Here's a sneak peek by Eclat of the Anna Sui Summer 2014 makeup collection due out on 1 May in Japan. It includes single eyeshadows in both powder and cream format, eyeshadow cases with an accessory chain, Glittering Lip Gloss (with the black caps) and Protective Lip Gloss (white caps). Two limited edition blushes in a luxurious case design will be released on 5 June.
Lunasol continues the celebration of its 15th anniversary with its Summer 2014 collection set for release on 16 May in Japan. It includes:
1. 15th Anniversary Summer Eyes in EX01 Cool Beige and EX02 Warm Coral (5000yen)
2. W Lighting Eyes: 3 eyeshadow duos EX01 Lighting Purple, EX02 Lighting Turquoise and EX03 Lighting Coral (2500yen)
3. W Lighting Mascara EX01 Dark Purple x Lighting Navy (3000yen)
4. W Lighting Lips EX01 Clear Pink x Lighting Pink, EX02Clear Fuchsia x Lighting Fuchsia, EX03 Clear Coral x Lighting Coral (2800yen)
5. Nail Finish N EX28 Lighting Purple, EX29 Lighting Turquoise and EX30 Lighting Fuchsia (1500yen)
All products are limited edition. See the rest of the collection pamphlet here and real life pics on Kyoko Iida and here.
Now here's an intriguing product from Esprique. The limited edition Cool BB Spray UV foundation SPF30 PA++ (60g) is described as an essence foundation dispensed through a spray mechanism. It's not meant to be sprayed directly onto the face but rather, to be sprayed onto a sponge. It offers the multi-functionality of traditional BB creams in a cooling lightweight texture, performing five functions: sunblock, primer, foundation, powder and beauty essence. It claims to make skin feel 5 degrees cooler and provides coverage of pores without any stickiness. Due out on 15 May in Japan.
The ongoing ASOS sale has some great beauty bargains on offer, including the Anna Sui Minnie Mouse holiday 2013 collection all at half price, Paul & Joe eye and lip gloss duos at just £8 (down from £28) and my favourite Pixi Iridescent Iris eyeliner pencil, also at £8. With free international shipping and an additional 20% off sale items with the code 20MORE (until 10 March). Check out the sale here.
Here's the promo visual for Addiction's upcoming Summer 2014 collection, posted by Creative Director Ayako on Instagram. Due out on 2 May in Japan (product details in this earlier post).
If you happen to be a fan of Korean dramas and an makeup aficionado, chances are that you've been on the hunt for YSL Rouge Pur Couture #52 Rosy Coral, one of several lipsticks sported by the lead actress in the K-drama du jour, My Love From Another Star. As cheesy as the title is, the plot is even more bizarre, centering around an alien who has been living on Earth for the past 400 years. I haven't watched any K-dramas for years but thanks to the always inspiring Drivel About Frivol, who usually sparks a thousand lemmings with every post, I got to know about Rosy Coral. Apparently it's sold out in most countries, with 1000 units flying off the shelves in Singapore within a week. Elle Australia has a brief article on the craze.
Rouge Pur Couture retails for US$35 in USA, £25 in the UK, €30.90 in France, S$45 in Singapore, versus CHF49 (about S$70) in Switzerland. Yes, the mark-up in Switzerland for luxury beauty brands is heartbreakingly painful, but the shops here do run attractive promotions from time to time. For example, Marionnaud which carries By Terry, Chanel and YSL etc is having a 3 for 2 promotion on all makeup items, something you would see only in drugstores like Boots and Superdrug in the UK.
On a lark, I stopped by Manor's YSL counter to see if they had this elusive Rosy Coral. I guess Geneva must be an oasis from K-drama makeup hunters as they had a few pieces of it. It swatched very prettily and looked perfect for spring.
After all the hype, I found the texture of Rouge Pur Couture disappointing as it was on the dry side and emphasised any flakiness on my lips. It lacked the slick creaminess of Japanese lipstick formulas like Esprique Mellow Forming Rouge. Nevertheless, Rosy Coral is indeed a gorgeous complexion brightening shade. It almost borders on neon but without being as retina-searing as MAC Candy YumYum. If layered on too thickly, it can look a tad artificial so I recommend applying it with a lip brush for a more sheer and precise effect. After about two to three hours of wear, it feels quite dry on the lips so I usually layer a balm or gloss over it.
For this look, I used Suqqu Blend Color Eyeshadow EX17 Hatsushimo from the Fall 2013 collection and Frame Fix Liquid Foundation N 101. The Suqqu foundation used to be tricky to blend due to its pigmented nature but since I started using Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturiser, which drenches my skin into a dewy finish, I've had much more success with it.
