Paul & Joe Spring Parasol Collection 2011 Pouch review

I'm a huge fan of the various new Paul & Joe prints from each season, especially when they release pouches in the same print!

This is the pouch from Spring 2011 Parasol limited edition collection. Most of the time when Paul & Joe makes pouches like this shape, it comes with a matching small zipper pouch in the same print which is totally adorable!

The pouch is around 20cm length and around 14cm height, it's probably more a clutch than a makeup bag or other usage.

I use the mini zipper pouch for putting little things like coins etc. I use Paul & Joe pouches when I go to weddings etc, they always look great with various dresses.

The Spring 2011 one comes with a baby blue lining inside. When you open the pouch it looks like this, spacious enough to put a mobile, small digital camera and my concealer, small compact foundation powder and a lipstick and some tissues. That's all I really need when I attend a function.

I'm not sure what the material is- doubt it is real silk. However it feels wonderful and quite silky, does not look cheap at all in real life.

 Close up of the print and the corner, which will have a small Paul & Joe tag.

Overall I give it 5/5. Obviously the print varies from year to year and sometimes they do sell out quickly. However sometimes some countries seem to get a lot more pouches than others and instead of buying it, it is often part of the GWP when you spend a certain amount.

Guerlain Terracotta Gloss & Shine Moisturising Lip Balm Sun Shimmer #01 Blonde Sun review/swatch

Isn't the name a mouthfull? Really, it is honestly that long!
 

Guerlain Terracotta collections are released virtually every single summer. The Gloss & Shine Moisturising Lip Balm Sun Shimmer has been in the collections regularly  (with different color released each time) for last 2-3 years as far as I can remember.

This shade #01 Blonde Sun was in from the Orient Sun themed Terracotta collection (I think 2010?). It was the lightest looking one out of the 3 released at the time, so I thought I couldn't go wrong with it.

 

To my surprise, despite being called moisturising lip balm and 'gloss and shine' and all, these are more like liquid lipsticks- the consistency is a bit thicker than expected (e.g. comparable to MAC Lipglass in the more pigmented shades I thought).  Definitely not a lip balm or tinted lipbalm/gloss like I expected.

You can see based on swatch on the skin how pigmented these are. On the lips they show with as much pigmentation. The shimmer is pretty consistent too so it will show up on the lips as well (instead of wearing off like a layer of glitter). 

#01 Blonde Sun is a bronzed rose- or rose tan shade, with same colored shimmers infused throughout. It's very pigmented, you can see on the second skin swatch even spreading it out it still remains equally pigmented. I thought I was going to get a soft nude pink based on the color in the tube, how wrong I was.

Overall 3/5. 

Mostly because it's just not my color nor the consistency I expected.  I sort of understand why the Terracotta line doesn't sell as well in Asia (as with most bronze/ tan themed European brand collections), these tan/ brick shades really brings out a lot of yellow from my skin and I look rather sallow.

The high pigmentation and consistency also means I can't just slap this on without it looking rather out of place on my lips. It looks like a color a lot more suitable for those who are naturally more tanned, or with a golden/olive skin tone, or need to be complemented with a bit more makeup such as a bronze cheek color.

In terms of moisturising properties, it's as good as most lipglosses out there, it's not drying but I wouldn't call it a lipbalm because it's just not what you would expect a tinted lipbalm to be. This should really be marketd as a liquid lipstick.

Bobbi Brown Brush Cleansing Spray review

Those with many makeup brushes might know what a chore it is to try to clean them regularly. Luckily Australia has one of the most dry climates in the world so at least airing makeup brushes dry is not too difficult...

My usual brush cleanser is the MAC brush cleanser. It does the job fairly well so I'm on my 2nd or 3rd bottle already, haven't thought of switching.


Then I saw the new Bobbi Brown brush cleansing spray- which is meant to be used to keep your brushes clean between regular washes. e.g. if you used your blush brush, then decided you wanted to apply another blush color in the next 5minutes- but your brush is dirty, what do you do?

Bobbi Brown brush cleasning spray- simply spray a few spritz on a clean tissue (or kitchen paper towels are better I think...because they have less fluff). Then brush your dirty brush over the paper towel, until no more color comes off.

