A LIPSTICK A DAY

Hello stranger. I'm back in London and semi-organised enough to post some reviews again. After my foray into the Dior Nude lipstick range with Grege, I decided to try out Ingénue, which I picked up in Hong Kong airport.

Sorry about the recent lack of posts - I just moved apartments and had time & lack of broadband issues. Here's my duty free spoils - Heathrow Terminal 3 has a fantastic beauty section in Duty Free - most brands have a proper counter - Chanel has a huge area, Burberry, and Tom Ford is no longer just a pokey perfume shelf. Sadly Armani is no longer stocked there (unless I couldn't see it?!) since I was going to buy the Maestro foundation - I have been using a huge sample for the last 2 weeks and I'm loving it.

Dior has launched a new line of lipsticks, called Rouge Dior Nude, together with the new Diorskin Nude foundations.

Imagine a new lipstick that behaves like a highlighting blush, thanks to radiant new shades and a new treatment balm formula.

From the first application, lips are perfectly hydrated, plumped and smoothed, thanks to a formula containing a high concentration of active treatment ingredients.

Rouge Dior Nude is available in 10, new, warm or cool, blush-effect shades that add a transparent touch of warmth or coolness to the complexion. From beige to bronze and from greyish-beige to rosewood, they echo the nude coloured silhouettes of the latest Dior shows.

These lipsticks are not nude in the traditional sense, but are supposed to subtley enhance your natural lip colour.

I don't know about you but I was sold by the promotional images of Natalie Portman.

I have been anticipating the relaunch of the Chanel Rouge Allures ever since I saw preview pictures of the various colours.  A lot of the shades were a departure from Chanel's usual line-up - there are a lot more vivid bright shades and a lot less "safe" colours. 

I made a mental wishlist before I headed to the counter - Exaltée, Enjouée, Excentrique and Pimpante - I skipped the reds since I have far too many red lipsticks already and not enough opportunities to wear them!  Pimpante was slightly too light for me (I think - I did not try it on my lips), Enjouée when swatched looked too similar to coral Rouge Allures I already have (Coquette & Hyde Park), and so Excentrique was my pick.

Yesterday I picked up two lipsticks that are opposites in extremes - Chanel's Relaunched Rouge Allure in Excentrique (in your face bright orange) and Dior Rouge Nude Lip Blush in Grege (subtle pinkish nude).  Reviews coming soon.

x Sylvie

For Vogue's Fashion Night Out, Chanel released 3 'twin sets' of matching nail polishes and Rouge Allure Velvet lipsticks.  My interest was piqued only by Provocation - the darkest shade of the three.  I was temporarily tempted to buy the matching lipstick Provocative when I was in line at the Covent Garden pop-out - but then decided it's probably wiser to wait for Rouge Noir in thenew Rouge Allure formula.

Vertigo is one of those colours you either love or hate.  I didn't commit to buying it until I had a manicure done at the Covent Garden pop-up store - and then I knew I had to have it in collection.

August Favourites post is a tiny bit late because I totally forgot - August just went by so quickly.  My August makeup look was mainly a bronzed flushed look or a very simple bright statement lip.  I didn't use highlighters very much since my skin naturally veers (often dangerously) shiny/glowy in summer.

• 01. Chanel Joues Contraste in Rose Initiale - both colour and texture is amazing.  Gives a rosy but natural looking flush.
• 02. Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow in Liquifuschia - for when I want a more dramatic rosy cheek look
• 03. Guerlain Pucci Bronzer Blush - I think I have featured this in my favourites for a few months running.  When I bought it I never thought I would reach for it as much as I do - this is very good for when I'm running late and don't want to think about what to use on my face.
• 04. Guerlain Sun Shimmer Highlighter/Blush in Sunny Pink - It doesn't look it in the tube but it gives a sheer natural colour to the cheeks
• 05. NARS Laguna/Orgasm Duo - I only use the Laguna bronzer side nowadays - for when I want more bronzed/contoured look.
• 06. and 07. Burberry Lip Cover in Primrose Hill Pink and Burberry Lip Cover in Golden Peach  - My other lipsticks have been neglected lately since these two have become my go to day to day lipsticks.  If I want a natural look, I dab a tiny bit on my lips then apply with fingers.
• 08. Becca Lip and Cheek Creme in Tuberose - please excuse the review, it was when I frst started blogging and I cringe a little looking at my old photos.  I like to use this to replicate this Becca look on the left.  Gorgeous.

