Max Factor often releases products that are extremely similar to those by its sister brand, Cover Girl (both are owned by Proctor & Gamble). Like the Cover Girl Blast Flipstick, the Max Factor Flipstick Colour Effect features a rich, creamy colour paired with a lighter, iridescent lipstick shade. Only four color combos are available in Switzerland, versus six in the UK and thirteen for the Cover Girl version in the US. Top Row (from left): 30 Gypsy Red and 35 Swingy Brown Bottom Row: 15 Boreal Mauve and 05 Bloomy Pink These have a lovely texture that glides on very smoothly. The richer shades have very impressive color payoff. The lipstick bullets are quite a bit smaller than normal though, which probably takes some getting used to.
The Enchanted Summer collection by Clarins is a delightful collection inspired by India. The Colour Quartet & Liner Palette (£30/US$40) features four luminous powder eye shadows embossed with delicate motifs and a pearlized-brown cream eyeliner. This has to be the prettiest palette I've ever seen from Clarins. The pearlish white shade is the most shimmery shade in the palette while the brown and golden shades have a lovely gleam. The purple shade, which I had high hopes for, proved to be a disappointment as it was so sheer that it took several layers to get it to show up nicely. It was the only shade in the palette that I had difficulty swatching. Nevertheless, it is a pretty shade of violet, not quite the royal purple that it looks in the pan. I liked the dark brown cream eyeliner, which was well-pigmented and felt creamy and smooth to touch. The collection also includes two Kohl Kajal Long-Lasting Eyeliners (£15/US$24) in Deep Violet and Instant Black formulated with rose and mimosa extracts. While these had good color payoff, I'm not sure how practical these are as the sharp tip gets blunted quite quickly and would need sharpening. Also, I was fiddling around trying to see if the body twists to reveal more product inside the tube but there appears to be none. The two Colour Quench Lip Balms (£15/US$18) in Jaipur (pink) and Delhi are packed with intense shimmer. These are swatched on the left half of the pic below. On the right are two of the Instant Smooth Crystal Lip Balms (£16.50/US$US$24.50). Only two out of the four shades are available in Switzerland: Crystal Coral and Crystal Violet. These have a translucent outer core surrounding an inner core of pigment. These apply sheer at first but with several swipes, the color does build up quite nicely. You can see the full collection on Makeup4all, which also includes two mascaras and Bronzing Duo SPF 15 Mineral Powder Compact in three shades. Unfortunately, this collection will reportedly not be available in Singapore.
Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the shooting of the ad for Anna Sui Fairy Dance Eau de Toilette featuring model Frida Gustavsson. The 2:02 mark in the clip shows the creative team which includes makeup artist Pat McGrath and hairstylist Garren. Fairy Dance will launch in Japan on 25 May (see pics from the press event on Kokusaishogyo . It has top notes of mandarin, mango, pink pepper; middle notes of rose, peony and bamboo; and base notes of sandalwood, vetiver and vanilla.
Jill Stuart will release a Summer Travel Collection kit (5250yen) on 29 June in Japan. It contain travel sizes of the Shower Gel, Body Jelly, Body Protector SPF50 PA+++ and Lip Essence UV. See more pics on Biteki.com.
Liz Lisa, a popular Japanese clothing brand known for their ultra sweet and girlish styles (think frills, lace and a preponderance of pink and florals) has launched a new makeup line, "Jenne". The packaging is more opulent than Jill Stuart, with gold accents and a rose adorning the cases. Eye Color in 5 shades (2625yen) Cheek in 3 shades (2940yen) Lipgloss in 5 shades (2625yen) Pouch (4095yen) and mirror (3045yen). See more pics on the Parco store blog and on this Japanese blog.
Philosophy will be making its debut at Sephora stores in Singapore with a series of skincare workshops from 29 April - 3 May. You can sign up at the Philosophy Singapore website.
Now that the weather is turning warmer, I can start indulging in Lush baths again. This rotund Abombinaball was a limited edition bath bomb released for the last holiday season. It's no longer available, unfortunately, but Lush often brings back previous releases for the holidays so who knows, he could make an appearance again. Packed with peppermint oil, vanilla absolute and orange oil, Abombinaball is one of the most unusual bath bombs I've ever tried from Lush. See the silver shimmer? He's a frenzied fellow that spins all around in the water, fizzing up white foamy bubbles merrily. First comes a cloud of electric green, before Abombinaball reveals his true blue core. As he was spinning, I could not get a clear shot. He leaves the waters a tranquil ocean blue with a relaxing minty scent. One of the most amazing bath treats ever invented by Lush!