Here's back of box- it say sit's alcohol-free, spray formula designed to clean brushes instantly between makeup applications. You can use it for both natural and synthetic brushes.

Spray nozzle.

Here goes the test- two brushes- one is Calvin Klein powder brush (limited edition- unavailable now), the other is Sonia Kashuk skunk brush (not fantastic- but they are cheap and works with pigmented blushes,  so I have 2 of them so I don't have to keep cleaning my brushes). You can see they both need some clean- especially the original white tip of the skunk brush needs some clean as it's now stained pink.

Both of these brushes are synethic bristles.

Here's the after- the top tissue is clean, bottom tissue was sprayed with 3 spritz of the Bobbi Brown brush cleansing spray, then I just swiped the dirty brushes over the tissue on the bottom 5 or 6 times each.
Any traces of blush powder or color comes right off.

You can see the color stays on the bottom tissue now (compared to the new tissue on the top).

Here are the brushes after cleaning. Honestly they look as good as if I did a proper wash in water then airdry, with MAC brush cleanser.

 

Probably need to use kitchen paper towel next time, as tissues have some fluff so it's picked up in the picture below on the left brush (not because there's any residue left on the bristles).

But you can see how clean the skunk brush is, the bristle restored to white. They are pretty much instantaneously dry. I still swipe a few more times on a clean tissue just to make sure any remaining cleansing spray is removed, after all the brush comes in direct contact with your skin.

It's 3.38fl oz or 100ml, which must last for ages!

Only issue I might mention is, even though the bottle is not aerosol or pressurized can, I ordered this from overseas and during transit I think there was some minor liquid seeping out (the bottle was in tact and no further spillage experienced). So I'd assume the bottle is not fully air tight so pressure during air transit probably just forced some liquid out.

Overall 5/5.

It does the job, while it shouldn't replace a full brush clean, it's great for inbetween cleans. I can imagine it works wonders for those people who use several eyeshadow brushes from day to day. This would make life very easy!

Bihada Aqua Gel Cream (美肌一族) Moisturiser/ Makeup base

Bihada (also full name is Bihadaichizoku) which means the "beautiful skin clan" or something, has became a more regular popular Japanese drugstore brand, it was probably released about 5 years ago? It was a huge hit because it featured the drawings of Japanese comic character on the packaging. (the blonde girl). Which was sort of unusual for drugstore brands back then.

The main hit from the series were actually the face sheet masks- which I'm yet to try. Hrrmm maybe that's where I should started instead of with this moisturiser.

See the packaging above...it's a bit ...too cute for my liking anyway...I never really followed the comics in similar genre so they don't mean a whole lot to me!

To my surprise the drawing is on the plastic cover over the tube, i.e. once you un-shrinkwrap the tube, you get the following!

I got mine from Taiwan a while ago, hence the back label has added Chinese text with ingredient list and all.  In Chinese it's roughly translated to  mean "pearl egg-shell coating moisturiser" which is trying to say it gives you skin as smooth as a peeled egg and luminous like pearl I guess.

Here's the full Japanese label on the tube. It retails for 2100Yen, tube contains 130g which is fairly generous.

Basically, all it is is a gel-creme to liquid moisturiser. Supposedly also doubles as a makeup base.

Here's the consistency, straight from the squeeze tube.

Once spreaded out, it turns into liquid- like picture below, then dries down to a reasonably non-sticky consistency. A bit different to usual gel-cream moisturisers.

Does it work as a moisturiser to give me supple, peeled boiled egg like skin? No. It barely does anything on my combination, sensitive and acne prone skin. I tried using this in summer, in winter, makes no difference. The whole gel-creme to liquid is quite gimmicky at best.

As the also advertised makeup primer, it doesn't do anything either- does not prepare my skin for a moisturised base before makeup, does not help makeup stay longer.

Overall 1/5.

For 2100 Yen prize (which is like over 20USD?) I expected more. Especially when there are lot of Japanese drugstore brands out there that does nice products for even cheaper prices.

Might use the rest as body moisturiser in summer, it does feel refreshing on application I guess... (then again on that front, it does very little for my dry skin too).

