Sephora Divergent Makeup Collection Spring 2014 - Photos and Info

I haven't been this excited about a film/makeup collaboration since MAC Venomous Villains. Extra awesome is attached to this one because it was a book before it was a movie. (For those who don't know, I work a day job at a bookstore/gifting store as a visual merchandiser. Divergent was one of those books that got a ton of really intense love from the sales staff way before it ever hit the popular list. It was the kind of book that staff were devoutly pressing into customers' hands, assuring them that THEY HAD TO READ IT. And customers would inevitably come back three days later, asking WHERE IS THE SECOND BOOK, and cry bitter tears because it wasn't out yet.)

The Divergent collection will be coming out in March, as a limited and exclusive collection available at Sephora. Both the colours and the packaging will be inspired by the iconography and characters of the film, and the collection will feature some new and innovative formulas and textures.

Three pieces and sets are included in the collection:

Divergent Limited Edition Multi-Piece Collector’s Kit ($71.00 CAD - $59.50 USD)

With three limited edition eye shadow palettes, a cheek palette, and four lip glosses inspired by the traits of each Divergent faction, and a double-ended application brush, this multi-piece kit includes everything to define your inner self. For inspiration, three “Get-the-Look” cards are included and provide tips for creating different Divergent looks. 

Each of the three Eye Shadow Palettes contains four coordinating High Pigment Eye Shadows plus one High Gloss Transforming Eye Shadow to draw immediate attention to the eyes. The transformer shades impart a diamond illusion, shimmery, mirror-like reflection that is transparent when applied dry, and translucent when applied wet, showcasing fluid, twinkling particles that look like they are suspended in air. What’s more, you can mix and match the High Gloss Transforming Eye Shadows to give you a unique look every time by breaking apart the palette and swapping with another. Along with these 12 stunning shadows, the kit includes a Cheek Palette with two Long-Wear Blushes, Shimmering Bronzer and Radiant Glow Illuminator, four High Shine Lip Glosses and a Double-Ended Eye & Cheek Brush for flawless application.

Divergent Limited Edition Multi-Piece Collector’s Palette ($39.00 CAD - $32.50 USD) 

Portable but impactful, this limited edition palette contains three High Pigment Eye Shadows in versatile neutral shades: Candor Lace, Luminous Taupe, Envious Chocolate, one Long Wear Blush in Rosy Horizon, one Matte Bronzer in Compassionate Copper, and a High Shine Lip Gloss in Artistic Mauve.

Divergent Limited Edition 7-Piece Nail Art Kit ($33.00 CAD - $27.50 USD) 

This 7-piece set includes five Long-Wear Nail Lacquers, one High-Gloss Transforming Nail Lacquer and six Nail Water-Transfer Tattoos so you can proudly signal your Divergent allegiance on tips and toes. Create endless nail art looks by layering the unique High-Gloss Transforming Nail Lacquer over any shade to create an opalescent, shimmering finish, and then add one of the exclusive, easy-to-use Nail Water-Transfer Tattoos. Just cut the paper to any shape or size desired, add water, hold onto nail, and peel back for flawless application.

You obviously can't see me right now, but I am making grabby hands at everything here. I am especially tempted by the set, which seems like a really good price for all that's included, and I am intrigued by the High Gloss Transforming Eye Shadows. (I'm thinking something like the current Kat Von D holo lip gloss, but for the eyes?)

What do you think? Have you read the books or are you taking it as it comes as a makeup collection without getting invested in the story behind it?

(All images courtesy of press release.)

Pantone Color of the Year "Radiant Orchid" - Selections from Lancome, YSL, Clarisonic and Giorgio Armani

If you're tracking the Sephora site as obsessively as I am, you know that the Pantone Color of the Year is "Radiant Orchid". While Sephora has an exclusive relationship with Pantone to create a cosmetics line-up featuring said colour, it's a trend that several beauty brands have taken to heart, pulling suggestions from their current line-up as well as planning new releases.

From the L'Oréal luxury brands, the following items have been chosen as representative of the trend.

From Lancome: 

• Color Design Eye Shadow Palette - Lavender Grace (54$ CAD)
• Vernis in Love - Violette Coquette  (16$ CAD) 
• Artliner 24H - Amethyst (37$ CAD)

All currently available at Lancome counters at Hudson's Bay, Murale, Pharmaprix/SDM and www.lancome.ca.

From YSL:

• Glossy Stain Rebel Nudes - Violine Out of Control (36$ CAD)

Available at YSL counters at Holt Renfrew, and select Hudson's Bay and Murale locations.

From Giorgio Armani:

• Rouge Ecstasy - Orchid (38$ CAD)

Available at GA counters at Holt Renfrew, and select Hudson's Bay and Sephora locations.

From Clarisonic, all new:

• Mia2 Hollywood Lights - Purple (175$ CAD)

Limited Edition. Available exclusively at Sephora and www.sephora.ca as of March 2014.

