Xmas/Birthday GIVEAWAY =D

Now is December which means Xmas (and my 30th B-day on 23rd) are approaching!

To celebrate these events I am giving away the following products to 1 lucky reader! I know it would be nicer to split the giveaway but since shipping is really outrageous all will go to one person! Thanks for understanding =)

How to enter:
-Only open to followers via blogger (so please make sure you follow me on blogger, not only via RSS)! Make sure that by your nickname or name I can clearly identify you!  And yes, I upon picking the winner I do check if the person is following me, otherwise another winner will be selected (happened a few times in the previous giveaways!)
-Open worldwide!
-Please leave a comment to this post. Only 1 comment per person can be accepted, sorry!
-Giveaway open until Sunday, December 19th 2010, 8 PM (my time, GMT +1)
-Winner will be randomly chosen by random.org and announced here by Monday, 20th of December 2010. Please make sure to email me to claim your prize within 3 days after winner is announced or new winner will be drawn. Or leave your email address in your comment entry so I can contact you!
-I will ship via economy airmail, which takes between 1-4 weeks, depending on the destination. 

And this is the prize:

Some cute Japanese stationery first:

-San-X Rabby´s Happy Diary memo pad, contains 154 sheets in 7 super cute designs. The first 10 pages are a colorful kind of semi-transparent tracing paper. This is a regular-sized memo pad, none of those tiny minis and is of course unused. I have the same one and really love it!

-A sticker sheet from Qlia, very girly stuff =)

-Iwako eraser in a strawberry cream cake shape

-Alice in Wonderland pencil (B) with some cute charms dangling from the top

And sure more Japanese (and 1 Korean) beauty products. Everything is brand new, unused and unopened!

-Esprique Precious Heart Graphical Mascara in black...love this mascara and you can win my back-up! =D

-Esprique Precious Toning Lotion (Mist Type), 60ml

-Innisfree Apple Juice Cleansing Oil, 150ml

-PDC Famy Hand Cream W, 50g

-Kiss Me Moist Lip HA&Collagen in Sakura Pink, 4.5g

-Tsubaki Head Spa Extra Cleansing with Tsubaki Oil Ex Shampoo, 100ml

-Kosé Salon Style Nano Charge Conditioner, 60ml 

-Kosé Cosmeport Quick Oil Off Sheet, 150 pieces

-Bison Funwarich Bath Powder in Vanilla, 30g (for 1 bath)

Hope you like the prizes and Good Luck! =)

Xmas 2010: Shiseido Integrate Crayon Eyes & True Shiny Gloss

While Integrate used to release those (for me) useless glitter cream/gloss palettes in the previous years for Xmas they decided to add a few new products to the current lineup.
There is one limited shade of their new Rainbow Grade Eyes but the warm yellow golds didn´t appeal to me. I picked up 2 of the new Crayon Eyes and 2 of the True Shiny Gloss lipglosses as my share of this year´s holiday collection from Integrate.

If you want to see all new products incl. color variations please check this post on Rouge Deluxe!

The older eye crayons from Integrate in pencil form were really popular when the brand was launched several years ago. I have some of these and quite like them for their pretty colors, nice pearly finish and good lasting power.
The new Crayon Eyes comes in automatic pencil refills and a holder which can take either 1 or 2 colors.

I got the holder and 2 refills to test this product out. I chose a deep and a lighter color but somehow the colors I got are mismatched so I won´t use them together =X

The overall design of the holder (and of the lipglosses I will review below) is a continuation of the Fall 2010 packaging which I personally like a lot.

Anyway, the texture of these crayons is creamy but not greasy and they glide on and spread easily. Both of the colors I got are pearly but with a little shimmer but they are not glittery.

Lasting power is good, the colors do fade and crease a little but for being creamy products they last quite well on me.

I actually like these better as a base than on their own, especially the lighter color.

BE315 looks more golden/yellow than on the swatch where it seemed to be a perfectly neutral pearly slightly pinkish cream shade. This makes a good base for neutral eyeshadow colors like browns but is a bit too yellow to be used as a highlighter (for me at least).

