While in London, I stopped at Fenwick to purchase the Paul & Joe Fairytale collection for autumn. It is also available on Beauty Habit but not yet on BeautyBay.com and ASOS.com.
I picked up all three limited edition lipstick cases as I collect these. The price has gone up to £7 though. Still, I'm glad that the cases and refills are now sold separately as it's much more affordable not to have to purchase all the lipsticks in the collection.
Of the three Lipstick CS shades, I chose 081 Once Upon A Time, a satin orange. While this looked nice when swatched on my arm, on the lips, it was not as flattering as I'd hoped it would be. It also had a tendency to emphasise dry patches. It does have pretty good color payoff though.
The three Eye Color Set CS didn't appeal to me that much when I initially saw the collection online as I'm not a big fan of cream eyeshadows and the cream-powder-loose pigment combination looked like a bit too much work. However, I was impressed by how well the shades swatched when I tried them at the counter so I ended up getting 086 Fairytale and 087 Peau d'Ane.
The rosy pink powder eyeshadow in Fairytale is an unusual duochrome shade that adds a subtle glowiness to the lids.
The loose pigments were positively dazzling when swatched under the bright counter lights but still refined and subtle enough in natural light to be worn during the day. The pigment included in Fairytale is shiny white (left in pic below) while the one in Peau D'Ane has a faint golden tint.
The insert holding the eye shades can be lifted out and the box re-used for holding accessories and other trinkets.
The case, which has a magnetic closure, fits two lipsticks just nicely.
In the pics below, (going from left to right) I swatched the cream and powder shades individually without any primer first,followed by the powder shade over the cream shade and finally the loose pigment powder by itself.
As I was using a brush for these swatches, the powder eyeshadows appear more sheer than they actually are. These do show up much better when layered over the cream bases.
The reason why I always shop at Fenwick is because the counter offers delightful gifts with purchases that vary with each season. This adorable kitten blanket was the gift with £45 purchase. If you spend £60, you also get a small cushion case that you can fit the blanket into.
The blanket is incredibly soft and velvety plush - definitely a collectible for diehard fans!
The gift with £30 purchase is a matching zip pouch.
For this look, I used the light purple cream shade in Peau D'Ane as the base from lashline to the browbone and layered the dark purple shade from lashline to the crease. Next, I blended the pink shade in Fairytale in the crease and layered the silvery white pigment from Peau D'Ane over the centre of the upper lid, the inner corners and along the lower lashline.
While the white pigment caused a tiny bit of fallout during the application process, there was no other fallout during the rest of the day. The cream base also turned out to be impressively longlasting with hardly any creasing unlike most other Japanese-made cream bases that I've tried.
The Once Upon A Time lipstick looks alright in these pics but in person, it jarred a little with my skintone.
Other products used for this look: Suqqu Frame Fix Foundation N #101, Maybelline Mega Plush Volum'Express mascara and Dolly Wink eyeliner.
The September issue of Jessica magazine from Hong Kong comes with a Paul & Joe pouch in a choice of the three prints featured in the Fairytale collection. Not sure if this will be available in Kinokuniya in Singapore.
Kinokuniya should stock this October issue of More magazine which includes a P&J pouch in their signature chrysanthemum print. This is due out on 28 August in Japan.
Thanks to a friend in Japan, I recently received my order of the Blythe 2014 schedule book and Zebra x Mika Ninagawa pens from Amazon Japan.
The 2013 Blythe schedule book (top right in pic below) was thinner than previous years with 64 pages and retailed at 1050yen but the new 2014 schedule book is surprisingly a larger B6 (half of the A4 size) with 112 pages. It's a bit more expensive at 1365yen but I much prefer the larger size which makes for easier writing.
There are three versions available this year: Pickle Wickle (which I got), Allie Gabrielle and Coco Collete. I would have preferred Coco Collete but it was out of stock when I placed my order. It's currently available again on Amazon Japan but with only two pieces left. Pickle Wickle and Allie Gabrielle are also available through Junie Moon which ships internationally.
The schedule book runs from October 2013 to Dec 2014. Aside from a zip plastic pocket, it also includes the subway maps for nine cities including Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, railway maps for Tokyo and Osaka regions, conversion charts for Japan clothes and shoe sizes to US, France, Europe and UK sizes.
While browsing Amazon Japan, I came across a set of Zebra pens that feature Mika Ninagawa's vibrant flower prints. Some of you may recall that she collaborated with Shu Uemura for their Sakura collection in spring 2011. Retailing at 700yen each, each comes with four gel pen refills. Pretty nifty stuff!
During my London trip, I picked up the new Maybelline Fit Me Anti-Shine Foundation Stick along with the Fit Me Concealer. The foundation has received very mixed reviews on MakeupAlley but since it was only £8.99 plus Boots had a 3-for-2 promotion, I decided to give it a try.
The foundation is described as providing lightweight flawless coverage with an anti-shine core. The ultra-light formula is enriched with powders to instantly absorb excess oil. It goes on creamy and transforms to a matte powder finish. Made in Germany, it contains 9ml of product. In the UK, 115 Ivory is the lightest shade available whereas in the US, 110 Porcelain is the lightest shade. Most drugstores in London were sold out of 115 but I finally chanced across it at Boots in Westfield Stratford.
It does glide onto the skin easily thanks to the silicone-heavy formula which gives it lots of slip. I found it easy to apply and blend but while it applied evenly over my Sofina Jenne Day Protector sunscreen, it was a disaster when applied over Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer and resulted in dry patches that were not there before.
For a foundation marketed as being anti-shine, its oil-control capabilities proved to be dismal. My T-zone started to oil up after an hour and I needed to blot a few times throughout the day to take away the shine. The coverage provided is light, so this would work better for ladies with problem-free skin and non-oily skintypes. It did help to reduce the appearance of my pores though.
I definitely will not re-purchase this as I prefer formulas that provide better lasting power and oil control so as to minimise the need for touch-ups during long work days. I am liking the concealer better so far (it's also recommended by Wayne Goss) but I need to test it out further.
Products used for this look: & Other Stories Dowlas Cloud, Sarsenet Petrol and Moreen Blue eyeshadows over Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Addiction Eyeliner Pencil 101, Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Emerald Gold, Helena Rubenstein Lash Queen Feline Blacks mascara, Integrate Mineral Puff Cheek RD301, Paul & Joe Lipstick CS 81 Once Upon A Time and K-Palette Lasting 2Way Eyebrow 02.
If you are curious about the Addiction fall collection, do check out this video by Hannah in which she visits the counter at Matsuzakaya. Products used on her include the Tinted Skin Protecter (at 2:04), Perfect Concealer Compact, Cheek Polish #6 Tadzio (2:50), Natural Veil Powder, Ready To Wear Palette in Departure (4:50), Eyeliner Pencil in Abbey Road and Sugar Blond (5:17), Blend Duo Eyebrow (7:14), Eyebrow Manicure (8.07), Lip Stain 001 Sheer Dress (8:33) and Lip Glaze 001 Angelic Kiss.
Suqqu will release its Christmas coffret on 1 November in Japan. It includes an eyeshadow quad, mascara, cleansing cream and foaming cleanser. In recent years, Suqqu has usually released two coffrets so it may be a disappointment for some that there seems to be only one this year like most other brands. Nevertheless, the midnight blue and rosy pink combination looks rather pretty. Pic tweeted by Abe Sawako.
