Tom Ford Black Orchid Set Review

I received Tom Ford's Black Orchid gift set as a Christmas present, having not tested any of it beforehand. I was honestly apprehensive, especially about the fragrance. But this is decidedly high end luxury, and every one of the three items has been a big hit with me. 

I'll start with the item that I was most concerned over, the solid perfume. I'm absolutely terrible at describing scents, so I'll just say that the Black Orchid solid perfume seems to me to be complex, but still universal. The metal compact that it's housed in is obviously vintage inspired, and is very classy and high quality. At first I thought there was a mirror in it, but it's just a highly polished and reflective gold surface. Almost a mirror, not quite. The closure is magnetic and secure. I haven't been carrying it around for fear of damaging it, but I bet it would hold up just fine to kickin' it in a hand bag. Overall, it's a beautiful piece that's worthy of being carried around by a vixen from the 1940s. 

The nail polish is the first from Tom Ford, and thankfully holds up his reputation for quality. The polish is highly pigmented, and dries with a high shine glossy finish. Not sheer, not bumpy, just nail polish heaven. Definitely worth having, since I don't own anything similar. 

The Lipstick is also the first I've ever tried from the Tom Ford line, and I must say I'm also very impressed with it. I wore this shade on New Year's Eve, and it was a big hit. The formula is definitely moisturizing, but just dry enough so that it doesn't bleed all over the place, which is a must with such a dramatic color. I wouldn't wear this everyday, but it's very on-trend and nice for those (very) occasional nights out. 

This was the Christmas present that I was most anticipating from the lot, and it didn't disappoint. Overall, I think this is a great introduction to the Tom Ford line, and an excellent gift. And it's a good thing that I received it as such, since I really can't imagine paying the full $140 just for myself. But that's Tom Ford for you. 

Dior Five Golds Palette for Holiday 2010, Swatches and Review

Actin Filaments, Photo Credit: LaVerne L Poussaint

I know I'm late in my review for the Dior Five Golds Palette for Holiday 2010, but I had to get to know it a bit before waxing poetic. I'm typically a pretty big fan of Dior Quints, 2010 has been a banner year in fact, but I was slightly hesitant about Five Golds. Normally this is the exact sort of bronze neutral goodness that I'm all about, but for some reason this palette seemed to be less than exciting. Until I spent quality time with it. And I'm so glad I did. Five Golds is definitely in league with all the rest of the quints as far as quality and design. The shadows are smooth and vibrant, and the color combination is unique enough to my collection that it's a worthwhile addition. Additionally, it's also in line with my taste enough that it can be used with a large range of my other products. 

The black is a medium pigmented shade with sliver microglitter. I've used this the least, just as a soft liner. The two bronze shades definitely steal the show because they're so pigmented and beautiful. The sliver is also well pigmented and combines well with the other colors. It's nice to have a cool tone to offset the mostly warm palette. 

The lightest color, which is basically just glitter in a sheer base, has gotten mixed reviews. I ultimately decided I really liked it as an accent shade. It can be combined with other colors in the quint, or otherwise, to make them more sparkly or noticeable. Usually I don't use much glitter, but when I do, I might as well go all out. So I'll be using this to really push an eye look over the top. Since it's so sheer, it can really be layered over anything, even a blush or highlighter. 

I was actually testing and wearing this quint when I was visiting Washington state over the Thanksgiving holiday, and that huge blizzard hit. The snow made for an interesting morning for my mom and me. We actually ended up abandoning the car, and walking home the last few miles. It's a good thing I had snow pants on and my eye makeup looked inappropriately glamorous. When you combine the colors together on the lid, it gives this awesome impression of the semi-precious stone tiger's eye. It goes well with green eyes, and winter catastrophes. 

Estee Lauder Extravagant Golds Palette, Swatches and Review

Can we please talk about my love for Estee Lauder? Admittedly, it's a fairly recent love. Ever since the Tom Pecheux Pure Color Night collection, I've been paying attention to their new products. Not only have I found a few gems among the mascara, but I'm really digging the eyeshadows. This holiday, Estee Lauder brought us the Extravagant Golds Five Color Palette, which instantly won me over with that light milk chocolate-y taupe in the upper right hand corner. All of the colors are a buttery soft consistency, and have a delicate frost texture once applied to the skin. Obviously except the matte brown in the center, which is incidentally the highest quality matte I've ever come across. I wish I could have a whole rainbow of colors in this perfect smooth matte finish. 

The colors are, from upper left clockwise: true gold, warm brown taupe, orange copper, cream frost, and matte chocolate brown. They're all coordinated beautifully, and blend very well into one another. The amount of product is also very generous, especially for the low price. The palette is pretty hefty, comes with a huge mirror, and clocks in at $42. So affordable for a high quality department store brand.

