Xmas 2008: Shu Uemura x Mika Portable Brush Set

Lol, yea! I am indeed typing this post as of April 23rd 2010! And the item I am reviewing is an Xmas item from 1 1/2 years ago! =P


Recently I found several Shu Uemura x Mika items popping up on eBay. Probably there was some warehouse sale going on in Hong Kong or something lol.
The Shu x Mika collection was my favorite collection from Shu Uemura in the previous years.

I admit I also scored the Shu x Mika Gerbera lipgloss set as I just loved the cute pouch that came with the glosses and I won the auction for US$15 whereas the retail was more than double that. I was afraid the lippies might be off but they turned out to be perfectly fresh and fine. I might do a review later...let´s see =)


Anyways, makeup brushes stay fresh and I already fell in love with the Portable Brush Set when I saw pics 1 1/2 years ago but it was just too pricey for me (retail US$85 plus shipping) so I just admired it instead of splurging.

I scored this on eBay for US$38 (& shipping) so I am a seriously happy girl now! I saw a few more of these on eBay but not sure if there are right now.


The Portable Brush Set comes in a gorgeous bright cherry red pouch with the stunning rose print inside. I just love it!
The brushes have pretty red handles to match the set. They are all travel-sized and "remain uncut at the tip for the finest touch" and all are really soft brushes.
There are 4 short-handled brushes: face brush (27 brush - Goat), cheek brush (17 - Pony & Squirrel), eyeshadow brush (10 - Sable & Kolinsky) and lip/eyeliner brush (6M - Sable).

The face brush is honestly a bit too small to be useful for powder application but it makes an excellent blush brush. The bristles are extremely soft and give a pretty even lightweight look to the blush.

The cheek brush is a decent highlighter brush and feels a bit denser than the face brush. It´s somehow very tiny thus not really my first choice for blushes. This is my least fave brush out of the set.

The star of the set is the eyeshadow brush for me. When I saw it I thought it´d be only good for cream shadows or as a brush for applying a wash of shadow but it´s actually a perfect brush to pat on any color on my lids and blending it in the crease as the application is absolutely even, the brush packs on pigment really well and distributes any of my powder shadows perfectly. Right now this is my favorite eyeshadow for lid application and I am considering getting the full-sized one, too!

I first was a bit disappointed that there is a lip brush in the set but was happy to see they also recommend it for eye-lining. I always feel annoyed that nearly each brush set comes with a lip brush as I almost never use lip brushes at all.
This lip/eyeliner brush in the set is a perfect brush for deep crease and outer eye definition. It´s softer than the Sasa brush I´ve bee using for the past 4 years or so and gives a more even application. It´s also great as an eyeliner brush for applying either cream or powder liners.


All in all I think the set is very nice and useful, not just for traveling! It´s not a complete set of brushes but a good start. I personally need eyebrow brushes, a skunk brush, a fan brush (to remove eyeshadow crumbles and tone down blush) and couple of wider eyeshadow brushes for applying a wash or highlighter in addition (the best softest wide brush I have was a GWP from Inoui ID!).


The set was so worth its price and I am happy to be the proud owner of it now! Seems sometimes it´s worth waiting a little =)

Xmas 2008: Paul & Joe Face Color & Lipstick Kit

Yup, right another Xmas review =P Now that Spring hit us here (25 deg Celsius! YAY!) it seems strange to review Christmas stuff but I got this lovely set a few weeks ago and think it's very worth reviewing. And you probably can find some of these kits in various online shops or on eBay...


I really loved the super cute kitty print of the Paul & Joe Xmas collection but wasn't sure if I needed to pick up one of the 2 kits available especially since both looked super bright and neon-like (especially the lipstick)... but I got really attracted to the kit in 001 after reading positive reviews (confirming the 2 items are sheer and very wearable) and soft pinks always work for me (002 comes in orange/peach).

The Face Color & Lipstick Kit contains:


-Adorable kitty print pouch
-Lipstick G 001
-Face Color M 001


The pouch is made of a shiny satin material with the cutest kitty print and a magnetic button to close.
It's not very big but roomy enough to take your essentials along.
The inner lining is hot pink. Very pretty!


The lipstick looks like a super bright hot pink but it applies as a super sheer soft pink. It feels creamy and moisturizing and leaves a slightly glossy shine. It's more like a tinted lipbalm. I really like this! It's a no-fuzz color!


The blusher is a pretty mix of pinks and white in a swirly design. It looks way brighter on the promo pics though!
It gives a soft shimmery pink sheen to my cheeks and works perfectly with the lipstick.


