(See Alice Review) Poudre Signée de Chanel

There's been plenty of buzz about the new  Spring 2013 Printemps Precieux de Chanel makeup collection and I've read many a review where beauty blogger are raving about the Poudre Signée de Chanel Illuminating Powder. Notably, the lovely and prolific Temptalia, Perilously Pale, and Musings of a Muse. 

I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket and couldn't hold myself back from biting the bullet on this product ($68 USD, not including tax). I'd been looking into an illuminating powder and had narrowed it down to the Poudre Signee de Chanel and the Dior Shimmer Star in Amber Diamond. When I swatched the two next to each other, I noticed that the Shimmer Star was a little closer to my skintone, but overall the effect was very similar. Forgot to take pictures of these two,  swatched next to each other, bad Alice! 

In the end after spending 20 mins pro and conning each purchase... I decided to go with the Chanel:

1. I don't have any Chanel cosmetics and have heard really great things about them
2. I've been trying to buy cosmetics with fewer toxic ingredients. Granted, I'm not a chemist, but I like to read up on these kinds of things. It's nice to take precautions! The Dior has paraben(s?)
3. Have you seen the Chanel packaging? As you can see from my pictures below, it's frickin' unbelievably gorgeous!

How beautiful is that? The powder is pressed into the iconic Chanel interlocking "C", little mini lipsticks, mascara tubes, and CoCo Chanel's favorite flower, the camellia.

The powder itself is very pretty. I prefer highlighter that is slightly shimmery and gives a subtle sheen. Besides, who wants to look like a disco ball? I've swatched the powder below:

It's finely milled and of good quality- plus, it doesn't have parabens! I can use it as an everyday powder and it comes in a little black case with makes it highly portable. I'm not too fond of the price as this was quite a splurge for me or the little spongy brush that comes with it (it's not very good for applying the product and the shimmers from the brush get all over the little, black, velvet case). Overall, I was pleased with the product and am glad to have it in my arsenal!

What do you think? Have you tried the Poudre Signée de Chanel? What beauty purchases have you made this month?

Ta ta for now!

{See Alice Go} Review

I have combination skin where I'm really shiny (That and dry/flaky.) by mid-day. It's gotten noticeably worse in the last few weeks so I decided to look into a powder compact for touch-ups during the day. I wanted the compact to be travel-friendly, durable, good at absorbing oil, and as toxic-free as possible. After looking into reviews of powders from Guerlain, Givenchy, YSL, Dior, Physician's Formula, etc, I stop by my local Sephora and picked up Laura Mercier's Smooth Focus Pressed Setting Powder (I already have a pressed powder that I very much love, Tarte's Smooth Operator, but it only gets me through 8 hours or so of wear).

Without further ado, here are a few pictures:

$32 USD from Sephora.com

Hopefully you can see that the powder itself is a slightly green tint. This helps balance out any redness you might have (Which I do). Here are pictures of the product on my fingers, swatched on the back of my hand, and finally, blended in:

Verdict?

I found that this product does reduce shine. However, as mentioned in a few reviews, it is kind of chalky. I made sure to blend the product out well, otherwise, the chalky white/green powder would be noticeable (Well, to me at least). Unfortunately, the flat sponge doesn't that comes with the compact doesn't do a very good job. If I had to carry a brush with me, it would defeat the purpose of the compact... but do the brushes/sponges/puffs what come with the product ever work that well? I thought the packaging looked ok on the outside, but a little meh when you open it up. I don't know if you can see in this picture, but the plastic hinge is just unsightly and looks a bit cheap:

Overall, I think this is a decent product and it does the job it's supposed to do. I just wish Laura Mercier would give us a better applicator. Lastly, I thought the product could do with a little extra milling. That's not to say it's crudely milled, it's just not quite as nice and smooth as soon other powders I tested (Guerlain, YSL, I'm looking at you!). I wouldn't repurchase this product because it did not impress (Which actually works out ok because I love testing new products!).

Do you use a powder compact during the day?  I'd love to know what you're using! (Yeah, I think I'm still in the market...)

{See Alice Go} Review... Gap

I went to Gap as well today and wanted to share these pictures in a separate post.I feel that overall, J.Crew is (usually) better quality, but I've really been liking the offerings at Gap this season! Right now, they have 30% off store-wide (Shoot, just checked and it sends today apparently... Well, maybe our west coast friends will have some luck?). Check out my picks below!

