Tortoiseshell and rose blossom

I was excited when I got my hands on Bobbi Brown's tortoiseshell palette in Bronze - which is actually just a bunch of neutral and unexciting colours, I suppose, but great.basics. These are the colours I wear most often. These days I feel too self-conscious wearing bright colours on my face.

So with my eyes looking natural, I thought I'd play up the lips a bit. I just wanted something new and different and it took me one minute to decide on a bright pink lipstick called Rose Blossom. I tried on the limited edition shade - nude rose? - but it didn't suit me; it just looked blah on me.

Face: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B50 Beige Sienne, Bobbi Brown corrector in Bisque, Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder 2

Cheeks: Chanel Solein Tan in Bronze Corail

Eyes: Bobbi Brown White, Bronze Tortoiseshell Eye Palette, Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner in black, Dior waterproof eyeliner in black, Chanel Sublime mascara in black

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B40, B50, Bobbi Brown Rose Blossom

The foundation is still the same Vitalumiere Aqua by Chanel but a shade darker than last time. I couldn't make up my mind for a while but I think I do like this. I can't compare it with any other Chanel foundations but it's supposed to give that 'my skin but better' look. It has an SPF of 15, it's light and gives more coverage than eg MAC's Face and Body, which is ultra sheer. The packaging is perfect, in my opinion, because it's small, plastic and travel-friendly; I really don't need glass bottles.

As for concealer... well, I'm still experimenting. I'm not 100% satisfied with Bobbi's corrector+concealer stuff because the product(s) become visible on my skin after an hour or two. So at the moment I'm just using the corrector, applying the foundation over it, and setting it with the magic powder.

If Kate wears Bobbi, so can I...

Since I found out that Kate has been using Bobbi Brown make-up, my interest in BB has picked up again. I'm back to using some of my very first Bobbi eyeshadows (remember when they used to be round?!) and I also have the new tortoiseshell palette on my wishlist. Here is what I've been wearing lately:

Face: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B40 Beige Desert, Laura Mercier loose setting powder in Translucent
Cheeks: Soleil Tan de Chanel in 537 Bronze Corail
Eyeshadows: Beach honey (cream) as base, then Bone, Malted, Fawn all by Bobbi Brown 
Eyeliner: Black (gel) by Bobbi Brown and Stylo Yeux Waterproof by Chanel 
Mascara: Sublime de Chanel in black 
Lips: Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 46 Liberte

The long-wear cream shadow in Beach Honey is one of my must haves. I use this all the time as an eyeshadow base. And I'm still loving Chanel's bronzer-blush, eyeliner and lipstick. I'm pleased with the Bobbi powder eyeshadows, too - they are really good quality and the colours are always so beautiful.

On the other hand, I prefer the Inimitable Intense mascara (also Chanel). And although the gel eyeliner is a repurchase, I'm not so impressed anymore - it does not last all day on me.

Here is Kate's face chart by Bobbi Brown:

Eyeshadows: Ivory, Rockstar, Slate

Eyeliner: Black (gel)

Mascara: No smudge

Cheeks: Pale pink, Pink quartz shimmer brick

Lips: Sandwash pink, Crystal gloss

I've started using Slate and Pale Pink blush again as well (I had both of these in my collection). I also had Sandwash Pink in an eye-lip palette and tried it on but it's just not my colour. Never liked the Lip Colours, anyway. And I don't like the No Smudge mascara. As for the shimmer brick, I have one in beige and forget to use it so I won't be getting another one...  

Middle eyeshadow is Slate
Bottom left: Pale pink blush
Bottom right: Sandwash pink lip colour

Pippa's face chart:

Eyeshadows: Bone, Ash (cream)

Eyeliner: Black (gel)

Mascara: Extreme lash glamour

Cheeks: Sand pink, Bronze highlighter

Lips: Blondie pink, Confetti gloss

Via

Chanel Byzance ads

Beautiful, fascinating, dreamy, rich, powerful...

A little Chanel to keep me going...

Whilst waiting rather impatiently for another must-have Chanel bag to come along (and I'm ready to pounce, believe me), I treated myself to this several weeks ago... 

A thin pink patent belt. It is/was unfortunately limited edition (spring-summer pre-collection) so most of the other basic colours like black and red were sold out by the time I went shopping. There was nothing left in my size, either, but I was determined to get one! J'adore :-)

Chanel summer make-up 2011

Oh how I do like summer collections. And especially if Chanel comes out with a product called Mimosa! (Bellini next year?) Here's what I got:

I was desperate to get my hands on the nail colours - but to be honest, they're not worth the hype. Mimosa is a tremendously happy colour but it's difficult to apply, hence the rather sloppy manicure. Morning Rose is cute, it makes me think of candy, but I prefer Chanel's Pêche Nacrée from the spring collection (see pictures below to compare). And Beige Pétale is nothing special - so far I've used it once, applying just one coat to the nails (and no base/top coat) for a barely-there look when I didn't have the time to do a colourful manicure.

