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Chanel Illusion D'Ombre

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I've always wondered about these in the past. Now I wonder why I didn't get them earlier.  I actually can't wear either shade alone but together they make a really pretty rose gold color on my skin.  I like them as a base for some of my powdered shadows.  They are better over nars primer but they can last quite a while without it too.  



I used a different camera, testing it.
White background indoor lighting.

I actually purchased them from www.izzysbeautyshoppe.com.  Discovered the shop because of Belly's blog.


Guerlain Rouge Automatique

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I'm always reading about how amazing Guerlain lipsticks are so it's about time I tried them.  I got them at the beginning of the month from ebay.

I really like the formula so far and I don't mind the scent because it is quite weak.  There is no bad taste when sipping water or tea.  I think my lips feel softer after using them :)  This is dangerous, next time I eh order from USA ...more of these will be mine when I figure out which shade is more subtle on me.

Guerlain Rouge Automatique Liu (122) and Reflex (661)

Liu 122

Reflex 661

THREE Winter Stardust Coffret

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THREE Winter Stardust Coffret

I'm a bit slow at posting, I've had these for a few weeks.

Purely posting for colour reference here for unseen purchase research.
I haven't used the duo.  The pencils apply true to colour.

All the makeup pieces in direct sun light

The bag


Looks warm here because burning hot summer sunlight but it shows the rainbow shimmer.

In shade, notice how it is cooler in colour now.  This is what it would look like under normal conditions.

09 Child of the Moon and 10 The Prettiest Star


Duo 06 Winter Love next to 4D Palette 09 Star Guitar
The pale shade looks very similar, I don't know if it will be any difference once applied to be honest.


Addiction Jean-Michel Basquiat Ready to Wear Eye Palette Soda Lunch

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Hmm dinosaur


direct sun light
direct sunlight angled


I didn't really notice this palette when it was released to be honest.
I really liked it on Kate and Liz and their swatches are lovely.

I picked it up while searching for my plan b source for those SUQQU xmas kits.  I'm not sure how much extra I paid and the shop marked up their "last one" after I purchased the one I have now.  

I don't know why my camera has trouble getting the colour right for the teal shade but it is a true teal, the yellow is a slightly warm yellow (not a yellow orange at all. I'm only noting that because different monitors display yellows differently and it is the bane of my working life when that happens) and the purple-base with blue shimmer colour is the only colour that looks consistent with what it does in real life to me.

SUQQU 2013 Christmas Set A and Set B

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This purchase completes my SUQQU 2013 limited edition palette collection.

I fell for the colours after seeing a post on ericabeauty's blog. She makes things look impossibly pretty on her eyes and she has a video showing how she uses the EX-18 Aoboshi palette. The EX-18 Aoboshi palette also looks pretty herehere, here and here as well but they all look different from each other.  I saw the EX-19 palette featured on Drivel about Frivol and I was like "thank goodness I ordered that one too!". I think Kate's post about EX-19 Touryokuzora is one of the most colour accurate posts I've seen of it and her swatches are spot on. I also love the looks she created with the palette. Silverkis has some lovely pictures and swatches too.  Just found this one as well.

My package was a bit delayed because it also contained the THREE xmas kit so I can save on shipping.  I told Belly that I would post about these kits last month ...better late than never right?  SORRY BELLY!  I grew flowers for the pics and waited for storms to go away so I get the best photos possible :)

I took heaps of pictures.  To be honest I could not short list the pictures more than I have so this post is extremely picture HEAVY (open in new tab for full view of texture).  I used Canon 600D (borrowed for testing) and Nikon D90 to take pictures.  All pictures are taken in natural light.  I know I'm missing swatches but my skin sucks so none of those.  I'm extremely sorry if you are lemming these palettes since they have sold out ages ago and certain resellers have marked them up to $150+.  If you want to dupe these then you have lots of references here.


The palettes and mascara with light pink begonias.  (Orange and pink shades are over saturated here)

Kit A didn't have nice pics but the bags are different colours. A has a black one and B has a dark green charcoal colour.

I think the sparkles on the palettes are really pretty.  I was a bit disappointed at ex18 when I opened it because the case was prettier (anti climax packaging).  btw Rouge Deluxe has the pretties pics of the case.


Shot with canon.  Yes, I use cotton gloves to handle the pretties.

