Lorac Mega Pro Palette

I was so excited about this palette releasing.  I am a huge fan of the original Lorac Pro palette and the Lorac Pro 2.  I use them three or four days out of the week.  So of course, when I heard Lorac was releasing a Mega Pro palette ($59) I knew it had to be mine.  Unfortunately it is sold out.  And I don't know if it will be restocked.  But in case it does I want to let you all know that you absolutely need this palette.  

   

There are 32 shadows in all and they are like butter.  They are silky smooth and highly pigmented.  They perform amazingly.  Super blendable and hardly any fall out (just a little on the darker shades).  At the moment I am loving two combos, Lilac all over the lid, Wisteria in the crease, and Stone on the outer third.  Secondly Dusty Rose all over, Orchid in the crease, and Merlot in the outer third.  

This palette performs just like the other Lorac Pro palettes.  I can see myself reaching for this daily.  It has so many possible combos.  And the price ($59) can't be beat.  I am seriously in love with this palette and I can't keep my hands off of it!!


Were you able to pick this palette up ??  What do you think ??


Love,
City Styles 

Tom Ford Nude Dip Color Quad {Fall 2014}

Tom Ford's fall collection recently hit stores and online retailers and sold out very fast.  I was lucky enough to pre sale this bad boy at Saks's.  The bad boy I am talking about the the new color quad in Nude Dip($79).   It is sold out online at all the department stores so you will have to call around to your local counters and see if they still have any available.  

The quad is just gorgeous.  I only have one other quad by him, Cognac Sable.  I enjoy that palette but, I don't reach for it often.  But, this I have been reaching for on the daily.  The shadows are so smooth and different from his other palettes.  These remind me a bit more of the new Chanel quads that are out.  They are more satiny then creamy.  The only thing this quad is missing is a transition shade.  But I don't mind reaching for another shade.  I would totally snatch this up if you get the chance cause you will definitely regret it if you don't. 

Nude Dip is very similar to Chanel's Raffinement quad and Bare Mineral's The Truth quad.  

What are your thoughts on the Tom Ford Fall '14 collection ?? I kind of want to get one of the blush duos and the nail polish.  But we will see. 

Love, 

City Styles 

La Mer Radiant Concealer {Light}

I have truly gone off the deep end.  I purchased a concealer with a price tag of $70.  Yes you read that right.  And why would I spend that much on a concealer?  Because I am a bit cray and I have a makeup addiction.  And to be honest I love my La Mer powder so much I really wanted to try the concealer as well.  I have been testing the La Mer Radiant Concealer out for a few weeks now and I have some thoughts on it.  

There are three shades in all and picked up the lightest one.  It comes in a nice pouch with a small brush.  I have used the brush to apply it and I have also used my fingers.  Personally, I like using my fingers.  I am able to warm the product up a bit before applying.  The concealer is a cream to powder finish and it can feel a bit dry if you haven't moisturized properly.  I use the Clarins Eye Balm every morning before applying and this really helps.  It hardly creases which I love and it makes my under eye area look very bright and awake.  I use this mostly on days where I haven't had the best of sleep or when I just feel like I need to look more refreshed.  

    

I wouldn't say it is holy grail status yet but, I do enjoy it the more I use it.  And is that hefty price tag worth it?  To me I am willing to try lots of different items for the sake of beauty and letting you all know how I feel.  But if I wasn't a blogger I would probably say the price tag is crazy and never buy it. 

What is your go to concealer at the moment ??

Love, 

City Styles 

Becca Mineral Blush {FlowerChild}

 

 



 

A month or so ago I was watching youtube (I can't remember who) and I came across this gorgeous blush.  It is the Becca Mineral Blush in Flowerchild.  It is a beautiful finely milled blush in a pinky, coral shade.  I instantly fell in love with it.  It has a bit of a shimmer to it but, on the skin it gives you a nice glow.  It is one of those shades you can wear everyday and not get bored of it. Maybe that's just me.  But seriously this has been my go to blush for at least three weeks now.  I think it would look great on all skin colors too.  The Sephora website says "coming soon" but, I have seen it at all my local Sephora's.  I seriously think that this should be in every girls makeup stash. 

     

Compared to Nars Deep Throat, Nars Orgasm, and Benefit Coralista.

Have you tried any of the Becca blushes ??  If so which ones ??

Love,
City Styles

Lorac Pro 2

The Lorac Pro 2 came out online about 2 weeks ago but, won't be in stores until 6/29.  I snatched it up as fast as I could!  I bought mine off of Ulta.com for $42 (same as the original Lorac Pro).  I adore my original Lorac Pro Palette so I knew that I had to try this one.  The Pro 2 has more deeper, gem shades then the original.  Just like the original, the top 8 shades are matte and the bottom 8 have a sheen to them.  And may I say that these colors are so creamy and gorgeous.  They are highly pigmented, blend out like a dream, and hardly have any fallout.  I have been working with this palette for a week or so now and I am in LOVE.  I am going away next week and this will be the only eyeshadow I bring with me.  For me that says a whole lot.  

