Holiday 2015 – Bubbly Michelle

Tom Ford Noir Colour Collection – Preview & Swatches

November 6, 2015November 10, 2015by Bubbly Michelle3 Comments

This Christmas, Tom Ford comes out with a limited edition collection inspired by his newest fragrance release, Noir Pour Femme.

Packaged in glossy black, with hints of art deco style detailing, it’s the perfect extravagant indulgence we needed this Christmas!

The Noir collection consists of,

Night Sky Cream & Powder Eye Colour

Lash Tips Mascara (2 shades, Pure Cobalt & Burnished Gold)

Waterproof Extreme Mascara in Noir

Eye Defining Pencil in Navy Black

Matte Lipstick in First Time

Nail Lacquer in Blackout

Starting off with the star of the show, here’s a look at Night Sky. A dazzling combo of rich navy blue cream shadow paired with a glitter infused powder shadow.

I found the overall formula of the cream slightly different to those of the past. A lot more translucent in nature and prone to sheering out. The best way to apply this was to layer on bit by bit, building up the colour. As always I used my fingers, switching to a fluffy blending brush just to smooth out the edges.

To deepen the base of the cream shadow, this micro glitter infused powder shadow is the perfect pairing. Although swatches seem slightly dry, this went on like a dream with hardly any fallout.

I love how the glitter catches the light and sparkle in flashes of turquoise and pink. Absolutely STUNNING!

Overall this duo wears well without creasing or any fallout. However the cream shadow worn alone didn’t hold up longer than 2-3 hours. The slippery base melts and slides off causing noticeable creasing, be sure to set it with the powder!

L-R : Night Sky cream shadow and powder layered, Night Sky cream shadow, Night Sky powder shadow, Navy Black eyeliner, First Time lipstick

Moving on to the matte lipstick First Time.

A gorgeous, wearable ‘nude’ lipstick with a hint of peach.

Unlike the swatches, this pulls more pink on the lips. It’s a match made in heaven for your blue smokey eye!

The colour goes on opaque as you’d expect and is mildly drying on the lips (noticeably more drying in comparison to the TF matte lipsticks from the permanent line). If you are prone to chapped, dehydrated lips maybe give this a miss. Or! You could prep with a balm before application so you enjoy the colour without sacrificing comfort.

Next up, the gorgeous Eye Definer Pencil Navy Black! The first thing to catch my eye when the promo images came out.

It’s a stunner!

As seen above (and in swatches) this limited edition pencil comes infused with micro glitter. Very festive and a nice finishing touch to a neutral eye look. (I didn’t pair this with the Cream & Powder eye duo, sticking to a black liner instead)

The regular liners by Tom Ford are my go-to’s. They are perfect for smudging close to the lashes for definition and wear all day once set with powder. They don’t do well on the waterline though so I tend to use these exclusively on the upper lash line or just the outer corner of the lower lash line, ALWAYS setting with a powder.

Next up, mascaras.

Pure Cobalt and Burnished Gold are two new additions to the Tom Ford portfolio. Designed to be worn just on the tips of the lashes for a hint of colour, these are add a fun flirty element to liven up your holiday makeup.

The wands are much smaller in comparison to the regular TF wands and are perfect for precision application.

Swatches!

*P.S – Pure Cobalt looks less vibrant when worn on the lashes, providing only a hint of navy blue.

Also new, the Tom Ford Extreme Mascara that now comes in a waterproof version. I noticed no flaking or smudging when worn (even after an unplanned nap!) making this my new favourite mascara for the season! The extra fat wand bulks up the lashes with ease and also holds curl well. On the flip side…. a bigger wand means slightly tricky application, specially so if you have shorter lashes.

Recommendations!

Other than minor blending issues, the star buy in my opinion is the Cream & Powder Eye Colour Night Sky. I love how sexy this looks on the eyes with deep smokiness and that unexpected twinkle of glitter. Plus I feel this was the best value for money!