Shot with Nikon

EX-18 Aoboshi (Canon)

EX-18 Aoboshi (Canon) 

EX-18 Aoboshi (Nikon)

EX-18 Aoboshi (Nikon)
Canon is shaper but the main difference is the orange seems to be less red compared the the Nikon shots in general.
EX-19 Touryokuzora (Canon)

EX-19 Touryokuzora (shot with Canon.  Extra gold in this angle)

EX-19 Touryokuzora (Nikon)

EX-19 Touryokuzora (Nikon)


Side by side (Nikon)

De-potted on white to see them clearly (Nikon)

Addiction Ready to Wear Eye Palette in Departure

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Addiction Ready to Wear Eye Palette in Departure

I have been hesitant about buying this palette because my impression of it was really dark.  When I opened it to see it for the first time I was like "huh this looks lighter in person...and f%#* it looks broken.  " The quality of the pressing is certainly bad on the one I have because everyone else has smooth pans.  It was quite difficult to photograph because the shades on the right have reflective properties and the bumpy texture caused certain shots to be useless as they were over exposed from the white sheen.

In full sun on white glass


Slightly different angle to see colour



Shiny case pic


The blue and plum is so lumpy :( this brand new too


I think this is the most true to colour pic and no adjustments were made.



With other plums that I have.
Three 09 Star Guitar, Addiction Departure, Burberry Mulberry, Three Duo 06 Winter Love

Indoors next to window.
The shadows are very smooth and pigmented.  I applied one swipe with a sponge tip applicator on lightly moisturised skin (Avène Trixéra+ Selectiose Emollient Cream).  Unfortunately my skin texture makes everything appear super sheer so please don't use this an indication of quality.  I can't build up the colour with powder products on my skin because no matter what it is, they just move around and slide off.

More pics and swatches over at:
lipstickboulevards.blogspot.com
www.silverkis.com
wondegondigo.blogspot.com
www.colormeloud.com



Chantecaille Future Skin Foundation swatch

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I have posted a swatch of most of the base makeup  I have tried and it has been a year since I posted that. In 2013, I think I became a bit paler because I changed my skincare, I started to use SK-II and vitamin C and layering sunscreen.  Unfortunately none of that is fixing my tanned forehead and everything else being a whole shade paler.  I have no idea what to call my skin tone.  I just know I need to mix it and apply strategically to look more even.

I went to my Chantecaille counter to try Future Skin to see if I will like it as much as Belly :)
SA's that work at Mecca Cosmetica are so friendly and nice.

L to R
Shu Uemura Face architect illuminating moisture fluid foundation 774
Chantecaille Future Skin Camomile
Chantecaille Future Skin Alabaster
Chantecaille Just Skin Bliss (I think this is ever so slightly darker than Camomile)
Picture taken indoors on cloudy day.
I think Alabaster looks most natural on my face skin, at least the way I wear it (sheer) it helps to take away some uneven yellow tints around mouth and under eyes and it completely disappears on my cheeks.  I like the tighten effect, my skin feels a bit firmer where I applied it.  I like it because it really looks like skin on good skin days but I can't justify buying it since I don't use foundation often and I still have so much Shu and RBR Highlighting Liquid left.  Camomile and Bliss, kind of look like a peachy cream blush/fake tan on me in natural light so I'm glad I didn't buy anything on the spot and asked for samples.  I think Camomile and Bliss became darker after they dried down and Bliss is a tiny bit darker than Camomile.  This photo is purely for arm skin tone reference.  I don't know what I could be in MAC, maybe one day I'll go near the counter.

Lunasol Sheer Glossy Eyes EX04 Peach Beige

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I didn't really notice this shade until I saw this post on MUA which set me off on a mission to find it. This shade is really hard to find,  Adambeauty didn't have it, ebay didn't have it either so I ended up getting it from a website that marks things up higher than ichibankao.

For swatches I think this blogger has a good picture of the whole release at the time.

The peachy orange colours in THREE Duo 04 (less shimmer) , THREE 4D Palette 08 Spirit Light (Pinker and more shimmery) and RBR Fire Tailed Sunbird (pic is washed out)  kind of look similar but they all have different textures and finish.  I suppose the RBR e/s is probably the closest in my stash.

I hope this one stays attached to the jar because my Nuance Gray actually fell out of the jar the first time I opened it but it is still to use a year later.