VI611 is a pretty plum shade with good color pay-off. 


Overall a solid product but not really impressive. There are 9 shades available.

Rating 3/5

The True Shiny Gloss lipglosses come in pretty tubes and are available in an array of 7 very neutral/light and natural shades (full-sized 7g each). There is no crazy bright or deep shade. I´d not have minded a deep cranberry but ok, I like the neutrals anyway =P

These new lipglossses have a creamy smooth texture with a soft glossy and slightly shimmery finish. They are quite pigmented for glosses so the colors show up well. Actually the formula reminds me more of a liquid lipstick or lip cream.


The slightly curved fuzzy spatula applicator applies the perfect amount, actually it´s one of the best applicators I have encountered till now.

Lasting power is quite decent, about 2 hours and the gloss won´t gunk up or accumulate on the outer corner of my lips.

The overall texture reminds me VERY much of the Perfect Gloss from Maquillage. The formula must be almost identical which means I love the new True Shiny Glosses!
 
Of course these are unscented but they do carry a slight plastic note, just like the ones from Maquillage. It´s not bothersome but might be detectable for more sensitive noses like mine =P

RD113: A light milky nude pinky peach shade
 
RS731: A beautiful mauve pink, very much a MLBB color

These glosses are fantastic and a great cheaper alternative to the Perfect Gloss lipcolors from Integrate´s bigger sister brand Maquillage.
Rating: 5/5

Rohto Suppin Rin Day Eye Bright Moist & Night Eye Cream

Rohto Japan might be more known for their eyedrops (Lycée e.g.) but they also produce other cosmetics, among them the new Suppin Rin eyecream range.

I believe the Suppin Rin range came out back in September and it features 2 products so far: The Day Eye Bright Moist and the Night Eye Cream.

Day Eye Bright Moist:
For 924 Yen (~US$12) you get a small tube containing 8g. Actually that´s a bit little for an eye cream, it´s about the same content as a lipgloss (and the tube with the rounded head looks like some lipbalm anyway).

I actually like the simple peachy beige tube with the cute Suppin Rin logo. 
The Day Eye Bright Moist is a lightweight tinted moisturizer for the eye area. It feels hydrating but not the least bit heavy or greasy. It brightens my eyes slightly but it´s not a concealer as it only gives a hint of color and a slight pearly sheen. The color is quite light so it will suit most skin-tones due to its sheer nature.

I like this stuff very much as it feels light but hydrating, gives a bit of brightness to my eyes and looks cute. Right now my favorite daily eye cream.
This is not scented and doesn´t irritate my eyes at all. I got mine from Adambeauty for US$12.50 incl. shipping (+ US$2 per order for the tracking number).

According to Rohto this should be applied with the rounded head and massage it in but I squeeze a bit onto my fingers and gently dab it on.

Rating 5/5 

Night Eye Cream:
Contrary to the Day Eye Bright Moist this comes in a fat pink squeeze tube and contains a generous 20g of the cream. It looks like an oversized lipbalm with its rounded head. Like the other product one is supposed to apply this straight from the tube but I prefer to use my fingers for this one, too.

The Night Eye Cream is a thicker silky balm which feels very moisturizing but not greasy...still I can feel my eye area is very soft in the morning when I wake up. 
My eye area looks smooth and the fine lines I started to notice look a bit blurred so I think this slightly plumps them up.

Retail price for this product is 924 Yen whereas I got mine for US$12.50 from Adambeauty. I believe this product contains shea butter, squalane and other good ingredients.

Rating 5/5

Overall both creams are great products and will especially suit younger ladies. I would definitely repurchase them.

Xmas 2010: Kosé Esprique Precious Twinkle Story Collection coffret review

I received the Xmas coffret from Esprique Precious last week so I had time to play with the goodies and formed my opinion. Overall: I don´t like it that much.