Cable Boatneck Pullover in Navy

+

Two-Tone Wool Mini

I tried this on in navy. I believe it was $40.99 (+30% off) and is almost 100% man-made materials. Still pretty cute though, maybe I'll pull the trigger when it's discounted any more... I liked the skirt but that doesn't mean it's NOT too short... for work. I can see myself wear this on the weekends but seeing as how I'm constantly moving around, I don't want to be inconvenienced by it's (lack-of) length.

Grey Sweater Dress with Zipper Detailing

I don't believe this item is available online, hence no link. It's 95% wool and 5% cashmere and wow, I really like this dress. It's warm and slightly loose on the frame. I can see myself wearing this any day of the week with any kind of black boot. It's also get this nice silver zipper detailing on the shoulders:

I bit. I took that sweater right home and tried it on again. Yep, still love it.

Sleeveless Shift in Navy

This was so bland, I thought. The hips were slightly too narrow for me and I almost couldn't pull it down. It's shapeless in an unattractive way and the snug hip-area makes it a bit worse. I think this would look lovely on someone with less hip and the price was quite attractive ('bout $30 or so without the extra 30%) for such a nice, basic staple.

What do you think about Gap's offering? I've love to hear from you!

{See Alice Go} Review... J.Crew

Hey ya'll!

I know I said I would try to head into a J.Crew store to check out their 30% off in-store sale so I did. They had a lot of basic tanks, striped tee's, and for whatever reason, lot's of polka-dotted Nicky tops. Only a few things caught my eye:

Oxford Boy Shirt in Polka Dot

I'd only seen this in white with black polka dots, but my store just got lavender with navy dots (I know, I can barely tell this is lavender!). This is a size 2 and would have probably fit better if it was my regular size 0.

Black and Grey Bow Sweater

This item does not appear to be online. I believe it was $98 (original price) and consisted of about 65% man-made materials and 35% wool? I thought this was quite cute and was definitely warm and cozy!

Polka Dot Dress

This item does not appear to be online either. I believe it was $148 and consisted of 100% man-made materials (mostly nylon). I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but it has these small velvet polka dots. I think this dress is cute as well, but it would be even better if it had pockets (I don't know what is it with me and pockets, but if a dress has pockets, I'm pretty much sold!).  You can see the polka dots better in this picture:

Have you been to a J.Crew store lately? What do you think? Did you purchase anything? I have some mixed feelings about the design and quality (Yet I still go in and get an itchy trigger finger...) and would love to hear from you!

{See Alice Go} Review

I'm so sad Sunday will be over in just a few short hours. It's so nice to relax on the weekend and wake up whenever you want! I slept in until noon on Saturday (Meant to wake up at 10 AM but slept through 3 alarms!) and was in a bit of a funk when I did manage to haul myself out of bed. I headed over to Sephora to look at some pretty things in an attempt to make myself feel more cheery.

... And by looking, I mean coveting, which sometimes leads to some buyings. This little beauty, the YSL Volupte Sheer Candy, caught my eye and I just had to have it (Yes, I'm a sucker for marketing... I clearly bought this because the packaging is so amazing. The shiny silver tube doubles as a mirror, how handy)! Here are a few pictures of my new pretty:

Now, this product comes in many colors but because I tend to reach for lip products that have just a hint of color more often than not, I opted for #2 "Dewy Papaya, the second-most sheer color in this line. The color is peachy which I feel flatters my yellow undertones. Plus, I figured that I had enough heavily pigmented lipsticks and stains. With winter already rearing its beautiful/ugly head, I knew I'd get more use out of a balm-like product.

Product Description:
"This balm dresses your lips in a sheer veil of brilliant color booster with vitamin-and antioxidant-rich fruit extract. Its ultra-light, sensual texture leaves lips feeling soft and hyrated for up to eight hours and is ideal for year-round use" per Sephora.

My Take on the Product:
YSL Volupte Sheer Candy imparts very little color on my lips which is something I don't mind. I was hoping  this would serve as a hydrating balm. Like all other YSL lip products, it smells lightly of mangoes. I found the scent to be very pleasant and formula was ultra-light and glides on beautifully. As for the 8-hour hydration claim, I found that it was not moisturizing at all! In fact, it lasts about 30 mins to an hour on my lips after which my lips feel quite dry. I still love the filigree "YSL" lettering that wraps around the tube, but I don't think I love it enough to keep it. I will likely exchange it for the Dior Addict Lip Glow. Thank goodness for the Sephora return/exchange policy, eh?

Do you have YSL Volupte Sheer Candy? What do you think of it? I've read many positive review of this product, however, it just didn't work for me.