Pupa Luminys Baked Eyeshadows & Blush

I came across a brilliant line of baked eyeshadows and face powders from Pupa, an Italian brand, in my local Sasa store and couldn't resist picking some of them up. The texture is luxuriously silky with great color payoff. The eyeshadows can be applied either dry or wet (for greater intensity). I got the Eyeshadow Mono Double Effects in #2, #4, #9 and #10 (S$25; 11.90 euros) as well as the Luminys Baked All Over Illuminating Blush Powder #1 (S$35.10). These are all made in Italy, where MAC's MSFs are also produced. What I liked about the Illuminating Blush Powder is that it has only very fine pearlescent microshimmer that is not too frosty and it also has no chunky glitter bits that make one look like a disco ball. It comes in only 2 shades. #2 is a more beige/tan combination. I think this may be limited edition as it was not part of the larger Pupa counter at Seiyu Bugis. Seiyu had another line of baked blushes that are smaller and come in 4 shades.

The eyeshadows come in a gorgeous array of vibrant and neutral shades. There was a 20% discount on the eyeshadows and so I ended up getting 4 of these. There are about 10 shades in total as well as another 4 that came out for spring/summer.

Majolica Majorca Holiday Sneak Peak

Yoshida Natsumi's blog features a photo of some items from the Majolica Majorca holiday collection that she received on a photo shoot. There are also some Shiseido Keisho Wakusho items in the photo but guessing from the packaging alone, the two eyeshadow palettes on the left of the pic are Majolook palettes and the white tube is the holiday limited edition version of either Lash Expader or Lash Enamel Glamour. The hexagonal red and pink palettes in the foreground seem to be from Integrate. My guess is that the collection will be launched on November 21, the same date as Maquillage.

Chanel Think Pink Haul

I went to check out the Chanel Think Pink collection and ended up hauling the #45 Poesie powder blush, Natural Finish Pressed Powder #507 Rose Blossom and the eyeshadow quad, which turned out to be #28 Songes. According to Productville on Makeupalley, #28 Songes was discontinued awhile ago. It was a bit disappointing to find out that the quad was just a re-promote rather than a new Asia-exclusive quad. The quad has a deep brown shade with slight plum tones, an icy light pink, a tan beige and a vanilla shade. All the shades are shimmery without being frosty and have good color payoff. The texture is very smooth and silky, hence a breeze to blend. This quad is a good basic quad for a sweet polished look especially if you're not the type who likes to experiment with bold colors. However, for the price, I think I still prefer Jill Stuart's Brilliance Eyes #1 Pink Quartz to Songes as the former has a more vibrant and interesting array of pinks and mauve shades. But the Jill Stuart eyeshadows has larger glitter bits that tends to fall on the cheeks or lower eyelid area whereas the Chanel quad has only a microfine pearl shimmer without any chunky glitter.

Poesie blush is a lovely natural rosy pink while Rose Blossom Pressed Powder is a shimmery highlighter that also helps to add a rosy glow. Both have a lovely silky texture that is a dream to apply.

Jill Stuart Christmas Coffret

Finally, a pic of Jill Stuart's Christmas Coffret has surfaced on 2Channel :-) The set includes an eyeshadow quad in pastel shades of beige and pink in a pink case with a lace motif, a face powder, lipgloss, nail oil and makeup case. It doesn't look like a must-have to me but to serious Jill Stuart collectors, this will be special simply because it's the annual Christmas coffret. But I'm sure Jill Stuart has more tricks up its sleeve for Spring '08 so I'll be saving up for that instead!

Maquillage Winter Collection

Maquillage will release its winter collection on 21 November in Japan.

1. Crystallising Lip Compact in 4 variations, 3150yen
2. Eye Color in 4 new shades, 1050yen
3. Design Make Powder (shimmery face powder) in 2 shades, 2625yen
4. Nail Color in 2 new shades, 945yen

Here are the promo images for the collection (from 2Channel) with the four spokesmodels sporting soft glam rock looks.

Anna Sui Holiday

Photos of the Anna Sui holiday collection from 2Channel. The collection will be released in 2 parts on 1 Nov (items #1 to #3) and 1 Dec in Japan (#4 - #7).

1. Makeup Kit in 2 variations (pink and orange): pouch, lipgloss and face color (5250yen)
2. Super Mascara Glitter in 4 shades (2940yen)
3. Color Powder in 2 shades (2100yen)
4. Beauty Tray P and Beauty Tray R (1785yen each)
5. Hand Mirror Gold (2205yen)
6. Nail Color in 5 shades (1575yen)
7. Dolly Girl Lipstick in 3 shades (2625yen)
8. Dolly Girl Nail Color in 3 shades (1575yen)

Love Clover Website Update

Love Clover's website has been updated with the new Pon Pon Cheek N collection. You can view swatches of the four new shades here. Some more details on the various shades:

#5065: cool "mod" apricot shade with gold and green pearl
#5066: cute baby pink with very fine white pearl and large gold pearl
#5067: sweet rosy pink with green, gold and silver pearl
#5068: ladylike red with gold and silver pearl



The new blushes are already available in Plaza Style stores.

