Canmake Glow Fleur Highlighter

When Canmake first released the Glow Fleur Cheeks, I was initially excited. There hasn't been a new powder blush from Canmake for a while now! But then again, I have so many powder cheeks from Canmake, and it's as Citrine said, their Cream Cheeks had stolen the thunder from pretty much the entire collection of Canmake cheek colors and I doubt any powder can reclaim the spotlight. So I skipped the Glow Fleur Cheeks and tried the Glow Fleur Highlighter instead.

There are 2 colors available for this highlighter, 01 Planet Light and 02 Illuminate Light. 01 Planet Light is the cooler version with pastel blue and lilac, so I went for the warmer version 02 Illuminate Light with pastel pinks, yellow, and beige. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Holika Holika Holy Berry Tint

The third lip tint I've tried (and probably the last now that I have backups of TonyMoly Delight Tony Tint ^.^)  is Holika Holika Holy Berry Tint. It comes in three colors, 1 Strawberry, 2 Raspberry, and 3 Orange Berry.

Whereas the TonyMoly tints are gel and Holika Holika Pure Mellow Moisture Tint are light creams, these Holy Berry Tint are a watery runny formula, yes, as in they will drip. In fact, it's kind of unnerving looking at them in the clear plastic tubes - they look like watered down food coloring. Why am I dabbing this stuff onto my lips again? They have fuzzy doe foot applicators, and all have a pleasant berry scent.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Visee Glossy Rich Eyes

So my excitement with the recent Visee Glam Glow Eyes has resulted in three Glossy Rich Eyes palettes in the colors BR-5 Gold Brown, GR-8 Khaki, and PU-4 Purple. These come in a cute shiny dark compacts with a Victorian oval picture frame window.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Visee Lip & Cheek Cream

Visee released these Lip & Cheek Cream late summer 2014. I was super curious how these would compare to the current favorite Canmake Cream Cheek Clear Series, so among the 6 colors available I picked up 3 to try.

Visee Lip & Cheek Cream OR-3, RD-1, and RD-6. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Paul & Joe Lipstick Part IV

In the fall 2014, Paul & Joe added several new colors to their permanent line up of Lipsticks (versus the Lipstick CS' are limited seasonal collections, I believe...). There were 3 sheers among these new colors: 106 Guava, 107 Rose Sorbet, and 108 Pink Balloon. Despite reservations for 106 Guava, the holiday sales did me in and I picked up all three.

106 Guava, 107 Rose Sorbet, and 108 Pink Balloon. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Butterfly Kisses Set

From the same holiday flash sale that I got the Lipstick Queen Chic and Three Shades trio, I bought this Butterfly Kisses trio, which includes 3 lipsticks in the Butterfly Ball line in the colors Float, Moment, and Trance. This set comes in a pretty hot pink zipper pouch with flower print with all 3 lipsticks unboxed but wrapped in pretty tissue paper inside ^.^

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lipstick Queen Chic in Three Shades Trio

Despite the slight let down with Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencils in terms of moisture and glossiness, during the holiday flash sale I went ahead and purchased several lipsticks to try since this is the brand's specialty. I bought 2 different sets, the Chic in Three Shades trio and Butterfly Kisses trio, which I'll review in a separate post.

Like the popular Discovery Kit, this Chic in Three Shades trio features three 3 different lipstick lines for a nice introduction to the brand: the famous Medieval, Saint Pink, and Butterfly Ball Sigh.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Clear Last UV Loose Face Powder SPF50+ PA+++

This Clear Last UV Loose Face Powder SPF50+ PA+++ in a 6g jar had been around for quite a while now, being released way back in 2009 and discontinued in 2012. There are actually 3 types available, Light Ocher, Mat Ocher, and Sparkle Ocher. Of course, being this late to the party, the only one I could find was Sparkle Ocher, so I picked it up to try.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

UVLab Mineral Powder SPF50 PA+++

New year, new obsession. Over the holidays sis-in-law showed me her favorite powder, which turns out to be a mineral sun protection powder in a tube brush dispenser, the bareMinerals SPF30 Natural Sunscreen (stock photo below). Apparently this product has been discontinued and she's desperate to find a replacement, as in the powder refill, as she wants to keep the tube brush dispenser for its convenience. The powder she can replace with anything, she said. Her only condition was that it's light enough for her fair skin, and it's a mineral powder. Challenge accepted.

