Jill Stuart Jewel Crystal Eyes in 101 Smoky Topaz (Taiwan LE)

I was actually not interested to get any of the new Jill Stuart palettes... I am just not that keen on JS eyeshadow palettes anymore and none of the colors caught my eye...

However I couldn´t resist the new limited palette produced for the Taiwanese market but popping up in the online shops in Hong Kong now (I got mine from Alphabeautyuk on eBay but I have also seen this on Gooddealer. I recommend Alphabeauty though as he ships faster and there are no stupid handling fees which makes the seemingly cheaper price on Gooddealer pretty much null and void).

I liked the look of the new palette as it´s a true taupe/pink combo and of course i was a bit curious how the newest generation of eyeshadow palettes from JS would feel like.
The case is as princessy as always, in a silver color and adorned with lots of designs.

The texture of the Jewel Crystal Eyes is very soft and pigmented, even a bit powdery but there isn´t much dusting or fall-out so to me it´s a pretty perfect texture.
The shadows are shimmery and/or metallic and blend/apply very nicely and they stay put nicely all day long on me.

These are scented which is totally unnecessary in my opinion but it´s not a bothersome fragrance.

101 contains a very pale shimmery pink, metallic dusty flesh pink, metallic taupe and shimmery deep gray (almost black) with some fine micro-glitters.

I really love this palette, it´s the best I have tried from Jill Stuart so far.


 
Rating 5/5 despite the heavy price-tag (RRP 5250 Yen). You get the quality you pay for =)

Fall 2010: Jill Stuart Blush Blossom Dual Cheek Color in 04 Seductive Rose

I actually had made up my mind to skip these new Jill Stuart blushes as I am not a big fan of loose powder products in general so I just avoid them.

As it often happens my friend Iris blogged about the blush and I finally wasn´t able to resist the Blush Blossom Dual Cheek Color in 04 Seductive Rose anymore. When it´s about Japanese makeup I have no willpower whatsoever! Sad, I know lol!
I got mine from Gooddealer as I found this to be the cheapest place to purchase this from. It retails for 4750 Yen (=about US$57 with this strong Yen!) but incl. shipping I paid several $ less from GD.

The Blush Blossom is a range of loose powder blush duos which is something quite unique as I have rarely seen 2 loose powder products filled into 1 compact...the risk of accidentially mixing the two is always there this way!

The compact is very pretty and elaborate, just as one expects from a brand like Jill Stuart! 

It comes with a nice brush similar to the ones found in the Mix Blush Compact but the brush is not attached to the case this time but has a pretty ribbon charm dangling from the handle instead. The bristles seem a bit stiffer than the ones from the Mix Blush Compact but still it´s a good-quality brush and perfectly usable.


The 2 loose blushes are filled into 1 tub but are separated and covered with a soft bouncy net which serves as a sifter. The net makes it pleasant to gently pick up the blushes and eliminates the necessity to shake out the powder onto a hard plastic sifter which would inevitably lead to mixing the colors.

Before closing the compact one must cover the powders with the included clear plastic sheet and the tightly closing white plastic lid to make sure not to mix the colors when tilting the compact afterwards. I find this way the powders stay in their part of the compact and there is no problem with mixing, spilling etc. 

Still this is not a no-fuzz makeup item for me as I have to be very careful not to tip the compact over during application and close it tightly afterwards or else the mess and loss will be huge. 
There was to be a better solution to have separate lids for the 2 colors but might be that was not going along with the pretty compact designing.

Anyway, the 2 colors are really super finely milled and smooth and give a gorgeous glowy finish to my cheeks which comes from very fine shimmer (no glitter, no frost!). The Blush Glow is the actual blush color whereas the Shimmer Tint on the left is used to add some extra glow. For me the Shimmer Tint makes a great blush, too, since it´s deep and pigmented enough to be a subtle blush. Otherwise if you are more tan it can act as a highlighter or to change the blush color a bit. 
The Blush Glow is really well pigmented so it takes no effort to have gorgeously flushed cheeks. It´s actually easy for me to overdo this blush so I only use very little with a careful hand. 
Since a very small amount is needed per application this 5g jar should last quite a while in my opinion. 

I got 04 Seductive Rose which looked like the perfect hot pink and peach combo for me. I find that hot pinks applied sheerly look most like my natural cheek color so they are really flattering.
The pink side actually has a *very* light blue iridescence which makes it a quite unique color in my opinion.

Overall a gorgeous new range of blushes and worth looking into. Handling this item can be a bit tricky though so one must always handle this with the greatest care.

There are 3 more permanent color and 1 limited one. Furthermore the Xmas coffret will contain 1 more color but this year I will probably skip this as the other items don´t look that appealing to me.

Rating: 4/5

Love package =) Jill Stuart makeup bag & Sana Natural Resource Treatment Base UV SPF18 PA++

I received this wonderful gift from my dear long-time friend (5-6 years now?) and blogger buddy Iris from Rouge Deluxe and just wanted to post about it here =D

She sent me the makeup bag that came with the Jill Stuart mook and a Treatment Makeup Base UV SPF18 PA++ from Sana Natural Resource which is a new brand to me so I am so excited that she picked this out for me!

The Jill Stuart bag is really large with tons of compartments in various sizes so it´s a perfect thing to hold lots of and organize makeup and/skin care when traveling or taking along. I love the pretty floral print and the nice touches like the glittery JS logo and the ribbon charm! 
The whole bag is really a great quality item incl. the materials and finishing.

