Essie Nail Polish Lady Like - review/ swatch

Essie Ladylike is from 2011 Fall collection. Honestly I think this color has became the new trendy nail color for fall in the past 12 months or something- a bit of mauve, some taupe, some grey, usually in a pretty opaque creme finish . Reminds me of the taupey-grey-lilac color from the OPI France collection too.

After my positive experience with a color in this territory from UNT LJ040 Tipsy Nail Polish , I thought I might like this one too.

Here it is- in the bottom Ladylike looks like a pale taupe lilac with some nude undertone in a full creme. That's what it looks like on the nails too. This shade is surprisingly fully pigmented for a creme finish polish.

Here's the swatch- looks just like in the bottle. It's a full creme opaque finish- I got this coverage with 2 coats. (Sorry about the fluff on one of the nails!)

Under a few different lights: It looks a bit like one of those 'mod' shades, but it's not. It doesn't have that really stark full creme look of some mod shades that look out of place.

Here's as dark as it can look under certain lights. This is probably where this polish disappointed me a bit- it's not pale and soft enough for an elegant taupy-nude lilac, but it's not dark enough to be a full autumn shade.

I much prefer UNT nail polish in LJ040 , I've attached 2 pictures below- you can see the UNT LJ040 Tipsy shade is a paler and has a pearly finish. Looks far more understated than Essie Ladylike.

Obviously whether you would like Essie Ladylike or not will largely depend on your undertone. That being said, Essie Ladylike probably one of the very few purple/lilac family I could ever wear without feeling totally out of place. I can probably even get away with wearing it in the office (but definitely not going to clients with this). If you want something paler I would definitely suggest UNT LJ040 Tipsy.

Essie Ladylike is probably one of those shades you should swatch before you buy. Also, as mentioned previously, I've really noticed how most guys don't like these 'interesting' shades, they just call it the yuck color, lol. I suppose the more nailpolishes you have and tried the more adventurous you get in trying new colors. (Though I still rarely ever wear any of my greens and blues).

Lastly, there is something very odd about the consistency of this one. It applies very smooth for a creme shade- but there is just something funny about the consistency- over my Paul & Joe base coat (not sure whether it's caused by the base coat or this), sometimes on some fingers this applies as a thin unpigmented layer, but sometimes it feels very fluidlike and applies a thick pigmented layer. I tried to shake the bottle to mix it but still noticed this. Interesting. Didn't affect my application much but just in case anyone else notices it...

Overall rating 3.5/5.

Burt's Bees Raidance Lip Shimmer (lip balm) review/ swatch

I've heard great things about Burt's Bees lipbalm and other products over the years, but never quite got around to trying the lipbalm. (I do love the lemon butter cuticle cream and almond hand cream for intensive night time treatment ).

It comes in a very slim long tube, about 8 cm in length. It's a twist mechanism.

The cap is sealed on purchase, and you twist and the paper seal will break.

Ingredient list (I know they claim to be a 100% natural brand and all, but the list is really long!)

Here's what the lip shimmer in 'radiance' looks like. It comes in other colors I think, a few pinks/reds /plums.
Radiance is basically a moonwhite shimmer in a clear lipbalm base.

Here's where the color is much more obvious in pic below, you can see the shimmers:

Swatched without flash: this is the only way I can get the shimmers to show- it's just a moon white, not quite silvery, but there's a light white shimmer to it, very evenly distributed among the lipbalm base.
(The base of the lip shimmer feels like a standard lipbalm, so I would really just call this a clear lip balm with white shimmers).

Under flash light it's not obvious at all:

Here's a very quick swatch- on my red lips it's just adds a slight white shimmer (but doesn't even out your lip color or anything).

The lip shimmer is also in a minty balm- it's like spearmint more than peppermint. (I don't like spearmint very much). So on application there's a slight tingle/ coolness. I generally prefer my balms to be menthol and peppermint free though.

It also has a relatively soft consistency, so if you swipe too many times you can have a bit of an uneven balm on the lips. Best left with just a light swipe or two.

