Love Clover site revamp

The official Love Clover website has been revamped with an interactive Flash presentation!

http://www.loveclover.jp/

Love Clover is made in Japan by B&C Laboratories, which is owned by Sony. It can be found in Plaza shops (formerly known as Sony Plaza). The target consumer is young women in their teens to 20s as evident by the super-adorable packaging that is reminiscent of Majolica Majorca and Lavshuca. I love their gorgeous feminine promo images and their pink, baby blue and green themed packaging but haven't really been wowed by their products in real life. Their latest product is Pon Pon Cheek N (1680yen), a slightly shimmery blush in 4 shades. I found the colour payoff to be quite sheer, but that's not unexpected as the Love Clover look is one of very subtle feminine elegance.

Edited to add a photo of the Pon Pon Cheek N display that I snapped in Sony Plaza today :-)

T'estimo summer collection

Finally, a Kanebo brand that is releasing an interesting summer collection! Testimo's star product is its eyeshadow palettes. This time, they're doing a new series Gran Shine Eyes (3675yen) instead of adding to the Frame Impact Eyes series but the Gran Shine Eyes packaging looks almost identical to Frame Impact. Each palette comes with a cream eyeliner shade and 3 shimmery powder eyeshadows.

1. Gran Shine Eyes palettes

#1 Pink: soft sweet pink and rose brown
#2 Blue: lavender silver and metallic silver grey
#3 Brown: sunset gold and bronze brown
#4 Rose: jewel rose and elegant blue-based violet purple


2. 4 new Color Eyes N in PU59, Pk43, BU61 and GN32, 1050yen
3. Strong Bloomer Mascara 38 in black and brown: sweat, tear and sebum-resistant mascara that can be easily removed with warm water at 38 degrees Celsius (hence the name!). 2940yen
4. Lasting Gloss Coat (for lips), 2415yen
5. Gran Shine Rouge in 12 shades, 3150yen
6. One Touch Clear Liner in black and brown, 1995yen for holder and 945yen for cartridge refill
7. Pure Layer Blush in OR21(beige orange with gold pearl), 3150yen

Lavshuca summer collection

Continuing the trend from Kate, Lavshuca (which is also made by Kanebo) is also releasing a very small collection for summer on 1 May in Japan. The collection includes just 2 new Jelly Pot Eye Colors (1470yen) in BR1 and SV1, new Cheek Color series (945yen) in PK1, RD1, RD2 and OR1 and 3 new nail polishes (630yen) in PK5, PK6 and SV1. Again, this collection is somewhat of a disappointment as I was hoping for new eyeshadow palettes and lipglosses. I'm not a big fan of the Lavshuca Jelly Pot Eye Colors as the consistency is more of a mousse/cream rather than jelly.

Edited to add: Just realised there are also 11 new shades of Jewel Lips, the mini lipstick (1050yen), in the new collection - PK3, PK4, PK5, PK6, PK7, RD2, RD3, RS4, BR2, BE3 and BE4. That's right, there're going to be 5 more pink (PK) shades. Guess Lavshuca decided that a girl just can't have enough pink lipsticks! You can view the swatches here.

http://www.kanebo-cosmetics.co.jp/products/Item/?productCode=2004461

Kate Summer '07 collection

Kate's summer collection is due out on 1 May in Japan. The highlight of this collection is their new Loose Eye Shadow (1050yen) which comes in 4 shades, SV1, PK1, BU1 and GD1. I was quite surprised that there are only 4 shades as usually Kate's eyeshadow series come in 6 or 8 shades each. Nevertheless, these do look promising plus the price is quite affordable. What is more disappointing is that there are no new shades of Glam Trick Eyes or the Gel Eyeliners.