I came across the new Aura by Swarovski Crystallise Your Lips collection of six bejewelled lipsticks yesterday. These cost a pretty penny at US$36/£23/€29.95/CHF34.90 each. They contain micronized Swarovski crystal shimmer for added shine. The texture was velvety smooth with a lovely glossy shine and zero grittiness. The colour payoff was also good. Below are some quick swatches. Apologies for awkward positioning (as I ran out of space on the back of my hand after swatching the Armani collection) and the unfocused pics as my phone camera was not cooperating!
Managed to finish up quite a number of full-sized products over the past month. As usual, I go through bodycare, haircare and skincare products much faster than makeup. Nivea Intense Repair Conditioner left my hair soft and manageable without any build-up of product. Percy & Reed Splendidly Silky Moisturising Conditioner contains blueberry extract, grape seed oil, sweet almond oil and aloe vera gel to help nourish hair. The fresh floral scent is uplifting and much better than the usual mass market drugstore brands. This left my hair soft and tangle-free. I would re-purchase this. L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Gentle Conditioner has a lovely, slightly sweet cherry blossom scent. This does a decent job of leaving my hair soft and tangle-free but it does not feel as deeply hydrating as Tsubaki. This was a gift, which I would probably not re-purchase as it is too pricey for a 250ml bottle that barely lasts two weeks for me. Like the conditioner, L'Occitane Cherry Blossom Gentle Shampoo has a nice scent and cleanses my hair effectively without stripping it. L'Oreal Professional Tecniart Fix Move is great for taming flyaways and holding my fringe in place, without any crispy stiffness. La Roche-Posay Effaclar Astringent Lotion Micro-Exfoliating (CHF19) is designed for oily skintypes battling large pores and blemishes. It is supposed to help reduce pore size and fight against blockage, thanks to the combination of sebum-regulating, purifying and micro-exfoliating LHA active ingredients. LHA is β-lipohydroxy acid that is an effective exfoliant, similar to salicyclic acid. However, this did not seem to have a significant effect in fighting blemishes for me. Instead, it was too drying for my skin during the winter months, perhaps due to alcohol being second on the ingredient list. Nuxe Bio Beauté Radiance Toning Lotion (CHF29) is an alcohol-free and paraben-free toner, with 99.3% of the ingredients being of natural origin and 73.9% from organic farming. Formulated with rosewater and orange fruit water plus blackberry, apricot and plum extracts, it doesn't have the usual rose or citrusy orange scents that one would expect. I didn't like the plum scent of this. As a toner, it helps to refresh and mildly hydrate the skin but other than that, it didn't do anything special. Bifesta Sebum Cleansing Lotion effectively removes makeup with just a few quick wipes. It's a great, affordable alternative if you do not like cleansing oils. L'Occitane Brume Mist is formulated with five essential oils (angelica, lavender, geranium, ylang ylang and sweet orange) plus honey and corn extracts to soft hold hair in place and preserve shine. I found this too watery and completely ineffective at taming and smoothing my hair or providing any hold. The Body Shop Chocomania Shower Cream works alright as a shower cream that doesn't dry out my skin but the chocolate scent was not as yummy as I had hope for. Philosophy does much better chocolate scented shower gels. I slap on Dove Intense Repair Leave-on Cream on days when my hair feels exceptionally dry and frizzy. This helps to tame my locks until the next wash but does not help cure the fundamental dry state of my hair. Vichy Purete Thermale Waterproof Eye Make-Up Remover is a bi-phase eye makeup remover that does a good job of removing eyeshadows in a single swipe. Waterproof mascaras like those by Anna Sui and Majolica Majorca require a bit more soaking to remove completely. This did not irritate my eyes. K-Palette Lasting 2Way Eyebrow is a daily staple, and I typically go through one every 2-3 months. I always use up the liquid side much faster than the brow powder side. I have a huge stash of Archipelago Botanicals candles in travel tins, which I ordered more than four years ago while I was still living in Tokyo. I didn't use them for the past few years as they were boxed up in storage. Amazingly, they are still in working condition with good scent throw. Each travel tin burns for up to 55 hours. Archipelago Botanicals aren't available in Singapore but Yankee Candle is easily available in Singapore and offers a nice range of scents.
