Anyway, these new ones are back to being unscented, but the names stuck
(I think they used to not have names until this summer's releases, which
I still haven't gotten around to reviewing yet, ha!). The six fall LE colors are: PK-308 Apricot Pink, RD-220 Orchid Red, OR-117 Mandarin Orange, WN-74 Cassis Wine (inspired by creme de cassis, a regional specialty of Burgundy), BR-76 Marron Brown, and BE-229 Maple Beige.
These have been out since mid-August, and a couple of the colors proved surprisingly popular, selling out on Rakuten as well as in stores. Actually, all six of these LE colors have sold out on Rakuten, but I digress. Most of the drugstores no longer have the full collection on display, because they only display testers for those with stock, which makes sense. And having forgotten about them until now, yours truly had to trek to at least a dozen stores just to find testers for the two consistently sold-out colors.
The full collection display should look like this!
But this was what I saw again and again at each store, with the PK-308 Apricot Pink and RD-220 Orchid Red consistently sold out :( The clerks were all telling me it was the RD-220 that went first, being the most popular. All of my photos were taken in indoor lighting without flash.
Anyway, along the way, I'd scoured the interweb for more photos of the full collection.
***Photos from this Japanese blog.
***Photo from this Japanese blog.
I didn't give up on my search, of course. With my brother in town visiting, taking him around means more opportunity for me to look (and he'd roll his eyes whenever I pointed out a drugstore...). Just this past Tuesday we were roaming Asakusa, strolling through the shotengai as well as the nearby shopping streets. In the far flung corner of the entertainment district, I finally found one drugstore with the opposite scenario as all the other stores I'd seen: they had only testers for PK-308 and RD-220, both having just one lipstick left, while all the other colors were sold out! Odd, huh?
- PK-308 Apricot Pink: a warm, somewhat milky apricot pink with gold micro-shimmers that leaves a pearly finish. I can see why this color is so popular--I see the same color lipstick everywhere and pretty much every brand makes at least one like it! In fact, I have quite a few similar colors myself: Lavshuca Dramatic Memory Rouge PK-2 and PK-3, Holika Holika Heartful Glossy Lipstick 03 CR302 Blushing Peach, to name a few. Hell, this color might be a more muted but milkier and pinker version of PK-289 and RD-215, and Rouge Essence RD-198! All that is to say I prefer the ones I already have and didn't take this bait :P
- RD-220 Orchid Red: a cool and juicy translucent red that's pigmented and in a jelly formula. You bet I snatched up that last tube! When have I ever said no to a translucent red? That said, this color surprises me being the #1 most popular color, but perhaps the trend is moving towards catchier redder lips.
Here are some lip swatches found on the interweb. As you can see, RD-220 is cooler and redder, almost berry on the back of my hand, and I'm already very warm-toned.
- OR-117 Mandarin Orange: more apricot orange than mandarin orange and somewhat milky. Still, it popped on my skin and I should have gotten a tube but didn't, being occupied with the constantly sold-out RD-220 at the time.
- WN-74 Cassis Wine: a gorgeous translucent violet that's quite pigmented as you can see. I did pick up this color and will probably go back for a second tube. I'm rather surprised this color isn't more popular and hasn't sold out yet (knock on wood it won't!). It's beautiful and not often seen on the Japanese market.
- BR-76 Marron Brown: a transparent nude brown with visible gold shimmers. Yes, it's totally see-through.
- BE-229 Maple Beige: a translucent nude peach.
Perhaps somebody up there rewarded me for my perseverance, but one of the drugstores I visited had a display of--gasp--the winter LE collection that won't be released until the first week of November and aren't even announced on the official website yet! They had the eye palettes too, but they looked boring so I didn't bother.
The six winter LE colors are: BE-230, BE-231, PK-309, PK-310, RD-221, and RS-336.
- BE-230: transparent nude with visible gold shimmers, similar to BR-76 above only more nude and less brown.
- BE-231: translucent reddish tawny with fine shimmers. I accidentally swatched this first when I meant to keep the colors by alphabetical order. So no, it's not a labeling mistake in the swatch photo below.
- PK-309: translucent sakura pink with fine shimmers.
- PK-310: lovely translucent coral and definitely on my buy list.
- RD-221: translucent and shimmer-free tomato red. OMG yes, please!
- RS-336: transparent lotus pink with visible pink shimmers. I'm leaning yes on this one. It looks like a pinker version of RD-212 and I love that color!
23 comments:
Gosh, all the browns are right up my alley! I want both the new BE colors and that RD 221. I really should purge some of my existing lipsticks and make room for these!
Hi kuri,
The brown-nude ones are really pretty too! I have a bunch of brown-nudes from Lavshuca Dramatic Memory Rouge (the old discontinued line in the transparent maroon tubes)--have you tried any of these when they were still available?