The sparkles are sometimes light purple and pink...can't capture on camera :( 


Guerlain Lipsticks

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After trying out two Guerlain Rouge Automatiques in Liu and Reflex, I decided to buy some more Guerlain lipsticks. 

Rouge G feels lovely on lips and the colour payoff is amazing, the only thing I don't like is the scent and it does annoys me enough to wipe it off before food or it will ruin the taste of food for me.  Automatiques are scented too but I can't taste it constantly like I do with Rouge G.

Genna will be replacing Riviera for a bright red lip.  It's beautiful and no mineral oil is always better.

Madame Flirte is not for me.  I should have learnt that from this Dior liptick since they kinda look the same when worn as a sheer.  Madame Flirte, doesn't work at all if I have concealer/foundation on my lips because it turns light pink-purple which is worse.  When I saw thenonblonde's post, her photo assured me that I didn't get the wrong product.  It looks lovely on a lot of people.  I think the blue undertone and translucence jelly formula really makes it depend the wearer's on the natural lip colour to look pretty.  

Violette de Madame, it's that safe natural nude colour I always buy/mix although it will never replace SUQQU Creamy Glow Lipsticks in 06 or 09 as HG for me and they are sadly dc.

On with the pictures

Boxed

Blinding shine on those cases

Rouge G de Guerlain Exceptional Complete Lip Colour 28 Genna
Rouge G de Guerlain Exceptional Complete Lip Colour 861 Madame Flirte
  
Rouge G de Guerlain Exceptional Complete Lip Colour 28 Genna

Rouge G de Guerlain Exceptional Complete Lip Colour 861 Madame Flirte

Rouge G de Guerlain Exceptional Complete Lip Colour 28 Genna



Rouge G de Guerlain Exceptional Complete Lip Colour 861 Madame Flirte


Rouge Automatique Hydrating Long-lasting Lip Colour 101 Violette de Madame


Liu, Madame Flirte, Reflex, Genna, Violette de Madame
in sunlight (morning)

Liu, Madame Flirte, Genna, Reflex, Violette de Madame
window light in the evening

Liu, Madame Flirte, Genna, Reflex, Violette de Madame
warm light because the sun is setting



Liu, Madame Flirte, Genna, Reflex, Violette de Madame
next to window

Liu, Madame Flirte, Addiction Last Scene and  Etude House Rosy Tint Lips 01 (pic a bit warm)
By the way, Etude House Rosy Tint Lips 01 is so pretty and wears beautifully unless one decides to top it off with balm or gloss then it becomes a blotchy mess that prompts a restart with application.  It looks similar to Liu but less blue and not shiny.

Liu, Madame Flirte, Addiction Last Scene and  Etude House Rosy Tint Lips 01
BF took this picture, he said I should use it. (sorry about the smear on Liu)
Madame Flirte and Addiction Last Scene look similar in depth on lips but Last Scene is flattering and Madame Flirte is not :(

Koyudo Red Squirrel Cheek Brush

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Koyudo Red Squirrel Cheek Brush seems to be released once a year as a "Limited Edition of 100 Pieces" when Christmas collections come out.  I missed out in 2012 because I found Sweet Makeup Temptation's review of it after they had sold out.

She is right by saying "only a must have for brush collectors, or those who are in the hunt for a very soft brush in a very limited edition".  It is really soft because the tips are so fine that they are almost white.

The silkiest brush hairs I have ever touched.  I don't own a SUQQU blush or powder brush so I can't comment on which one is superior in the soft silkier hair department. This brush is softer than Chikuhodo z series powder and blush brush.  It's more affordable than a SUQQU blush brush but I don't know how it compares for actual use, probably ask Sweet Makeup Temptation for opinions on that.





Every hair that I can see has fine tips

That's not powder or dust.  It's the tips catching the light and glowing.
On black, the red squirrel hair looks more vibrant too.

Safe lip colours

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Belly did a post about a lipstick that is her "perfectly your lip shade" and compared a lot of lipsticks of similar colour and that kind of made me go through my entire stash to look for one.  I don't own a colour that is my lips but even, I probably don't want to because it's going to be either beige brown or weird beige purple tinted skin colour. 

Dirty cases of well loved lipsticks :P

Excuse my dry naked lips. I don't really know how to describe the colour of my lips because they can be a bit more pink or mauve depending on the weather and my general health and I have brown pigmentation spots.  I usually go for lipsticks that compliments my complexion  a look "healthy and fresh" look.

