My Latest Beauty Purchase...

...is a hot new product by cult beauty brand Benefit Cosmetics, Fine-One-One Sheer Brightening Color for Cheeks and Lips.

Spotted at Matthew Williamson and hailed as "a new make-up bag must" by Glamour UK magazine, Fine-One-One, according to the Benefit website, "gives your look instant LIFT, SHAPE and POP".

So, what is it, basically?

It is a compact, light-weight stick which can be swept onto cheeks and lips for a dewy finish.

The metallic rose gold packaging is absolutely gorgeous and, admittedly, what prompted me to give this product a go and buy it on my last trip to Sephora.

Once you lift the lid, you'll find inside a retractable three-colour stick. Left to right in the picture, the shades are Soft Coral, Sheer Watermelon and Pink Champagne.

I have to admit I wasn't utterly impressed with the colours. I'm more used to powder blushes, which of course last way longer than this, and I found the colours in this one are all rather sheer. 

Pink Champagne, the lighter of the three, has a lovely golden shimmer which you can just see in the photo above, but more or less disappears on my skin-tone. 

Soft Coral, on the other hand, is much more vibrant than anything I'm remotely used to wearing. 

This leaves with Sheer Watermelon, which is very pretty, but again, rather too...watermelon-y!

Note my thumb nail painted in the new Chanel Emprise (two coats) + Dior Nail Glow (1 coat)

All in all, a brilliant product for carrying around in your make-up bag during the day, won't lug you down and allows you to minimize the number of products you need to take with you (as this could, theoretically, double up for lips as well, but again the colours are rather transparent, and anyway you'd need a lipgloss on top to make them pop, in my opinion).

On the other hand, you must be sure that the colours work for you, as the downside is that it's really eye-wateringly expensive for what it is (8.0 grams, or 0.28 ounces, of product, really!), retailing at €32/£23.50/$30.

I think I'll stick to my beloved Benefit Benetint for the time being!

My Collection of Chanel Nail Polishes

OK. I know this means I may be a bit...vapid.

And it's also a sure sign I probably haven't got anything worthy to occupy my time with, but today I decided to give in to a whim and line up and colour-coordinate my complete collection of Chanel nail polishes...and it turned out I own a respectable 21!!

Which also, incidentally, means that I have spent upwards of...erm...€200 on my collection over the years...
But let's not dwell and that and just have a closer look at these little beauties...

Left to right:

#559 Frenzy
#525 Quartz

#505 Particulière

#509 Paradoxal

#210 Lilac Sky

#569 Emprise

#543 Frisson

#445 Rose Gloss

#535 May

#165 Organdy

#339 Cassis

#000 Provocation

#573 Accessoire 

#533 April

#487 Rouge Fatal

#637 Malice

#018 Rouge Noir

#607 Delight

#531 Péridot

#529 Graphite

#527 Nouvelle Vague

I'm actually rather proud of them all, as some of them have become quite rare over the years, so much so that I'm considering selling a few on Ebay...to make room for more, of course! My bathroom cabinet is filling up quickly! 

I've set my sights in particular on the gorgeous Chanel Sky Line, which was released as a limited edition for summer 2012. I missed it when it first came out (somehow I thought it might not suit me, as I rarely wear blue on my nails), but it's now firmly on my must-buy list.

In fact, I cannot get my head round why I didn't just buy it in the first place!
It reminds me of Frenzy, just more blue, of course, more pearly, more...really!

Dior Chérie Bow Make Up Collection for Spring 2013

Dior came up with a fantastically elegant make-up collection for Spring 2013, endearingly named Chérie Bow.

The bow, apparently, "was Christian Dior favourite final touch, a timeless and emblematic code of the House of Dior", from which the current make-up collection draws inspiration to come up with a veritably girly treasure trove of delicate pastel pinks and powdery greys, that instantly made me think of a pile of pastel-coloured macarons and queen Marie Antoinette (one of the nail polishes is, in fact, named "Gris Trianon").

Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette in the eponymous 2006 movie, directed by Sofia Coppola. 

The collection is almost unbearably cute, featuring an exciting, brand-new make-up innovation, the "Twin Set", or "the new eye-shadow pen", as it is presented on the Dior website, where it is additionally described as a double-ended pen, with a super soft pencil at one end and a foam blender impregnated with shimmery powder in the same nuance as the pencil at the other end. A bit pricey at £24.50, but I'm definitely saving up for one of these!!

"Twin Set" in (L-R) Fishnet Black, Grey Sigh (pictured both ends), Ballerina Pink and Beige Ribbon. 

