Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Beauty Exclusives 2011

Hello Ladies...I just wanted to share a quick update of some of the things that Nordstrom is cranking out for the Anniversary sale this year. It's kind of a quick copy and paste, so I apologize for the way it looks. The sale will start sometime in mid-July.

Chanel Rouge Allure in Joyeuse (pictured) and Desinvolte--$32 each
Chanel Rose Tourbillon--$43
Chanel Rose Envolee Quad--$57
Chanel Glossimers in Blossom (pictured) and Liason-$27 each
Chanel Poudre Lumiere Pearl Glow Powder--$60
Bobbi Brown Tortoise Shell Beauty Kit-$80
Kit includes:- Shimmer Brick in Beach (limited edition).- Creamy Lip Color in Toffee (limited edition).- Shimmer Lip Gloss in Rose Gold (0.14 oz.).- Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink (0.1 oz.).- Extreme Party Mascara in Black (0.21 oz.).- Mini Ultra Fine Eyeliner Brush.- Mini Face Blender Brush.

Dior Fall Ready to Wear Palette-$52

Lancome Parisian Sultry Eye Look Set--$48
Color Design Shadow and Liner Palette in Coral Crush (warm corals and browns). Complete your look with a full-size Le Crayon Khôl Eyeliner in Black Ebony, a travel-size Aquatique Eye Color Base (0.08 oz.) and Hypnôse Instant Full Body Volume Mascara (0.135 oz.) for lash drama. All tucked inside a Parisian-chic cosmetics bag.
NARS Bright Lights Big City Eyeshadow Palette-$55
Shades included are Cyprus, Biarritz, Fathom, Night Clubbing, Coconut Grove and Night Breed.
Smashbox Studio Stash Brush Set-$36
Full-size #7 Tapered Shadow Brush.- Full-size #15 Definer Brush.- Travel-size #28 Precision Liner Brush.- Travel-size Angled Blush Brush.



Smashbox Studio Stash Set-$59
Set contains:- Eyeshadow palette featuring shades Vanilla, Slate, Twilight Grey and Charcoal.- Full Exposure Mascara in Jet Black (full-size, 0.38 oz.).- Lip Enhancing Lip Gloss in Smitten (full-size, 0.2 oz.).- Cream Eyeliner Palette featuring ten versatile shades.- Blush/Soft Lights Duo in Split/Second.- Roll cosmetic bag.

Trish McEvoy Portable Beauty Romance Set-$75

Colors include eyeshadows in Shell, Romance and Antique Rose, Eye Definer in Deep Aubergine and new Bronzer in Golden.Also includes:- Instant Eye Lift under-eye brightener and line filler (deluxe travel size, 0.025 oz.).- Beauty Booster Lip Gloss SPF 15 in Sexy Petal, (deluxe travel size, 0.2 oz.).- Dual-Ended Eye Brush featuring two of Trish's most iconic eye-enhancing brushes on opposing ends: Brush 50 Angled Eye Lining and Brush 23 Angled Crease Contour.- Brush 48 Blending, the perfect face-color application and blending brush.
Trish Mc Evoy Timeless Beauty Makeup Planner--
Includes:
Red Bow Petite Makeup Planner.- Petite Refillable Makeup Page containing eyeshadows in French Vanilla and Soft Grey, blush in Glow, Medium Matte Bronzer and Translucent Finishing Powder.- Eye Base Essentials in Bare (deluxe travel size, 0.025 oz.).- Mini Classic Eye Pencil in Black.- Mini High Volume Mascara in Black (0.1 oz.).- Lip Color SPF 15 in Mulberry.- Brush 62 Fan Brush.- Medium Refillable Double-Decker Compact containing Even Skin Portable Foundation in Shades 2 and new 3.5 with professional sponge applicator.

There's a lot more goodies available, but I just chose some of the stuff available based on brands I personally like myself.

I'm thinking of getting a glossimer, the Dior palette, the NARS palette, and possibly the Lancome Set...I already have the Chanel JC so I'll skip it this time. I hope that helps somebody who's been trying to hunt down a list or some pictures.

NARS Calanques Trio

The only item that I had actually preordered from NARS Spring 2011 was the Calanque Trio, which I had originally thought would be beautiful, taupey goodness. Unfortunately it didn't quite live up the the promises the stock photo seems to promise me. However, it wasn't that the stock photo was altogether decieving...as you can see below, the picture I took of the palette matches the colors in the stock photo pretty accurately. However, the middle shade is not taupey at all, but is instead a relatively nude shade.

