Kiss Kiss My Eyes Glamorize Shadow Part II

After my initial excitement with the Kiss Kiss My Eyes Glamorize Shadows, I came back to Plaza in high spirit for one of the newest released palettes 05 Bordeaux Beige BE-2 (there is yet a new release, another 06 Pink Beige palette!). In fact, I had so much confident in this palette that I didn't bother swatching the tester!

Stila Kajal Eye Liner Part II

After my first Stila Kajal Eye Liners post, I was totally excited about the other 4 colors that I had gotten a hold of. I thought they would be similarly metallic or pearly, or at least having some shimmers in them. Turns out all 4 are completely matte without any shimmers at all. But other than that, they all are fantastic! 

All pictures taken in natural light without flash. 

01-Pearl and 03-Tigers Eye

04-Sapphire and 06-Amethyst

Revlon Luxurious Color Diamond Lust Eye Shadow

Boy I feel like a complete doofus. After returning to Japan I went back to Plaza to pick up the newly released Kiss Kiss My Eyes Glamorize Shadows palettes (yes, 05 Bordeaux Beige and now 06 Pink Beige!), and there I spotted these Revlon Luxurious Color Diamond Lust Eye Shadows on display. Of course their megawatt sparkliness got me all googly-eyed and drooling.

110 Starry Pink. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Castledew Diacut Eyes 6 Colors

I've been drooling over (not on, mind you) these Castledew Diacut Eyes palettes for a long time, and only over the holidays did I have a chance to use them. There are a two "lines" of these Diacut Eyes palette, so to speak, and they are the 9 Colors and the 6 Colors. The Diacut Eyes 9 Colors line currently has up to 7 palettes, each consists of 3x3 square block powder shadows that are either baked into the same pan (901, 903, 905, ad 906) or pressed in to 9 separate pans (902, 904, and the newest 907). This line was introduced to the market earlier, sometimes in 2009 I think. The Diacut Eyes 6 Colors line was released about a year later and only has 2 palettes (M601-M602), each consists of 6 powder colors pressed into a cool geometric shape in the same pan. 

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

The Diacut Eyes 9 Colors, from left to right: 901 Planet Diamond, 902 Planet Shine Star, 903 Shine Jewel Dia, 904 Romantic Garnet Dia, 905 Blackish Smoky, 906 Airy Bloom Dia, and the newest 907 Pure Angelism. 

The Diacut Eyes 6 Colors: M601 Platina Shinism and M602 Sweet Dia.

***Pictures from VOV Korea. 

Marimekko for Avon Palettes

On this latest home visit, I had a chance to go through some of my things and re-discovered several things that were buried away in them. Among these are 2 brand new Marimekko for Avon palettes that I had totally forgotten about! So what do I do but bring them back to Japan with me?


Marimekko for Avon Poppy Bloom Eyeshadow Palette and Poppy Bouquet All-Over Face Palette. All pictures taken in door with flash, unless otherwise noted.

I actually have all 4 palettes, as each Poppy Bloom and Poppy Bouquet is actually a pair of Eyeshadow and All-over Face Palettes. However, I bought just the Poppy Bloom Eyeshadow and Poppy Bouquet All-Over Face Palettes first, found them rather pretty and so went chasing the other Poppy Bloom All-Over Face and Poppy Bouquet Eyeshadow Palettes after. Throw in the fact that I've been moving about for the past 7 years, first across the ocean and back, then across the country and back, then across the ocean again, the later 2 palettes were packed separately from these first 2, and I couldn't find them on this last visit. I don't think I lost them, I hope not at least, but they're somewhere in the mountain of boxes in Grandma's basement that will take me more than just a week to dig out. So yeah, just these 2 for now.

Poppy Bloom Eyeshadow Palette and Poppy Bouquet All-Over Face Palette.

Rose & Co Apothecary Salves

Aside from some really nice Beauty Salves, Rose & Co Apothecary also carries more medicinal balms and salves that are along the lines of vapor rubs and muscle rubs, etc., a few of which I've picked up for myself and for holiday stocking stuffers.

- Zam-Buk Herbal Balm: I kept this one for myself because it looks so...mysterious ^.^ But I haven't used it yet. It's supposedly an antiseptic ointment and, according to the website, has some "amazing powers" and is great for traveling. Alright, I'll keep it with me xD

Zam-Buk Herbal Balm: 

Petrolatum, Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Oil, Cera Alba, (Beeswax), Pinus Sylvestris (Pine) Oil, Camphor, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Oil, Limonene, Linalool, CI 75810, (Chlorophyll).