L: shade  R: flash 

In the sun.
THREE Glam Touch Lipstick Color 14
I like this kind of colour
These are my favourite lip colours and formulas that help my lips look better without being too bold. You can see they are mostly orange hue, peachy beige, hint of warm red. The first strip of product is Shu Uemura Face architect illuminating moisture fluid foundation 774 for skin colour reference.

Addiction Day Trip is well loved, it helps to evens out my lips in a very subtle way that doesn't look unnatural.  I also use it to mix/blend out the Cheek stick Revenge to a wearable consistency.  I like to use it with Last Scene as well because that makes a really nice colour for my lips.

NARS Lipstick TZIGANE, is almost the same colour as Day Trip lipcrayon on my lips but a bit more red to it.  It's my go to nude lip colour with some depth.  This is scented but I actually like the smell.  This might be discontinued as I can't find it any more.

SUQQU Bright Up Lipstick EX-01 MITSUDAIDAI the lighter in tone but very to similar to Tzigane in hue maybe a tiny bit less red. I was hoping it would be similar to CG 06 but it isn't.  This is LE :(

THREE Glam Touch Lipstick Color 14, is that fresh colour I've been trying to buy forever and the formula is lovely.  Most other attempts in this colour have turned out garish and complete fails because of opaque white bases.

SUQQU Creamy Glow Lipstick in 06, this is probably the favourite out of the bunch to wear but itself. I  like to use to mix/layer it with 01 Saebana to tone down the blue to make a nicer colour. This one also mixes well with 18 Karakurenai for a brighter but not full on colour.  I wish I had more CG colors but I got these off Dollyleo when they were about to close down and I could not accept the markup on other sites.

SUQQU SUQQU Creamy Glow Lipstick in 09, Is my go to sophisticated lip colour, kind of boring lol. I would like this colour as blush but the lipstick can double as cream blush which is great.

This is taken in direct sunlight that is coming through the window.
Addiction Day Trip, NARS Lipstick TZIGANE, SUQQU Bright Up Lipstick EX-01 MITSUDAIDAI, THREE Glam Touch Lipstick Color 14, SUQQU Creamy Glow Lipsticks 06 & 09
btw my wall colour is Dulux A180 Hog Bristle Quarter

Without direct sunlight but next to a window on white Ikea glass panel
Addiction Day Trip, NARS Lipstick TZIGANE, SUQQU Bright Up Lipstick EX-01 MITSUDAIDAI, THREE Glam Touch Lipstick Color 14, SUQQU Creamy Glow Lipsticks 06 & 09

This is taken in direct sunlight that is coming through the window.
Addiction Day Trip, NARS Lipstick TZIGANE, SUQQU Bright Up Lipstick EX-01 MITSUDAIDAI, THREE Glam Touch Lipstick Color 14, SUQQU Creamy Glow Lipsticks 06 & 09

Without direct sunlight but next to a window
Addiction Day Trip, NARS Lipstick TZIGANE, SUQQU Bright Up Lipstick EX-01 MITSUDAIDAI, THREE Glam Touch Lipstick Color 14, SUQQU Creamy Glow Lipsticks 06 & 09
I totally forgot to add Dior Addict lipstick in Nude 333 (discontinued) that use to serve a similar role as SUQQU Creamy Glow Lipstick in 06 and Canmake Smily Gerbera (fresh orange beige tint) in the swatch lineup.  In my last lipstick related post I was complaining about Madame Flirte being unflattering but after a bit of experimenting it looks a lot better (like strawberry red) when layered on top of Canmake Smily Gerbera because it looks like real life colour balance adjustment without changing the texture or the jelly look too much.

I just checked my stash and I feel a bit ashamed of how much stuff I have because I own 37 lipsticks, 10 glosses (don't use at all), 6 balms, 3 stain/gels and 3 crayons and 2 lip liners :( I need to purge the ones that I don't like/use any more since my fridge is look quite full.

Current loves

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Before we begin, look at these pretty flowers that I grew from $2 seed packet. I didn't expect such pretty colours considering the packet had maroon coloured flowers on it.

Pink Aster

Purple Aster
Belly was curious about the contents of my z-palette so here it is.

Pro size z-palette.  I thought it was too tiny for housing all of my SUQQU shadows so I didn't try and it became this.  Z-palette is handy for housing things I should use more.