As for moisturising properties- it's pretty mild- not the most soothing lip balm (I would not use this on a very chapped lips as the balmy texture means any lipbalm just migrates to flaky bits and the white shimmer accentuates it), but I guess this is a slight twist to a normal clear lipbalm for those who are bored with standard lipbalms, yet don't want a colored lipbalm.

Overall 2.5/ 5. Not really my thing, but I will use it up.

Bihada Ichizoku Cheek Blush Blush in PINK swatch /review

Bihada is a Japanese brand, featuring very manga characters in the romantic type (like ancient western princesses with long blond curly hair, puffy dresses etc type).

They make an array of various makeup, skincare items, and also just two blushes (I always found it odd they never expanded on more blush colors over the years!)

Here's a review of the "Pink" blush. The only other color from the brand is "Beige".

It comes in a clear compact like Shu Uemura circa pre 2009.

The blush is of very high quality, it's a bit like Shu Uemura in the "P" series (P for pearl), but the pearliness is a bit more obvious than Shu Uemura. There's a very pretty sheen/ glow to the blush and extremely fine pearly glow (instead of an obvious shimmery flecks).

Pink as the color says, is just a lovely pink. It looks a bit peachy in my pictures, but I still think it's predominantly pink.

Here are two swatches, on the left a bit heavier, on the right a bit lighter. You can see how the pearly glow is more obvious when swatched more heavily. However I really like the fact there's no obvious shimmers in this (which always looks a bit fake on the cheeks).

Again, you can see it's a pearly pink- it reminds me of Nars O in the compact but swatched, it doesn't have that peachy-pink look, at most you can only call it a pink with a hint of pink coral (but nowhere near a coral).

Overall I quite like this, it's not terribly expensive (RRP escapes my mind, but it should be below USD18 in Japan), superb texture, and gorgeous color.

On my cheeks though, it's a very natural pink glow, it's not my favorite pink (again, because everyone's complexion is different, there's always a pink you will like more on you than others), but I wouldn't regret the purchase at all.

It's also lightweight and easy to travel with. Simplicity at its best.

Overall rating 4/5.

Anna Sui Nail Color N Vernis polish #013 review/ swatch

Anna Sui Nail color N are about the new generation of nail polish from Anna Sui from around 2010 to mid 2011 (in 2011 they revamped the nailpolish designs again, personally I think these rose bottles are by far the prettiest).

I'm reviewing polish color in #013, not sure if there's an English corresponding name apart of the color coding, does not appear so. The full size bottle comes in 10ml.

#013 is an ivory cream (as in color of cream) base with loads of pink and white iridescent shimmers. Some of the shimmers flash a tiny bit of green, but predominately it flashes pink and champagne.

 Here it is on the nails- honestly I expected a bit more 'white' from the bottle, but because of its translucency, it doesn't quite translate to what I expected on the nails.

The cream colored base does not mask the bit of champagne/pink shimmer which seems to give a yellow cast to my nails and make my tip look a bit grey. They are not naturally super white but this shade just makes it look a bit blah grey/ yellow.

I didn't apply top coat on these as they seemed to dry quite quickly. However, the shimmers are not flat, so my nails don't feel very smooth on the surface (but in real life it looks smooth from a distance and certainly glossy enough on its own without needing a topcoat).

This picture below shows the white flash you get from some angles better.

This picture below shows the more pink flash. Which is closer to indoor real life.

Overall I don't really love this color at all. It's a bit bland and definitely not as pretty as it seems in the bottle, and no color is good if it makes your nails look yellow!

Overall rating for quality of polish is 4/5  (wish the shimmers were smoother and doesn't give a bumpy texture). However the application is smooth and even and dries quick enough, and the shimmers are evenly distributed.

As for the color, only gets a 2/5 from me. Probably need to be layered on top of other opaque shades, which I shall try later.

L'Occitane Concentrated Mask (Masque) 5 Essential Oils Soothing Sensitive Scalp review

To be honest I can't really tell from the packaging what is the official full name of this hair mask from L'Occitane.  In fact when I purchased it online I didn't really know what it was either =P I just like various hair products and masks so this was an easy purchase decision for me.

