Stila Color Balm Lipstick

I was happy to have received a deluxe sample of Stila Color Balm Lipstick with a recent order. I've been curious about this lipstick for a while and it's available in a good array of colors, and although the color Vivienne I got is not one I would normally go for, I wasn't going to complain ^.^

Stila Color Balm Lipstick in Vivienne, all pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Stila Prime Pot Part II

My second Stila Prime Pot, in the color Taffy I bought after Caramel turned out to be too yellow and too dark for me.

Stila Prime Pot in Taffy, all pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner Part III

More Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liners, hooray! ^.^ These are becoming my fast favorite and I nabbed myself another 6 colors: Aubergine, Blue Ribbon, Lionfish, Peacock, Starfish, and Triggerfish. Since I have reviewed them in details before, I will just go straight to the colors.

From left to right: Aubergine (accidentally tore the box, oops!), Blue Ribbon, Lionfish, Peacock, Starfish (tore this box too...), and Triggerfish. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner

I explored a little bit into liquid eye liners this year, and got a hold of these Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner a few months ago. There were several colors, but I chose the four I most likely will wear: Flash, Rock Candy, Royal, and Starry. 

Left to right: Flash, Rock Candy, Royal, and Starry. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Stila After Glow Lip Color

I had been ignoring these Stila After Glow Lip Colors for a long time, until the recent sale finally broke my resolve ^.^

There are 6 colors, and I bought all 6: Electric Pink, Festive Fuchsia, Party Pink, Rave Red, Tangerine Dream, and Vivid Violet. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Stila Long Wear Lip Liner Set

This year must be the year of the liners for me, because I've got several liner posts coming up. The first of which is this Stila Long Wear Lip Liner Set, which is actually funny because I've never ever used lip liners before, and I don't anticipate using any now or going forward ^.^ I was on an eye liner kick, which do I use quite a lot these days, and naturally I got curious about lip liners too. 

The 4 colors in this set are (left to right, top to bottom) Aspiring, Charming, Obsessed, and Passionate. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow Comparison Swatches (Picture heavy!)

So this is my entire L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow collection so far. This collection is in no way complete and I don't have all the colors ever released - I only bought the colors I would wear. 

There's a little quirk with these lovely eye shadows though. It's not unusual that L'Oreal Paris would release different colors in different markets, USA, Canada, Europe, etc. It's not weird either that they would repeat some colors in different markets also. What's really wacko though is that when they do repeat colors in different markets, those colors are repeated in different names. 

How do you know which color is new and not just renamed? To start you should go study the master swatch list from MACnunu's blog. Not only she has a check list of names between Canadian versus US versus UK/European/international versions, she also has comparison swatches of several similar looking colors. 

So yeah, I'm merely playing with the spectrum of colors I have, because they're all so puuurdy ^.^ I arranged the colors according to their numbers instead of by collection. Even then, I'm not sure if there's any reason or rhyme for these numbers either.

Click on the thumbnails to zoom. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

From left to right:  

- 1st row: 021 Sahara Treasure, 023 Black Onyx, 031 Innocent Turquoise, 032 Sassy Marshmallow, 036 Naughty Strawberry, 037 Metallic Lilac, 039 Magnetic Coral, and 040 Cosmic Black.

- 2nd row: 222 Infinite Sky, 333 Golden Sage, 335 Golden Emerald, 337 Endless Sea, and 340 Dive Right In.

- 3rd row: 405 Pink Sapphire, 407 Gold Imperial, 408 Gleaming Bronze, 507 Primped & Precious, 555 Perpetual Purple, 557 Glistening Garnet, and 607 Blinged & Brilliant.

- 4th row: 755 Gilded Envy, 756 Always Pearly Pink, 757 Silver Sky, 758 Purple Priority, 759 Burst Into Bloom, and 760 Timeless Blue Spark.

- 5th row: 888 Iced Latte, 889 Midnight Blue, 890 Bronzed Taupe, 892 Amber Rush, 899 Endless Pearl, 996 Liquid Diamond, 997 Eternal Sunshine, and 999 Eternal Black.

