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? 

Review: Chanel Cream Blush 65 Affinite

Chanel Le Blush Creme de Chanel 65 Affinite ($38 for 0.09 oz) is one of the new six cream blushes from the brand, and was probably the most sought after. It was unavailable for a while after the launch of the other fives. I scooped mine up on Chanel.com but now you can order it at Chanel counters of major department stores and online.

Before testing Chanel cream blushes at the counter, I was leaning toward Dior cream blushes for their lovely colors and creamy texture. Yet Chanel's really swept me off my feet. They melt into the skin seamlessly in the matte finish that mimics your skin texture. But no worries, you still have time to blend the blushes out afterward. The texture is very different from traditional cream blushes. They're not sticky. It crosses between cream and powder. I love applying Affinite with clean fingers. It's just easy and really quick. Chanel cream blushes are simply lovely and beautiful! 

Affinite is a bright watermelon pink that resembles healthy blushing cheeks after good work-out. Although it's bright pink, I find it different from all the pink blushes I have (here and here). It leans more watermelon and warmer. That's why I picked it up :D.

Stronger direct sunlight

 

Blent out - this is how I love to wear Affinite. 

Chanel Affinite wears well for a full working day under the ridiculously humid weather we had here in Houston. If you're looking for a long-wearing, natural, easy-to-use and low maintenance kind of blush, the new generation of Chanel cream blushes got you cover. 

Now, I think the price point is actually reasonable, especially for a bright shade like Affinite. A little goes a long way. It vaporizes almost instantly on the cheeks that you don't waste much product. 

Finally, the ingredients

Bottom line. Phenomenal quality! Affinite is a must-have for those who want an instant pick-me-up complexion. I highly recommend for all skin tones and types.

Have you tried the new Chanel cream blushes? What's your favorite?

Favorite combo: Tom Ford Lipgloss Rose Crush and Chanel Rouge Allure Exquisite

You guys probably remember that I love pink lips. I find them the most flattering and easy to rock. But I don't want a predictable cute sweet pair of pink pouts. I want characters, versatile and shine, and of course pink. Chanel Exquisite is a bit overly sweet for my everyday while Tom Ford Rose Crush adds slightly too much earth to my lips. Since Chanel Exquite is a warm medium pink with golden shimmer, I thought it'd be the perfect base under a rosy nude brown Ford's signature. The results is understated enough for smokey eyes while adding enough oomph for a minimal eyemakeup.

I've been pairing this duo non-stop. Together they last for good 5 hours on top of a lip balm, either EOS or Fresh. Loving them!!!!

Swatched under direct sunlight

On my lips. Please pardon my hair and pimple. 

What's your current favorite lip combo? 

Review: Chanel Sculpting Veil Notorious

You well remember this notorious sucker, don't you? It was flying off the shelf everywhere last year. One search on Google, you'll see millions of photos on millions of beauty blogs. I feel like everybody owns it. And I bought into the hype. I rushed to Neiman Marcus to get it without even trying it on. Why? Because I thought I'd look seductive like this. Because Neiman ran out of tester. Because EVERYONE was talking about it. Because I began to succeed in a decent contouring, which I battled for years. I regret. 

Now this post won't be a complete rant on Chanel Sculpting Veil Notorious ($43 for 0.14 oz). Instead I'll tell you why I'm not impressed with everything about it.

Notorious is a sheer shimmery grey with a tiny hint of mauve. It's smaller than a regular Chanel round blush (0.21 oz) and was priced the same. Not a good sign! On my cheeks, it's more wearable than in the pan. I found it look more flattering in the photos as the camera generally takes away 20% color intensity. So it's kind of believable that I have defined cheeks. It does give me that runway high-fashion fierce cheeks. If I just stopped here then I like it. However, this grey color however doesn't complement my skin tone in real life. It's just off and unnatural looking. My hubby was asking me why my cheeks looked grey. Oops!!!! I did blend it out and used a very light hand.

