2011-10-30

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipsticks PK356, PK341, PK332, PK339, PK319, BG932 reviews and pictures

Shu Uemura released a lot of the limited edition Rouge Unlimited Lipsticks in various pinks and nudes for 2011 Spring sakura pink collection.

These ones feature pink tube packaging instead of the normal lucite clear ones.

From left to right are: PK356, PK341, PK332, PK339, PK319 and BG932.

PK stands for Pink, while BG stands for Beige. this is how Shu Uemura color code works.

PK356 is a medium brightened fuschia pink. It's not neon fuschia, but definitely brightish.
PK341 is still a slightly brighter medium rose pink. It's a bit more neutral toned.
PK332 is a cool pink with a touch of rose- very office appropriate shade and understated.
PK339 is a slightly pastel cherry blossom petal pink. It's not a very soft pink, but there is a slight creaminess to this color which makes the color a bit less translucent looking than the others.
PK319 is a cool mauve pink. On its own the mauve is not so obvious but once placed with the other shades, you can see it's a cool mauve undertone.
BG932 is a nude beige with peach undertones- it's not those dead nude color but a very wearable, everyday nude beige peach. It doesn't scream 'brown' based but is very flattering on warm skintoned girls.






All the rouge unlimited lipsticks are quite true to color in the tube, as Shu Uemura prides itself in the its pigment technology. I find that while being true to the color in the tube, it doesn't necessarily mean being flattering when worn. They are slightly creamy, light shine, but not full opaque. It's emollient enough without being slippery or too creamy looking.

I'll try to update some swatch pictures- still trying to master how to make color swatches look good.

Overall rating 4/5. Definitely worth trying a few shades out =)

2011-10-27

Paul & Joe Moisturizing Mist N review

My general feel about all these facial mists or sprays is they are essentially just water. There's no need to pay a fortune to buy a super expensive one. Every now and then, I do buy those Avene eau de thermale though- as Avene does feel a bit soothing on the skin (and quite convenient for leaving in the bedroom where you do not have other water source near by).

This is Paul & Joe's 2011 version of the moisturizing mist N. It comes in a super pretty and very light metallic aerosal can. The nozzle  bit is in a champagne gold plastic while the bottle is in the Paul & Joe signature white with the orange blossom leave prints.


Instruction says to spray at least 30cm (or 12") away from skin and apply with your hands. Close eyes and mouth during spray. Can be used over or under makeup.



Here it is on the skin- the mist is super fine so even macro photography cannot pick up much visible water droplets (which is the issue I have with a lot of these facial mists since water droplets that are too big can melt your makeup, instead of rehydrating the makeup).


Has a very faint orange blossom scent. Overall this is not intended to replace a toner or anything like that, instead it just offers some portable freshness. I leave the bottle at work and spray on hotter summer afternoons as I sit next to a full wall of window.

Overall 4/5. Does its job. Aerosol can means the mist is ultra fine. However 60ml is not very much, and you can probably find cheaper alternatives. I'm guessing this retails below 20USD. Not a necessity, but if you were after a water mist and like to use one regularly, this is a good option. ( I still find avene more soothing and obviously better value for money- but the Paul & Joe one looks just way prettier).

2011-10-24

Stash visit- Chanel lips- Rouge Allure/ Rouge Coco lipsticks pictures

Here's a visit to my collection... I wish I'd get around to swatching more makeup.

The theme today is Chanel rouge allure luminous satin lip color lipsticks in the roses and reds family. (also a few Rouge Coco lipsticks)

1. Chanel Rouge Allure Lipstick #58 AUDACE




 2. Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick #32 Syncomore



3. Chanel Rouge Allure Lipstick #68 Emotive



4. Chanel Rouge Allure #76 Captive


5. Chanel Rouge Allure in Byzantin (this one does not have a shade color code, as it is limited edition for 2011).



6. This isn't quite a rouge Allure...I only just noticed... well this is a rouge coco:
Chanel Rouge Coco 25 Vendome:



I have to admit I admire my red lipsticks far more than I wear them. Maybe a few more years I will be brave enough to sport around red lips. I'll do a post later for the 'entry level' normally-pink-lips-wearer-friendly-reds though.

2011-10-23

Recent purchases - Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful Palette, Pink Oyster Shimmerbrick, Glitter lip gloss Baby pictures

I really struggle to find time to do proper swatches especially for makeup items- lighting has so much to do with how the pictures turn out when it comes to swatches (not so much product itself).

