Banila Co Summer 2008: Sun Blessed Face Blusher

I am not that impressed with Banila Co's summer collection entitled Sun Blessed. It contains some nail colors and 2 unwearable (for me at least) lipsticks (super pale and a bright orange) and some bronzing stuff for body and face.

However the zebra-striped Sun Blessed Face Blusher looked quite promising so it ended up on my last Korean shopping list.


This comes in a relatively unexciting plastic case in clear and gold. The powder has 2 colors (light pink and medium brown) arranged as zebra stripes. When you use it you just swirl your brush across the powder and get a pretty soft tan color that's not overly orange.

I like the bronzer because it's quite subtle and only very slightly shimmery and can be layered for more intensity. However I am not a big bronzer person as I love being pale so I will not use this that often except as a blush.

What I don't like is that this produces a lot of loose powder when you swipe the brush across it. So some product is wasted as you just have to tap it off.
The Sun Blessed Face Blusher has a light perfume to it, the typical Banila Co scent. It doesn't bother me but I'd have preferred no fragrance.


This is rather pricey at 18000 Won (US$19) so if you have to pay jacked-up online prices I'd rather say you can skip this. I think I paid somewhere around US$25 which is a tad too much for this product.

All in all it's a pretty decent bronzer or pinkish tan blush but the ugly compact and high price-tag are a bit of a turn-off.

Sonia Rykiel Rayures Rykiel N Striped Eyeshadow: I am NOT impressed

I normally steer clear of Sonia Rykiel makeup. I tried many items and most of them failed. I don't like the eyeshadows, blush, cream liners, jelly eyeshadows and lipglosses (and maybe some more items that don't come to my mind right now).
The items I like are the lipsticks and cream shadow duos but away from those the overall line quality is just mediocre considering the high pricetags.


And yet again I ended up with one of the new Rayures Rykiel N Striped Eyeshadow in 02... I just couldn't resist when I saw it offered for US$19.99 shipped and the color combination looked so pretty.

The striped shadow trio is tiny, just the size of a SR eyeshadow single. The individual stripes are wide enough to pick up the colors easily with a normal brush so you won't suffer like with Kate's Deep Eyes N =X

The shadows are a bit rough and sheer.
The pale yellow and white colors are a bit sparklier and sheer whereas the teal color (it looks more teal when applied than aqua like in the pan) has decent color pay-off and a satiny finish. My problem is that the shadows get dull and fade and the teal color gets messy and turns more green after some time wearing it. I always use a good primer and don't encounter this problem with other shadows so I blame it on the SR trio.


It's not the worst shadow trio and maybe I can make it work better.
I wouldn't have put it in my "I am not impressed"-category if it were a cheap brand but for the price it sells it has to perform well as it's a high-end brand. But again this product is just mediocre!

Sofina Aube Summer 2008 collection

Aube releases fancy 2-in-1 products every year like their Mousse & Accent Eyes 2 years ago (cream shadows & eye pencils in 1 compact), Loose & Line Eyes last year (liquid liner and loose powder shadow in 1 stick) so this year they came up with Gel & Shine Eyes (gel shadow and loose powder in 1).


And every time the line-up consists basically of the same 6 pastel colors with slight variations.


Gel & Shine Eyes:


I initially had decided to skip the Gel & Shine Eyes but again got suckered in by the convenient easy look they promise.


Each pot comes with a gel shadow (it's really a soft gel texture) and a loose powder in the top of the cover (closed with a little ball in the signature metallic Aube color). The gel spreads nicely but there is a significant lack of pigment. I can barely tell there is color on my lids. The main problem I have with the gel shadow is that it creases like mad. It takes some minutes to dry after application so the eyes should stay closed. After that it will still crease so there is no color in my lid creases at all (as there is no pigment that might be not sooo obvious though) =(
The loose powder is alright, it's a glittery almost white color that works as a highlighter.
Overall I have to admit the Gel & Shine Eyes are a disappointment away from the golden color which looks really pretty and simple but still creases.
03 Purple: Light gray-toned purple gel & white loose powder


04 Gold: Light golden gel & very pale gold loose powder


05 Green: Light fresh green & very pale green loose powder


Dual Color Eyeliner:


Each liner comes with 2 colors matching with the Gel & Shine Eyes. I picked the 3 liners that go with my Gel & Shine Eyes to get the complete look.