This is what it looked like at first in October 2013
01 Kakitsubata 06 Ginbudou EX-12 Hisuidama (top right)
Unforgettable Oriole, Sweet Dust Seriema, Grey Go-away Lourie, Blackpepper Jay and Abyssinian Catbird, Angelic
Cockatiels and Periwinkle Cardinal (Some depotting accidents/rage)
Dior 1-colour extreme Gold Touch 546, NARS lhasa, Shiseido Luminizing Satin Eye Color VI720 Ghost, Shiseido Luminizing Satin Face Color WT905 High Beam White

I put away some things I don't reach for.  I added Alchemy and RMK powder

Better view of dips I hope


eh forgot about brow and eyeliner pens and Canmake Blessed Natural Foundation 01 for group photo :(
I added in RBR Fire Tailed Sunbird
Fasio Ultra Curl Lock Volume BK001
Lunasol full glamour gloss ex20A
Canmake Highlight & Retouch Concealer UV
Canmake Cover&Stretch Concealer UV 01
ISEHAN Hyaluronic Acid Collagen moist lip.
Heavy Rotation Volume Lip Essence
THREE Flash Performance eyeliner pencil 09 Child of the Moon
Addiction palette (post now has swatches)


I really like the Heavy Rotation Volume Lip Essence because it makes my lip lines go away and my lips look fuller and it doesn't do anything bad to my lips.  The Lunasol one just makes lip lines go away like ps'ed glossy lips without the heavy feeling.

Random base stuff and thoughts.  Usually I only use Shiseido Face Color WT905 all over face with light hand and Canmake Blessed Natural Foundation 01 in places where I need a bit more colour correction.  My skin is dehydrated and can get really oily on t-zone so I prefer powder products because I don't have to worry about it sliding off my face or something and I'm lazy and I'll be late for work.  I powder/blot down the sunscreen gloss and call it a day most of the time.

L to R
Hada-Labo BB Whitening Cream (dark)
Chantecaille Future Skin Camomile
Chantecaille Future Skin Alabaster
Media Cream Foundation PO-B1
Canmake Cover&Stretch Concealer UV 01 mixed with their Highlight & Retouch Concealer UV
Canmake Cover&Stretch Concealer UV 01
Canmake Highlight & Retouch Concealer UV

Hada-Labo BB Whitening Cream (dark) and Chantecaille Future Skin Camomile look exactly the same to me, in person. Future skin feels lot better on skin.

Chantecaille Future Skin Alabaster, I really want to get this but knowing I will only use it 3 or 5 times a year I will not buy this because $105 AUD.  I like how firm my skin feels with it on but arg $$$

Media Cream Foundation was a cheap thrill. That colour looks wrong for me but it works fine because it is so sheer even with two layers.  The texture is light and very forgiving, no creasing in smile lines and leaves a very radiant skin like finish but that being said I think this only works in cold environments as I can imagine this becoming an oil slick on hot days. This is probably good as a colour correcting base for ladies that like powder foundation.  I will experiment more with this.  Btw this is nothing like the Lunasol cream foundation, it's too sheer and has almost no blemish covering power.

Canmake Cover&Stretch Concealer UV 01 mixed with their Highlight & Retouch Concealer UV is good for under eyes for just smear it all over places and blend well.  It's kind opaque so a little goes a long way.  Probably a little too yellow if not sheered out.



Rouge Bunny Rouge Collection

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I've been growing my modest RBR collection and recently I have added Loose Glitter Pigments Fire Drops in Sleeping under a Mandarin Tree and Long-Lasting Eyeshadow- When Birds Are Singing in Mysterious Tinamou to my collection.  


Sleeping under a Mandarin Tree


Sleeping under a Mandarin Tree

I tried to take pictures when there was more light but it just blew out to white :(

This product is a bit hard to work with.  I apply it on the back of my hand first and pick it up with a flat definer brush to pat over a base for that beautiful golden sheen.   Has anyone press this to a pan shadow?

Here it is by itself in the morning sun. So blinding.

I used lower exposure here and it is still blinding and pic looks kind of desaturated
Definitely eye brightening stuff there.



Mysterious Tinamou
Mysterious Tinamou looks really nice over a pencil or liquid liner. Hakuhodo G521 Eyeliner Brush D1 is great brush for adding any e/s over a precise line because it picks up just enough shadow to avoid fall out.  I don't recommend a round brush with this e/s coz look at that fall out I made.


