delicate hummingbird.

May 6, 2012

Le Métier de Beauté Crème Fresh Tint in Coral Nymph.

i guess it's not too bad to resume my posts on the LMdB Crème Fresh Tints before my photos go to waste, today continuing with the shade Coral Nymph.
find a comparison/overview post on the sidebar (or here), a more detailed review of shade Ginger Lily here.

Coral Nymph is a milky peach with a tinge of coral, it fits well into the colour trend for this spring/summer but is an overall staple shade that flatters many skintones. it contains very subtle microshimmer that is not visible once applied other than as a soft glowy effect.
it's unscented and has a very soft consistency with an exceptionally fine texture, like a thick cream, but it's not too greasy or has lots of slip. the cream blush is quite pigmented so only a tiny bit is needed to achieve a lush pinky peach flush. this creates a natural finish and brightens and enlivens my complexion. it blends out easily and melts into the skin seamlessly almost like a stain. the skin feels soft and nourished but not sticky or greasy at all, even after a long day i can't detect it melting off or fading on my oily face. i use either my fingers or the Hakuhodo duo fibre brush G5552 to apply it. it doesn't budge my base make up underneath.
Coral Nymph is also a nice colour on the lips, on me it's a peachy-nude.
i really like these Crème Fresh Tints by Le Métier, they give a beautiful longlasting effect, are versatile and a good deal at 28$/24£ (now available at zuneta.com!!!). i wouldn't take them with me on hot summer days though - i'm afraid they might melt.

have you tried these cream blushes by Le Métier? how do you like them? has someone experienced any melting problems with them?

Le Métier de Beauté Creme Fresh Tint in Coral Nymph in natural light: swatched heavily & blended out

Le Métier de Beauté Creme Fresh Tint in Coral Nymph with flashlight: swatched heavily & blended out

comparison

Illamasqua Cream Blush in Rude - Giorgio Armani Blushing Fabric #3 - LMdB CFT in Coral Nymph intensely swatched & blended out - Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in #2 Peach

Coral Nymph is rather peach while Illamasqua's Rude has more coral, GA Blushing Fabric #3 is more pink and sheer and Maybelline's cream blush is lighter, more shimmery and pink.

tihilw

without blush - with LMdB Coral Nymph applied on the cheeks and lips.

this is how Coral Nymph looks on my lips

May 2, 2012

my picks from OPI's Holland Collection.

when the Spring/Summer collection by OPI called Holland Collection was launched about 2 months ago (?) i was super excited to find the majority of the colours really appealing to me.
i kept checking ebay to snag my most wanted shades as soon as possible since it's the first place to find such things after they are launched in the US.

here are my swatches - for nail-swatches check Scrangie's. although i have painted them all, i didn't photograph it due to freetime and such ;)

Wooden Shoe Like To Know?

warm cocoa-brown with gold and pink microshimmer. the shimmer is most visible in direct lighting, it's quite subtle indoors. the texture is perfect - not runny but not too creamy.
i don't think this colour reminds me of The Netherlands or Spring/Summer but i can imagine to wear it non-stop when autumn comes.

Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?

love the name - don't love the shade. at least for now. i hoped it would be like OPI's Skull & Glossbones, just a bit warmer. but it's not only warmer, the strong yellow tinge gives me corpse-nails. like older, rotting corpses.
or as if i died from smoking 50 cigarettes a day. really awful. never wear this on the toes, please.
it has a nice consistency, though. almost fully opaque with 2 coats.
this one is very similar to Essie's Playa del Platinum, it's a smidgen more beige than the latter.

Deborah Lippmann Waking Up In Vegas - OPI Skull&Glossbones - Essie Playa del Platinum - OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?

Gouda Gouda Two Shoes

i still don't get this pun. can someone explain, please?
the shade is gorgeous though. the antique terracotta pink reminds me of Chanel Rose Confidentiel but a bit rosier and with a beautiful, special twist to it: this shade has the same gold and pink microshimmer like Wooden Shoe Like To Know?, maybe even a bit finer and pearlier.
the shimmer is very subtle in the lowlights but gleams when it captures some direct lighting.

