Interview with Sabrina of The Beauty Look Book: Part One

Sabrina’s desk 

First things first – who are you? What do you do, and where do you live? 

My name is Sabrina, I’m from Southern California and currently work as a finance/business analyst and run The Beauty Look Book blog in my free time.

How big exactly is your beauty collection?

Taking inventory is something I’ve never been brave enough to do but my husband jokes that we have a mini-Saks in our house. I would say out of my whole collection, I own mostly Chanel.

The nail polish has definitely taken on a life of its own and out of all the different types of products, my nail polish stash is definitely the largest. I’ve just reached 100 Chanel nail polishes that I’ve collected since my college days (yes, most have lasted that long, only 2 have gone bad). I’ve collected 45 Dior nail polishes. Then there are a number of other brands that I have a few of, Rococo Nail Apparel, D&G, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Le Métier de Beauté, Paul & Joe etc.

Dior “Timeless Gold” on left, “Czarina Gold” on right

In your experience, is there really a difference between department store and drugstore brand nail polish?

I don’t have much experience with drugstore polishes – the downside of buying from the drugstore is that you can’t try before you buy, something I feel is key. I’ve played around with Revlon and Hard Candy which I’ve found to be ok for formula, but I’m mainly drawn to colors and packaging. I’d rather buy something I can try in-store first and I’m personally more drawn to the fashion-forward colors from Dior, Chanel, Rescue Beauty Lounge and D&G.

Lower end brands like OPI, Sephora for OPI and Zoya are decent and I find OPI’s quality to be just as good in quality as polishes 2-3x as pricey, however the color selection and finish just never compares to the complexity of something like Chanel’s Graphite or Dior’s Timeless Gold. I’ve never been a fan of Essie nail polishes, perhaps it’s the colors I’ve tried, but it usually takes me at least 3-4 coats to get the same coverage as what 1 coat of Chanel or Dior can achieve. I’m usually reaching for Chanel or Dior and I tend to stick with what I know.

What are your key beauty products that you couldn’t live without? Let’s say you’re on a desert island and can only have ~7 items…. 

• Koh Gen Do’s Macro Vintage Face Mask
• Koh Gen Do’s Cleansing Water
• Shiseido Cotton Pads
• Edward Bess’s entire beauty line
• Le Métier de Beauté glosses
• Dior Earth Reflection Quint
• Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara
• Dolce & Gabbana Powder Foundation
• Tom Ford Lipsticks
• Molton Brown Coco de Mer Shower Gel
• Phytojoba Shampoo
• Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy
• Chanel Rose Petale Blush
• Bobbi Brown Caviar Ink Gel Liner
• Laura Mercier Gold Metallic Cream Eyeshadow

… oops, I’ve gone over my limit. I don’t know that I would survive with just 7 products.

Edward Bess bronzer

What’s the beauty product that you use that makes the most difference on your face? 

Three things for me:
1) Good skincare
2) A well matched foundation (to skin tone and skintype) and
3) A glowing bronzer.

Le Metier de Beaute skincare

Right now I’m loving Le Metier de Beaute’s Peau Vierge Day Cream and Cleanser, Koh Gen Do’s Royal Massage Milk, Macro Vintage Face Mask, Cleansing Water and Cle de Peau’s Foaming Cleanser. Foundation wise I’m loving Chanel’s Perfection Lumiere and Koh Gen Do’s Aqua Foundation. I can’t rave enough about Edward Bess Daydream Bronzer – it’s the perfect natural bronzer, makes the skin glow, it’s non-orangey, not too dark, but just dark enough to make your skin look naturally tan.

Chanel & Dior for their ability to always be fashion forward and to always come up with colors and innovative formulas that look beautiful on any skintone. I love the direction Dior has taken with revamps and reformulations to modernize the look of their products. Chanel is modern yet classic. Both brands produce high quality items that I think work well for each season.

A few Edward Bess products

Edward Bess is a small but well-edited line. I love the quality of his products and he has a keen eye for creating things that truly enhance one’s natural beauty. He’s quite the makeup artist and can make anyone look like a much better version of themselves. If you can visit his counter in NY at Bergdorfs or Neimans at Beverly Hills, I highly recommend that you do so if you haven’t already. His staff is just phenomenal.

Some Le Metier de Beaute glosses

My best drugstore buys include Neutrogena’s Body Wash and the Eye Makeup Remover. Both effective yet gentle on the skin. I’ve repurchased numerous times ever since I can think back to when I started using beauty products.

Chanel creates some of the most beautiful face powders. The presentation is usually in the same square black lacquered compact which I love for its simplicity. I’ve been collecting only over recent years. There are some older ones I passed on that I would love to get my hands on.

Isn’t Sabrina’s beauty collection just amazing? She makes me want to go out and buy some new nail polishes and some bronzer (seriously, I’m clicking over to Sephora’s website right now)! I’d love for my beauty/vanity countertop to look like hers one day – thank you Sabrina for sharing your beautiful collection with us, and come back tomorrow for part two! You can check out The Beauty Look Book, here.