Fall 2009: Maquillage (& Alexander Wang)...2x Eyes Creator 3D & Perfect Gloss

Maquillage is one of my top brands (among with Kate, Lavshuca, Jill Stuart, Esprique Precious and more lol)... anyway, Maquillage usually has exceptionally good quality products (many of my daily staples are from MQ...their foundations in OC-00 usually are my best match... except for powdery ones)


The Eyes Creator 3D eyeshadow series is one of the best shadow range I have found this year (haven't tried the cream-only summer palettes though!). The shadows are buttery soft and pigmented, silky and blend well. And most colors have a certain luster without being glittery which makes them look really good on my eyes (and keeps the shadows from looking dull).
Each palette gives you 5 colors, 2 of them being creams (a base and a liner) and 3 powder shadows (1 for lids, a deeper accent one and a highlighter). Some of their color combos are a bit odd but still manage to look good in my opinion.


MQ released 5 new palettes for fall of which I picked up 2, one of the regular colors and one of the limited Alexander Wang colors housed in a black case instead of the standard pinkish silver ones.
I also got 2 of the new Perfect Gloss lippies and these are absolute faves now, I have been reaching for them very often within the previous month!

The 2 Alexander Wang palettes are safe neutral daily-wear colors (aka browns hehe). I picked up the cooler palette and it indeed is a safe and perfect choice for everyday wear.


The other palette I picked up is the new gray one as it looked gorgeous, too. I didn't pick up the pink and green palettes as these didn't appeal to me that much.


The texture is great, just as I described above. The cream base btw is actually good, I used it and the colors went on vibrantly and didn't fade or crease (as I had expected) on me.
The cream liner is ok, not the best, but it's pigmented and applies smoothly. However it's a cream liner, not a gel liner, so it does fade a bit.

The colors are:
BR365:


This is the Alexander Wang palette. The colors are a bit sheerer than the other Eyes Creator palettes and are a light golden brown, medium plummy taupe, light taupish cream to highlight. The cream base is a pearly golden white and the cream liner is a deeper version of the plummy accent color albeit a bit more plummy brown than taupe. All 3 powders have a beautiful pearl finish. The glitter you see on the pics is just an overspray.


GY867:


When I first opened the palette I wasn't sure if I'd like the color combo. It looked a bit weird and the blue looked somehow wrong with the taupe/grays but since I trust Maquillage to come up with good colors I decided to give it a try. The colors harmonize perfectly!
You get a metallic light taupe gray with an intense lustrous (not glittery!) finish, medium iridescent blue gray, intensely pigmented metallic off-white. The cream base is a pale gold and the cream liner is a deep neutral brown that goes so well with the metallic taupe gray.
This palette is really super pimented and it's a joy playing around with the fantastic metallics in this palette hehe =D


All in all I am tremendously enjoying both palettes! Both are much better choices than the GY865 palette which has this strange mustard brown paired with a taupe and stark white. I am comparing them to GY865 as both new palettes are in the same color scheme (I reviewed this palette in Spring or so) =)


Maquillage admittedly also makes some of the finest lipsticks and glosses Japanese brands have to offer. I believe since MQ debuted I have collected over 50 lippies from them...oops!
I certainly was super excited when I spotted their new glosses as I was sure I'd love them!
The new Perfect Gloss comes in a sleek silver/clear tube with wand. The applicator is a flat soft fuzzy spatula which deposits the gloss so well!


The texture of the gloss is divine. A slick soft cream with nearly no stickiness I can detect. Also the pigment is very good so the color you see in the tube is pretty much the result you'll see on your lips. The finish is a beautiful shimmery and shiny glossy mouth. Very purdy!
The lasting power on me is quite good, about 2 hours I'd say. Reapplying is easy though as I don't feel my lips are getting more sticky or gooey from reapplying without removing the color remains first.
All in all it's total love! The Perfect Gloss in my opinion *is* perfect.

Again I went for 2 safe colors. In my opinion noone can make more perfect natural colors than the Japanese brands.


RD711: This is a beautiful rosy brown
RS702: Beautiful light cool pink, very much a MLBB color on me ;D
Both colors are shimmery but the shimmer is very finely milled.


You can get the palettes on Adambeauty. You can get both the glosses and shadow quints from Gooddealer (where I ordered), Ichibankao and possibly some other online shops.

