MAC Party Line cremesheen lipstick review

Fall season, noir lips, hot chai and chocolate truffles. That would be my idea of holidays in Parisian land. Dabbling with the dark lip trend for 2013, I got Party Line lipstick through Back to MAC. To choose a lipstick is confusing as I wish to get a new color, good finish and long lasting. I thought of getting either a pink or maroon or some dark shade. Party Line looked good on my skin tone and I liked the berry hints in it. MAC describes it as red toned plum on website, however the red is lost on my warm complexion.

Party Line is from deep red family of MAC cremesheen range. I would say the color is burgundy mixed with red and brown. The lipstick is very glossy when applied, covers with opaque color and hydrating. The shade is vampy and appears deep wine at night. Its a proper wine color in  my opinion. I have completely fallen for Party Line this season. Its bold, its deep and its warm, the perfect combination for cooler months. I would take the liberty to say that the color can look flattering across all skin tones, only the intensity would differ. Also with the right amount of maroon in it, this could be the elegant color to wear in weddings all year round for our Indian beauties.

However, Party Line is not a young and fun color, its mature and safe. I do feel that Chanel makes the best dark lipsticks but MAC has churned out this beautiful shade. Party Line could be a cross between Chanel Rivoli and Rouge Noir, here is a Cafemakeup blog swatch to compare.

Recommendation - Pair it with translucent skin, elongated lower lash line set with black kohl and loadsa mascara. Party Line works true magic at night.

Trending Cloud Wash and Tie & Dye Denim

Come summer, come comfort. Denim is among the top fashion synonyms for comfort. It may not be a favorite among the highest echelons of fashion but has support in the masses, left wing (pop culture) and stylistas. The obsession over vintage looking denim with starry feel continues with celebrities embracing distressed and grunge denims.

(1.  7 For All Mankind 2. Forever 21 3. Danielle Scutt 4. Juicy Couture)

Cloud wash denims have been around and pop stars have been sporting them forever. Cloud wash gives an impression of cloud break on denim, in form of white patches. Think an explosion of cloud on your denim. Tie & Dye denim are everywhere this season, catered by many niche and mass market brands. Owing to the graphic print and op art trend on runways, tie & dye has caught up big.
Happily spotted on Rihanna, Jessica Alba and Gwen Stefani.

(left to right: Rihanna in Current/Elliott 1968 Destroyed Jeans, Georgia May Jagger in H&M RocknRoll, Jessica Alba in  Earnest Sewn Green TieDye Jeans)

(Rihanna in JBrand TieDye Jeans, Gwen Stefani in Current/Elliott Dark Cloud Wash Jeans)

The key to dress up this denim is to keep the rest of look basic, go solid or black-white on upper body color and add metal to your accessories. From the regular blue jean and indigo, these washes are also available in pastels, black and ink. Scourge the fashion retailers like ZARA and H&M; also one can splurge on the connoisseur of these washes - Current/Elliott, JBrand, 7 For All Mankind, Black Orchid.

A cloud wash / tie & dye jeans can be teamed up with solid color shirt or tee. this style is worn best with white tees but to take a cue, see the dominating color in the jeans. If white is showing majorly then a long sleeveless white shirt would go well. If blue, black or other color is dominating then pair it up with black / grey tees. The rule is to keep the pairing color solid, a bit of fringe or peek-a-boo adds up to the style.

For outerwear, like a vest or jacket, cloud wash / tie & dye can be layered upon feminine dress, subtle print like polka dots, soft almost powdery colors and thin fabrics comprising cotton / silk chiffon. The theme is white clouds, which sometimes appear like powder and cotton balls.

(1. Bella Dahl Pocket Button Down in Cloud Wash 2. Onano77 3. Scotch & Soda) 

(1. Isabel Marant Embellished TieDye Jacket 2. Current/Elliott Cloud Wash Destroy 'JJ' Denim Jacket)

For accessories, embrace gold finish and leather bracelets. Studded textures team well with these denims and since denim fabric is all about comfort, go for sneakers or flat sandals for footwear. Keeping the rest of look almost monochrome, you can opt for a juicy color flat.

Recommendation - Look for skinny and tapered fit jeans, a bit of stretch will do good and bring out the wash.

images courtesy - denimology.com, denimblog.com, asos.com, zara.com, chictopia, hm.com,harpersbazaar,onano77.com

Chanel Rouge Allure Emotive #68 review

With the launch of Bobbi Brown's Spring 2013 Lilac Rose collection, I am sharing a review inspired by the purple hues of the season.

Chanel #68 Emotive is a berry toned lipstick from their Rouge Allure Luminous Satin Lip Colour range. The last season, I was very much attracted to all the berry, wine and oxblood colors of fashion and beauty launches. Plus I always wished to buy a Chanel lipstick. So after trying few deep reds I decided upon Chanel Emotive.

Price - INR 2,000
Quantity - 3.5 gm

(in natural light)

(in artificial light)

The color is a deep raspberry with touch of burgundy. On a light application, it appears deep pink, but it needs a heavy hand to come as beautiful berry tone. Instead of a proper wine shade I chose this, due to the ease of wearing it any time of the day and season. Emotive is a very transitional color, appearing as deep fuchsia in sunny days and burgundy toned in evenings. The color is suitable for all skin tones.

In above photo, the lip color worn by  Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl season 2 episode 22) is very similar to Emotive. The color goes nicely with her fuchsia outfit with cherry prints and deep red on her nails.

Rouge Allure Luminous Satin range is moisturizing, light on lips and wear time is 4-5 hours.However, it is very expensive compared to the fact that other high end brands like Shiseido gives 4gm in Perfect Rouge and YSL Rouge Pur Couture is 3.8 gm, plus the wear time is longer. Chanel packaging is really attractive with black and gold casing and a impressive inside push-click technology. The colors appear a little sheer and less glossy.

Recommendation - Pair this shade with clear gloss for easy but fresh daytime look and for evening apply it over a plum/wine lip pencil like MAC Beet.