Would ya’ll like to meet the newest members of Chanel’s family? This here’s little Delight (she’s a sweetheart), and that over there is Gold Light. They’re both shining stars in Chanel’s fall 2008 makeup collection.

Fall may be months away, but the collection just arrived at Chanel counters nationwide. I fell in love with five of the products in this release — two of the Glossimers (Delight and Gold Light), Facettes D’Or Highlighter in Gold Fever and two of the lipsticks (Pepeete and Formentera).

Facettes D’Or Highlighter in Gold Fever

Pepeete (on top) and Formentera, Aqualumiere Sheer Colour Lipshines

In the Chanel fall 2008 sneak peak a couple weeks ago I talked about a few of the fall items — Rouge Hydrabase Lipstick in Great Copper, Jouse Contraste Powder Blush in Rose Dust and Pretty Pink Lip Definer. Here are swatches of the remaining products, all now available for purchase at Nordstrom and online through Chanel.com

From left to right: Denim Eye Definer, Simply Pink lipstick and Fantastic Plum lipstick

From left to right: Fantastic Plum, Enthusiast, Formentera and Papeete lipsticks

From left to right: Delight, Amberlight and Gold Light Glossimers

From top to bottom: Gold Fever Facettes D’Or, Almond Poudre Douce

Top row: Cristal-Dusk Irreelle Eyeshadow Duo
Bottom row: Bois Blue Soft Touch Eyeshadow, Le Bronze Soft Touch Eyeshadow


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Bobbi Brown’s makeup doesn’t always do it for me. My homegirl once described the brand as “colors for people who are afraid of color,” and I think there’s some truth to that. A lot of Bobbi’s makeup has that jury duty feel to it, ya know? — the kind of makeup you’d wear to court.

But Bobbi threw me a curve ball with the lip colors in the Mauve Collection, her new fall makeup line.

I’d been searching high and low for edgy yet wearable lipsticks and glosses in shades of purple, and these colors are, dare I say, edgy yet wearable. They’re eye-catching without going over the top, and within the colors there’s enough variety to allow you to create lots of different looks. Go on with your bad self, Ms. Brown!

Lip Color

At first I thought Pale Mauve ($22) was going to be too light for my skin tone, but once I got it on I actually really liked this light blue-purple shade. It’s light with a 60’s feel. I plan to pair it with light cheeks and a cat eye with a thick black liquid liner on my upper lash line (and a mini-dress and go-go boots, ha!).

Bobbi’s Lip Color lipsticks have a semi-matte formula that goes on a little thick, but at least it doesn’t peel away after a few hours. I don’t mind the light licorice fragrance, but I’m glad it has no taste/flavor. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

Heather Mauve ($22) is a dark red-mauve, making it a great candidate for my easy-to-wear work lipstick stash. I like the texture and the color itself, but it closely matches my natural lip color, which sort of defeats the purpose of wearing lipstick. I guess it’d be useful as a base color layered beneath one of the other shades listed below. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B

Lip Color swatches: Heather Mauve (top), Pale Mauve (bottom)

Lip Glosses

Dig out your Cure mp3’s and your smudgy eyeliner! Bobbi’s Mauve Collection Lip Glosses ($19) look demure in their petite little tubes, but these colors are equal parts edgy and sophisticated — think goth chick in stunning black suit.

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Hi, ladies! I’m mo-blogging from the Pure Beauty store in my hood and just spied these lip glosses by Fresh called Gloss Absolute. Aren’t they cute?

The glosses come in four shades: Desire (cherry red), Bellini (peach), Rose Parfait (light pink) and Dahlia (wine).

The only thing holding me back is the price — each costs $24.50, about the same price as a Chanel Glossimer. Have you used Gloss Absolute before? What did you think? Is it worth the price?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Dior is at it again, girls. I love Dior in general, but their eyeshadow quints are what I look forward to most of all. This August, they’re giving us *two* new palettes for fall. Oh, be still my broken knee.

The two new 5-Colour Eyeshadow Palettes are part of the upcoming Impression Cuir collection.

Earth Tones

My favorite of the two quints is hands-down the Earth Tones palette ($54) pictured above. All five of its shades — dark olive green, light moss green, pale pink, chocolate brown and reddish brown — have rich, creamy matte finishes with just the faintest shimmer. Girls (or boys) who like spicy neutrals may dig these a lot.

I used to steer clear of mattes because they can be hard to work with and difficult to blend, but Dior has the matte formulation down. These shades blend well, and, with a hint of shimmer, they create looks that aren’t flat or one-dimensional at all.

Unfortunately, Dior does not try to be a budget brand, and both of these palettes cost a pretty penny. For the money, though, the shades in the Earth Tones palette absolutely deliver. I think these are well made, beautiful and highly wearable eyeshadows. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A+

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Work was a killer today, so when quittin’ time rolled around I headed straight for Macy’s to do what I do best: window shop. I found some stuff that not only cheered me up, but also satisfied my inner chocoholic. Behold — in all their grainy Crackberry goodness — a couple snapshots of Estee Lauder’s new fall collection, delectably named Chocolate Decadence.

With lots of eyeshadows, lipsticks and glosses in colors inspired by berries, caramels and chocolate, this collection could have been by Willy Wonka. Aren’t the swirl patterns tasty?

Estee Lauder Chocolate Decadence…

Creme Caramel Shimmer Powder, ($32)
That’s the swirl powder in the picture up there. It’s a soft brown with shimmer, ala MAC Beauty Powder. It’s for use on cheeks or on your body to get a soft glow.

Signature Eyeshadow Quads in Berry Truffle and Caramel Truffle, ($35)
The eyeshadows of these two, four-color quads — Berry Truffle and Caramel Truffle — are embossed with a pretty swirl pattern. Caramel Truffle goes with the browns in a big way, but I think I’m going to pass because the colors are similar to others in my collection. Berry Truffle got my heart pumping, but not so much that it forced me to make an impulse purchase. I decided to wait.

Pure Color Swirl Glosses in Berry Swirl and Caramel Swirl, ($18)
Yummy is all I can say about these glosses. I’m like a confused makeup foodie. Both glosses have a creamy beige color swirled into a dark purple berry and caramel. Picture a rich parfait. Mmm… parfait… I was actually tempted to take a bite, no joke!

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