Then there are two new 5 Couleurs eye palettes, decorated with a hounds-tooth check motive which was a particular favourite of M. Dior himself.

5 Couleurs Chérie Bow in (L-R) Ballerina Pink and Charming Pink

There are of course heaps of other products (four new shades of Dior Addict lipstick, two blushes, a gorgeous fuchsia lip glow and more...), but as I have a particularly soft spot for nail polishes...well, I'm going to drool over those for a while!

There are three new shades of Dior Vernis and a new shade of Nail Glow in the collection, each more lust-worthy than the other, in my opinion!

Dior Vernis in (L-R) Rosy Bow, Tutu and Trianon Grey and Nail Glow Chérie Bow Edition

#355 Rosy Bow is "a bright, radiant pink with a hint of coral";

#155 Tutu is "a pale pink imbued with softness";

#Trianon Grey is "a tender and delicate grey";

while Nail Glow is "a treatment nail varnish that makes pink pinker, and brightens nail tips for an instant French manicure look" (all quotes from the Dior website).

With Tutu it was love at first sight, and I just had to get it and the Nail Glow.

Currently I'm wearing one of my latest purchases, Chanel Emprise, but this afternoon I'm planning to take it off and paint a new mani in lovely Tutu. Or perhaps just paint a coat of Nail Glow on top of Emprise, just to see what it looks like! Oh, I'm excited already!!

Maybe I should have got two bottles of each, just to be on the safe side...

The (Second) Inauguration of President Obama

Capitol Hill decked out in an abundance of US flags for the Inauguration ceremony, 21st January 2013

For once, I'm in love with the Obama ladies choice of clothing for the swearing-in. Splendid in purple!!

The President and Mrs. Obama take to the dancing floor at the Inauguration ball. The First Lady is wearing a red evening dress by designer Jason Wu, whose one-shoulder white gown turned heads at the previous inaugural ceremony in 2009.

All images from the Daily Mail.

Snow, Snow, Snow!!!

Images of snow from around the UK, which is currently gripped by an exceptional freeze:

The Blues and Royals, Household Cavalry changing the guard at House Guards Parade in London



The Hotwells and Clifton area of Bristol looks idyllic today (Jan 19th) after heavy snow covered much of the area yesterday (Jan 18th)

Chanel Spring 2013 Printemps Precieux Make-Up Collection

Photo from the Chanel website

The new make-up collection for spring 2013 by Chanel is "inspired by Gabrielle Chanel’s codes of simplicity and sophistication".

Oh, OK, I'll admit to a particular weakness for Chanel make-up.
No. Actually, I'll re-phrase that: I'll admit to a particular weakness for Chanel nail polishes!!

They're, in fact, my absolute, all-time favourite item of make-up. You just cannot beat the feel good, pick-me-up factor of going a shop and coming out with a beautiful tiny black and white Chanel carrier bag (bearing in mind that monochrome is going to be a HUGE trend for s/s, as well!), filled with exquisite make-up goodies, beautifully packaged in the label's signature black and gold boxes.

And no, I'm not being paid by Chanel to write this, unfortunately...

But having said that, it must also be considered that a bottle of Chanel nail polish will set you back, here in Italy where I live, €22, which is about £18.50 at the current exchange rates.
Way less expensive than, say, a designer lipstick and just about an affordable treat on my student-cum-trainee lawyer budget!

So, let's start on the nail polishes without further ado!
There are three in the collection:

Photo from the Chanel website

#569 Emprise, which is a creamy salmon pink with a hint of a pearly glow;

#571 Fracas, which is a lovely rich watermelon shade, perfect for the warmer months, and finally

#573 Accessoire, a dark plum/brick red combination, which is actually very close to Chanel Provocation, except that the latter veers decidedly towards plum undertones, whereas the former has a richer red shade.

Photo from the Chanel website

Both Emprise and Fracas are limited editions.

I got first Emprise, whom I fell instantly in love, love, love with!

Then I bought Accessoire as well, and I must say I'm perfectly please with both.

I was tempted by Fracas, as well, but it seemed somewhat too "spring-summer" for now, just a bit too garish for this bleak midwinter we're going through.

But, who knows? Next week I might just go and buy myself a bottle.

It's a limited edition, after all...I seems churlish to run the risk of having to do without :)

Stay tuned for more nail polish posts coming up! xx

The Duchess Dictionary

A

• Anmer Hall;
• Asprey;

B

• Berkshire;

C

• Coat of arms;

D

• Daffodil;

E

F

G

H

I

J

• Jigsaw;

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

• Robinson Pelham;

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z