So, turns out this is actually a hair scalp mask. This is released in 2011, comes in 150ml squeeze plastic tube with a very thin, long nozzle.

The packaging is soft plastic, not like toothpaste foil type of packaging (I'm looking at you! crappy Aesop body scrub packaging).

The instructions says to part your hair into sections, apply the mask directly onto your scalp and slowly massage in. Leave mask on scalp for 1-5 minutes to full enjoy the soothing effects of the essential oils.

In the meantime, you can use your soothing conditioner on the ends of your hair. Then, rinse thoroughly.

Now I think scalp masks are brilliant ideas. For hair care lovers, it's sometimes such a bore waiting for your hair masque/ conditioner to sit in for the good 5 minutes, why not also take care of your scalp at the same time?

Scalp mask isn't really a brand new idea, I think Head & Shoulders does a scalp masque in Asia (with cooling menthol inside for summer), while Phyto also makes a few pre-shampoo scalp care oils where you massage in and leave for 20min before shampooing.  Basically scalp masks all have similar effects- to sort of deep cleanses your scalp and do a mini scalp spa with the cooling sensation (often they contain essential oils, because oils can melt oils, plus the other benefits of essential oils).

I expected this to be some what cooling, but it's not really, probably doesn't contain that much menthol or peppermint. FYI the essential oils in this are primarily lavender, citrus, some other citrus leaf and basil.  While it's on my head it does feel nice and soothing, not heavy and clogging.

 Here's the long thin nozzle- it's designed so that you can literally hold the nozzle to your scalp, squeeze directly along the scalp. Very neat and clean way to do it.  I part my hair in a few sections, then just stick the nozzle in and squeeze along the parted hairline.  I don't use all that much, probably 5-6 parts across the whole head.  Then I massage the mask into my head, concentrating on trying to cover all the scalp area.

The mask is just a whiteish mask looking consistency, not very thick.

I leave the mask on scalp, then rinse my hands and apply my normal hair mask or conditioner on mid sections and ends of my hair, avoiding the roots (all in the shower).

Then I scrub my face or body or do whatever else to pass the 5-10 minutes. Then I rinse everything off together.

This leaves my scalp feeling so light, and clean, it's very hard to describe. It's like giving your scalp a nice scrub or clean that feels different to a normal shampoo. It seems to lift up any product build up or the sometimes excess natural oil at the roots. At the same time, it doesn't leave my hair or scalp feel dry and taught. There's just a nice light freshness.

Overall 5/5. I really enjoy using this once or twice a week. (You probably don't need more, this isn't designed to be a daily treatment).  Not a must- have for luscious hair, but it does feel soothing and wonderful on the scalp. This is also a refreshing change from the troublesome pre-shampoo scalp treatments like Phyto (which is more like a oil product and takes 2 shampooing to remove).

MAC Mineralized Eyeshadow Unsurpassable review/ swatch

MAC Semi-precious collection comes with a few mineralised eyeshadows as well. Here's unsurpassable.

It's a grassy green base with blue and silver veining.

I don't particularly collect the mineralize eyeshadows as I feel the pigments are a bit 'looser' and shimmery compared to my usual liking. I prefer something a lot more finely pressed and not as loose, and maybe less metallic factor.

Here's the skin swatches- you can see the top swatch shows the olive green you get by picking up a bit more of the blue veining. The silver veining really translates to small flecks of silvery shimmers.

Picking up more of the lighter grassy green, you get a muted sort of grass green, it's not a vibrant green which makes it a bit more wearable and a very autumn color.

I find these too tricky to wear on my eyes, as a light wash doesn't deliver enough color (and you get the silver shimmers falling out), while a darker layer means you can't really control what level of green you want from this eyeshadow, and the finish can look a bit too metallic/ shimmery.

 Overall 3/5. It's not a terribly unique color, you can probably find a whole array of greens in similar family with better finishes and more color precision in Shu Uemura single eyeshadows. But I suppose being able to get a variety of color from a single eyeshadow pot is the advantage of MAC.

