Three will debut its new Angelic Complexion Primer SPF22 PA＋＋＋ (4200yen) on 3 May in Japan. It comes in four shades: 01 Pink Petal (for a healthy glow), 02 Just Peachy (for brightening and a more translucent tone), 03 Yellow Rose (for countering redness and sallowness) and 04 Minty Froth (for correcting redness). Pics by Maquia.
Here's another pic of the Paul & Joe UV Cut Pressed Powder and Silky Pressed Powder, plus the improved Foundation Primer with enhanced hydrating capabilities. Slated for release on 6 April in Japan. Pic by Abe Sawako.
TokiLa has posted swatches of the new Paul & Joe blushes and eyeshadow trios (due out in Feb) here. Also out on 1 February is this Japan-exclusive Happy Makeup Kit (6000yen) which includes a choice of any powder blush and lipstick, plus a 10ml sample of the Moisturising Foundation Primer S 01.
Maquillage will launch the following new base products on 21 February in Japan:
1. Dramatic Skin Sensor Base UV: Contains sebum auto-block powder for oil control and water-sensor gel to keep skin perfectly hydrated and balanced, plus super hyaluronic acid, glycerin and water soluble collagen. (25ml, 2808yen)
2. Dramatic Skinny Film Liquid UV Foundation: Contains sebum auto-block powder for oil control, and water-sensor gel to keep skin perfectly hydrated and balanced, plus lighting adjust pearl, super hyaluronic acid, glycerin and water soluble collagen.. Lasts up to 13 hours. (7 shades, 30ml, 3780yen)
3. Compact Case (10th Anniversary (1080yen, limited edition)
On 21 March comes the Lady Mode Spice collection:
1. Dramatic Mood Eyes: 5 variations (LE, 3000yen)
2. Long Stay Eyeliner N (1200yen, 2 LE sets)
3. Dual Color Rouge (5 LE shades, 2500yen)
Esprique will launch the following new base makeup products on 16 February in Japan:
1. Beautiful Stay Make Up Base EX SPF22 PA++ (30g and limited edition 10g trial size)
2. Beautiful Stay Make Up Base EX Limited Edition Kit (includes Hada Kiwami Powder Wash for 5 uses)
3. Pore Cover Perfect Base CC Limited Edition Set (includes Hada Kiwami Powder Wash for 5 uses)
4. Pact UV Foundation Limited Edition Kit with LE case and sample of Beautiful Stay Make Up Base (10 uses)
Esprique will launch the following products on 21 August in Japan:
1. Oil Essence Make Up Base SPF23 PA++: Infused with argan oil, hyaluronic acid, squalene, collagen and 'super flat powder EX' for evening out the skin surface. (2800yen for 30ml; limited edition 10ml size)
2. Oil Essence Make Up Base Limited Edition Kit: Includes the Oil Essence Make Up Base, samples of the powder foundation in OC405 and OC410, plus a foundation sponge. (2800yen)
3. Powder Foundation UV Limited Edition Kit: Includes a limited edition foundation case and deluxe sample of the Oil Essence Make Up Base (2800yen)
4. Smooth On Liquid Foundation UV Limited Edition Kit: Includes sponge, sponge case and deluxe sample of the Oil Essence Make Up Base
5. Foundation Brush #3: Limited edition rose design (1200yen)
The Stila Summer 2015 collection introduced a new Aqua Glow Perfecting Primer (US$28), Aqua Glow Watercolor Blush (US$26) plus five new vibrant shades of their Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick (US$22). I loved the look of this collection with its unabashedly bold hues and the elegant matte gold packaging that's a welcome departure from the brand's usual boring black and silver. Stila's quality has been highly erratic and uneven, since it left the Estee Lauder stable and changed owners a couple of times, so it's useful to check up on their product reviews so that one can avoid the absolute stinkers like their Eyes Are The Window palettes.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Aqua Glow Perfecting Primer and Watercolor Blush are made in South Korea - yet another indicator of Korea's current influence in the Western beauty marketplace. The Perfecting Primer is a water-based stick primer that helps to hydrate, cool and smoothen the skin while reducing the appearance of pores and redness. The cooling sensation is refreshing and the light balmy formula melds into the skin without feeling heavy or clogging, although the pore and redness reduction effect wasn't that significant. It was a good base for my Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion Foundation, but the combination did not offer good oil control (which is not unexpected as the foundation is a more hydrating formula). This would be great for travel, as the packaging is sturdy with an inner plastic cap to help keep the primer from drying out. The gel stick can be a lint magnet though. It has a light aquatic scent that disappears quickly after application.