Rose & Co Apothecary Aromatherapy Creams

Over the fall when I was placing an order with Rose & Co Apothecary for some salves for myself as well as for holiday stocking stuffers (will post next), I spotted a couple of interesting items from their Aromatherapy Creams section so I thought I pick up a couple of things too. And plus the brown glass jars they come in looked simple and cute, and they weren't too expensive ^.^

My sister has stubborn eczema on her feet that is easily aggravated especially in this dry and cold weather, so I bought her the Tea Tree & Cypress Foot Cream to try. This is actually a bit of a risk, because while both tea tree and cypress essential oils have anti-fungal and antiseptic properties, both are also skin irritants and can be very drying, so in the end, these oils in the cream might make her eczema worse. But my sister was willing to try it! She's, erh, adventurous, I guess.

Tea Tree & Cypress Foot Cream

Perfumes etc.

On my quick visit home I had a chance to go through my moving boxes and found a few interesting item ^.^ I ended giving these away to my mum because she loves perfumes and I don't care much for them, but I thought I'd post these pictures anyway :)

One of the items was the Versace Pour Femme Coffret Set, which was a Sephora Insider 100-points deluxe sample I believe. Either way, I thought I was going to use it, but obviously it ended up being forgotten :( Oh well, at least it is being appreciated now.

Versace Pour Femme Coffret Set

Caudalie Beauty Elixir

Been using this Caudalie Beauty Elixir daily since my holiday home visit so it's about time I post a review for it. This is a 30 mL/1 fl oz. glass bottle with a spritzer that comes in the Caudalie Limited Edition Favorites Collection, which also include a 75mL/2.5 fl oz. Hand and Nail Cream, 50 mL/ 1.7 fl oz. Instant Foaming Cleanser, and a full size Lip Conditioner.

The Caudalie Limited Edition Favotites Collection

DHC Olive Leaf Cream

I have a few sample sachets of DHC Olive Leaf Cream that fill more than half a small jar and this is just the perfect season to use them up ^.^ I use this cream mostly as an intensive night moisturizer every other 2 nights or during the day on the weekends as I lounge around the house. 

***Picture from DHC North America.

Maybelline ColorSensational Lip Gloss

Update Saturday January 14, 2012.

I was cleaning up my photo library and stumbled onto these pictures I took of Neutrogena MoistureShine Gloss way back in 2007, so I thought I'd post them up ^.^ 

- First Blush: this was my favorite color because it was a perfect my-lips-but-better and I never needed a mirror to apply it ^.^

- Glam: I wear this color when I wanted to "dress up" a little. That goes to show how little makeup I wore back then, no? Ha, how things have changed xD

- Sweet Nothing: I wore this one like a lip balm!

-----------------------------------------
Original post Monday January 9, 2012.

Another goody I received from Citrine is the Maybelline ColorSensational Lip Gloss in 953 Hi-tech Plum.

This is my very first lip gloss from Maybelline, and over all my 4th American drugstore lip gloss after Neutrogena MoistureShine Gloss, L'Oreal Paris Colour Juice Sheer Juicy Lip Gloss, and Boots No 7 High Shine Lip Gloss (well, not exactly American, but whatever :P).

My holiday swap with Citrine :) All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Maybelline ColorSensational Lip Gloss in 953 Hi-tech Plum

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter

The last installment from my swap with Citrine is the Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter. After drooling over all the pretty swatches online for a few months, I decided I must try these and thank goodness Citrine was willing to spoil me. These Lip Butters are relatively new to the drugstore tinted balm market, having been out only since the fall (September I think?) of 2011. However, it seems they are quite on demand. There are in some 20 shades available but it seems many of those shades, if not most, are constantly sold out. That could very well be the result of all the hype on the internet, but monkey sees, monkey does, and that's me ^.^ 

These come in a lipstick tube with translucent plastic caps. And despite the plastic-y feel of their caps, I was surprised to find the inner twist tube a lot more substantial and may be even sturdier than many other lipsticks I own! I especially like it that when you twist to lower the balm stick, it actually clicks in securely at the base. I rarely sees this clicking feature with my lipsticks, if at all, so on this point alone its packaging wowed me!

