Lunasol Layer Bloom Eyes in Purple Gradation

It was a sunny day, spur of the moment and I just started snapping the makeup around me when I took these shots. Only when I went back later to check the blog was I surprised that I hadn't reviewed this palette yet! This is one of my favourite palettes and is always on heavy rotation.

The sun was actually too bright, so maybe the colours look washed out. I mean, that was direct sunlight! *DIRECT SUNLIGHT* Yeah, we don't get that around here often enough.

Anyway, here are some inside shots with flash that give a better indication of the shades.

This palette is shade no. 3 Purple Gradation in Lunasol's Layer Bloom Eyes (ルナソル　レイヤーブルームアイズ) and is a lovely palette of cool purples that lean to the blue side.

From top left to right, there's a lovely pale blue highlighter, then a light purple, with a vibrant lilac (well, it's vibrant for a Japanese brand, but not anywhere near as pigmented as you might expect from Mac), and a dark navy blue that leans a bit grey for the crease or liner.


And a shot of the packaging...

Then of course, a couple of swatches:

This is one of my all time favourite eyeshadow palettes. Especially the lilac purple in the left bottom. That is one of  my go-to-colours and I use it in so many looks. It's sheer, as you'd expect from Lunasol, but it's still very lovely and bright and really gives a good pick-up to the eyes. Applies smoothly and lasts all day for me with help of a primer. Honestly can't think of any complaints where this palette is concerned. It's lovely and wonderful if you're into cool purples.

In short, this pretty much sums up how I feel about this eyeshadow.

And last but not least, here is a promotional shot from Lunasol of this palette:

Do you have a favourite purple eyeshadow?

Jill Stuart Jewel Crystal Eyes Princess Sapphire Review

I've been meaning to swatch more of my Japanese makeup for you all. I know what it's like to want to drop a ridic amount on some makeup but you still want a tinsy bit more info before you commit. So I'll really do my best to share what I do have. Sorry, I've been so lazy/busy lately.

Anyways, let's take a look at Jewel Crystal Eyes in 03 Princess Sapphire from Jill Stuart!

As with all the JS cosmetics, it comes in a beautifully ornate silver casing perfectly fit for a princess.

This palette contains 4 shadows: a light bubblegum pink, a silvery lavender, a magenta pink, and a dark mauvey purple.

And, as expected, tonnes of sparkles.

I can't blog about Princess Sapphire without mentioning... well Princess Sapphire from Ribon no Kishi by Osamu Tezuka of Astroboy fame.

I don't really see the connection tho... Probably just a coincidence.

Clinique Chubby Stick in 07 Super Strawberry Review

The last time I was out shopping with my stepmom she was going on about Clinique chubby sticks. I'd never heard of them before, and when she gave me one in colour 07 super strawberry, I thought I'd share my thoughts. 

I have to admit I've not used Clinique cosmetics before. I am a big fan of their skincare range, however honestly, their makeup looked kinda dull and never attracted me. I guess I wouldn't have tried these chubby sticks either if my stepmom hadn't given me one.

I'm actually pretty impressed with this and pleasantly surprised. There is a fair amount of colour and my lips like the feel of it. Although for the price, I'm not sure I'd recommend it. In fact, I still prefer my Revlon Lip Butters, and actually Super Strawberry reminds me a bit of my Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle, which is a much more purse-friendly option. I would even go so far as to say that I think the Clinique Chubby Sticks are meant to compete with the Revlon Lip Butters, although at twice the price I'm not really sure how. At least with brands like Chanel there's a bit a weight to the brand and clout associated with their cosmetic products, but I don't know anyone who would be ashamed to carry Revlon in their bag but be impressed by Clinique (i.e. I don't see Clinique as a prestige brand - what do you think?). The packaging also isn't very lush in my opinion. Yes, cute, but certainly not worth a higher price tag.

Having said all that, however I do really like my Chubby Stick. I just won't be purchasing any more.

Clinique chubby stick lip moisturizing lip colour balms are available for $16.00 US or £16.00 in up to 16 shades.