5 new shades of Nail Color S (420yen): BU22, BE20, BE19, OR5, PK26

Brand Review: Jill Stuart

Jill Stuart cosmetics has been nothing short of a stunning success since its debut in Japan in 2005. From its very first day, its gorgeous princessy packaging and cute GWPs have been highly sought after by Japanese ladies and its limited edition collections often sell out on the day of release. In particular, its Christmas 2006 coffret set saw long queues forming on the morning of release, even before the stores opened and all were snapped up by the end of the day. Many of its limited edition sets or GWPs such as the glass boxes or pouches are often resold on Yahoo Japan auctions for fairly high prices. The products are all made in Japan by Kose, which has done a surprisingly excellent job of marketing the Jill Stuart line unlike for its own other flagship brands which rarely stir up the consumer frenzy that Jill Stuart does. Jill Stuart has been opening counters quitely rapidly throughout Japan. Currently, there are 10 counters in Tokyo alone.

In general, the quality of Jill Stuart makeup is above average. Personally, I like their loose face powders (4725yen), Lip Lustre lipglosses (2940yen), Eye Jellies (2310yen) and Brilliance Eyes palettes (5250yen) the best. I have the Loose Powder #1 Natural (see pic below). It comes in a very generously sized pot (net weight: 20g) with a wonderfully plush cotton puff (love the pink ribbon detail!). The powder itself is very silky and finely milled and gives an excellent natural finish. Just looking at the elegant pot sitting on my dressing table is half the fun of owning this!

Another of my very first purchases from Jill Stuart was the Blush Powder in #8 Aurora Rose which is a slightly shimmery medium rosy pink with great colour payoff. But if not for the elegant pot, I don't think the blushes themselves are that extraodinary. You can buy the blush powder as refills for 3150yen but even at that price, it's still expensive. The short fat brush included is decent, not the softest that I've come across but it does the job. Currently, there are only 9 shades available.

But if you have to get only one item from Jill Stuart, my vote would go to their Brilliance Eyes palettes. These are not cheap but they're worth every single cent. All of them are just so gorgeous that it's hard to even pick a favourite one out of the four currently available. Several friends that I've recommended these to have ended up collecting all four and no one has regretted their purchases thus far! You know how very often when you buy a palette, there's always one or two colours that are totally useless either because it's strange when combined with the rest (MAC palettes come to mind...) or it's just not the kind of colour that you would normally wear. But all 4 Brilliance Eyes palettes have excellent colour combinations that not only complement one another very well but are also very flattering and easy to wear. These are all shimmery with great colour payoff when applied either with a brush or the included sponge-tip applicator. Of course if you don't like shimmery eyeshadows then these are not for you. But for those of us who love all things sparkly, these are a dream come true! These have been selling so well since they were introduced in January 2007 that they were often out of stock and customers had to place reservations just to buy these even though they are not limited edition. I was just at the JS counter earlier this evening and 3 of the 4 palettes were sold out (again!) which is just unbelievable. Net weight of product in each palette is 4.5g.

And finally, on the Eye Jellies. These have a true water-based jelly texture and most are shimmery. They are easy to apply, can be layered for greater intensity and dry down quite nicely. You can use them alone, or as an eyeshadow base or on top of powder eyeshadow for an added glimmer. My favourites from the regular range are #1 Green Butterfly and #2 Gemstone Green which are complex green shades that are quite difficult to descirbe. #1 Green Butterfly is like the jelly version of MAC Club.

Currently Jill Stuart is sold only in Japan but given how well it has been doing, I would not be surprised if Kose decides to expand it overseas in the future.

Sonia Rykiel Summer '07 collection

Collection due out on 18 May in Japan.

1. Water Eye Color Duo in 5 variations, 3675yen. Limited edition.
2. Poudre Bronzer, 5250yen. Can be used as blush, highlighter, bronzer and shading powder.
3. Nail polish in #27 Amber Brown and #28 Blue Lagoon (limited edition), 2415yen
4. Lip Gloss #6 (coral pink) and #7 Caramel Glace (caramel brown), 2625yen. Limited edition.

