In possibly the most glamorous collaboration I’ve heard about in ages, haute fashion brand Marchesa has teamed up with luxury beauty line Le Métier de Beauté to create Marchesa for Le Métier de Beauté. (Creative naming there, guys.)

On the few occasions I’ve dipped into Le Métier makeup, it has been so incredibly, over-the-top fabulous that I’ve practically felt guilty using it–as if I should instead simply display the items on my vanity. The textures are always finely-milled, the packaging sleek, the colors intense, vibrant and sophisticated. It’s the Grace Kelly of makeup.

The packaging itself was directly inspired by Sandra Bullock’s silver bugle Marchesa Oscar dress from last year’s awards, and the collection features two full-face palettes created by Marchesa’s co-founders and designers, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig.

Georgina Chapman of Marchesa

La Lune, by Georgina Chapman

The La Lune palette includes:

• Translucent Pressed Powder
• Concealer
• Lip Gloss: La Cerise Noir
• Crème Blush: La Peche
• Eye Shadow: Le Minuit

Suggested retail – $65

Le Soleil, by Keren Craig

The Le Soleil palette includes:

• Bronzer
• Concealer
• Lip Gloss: Le Caramel
• Crème Blush: La Rougeur
• Eye Shadow: Le Fauve

Suggested retail – $65

Other collection stars include dual-ended Double Entendre Lip Gloss, $38, and highlighting and cooling Sheer Illumination Pens, $48, which feature vitamin E; tightening mango extract; healing aloe and echinacea; and toning goldenseal.

The entire Marchesa for Le Métier de Beauté collection is available at Neiman Marcus from September onward.  Visit metierbeaute.com or NeimanMarcus.com for more information.

While making a video of the new MAC Dare-to-Wear makeup (which is the Lady Gaga collection), my entire tripod apparatus came crashing down in the bathroom.  Rather than reshoot, I plowed through.  True professionalism! (Erm, or true laziness.)

I really like the Dare-to-Wear collection, particularly the funky manic panic eyeshadows (I’ve been daily using Sassy Grass, a green, and Louder, Please, a hot pink) and the gorgeous, glossy, shimmery lipglasses (Bold & Brash, a vivid fruit punch shade, and So Bad, a peachy melon, are on heavy rotation).

Check it out for yourself at maccosmetics.com.  The collection is on-sale through September.

Ashley Greene really is unfairly gorgeous, isn’t she?  She’s a beauty ambassador for mark, and they just sent me the following makeup notes about her look at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards:

Ashley Green at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards (Granitz/WireImage)

[Worth noting: the only time you can be sure a celebrity is actually wearing the makeup she's credited with is a situation like this.  If a magazine cover says "Julia is wearing makeup by Blah!" she's probably not, as the magazine itself arranges the makeup artist, who comes to the shoot with whatever brands are in their personal arsenal.

When a celebrity is the face of a makeup brand and has a red-carpet appearance, however, the brand usually sends one of their own makeup artists to the celebrity's house.  As a result, the celebrity really does get dolled up with products exclusively (or mostly) from that brand's line, which are chockablock in the dedicated makeup artist's kit.]

Face:

• mark Good Riddance Hook Up Concealer in Light/Medium
• mark Get a Tint Tinted Moisturizer Lotion SPF 15 in Buff/Natural
• mark Glowdacious Illuminating Powder in Shimmied Up
• mark Good Glowing Mosaic Blush Custom Color Palette in Chica

Eyes:

• mark Please Hold Eye Primer in Light to Medium
• mark I-Mark Custom Pick Eyeshadow in Tiki
• mark On The Edge Hook Up Liquid Eyeliner in Cleo
• mark Scanda-Lash Hook Up Mascara in Blacklash

Lips:

• mark Pro Gloss Hook Up Plumping Lip Shine in Swank

All products available at meetmark.com

My NARS palette in Wild at Heart is the sunshine of my life, so I am mega-excited to check out these latest introductions (available in zippered nylon cases for easy portability!):

Beautiful Life Lip and Cheek Palette, $55:

Beautiful Life Lip and Cheek palette features 4 lip glosses, plus NARS the Multiple in Copacabana (a glistening pearl) and Orgasm Multiple (peachy pink with shimmer),

and…

Only You Eye and Cheek Palette, $65:

Only You Eye and Cheek palette features 4 to-die-for eyeshadows in rose, goldish-brown, aubergine and matte black, plus an iridescent gold ivory blush and the famous Orgasm blush.

NARS consistently gets it right when it comes to makeup palettes.  Unlike other companies and offerings which include superfluous colors, the lip glosses and (most importantly for me) eye shadows in NARS’s palettes are always supremely flattering and covetable. The colors wear down equally, which means I’m using all of them!

NARS Limited-Edition palettes in Only You and Beautiful Life are available now at narscosmetics.com.

Daria Werbowy and Elettra Wiedemann, by Mario Testino

Lancôme’s Fall 2010 color collection, called French Coquettes, is now available, and it is gorgeous.

I’ve been experiencing a renewed love-affair with everything French recently–Once-weekly conversation lessons!  Françoise Hardy on the car stereo!  Parties with fellow Frenchies!–so naturally I was besotted with the deep plums, shimmering charcoals and sophisticated nudes in this collection.  Girl-next-door makeup?  Not here!

Lancôme Color Design Limited-Edition Eyeshadow Quad in French Touch

Artistic director Aaron De Mey took his cues from famously glamorous moments in French history, including Belle Époque opulence and Montmartre bohemian decadence.

The items in the collection which are especially wetting my whistle?

– Color Design Limited-Edition Eyeshadow Quad in French Touch, $42, featuring 4 highly-wearable shades of violet that are tailor-made for a creative smokey eye.

Lancôme La Laque Fever Lipglosses

– La Laque Fever Lipglosses, $26.50, which provide tons of color and shine (for up to 8 hours, if the website is to be believed!)

– Ombre Magnétique Extremely Long-Wear Crease-Resistant Eyeshadow, $25, a sheer-but-buildable gel featuring iridescent mother-of-pearl and long-wearing polymers.  Available in 3 shades:

Lancôme Ombre Magnétique in Black Macadam

Black Macadam, Cherry Cherie, and Urban Silver.  I want them all!

The entire collection is now available on the website, but will roll-out to stores in August.  (Meanwhile, there’s already a waiting list for Ombre Magnétique, with orders shipping on August 15th.  Get on the list here!)

View the entire Lancôme Fall 2010 French Coquettes collection at Lancome-USA.com.

While listening to Pandora this afternoon (Ella Fitzgerald radio for a little old school Hollywood glamour!), I was sucked in by an audio ad for HauteLook and decided to check out the site.  It’s been a looong while since I last visited.

Lo!  Good timing: HauteLook is currently featuring a huge sale on Pop Beauty makeup, on until tomorrow (Saturday, 7/24) at 8 AM PST.

Check it out here and get items like Lid Pastel Eyeshadow Palette, normally $22, for only $6.60–a savings of 70%.

Vas-y!