Coquette

Clinique Gift with Purchase at Macy's

With fall beauty in full swing, I love stocking up on beauty favorites or trying new items when there's gift with purchase incentives. Right now, exclusively at Macy's, you can choose a free 7 piece gift with any $27 Clinique purchase ($70 Value!). Purchase online or at any Macy's store.

There are two sets to choose from: Sassy: which features a Cupcakes cosmetics bag and All about Shadows Duo in Blush and Mink with Powder Blush in Smoldering Plum Sweet: which features a Sprinkles cosmetics bag and All about Shadows Duo in Fog and Gray Matters and Powder Blush in Iced Lotus Blush).

Both sets include:

• Mini Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion


• High Impact Mascara Mini


• Clinique Happy, 4ml


• Clinique Pop Glaze Sheer Lip Colour + Primer in Bubblegum Pop


• Take The Day Off Makeup Remover

Plus there's a chance for even more! Receive a FREE Happy Body Cream and choose your full size Long Last Glosswear with any $55 Clinique purchase, in addition to receiving the pouch filled with Clinique goodies!

This gift with purchase is valid from September 27, 2016 to October 17, 2016.

See some of my past reviews of Clinique items, if you are looking to try something new and different:

Clinique Pep Start Skin Care
Clinique Pep-Start Eye Cream
Clinique Smart: Custom Repart Serum + Eye Treatment
Clinique Sweet Pots Sugar Scrub and Lip Balm
Clinique Chubby in the Nude Foundation Stick
Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer

Visit Macys.com to get your free 7 piece gift with any $27 Clinique purchase.

GWP Pouch & beauty items provided by Clinique

Get the Limited Edition MUGLER Hot Cologne + Leather Pouch

In celebration of Paris Fashion Week, MUGLER has announced a brand new scent inspired by the MUGLER Spring/Summer 2017 fashion show happening tomorrow in Paris. (See the photos here on 10/1.) Starting today (and for the next ten days only), you can order the MUGLER Hot Cologne ($195 on muglerusa.com). Only 50 pieces of this limited edition bottle will be available in the U.S. and it comes with a MUGLER black calf leather pouch designed by David Koma, MUGLER's creative director.

The fragrance is a bold, warm-cold composition with notes of citrus, orange blossom, permit grain and green coffee. I can already smell how wonderful it is!

(Photo: MUGLER Resort 2017, Look 25 from Vogue)

Buy the limited edition MUGLER Hot Cologne at muglerusa.com.

Bag Review: Chloe Mini Marcie Bag

I haven't done a bag post in a long time and it's definitely one of my favorites posts to do. These days, I've pared down what I need to the essentials and am usually carrying a mini bag crossbody. I picked up the Chloe Mini Marcie Bag ($795 at Neiman Marcus) in late July and it's been such a carefree summer staple. It is small but if you need to, you can definitely stuff it. I used it all around San Diego this summer and had it stuffed while going to the Zoo, Legoland and Sea World. I wore sunscreen all over and I could easily wipe it off the leather strap. I've noticed that the leather is getting softer which makes me love using the bag even more. I stuffed it a lot when I was on vacation and it fit everything I needed: paper tickets, a map, small wallet, sunglasses (w/o case), iPhone, lipstick, lip balm, mints and a pack of kleenex. I kept a hair tie in the front slip pocket and sometimes receipts. I will say one thing is that the opening of the bag is smaller than the bottom. Make sure you are careful when you take out your items so things don't fall out. I actually lost my keys a couple of weeks ago when I was taking out my iPhone while walking my dog. Since I have my house key on an LV key holder and it's only 1 key and 1 fob, I didn't hear any jangling noise from it falling on the ground. What I love about the Tan color is that it works perfectly year round and looks equally stylish for summer and fall.