Over primer, Shiseido ghost and Mysterious Tinamou over black (dollywink) and brown (avance) liquid liner.

Older purchases:

L to R
Blackpepper Jay, Angelic Cocktiels, Periwinkle Cardinal, Sweet Dust Seriema, Grey Go Away Lourie
Middle refills are Abyssinian Catbird Unforgettable Oriole.


Chestnut Napped Apalis, Fire Tailed Sunbird and Solstice Halcyon


All shimmer shades applied over NYX HD eye primer.

Mysterious Tinamou, Periwinkle Cardinal, Abyssinian Catbird, Sleeping under a Mandarin Tree, Angelic Cocktiels, Fire Tailed Sunbird with a speck of basil pollen,  Unforgettable Oriole, Solstice Halcyon

Mysterious Tinamou, Periwinkle Cardinal, Abyssinian Catbird, Sleeping under a Mandarin Tree, Angelic Cocktiels, Fire Tailed Sunbird,  Unforgettable Oriole, Solstice Halcyon
Outdoors with basil back drop so it doesn't look like I'm taking pics of the neighbour's window.
By the way Periwinkle Cardinal, Abyssinian Catbird and Angelic Cocktiels are too irritating for me to wear which is a pity because so pretty.
Matte Shades

No primer, applied with fingers (photo taken in shade)
Blackpepper Jay, Grey Go Away Lourie, Sweet Dust Seriema, Chestnut Napped Apalis

With primer, applied with no.9 round sable art brush, in sunlight (it's warmer looking)

Again with Burberry Almond on far right.

Before I purchased Chestnut Napped Apalis, I was curious about how close it is to Burberry's Almond and I could not find a comparison. They look quite close in the swatch right?  I think there is a huge different between them when used on eyelids. Almond has a golden sheen is a lot more pigmented that is harder to blend out once laid down over primer, Chestnut on the other hand is sheer and difficult to build up so it is perfect for a blending shade.

Blackpepper Jay seems to be the only shade that looks about the same with or without primer on my dry skin and it is difficult to remove the swatch.  I'm not a fan of the mattes on my eyelids (irritation issues and doesn't look good) but I like them for brows. K-palette liquid brow pen 02 to draw brow tail and with Chikuhodo Z-series Z-6 I apply a very small amount of Grey Go Away Lourie + Sweet Dust Seriema to fill in my brows and they stay all day unless you're up for a 1hr cardio session.

What are your favourite shades? Does anyone else have similar problems with rbr shadows?  I can't wear urban decay naked 1 for the same reason.

Sorry about the lighting conditions and focus issues in swatch pics. I hope they are still helpful in some way.

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick no. 52 Rosy Coral & Gloss Volupté 204 Corail Trapeze

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I haven't watch the show "My Love from Another Star, You Who Came from the Stars"starring Jun Ji Hyun.  I only saw screen caps of it and insane ebay listings with equally insane bids.

I saw the lipstick for the first time on Silverkis. I forgot about it until I overheard a SA pitching it to a lady that had no idea about what the SA was going on about "popular Korean actress", that was a funny scene because the SA didn't even know the name of the actress that she was referring to. Unfortunately, she did buy the last one at that store and the SA continued to ignore me and I left when she bee lined to a guy in a nice suit. For a week, I was obessed with finding one to buy because it's a pretty colour. I contacted Myer to see if they had any and their customer service called me a few days later telling me they have 7 in stock in Australia and she told me the closest store might have one so I rushed over there at lunch time and purchased it with Gloss Volupté 204 that I was playing with the other day but here was no SA around at David Jones to sell it to me and it was only 3pm!

YSL had a gift with purchase, purple pouch and a sample card for three Gloss Volupté shades. This is probably the first time I have purchased make up in person since discovering online shopping about six years ago.  Getting something right now and out of my mind is probably worth the extra $$... sometimes.

Th whole haul

They're pretty together, the packaging looks more gold when they reflect each other lol
(overcast)

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick no. 52 Rosy Coral and Gloss Volupté  no. 204 Corail Trapeze
(yay sunlight)

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick 52 Rosy Coral, outdoors on paper

More colour accurate with direct sunlight?

Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick 52 Rosy Coral, in shade.  It looks pink because overcast sky.