The Treatment Base UV from Sana comes in a really sweet pink squeeze tube and is tinted in a light pink shade. The Natural Resource base is made for even the most sensitive skin-types as it´s free of additives, alcohol, parabens, mineral oil, artifical colorants and ultraviolet absorber (do they mean chemical sunscreen?). See how well my dear friend knows me =D Sensitive skin all around lol!

It´s non-comedogenic and contains 6 botanical extract. 
Contains "luxury rose water" to give the base a subtle rose aroma (which I personally can´t detect, to me this is pretty unscented), squalane (I suppose the one from olives), silk sericin and bran ceramides.

It´s a lightweight base with a pink tint making my skin look bright and evened out. The base feels very light and comfortable and doesn´t give a slick or moist feel, rather a good silky matte base for makeup to cling to, soft with a very light stickiness to it. I can´t see shimmer in the base and I wore it the whole day today and it kept my makeup in place beautifully. So far I didn´t experience any kind of irritation and will update if that should happen later on. 

So far I really like this base as it feels comfortable, makes my skin silky and evens out my skin tone nicely. And it does what a base is supposed to do: Keep my makeup in place =)

Rating: 5/5

Thanks so much to my dear Iris for sending this to me! *smooooch* =D
You can read more about the Natural Resource line here (Iris provided me the link) =D

Jill Stuart makeup bag & mirror

I decided to indulge myself with a new cosmetics bag before I go to Egypt. I certainly don´t have a lack of makeup bags, many cute ones from Etsy and GWP ones from Japanese brands but this Jill Stuart bag and mirror set I found on eBay was just so sweet so I got this one.


The makeup bag is nicely sized as it holds all items I need for doing my complete makeup incl. several pieces of eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks so for a trip it´s really perfect.
It has a divider and compartments for eyeliners and brushes.
Also included is a larger pocket mirror which can flip over to stand on a flat surface.


The material is easy to clean and the soft pink color and grey/pink ornaments are very feminine and sweet!


I am sure this is some GWP item but I didn´t mind paying for it anyway as it´s really pretty.

Xmas 2009: Jill Stuart Sweetness Collection 2009

Ok ok...I caved! I had made up my mind 100% that I would NOT need the JS Xmas coffret this year! I got all the previous kits, partly at super duper overpriced rates (the very first however was kindly picked up by my friend Iris from Rouge Deluxe and her fabulous mom!).


My strength started to weaken quickly though so I gave in and the kit was mine and delivered within a week after it was released in Hong Kong.
The retail price of this is 7875 Yen (approx. US$89 at the current exchange rate) which is not that much considering how much cute stuff you get in this kit.
I got mine from Bobodave for about US$93 & shipping which is not too bad I think. Facial-Shop had it for US$99.90 but the 5 sets instantly sold out.


Generally getting hold of the JS Xmas collections is very hard, in Japan it's a craze with sets sold out within some hours after the release.

The Sweetness Collection 2009 consists of:
-Mix Face Powder Compact in 101 Marshmallow Puffy (8g)
-Jelly Eye Color N in 103 Snow Parfait (6g)
-Jelly Lip Gloss in 101 Sugar Kiss (9g)
-Nail Lacquer N in 106 Romantic Macaron (6ml)
-Emery Board
-Face Brush
-Nail Art Stickers & greeting card (the back of the nail art stickers)
-Pouch


All comes presented in a pretty pink box, however mine arrived a bit smashed.

The pouch the other things come in is really gorgeous. It's very frilly and a bit too much honestly...but it's cute!
If you like lace, satin and frills then this is perfect for you =D
It looks really like a cream cake!


-Mix Face Powder Compact:
This is certainly the star product of the kit. This comes in a compact similar to the Mix Blushes. Instead of an attached charm there is a cute ribbon dangling from the case. Also there is a lace print around the center part.


The Mix Face Powder is consisting of 4 pastel colors (white, pink, peach and lavender) covered with a white powder lace dusting. This will wipe off instantly though!


I think it's mainly meant as a highlighter however I can wear it as a regular face powder, too. It really makes my skin look smooth and even with a very light shimmer (the shimmer bits in the powder are very small). The texture is silky and smooth and I'd definitely say this is a great quality product. I am afraid of using it too much as I don't want to hit pan on this lol!


The included brush is very soft and makes a nice addition to the powder.

-Jelly Eye Color N:
I have a love/hate relationship with the Jelly Eye Colors (N). Either they are really pretty or they are rather useless aka too sheer and glittery. Unfortunately the Snow Parfait color falls in the latter category. It's nearly clear but just leaves glittes which is just not a look I like.


When used as a base it just makes my eyeshadow more glittery which I like neither.

-Jelly Lip Gloss:
This is a pretty clear pink shimmer gloss. I love the texture of the Jelly Lip Glosses, they are one of the few squeeze-tube glosses I like as they have such a smooth nice texture.


The color is not outstanding, it's a nearly clear base with a pinkish tint infused with tons of fine silver and pink shimmer.

-Nail Lacquer N:
Jill Stuart makes great nailpolishes in my opinion. They always have a very pretty glossy finish and are rather long lasting on me (nothing really lasts that long on me anyway).\


The color 106 is a pretty creamy white color with a pink iridescence.

The emery board and nail stickers are cute, too!


All in all the collection is nice and I like it, especially the powder. I would have preferred another eye color but I am sure it would please a lot of ladies.