Whenever I visit New York, one of my usual pastimes is to check out the local drugstores for the latest makeup products by US brands. Duane Reade seems to be the largest chain. There is also Walgreens and CVS/Rite Aide but Duane Reade is the most omnipresent. Some of its stores look old and poorly lit but it also has more modern and recently renovated stores.
Some of its major stores now feature a Look Boutique with niche brands like Pop Beauty, Becca, 100% Pure, Lierac etc.
The ones in Herald Square and Union Square are even open 24 hours, so you can get your beauty fix at any time of the day. You can check out the store locations here.
While the Look Boutiques are certainly a nice change of pace from the usual Duane Reade, there wasn't much in them that caught my eye. Instead, I spent more time checking out the older Duane Reade stores. The funny thing about these US drugstores is that they don't always get the same limited edition collection displays so it's worthwhile checking out a few stores just to see what they have as you never know what you may find. Prior to my trip, I found Nouveau Cheap to be an excellent resource for learning about the latest collections arriving in US drugstores.
I usually head straight for the shelves with the new makeup displays. The Wet'n'Wild Pixie Holiday collection of four ColorIcon Eye Kits have been garnering rave reviews online. Priced at just US$4.99 (excluding sales tax), each kit includes six powder shadows and an eyeliner pencil. Some shades are said to be dupes for MAC's Club and NARS' Mekong.
The Wet'n'Wild nail polishes are amazingly cheap at just US$1.99.
L'Oreal's new Midnight Muse collection has four new HIP eyeshadow duos and three eyeliner pencils.
The accompanying lipstick and lipgloss collection.
Also spotted the new L'Oreal Million Lashes mascara but the online reviews have not been spectacular.
Maybelline had several new eyeshadows in baked, cream and powder formulas.
Amidst all the new fall collections, there was still a Maybelline Spring 2010 collection display.
Here's a closer look at the Wet'n'Wild Pixie Holiday palettes. These are all CPs for friends so I will not be doing any swatches. Anyway, it's quite easy to find swatches of these palettes online.
Snow Sprite
Bronze Goddess
Night Elf: You can see swatches on Makeupwithdrawal.com.
Sugar Plum
The eyeshadow palettes are made in China and the eyeliner pencils are made in Mexico.
The Visee website has been updated with the new Royal Party collection featuring two new Glam Nude Eyes palettes N6 Rose Pink Fur and N7 Blond Fur, as well as a Lash Blossom (Volume) mascara in BK002 Brown Black Fur. All the products are limited edition.
This is Visee's third collaboration with a Japanese fashion brand, following Duras Ambient and Mercury Duo.
The Bobbi Brown counter at Takashimaya has the Black Velvet promo visuals up but the collection will only be launched in mid-October. According to the SA, the collection will be launched first at the Tangs Vivocity counter on 11 October. For more details, you can check with the Vivocity counter at tel: 6273 6477.
For swatches of the collection, I recommend Karlasugar and the Beauty Look Book which has swatches of the Metallic Eyeshadows and Sparkle Eyeshadows.
Paul & Joe Face & Eye Color CS 067 Silvery Moon is my favourite out of the three Face & Eye Colors in the fall collection. With five well-pigmented shades, it is easy to create a variety of looks with this. The shades also contrast much better with one another than the Face & Eye Color CS 069 Blue Moon.
At S$49, it is certainly not cheap but you do get a very generous 7.7g of product. (For comparison, MAC's single eyeshadows are 1.5g each.) And it's still much more affordable compared to a Chanel or Dior palette, or even MAC's eyeshadow quads which are S$65. The cardboard packaging is certainly not the most sturdy but still, I love the whimsical prints on these.
For this look, I used the silver shade at the inner corners and along the lower lashline, the olive shade from the upper lashline to the crease, the midnight blue shade at the outer corners of the upper and lower eyelids and the gold shade over the browbone area.
All the shades blended very well and had an elegant refined shimmer and texture.
You can see swatches of all the three Face & Eye Colors and three Lipsticks CS in this Iswii.net post.
For the rest of the look, I used: Shiseido Refining Makeup Primer, Automatic Fine Eyeliner BK901 and Nourishing Mascara Base, Dior X4 Control Compact Foundation 012, RMK Super Basic Liquid Concealer EX01, Paul & Joe Face Color 07, Lipstick C 067 and Loose Powder, and K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 01.
The eyeshadows lasted very well on me over 11 hours of wear. You can still find this collection in stock at the various Paul & Joe counters although some shades may have sold out.
Have a good weekend ahead, everyone!
When presented with an array of new Lunasol palettes, I'm usually drawn to the purple, blue or green combinations. But for the Aurorize Eyes collection, I decided on #5 Contrast Variation for a change, as the shades looked quite flattering and complemented one another well.
With the exception of the silvery beige shade in the centre of the palette, the other four shades have a smooth silky texture with good colour payoff. The silvery beige shade has a dry glittery texture and is best used on top of the other shades for added sparkle.