Makeup Brushes Part V (Picture heavy!)

I actually started writing this post around fall of 2012, and never got around to finishing it until now. But while life got in the way of me writing this post, it didn't stop me from using the below featured brushes ^.^ They've been with me since, from Japan to Taiwan and back, then hopped a few more states. I guess now is a good time to finally post this so I can move on to more exciting things like Hakuhodo and Koyudo, yeah!

I've been up front from the very beginning that at the start of this brush adventure I didn't know much at all about brushes. I still don't, barely scratching the knowledge surface in comparison to the brush collectors out there. But hey, this blog is not about catching up to anyone. I post about the things I like and that's that.

Anyway, I was moving around too much and didn't have the time or energy to invest in nicer brushes. Moving had its toll, and I'm still lagging behind on items I bought a couple of years ago because they were packed away and were subsequently forgotten. Oops. So all the brushes featured thus far have been "making do" brushes until I can settle down a bit and start looking into nicer ones. But make-do brushes don't always mean shitty brushes. In fact, I like some of my make-do brushes very much, and even though I now have nicer ones I still reach for them quite frequently, and not just because I'm sentimental. These are some very decent brushes that get the job done.

- Lancome #3 Highlighting Brush: Unfortunately, this one is truly a make-do brush, as in crappy and only kinda sorta gets the job done. I bought it back in 2011 and had been using it until earlier this year when I finally started building my set of Hakuhodo and Koyudo. Thankfully I didn't pay a lot for it, only some $28, which for 3 years of use was worth the price I guess.

Makeup Brushes

Update Monday, June 23, 2014.

Just a quick update to post pictures of the Aura Science Foundation Brush I finally got around to photographing. This brush is at least 10 years old, having been with me since college! Because back then, silly me didn't have a clue and went a bought a foundation brush even though I never use foundation LOL But now I do use some bb cream for concealing purposes (will review soon) around the nose, mouth, and under eye area, and this brush is great! I do believe it is synthetic, it feels synthetic and is very soft.

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Original post Sunday, May 15, 2011.

Okay this post is going to be such a joke for a lot of people, but yes, I'm totally green to makeup brushes. I completely understand why some people spend a boat load of money on makeup brushes, but for years I've been a minimal brush person. Meaning I use makeup brushes minimally for things I can't apply with my (freshly washed and very clean) fingertips, like powder, blushes, and eye liner. Even then, I didn't really have a decent brush for powder and blush until recently, and as for lining my eyes, pretty much anything will work. Other than that, it was (and a lot of time, still is) all my hands, you know, for the greatest control :P

Japonesque Touch Up Tube Set in Silver

From left to right: Powder brush, Foundation brush, Lip brush, Eye Shadow brush, and Eye Detail brush.

***Picture from Japonesque.

L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow Part V

Last of the L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow are these 8 colors. I'm not sure when 023 Black Onyx and 040 Cosmic Black were released or which collection(s) they were parts of, but I do know they are not available within the US. And 755 Gilded Envy, 756 Always Pearly Pink, 757 Silver Sky, 758 Purple Priority, 759 Burst Into Bloom, and 760 Timeless Blue Spark are the newest 6 shades released just earlier this spring.

Top row: 023 Black Onyx and 040 Cosmic Black.
Middle row: 755 Gilded Envy, 756 Always Pearly Pink and 757 Silver Sky.
Bottom row: 758 Purple Priority, 759 Burst Into Bloom, and 760 Timeless Blue Spark. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow Part IV

Another 5 colors of L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow from a few different collections: 999 Eternal Black from the original 12 released spring 2012, 337 Endless Sea and 557 Glistening Garnet from summer 2012, and 021 Sahara Treasure and 340 Dive Right In from the Miss Candy Collection released summer 2013, with 021 Sahara Treasure available in Europe only.