All in all a pretty set with colors suitable all year round.

I got mine from Bobodave. It was quite pricey at somewhere around US$65 but I think it was worth it. I think this costs quite a bit less in the US though!

Xmas 2008: Sonia Rykiel Pink Kiss Collection

Yup, you're reading this correctly... I am indeed reviewing some stuff from past Xmas (wow, that was already 3 months back!). =D


I know it's probably too late to get hold of that Sonia Rykiel stuff now but I thought I'll review it anyway in case you stumble across some items online (eBay or wherever). After all I purchased my items not more than 2-3 weeks ago (from eBay). All items were a total steal considering their retail price. I paid less than US$30 (incl. shipping) for all 3 Holiday items!
Sonia Rykiel is a very costly brand that has so far mostly disappointed me. Away from a few items most of the stuff turned out to be just not worth the high price tags so I quit buying anything at retail price.


Anyways, the Pink Kiss collection they released for the past Xmas was small but cute and what I liked most is the replacement of their usual stripe design with cute metallic raspberry pink compacts/tubes.

The items I won are:
-Creamy Eyecolor in 01 (white)
-Lip Color in 01
-Face Powder

The names aren't really fancy or witty in any way.... honestly that bugs me a little as I love cute names =D

-Creamy Eyecolor 01:


This is a shimmery liquid shadow which comes in 2 colors. I got #01 (white) but there is also a pale green (02) available.

The texture is silky and creamy. The liquid dries down rather quick so you need to apply/blend right away. That's not so much of a problem since the color is white so you won't do a lot of shading etc. with this color :P


For me this is a great highlighter for the brow bone area as it's a glistening pretty white but a very translucent hue so skin shows through.


It's really pretty, lasts all day long and wears well.

The Water Eyecolor Duos (formula is pretty similar to the Creamy Eyecolor) are an item I liked from Sonia Rykiel back in 2007 when they came out with cute duos for summer.
I have sweet memories wearing the turquoise/golden duo as it was my last EOTD (20th June) before my youngest child was born (21st of June) =D

-Lip Color 01:


ACtually I am surprised that I really love this item even though at first I thought it would be my least fave product of the lot. I normally dislike any sort of lipcolor in pots/palettes etc. so I wasn't having high hopes of ever using this but it came together with the eyecolor and after all both items cost me about US$11 & shipping.


This looks a little like children makeup but turns out to be a really lush lipcolor.

The little jar is filled with a medium pigmented glossy lipcolor in the center which looks like a lips shape (this goes through all down to the bottom).
Around the lips there is a clear gloss with glitters throughout.


I expected the gloss to be super soft and sticky but it's not at all. It's rather creamy and moisturizing with buildable pigment in the color. A few swipes of this give me that perfect red pink stain that looks like I just ate raspberries. I added a little more color and dabbed on a little of the clear gloss and the result is really pretty.


I find this lasts quite well. I think I didn't touch up for like 2-3 hours and that's quite long when it comes to lip products.

-Face Powder:


This is definitely the star of the collection. It's a very pretty face highlighter consisting of a pink lip-shaped super shimmery part surrounded by white powder with a finer shimmer.


This is a rather loosely pressed powder so there is lots of fly-away. The powder gives a pretty shimmery highlight with a few micro-glitters spread on my face.
Honestly not my most favorite finish for a highlighter but it's still pretty.


I wouldn't have paid the retail price which was above US$50 I believe but it's nice to add this to my stash. After all I paid only about US$11 plus shipping =D

Xmas 2008: Laneige The Snow Eye Palette #1 and Shimmer Brighter

Today I'll review the last bunch of Xmas stuff.
Poo, I'm done with Xmas, I am so ready for Spring makeup! (and already indulged in some!)


Anyways, the Laneige stuff was the last I got as I waited for Etude House to list their new Smile collection on Gmarket before I ordered the Laneige. (To my shock I discovered that now there is no Etude House shop on Gmarket anymore! I hope they'll relist soon!)

I ordered the face highlighter called "The Snow Shimmer Brighter" and the "The Snow Eye Palette" in #1 as #2 (pink/wine) looked totally unflattering for me.

First off, the compacts are adorable! They're made of a matte black plastic adorned with black velvet snowflakes. Very pretty!
The compacts are a bit bulkier as the blush brush/eyeshadow applicators are below the actual powders in a small compartment.

-The Snow Eye Palette #1:


Honestly this is such a disappointment! The colors are just really ugly and don't work well together. The texture is horribly crumbly and rough in the 2 lighter shades and the darkest shade is very sheer and requires quite some layering.
This contains a dark navy (I hate these kind of blues, they look like s*it on me), a yellow gold and white.