I looooooooove this shade. Orchid is such a gorgeous alternative to the usual pinks and pastels that usually dominate the Spring collections. It can be a challenging shade to wear, especially with skin tones that tend to the sallow, but when it's the right balance of pink and blue, it can be exquisite. Folks with green or hazel eyes in particular are going to do really well with this kind of colour.

Are you guys anticipating all the Radiant Orchid you can stand?

Burberry Spring/Summer 2013

I'm a relative late-comer to Burberry Beauty, as my first items from the brand were acquired this Fall. I was so impressed, however, that I've been avidly awaiting their new releases for the Spring season. From these initial press pictures, I am thrilled with what's coming!

Picture courtesy of Burberry/Clarins Fragrance Group.

I especially appreciate that several of the items featured will be permanent additions to the line-up.

Burberry Sheer Eye Shadow in Gold Pearl no.26. 

Price 33$ CAD.

Burberry Light Glow in Coral Pink No.09 and Hydrangea Pink No.10. 

Price is 54$ CAD each.

Burberry Lip Glow in Mallow Pink No.19, Pink Sweet Pea No.20, Fondant Pink No.21, and Coral No.22. 

Price is 35$ CAD each.

      

    

In Canada, this collection will be exclusive to the Holt Renfrew locations in Vancouver and Toronto.

So what do you guys think? I currently don't own any Burberry lip glosses, so Fondant Pink and Pink Sweet Pea are first on my list. AND THOSE BLUSHES. Oh yes.

(All pictures courtesy of Burberry. NOTE: My original copy had mixed up Pink Sweet Pea and Fondant Pink.)

Aerin Lauder Makeup Collections

Did you know Aerin Lauder was coming out with her own range of products - decor, lifestyle and cosmetics? Yeah, neither did I, until yesterday. Judging from the preview pictures online, it looks like a beautifully edited, strongly branded line. Classic, elegant, modern. Link to the preview page on the EL website is here, but if you're viewing from Canada you need to change your viewing country to United States or you won't be able to see it properly.

It looks like she is starting out with an Essentials collection that will grow slowly as more products are added to the lineup. The brushes look cute, but I'm more excited by the actual makeup items. There will also be a Fall collection, consisting of three items appropriate for the week, and three for the weekend - roughly cooler vs warmer shades. Honestly, I don't see the point of splitting the kind of makeup colors you wear that way, but they are lovely mini collections.

Fall Color Weekday
(picture from www.esteelauder.com)

Fall Color Weekend
(picture from www.esteelauder.com)

So what do you guys think? Will you be checking these out?

MAC Extra Dimension

Now THIS I'm excited about. After nearly a year of yawn-worthy limited edition collections, MAC seems to have finally put together something special with their Extra Dimension collection. These not only look to be gorgeous colors, but they boast a new technological formula and metallic finish.

All images courtesy of MacKarrie.

Except... isn't this familiar? These look like the MAC version of the Estée Lauder Pure Color Cyber eyeshadows and tri-brid Illuminators. It seems MAC is lagging a step or two behind her older sister. (Did MAC somehow become the Jan of the EL empire?)

If it makes MAC feel better though, it seems like Estée also took inspiration from Italian brand Kiko cosmetics, which came out with their water eyeshadows in Spring of 2011. And which Sephora copied almost EXACTLY with their Prisma Chrome line just a few months ago.

Image from www.kikocosmetics.com

Image from www.sephora.com

I guess a good thing can't be contained?

I will definitely be ordering from the new collection, because I think the texture on these tri-brid powders is incredible, and I like that there will be more colors available. With this range of choices, will you guys be sticking to one brand or dabbling in all of them? 

Retail Therapy - Chantecaille, Jo Malone, Estée Lauder, Lancome and Clarins

I haven't quite mastered the art of the no-buy (or low-buy), though I am drawing inspiration from Liz over at Beauty Reductionista. Chances are I'm not likely to anytime soon - I'm a hoarder collector. Blame my magpie Pisces soul, and its inability to resist anything pretty and shiny.

So in the interest of being true to my nature, I'm indulging in a little retail therapy, both real and of the wishful thinking variety. (And hey, it is my birthday month, and 34 is the sort of age that calls for significant splurging, n'est-ce pas?)

I've resisted the draw of the Neiman Marcus beauty event, but by the skin of my teeth. These are my top two lemmings:

Picture courtesy of www.neimanmarcus.com

I'm not a big Jo Malone fan. I've found her fragrances to be a little tame, honestly. But I freakin' LOVE lilac. And isn't the botanical print on the bottle just precious? I am going to wait until I have a chance to sniff this in person when I'm in New York, because 110$ isn't exactly loose change.

Picture courtesy of www.neimanmarcus.com

The Coral Reefs palette from Chantecaille. Do I even need to explain this one? It's stunning. Absolutely stunning. And from the swatches I've seen, worthy of a splurge. I've convinced myself (barely) to wait for a promo code from www.beautyhabit.com. 

