Les Vernis de Chanel in Khaki

Today is September 7th and there's still three more days till Fashion's Night Out. In addition to that and the coming fashion week, us fashion-lovers have lots to look forward to.

Currently number one on my list is the launch of the newest Chanel Les Vernis line, Les Khakis de Chanel. My first bottle of nail polish was a transparent magenta shade from my aunt when I was seven. I went on to buying nail polish in middle school and high school occasionally. And not until Chanel re-vamped the hype for nail color did I realize how fun nail polish has always been. It's like an extra accessory that stays with you wherever you go. And with all this note typing in lectures (uni just started this week), I don't mind staring at pretty fingers. No wait, pretty finger nails :)

Peter Phillips, Global Creative Director of Chanel, has worked his magic again with the latest Les Khakis line. So let me take you on a little trail of his work so far that has really clenched on to the current fashion scene.

F/W 2009 Jade and Jade Rose

Jade 407
Before this, I honestly believed that I could never wear anything green-ish and that would include on my nails. But seeing Jade was definitely a revelation. It was fun and unique. And I'll admit, I spent practically the next year looking for it because no one else had it!

My Take on Jade
Ain't it prettyyy? It took me almost a year to find an equivalent that I found totally affordable. This color is from the Korean brand's Skin Food's Nail Vita collection and it costs 25hkd (around 3USD). It's rather light though, so I had to put on three layers. But afterwards, I was satisfied for a good week until I fixed up the chipped bits. It's a little bit on the shiny shimmery side but I still love the color. It's perfect for a summer day. :)

S/S 2010 : Nouvelle Vague, Riviera, and Mistral

Nouvelle Vague 527
There seems to be a brighter, blue-r shade going on here. Great for the summer and those light summer dresses. And it'll still stand out against the blue of the ocean and beaches.

S/S 2010 Orient Extreme: Black Velvet, Illusion D'or, Gold Lame (accent on the e)

A re-definition of the French manicure. It's glittery, its sparkly, and no one's quite done anything like it. Very well matched with the Paris-Shanghai collection and the gold & black eye make-up colors. I can see these colors looking good with a little black dress.

F/W 2010 Paradoxal

F/W 2010 Rouge Allure: Rouge Fatal, Rose Insolent, Rose Confidentiel(not pictured, out October 2010)

September 7th (online) and 10th (in store), 2010 Soho Collection: Steel and Strong

Limited Edition
This is very city chic. It matches those powerful working women in black suits and those little black dresses that you can wear to any party. So, I'm guessing the Soho collection is for those Soho busy-bodies out there? My take on it would be to try OPI's Nichole Gossip Girl line for Steel and Sephora's metallic nail polish Merengue, a gold mix with Strong's darker purple shade, for Strong.

September 10th, 2010 Les Khakis de Chanel: Khaki Rose, Khaki Vert, and Khaki Burn
Limited Edition
Ah, this is the collection I've been waiting for. The fuss this year has all been about the beige, brown, and the military greens. Well, Chanel's done it again, by being the only one with a grey-military green color. I've looked and looked. I'm really not sure who else is also carrying this color. And I want it. Bad. Chanel has a really good reason for coming up with these colors. What else would match your shearling jackets, beige blazers, and military jackets? I'm a sucker for colors (I just bought a maroon Staedler pen yesterday, not because I needed it. I just thought the color was pretty). Anyone, will you get one for Delilah as a back to school present? Because she really really wants one and she'd let you be her (second) best friend if you do.

By the way, as I was doing the research for this post, I found an astonishingly large collection of Chanel Les Vernis here. Take a look if you want to see a rather close to complete collection of Les Vernis!

All for now,
Delilah

lashes to lips: Jeisa's choice on make-up

Bonjour lovelies!

So technically, I am supposed to be studying for my finals or starting one of my assignments. But knowing very well that when exam week approaches, I won't be able to post again for awhile. So I decided to write this up following a shopping day out with my roommate, who inspired me to make this post:

Essentially, what is in my make-up bag?

What are my favourite, must-live-by make-up that I carry with me at all times?

I should start out by saying that I'm a die-hard DIOR fan, so please be aware that most of what I use is going to be from Dior. I know that judging the quality of make-up is incredibly subjective so even if it works heavenly on me, it might not work on you so just be aware of that and always always try it out at the department store before you make a purchase.

Okay, let's get to it:

• FOUNDATION: DiorSnow White Reveal UV Shield MakeUp

• This is a great foundation! I've always preferred powder foundations for some reason and this just works brilliantly. Finished and flawless application and my favourite part of it? It looks completely natural! There's never a need to worry that after a hard day's work, a thick cakey effect will form. As an added benefit, with the right moisturiser, you will attain the long sought-after dewy effect seen on runway models. It's that amazing. Not to mention, there's UV protection which is always a plus! 

• HIGHLIGHTER: M.A.C. Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle

• I have only begun to use highlighters very recently so usually, I'll just stick to using it when I have an event at night because frankly, I feel like my face is too "made-up" for a casual-day look when I apply this to accentuate my facial features. In case you're wondering, I usually brush gently over the following on my face: brow bones, nose bridge, apple of your cheeks and forehead. Instant glow!