Lunasol Petal Pure Eyes Review: Sweet Peach

It's seriously about time I got around to reviewing this eyeshadow palette from Lunasol's 2012 Spring release:

Petal Pure Eyes in 01 Sweet Peach

Like all Lunasol palettes it comes in the classic mirrored bronze cases and has Lunasol patterned into the bottom two shades of the palette.

This palette is called 'Sweet Peach' which immediately made me think of Peach from Wedding Peach.

Peach, in the style of Mucha

I would describe these shades from left to right, top to bottom as:

• sparkly shimmer highlighter
• sparkly pale pink
• sparkly beige pink
• sparkly deep dark brown

Now for the swatches.

I love this palette. It's very wearable and full of shimmery sparkle. I often wear this as an everyday work look. As usual, another Lunasol palette that is OL friendly (Office Lady). :)

This retails for 5,000 yen and is now available at Ichibankao. 

Est Dual Emotion Eyes 02 Review

I want to share one of my favourite eyeshadow palettes with you today: Est dual emotion eyes  (エステ　ヂュアルエモーション　アイズ) in shade 02.

Est is a high-end makeup store brand and part of the Kao Corporation.

This eye palette is my first (and so far only) Est purchase. I debated about trying an Est palette for ages. Mainly because I haven't seen as many reviews online as I have for Lunasol and Jill Stuart. I also haven't had as much a chance to see any Est counters. Est products are also pretty expensive, so I didn't really want to take a gamble with my money. However, I did give this peachy palette in the dual emotion eyes release a spin.

These retail for 5,775 yen and are available at Ichibankao.

No. 2 is what I would call a 'peach' palette, I would describe the four colours in the quad as follows (top row, left to right, then bottom row, left to right):

• gold shimmer
• metallic copper
• frosty peach
• matte brown (with a hint of shimmer)

These colours are sheer, yet the brown is rather pigmented and a perfect everyday palette. The formula and texture on these is so incredibly smooth. Even though it looks pretty sparkly, there's no fallout, and the colours blend really easily. You could apply and blend this shadow with your finger if that's all you had! 

Although Est provide some ideas of how to apply this palette (see below). I suspect they've named it dual emotion eyes because they suggest two ways of applying this look, each using only two of the colours.

I however, used all four colours to create this look.

This has only left me wanting more Est! I can't recommend this highly enough. As it's fairly expensive, it takes me a while to make a choice!

Here are the available shades in Dual Emotion Eyes collection:

I am tempted by 01 (although I'm not sure about the yellowish shade) and 03.

Est also have another eyeshadow series - the Emotional Multiple Eyes collection. I'm attracted to no. 09, although I am intrigued by 06 and 08 as well.

Have I tempted you to try Est? Or even better, have you tried any Est products?

Jill Stuart Jewel Crystal Eyes Jazzy Jasper Review

Jazzy Jasper (10) is one of the two new palettes in the Jewel Crystal Eyes series this Autumn 2012 from Jill Stuart. It's also a brown-based palette! Yes, I've been waiting for this!

Such a lovely palette.  I would describe the colours as follows (from left to right): 

• silvery sparkle (white-base)
• sparkly light pinky peach
• bright peach with shimmer
• chocolate brown with shimmer

I've been waiting for a palette like this from Jill Stuart. See the swatches below.

This is such a lovely combination of colours, and it's really nice to see a brown-based palette in the Jill Stuart collection. The last I can recall from their permanent collection was Amber Glaze (now discontinued), but it was more of a collection of golds and bronzes. This is really lovely for an everyday look. I threw a look together below.

Apologies for the quality of the look - I actually forget not only to take a picture until the end of the day (yes, this is after about 10 hours of wear), but also forgot to apply any mascara. Ah, please tell me I'm not alone in having days like those? :) 

I really am impressed with these, but unless you're dying for these shades from Jill Stuart, you can probably pass on this. I actually found the the two pink/peach shades not the most flattering on my skin. But I am a JS addict, especially for the eye palettes, so couldn't pass this up. I'll definitely be wearing it again. 

