dimanche 29 avril 2012

Suqqu Blend Color Eyeshadow #11 Himesango and Nuancing Cheeks EX03 Akanemizu

From the Suqqu Spring 2012 collection, I picked up the Blend Color Eyeshadow #11 Himesango (£45) and Nuancing Cheeks EX03 Akanemizu (£38) at Selfridges during my last trip to London.

Himesango is my second Suqqu eyeshadow palette after EX02 Fuyubara from the Holiday 2010 coffret. It looked like a good palette for daywear, with five well-coordinated shades instead of the usual four in earlier Blend Color Eyeshadow palettes. It comes with a dual-ended sponge applicator and brush applicator, which work decently but I often prefer to use my own brushes for blending.


Many often wax lyrical about the finely milled and dreamy texture of Suqqu's eyeshadows. Suqqu does excel at producing matte shades that have none of the powdery dryness that is common amongst mattes. Their shimmery shades also have a velvety smooth quality without any glittery fallout.

Most of the shades in Himesango have good color payoff except for the peach pink which was disappointing as it virtually disappears on my skin.

The white shade has a bit of a sheen that is visible under a spotlight, but it applies matte without any visible sparkle. Used with a good primer like Too Faced Shadow Insurance, the eyeshadows last all day without any creasing or fading.

While Himesango is a good, safe choice for everyday wear, it has not displaced Lunasol Ocean Scene Eyes EX01 Shelly Ocean (which has a fabulous dirty bronzed brown) as my favourite brown-themed palette of all time. The shade combination of Himesango is probably also easy to re-create if you own one of Urban Decay's Naked palettes or their plethora of knockoffs.


In comparison, I found Nuancing Cheeks EX03 Akanemizu to be more special and worthy of the hefty price tag. It's a lovely combination of a sweet rosy pink and a coral pink.

Under a spot light, the fine shimmer particles are more visible but I did not notice any silver sparkles on my cheeks after applying both blushes. These warm up the complexion very nicely, giving the cheeks a rosy color with just a few quick strokes of the included brush. They also last quite well although there is some fading after eight hours of wear.

The brush is of top-notch quality and easily one of the best I've ever come across as part of a palette. The Guerlain blue Pucci brush in the Terra Azzurra summer collection feels much scratchier against the skin in comparison. After using the Suqqu brush more than ten times, it has yet to shed a single bristle. I also like the sleek black lacquer-like packaging. You can see swatches of all three blush duos in the spring collection on Drivel About Frivol.



In the pic below, I used both Himesango and the coral pink shade from Akanemizu.

For the second look, I used the rosy pink shade from Akanemizu. You can read more reviews on Himesango on Front Row Beauty and Drivel About Frivol and also here (fabulous comparison swatches of all three palettes from the spring collection with other brands).

List of ingredients for Himesango.

And Akanemizu.

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samedi 28 avril 2012

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick #16, #26 and #10

The Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipsticks in #10, #16 and #26 are the newest additions to my collection. I ordered #16 and #26 for £5.49 each from Feelunique.com, which offers free international shipping from the UK. They arrived in less than two weeks.

#16 and #26 are from the new Spring 2012 collection, while #10 was released last year. Different countries seem to get a different selection of shades. For example, Monoprix in France only had #19, #20 and #22 in the spring collection display. That only makes me even more curious to see the missing shades like 17, 18, 21, 23-25. If you have seen them, do let me know in the comments.

#16 is a bright candy pink with a touch of peach, quite appropriate for springtime.


#26 is a muted nude beige that didn't work well for me as it washes me out.


#10 is a vivid carnation pink-toned red that brightens up the complexion nicely. All three shades are intensely pigmented with opaque coverage and a creamy, semi-matte texture. It can drag a little against the lips if applying straight from the tube as there isn't much slip. It can feel a tad drying but this is easily alleviated by applying some lip balm beforehand. Using a lip brush helps immensely to control the color intensity and achieve a precise application.