I will be moving apartments (again) soon so I've decided to have a bit of a clear out.  Some items are back-ups so they are brand new, others are slightly used but I don't want to throw them out because it seems like a bit of a waste.  Please have a look and leave a comment below / send me an email if you're interested.  The sale is limited to UK and Europe at the moment.

Recently I have tried to cut down on my beauty purchases, hence the lack of posts in August (but that is also due to time issues).  Instead of buying almost everything that looked good/interesting, I have been editing my wishlist down to the essential "must-buys" from each collection (I skipped the entire Dior Autumn collection).

At first I thought I had to have Lumiere d'Artifices, the stripey sequin palette from the Chanel Autumn 2012 collection.  But after looking at swatch photos and trying it in store, it's a big no for me - the colour just doesn't show up on me.  Then I thought is it absolutely necessary to buy Rose Initiale, another pink blush?

This post is a little late but I hope it will be useful to my London readers.  I still find it really irritating that the UK gets every seasonal makeup behind the rest of the world - but hopefully the pop-up boutique at Covent Garden makes it a bit better for Chanel lovers.  The autumn collection is now in store at the pop-up before all the other counters (they will have the autumn collection on the 24th I believe).

Le Labo Bergamote 22 has been on my wishlist for more than a year - there was always something else I wanted/needed/had to pay for so I've been delaying this purchase.

For those not familiar with Le Labo, the fragrances are mixed fresh in front of you in the 'lab'.

This autumn season is the season of new high end liquid lipstick launches - Guerlain, Shiseido and MUFE have all released liquid lipsticks.  It was a nice surprise to see Stila with their own version with the Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick.

This range has 10 shades and includes a few nude neutral shades but the vibrant bright shades definitely dominate.  I don't associate Stila with bright vibrant lip colours (I tend to think of very natural barely there lip glazes when I think Stila) so I found this quite refreshing.

1. Suqqu Nuancing Cheeks in EX-03 Akanemizu - This was one of my favourite go-to blushes earlier this year and I have "rediscovered" it again.
2. Burberry Sheer Eye Shadow in Dark Sable - Not exactly a summer colour but a great neutral
3. Burberry Sheer Eye Shadow in Mulberry - Love love love this colour
4. Burberry Lip Cover in Primrose Hill Pink - One of my go-to lipsticks this summer
5. Guerlain Pucci Terra Azzurra Bronzing Powder & Blush - I have reached for this the most as it is just so versatile
6. Chanel Le Vernis in Distraction - One word, coral
7. Chanel Le Vernis in Sky Line - I love this colour so much, I wore it continuosly for most of July
8. Burberry Lip Cover in Golden Peach - Another of my go-to lipsticks this summer
9. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in Rendezvous & Lovesick - I love these as they are no fuss and good for natural (one layer)and dramatic (a few layers) looks.
10. Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Carina - I really like this colour but it wasn't instant love.  I will try to review this in August.

Mulberry #24 is a rich autumnal shade that can look quite scary in the pan - it appears to be a deep berry wine colour.  I actually prefer this shade to Dark Sable from Burberry's Autumn Winter 2012 collection.

This is my first foray into Burberry eyeshadows.  As in the case with a lot of people, I will first dip my toes into a brand by trying one product, and then it's all downhill from there - I will be drawn into trying more and more of their products.  This is definitely the case with Burberry.

Dark Sable #23 is one of three new Sheer Eye Shadows in the Burberry Autumn Winter 2012 makeup collection.  As expected from Burberry, it is a beautifully executed down to earth neutral shade.

Here in the UK, autumn/winter makeup collections usually do not launch until it is more weather appropriate towards end of August.  However, Harrods have already launched the new Burberry Autumn Winter 2012 makeup collection mid way through (our very lacking) summer.  I hadn't heard/read very much about this collection until I received a phone call from the Burberry counter at Harrods.