Actually, it's hardly a challenge ^.^ Because Japan and South Korea has been making mineral sun protection powders in both loose and compact forms since, like, the mid 2000's. Check cosme.net for the Japanese ones if you don't believe me, I don't read Korean so I don't know of an equivalent reference. Anyway, when it comes to loose or compact powders, you have a whole spectrum that spans from a base makeup powder with a tiny bit of [pathetic] sun protection to a more serious sunblock powder with or without any color.

This 5g jar of UVLab Mineral Powder SPF50 PA+++ would be the latter, a physical sunblock powder without any color at all.

Astalift Regenerating Night Cream

Through various promotions and whatnot, I have two 15g jars of this Astalift Regenerating Night Cream, one of which I've been using for the past month. I don't remember where I got the second jar from, but the first jar was from the Discovery Collection, which also included Astalift's star product the Jelly Aquarysta (a great item but after many a jars I got bored and quit :P), the Day Cream which is called Replenishing Day Cream in English, and the Nurturing Eye Cream.

Astalift Discovery Collection.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum-in-Oil

When I first saw this Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum-in-Oil on their USA online shop last summer, it peaked my intrigue. Think about it, public opinion on oil-related skincare has shifted so far that a mainstream brand now offers an oil cleanser and an oil serum! It used to be that "oil" was a word of taboo in skincare and anything that wishes to sell claims to be oil-free. I myself bought into that fear of oils, that was, until I worked and lived in Japan and saw how the other side of the globe embraced oils. So you bet I bought a bottle of this serum-in-oil to try ^.^

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner Part II

Last of the Sephora Favorites 2014 Draw the Line set is this mini Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Dark Brown. In fact, I bought this set for just this liner, having been tempted with the mini in Intense Black from the 2013's set.

This Sephora Favorites 2014 Draw the Line also includes: Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12HR Wear Black Lace, Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayon in Blacquer, NARS Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Via Veneto, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion and Rockstar, and Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser

Half way through this 125mL/4.4oz tube of Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser. It was a part of a Cleansing Duo I bought along with a 100mL/3.4fl oz. Toning Lotion with Chamomile. For that purchase, I got a super generous GWP to boot!

Nature Republic Snail Solution 80 Emulsion

The last time I used Nature Republic Snail Therapy 80 Emulsion, surprisingly I quite enjoyed it! Last year when I checked into the brand again (and bought the Botanical Eye Primer, which unfortunately turned out to be a dud), I found that the Snail Therapy line got reformulated and renamed to Snail Solution. And what do you know, there was a nice Snail Solution Special Set for a decent price, so I thought I'd give it a go.

This set contains 120mL/4fl oz. full sizes of Snail Solution 90 Skin Booster (lotion/toner), and Snail Solution 80 Emulsion, which is what I'm using right now. The bonus is a pair of 30mL/1fl oz. travel size each of the Skin Booster and Emulsion.

Lunasol Three-Dimensional Eyes

Believe it or not, these Lunasol Three-Dimensional Eyes are actually "detour" purchases - I was looking at Maquillage True Eyeshadows when I found these Lunasol ones for just several more dollars. $5, to be exact. They were on sale ^.^

I don't usually go for up-market/prestige brands, because in my limited experience, the difference in quality doesn't commensurate with the difference in price. Sure, quality may double, but the price then triples or quadruples, just for the brand prestige. That's what I'm *not* willing to pay for. I don't buy "prestige." There are plenty of quality eye shadows I love at the price I'm willing to pay that don't involve expendable prestige. But if these Lunasol palettes were only $5 dollars more than the Maquillage palettes I was looking at, why the hell not? So I picked up 03 Mysterious Beige and 05 Deep Beige to try.

***Screencap from Lunasol-net.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.