Integrate Pure Big Eyes

On my trip to Japan, I picked up three of the Integrate Pure Big Eyes palettes, which were released earlier in June this year. These retail for 1575yen each, with 8 palettes in the permanent line-up plus a limited edition blue/pink palette.

Each palette consists of: (in anti-clockwise direction) a Clear Highlight Base (top left corner), Medium Colour (bottom left), Deep Color (bottom right), Liner and Pure Shining Pearl. The Pure Shining Pearl shade is recommended for highlighting the inner half of the lower eyelid.

Above is BE332 and below is OR334.

The first palette I tried was PK333, which was labelled with a sticker stating that it was popular in the drugstore in Harajuku where I purchased it. The plastic packaging is very lightweight. It sounds cheap if you tap your nail against it, but nevertheless, I like the simplicity of the mirrored lid and the clover and hearts design.

The eyeshadows are formulated through a new "silky and clear coating" method through which individual powder particles are coated with a moisturising oil, to give it a texture that melds easily onto the skin. And indeed, the texture is truly impressive, gliding on like a dream and producing excellent colour payoff in just one pass of the sponge applicator.

Compared with the other Japanese eyeshadow palettes in the same price category that I've tested recently like Majolica Majorca Jewelling Eyes #66 Lavender Sugar and Lavshuca Lav Heart Eyes PK1, Pure Big Eyes PK33 beats the others hands down with its silky texture and ease of use. There is no need for multiple layering just to get the eyeshadows to show up like how they look like in the pan. The Pure Shining Pearl shade has a more glittery finish and can result in some fallout.

Using Too Faced Shadow Insurance as the base, I applied the light pink shade over the browbone area, the medium pink shade in the crease, the medium brown shade along the lower lashline and outer half of the crease, the dark brown shade to line the upper lashline and outer half of the lower lashline, and the glittery white shade along the inner half of the lower lashline.

The eyeshadows wore amazingly well without any creasing or fading over more than eight hours. The shade combination is typically Japanese office lady-friendly, sweetly feminine and easily flattering. The refined shimmer is gently illuminating without being over the top.


For more reviews of the Pure Big Eyes series, do check out Alice's blog and Yuki's Lazy Channel. You can find the Pure Big Eyes palettes on Adambeauty.com for US$20.

Dior Gold Bal

For Christmas, Dior almost always does a gold-themed collection. This year's Gold Bal collection brings a host of gilt-edged treasures that is much more alluring than last year's Les Rouges Or collection.

The Grand Bal Carnet de Maquillage features two richly textured eyeshadows in gold and silver, and two lip shades in a gold case plus a black eyeliner. The eyeliner was pretty average. I wasn't able to swatch the eyeshadows as the tester unit had a plastic piece in their place. The hefty price tag of €78.50 made me put it back on the shelf in the end. As pretty as the eyeshadows look, I probably have similar shades in my stash. You can see swatches on Best Things in Beauty>.

The collection includes four Diorific Rouge Mat lipsticks. The stumpy ridged gold tube with the bulbous ends is an awful, tawdry piece of design that makes one wonder what the Dior people were smoking. I did like the Dior Addict Ultra Gloss in Ceremony Red though.


The two Dior quints (€50.50) in 524 Night Golds and 764 Fairy Golds are very pretty. The ultra shiny glittery gold shades in the top right corner caught my eye instantly. These swatched incredibly smoothly.


The two pics below show Night Golds swatched in the top row and Fairy Golds in the bottom row. The textures all felt wonderfully smooth.



Since I had a 10% discount voucher, I decided to pick up Night Golds and the Gold Dust powder. Although my stash of Dior quints has gone untouched for a number of months, Night Golds looked unique enough to warrant a splurge. Look how shiny that gold is!


The Diorskin Poudre Libre 431 Gold Dust (€41.90) is described as a "matte and luminous hydrating loose powder", which sounds like a contradiction. It provides high-diffusion hydration for soft, supple skin, and anti-pollution ingredients for a fresh complexion. Use this like magical pixie dust for a soft luminous veil.

Lavshuca Lav Hearty Eyes PK1

Lavshuca Lav Hearty Eyes (1680yen) was released back in August as part of the brand revamp featuring pink packaging and its shift to a more girlish, cutesy image. Yuki's Lazy Channel has swatched the entire fall collection here.

The box packaging is reminiscent of Benefit's blushes. These come secured with an elastic bearing a cute heart motif. The heart flips down easily, so storage is actually not an issue. However, it's not that travel friendly as the paper edges will wear down much quickly than a plastic case.