On to the individual reviews... 
The Twinkle Story Collection coffret is the 2nd Xmas kit I decided to pick up this year (first and absolute favorite being Lunasol). I am not counting the Paul &Joe coffrets now as they came out so early that they didn´t feel like Christmas releases to me and to me P&J somehow isn´t a proper Japanese brand as it´s available in so many other countries (yea, call me weird, I know it´s made in Japan!).

Overall I didn´t really pick up so much Xmas stuff this year, very little actually compared to the past years... but I very much like what Kanebo offers us (Lavshuca and Lunasol! Though I also picked up some goodies from Kate that were very lame) and I also purchased some goodies from Shiseido (the perfume from Majolica Majorca and a few products from Integrate). From Kosé I got this coffret and a blush from Esprique Precious though I believe the new Gradation Layer Cheeks palettes aren´t actually an Xmas release.


The Twinkle Story Collection contains:
-Multi-Prism Palette, 6.8g
-Multi-Prism Palette case
-Pencil Eyeliner in BK001, 1.2g
-Aurora Crystal Lip Gloss SP002, 4.4g 
-Nail Color N in SP010, 5ml

As you see the palette is considered full-sized but the other items are smaller sizes.
Everything comes packed in a pretty dark box with a big booklet attached to the back (it includes pics and application tips). I am not posting pics of the application tips as I you can find the English version on Rouge Deluxe here!

The Multi-Prism Palette case is very pretty, it´s black with silver and holographic stars, much like the milky way.

The palette itself comes in form of 2 refills, one is the pan with the highlighter/eye base cream and the other with the 4 powder colors. There are also 2 applicators for the face and eyes as the Multi-Prism Palette is to be used on eyes and face.

This palette has a silky texture but is very sheer and shimmery. To me actually it´s a bit too shimmery to use it as a blush as my cheeks just look way too glittery with this one.
For the eyes the colors aren´t nearly as pigmented as I like them so the darkest plum color turns into a dirty pink on my eyes. I wished the purple would show up more true to the pan as this shade isn´t a color I particularly like on my eyes.
The silver shade is very sheer and glittery, a bit more pigment and metallic goodness wouldn´t have hurt either.

I didn´t try the 2 pinks on my eyes, just on my cheeks for which they are too 
shimmery as mentioned above.
The shimmery cream base makes a nice primer and highlighter and the shimmer it contains is more refined than the one in the powder shades.

I actually was quite pleased with how my overall EOTD turned out but still not oustanding at all.

The Pencil Eyeliner is quite pleasant to use, after rubbing the tip a bit against the back of my hand it´s soft enough to use it on my lower lids and on the inner rims where it lasts quite well. The color is a black shade with fine silver shimmer but the shimmer isn´t really visible after application.

 

The Aurora Crystal Gloss is an excellent sticky and thick gloss with a mirror finish. It contains some fine flecks of glitter. What bugs me as usual is that this is a clear gloss. Meh, why do the Japanese brands think it´s cool to include a clear gloss with each coffret? Why not some universally flattering peach, pink or beige...or a daring red....but clear is BORING! Well, it´s handy to apply on top of lipstick for a more glossy finish and the quality of this product is very good anyway so for those who need a clear shimmery gloss this is perfect.




The Nail Color N is quite pretty, it´s a clear-ish base with very fine flecks of white and blue shimmer. When worn in 2-3 layers it´s a really pretty nail color as the shimmer is so fine and dense that the nail polish turns almost opaque which is a color that reminds me of glistening snow in sunlight. 
The formula is quite fast-drying the the polish lasts very well, I removed mine after wearing it for 4 days and there was just a little tip-wear.


Overall I am disappointed with the palette and certainly the palette is the main attraction of the coffret. The gloss and eyeliner are alright though not oustanding, the nail color is very pretty but doesn´t justify getting the coffret. 
The coffret is very suitable for younger ladies who like shimmer and soft pinks.


It gets a nay from me and a rating of 3/5.

My friend Iris from Rouge Deluxe has written this excellent review and has posted the application tips in English here!