Well here are some pictures first, for Bobbi Brown and the theme is pink!

Bobbi Brown Pink Oyster Shimmerbrick- I think this was limited edition for 2010- but it still floats around ebay and maybe those US outlets.



2. Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful Palette - this was 2011 I think.

Contains: Ivory eyeshadow, pink flannel eyeshadow, pink chiffon shimmer wash, chocolate caviar eyeshadow.
The blush is "Pretty pink" which is a limited edition color to this palette.
Also contains  "soiree pink " glitter lip gloss , bubble bath lipigloss and sandwash pink lip color.




The last one is Bobbi Brown glitter lip gloss in #31 Baby.

Personally this is probably the most gimmicky Bobbi Brown item (not sure why I purchased it either given I'm not a fan of pan lipglosses). It's pretty sheer and the shimmers are like the name suggested, on the glittery side.



It's gradually warming up in Sydney (seems like it went from winter straight to summer...where did the spring go...)

What are your recent pink purchases?

2011-10-21

LaVie Eye Lab De wrinkle Eye Patch mask with collagen and vitamins complex review

I actually got these are freebies from one of my HK purchases a while ago (I believe it's sold in selected HK drugstores like Watsons/ Mannings etc). I would guess the price to be around 20USD for a box of 5? (this is just purely based on the price of their eye cream which I can see from online it's sold for 200HKD which is just 27USD or something so it's likely the eye masks will be around similar prices).

These are basically sheet eye masks for the undereye area. This one is targeted at wrinkles.



Here's what it looks like after I open the pack. The sheet mask feels like a normal sheet mask for the face but in a thinner finish. It adhere to under eye area very well.
This actually performs surprisingly well- I've always used eye masks on and off (usually only freebies or ones that come in a set or something) and never really found them to be miraculous.  However this eye mask certainly did hydrate and seems to plump up the undereye skin area. (As it plumps up slightly, hence the 'dewrinkling'. I do not have much issues with fine lines or crows feet so that's all I can observe.

The next morning my undereye area does feel a bit smoother and makeup goes over it easier.

Overall 4/5. Does what it promises- not sure if it will dewrinkle serious wrinkles or crows feet, but for girls in their late 20s or 30s this will be a nice simple eye mask that won't break the bank.

2011-10-19

Bobbi Brown Bare Sparkle 15 High Shimmer Lip Gloss review/ swatch

Bobbi Brown released a bunch of the new "High Shimmer Lip Gloss" shades in 2011. I grabbed what seemed like a nice nude pink shade in "Bare Sparkles" online.

This shows you the importance of reading other online reviews or trying to find some swatches. It looks gorgeous like a champagne pink shimmer lipgloss in the tube. Comes in an elongated tube which contains a decent 7ml size.



Here it is again under a slightly more yellow light which brings out the peach tone. I would really say this is more a nude champagne- peach (and less pink).


Now for the (disappointing) swatches. It really just looks like this. you can see the base color is practically clear- the sparkles are just bits of champagne pale gold shimmers.


On the lips for me it's really just a clear lipgloss with some sparkles. It's not supepr high shine or high shimmer like the name suggested either.

I was eating before taking the swatch so you can see my lips are a bit naturally redder in the middle - and this does not cover or even out my lipcolors at all. Basically you should think of this as a clear lipgloss.


Everything else about this gloss was at best, average. You can find 40580182481 drugstore lipgloss like this at a fraction of the price. The formula is ok, not ultra sticky but it's not as smooth and luscious as Armani lip shimmer or as 'crystal' like gloss as Chanel aqualumiere glosses either. This gets a 2/5 from me.

2011-10-18

Fancl Beauty Facial Treatment Hydrating pack review

These are basically Fancl's version of wash-off masks in convenient little tubes. They come in a box of 5 or 6 and retails for around 20-30USD depending on where you purchase it from.

Each tube contains 13g of mask. Which is a lot- most sheet masks contain a standard 10ml to 15ml essence, depending on how runny it is normally.


You twist off the cap, and the opening will look like this: (unfortunately the cap is not designed to be plugged back as these tubes are for single use only).

Consistency: it's light and creamy without being greasy.

Fancl's instruction is to clean face, then apply this to cleansed face and massage in, then leave for 10-20minutes then rinse off, then follow with other skincare items.

Here's my face -looking irritated and a bit angry pores since I haven't had much sleep the night before. I don't have active acne right now but I do have a bit of freckles/spots and enlarged pores on the cheeks. This is taken under flash photography and you know how bad your skin can look if you turn flash on!


