I’m not usually a huge fan of Dior couture (always like it; rarely love it), but I must say – this year’s spring collection was breathtaking. The dresses were gorgeous and the makeup was divine; there really wasn’t anything not to adore!
Full shots via Vogue.com / Details via Style.com
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t usually publish press releases, but I wanted to give the most recent Ellis Faas release a moment of our time – after all, they’re a terrific company, and it’s a terrific cause!
Ellis has paired with War Child for their new “Make Up Not War” campaign. The basic gist of things? When you’re done with your gorgeous silver pen of product, you can bring them back to a shop (or mail them in) for a 5% discount on your next order. It’s sort of like B2M, but… um, (very) different.
These pens will then go to an array of visual artists to be incorporated into a(nother) stunning piece of artwork, and the proceeds from the sale of these pieces will go directly to War Child, an organization whose goal is to – and this is a direct quote from their site – advance the cause of peace through investing hope in the lives of children caught up in the horrors of war.
Read more about Make Up Not War here, or feel free to read about War Child directly here.
No, seriously – @theNotice is now on Twitter! (I know, it blows my mind, too).
See you lovelies later today for a post about a wonderful cause with Ellis Faas, but for now – give us a follow, yeah? ;)
Intro/part one {here} with the verdict (which will be copied into this post) and a full review of the formula!
L-R: 700 Enchantment, 701 Exuberance, 750 Sensation, 751 Provocative, 801 Sentimental, 851 Obsession, 950 Delirium
As I mentioned in part one of this review, I don’t understand Marcelle’s naming system. The two most recent cremes (Delightful and Curious, in the Trend collection) really are, well, creams – but these four aren’t! While less pearled than the pearls, they do still have shimmer through their formulas. They’re the four “natural” shades of the collection, though; perhaps that has something to do with it.
L-R: 700 Enchantment, 701 Exuberance, 750 Sensation, 751 Provocative
700 Enchantment: a neutral, medium-nude. Very, very finely milled shimmer, which (ironically) I’d say makes it a true pearl finish!
701 Exuberance: a darker mauve-brown with noticeable (larger) gold shimmer. This would make a gorgeous nude shade for darker skintones (think NC40+), I believe, or a nice dark neutral for lighter skintones.
750 Sensation: again, a cream finish spoiled by gold shimmer. However, because of the slightly darker nature of the shade, the gold is less obvious. Similar in depth to Exuberance, but Sensation is a sort of warm brown-berry, rather than a neutral brown.
751 Provocative: a warm brick-red with a moist (actual) cream finish and rather a lot of attitude!
L-R: 700 Enchantment, 701 Exuberance, 750 Sensation, 751 Provocative
These three all do have a more pearled finish, and are the “brights” of the collection, to contrast the natural-toned creams. However, they’re still not “true” pearls by my definition – Sentimental is too frosty, for instance, and Delirium is too much of a cream. more Rouge Xpression fun »
I recently caught wind of the fact that Marcelle will be launching some new Rouge Xpression lipsticks soon (to be more precise – nine shades later this week), so I wanted to share the shades I already have with you today. I’ve done a bit of a review of them before (with the Trend collection), but never a dedicated post!
The formula: I like the Rouge Xpression formula, though not as much as Marcelle’s Rouge Vitality one ;) They’re fairly solid in the tube but feel light and creamy once applied, and wear for a good 3-4 hours. I do have an issue with slippage for a few of the shades (the more pigmented ones), but it’s nothing that a bit of a lip base can’t fix. I don’t notice any plumping, but I like that they don’t dry out my lips, and I LOVE that they don’t have a smell or taste.
Cream finishes: 700 Enchantment, 701 Exuberance, 750 Sensation, 751 Provocative
The shades: Alright, so I do have problems with the shades. For starters, the “cream” vs “pearl” labels seem to have no actual meaning – to me, a cream finish should have zero glitter or shimmer, and a pearl finish should have very finely milled shimmer (for, well, a pearlescent finish!) However, Marcelle seems to have re-appropriated these terms, and shades in both the creams and the pearls have noticeable shimmer!
more Rouge Xpression fun »
Did the Rouge Vitality line just get discontinued?! Please don’t tell me they just got discontinued – they’re one of my favourite formulations!
*distressed sobbing*
I’m slowly trucking through the heaps and heaps of Spring collections… hopefully, I’ll be done before the season’s over! This week, we have Urban Decay, Benefit, and LORAC. Enjoy :)
How the widgets work: just click – it’s that simple. These should be set up so that when you click on a specific product, it’ll take you to that product’s page. (If it doesn’t seem to be working, well, let me know!)
A note before the review: I’m trying out a bit of a different vibe for this frag review, which will hopefully make it more accessible for all of our readers! Let me know what you think?
&x.
I feel like I kind of want to do a week of things that I just OMFGCOMPLETELYADORE, to the extent that the caps lock and lack of spaces is most certainly necessary.