Gloss has sparse tiny gold shimmers

Close up of the sample gloss if you're interested

Arm swatch 

 Gloss Volupté 204 Corail Trapeze, Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick no. 52 Rosy Coral 

Again but outside, direct sunlight

Indoors


Gloss Volupté 204 Corail Trapeze on bare lips


Warmer lighting, you can see it's quite sheer, freckles showing

Lighting is a bit blue here, it's not pink in person

The gloss smells like melon candy to me and I don't mind it.  I'm glad it doesn't smell like Korres Lip Butter Mango because that was truly gross!!! I love fresh mangos and it doesn't smell like any of the varieties that I have tried around here.  Bowen and Kensington mangos smell delicious while Nam Doc Mai mango is probably in the acquired taste category but I like it.  If this gloss smelled like R2E2 or Calypso variety then it will probably scentless and tasteless ^_-  The gloss is nice because it makes lips look nice and plump while being a pretty colour.


Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick 52 Rosy Coral on bare lips


Probably most accurate shot but sorry for dry lips
(applied with brush)


A step back from doorway, less light.
(applied with brush)


Update, I took another set of lip swatches just for the sake of trying to make it look darker if applied straight from bullet, 3 layers (Apply, blot, apply, blot, apply).
I used the same camera and a phone camera to see if it make a huge difference.


In shade, at about sunset on the east side of apartment (inside).

In shade, at about sunset on the east side of apartment (outside).

In direct sun ray from window.  Looks a lot warmer but not red.
Sparkles on skin thanks to Paul & Joe bird balls

Warm sunset lighting.  *cringe at SLR skin details
Shade lighting taken with phone.

Sunset lighting taken with phone.

I didn't apply balm first so you can see what it can do to lip lines.  I used a brush, this is probably not full opacity and it probably won't happen with a brush.  I would probably wear a gloss on top or use a balm underneath when I wear this properly. It does dry to a almost transfer proof finish and it doesn't come off easily so it is perfect for Korean style gradient lip make up looks. This lipstick is not moisturising at all but it's not drying. I kind of like the rose scent, it is strong but doesn't make me sneeze all the time like most scented products.

By the  way, if you are thinking "Why is it so light and pink?" I'm not sure, maybe because overcast day? This other blogger has pictures with similar colour,  it looks heaps better on her and she paired it with the 202 gloss.

Any dupes in my stash?  Not really.  At first glance, I thought Revenge looked rather close but after some comparison, no unless I had bad lighting.

Next to some other bright shades that I have, oddly enough silk stockings looks orange next to those, it's a warm red on lips.
Addiction cheek stick Revenge  and
 Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick no. 52 Rosy Coral

Addiction cheek stick Revenge  and Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick no. 52 Rosy Coral
They looked similar here, had to lower exposure to see.
L to R
Addiction cheek stick Revenge
Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick no. 52 Rosy Coral
Paul & Joe Full Pigment Lipstick Silk Stockings 303
Not as similar here after going heavier


Paper swatch
Revenge is actually bluer and darker on lips (imo scary by itself and does no favours for my lip texture).
Silk Stockings is a full on red coral (lovely on lips but hate scent and the charcoal thing didn't work on it).

I don't have a similar gloss to compare so that's it.  I hope the pictures were helpful, and good luck finding YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick no. 52 Rosy Coral.  

SUQQU 2014 Spring Eye Shadows

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This post features SUQQU Blend Color Eyeshadow in 15 Mitsucha , 16 Hanashoubu, 17 Yomogiiro and Creamy Glow Moists Lipstick in 06 Harunadeshiko. All products are purchased by me via Selfridges.

I placed my order because Bellyhead tipped me off in her post. I have been eyeing Sara's posts and her swatches and eye looks are lovely as always. Erica's eye shadow placements are nice and probably closer to how I could wear them, her swatches are good if you are looking for what it looks like on paler skin and she has swatches of the whole collection and she has a video showing how she uses 15 Mitsucha. Sherrybuyjp has swatches with in store lighting.

Sorry for tons of pics, I couldn't pick out the best shots, each shot had a certain thing that showed up better so I posted more than usual, I had over 50 shots. I gave up on taking better photos that shows everything I want. I know it can happen but no decent weather for lighting when I'm not working isn't helping. So we'll have to make do with what I have now. If there is a shade that you would like to see it next to, just ask and I'll probably make it happen if I have it. Now, it's time to scroll down to to see if we are feeding or killing that desire to buy the pretties...