The Lasting Finish by Kate line is my favourite lipstick range by a drugstore brand as they offer a diverse range of flattering shades at a very affordable price. These are made in the UK.


The new shades for spring 2012.


ASOS.com has six of the original shades in stock (but not the spring 2012 collection) plus free international shipping.


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vendredi 27 avril 2012

Catrice Revoltaire Collection: Swatches

Revoltaire is the funky new limited edition collection for April by Catrice, dominated by an unusual combination of toxic acid green and coral pink.



Velvet Matte Lip Color in 01 Colour Bomb, 02 Nude Alarm and 03 Bloody Red boasted good color payoff for a drugstore brand.


Ultimate Nail Lacquer in 01 Innocent Toxin, 02 Attracting Camouflage, 03 Colour Bomb, 04 Colour Of Honor and 05 Mission Lilac.


Colour Blush 01 Colour Bomb is a gradient blush with baby pink to rosy pink tones. This has a slightly glowy finish.



The cases of the Smoky Eyes Palettes reminded me of MAC's holiday palettes from a few years ago. Each palette contains three powder eyeshadows and a cake eyeliner shade. These felt slightly dry to touch and some of the shades, in particular the cake liners, swatched poorly. after swatching them, I didn't quite feel that they were must-haves although the shades looked more complex than what one usually expects from a drugstore brand.

01 Toxic Combination

02 Explosive Combination

The Colour Blush is swatched on the left side of the pics below.



You can view the whole collection on the Catrice website. After Revoltaire, Catrice will be releasing Cruise Couture in May, followed by Coolibri in June.

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samedi 14 avril 2012

Essence Rebels and Fruity Trend Editions

The limited edition collections by Essence, called "trend editions", are released at almost the same furious pace as MAC but with a much more affordable price range that makes it easy to over-indulge. Today, I came across another two trend editions for spring.

Bad girls, rock chicks and punk babes – in April and May 2012, things are about to get loud & wild with the new trend edition "Rebels" by Essence. demure, subtle nude shades meet upon bright, cheeky neon colors to rebel against boredom! for trendsetters, individualists or those who normally wouldn’t dare to be loud and outrageous: these extravagant products guarantee a unique, dramatic look. whether you go for matte lipgloss, neon nail polish or mascara that creates spider-like lashes – anything goes, as long as you like it!

The collection includes four semi-matt Latex Nail Polishes in 01 Mauve Like A Rockstar, 02 Rebel Delight, 03 Peach Punk and 04 Rebelizer, plus a Rock Coat.

The Soft Matte Lipglosses in 01 Mauve Like A Rockstar and 02 Rebel Delight had an unappealing artificial scent.

I picked up the Lip & Cheek Pot 01 Peach Punk and Latex Nail Polish in Rebelizer .


Cherry, apricot, kiwi – fruit, smoothies & co. are all the rage this spring and put us in the mood for a colorful summer. The new Essence trend edition "Fruity" is fruity-fresh and creamy-seductive as it presents itself with a powerful cocktail of colors containing strawberries, bananas, kiwis, oranges and berries of the forest in April 2012. Wonderful sorbet colors and gentle textures for your eyes, lips and face guarantee high spirits in springtime!


Aside from the Scented Top Coat 01 Smells Like Strawberry and Sealing Top Coat 01 Stay Fruity, the collection also includes Fruity Nail Polishes in 01 Banana Joe, 02 Peach Beauty, 03 Very Cherry, 04 One Kiwi A Day and 05 Mashed Berries. You can see swatches on BeautyScene.

One Kiwi A Day and Mashed Berries.

Swatches of the Eyeshadow Sorbet in (from left) 01 Peach Beauty, 03 One Kiwi A Day and 02 Banana Joe. These dry down quite nicely with a light shimmery finish.

The Blush Sorbet 01 Smoothie Operator has a very liquid texture that could get messy easily.

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