Stila News

Some of you may know that I'm a longtime Stila fan. Along with MAC, Stila was one of the first brands that I first fell in love with at the start of my makeup obsession. A couple of weeks ago, rumours were circulating on Makeupalley that Stila was in danger of going out of business. Then MUAer alyheartsyou posted this email from Stila not only confirming that they were NOT going out of business but they've got an exciting schedule of new products all lined up well into 2009 including a revamp of their eyeshadows range (which was already very impressive).

And even more exciting (for me at least), Stila will be using more of the Stila girls in their product packaging!! Stila started to phase out the Stila girls because they wanted to go more upmarket and appeal to older customers who thought that the Stila girls were too cutesy. But ask any longtime Stila fan and they will tell you that the Stila girls are a key reason why Stila is so special for us. All the Taiwan and Japan-exclusive palettes, blushes and GWP bags, train cases etc show that it is possible to put out fun, innovative products with sleek, modern packaging that features the Stila girls. By the way, I'm so loving the new Stila girls illustration for the holiday collection!

Stila's official website is now back up and running. The newest additions are the Smokey Eye Palettes in Emerald and Brozne. MUAer Sara13 posted a reply from Stila customer service regarding the shades in the palette and turns out that the Emerald palette has June Bug (green shade) and Poise (liner shade) plus two new shades while the Bronze palette has 3 new shades and Java. So that definitely rules out the two new palettes for me as I already have June Bug and Java. June Bug is lovely with excellent color payoff so these are good options to consider if you don't already own a lot of Stila. Stila is also taking an innovative approach of inviting Youtubers to send in their videos featuring Stila products in action.

And finally to round off, check out MUAer littlemitzik's amazing Stila collection here!

Jill Stuart Members Program

Jill Stuart Beauty in Japan has a members programme which started in April 2007. Members who accumulate purchases of 70,000yen in the period from April '07 to end-Mar '08 will receive the vanity case in the photo. The vanity case will be sent to members only after April '08 so even if you buy 70,000yen of JS products at the counter at one go, you won't be able to get the case on the spot. (It basically means you need to be resident in Japan.) The photo was just posted on the JS website and it is already garnering a lot of negative feedback from disappointed Japanese JS fans who had been hoping for something more special like the glass crystal cases that JS used to give out as GWPs when it was first launched. That's understandable since 70,000yen (about US$650) is an exorbitant amount to spend just to get a case like that.

http://www.jillstuart-beauty.com/infomation/members/index.html

Chanel Think Pink

Every makeup addict has experienced that special moment when you first see a new makeup collection and everything about it is just so magically perfect that you start lusting after every item in the collection and then your brain starts racing furiously to figure out how to obtain all of it. Next comes either begging for a CP or stalking your local counter until the collection is finally launched and you get to bring it home where you probably spend the next few days just admiring it and taking in its incredible beauty.

Chanel's Think Pink collection caught my eye from the moment I saw it on the Isetan Singapore website. Everything just looked so alluring and perfectly matched. The promo visuals look like they could have been done for Jill Stuart instead, with that soft sweet romantic look. The collection will be launched today in Isetan in Singapore and I can't wait to check it out in person :-) The Chanel Japan website has a gorgeous video clip on this collection. Just click on the Think Pink Collection link on the Chanel Japan website here:
http://www.vogue.co.jp/beauty/chanel/

Shu Uemura Holiday

Pics of the Shu Uemura holiday collection due out on 2 November from @Cosme.

1. Holiday Palette: one in green and purple and another in brown tones (6090yen)
2. Glitter Mascara in silver (3360yen)
3. Brush Set 2007 (9450yen): face brush, cheek brush, eyeshadow brush, lip brush and case
4. Holiday Kit (9030yen): Cream Foundation 30g, UV Underbase Mousse 65g, Sponge with case, Cleansing Pure Oil Premium A/I 50ml, pouch.

Ipsa Aurora Charm Holiday Collection

This Christmas, Ipsa will be releasing a Aurora Charm Makeup Palette (5250yen) that in a pink compact. It includes:
1. Aurora Red lipstick
2. 2 lipglosses in Aurora Pearl and Aurora Beige
3. 3 Face Colors in Aurora White, Aurora Pink and Aurora Violet

There will also be an Aurora Charm Mascara in two limited edition glittery shades for 2625yen each.


The collection goes on sale on 2 November.

