Dior Blue Tie Polish Swatch

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Henna

I’ve shown you my pictures of the rest of the collection, and now here’s my picture of Dior’s Fall 2011 nail polish in Blue Tie.  As I mentioned before, the colour seems very similar to Russian Navy.  Though it looks brighter in the bottle, on the nails, the colour is a navy blue with blue shimmer that ends up looking beautifully glossy.  I really enjoyed wearing this colour although I didn’t find it to be that different from what’s available from other brands.  It is highly pigmented, and super easy to apply. 

I enjoyed wearing this blue even though it wasn’t that different from some of the blues that I already own.  The quality does put it above most of the other brands out there.

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Dior Fall 2011 – Blue Tie

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Henna

Dior’s Fall 2011 look is based around a navy blue colour scheme.  Mixed with silver and touches of pink on the cheeks and lips, it’s a look that looks fresh and is easy to pull off.

The Diorskin Blush in Vintage Pink ($42) is super pretty.  It has a sheer matte pink blush and a lighter shade with shimmer so you can highlight. As you can see, the blush is much lighter in person than in the official Dior photos.  It’s pretty sheer on the skin too and it’s likely that medium-toned skin will find that it barely shows up.

The piece de resistance is the Blue-Tie Palette, which in Canada will be exclusive at the Bay. The palette has 4 colours of eyeshadows and a pretty pink glossy lipstick. The palette is $70 and limited edition.

The two nail polishes are Tuxedo and Safari Beige. Tuxedo reminds me a lot of Russian Navy by OPI and I can say that because for at least a year, Russian Navy was one of my favourite nail polish colours and I wore it repeatedly. Because it seems to be a colour that we’ve seen before, I would skip the Russian Navy and would instead go for the Safari Beige. Each nail polish is $24.

The collection comes out September 2011, but you can probably find it at counters already.

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Nina Ricci L’Air

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Henna

L’Air by Nina Ricci, released this past spring, is supposed to remind you of the classic scent L’Air du Temps by Nina Ricci.  L’Air du Temps was created in 1948 and is considered to be a classic.

Having not smelled the original, the the scent having been reformulated since then, I will only comment on L’Air.

The scent is definitely a floral.  It has notes of honeysuckle, jasmine, magnolia, and violet notes.  The base is woody with patchouli that’s very green.  The scent through and through is fresh and easy to wear despite its floral and woody notes.  The freshness turns into an airy powdery scent that lasts and lasts on the skin.

L’Air is romantic, summery, and very “pretty” in an elegant way.  There’s no candy sweetness in this, and it doesn’t heat up on the skin to turn into something gourmand, so it’s definitely for a mature wearer that likes the smell of a floral woodsy scent.

The scent has awesome staying power – it can most definitely last on the skin for a 12 hour day.

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Chantecaille Vetyver

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Henna

Chantecaille is an understated beauty line out of New York, created by a woman who’s a veteran in the biz.  The line focuses on providing luxurious products and has a clean modern aesthetic.  Stop by the counter at Holt Renfrew and you’re going to see pretty palettes with easy to use colours in them.

Off to the side is Chantecaille’s line of fragrances which has been rereleased this past year, and has something for everyone – by that I mean, there’s a gourmand, a floral, some herby scents, and some that are deeper and more mature.

The one that caught me by surprise is Chantecaille’s Vetyver.  Though this scent has notes of citron, pepper, nutmeg, bergamot, vetiver, musk and sandalwood, this is a scent that I can only describe as a true Vetyver because it smells just like real Vetyver in India.

Let me back up for a minute.  Vetyver is a grass that grows in India.  Of course, distillations of its scent are not going to smell like this perfume, but when you smell Vetyver in India, you also smell all the other scents in the air – this includes spices, such as pepper, as well as musk and sandalwood which are popular with the Indian population and used in everything from body lotion to laundry detergent.

So, when I say that Chantecaille’s Vetyver smells like Vetyver in India, I mean that it has all the notes that are in the Indian air when you smell Vetyver.  Vetyver by its nature has a grassy herbacious yet fresh scent that’s masculine yet light.

This Vetyver is being marketed as a feminine fragrance but I would say that it’s truly unisex.  It’s an elegant composition and well balanced.  The musk and woods really warm it up, while the bergamot that you smell right at the beginning makes it a fresh scent and reminds me a little of most masculine scents that are out there.  This perfume has great sillage – you can smell it on yourself the whole day even when you only wear one spritz.  It also lasts a very long time which is fantastic for a scent that’s this light.

You can pick up Vetyver and check out the other Chantecaille scents at the Chantecaille counter at Holt Renfrew.

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Swatch: OPI Pros and Bronze

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Henna

This is definitely one of my favourite colours right now – OPI Pros and Bronze is a lovely multi-colour shimmery glittery polish that gives a golden bronze look.  The colour changes from gold to bronze and back again depending on the light.

This is a colour from the last Serena Williams collection launching this August.  The other colour in the collection is Love is a Racket which I swatched here.

