Magie Deco Coffret 2011

If you are interested in Magie Deco's holiday coffret (7140yen), you can view real-life pics and swatches on this Japanese blog, this blog and this blog. It will be released on 1 November in Japan.

Holiday Collections from Lunasol, Magie Deco & Maquillage

According to 2Channel, Lunasol will start taking reservations for its holiday coffret on 22 October in Japan. The coffret usually goes on sale in mid-November. This year's coffret will include a new Three Dimensional Eyes palette, a pink Cream Cheek, a mini face powder and a lipgloss.

Magie Deco will release its Coffret V Princess Jewel (7140yen) on 1 November in Japan.

It includes a Shadow Brilliance palette, Multi Face Powder, Cheek Color and Face Brush.

Maquillage fans in Singapore will be pleased to know that the Aura Beauty set will be available here. The set is due for release in Japan on 21 November.

Lipglossiping has a sneak peek of Paul & Joe's holiday collection. Do check it out!

Magie Deco & Cosme Decorte AQ Fall 2011

Magie Deco will release its fall makeup collection, Misty Magic on 21 August in Japan. It includes three new Shadow Brilliance II palettes (5775yen) and three new Lipsticks (3360yen).


Cosme Decorte AQ will also release its fall makeup collection, Moonlight Flower, on the same date. It includes 5 new Rouge Supreme lipsticks (6300yen), one new Shadow Supreme palette (6825yen) and three new Nail Supreme polishes (3150yen).

Magie Deco Spring 2011

Magie Deco has updated its website with the upcoming spring collection, Sugar Magic, which features sweet shimmery pastel shades.

The collection includes:

1. Shadow Brilliance II: LC039 Pastel Sugar (mint green x yellow), DC040 Cassis Macaroon (purple gradation) and LC041 Maple Sugar (nude beige gradation) (5775yen)

2. Fairy Rouge: WT073 White Sugar (milky white with red pearl shimmer), BE374 Candy Voice (beige with gold and silver pearl) and PK879 Sweet Drop (sweet pink with multi-colored shimmer) (2940yen)

3. Lipstick: RD456 Sugar Plum (red with gold pearl), BE869 Sweetness (milky pink beige) and PK890 Sweet Angel (coral pink with gold pearl) (3360yen)

4. Nail Color: BE360 Candy Ribbon (milky beige with gold pearl), PK863 Strawberry Milk (white pink) and BE864 Melting Syrup (pink beige)

To be released on 16 January in Japan.

Magie Deco Shadow Brilliance II

On my recent trip to Osaka, I also picked up a couple of Magie Deco Shadow Brilliance II palettes and a Pure Color eyeshadow single in addition to the holiday coffret. The palettes are 5775yen (about S$88) each while the Pure Color eyeshadow is 1575yen (about S$25).

The gold and pink packaging of the Shadow Brilliance compacts is less elaborate than that of their higher end sister brand, Cosme Decorte AQ. The cases tend to attract fingerprints though but I like that they are slim and lightweight and thus, convenient for carrying around.

The plastic sheet overlay is printed with the suggested use for each shade, with more detailed application instructions in the included leaflet, as shown below.

The ingredients list is printed only in Japanese with the first ingredient as talc. Other ingredients include lavender flower water, almond oil, rose and safflower extracts and tocopherol. It also contains mineral oil, fragrance and methylparaben.

Each palette contains 4.8g of product. To compare, Jill Stuart's Jewel Crystal Eyes are 6g, Lunasol's Nature Color Eyes are 6.5g and Dior quints are 6g.

DC037 Dream Star is from this year's fall collection. The "DC" prefix denotes gradational shade combinations while "LC" denotes combinations with more contrasting shades.

The texture of the eyeshadows is quite soft and silky, which makes them easy to blend. The shimmer is very refined without any chunky glitter bits.

The only drawback is that they all tend to apply sheer, so it takes quite a bit of layering if you prefer a more intense finish.


LC032 Boulder Opal, from this year's spring collection, is a more unusual combination of sky blue, light mint and smoky grey and silver. Once again, the shades all apply relatively sheer, so a good primer is necessary to get them to show up better and last throughout the day.

I did two looks with this. For the first one, I applied the light green shade from the inner corners to the middle of the lid, blended into the dark grey and blue shades at the outer corners. I used the white shade over the browbone area and a mixture of the dark grey and green shades along the lower lashline.