Then I tried Notorious as an eyeshadow. Grey is one of my favorite eyeshadow colors so I expected to love it. Nah. Not at all. Notorious is so sheer and doesn't hold off until I finish applying my makeup. The texture is dry and a little hard that requires 3-4 layers for the color to show up on my primed lids. I can deal with the low pigmentation but I dislike the texture. *Sign*

If you have cooler and lighter skin tone than mine, Notorious will probably flatter you better. It doesn't have enough depth to show up without looking hollow on me. Until today I haven't figured out how to coordinate it with the rest of my makeup. I think it suits editorial makeups better than everyday.

Swatched under direct sunlight

From all the reviews I've read so far, people either love Notorious or hate it. This shade is definitely more tricky to pull off than friendly bronzer or brown-based contour powder. I agree with Lily of ChloeAsh that Chanel Notorious isn't easy for someone how's new to contouring. 

Bottom line. Not for me. The quality isn't as good as regular Chanel blushes. And it's more expensive.

Did you get Chanel Notorious? If you passed it or missed it, what did you think? I know some of you really love it. I would love to hear your thoughts. 

Look: Special Occasion FOTD - Silvery Taupe Eyes Nude Pink

Back in January, I was brainstorming a look for an evening special event. After twitting about my ideas, my blogger friends voted for 3 looks a) copper eye and bright pink lips; b) bronze eyes and dark lips; and c) silvery taupe eyes and nude pink lips. 

Guess which look I sported for the event? I picked this one! I though it contrasted my teal dress subtly and still added a bit of drama to the look :D. And to be honest, I simply love everything about this look and decided to go with my instinct.The high shimmery silvery taupe against nude pink lips. I love my glowy cheeks (thank you thank you Edward Bess!) that seamlessly changes from a highlighter to blush. Love Tom Ford blush in Savage for this look! It ties all color and texture together. 

Since the eyes are rather intense, I kept the skin very natural. On that day I used Burberry Sheer Luminous Trench 6 (review of Trench 5 is here). I replaced it with Tom Ford Traceless Stick Foundation Natural for this post while testing the sucker. It's phenomenal for my skin!! Reviews of Tom Ford items used in this post are on their way. I finished the write-up yet don't want to overwhelm you guys with my opinionated rambles ;;)

As usual, please scroll down for full makeup breakdown. 

I look funny but this picture shows the makeup the best

Look breakdown

Face

Tom Ford Traceless Stick Foundation 05 Natural (reviewed on the way)

YSL Touche Eclat 08

Laura Mercier Setting Powder

Laure Mercier Secret Camouflage SC-3

Tom Ford Cheek Color Savage (reviewed on the way)

Edward Bess All Over Seduction Afterglow

Eyes

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill #4 Pulp Fiction

Dior 5-color eyeshadow Beige Massai (deep brown, ivory, peach)

Bobbi Brown Long-wearing Gel Liner Espresso

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Stretch Mascara

Lips

Chanel Rouge Allure Exquisite

Tom Ford Lip Gloss Rose Crush (reviewed soon)

Look: Neutral and Hot Pink

Houston rises and shines at 93F today. The fall equinox has just came and technically we're in the middle of the fall. I'm sort of panicking as time flies by so fast and in a few months is Christmas. In the fare well of the summer, I thought I post this neutral look with a pop of pink.

Since the lips take the center stage, I kept the eye makeup neutral and sheen coupled with glowy cheeks. Everything is subtle and understated so that the lip can shine. Chanel Glossimer in Pink Teaser is a gorgeous bright pink that stays put and moisturizes my lips. It's also very wearable, and frankly you can wear this type of pink year round.

