BERRY BOBBI BROWN CHEEK PALETTE - SWATCHES AND REVIEW

The new Bobbi Brown Hot collection features three unique cheek palettes: Pink, Berry and Calypso which are so gorgeous! Each cheek palette currently retails for $45.00 USD, contains .16 oz of product and is available for purchase online at Sephora and Nordstrom. The cheek palette houses two blush colors and a middle highlight color. Right away I knew I wanted the Pink Cheek palette but after taking a closer look I realized I already had both of the blush colors featured in the palette, UGH! So I settled for the Berry Cheek palette instead. The two blushes housed in this palette are Plum and French Pink with a Berry highlight shade. The Plum shade is a reddish pink color, while French Pink is a bright pink and the Berry highlight shade is a coppery pink with rose gold undertones. Plum felt really matte to the touch, French Pink was really powdery and even though Berry had a metallic sheen the finish was more of a satin. All three were extremely pigmented, gave good color payoff and blended quite well. It is important to note that none of the blushes housed in the cheek palette are removable. Previous blush palettes I've purchased all had removable blushes so you could interchange / customize them but that is missing with these which is a shame.

Mini rant here:
I love Bobbi Brown products because the quality is almost always on point. The only gripe I have with the brand is their constant need to keep re-promoting the same colors. I have several of their products, mainly their eyeshadow palettes, and over half of the colors are exactly the same. Which is fine if you are new to the brand but it would be nice to feature some newer / different colors for a change.

Availability: Sephora, Nordstrom
Price: $45.00 USD

L'INTEMPOREL DE CHANEL EYESHADOW PALETTE - SWATCHES AND REVIEW

I can't believe it is already March! This year is flying by so fast! I was just saying to a friend of mine how this year it seems the Spring and Summer collections are releasing earlier than ever. Well, one such collection that totally took me by surprise was the L'Intemporel De Chanel collection. It consists of two pieces: the L'Intemporel De Chanel eyeshadow palette and the Intemporel nail polish. Read more about the entire collection here. I had thought this collection would launch sometime around May during the release of the Chanel Summer collection. However it recently popped up on the Chanel website so I definitely had to splurge for the gorgeous eyeshadow palette. It currently retails for $80.00 USD, it contains .24 oz of product and is available online at Chanel.

According to Chanel:

Gabrielle Chanel created the 2.55 bag, iconic to the House of Chanel, in February 1955. Inspired by the leather-braided chain of the 2.55, the Chanel Makeup Creation Studio debuts a limited-edition collection firmly anchored in the codes of the House. Exclusive Creation L'INTEMPOREL DE CHANEL offers an eye palette of five shades delicately connected by an embossed chain design, while LE VERNIS in Intemporel reinterprets the glimmer of the inimitable metal chain.

The L'Intemporel eyeshadow palette is made up of an odd but unique collection of shadows. It also houses one dual-ended sponge applicator and one brush / sponge applicator although most of the time I never use them. In the pan all five shadows seem to contain miniscule glitter flecks but once swatched it was only the white and yellow shadows that contained heavy glitter particles. From right to left the eyeshadow palette features a soft semi-sheer sparkly white, the next shade is a dark purple satin, the middle shade is a smokey black, the fourth shade is a smokey dark green teal and the far left shade is a sparkly pale yellow. I didn't really care for the yellow shade and it was my least favorite of them all. It just didn't go well with my green eyes and pale complexion. Despite my lack of fondness for the yellow shade the eyeshadows are all soft, semi-sheer with buildable color and are nicely pigmented.

Availability: Chanel
Price: $80.00 USD

436 MAGGY CHANEL ROUGE COCO ULTRA HYDRATING LIP COLOUR - SWATCHES AND REVIEW

Lately I have been on a lipstick buying binge! So when I heard Chanel recently reformulated / relaunched their ROUGE COCO lipsticks I was definitely intrigued. Now I wasn't a fan of the original formula and I never really invested much money into purchasing many of them. I believe I had previously purchased maybe two, Magnolia and Mademoiselle. Magnolia I still have but the other, Mademoiselle, I promptly returned to the store. I didn't care for how heavy it felt on my lips because it had such a thick formula. Also, it wasn't very moisturizing as it tended to dry out my lips quite a bit. So I'm super excited to see how these new lipsticks will perform.

There are 29 new ROUGE COCO lipsticks to choose from and each are named for people who inspired Coco Chanel - friends, lovers and artists. Now naming a product for a muse isn't a new trend. Other brands such as Nars and Tom Ford have all done the same with their lipsticks but it is still nice to see how each brand honors those closest to them. With the Chanel ROUGE COCO lipsticks there are five color groups to choose from with the nudes named for her family, the pinks named for her best friends, corals named for her muses, reds named for her lovers and plums were named for her favorite artists. The ROUGE COCO lipsticks currently retail for $36.00 USD, contain .12 oz of product and are available in store and online at Chanel, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdales just to name a few.

According to Chanel:

The reinvented ROUGE COCO is more expressive than ever, in a new formula and vibrant colour spectrum, with shade names inspired by Coco Chanels closest friends. The bright lip colour features an exclusive complex with Jojoba and Mimosa Butters, Sunflower Wax and silicone for lasting hydration and luminous results.

The shades within each color range are featured from lightest to darkest with an even numbering system (400 to 456). The nude shades are 400 to 408, the corals are 410 to 418, the pinks are 420 to 438, the reds are 440 to 446 and the plums are 448 to 456. With so many to choose from I was a little overwhelmed. Each color group has something special to offer and trying to choose just one was really difficult. Typically I gravitate towards nudes, pinks and plums so after swatching a few I finally settled on 436 Maggy. It's the perfect "MLBB" (my lips but better) lip color which is a deep mauve-y pink. It does contain teeny tiny micro glitter particles which are not as noticeable on the lips until the lipstick wears off. Then they are more readily visible. In the tube the lipstick does have a slight floral scent but it didn't carry over upon application which is nice. I hate when a lipstick has a heavy floral scent attached to it and you can still taste and smell it on your lips even after application. Maggy applies semi-opaque with buildable lightweight color. The color does deepen and darken the heavier the application and it still feels lightweight. It is important to note the moisturizing properties contained in the lipstick keep the lips hydrated but it does have a slight waxy feel and it allowed the lipstick to travel somewhat. Especially along the outer edges of the lips so I would advise applying a lipliner for a more pristine look. Wear time for the lipstick was about five hours before reapplication was necessary. Even if you are not a fan of Chanel I would definitely suggest purchasing a few of these. The beautiful color range and the lightweight moisturizing properties absolutely make them worth purchasing.

Availability: Chanel, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales
Price: $36.00 USD