Special Black Friday Giveaway Contest: Giorgio Armani Beauty Eyes to Kill Eyeshadow

Having a very special giveaway contest for Black Friday seemed like the right thing to do! So, I am giving away one amazing Giorgio Armani Beauty Eyes to Kill Eyeshadow ($32) for Holiday 2010 - in everyone's favorite shade: Copper/Black Grey (15).

Click on this link to see my feature on the new Eyes to Kill shadows. You can see swatches of all three shadows in the collection. My favorite is Copper/Black Grey!

To enter to win this weekend giveaway contest, just leave a comment here once. After you comment, feel free to e-mail bestthingsinbeautycontests@gmail.com and identify your comment. You can never be too careful about sharing your e-mail address on a blog, so I would follow this second step if I were you (an alternative is to code your e-mail, e.g., myname at gmail dot com, in your comment). That's what most of you do.

You can "earn" a second entry by tweeting this contest. Just make sure to include "@BTiBeauty" (without the quotes) in your tweet. I will tweet the contest soon, and you can simply retweet it to earn that second entry. You can earn a third entry by following the blog - either here or on Twitter (any entrant who is already a follower will automatically earn the follower point).

The deadline for entries will be Sunday, November 28, at 5:00 pm EST. The next morning, I will use a random number generator (random.org) to select the winner. I will e-mail the winner at that time. The winner will have 48 hours to reply to my message and provide a shipping address. After 48 hours, the prize will be forfeited, and another winner will be selected.

Here is more "fine print." This contest is open to anyone anywhere. Here are the terms. I will carefully pack and ship the prize (as I always do). I cannot insure the palette for overseas shipment - it's amazingly expensive to do so. If it's lost or stolen in transit, I won't be able to replace it with another palette for an overseas winner. We'll see how this works. My shipping issues have occurred when I've shipped overseas - the packages to the U.S. and Canada always arrive without incident. I'll do my best on this end; let's see if your mail services do right by you on the other end if we have an overseas winner.

Good Luck!

Photo courtesy of Giorgio Armani Beauty

Le Métier de Beauté True Color Eye Shadow

Every time I go to a Le Métier de Beauté counter, I buy more True Color Eye Shadow ($30). During the recent Holiday Beauty Soiree at Neiman Marcus at Mazza Gallerie, I continued my newest habit, picking up two more: Spicy and Mulberry. Pretty soon, I'll have them all! Each time I hang out at the Le Métier de Beauté counter, I buy a few and add a few more to my wish list.

Santa, how about just dropping them all off for Christmas? Can you even imagine? A Le Métier de Beauté holiday courtesy of a savvy Santa. He could slide down my chimney with one of everything from the line. That would be the best Christmas gift of my life.

True Color Eye Shadow provides outstanding color payoff with weightless, true-to-color pigments. The shadows are sheer, providing adjustable coverage, with transparency or intensity, depending on the shade you select. The shadows are available in a range of finishes - matte, shimmer, and satin.

• Matte: A smooth, velvety texture offering full coverage without sheen
• Satin: A rich, silk-like consistency offering sheer coverage with a subtle sheen
• Shimmer: A refined, pearl-like texture offering full coverage with maximum sheen

The powder eye shadows are creamy, offering a luxurious finish and smooth coverage. Each elegant, black compact has a mirror. I can add these two to my beloved Corinthian to create my much-loved neutral-toned looks.

Spicy, shown at left in my photo above, has a gorgeous shimmer finish. It is much more intense than Mulberry, shown above at right. Mulberry has a satin finish, and it's very sheer. I consider it the perfect everyday neutral.

To show you the huge difference in these two "brown-toned" shadows, I swatched them with a sponge-tipped applicator and took my photo in full sun. Spicy, shown at the top of the swatches, applies quickly with one swipe, giving me a bright, shimmering copper look. Love it! Mulberry is a very cool brown with just a slight hint of pink. The shade looks nothing like it looks on the Web on those little swatches, which make it look lavender. Dustin Lujan, Le Métier de Beauté national makeup artist and representative, says that Mulberry is too cool for many women. He said it's a difficult shade for women with warm-toned skin to wear; they have better choices from the many shades available in this fabulous eye shadow collection.

I thought Mulberry was perfect for me, and he (and Lisa Lingis) concurred that it would work nicely on my cool-toned, fair skin. I didn't even try it on my eyelids at the store; I knew I would love it from a quick swatch. To get the color intensity for this photo, I swiped the applicator across my arm four times. The color built with each swipe, and I finally stopped, knowing when it was time for its photo op. It's that light and sheer!

Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman show 32 shades of True Color Eye Shadow available on their Web sites. Nordstrom shows 33. There's a shade for every taste, look, and skin tone. I need to show you the other Le Métier de Beauté True Color Eye Shadow treasures I purchased in October. I promise I will do that soon.

Le Métier de Beauté is available at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and Nordstrom (online only). It appears that Le Métier de Beauté will soon have its own Web site. It has been under construction for the few months since I started checking.

You might want to consider these luxurious shadows at Neiman Marcus this week, when you will receive a nice clutch bag with fragrances samples with an $85 purchase in the beauty department - or during In Circle in December, when there will be gifts with purchase galore.

Photos by BTiB

Chantecaille Papillon Violet Eye Shade Compact

Chantecaille has fabulous special offers at its Web site! The current offer, like most, is incredibly generous. Spend $200 or more, and you will find this makeup museum-worthy, hand-designed Papillon Violet Eye Shade Compact ($39) in your box.

The Papillon Eye Shades are available for purchase in two color combinations: Papillon Blue and Papillon Violet. Both are gorgeous. Each provides a trio of superfine holiday shades inspired by the graceful butterfly. There are two principal colors complemented by two detail colors in each compact. The detail colors have to be "picked up" with a very fine brush or applicator, but they are worth the extra effort.

I took a swatch photo for you. I got a pure, unblended swatch of the golden base shade outside the butterfly imprint and a swatch moving the applicator across the full wing of the butterfly, top to bottom. I used a sponge-tipped applicator and took my photo in full, mid-day sun.

A big fan of golden eyelids, I use the gold shade all over my lower lid and smudge some of the violet as an accent only on the outer lid. It works, despite the plummy color that's hard for me to wear. Blended with the golden shade, it's very pretty. If you are a plum lover, you are going to be smitten.
Chantecaille's sales of the Papillon Eye Shades have benefited the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation to help protect the fragile ecosystem of the Monarch Butterfly’s winter habitat. Chantecaille's Les Papillons Collection is of particular relevance right now; the American butterfly is currently under greater attack than at any time in its existence. The Monarch Butterfly, a national symbol, is now on the endangered species list. Every year, what has been known as the "miracle migration" of the Western Monarch Butterfly has signaled its arrival with magnificent blazes of orange against the autumn sky. Flying from as far north as Canada to find a winter home in the eight to ten last remaining Monarch habitats in California and Mexico, the Monarch mates at the end of winter, before starting the journey back north in the spring.

The fragile ecosystem of the butterfly's winter home has been disrupted over recent years by logging and deforestation due to the drive for increased coastal development. The subsequent effect of global warming has led to early butterfly desiccation and death. The milkweed, where the female Monarch lays her eggs during the winter, is seen as a weed and killed with herbicides.

Chantecaille's Les Papillons Collection seeks to help protect the Monarch Butterfly's winter habitat by donating 5% of all sales to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation, established in 1997 by scientists and educators seeking to replace and revive the winter butterfly habitats. Thus far Chantecaille has donated over $20,000, which has gone towards replanting trees in Michoacán, Mexico, a natural winter home for the butterflies.

This is the kind of makeup that makes me feel good about overspending! It's one of my favorite things about Chantecaille. As an avid environmentalist and animal lover, I appreciate companies that make a meaningful difference to save endangered animals and their habitats.

If you want this compact, don't waste any time. I missed the last special offer, and I'm still kicking myself over it. Head over to Chantecaille's Web site.

Photos courtesy of Chanteaille

H&M Give Me That Special Glow Eye Shadow Palette

After my underwhelming experience with two of these eye shadow quads by H&M (here) I wanted to experiment with a more colourful palette before I write them off completely. Honestly speaking I think the quality of the shadows in Give Me That Special Glow were even poorer than the ones in the two neutral palettes I reviewed before - such a shame really because I love the colour combination (a shimmery off white, a warm golden orange, a bright aqua blue, a deep gunmetal brown). I absolutely adore the darkest shade, and it reminded me of Urban Decay's Darkhorse shadow from the Naked palette (review here) but when I actually swatched the two side by side, this was much lighter and almost looked like a taupe in comparison. It is so stunning, and I am currently on a mission to find a better quality dupe for it.

