Fall 2009: IPSA Eye Color Duo 3 & Lip Gloss Duo 2

Yea, you´re reading this correctly: Fall 2009 =P I didn´t review these 2 items from IPSA earlier as I scored them on eBay just a couple of months ago (and then forgot to review). My review is probably not really useful anymore but might be you still find these goodies pop up on eBay from time to time =)


IPSA is a so-so brand for me. They make some excellent items (in particular their lipliners and lipsticks/glosses) but their eyeshadows are often a let-down.
I didn´t order anything from the fall collection last year as I found them too pricey but I scored both goodies on eBay for less than US$20 shipped so I couldn´t resist.

The Eye Color Duo is actually really tiny as you can imagine from the pic where I placed it beside the gloss!


Last year´s fall theme was "Urban Safari" (as I read here on my favorite blog Rouge Deluxe) and the case comes with a metallic pink and black zebra stripe design. The case itself feels a little flimsy and is made of plastic.
There is no mirror and only 1 sponge-tip applicator in the compact which is a bit weird for an expensive brand like IPSA. The overall quality of the compact (and shadows as I will write about below) reminds me more of a drugstore brand like say Shiseido Selfit. After all the retail price was around 3000 Yen which transfers to over US$30 for the 1.2g in the compact (I can get a pretty Kanebo Coffret D´or quad for just a few bucks more on Adambeauty!)


The color duo #3 Desert Walker (I know the box shows #2 as the seller accidentally put the compact in the wrong box..) is actually very pretty and I was lucky that the seller listed this along with the gloss as the other 3 colors didn´t appeal to me at all.
The color is a shimmery gray with colorful micro-glitters and a satin peach shade.
Unfortunately the texture of the duo totally sucks. The shadows are crumbly (creating a mess) and dry and have a very dull and uneven finish. Very weird in all honesty. Brands like Fasio, Kate and Integrate have much smoother and better textures and cost about half.


I am very glad I didn´t pay retail for this. In all honesty I didn´t need this duo at all =X
On the swatch you can see the strange uneven finish of the gray color. Both shades are on the sheer side, too.

The Lip Gloss Duo however somewhat makes up for the weak performance of the shadow duo. I had a sort of flashback when I saw the gloss! It´s the exact same thing as the PN glosses (check my MUA review here!) from like 5 years ago. This makes me realize once again that Shiseido owns IPSA!


PN was the predecessor of Maquillage and had really nice products (though Maquillage continues the quality well and improved many things like the eyeshadows!)
The texture is the same as the PN glosses (rather thick, sticky, long-lasting and glossy). The color is sheer but noticable.
There is a layer of more pigmented gloss on the bottom of the lipgloss bottle and a translucent gloss on top. When you pull out the clear flexible spatula applicator both glosses mix a little.


The gloss is really nice, I like it a lot! The color is #2 Twilight Beige which is a nice peachy beige shade.
This retailed for about 2700 Yen (a bit below US$30) and contains 8g.

Xmas 2009: IPSA Essence Lip Gloss Set

Yep, a late Xmas review! Not because I forgot to review it but because I just scored this cute set a few weeks ago on eBay for cheap (US$20 incl. shipping)!
In all honesty I didn´t notice this Essence Lip Gloss Set from IPSA at all! I just found it on eBay and googled it and found out it was from Xmas 2009!


The Essence Lip Gloss Set contains 5 lipgloss minis, sized at 2 grams each. Not a lot but you need little so each tube will last you a while!
The tubes don´t have applicators so you either have to apply them with your finger or a lip brush. I use my fingers =)


The glosses have a very thick and sticky texture with a very glossy finish and great pigment. These give a mirror-shine finish (so nothing for windy days as your hair will inevitably get stuck to your lips!). Due to the texture these babies last very long on me, 3 hours is easy to achieve or even longer if I don´t eat or drink.
All the shades I have do have shimmer but in various degrees of intensity.
Like the majority of Japanese lip products these are unfragranced, too!


I love the well-balanced mix of colors in the lot and that the colors actually do show up instead of having the typical super sheer glosses that blend into the same color after application. I think you could mix and match the colors but I am the straight-out-of-the-tube kind of user so I will 99.999% of the time apply the color right out of the tube without mixing (but I might add a gloss on top, that doesn´t count as mixing, right?) =)


The colors are from the permanent line I believe and are as mentioned above all really pretty and wearable. I happen to own couple of the colors in the full size already but I don´t mind anyway.


E431: Gorgeous red-pink with blue micro-shimmers (not too noticeable so very wearable
H571: Medium pink with a peach tinge. This has less shimmer than the rest and is a bit sheerer.
E911: I really love this! It´s an clear gloss with a high amount of fine ivory golden shimmer so it´s a perfect top coat for lipstick, especially dark colors
H421: This is definitely my favorite color (as you might have guessed). It´s the perfect cool rosey mauve with a very shimmery wet finish. Gorgeous!
H461: A very fresh and pretty apricot coral. A bit sheerer than the other colors with very finely milled shimmer.


Overall I am really thrilled with this set and using it all the time for the previous week. I think I´ll eventually get H421 full-sized, too!

Bobodave still carries this for around US$27 if you are interested. Not really cheap as you only get 10 grams of gloss total but a nice set to try out various colors.

iPSA Skin Beauty Pure Lip Veil in L2. Get lush lips!

One of my newer acquisitions is a beautiful lipstick by iPSA called Skin Beauty Pure Lip Veil in color L2.


It comes in the typical iPSA signature smooth silver swivel-up tube which isn't that special but elegant and simple.

The Pure Lip Veil is a very sheer glossy lipstick and feels very soft on my lips. I love the soft glossy finish and sheer luscious raspberry red color (it looks like a clear red in the tube but with my naturally pink lips it mixes to a raspberry pink color)

Really, this is the perfect daily red as it's so sheer yet giving enough color to make lips appear full and beautifully tinted.


The Pure Lip Veil has a very moisturizing formula and it stays on decently and fades evenly.

If you have a chance to get an iPSA lipstick I highly recommend picking one up!


Retails for somewhere around 3000 Yen, I paid about US$18 for mine.

Click to read about iPSA Essence lipstick in H562 and Essence Lipgloss in H61

Meant to be together: IPSA Essence Lipstick H562 & Essence Lipgloss H461

IPSA is a brand that doesn't get much love on the makeup boards I visit and most of their item go for quite cheap on ebay as it just doesn't seem to be too popular.

I have to say most IPSA items I tried are great, especially their lipsticks and one of their lipliners is my HG nude beige liner.


IPSA stuff is pricier as it's a HE brand. It's under the Shiseido company so that usually will guaranteed good quality.
The packaging is usually just simple silver or white plastic. It's not an edgy brand and probably geared towards ladies in their 30ies or so.

I purchased just 2 of IPSA's summer items even though I found more of the summer collection online for cheap but the eye singles just don't appeal to me that much... anyways I ended up with the Essence Lipstick in H562 and Essence Lipgloss in H461.

Essence Lipstick in H562:
A very pretty sheer coral pink. Very fresh and summery, not too warm for me. Like the other IPSA lipsticks I have this is rather moisturizing.


Essence Lipgloss H461:
A gorgeous sheer coral pink with golden shimmer. This is my 3rd Essence Lipgloss and they're really nice smooth glosses with a slightly thicker longer lasting texture.
This is the perfect color to use on top of the lipstick. Out comes a gorgeous soft coral summer pout!


Both items are unfragranced.
I paid about US$18/each which is a steal as they retail for over 3000 Yen (I think the lipgloss is a bit less).