Estee Lauder 2014 LE Color Portfolio: First Look

My 2014 Estee Lauder Color Portfolio arrived, and it's a beauty!  The design is a bit different than last year's portfolio, although the size of the items are the same.  You get a larger mirror this year, which I suppose would be useful if you travel with the portfolio.  The outer covering is a sturdy cardboard that feels quite solid.

I actually prefer the design of last years portfolio, as this one was a bit more awkward to handle, although it's esthetically pleasing.  The mirror had a tendency to fall back closed when I was first examining the contents, which would probably be less of an issue if it was sitting on a solid surface.

Lip colors:

Eye shadows:

Blushes/bronzer:

I'll have swatches and initial impressions up for you tomorrow!

Noteworthy: Estee Lauder LE Color Portfolio Now Available

2014 Color Portfolio:  Source:  Estee Lauder

Just wanted to alert you that Estee Lauder now has their limited edition Color Portfolio available for $37.50 with any purchase.  I bought the 2013 edition, and am seriously considering getting this one as well, even though there are some repeat eyeshadow/lip colors.

2013 LE Color Portfolio

Why am I considering getting it again?  Well, it's a fabulous deal, and I really, really like the one I got last year!  I love (LOVE) Estee Lauder blushes, and I don't have Alluring Rose or Mauve Mystique, two of the shades featured this year.  Considering Estee Lauder blushes are $32 each, the price of this palette is less than I'd pay for both blushes.  Plus, about half of the eyeshadows, 2/3rd of the lipsticks, and both glosses would be new to my collection....I may have just talked myself into getting this....

2013 Color Portfolio eyeshadows

Anyhow, in case you are wondering about the quality of the 2013 palette:  it was very good.  The blushes in particular are top of the line:  finely milled, smooth, nicely pigmented, skin enhancing, and long wearing.  The shadows are good:  while not intensely pigmented, they apply smoothly and wear well.

I'd say the main benefit of the lipsticks is the opportunity to try a variety of colors at a fraction of their price.  The downside is not being able to reapply during the day, given that the palette is not exactly portable.

2013 Color Portfolio lipsticks

I also really like Estee Lauder's Pure Color Intense Kajal liners, although I'm disappointed to see that this year's palette only includes black.  Last year's palette had a dual ended black/brown.  I also am loving the glosses from last year's set, in particular Praline shown below.  So some new shades to try out are another draw...

As of right now, I'm only seeing the Color Portfolio palette at esteelauder.com.  Last year several retailers featured it and I was able to get mine with a stackable GWP set.  I do remember this selling out quite quickly, however!  Update:  I'm now seeing the Color Portfolio available at Belk, Nordstrom, and Dillard's, and Belk and Nordstrom have Estee Lauder GWP's going on as well!

Included in the 2014 Portfolio:
•30 Pure Color EyeShadows: Ivory Slipper, Sandbar Beige, Nude Sunset Frost, Sugar Cube, Polished Platinum, Pink Flash, Sugar Biscuit, Hot Cinnamon, Riviera Rose, Tempting Mocha, Amazing Grey, Lilac Whimsy, Nude Fresco, Enchanted Forest, Wild Truffle, Candy Crave, Peacock Blue, Smoky Ember, Safari Green, Pretty Penny, Berry Burst, Razzle Dazzle Matte, Nocturnal Blue, Garnet Desire, Deep Berry Satin, Wild Sable, Amethyst Spark, Razzle Dazzle Frost, Intense Violet, and Lavish Mink
•16 Pure Color Lipstick shades: Vanilla Truffle, Coral Sun, Pink Parfait, Beige, Sugar Honey, Bois de Rose, Sunstone, Blushing, Hot Copper, Nectarine, Rubellite, Barely Nude, Autumn, Scarlet Siren, Fuschia Fever and Hot Kiss
•3 Pure Color Blush shades: Lover’s Blush, Alluring Rose and Mauve Mystique
•Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer in Medium
•2 Pure Color Glosses (deluxe travel size) in Brazen Berry and Wired Copper
•Pure Color Intense Kajal Eyeliner in Blackened Black (great for smoky eyes)
•4 Travel Size Applicators: Blush, Eyeshadow and Lip brushes.
•2 Look Cards to get started right now.