If a bold audacious eye isn’t for you, the lipstick First Time will make a beautiful addition to your lipstick collection. With the added perk of limited edition TF packaging. Something we always get suckered into 😉

Collection info & Pricing

Tom Ford Noir collection is set to launch 15th Nov at the Tangs Orchard beauty counter.

Cream & Powder Eye Colour – SGD 94

Lash Tips Mascara – SGD 75

Waterproof Extreme Mascara – SGD 65

Eye Definer Pencil – SGD 52

Lip Colour – SGD 80

Nail lacquer – SGD 52

Makeup

Bobbi Brown Holiday 2015 Preview : Collection Photos & Swatches

November 1, 2015November 1, 2015by Bubbly Michelle4 Comments

Bobbi is back with her annual holiday collection and it’s a cool edit of delicious neutrals studded with shimmering jewel tones. Inspired by her recent trip to South Africa, this years collection is perfectly curated for any occasion the season throws at you. Be it a softly smoked eye or a bright pout. Bobbi’s got you covered!

There are two major lines within the holiday collection. Firstly the Sterling Nights colour collection which includes her seasonal mix of products and the gifting collection consisting of palettes and value kits which are excellent for.. well, gift giving.

I’ll take you through both, with a bunch of swatches and also a list of products I believed were the best of the bunch! So sit tight, take notes, and most of all, enjoy the delicious photos!

Starting off with the iconic Bobbi Shimmer Brick. This season we have a gorgeous pink version up for grabs!

It’s a mix of pink and rose gold strips (oh so perfectly on trend!) to deliver that shimmering rosy glow! This swatches very smooth and imparts a healthy dose of pigment. Not for the faint hearted. The formula wasn’t glittery though or chunky, and I liked that it was quite fine. The glow can be controlled depending on the brush you use. You won’t be left with massive glittery bits I promise!

Here’s a swatch.

As you can see, all the colours swirled together creates an almost lilac toned pink halo. Sooo GORGEOUS!

Next up, another favourite. The newish Art Sticks.

For gifting there’s a perfectly curated set of three. With Brown Berry being the new shade.

Personally I love these jumbo lip pencils. They are HIGHLY pigmented and the colours always appear true to colour on the lips.

Also swatching these three glosses one go. Available as a set of three.

Next up! Brush sets!

There are two on offer. The Mini Brush Set perfect for your makeup bag and the Travel Brush Set which contains full sized brushes to take with you on vacation. Both come packaged in a silver leather case and a metal clasp opening. Very well made and such a luxurious gift to own.

Moving on to palettes, there’s quite a number to choose from ranging from SGD 64 – SGD 126. So you have something for every budget. Unfortunately I didn’t swatch them all. But I did get swatches of the largest one, the Deluxe Cheek & Eye Palette.

I must admit, most eyeshadows in this particular palette lacked good pigmentation. Only the blushes in my opinion were truly up to par with the regular range. I can’t comment as to how they would apply with a brush, but here’s a look at how they performed swatched.

The shimmer shadows did apply better than the matte shadows which I thought looked rather dry. However an eye primer should help loads with this palette.

And a closer look at these super cute mini sets.

Now moving onto the colour collection consisting of many exciting new products!

I have swatches of almost everything minus the palette seen here. (Do drop by here, for some gorgeous swatches of the eyeshadow palette!)

First up, my favourite. The brand new liquid Face Highlighters.

I’m loving the feel of the packaging. It’s glass and very compact! (probably not ideal for lugging around in your makeup bag though) Plus the clean black with the simple Bobbi Brown logo looks so exquisite.

Here’re swatches.

According to the press release these are meant to be applied directly onto the face (after foundation) or mixed with a moisturiser/foundation for ‘buildable radiance’. The light reflective pearls impart a natural fresh sheen for that dewy, healthy, fresh look.

Also new to the Bobbi Brown portfolio are these baked Sequin eyeshadows. The celestial themed names seem fitting for these magnificent marbled beauties.

They swatched with good pigmentation though seemed slightly dry to the touch. Overall I believe they’ll look even better over a primer and give it better lasting power.