My swap with Citrine. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Maybelline Baby Lips

One of main attractions in my swap with Citrine are these Maybelline Baby Lips. Seeing these all over the Japanese drugstore really peaked my curiosity and all the good things I've read about them helped. I got 5 different "colors": 010 Peppermint, 015 Cherry Me, 020 Grape Vine, 025 Pink Punch, and 030 Peach Kiss.

My swap with Citrine. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

010 Peppermint

Makeup Brushes Part III (Picture Heavy!)

Ever since my dabble into makeup brushes last May, I have been on a mission to add some brushes to my makeup routine, forcing myself to use brushes from that Sephora Face & Eye Tool Kit to apply my makeup every morning. As I grow some gall with age (ha, no balls or guts here :P) to use more, and more pigmented, colors on my eyes, the fingertip application is no longer convenient and can actually get quite messy. 


But of course I soon grow curious about the other gazillion brushes out there on the market and did some shopping over this past holiday ^.^ I've read plenty of good things about Stila brushes so I thought I'd check out a few from the below 2 sets and 1 individual brush. Though with that said, I've also read that brushes from sets are significantly crappier than those sold individually. And while that makes sense, my philosophy is that I'm still in the experimental phase and haven't figured out the tools I really need, so these will have to do for now ^.^

Stila 4 Piece Brush Set (winter 2010). All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Stila 5 Piece Brush Set (winter 2011)

Maybelline Mystery Lipsticks ^.^

Among the things Citrine sent to me are 2 Maybelline mystery lipsticks, and I call them mystery because the stickers at the bottom of the tube don't explain much other than giving the name of the color and number. I've only played with them so this is a preview post.

My swap with Citrine :) All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

I'm going to be honest so please don't laugh at me - these are my very first American drugstore lipsticks ^.^' I've used a few drugstore lip glosses, but have never bought or tried a drugstore lipstick before. Dead serious. I was never a lipstick person and it was only recently that I used lipsticks as stains. Of all the lipsticks I own, I actually purchased less than a third of them. The rest were freebie GWP, and even the ones I bought I paid deeply discounted prices for them. 

Maybelline mystery lipsticks in 825 Fruit Punch (left) and D104 Peach Colada (right)

NYC Smooth Skin Pressed Face Powder

Citrine and I did a little swap over the holiday, and she threw in few more goodies my way, including this nifty NYC Smooth Skin Pressed Face Powder. She knows I only use translucent powder and so kindly sent 701 Translucent xD Thanks Citrine!!! *hugs*

My swap with Citrine ^.^ Absolutely adore everything! All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

NYC Smooth Skin Pressed Face Powder in 701 Translucent

Stila Lip Glaze Stick Part II

Since falling in love with Stila Lip Glaze Sticks back in October, I've been hunting down backups for the colors I love as well as exploring new colors - Apricot, Orange, and Grapefruit. 

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Apricot

Boscia Jujube Salve Stick

Errh...I think I must have thrown my last Boscia Jujube Salve Stick out to make room for the newcomer Caudalie Lip Conditioner, because I couldn't find it anywhere. Oops. And searching for a stock picture online, I found out it Boscia had discontinued it too! Double oops. Well, there's always E(vil)bay, but now that I have Caudalie, why would I pay rip off prices to get these again? So yeah, never mind that, please settle with this stock picture. Sorry...

***Picture from DermStore.

Let's Pretend Mexican Food!

An outdated post here, but prior to our brief home visit, hubby was going crazy craving for some Tex-Mex and so he Googled and found La Salsa is located in Minato Mirai, on the 5th floor of the World Porters building. Off we went with our fingers crossed.

Caudalie Lip Conditioner

Approaching the holidays, Caudalie had some nice promotions and so that was my excuse to try a few things I've been curious about but too cheap to shell out the big bucks. I ended up getting the Beauty From The Vine Set as stocking stuffer for my mum and the Limited Edition Favorites Collection for myself ^.^ I have been using the items from the Favorites Collection but am only reviewing the Lip Conditioner today.

The Beauty From The Vine Set includes a 75mL/2.5 fl oz. tube of Hand and Nail Cream and a Lip Conditioner.

The Limited Edition Favorites Collection includes another 75mL/2.5 fl oz. tube of Hand and Nail Cream, a 50 mL/ 1.7 fl oz. Instant Foaming Cleanser, a 30 mL/1 fl oz. Beauty Elixir (will review soon), and also a Lip Conditioner.