Gwyneth Paltrow

Eye shadows in mauve-eggplant-pink colors can be a little tricky, because the wrong shade in this range can make the eyelid look bruised. There needs to be just enough red pigment in the base but not much to appear weird, and the right combination of colors varies from face to face.

Vintage is one of seven pressed eye shadow quads offered by Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics. Some of the colors in the quads (Bordeaux and Merlot, in this case) are also available as singles, while others are exclusive to the palettes. Vintage, with its range of soft weather-washed mauves, is my favorite collection of these colors and the most flattering for my skin tone I've come across in a long time.

The pigments are very rich,  so a soft brush and a light hand can achieve a lot of depth. The texture is very smooth, soft and blendable. The colors are matte and have a muted finish which I really like. I've been using the quad over various lid primers with perfect lasting results- the eye shadows stay in place and still look fresh by the end of the day.

The one color in this Youngblood quad that doesn't work for me is Blush, the pink one. It's too pink and too dominant to serve as a highlighter under the brow bone, and has too much red in its base to be worn anywhere else. So I need a single highlighter/base color whenever I'm using the other eye shadows here, which makes it less efficient for me to use on the go but is perfectly fine at home.

Bottom Line: Pretty.

Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics Pressed Eyeshadow Quads ($39) are available from Henri Bendel (in store only) and directly from the company (ybskin.com). A press sample was sent for my consideration. 

All photos by me. Using them without my permission would cause some really bad karma.

The exposed zipper as a design element is nothing new. Back in 1984 I had a skirt in a Norma Kamali-like poly-jersey with a similar zipper in the front. Maybe that's why I like these dresses. They simply look fun (and let's face it: Amanda Seyfried can do no wrong even in purple satin with a grey back. Don't try it at home). Gwyneth Paltrow has a more sophisticated version from the Victoria Beckham  Collection (indeed!) and shoes to die for (Georgina Goodman Leon Love sandals).

Photos: The Superficial and Popoholic

A great palette needs to answer two major needs: 1) the colors must go perfectly with each other, 2) it should be small enough to fit in a small purse or a clutch. Chanel took it up another notch in Les Regards de Chanel Eye Palette Les Bruns by also providing two eyebrow colors, though I'm not sure who needs two of those- you can either wear one or the other for that purpose, so the concept is somewhat flawed.

The plastic insert states the purpose of every pan in the palette, thus trying to claim these are several different products (an eyeliner, a highlighter, eye shadows and brow fillers). This is somewhat misleading because while definitely suitable for these tasks, all six colors are eye shadows in pressed powder form. Some are matte, thus making them great for brows, some are shimmery so the lightest one is a great highlighting eye shadow, but the texture is almost the same throughout the palette.

These neutral browns are the best ones I've seen since the long gone Bobbi Brown Chocolate eye palette. Since I'm about to hitting pan in a couple of the colors there, Les Regards de Chanel Les Bruns was a welcome addition to my arsenal. It's my weapon on choice when I have to get ready in an ungodly morning hour, when the husband is impatiently waiting for me so we can go out or when I'm wearing a colorful scarf or a busy print. It's easy, the soft eye shadows blend quickly and seamlessly and the look is more sophisticated and polished than I could achieve otherwise when half asleep.

The eyeliner is better when applied wet or with a fixative solution (I use Paula Dorf's Transformer), so if one is really in a hurry a pencil would be better (I wish they'd included a mini one in the palette). The brow color on the right side is far too light and warm for me- it would probably suit blondes- but I've used it successfully as an eye shadow. It's quite pretty, actually. All these colors need a primer to last from morning to night, but they don't lose intensity, so that's very good.

Bottom line: A reliable workhorse.

Les Regards de Chanel Eye Palette Les Bruns ($70) is a limited edition, exclusive to Chanel boutiques around the world. I bought it when it was available from Chanel.com (currently out of stock).

All photos by me.