Swatches + Comparison: Office Appropriate Nail Polish

I’m starting a new job soon and the work environment is a little more conservative compared to my previous job. As such, I’m not able to use the bright coloured nail polish that I love and will miss. I got a little bored over the weekend and decided to put together a colour wheel of all of the office appropriate nail polish in my stash. I *think* these are office appropriate, and as usual I’m probably going to push the limits with the colour as I settle into the new work environment. Please give me some feedback if you also work in a conservative office environment.

From left to right:

• Dior Vernis in 381 Blue Lilac
• Dior Vernis in 251 Pink Dahlia
• Dior Vernis in 253 Pink Icing
• Dior Vernis in 108 Ivory
• Dior Vernis in 362 Rose Freesia
• Dior Vernis in 386 Cherry Flower

• Chanel Le Vernis in 557 Morning Rose
• Chanel Le Vernis in 539 June

• Jill Stuart nail polish in 41 Romantic Berry
• Jill Stuart nail polish in 34 Brilliant Princess
• Jill Stuart nail polish in 18 Ball Room

• Deborah Lippman nail polish in Prelude to a Kiss
• OPI Nail Lacquer in Passion
• SpaRitual nail polish in Mystic
• Butter London Nail Lacquer in All Hail the Queen

More shots…

Swatch: Jill Stuart nail polish in 18 Ball Room

A new addition to my Jill Stuart nail polish stash, #18 Ball Room is a beautiful jelly red with iridescent glitter. The finish is a smooth, high-shine one that looks luxurious. Wear time is average at about 5 days with some tip wear.

I repeat myself, but I absolutely LOVE Jill Stuart nail polish formulas and highly recommend them to everyone. These apply fantastically and wear well. It also smells really good, like irises I believe.

Another FOTD with Dior Misty Mauve… this one more subtle and suitable for daytime

I used Dior Misty Mauve in a previous FOTD but I used a lot of highlight around my eyes for a more glamourous look. Today I did a more toned down and subtle look using this palette that is still somewhat smokey. While it is still rather dark in colour, my black-rimmed glasses really helped to tone down the intensity of this look.

I used Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Misty Mauve over UDPP. I used the matte mauve-purple as my all-over colour and the light shimmery mauve on the outer half of my lid. I used the dark shimmery, jewel-toned purple to line my top lashline and the outer half of my bottom lashline. I then patted very little shimmer on the inner corner of my eyes with my fingers. As usual, I used Dollywink Liquid Liner and Clinique High Impact Mascara.

On my cheeks, I used Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact in 104 Sweet Lock with no highlight. For lips, I finished off with my favourite fall lipstick, Guerlain Rouge G le Brillant in B62 Betsy. My base makeup was SUQQU Frame Fix Lasting Pact Foundation in shade 202, which seems like an okay match for me (I still need to try 003, which I think should work even better).

FOTD with Jill Stuart Jewel Crystal Eyes in 102 Amazonite Dazzle & Mix Blush Compact in 105 Sweet Lock

I swatched the Jill Stuart Jewel Crystal Eyes in 102 Amazonite Dazzle and also showed a photo of the untouched Mix Blush Compact in 105 Sweet Lock here.

For attending the Vancouver Beauty & Lifestyle Bloggers event that took place last week, I wanted to create a smokey look with the Amazonite Dazzle palette. I did this by layering the different shades in the palette to create more depth instead of just a flat out smokey eye. This palette was very good in terms of application compared to previous Jill Stuart palettes because fall-out was very minimal. The eyeshadow powder was not dry and or hard to apply, and the colour pay-off was very good.

I used the forest green shade (second from left) from the Amazonite Dazzle palette as my all over base on top of UDPP to minimize fall-out. I then used the teal green shade (second from right) from the same palette on the outer half of my eyelid. I highlighted my inner corners, as well as the inner half of my bottom lashline, and my brow bone with the lightest shade from the palette (first on left). Lastly I filled in the outer half of my lower lashline with the same teal green shade. The only shade I did not use was the matte burgundy-brown shade (first on right) because I didn’t know how to fit it in this look. Also I noticed that this shade was a little low on the colour payoff when applied, likely because it is matte.

On my cheeks, I used the Mix Blush Compact in 105 Sweet Lock. This was a limited edition shade from the Fall 2011 collection which has Jill Stuart’s signature drawn on top of the blush with a white shimmer powder. In order to prevent myself from looking like a disco-ball, I dusted the white shimmer powder off with a tissue before applying the actual blush on my cheeks.

Sweet Lock is a very simple pink shade that you can’t go wrong with. The three shades in the top left corner are sheer, whereas the one shade on the bottom left corner is the only pigmented one. I tried to use the three sheerer shades a little more in this look as I felt the eyes were already very strong so I didn’t want a strong cheek colour as well.

On my lips, I used one of my favourite lipstick formulae, Guerlain Rouge G in 06 Garance, which is a creamy light mauve-pink on my lips.

My outfit of the day was a baby-blue-grey tunic-dress with ballerina print, light green shorts, black tights and bright yellow flats.

What do you think of this look? Like it or hate it?

Swatch/Thoughts: Jill Stuart Jewel Crystal Eyes in 102 Amazonite Dazzle

Once again, I am late on the swatching train for this particular piece from Jill Stuart. Many thanks to Jenn who took the time to get this for me!

I currently have two other Jill Stuart Brilliance Eyes palettes that you can see here and my overall impression was neutral with a bit leaning towards dislike. I found the other too palettes way too hard in texture with plenty of fall-out. When I went to the Jill Stuart counter in Hong Kong, I swatched the Jewel Crystal Eyes but I wasn’t particularly impressed with the quality, especially when put in perspective with the price.

However when I saw swatches and reviews of this Amazonite Dazzle palette pop up all over the internet, I debated with myself over whether or not I should get it. When I finally saw my favourite curator’s review of this palette, I knew I had to get my hands on it.

The packaging, while similar in material to the Brilliance Eyes palette, is surprisingly weighty compared to them. I also especially love the birds and trees design that is behind the plastic cover. The palette physically is very well made.

The texture of the eyeshadows also surprised me. They were smooth, creamy and pigmented. The only shade that lacked pigmentation and was not as smooth was the lightest colour on the very left, which was glittery and could cause some fall-out.

Here are some swatches, sorry I couldn’t do a swatch directly under the sun as Vancouver autumn is here which means it is rainy and sun is hard to come by.

Overall, this palette does not disappoint. The colours are ones that are outside Jill Stuart’s usual comfort zone in terms of colour choices for palettes. I am very glad I decided to get this (and thankful that I have a very thoughtful friend in Hong Kong who took the time to purchase this for me). I will be doing a look with this palette soon so you can see it in action.

I also have the Limited Edition Mix Blush Compact for Fall which I will share swatches of at a later date, but here is a nice preview of it.