If you are looking to save a couple hundred dollars like I did, you can easily purchase this bag (or other luxury bags) online from Europe! Our exchange rate is so good now and some of these larger department store sites have great shipping and also return policies (please check each one carefully). Of course, if you are set on a particular color you may find yourself checking the site frequently for any updates to their selection. It took me about two months but I did finally get the Tan color in the Chloe Mini Marcie that I really wanted from the French Monnier Freres site. I ended up paying $665 total which included tax and duties. This bag retails for $795-$890 (Nordstrom has raised their prices for this bag to $890 this fall) before tax here in the U.S. so all things considered I saved a significant amount of money without leaving the country! The bag also came within a week of my order and it was packaged so nicely in a beautiful big box with ribbon and inside was a Chloe dust bag with my beautiful bag inside. I check the Chloe page on Monnier Freres often and the prices do change from time to time. I'm not sure if this is because of exchange rates or whatnot but sometimes things go down (and up). I got this tip from the blogger Allyson in Wonderland and can't thank her enough for this!

Currently, this bag is really a deal at Harrods and is available in Intense Green or Black. Make sure you choose the USD $ currency from the top right menu and then add your selection to your cart. The Chloe Mini Marcie bag is $653.82 but if you choose guest checkout you can see that they minus out the VAT so the total amount comes to $578.55 including delivery. This is a huge savings! Selfridges has the black and nut color available for $550. I'm not completely sure if they minus out the VAT already but it seems like they have and will just add some of the import duties after but you don't know the final price until checkout (and you have to add in all your info to do so).

So there you have it. My beautiful Chloe Mini Marcie bag and a few more options to online shop and browse to find the best luxury handbag deals!

boscia Sake Bright White Mask

I love trying natural skincare products and just discovered boscia, a Japanese brand that is all about preservative-free and botanical ingredients for their skincare. I recently had a chance to try their new boscia Sake Bright White Mask ($38 at Sephora). Now that we are in post-summer, it's time to get back into taking care of your skin. This mask helps brighten and diminish hyperpigmentation. It also helps plump dehydrated skin, and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Make sure you apply a thick even layer of this mask on your skin, while avoiding your hairline, eyebrows, eye area and lips. I made the mistake of going too thin on my forehead the first time and it was harder to peel it off. Once you have it on your face, it feels really cool and looks beautiful with this pearly silvery/white shimmer. My daughter thinks it's less scary than having a sheet mask on! haha! Leave it on for 30 minutes and then peel this off your face. It's really satisfying to peel it off! My skin felt really soft once the mask was off and my skin looked good. You can use this mask 1-2 times a week. I plan to keep up this routine to lessen some of the hyperpigmentation from the summer sun.

Here's a video on how to apply the boscia Sake Bright White Mask from Sephora.

Pick up the boscia Sake Bright White Mask at Sephora.

Review product provided by boscia

My HG Makeup: YSL Fusion Ink Foundation + YSL Souffle d'Eclat Loose Powder

My holy grail foundation currently is the YSL Fusion Ink Foundation ($60 at Bloomingdales). I love the really light texture that evens out my skintone and is so light it doesn't look like I have foundation on. This foundation is matte and lasts from day to night. I have it in the shade B40 Sand. When you apply it, just make sure you have moisturized the area around your nose really well. I find that I like using a little bit of face oil around that area so the foundation doesn't sink into my pores and the coverage is just right. This is the best foundation I have tried because it not only feels light, it also really gives me great coverage.

I love the YSL Fusion Ink foundation a lot but I honestly don't wear foundation everyday. What I do wear almost everyday is loose powder. My YSL beauty makeup artist Quaid (go see him at Bloomingdales in SF) recommended YSL Souffle d'Eclat Loose Powder ($60 at Bloomingdales). It's perfect to wear on its own and it also sets my Fusion Ink foundation perfectly. There are only four shades with the first one being a pink translucent color. I have it in shade 3 which is a light nude. It contains micro mother of pearl particles to enhance your skin's radiance. Today I'm wearing it on it's own and I can already tell the difference on how good my skin looks with it on. It also doesn't look like powder is sitting on my face either. The particles are really fine and you don't need a lot of it on for it to work. Quaid recommended that I cut the YSL tape in half so that it was only dispersing a little bit each time. The container is so pretty I have it with all of my perfumes on my mirrored tray in my bathroom.

