Review: Chanel Dentelle Precieuse Illuminating Powder

Chanel Dentelle Precieuse Illuminating Powder ($80 for 0.21 oz) is a stunning highlighter that delivers a phenomenal quality. It offers luxurious packaging, exquisite lace design, a velvety smooth texture, an extremely flattering shade of beige with ultra fine multi shimmer, and that's not all. It stays on for 8 hours under humid weather like what we're having here in Houston.

Sounds awesome eh? However, Chanel Dentelle Precieuse is not a must-have. Yes, you hear me right. I found several alternatives that possess the same quality and only fail to compete with the beauty of Chanel's latest collector item. Not to mention the 80-dollar-plus-tax-plus-quite-a-few-run-around-to-locate-it price tag for just decent amount of product. I don't hate it, actually I love it. But I have better choices.

Before you Chanel Dentelle fans stone me, please hear my reasoning. The Chanel beauty comes in a pretty velvet pouch, a decent brush, and a large mirror. All is very convenient for touch up or traveling. You don't have to worry about bringing an extra mirror or brush or the case will be scratched. It's already taken care of.

The powder comes in a pretty velvet pouch. 

When you open the pouch, the brush is tucked neatly in the smaller compartment. It's actually quite a good brush. The bristles are soft and densely pack. I might use it for on the go, although I always prefer my own brushes.

Now onto the embossed dentelle. Breathtakingly beautiful and elegant isn't it? The lace details are so real that I had goose bumps taking these photos. So incredibly exquisite! You can see the thickness of the embossed lace. So Chanel!

Next to the window, under cloudy sky

Under direct sunlight

The multi shimmer reflects sunlight

Chanel Dentelle Precieuse has more to offer than just the pretty face. It's a warm peachy beige with a hint of pink infused with multi shimmer. Don't let the shimmer worry you as it's ultra fine and looks natural on the skin. From all the swatches I've seen on the internet so far, I think it works wonderful for all skin tone. The beige is delicately balanced with both peach and soft pink. For fair-skinned girls, I would recommend you use a light hand to highlight. It could well be a blush if you're really fair. On my light medium skin, it blends seamlessly into my skin color, leaving a sheen rather than a shine on the skin.

The texture of the power is silkily smooth without over powdery. It makes the blending effortless. So far so good right? I don't have any complains about the quality or the color itself. When I played around with Chanel Dentelle Precieuse at the counter, I thought of several other highlighters in my collection. So I pulled them out for comparison.

I swatched the bronzier stripes of Dior Shimmer Star Amber Diamond next to Chanel Dentelle. The colors are painfully similar. Dior Amber Diamond doesn't have as soft and smooth texture as Chanel's, yet the difference is nuance. The multi shimmer in Chanel Dentelle is a touch more visible, and may I say, sexier than Dior's. However, I can create more variations of highlighter with Dior Amber Diamond by simply swirling different color stripes together. Plus, Dior's priced roughly at $48 for 0.35 oz compared to Chanel's 0.21 oz of product at $80. Dior Amber Diamond wins, in my book. She doesn't have that stunning lace though. 

Cream: Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Opal, Edward Bess All Over Seduction Afterglow 

Powder: Dior Shimmer Star Amber Diamond, Chanelle Dentelle Precieuse 

I also found two other highlighters in the cream formula, Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Opal ($41 for 1.7 oz) and Edward Bess All Over Seduction Afterglow ($38 for 0.08 oz), aka my all time favorite highlighter. They have the same peachy beige color as Chanel Dentelle. However, Edward Bess' has more subtle shimmer and Becca's has shinier and more metallic finish. On my skin these two look slightly different from Chanel Dentelle but mainly due to the different shimmer levels. Edward Bess Afterglow is tiny and turns out to be more expensive than Chanel Dentelle, $99 for 0.21 oz of Edward Bess Afterglow. Becca Opal is considerably more affordable than Chanel's. 

Different lighting to show the color

So my point is, if you already own one of those highlighters, and the chance is you have something similar to them anyway, you won't need Chanel Dentelle Precieuse. It's definitely a collector item. At the same time, if you collect beautifully designed makeup items, then you need to check it out.