Ettusais Vacance Nail Color

It's that time of the year again for Ettusais' mini nailpolish collection. I think this is the 3rd time that they're doing it. These are great for people like me who have never managed to finish a bottle of nailpolish. These are 210yen each for 2ml and this collection features 15 shades. Tuolene and fragrance-free.

#1-2: Gloss Colours: ice syrup shades

#3-7 Sweet Colours : smoothie shades

#8-11 Juicy Colours: fresh sherbet shades

#12-15 Sparkle Colours: soda shades

http://www.ettusais.co.jp

Susie NY nailpolish

This one is for dear Fleckenschnitte! Susie NY is revamping their entire nail polish line. Hopefully, it will be just as good as the previous range which I love for their brilliant colours and long lasting nature. But the price has gone up to 840yen from 735yen, sigh... 33 shades in total, with camomile extracts and silk protein.

Also debuting are the Remover Essence In (has camomile extract, olive oil, avocado oil, macadamia nut oil and silk protein, 735yen), Top Coat Gloss (840yen), Nail Hardener Protect (840yen) and Base Coat Long Keep (840yen). The Nail Hardener and Base Coat have the same camomile extract and various oils as the Remover Essence In. Due out 25 April in Japan.

http://www.susie-ny.com/

Dior Summer '07 collection

Dior's summer collection due out 27 April in Japan.

1. Cinq Coleurs (5 eyeshadow palettes) in #209 Aqua Frost ("water-inspired cool pastel harmony") and #709 Earth Frost ("earth-inspired warm colour harmony"). These supposed contain an innovative "wet powder" for a soft, fresh finish that is similar to that of cream eyeshadows. 7875yen. 8.5g

2. Bronze Palette. Includes highlighter, cheek colour, face colour and lip balm. With SPF20. 7140yen

YSL Exotic Sensual collection

YSL's summer '07 collection which is due out on 27 April in Japan. I wonder why makeup companies seem to think that they can get away with charging 3780yen for 2.5ml of lipgloss when their own lip plumper sells for only 2835yen for 15ml!! The click-on nail polish sounds interesting though.

1. Two palettes, one for face and one for eyes. 7665yen. 9g.


2. Sparkling Lip Gloss #12 Pink Topaz and #13 Sparkling Amethyst. Comes in the click type packaging with a brush applicator. 3780yen. 2.5ml


3. Shiny Lip Plumper #1 Glossy Pink (girly pink), #2 Glossy Plum (mysterious feminine plum) and #3 Glossy Brown (beige brown). Also described as a tinted lip balm with SPF 10 and hyaluronic acid. 2835yen. 15ml


4. Mascara Aqua Resistant #6 Marine Burgundy, 4200yen


5. Kajal Eyeliner #1 Black, 3360yen


6. Nail Touch in #1 Secret Radiance (transparent), #2 Pink Radiance (sheer pearly pink), #3 Violet Flush (pearly purple), #4 Beige Light (pink beige), #5 Golden Reflection (elegant pink) and #6 Sparkling White (pearly white). Comes in an innovative "one-touch, click-on" type packaging. 3360yen. 4ml.

Guerlain Emilio Pucci collection

I'm not usually a fan of Guerlain but the colours and packaging of this collection done in collaboration with Emilio Pucci are just too gorgeous for words! Collection is due in Japan on 11 May. All items are limited edition and I'm sure this collection will sell out in a flash.

1. Bubble Blush: souffle type face colour. Described as apricot with multi-coloured pearl shimmer, 4935yen
2. Swirl Gloss #4 Pinky and #5 Apricot, 3360yen.
3. Sparkling Gloss #2 Gold and #3 Riveria, 3360yen.
4. Meteorites Pure, 6615yen
5. Meteorites Brush with case, 4410yen
6. Summer Eye Makeup Coffret: 4 eyeshadows, 2 eye pencils, mini Long Lash Mascara in black. 13650yen

There's a great article on the collection here:
http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=400285&itype=8486