The Makeup Box

Bourjois So Laque! “Paris Show Time” Nail Enamels

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Aren’t these bright shades just absolutely gorgeous?!

I’m not sure why these Summer 2011 colors only just hit the shelves, but I’m not complaining.

I had a hard time choosing between Jaune Trendy #39 (mustard yellow), Orange Creation #42 (beautiful orange) and Bleu Model #44 (turquoise blue), but finally went with Bleu Model because it’s just that shade of Tiffany Blue; not too green and not too blue. I’m still tempted to go back for Orange Creation, but we’ll see how that goes.

Bourjois So Laque in 44 Bleu Model

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The mustard yellow is cool but I have a feeling the world will be over that color long before I go through the bottle. 

View the whole range of colors here!

Milky Salmon Lips at Nina Ricci F/W 2011

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The season’s It Lip is equal parts peach, equal parts pink. It’s a re-interpretation of last season’s coral, but this time it’s satiny-matte, cut with lots of cream, and completed with a dash of strawberry milk.

Allure suggests Nars Matte Velvet Lip Pencil in Bolero. To get an affordable version of the shade, I’d suggest you try NYX’s Tangerine lip liner. 

Trusty Summer Faves of 2011

Here are some products I’ve found myself returning to again and again the past month or two, as the temperature and humidity soars.

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China Glaze Something Sweet Nail Laquer - The longest lasting polish in terms of staying chip free and shiny. I’ve worn this 2 out of 3 weeks in the past month. Unheard of for me.

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NYX Pinky Blush - Deep, bright, flattering pink which is neither too cool, nor too warm. This has a bit of frost but is extremely pigmented, so go easy with it, and use a big fluffy brush or you could look like a clown.

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NEW! The Body Shop Honey Bronze Collection #01 Light Matte Bronzing Powder - MAC’s MSF Natural in Medium Dark used to be my favorite bronzer for its ability to deepen without looking too powdery, flat, shimmery, muddy, or unnatural. This honey-combed compact just beat it hands down.

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Lip products: Revlon Pink Pop lip gloss, and MAC Pink Nouveau lipstick.

I can’t get enough hot pinks this month.

L-to-R: Revlon Pink Pop, MAC Pink Nouveau, NYX Pinky, The Body Shop Light Matte

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Bourjois 16 Hour Liner Pinceau - Amazing in terms of ease of application, and really black. It just beat my previous favorite, Revlon Colorstay. Just to illustrate, look at the big fat drop of Bourjois (left) and the stroke of Colorstay Liquid Liner (right) in the image below. The Bourjois will not bleed or seep into your fine lines, and the brush is just unexpectedly easy to use, even for a novice like me, who prefers felt tips for control most of the time.

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Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer - What is Summer without a few spots from the heat and grease? This concealer is pricey, but a little goes a very long way, and the tenacity and coverage is fantastic. (This is purely for spots though. It will be too dry for the under eye area.)

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CANMAKE Eyelash curler - Because every girl needs a pink metal curler.

Bourjois Intense Extrait de Fard Pot Shadows [Review and Swatches]

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I’ve been a long time user of Bourjois’s little round pot eyeshadows, and while I consider those to be hits and misses depending on the shades (many tend to have poor color payoff), I can never resist trying out any shadow that says “intense”.

I snapped up two from the new line over the weekend, and thought I’d give it a day or two before a review.

The shades I got are Extrait #03 (pink-beige matte with lots of silver sparkle), and Extrait #08 (deep russet brown metallic).

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What it Promises:

Intense color, and twice the coverage with one stroke (in bad English). 

They can also be used wet or dry, as a wash of color, or as eye liner. 

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What it Is:

These shadows are baked, which means more pigments and less fillers like talc and titanium dioxide. Some companies like to claim that this makes them more pigmented, but that’s not always true.

They also tend to be more crumbly, so be careful if you intend to bring them around with you. 

The range of shades is not large, but there are some very nice intense, deep shades (the teal and sapphire are outstanding, although my favorite of the lot is the rich russet), a couple of mattes, and a few pale, highlight shades.

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Swatches (without an eyeshadow base)

Top row left to right: Bourjois #08 and #03

Bottom row left to right: MAC Sable, and Bourjois (Original Round Pot) Beige Ambre 62

The payoff is good (the pink-beige is not really that sheer - it just sort of blended in with my skin), but the Bourjois Intense Extraits are not exactly very metallic compared to some other shadows. Still, I like the velvety sheen and intense colors of these.

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Pros:

• Reasonably affordable (although Bourjois tends to be on the higher end of drugstore brands here)
• Lasts through an 11-hour day without creasing
• Highly-pigmented. You don’t really need to wear these wet for many of the shades to look opaque. Definitely outstanding compared to the older little round pot formulation.
• Opacity matches the Bourjois Ombre Stretch shadows, which I also love, but Intense Extraits feel a little less creamy, and come in a more interesting variety of textures. 

Cons:

• No mid-tone shades. Most of the shades are light or very dark, with the exception of a medium gold-brown which sort of disappears into NC25-NC30 skins. Not exactly a mid-tone shade.
• You get only 1g of product, as compared to 1.5g with the regular little round pots. And the original round pots are cheaper too. 
• The silver specks in #03 tend to fall down during the day, so I suggest leaving this for the weekend or the club, if you don’t own a fixing spray. I had to walk around with “pixie-dust” all over my cheeks at work today.

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The Verdict?

I really like the metallic russet. If you can get just one, I’d suggest that. It’s a gorgeous, rich, satin red-brown that would be flattering on most eye colors, and you can either pack it on for real drama, or sheer it out for softer shading.

The sparkly pink-beige is SOOO pretty, but you’ll need to spritz yourself with Fix+ just to minimize the glitter fall-out over the next few hours. If you don’t mind that, it’s a gorgeous shade to own, and I haven’t found a really similar dupe elsewhere.

The navy and teal are pretty, but not that unique, really. 

If you have money to spare, I’d say get the golden brown (it would be fantastic as a cheekbone highlight for medium to deeper skins) or the metallic beige-platinum (great for pale skins). Get the matte shades only if you don’t have access to other decent, pigmented blacks and browns.

A word of caution if you’re in Asia though. MAC, at 1.5g per shadow, contains 50% more product than the Bourjois Intense, and also works out to be slightly cheaper per gram, if you’re paying full price for the latter.  

Matte Fawn-colored Eyes with Matte Rose-Pink Lips

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[Photo source: eyeshadowlipstick.com]

Matte seems to be the reining texture this season, and all varying shades of Pink the flavor of choice.

I really like this pairing of bleached brows, soft, neutral taupe lids with stronger, richer matte lips. The whole face stays clean-looking, without too much texture or colors to take attention away from the rich, precise mouth.

Lancome Summer 2011 Bronze Azure “Molten Shore” Quad

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I like this look because it’s in the perfect middle-ground between smoky and colorful. I feel it’s more appropriate for evening than for the day, but don’t let me stop you!

The shades in the Molten Shore quad are gorgeous of course… And how can you not love the metallic Tiffany Blue compact??!