Here are the brown-themed Lunasol palettes in my collection. To be honest, these are the least frequently used palettes in my Lunasol stash. Not because I dislike them but simply because of my personal preference for more colourful shades.
Top row (left to right): Scent Form Eyes #5 Chocolate Cosmos, Skin Modelling Eyes EX01 Beige Bronze and Skin Modelling Eyes #2 Beige Orange
Bottom row: Gentle Variation and Geminate Eyes #1 Cat's Eyes
After prepping with Testimo Eye Bright Up Base, I used the brush applicator to sweep the light beige (bottom left) shade over the browbone area. I used the fat sponge applicator to apply the tan beige shade (top right) shade from the inner corner to the middle of the lid and along the lower lashline, and the brown shade (top left) shade from the middle of the lid to the outer corner. Next, I used the thin sponge applicator to liner the upper lashline with the smoky greyish black shade along the upper lashline. Then I used the brush to lightly dust the silvery beige shade over the eye socket area.
I finished by using Clinique High Impact Mascara 01 Black and L'Oreal HIP Color Chrome Eyeliner 910 Black Shock along the upper lashline and the outer corner of the lower lashline. The Color Chrome Eyeliner is indeed quite intense and applies quite smoothly. Some tugging of the eyelid occurs when using this, unlike with my usual liquid eyeliner, but this is to be expected of a pencil liner. It is easier to smudge out for a smoky effect than a liquid eyeliner though but if you want a very fine and precise line, then liquid eyeliner is still the best way to go.
For the rest of the look, I used Dior X4 Control Compact Foundation 012, RMK Super Basic Liquid Concealer EX01, Paul & Joe Face Color 07 and Loose Powder, K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 01 and Za Plumper Lips #1 Ruby Dazzle. Ruby Dazzle is a new lipstick that I just received from the Shiseido office.
The Za Plumper Lips is a new line of 9 lipsticks that will be launched in October. (Do see Mag's post at Makeupstash.com for swatches of all 9 shades.) Priced very affordably at only S$13.90 and made in Taiwan, these lipsticks are formulated with collagen and plump-up pearls particles to help lips look fuller and moisturised. Most of the lipsticks apply sheer but can be layered for a more intense tint. #1 Ruby Dazzle is the most red-toned shade in the line-up which is otherwise dominated by feminine pinks. It glided on very smoothly and had a lovely shine without any strong taste or scent.
My makeup collection already includes numerous baked mineral eyeshadows and blushes, mainly from MAC. Nevertheless, when I swatched the new Body Shop Baked-To-Last collection, I couldn't resist picking up a couple of the eyeshadows and a blush duo as the textures are excellent and there are some interesting shades in the range. Baked mineral eyeshadows by other brands can sometimes feel dry and gritty but the Baked-to-Last eyeshadows and blushes all feel very smooth with an elegant metallic glimmer. There is no chunky glitter and the products don't throw up a ton of loose powder bits when touched.
There are eight Eye Colors (S$22.90) in total. I picked up #4 Quartz and #8 Amethyst. Like MAC MSFs, the veining in the darker shades varies according to the individual eyeshadow. The SA at the Ngee Ann City store was nice enough to take out some from the drawer for me to choose as I didn't like the veining on the two Amethyst Eye Colors on the shelf. These weigh 2g each, whereas the MAC Mineralize Eyeshadows from the Color Craft collection in 2009 were 2.2g for S$33.
I rarely buy pink eyeshadows but #4 Quartz appealed to me because of the smoky deep burgundy shade.
The ingredients list.
I also picked up the Cheek Colour #2 Coral (S$24.90, 5g). In comparison, MAC Mineralize blushes are 3.2g for S$37. #2 Coral looks incredibly similar to #1 Petal but the latter applies as a lighter pink shade. I liked these blushes as they are not too crazily pigmented but still give a lovely rosy sheen that is not frosty.
For today's look, I used a sponge tip applicator to apply the dark burgundy shade from #4 Quartz along the upper lashline. Then I used MAC #213 brush to apply the light pink shade over the browbone area and along the lower lashline; and the lavender shade from #8 Amethyst in the crease. The lavender shade has more of a purple tint in real life than it appears in the photo below.
For the rest of the look, I used Dior X4 Control Compact Foundation 012, Body Shop Autumn Leaves Compact #2 Berry, Lancome Teint Miracle Natural Light Creator Bare Skin Perfecting Corrector Pen #1, Paul & Joe Lipstick C 48 and Loose Powder, K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 01 and Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Liner, Shiseido Nourishing Mascara Base and Fasio Mascaliner GR700.
The Baked-to-Last Eye Colours lived up to their name and wore very well over more than 11 hours without fading.
The Baked-to-Last collection is currently on 25% discount until Sunday 19 September so don't wait too long if you want to snag some of these beauties!