I'm debating whether to keep Chanel Dentelle Precieuse. The lace does make me wonder...

One last picture of this beautiful piece of art.

Have you check out Chanel Dentelle Precieuse? Anyone wants to convince me to keep it? 

Look: Meet Jessica - Part 2 Sultry chic

It's finally Friday! 

Before I get caught up with all the boxes in our garage, I thought I'd post the second make-over look for my friend Jessica. The first look focused on keeping everything natural. Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill in Pulp Fiction immediately popped up in my mind even before I did a test makeup with her. The pictures didn't do its justice! I wanted to create a shimmery silver eyes pair with natural pink lips and cheeks. All photos were taken by my friend Doan and edited by me :). 

Face

Korres Matifying Primer

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation

Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Dollface

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal

Eye

Guerlain 6-Ecrin Eyeshadow Palette in Place Vendome (dark grey for the brows and define the crease)
Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Eyeshadow in Pulp Fiction
Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Zero
Bobbi Brown Party Extreme Mascara

Lip

Chanel Rouge Allure in Exquisite

This picture has nothing to do with her makeup. I simply adore the V-neck line in the back! 

I hope you enjoy the mini make-over with Jessica. Have great weekend!

Joanne

Look: Meet Jessica - Part 1 Natural Nude

I'm so excited to share my mini make-over of my friend Jessica. She was very kind to bring her own makeup bag. I ended using her Estee Lauder Foundation. 

Jessica also loves makeup though not as addictive as I do. When you talk to her, you can feel her positive and calming energy. I really love her natural coloring so I decided to keep her make up as nude as possible. I used peach and plummy brown to define her eyes and keep the rest of the makeup soft and nude. Photos taken by my friend Doan and edited by me :)

Face
Korres Matifying Primer
Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation
Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder
Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Dollface
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal

Eye
Boots No. 7 Mineral Perfection Eyeshadow Trio in Topaz
Bobbi Brown Extreme Party Mascara

Lip
Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lipgloss in Beach

Hope you enjoy meeting Jessica! Have a great month of August!

Look: Meet Doan - Part 2 Modern glamour

I'd like to share the second look I did for my friend Doan. Again, I want to keep the makeup simple like the first look, focus on her lips this time to bring out the modern glamour inside. 

The center of this look is her full red lips. To keep the look modern, I skipped lipliner and lip gloss. I applied three thin layer of Laura Mercier Cherrywood with a lip brush (blotted between layers) on top of EOS lip balm. I used Guerlain Place Vendome's golden taupe on the entire lids, then define her eyes with the highlighter shade and the dark shade in the palette. To finish the look, I applied a thin line of Urban Decay 24/7 Zero following her lash line, no wing out. 

Close-up


In action...

Face

Chanel Mat Lumiere 4.0 Beige

Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

YSL Touche Eclat 08

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal

NARS Orgasm blush

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original

Guerlain Ecrin 6-color eyeshadow in Place Vendome 

Dior Show Extase mascara

Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Zero

Lip
Laura Mercier Satin Lipstick in Cherrywood

I hope you enjoy Doan's lovely spirit as much as I do.

Joanne

Look: Meet Doan - Part 1 Young and Fresh

I'm so excited to introduce my friend Doan. She loves sport, food, traveling and photography, which is why she's helping me out with my make-over series. She's naturally gorgeous, fresh and dynamic, and very photogenic. So I opted to focus on her skin and brows and keep the makeup simple and understated. 

For the everyday look, I wanted glowy cheeks and soft pink lips. I also used plum eyeshadows to enhance her brown eyes and a silvery mauve (of the same quint) to brighten up the lower lashlines. 

Here is her gorgeous smile....

A close up

Photo by Doan (she was posing "innocent" for this particular look :))

Face
Chanel Mat Lumiere 4.0 Beige
Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder
YSL Touche Eclat 08
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal
NARS Orgasm blush

Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original
Dior 5-color eyeshadow in Stylish Move (all shades but the pearl white)
Dior Show Extase mascara
Guerlain Ecrin 6-color eyeshadow in Place Vendome (the dark grey to define the brows)

Lip
Edward Bess Berry Chic pink gloss in the palette

Next time, we'll see her in a different style. I hope you enjoy this mini make-over. Thanks so much for reading!

