September 2014

When it comes to special occasion wear,  I find it impossible to find something I like if I purposely look for it. So I tend to buy any dress that captures my heart whenever I see it, and this whimsical Carven dress (love their signature abstract graffiti print) was purchased almost half a year ago and finally it got put to use on my birthday recently! I managed to take some quick snaps before I head out for dinner. Since it was such a sweet dress I decided to pair it with my Valentino Rockstud Booties to give it a punk edge. The YSL Crossbody bag was a ‘treat’ for myself and I had the perfect excuse!

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saint-laurent-ysl-small-chain-crossbody-bag-black-ootd-2saint-laurent-ysl-small-chain-crossbody-bag-black-ootd-4valentino-rockstud-booties-ootd-1Dress – Carven (this was from previous season and they have a similar one here from the current season)

Bag – YSL (I bought mine here because they don’t charge extra import duties, otherwise it is available here and here in the US)

Shades – Thierry Lasry

Boots – Valentino (posted here)

 

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Every year Chanel releases some limited edition nail colors exclusive for Vogue Fashion’s Night Out, and it’s the stunning Chanel Le Vernis Sweet Star this year. It’s a very unique and complex color with iridescent shimmer in duo-chrome finish. I had a very hard time taking swatch pictures of this one because the color is so reflective due to its mirror-like shine. After half an hour of struggling, I managed to get some swatches at the best of my ability. As you can see the color on my nails looks different at every angle – it’s silvery grey when you look at it from the front, or a rich eggplant, or a greenish black from the angles. Texture is smooth and you get an opaque finish with 2 coats.

chanel-le-vernis-sweet-star-swatch-review-1chanel-le-vernis-sweet-star-swatch-review-2chanel-le-vernis-sweet-star-swatch-review-3chanel-le-vernis-sweet-star-swatch-review-4chanel-le-vernis-sweet-star-swatch-review-5Bottom Line: Beautiful and unique! If you like Peridot, you would love this one. Go and grab it on VFNO!

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Charlotte Tilbury has been officially launched in the US as they are now available at Nordstrom online!  I know that many beauty enthusiasts are eager to dip their toes into the new makeup line, so I thought I’ll share my review for one of the best products from her line which is the Luxury Eye Shadow Palette in Dolce Vita. It’s absolutely stunning and I have been wearing it every single day since I had it!

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If you have seen this post,  you would know that I have ranted about the packaging of some of her products. Fortunately, this eyeshadow palette is quite weighty and feels sturdy in the hand. What’s missing from the palette is the mini size applicators! I don’t mind not having them, but it just means that I will not carry this palette with me in my makeup pouch for retouch as I don’t like to bring an extra set of eyeshadow brushes/applicators.

On to the stunning eye shadows themselves. Dolce Vita is a very bold and rich eye shadow palette – they are neutral colors yet quite unique and edgy that make you instantly drawn to them. The texture is silky smooth (except for the copper glitter shade) so it  applies evenly and easy to blend, and the pigmentation is ultra rich which reminded me of those ultra pigmented Nars eye shadows. A very gentle dip into the eye shadow is enough to do the whole eye for a natural look.

The colors look different depending on the angles you are looking at

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The colors are versatile all year around. The bronze and coppery colors are perfect for the warm weather, and they also have a hint of  burgundy and olive undertones which makes them great for fall as well. I didn’t think this would be an everyday palette for me, until I had them on and for some magic reason the colors just make my eyes appear brighter and more sparkly, and they look really flattering against my complexion.

Color Description:

Top Left –  Pinky beige champagne color (soft shimmer) that you can never have too many of.

Top Right – Copper with a burgundy undertone with silver shimmer in satin finish.

Bottom Left – Warm gold with visible glitters in a sparkly and metallic finish. This is my favorite shade as it is ‘dramatic’ but wearable. It feels quite creamy and dense for a glittery shade and it applies with no fall-out. I like to dab a little bit of this on to the center of the lid, and the metallic sheen of this shade is to just die for.

Bottom Right – Medium khaki brown with gold shimmer. It’s very pigmented so I like to use this shade on the outer-v gently as well as lining the lash line.

charlotte-tilbury-luxury-eyeshadow-palette-the-dolce-vita-review-swatch-3At a different angle that shows how beautiful the gold shade is!

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In my FOTD, I am wearing the champagne color as a base color, then blend the burgundy shade from the lash line in to the crease. The gold shade is added over the burgundy color for a pop of sparkle, and the khaki shade is added to the outer-v and along the lower lash line.

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Other products used in the FOTD include

YSL Youth Liberator Serum Foundation (review coming soon)

Giorgio Armani Cheek Fabric 502 SKIN (reviewed here)

Chanel Le Volume Mascara

Guerlain KISSKISS Lip Colour 325 Rouge Kiss (reviewed here) – need to get more colors from this range, absolutely love it!

Bottom Line: If you want to try out the Charlotte Tilbury line, I highly recommend this beautiful eye shadow palette. You can find her new beauty line at Nordstrom online in the US, Selfridges in the UK, and Net-A-Porter world wide.

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