Lancome Rouge In Love 340B in Rose Boudoir is the closest dupe for Rosy Coral that I could find in my stash. Chantecaille Hydra Chic in Persimmon is more orange-toned while Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate 06 is more reddish fuchsia. Clarins Gloss Prodige 05 Grenadine is a close coral gloss equivalent with shimmer.
More reviews and swatches of Rosy Coral can be found on Sephia, Silverkis, Female Daily and Mackarrie.
For summer 2014, Laduree will release this delicately crafted Face & Eye Color composed of an assortment of sea shells and star fish in five tones. These can be blended together to create the look of translucent, glowy skin or used individually as eye brightening shades. Due out on 2 May in Japan. Pic from Maquia.
BeautyBay.com is offering 10% off all orders (use code SAVE10) and 15% off orders over £65 (use code SAVE15) from now until midnight Sunday with free worldwide delivery. They have the Paul & Joe, Pixi and RMK spring collections in stock. For spring, Pixi has released a new line of six Shea Butter Lip Balms, three Mesmerizing Mineral Palettes, H20 Skintint (tinted moisturiser) in 3 shades and a new shade of Endless Silky Eye Pen in Bronze Beam (unfortunately out of stock on BeautyBay at the moment).
Here's a sneak peek at the limited edition Suqqu Summer 2014 collection which will be released on 2 May in Japan. Pic tweeted by Nao.
According to Tomoichi, Les Merveilleuses by Laduree will release a set of three mini hand creams on 2 May in Japan.
There will be a limited edition Face Color Rose Laduree (mini size with a choice of the three regular shades) in a box design exclusive to Mitsukoshi in Ginza, Tokyo, starting 5 March.
It's always interesting to see what Addiction creator Ayako has up her sleeve for each season, given the brand's fiercely indie spirit that does not conform to the sea of bland brainwashed beiges that other Japanese beauty brands are adrift in. Voce's staff blog has the scoop on the Ibiza-inspired Summer 2014 collection, which is set for release on 2 May in Japan. The collection includes:
1. Tint Lip Protector SPF20 in 8 shades: Contains rosehip oil and organic olive oil (2500yen)
2. Ready To Wear Eye Palette in 1 new variation (6200yen)
3. Cheek Stick in 3 new shades (2800yen)
4. Nail Polish in 5 new shades (1800yen)
5. Crystal Body Oil: Contains fine champagne gold pearl and scented with juniper berry and geranium rose (50ml, 4200yen, limited edition)
6. Body Scrub: Dual layer scrub with salt and an oil gel. (3000yen, 200g, limited edition)
See more pics here.
Sometime before last Christmas, the Shiseido Eye Color Bar finally landed at the Shiseido counter here in Geneva. I wasn't planning on purchasing it as the online swatches didn't seem that special. However, it looked more appealing in person, plus there was an attractive gift with purchase on offer to facilitate this piece of holiday retail therapy. It ended up sitting on my desk for the next two months as I didn't wear makeup regularly until I went back to work. Having a four month old son brings endless joys but it usually means very little time for myself, hence the erratic blog posts and even rarer product reviews. I've lost count of the number of times I had to stop to attend to him tonight while trying to write this but hey, I'm not complaining because I'd rather carry him for the umpteenth time around the house than, well, pretty much anything else!
Based on my previous experience with Shiseido's Luminizing Satin Eye Color Trios, I was expecting the shades to be of the sheer and luminous variety. I was pleasantly surprised by the good color payoff of Parfait Amour (purple) and Liquorice (black), which required very little layering to achieve the shades as seen in the pan. They have a soft satiny sheen and glide onto the skin with no loud frostiness or messy glitter.
For this look, I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance as the base and applied Parfait Amour from the lashline to the crease, Liquorice in the outer corner, Menthe (pale green) along the lower lashline and shaded into the crease, and Champagne (pearly golden white) over the browbone area and inner corners. I used Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Black Tulip along the upper lashline and Oyster Glow along the lower lashline.
Under brighter indoor lighting, the lovely glowy sparkles of Champagne and the full attraction of this Color Bar become more visible. Champagne and its pink-tinged cousin, Soda, are useful shades for layering over other eyeshadows to add some tonal complexity.
Having used only four out of the nine shades in the Color Eye Bar, this cannot be a definitive review but I'm delighted with the Eye Color Bar so far. After 8 hours of wear, there was no creasing or fading at all, which was impressive. It retailed for US$50 in the US, versus S$80 in Singapore, which is a reasonable price for the quality and the generous amount of product (9g, 0.31oz). The cardboard packaging (with magnetic closure) lacks the sleek chicness of the Luminizing Satin Eye Color Trios, but it's much more compact than Urban Decay's Naked palettes or Too Faced's palettes.
