New Hair, Old Music, and Questionable Pink Eyeliner

I just had my hair cut and coloured a bit! It always feel good after that. Nothing too dramatic this time, just had my roots touched up, so all my hair matches and a good cut so that all my hair is healthy. I actually am really happy with it!

Don't you just love a trip to the salon?

I've been browsing through my room at my mom's and found some of my old CDs (ha ha, some aren't that *old*) but been digging the Libertines again. Still debating on whether or not I can pull off the bright pink eye liner I bought. Do you have any questionable make-up purchases? What music do you listen to while pondering whether you really should or should not?

Dior Addict Lipstick 322 Beige Perfection Review and Swatch

This was my first Dior lipstick purchase. I really like the various lip gloss releases from Dior Addict that I've tried over the last few years, and was curious to see if my love could extend to include the lipsticks as well.

I have to admit to a purchase in the pre-Christmas sales and online, so I didn't actually see the colour in person before buying. Sometimes we just do things like that. I went for no. 322 Beige Perfection which I thought would be a good everyday colour. A colour that I couldn't go wrong with.

At first, I was pretty disappointed. I found it felt a little gritty, but it was moisturizing, not drying at all. I don't think the grittiness is really fair. I've been wearing it on and off for a few weeks now and I don't notice it being gritty. My lips were really dry from travelling and a chance in climate, so I suspect it was probably that. Anyone else try these and notice anything?

Actually, I think these might be pretty good, but I think it's just a case of a colour choice I didn't love. The colour looks a light peachy pink with some shimmer, unfortunately, my lips are pretty pigmented, so I don't really notice much difference. I was expecting this to be a bit brighter I guess, after all, the Dior Addict lipsticks are meant to deliver vibrant colour and spectacular shine. I didn't really find that Beige Perfection did either particularly well for me. My mom has been eyeing this, so I think I will probably give it to her as I don't think I'll wear this very much. If you've got pale lips or you're a fan of a lipstick that adds very little colour, than this might be a good choice for you.

I'm also not too keen on the packaging. I realize my pictures might not have captured it, but depending on the light you can get a kinda cool prism effect with light refracting into the colours of the rainbow. That aside, it's chunky and bulky. I don't think it looks particularly sophisticated or princessy (what I usually prefer in my beauty product packaging). It also doesn't seem very sleek. I know the packaging isn't a big deal, but for an expensive product, I think it matters. This retails in the US for $28 and £22 in the UK.

Have you tried Dior Addict?

Giveaway winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered my first giveaway! It was fun and I hope to do more, but I'm sure you're wanting to know the winner of this giveaway!!

Ems!

Congrats, Ems! Your prize will be sent out to you on Monday!

Visée Brilliance Forming Eyes A-1 Pink eye shadow review and swatch

Time for a review of Visée Brilliance Forming Eyes eye shadow palette in A-1 pink (ヴィセ ブリリアンスフォルミング アイズ A-1 ピンク系). Visée is a Japanese drug store brand, and this palette retails for 1,600 yen with 3.7g of product. Cheap, cheerful, and full of sparkle. I've been a fan of Visée's eye shadow since Blackish Forming Eyes (which I will review soon!). 

This palette includes 3 powder shadows and a a cream highlighter (bottom left):

• sparkly nude flesh
• sparkly rose pink
• sparkly cream highlighter (looks warm in pan, but looks silvery on my skin)
• sparkly rich chocolate brown 

I really love these shades and find them easy and flattering to wear. Although I must admit, I often skip the cream highlighter, I don't have anything against it, it's just not my thing. All in all, this is a lovely little palette from Visée that I'd recommend! Lovely and sparkly, what more could you ask for? 

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters Review and Swatches

I'd heard a lot about the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters and although I'm not usually a fan of drug store cosmetics, I decided I need to check these out.

They were harder to find than I thought they'd be! Target had the best prices, but the local Target here didn't have them in stock. I ended up getting a couple from Ulta and from Rite Aid in the end for $7.50 each. The three that I bought and am reviewing here are:

• 015 Tutti Fruitti (an orange cream)
• 025 Peach Parfait (a light rosy peach pink with a hint of sparkle)
• 070 Cherry Tart (a dark pink/blue red with a hint of sparkle)

The Lip Butters promise to deliver a 'buttery balm + shiny color'. Hrm, I love butter, really I do, but I don't actually like the sound of it on my lips, so I was slightly concerned by the name. I think butter and greasy, but thankfully these are not greasy at all. Phew! 