Saving the the best of the colour collection for last. The lipsticks!

I found it soo hard to pick favourites as EVERYTHING swatched with great pay off and was silky smooth.

The unexpected pop of orange came as a sweet surprise and Nude a perfect shade nude with a hint of rose for Fall. You can’t possibly go wrong picking up any one of these to be honest. I highly recommend!

Lastly, before leaving you with the price list for everything seen above, I hope you enjoyed this post and found it a worthwhile read! Do let me know which products caught your eye.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead,

Michelle

Sterling nights collection

Sterling nights eye palette – $125

Sequin eyeshadow – $51

Face Highlighter – $63 (Exclusive to Ion and Tampines BB counters)

Lip Colour – $50

Holiday gifting collection

Deluxe Cheek & Eye Palette – $126

Mini Lip & Eye Palette – $64

Lip Gloss trio – $70

Art Stick trio – $86

Eye Shadow palettes (5 shadows) – $89

Shimmer brick – $74

Mini Brush Set – $168

Travel Brush Set – $288

Availability – At counters today! (1st Nov)

Makeup

MAC Holiday 2015 : Collection News, Photos & Swatches

October 19, 2015October 19, 2015by Bubbly Michelle5 Comments

Back with another holiday preview and this time it’s MAC!

If you’ve been following MAC holiday collections over the years you’ll know it’s usually one mother of a launch; and as always highly hyped and much sought after. At last weeks preview I had the opportunity to run through the new releases and swatch some collections for you. So you are well prepared by the time these launch later this month and won’t miss out on the best deals!

This years holiday collection too will be a staggered release, with the colour collection Magic of the Night launching first, followed by the Enchanted Eve Holiday sets & lastly Irresistibly Charming Holiday mini kits.

Magic of the Night (Launching Oct 22nd Tangs, 30th Islandwide)

In Extra Dimension Skinfinish S$59

Oh, Darling (Metallic gold)

Shaft of Gold (Deep bronze)

Colourdrenched Pigments S$41

Night Thrill (gold shimmer, frost)

Ascent of Glamour (cobalt violet-blue, frost)

Tonight’s the Night (deep blackened teal, frost)

Moon is Blue (royal blue, frost)

No Taboos (blackened blue, frost)

Pearlglide Intense Liner S$35

Petrol Blue

Black Swan

Lipstick S$34

Please Me (muted rosy tinted pink, matte finish)

All Fired Up (bright fuchsia matte, retro matte finish)

Evening Rendezvous (deep reddish purple, matte finish)

Dark Side (deep burgundy, amplified finish)

Lip Pencil S$34

Redd

Nightmoth (blackened plum)

Seen here’s Oh, Darling, Colourdrenched Pigments & lip liners.

Now onto swatches!

Both Oh, Darling & Shaft of Gold swatched smooth with intense payoff making them the star buy of the collection!

*Swatched these with the help of some Mac Fix plus so they show up better. On their own they do tend to be a little sheerer and flakey (especially Night Thrill which had a very smooth flakey consistency).

My picks from the collection were the two new shades, Dark Side and Evening Rendezvous, since I already own Please Me and All Fired Up.

Of the pencils, my favourite was the Pertol Blue Pearlglide eyeliner. It swatched so smooth and silky with intense vivid colour!

Touching on the lip liners, both Nightmoth & Redd are repromotes, both swatching slightly dry.

Next up, a bit of eyecandy as I take you through the holiday sets!

Starting with my favourites, the Mini Patentpolish sets & Lipstick x 3 kits.

Judging from the height, the Mini Patentpolish sticks were around half the size of their regular counterpart. Personally I love minis AND Patentpolishes, therefore this particular set was a must have! It also comes in a Nude option too. (retail price S$65)

The shades included in the Pink set are – Pleasant, Fearless, Patentpink & Kittenish.

The Nude set includes – Revved Up, Innocent, Mojo-Maker & Sultana

The mini lipstick trio was also a handy little number. I LOVED the pink version. It includes the popular MAC pink, Saint Germain also Let’s Rendezvous and Wined + Dined.

