On 21 January, Shiseido Benefique Theoty will launch a new Lipstick (Melty Touch) (3675yen, 4g, 10 shades) and two limited edition waterproof Smart Liquid Eyeliner (2100yen, 3ml) in BK99 and BR88 with a high gloss formula. Designed to wear comfortably on the lips, the new lipsticks are formulated with macadamia nut oil, hyaluronic acid, glycerin, "red aura pearly liquid" and a "melty touch oil".
Since its relaunch in February 2013, Benefique Theoty has surpassed Shiseido's original sales target and increased in popularity, particularly amongst young women, no doubt helped by popular spokesmodel Yuri Ebihara. Watch a video of her at a press event for Benefique in New York here.
Enabled by a 20% discount voucher from Sephora France, I splurged on a few items from the By Terry and Guerlain holiday collections.
Densiliss Wrinkle Control Serum Foundation is the latest foundation offering from By Terry. Priced significantly higher than Sheer Expert and Cover Expert, I was intrigued after reading rave reviews online. The Beauty Professor has helpfully posted swatches of all 10 shades. The shades have varying undertones so it can be tricky to figure out which is the most suitable shade. For example, #1 Fresh Fair was pink-toned whereas #2 Cream Ivory and #3 Vanilla Beige lean more neutral, and #4 Natural Beige is more beige-toned. When I swatched these four shades in the store, the shade difference was very subtle. I eventually settled on #3 Vanilla Beige. I'm still experimenting with it, but can't really say that it has knocked my socks off enough to warrant the €85/US$115 price tag, so I'm glad that I didn't pay full price for it.
I fell much more quickly in love with the two new Ombre Blackstar in #14 Blue Obsession and #15 Ombre Mercure (€30/US$43). These have excellent color payoff and a smooth creamy texture that allows for sufficient blending time, far superior to Charlotte Tilbury's Eye Shadow Pencils which set virtually immediately and were impossible to blend out. The Ombre Blackstars also have the most elegant and chic packaging, compared to similar stick eyeshadows by Bobbi Brown, Kiko and Laura Mercier which come in plastic packaging.
Blue Obsession is a blackened midnight navy with purple and blue micro sparkles.
Ombre Mercure is an antique olive-toned pewter with gold and green holographic micro sparkles. I found this more unique than Blue Obsession. It's the perfect crease shade and blends easily upwards for a wash of soft glimmer over the browbone area without any frostiness or crass chunky glitter.
The swatches below were two swipes each on bare skin without any primer. Compared to Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow #17 Slate Blue, Blue Obsession is richer in intensity and sparkle factor. Slate Blue lacks the blue micro sparkles of Blue Obsession.
I also picked up Crayon Kohl Terrybly in #10 Festive Gold, which is more amber-toned than gold. This glides on smoothly without any tugging, laying down a solid coat of color in a single pass.
In the pic below, I used Festive Gold on the lower lashline, Blue Obsession from the upper lashline to the crease and Ombre Mercure in the crease and blended upwards. When applied without any primer, Blue Obsession did crease after some time and there was some fading and separation, whereas Ombre Mercure did not. The lasting power was improved when I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance as the base.
The pics below show a slightly different look without the use of Festive Gold. I used Ombre Mercure along the lower lashline and Three Flash Performance Eyeliner in Eye Rock along the upper lashline.
The Ombre Blackstars are perfect for people who are perpetually short of time, as one can just swipe, blend and go without the need to fuss around with brushes. While they are certainly pricey, their superb quality and unique shades make these a worthwhile indulgence once in a while.
Here are the details of the Suqqu Spring 2014 collection due out on 31 January in Japan. Good news is that the three new eyeshadow quads are permanent, so they should be easier to get hold of if you're interested in them.
1. Blend Color Eyeshadow #15 蜜茶 (beige/brown), #16 花菖蒲 (purple/brown) and #17 蓬色 (khaki/brown) (7140yen)
2. Smoothing Face Color (7350yen, 6.5g, LE)
3. Balancing Cheeks N #1 桃朱色 (elegant basic peach coral) and #2 淡桜 (sweet basic pink) (6825yen, 4g)
4. Bright Up Lipstick 07 朱杏 (rose beige) (5250yen)
5. Nail Color R EX-05 白香茶 (milktea) and EX-06 菫染 (lavender) (2625yen, LE)
Suqqu will also release a limited edition White Orchid Musculate Massage & Mask Cream set (12600yen) on 1 January in Japan. Aside from the cream, which is scented with orchid and lily of the valley, it also includes Face Refresher R 50ml, Moisture Repair Essence 15ml, Moisture Lotion 30ml and Face Protector SPF50 PA++++ 10g.
