dolce & gabbana

$20 Dolce & Gabbana Nail Lacquer in Platinum Looks Like a Million Bucks

January 18th, 2011 by Karen 56 Comments

Besides its top-shelf pigmentation and oodles of micro-glitter, Dolce & Gabbana’s Nail Lacquer in Platinum ($20) has a nice surprise that makes it stand out from all the other gray polishes showing up at department store counters this spring (see Estee Lauder Wild Violets and Dior Montaigne).

The sole nail color in the new Secret Garden Collection might look like your typical shimmery silver polish in the bottle, but on my nails Platinum subtly flashes from silver to gray to green to taupe depending on the light. Very cool!

Dolce & Gabbana Platinum nail polish swatch

I haven’t yet tested Platinum for durability since the bottle just came in, but if it’s anything like the Dolce & Gabbana polishes from the last few seasons it should resist chipping with a good base coat.
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Swatch Me I’m Falling for Dolce & Gabbana Secret Garden

January 17th, 2011 by Karen 41 Comments

Greetings, young lady. I wanted to show some swatches of the Dolce & Gabbana Secret Garden collection this afternoon (lip, eye and face shots are coming soon).

Some observations from the swatches…

The white eyeliner, one of two liners in the collection, feels harder than usual for Dolce & Gabbana. It’s much creamier than most of them are, but the purple one’s just as tough as usual.
Platinum, the one solitary nail polish, looks much greener on NW20 skin than than it does on me (I’m an NC35). I think it’ll look straight up silver on yours truly, but on NW20 it’s more of a greenish gray.
There are just two lipsticks and glosses in the release. The coral-ish lip gloss seemed very out of place to me at first (straight out of Mad Men), but, um, after I thought about it a little, I think I can see what Dolce & Gabbana was going for. I like the way it contrasts with the pale pastels. As for the other gloss, the pale pinkish violet, it has micro bits of silver glitter that you have to look closely at to see.
Of the lipsticks, one’s a shiny light violet, and the other’s a shiny pink. Oh, and did I mention they’re shiny. I mean VERY shiny. I can’t tell much from my arm (I have yet to try ’em on my lips), but I do detect a scent. I haven’t tasted them yet, but they do smell pretty good… It’s that classic rose lipstick scent.
And then there’s the Illuminator in Eva, a powder highlighter. It may be too light for me, but on NW20 it looks like a lovely gold. It might be better for lighter lasses than brown gals. I think it’s just gonna look chalky on me. I mean, I suppose tanned lovelies could use it underneath the arch of their brows (the brow bone) as a highlight color, but that’s really a limited use.

Dolce & Gabbana Secret Garden Swatches on NC35 Skin

Swatches from the left to the right: Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Eden (first four); Eye Colour Duo in Romance (fifth and sixth); Crayon Intense in White (seventh) and Crayon Intense (eighth)

Shine Lipstick in Romance, Shine Lipstick in Love, Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Bon Bon and Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Secret

Illuminator in Eva on the left and Intense Nail Lacquer in Platinum on the right

Swatches with the flash
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Visitors Are Welcome in the Dolce & Gabbana Secret Garden Today

January 17th, 2011 by Karen 18 Comments

Dolce Gabbana Secret Garden

Dolce & Gabbana’s newest collection may have been inspired by Sicilian gardens, but from where I’m sitting today, I’m getting more of an overcast San Francisco vibe. The release contains more gray than I expected (see it in the eyeshadow palettes and nail polish?). Not that I mind, of course.

It reminds me of when I used to live in the city and go jogging in Golden Gate Park. There’s a beautiful rose garden there, and I’d try to raise my body temp on the way to it so I could stop and stare at the pretty flowers for a bit before the cold set in. The roses looked so rich against the gray sky, and no matter what I might have been struggling with at that time in my life, the roses always cheered me up.

