Lunasol Geminate Eyes

Apparently these Lunasol Geminate Eyes are among the brand's most popular since their first release mid-August 2007. Interestingly enough, the palettes are mostly warm with the exception of 03DM (Diamond) and 04SP (Sapphire). And even then, among the 2 palettes that are still available, it seems only 01CE (Cat's Eyes) will work and 05RB (Ruby) scares me ^.^ So I went with just 01CE.

The original lineup versus (top) versus current availability (bottom), with 02AR (Alexandrite), 03DM, and 04SP discontinued.

***Screencaps from Lunasol-net.

Here's a great photo posted by Rouge Deluxe via the Cozy Cot forum when these palettes were released.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lunasol Aurorized Eyes

I had to have Lunasol Aurorized Eyes palette 05 Contrast Variation when I first saw it, but I've also read that palette 03 Gentle Variation is much prettier in person (whereas in pictures it just look like your average green palette), so I picked it up also ^.^

***Screencap from Lunasol-net.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lunasol Sheer Breeze Eyes

Lunasol Sheer Breeze Eyes is a summer 2015 offering with two varieties: EX01 Refreshing Breeze Collection and EX02 Passion Breeze Collection.

***Screencap from Lunasol.

I started out eyeing EX01 because it's a neutral taupe brown palette, at the same time I was iffy with that neon yellow shade and the cobalt blue accent. The only pan with some color is the top left with the liner taupe brown and cobalt blue, while the other 3 look way too light to show up at all on me. In the end, I went with EX02 Passion Breeze Collection.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lunasol Party Coffret 2014

I hrmm and hrrh over this Lunasol Party Coffret 2014 for a long time. Previous sets almost always include a mascara which I don't use (sparse + short lashes = why bother?), while this one has an eyeliner, a clear gloss that's supposedly moisturizing, and a powder, all in addition to the main attraction of the eye palette. But still I wavered back and forth, that was, until I found it on Rakuten for 7,589JPY (about USD61) after tax and shipping. In comparison, the cheapest I've seen is $89 at Adam Beauty before shipping. So into my cart it went ^.^ And I'm so happy I gave it a chance.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Serum

Just finished this 10mL/0.35oz deluxe sample tube of Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Serum, so here's a super short blurb for it.

The tube lasted me a good 2-3 weeks with daily use mornings and nights. This lightly scented serum came out of the tube a white cream and went on light but moisturizing. On some mornings, I skipped moisturizer after this step as it felt adequate. As for the "shaping facial lift," I have no idea and 2-3 weeks isn't long enough to see this kind of results. Will not purchase the full size.

Canmake Eyeshadow Base

Here's the Canmake Eyeshadow Base I bought at the same time as the Lasting Multi Eye Base. There's only one shade available, and it comes in a very portable tiny square compact with a clear lid.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Canmake Lasting Multi Eye Base

I've read that Canmake eye bases are great so I picked up two items to try, the Eyeshadow Base (left, will review next) and this Lasting Multi Eye Base (right). At the time, I wasn't sure what's the difference is between these two, well, aside from the obvious fact that one comes in a pan and the other in a tube. So I had to try both, right? ^.^

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Milani Eyeshadow Primer

I first learned about this Milani Eyeshadow Primer from my friend A., then a few days later Citrine reviewed it on her blog, which I took to be a sign that I'd better try it too. So I went out to my local Walgreens (was still in SF at the time) to pick one up. I don't know how many shades are available, but I only saw 01 Nude at the time so that's what I have. Boy it's in a huge tube, 9mL/0.3fl oz. -- that's more than double the size of a full size Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion that's only 3.7mL/0.37fl oz! Given that I only use a pin's head amount at a time for both eyes, this tube will probably last me forever.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lunasol Lighting For Eyes

When I started trying Lunasol, I limited myself to quints+ only, because I find that quads don't provide me with enough options to blend and mix, because I prefer variety. And then I spotted this Lighting For Eyes in 04 Neutral and had to make an exception. Yeah, yeah, what else is new? ^.^"

***Screencap from Lunasol-net.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lunasol 15th Anniversary Summer Eyes

Summer of 2014, Lunasol released two 15th Anniversary Summer Eyes in EX01 Cool Beige Collection and EX02 Warm Coral. I've been eyeing them for a while and decided to take the plunge with EX01 Cool Beige since EX02 Warm Coral looks way too red for me.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Za Plumper Lips

A few months ago I was browsing Ettusais and noticed they linked to the Za Cosmetics website had a "final sale" note in bold red. Turns out Za is an Ettusais sister brand, and turns out Za is also being discontinued :(

Za Cosmetics brand discontinuation announcement (if I read it correctly...).

I've seen Za aplenty while I was in Taipei so my understanding is that it's available outside of Japan while Ettusais is harder to get a hold of. Anyway, I clicked over to browse Za's website only to find everything on 50% off final sale, including the whole range of these gorgeous Plumper Lips. These lipsticks normally goes for 900yen each, so with 50% markdown they were 450yen each. From my previous Ettusais order, I also earned some points, and in all I paid about 385yen each, which translates to about $3.10 a piece with the current exchange rates. Scored! ^.^

In all, I received 8 lipsticks: OR1, OR2, PK2, PK3, PK4, RD1, RD2, and RS1, as PK1 was sold out and cancelled from my order. Shucks. I skipped BE1 because, well, it looks brown...

***Screencaps from Za JP.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Stila Collectible City Palettes

These Stila Collectible City Palettes came out summer of 2012 and I've had them packed away since 2013, which makes this post super duper late. But late is better than never so here goes.

These are face palettes with 5 wet/dry eye shadows and a Convertible Color in a stylish and sleek compact with magnetic closure. There were 5 palettes available but #1 Lovely in London looked too red so I skipped it and went for the other 4 instead: #2 Stylish in Seoul, #3 Vibrant in Vancouver, #4 Rockin in Rio, and #5 Sensational in Sydney.

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Lancome Absolue Sublime Oleo-Serum

Eeps, it's getting crazy over here and will probably get worse come July-August, so I'll do my best to post whenever I have time. That said, I do have some goodies coming up to show you (hint: more Koyudo and Lunasol ^.^)...

Finished this 5mL/0.16floz. deluxe sample of Lancome Absolue Sublime Oleo-Serum a couple of weeks ago but didn't get around to review until now. I got the sample from the Saks 5th Avenue's holiday 2013 GWP.