Pick up the YSL Fusion Ink Foundation and the YSL Souffle d'Eclat at Bloomingdales.com.

Bloomingdales has free shipping on all beauty orders over $50+. If you're a Bloomingdales Loyalist, there's no minimum -- there is always free shipping!

Charlotte Tilbury now at Bloomingdales San Francisco

The renowned British makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury namesake beauty line has arrived in San Francisco finally at the Bloomingdales at the Westfield Shopping Center. Right now, they are occupying the aisle near La Mer and Jo Malone but soon will be settling into their own space by the end of the month. The grand opening weekend starts Friday, September 30th. Call Bloomies and book a makeover appointment during the grand opening weekend. The slots are filling up! I picked up three goodies that day and am excited to share what I bought.

I have been so curious about the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Re-Shape and Re-Size Lip Liner in Pillow Talk ($22 at Bloomingdales) for a long time now. I finally could try it out in person and it's just the perfect nude lip. I also love the staying power. I tried this liner with two of her K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipsticks ($32), Penelope Pink (named after Penelope Cruz) and the KimKW (yes after Kim Kardashian). The KimKW was way too light and washed out my face but I did like the Penelope Pink. The only problem was that i knew I had a drawer full of lipsticks in that hue so I skipped it, for now.

Charlotte Tilbury Lip Lustre Luxe Color-Lasting Lip Lacquer in High Society ($22 at Bloomingdales). Once this gloss was on my lips, I knew I had to get it. (I'm such a sucker for lip gloss.) It feels so good on the lips and instantly gives my lips a beautiful shine. I loved that it didn't feel sticky. It looks so good paired with the lip liner in Pillow Talk so I just really couldn't resist. The gloss is a doe foot applicator and I love that the bottle was compact and light. Perfect for me to carry around in even the smallest of crossbody bags.

Here is a swatch of the Pillow Talk lip liner (at top) and the High Society gloss. So pretty!

Finally, I had watch a beauty review by London-based blogger Chase Amie and she did a review in one of her favorites videos of the Charlotte Tilbury Air Brush Flawless Finish Skin Perfecting Micro-Powder ($45 at Nordstrom - it's not up yet on the Bloomingdale's site). I normally use a loose powder but I needed a pressed powder that I could take with me in my handbag or for traveling. Once the makeup artist did a light powdering of this on my face, I could immediately see the difference in the mirror. My skin just looked beautiful and even-toned. There are only three shades. I'm 2 Medium. The makeup artist told me that there were also skincare benefits in the powder since Charlotte is all about skincare too. Rose wax and almond oil help hydrate the skin so you'll never look like you have powder sitting on top of your face. So needless to say, I was sold. The rose gold compact is particularly beautiful. The only thing is this powder doesn't come with a puff so you'll need to use a brush or bring a retractable kabuki brush when you are on the go.

If you're looking to check out the new Charlotte Tilbury line, just talk to the makeup artist about what you are interested in and she will show you some samples. They have everything there, just not on display yet until the end of the month. I'm looking forward to their launch!

Purchase Charlotte Tilbury Beauty at Bloomingdales.com.

Bloomingdales Exclusive: YSL Limited Edition Summer Addition Couture Palette (Great for Asian Eyes)

I had a great makeover morning with my favorite YSL makeup artists Quaid last Thursday at Bloomingdales. I have been shopping with Quaid for years and always love his beauty advice. (We both love Korean Beauty and face masks. Need I say more?!) He really knows how to do Asian eyes and told me this new YSL Limited Edition Summer Addition Couture Palette ($60 at Bloomingdales) would be super flattering to my skin tone. He was so right! It's my new favorite eye palette and that says a lot because I have a lot. This YSL eye palette features a wonderful blend of shades of iridescent pinks, shimmering golds and soft browns. They blend in so well together that he created a really natural look with this palette. I really like the light and soft texture of these shadows. I compared it to the regular YSL eye palettes and this one has a different formula. Really soft and blends in superbly! This is selling out so quickly (SF Bloomies is now sold out). This limited edition YSL palette and colors is exclusive to Bloomingdales.

