Bea's Up December '08

The November issue of Bea's Up features the Christmas collections from 64 brands. In addition, Bea's Up is giving away the Christmas collections from over 40 brands to readers in this contest. Read on for the holiday collections from Lavshuca, Jill Stuart, Kiss and more!




Lavshuca Antique Collection (1890yen each)



Kiss Twinkle Angel Highlight (1470yen) and Pure Body Milk (1365yen)



Jill Stuart Christmas Collection (7875yen)



Esprique Precious Party Couture Collection (3675yen)



Eprise Snow Wish (7140yen)



Magie Decorte Coffret II (6300yen)



Elegance Gem Noel (7350yen)



Rimmel Kate Moss Special Set (6615yen)



Ettusais Crystal Tear Eyelash (1050yen), Strong Separate Mascara (1890yen), Cyrstal Tear Eyeliner (1260yen)



Sweets Sweets Puff Cheek PE6 (630yen)


Paul & Joe Body Fragrance Collection 001 (6825yen)



Est Diamond Surprise Eyes (6300yen)



Lush Super Natural (6220yen)



Estee Lauder Good as Gold (6825yen)



Armani Crystal Palette (12600yen)



Was that too much to absorb at one go? :-) I'm still waiting to see what Majolica Majorca and Maquillage will release. Actually, I think I'll be passing on most of the collections shown above, especially those that feature mostly white/silver or pale pastel shades as these just don't work for me. The Jill Stuart set does look pretty but I do wish they had put out a more unique quad.

Do you want any of the above? Do let me know in the comments!

Sweet Sweets Eye Clear Up

Sweets Sweets is a low-end drugstore Japanese brand that makes some really great products, similar to Canmake, another mass market low-end drugstore brand. Except that unlike Canmake, Sweets Sweets is so low-end that it does not even have an official website! And it is not as widely available as Canmake but it's definitely worth checking out if you chance across it in the stores as it's a great example of the good quality of Japanese makeup brands regardless of whether they are low end and dirt cheap, "masstige" like T'estimo or high end prestige brands. Sweets Sweets can be found at the Ainz Tulpe store in Harajuku and the Matsumoto Kiyoshi drugstore near Isetan in Shinjuku.

I picked up their Eye Clear Up on my recent trip to Tokyo. It's a light yellow cream eyeshadow primer that has an almost identical texture to my former staple, T'estimo's Eye Bright Up Base #1. It comes in a small squeeze tube that can probably last a good six months or more with daily use as you only need a tiny amount each time. It costs only 609yen but performs almost as well as the T'estimo Eye Bright Up Base. When applied, it does not leave any yellow tint and all you see is a bit of glimmer on your lids whereas the T'estimo Eye Bright Up Base had more intense sparkle. Like the T'estimo Eye Bright Up Base, the Sweets Sweets Eye Clear Up helps to enhance the staying power of powder eyeshadows and I found only minimal creasing at the inner corners after several hours of wear. With the Eye Clear Up as a base, my powder eyeshadows apply more true and with greater intensity in just a few simple strokes of the brush.

Overall, I would rate it 4 stars out of 5 since there is still a bit of creasing after several hours. I would also recommend Sweets Sweets Perfect Eyes quads (672yen) which I find to be of better quality than Kiss Prism Gradation Eyes (1680yen). While the packaging is not the most glamorous or exotic, they are simple, functional, very easy to work with and do a great job for the affordable price.

Back from Tokyo!

Hi, everyone! I just returned a week's holiday in Tokyo. After having lived in Tokyo for 4 years up until last August, returning to it after a space of 9 months felt like coming home again. Everything was so reassuringly familiar and it was great fun re-visiting all my old haunts.

And of course, what's the point of holidaying in Tokyo without picking up some of their awesome makeup brands? :-) Here's some pics of my entire haul.



That lovely pair of vanity cases are from Jill Stuart for their card members who had spent more than 70,000yen in the year up to March '08. I wasn't expecting to be able to receive this but a lovely SA at the JS counter in Seibu department store in Yurakucho took a look at my file (they keep a record of all the purchases that you've made) and told me that I could get the case right there and then! That's what I love about the customer service in Japan, they're always so thoughtful and thorough.

The case itself is an absolute beauty with a delicate lace mesh covering the pink exterior of the case. The motif on the side of the case is almost identical to the motif on the side of the JS beauty counters. Inside, there is a mirror under the lid and an elastic band running around the sides of the case to help hold stuff in place.


I also picked up the Jill Stuart Seductive Eyes #2 Sugar Angel, #3 Twinkle Venus, #4 Sensual Fairy and #5 Gemmy Diva, as well as the Mix Compact Blush #6 Fresh Apricot. According to the Japanese beauty mags, Seductive Eyes #1 Seductive Doll is the top seller but I liked it the least out of all the pink-themed JS quads and didn't see much point in getting it given how similar #3, #4 and #5 are to one another as it is. I also picked up a refill of the new Smooth Silk Powder Foundation #101 Linen.


