Saks

I stumbled across Nars Douceurs De Paris (Pleasures of Paris) eye shadow palette around the same time I was contemplating Chanel's fall 2010 collection. It was actually this Nars palette that helped me decide to pass on the  Enigma quad. While the colors are not similar except in a general fall atmosphere, it's the incredible versatility of the Nars palette that won me over. All six shades are wearable and blend together perfectly. The textures go from matte to satin with shimmer, so there are daytime options as well as evening looks.


I've been having a lot of fun playing with different combinations of the eye shadows, pairing and blending. The one color I wasn't too sure about when looking at it in the pan was Violetta. I was worried it would be a bit too cool and lavender, but as you can see from the swatch that's not the case at all. Since my eyelids are actually darker than my wrist, Violetta works as a smoky nude, and when combined with the highlighter, Abyssinia, I get a subtle no-makeup look. Just add the thinnest possible line of black eyeliner, black mascara and a bold lipstick and the result is, indeed, very classic French.


All shadows in this palette are very soft and silky, even Cordura, the shimmery dark brown. Pigmentation is very good, blending is easy and you can build up the color if you so desire. An eye primer keeps the colors in place for 12 hours or longer with no need for touch ups.

Bottom Line: excellent and fun.

Nars Douceurs De Paris Palette ($55) is exclusive to Saks and available online.

All photos are mine.

Apologies for the late start today. We've been without our normal internet connection since Saturday's storm that resulted in some serious damage in the area. A huge tree fell just around the corner, blocking th estreet for days before they even managed to remove it and clear up the debris around it. The cable company still has no idea how long it'd take to get things up and running. My laptop is connected through my phone which makes things both slow and spotty, but I really can't complain- it could have been a lot worse.

But back to the fun stuff. The new Chanel Rouge Coco lipsticks are worth the love they've been getting across the blogsphere. The new formula is creamy and comfortable while feeling very light. Gone are the days of goopy, greasy lipsticks. This is a lightly moisturizing, intensely pigmented with a satiny finish and a decent staying power (sipping from a water bottle doesn't affect the lipstick). The dark colors do require some prep, and since I've been fighting an evil head cold since the weekend I also need some extra lip TLC before applying any color, but that's more me than the lipsticks.

I'll be showing several more shades in the coming days, after I finish thoroughly testing all of them. The lovely Sabrina from The Beauty Look Book is focusing on the lighter colors while I'm, as always, all about the reds and plums. Thus, Byzantin, which is exclusive to Saks, was the one that grabbed my attention instantly. It's a medium red berry- strong but not over-the-top. I went to Saks several weeks ago between snow storms (hard to believe now that spring seems to have arrived), wearing a very nude and muted look that seemed to fit the gray surrounding outside. But the harsh light in the store (when are they going to design appropriate lighting for the beauty departments?) made me look all washed out and tired. Hannah, the beautiful and helpful SA, immediately made me try Byzantin and it made all the difference in the world. It can be worn easily even for the office when you keep everything else minimal, and of course everywhere else.

The photos show the color both indoors and in full sun. All were taken by me.

Chanel Rouge Coco Lipsticks ($30) are available from all decent department store as well as from Chanel.com. Byzantin is a Saks Fifth Avenue exclusive, online and in store. I bought it at my local mall.

Strange things happen when you are just twenty five minutes away from Bergdorf Goodman. The place I regularly call "my local mall" isn't your average Jersey strip mall. The Shops At Riverside, formerly known as Riverside Square, is where you can find an Hermes boutique as well as a Tiffany store, Louis Vuitton, Burberry and other pretty nice options to spend a not-so-small fortune. There are also two department stores: Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue. Neither would be considered as slummin' it.

I went makeup shopping last week. There were a couple of items I already knew I wanted and a few others I wanted to check in person before making decision. And, of course, there's research. After all, I'm here to try stuff so you don't have to.

Online swatches, photos and reports from fellow bloggers have left me undecided about the Giorgio Armani spring collection. The palettes and most of the colors seemed several degrees too light, but I had to try them on skin first, so I headed to Saks. There were four SAs in attendance at the counter, something that rarely happens- the place is deserted more often than not, so I expected to be helped and get some good suggestions. However, all four ladies were busy doing their own makeup, often blocking my access to the products. One of them informed me that they were getting ready for a special event at the country club, which apparently required piling on the eyeliner. I finished testing and swatching, considered buying one of the palettes, but as I just couldn't catch the attention of any of the SAs, decided to move on and go to Bloomingdale's.

I wanted to decide between two colors of the new Guerlain Rouge G Le Brilliant and to have a good look at the new version of pressed Meteorite powder. I already knew I should avoid the new eye shadow quad for spring. That black violet color makes me look like I got a shiner, which the SA agreed would not be a good thing. Instead, she suggested I tried one of the regular quads, which had a gorgeous teal with some more questionable silvery shades. Since I wasn't too sure about it, I asked the SA to show me how to apply and make it work.

She was very nice and friendly, just chatty enough and a complete opposite to the four Armani ladies with the eyeliner of doom. I sat happily in the uncomfortable high chair and expected some magic. It is Guerlain, after all. Red flag number one appeared immediately, when the SA didn't bother to remove my makeup. I was wearing Chanel Black Jade eyeliner with eye shadows from the Kashka Beige spring quad mixed with a Shu Uemura something or other. It was a pretty neutral look, but you still couldn't miss the fact I was already wearing a full face of makeup.

Wielding her brushes, the SA told me enthusiastically about the training seminar she had the previous day at the Guerlain Spa, how well the company treats the employees and how lucky she felt to work there. It was nice to hear, really, and I was concentrating on the conversation more than on some strange looks I got from passers by on their way to the YSL and Laura Mercier counters. When she was done with my eyes and took a minute to help another customer and bring some blush and bronzer I looked in the mirror and was horrified.

First, there was a ton of teal and silver fallout on the apples of my cheeks. I'm quite familiar with Guerlain eye shadows and have never seen them create such a royal blue mess. My half educated guess is that the eye color was applied with the wrong brushes. I wish I paid more attention from the beginning so I could know for sure.  But that can always be cleaned up. The problem was what used to be my big brown eyes now lost in a sea of teal and blue that were smudged all over and not necessarily in the most symmetrical manner. Hideous doesn't even begin to describe it. When the SA got back to me I requested she'd clean and tone it down significantly, which she tried, but the rich pigments weren't cooperating too well. Some makeup remover and frantic smudging later I was left with a little less teal which was still way too much. She tried  to blend it with some peach toned base only to create a bigger mess before deciding the problem was lack of balance between my pale face and the dark eye. So to balance things out she fetched a blush in a scary red tone and some bronzer and proceeded to try and find my cheek bones.

Crusty the Clown was looking back at me from the mirror.

I thanked the SA for her effort, paid for the items I intended to purchase in the first place and escaped into the darkness and the snow flurries.

Then I couldn't remember where exactly I parked my car.