Ambient Lighting Palette by Hourglass

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I purchased the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette back in November when it was still a limited edition item, and it sold out not long after that.  Hourglass has brought it back, however, so I thought I'd share my thoughts/feelings on this item. 

If I had to sum it up in a single word:  love.  I love that  you get three variations of the Ambient Lighting powders, including my favorite to date, the beige Dim Light.  That's my go to all over face powder, as it mattifies my skin without making it look chalky or mask like - just a realistic looking and skin enhancing finish

Then there is Incandescent Light, which I use as a highlighter on all the usual places.  It's not frosty in the least and therefore does not emphasize pores, but it does pick up the light nicely.  This shade is not available in the single palettes, and I like that I'm getting something unique as part of the palette.

Last is Radiant Light, which can be used to add warmth to the face, much like a bronzer.  I actually like it as a blush, especially over a neutral toned cream blush, which is how I'm wearing it below.

Yes, the palette is expensive at $59, but I see it lasting for a long time.  Do not overswirl your brush with these, as it isn't needed and will waste product and kick up dust.  One swipe is plenty to pick up powder, and I just repeat as needed.  I love the soft focus finish I get.  I've got oily skin and I can't say that these are work horses as far as absorbing oil, but they do wear well and extend my foundation  somewhat.

 I'm glad Hourglass brought the palette back, I hope it stays a part of their permanent collection!

Chantecaille Save the Bees: Spring Gorgeousness

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I'll just go ahead and let you know upfront:  I love this palette.  LOVE IT.  I don't care that it did cost $83, totally worth it to me!

As described on Nordstrom's site:

Chantecaille Save the Bees eye and cheek palette was created not only to give you gorgeous, wearable shades but to raise awareness for the plight of bees and the fragility of our ecosystems. With every purchase, 5% of proceeds will be donated to the Xerces Society to help protect bees and our environment.

Shades include:
- Sky: an eye-opening delicate pale blue sheen that instantly brightens the eye area.
- Honey: a glistening golden highlighter that adds a soft touch of radiance to both cheeks and eyes.
- Beehive: a versatile and flattering grey-beige that can be intensified when applied wet.
- Nectar: a warm coral pink blush that delivers a cheerful pop of color to all skin tones. 

Honey and Beehive

Sky and Nectar

Nectar:  concentrated and blended

The arm swatches are somewhat deceiving, as they look rather delicate, but what they don't capture is how well the colors show up on the face!  I don't have to layer to build color at all - these are soft colors but nicely pigmented.  

Sky on bottom finger and UD shade on top finger

I was originally a bit leery of the pale blue shade Sky, but once I realized how well it works as an inner eye highlighter, was completely won over.  It's similar but not a dupe for one of the duotone colors in Urban Decay's Glinda palette, the blue side of the middle pan.  Sky is finer in texture than the shade from Glinda, nor does it have a pinkish duotone shift. 

Honey is a gorgeous gold, and that's coming from somewhat of a gold shadow connoisseur.  Beehive is a lovely taupe which showed some interesting complexity in the sun.  The coral Nectar shows up so nicely with just a few swipes across my cheeks. 

The gold on the bees is an overlay that brushes off easily, but I've been working around it on the eye shades just to save the prettiness for a while.

Hands down, my favorite palette so far this spring.  I liked the Wild Horse palette, but I love Save the Bees!

Jouer Blushing Beauty Collection Swatches and Review

The Blushing Beauty Collection by Jouer (previewed here) contains two eyeshadows, a matte powder and bronzer, a cream cheek tint and highlighter, and a lip gloss.   The items come in their own separate modular containers that can be joined together, making it easy to make your own customized configurations.

There is a lot to like about the Blushing Beauty Collection.  The colors work together seamlessly for a fresh and natural look.  The sheer matte facial powder and bronzer are finely milled and are supposed to hydrate skin while still reducing shine.  They also contain Gingko Biloba leaf extract, aloe vera, and vitamins A and E for skin nurturing benefits.  I love that there is no shimmer in the bronzer.