The look I have been wearing lately is beige all over the lid, light brown in the crease and either cool gray or mocha in the outer v.  I use the primer that comes with the palette as my base and it helps the shadows last all day.  And I mean all day!  I usually do my makeup around 7:30am and I don't take it off until at least 10pm.  That is over 14 hours of wear and no creasing at all.  I would totally recommend this palette to everyone.  It has such a great  mix of neutrals and brights!  

What do you think of the new Lorac Pro 2 ??? Will you be adding it to your shopping cart ??

Chanel Fall 2014 Le Vernis {Atmosphere, Secret, & Orage}

I have been looking forward to the Chanel Fall 2014 collection for awhile now.  I knew for sure I wanted the polishes.  They seemed a bit different from anything I had in my collection.  And boy was I right.  There are three shades in all, Atmosphere, Secret, and Orage.  Atmosphere is an iridescent pearl shade that looks lovely alone but, also looks pretty cool on top of darker shades (see below).  Secret is a milky nude shade.  It pulls a bit beige and is gorgeous on my pale skin.  And Orage is a deep grey/blue shade.  It almost looks black.  They all go on the nails pretty easily and only need two coats tops!  I will report back in about chipping since I have only had these for two days.  I love each color.  But, I think Atmosphere is the most unique to the collection.  

 The Fall collection is available on Chanel.com and is trickling into department stores now.  I have not picked up any of the Rouge Coco Shines or Ombre Essentielle Shadows yet.  I want to see and swatch them in person before I make a decision!  

What do you want to pick up from this collection ??

Love, 

City Styles 

By Terry Ombre Blackstar {Bronze Moon, Misty Rock, & Velvet Orchid}

I first heard of these By Terry Ombre Blackstars from The Beauty Lookbook.  She had a review about the Bronze Moon shade and it totally caught my eye and went on the list.  Fast forward a few months and one late night Space NK shopping spree and Bronze Moon was mine.  I fell totally in love with the shade and the formula and I knew I need more.  So fast forward to another late night Space NK shopping spree (as Amelia Liana would say #feelingspendy) and Velvet Orchid and Misty Rock were thrown into my beauty arsenal.  These pencils are so creamy and pigmented.  They glide so smoothly onto the eye and they blend easily.  I love to wear these on their own and just use a neutral color in the crease.  They last me a full work day, 7am to 7pm.  Which I find amazing!! These don't crease too much on me.  I would say in the finals hour or so of wear I see a bit of creasing.  I do use a primer but, that's because I have pretty oily eye lids.  I use it as a precautionary step.  

    

Bronze Moon is a beautiful neutral bronze shade.  This is my absolute favorite of the bunch.  It makes my blue eyes really stand out.  Misty Rock is a pinky mauve shade.  It doesn't look as good swatched as it does on the eyes.  And Velvet Orchid is a bold deep purple shade.  I like to wear this more when I am going for a night out. 

I am of course looking into getting a few more shades but, I need to stop at the Space NK store and swatch them first !! 

Have you tried these eyeshadows ??  What are your favorite shades ??

Love, 

City Styles 

Lipstick Queen Lipsticks

I recently went a little crazy with in Space NK and bought a handful of Lipstick Queen lipsticks.  I have heard such good things about this brand and wanted to try a few different lipsticks.  I picked up the newly released Jungle Queen (green packaging), which is a sheer-ish orange, red shade.  It looks great on the lips and is the perfect red for the summer time.  Then I had to get the Endless Summer (orange packaging) lipstick in Perfect Wave.  It is an amazing pinky coral shade that just screams my name.  And, of course, I had to pick up one Sinner and one Saint.  Sinner is 90% pigmentation and Saint is 10% pigmentation.  For Sinner (black packaging) I bought Hot Rose which is a bright rosy pink shade that is crazy opaque on the lips.  For Saint (gold packaging) I bought Bright Rose.  It is similar to Hot Rose just more sheer and a bit more on the rosy side then the pink side.  And lastly I had to get on the Chinatown Glossy Pencils.  I love me a chubby stick.  I picked up Chase which is a nice sheer red shade.  The only thing I don't think about this is the fact that it isn't a twist up.  It comes with a pencil sharpener but, I would totally love it more if it twisted up.  