You can probably see how pigmented the eyeshadows are in the swatch photos. I tried to photograph the swatches from different angles to show how the colors change slightly, depending on how you look at them. I've really have been enjoying wearing this palette. Highly recommended.

Givenchy Rouge Interdit Satin Lipstick in Vintage Carmine, Swatches and Review

So Givenchy Lipstick in Vintage Carmine is yet another item that I ordered during the sephora friends and family sale. There are about a million sephoras in nyc, but I couldn't find this in store to try out before ordering online. Whatever, reds are rarely disappointing, right? Right. Well, I wouldn't say I'm disappointed with this lipstick, but it's decidedly NOT what I was expecting. The color is describes as "deep red" on the sephora website, and as "red with brown undertone" in the press release. When I opened this lipstick up, I noticed that the color in the tube looks (deceptively) dark. I immediately thought, "oh no, it's just a dupe for the Dolce & Gabbana amethyst shade!" So I went over to my vanity, and compared the two under directly under the lamp light. No real resemblance. The Givenchy shade is much more brick red (and yes, brown in undertone) in comparison to both D&G amethyst and orchid. Phew. 

I thought, great, I love brick reds. And this one seemed plenty original for my stash. I felt confident that all of the surprises were over. That was, until I applied the lipstick. As a preface, I've owned several other Givenchy Rouge Interdit Lipsticks. I have "Absolutely Irresistable Red," "Maharani Henna" and some coral number. All of these lipsticks have been creamy with medium to full coverage. So of course this would be the texture of Vintage Carmine, right? Wrong. Vintage Carmine in shockingly sheer and glossy, and applies very burgundy. Jeez. Way to throw me for a loop. 

Above and below you can see the color of the tube. Is it not brick??? 

You can see how pink in tone the swatch is in comparison to the brick color of the tube. It's really sort of a shame, because I much prefer the color of the tube to the swatch. What's more is, the formula is almost reminiscent of a stick gloss, and totally bleeds. By mid day, the color was all over the place. I had messy clown mouth. Lame lame lame. But that's only because I didn't take proper measures to make sure that wouldn't happen. All of my previous Givenchy lipsticks have not really needed lipliner, but clearly this one does. I wore this again with my go to Paul & Joe lipliner, and the results were much improved. 

So all in all, I don't regret the purchase, I just wish I had tried it out before ordering. Now that I know how to wear this lipstick, I'm actually getting into the color. It's a pain that I have to take an extra step and line my lips, but whatever. Sometimes I like a really long and involved makeup application, because it tends soothes my internal savage beast. I also don't have too many reds that are similar, and the formula is forgiving as long as it's been properly lined beforehand. Surprisingly, it's actually shaping up to be a somewhat of a sheerer, glossier version of the Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in Terre de Feu that I just reviewed. 

Paul & Joe Holiday 2010 Pictures and Review

Picture overload!! Here are the two Paul & Joe Holiday 2010 Lip and Eye Color sets! I couldn't decide which to get, and since I had a 30% off coupon for b~glowing, I just got both. I love the print so much this year, I definitely don't mind having two makeup bags. Isn't the print awesomely retro? I would love to have a dress made out of this print. I guess I could get my wish since this has undoubtedly been featured in the Paul & Joe clothing line . . . if I had a gazillion dollars that is.

Color 001 Adagio features a neutral color palette. The gloss has the frosty light pink rose with dark pink surroundings. The eyeshadows are creams and browns. Color 002 Allegro features a slightly more colorful and fun palette. The gloss has the dark pink frosty rose, and white surroundings. The eyeshadows are an interesting combination of light blues and pinks with smoky dark greens.

The Lipglosses are particularly exquisite. Could you die?!?! Forgive me for not doing any swatches, I just couldn't bare to destroy the roses in the center of each gloss. I'm sure I will dig in soon enough, but for now, I want to admire them for a little while longer.

Color 001 Adagio on L, 002 Allegro on R

The eyeshadows feature an interesting design. Single usage cards, but I feel like I could probably get upwards of five applications, even more with the darker shades. It's really a good amount of product for someone like me, who has never even come close to using up a pan of eyeshadow in her life. I think I'll be deriving quite a bit of satisfaction from using these up.

The Adagio eyeshadow colors are: cream frost, milky coffee, chocolate, dark cool brown, and sparkling dark grey. You could get such a killer holiday smoky eye from these. Score.

001 Adagio Eyeshadows

The Allegro eyeshadows are: light blue, pink cream, mauve pink, dark forest green, and deep black with brown and green sparkles. I definitely wouldn't know how to use all these colors together, but there are a lot of interesting combinations you could use. Like the mauve all over the lid, smoked out with the deep green and black. Sweet.

Color 002 Allegro Eyeshadows