Here are swatches of the eye palette (colors go clockwise from the palette and then to the center):

A close up of the eye palette. You can see how soft the texture of this eye palette is!

Purchase the YSL Limited Edition Summer Addition Couture Palette at Bloomingdales.com.

Alpessence: Swiss Luxury Skin Care

Alpessence is an online luxury skin care brand from Switzerland. I am so happy I discovered this line as the products feel amazing on my skin. The line uses cutting edge anti-aging technology featuring rose stem cells and other key ingredients such as diamond, malachite, platinum, pearl and caviar. There are no added artificial fragrance, dyes or ingredients in their products which is music to my ears and my sensitive skin. They don't test on animals either.

For a little over a week now, I have been using the following three products religiously morning and night. I can already see a difference in my skin. There's more of a bounce to my skin overall than usual. I read on their site about their exclusive absorbing technology which helps to penetrate the product into your skin so it works better and faster. The consistency of the products is amazing -- so light on the skin and yet really moisturizing. I'm looking forward to continuing to use these products this season to monitor how my skin improves. On the packaging front, nothing could feel more luxurious than their silver bottles and clean glass jars. The design is so beautiful, that I love having it out on my bathroom counter to look at, rather than storing it in my medicine cabinet.

Alpessence 24 Hour Renewing Cream ($149)

This cream is so light, it's consistency is more like a whipped cream. I took a picture of it open -- not sure if you can tell how light and airy it is. It feels so good on the skin and it's so weightless, you can't believe it's working. But let me tell you it really is. That little area of skin between my brows is so soft now since I have used this cream. I have always had a weird dry patch there but I don't have it any longer. This cream helps tighten skin, trigger skin regeneration, reduce wrinkles and improve skin condition.

Alpessence Caviar Serum ($139)

This Caviar Serum is their signature product and just may be my favorite serum. I use 1 small drop for my face and 1 drop for my neck area. It goes on really smooth on my skin and absorbs quickly. This anti-aging serum helps to moisturize, brighten and firm your skin.

Alpessence Eye Cream ($139)

This eye cream is very light and moisturizing. I feel like it's reducing my dark circles that I've had accrued this summer. I wear this eye cream both day and night now. In the day, I've noticed that it has helped my eye area look great in the day. It works well under my concealer too.

Purchase Alpessence Skin Care at Alpessence.com. USA orders get free shipping! You can also shop the Alpessence Amazon Store.

Review products provided by Alpessence

Chanel Fall Makeup: Le Rouge Collection No. 1

Chanel makes a really bold entrance into fall with their new Le Rouge Collection No. 1. Featuring Kristin Stewart, this makeup collection is by Lucia Pica, Chanel's new Global Creative Makeup and Colour Designer. I love that Chanel is taking such a strong leap, giving this classic French fashion house, a truly modern edge.

I couldn't resist getting the eyeshadow palette Les 4 Ombres in 268 Candor et Expérience ($61 at Chanel.com). The SA at Nordstrom told me that this is limited edition and will sell out (It's already sold out on Nordstrom.com). I'm not a strong red eyeshadow person but I was really loving how build able the colors are. I can do my eyes and lightly sweep on the red with my Mac 217 brush and give the neural browns some warmth on my lids.

I love myself a good eyeliner and picked up the Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner in 929 Agapé ($33 at Chanel.com). It's a gorgeous bronze/brown color and just looks amazing together with the eyeshadow palette.

Here's a swatch of the 268 Candor et Expérience Les 4 Ombres and the Agapé eyeliner.