Price: £2.99/6g

Ingredients: Mica, Talc, Nylon-12, Dimethicone, Magnesium Stearate, Octyldodecanol, Bis-diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Cetyl Dimethicone, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract [+/- May Contain: CI 77891, CI 77742, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77007)




...and here is photographic proof of me testing all the shades. I had no intention of leaving the house so I amateurishly whacked all four shades together, but I wouldn't usually wear this much colour many shadows at the same time. Primed my eyelids with Urban Decay's Primer Potion first and applied all the shadows using a sponge tip. Some of you may now be recoiling in horror but trust me when I say that a normal eye shadow brush would not pick up pigment.

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Eye Intensifier Eye Shadow

For one reason or another, I never got round to posting the review I had originally typed up for these eye shadows back in April. Having never been tempted by L'Oreal in the eye shadow department, I was extremely surprised by the quality of the product when I first picked one up. The texture was good, the pigmentation was good, and I liked the overall variety colours within the range. Now that I have had amassed a few in my collection, they're not quite as impressive as I initially believed. They're not as soft as I remember, and quite a few of the shades are on the glittery side (thus prone to fall out). The colour payoff is still good, not as richly pigmented as other brands (ie Urban Decay) but very much buildable. Eye Intensifiers are not bad eye shadows by any means, certainly not the worst I have tried, but unless there's a particular shade which catches my eyes, I wouldn't rush out to buy more.

Price: £5.99

Ingredients: Talc, Calcium Aluminium Borosilicate, Mineral Oil, Magnesium Stearate, Castor Seed Oil, Oleyl Alcohol, Silica, Isopropyl Myristate, Lanolin Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Propylparaben, Microcrystalline Wax, Paraffin, Methylparaben, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Tin Oxide, Ethylparaben, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-DI-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Alumina, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Polyurethane-11, Various Colours.

---

» Pink 222 (Blue Eyes) is a pale cool toned icy pink with a pearly sheen (Pearlescent).

---

» Brown 282 (Blue Eyes) is a bright orange with gold shimmer (Shimmer).

---

---

» Brown 284 (Blue Eyes) is a warm taupey brown with golden shimmer (Shimmer).

---

» Violet 360 (Green Eyes) is a cool toned violet (Matte/Semi-Satin).

---

---

» Brown 380 (Green Eyes) is a light mushroomy pink with shimmer (Shimmer).

---

» Nude 511 (Brown Eyes) is a pale warm toned pink with a pearl sheen (Pearlescent).

---

---

» Blue 552 (Brown Eyes) is a dark shimmery blue with dark grey undertones (Shimmer).

---

» Brown 581 (Brown Eyes) is a cool toned copper brown with shimmer (Shimmer).

---

---

» Green 640 (Dark Eyes) is a pale mint green with shimmer (Shimmer).

---

» Grey 670 (Dark Eyes) is a shimmery silver (Shimmer).

---

Like the Studio Secrets Lipsticks, the eye shadows are separated into four different categories according to eye colour - blue, green, brown and dark - with 4 different shades in each that compliment the particular eye colour. I wouldn't adhere within my own category consciously, but I think L'Oreal has chosen well in this case. There are definitely shades from the others that I wouldn't be able to pull off in a million years (Brown 282, a bright orange with shimmer, intended for blue eyes) and I would saved a lot more money by just sticking with the colours that have been 'designed' to suit my particular eye colour. As for the eye shadow finishes, according to the Boots website there are three or four different ones, and I have tried my best to sort them out, but please note I don't know whether they are 100% correct.

H&M Eye Shadows

H&M has a fairly extensive range of makeup products, and to my knowledge, one of the first fashion stores to come out with their own beauty line. Other than the nail polishes, I haven’t tried many of their products as the cheapness is somewhat off putting but I picked up two neutral eye shadow palettes to try and see if they were worth mentioning. In The Dark (cool palette above) and Biscotti Dreams (warm palette below) are both shimmery palettes, but the shimmers are virtually nonexistent in many of the individual shades, and the ones that do are on the chunky side. They have decent smoothness, and decent softness, but it is a little bit on the powdery side if I'm being really picky about the texture. The sheer pigmentation is a little bit more disappointing, but I do own more expensive shadows that are sheerer still. These are buildable, but an eye shadow base is absolutely necessary here.

My main criticism is the lack of diversity between the shades, and as a result, only one look can be created from each palette. The sheerness will be off putting to many, and particularly those with darker skintones as these shades will truly struggle to show. Good for those in search of shades for a wearable look to work or school, but perhaps not worth bothering with for serious eye shadow consumers.

Price: £2.99/6g

Ingredients: Mica, Talc, Nylon-12, Dimethicone, Magnesium Stearate, Octyldodecanol, Bis-diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Cetyl Dimethicone, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract [+/- May Contain: CI 77891, CI 77742, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77007)