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| Above: Ready to head out to the Hourglass party! |
On Wednesday, I was privileged to attend a blogger preview at the Hourglass Cosmetics headquarters in Venice Beach. Although there were many beauty luminaries in attendance, the true stars of the party were the six shades of
Femme Nude Lip Stylo that comprise the
Notorious Nudes collection.
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| Above: Hourglass HQ…a beacon of understated beauty. |
Upon entering through an otherwise nondescript door (attended by a charming young woman named Chanel) off of a tiny and winding street (parallel parking skills put to good use, yet again!), we entered a wonderland of sleek mid-century modernism accented by creamy whites, blonde woods and minimalist stainless steel; the natural light streaming through the many windows of the gorgeous office space created an ethereal atmosphere, perfectly in harmony with the relaxed beauty of the evening…
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| Above: The full Notorious Nudes display. |
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| Above: All six shades, patiently waiting for someone to be the first to swatch them. |
Instantly, I was struck by the display of the Notorious Nudes collection…all six lip stylos were pristinely on display (beckoning for a swatching session, I might add). Since hearing of their impending release last month, I have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see them in person. Most seasonal lip color collections might offer a single nude or pale pink in their midst but to have six to choose from in a single release? Pure heaven!
Above: A few select components of Hourglass Founder Carissa James’ office…clean lines, plenty of light, a beguiling terrace and an entire makeup station, stocked with every current Hourglass product under the sun!
I resisted the swatching compulsion for a few minutes, which enabled me to visit with party attendees who share the same affinity for the Hourglass line that I do…
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| Above: Hourglass makeup artist Marisa Clark (wearing Femme Nude #1!) and the Beauty Professor. |
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| Above from L-R: Hourglass Project Director Jenn Janes, the Beauty Professor and Hourglass Director of Operations Erin Hovi. Do you think we all like long hair just a little bit? ; ) |
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| Above from L-R: Hourglass Director of Public Relations Mary Friberg, the Beauty Professor and Hourglass Director of Brand Marketing. |
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| Above: The Beauty Professor and the ebullient Mary Friberg. |
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| Above: Hourglass Founder and CEO Carisa Janes and the Beauty Professor. During our conversation, the very striking Carisa shared some wonderful insight on the creation of the Immaculate Foundation…she is a wealth of knowledge and grace and her passion for the ethics and well-being of the Hourglass line is stunningly evident. |
On to the Notorious Nudes…
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| Above: The Femme Nudes…they may look similar in their respective retractable tubes, but once swatched, their unique personalities come to life. |
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| Above: Swatched in natural daylight. |
Shade descriptions courtesy of Hourglass:
1. Nude No.1: A pale pink nude, the lightest of the collection.
2. Nude No.2: A honey beige nude with a warm tint.
3. Nude No.3: A medium rose nude with a hint of pink.
4. Nude No.4: A pink beige nude with a touch of deep rose.
5. Nude No.5: A golden peach nude with luminosity.
6. Nude No.6: A mauve nude, the deepest of the collection.
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| Above: Swatched with a flash…note the tender satin finish. |
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| Above: Swatched in intense direct sunlight. |
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| Above: A final round of swatches…this is easily the most true-to-life rendition of the shades. |
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| Above: My glowing mom and me…she gets the photo credits for many of the images in this piece. |
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| Above: Heading out after a lovely evening with the Hourglass team. |
And now a closer look at shades #1 and #3, including images, swatches and a short VIDEO review (at the end of this post, just before the Bottom Line)…
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| Above: #1 and #3…twins, no…sisters, maybe! |
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| Above: The Femme Nude Lip Stylos come in a well-crafted glossy brown and gold cylinder with a retractable feature (demonstrated in the video at the end of this post). |
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| Above: Extreme close up of #1 and #3. |
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| Above: Once swatched, the distinct tonal qualities of #1 and #3 become increasingly apparent. |
These lip stylos, which retail for $30, are lavishly creamy, buildable to opaque coverage in a few easy swipes, long wearing (without being drying) and feature a retractable mechanism that alleviates the need for sharpening!
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| Above: The full ingredients list…these are not the slightest bit fragranced, which I find to be preferable! |
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| Above: A last look at swatches of #1 and #3 in natural outdoor lighting. No.1 is on par with Tom Ford Nude Vanille in terms of depth and lightness and #3 reveals a darker (though still quite light) peachier tone. |
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| Above: Wearing Femme Nude No.1. |
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| Above: Wearing Femme Nude No.3. |
VIDEO REVIEW!
Bottom Line: Hourglass consistently releases quality products that combine an innovative scientific edge with beautiful, wearable pigmentation. The six Femme Nude options guarantee a nude shade for every wearer, regardless of skin tone, and the smooth, hydrating formula makes this new release a veritable gem. I will blissfully be wearing these through the summer and fall with a zeal that my fellow nude lip lovers understand all too well!