Jill Stuart Jewel Crystal Eyes in 10 Jazzy Jasper retails for 5,000 yen and is available now from Ichibankao.

Moon Crisis Power Makeup! Kiss Cosmetics Mix Heart and Mix Moon Review

For some background on Kiss cosmetics and the Mix Heart Blush and Mix Moon Highlighter release, please see my first part of this blog here.

So I'm excited to say that I've got my hands on a Mix Heart blush in 02 Apricot Pink and a Mix Moon highlighter in 01 Pink Sherbert.

Before I can get to my review and the swatches, I have to say that part of the appeal for these for me really was the design. I love the heart and moon motif, and as a Sailor Moon fan, it just reminds me so much of Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon's transformation brooches.

Okay, let's start with the blush: Mix Heart in 02 Apricot Pink

The blushes feature a darker colour with a lighter shimmer colour.

I would describe the two shades in Apricot Pink (02) as a peach and light pink. Both colours have a lot of shimmer. The darker colour leans to the pink side of peach, and is fairly pigmented.

Moving on to the highlighter: Mix Moon in 01 Pink Sherbert

Like the blushes, there are two shades in the Mix Moon compacts. Pink Sherbert is the lighter of the two Mix Moon compacts available. The other looked more beige to me.

I would describe the crescent moon colour as a pale pink, and the lighter shade as white. They both have a lot of shimmer. They were hard to catch on camera, but I think the swatch below does them justice.

I really enjoy using both of these. They apply really well and I find them very wearable. You might not like them if you don't like shimmer. Although you really notice the shimmer in the pan and in the swatches, because you only lightly dust it on your face, it's not that noticeable.

Each comes with a small brush which can fit inside of the clear case (no mirror) and retails for  1,200 yen (before tax) each in Japan, and are available from Ichibankao now. 

I imagine you could live without these, but they are precious and not too expensive. Also they are very good quality, and I'm not disappointed with my purchases at all.

I think Sailor Moon and Sailor Chibi Moon would approve as well!

Another Chanel purchase...

Chanel Rouge Coco 117 Magnolia lipstick has recently been repromoted by Chanel this spring at counters. As a sucker for all things Chanel, I picked this one up at my Boots.

It's a light peachy pink with just a hint of shimmer.

It feels moisturizing and smooth. It's lovely and very sheer. An everyday wearable colour.

Personally, I think it's too light for my lips. It's like not wearing hardly anything, but it is lovely.

Can always rely on Lunasol for lippies

This was one of the first Lunasol lipsticks I ever bought, but I believe it's still available, so I thought I'd post about it.

Lunasol Full Glamour Lips S 27 Sweet Pink Red

A creamy and moisturising pinky red. It's pretty feminine, and rather pigmented, but not over the top. Nice for a good pop of colour, but nothing outrageous.

I can't really say anything else other than it's smooth and lovely.

Love Lunasol lippies. :)

Rouge Coco Shine Hydrating Sheer Lipshine Revisted Review in Style

This isn't my first Chanel Rouge Coco Shine... and actually in my first review of these, I said I wasn't that impressed (read it here), but honestly, Liberte has grown on me. Also, I'm the type of girl that once I've bought something, I'm gonna keep using it. So when I found myself at the Chanel counter in Boots recently, the summer releases caught my eye.

One that I couldn't pass up, is this one: 71 Style. It's a shiny sheer beige. It has a barely there hint of colour, which I actually really like in a lip-balm type lipstick. It looks perfect on naked face days (no make up), and looks totally natural. It's just a bit of moisture and a tiny bit of colour for my lips.

Again, it's pricey, so not for the faint hearted. But, I do have to say I've been wearing it in our suddenly summer heat and found it wears really well in the heat. I do have to say, I am usually impressed with the quality of Chanel beauty products, and this one is a sturdy little thing, which is great for the busy beauty gal on the go.

Update (April 2013)

It was super sunny today, so I snapped some shots, and did another swatch of this lovely. I like how you can really see the sparkle in this shade.

Still hard to capture that swatch on camera >_<