Love Clover Pon Pon Cheek

I had earlier posted about the four new shades of Love Clover Pon Pon Cheek N (1680yen) that will be released in October. The Love Clover website has not been updated yet but the new shades can now be viewed on the B&C Laboratories online shop. The Pon Pon Cheek N blushes are formulated with marine collagen, Vitamin C and rose extract for skincare benefits. The new shades are #5065 (cool beige), #5066 (cute baby pink), #5067 (sweet pink) and #5068 (lady pink).

Maquillage Handsome Beauty

Shiseido Maquillage's new tagline for fall is "Handsome Beauty". Instead of the usual soft, feminine and cutesy looks that many Japanese makeup brands strive for, Maquillage is promoting a more confident, assertive modern kind of beauty that is both elegantly feminine but also conveys a sense of internal strength and intelligence at the same time. The Maquillage website has a new section, "Handsome Finishing School" featuring four video tutorials on base and color makeup application as well as an interesting one on posing! The video offers tips on how to sit down, stand, walk and even how to sit while waiting for someone at a cafe in the "Handsome Beauty" way. Do check it out here! (Click on the second box from the right at the bottom of the screen, on the right side of the CM gallery link box.)

http://www.shiseido.co.jp/mq/index.htm

Canmake Website Update

Canmake's website has been updated with the new collection of eyeliners, nail polishes and face primers.
http://www.canmake.com/

Tarte Holiday

Tarte's holiday collections are always full of surprises and this year, the wonderful ladies at Tarte have outdone themselves again with a superb blockbuster palette, "We Wish You Wealth" ($52 for $578 value).


According to the description on Sephora," this jaw-dropping, must-have Tarte palette is stacked with exclusive shades of eyeshadows, lip glosses, lip sheers, brushes and for the first time ever, our best-selling cheek stains in a pan form.

Palette includes:
-16 brand-new lipglosses
-16 brand-new eyeshadows
-4 gel eyeliners
-4 cheek stains
-3 24/7 lip sheers
-Eyelid primer
-Luminizer
-Eyeshadow & eyelining brushes"

On one hand, I think it's simply amazing that Tarte has managed to cram so many products, and even 4 Cheek Stains, into a single palette and all for such a great price but on the other hand, I have my usual reservations about palettes that include both lip, eye and face products as my past experience (including with some Tarte tri-fold palettes) is that it tends to get messy as the loose powder from the eyeshadows get all over the place or the lip glosses stain other parts of the palette. If you're new to Tarte, this palette is a great way to get into the brand like the A-List Palette which was done for the Sephora Beauty Insider program a couple of years ago. I'm still waiting for reviews of the palette to pop up on Makeupalley before I decide whether to get this palette. The eyeshadows look like mostly muted or neutral shades that will be easy for most people to wear but personally, I wish that a few more fun, bright shades had been thrown in as well. Tarte has confirmed that all the eyeshadows are full size and of the same quality as their regular single eyeshadows. So what else are you waiting for? :-)

If you've tried the palette, I would love to hear your thoughts!

There is also a We Wish You Health Skinvigorating Discovery Kit ($38 for $50 value) that includes a mini Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara, mini Clean Slate primer, mini Inside Out lipgloss and a mini Lock & Roll eyeshadow duo. There is also likely to be a mini cheek stain set. Two of the shades, Merry and Enchanted have already shown up on Ebay and both look pretty!



http://tinyurl.com/2g3vqj

Esprique Precious Coffret

Esprique Precious will launch its Christmas coffret on 16 November. It includes:
1. Full Sparkle Eyes palette
2. Rouge Stylish (Mini)
3. Mini Nail Polish
4. Mini Loose Powder
5. Velvet bag with attached charm

All that for the great price of only 3675yen! Esprique Precious eyeshadow palettes usually retail for 3675yen so it's like getting a great 4-piece GWP with the eyeshadow palette. All the shades in the coffret are limited edition.

Bobbi Brown, Awake & Beaute de Kose Holiday

Web Domani has a couple of small pics from the Bobbi Brown Holiday Collection press launch. The collection comes in 2 parts, Pink Quartz and Palette System. The Palette System will launch first on 2 November. There will be two eyeshadow palettes in neutral and dark (5250yen), a lip gloss palette (5040yen) and a blush palette (4725yen). All of these are designed to fit inside the Palette System Holder (7350yen) which comes with mini blush, eyeshadow and eyeliner brushes plus a mini mascara.