Review: Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector SPF 25 in Pearl and Opal

I was never impressed with liquid highlighters until I tried out Becca Shimmering Skin Perfectors ($41 for 1.7 oz). They produce such a natural glow that becomes seamless with the skin. The idea of liquid shimmering highlighter is no new but the consistency of texture and just right amount of shimmer make this product stand out.

A few close-ups of the packaging

Don't worry about dropping them. The bottles are made of plastic and rubber-like material with a pump. 

Pearl, as its name suggests, is a pearly white with extremely delicate white shimmer. When I first pump it out, it looks stalky white and nothing like a shade that can match with the rest of my face. However, it blends seamlessly into my skin and quite sheer. I have medium, yellow undertone and Pearl doesn't wash me out or concentrate into white stripes on my cheekbones.

Opal is an apricot with coppery champagne shimmer. Like Pearl, the shimmer is finely milled, creating a from-within glow that is incredibly natural. Opal compliments my skin tone really well and better than Pearl. I would recommend Opal for warm skintone. If you're on the cooler side, it might not look as natural.

Side by side outdoors

There are two ways I apply Becca Skin Perfector, with either a foundation or concealer brush and with clean fingers. Even though I prefer the brush, clean fingers will work just as well and the effect is sheerer. In the photos, I swatched Pearl and Opal heavily for them to show up. On my skin tone, though, they create glycerin type of glow that catches light and only show when I turn my face to certain angles. And the glow stays put all day. This result, ladies, is what I expect Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer should have.

The only drawback of these goodies is the setting time, around 10-15 minutes, which doesn't break the deal. I don't complain much since liquid formula tends to require more time to stabilize on skin in compensation for the ease of blending and natural looking effects.

More swatches indoors (using heavy hands on Pearl!)

Final thoughts. Totally in love! Natural, effortless and long-wearing. I use Pearl for day time and Opal for night time. For the amount you need of each application, this bottle is huge. If you love highlighters, you MUST have one of Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfectors. 

Lately

I literally stayed away from beauty blog through out the months of April and May. My life has been hectic like hell and I lost my inspiration to blog. But all the beauty purchases I made since January were all huge success. I love every single one of them. So I decided to share a brief overview of these goodies and will do a more in-depth description later on.

First and foremost, I finally found THE foundation that I desperately wanted for years ever since my love affair with makeup began. Yes, nearly 10 years. Clarins Ever Matte Skin Balancing Foundation. Smooth with extra finely milled texture. Matte without being dull. Stay on all day (no setting powder needed). Natural like second skin. Doesn't turn orange half day through. Weightless. Cover well and buildable. I found my right shade. Affordable. Smell refreshing. Smart packaging that works well for traveling. I don't think it's the perfect match for everybody but it should work well on loads of skintone and type. I can no longer come back to my Chanel Matte Lumiere or Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk. Totally in love!

Other awesome discoveries were Dior 5-color eyeshadow quint in Beige Massai and Chanel 4-color quint in Kaska Beige. Both are universally flattering neutrals with beautiful pop of colors. Beige Massai, in particular, has everything I love about the best of Dior 5-color quints. And Chanel Kaska Beige is simply a-must. Hands down. Sadly, Dior Beige Massai was discontinued (yes, I checked with Dior). So I had to raid ebay's beauty department and grabbed two (of course).

I've also been using Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Espresso Ink non-stop since March. YSL Touch Eclat is my new under eye concealer. Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Love Affair (seriously, every girl needs this) is my every day blush and will be until the fall comes.

Some other happy procurements include
YSL Rouge Couture in 27
Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Gloss in Beach
Makeup Forever HD Blush in No. 6
L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe
Maybeline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe
Clinique Black Honey
Becca Shimmer Skin Perfectors in Pearl and Opal, both of which aren't new to my collection but I waited until I got a good use of them to write reviews.

I'm very excited to continue to share and learn more about makeup. I hope you are doing well.

Joanne