In terms of the rest of the collection, I have a lot of red lipsticks and quite a few of them are from Chanel so I didn't look into the lip colors for this collection. Ditto on blush. What I do want next from this collection is the Le Vernis in 530 Rouge Radical ($28), a limited edition nail color that features a gel-like liquid that gives a glossy shine. I know I have to hurry as the nail polishes, especially limited edition ones can sell out quickly!

There are a four videos on Chanel's You Tube channel featuring three different models creating different looks with the L Rouge Collection No. 1. Video 1, Video 2, Video 3 and Video 4 featured above.

Purchase the Chanel Le Rouge Collection No. 1 at Chanel.com.

Les Parfums Louis Vuitton

(Photos: Louis Vuitton)

Just a week ago, French fashion power house Louis Vuitton launched their new Les Parfums Louis Vuitton fragrance line. There are seven scents total in the collection and was created by renowned French perfumer, Jacques Cavalier Belletrud. The perfumes are unisex. The bottles designed my Marc Newsom have a beautiful vintage apothocary feel to them and yet also look very luxurious. French actress Léa Seydox is the face of the new Louis Vuitton fragrances. You may remember her from last year's James Bond movie, Spectre.

There are two different sizes of bottles you can purchase. The bottles can also be refilled when you are finished at a significant discount.

Here are the prices:

140 ml is $240 (refill is $150)
200 ml is $300

To purchase the Les Perfumes Louis Vuitton you can shop online or visit your local Louis Vuitton boutique. If you're in San Francisco and don't want the hassle of the Union Square Maison flagship, I love the excellent service at the Louis Vuitton boutique inside Bloomingdales. Lyn is my go to S.A. -- she's fantastic but so is the rest of the sales staff there. Lyn spent some time with me yesterday letting me try all of the fragrances and explaining them all to me. She had a jar of coffee beans to help cleanse my nose palette between testing each fragrance so I wouldn't be overwhelmed or get confused on scents. For me personally, I love soft or fruity scents.

Here are my favorite scents:

#1 Mille Feux (Translation: Thousand Lights)

Lyn told me that Jacques Cavalier Belletrud was inspired by the raspberry colored Capucine bag and created this scent made up of raspberry and leather. It's so beautiful and really unlike anything I have ever smelled before. It's soft and sweet, definitely not too strong.

#2 Contre Moi (Translation: The summit)

If you like vanilla, this one is for you. It's a mixture of vanilla with orange flower, rose and magnolia petals. Just heaven!

#3 Apogée (Translation: Against Me)

This is the softest of all the scents and is just that "fresh" scent that is work friendly. The scent is lily-of-the-valley mixed in with petals of jasmine, magnolia and rose. It's beautiful!

#4 Rose Des Vents (Translation: Pink Winds)

I love the smell of roses and this one is just unique with a mixture of roses with iris and cedar. I think this is a great everyday scent.

#5 Matière Noire (Translation: Dark Matter)

This scent just smells sexy to me and it is perfect for a man. It's also a great scent for a gal out on the town. Featuring a blend of dark wood and white flowers, it's just so darn good. It's also surprisingly not overly strong either. This also would be a perfect scent for a man.

Turbulences was the strongest fragrance and just not for me. It was just way to intense. Dans La Peau (In the Skin), a rich leathery scent, would be great for a man.

For you perfume collectors you can get all seven perfumes in this Miniature Set ($290). Currently at my LV at Bloomingdales in San Francisco it's sold out and there's a wait list.

I like the Travel Spray Set ($240) that comes with three glass tubes of the fragrance of your choice along with a sleek LV atomizer. To refill this set it is $130. There seems to be stock of this online so just choose the fragrance you want and choose Travel Spray from the drop down menu.

I'm not sure which perfume I am going to get yet, but I am going to purchase one. I have narrowed it down to the ones listed above. The fragrances and the packaging are just too beautiful to resist! Head over to your local Louis Vuitton to try them out. I really think you need to smell these beauties in person and the presentation of the fragrances on top of a trunk is beautiful.