Summer collection: Beige Pétale, Morning Rose, Mimosa

Mimosa (summer), Morning Rose (summer), Pêche Nacrée (spring collection)

The blush-bronzers are really pretty and my favourite of the collection. I originally picked up the pink one, but then went back for the coral one. These give a soft glow to the cheeks and are perfect for summer.

Bronze Rose, Bronze Corail

Officially, I'm not into lip glosses anymore and especially not Chanel glosses because the two I had about six years ago leaked and I had to throw them out. But there was one gloss in this collection that I kept on picking up and admiring - always the same one - so I finally gave in. Glossimer 277 (Pensée) is non-glittery, it only has tiny gold sparkles (none of the outrageous blue, red, silver glitter). It is so pretty...  

Chanel Liberté

Finally gave in and bought the new Rouge Coco Shine. Chic packaging, of course, and I like that it's slimmer / smaller than the Rouge Coco.

Left: Rouge Coco Shine. Right: Rouge Coco

I got the colour Liberté, described as a sheer apricot. Beautiful soft colour, smells like Chanel, and gives a decent shine to the lips. It feels moisturising as well but because it's so sheer, it doesn't last that long. Love it, anyway, because it looks and feels so natural. 

Same swatch in different lighting

Any other colours you've tried and can recommend?

Chanel bag favourites - Spring 2011

I don't know why I torture myself like this every season. But I've done it again and I've picked out my Chanel bag favourites.

Actually, this is my top favourite. I saw this bright bag when I was in and out of the Chanel boutique for the earrings recently. I'm now regretting that I didn't buy it there and then - my bag instincts are usually pretty good :-) Looks heavy but... L-O-V-E.

I definitely like Nicky Hilton's choice, too.

This beige one reminds me of Louis Vuitton's speedy bags, which I don't (want to) own because they are too 'common', in my opinion. This would be a good alternative. I also want a Chanel bag for summer (the three that I have are all black) and the colour is spot on. However... is it a bit boring? Not elegant enough? My heart is not pounding (hard enough) at the sight of this...

So simple and practical - is it really Chanel? I prefer this to the beige one above but generally I like my Chanels to be more ladylike...

Do you like the new Mademoiselle bags? I wouldn't mind the one Blake is carrying here.

And here is Blake looking gorgeous. Lucky girl.

A (sadly) returned Chanel

Did you know that earrings are some of the "cheapest" things you can buy at Chanel?

I got this pair for about 250 pounds but saw a cute pair for 100 pounds, too! What a bargain!

Sadly, I had to return them because I - well, my body, certainly not my mind! - reacted badly.

There I was, feeling totally glam during the day... I'd had them on for about three hours and then my ears started to itch and irritate... and when I finally took the earrings out, my ears were bleeding a bit.

Of course I didn't want to return them. But I dragged myself back to the Chanel boutique. At first they refused to give me a refund. They were just going to give me store credit but I made such a fuss that they finally agreed.

Are you lucky enough to be able to wear Chanel earrings? I guess I will have to stick to their more expensive products :-p I saw some beautiful necklaces but they were at least four times the price of these earrings...

It's in the bag!

It's my turn today! This is the "It's in the bag" blog crawl! It's perfect for me - you know how much I love handbags!

I'm actually going to show you my evening purse. Chanel, of course!

It's the classic flap bag in black. I'd wanted it for years and I finally got it about a year and a half ago as a wedding anniversary gift! I still admire it when I take it out of the equally wonderful Chanel box and I take good care of it.

Celebrities are often seeing with this bag during the day but for me - as much as I hate to criticize anything Chanel and I would never ever tell my husband this! - it is too small. I cannot fit everything in there. Also, using it less often makes it more special. I have a bigger Chanel bag that I use on a daily basis.

Because it's for evening, I take as little as possible, and I have narrowed this down to:
- my keys in the red Louis Vuitton key case, which you have seen before here
- money and a credit card in a little I heart London purse from Accessorize - they have the cutest stuff!
- Chanel face powder
- a Shu Uemura retractable powder brush
- Chanel lipstick, Rouge Allure Laque 74 Dynastie (see swatch here)
- L'Occitane hand cream
- toothpick - I think having food stuck between the teeth is embarrassing (for me and for others) so I always, always check in the bathroom mirror after a meal
- hair claw from H&M
- oh, and chewing gum, which I forgot
- and my iPhone, which I used to take this photo.