Anywho, maybe that’s what Dolce & Gabbana was going for with the Secret Garden collection for spring — gray skies, so to speak, and how it contrasts with the pinks, violets and greens for eyes, cheeks, lips and nails.

The product photos below show the 10 new pieces in the release. There are also two repromotes, Luminous Cheek Colour in Delight ($44) and Volumized Lashes in Black ($29), which aren’t shown (here they are).

For more on the collection, check out It’s No Secret: I’m Looking Forward to the Dolce & Gabbana Secret Garden Collection This Spring, and stay tuned for swatches and looks in the coming days.

Dolce Gabbana Secret Garden all open
Clockwise from the light colored gloss on lower left: Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Bon Bon, Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Secret, Illuminator in Eva, Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Eden, Eye Colour Duo in Romance, Shine Lipstick in Romance, Shine Lipstick in Love, Crayon Intense in Lilac and Crayon Intense in White

Dolce Gabbana Secret Garden Eden Smooth Eye Colour Quad
Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Eden, $59

Dolce Gabbana Secret Garden Eden Smooth Eye Colour Quad

Dolce Gabbana Secret Garden Romance Eye Colour Duo
Eye Colour Duo in Romance, $36
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A (Revised) Walk Through the Dolce & Gabbana Secret Garden Collection for Spring 2011

January 10th, 2011 by Karen 18 Comments

CORRECTION: 1/13/2011 — The promotional pictures in the original post have been replaced with color corrected versions provided by Dolce & Gabbana.

Dolce & Gabbana released some color corrected pictures of their upcoming spring Secret Garden Collection today, and from these the items in the 12-piece launch for eyes, lips and nails look softer and more muted than before.

This revised batch of promo pics now shows that the pops of pink and purple in the lipsticks and glosses aren’t as bright as I thought they were; the colors in the Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Eden ($59) appear more pastel now, and both the Smooth Eye Colour Duo in Romance ($36) and the Intense Nail Lacquer in Platinum ($20) appear to contain a color more like gray than green.

Take a gander at the revised pictures (everything looks more delicate and softer), which I’m told are more color accurate than the ones they sent before, and let me know what ya think.

Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Eden

Smooth Eye Colour Duo in Romance 120

Crayon Intense in White
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It’s No Secret: I’m Looking Forward to the Dolce & Gabbana Secret Garden Collection This Spring

January 4th, 2011 by Karen 46 Comments

CORRECTION: 1/13/2011 — The promotional pictures in this post have been replaced with color corrected versions provided by Dolce & Gabbana.

dolce & gabbana secret garden

I wonder what Lewis Carroll would have thought about the secret garden of pink Post-It notes that decorate my desk…

…and my notebook.

Of course, the note’s totally unnecessary, because there’s no way I’m going to forget about the new 12-piece Dolce & Gabbana Secret Garden collection for eyes, nails, face and lips. When it hops into town this spring, I’ll need a fainting couch to catch me when I fall (in love). 🙂

The colors look so bright and authentically springy that I can almost smell fresh-cut grass and sunshine when I look at them (I swear I can smell the sunshine).

But the story behind the collection, according to Dolce, is one of mystery…

“With Secret Garden, we wanted to provide a kind of privileged information — or a secret formula — for the women we love so much, so she could effortlessly achieve that illusive look of intrigue that all women crave.”
–Domenico Dolce

I haven’t quite figured out the mystery angle yet, but designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana say they played with the idea of a hidden paradise in which a mythical, delicate beauty seduces the senses.

