Chanel Deauville Rouge Coco Shine 67

Another week, another Chanel Rouge Coco Shine to love.

This one is #67, Deaville, which is a decidedly brown-based pink. It's not as summery as some other colors in the range like Fetiche or Monte Carlo, but very wearable all year around. Deauville is a very neutral color and lets just enough of my natural lip color through, like all the other Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks I have, so the result is a twist on the "my lips but better idea", only with a shine and elegant color.

It's a good question why Chanel's marketing focused on the most fleeting aspect of these lipsticks, the glossy finish that fades within an hour. After all, their main strength is leaving a long-lasting but subtle stain that doesn't need any touch ups for the better part of the day other than topping it with a gloss. I love Deauville paired with YSL Glden Gloss in Praline, Burberry Sepia or Hourglass Eden. The low-key color is great as it is, and especially on days I go all out on the eye front (aka green eye shadow days). I'm having a hard time thinking about a complexion that would clash with this color, but I'm sure it's out there. The rest of us can consider it a favorite.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks ($32) are available at the counters and on Chanel.com.

All photos are mine.

Burberry 206 Blueberry Lip Mist Sheer Lipstick

I'm not ready yet to do a comprehensive summary of this season's sheer lipstick trend, and definitely not going to pick a favorite just yet (basically, I like them all for different reasons). But I have a feeling that if I ever get to that point, Burberry Lip Mist sheer lipsticks are going to be pretty high there. I still need a day or so with no. 205, Rosy Red, so more on that tomorrow, but I can tell you that Blueberry, no. 206, is a winner.

Blueberry is probably not the best name for this Burberry lipstick, because it's almost exactly the color of red grapes. On my arm it leans brown, but since my lips are naturally a very dark rose, a lot of it comes through and the result is an easy to wear, daytime and office-friendly plummish color. It's pretty, goes with just about everything (though I admit I haven't worn it with an orange dress and I'm not likely to do it) and is simply a great lipstick.

The texture is different than any of the other ones I've collected so far (Laura Mercier, Dior, Chanel and I'm probably forgetting a few). Burberry Lip Mist has a very low-key glossy finish and it applies like a regular lipstick (vs. the gel-like texture of Laura Mercier). The lasting time is less than Burberry's regular lipsticks but better than most glosses. The main difference between Burberry Mist and Chanel Rouge Coco Shine is that Chanel dark colors leave a very long lasting stain on the lips while the shine is quick to disappear. Burberry Lip Mist has a lot more pigment on application, but it goes away almost completely after the first cup of tea or gradually wears off in about two hours. The level of coverage and pigmentation can be built- there's a distinct difference between one coat and two. I prefer not to do more than two- If I want lots of coverage I'd rather use a hard core lipstick.

Before I forget- those who object to the scent of Burberry regular lipsticks would probably want to stay away from the Mists as well. They smell the same: perfumy and makeup (which I kind of like, and find that it disappears quickly after application).

Bottom Line: As nice as it looks.

Burberry Lip Mist Sheer Lipsticks ($30) are a Nordstrom exclusive, online and in select locations.

All photos are mine.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine 59 Elise

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Elise (no. 59) is a cheerful berry color, a sheer raspberry with medium level shimmer. It's a touch lighter and more pink than Unique and Bonheur, but still adds quite a bit of color to my lips. It's even more visible once the shiny finish fades, so I can pair Elise with just about any medium plum gloss or even a clear one.

For some reason I find Elise to be a bit more dry than the other Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks I have. It means I have to make sure my lips are nicely prepped before applying it in the morning and use a hydrating gloss on top later. I'm not sure what causes the difference between this one and other shades (I hear Elise is not the only one), but my guess is its the pigmented base as the shine looks and feels the same in all the RCSs.

The rouge Coco Shine series is a great choice for summer. It's good for a quick application on the go  and doesn't require a liner. The dark colors have a long-lasting pigmented base that stays on for several hours and survive a drink or a snack. I know it's not the case with all shades and the light ones did nothing for me, but I only picked plum, berry and red colors and have been wearing them constantly.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks are available from most department stores and chanel.com.

All photos are mine,  lovely assistant is Buffy.

Burberry Lip Mist Sheer Lipstick- Sneak Peek

Here's a quick sneak peek of the new Burberry Lip Mist Sheer Lipsticks: Rosy Red and Blueberry (there are seven more shades, significantly lighter). There'll be a proper review with more photos once I give them a thorough testing, but so far I can say this trendy addition to Burberry's lipstick line looks very promising, with reasonable staying power and a buildable coverage/pigment.

