Spring 2009: Kose Visee Blackish Forming Eyes in B-3

I love dark gray/smokey eyeshadow palettes. For some reason darker eye colors look good on me (better than very light ones). I love the definition and dramatic look they can give.


Those kind of palettes aren't really that "spring" though so I was astonished to see that Visee dedicated a whole eye palette line to the color black.


The Blackish Forming Eyes are a new style of palettes containing a deep black and 3 color shadows.
I actually wanted more of the palettes but got B-3 first from ichibankao to see how I'd like it. Also I wanted to wait to see these listed on Adambeauty before I indulge in more colors (I ordered 2 more now as they're on the site hehe).

The Blackish Forming Eyes come in pretty glossy black compacts with a snake pattern with a clear window in the middle so you can see the colors through.


The texture is really good! These shadows are rather silky and well pigmented with very little powder fall-out. The shimmer is gorgeous but not extremely OTT in my opinion (well, I am used to shimmery shadows and LOVE them!)


The box comes with instructions how to use the shadows. I used them a little differently though.


(EOTD: Dark silver shade on outer 1/3 of my lids and blended into the crease, lighter silver on inner 2/3 of my lids. Black in the outer V and on lower lashline, blended a bit into the crease. Lighter silver on browbone, white right under brows blending out the lighter silver).


The colors are a shimmery off-white, silver gray, darker silver gray (just a little darker than the other shade) and intense matte black with scattered sparkles. In the pan the black looks like the darkest and most intense black I ever found in an eyeshadow. When swatched it's a regular matte off-black (lol).


These retail for 1680 Yen in Japan (about US$19). Adambeauty just listed these at US$20/each.

Iris from Rouge Deluxe listed an interesting article here. Do check it out!

News from Adambeauty

My favorite website for ordering Japanese beauty products Adambeauty.com just updated their site. While the design of the website is still somehow simple and a little chaotic I think it looks a bit nicer now.

The cool news is that now there is EMS/Speedpost service available. When you checkout you have the option to check a box, enter your phone number and receive your items via EMS.
It costs only US$12/order and will allow you to receive your order even faster. I think it's worth using EMS if you order a bigger bunch of items and/or are a bit impatient like me lol!

The new Visee Blackish Forming Eyes & new mascara, Elizabeth Pink Bonbon glosses and Kiss' spring items (Chocolate Lip Balm and those eyeshadow duos) have been listed, too!
Adam told me the new Spring stuff should be listed by end of next week!

Also there are some nice items on sale. I just ordered a Maquillage lipliner for US$7.50 (it's a nice rose shade).

I think you can expect the Aube, Lavshuca, MQ, MM and Kate collections listed there soon, too!

Spring 2009: Lunasol Blooming Eyes (aka Layer Bloom Eyes)

Nearly all of the Spring collections are out while we are still shoveling snow =) However that doesn't mean that I can't go out in soft lilacs and other spring colors, right?


I have to admit that I am not a die-hard fan of Lunasol. While I really adore many of the products (especially their lipsticks) many of their eyeshadow palettes aren't for me.
I find the texture is often hard and dry and not really pigmented and below the quality level they should be considering their price. Also out of the usually 4-5 available colors only 1 or 2 have potential to flatter my colorings. (now come out and flame me for the blasphemy lol)

However I have been really impressed with the Sheer Contrast Eyes as they're silky and pigmented so I had high hopes for the pretty new spring quads called "Layer Bloom Eyes" in Japan or "Blooming Eyes" in Hong Kong (at least my quad from Hong Kong carries that name).


I haven't really made up my mind completely about the Blooming Eyes yet... On the one hand the texture is not smooth and the colors are very sheer on the other hand the result is quite pretty though a little (but only a little) dull.


I have the quad in 03 Purple Gradation and it gives me a pretty soft purple feminine look but the shadows look a little chalky since they are pale and are only having a pearly finish (except for the darkest shade which is pigmented, silky and a little more shimmery and the glittery shade). I know that on the closeup pic they look somewhat shimmery but when applied they definitely aren't!

The shadows are rather sheer which is probably intended for spring but I would just have preferred a little more color so I can decide how intense/sheer I want to apply the shades.