It is likely sold out in most locations by now although there were still a few pieces remaining at my local counter last week. On the off chance that you come across it, it is worth a look as it is office-friendly and yet versatile enough to offer a variety of creative looks, thanks to the genius talent of Shiseido Artistic Director Dick Page. Shiseido also rarely releases a large eyeshadow palette which makes this quite a collectible for fans of the brand.
Other products used for this look include L'Oreal's new Infaillible 24H foundation #130 True Beige and Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Tint in Moody, a lovely deep plum red. The Infaillible foundation is supposed to be a high coverage longwear foundation that hides the appearance of fatigue and blemishes, formulated with a Hydrating Hyaluron Complex. I didn't wear it for 24 hours but it held up pretty well for the 8 hours that I wore it, requiring only occasional blotting of the T-zone. It's more medium coverage rather than full coverage and does not feel heavy on the skin. The lightest shade available in Switzerland is #130 True Beige, which is a good match for me, but in the UK, there is a wider range of 8 shades that does not include True Beige.
You can read more reviews with swatches of the Eye Color Bar on Drivel about Frivol, Wondegondigo and Beauty Reflections.
Thanks to Bellyhead of Wondegondigo alerting that Selfridges had the new Suqqu eyeshadow quads for spring in stock, I swiftly placed an order on 12 February and it arrived by DHL on 19 February. Shopping online at Selfridges has become dangerously easy since they lowered their shipping cost for Switzerland from £25 to £15. As Selfridges also deducts the VAT for non-EU countries, I paid only £37.50 for each Suqqu palette, instead of the UK retail price of £45. This basically means that the amount I saved on VAT paid for the shipping cost. I also ordered some pieces from the RMK and Armani spring collections but I haven't had time yet to play with them. The RMK Kaleidoscope Nuance Powder was just £26.67 (about S$57) after VAT deduction versus S$79 in Singapore and 5040yen (about S$62.50) in Japan.
Of the three new quads, I purchased #16 Hanashoubu and #17 Yomogiiro, giving #15 Mitsucha a pass as it's a pretty basic brown and pale yellow combination. Unlike the past few seasonal collections, these quads are all permanent. Selfridges does not have them listed at the moment, but my guess based on past experience is that they should come back in stock at some point although that could take weeks, if not months.
The central theme running through this collection is elegant browns that are easily wearable. They are even touted as helping to conceal signs of aging such as wrinkles and skin dullness without the need for any special techniques. Unlike previous Suqqu palettes which usually contain a white matte base shade, all the shades in Hanashoubu and Yomogiiro feature some pearl shimmer. These look wonderfully lustrous in the pan while on the skin, they are more subdued and subtle, offering just a hint of a glow. The bottom right shade is supposed to be a "moisture wet powder" that corrects skin unevenness and gives moisture care while bringing you a natural luster.
My apologies in advance for not doing swatches, which you can find on Color Me Loud and Erica's blog.
Below is the look that I did with Hanashoubu, with the purple shade along the upper lashline and the brown shade in the outer crease. The pale yellow shade was used as the base while the light pink shade was used over the browbone area and along the lower lashline.
The combination has a gentle glimmer and zero frostiness. I find the texture to be more flattering and forgiving compared to Sleek's metallic shades. There was no shower of glitter bits descending on the under-eye area and cheeks, although there was a bit of powdery kick-up with the two pale shades when touched with the included brush applicator.
I also used Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Iridescent Iris to line the upper lashline.
Like Hanashoubu, Yomogiiro is very easy to wear even if you are not used to green eyeshadows.
For the first look, I applied the brown shade from the upper lashline to the crease and the green shade in the outer half of the crease. The light yellow shade was used as the base and also dusted on top of the green and brown shades, while the light pink shade was applied over the browbone area and along the lower lashline.
For the second look, I swopped the placement of the brown and green shades, with the green shade along the upper lashline and the brown in the crease. Both the brown and green shades are nicely pigmented and glide onto the skin with ease, requiring very littler layering.
Both Hanashoubu and Yomogiiro wore very well on me without fading or creasing for more than eight hours, using Too Faced Shadow Insurance as the primer. They would make good solid additions to any working woman's makeup wardrobe as the shades are so easy to work with and require very little blending and layering. I'm glad that Suqqu has done away with the matte base shades as those usually just disappear into my skin and were pretty much a waste of space for me.