Judging from the pics I thought the darkest shade is a dark gray =(
The snowflake arrangement of the shadows is so cute but inconvenient in my opinion.


I paid about US$21 for this on Gmarket (27300 Won). It's not worth it in my opinion.
Last year's Laneige Xmas palette was a hit though! 9 beautiful metallic/shimmery colors to play with!
Here are pics (click here and here)

-The Snow Shimmer Brighter:


This item is way better and prettier than the Eye Palette. The Shimmer Brighter features pastel colored snowflakes on a white background. All colors blend to a beautiful soft glowy sheer white highlighter.


The texture is soft and silky and there is no crumbling.


The shimmer pieces are very small so you will not get a disco-ball effect.
I paid 30300 Won (about US$23)

Banila Co Winter 2008: Love Holic Palette Shadow

Banila Co is really amazing me with their gorgeous releases for the previous months!
First they scored a real winner with their taupe and neutral brown based De La Couture collection then they put out the fantastic The Secret Glam collection and now they're bringing us the Love Holic Collection which features among other items the third 6-pan Palette Shadow.


All 3 collections are listed as "Winter 2008" looks. Wow, what a load of new stuff!

The Love Holic collection features soft pastels, pinks and purples to create a soft feminine look.
I have to say the Love Holic is probably the least alluring collection as most of the items aren't really for me.


The Love Holic items are: 2 new Two Eyes Shadow duos (gold/silver and warm pink brown/light pink), 3 loose eyeshadows in pink, white and silver, a pearl mascara (I think I will get this as it has a comb applicator!), clear mascara, silver liquid eyeliner, 2 blushes, 3 glosses and 2 lipsticks.

However the star of the collection is definitely the Palette Shadow in F03 Love Holic.


The case is a sturdy red metal case with Love Holic written all over it.
The shadows in the palette are pigmented and silky with a pretty shimmery/pearly finish.
However there are 4 pastels in the palette and unfortunately they all look quite alike so out of the 3 palettes this is the least versatile in my opinion. I can't do pastels around my eyes as that totally washes me out and I just look weird and tired.

However the 2 purples in the palette are very pretty and can be combined with either of the highlighters.

The colors are:


cool blue-toned purple (which is very unique in my collection. I am quite sure I have no other color like this), white, pale pink (almost white), satin lavender (less shimmery and less pigmented than the other colors), light cream and purpley pink (this has more of a metallic finish and is one of the few pinks I can actually wear on my lids without looking ill).


I paid US$25, about the same I paid for the other palettes. The retail price is 22000 Won (about US$17 right now). I got this from seller rumistyle on eBay (but the palette was a special request as it's not listed in the store).

I hope Banila Co will continue releasing those beautiful handy palettes! They come up with really pretty color combos so I am looking forward to their next releases!

Xmas 2008: Majolica Majorca Majolook Illuminator palettes in BR788 & BR799

I am nearly done with my Xmas reviews (just waiting for the Laneige stuff from Gmarket...Xmas post is getting slow finally).
Today it's time to review the Majolica Majorca palettes I received a few days ago from my friend Iris.


I wasn't really impressed with MM's Xmas collection 2008 as I have no use for glitter powder or brown mascara but the Majolooks looked nice enough to add them to my collection.

I have to say I don't really understand why they released the older style Majolook Illuminator palettes instead of the newer Trick On Eyes. I pretty much prefer the Trick On Eyes as it consists of 4 powder shades (whereas the older palettes have that stupid cream shade) and has a smoother texture than the Illuminator palettes.


Anyways, I think the new Xmas palettes are quite nice, they have a smooth rather pigmented texture and pretty shimmery finish. I consider these to be trios as I find the cream base shade rather useless.


They come in the same cute little Majolook compacts like the other palettes.

There are 2 colors for Xmas:

BR788:


This is a warmer brown palette consisting of light gold, warm medium golden brown and a bit darker golden brown.


The palette is a bit on the warmer side so it's harder for me to pull this off. But if I use the light gold on my lids and the darker browns to shade my crease and eye socket the result is very pretty!

BR799:


Naturally this is my fave palette as it offers cool colors. The colors are a light champagne, metallic taupe and dark neutral brown. I really love this palette as it is very flattering for my coloring.


If you want this palette then be sure to enter my Birthday Giveaway!

The Majolooks retail for 1470 Yen. Adambeauty lists them for US$17 incl. shipping (+US$2 registered fee/package no matter how much you order)