Burberry Lip Mist Sheer Lipstick ($30 each) are a Nordstrom exclusive.

Both photos are mine.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine 51 Unique

We're half way through my top picks from Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks. To those just joining us: my lips are somewhat darker than average so my preference, even for sheer lipstick formulas, is shades that pack some punch and actually show up on me. Chanel Rouge Coco Shine have a unique quality of losing their Shine pretty quickly but leaving a pretty and tenacious stain on the lips.

Unique, No. 51, is a decidedly pigmented color, pink berry or red plum or whatever you wish to call it. Unique has a warmer, more golden sheen than some of the other Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks, hence the changing undertones you see in the photos taken in various lighting conditions.

I enjoy wearing Unique with just about any makeup look. Plums are my natural pick for lip color as they work with my coloring very well. It's a shade that perks up a tired face and it goes with an evening look just as well as it works during the day. Once the shiny finish fades I've topping Unique with many lip glosses- from Chanel Glossimer in Myriade to  YSL Golden Gloss in Plum something-or-other and LMdB Bali for a very bold evening look.

Bottom Line: as pretty as they come.

Chanel Rouge Coco S hine 51 Unique ($32) can be found at most department stores as well as chanel.com.

All photos are mine.

Dior Addict Androgyne 626 Lipstick

We're taking a break from Chanel Rouge Coco Shine for another new sheer lipstick range, the newly reformulated and repackaged Dior Addict. Easy summer lipsticks are all the rage these days, and I like this trend for daytime because it allows me to touch-up without fussing, toss a couple of the new lipsticks in every purse and not think to much about color coordinating, since the sheer formulas are quite forgiving.

Dior Addict The Next Generation is more moisturizing than Chanel RCS, a little less glossy but maintains its finish longer. I find that they do not leave much pigment behind, though, so reapplying is necessary after the first cup of tea.

Androgyne 626 is a natural my lips but a bit redder shade. It's a neutral color, at least on my lips and goes with just about everything and anything else I wear. I've had it for about six weeks now and have already made a serious dent in it, so obviously it's a big success for me.

The one annoying thing about Dior is the way they spread their exclusive shades among different stores. You can't always get all the colors you want at one place. Several Dior Addict lipsticks are Sephora exclusive, others are Saks or Nordstrom only. Androgyne, for example seems to be available anywhere other than Sephora. Go figure.

Dior Addict Androgyne 626 Lipstick ($28) is available from Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and Dillard. I received this shade for consideration directly from Dior, together with two others that I will give away next week (stay tuned for that and follow me on Twitter for additional details). I also bought a couple of other shades that I will review with photos and swatches.

All photos are mine.

Chanel Fetiche Rouge Coco Shine

Fetiche. Seriously. I don't know who in Chanel is responsible for naming their products, but there's nothing fetishistic about Rouge Coco Shine lipstick in Fetiche (52). It's medium almost-mauve pink that I wear as a my lips but better color on days I'm indulging in more prominent eye makeup and would look equally wearable and nice on just about everyone (though the intensity would change, of course, according to your skin tone and level of natural lip pigmentation). On me it's a very simple and uncomplicated color.

Like the rest of the Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks I've tried (no idea how the really light colors behave), the shine disappears quickly but the actual color stain is nicely long-wearing. Once the finish wears off I top the lipstick with lip gloss, because I don't need to reapply the color for several more hours. Good matches for Fetiche are Chanel Glossimer in Summer Plum or Wild Rose (depending on the undertones I want to bring out), or even Smashbox Limitless gloss in Endless. I've also been experimenting by mixing some gloss and Chanel Coco rouge Shine on the back of my hand and applying with a brush. It makes for a very polished look that's also long-lasting.

Bottom Line: Summer love.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipstick ($32) is available from department store Chanel counters as well as chanel.com.

All photos are mine.

Chanel Monte Carlo Rouge Coco Shine

What's behind the hype (and some of the subsequent disappointment reports) of Chanel's newest lipstick formula, Rouge Coco Shine?

Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks are interesting little things. I got a few in the most saturated/darkest shades and I like them. They're a sort of hybrid product, but not quite what I expected- they're not a balmy lipstick, despite the high shine finish they have when first applied. It's more like a high quality lip tint with a glossy top coat. Despite what one would expect from a product named "Shine", this glossy finish fades quite quickly and the main strength of these Chanel lipsticks is in the stain that's left behind and stays on for several hours (at least in the six dark colors I have).