Pink Quartz will be released on 1 December. Together with Chanel's Pink Collection, this is one of the collections that I'll definitely be checking out when it launches at the counters. The Pink Quart Shimmer Brick is different from previous Shimmer Bricks in that it contains pink, rose, gold and beige shades instead of just shades from the same color family.
1. Shimmer Brick Pink Quartz 5,460yen
2. Glitter Lip Gloss in 4 shades, 2940yen
3. Nail Shimmer Pink Quartz, 2100yen
4. Pink Quartz Organiser, 7350yen
5. Pink Quartz Deluxe 8 Mini Brush set, 12600yen
6. Best of Chocolate Palette 6090yen


http://domani.shogakukan.co.jp/fashion/make.html

A pic of the Awake Christmas coffret also surfaced on 2Channel. Looks like it will include the usual mascara, glittery nail polish, lipgloss, a face powder and two small eyeshadow palettes. According to WWD Japan, there will also be a color collection to be released on 1 Dec that includes 3 Star Illusions Eyes Stardom palettes (5040yen), 2 Lip Lacquers (2940yen) and 2 Nail Colors (1050yen).


And finally, here's a super tiny pic of the Beaute de Kose Snowflake Compact (6300yen) that includes 4 pastel eyeshadows, 2 lip colors, 2 lipglosses in a white case. This will be released on 1 November.

RMK, Bobbi Brown, Paul & Joe Holiday

FANet has posted pics of the christmas collections from RMK, Bobbi Brown and Paul & Joe.

From top to bottom (left pic): Estee Lauder Makeup Collection 2007 (13,650yen; 26 Oct), RMK Christmas Palette 2007 (9,975yen; 9 Nov) and Bobbi Brown Best of Chocolate Palette (6,090yen; 1 Dec).

From top to bottom (middle pic): Aveda Aroma Journey (4,410yen; 9 Nov), YSL Christmas Precious Kit (from 16,380yen; 30 Nov) and Body Shop Rich Plum Shimmering Bath (2,625yen) and Body Butter (3150yen; 2 Nov).

Paul & Joe (right pic)
Eye Color and Moisture Gel Kit 002 (5,775yen). There is another kit with a green pouch that contains a lipgloss and double-ended glitter mascara.

Pied Nus TV CMs

Check out this treasure trove of Pied Nus tv clips from Youtube members mussilver and lesterf1020! They are cheesy and super hilarious, especially the ones where Misaki Ito bounces a man off her juicy, plump lips and another one where she literally knocks a man off his feet with the power of her dramatic eyelashes!

Giorgio Armani Hollywood 2007 Collection

Armani will be releasing another Hollywood-themed collection on 7 December in Japan. The collection includes:
1. Eyeshadow in #61 fiery gold and #62 smokey grey silver (3990yen)
2. Shine Lipstick #35 rosewood with pearl (3360yen)
3. Movie Light Palette (13,650yen) : pressed powder with shimmering pearl that can be used on top of foundation or as a highlighter

The Movie Light Palette comes with a tiny row of lights around the rim that light up when the cover is opened. That's a lovely glamorous touch but seriously, the prices for Armani palettes are getting way too stratospheric. For the same price, one can get two Jill Stuart Brilliance Eyes palettes and still have a hefty chunk of change left.

Shu Uemura, Dior and Estee Lauder Holiday News

Some more news on forthcoming winter collections from Shu Uemura, Dior and Estee Lauder:

Shu Uemura
1. Nail Enamel in gold beige and chocolate brown (1575yen)
2. Holiday Palette: one in green and purple and another in brown tones (6090yen)
3. Glitter Mascara in silver (3360yen)
4. Brush Set 2007 (9450yen): face brush, cheek brush, eyeshadow brush, lip brush and case
5. Holiday Kit (9030yen): Cream Foundation 30g, UV Underbase Mousse 65g, Sponge with case, Cleansing Pure Oil Premium A/I 50ml, pouch.

Dior (1 Dec)
Totally Dior Cannage (from 34,650yen): Choice of Dior lipstick, choice of nail polish, Skin Shimmering Loose Powder, Compact Face Brush, Cannage Vanity

Fragrance Little Luxury (5460yen): 5ml miniatures of Addict 2 EDT, Pure Poison EDP, J'Adore EDP, Miss Dior Cherie EDP

Prestige Luxury Night (34,650yen): Prestige Nuit 50ml, Prestige Lotion 30ml, Prestige Mousse 50ml, Presige Serum Mask 23ml, J'Adore EDP 50ml, jewellery box



Dior will also be releasing its limited edition winter color collection on 9 November that will include:
1. Cinq Couleurs #340 Secret Charm and #360 Amber Treasure
2. Nail Vinyl #410 Party Dazzle and #470 Pink Socialite
3. Style Liner #544 Pure Gold
4. Dior Show Powder #12 Dream Light
5. Dior Light (9450yen): a crystal-studded round pendant that has a lipgloss inside.



Estee Lauder
Good as Gold Gift Set 2007 (6,090yen, 1 Dec): Deluxe Pure Color Eyeshadow Compact, Tender Blush Compact, Pure Color Lipstick, Artist Lip Pencil, Artist Eye Pencil, makeup brush and evening bag