Finally back to blogging! I missed it so much!
Anyways, Coffret D'or released new eyeshadow palettes for Summer 2009 and I picked up one of them to see how I'd like the new range! =D
The new Color Mixing Eyes palette contains 4 colors, 2 of them being the nuance colors, 1 highlighter and the liner shade (all powders, no creams!).
I believe the 2 nuance colors on top might be baked, they feel/look so and they have this gorgeous soft metallic finish I am used to from baked shadows. However I cannot confirm this, maybe they're just pressed! They're sheerer and a bit rougher than I am used to from Coffret D'or but they have a beautiful finish with a little sparkle (not glitter!) I really love!
The highlighter shade has a super fine shimmer, which gives a soft shine to your skin (a nice contrast to the metallics). The liner shade is very pigmented and nearly matte (some scattered shimmers sprayed on top but the color itself doesn't really shimmer.
I find the staying power of these shadows good, I experienced no creasing/fading throughout the day.
The case this comes in is the same as the other ones (smooth silver with pink rhinestones), I wish they'd come up with another design at some point (just like with T'estimo, where they used to change the look of the palettes with every new release).
I got color #05 Beige x Black which contains a light cream, golden beige, off-white and black.
Retails is over US$35 (might pop up for a bit less on adambeauty.com soon!) so this is a rather pricey palette. I think it's a nice basic palette, very wearable and easy to use.
There are 4 other colors, I am still eying the lavender/purple one =)
I got this from ichibankao.com.
I've generally become more fond of Beaute de Kose in the past few years. Last year's Multi Reflection Colors Eye & Cheek Palette is truly a lovely product and the Xmas Fantasist Collection Makeup Coffret was a great value-for-money kit! I knew that they came out with new Eye Fantasists but somehow it slipped me that there was going to be a summer coffret!
When I saw the kit on Ichibankao I instantly snatched it up!
Presented in a beautiful shiny aqua blue box wrapped in aqua paper you get:
-Eye Fantasist in SP062 Double Shine & BL953 Crystal Marine (full size, 7g/each)
-Rouge Fantasist Aqua Vinyl BE388 Misty Coral (small size, 3g)
-Loose Powder Face Powder SPF15 PA++, 6g
-Glitter Gel SPF22 PA+, 25g
Eye Fantasist:
You get 2 of Beaute de Kose's super popular Eye Fantasists, I believe both are Limited Edition just for summer. They apply smoothly, blend well and don't get blotchy even when you apply 2 or 3 layers. Like most BdK's products these are scented (a soft fruity scent). Once these are dry they stay on without fading and creasing on me.
BL953 Crystal Marine is a super pale aquamarine color with fine glitter bits. It's very sheer so it just leaves a wash of color.
SP062 Double Shine is a very special and unique color. It's a metallic duochrome with added fine sparkles;
it flashes olive green or plum, depending on the angle the light hits.
The good thing is that this is really pigmented, so 2 layers give me an opaque finish so the duochrome effect comes out so well! It's similar to Shiseido's Hydropowder in Spring Plum but I think the BdK has more green and less reddish plum so it works much much better for me.
Since the Crystal Marine shade is so sheer it works nicely with the Double Shine color. If the Crystal Marine would be more pigmented I think the colors would clash quite a bit!
I thought this time I'll show you how the Eye Fantasist shades look like on skin that's much more tan than mine =P
My 7 year old daughter volunteered so you can see the colors on her hand. You see that the crystal marine looks much more silver on her hand whereas on my skin you can spot the light aquamarine tones better. Double Shine shows up much more green on her while the plum tones are more visible on my skin. =D
I don't know what's her skin color in MAC, but I'd guess at least NC30? (she's half Egyptian after all lol)
Rouge Fantasist Aqua Vinyl:
As always the texture is excellent, it's a smooth non-sticky and very glossy lip color with a beautiful sheer finish.
BE388 Misty Coral is a beautiful neutral peachy beige shade with fine shimmer bits. As you can see it shows up well on my skin but rather blends into my daughter's more tan color.
Loose Powder Face Powder SPF15 PA++:
This is a finely milled shimmery loose powder in a translucent shade.
It offers a bit sun protection but due to the shimmers I find it a bit more suitable for evening wear and/or as a highlighter during the day. I'd not use one my whole face as I'd be afraid that I'd look like a disco-ball in bright sunlight.
Glitter Gel SPF22 PA+:
This is a very pretty shimmer gel (the name is misleading, I cannot spot glitter, just fine shimmer). It's a pale pinkish color but it's very sheer so anyone could wear it as a highlighter, I imagine this would be especially pretty on your shoulders, arms and legs.
All in all the Fantasist Collection S Makeup Coffret is a great summer collection and you get 5 wearable and well-coordinated items to play with. At the price of 5250 Yen (Japanese retail) you get a great deal as the Eye Fantasists alone retail for that price so you basically get the lipgloss, powder and highlighter gel for free.
The powder, glitter gel and lipgloss feature pale plue packaging with a pretty swirly design wheras the caps of the 2 cream shadows are a pale blue metallic shade unlike the regular silver one.
I haven't been buying much makeup lately, mainly because there were no interesting new releases. I think this year's summer collections have quite some failures like Maquillage (cream palettes! )=) and Lunasol (don't like the eyeshadow colors they released!)
A few items caught my interest though so I ordered:
-Beaute de Kose Makeup Coffret (you know, I had no idea that they were releasing a summer coffret! I think that's a cool idea! Normally you get such collections only for Xmas!)
-Jill Stuart Illuminance Eyes in 07 Layered Gem. I am honestly not sure yet if I really like this!
-Coffret D'or Color Mixing Eyes in 05
-Integrate Impact Double Liner in #10 (Black x Silver)
-Maquillage Glossy Nail Color in GR654
Thorough reviews will follow soon!