The colors are a sparkly pale lilac (nearly white), pastel lilac, light cool purple and stunning dark gray with a violet undertone. The gray is the outstanding color in the quad as it's really pretty, smooth and pigmented. However in a quad I expect all 4 colors to be nice *sigh*
The staying power is great, I wore the quad for over 8 hours and there was no sign of creasing or fading.


I honestly can say that for me personally this is not worth its price as it's no way better (rather worse) than a Kate or Coffret D'or palette (and both are Kanebo brands, too!)
(EOTD: Applied the medium purple all over lids blended upwards, pale lilac and glitter on brow bones, dark gray to line and light lilac on inner lids).

However it is a pretty spring quad and I will not give it a negative review but for the high price I just expect better quality.

On another note: I also got the Full Glamour Lips S in #22 (White Beige Pink). I actually had ordered the spring lipstick in EX04 but the seller didn't have it so I picked 22 instead.


It's such a gorgeous soft nude beige pink with a hint of salmon! Lunasol really makes fantastic lipsticks, that's guaranteed! The color works very well with the Purple Gradation quad.


The texture is of course creamy, moisturizing and the finish is a gorgeous silky soft shimmer.


I paid US$55.95 for the quad and US$32.95 for the lipstick & a moderate shipping rate from Alpha Beauty Store on eBay.
Gooddealer lists the quads for (only!) US$48.88 and the lipsticks for US$29.14 (+shipping and handling...add about US$5 on top of each item when you consider your purchase).
Gooddealer is by far the cheapest source I can find right now as the retail price is so high due to the strong Yen.

The palettes retail for 5250 Yen/each (=US$59)
Lipsticks retail for 3150 Yen/each (=US$36)

Spring 2009: Coffret D'or Shine Drape Rouge

Seems currently I am reviewing so many lipsticks lol! That's just coincidence, other interesting items like blushes and eyeshadows will be reviewed soon =D

The Coffret D'or Spring 2009 collection isn't really that appealing to me as none of the eyeshadow quads looks interesting enough to order. I don't know why but none of the colors looked attractive enough to purchase one of them.


But I have always been a fan of T'estimo's lipsticks and since Coffret D'or is its revamped and renamed alter ego I accumulated quite a few of the Coffret D'or lippies and found them just as nice as T'estimo's.
So I decided to get 2 of the new Spring "Shine Drape Rouge" lipsticks when I found them on adambeauty.


The Shine Drape Rouge lipsticks come in 2 variations: Color and Glow. That's the system Coffret D'or used already in their previous lipsticks and they kept it.
As you can imagine the Glow series offers sheerer but shimmery and glossy colors whereas the Color range offers more vivid pigment and colors.


What I really adore are the new slightly more elaborate tubes the Shine Drape Rouge comes in. The other lipsticks come in super boring silver tubes but the new ones just look more elegant and feminine.
The cap of the Glow range is made of smooth mirror-finish silver whereas the Color lipsticks come with matte metal caps.

I think the texture of the 2 variations differs a bit. The Glow Rouge is more sheer, buttery soft, moisturizing with a glossy and shimmery finish.
The Color lipsticks are creamy but not as soft, moisturizing and buttery as the Glow ones and they surely carry a bit more pigment.


Both lines are pretty nice but I think I prefer the Glow range due to the super pretty shimmery and glossy finish which gives an almost wet sparkly finish.

As far as I can judge based on the swatches provided online and the sampler I have here the colors are mostly flattering soft pinks, beiges and roses. Japanese brands are generally sticking with safe pretty natural colors which is great for me as I always can choose out of lots of beautiful and wearable colors.

The colors are:

PK237 (Glow):


A soft sheer pink with fine golden shimmer. It looks warmer and brighter in the tube but due to its sheerness it applies like a light cool pink on me.

RS252 (Color):


A medium mauve rose with slight golden shimmer

I paid US$27/each incl. shipping from adambeauty which is a steal considering these retail for 3150 Yen (about US$35)
Adambeauty only lists a limited variety of colors though. Gooddealer sells these for a bit over US$25 & shipping and handling so you will end up paying about US$30 or so (not too bad).

