Liz and I remain very busy in our non-blogging lives. Liz’s schedule is particularly busy over the next several weeks. Our family friend Megan, who loves makeup, dropped by to help me show my reading beauties some of the latest and greatest. Megan loves playing with gorgeous makeup as much, if not more, than we do! You’ll see Megan in some of the posts as we try to coordinate our busy schedules. Thank you Megan, and welcome to the Cafe!
Le Metier de Beaute’s On the Coast Palette ($95) was a “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” release on Saks.com about two weeks ago. Because so many more wanted to purchase it, they company has promised to replenish the stock of the palette. Here is the former onsite link, although I don’t know for certain whether Saks will use the same page when the re-stocking occurs.
I’ve been reaching for this palette more days than not since it arrived. It’s extraordinarily easy to use. Typically, I use the lightest color as a lid wash (up to the crease), then choose either the second or third level to put into the cease. If I have a few more seconds, I’ll add the blue as a liner. Done. Polished. Shimmery. Pretty. Although you could easily layer these shades, I think they work quite well on their own, blended together.
The first layer is a shimmery beach sand color, a cool-toned beige that is quite close to my natural skin color:
The second layer is a shimmery taupe:
The third is a shimmery rich bronze:
The fourth layer is a medium shimmery blue:
First set of swatches:
Additional swatches:
Final set, very similar but just because:
Overall, this is a highly usable, high quality neutral palette. As you may recall, this palette was originally produced to commemorate the line’s addition to Saks.com, and I believe it serves that purpose well. The colors are true crowd-pleasers, versatile, and will look good on a variety of skin-tones.
I almost didn’t post this review, because I know that some are unhappy that the palette was produced in a boutique quantity for national release. I have found the palette extremely useful, so I thought I’d go ahead (actually, I’m sort of in love with it). It’s a great everyday palette, true to its coastal theme (a vibrant purple-blue instead of the blue would have added an edge, but I’m not complaining. The blue is a gorgeous blue). Indeed, the colors are so friendly that some might check their Le Metier stash to see whether they might own some of these colors already. Having said that, I’m happy to pack my On the Coast with me on future trips. The versatility of this palette makes it well worth the tiny amount of space it’s going to occupy. Well done, Le Metier!!
This evening’s Met Gala 2012 brought out the stars, including Kristen Dunst’s look by NARS makeup artist James Kaliardos:
Also, here’s a little Met fashion collage just for fun, including Marc Jacobs in his lace dress and Beyonce in a see-through Givenchy looking like royalty (click to enlarge):
Here’s what three things I’m obsessed with right now…
1. Sunscreens– In sunny California, the summer sun has begun to show its smiling face. For me, that means gathering my hats and sunscreen. Yes, I know that this is important for anti-aging, but it can be life-saving as well. Did you know that for women ages 18 to 24, one in five does not apply sunscreen regularly?
No matter how much you pay for your sunscreen, the key is to make sure you wear it. That’s why I’m so pleased to see NARS release a tinted moisturizer that claims SPF 30++, because no one can forget to wear sunscreen that’s in their foundation (I layer my Nars Tinted Moisturizer over Chanel SPF 50 sunscreen, above). Even hats and other clothing can add sun protection. Currently, Bergdorf’s is donating 10% of sales of certain sun protection products to the Melanoma Research Alliance of certain products for May is Melanoma Awareness Month. Here’s one of the products from Cafe Makeup favorite Le Metier de Beaute:
Other Bergdorf products include:
Check out Dr. Marnie Nussbaum’s sun safe tips here on Bergdorf’s blog.
2. Omorovicza is a skin care line that I’m just beginning to test. The line was started by Margaret and Stephen de Heinrich de Omorovicza, who launched it at their spa in Budapest in 2006. Currently, the line is sold at Bergdorf’s and there is a comprehensive website as well. Today (Sunday, May 6th) is the last day to end their Spa Giveaway at a Four Seasons Resort. There is also a runner-up prize of over $1,000 worth of product.
Either sounds amazingly good to me… sign up here on Facebook.
3. Mother’s Day Shopping. It’s hard to find the right gift–I usually depend on L’Occintane to deliver a tastefully-packaged, luxurious, and thoughtful item. I settled on this Bouquet of Thousand Flowers shipped to mine, together with some books that I hope that my mother will enjoy:
Right now, L’Occitane is running a gift promotion so that you can tuck some additional treats into your gift, with the code SPRING and a $65 purchase (also free ship with $25 purchase):
Elsewhere on the internet:
I store my makeup compacts upright in clear plastic drawer inserts. Over time, I’ve collected (ahem) quite a few. Sometimes to find a particular color, I’d have to pull out several to read the labels on the back. After doing some research, I invested in a Brother P Touch labeler (around $30-40) to label the sides of the compact for easier access. This particular model is the PT-2030, although there are several others in the line that would work just as well.
I chose Brother’s P Touch line because it allowed for a wide variety of labels, including some that are very narrow–down to 1/4 inch. The tapes come inside little cartridges that are inserted into the machine, almost like a typewriter ribbon. I wanted to put a very narrow label on the back of each compact in a way that would not interfere with ability to open or close them. I didn’t want big sticky ugly white labels that would just get in the way.
As you can see, this narrow tape allowed me to label my single Chanel eyeshadow compacts, which are very tiny. Also, the Brother P Touch allows you to choose different typefaces, as well as to select the width of the typeface. You can see in the above picture that the label for “Blazing Gold” and “Cinammon” are narrower than for “Ebony.”
There are different colors and sizes for different uses. For my Chanel compacts, I chose the black label cartridge with white letters in the 1/4″ size. The label tape is self-adhesive–you just peel the paper backing off and stick it on. If you make a mistake, the label can be peeled off easily without leaving ugly residue, and replaced properly without much drama.
The Brother P Touch PT-2030 takes a staggering six (6) AA batteries (!), and has a built in cutter for the labels as they come out of the machine. There’s an AC adapter available, which costs roughly $20-30 depending on where you buy it (mine was $19 on Amazon.com). The label cartridge was about $15 (the price varies depending on the retailer). I was able to label all of my Chanel, Dior and Bobbi Brown Shimmerbrick compacts without changing out my first cartridge, and it has plenty left.
I find this system really convenient. I can identify these colors at a glance, and still maintain my space-saving drawer system. One brief pointer–the label printer tends to give you a full inch on either side of the text for every time you hit “print.” To minimize waste, you can vary the margin border using the “label” function. Alternatively, you can input the names of several products at a single time and hit print for a whole line at once, then just cut them apart with scissors.
If all of your makeup fits into a single makeup bag, I’m sure you’ll find this over the top (taupe?). However, I find that I use my favorite colors when they are easy to find. This has already helped me on busy mornings when I don’t have time to sift. At first, I was reluctant to do this project but now that it’s in process I’m so glad that I did.