With winter now upon us, I've been slathering on all manner of moisturisers to stave off the dry flakies, which explains the preponderance of moisturisers in this batch of product empties for October and November.
1. Korres Basil Lemon Body Milk: This has a lovely citrusy scent that is refreshing without being too generic. The body milk is light with a runny texture well-suited for the summer months when skin needs less hydration.
2. Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker Soft Body Lotion: Lovely was one of my favourite scents a few years ago and a distinctively unique creation amidst the flood of cynically sweet floral fruity celebrity juices. It's a pity that SJP has stopped releasing fragrances as she had an interesting range. (Chandler Burr wrote a great book "The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry" detailing the creation of Lovely and a Hermes fragrance, which is a must-read for anyone interested in fragrances.) I liked this body lotion for the dreamy scent. It moisturised my skin without leaving any greasy feeling.
3. Rituals Mei Dao Rich Moisturising Body Cream in Organic White Lotus and Yi Yi Ren: Rituals offers several beautifully scented bodycare lines and this is one of my favourites. It's a calming, comfortable scent. The cream offers good hydration without the greasy after-feel of Body Shop's Body Butter.
4. Kenzoki Energisant Stimulating Body Moisturiser: This was the most pricey body moisturiser that I ever purchased but it was well worth it with a cooling texture that hydrates without feeling greasy or heavy. The scent is also wonderfully relaxing. I liked using this in the summer.
5. Philosophy Summer Grace Perfumed Body Emulsion: This worked nicely enough on my skin and had a pleasant scent although it was much less memorable than the Lovely, Mei Dao and Kenzoki moisturisers.
6. The Body Shop Candied Ginger Body Butter: A past holiday release, I liked the ginger scent but this never fully absorbed into my skin and I could feel the oiliness when my skin brushed against the furniture.
7. Shiseido Tsubaki Massage Spa Mask: This was pretty mediocre in terms of conditioning my hair. The Tsubaki conditioners in red or white are much more effective.
8. L'Oreal Elseve Relaxing Mask: This helped to detangle and soften my hair but it was otherwise rather average, so I would not re-purchase.
9. Suqqu Refining Foam: This was included in Suqqu's holiday coffrets for both 2013 and 2012. It lathers up easily and cleanses my skin thoroughly but like many Japanese foaming cleansers, it does tend to leave the skin feeling dry so following up with a good hydrating lotion or moisturiser is a must. Not quite worth the £33 price tag as there are much more affordable cleansers that are more gentle on the skin.
10. H2O+ Marine Cleansing Gel: This has a clear wobbly jelly-like texture that feels refreshing on the skin. It cleanses well without leaving the skin feeling stripped.
11. Ren Micro Polish Cleanser: This contains small scrub particles and glycolic acid for double exfoliating action. This is gentle enough to use 2-3 times a week and it never irritates my skin. Used in combination with Pixi Glow Tonic, this has helped to keep my skin clear.
12. Astalift Jelly Aquarysta: This red jelly moisturiser works well for my skin without making it more oily than normal. My skin also feels more supple when I use this.
13. Elisha Coy Herb Clay Pore Refining Mask: This left my skin feeling softer and smoother. It felt like a nice weekly detoxing treat for the skin and does not dry it out excessively even if left on for more than 20 minutes.
14. Lancome DreamTone 1: Just released a few months ago, this supposedly helps to even out skintone. The 5ml sample lasted around two weeks with daily usage. It absorbs nicely without making my skin greasy but I didn't notice any significant lightening effect on the dark pigmentation spots on my cheeks, although two weeks is probably too short a testing time to make a definitive assessment.
15. Philosophy Clear Days Ahead Overnight Repair Salicylic Acid Acne Treatment Pads: My skin stayed generally clear and free of major eruptions while I was using this. The pads also stayed nicely soaked up until the very last one, unlike some other brands which dry out in the pot.
16. Lancome BiFacil: This works well for removing eye makeup including waterproof mascara without irritating the eyes. It's too pricey for me to purchase it as L'Oreal makes a cheaper alternative, but I often get BiFacil as a gift with purchase or included as part of a set.
17. Jill Stuart Shower Gel: This was part of a summer travel bodycare set. The scent is a tad artificially sweet, typical of Jill Stuart and probably too cloying for some people.
18. Lush It's Raining Men: This has the same sweet honey scent of Lush's bestselling Honey I Washed the Kids soap, so I did not hesitate to purchase it. It cleanses thoroughly without drying the skin. I would re-purchase it except that I still have far too many shower gels to use up.
19. The Body Shop Sweet Lemon Shower Gel: This was pleasant enough but not that special that I would re-purchase it.