I did indulge this week, with the new summer collection from Estée Lauder, as well as a couple of fresh lip items from Clarins and Lancome. (Though the idea of summer collections already being out while the snow continues to flaunt its presence is perhaps a little obscene.)

Reviews coming as soon as I have a chance to test. =)

In the meantime, here is an incredibly imprecise lip swatch of one of the Lancome Rouge in Love lipsticks. 

Not the one I picked up, as I have an overabundance of fuchsia lipsticks, but a lovely one all the same. This one was swiped on really quickly and blotted down.

(Please excuse the unruly brows, I'm due for a threading appointment.)

So what are you guys currently lemming or hauling?

All-Season Bronzers - Physician's Formula vs Guerlain

I've wanted to try Guerlain's Terracotta 4 Seasons Tailor-Made Bronzing Powder for a while.

Picture courtesy of www.beautylish.com

And now apparently Physicians Formula has duped the concept, if probably not the actual product, with Bronze Booster Glow-Boosting Season-to-Season Bronzer.*

Picture courtesy of www.physiciansformula.com

Hmmm. High-end or drugstore - which way to go? (I usually tend to go with the original innovator, but I actually like the design of PF version, and the shades themselves look more up my alley, at least for potential contouring.)

*I can't be the only one getting tired of the absurdly long product names, right?

Estée Lauder Mad Men Collection!!

You'll have to forgive the ear-splitting shriek I just emitted, but I cannot believe how completely AWESOME this is:

Creme Rouge in Evening Rose, Lipstick in Cherry
Picture courtesy of www.esteelauder.com

A Mad Men collection from Estée Lauder, in authentic 1960s style vintage packaging.

I am hyperventilating from the synergy.

Picture courtesy of www.esteelauder.com

Also, the Pure Color Blushes, including two shades to flank the Mad Men collection:

Lover's Blush
Picture courtesy of www.esteelauder.com

Wild Sunset
Picture courtesy of www.esteelauder.com

Both the collection and the blushes are available for pre-order on the EL website. And you know I'll be calling my SA first thing tomorrow morning.

Dior Spring 2012 - Review Coming Soon

I've been sitting on these for over a week now. They are just so pretty, I haven't been able to bring myself to use them yet. Some makeup you just want to put under glass and look at, you know?

a-england "The Legend" teaser

Isn't this ridiculously awesome? A lilac/silver/teal duochrome holo. HOT.

Princess Tears

Drugstore Deals - Revlon Colorburst, l'Oreal Infallible

Jean Coutu drugstores aren't going to win a lot of love from me. A Quebec-based chain, they're like Shopper Drug Mart's sad, awkward cousin - they tried to implement a watered-down version of the Beauty Boutique concept, yet remained an over-stuffed, poorly lit, poky little drugstore at heart.

Also, their promotions and markdowns are executed by people who appear to have an overdeveloped sense of whimsy, at least at the two locations near me. They are so random. One day something is one sale, the next it's not. One item in a line appears to be on liquidation, but it turns out that actually ALL of the colors are, except some scan in at 5.99$, some at 6.99$.

The Jean Coutu, she makes no sense.

That said, they do tend to have better prices that SDM, and even more so when they have sales, so they are definitely worth a look if you're on the hunt for a good deal.

For example, this week:

Revlon Colorburst glosses are 6.99$, all shades. (Regular 10-12$)

All Revlon Colorburst lipsticks are 5.99$ to 6.99$. (Regular 10-11$)

The supposed Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill dupes - l'Oréal Infallible eyeshadows - are 5.24$ to 6.99$
(see? random!), including the limited edition set. (Regular 10.49$)

This Just In - Faux Lash

These gorgeous lashes from Faux Lash just arrived - the Alexia and Sasha models from the "Luxe" collection. The Sashas in particular look incredibly lush. I can't wait to try these out for NYE!

Estee Lauder loot.

Yeah, I know. Estee Lauder? I think the last time I bought EL was 3 Christmases ago, when I got my mom a fragrance set and the slightly gaudy GWP that came with it.

I can only blame Dusty Hunter for this, as his last blog entry was all about the wonder of Estee, and the pretty things they just put out. So I stopped by the counter this afternoon, intending to swatch a few things and see if anything looked as intriguing in person as it did in his post.

And I walked away with this:

The packaging is weighty and classy, in a faintly overdone way that somehow appeals to my magpie Pisces sensibilities. (Though it shows fingerprints like crazy. But whatever. It's shiny!)

I'll do a full review of these in a little while, but I will say that I was impressed by the texture of most of the eyeshadows I swatched, and the Metallic Sage nail polish is stunning. If you're a nail addict, consider it a collector's item. You will kick yourself if you miss out. 

My oh-my-god item is the Fuschia Fever lipstick. It was grossly expensive (32$ in Canada compared to 24$ in the US, another rant for another time) but I could not walk away from it. Just gorgeous.

(I purchased these items.)