Top: 999 Eternal Black.
Middle row: 337 Endless Sea and 557 Glistening Garnet.
Bottom row: 021 Sahara Treasure and 340 Dive Right In. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow Part III

Here are another 5 shades of the L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow, all from the Cannes Collection released in Europe summer of 2012: 031 Innocent Turquoise, 032 Sassy Marshmallow, 036 Naughty Strawberry, 037 Metallic Lilac, and 039 Magnetic Coral. 

Top row: 031 Innocent Turquoise and 032 Sassy Marshmallow.
Bottom row: 036 Naughty Strawberry, 037 Metallic Lilac, and 039 Magnetic Coral. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow Part II

Next up in the L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow series is a mishmash of 7 colors from a few collections. I have 335 Golden Emerald and 996 Liquid Diamond from the 6 shades released in the summer of 2012, 405 Pink Sapphire, 407 Gold Imperial, 408 Gleaming Bronze from the It's Gold or Nothing at All Collection released also summer of 2012, and 507 Primped & Precious and 607 Blinged & Brilliant from The Diamond Collection released winter 2012.

Top row: 335 Golden Emerald and 996 Liquid Diamond.
Middle row: 405 Pink Sapphire, 407 Gold Imperial, and 408 Gleaming Bronze.
Bottom row: 507 Primped & Precious, and 607 Blinged & Brilliant. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow

So I've had these L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadows for a while now. They were released first in Europe in spring 2011, made a huge splash, then a year later released in the US in spring 2012 driving an even bigger hoarding craze. I'd read great things about them, and out of the original 12 colors released in the US, I bought 9, intended to bring them to Taipei with me.

...And then I changed my mind and decided to shelf them until I get back, and of course when I got back I moved here and there and well, here they are now, almost two years later -.-' But hey, one good thing about waiting is that since then, I've collected quite a few more colors in addition to the 9 below. I'll post all the colors I have in batches by order of accumulation, so they'll be out of order in terms of release date and seasonal collection.

Anyway, out of the 12 colors that were first released, I bought...
Top row: 222 Infinite Sky, 333 Golden Sage, and 555 Perpetual Purple.
Middle row: 888 Iced Latte, 889 Midnight Blue, and 890 Bronzed Taupe.
Bottom row: 892 Amber Rush, 899 Endless Pearl, and 997 Eternal Sunshine. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Stila Jewel Eye Shadows

Update Tuesday, June 17, 2014.

I forgot to include this Stila #34 Jewel Eye Shadow Brush in the original Jewel Eye Shadow post below so here's a short update.

This is a long handle brush with synthetic hair. Due to the length of the handle, I left this brush at home and didn't have it to play when I was in Japan or Taiwan. When I finally got around to playing with this brush, I found it to be quite useful. 

It picks up a lot of color, which is why it's good for sparkly and sheer pressed powders like these Jewel Eye Shadows. I use it for powder base all over the lids, highlighting in the inner corners of the eyes as well as on the brow bones, simple shadow lay-down, even smudging! It picks up L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24HR Eyeshadow (will post next) decently well too!

The ferrule is wide and flat (left), and the brush crown is rounded but tapered on the sides (right). Hair length is rather short but the hair are densely packed, soft but firm and the brush feels velvety on my eye area.

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Original post Sunday, May 18, 2014.

Been using these Stila Jewel Eye Shadows for a while so it's time to review them. I was curious about these for the longest time, particularly the Jewel Eye Shadow Trio, so when there was a sale last fall, I grabbed them, along with a fourth single to fill a 4-pan compact. I also bought an 8-pan compact which I saved for the Eye Shadow Trios and a few other Eye Shadow Singles. Will post those later.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette

After the heavy and humongous block of plastic that was the Sephora Hot Hues Baked Eye Shadow Palette, you'd think I quit the Sephora palettes, but nope, I got myself into trouble again, this time with the Moonshadow Baked Palette. There are several color choices available, but I picked In the Nude, because, well, it's neutral.

Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette In the Nude. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creaseless 12-hr Smoothing Eye Primer

I forgot where I got this 2.6g/0.09oz. sample tube of Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creaseless 12-hr Smoothing Eye Primer from, but I've been using it alongside my other various eye primers.