The pencils are quite soft and easy to use. I find the lighter/brightening shimmery colors quite intense so they make pretty liners for the lower eyelids.


23: Dark purple/light purple (the dark side could have used more pigment honestly)
24: Warm brown and gold.
25: Dark green and light green.

Coil Comb Mascara:
This is a nice mascara with a comb-like applicator. It's not the most perfect mascara out there (like my MM Lash Enamel Glamour Neo) but it's pretty nice.
I got the black one



The items retail for 2940 Yen (mascara), 2625 Yen (eyeshadows) and 2100 Yen (liners).

All in all Aube has failed again like most of their items do in my opinion, maybe away from the lipsticks.

Etude House Summer 2008: Aqua Sherbet Cool Party

I couldn't resist picking up the entire new Aqua Sherbet skincare line from Etude House as it promises to be cooling and light which sounds perfect for the hot summer days here.

Now my skin is sensitive and I was a bit worried if it can pull off the ingredients like pink grapefruit but so far so good.

The other main ingredient is Alaska Glacial Water (the Etude website even shows an authenticity certificate lol) which supposedly is rich in minerals so even better for your skin.

While I have to say the skincare line is nice I still prefer my Moistfull and Calming Mild stuff over this as the Aqua Sherbet items are not rich enough and a bit harsh for my skin type.




I have also spotted 4 other new products that are not listed on the main page as part of the summer collection but seem to be out just now for summer:
Flash Light Base (I know this is Limited Edition), Glittering Duo, Speedy Total Mineral Base and a new waterproof mascara.

First on to the skin care. There are 5 items total:

-Ice Toner:
This comes in a spray can and has to be shaken before usage. You spray this on a cotton pad and when you apply it to your skin you really think ice is touching it. It's really cold and refreshing. It's quite harsh and stripping the skin of oils so I only pat this lightly on my T-Zone.


-Aqua Sherbet Toner:
A regular toner with a slightly cooling feeling. I am sure this contains quite some alcohol so I rather use this sparingly, too.
Comes in a heavy 150ml glass bottle.


-Aqua Sherbet Lotion:
A light moisturizer with a slightly cooling feeling.
Comes in a heavy 150ml glass bottle.


-Aqua Sherbet Serum:
Very light emulsion. I don't feel this is doing a lot in the point of moisturizing etc. I think the Lotion and the Gel Cream alone are enough.


-Aqua Sherbet Gel Cream:
Light moisture gel with a slightly cooling feeling. Makes my skin smooth but I still apply a bit of my Moistfull Jelly Essence on top.
Comes in a glass jar (I think 50ml?)


All items have a light refreshing grapefruit-y scent (especially the ice-toner).

I paid just a few bucks over retail on each item. The retail is somewhere between 8000-12000 Won ($8-12) in South Korea so it's quite cheap.

The makeup items are

-Flash Light Base:
This comes in 2 colors: white and gold. I would normally have picked the white one but the very pale iridescent gold looked more interesting so I went for this instead. I am happy I did! This is a gorgeous light gold with pink iridescence that makes a great highlighter to give a dewy glow. This is a base but I would use this rather on top of makeup than below.
This comes in a big brush you just have to twist to dispense the lightweight cream.
Retail 10000 Won

-Glittering Duo:
This comes in 3 colors. The featured Sherbet Party look shows the blue duo. Glittering duo contains a shimmery eyeliner pencil on one side and a glittery liquid liner in the matching color on the other side. The base of the glitter liner is clear so you just see the colored glitters. The pencil is quite soft and applies smoothly.
I picked the silver/gray duo. (There is also a pink version available)
Retail 8000 Won


-Speedy Total Mineral Base SPF41 PA++:
This comes in 2 colors. I picked the lighter one #01. This is supposed to be a makeup base, foundation and sunblock in 1. It's not a BB cream but supposedly nourishes with minerals (seems minerals are the big hit now...see also above in the Sherbet line). The coverage of this is quite sheer but color #01 is a good match for very pale individuals like me. I like the high SPF but still most of the BB creams I have perform better (more coverage, skin feels softer)
Retail 11000 Won


I haven't gotten the new mascara so can't comment on this one.

Coffret D'or Summer 2008: Trance Deep Eyes in 03, 04 and 05

I wasn't too thrilled with the first batch of eyeshadow quads (3D Lighting Eyes) Kanebo's newest line Coffret D'or released for their debut in Spring 2008.