The likelihood of this actually occurring is, unfortunately, very low, but at least we can manage Monday and Tuesday of things that I wholeheartedly adore! Two days are than none, right?
Prada’s L’Eau Ambrée most certainly falls into this category. Not only is it exquisitely packaged, but the scent is amazing – soft enough for the day, but sexy enough for the night. While I’ve never actually found a Prada scent that I’ve disliked (and that includes the men’s line), this is by far my favourite.
It was created back in ’09 (well, that’s when it launched, though I am sure it was finished way before then) by Daniela Andrier, the brilliant perfumer behind most of the Prada line, as well as bestsellers like Gucci Eau de Parfum and Armani She. I find it to be a perfectly dry, transparent amber – and this is coming from someone who finds a good 70% of fragrances overwhelmingly cloying!
Another thing that makes me love L’Eau Ambrée (erm, aside from the fact that it’s one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever smelled) is that it sits really close to the skin. In other words, it’s perfect for someone who wants to wear a gorgeous fragrance that won’t fill up the entire room and wear them, instead! It sort of breezes about you, rather than just enveloping you in a cloud, so you catch whiffs of it throughout the day.
L’Eau Ambrée may not be for everyone, but if you’re looking for a signature scent that can take you from day to night, and from summer to winter, it’s certainly worth a look!
The notes: ambre, essences de mandarine et cédrat d’Italie, absolue de Rose de Mai, gardenia jasminoide, oppoponax de Somalie, patchouli d’Indonésie. (Translation: amber, mandarin, citron, May rose, gardenia, oppoponax, and patchouli!)
Who can wear it? Well, it’s dead sexy but not at all cloying, so as far as I’m concerned, this would be perfect for someone in their late 20s right up to their 60s – even the right kind of man.
I envision the L’Eau Ambrée woman as the type who takes her chai latté piping hot and skinny; pencil skirts, chignons, and pumps. She comes off as serious and loves to curl up with an old book and a glass of wine at the end of the day… but would still leave that book on the table to hit a party with the girls!
Pass on it if… you’re hooked on juicy, bright, fruity scents.
Try it if… you’re looking for a scent that’s warm but not sweet. They’re few and far between, but this is an exquisite example of a scent that’s just that! It’s also great if you’re a citrus lover looking for a nighttime fragrance with depth, minus the syrupy mess of many warm, easy-to-find citrus frags.
What they are: Clarins Rouge Hydra Nude lipsticks in Nude Rose (#01) and Nude Beige (#03), both limited edition with the Spring Neo-Pastels collection. Available online right now, and in-store Feb 1st!
The formula: To be honest, I didn’t think I’d like this formula, at first – it’s very soft, and distinctly scented. (I normally prefer a fairly firm, completely scent-free formula.) However, after giving these lipsticks time to grow on me, it wouldn’t be a stretch to call me a convert!
The Rouge Hydra Nude lipsticks remind me of butter on a hot summer day (read: super soft) going on, and feel like gloss-sticks on my lips (that is, very smooth and moisturizing). But, by some act of god, that doesn’t take away from their wear time – they can get me right from breakfast at nine to lunch at two.
nude rose / nude beige
Even more impressive is the fact that Clarins has managed to charm me with a synthetic fragrance, something no other company has ever done with their lipsticks. The Rouge Hydra Nude formula smell perfectly sweet, but the scent fades fast enough that I don’t end up with a headache. (The only other lipstick scent I’ve ever loved was Clarins’ Rouge Prodige fragrance). The SPF 6 is just the cherry on top ;)
nude rose / nude beige
The shades: The names of these lipsticks pretty much hit the nail on the head: Nude Rose is a sheer yellow-based rose pink, and Nude Beige is a sheer medium-dark nude. Both are fairly neutral, leaning a touch warm, but would look amazing on warm or cool tones, if you ask me. I almost want to call the “nude” part of their names a misnomer, though – they’re not so much “nude” as they are “natural”. (I view a nude lipstick as something that will tone back your natural lip colour, whereas I see natural lipsticks as ones that simply look like your lips… but better!)
This collection also includes Nude Caramel and Nude Coral, two warmer shades with the same sheer formula.
The packaging: Alright, so here’s my only hang-up. The packaging for these is absolutely gorgeous, and I love that it’s customized to the shade. Thing is, the tubes shut really tightly, and when my ol’ arthritic hands are having a bad day, I literally can’t even open them.
But on the plus side, I guess they’re never going to pop open in my bag!
The verdict? While I like a lot of different lipsticks, it’s rare that I find ones that I absolutely love – usually, I can find at least one thing about the formula or shade that I’d change. With these, though? I’d change the packaging, for sure, but I can’t think of a single thing I’d tweak about the products themselves!
If you’re looking for an awesome sheer lipstick, don’t pass these up. They look great, feel great, smell great… I can’t rave enough about them.
P.S. More photos here!
