Preview: Chanel Summer 2012 Haul

I know I said I wasn’t going to pick anything up from this collection but when I saw the pieces in person, I just had to have the lipgloss and nail polish.

Chanel Summer 2012: Calypso Glossimer and Les Vernis in Delight

Glossimer in Calypso

In general I’m not a big fan of Chanel’s glossimers because while it is big on shine, most of them are bland in color.
Calypso (and also Jalousie if you can find it) is VERY pigmented which make it a must-have for me. Caylpso is a tangerine orange with shimmer and will give your lips a nice tropical kiss of peachy orange with or without lipiner.

Swatch of Chanel’s Calypso Glossimer–a beautiful Tangerine shimmer lipgloss (w/ flash)

Les Vernis in Delight

It reminds me of SpaRitual’s Laughing In Pink. A beautiful warm beachy color that reminds me of the sun reflecting off of the hot sand on Miami Beach. Gorgeous next to tanned, deep and especially dark skintones. While it is paque in one coat, I can’t speak to the longevity of the wear until I’ve worn it for more than 1 day. The finish is slightly gritty but I like how it reminds me of beach sand.

Chanel Summer 2012 Nail Vernis in Delight–shimmering sand for your nail

Retailing for $29.50 and $26 respectively, the Calypso Glossimer and the Les Vernis in Delight are limited edition products.

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Cook MAC Tendertones: The Rundown

Granted the Shop MAC / Cook MAC collection is for Spring 2012, here in the Northeastern US it is absolutely frigid. And as such, chapped lips are constantly on my mind. So when I heard the legendary Tendertones from MAC were making an appearance, I wondered if they were worth all the radio chatter. Are they worth it? Let’s discuss…

To paraphrase Flavor Flav of Public Enemy, "Should you believe the hype?"

There are a total of four (4) Tendertones released in the Cook MAC portion of this Spring 2012 release. I picked up the two most pigmented which are Hot N Saucy, and Purring. Hot N Saucy is a bright Jolly Rancher/Skittles red color that is translucent and goes on the lips semi-sheer. Purring is a bright tangerine orange that goes on with a hint of color. Not as bold as Hot N Saucy but you can definitely notice the pigmentation.

Purring Tendertone from Cook MAC. Looks crazy in the pot but sheers out on the lips.

Hot 'N Saucy Tendertone. My favorite one for the obvious red semi-sheer tint on the lips.

So on the surface all of these Tendertones just look like Philosophy Kiss Me lipgloss in a pot with the same delicious smells. But that’s where the comparison end. Tendertones are jam-packed with moisture and I noticed a definite difference in my lips when using it the first time. I’m so-so about the Jack Black lipbalms (which I think are overhyped), can take or leave the Philosophy ones and think my EOS (Evolution of Smooth) ones are wonderful, but these Tendertones I am just over the moon about.

From left: Hot 'N Saucy Tendertone, Purring Tendertone

The big reason these Tendertones are so moisturizing is found in the ingredients. Not the petrolatum (which I’m sensitive to in large quantities but in this it doesn’t irritate me or give me an allergic reaction) which provides slip and a moisture barrier, not the various fruit oils but this sucker contains…wait for it…murumuru butter! Yes, the same murumuru butter that is in the legendary and vulgar display of price point lipsticks of Tom Ford fame. Murumuru butter is also very expensive relative to the ubiquitous cocoa butter and shea butter. This is probably why Tendertones are a limited edition.

I’ve read some reviews from people saying they don’t like the lip gloss being in a pot. That of course is a personal preference. I don’t like having to squeeze the frakking tube to get the last bit out which is why I love the smooth EOS lip balm spheres. My personal advice concerning Tendertones is this: buy a retractable lip brush to use with them. Revlon makes a cheap one, Sonia Kashuk for Target has one, Sephora definitely has one and NARS has a chic one.

Tendertones from the Cook MAC collection are $15 USD and are currently available at all MAC locations. These are also going FAST! Nordstrom.com has a backorder of 2/20/12 on some of the Tendertones while Maccosmetics.com is sold out of all but one (and that is Coming Soon).

Ingredients include murumuru butter = SUPER moisturizer!

Other side of ingredients on the Tendertone box

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MAC Tour De Fabulous Lipglass: The Rundown

By the time you read this, if you are in the US chances are you missed this release. If you are outside the US, pay attention as these are scheduled to be released in February.

MAC Tour de Fabulous lipglass --Taste The Rainbow 🙂

Along with the lip pencils I reviewed recently, I picked up three (3) of the eleven shades of Lipglass available in this limited edition collection. The three picked up were Real Posh, StylePacked and Tour de Fabulous. I purposely picked these three to match the four lip pencils I purchased from the Tour De Fabulous collection.