That RD-221 is gorgeous and I want it right now!!!
^.^
D.
I have an old Lavshucha nude - I should wear it more but I need to mix it with something as it's a bit pale for me on its own. Lovely texture though!
Haha, they'll be available soon :)
Nice! Thank you for the swatches. I'll keep an eye out for them when I'm in Japan next month.
Eh, the fall collection is indeed too deep/muted for my liking. I guess what I get depends on what shades make it to HK sellers (mostly buying for the gold tube though). Anyway, I am liking the holiday collection a little better with the red and pink...But that won't get around until next year, I suppose.
Thanks for the swatches! I didn't realize it would take this much effort just to hunt down the whole display.
Hi Julia,
Oh awesome that you're visiting Tokyo (I'm assuming you're visiting Tokyo...)!! When next month?
D.
Hey Citrine,
It's my bad for forgetting about these and coming too late to the game. And if not for your reminder I wouldn't have remembered!
Yes, that tomato red from the winter collection is killer! Can't wait till it comes out!
Cheers,
D.
Yeah, I'll mostly be in Tokyo between the 26th and the 15th of November!
Hi Julia,
Aww...I'll be out of Tokyo by then :( Have a grand time!!!
Cheers,
D.
Oh no! I thought we could finally meet! X'D
Where are you going next?
Me too :(
For now, we're just going home to the US of A. Where to after that, we don't know. But hey, that's life :D
Where are you now?
Cheers,
D.
I see.
I am in Switzerland right now because I followed my boyfriend there, but then he found a job in Japan and I still have a contract here, so I stayed here alone. (As you say, that's life.) I'll probably follow him next year, though, this job is getting unbearable.
Wow! I've never been to Switzerland even though I have relatives there. What's daily life like (kind of a nonsense question, LOL!)?
May I ask what you do? It'd be cool if you were to move to Japan again, as I recall correctly you told me you went to uni in Tokyo, right? (Or did I just totally made that up?!?) This is my third time living in Japan so chances are I'll be back :D
Cheers,
D.
You have relatives here? Daily life is... not much different from anywhere else, I guess? They're not workaholics, so that's good. Although I work at the Japanese embassy, so that's different. But I'm usually only stressed because of the people I work with, not because I'm overworked.
I did an undergrad exchange in Japan and also went to grad school in Tokyo for one semester before I had to quit, but I might go back next year because it's just such perfect timing with my partner having a job there.
What do you do, actually?
Yeah, my uncle-in-law's entire family is in Switzerland and have been there for more than 4 decades!
So I wasn't imagining that you'd gone to school here in Tokyo ^.^" Interesting. You're the second person I met who works at the Japanese embassy and say it's stressful.
I used to tele-commute for a non-profit, but now I'm writing full time. This blog is my "release", which is why it's littered with mistakes etc.--I purposely don't edit it :P
Here's hope to catching you in Tokyo next time!!!
Cheers,
D.
That's cool!
I think government and Japan is just not a good combination. ^^;
That sounds interesting! What kind of writing do you do?
Normally, I would agree, but there's a nutjob running for president in my country and I'm too ashamed to make a peep about other governments >.<"
I'm writing my first novel :D Do you write?
XO
D.
True. ^^;
Really? That's so cool! I used to write a lot, mostly fan fiction, but haven't for a while. I'm planning a fantasy novel (and really want to write a tell-all about my job, but are afraid of a lawsuit X'D), but should finish an old fan fic series before I start that because it was (two or three) readers. WHat's your genre?
What if you write your tell-all but set it in a fictional fantasy universe, like Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? They can't sue you for that ^.^ That's what scifi-fantasy fictions are for, if I may say!
I started with fan fiction too, after a childhood of one too many a cheesy Hong Kong kungfu movie LOL! Right now I'm working on a fantasy. We should totally become writing partners when you start your novel!
Cheers,
D.
LOL I'm not sure I'm creative enough for that. But it's a great idea!
Fantasy is awesome! What kind of fantasy are you writing? Urban? Sword & sorcery? It would be great to have a writing partner!
Oh of course you can do it! If the people you work with each had superpower or black magic or is a member of a race other than human, what would it/they be?
Mine is a high fantasy set in a medieval-like setting, with lots of sword and very little sorcery :D Drop me a line whenever you want to start exchanging pages!
Woot!
D.
I see. I just figured that an actual tell-all would garner more readers, because the boyfriend says Japanese people love to read about their stupid government. Diplomats who don't speak English? Golden!
Sounds great! A bit like Song of the Lioness, which I love! My project is still far off, but one day!
Ahh, that would explain all the J-dorama about government and police corruptions!
I'll have to check out Song of the Lionness. Hope you'll start your project soon!
Cheers,
D.
Post a Comment