This Mini lipstick x 3 is also available in a coral set, which includes – Pure Zen, Coral Bliss & Lady Danger. (both retailing at S$55)

Next up, the Pigments & Glitters!

This years glitter kits come in 3 colour options. Purple, Gold & Blue. Purple of course was my favourite and contained one matte pigment- Rich Purple, two regular pigments Pink Opal and Kitchmas & a Fuchsia glitter. These sets are priced at S$65 each. Ideal for gifting!

Now on to, Face Compacts. There were two, one warm and one cool.

Both contain three eyeshadows, a beauty powder, two lipstick options and a cream colour base.

These will be retailing at S$110 each with my recommendation being the Cool option. Perfectly curated to deliver a smouldering holiday smokey eye!

Lastly, there’re the popular eyeshadow x 6 kits that release every year. This time around we have them in the three colours, Navy, Warm & Mauve. Each retailing at S$90.

Discussed above was merely a portion of the massive gifting collection. I only featured a few that were available for preview! However I hope you found it a useful read and enjoyed the swatches!

Lastly, thank you for stopping by. I wish you all a great week ahead 🙂

Makeup

NARS Steven Klein Preview : Collection Photos & Swatches

October 18, 2015October 31, 2015by Bubbly Michelle15 Comments

Of all new collections i’ve seen so far, my top favourite has to be NARS. It’s just too hard to ignore the gorgeous novelty packaging and great quality products Mr François Nars creates each season.

As always, the colour story is nothing typically festive but just wearable, AUDACIOUS and far from anything we’d anticipate. In a good way 😉

But before we get started here’s a little blurb on this new collaboration!

FRANÇOIS NARS + STEVEN KLEIN

Fashion. Photography. Power. Play.

François Nars and Steven Klein come together with design legend Fabien Baron to create an exquisite fantasy played to extremes.

TWO ICONOCLASTS. ONE FANTASCENE.

“Steven is an iconic fashion photographer. His work defies the rules of photography—it’s arresting and provocative. It pushes boundaries and elicits a reaction. I like that. He perfectly embodies the spirit of NARS.” —François Nars, Founder, Creative Director NARS

“I’ve always had the highest regard for François’ work. He is the pioneer of moving from one of the greatest makeup artists to creating great makeup. It is super exciting for me to collaborate using my photographs and joining them with his cosmetic genius.” —Steven Klein, Photographer

The NARS x Steven Klein collection has two components. The Colour Collection and the Gifting sets.

The Gifting Collection

Visually pleasing and great value for money, this collection has something for everyone. I’m also loving the provocative imagery seen throughout the collection and have noted down several pieces which would make great gifts for my girlfriends which I know they will love!

Starting off with my favourite item, the NARS Killer Heels Mini Lipstick Set.

(Left to right we have, Fire Down Below, Joyous Red, Mayflower, Little Darling and the best seller Jungle Red)

I don’t own many of the NARS regular lipsticks for a comparison on formula, however when swatched the pigmentation and texture noticeably varied between shades.

Little Darling was more on the sheerer side, while Joyous Red and Fire Down Below swatched with better payoff.

Another favourite was the Magnificent Obsession Red Lip Set packaged in a little black chest.

The Velvet matte lipstick and Velvet lip liner swatched so intense and creamy, it was a very happy moment! (this one’s going on my Christmas list!).

*If reds aren’t your thing, there’s also A Woman’s Face Nude Lip Set containing their best seller Dolce Vita in Velvet Matte Lip pencil & lipstick form. The liner included was Patong Beach.

Next up, the One Shocking Moment Cheek Studio Palette. Possibly the largest palette i’ve seen by NARS.

This comes with a contouring duo, bronzer and 4 blush options (2 new shades). It’s one mighty palette!

Everything swatched rather well and definitely something worth investing in if you are on the lookout for new cheek palettes.

P.S- the contour duo Paloma should work great for anyone with a light to medium skintone. Deeper skintones, not so much.