For the second look, I applied the blue shade over the eye socket area, the green shade at the inner corners and the dark grey shade along the upper lashline. I used the white shade over the browbone area and a mix of the silver and green shade along the lower lashline.

I actually forgot to do my brows before taking the pic below! Anyway, I decided to post it anyway so that you can see the difference that groomed brows can make to the overall look. My current daily staple is K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 24h 01.

Overall, I liked the refined texture of the Magie Deco eyeshadows and the fact that they don't have any fallout problems (which I sometimes experience with Jill Stuart and Lunasol). However, I wish they had better colour payoff and applied more true to how they appear in the pan, especially for Boulder Opal.

Voce Spring 2011 Collections Preview

Voce magazine has a tantalising sneak preview of several Spring 2011 makeup collections in its new January issue! The prices and release dates listed are for Japan, with the majority of brands launching their spring collections in January. That's just a few weeks away, giving virtually no time for our wallets to rest after the holiday season.

(1) Esprique Precious Dual Gradation Eyes D1 (3150yen, 1 Dec)
(2) Dior Cinq Couleur Designer 018 (7980yen, 7 Jan)
(3) Jill Stuart Jewel Crystal Eyes #6 (5250yen, 14 Jan)
(4) YSL Palette Celebration Pink (7980yen, 14 Jan)
(5) Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek PK303 (1365yen, 21 Jan)
(6) Majolica Majorca Jeweling Eyes PK330 (1575yen, 21 Jan)

(7) Paul & Joe Lipstick C 071 (3045yen, 7 Jan)
(8) Chanel Rouge Allure 84 (4095yen, 7 Jan)
(9) Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Colour Balm 06 (2100yen, 2 Jan)
(10) Shiseido Shimmering Rouge PK407 (3675yen, 1 Jan)
(11) Jill Stuart Lip Jewel 01 (2940yen, 14 Jan)
(12) Givenchy Blush Gelee Candied Pink (4725yen, 14 Jan)

(1) Chanel Ombres Perlées de Chanel (7875yen, 7 Jan)
(2) Lunasol Ocean Scene Eyes 01 (5250yen, 14 Jan)
(3) Coffret D'Or Perfect Grade Eyes 01 (1890yen, 12 Dec)
(4) Cosme Decorte AQ Shadow Supreme 031 (6825yen, 16 Jan)
(5) Shiseido Luminizing Satin Eye Colour Trio VI308 (4200yen, 1 Jan)

(1) Lunasol Ocean Scene Eyes 03 (5250yen, 14 Jan)
(2) Shiseido Luminizing Satin Eye Colour Trio BL310 (4200yen, 1 Jan)
(3) Mary Quant Nail Polish 06 (1365yen, 10 Feb)
(4) YSL Manicure Duo 5 (4725yen, 14 Jan)
(5) THREE 4D Eye Palette 02 (6300yen, 19 Jan)
(6) RMK Crayon & Powder Eyes 03 (4200yen, 21 Jan)

(1) Esprique Precious Dual Gradation Eyes D2 (3150yen, 1 Dec)
(2) Shiseido Luminizing Satin Eye Color Trio BR209 (4200yen, 1 Jan)
(3) THREE 4D Eye Palette 01 (6300yen, 19 Jan)
(4) Givenchy La Prism Eye Quartet 78 (7245yen, 14 Jan)
(5) RMK Crayon & Powder Eyes 05 (4200yen, 21 Jan)
(6 & 7) Shu Uemura Shine Mystic Eye Color Khaki Silver & Ivy Gold (2415yen, 21 Jan)

(1) Maquillage Lighting Eyes Creator BE313 (3675yen, 21 Jan)
(2) Magie Deco Shadow Brilliance II DC041 (5775yen, 16 Jan)
(3) Est Dual Multiple Eyes EX13 (5775yen, 1 Jan)
(4) Cle de Peau Ombre Couleur Quadre 207 (7875yen, 21 Jan)

(1) Anna Sui Nail Colour N 031 (1680yen, 6 Jan)
(2) Lunasol Ocean Scene Eyes 04 (5250yen, 14 Jan)
(3) Magie Deco Fairy Rouge WT073 (2940yen, 16 Jan)
(4) Chanel Nail Colour 511 Pearl Drop (3045yen, 7 Jan)
(5) Dior Cinq Couleurs 034 (7980yen, 7 Jan)
(6) Chanel Levres Satinelle 151 (3465yen, 7 Jan)

(1) Aube Couture Designing Puffy Cheek 412 (2940yen, 7 Dec)
(2) Lunasol Cream Cheeks EX03 (2625yen, 14 Jan)
(3) Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek PK301 (1365yen, 21 Jan)
(4) RMK Sheer Powder Cheeks 02 (4200yen, 21 Jan)
(5) Clarins Blush Prodigy 02 (5040yen, 14 Jan)
(6) Chanel Joues Contraste 65 (5565yen, 7 Jan)

I like the look of the new Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheeks, which remind me of Love Clover's Pon Pon Cheek PC N.