Below is the list of ingredients, which does include alcohol and silicones. There is also a host of plant and fruit extracts, including lemon, pumpkin, carrot, corn silk and aloe lead.
The Aqua Glow Watercolor Blush in Water Poppy is a cheerful translucent coral red without any shimmer. The waterproof gel formula is also designed to be cooling on the skin with buildable, color-true pigments. The mesh net dispenser is supposed to help deliver the appropriate dose of product for one application, but I usually just take a small dab from the product clinging to the underside of the cap so as to avoid touching the mesh net. The pot comes with a sticker advising one to shake well before opening.
Water Poppy looks very vibrant in the pot but it is actually quite easy to work with as it sheers out nicely to give a healthy, natural looking pop of color. It also layers smoothly without rubbing off the foundation underneath or any flaking. If you are intimately familiar with Korean brands, the Perfecting Primer and Watercolor Blush won't look particularly groundbreaking but they still feel relatively unique and fresh in the Western marketplace.
Below is the ingredient list. This contains carmine, so it's not vegan-friendly.
The Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Amalfi was the dud of the trio for me. The shocking pink shade is similar to MAC's famous Candy Yum Yum. It dries down matte without making my lips feel uncomfortable or overly dry. However, the shade was too loud for me, even when patted on with a fingertip to sheer it down. The dealbreaker was that it clung way too tenaciously to my lips and required frantic, vigorous rubbing to remove after a meal caused some of it to wear off. If you don't plan on eating, it might suit you for all-day wear.
Swatched below from left to right are the Water Poppy blush (blended out and unblended), and the Amalfi lipstick.
Other product used for this look include Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion Foundation #21, YSL Full Metal Shadow #3 Taupe Drop, Addiction Eyeliner Pencil 01 Blackjack, Kate Lasting Eyebrow W BR3 and Butter London Iconoclast Mega Volume Lacquer Mascara.
Here's the official visual for Majolica Majorca's upcoming Nude Make Gel SPF30 PA+++, to be launched on 21 May in Japan. Majolica rarely releases base makeup items, so this is pretty exciting. It's supposed to perform as a foundation, concealer, primer, sunscreen, color controller, essence gel and lotion - all in one nifty product. The gel texture transforms into a lotion on the skin. Majolica Majorca will also be holding free events at Harajuku (13-14 Jun) and Shinsaibashi (20-21 Jun), with photo sessions with fashion magazine models, makeovers etc.
Hopping on the CC bandwagon next is Shu Uemura with its upcoming POREraser CC UV Under Base Mousse SPF35 PA+++ in four tones of Ivory, Pink, Beige and Deep Beige. Shu Uemura's spin on this is that conventional color correctors use synthetic pigments, such as green to correct skin redness, which can often result in a thick, uneven or artificial looking finish. Shu Uemura's CC UV Under Base Mousse provides an ultra light airy mousse texture with an innovative color technology for beautiful, natural-looking skin.
Esprique is slated to launch this Pore Cover Perfect Base CC SPF50 PA++++ (30g), along with a foundation kit (with a limited edition case and sample of the CC cream) and a Pore Cover Perfect Base CC kit (with a loose powder in lucent beige and a powder puff) on 16 February in Japan. The Pore Cover Perfect Base promises coverage of pores for up to 13 hours through its 'super flat powder EX' and amino-acid coated 'pore cover powder' which reflects light.