L to R:  Bronzer, Sheer Matte Powder, Feather, Whisper, Chocolate, Peach, Cherish

Whisper, a soft coral cream blush, does have a fine gold shimmer in it, but it did not emphasize my pores and the color itself is very soft.  I did not find applying more to intensify color worked well for me, as at the end of the day my cheeks looked a bit blotchy.  So, to deepen the color I used a similarly colored powder blush such as Chantecaille's Fun on top, which also extended the wear.  The highlighter is the same consistency and it worked well on the usual places.  These are not a cream to powder formula, but I did not find them sticky or overly 'dewy'.

The eyeshadow duo, Peach and Chocolate, are smooth and blendable.  Peach makes for a nice all over shade and Chocolate has a lovely golden shimmer to it without going metallic.  These are soft colors, but that doesn't mean they suffer from a lack of pigmentation.  Think "natural" looking.

The lipgloss Cherish provides a peachy coral tint to the lip and I found it comfortable and mildly hydrating with shea butter, jojoba seed oil, pomegranate seed oil, castor seed oil, and vitamins e and c.

Overall, I'm impressed with the quality of Jouer's makeup and can see investing in some more at some point.  Since you can mix and match each modular component, there are really multiple ways to configure a palette for whatever your need may be.  I personally find all four parts together to be a bit bulky and would just through the gloss in my purse, but that's the beauty of being able to customize as you see fit:-)

Here are some of the looks I did with the Blushing Beauty Collection.

Chocolate and Peach over Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Candlelight

Jouer Blushing Beauty Collection Preview

Jouer's Blushing Beauty Collection features four separate items that can be connected together to create a palette.  In fact, all of Jouer's items are modular in that you can use them separately or combine different pieces together for your own customized palette.  Tres cool, eh?  But more on that later.  This Blushing Beauty Collection features:

• Powder duo in Translucent and Matte Honey

•  Cream blush and highlighter in Whisper/Feather

•  Powder eyeshadows in Peach/Chocolat

•  Lip gloss in Cherish

The set retails for $58 on jouercosmetics.com and has a value of $88, but I ordered mine from Gilt (now sold out) for $49 right before Christmas.  Gilt does have an "add to waitlist" option on the page for Blushing Beauty, so I'm not sure if that means more will be coming in or not.  All of the items arrived is this soft little pouch.

I'm not completely sold on the modular aspect, but that's partially because I don't carry my makeup around with me so separate pieces work just fine in my world.  All four pieces connected together can get a little bulky, but they connect together solidly and I do like the customizable aspect.   I'll have swatches and reviews of each item for you tomorrow.

In the meantime, Kate Beckinsole wore several of the Blushing Beauty Collection pieces at the Golden Globes Sunday evening - including Chocolate eyeshadow, Whisper cheek tint, and Cherish lip gloss. She looks lovely, per usual!

stila Color Me Pretty Lip & Cheek Palette

 Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I've been on a bit of a cream blush kick lately, so when I saw this palette of 5 convertible creams from stila, I decided I needed it.   Okay, needed is not quite right, as I'll never need another makeup item for the rest of my life.  But you get the idea.

These are housed in a tin that takes up a little more space than I prefer, and another downside for me is that the names of the creams are only on the outside wrapper.  Beyond that, I've got no complaints :-) 

The colors are easy to blend and I don't find that they mess up my foundation in the process.  With the exception of Rose, the colors are more on the subtle side, providing a nice flush of color.  So, no clown cheeks :-)  Kitten makes for a good cream highlighter, and all of these can be used on your lips as well.  Versatile!

I've got oily skin and find that these work fine on me.  There is a slight tack to them initially, but I don't notice it once I've applied.  Wear time is pretty good, and I can still see color 7-8 hours in.  My makeup starts to degrade by then due to the oiliness of my skin, but I wouldn't let a cream blush scare you if you have oily skin.  I always set with a finishing powder and the combo wears quite well.

Wearing Gerbera

The Color Me Pretty palette is $28 and is one of the limited edition stila 2013 holiday offerings.  If you are fan of their convertible creams and don't have these colors already, I think it's a good deal!  A regular size convertible cream is 4.25 g and goes for $25, and you are getting over twice that amount at 9 g for $28, plus the variety of colors.  This pleases the bargain hunter in me :-)