Mini Giveaway:


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Elizabeth Pink Bonbon Lip Glosses

After my experience with the fantastic Nude Bonbon Lipglosses from Elizabeth I was trying to hunt down the Pink Bonbon Glosses, a range of 4 soft pink glosses. I found one on eBay for US$7.99 (& US$4 for shipping) and ordered the others from Ichibankao.com for about US$13 or so shipped (listed under Misc Products on the main website)


The tubes look similar except that the Pink Bonbon glosses have a light mint colored cap. The applicator is a very good smooth brush which deposits the right amount on my lips.


The texture is smooth and nice but not as long-lasting as the Nude Bonbon glosses since it's slightly more slick than those.
I think the Nude Bonbon glosses are better in terms of glossiness, pigment and staying power but the Pink Bonbon ones are gorgeous nonetheless.
These are not scented which is perfect for me.


The 4 glosses look almost alike in the tubes, however there are subtle differences between the 4 pinks. The swatch shows #1-4 (from left to right)


#1 Gerbera Pink: Sheer cherry pink without shimmer
#2 Pink Ribbon: Warm light sheer pink with subtle pink shimmer
#3 Aerobeige: Peach pink with subtle shimmer
#4 Dream Rose: Cool pink with shimmer (this has the best amount of pigment in my opinion)

All in all these are pretty good sheer pink glosses so if you are searching for a sheer pink these are a good choice. However these are not really worth paying much more than retail (which is about US$7)

My Gooddealer order (M by Maquillage Spring stuff!)

The new collections from Maquillage are usually on my shopping list as I just love that brand. Now with their revamped packaging and quite a bunch of new interesting products it was granted that I needed some of the new stuff.

My only problem was deciding where to order. With the currently strong Yen prices went up to nuts amounts but I wasn't interested to wait another month or so till adambeauty will list this.

So after some browsing and pondering I decided to order from Gooddealer.com. I haven't ordered from them for over a year I believe as their prices were just ok because of the higher shipping and handling fees.


But nowadays it's one of the best sources to order in my opinion especially as they also stock Lunasol, RMK, Jill Stuart and other expensive brands. Just factor in the shipping per item, compare with other sellers and do the math...

I got (the first US$ price is what gooddealer charges before shipping/handling):
2x Eyes Creator (3D) in GY865 and VI376 (US$39.61/each...retail 3990 Yen = US$45)
1x Face Creator (3D) in #44 - you get refill and case by default (US$40.93....retail 4200 Yen = US$47-48)
1x Moisture Rouge (Color) in RS724 (US$30.47...retail 3150 Yen = US$36)

I paid about US$20 for registered airmail and handling. That may sound much but If you just split the shipping (I ordered 4 items) and add US$5 on top of each product you will see that I paid even less than retail and the items arrived in less than a week and well packed. I also received a sampler of Coffret D'or's new lipsticks and a Lunasol foundation/base sampler.

Just go to gooddealer.com, click on "English" (top right of the page) and then click on "shopping mall". You will find the newest products first, otherwise do a search (be sure to always search for one word only, it doesn't find anything if you enter more than 1 word). You can pay by Paypal or CC!

Of course reviews will follow later!

Lunasol Intellectual Lips Full Glamour in 10, 11 & 16

I own quite a bunch of lipsticks from Lunasol's Intellectual Lips Full Glamour range (here is an older review, I think I have a few more colors now though). They were one of the first items I tried from this brand and what got me hooked on Lunasol. The line has been discontinued recently but they're still some of the nicest lipsticks I have. The new Full Glamour Lips S and Full Glamour Lips G are just as good though so it's not much a problem if you missed out the older Intellectual Lips Full Glamour range.


However Strawberrynet still stocks the older ones (listed under Kanebo, Lunasol is not listed as a brand) for US$30.50/each (shipping included) so it's a very good price considering their retail value is 3150 Yen (about US$36 with the strong Yen right now).


I was even lucky enough to score 3 very pretty colors at 25% off (so each lippy cost me about US$23). Lunasol is so pricey online so it was a refreshing change to pay much below retail instead of jacked-up prices.