Swatches on NW43 skin (indoors with flash)

Swatches on NW43 skin (indoors without flash)

Real Posh is a reddened berry that looks quite opaque on. I love how it looked with the Just Wonderful lip pencil but it is opaque enough to wear on its own. I’d almost go as far to say it’s just a degree or two below being as totally opaque as my favorite lipglass by Afrobella, All Of My Purple Life. If you have very pigmented lips I don’t see a problem with this shade showing up on you without lip pencil.

Wearing MAC Real Posh lipglass over Just Wonderful lip pencil

StylePacked is an uber-cool blue-toned pink that is semi-opaque. I was quite dissapointed it wasn’t as opaque as my favorite pink lipglass, Pink Poodle but over the Embrace Me lipencil (or even better over High Magenta Chromagraphic pencil) it still looks rather nice. If you have very pigmented lips I wouldn’t look for much color payoff from this shade unless you wear lip pencil. I really think this color would look amazing over Pink Pigeon from the Iris Apfel collection or Pink Nouveau Amplified lipstick. And if you were unfortunate enough as I was to pick up that Niki Minaj Pink Friday lipstick, this lipglass will actually make that hot mess wearable.

Wearing MAC Style Packed lipglass over Embrace Me lip pencil

Tour de Fabulous is a pretty semi-opaque coral orange that is more suited to warmer skintones but not so much that cooler-toned gals like myself couldn’t wear. I wore this over Entertain Me and Lasting Sensation lip pencils and while I prefer the latter lip pencil because it leans more pink coral, I was pleased with how this lipglass looked over both. Many people are curious as to how this color compares to Strange Potion first released with the Disney’s Venomous Villains collection and repromoted with Surf Baby! Tour De Fabulous is definitely more orange coral while Strange Potion is more pink. As someone with a cooler skintone, I definitely prefer Strange Potion. If you have Strange Potion in your stash and cash is tight, I would pass over this color and grab the Entertain Me lip pencil to wear with it instead. You would get pretty much the same color as Tour de Fabulous and you can use the pencil with other colors.

Wearing MAC Tour De Fabulous lipglass over Lasting Sensation lip pencil

MAC Tour de Fabulous and Strange Potion

Lipglasses are usually a MAC staple for most women of color. The pigmentation is translucent enough not to look ‘ashy’ even in lighter colors. They are slightly-tacky and usually last longer over lipstick and lip pencil than alone. Vanilla-scented and taste free, they are jam-packed with moisturizing goodness like jojoba oil to keep your lips soft and smooth especially in cold winter weather. The lipglasses from this collection retail for $14.50 USD and are available now for a limited time. For International release date, MAC press materials project February 15th.

Definitely pick up a few of these lipglasses as they are colors sorely lacking from MAC’s permanent lip glass lineup.

MAC Tour de Fabulous lipglass --Yay for more colors!!!

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Spring 2012 Chanel Les Vernis in June: The Rundown

Spring 2012 colors already? I love you Chanel but it isn’t even Christmas yet!

Unboxing 'June': The Limited Edition Chanel Spring 2012 nailcolor on everyone's list!

When I saw the Chanel Spring 2012 display my eyes immediately went to the Horizon Blush and the pretty apricot-colored nail polish called ‘June’. Part of the three (3) nail polishes from this collection (a red called ‘April’, a bright pink called ‘May’), June is a semi-sheer apricot crème that is not as visually stunning like Peridot or Black Pearl but it has a softness to it that goes with the theme of Spring.

Chanel's Les Vernis in 'June'. A pretty apricot creme that screams Parisian Spring.

For dark-skinned women, oranges look particularly good on the nails and as this is an apricot color (which is darker than peach but lighter than orange) I feel it would work better for those with warm skin tones. Cooler skin tones like mine can wear this color, but compared to some of the corals I own it’s easy to see that while June is very wearable, it doesn’t ‘pop’ as well. The upside is this color is very muted and work-safe regardless of your undertones.

In terms of performance, Chanel’s polishes get high technological marks. I’ve really never run into a serious chipping issue with their polishes (I’d always nicknamed it The Greatest when it comes to polishes until Rescue Beauty Lounge came along). Coupled with Illamasaqua’s base and top coat, Chanel in ‘June’ kept is shine and integrity through a grueling day of driving, typing, writing database code and household chores. Even without a base and top coat Chanel’s colors resist incidental chipping extremely well.

Luxury costs, as you all know and Chanel charges accordingly. All of the polishes in this collection are $25 each. This isn’t an extremely unique color and I feel you can find something at a lower price point that looks comparable. I’ve included swatches of other colors along with June to give you a color range idea.