Now lets talk packaging.  The packaging on these is just so amazing how could you pass these up.  The Perfect Wave packaging is my favorite.  It totally reminds me of California.  And the lipstick tubes themselves are ultra sleek.  The lastly power is also amazing.  The Sinner lasts the longest but, I believe that is because it is much more pigmented then the rest.  The rest are on the more sheer side.  They last about 2 or 3 hours depending on my eating/drinking situation.  And they are so moisturizing.  I hate when I wear a lipstick and about an hour in my lips are so parched and I need to   apply a tube of chap stick to make them feel better.  These lipsticks are the totally opposite.  My lips feel fully moisturized.  Even when wearing the Sinner my lips feel great.  Overall I am really loving this brand.  I will totally be picking up some more shades, especially of the Sinner and Saints.

Have you tried any Lipstick Queen products ?? What did you think of them ??

Love,
City Styles 

Bite Beauty Deconstructed Rose Lip Gloss Library !

We all know how much I LOVE Bite Beauty.  I just love the products and the company.  So, when I saw that they came out with this amazing Deconstructed Rose Lip Gloss Library I knew it had to be mine.  Bite Beauty is exclusive to Sephora and is an all natural company.  Their products have food grade ingredients so not only are they good for your lips but, yummy too!  I picked up this lip gloss library  about two weeks ago and I have been using it every day since.  These glosses are highly pigmented and just gorgeous.  The shades range from a light pink to a deeper red/purple.  The concept is that all the shades come from a blossoming rose.  We all know how I love my corals so I thought this would be great to get so I can start wearing other shades of gloss.  

All together there are 12 shades.  The glosses are numbered, not named.  I kind of wish they had names because I love the names companies come up with.  But, aside from that I have no complaints about these glosses.  They are so opaque and a bit on the thicker side.  I would say they are similar to the Hourglass Extreme Sheen glosses (in thickness).  I love to wear these by themselves.  Number 2 and 9 have become my favorites.  They have been sitting in my makeup bag for about a week now.  

The lasting power of these is about two, three hours and break down when eating or drinking.  The deeper shades leave a bit of a stain after wearing off.  I would say that since these are on the thicker side to exfoliate your lips.  They do cling to dry patches.  I made that mistake and I did not look very pretty. 

I think that this is a great library of shades.  This would be great as a gift to someone that does not have a lot of glosses or even to the lip fanatic that does.  And look at the packaging!  Who wouldn't want this sitting on their desk?  The set retails for $49 at Sephora and is available now.   

What have you tried from Bite Beauty ??

Love, 

City Styles 

YSL BLEUS LUMIERE La Laque {Bleu Celadon}

YSL's Summer 2014 Collection, Blue Lumiere, was inspired by Yves Saint Laurent's fascination with the blue sea.  Two new polishes came out with this collection, Bleu Celadon and Bleu Cyclades.  Bleu Celadon was just calling my name so I had to pick it up.  It is a beautiful light blue shade that pulls a bit green.  I absolutely love a good light blue polish and it is actually much different then anything in my collection.  I used two light coats of polish and topped it off with Seche Vite.  It lasted about 4 days with minimal chipping.  I really enjoy YSL polish and the brush.  The brush is a bit fatter then Essie but, thinner then Dior.  It makes it very easy to apply.  

No Flash 

Flash 

Compared to Essie Mint Candy Apple, Where's My Chauffeur, and In the Cabana.  

As you can see, Bleu Celadon is more lighter and has more blue in it.  

I picked this up at my local Bloomingdales, but you can also find it on yslbeautyus.com, Nordstrom,  and Saks. 

What is your favorite color of nail polish ??  Do you own any YSL ??

Love, 

City Styles  

Chanel Summer 2014 Illusion D'Ombre {New Moon & Mirage}

Chanel's Summer Collection released three new Illusion D'ombres, Mirage, New Moon(LE), and Utopia(LE).  I passed on Utopia.  It is a beautiful light purple shade that would look killer on brown eyes but, I knew that I was not going to get much use out of it.  These are actually my first Illusion D'ombres.  I have heard such good things about them and these colors are just stunning.

New Moon (on left) is this gorgeous reddish brown shade.  I am always drawn to these shades because they look so amazing with blue eye.  Mirage is more of an aged copper penny shade.  They are both highly pigmented and full of shimmer.  Good shimmer though.  The Illusion D'Ombres have this amazing whipped like texture.  I actually like the better then a cream shadow.  I love to apply these using my fingers or my Bobbi Brown cream shadow brush.  These are better layered lightly then heavily packed on.

Chanel New Moon & Mirage compared to Chanel Stylo Eyeshadow in Moon River (LE), Smashbox Cream shadow in Gemstone, MAC Handwritten, L'oreal Infalliable in Bronzed Taupe, and MAC Mulch. 

I am totally loving these two shades and think they are quite unique to Chanel and my collection.  They stay on the eyes all day (I do use a primer) and only start to crease towards the end of the night. Illusion D'ombres retail for $36.  You can find these on Chanel.com and most department store counters.  I found mine at Macy's.


Have you tried any of the Illusion D'ombres ??  And do you like the texture of them ??

Love,
City Styles