Anyways, these lippies are just superb. Creamy, moisturizing, lasting well and the array of colors they offer are all wearable and sophisticated. If you're searching for a bright glittery fuschia then Lunasol is not for you =)


#10 Pure Pink (top): Soft light salmon pink


#11 Warm Pink (middle): Very natural muted pink close to my natural lip color


#16 LK Soft Rose (bottom): Muted rose red with subtle brown tones.


If you're interested in this range of lipsticks I highly recommend checking out Strawberrynet. As I said these have been discontinued but recently and all my 3 colors are fresh and perfect to use.

Spring 2009: RMK Spring Translucence

As promised here are now my reviews/thoughts on a few of the new RMK Spring items.


The products I got are:
-Translucent Cheeks & Eyes 01 (retail 5250 Yen)
-Translucent Eyes 05 Translucent Gray (retail 3575 Yen)
-Irresistible Lips C #25 Shiny Coral Beige (retail 3150 Yen)


First off I have to rant about RMK's compacts. I just hate the super shiny mirror-finish which just looks like a smeary mess after touching it and is a pain to photograph. I know it's somewhat stylish but it just annoys me hehe.

-Translucent Cheeks & Eyes 01:


This was the item that attracted me most but it's probably the most disappointing one of the lot. It's a pretty little blusher compact (The flower theme is very cute!) but it's just not really that special or gives any oomph as it's a very light sheer (well, that's the "Translucence" theme) color. I have probably 10495940 similar pinks from other Japanese brands that are like 1/3 of the price.


The palette is supposed to be used on cheeks and eyes. The 2 eye colors are the lilac on the bottom right and the pale pink next to it. These 2 colors have shimmer whereas the rest of the colors are on the matte side.
The eye colors are pretty but I don't use pastels on my lids as they totally wash me out I can wear these 2 colors with some darker crease color but all in all I don't see much use of them so for me this is rather a blusher palette.


The color I achieve from swirling my brush across the compact is a pretty soft pink with a very light sheen but it takes me about 5 layers to see the color.
I really like the color that comes out but honestly I don't think this palette is worth the 5250 Yen (about US$59!) price tag at all!
I paid US$44.90 incl. shipping

-Translucent Eyes 05:


When I first swatched this I was quite disappointed with the total lack of pigment in the gray shade and was sure this would get a negative review from me.
But I have learned that testing something with my finger on bare skin can totally differ from using a brush on a primed eyelid.


The compact the Translucent Eyes comes in is really tiny, not much bigger than an RMK single shadows or a blusher (I think it's the same size even). I somehow imagined the eyeshadow duo bigger but I won't complain now as I don't use up shadows anyway so smaller compacts don't bother me really.


There is a smaller stripe of the highlighter color which is shimmery. The darker color has a very strange smooth and sheer texture but can be picked up well with a brush. The colors are very blendable and soft and look pretty worn together. I wore this for many hours today and it still looked fresh when I removed it.

I used the gray on my lids and blended it upwards with the pink worn on the rest of my eye up to my brows
According to my friend Iris from Rouge Deluxe the light pink highlighter is supposed to be used on top of the pastel gray but I a not so much into layering usually.


The colors are a soft silvery light gray and a sheer shimmery petal pink.
There are 4 other duos, all with a pink highlighter and a soft light color.
Retail is 3675 Yen = approx. US$42 (I paid US$34.99)

-Irresistible Lips C #25 Shiny Coral Beige:


I had a few RMK lippies around some time ago but didn't like them. They were drying and the colors were off (one was called "beige pink" and was a horrid bright matte orange on me).
The pic of the new Spring color #25 was very pretty and it was only US$21.99 on Facial-Shop (while this retail for 3150 Yen = approx. US$36) so I added it to my order anyway.


I am so glad I got this as this is seriously one of the prettiest lippies I got in the previous months.
It also has a smooth creamy and moisturizing texture with an interesting glistening (but not glittery or frosty) finish. It looks just divine.


The color is very neutral, a sheer corally beige but with a certain depth which makes it an interesting shade of lipstick. Even though it looks a bit orange on the pics it's definitely not when it mixes with the natural pink of my lips.


This has a certain flowery scent which doesn't linger though.
I highly recommend checking out the Irrisistible Lips C range!