Perhaps she’s wearing a flower-print dress to a garden party. Yes, I think I can see her now. She’s walking barefoot across a large lawn of vivid green grass. I don’t know who she is, but I feel like I should go to her.
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The New Dolce & Gabbana Lip Jewels Compact Has Ruby Kisses for You

November 6th, 2010 by Karen 18 Comments

dolce gabbana lip jewel review swatches photos

Do you remember the Dolce & Gabbana Lip Jewels Compact ($60) from backstage at Milan Fashion Week? The one with the big ruby on the top? Well, it’s finally here! And lemme tell ya — put on yer stunner shades, because Dolce & Gabbana blinged this mutha out!

dolce gabbana lip jewel review swatches photos compact

The compact’s limited edition for the holidays and holds four Classic Cream Lipsticks from Dolce & Gabbana’s permanent line, three reds — Dahlia (blueish), Ultra (warmish) and Devil (a true red) — and one neutral called Nude (a creamy beige). All of them apply smooth and creamy with full-coverage color.

I’ve been picturing myself wearing the red shades with black cat eyes… HOTNESS! Of course, when I was trying these on yesterday it was after midnight, and I’d already taken off the rest of my makeup. I’ll do almost anything in the name of makeup research, but I won’t share face shots of myself with ratty hair and pajamas. Well… least not this time, ha!

dolce gabbana lip jewel review swatches photos swatches on nc35 skin
From left: Nude, Dahlia, Ultra, Devil
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Dolce & Gabbana Evocative Collection Swatches and Pics

October 19th, 2010 by Karen 38 Comments

Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Evocative and Crayon Intense in Chocolate on my eyes; Shine Lipstick in Orchid and Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Vibrant on my lips

While I was cruising down (Saks) Fifth Avenue today, otherwise known as surfing their site (they’re having a Friends & Family Sale; I didn’t come across the new Ethereal Holiday Collection, but I did window shop almost everything from the Evocative Collection for fall.

I’m not sure how Evocative’s vampiric berries, wines and pinks go with her springy blues and that one totally random coral, but being confused has never stopped me before, ha!

I’ll just try to wrap my head around something tangible…like the ultra pigmented, creamy coral Classic Cream Lipstick in Cosmopolitan and Shine Lipstick in Orchid. They should help me focus, but if I’m still out of sorts after that, the buttery soft and sheer beige, pink, taupe and purple shadows in the quad should help.

dolce gabbana evocative collection
The Dolce & Gabbana Evocative Collection for fall 2010 (clockwise from lower right): Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Divine, Classic Cream Lipstick in Cosmopolitan, Shine Lipstick in Orchid, Classic Cream Lipstick in Lust, Shine Lipstick in Amethyst, Smooth Eye Colour Duo in Evocative, Smooth Eye Colour Duo in Ocean, Crayon Intense in Chocolate, Crayon Intense in Onyx, Intense Nail Lacquer in Cosmopolitan, Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Amethyst, Ultra Shine Lipgloss in Vibrant

Dolce & Gabbana Evocative Collection Swatches and Pics

(For reference, I’m an NC35 in MAC foundation)

dolce-gabbana-divine
Smooth Eye Colour Quad in Divine, $59

dolce gabbana ocean
Smooth Eye Colour Duo in Ocean, $36
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Dolce & Gabbana Rose the One Shower Gel and Body Lotion

October 8th, 2010 by Karen 17 Comments

If you were planning to pick up a dozen bottles of Dolce & Gabbana’s new Rose the One body products this month, I hate to break it to ya, but the Saks website says “No can do,” (in so many words).

Because of high demand, they’re limiting customers to just six (!) bottles of either the Body Lotion ($38 for 6.7oz) or Shower Gel ($38 for 6.7oz) every 30 days.

Yep, six bottles every 30 days.

Why anyone would need six bottles of this or any body lotion or shower gel is neither here nor there. 🙂

Both new products are scented with softened versions of the company’s Rose the One fragrance, with its notes of pink grapefruit, Mandarin orange, peach, lily of the valley, Bulgarian Rose, peony, geranium, plum, Ambrette seed, vanilla, amber and musk.

It’s a light fragrance — modern, youthful and fresh — and not heavy or matronly.

The Body Lotion feels thin, and while I usually prefer thicker creams, I like this reasonably hydrating, fast absorbing formula. It doesn’t leave a greasy residue, either, which is nice.
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