Shu Uemura Nova Diva

Biteki.com has posted pics from the Shu Uemura press event for the upcoming Nova Diva fall makeup collection, which will be released on 1 August in Japan. The collection includes 4 new eyeshadows. Below are the three palette combinations for this collection.

Elegant & Romantic: G Bronze、ME 126、ME 885、M 895

Cool & Mystic: G White & Rainbow (new)、P 611、P 696 (new)、M 990. This is the palette used on the model in the ad visual for the collection.

Fairy & Fresh: G White Gold (new)、P 520、P 595 (new)、P 995

Louise Young Brushes and Ruby & Millie Beauty Tools

At Boots in London, I found the Ruby & Millie line of beauty tools were all going for under £3, as the line is being discontinued.

The Lip Brush was the most amazing deal ever, as it was originally priced at £7.66 and was marked down to £1.91. When I got to the till, it rang up at just 47pence! The cashier was just as surprised as I was, and declared it a great bargain. The synthetic bristles feel nicely firm and smooth. After discovering this, I stocked up several more at other Boots stores.

The i-Lash Curler is designed without any side bars so as to avoid pinching the eyelids, much like Urban Decay's new Revolution Curler. This was just £2.17, down from the original price of £8.68. Unlike the Revolution Curler, it does not have a spring mechanism.


The curler definitely takes some getting used to. The black plastic makes it hard to see one's lashes against the curler, unlike with, say, Shu Uemura's silver metal curler. The lack of side bars doesn't really help that much because I found it hard to get the curler to grip the lashes at the inner and outer corners of my lids. It did curl my lashes but not as well as my trusty MAC eyelash curler.


I also picked up a pack of foundation sponges. Again, this was very affordable at £1.53, down from £6.13.

Over at Harvey Nichols, I came across the Louise Young line of brushes. I've never heard of the brand but was immediately impressed by how incredibly soft the brushes felt. The prices weren't too exorbitant, thanks to the low pound. Anyway, good brushes are always worth investing in as they last many years with proper care.

I picked up the Super Fan Brush (£26.50), Super Blusher Brush (£26.50), Tapered Shadow Brush (£17.50) and Mini Socket Brush (£11.50). Both the Super Fan Brush and Super Blusher Brush feel wonderfully plush and luxurious.


The Tapered Shadow Brush (right in pic below) reminds me of the MAC #226 Small Tapered Blending Brush. The MAC #226 brush was a very popular limited edition brush released previously as part of the Brunette, Blonde, Redhead and Colour Craft Collections. It will be re-appearing again in the upcoming MAC Me Over collection for fall.

Paul & Joe Manhattan Collection Lipsticks

Over the past couple of days, I've been testing out the three new lipsticks from the Paul & Joe fall makeup collection. Swatching on the hand doesn't always give one the most accurate impression of how a lipstick looks on the lips and I was quite surprised by how the various shades actually looked when applied on the lips. The photo below shows from left to right: #72 SoHo, #73 Uptown Girl and #74 Lower East Side.

#72 Soho is a vibrant orange coral that took some getting used to as I've never worn an orange lipstick before. I was surprised that Paul & Joe would do such a bright shade. I quite liked it but I think you need pristine white teeth to pull it off perfectly.


When swatched, #73 Uptown Girl looked like a sheer pink-toned nude but on the lips, it turned out to be more of a creamy peach pink.


#74 Lower East Side turned out to be the easiest to wear as it's a your-lips-but-better healthy nude shade with a hint of warmth. I liked this the best out of the three shades as it looks the most natural. All three shades felt very comfortable on the lips but they do require touch-ups after a meal.


In the first look with #72 Soho, I am also wearing the Face & Eye Color CS #74 Empire State. The crisscrossing pattern requires either a sponge tip applicator or a fine eyeshadow brush like MAC #228 to pick up the individual colours. Personally, I preferred a sponge tip applicator for applying these shades as it improves the intensity of the shades and also comes in handy for blending.

This was a simple gradational look with the greyish black applied along the upper lashline and the shimmery pale gold applied in the crease, browbone and along the lower lashline.

Penhaligon's Scented Carriage

Stumbled across this London cab today parked on a side street in Islington.

On closer look, it turned out to be a Penhaligon's "Scented Carriage". According to online sources, there are five of these charming cabs in London. Each is scented with one of five Penhaligon's fragrances: Artemisia, Blenheim Bouquet, Endymion, Malabah and Orange Blossom. And with your receipt, you can enjoy a 10% discount at Penhaligon's boutiques. Nice!

Summer Blooms in Bath

Overlooking the River Avon and just a stone's throw from the heart of Bath, the Parade Gardens were the perfect spot to enjoy the sunshine and get away from the tourist crowds.











More delightful blooms from the streets of Bath.








Ending off with my favourite hydrangeas!

Roman Baths of Bath

Spent a leisurely sunshine-filled weekend in Bath, which is famous for the Roman Baths dating back to 60-70 AD.

These are the only natural hot water springs in the UK.

Statues of Roman Emperors and Governors, including Julius Ceasar, overlooking the bath. These were erected in the 19th century. In the background are the Gothic spires of Bath Abbey.

In the summmer, the Roman Baths are open till 10pm. It's much better to visit in the evening after the crowds have thinned and the Roman Baths are lit by fire torches.



More views of Bath Abbey.