015 Tutti Fruitti

They also promise moisture, actually, to boost moisture by 156%! Where do they get these stats from? They sound unbelievable. That was another reason I got these. Since I've been in the US, my lips have felt really dry! I guess it's just not as humid here as it is in the UK, so my lips which aren't usually dry felt like the life had been sucked out of them! I need moisture, please!!  I started wearing Tutti Fruitti first and my lips were so dead, I didn't really notice that they came back to life or anything amazing. But I've been wearing the other colours and I have felt they are moisturizing. My lips feel normal now... so maybe I just needed days of lip treatment. Jury's out on the moisture for me. Also, not sure if it's my imagination or not, but Peach Parfait and Cherry Tart feel more moisturizing than Tutti Fruitti. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the creme versus shimmer formula. Anyone else found that or something else? 

025 Peach Parfait

Other reviews have said the lipsticks smush too easily, so I trying to be gentle with them at first, but I found that they were fine for me. I don't have to be careful with these anymore so than I am with my other lipsticks, but I guess maybe I use a light touch to begin with or I've just been lucky! 

070 Cherry Tart

So I do recommend these if you're keen to try them. They're not too expensive, but they aren't amazing. I think you could live without them, but if you see a colour you like, then totally worth checking out. Have you tried them? 

Swatches from left to right: Tutti Fruitti, Peach Parfait, and Cherry Tart

Maybelline Shine Sensational Lipgloss Mad About Melon Review and Giveaway

I'm in the US and it's so dry here it's unreal. Okay, it's not that dry, but my lips are really noticing and begging for some moisture. I hit the local drug store and picked up a few lip products to try. One of them was Maybelline's Shine Sensational Lipgloss which I hadn't heard of before. I randomly picked out no. 70 Mad About Melon based soley on the colour - I wasn't sure if they tasted like the name or not.

I'm pretty happy with my purchase. My lips feel much better. Ah, moisture! I like the colour as well. Light colour that's barely noticeable on the lips, but tonnes of shine and sparkle. And, these do taste/smell. So while I'm not actually mad about melon myself, I like melon, but I don't really wanna taste it all the time, it is a neat idea. I'd especially recommend it if you like flavoured glosses. I got this for just under $6, but apparently Target has it for as little as $4. If I can find it for $4, I may be tempted to get a few more. I'm not massive on flavoured glosses, but all in all, I'd give another a try especially with names like: Minty Sheer, Cherry Bloom, Freshly Sliced, Glamourous Guava, Mad About Melon, Crazy for Caramel, Cocoa Fever, Berry Dazzle, Cranberry Crave, Crushed Candy, Peach Sorbet, Treat Me Sweet, Cherry Kiss, Watermelon Punch, Berry Bella, Sweet Indulgence, Sparkling Grape, and Tempting Toffee.

Have you tried it? Are there any flavours or colours that tempt you?

Would you like to try one for free?

Shine Sensation Lipgloss Giveaway on Isolde Beauty

That's right, I'm doing my first giveaway! A brand-new Maybelline Shine Sensational Lipgloss in 80 Watermelon Punch could be yours!

How to enter: 

This is open to anyone and everyone - worldwide. I am shipping this from the US and will choose the appropriate shipping method once I confirm where the winner is located.

You can enter 3 ways. 

1. Tweet a link to Isolde Beauty. You can send to the giveaway page or any of my blog, just make sure to @IsoldeBeauty and then comment below, to the effect of 'I've tweeted!' and your twitter name unless it's obvious or I already know it. This can only be done once.

2. Join this site and leave a comment below along the lines of 'I've joined!' If you're already ready a member, you're awesome, so you get two entries. But you have to comment twice. You can post along the lines of 'I'm already a member!' If you're new, you can only do this once. If you're a member already, you get two entries for this.

3. Don't have twitter or want to join my site but still want to enter? (Or just want another chance to win?) Go ahead and explore Isolde Beauty and leave a new comment on any of my other posts (no spamming please! If you don't have anything to say, please resort to 'Thanks for sharing' or something like that), then come back here and say something like 'I read and commented.' You can do this only once.