Please pardon my brows! In my own fashion, I forgot to do the brows that day :D. I hope you all had an awesome summer! xx

Face

Clarins Ever Matte Foundation

Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

YSL Touch Eclat 

Edward Bess All Over Seduction Afterglow

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed

Eye

Dior 5-color eyeshadow Rosy Tan

Bobbi Brown Long wear Gel Liner Espresso

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara

Lip

Chanel Glossimier Pink Teaser (limited edition)

Review: Chanel Joues Contraste in Rose Initiale Fall 2012

Chanel Joues Contraste Rose Initiale ($43 for 0.21 oz) is the new blush of the Fall 2012. Good news is it's added to the permanent line. You might already seen the 987654321 reviews of Rose Initiale by now. It tells you how popular Rose Initiale has become. For very good reasons.

When I first saw the pictures of Rose Initiale, I thought it'd be just another peachy pink blush I already owned. But no, I don't have anything this sophisticated. And the baked formula is actually buttery smooth, not at all how I pictured it in my mind. 

Chanel Rose Initiale is a muted peachy pink, not really pink nor peach. I feel like it has the equal mix of both. When worn, Rose Initiale looks very natural, just like a pink rosy flush on the cheek. Very nuance, very muted yet pinky and peachy. It doesn't lean cool nor warm, which makes it universally flattering on all skintone. It's one of those classic blush that you don't have to think hard of what it will match. It goes with almost every look from natural to dramatic. It's sheer but buildable for intensity. I used two layers on the apple of my cheeks for the look below.

The subtle golden shimmer brightens up my cheeks with a very soft sheen. So don't let the shimmer worry you if you more prone to matte blushes.

Heavy swatch  (natural light)

 Heavy swatch (direct sunlight)

What sold me completely though is the staying powder. I was running errands and 5 hours later, Rose Initiale sill looked fresh. It only started fading after 8 hours. Love it so much! Blushes generally don't last over 4 hours on me so I was thrilled. 

Like other Joues Contraste, Rose Initiale is infused with light rose scent elegantly though. I prefer fragrance-free products but this is actually quite pleasant. It comes with a large mirror and a decent brush. 

Bottom line. Totally in love! Rose Initiale is a great natural blush that flatters all skintones. Easy to wear and easy to use. Thinning my wallet for a $43 blush definitely consumes lots of thoughts. For me, it's totally worth it.

Have you tried Rose Initiale? How do you like it? What do you pair with it?

Here's a look with Rose Initiale (photo taken at hour 5)

Makeup breakdown

Clarins Ever Matte Foundation in 108

YSL Touche Eclat in 08

Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

Edward Bess All Over Seduction in Sunlight

Chanel Joues Contrase in Rose Initiale

Dior 5-color eyeshadow Beige Massai (all 5 shades!)

Bobbi Brown Long-wear Gel Liner in Espresso

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Stretch Mascara 

The Body Shop Brow and Liner Kit (dark brown/black)

YSL Rouge Couture in  Fushia

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 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!

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

Cover Look Week 02.13.2012

Laura Mercier's Lingerie Collection immediately caught my attention among all spring collections this year. The promo picture of this year wonders quite far from the soft feminine that dominated Laura Mercier seasonal makeup in a few years past. It's just different from Laura Mercier I got so used to with, in a good way. Sultry dreamy eye coupled with glossy peach lips screams summer rather than spring to me. Still, the peach and pink bring the springy feelings to the look.

Focus. Violet tinted chocolate brown eye shadow. Glossy peach lips.

My take

Base. Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation 5.75 and Giorgio Armani Micro-Fil Setting Powder No. 2 (both are not pictured here).

Eye.

Option 1
Plum and peal white in Dior Stylish Move and the rich chocolate brown in Dior Rosy Tan.

Option 2
Edward Bess Berry Chic.

Option 3
A more shimmery/chrome version of the look can be achieved using Chanel Vanites.

Comparing the three options

Cheek. Paul and Joe Cheek color 12

Lips.

Option 1
Bobbi Brown Rich Lipcolor Sweet Nectar SPF 12
Guerlain Rouge G Orange Euphorique (LE)

Option 2
Paul and Joe Moon Shadow Lipstick topped by Paul and Joe Sailor's Delight.

Did you get Laura Mercier Lingerie Collection? What will be your take on the promo look?