Applying the mask generously- it sort of turns a bit clear after massaging in:


After rinse off in picture below (I think I left it on for 10-20min? cannot remember exactly). You can see it clearly soothes my skin (especially the large pores around the cheek area that were looking a bit red before), skin looks brightened (because it's now hydrated) and generally a bit more glow. Again, taken with flash photography.


I do find it soothes a bit and provides some hydration. However I do not feel it's more powerful than my other favored masks like Sofina whitening mask where the effect is visible the next day. Generally the next day my skin feels just "slightly" better than usual, but not as well as some other sheet masks.

In terms of size , the 13g is massive, you can really apply half a tube on the whole face, neck, decolletage and still have half a tube left over. So usually I use this at night, then just put the tube aside and use the next morning (never noticed consistency changing).

I probably give this 3.5 or 4/5. It's a bit of a strange mask for me- sometimes it works (I think from my own pictures I can notice a difference), but sometimes it doesn't quite deliver.

2011-10-17

Chanel Brilliant Extreme Glossimer 158 BRAISE Levres Scintilantes lipgloss review/ swatch

I have to admit back when glossimers were first released, I was never a fan of these. Especially those really popular shades like Blizzard, Black tie etc- I found them a bit too sparkly and often frosty.

However over the last 2 years the glossimer collections had grown a bit with lots of wearable soft pinks and peaches and I've started experimenting with them again.

This is easily the darkest glossimer I have, I think this is 2011 fall collection. It looks like a medium wine red, with flecks of gold shimmers.

Here it is swatched: you can see the base color is surprisingly sheer even though it looks deep in the tube. The gold shimmers are rather fine and does not stand out obviously to make this glossimer frosty.

Lip swatch: it really just tints my lips with a touch of a sheer pink red- it's not wine red, but like a soft red and the shimmers become very soft and unnoticeable. I actually like how this color turned out because it adds a touch of color and brightens the overall look (without saying "look I'm wearing a dark colored lipgloss here").



 Here it is close up again:

Overall 4/5. If you are expecting a lot of color payoff, this is not the glossimer for you. However if you like a tint of color and would like to experiment something different to normal soft pinks and peaches, this is a great entry level choice. I don't think the color is super unique for Chanel (especially given the pricetags with all Chanel cosmetucs), if price is not an issue this would be a nice gloss to try.

It's unscented, does not taste like anything in particular, and not really sticky at all, the shimmers are not gritty or grainy but very subtle and understated. The lipgloss does have a good grip to not migrate around too much or look too gooey and thick.

2011-10-14

Laneige Multiberry Yogurt Peeling Gel (face scrub) review

This is the face scrub from Laneige. Each tube is 120ml, depending on which parts of Asia you purchase this I think the price is anywhere between 25-35USD.

Comes in a long soft plastic tube like a lot of face washes.


The opening is like this- just the right size. It is easy to have some scrubs building up around the cap though.

Looks like this on the skin- it's a soft pretty pink, very fine granular scrub in a creamy base. It smells so yummy, like a strawberry yoghurt, a bit sweet.

Spreading it out - you can see the gradules are really fine- I'm not sure what's the base of the granules but it's not really 'sandy' or scrubby and doesn't feel sharp either. It feels quite gentle on the skin. Not as smooth and rounded as the Peter Thomas Roth scrubbing beads (or other jojoba bead type of scrubs), but not jagged like the St Ives apricot scrub.

The base of the scrub feels like a gel-cream cleanser, it doesn't foam. I suspect the mechanism of this scrub is similar to Origins Scrubs with Fruit Enzymes, i.e. a gel based enzyme scrub with physical granular scrubbing beads inside too.

Spreaded out: (it's non-foaming)



I usually massage this onto skin, concentrating on t-zone and areas with large pores or blackheads. Leave on for maybe 1-2 minute (while I wash my hair or brush my teeth or something). Then rinse off.


Overall it leaves my skin feeling very soft and polished. It's non irritating. Leaving it on for more than 1 or 2 min doesn't seem to make a marked difference in effect, so I think the enzyme action is very gentle. I do not need to follow with a separate face wash either.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a gentle face scrub. (my skin is thin and sensitive now, so I only use a gentle scrub once a week. Maybe a stronger scrub like those microdermabrastion type e.g. Origins modern friction, once a month).

Overall 5/5.