[edited: images of Lip Covers now added]

I am a bit of a makeup snob but I know a good bargain buy when I see one.  I am smitten by these Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains from Revlon (see what I did there?).  I tend to shy away from drugstore makeup because of three things - products that don't interest me, cheap packaging, and poor choice of colours.  These kissable balm stains are definitely none of those.

Let's point out the obvious here - these are blatantly a copy (I dislike the word dupe) of Tarte's Lipsurgence and Clinique Chubby Sticks - I'm not sure which appeared on the scene first since Tarte is not available in the UK.  I have swatched the new colours of Clinique Chubby Sticks at the counter (far better than the original safe boring Clinique colours) but was disappointed by the lack of pigmentation - it's just too sheer to justify its price tag.

Sky Line is part of the Blue Illusion de Chanel makeup collection, from Chanel's spring/summer 2012 Haute Couture show.  The entire Haute Couture collection featured the colour blue and was inspired by the glamour of air travel in its heyday.

The other YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain I picked up is Corail Fauve #12.  Most of my views (re: packaging, smell, texture etc) will be the same as my review for Corail Aquatique, so I will keep this brief and more of a photo review.

When YSL's Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres (I'll call it Glossy Stain for the rest of this post) first launched, I wasn't all that interested.  Firstly because it is a gloss, and secondly to be honest, because the packaging is ugly.

Since the Chanel Paris-Bombay Métiers d'Art show back in December last year, I had wanted to get my hands on Diwali and the Nirvana Illusion d'ombre.  Sadly Nirvana never made it into production, so I only picked up Diwali from the Bombay Express collection.  And just as I had suspected, the Route des Indes de Chanel is disappointingly far too gold and sparkly for me.

1. Burberry Lip Cover in Primrose Hill Pink- second favourite lipstick for June
2. Burberry Lip Cover in Golden Peach - favourite lipstick for June
3. Chanel Glossimer in Calypso -not a gloss girl but I love this colour
4. Boots No. 7 Gold Glitter Top Coat - I use this over my nail polish when it's looking a bit tired but I haven't got time to redo my nails.
5. Guerlain Pucci Terra Azzurra -I've been wearing this as bronzer/blush for most of June, mainly because it look good + it's convenient since it's all in one compact.  I still hate the smell though.
6. Chanel Island - my favourite from the Chanel summer polishes
7. Dior Bikini - best of the summer corals
8. Chanel Diwali - review will be posted next week
9. YSL Glossy Stain in Corail Aquatique - to be reviewed, my views on these are mixed but I like them enough to be included in this month's favourite
10. YSL Glossy Stain in Corail Fauve - as above
11. Chanel Sable-Émouvant -haven't been wearing much eyeshadow but when I have, it's been this because it goes with any lipstick/blush.

I have to admit, I wanted to get Primrose Hill Pink just because of the name (for those not familiar, Primrose Hill is an area in London). But luckily Primrose Hill Pink also happens to be a gorgeous pink.

Having not tried the Burberry Beauty line previously, I was a bit late to the Burberry Spring collection.  So when I received a gift voucher, I promptly headed to the Burberry counter to try out the Lip Covers.  Lip Covers are the equivalent to the Rouge Cocos of Chanel - the main line of opaque pigmented lipsticks with satin finish.

I was drawn by the campaign photo of Cara Delevingne wearing #28 Devon Sunset.  At the counter I tried on Devon Sunset and #29 Golden Peach, and as much as I wanted Devon Sunset to work for me, Golden Peach suited my colouring far better.

I was interested in the Burberry line when it launched but never bought anything from them until now.  I think it was a combination of lack of colour choice (there were lots of colours but all much the same) and the packaging (it feels clunky to me).

But I finally caved in and bought two of the new Spring Lip Covers, Golden Peach and Primrose Hill Pink, which I will review in detail later.

Before I bought this palette, I had second thoughts about it. Do I really need another bronzer (since I'm not a fan of bronzer)? Do I really need another blush (I have enough to use a different one everyday for a month at least)? Is any bronzer/blush really worth £51?

Yes this bronzer blush is really quite expensive. But it is also very big - in fact one could probably use is as a mini discus. I caved in (for research purposes) since I had £15 worth of reward points at Debenhams (btw I used to snub Debenhams but their Beauty Club reward card is excellent when they have bonus point events!).