So all in all this is an absolutely winning collection for me. While the colors aren't really original or very special this is a solid collection of excellent quality.

Fall 2009: Jill Stuart Vixen & Angelic Collection: Mix Blush Compact #09 & 10...and 2 Jelly Eye Color N

Admittedly the Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact cheek colors are my favorite blushes. I think except for that LE color from 3 years or so ago I have all of them.


What makes them superior to other blushes in my humble opinion are:
-the beautiful mix of colors per compact, allows me to mix and match the way I like
-beautiful flattering color variety
-the absolutely beautiful glowy finish these impart... no glitter (like some other Japanese brands) and no frosty finish (like many of the Korean ones do). My cheeks get a healthy dose of color AND a pretty glow
-the medium pigment which means you can layer these for greater intensity or apply them sheerly and the super finely milled silky texture
-the beautiful packaging and quite good quality brush which is great for touch-ups!

My favorite colors are 04 Rose Bloom and 101 Platinum Illuminance and 102 Gold Illuminance (both were LE); the latter 2 contain a gorgeous highlighter, too!


While both of the 2 new eye palettes from Jill Stuart's Vixen & Angelic collection for Fall 2009 didn't interest me I surely picked up the 2 new Mix Blush Compacts to add them to my collection.


Honestly these 2 won't be my faves as the colors are rather warm and these are quite sheer.
They're really silky and finely milled like the other Mix Blush Compacts but definitely are better suited for someone with warmer-toned skin.
These are scented like all Jill Stuart makeup products.

#09 Little Bouquet: Light warm pink, orange, warm bright pink and medium fuschia. First pic is with flash, 2nd in natural day light.


#10 Sweet Biscuit: Light apricot, pink, pinkish red and tan. First pic taken with flash, the 2nd in natural day light.


I got them from gooddealer who is still the best source for Jill Stuart price-wise. All the other online shops I know are a bit more expensive.

In the same order I also picked up 2 of the Jelly Eye Color N eyeshadows that just came out for the Summer collection. The Jelly Eye Colors got a revamp and are now presented in much prettier princessy glass jars. The former pots were nice but more simple and somehow heavier. However the more interesting colors like the beautiful complex greens have been discontinued and replaced with the usual boring array of pastels so I hope JS will re-release the nicer shades soon.


The pic shows the new Jelly Eye Color N on the right and the old Jelly Eye Color on the left side:


Texture-wise I don't notice a change honestly. The old and the new version have a certain spongy bouncy feeling when you touch them.


The Jelly Eye Color N shadows are decently pigmented and have a beautiful glistening finish. They are a bit hard to blend (and you need to be quick before they set) just like the predecessors but stay on all day on me.
They're scented for which I see no single use in an eye product!
Anyway, I am happy with the colors I picked up, they're both gorgeous.

#03 Platinum Satin is a pretty golden shell pink color with a hint of beige, a perfect natural my-lids-but-better color on me and makes a great base or subtle highlighter. The finish of this is a gorgeous metallic pearl with sparse glitter.


#10 Vintage Decor is a beautiful taupe brown, metallic with a bit more glitter added than Platinum Satin.


The new version contains the same 6g and costs the same price (2200 Yen & 5% tax) so they're not ripping us off with the new version.
I think it was time for JS to revamp the packaging of their popular Jelly Eyes as the packaging started to be copied (*cough* Castledew *cough*) which in my opinion can decrease the value of the original item a bit...

More Etsy stuff: Blackkawaii & Cranberrylover

While in Egypt I discovered 2 new sellers in Thailand whose items are in a very sweet zakka style. I am sure when you see the items I am showing you you know what I mean =D

From Blackkawaii I got about 4 packages or so already and these are the items I got (oh, some arrived after I returned to home but it's easier to show them all at once).
As you see I got various pouches in various shapes (I love the "Sausage" pouches). The finishing quality is excellent and the fabrics are really sweet (Japanese!). The sweet hair pin and little plushie were freebies.
I also got this adorable mouse to dangle from my bag =)


Cranberrylover has very adorable items, too! She is selling sweet boxy pouches and other things. I got a variety of items from her including pouches, buttons and hair clips. The small carousel pouch and the little tray with the pigs were freebies. Excellent quality here, too!
Enjoy the pics!