Ettusais will launch a limited edition Pore Smooth Veil (1260yen, 20g) on 27 March in Japan. The pale pink semi-translucent gel primer helps to conceal pores and uneven skin texture without feeling heavy on the skin. It also provides oil control through a sebum-absorbing powder.
During my last trip to London, I picked up the Pixi Illuminating Tint & Conceal in the lightest shade No.1 Light Glow (£21.50), which consists of a glowy tinted moisturiser and a cream concealer. Aside from providing sheer coverage and SPF20, it is supposed to help skin look naturally radiant thanks to light-diffusing mineral pigments. When I swatched this in the store, the glow factor looked like it was bordering on glitter vampire territory. However, it looked quite wearable in this Pixi video, so I decided to give it a try anyway.
Made in the USA, the moisturiser (28.4g/1oz) is free of oil, fragrance and talc. The sunscreen ingredients are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. It also contains silicones. The concealer (2.6g/0.09oz) is supposed to provide full coverage and contains Vitamins A, C and E plus soothing aloe vera.
Pixi also just launched a new Redness Reducing Primer (£20, 25g) which is supposed to help camouflage redness and soothe skin with Vitamins A and E, aloe vera and linoleic acid (an anti-inflammatory). Made in Italy, this is free of parabens and fragrance but it does contain silicones.
The light green cream feels very lightweight on the skin. It applies and blends easily, making my skin look more even-toned and radiant (without any shimmer particles). Below is the ingredient list.
The Succulent Lip Twin No. 3 Pink Peony is actually a purchase from a few months ago when the Boots in Picadilly Circus was clearing out their Pixi stock at 50% off. Made in the USA, this normally retails at £12 which is pretty reasonable considering that you are getting two products in one.
In the cap is a lip and cheek tint packed with shea butter and aloe vera. This gives the cheeks a nice sheer wash of color that stayed on all day. In the tube is a lip balm/gloss that contains Vitamin E, jojoba oil and lavender extract to keep the lips well-moisturised. The gloss turned out to be surprisingly well-pigmented, although it can also be sheered out to give a translucent wash.
The dome-shaped lip and cheek tint is similar in size to the concealer in the Illuminating Tint & Conceal. It doesn't look like a very generous amount of product but I think it should still last a good long while as you only need a bit for each application. It's hard to keep the cap clean though.
The pic below shows swatches (from left to right) of the Redness Reducing Primer, Illuminating Tint & Conceal and the Succulent Lip Twin.
When blended out, the Redness Reducing Primer (left in pic below) pretty much disappears on the skin. The texture is just right, not too greasy or silicone-y or mattifying.
Next to it, the Illuminating Tint & Conceal is a virtual glowfest. When applied on the face, the effect is actually much more subdued and it provided more coverage than I expected. It's not full coverage by any means, but just enough to make the skin more even-toned and less ruddy.
The pic below shows the lip gloss from the Succulent Lip Twin on the left and the lip/cheek tint on the right.
The lipgloss has a lovely non-sticky texture.
Here's a look I did using mainly Pixi products with the Illuminating Tint & Conceal applied over the Redness Reducing Primer. The tinted moisturiser wasn't that good in terms of oil control, but that is usually to be expected from an illuminating formula. There was some shine on my T-zone after just 1.5 hours. Nevertheless, I still quite like this for the ease of application, lightweight texture with coverage that evens out the skin tone and reduces the appearance of my pores. For a more polished effect, I set it with Suqqu loose powder. The concealer does a decent job of covering up the dark circles but it's not completely full coverage.
Other products used for this look: Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Sage Gold and Eye Glow Cube Lucent Lid Light over Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Edge Meister BK999 and K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 01.