The giveaway is open from the posting of this post on 3rd January 2012 at 10:30 GMT (5:30am EST) and closes 8th January 2012 00:00 GMT (7th Jan 7:00pm EST).


Good luck and I hope you like my first giveaway!

UPDATE: Thank you everyone who entered! Winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on Sunday 8th January!

New Year, New Makeup! Spring 2012 Collections Top Picks

Happy 2012! Here's to a new year of looking forward! 2011 wasn't the best year for me, so here's hoping 2012 will be much much better!

So let's look ahead at the Spring 2012 makeup releases from some major brands! Thanks to Maquia we can view a look book of all the new products online here. Thanks very much to Rouge Deluxe who tweeted this link!

So what are my picks for Spring 2012?

Coffret D'or Smile Up Cheeks Blush

Okay, this was actually a Winter 2011 release, so it's available now, but I'm getting it. Only have to decide which colour because I really don't need to buy multiples! >_<

Check it out on Coffret D'or's website. You can get this now from Ichibankao.
There's also a commercial on youtube here too.

Jill Stuart Jelly Eye Color N

On 13th January Jill Stuart is releasing two limited edition eye jellys in 17 Murmuring River and 18 Bird Flutter. Bird Flutter has caught my eye. It's the coral shade and it looks amazing! It's limited edition, so hopefully I'll manage to get my hands on it. For some close ups of this and the rest of the Jill Stuart Spring release, check out Fruity Lashes. These retail for 2310 yen and you can find out more about them on Jill Stuart's website here.

Now available on Ichibankao! 

Update: Click here to see my review of bird flutter.

Anna Sui Rose Cheek Color Blush 

These blushes are gorgeous! I love the rose pattern and the colours are lush. I'm really tempted by the highlighter too. It looks so lovely. There's a great preview of these over at Fruity Lashes, check it out! These release January 5th and retail in Japan for 3675 yen.

Anna Sui now has these up on their website here too and you can order from Ichibankao too!

Update: Click here for my review of the highlighter Mystic Rose

Lunasol Petal Pure Eyes Eyeshadow Quad Palettes

Lunasol has released some amazing eyeshadow palettes and I have been looking forward to this Spring 2012 release since I first saw some pics on FrauW's website back in November. Here's the link direct to a preview pic of the eye shadows. These are so lovely and full of subtle sparkle. Love love love.

You can also see them on Lunasol's website here.

Update: These are now available on Ichibankao! 

You can also see some swatches on the following blogs here:

[發表會] Lunasol 2012春妝♥花顏淨化-綻放玫瑰柔美,

 LUNASOL 2012春妝 花顏淨化 / 桃香淨化, 

and [試色] LUNASOL 2012春妝 花顏淨化 粉嫩登場

Update: 

Lunasol Glowing Powder Cheeks EX01 Pure Coral Review 

Lunasol Petal Pure Eyes Review: Sweet Peach  

Paul & Joe Beaute Face & Eye Color CS and Matte Pressed Powder

I don't even know where to start with this! So adorable. Yes, I am a total sucker for the cat motif,  but Paul & Joe cosmetics have a good rep and I've been meaning to give them a try for ages. These limited editions may just force me to get some - finally!

Here's a couple more shots from Paul & Joe Beaute's website that I can't resist sharing!

I've got two picks from this collection, and both are limited editions! Eeep.

First is the Face & Eye Color CS which is a face and eye shadow trio of colours. I've never actually bought a face and eye palette before, so I'm kind of a bit weary, but seriously how cute are those cats! I really wish there was a Paul & Joe counter I could check them out in person as I really need to see if it's really love or just kitty love!

According to Maquia these release in Japan on 3rd February, but Asos.com already has them for sale online here.

My second pick is Matte Pressed Powder. I don't have too many powders, so this is actually something I'm in need of. How cute is that cat? And the little paw print on the puff! Gah, I love love love it! I think I love this so much I'd buy it without seeing it. Well, that depends on how much it's going to cost me. I haven't seen this for sale anywhere yet, but *fingers crossed* it will appear on Asos too!

Fruity Lashes also has a good look at these products worth checking out!

Update: Asos now has the Matte Pressed Powder here too! 


So those are my top picks for Spring 2012. What do you think? What collections or products are calling to you?