When I saw their newest summer quads, called Trance Deep Eyes online I was right away attracted to 4 of the 5 palettes and finally ended up ordering 3 as soon as I saw them for sale (and will get 01 Rose Variation soon, too!)


I have to say that Trance Deep Eyes are even a lot prettier in real life than on pics online and they have a great smooth pigmented texture. All colors show up nicely with beautiful intense shimmer, some colors even have a metallic look to them.

Each palette comes with 2 lighter and 2 darker colors. The shade on the bottom left is a bit more glittery compared to the other shades and the liner shade on the bottom right is the least shimmery color in the quad.

The colors I picked are:

-03 Khaki Variation: Cream, light beige, medium green and darker green


-04 Gray Variation: White, silver, medium cool-toned purple and dark silver gray.


-05 Beige Variation: This is a great neutral quad! Cream, peachy beige, medium taupe-beige and darker taupe brown.


The only thing that bugs me a little is the smell of the shadows. They have this typical cheap eyeshadow smell you might know from $1 eyeshadows and which I haven't really noticed a lot in other Japanese eyeshadows. Maybe today I am hyper-sensitive to smells but I just wanted to mention that I noticed this today.

Trance Deep Eyes come in the same smooth silver rhinestone-encrusted cases like 3D Lighting Eyes and cost 3650 Yen for 5.2 grams of product.

Here's the diagram how to apply the shadows from the back of the box:

I swiped only 1 layer of shadow for the swatches and they're a bit more vibrant and pigmented in real life.

Jill Stuart Summer 2008: Seductive Eyes quad in 05 Gemmy Diva

I actually thought of passing this palette up but finally gave in and ordered it.
I am quite a fan of Jill Stuart's Seductive Eyes range but they are quite repetitive with a pink/purple and dark brown, taupe or gray shade in every single palette (I love those kind of combinations but honestly wouldn't have needed to get 4 similar palettes =X Call me a sucker for JS!).
Why can't the guys just come up with a jewel toned green palette or other exciting color combos?


Anyways, here is my newest addition to the collection: Seductive Eyes in 05 Gemmy Diva which is an LE release for Summer 2008.
Last year's summer baby was Brilliance Eyes in 05 Mauve Pearl which is a more exciting and fresh mix of white, blue, fig and black.

Still the Diva quad is a pretty combination of beige (the glitter shade on the very left), a satin yellow cream and the obligatory purply-pink and dark charcoal colors.

JS palettes retail for 5250 Yen for 4.4 grams of eyeshadow in the most gorgeous palette cases.

If you already have 1 or 2 of the Seductive Eyes quads you can safely skip this but it's a pretty quad nonetheless and since it's Limited Edition it's even more alluring.

Here are pics of the other palettes and click here for my review.

01 Seductive Doll:



03 Twinkle Venus and 04 Sensual Fairy:

Beaute de Kose Summer 2008: Multi-Reflection Colors Eye & Cheek Color palette

I apologize for not posting for almost a week now but I have been extremely busy with arranging my kids rooms. It was a very tiresome and boring work but now I am back :)

While browsing ichibankao.com I spotted Beaute de Kose's new summer collection consisting of 2 Liquid Eyeliner Fantasist, 2 Rouge Fantasist lip glosses and 2 pretty Limited Edition palettes called Multi-Reflection Colors Eye & Cheek Color. One color, 001 Strawberry Ice, immediately caught my eye and I ordered it.


I am not a huge fan of Beaute de Kose in general but I have some items I like and I really was attracted to the pretty silver faux-leather and rhinestone compact so I couldn't pass this palette up.

All 4 colors have a very pretty pearl shimmer and are on the pastel side but still are pigmented enough to show the actual color you see in the pan (don't you hate when different pastels turn up white in the end?). The texture is very soft and a bit powdery so the brush picks up lots of color easily. The colors are: white, light lilac-y pink, strawberry ice-cream pink (the most pigmented color) and a pinkish light beige taupe.


I am sure I can create a pretty fresh summer look on both eyes and cheeks with the little cute palette.

This comes with a small blush brush in the mirrored compact which safely snaps close with a strong magnet.

The little attached chain looks very pretty and was one of the reasons why I ordered this (yes, I AM a sucker for cutesy packaging!)

The other color quad available is 002 Peach Frost which is a warmer combination of white, beige, apricot and brown.

Retails for 4500 Yen for 4.7g of product.