• EYESHADOW: Dior Travel Studio

• I actually use this Dior Travel Studio because I travel quite a bit and its just much easier to have one massive compact than a million pots of eyeshadow littered around my make-up bag. Besides, there is a great variety of shadows that's sufficient for casual day looks or sultry night looks. Like I said, I absolutely adore Dior. Their eyeshadows are great, the pigment is rich and it stays on all day without appearing dull or washed-out.

• EYELINER: Dior Crayon Eyeliner (Waterproof)

I have actually used this eyeliner for years and its been working so well that I would never consider switching to another one. Yes, yes, I'm incredibly biased but Dior cosmetics really are as wonderful as they seem.

• MASCARA: Lancome L'Extreme

• My absolute must-have mascara! I recommend this to everyone. In fact, it is so brilliant that my roommate actually rushed out to buy it. I kid you not, I have been searching high and low for mascara that doesn't appear clumpy and unnatural on my lashes and for the longest time (years and years, in fact), I have not found this miracle mascara. It was up to the point that I figured that there may have been something wrong with the way I was applying it or my lashes or something that I actually gave up on my search. Then, my mom gave me this one day after she bought a pack of three when she was travelling. Oh my God, I nearly swooned when I first applied it on my lashes. Flawless finish! I had instant dark, thick lashes WITH NO CLUMPS. -insert gasp-. This is amazing, seriously, I have no words.

• CONCEALER:  Chanel Correcteur Perfection

• WORTH the money. Literally, the best concealer ever. This is my life, especially now, during exam season. A little bit goes a long way and I love how it blends so seamlessly with my foundation. I've used concealers before where the colour stood out so distinctly after a few hours --- an absolute horror. This is definitely on my highly recommended list for a must-have in any make-up bag.

Some of you may notice that I don't have anything for lips and that's because I haven't really found a great lipstick/lip gloss to recommend yet. I am now in the market in search of a great nude lip but alas, nothing has struck my fancy. When I have found something great, I'll be sure to update this once again.

Thanks for viewing and I hope this is some use to you! 

With love,

Jeisa

the end marks a new beginning

I'm not sure if all you hong kong-ers out there know, but the one and only Sephora in Hong Kong (on Sai Yeung Choi street) is closing by the end of this month! Like many of you, I am shocked too. My first mascara was from Sephora. My bestie bought me a whole set of stuff from Sephora for my birthday last year. And it's always been a fun place to poke around, try their many scents and shades of eyeshadow, and sporadically bring home an eccentric color of nail polish from.



However, although Sephora's gonna be leaving Hong Kong (I wonder what they will do to those lists they have outside shops of all the different cities that have Sephora), there's on thing we can all look forward to... the final sale! With prices down by 70%, it's a good time to stock up and try out all things you wanted to buy oh so badly but never had the chance to dish out the money to do so.



After class today (yes, I occasionally have class on Saturday. ugh), I decided to check it out Sephora myself. After (almost) an hour of major poking around, eyes searching wildly over the store for best finds, I headed to the cashier with items I simply could not resist. I could have bought lots more (blush, extra black eyeliner, funky dark shades of lipstick) but I decided to hold back and buy things that I would more likely use and have not tried before.

As the salesperson rang up the receipt, I stared at the prices... 10 hkd... 20 hkd... 50hkd, and the salesperson finally said "100hkd, please." I never thought I could get that much for 100hkd (less than 13 USD) at Sephora. So I was all smiles on my way home. Now I've got shocking dark pink, metallic magenta, and glittery black nail polish, extra blue eyeliner (trust me, it looks good. Maybe I'll show you next time), and lots of make-up remover for future use. hehe. With new make-up, my goal now is to find ways to use it! With ten days left, it's really time to head towards Sephora. So if you haven't been, RUN!

All for now :)

nude or rouge?

NUDE or ROUGEnew trend alert?possibly.
The explosion of the statement red lips began several seasons ago, proudly exhibited by celebrities, models and socialites. Has the world now turned to barely-there nude lips?
I, myself, have always been fond of the nude lips, having been partial to dramatic eye make-up. As such, there's always a need of balance in everything in life, including make-up. Dramatic eyes go lovely with nude lips while vampy red lips should be paired with simplicity. The basic tips below will help you on your way to looking and feeling as glamorous as those celebrities that are rocking it on the red carpet now:

    how to wear nude lips?   

• Concentrate the heavy make-up on your eyes. Smoky eyes look amazing with a nude lip.
• Matte texture for the day; A hint of gloss for the night
• Nude lipstick/lip glosses come in an array of colours, it's important to pick one that will complement your skin tone, not wash it out or clash against it.

    how to wear red lips?    

• Keep the rest of your face as simple as possible. Hold back on the blush and the eyeshadow.
• The key tools to use to still dress up your eyes: Mascara & Eyeliner. Dark dramatic eyelashes and cat eyes (wing-tip eyeliner) will bring you to a full femme fatale status once paired with deep red lips.
• To accentuate your features without going overboard, use highlighters and illuminators sparingly.
• Keep things age-appropriate, keep in mind the glamorous pin-up look is not an everyday look so reserve it for a special occasion where you can make a grand entrance.

Leaving with a final note: Could the Twilight era have inspired us with this dark vampiresque look? 

Future trend alert? Yay or Nay?
Until next time lovelies!