Not much, is it? But you have to squeeze everything in.
Still, it's a Chanel and it's one of my favourite bags!

In case you missed it yesterday: Inspired Design.
Coming up next: Photography Getaway.
Thanks to Ashley for organising this fun blog crawl!

What's in my bag...

Bag: Dior (remember I showed you that big Dior box? This is what was in it.)
Wallet: Chanel
Cosmetics bag: Accessorize
Key case: Louis Vuitton
Hand cream: L'Occitane
Pen and case: Mont Blanc
Car key: Mini
iPhone: not pictured but always in my bag!

Chanel outfit

How (slow) was your weekend?
I'm happy to report that I didn't utter those horrid words - "hurry up" - to my son. Well, it did nearly slip out once but I managed to stop at "hurr-"! (so it doesn't count.)

I'm loving this outfit that Claudia Schiffer wore to a Chanel show. The over-the-knee boots in that colour (and not black) are stunning, the striped top is cute and I'm just swooning over that Chanel necklace! (I just wish she'd done something with her hair.)

Happy Monday! I'm now off to my yoga class :-) 

Daily make-up

Before the move, I put a few make-up essentials in a bag and packed everything else away. My make-up drawers don't have a proper home yet (they are in my wardrobe!) and I'm too tired these days to be that creative... so I've just been using these products... for an entire month (I'm shocked, this never happens)!

Face:

NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Stromboli

NARS Laguna bronzer

NARS Penny Lane cream blush - Very pleased with this! Adds a subtle flush. But doesn't always last all day.

NARS Orgasm blush - I sometimes apply this over the cream blush.

Eyes:

NARS Rajasthan eyeshadow duo - I still love this! Good thing I got a back-up! 
MAC Technakohl liner in Graphblack or
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof in black - Fantastic eyeliner, doesn't budge, I have multiple back-ups of this!
MAC Zoom Lash mascara in black or
Chanel Inimitable Intense mascara in black

Lips:

MAC Patisserie (lustre lipstick) with
MAC Love Nectar (lustreglass lipgloss) - Peachy pink with some golden shimmer. Comes with a brush wand, which I like best. My favourite combination of MAC lip products.

L to R: Patisserie, Love Nectar, both together

Nails:
Chanel Rose Confidentiel (491) - I knew I wasn't going to have the time to look after my nails during the move so I stuck to a neutral dusty rose colour. 

Chanel lip balm

Do you know that feeling when you really want to like something but it's not quite right for you? You're a bit disappointed but determined to make it work? (what was it?) 

Well, I wish I could declare right now that this Chanel lip balm is the best. I can't, though, because it's not quite as perfect as I'd like it to be... but I'm not giving up just yet! Maybe I'll even blame myself - my expectations are just too high sometimes - so I don't have to criticise a Chanel product :-) 

This doesn't dry out the lips, which I swear some lip balms seem to do. It's moisturising and does its job... it's just not as rich and creamy as the Baume de Rose by Terry that I love so much. Unless you apply a lot, it can feel a bit thin and watery, if that makes sense.... which is uh... perhaps a good thing if you want to apply it under a lipstick?

At least the packaging is chic, light and relatively travel-friendly for a lip balm in a pot.

Bleu de Chanel: The new men's fragrance

This is the newest men's fragrance by Chanel and I picked up a bottle for my husband. He was impressed with the magnetic cap (a detail I'd probably never have noticed). I think I still prefer the Egoiste Platinum, though.

Watch the film! It's amazing how much time, effort and money they put into selling one new fragrance, isn't it? 

(If this doesn't work, click here.)

Chanel fall collection 2010: Enigma, Inimitable Intense, Paradoxal

I finally went to pick up my reserved goodies... and I must say, I'm rather pleased with my latest Chanel purchases.

I picked up the Enigma (19) eyeshadow quad without even swatching it, which (thinking about it now) is usually a silly thing to do but I wanted it. That's a good enough reason, right?

* * *

I also got the new Inimitable Intense mascara, this simply being the technologically more advanced, more intense version of the already existing Inimitable. It holds the curl all day and gives my lashes a dramatic boost. Yes, I really like it! (and how gorgeous is/are the model(s)? Not sure if it's the same person?)

* * *

And I picked up Paradoxal (509), obviously. It's usually more purple than grey but it depends on the light. I applied two coats. (On the right: with a ham, cheese and mushroom crepe.)

* * *

I got some samples of the Beauté Initiale skincare. Has anyone tried it?