**PR samples provided for review, however, as always, all of my opinions are expressly and unequivocally my own. This post contains affiliate links; my disclosure policy contains additional details on how these work.
Comments (17)
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wonderful review! love hourglass and can't wait to purchase them! Awesome as always….thanks much!
Thank you, Carol! This line is so quality and I hope you get your hands on them soon!
xoxo and happy weekend,
–The Beauty Professor
hi rachel!!! what a wonderful beauty event!! thankyou for sharing your experience! it was like being there with you!! (i wish)!! i went makeup shopping today. i went into sephora but, they did not have that nude collection. the sales associate send not until a few weeks or so. my sephora is very small. i also looked for the givenchy and urban decay lippies that you posted earlier. both colors were sold-out and i did not see the testers. otherwise, i'd probably would have purchased them. i didn't do much better at nordstroms. i'm still looking at laura mercier's new fall collection. i noticed she has custom made pallettes available, maybe the artist could "whip" me up a nice neutral one. but, they were very busy. bobbie brown's telluride collection was of interest to me but, the quality really let me down. i felt that the compact was extremely small and i was just too unsure about whether it was worth purchasing. i wound up buying the le volume de chanel mascara. i loved your review! i told the sales associate that you gave a great recommendation. and, that was it. nothing else really called for my attention. i'm having difficulty finding by terry's bronze moon. do you suggest any store(s) to call. i couldn't find the shade on barney's website. also, i've been seeing images of tom ford's fall collection. i would love to hear your thoughts. i'm thinking the "she wolf" trio. the other trio is pink/peach. i wish i could try them on. i'm not 1 for nail polishes as well. but, i just might have to have both colors. they appear very neutral. do you have a favorite store or sales associate that you like? i'm going to go back and look at your reviews for tom's lipsticks. i wonder if vanilla suede will be too pale for me. i believe i'm about 2 shades lighter than you?? i'm very pale. and, i don't think he's offering a lipgloss in this collection. i know you liked his shade in naked. happy weekend lovely beauty professor. when does school start for you? for me, i must "tear down" my classroom (from summer camp program) the last week of august. the first day of kindergarten and pre-k is the day after labor day. i hope you have a happy and great weekend! xoxoxo wendy
Hello Wendy!
I am so glad you enjoyed my post…I had such a fun time attempting to convey my experience through words and images! I am guessing that Sephora will have the HG lippies soon…it is odd how some Sephora stores get certain products before others. For example, one of my nearby Sephora stores didn't have the new NARS foundation while another, just a few miles away, did! Go figure.
I am so glad that you love the Chanel Le Volume as much as I do (I just put some on!). It gives such an intense amount of impact in just a couple of coats! The By Terry line can be a bit of a challenge to locate…the line is carried at Space NK boutiques which are in select Bloomingdales, and also sold online at the Space NIK website (that might be your best bet). I usually hate ordering anything expensive sight unseen, but at least you know what you are getting with Bronze Moon since I've talked about it so much…highly recommended!
I am not sure if the TF Vanilla Suede would be too light for you…I do think that it is a very light color by everything I've seen and heard in the past, but I haven't personally tried it yet so I hate to give you an unsupported opinion! I will likely pick it up when I can because, if it is too light on its own, it can be a great layering color. Naked gloss is a winner, indeed…I am on tube #2 and will likely love it for life!
School doesn't start for me until the very end of the month, so in the meanwhile, I plan on getting a bit more travel and leisure time in ; ) It is always a bit bittersweet to come to the end of summer…the down time and relaxation is pure bliss, but once I'm in the classroom (after fighting my alarm as much as humanly possible!), I have such a good time teaching!
I hope your Sunday is a blessed one and look forward to talking soon!
xoxo,
–The Beauty Professor
I'm so jealous that you got to do this and so happy that you have these swatches. I love your lipstick choices as you know and I can't wait to go find the right shade for me!!
