Yves Saint Laurent Noël 2011 makeup collection

Last week in Attica Department Store, an interesting event took place: Fred Letailleur, European makeup artist for YSL, presented the new Yves Saint Laurent makeup collection for this Christmas, notably named

"Look Noël".

And I must say, I was charmed.

First and foremost, the makeup collection itself is indeed so inspiring; it captures the essense of the iconic YSL black tuxedo and all the fine fabrics that create different shades of black. Me, being a total-black-outfit fanatic, I fell for it right away.

The most exciting product of this makeup collection is the LE Black Tuxedo eyeshadow palette that contains 4 variations of black and a shimmering white in the middle. Wrapped around this palette is a black YSL "belt" that you can actually wear as a wrist cuff ;)

Other LE products in this collection: the White Tuxedo palette (complexion illuminator with silver, pink and violet hues) and the Black Manicure duo (one matte and one glossy).

The Noël makeup collection is completed with a few products from the YSL permanent makeup range, as shown below:

Personally, if I was to grab just one product from this collection, it would have to be the Black Tuxedo eyeshadow palette (slightly biased cause of the black wrist cuff, can you blame me?); the White Tuxedo didn't catch my fancy- I'd rather have a golden highlighter than a cool-toned powder. And I think I can dupe the black manicure shown on the promo pics with cheaper nail polishes, hehe

As for the rest non-LE products, my eyes were drawn to the new Rouge Pur Couture lipsticks- if you're a lipstick lover like me, let me tell you that you won't find such bold and yet sophisticated shades at Mac, and that's a fact; see, I could easily imagine a mature lady wearing the YSL #39 purple lipstick, but in no way could she go out of the house wearing Mac's Violetta...
I decided to wait for everyone else in the blogosphere to have their go on the Rouge Pur Coutures, so then I can do my homework with their swatches and pick out my favourite ;)



Fred Letailleur was so lovely!!! I wasn't expecting a world renowned makeup artist to be so down to earth and kind with all the inquiring people surrounding him and just... cute! Only thing I wanted was to pinch his cheeks! Aww...



He did 2 makeup looks on gorgeous models Adela and Katerina; I managed to take notes of his invaluable tips, so here they are:

* It's best to start with the most dramatic aspect on your makeup- be it a dark smokey eye or a vampy lip, so that you can adjust the rest of the makeup accordingly without overdoing it
* To make a smokey eye look more modern, it's best to bring the focus to the eyeshadow shape dragging it towards the temples, than to apply lots and lots of black eyeliner around the eye
* For an understated cheek, all you have to do is to use a darker shade of Touche Eclat to contour under the cheekbones, and apply a shimmering powder high on the cheeks in a "C" shape
* And as for lips, plum is the new red for this season (so true!)

All in all, it was an enjoyable event and I did get closer to the brand- although I have to say I feel like I've betrayed myself for enjoying a LE makeup collection... No, my feelings haven't shifted 180 degrees- I'm still not loving the fact that you can't repurchase a LE product, but I came to realise that such makeup collections are there not only to sell-sell-sell, but to inspire as well.

It's the same as with high fashion shows- you may not always be able to afford all the outfits worn at the catwalk, but they sure serve as a style inspiration. Non?

So, what are your thoughts on this YSL makeup collection?

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