The colors themselves apply smoothly, with the exception of the largest shade, which is a bit grittier in texture and sparkly. It's more of a sheer sparkle on my lids without much color on it's own. The darkest shade in this palette is sheer love for me. I love that it is a warm, green-tinged brown. However, I don't know if it's altogether worth keeping this for the price point. It's a smidge steep at $45... If these colors do float your boat though, you can use 132011cp on the NARS site to get 17% off with $65 purchase. (Expires 2/7/2011)

NARS Happy Days Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

I picked up NARS Happy Days today when I wandered into Nordstrom to try to find a new foundation. Coincidentally, they had just gotten the Spring stuff in, so I picked up my preorder for NARS Calanques, as well as one of the new gloss pencils. In my opinion, Happy Days was the best one out of the bunch, and thus, it came home with me. I did think that Baroque and Frivolous were kind of pretty, but Frivolous was too sheer and nothing special to me, and Baroque, while pretty, seems a little frosty on my lips, but I didn't have a whole lot of time or attention to devote to deciding on it. I figured I'd pick it up later if necessary. Happy Days is a beautiful coral color with gold shimmer. It's really not as warm (or sheer) as my camera suggests, but my camera likes to wash things out sometimes.





I'm fairly happy with this, though I feel like it was a tad pricey at $24, as I feel like it's kind of similar to the discontinued Stila lip glaze sticks (which I loved...coincidentally, the 2 I own are MIA). I would probably say that I prefer the Stila ones though, as the Stila had a bit more slip to them and smelled nicer. They were also cheaper than the NARS pencils, even at full price. Happy Days has this slight chemical/waxy smell to it to me when I first apply it that I didn't notice when trying out Baroque. It fades off within minutes though, so it's nothing that really bothers me.

Overall, I'd say it's worth picking up and trying if the colors of the gloss pencils appeal to you and you have the cash, though it wouldn't be the end of the world if you couldn't get at them.

NARS Purple Rain and Castledew 9260

Recently I've taken to stalking Scrangie's blog...so when NARS Purple Rain popped up I had to have it. I ordered it before I actually read the post though, so I was of course shocked when the bottle was way redder than I had anticipated. Apparently, this polish is quite camera shy, and will not photograph properly at all. The picture below, taken in indoor lighting, was the closest I got. This polish was fully opaque in 2 coats, which is what I stopped at. Purple Rain is a gorgeous blue based purple with a lot of red/pink glowiness. It's a very lit from within type of shimmer, making it fairly unique in my opinion. The result overall of course is warm toned, though not quite as red as the bottle would suggest.Here's a picture in natural lighting...this is on day 2. It hints at the warmth of this polish, but still doesn't quite make it.
Here's a picture in sunlight. The reason why this one's last is because it fails to capture the color accurately at all...but it does show the blueish base of the color.
Next I have for you Castledew 9260. Castledew is a Korean brand..you can find bits and pieces of it in Korean stores sometimes, though it's not particularly common here in the states. Here's one I bought sometime last year...it's a golden champagne color with a foil-like finish..very sparkly and pretty. Pictures don't quite capture the sparkle. I did 3 coats of this for full opacity, but if you wanted you could wear it at 1-2 coats for a sheerer look. The polish applies very smoothly with 0 streakiness, so it's one of those polishes where you can decide when you want to stop adding coats. (If you're one to use thicker coats, it'd prob only take you 2 to opacity). Here it is in natural lighting. There was no sun that day so it doesn't shine as much, but it shows the color pretty well
Here it is in indoor lighting. It sparkles a bit more in this picture, but not nearly as blingy as it is in real life.

NARS Day and Night Palette

Today's post is another short one; it's for the NARS Day and Night palette. The Day and Night palette was released with NARS's 15th anniversary collection and comes in the same packaging that the 6 pan palettes have all come in; except that the NARS lettering on the palette is in red instead of white. As usual, the palette contains 6 eyeshadow shades from the permanent line and retails for $50 at Sephora or on NARS's webpage. I forgot to mention this in my last post, but there's currently a 20% off code on NARS's site with $60 purchase or more. (CP9H1211) which expires 12/31/2009.

Here are the shades:
Abyssinia- This shade is also in the Pleasures of Paris palette. It's a nice shimmery beige color. For some reason I feel like the Abyssinia in my Day and Night palette is smoother than the one in the Pleasures of Paris palette
Sugarland-I'd describe this as a sparkling bronzed peach I guess. The texture's slightly gritty, but it applies just fine
Fathom- light pink with silver microglitter. This has a drier texture and the payoff is kind of poor. It makes a good base though I think.
Cleo- shimmering seafoam green in the pan, this one shows up nearly white on my skin with a green tinge.
Underworld- shimmery deep blue with some grey tones in it. Passable as a crease color, works nicely as a liner shade
Night Breed- Black with silver glitter. Unlike the majority of the Night Series shades, this one isn't chalky. I'll still probably never use it.

My overall thoughts on the palette are that it isn't bad, but it isn't great. I don't feel it's worth the $50 really. It's not a particularly versatile palette and I bought it when I was in my nude wash of color + colored liner phase so I'm okay with keeping it as I can find a couple of looks to do with it..unlike Modern Love which I couldn't work with that well. I do recommend Abyssinia as a single though..it's nice

NARS Doucers de Paris (Pleasures of Paris) palette and Christmas NOTD

Merry Xmas everyone! Today I have swatches of the NARS Doucers de Paris palette or the Pleasures of Paris palette. This palette contains 6 shades (Nepal, and retails for $50 on NARS's site or at Saks. Of the 3 6 pan eyeshadow palettes NARS put out this year, this one's my favorite.

