Sunday 17 October 2010

Esprique Precious Twinkle Story Collection

Unveiling a gift from the stars... Any guesses what this is?

It's the brand spankin' new Esprique Precious Twinkle Story Collection! This holiday coffret was sitting pretty at the top of my holiday shopping list so imagine my surprised delight when Kosé Singapore sent me an advance preview set. The coffret is set to be launched in Singapore on 15 November at all Kosé counters. It's an absolute steal at just S$48 (the same as last year's Illuminate Fantasy coffret), considering that an Esprique Precious Symphonic Eyes Palette retails at S$54. In Japan, the Twinkle Story Collection will retail for 3675yen (S$58.40).

The box design is highly unusual as the back of it is actually a booklet featuring all the promo visual for this collection.

The model is 28-year old Japanese songstress Mai Kuraki.

There are three looks that can be created with this coffret: Snow-white Angel, Mysterious Beauty and Glowing Princess.


One thoughtful touch is the inclusion of detailed makeup application tutorials for each of the three looks. The instructions are solely in Japanese but they are not difficult to figure out thanks to the diagrams that show the placement of the various shades.


The highlight of the coffret is naturally the Multi Prism Palette which comes with a gorgeous star-spangled case. The palette is a versatile combination that can be used on both the eyes and the cheeks. It consists of four powder shades (Sweet Pink, Frosty Pink, Icy Silver and Shadow Rose) and a cream shade.

You can blend the four powder shades to use them as a blush or apply them individually as eyeshadows. The shades are formulated with hyaluronic acid (for moisturising benefits) and "Twinkle Star Pearl".

The cream "Star Glitter" shade can be used either as eyeshadow or as a cheek and body highlighter. There is actually more product in the Multi Prism Palette at 6.8g compared to the Symphonic Eyes palettes (6.5g) which have the same combination of four powder shades plus one cream shade.

The case comes inlaid with a clear plastic sheet to help prevent the eyeshadow particles from getting into the rest of the case.

The two metal pans have a malleable glue underneath to help secure them in the case. This is quite commonly seen in various Japanese brands, and allows for the easy swopping out of pans.

The brush is a bit small but the natural hair bristles feel extremely soft. The sponge applicator is unusual in that the broad end is unusually bulbous!

The Aurora Crystal Gloss SP002 (4.4g) contains multi-colored "Twinkle Star Pearl" particles, plus rosemary extract and apricot seed oil for moisturising benefits. It does not contain fragrance.

The Nail Color N SP010 (5ml) is a fast drying nail lacquer with silver and blue "Twinkle Star Pearl" particles, plus rosemary extract and no fragrance.

The Pencil Eyeliner BK001 (1.2g) is a jet black with silver glitter. It also contains rosemary extract and no fragrance.

You can see more pictures of the Twinkle Story Collection plus swatches of the palette on MakeupStash.com. Aside from the Twinkle Story Collection, Esprique Precious will also release two Gradation Layer Cheeks in November, which you can see on Hanamizuki. Do look out for the collection at Kosé counters in mid-November!

16 comments:

Kathi said...

Wow, that´s so awesome! I am definitely getting this kit, it´s on top of my xmas wishlist and I´ll pick it up as soon as I spot it online =)

Anonymous said...

Phew. I'm glad I can safely give this a pass. Packaging looks good and that's as far as it goes. Contents wise is pretty lame. I'm sure kose can come up with more interesting combi. I still prefer beaute de kose Xmas and summer coffret sets. Those are worth every penny and more interesting for me.

milktea said...

I'm going to look for it in Malaysia too :-)

Haru said...

In case you are not aware, Beaute de Kose has been discontinued and will not be releasing any new products/coffrets. Their summer set was the final one.

visee said...

Hi Haru!

This really looks lovely. Thanks for posting the pics. :)

Am in two minds whether to get this. The set is gorgeous but the colours look more suitable as a blusher/highlighter, other than the last purplish shade.Don't think i can pull off pink eyeshadow.

Which X'mas sets are you planning to get this year? I'm tentatively eyeing the RMK one and maybe something from the Bobbi holiday collection. :)

Haru said...

hi Visee,
I'm planning to purchase the Paul & Joe, Shu Uemura and Guerlain holiday collections. From Paul & Joe, I pretty much want the whole collection while from Guerlain, I want to get the Meteorites powder balls. From Shu Uemura, I'm thinking of getting the palettes and the brush set.

Hing said...

Really pretty! Can't wait to get this collection :)

Haru, this may have nothing to do with this post but I'm thinking of getting the Jill Stuart's Blush Blossom and I can't choose between Seductive Rose and Lady Amaryllis :(

What's the difference between this two? And which one would you recommend?

By the way, I have very fair skin :)

Haru said...

hi Hing,
Seductive Rose is a slightly darker, more plum-toned pink whereas Lady Amaryllis is rosy pink shade. Lady Amaryllis is probably more suitable for very fair skin tones. Both Seductive Rose and Lady Amaryllis are well pigmented so you have to use a very light hand, especially if you are very fair so that the effect is not too over done.

Anonymous said...

hi. where to locate suquu an jill stuart in tokyo?

where is the most convienent drugstore in tokyo?

is maquillage a drugstore brand there ?

thanks

visee said...

Thanks for replying, Haru! I revisited your posts tagged Holiday 2010 and realised there are so many other x'mas set sets that I want!

The PnJ sets do look lovely! And the Shu Uemura palettes are so whimsical and cute! Will have to check them out when they're in the stores.

Think I'm going to get the Lunasol set too as I don't own any Lunasol products at all. And I missed out on the Aube Couture palette last year, so am eyeing them again this time round.

Year end is definitely my favourite time for makeup shopping! :)

Haru said...

hi,
Yes, Maquillage is a drugstore brand in Japan. You can find drugstores virtually everywhere, especially around subway/train stations. Matsumoto Kiyoshi is one of the largest chains.

You can find the Suqqu and Jill Stuart locations on their websites.
http://www.suqqu.com/global/shop/index.html

http://www.jillstuart-beauty.com/#/Shop/

You can find Jill Stuart at Lumine Level 2 (Shinjuku station), Odaky department store (Shinjuku), Tokyu department store (Shibuya station), or Seibu department store in Shibuya and Ikebukuro.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing. This set is definetly a steal. Too bad it doesn't comes with a makeup pouch.

Ling said...

Hi Haru
wonder if you can a post on your other best favorite like favorite dining spot, favorite bag, dress brand or countries or anytime that meant to you :)
thought that will be interesting for a fun random non makeup post once a while hehe

Hannah said...

Hi Iris

Do you know if this holiday set is available at drugstores in Tokyo? It will be cheaper in Japan than in Singapore, right?

Also, will it be cheaper to get the RMK brush set in Japan?

Thanks.

Haru said...

Yes, it's available in drugstores in Japan but it's cheaper to buy in Singapore where it's S$48. The Japan price is 3675yen, which is about S57.

The RMK Brush set should be cheapest at the Narita dutyfree but that is if it is not sold out yet. You can check the normal retail price for Japan on the RMK website and convert to S$ on xe.com. I don't know the price of the brush set in Singapore but you can check with the counters.

Hannah said...

Thanks for your reply. I'd thought prices at drugstores would be lower than the standard retail price.

I'm quite tempted to get the RMK brush set but unfortunately, I'm not using Narita airport this time. :(