Marcia…I wish you could have attended…you would have loved it! I hope the swatches lead you straight to your perfect shade(s!!). Keep me posted on what you choose!
xoxo and have a lovely weekend,
–The Beauty Professor
Eeek! I must have them ALL! They're so pretty – it's like we all died and went to Nude Lipstick Heaven. And of course you look lovely as always 🙂
xo
Twyla
Thank you Twyla!! It is Nude Lipstick Heaven, indeed…I hope you get these in your clutches very soon!
xoxo,
–The Beauty Professor
Hi B.P another wonderful assortment of videos & swatches. I too agree with a fellow reader that I may go bankrupt as well! It's not our fault that all these beautiful peachy/pink nude wonders keep being released! What's a girl to do??!! 🙂 I wonder if we're all not on a mission to find the Holy Grail of peachy/pink nude moisturizing yet pigmented lipgloss as well as foundation. I'm certainly enjoying the search alongside you. I think my next order will be the jouer cream foundation & the hourglass #3. What foundation/lipcolor were you wearing in the pic with your Mom? You look flawless as usual. I agree with you that the Hourglass is impeccible in quality & packaging. I always appreciate good packaging…it adds to the love of makeup I think. Have a wonderful rest of the wkend. Sadly, I'm switching the Chanel lipcolor. It is far too expensive to keep & unfortunatly leaves dry lines on my lips. I've given it a fair amount of tries at work but just seems to migrate in the weirdest way. I do however LOVE the Le Volume mascara. Talk to u soon. xoxo
Hello Lynn!
Thank you ever so much! Of all the shades in this line, I have a feeling you might like #3 the best (it is my favorite by far!) so perhaps only purchasing one will keep the reserve open for the other pinky nudes that will invariably be released in the future ; )
I am not sure how many of us are on that HG foundation and peachy pink lipstick quest, but I can say with certainty that there are many of us in the Beauty Professor world that seem to share that mission! In response to your question, I was wearing the Kanebo Sensai foundation in the picture with my mom (thanks for the sweet compliment!) with a light dusting of the powder from the Kanebo Triple Touch Compact (to hopefully be mentioned/reviewed in a post early next week!).
I totally understand about your need to change the Chanel lip color…the formula doesn't work for everyone (and dryness seems to be the largest complaint) and while this particular one works for me, that has definitely not always been the case in the past. At least you can return/exchange it!! I am so glad you love the Le Volume, though…it is such a powerful little formula ( just put some on a few minutes ago!) and my lashes look finished with just a couple of coats.
I hope your weekend is going well…xoxo and talk soon!
–The Beauty Professor
Thanks for the swatch #1 🙂 It's not simple to found a swatch of #1 🙂 great post!
My pleasure and thank you…happy it was helpful for you!
xoxo,
–The Beauty Professor
Hi there Beauty Professor,
Yet another fantastic review. Love the long hair shot I have long hair as well but its not quite as long as yours. I love your top in the photos, what is the brand?
Now which colour to choose! They all look beautiful and exactly what I like.
The colours that you chose suit you beautifully.
Will you get any of the darker ones?
Thanks again although you blog is making my wish list even longer.
Hello Julie!
Thanks so much. Long hair is so fun, albeit laborious at times…so many options. I usually just end up wearing mine down, though ; ) What is your favorite hairstyle to wear with your long hair?
The top I'm wearing is by Joie…I got it a couple of seasons ago, but their silk racer back tanks are a staple for the line, so they release new versions every season. Hope you can find one…or two ; )
I am so happy with shades #1 and #3 that I think I'll be sticking with them…my mom has #5 and she loves the slightly deeper pigmentation of that shade but overall, #3 is my favorite for a truly wearable nude for most skin types.
xoxo and talk soon!
–The Beauty Professor
Hi lovely,
Number 3 was the one that immediately caught my eye in your swatches so pleased that you are happy with them
Oh I am so terrible at being creative with my hair, in summer I really only wear it tied up in various ways because it gets so hot here in Australia, so in the winter I wear it down alot.
I am just about to buy some By Terry Cover Expert foundation due to your fantastic review and great swatches. I'm pretty sure that I am a 9 given that I am pretty much the same colour as you. The website that I am buying from allows returns if the colour isn't right so I am pretty excited.
They also sell these so I could be a little poorer after being on their site.
Have you tried the Hourglass Lighting powder over the By Terry Cover Expert?
I would love one of them.
Take care
Xoxo
Julie
Hello Julie,
Excellent…I am glad we were of like mind on #3. It is the most pinky of the nudes and gives a wonderful pale effect without washing out the face. I can totally relate to your hairstyle choices…as I mentioned before, I wear it down a lot because it is easiest but when I am at home, I frequently throw it up into a bun of sorts ; ) When it is hot, it feels amazing to get it off of the neck and shoulders, no?!
I am so excited that you are on the brink of getting the Cover Expert…it is an amazingly opaque formula that yields a slight glow as the day goes on. Please keep me posted on your experience!
I have indeed applied the Hourglass Lightning Powder over all of my foundations including the By Terry…Diffused Light (my favorite–a pale yellow) gives an airbrushed effect to the face that is lovely. Because Cover Expert has great coverage and initially is basically matte when applied, you probably wouldn't want to add any powder until later in the day when a glow has surfaced!
xoxo, have a lovely weekend and talk soon!
–The Beauty Professor