From Lunasol, I got the Sheer Contrast Eyes #2 Lavender Coral. I read that of the Sheer Contrast Eyes series, the beige-themed #1 Coral Coral is the most popular while #4 Green Coral also became an unexpected bestseller after it was featured on a Japanese television programme. But I didn't like the lime shade in #4 Green Coral so I decided to skip it as well.


Sweets Sweets is a low-end drugstore brand, similar to Canmake and manufactured by Cezanne. I got their Perfect Eyes PE9 and PE11. These quads cost only 672yen each and are a great deal as you get a generously sized quad with some really lovely shimmery shades. There are 12 quads currently available. I also got their Eye Clear Up eyeshadow primer, which costs only 609 yen and comes in a small yellow squeeze tube. I haven't tested it out yet but will post a review later.



From Gransenbon, I picked up their Gran Blushes #1 Lady Rose, #4 Orange Brown, #9 Apricot Ginger, #11 Sugar Marmalade and the newest addition to the line-up, #12 Peach Rose.


From K-Palette, I got all three of their new Shiny Star Eyes palettes, #1 Rose Star, #2 Safari Star and #3Ash Star. The texture of these quads is excellent, wonderfully silky and pigmented. For only 1680yen, which is the about the same price as Lavshuca and Majolica Majorca palettes, these are quite worthwhile as you get a quad that you can create a complete eye look with.



From Kiss, I got their Pure Bloom Cheeks in #1 Bougainvillea and #4 Rose, Eye Prism Gradation #5 Aquarium and the new Fairy Veil Pact #1 Pearl Beige.



From Bourjois, I got the Mini Bourjois Dose de Nacres #5, #9 and #10. These are little pots of loose eyeshadow pigment powders that cost only 630yen. There are a few interesting shades in the line-up aside from the usual light pastels.


Check out the Mini Bourjois line-up available in Japan here.


Other items that I hauled: Awake Aqua Trans Collection Stardom coffret, Visee Lash Glamourshape BK001 mascara, Love Clover Marshmallow Fit Base UV N (Non Color), Opera MyLash mascara, Lavshuca Eye Color Select PU2 and Grade Color Select PU1, Kate Gel Eyeliner GD1 and SV1 and Burberry The Beat EDP. I'll post reviews in the upcoming days as I try them out!

Here are some of my non-makeup purchases: Rebecca Taylor handbag and wallets; handkerchieves from Rebecca Taylor and Burberry. The handkerchieves were from 315yen to 1050yen each.


I didn't buy that many clothes this time round, just a couple of tops from Cynthia Rowley.


All in all, it was a great trip and I can't wait to go back again next year! :-)

Sweets Sweets Mixing Palette

For those of you planning to travel to Japan, Sweets Sweets' new Mixing Palette (777yen, 4 shades) is another little gem worth checking out. #1 is a palette of varying shades of white. #2 has a baby pink, peach and very pale golden white shade. #3 features bright shades of raspberry pink. #4 has coral and tan shades. All the shades have a very fine micro-shimmer without big glitter particles. Out of the four, #2 is the easiest to work with as #3 is a bit too bright pink for anyone who's no longer a teenager. The shades are all very silky and surprisingly pigmented and you can create a number of different looks by mixing and blending the shades together. The lightest shades in each palette can help to tone down the other colors while adding more glimmer.

Gransenbon and Sweets Sweets

Some upcoming releases:

Gransenbon (31 August)

1. Pore Cover Powder (1680yen)

2. Gran de Eyes palettes (1680yen) #18 Evening Rose and #19 Noble Forest

Sweets Sweets (2 Oct)

1. Mixing Palette (777yen) - face color palette with 3 shades in 4 variations

2. Moisture Gloss (504yen) - MG11 Marmalade Orange and MG12 Lollipop Pink

3. Powder Blush (504yen) - PD9 Apricot and PD10 Strawberry Milk

4. Perfect Eyes (672yen) - PE9 Pink Plum, PE10 Honey Sweet Black, PE11 Lemon Green and PE12 Berry Apricot

5. Pure Smooth Powder (840yen)

6. Perfect Mascara Base (714yen)

Sweets Sweets

Sweets Sweets is a very affordable Japanese drugstore brand. Unfortunately it's so cheap that it doesn't even have its own official website! Anyway, there's a new collection coming out on 15 June.

1. Pure Doll EDT (1365yen): Top notes of mandarin, lemon and bergamot; middle notes of basil and jasmine; and bottom notes of musk, sandalwood and amber.

2. Perfect Volume Mascara, 924yen. Can be removed with just warm water.

3. Perfect Long Mascara, 924yen. A fibre-based mascara that can be removed with warm water.

Other new products coming out on 9 July:
1. Perfect Eyes in PE5 Sugar Black, PE6 Brownie Chocolate, PE7 Cocoa Pink and PE8 Lime Blue, 672yen each.

2. Quick Dry Nail in QK43 Floral Pink, QK45 Shiney Bronze, QK46 Red Heat and QK47 Super Black, 315yen each.