Also, although the collection officially launches in August, many salons will have it out earlier so you may be able to find both of these colours on counters already.

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MAC Me Over Fall 2011

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Henna

This fall, MAC will introduce the MAC Me Over collection – wearable shades and usable tools that everyone can have to achieve the professional look at home.

For the collection, they issued a casting call to find people that wanted the ultimate MAC makeover.  They were asked to finish the sentence: “MAC me over, because….”

Below is a sneak peek of who they found.  As someone who is drawn to makeup because of the whole power of transformation, I love the idea and I can’t wait to check out the products.

The final looks will be unveiled with the collection on August 25th.

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Eternity Summer 2011 Review

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Henna

It’s late in the summer for this review, and for that I apologize.  I’ve been busy with weddings and house guests, and it’s finally occurred to me that I should review the scent I spritz on myself without even thinking.

Since 2009, CK has been releasing a “Summer” flanker for its popular scent Eternity.

The scent is soft, with notes of muguet, violet, cilantro, gardenia, jasmine, lotus, musk, mimosa and fig wood, according to the press notes.

On me, the overall scent is like a soft floral powder that’s fresh and, yes, summery.  I do smell the violet, gardenia, and jasmine, and a slight hint of musk.  Notes like musk and woods are usually in the drydown, and I have to say that on me, there is no drydown with this scent.  It’s there… and then it’s not.

And that’s why I’ve been spritzing it on so much.  It’s a light scent that you can spray on yourself as a picker upper, without offending anyone’s sensitive sense of smell.  There’s also no warmth in the scent, so when you’re hot and sticky… well,  you won’t smell like it.  Most likely, you won’t smell like anything because this scent simply disappears when the going gets tough.

CK Eternity Summer is a lovely soft floral for those of you who are looking for light florals in the summer.  Because it is so light and offensive, it would be great worn at the office.  But it won’t take you from day to night because chances are that it will disappear before the sun goes down, and you’ll need something stronger for those long summer days.

Pick this up wherever CK scents are sold, including most department stores.

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Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soleil Review

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Henna

Estee Lauder’s Bronze Goddess Soleil had all the beginnings of an amazing summer scent. The scent is inspired by the Mediterranean and includes notes of Bergamot, Orange Blossom, and other citrus notes.

On first spray, the scent is warm yet refreshing because of the citrus notes.  Because it’s supposed to be a body spray, it is amazingly light and you can spray a lot without it being overpowering.

The scent isn’t anything specific.  I don’t smell lots of Bergamot or any other note.  Instead, I smell a vague blend of ocean water mixed with sunscreen and maybe a tiny bit of lemonade.  It’s nice.  It completely reminds me of any beach vacation I’ve taken to the point that I can almost feel a wet bathing suit on my skin and the heat beating on me.  It’s amazing where this perfume can take me to, really.

But the reminiscing is over in a flash because the scent is gone.  It fades from the skin super quickly, and I would be surprised if anyone can get more than an hour of wear out of this.  It’s too bad really, because if it could stick to the skin, I would wear this all through winter to give myself some place warm to go to in my head.

Bronze Goddess Soleil is LE so if you’re interested in trying it, head on over to the Estee Lauder counter.

 

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Zoya Fall 2011 – Smoke and Mirrors

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Henna

Love the first look at Zoya’s Fall 2011 Collection called Smoke and Mirrors.  This is a mix of dark colours but none of them even come close to black.  The colours can aptly enough be described as “smoky” with a mixture of creams and metallics that anyone can wear.

The Smoke Collection has the following colours:


Jana (ZP564) – smoky mauve quartz cream
Petra (ZP565) – smoky eggplant mauve cream
Codie (ZP566) – smoky brown taupe cream
Anja (ZP567) – smoky palatinate purple cream
Cynthia (ZP568) – smoky Prussian blue cream
Dree (ZP569) – smoky camouflage green cream

The Mirrors collection includes:

Nimue (ZP570) – smoky rich thistle metallic
Marina (ZP571) – smoky steel blue metallic
Tao (ZP572) – smoky slate gray metallic
Yara (ZP573) – sparkly olive green metallic
Neeka (ZP574) – sparkly amethyst purple  metallic
Jem (ZP575) – sparkly fandango pink metallic

 

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New! Weleda Body Oil Review

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Henna

I have a thing for body oils – you know this – and I want them to smell good and be natural, if possible.

Luckily, Weleda, the company known for its natural products has body oils as part of their body care lineup.

The oils are made from seeds and nuts, and include plant extracts to nourish the body and the mind. Pomegranate is their newest oil and renews and firm the skin because of its high level of antioxidants! In fact, dermatological tests showed that the Weleda Pomegranate oil increased cell renewal by 50% in two weeks!

My favourite oil is the Wild Rose Body Oil just because it smells so good that it’s the ultimate in pampering your skin.  This is definitely one of those oils that can add some scent to your skin, and I like that because I can skip the perfume and just wear this natural scent.

You can pick up the Body Oils from natural food stores and any other store that sells natural cosmetics. The Weleda Body Oils cost $28 US.

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