Nepal is a bronzed peach shade
Violetta is a very nice smooth matte grayed light purple
Demon Lover is a dark matte purple
Fez is a beautiful bronze
Abyssinia is a smooth beige color
Cordura is a deep brown with gold shimmer


I also did my nails for the holidays. I woke up after the sun had gone down yesterday, so here's my mani on day 2 yet again. It's China Glaze 2030 over Zoya Isla (3 coats)

Sephora Lip Service Lip Deluxe Sampler and Essie Mint Candy Apple

When I went to return the Stila Smudge pot set the other day, this set caught my eye in its place. It's a gift set of 8 lip products from various brands retailing for $38. 3 of the 8 items are full sized items too..so it's a pretty good deal. It contains DuWop Private red (deluxe sample size), Smashbox Lip Enhancing gloss in Sheer (clear gloss, maybe 2/3 size), Sephora Nano Lip Liner in Beau Bordeaux, NARS Velvet MAtte Lip Pencil in Roman Holiday (Full Size), Korres Guava lipstick in Wine Red (Full Size), Cargo PlantLove Botanical Lipstick in Muir Woods (Full Size) Tarte Vitamin Infused lipstick in Hatha (sample), and Laura Mercier Lip Color Creme in Pink Champagne (sample)Flash
No Flash
Swatches (L-->R): Du Wop Private Red: supposed to be a color changing lipstick. I don't really notice any real color change. It's a pretty red..unfortunately I don't feel like I love it...or hate it... it's got a good texture, is nondrying, and smells like Smarties candy.
Sephora Beau Bordeaux Nano Lip Liner: Reddish Brown. It looks kind of mauvey in the swatch picture, but I don't see any of that on my skin
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Roman Holiday: Kind of a silvery pink. It looks like Pepto Bismo against my lips and skintone, but it'd probably look lovely on a lighter girl. It has an odd scent I can't quite place, but nothing too strong or lasting
Korres Guava Lipstick in Wine Red: Cute Pink-Red. Very good texture and moisturizing. I like this color best in the set and think it could be flattering for a wide set of skin tones.
Cargo Plant Love Lipstick in Muir woods- Sheer Mauvey Pink with an emphasis on sheer. Has a somewhat mild waxy scent. I find this color somewhat drying.
Tarte lipstick in Hatha-A nice pink with copper shimmer. It's a really cute color and decent formula.
Laura Mercier Lip Colour Creme in Pink Champagne- Mauvey Pink...a cute neutraly color and very work appropriate. Has a nice emolient feel to it too.
I was messing around with Private Red earlier..so I cropped out a lip swatch of it. It's not quite this warm RL:
Overall the set's really nice and would make a great gift for someone. Personally, I feel like the colors are a bit off with my skintone..but then again my skin tone's made another change and I'm now really warm, so I have to go through my stash and figure out what will work on me again.

Today's NOTD is from Essie's holiday collection. Mint Candy Apple. I found the formula a bit streaky..though thinning it helped a bit. # coats gave a smooth, opaque result:

NARS Essential Eye palette

NARS released TWO eye palettes this fall, and unlike the Modern Love palette, I'm totally in love with this one. The Essential Eye palette retails for $55 and is available on the NARS website as well as Neiman Marcus. Unlike NARS's past eye palettes, this one contains a cream eyeshadow and 5 powder ones encased in NARS's regular rubbery packaging.
The shades are as follows:
Unconditional Love- a nice light peachy bronze. Putting this under one of the powder shadows intensifies the color. It's similar to Nepal, which is also in the palette. I've heard that NARS cream shadows crease on a lot of people though, so it may be something you might want to consider if you're tempted by this palette.
Night Star- golden nude with shimmer. This is probably the only shade I liked in the Night Series palette, so I'm kind of glad to have it back since I swapped away the Night Series palette due to its chalkiness.
Galapagos- brown with gold sparkle. I've seen a lot of shades like this summer, but it doesn't make this one any less pretty.
Nepal- peachy bronze nude
Ondine-taupey purple
Thunderball- matte grey based blue

Overall I really like this palette. Yes, 3 of the shades are really similar, but I like all of the shades in the palette and the palette is easily wearable. It's well worth what I paid for it.

NARS Modern Love palette.

Originally a Nordstrom Exclusive, the NARS Modern Love palette retails for $55 and is available on NAR's website now that Nordies has sold out of the palettes. The palette contains 6 shades;

Alhambra--a frosty peachy nude. I'm not entirely sure why this is so popular. I feel like it's pretty dupeable.
Jezebel--a brownish red.
India song--shimmery neutral brown
Tokyo--purple tinged white. This shade's practically white on my skintone
Habanera-- greyed purple. This is the prettiest shade in the palette, but it pulls mostly grey on me and the purlpe doesn't really show through.
Pandora--matte black. As far as matte blacks go, this is one of the more vibrant blacks. I'm not a big fan of black eyeshadow though as I don't really have any use for it since I prefer gel liners

All around, the colors in the palette are pretty indivually, but I can't seem to combine them in a way that makes me happy, so as a palette, I don't really like it. It's probably still worth the price if you like the colors though.