Rohto Hada Labo Gokujyun Super Hyaluronic Acid Cleansing Water review

 This honestly took me so long to find the English name. While the Rohoto Gokujyun line is famous for the hyaluronic acid lotion (which is a toner), there has been many other products released to this line since.

This cleansing water appears to may be Taiwan/ HK only- as I cannot see it on the Rohoto Japan website. I did find it on Mentholatum website in Taiwan http://www.mentholatum.com.hk/detail.jsp?catid=11%7C18%7C20%7C145&id=300

(Rohto makes Mentholatum and that's the commonly known brand in Taiwan which is probably they put it on a mentholatum website).

Instead the Japan website has a few more other items in the line for specific foaming face wash, and also another makeup cleansing gel  (but comes in 200ml bottle and looks different to this one, the 200ml one seems to get much better reviews).

Anyway, this is the one I bought- I could not find any online review for it, not even sold on ebay.

 This comes in 150ml bottle, with flip top, the bottle is clear plastic so you can easily see how much is left.
Retails for probably 10-12USD depending on which Asian country you purchase this from. It is meant to be a makeup remover.

While the name is cleansing water, it is really a clear gel consistency.

Here's my makeup removal test- with Estee Lauder artist's pencil eyeliner in #15 Opalescence reviewed previously.

 Pouring some gel over it- you can see the gel's just runny and clear.

Below pic is after massaging the gel in - you can see on top right corner some of the gel turns slightly brown taking some of the liner away.

(But yep seriously! it does not remove much makeup at all)

Even after some rubbing and rinsing- I still have plenty of eyeliner left!

So I decided to remove again with my normal Fasio eye makeup remover- as I was wondering whether it's because this liner is too stubborn or Rohoto cleansing water is so weak.

Fasio eye makeup remover is generally pretty good at removing all eye makeup- turns out the Estee Lauder pencil is just a bit more stubborn and after 1 wiping it is still like this. But a few more rubs it goes away completely.

So verdict of this cleansing water (really a gel) , is that it barely removes much stubborn makeup. I have no doubt if you just wear a simple sunscreen and loose powder it might be able to remove it, but the inability to remove at least half the eyeliner is pretty  poor indication- I would not be trusting this cleansing water to remove my normal daily makeup (which is mascara, a pearly primer, a powder foundation (or BB cream), and sometimes loose powder and blush).

While it feels ever so gentle on the face, it does not work as a make up remover.

For the time being I've just been using this to double cleanse (first time with cleansing oil, followed by this). It rinses off very easily and does not leave skin dry. It doesn't really foam or anything, nor emulsify and change color. It just goes on as a gel and leaves your skin as a gel.

For a makeup remover so marketed, it gets a rating of 1/5. For a normal face cleanser (not sure if this does anything apart from taking away some light shine on the face), probably a 3/5.

Estee Lauder Artists Eye Pencil Kohl #15 Opalescence review/ swatch

Estee Lauder eyeliners Arists Eye Pencils feature an array of different shades from normal blacks to browns to a few more interesting ones. I got #15 Opalescence - which is a very misleading name. It's really a plummy brown bronze, it's not just plum or just bronze but an interesting mix of both.

Comes in dual ended, 1 side is the liner and the other side is just a generic blending sponge tip.

Here it is close up- isn't it pretty! It's actually not too red toned or anything, which makes it a wearable shade of variation of plums.

Swatch: on the very right I tried to blend it out:

It's definitely an interesting twist of brown eyeliner I usually go for- it has a soft nice shimmer but doesn't have visible glitters, instead it just leaves a nice sheen.

As for wearability, wow this is a lot more long lasting than I expected. Once it sort of sets after application, it's actually quite hard to remove. I still get a bit of wear towards the end of the day just because my lids are oily at times. However, just normal water will not make this budge.

Overall 4/5. Wish the pencil could do finer lines, but this is a good color as an outter top liner, there's enough color to make it visible, and it's dark enough to provide enough depth as a liner on its own as well.