Thanks A Windmillion

a creme-finish muted mint/aqua green, in the evening it looks almost like a grey colour. i love this. very spring-y colour. i don't like pastels on me so this is perfect when i feel like i need some minty green in my life.
again, a fantastic texture. opaque with 2 coats, wears 3-4 days without chipping or tip-wear (just like all the other shades).

Red Lights Ahead...Where?

bright bright bright red with some coral in it. looks like candied cherries, a real summer-red. creme-finish, a tiny bit jelly-ish, opaque with 1-2 coats. looks amazing with a slight tan, both on the fingers or toes.

A Roll In The Hague

super bright orange with a coral tinge. creme-finish which applies opaque with 1-2 coats. very popular colour for this summer, but i feel it's a bit brighter than the popular Pantone Tangerine Tango.
this colour is adorable on tanned toes!

OPI A Roll In The Hague - Essence Get The Fever - Essence Juicy Orange (Show Your Feet coll.) - OPI In My Back Pocket

A Roll In The Hague is the most coral orange out of these.

May 1, 2012

YSL Vernis à Lèvres/Glossy Stain #15 Rose Vinyl.

when i saw the promotional pictures and rumours about this new product for the first time, i wasn't convinced at all but rather quite sure that i would pass on these. i'm not a huge fan of Yves Saint Laurent make up, and i have to admit it's mostly because of their tacky golden packaging. furthermore i'm not really a lip-product- or even a bright-lips-gal.
but when i started to obsess about plain lip stains about a month back (am so glad that i didn't throw out few of my older ones!), i totally jumped onto the Glossy-Stain-bandwagon.
these lipglosses come in a selection of 18 (+2 exclusive) mostly bright and juicy colours, they are a highly pigmented lipgloss and lipstain in one with a watery stain base that provides a longwearing colour on your lips even when the also quite longlasting gloss is faded.
the packaging is a short gloss tube (reminds of the Chanel Rouge Allure Lacques) with a - still a bit tacky - gold top and black tube with a see-through-window. the big applicator is really nice and allows an even and very precise application. the product contains 6ml and retails at about 30€.

thanks to the amazing swatches and reviews at KarlaSugar, Drivel About Frivol and The RaeViewer i could quickly decide for 5 or 6 shades i need in my life, of which i only acquired 2 until today.
this time i'll show you shade #15 Rose Vinyl, a bright summery pink with tiny shimmer that pulls almost fuchsia on me if i build up the colour.
i am truly impressed with these, they don't feel too sticky and heavy on the lips, can be applied as a light stain or built up to a super high impact lip colour with a moist, but not too glossy shine and they wear a super long time and even survive heavy meals.
when the gloss part is worn off after about 4 hours, i'm left with an even pink stain on my lips and get at least a few hours more wear with this. in fact there were even times when i had this product on for more than 8-9 hours, several meals included, without any touch ups. this is how i like to wear a bright lip - without having to worry about smudging and fading etc.
of course the colour is not as bright as before, but you're not left with your pale nude lips.
i don't know how to describe it properly, but the stain that these leave on the lips is not a normal watery stain but it's a bit creamier and so it still protects my lips and keep them hydrated - i never experienced any chapping with them.
all in all i think YSL has launched quite an amazing product with the Vernis à Lèvres / Glossy Stains, i was never a fan of any of their lip products (*cough* Rouge Voluptes *cough*), but i am LOVING these.

i am quite irritated why i haven't seen much coverage for these in the german blogosphere while they are so popular with my anglophone blogging friends and actually are fabulous!
is there some boycot i didn't get?

edit: forgot to say something about the scent of these. like any other creamy YSL product, this is also heavily scented which could bother many. it's a creamy fresh scent that is quite artificial and lingers around quite a long time after application. at first, it really distracted me since the smell was so strong, but to me it's not an uncomfortable scent and so i got used to it fairly quickly. i do believe that lip products and make up in general shouldn't be so heavily scented, it distracts from natural smells, it can cause headaches, it irritates your skin and your mucous membranes and doesn't add anything beneficial.

here the swatches and over-the-day-pics:

one swipe of product with the built-in applicator - stain effect left behind when the gloss is swiped off

FYI Blogger seems to "un-brighten" the pictures after i uploaded them, in real they are a bit brighter than that!

i made the lip swatches both on my super old compact camera and my not too old DSLR, the colouring seems a lot warmer in the compact cam but i still want to show you both versions - you decide.