Esprique Precious Twinkle Story Collection

Kathi's review of the Esprique Precious Twinkle Story Collection reminded me that I haven't posted a detailed review of it yet.

I've already written in detail about the contents of the set here so I won't repeat that here. The application tips for three looks can be viewed in this earlier post. Compared to the palette from the 2009 holiday set, the Multi-Prism Palette is slightly larger. I love the sprinkling of stars across the cover. I've actually used the Multi-Prism Palette in the set several times, usually when I'm in a rush and have no time to dig through my stash and I just want a quick simple look.

The white cream shade can be used either as a highlighter or as a base under the powder eyeshadows. As I am usually out the whole day, I prefer to use either Beaute de Kose Eye Fantasists or Urban Decay Primer Potion as the base as these have better lasting power and don't crease as easily as the white cream shade in this palette. The powder eyeshadows apply quite smoothly and blend easily. The only disappointment is the purple shade which is quite sheer and does not contrast that well with the pink shades, so it usually looks like I'm wearing only pink eyeshadows. I also use the pink shades as a blush as they give a nice hint of colour.

Aurora Crystal Gloss SP002 (the light pink one in the pic below) in this year's set is quite similar to the lipgloss in last year's set as both apply quite sheer with a good amount of sparkle. Aurora Crystal Gloss SP002 gives a nice shine to the lips. It can feel a bit thick and tacky but it lasts very well on my lips over 3-4 hours.

The Pencil Eyeliner BK001 was somewhat of a dud on me. Even after swiping it first on the back of my hand to soften it up, I had difficulty applying it on my upper lashline. It did work better on my lower lashline for some reason but it just would not apply on my upper lashline without a fair amount of tugging. Then when I tried running it across a piece of tissue, the liner part broke off and had to be sharpened.

For this look, I used Eye Fantasist PK957 Sugar Glazed Pink as the base before applying the Sweet Pink shade (extreme right) over the eye socket area, Shadow Rose (the purple shade) at the outer corners, Frosty Pink (second from right) in the crease and Icy Silver over the browbone area, inner corners and along the lower lashline.

Next, I applied Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Liner along the upper lashline, the Esprique Precious Pencil Eyeliner BK001 at the outer half of the lower lashline and Visee Wide Long (Curl Impact) mascara.

For the rest of the look, I used Addiction Tinted Moisturiser No. 1 with Jill Stuart Loose Powder 01 Natural, K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 02 and the Esprique Precious Aurora Crystal Gloss SP002.

The Twinkle Story Collection retails at S$48, which is quite affordable especially considering the number of products that it contains. However, it does have a couple of flaws as mentioned above and the shades in it are not that unique. If you have a large makeup stash, chances are you probably already own similar shades. Nevertheless, I still find myself reaching for it quite often as the shades are very easy to work.