Estee Lauder Michael Kors Very Hollywood Collection - Pictures/Swatches

Following on from this post about the Very Hollywood collection, which is a collaboration between Estee Lauder and Michael Kors, I was sent some sample products from the range to review and swatch... 

 

The packaging of the collection is very classy -  simple cream with gold accents, but you can still tell this is a Lauder collection...

Wanna see more? Click on the link...

Nail Laquer in Hollywood Gold

This is a beautiful buff nude shade, with a creamy finish - I was wary of this one on seeing it in the bottle as I feared it may lead to the "corpse hand" look. Nude nails have always and will always be a subtle sophisticated look, and thankfully this one works well with my skin tone - not too pink, but no tangoed undertones either - really like this.

The picture above shows two coats - good coverage is attained with one coat, however I found two coats really gave the most uniform colour on the nail - The polish has a lovely consistency, and has a flattened brush which I personally find makes application easier to control. 

This shade is from the Bel Air Beige Look.

Blush in Sunset Coral.

This is from the Bel Air Beige Look, and comes in a cream compact, complete with a mini applicator brush (Handy for on the go touch ups, but I wouldn't recommend it as a primary application tool), as well as a mirrored lid.The blusher is embossed with the title of the collection, which is a nice touch, and adds to the desirability factor...

The blush has a lovely texture and has a very blendable consistency - it does contain very fine shimmer particles, however this is no glitter bomb - the shimmer simply adds a very very subtle sheen to the skin...

The pictures above are taken in different light, but I felt it was worth including both as they show the different dimensions of the colour in different lights - excuse my smudged mascara (Maybelline Collossal - a previous favourite which I am rapidly going off...) 

The finger swatch shows the smooth consistency of the blusher, and the skin swatch shows the feint sheen this gives - I don't know if its just me, but this is reminiscent of MAC style, but more grown up, and I'm pleased to report it lasts far better on my skin than any MAC blush...

Lipgloss in Honey Blonde.

Again, this is from the Bel Air Beige collection - this a lovely sheer nude gloss. It has a creamy base, however on close inspection contains very slight gold shimmer - This is how those MAC cremeteam glosses (or whatever they are called!) want to be...

When applied it adds a subtle flesh hued sheen to the lips;

My lips are highly pigmented, but this has a nice level of pigmentation - it brings down the tone of my lips, has a lovely sheen, yet definitely avoids "concealer lips". 

The gloss has that classic Lauder scent - fruity but not cheap. I believe they use figs as a basis for the scent in their lips products... You'll either like or dislike this, I personally like it. The gloss itself is not sticky, so not as long lasting as other stickier glosses. At the end of the day though, all glosses need frequent reapplication...

Lip Sheens.

These are the "Lipsticks" in the collection. I use inverted commas there, as these are very glossy, and do in fact result in a subtle sheen of colour on the lips - so don't buy these if you are after a matte or highly pigmented finish...

Top - Starlet Rose (from Bungalow Pink look); middle - Honey Blonde (from Bel Air Beige) and bottom - Hollywood Gold (Bel air Beige look).

Swatches - Far Left - Lipgloss in Honey Blonde; Left - Hollywood Gold Lipsheer; Right - Honey Blonde lipsheer, Far Right - Starlet Rose.

As the swatches show - these are indeed sheer. However the effect is a pretty one - If you have ever tried their Pure Colour Crystal Lipsticks, such as Crystal Baby, then these are similar in their level of pigmentation. Their sheer formula means they are not the most longlasting of lipsticks, however they are very light and moist, and very comfortable to wear. I think they are also versatile as well - they work as well in the work environment with a toned down look as they do with a more full on eye look, when obeying the old "eyes or lips but never both" rule... 

  The picture above shows Hollywood Gold Lipsheer on the lips.

Shimmering Loose Powder

This is one of the "complementary products to the range", the other of which is a face brush - this is a nice loose highlight colour.

As you can see, it comes in a jar with a sifter lid. Unfortunately due to the appalling light conditions in the flat (Damn energy saving bulbs!), I was unable to capture a skinswatch with any level of accuracy... However the powder has a peachy-gold base, with extremely fine shimmer. As you would expect, its a very finely milled and soft textured powder, and adds a subtle sheen. There is enough pigmentation in this to serve as a cheek colour for the pale amongst us...

Eye Pencil in Film Noir

This is the pencil from the Rodeo Pink look - the Bel Air Beige set has one in the shade Sepia.

I like the way this pencil reminds me of the old fashioned HB pencils we used to use in school for some reason, with its octagonal shape... Its a nice pencil, soft in texture, highly pigmented. Initially this is smudgeable, however later "sets" and has decent staying power. A nice product - but personally I'd pick another gloss/lipsheer above this...

My picks from the collection that I have seen so far are the blushers, lip and nail products - I'd say the range is well worth checking out if you are after classic shades which are made to a high quality. There are some nice neutrals in the Bel Air Collection, whilst the Rodeo Pink looks like it would appeal more to colour lovers 

For more information on the range, including prices and availability, check out my previous post - HERE.

Hope this post was helpful - are you looking forward to this collection?

What do you think you'll be picking up?