The Dior quint 034 looks like a gorgeous smoky eye palette!

I'm not a fan of the Dior Cinq Couleur Designer quints, and 018 looks quite bland.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Lunasol Ocean Scene Eyes 03 looks in real life as well.

Magie Deco Coffret IV

Magie Deco, which is the younger and more hip sister brand of Cosme Decorte, released its fourth annual holiday coffret on 1 November this year. Magie Deco's holiday coffrets are usually very popular and sell out in a flash in Japan. The counters in Osaka and Kyoto had already sold out of it when I was there in the first week of November so I was elated to discover it subsequently at Narita Airport dutyfree.

The coffret's normal retail price in Japan is 6825yen (about S$108) but I paid only 5900yen at Narita Airport. The set does not include any pouch but I'm fine with that as I already have an excessive number of makeup pouches and clutch purses from previous makeup sets.

The popularity of Magie Deco's holiday coffret is usually due to the exquisite packaging as well as the great value for money. This year's set contains a full size Shadow Brilliance R palette (5.5g), a Lipgloss R (7g), Loose Cheek R (4g) and Eye Gloss R (6g). Magie Deco's Shadow Brilliance palettes usually retail for 5775yen each while the Gem Drop eye glosses are 2310yen each.

The cover design of the palette is more intricate and prettier than the palettes in the permanent range.

As shown in the diagram below, A is the "Highlight and Base", B and C are the "Accent Colours", D is the "Shading Colour" and E is the "Nuance Colour". The order of application is from A to E.

I would have preferred a palette with more vivid shades that provided greater contrast to one another but Japanese makeup coffrets are designed to be crowd pleasers and hence, the combinations are usually very "safe" and easy for most ladies to wear.

The Eye Gloss R is virtually identical to Jill Stuart's Jelly Eye Colors but without the strong fruity floral Jill Stuart signature scent. The Magie Deco Eye Gloss does have a light floral scent but it's a lot more subtle than the Jill Stuart version. Both Jill Stuart and Magie Deco belong to the Kose group, so it's not surprising that the textures are very similar. The Eye Gloss has a water-based jelly texture that applies very smoothly, with sufficient time for blending before it sets to a non-greasy finish. If applied alone without any eyeshadow on top, it appears as a light wash of micro-sparkles that catch and reflect the light beautifully, but some ladies may find it unsuitable for a more conservative work environment. When the eyeshadows from the palette are applied over it, the micro-sparkles become much less obvious but there is still an illuminating effect.

The loose blush powder is a feminine rose that is likely to suit most complexions. It is a velvety matte without any obvious shimmer. The cotton puff is cute but for better control, I still prefer to use a proper brush. A netted sifter is included to be placed between the puff and the blush powder.


The lipgloss is a sheer glossy red with a sprinkling of tiny glitter bits. It gives just the barest tint to the lips and feels quite emollient on the lips.

Here's the simple look that I did today with all the products in the coffret. On the eyes, I used the Eye Gloss as a base all over the lid, followed by the light pink shade ("E") from the inner corners to the middle of the lid, the rosy pink shade ("C") in the middle of the lid, the purple shade ("D") at the outer corners and along the lower lashline, and the pale yellowish white ("A") over the browbone area.

Then I finished by lining the upper lashline with Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Liner and applying Visee Wide Long (Curl Impact) mascara.

The combination of shades in the palette are probably quite easy to dupe with other brands but still, I liked the overall look. The eyeshadows felt very smooth and easy to blend. Like most Japanese brands, they are not crazily pigmented but instead, apply sheer and can be built up gradually. Used over the Eye Gloss, I was impressed to find at the end of my 14-hour work day that there was no creasing and minimal fading even at the inner corners! The eyeshadows also maintained their lovely glimmer without any fallout.

Overall, the products in the coffret are certainly not the most unique of shades but nevertheless, I still find it a very attractive set. Given how difficult it is to snag a Magie Deco coffret at a reasonable price, this will probably be the only Magie Deco holiday coffret I'll ever own and I love it!