NARS Despair Cheek Palette

Comes with 3 brand new blush shades and a highlighter (existing shade) Nico.

My favourite of the lot was Esoteric. Swatching beautifully, this peachy orange flush was something special! Think, NARS Taj Mahal for fairer skintones.. (less scary too!)

Next up, something for the eyes! The Tearjerker Eye Kit,

This set contains two limited edition kohl liners and an Audacious mascara. Both pencils went on smooooth, like butter!

For all Dual-Intensity eyeshadow fans there’s the Dead of Summer Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette. Truth be told, this was high on my must-haves list. I am a massive fan of the Dual-Intensity formula (blogged here) and this LE palette contains 3 new colours!

Left to right we have, Studly, Stag Film, Subra (existing shade) & Blackmail.

Of the new shades, Stag Film was my absolute favourite. One of those typical neutrals I gravitate to on a daily basis.

The Colour Collection

Killer Shine lipsticks

Besame Mucho – Deep rose-beige

No Shame – Red plum

Redemption – Metallic pink champagne

Killer Shine lip gloss

Provoke – Deep iris purple

Fast Life – Iridescent dusty rose

Special Force – Wild strawberry

Single eyeshadows

Never Too Late – Olive green with gold shimmer

Mortal – Iridescent pearl white

Stud – Soft pewter bronze

Nail Polish

Black Fire – Shimmering slate blue

Hard To Get – Metallic bronze gunmetal

Night Creature – Metallic Iris Purple

Dual-Intensity blush

Vengeful – White-gold highlight, Shimmering brick red

On to swatches!

The Killer Shine Lipsticks were a high gloss formula, swatching smooth with good colour payoff. I found an unlikely favourite, Redemption. Surprisingly silky for it’s shimmery finish.

Besame Mucho & No Shame (both cream finish) performed well too, highly recommend this LE formula for those of you with perpetually dry lips!

I found all three Killer Shine Glosses highly pigmented with vivid colour. If you own NARS Priscilla lipgloss, these were along the same lines.

The clear favourite in this batch was Stud. It swatches so smooth and vibrant, it almost looks metallic! Highly recommend you pick this one up if you are a sucker for neutrals like myself.

Vengeful fills the warm red void in the Dual-Intensity blush range and I love that it performs just as beautiful as it looks! The gold highlight shade is stunning while the warm brick red will help you transition smoothly into the colder season.

First impressions & top picks

The entire collection swatched pretty good and the quality was on par with what is expected of NARS products.

The lipsticks were well pigmented and creamy, the eyeshadows had good payoff (Stud was mind blowing pigmentation and texture wise) , the glosses were incredibly well pigmented and bold and the LE Dual-Intensity blush was incredible!

If I were to pick favourites, i’d recommend the blush Vengeful the star buy. A close second would be the Stud, which had an almost creamy consistency and swatched like a dream!

That concludes my preview of the upcoming gifting and colour collections. I hope you found my hurried swatches useful! I did my best to get as many as I could while I had the chance 🙂

Collection info & Pricing

This collection is set to launch in Singapore Nov 1st. There’ll be some Sephora exclusives (noted below) while the majority of the collection available at Tangs Plaza.

Price list for Singapore

Limited Edition Killer Shine Lipsticks – $40

Limited Edition Killer Shine Gloss – $40

Single Eyeshadow – $40

Nail Polish – $35

Dual-Intensity Blush – $68

Despair Cheek Palette – $120

Dead of Summer Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette – $85

Magnificent Obsession Red Lip Set – $85

A Woman’r Face Nude Lip Set – $85

Tearjerker Eye Set – $55

Humoresque Audacious Lipstick Coffret (5 full sized Audacious lipsticks Raquel, Juliette, Anna, Fanny & Charlotte in a box) – $220 (retailing exclusively at Tangs)

One Shocking Moment Cheek Studio Palette – $120 (retailing exclusively at Sephora)

Killer Heels Mini Lipstick Set – $85 (also a Sephora exclusive!)