Fancl Lucent Pressed Powder

Fancl Lucent Pressed Powder was released in late 2010 or early 2011 I think. I use and LOVE Fancl "Skincare Base Creamy" which is a lightly luminous foundation base/ primer. I thought the pressed powder might equally impress me.

Comes in a separate refill and foundation case (they probably standardised the compact sizings so the foudnation case can fit pressed powders refill too).

Ingredients:

Everything's SEALED in plastic, very clean. This is because Fancl prides in adding minimal preservatives or none, to their products, so they have a short shelf life (1 year from manufacturing date and 3 months for liquds after opening and about 6 mths for powders after opening). Personally I've used Fancl products a bit past the suggested expiry date (because it is very hard to finish some skincare products within 3 months!) and I never notice a change in consistency or anything....so I'd say it's more a 'recommended' use by date.

Fitting it into the compact:

The puff'sponge included is a very short fur type furry sponge. It's a bit useless, albeit very soft. You can see I struggle to pick up any powder even after a full swipe.

Here's BEFORE application

Here's AFTER.

Basically as the name says, it's LUCENT, as in translucent, so I cannot detect ANYTHING on my skin really because the powder is so finely milled. Do I like this? I wish I could've gotten a refund! I'm not sure whether it does anything, it doesn't cover anything because it's basically colorless. It doesn't 'set' my makeup after liquid foundation because it's just very hard to pick up enough from the compact.

I tried using a brush like a kabuki or powder brush with this, still did nothing.

Rating of 0 out of 5.

Sonia Rykiel Crayon Yeux WP (Eyeliner Pencil WP) #06

Sonia Rykiel is definitely one of those brands that gets very little review online, probably because it is relatively hard to obtain as it is sold mostly in Japan.  It is sold in Taiwan as well (but there are quite few counters that sells it in department stores).

This was early 2010 color I believe, not sure if it's limited edition. I'm reviewing this because of the unique color. Most of my eyeliners I favor either liquid eyeliners in black (so I can tightline), or various taupes and chocolate browns.

I don't have too many mid-tone colored eyeliners because I suppose they are not dark enough to show through in color. However they are excellent to use as eyeliner once you have tightlined using a black liquidliner, then use some mind-toned eyeliner colors to line again, then blend out with othe eyeshadows.

This is a very complex color, difficult to describe. It's a bit purple, a bit plum and a bit brown, with nice jewel toned shimmers that does not show up as glitters. It wears smoothly, relatively waterproof ( but most eyeliners smudge on me after 5 to 6 hours anyway).

Comes in the standard Sonia Rykiel packaging- even the eylienr pencil itself features the signature striped color. Makes it very easy to find amonst other eyeliners in my brush holder.

Ingredients are in the back...in Japanese mostly.

Here's the swatch on the skin.

An extra little heart swatch below =)

Overall rating 4 out of 5.
It's smooth, non-tugging, applies color easily. I cannot fault it for not being dark enough  (as it is not meant to be). Interesting color choices for sure.

MAC Full of Grace Suntints Liquid Lip Balm SPF20 (Baby Bloom Collection 2009)