Lav Hearty Eyes PK1 features a sweet combination of medium purple, pale gold and candy pink. It's great for a simple day look, especially if you prefer the light makeup look as the shades are all on the sheer side.


I purchased this as the purple shade swatched quite nicely in the store. However, when applied on the eyes, I was disappointed that it looked more washed out than I had expected. The included sponge applicator feels a tad cheap and subpar compared to the sponge applicators included with Lunasol palettes (both brands are made by Kanebo).

For this look, I applied the purple shade along the upper and lower lash line, the pink shade in the crease and the light gold shade over the browbone area and inner corners. My favourite shade is the light gold, which has a dreamy glowy effect without looking overly frosty.

This didn't quite knock my socks off but the overall design looks so darn cheerful and cute that I can't hate it. Adambeauty.com has both of the Lav Hearty Eyes in stock. If you prefer eyeshadows with better colour payoff, I would recommend Integrate Pure Big Eyes instead.

Canmake Nobimori Mascara

Canmake recently launched Nobimori Mascara 01 Luster Black, which promises lush lengthening and volumising effects thanks to the use of an "extra tension polymer". The film-type mascara does not contain any fibres and can be easily removed with warm water. It also contains panthenol, hyaluronic acid, collagen, olive oil and squalene to nourish the lashes.

Priced very affordably at 630yen (about S$10), Nobimori has a comb applicator with shorter teeth at the tip, designed for catching the finer lower lashes. The formula is a slightly thick liquid that builds up both length and volume quite quickly. If there is too much product on the applicator, it can cause the lashes to clump together but this is usually easily rectified. The mascara is an almost glossy jet black that gives the lashes beautiful definition.

While it holds the curl of the lashes pretty well, the main flaw is that it takes several minutes to dry. During that time, the mascara tends to smudge onto my lower eyelid or waterline when I blink. If you're usually in a rush in the mornings, this gets super annoying. The slow drying aspect is the primary reason behind the low average rating of just 2.7 stars (out of 7) on Cosme.net. The tenacious formula also takes quite a bit of soaking with my usual L'Oreal eye makeup remover to come off completely.


While I like Nobimori better than K-Palette 1 Day Lash Perm as the former is superior in terms of adding volume, it's not stellar enough for me to want to re-purchase it. Good thing it wasn't too expensive!

Ettusais Puru Puru Mist

Ettusais will release a new Puru Puru Jelly Mist (1575yen, 80ml) on 15 November in Japan. The moisturising Bulgarian rose water-based mist promises bouncy, baby-like skin with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, W collagen, royal jelly and glycerin delivered in a "micro jelly capsule" formula.

Anna Sui Holiday 2012

Here are the official product images for the Anna Sui Black Veil holiday collection which will be released on 1 November in Japan.

The two coffrets (5775yen) look more elegant and feminine than last year's circus-themed sets.

The rose-scented Body Powder (5250yen) comes in a beautifully crafted bottle. A more affordable but less ornate option is the Body Shop's The Sparkler in gold, which is making a comeback this holiday season.

The five limited edition Nail Colour N (1575yen) look alluring too.

The Rose Face Powder (3990yen) is a finishing powder and highlighter.

Also included in the collection are two limited edition Eye Shadows (1260yen). The smoky purple looks tempting!

Addiction Moroccan Rose Holiday Coffret

The Addiction Moroccan Rose coffret (7140yen) looks absolutely stunning! Set for release on 9 November in Japan, it includes Damask Shadow, Cream Blush, Eyeshadow and a Kohl Eyeliner encased in a gorgeous gold compact and Miss You More nail polish. It looks like excellent value for money as the retail value is over 11000yen.



More pics from Hankyu.

Esprique Eye Love Shine for Winter 2012

Fans of the now defunct Beauté de Kosé Eye Fantasists will be happy to know that these are making a comeback in the form of Esprique Brilliant Liquid Eye Color (7g), right down to the signature heart-shaped packaging. These will be available in 5 shades, starting 16 November in Taiwan. The winter collection is also rumoured to include eight lipsticks, blush trios, eyeshadow trios plus a special collaboration set for the eyeshadows, lipsticks, with oil blotting sheets and case.

Addiction Website Update: Arabian Nights

The Addiction website has been updated with the new Arabian Nights winter collection. Check out the behind-the-scenes video here. The model is wearing Mustard Tree Eyeshadow, Saffron Lip Crayon, Argan Tree Cheek Stick under the cheek bones and Tea Rose Cheek Stick on the apples of the cheeks with Brown Toast Blush Mix layered on top.