Scarlet O'Hara and shook my fist at the sky and declared that as God was my witness, I was never going to miss the opportunity to score a Chanel limited edition cosmetic ever again.

So when I discovered the fall collection was up at Chanel.com, I ordered pretty much every limited edition color they had. Want to see?

Let's start with the lips.


Somebody really needs to get rid of that ancient Shellac manicure

I got a Rouge Allure in Rouge Byzantin, the lip pencil in Rose Cuivre, and a LE Glossimer in Braise (158).

As you can see, the Byzantin Rouge Allure is almost fuschia. After so many years of my-lips-but-better pinky brown glosses, it looks ... very bright. I'm trying not to freak out over it. After all, Sandra Bullock wore hot pink lipstick the night she won her Oscar. And Taylor Swift always wears bright lipstick. Which means the bright lipstick trend will work its way into the general public as sure as rain rises up the legs of my jeans. And for "general public" read "women of a certain age." Yes, even us.

(Deep breath. It's OK. You start small. You apply the lipstick, blot it to tone down the color, then add a little gloss.)

On the other hand, Braise is a much more wearable sheer light red--very lightly brown-red, actually--with gold microglitter.

The lip pencil is from the regular collection. It's not a LE, but I thought it would look good under the Glossimer. And it does.

OK, let's talk eyes. I also got the limited-edition eye shadow quad in Topkapi with four shades: a warm medium brown, a light taupe, a dark chocolate matte brown, and a gold.



Here it is swatched. As you can see, all the shades are quite shimmery, except for the chocolate brown.

I'm not going to pretend that these are basic, every day colors, but I can easily imagine getting a lot of use out of all the colors (well, except for the gold. I'm not Mr. T.) But the gold looks beautiful as a highlight on the inside corner of the eye, in the center of the lid, or under the bottom lashes.



I also got two shades of the Illusion D'Ombre cream eyeshadow. I must say, I can't wait to play with these. They are so gorgeous, and they have a wonderful mousse-like texture (actually, I'm sure this is what the Maybelline Dream Mousse eyeshadows were like.)

I got Epatant, the dark, charcoal green pictured above, and Illusoire, a deep plum. I forgot to take a picture of Illusoire, so here's the photograph from the Chanel website.

In this picture, I had just lightly touched my finger to each shade to swatch them.


 Illusoire on top, Epatant on the bottom

As you can see, these shades can be quite subtle and lovely.

The makeup artist at the Chanel boutique in Chicago showed me some of the Illusion D'Ombre shades applied with a brush, and they are gorgeous. Really incredible looking. (I was very taken with Ebloui, a lighter shade of mauve-lilac, but I didn't buy it.)

There are two limited-edition shades of powder blusher: Joues Contrast Rouge in Rouge and Or. Which means red and gold. And they are:



Here's a close-up of each shade:

Amazingly enough, they can be quite subtle. Especially for colors that look like two-thirds of a traffic light, No, really. I first applied them to my hand with my Lancome skunk brush and I couldn't even see the colors. I went over my original application using the brushes that came in the compact, and the colors were still pretty subtle. Finally I went all out, applying the gold shade and then lots of red on top, for a full-on scarlet fever look. And even then, it's not as clown-like as you'd think.

Finally, I bought a bottle of Peridot nail polish. Lately, Chanel polishes always seem to start a crazy lemming rush, and I wanted to grab a bottle before they were sold out. (In fact, now that I think about it, I was inspired to hit the Chanel website in the first place because I saw a bottle of Peridot for sale on ebay for some ridiculous amount of money--$45 or so.)

The picture in the eBay auction was what you'd expect a polish called Peridot to look like--a light yellow-green. In actuality, the polish flashes teal and gold and is never actually stays still long enough to look green, if that makes sense. I don't know whether I'll ever want to wear it; I may exchange it for a bottle of Quartz, which looks like Particulière with very fine shimmer.

At any rate, I tried to give you a sense of what Peridot polish looks like:

But I finally decided I needed to let you see the bottle in action. So here you go--my first mini video review.

To sum up, I'd say the entire collection is drop-dead gorgeous, but not every product is worth buying. Illusions Dombre are definitely worth a look; so is the Topkapi Quad, if you don't already have a ton of brown, beige, and gold shadows. The gold shadow is gorgeous and can be applied lightly or sponged on for a very dramatic effect. The nail polishes are interesting, and I'd suggest taking a look at Graphite, a medium gray with lots of silver microglitter, or Quartz, a taupey-beigey brown with tiny particles of micro glitter. Both are probably more wearable than Peridot. The limited edition blushes are interesting, and if you're a real makeup maven, you'll want to add these unique shades to your collection, but as for wearability and general usefulness. And the lipsticks are beautiful, but probably not worth getting.

(Just watch as a huge lemming rush starts over gold blush and fuschia lipstick!)