MAC Full of Grace Suntints Liquid Lip Balm is a limited edition product from the MAC Baby Bloom collection on 30 July 2009. Retails for 14.50USD. MAC Suntints are limited edition releases. They are truly more like tinted lipbalm than lipgloss, it doesn't have the typical tacky or thick texture you see in most lipglosses. The shade I picked was 'Full of Grace', which looked like the most pigmented medium pink shade available out of the collection, in fear of lack of pigmentation following reading reviews online. MAC describes the shade as a 'soft sheer rose' which is relatively accurate- I would say although it looks rosy in the tube it's more a pink though. MAC suntints lip balm comes in a squeeze plastic tube with slanted applicator, it contains 10ml and has SPF20. The packaging cannot be faulted in terms of convenience and ease of application, but it's not super appealing and a tad too plastic for me. Ingredients: The suntint itself smells a little bit sweet, like the lightest hint of vanilla, however if anyone's familiar with the scent Prada lipbalms, this smells and tastes almost exactly the same! There's that light sunscreen scent of some sort. I don't particular love it, but don't find it intrusive to the nose either. The shade 'Full of Grace' is a medium neutral pink, however once on the lips, it only gives the slightest pink tint. Swatch below under different lights. Photo of bare lips: (went hiking for a few days in New Zealand and suffered some serious chapping, lip still recovering so there are some discolourations). Photo with MAC full of grace suntints- can tell the light pigmentation means suntints does not entirely cover the uneveness in color. It gives my lips a very slight pink tint, neutral toned, not really warm and not really cool. I initially thought the shade had a tinge of mauve (which is a base shade I can never wear)- but on application it's just a true sheer pink. I like the wear and feel of the balm, it feels light, non-sticky, spreads easily and almost slightly plumps up my lips and blurs any lines. It is not sticky, does not wear off in gooey bits when I drink or talk. Wears off evenly. 10ml is really quite a generous amount since all you need is a small amount. It is also lightly moisturising- it feels fine on my super dry and sensitive lips even without another lipbalm underneath. Having a SPF during summer is always a plus too! The collection comes with a total of 5 suntint shades:

(left to right:) Lilt of Lily – Soft Creamy Pale Pink

Pinktinge – Clean Bright Yellow Pink with Gold Pearl

Full of Grace – Soft Sheer Rose

Just A Smidge – Soft Pastel Yellow with Multi-Coloured Pearl

Moist Plum – Light Lilac with Very Fine Pearl

Sonia Rykiel 2008 PINK KISS Collection (X'mas) Face Powder #01

Sonia Rykiel 2008 Christmas limited edtion collection is called the "Pink Kiss Collection". Features a range of products with the pink lips signature print in the middle, including 2 eyeglosses, 3 nailpolishes, 3 lipgloss pots and this "Face Powder 01" (I think that's it for this compact's official English name, strange eh..at least for the Chinese name they made up a name along the lines of 'Mysterious Kiss Sparkly Contour Compact").

The face powder retails for $1680NT which is approximately 55USD for 6.3g product, a bit on the hefty side. Product description indicates it's "a face powder/illuminator/contour or highlight powder all in one, to be brushed on T-zone, neck, decolletage and arms, to show off the sweet sexy female beauty blahblahblah. The pink lip section contains gold + white pearl pigments to bring natural shine, while the remaining refined powders gives a soft-focus effect to hideaway small flaws, to make skin complexion look more refined and translucent. Contains moisturising plant extracts to maintain supple skin."

Comes in a cute bright pink box, same color as the shiny metallic fuschia pink compact itself (non finger print magnet surface finish! yay). Very feminine.

Snap closure, contains a plastic tray which sits the soft brush, which is quite well made with soft bristles. Compact is very nice looking and very well made.

Contains two shades, the outter base shade is an off-white pearl, extremely subtly shimmery highlighter, or I'd rather call it an off-white translucent finish powder, it's subtle enough to be dusted all over face without showing visible shimmers, but applying a tad more, can definitely work well as a browbone or t-zone highlighter, extremely finely milled with a soft-focus effect.

The middle lip print section goes all the way through- it's a light pink based highlighter with very pale champagne-gold and white pearly shimmers, it's not deep enoguh to show up as any sort of pink on actual skin, the pink merely provides a pinkish base to it. This shade is more shimmery than the base shade, and pigment particles appear bigger (But still very fine compared to, e.g. MAC minieralised skinfinishes). Let's just say, even Snow White cannot carry off this as a blush...which is really what I hoped it was! a highlighter + blush in one.

Overall the powder is extremely high quality and finely milled, the shimmers are very nice and sophisticated sort of finish, makes a good higlighter. However, it's not very firmly pressed so there's some flyaway powder easily. For the pricetag and color selection, this is only yet another many, many, many highlighters I have and probably would not be a favorite.

Left: White layer alone, you can see it applies a soft-focused white shimmer, finely milled.

Middle: Pink section alone, you can see the faintest pink tint and how there is more pale pink-champagne gold shimmers to it.

Right: mixed, becomes a pastel pinkish white highlighter

Picture of other products from iswii.net, the blue polish is totally off color, it's meant to be a dark blackened eggplant