Monte Carlo is a summery bright very warm (bordering on orange-red) pink. I would never wear this color in an opaque formula, but since Rouge Coco Shines are sheer, I have more wiggle room with the shades- my natural color neutralizes the orange and I get a lovely, happy color that cheers me up. As I said, the shiny gloss finish fades, but the color itself stays behind even after my second cup of tea, and still coats the lips very evenly- a great surprise. Monte Carlo is the perfect partner for Chanel Summer 2011 Glossimer in Pensee- they're quite similar in color, so since I don't need to reapply the lipstick for pigment (you can, and it's buildable), I simply add the gloss as needed or desired.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine ($32) is available from most decent department stores and chanel.com.

All photos were taken by me with Sophie's help.

Julie Hewett Ronnie Bijou Sheer Lipstick

I usually stay far far away from peachy colored lipsticks. They clash with my skin and they look awful on my darker-than-average lips. I can admire the look on others, of course, but makeup is supposed to make me look and feel pretty, not like a trend slave, so I avoid.  Which is why the potted sample of Julie Hewett Bijou lipstick in Ronnie has been sitting in a drawer untouched since many moons ago when I photographed and swatched it. I love Julie Hewett's lipsticks and have bought several over the last few years, but Ronnie, a golden rose peach never seemed like my thing.

Hewett's Bijou series is sheer and goes on the nude side. They're of medium pigmentation level, so in my case the less attractive side of peach (i.e. orange) is toned down by allowing my natural color to come through. The surprise is that when layering to build up the color it is still a very beautiful and natural color. It looks like a warm rose on my lips, which is quite different and a lot more wearable for me than the swatch has led me to believe. The secret is the combination of the wonderful formula (it's balmy and has quite a bit of slip) and the specific pigment in Ronnie.

Bottom Line: A perfect spring/summer color, even for me.

Julie Hewett's Bijou lipsticks ($20) actually come in a regular bullet tube and look like regular lipsticks. The generous size potted sample was a GWP. The lipsticks are available from MioMia (shopmiomia.com). To find Ronnie on juliehewett.net you need to search it by name, as for some reason the color doesn't appear with the rest of of the Bijou collection though it seems to be in stock.

Photos by me.

Le Metier de Beaute China Beach Lipstick

I don't know about you, but I'm in a dire need of some serious color right now. Enter Le Metier de Beaute Colour Core Moisture Stain lipstick in China Beach. It's a big bold red with a serious vintage vibe- something between Joan Holloway and an art deco red glazed enamel.

China Beach is one of the warmest reds in my personal collection and I wasn't even sure at first that I could wear it. But I can and do. This Le Metier de Beaute lipstick doesn't have any orange in it, just true red. Take note that the swatches on Nordstrom's website aren't even in the ballpark and don't get me started on Neiman Marcus. what's the point of the new design if they didn't improve the actual browsing and shopping experience? In any case, this is what the beautiful lipstick looks like in reality and different lights.

Like all Le Metier de Beaute Colour Core lipsticks, China Beach is soft, creamy and wears beautifully for hours. Touch-ups are needed to maintain the satiny finish, but there's a significant stain left even after a snack. The lipstick never makes my lips feel dry; it's actually quite moisturizing and feels as luxurious as it looks.

Le Metier de Beaute Colour Core Moisture Stain lipsticks ($32) are available from Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and also online from nordstrom.com.

All photos are mine.

Le Metier de Beaute Palm Beach Colour Core Lipstick

Palm Beach, one of the Colour Core lipsticks from Le Metier de Beaute is an easy to wear, go-to daytime red. It's not a simple shade- Palm Beach has both brown and rose undertones. On my arm it appears to be on the warm side, but since it's not-quite a full coverage lipstick (compare to the swatch of another Le Metier lipstick, China Beach that I'll review soon), some of my natural lip color shows through and the result is very balanced (though still a warmish red).

The full name of Le Metier de Beaute's line of lipsticks is "Color Core Moisture Stain". You get it when you wear them- they offer serious pigments that give the lips a long lasting stain, but are also very moisturizing (ingredients include lanolin, jojoba oil and shea butter). The result is soft lips that wear the colors very well. The finish is satiny with medium level of shine. The color doesn't transfer to my tea cup and survives as a stain after a snack, but you do need to touch up to maintain the finish and enhance the shade.

Bottom Line: One of many Le Metier loves.

Le Metier de Beaute Palm Beach Colour Core Lipstick ($32) is available from Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and also online from nordstrom.com.

Photos by Sophie and me.