I purchased all three quads because I couldn't decide and I wanted to recreate the promo picture arrangement, I might have failed because I wasn't really sure which pale shade was suppose to go where.

Might have some light shades in the wrong spot but you get the picture.
btw I could not tell which pale shade belonged to which palette after this arrangement

My usual

Front on



Creamy Glow Moists Lipstick in 06 Harunadeshiko
Creamy Glow Moists Lipstick in 06 Harunadeshiko

There was a fair amount of Photoshop work was involved in the above pictures, such as creating the plain white background and colour balancing all photos to be as true to life as possible to compensate for my zero photography skills, aka point and shot in auto mode with Nikon D90 (with kit lens) on a semi overcast day with window light as my lighting.  You can see I didn't edit the products for excess dust or stray eye shadow dust or clean up the actual product taking the pics because I'll probably nick them if I tried.

They might be similar to some older shades in dc quads:

15 Mitsucha
Similar to ex-16 minus the hot pink, probably look really similar on the eyes for most people.
I think the gold and brown shades are really pretty.

16 Hanashoubu
Reminded me of last year's spring EX-13, but this is more saturated version. The stand out shade is the purple but if you have Shisedio colour bar then you can skip this because the purple shade looks really similar on Rougedeluxe when she used it for 2 recent looks.  Maybe Nars Duo Kauai could be an easier to find alternative for a rich purple.

17 Yomogiiro
The golden brown shade is my favourite, there is isn't a dupe shade after looking through my stash but it does remind me of 01 Kakitsubata's bronze but more sparkly. The green is not similar to EX-19's because it is less sparkly, more green-yellow with golden sheen.


Here are unedited, lower exposure shots for reference, click to enlarge:


Trying to focus on showing the texture

15 Mitsucha, the gold and brown are the  most appealing shades to me

15 Mitsucha


15 Mitsucha
Cloud got in the way here

16 Hanashoubu
The rust colour is the only shade of the all the palettes that isn't shimmery

16 Hanashoubu

16 Hanashoubu
Cloud got in the way here


17 Yomogiiro


17 Yomogiiro
Low exposure so you can see the light purple shade and the texture of the pale yellow-white shade.

17 Yomogiiro
Cloud got in the way here

Sparkle showing photos:

Overcast day with a small ray of sunlight shining through the window


Sparkly angle with 15, 17, 16

Sparkly angle with 15, 17, 16

15 Mitsucha in focus

17 Yomogiiro is the most sparkly of the 3 imo.

17 Yomogiiro green shade sparkles are really showing here

Eh slightly different focus point here, more sparkles!


I hope the photos were helpful.  Thank you for reading :) 

Paul & Joe - Face Powder S

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I know I said I won't be getting the balls but I got them when asos had a 15% off code, along with some clothes and what not.

Lovely reviews at drivelaboutfrivol and swatcharama :) 

I had fun taking pics but the scent made me sneeze a few times.  After application, the scent does go away but it lingers faintly, their skincare smells a lot nicer imo.  The balls don't do anything for me, in fact my camera is more likely to focus on the applied area rather than make it "blur" out, I have a whole bunch of pictures where my arm was blurry and only the swatch was in focus lol.  Applied on my face, it is a bit sparkly for my liking, and they show up in photos with my camera but not drying like Guerlain version.  

So here we have photos of the product

Pretty bird picture

Sorry I misaligned the box

Picture of birds in a nest sitting on a fluffy pillow lol


Fluffy!

If  I had time to make a nest I would but this will do right?

With sunlight

With sunlight

Extreme close up, 100% size of photo but cropped
  
no sun :( 

no sun :( 



Basic shots, no fluffy backgrounds.









Sorry for inconsistent lighting because overcast day with rare rays of light.

I hope you enjoy the pictures :)

Shiseido Natural Eyebrow Pencil GY901 Natural Black

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I saw this pencil mentioned on MUA recently as a good colour for asian skin tones with natural dark brows because most products on the market are too brown or red and so on.  It's grey and why not for science right?

Straight out of the box

Text says "Made in China Assembled in USA "

Close up of the brush

See how wide and round it is

Swatch order is RBR Grey Go-away Lourie, Shiseido Pencil GY901 Natural Black, Shu Uemura
Hard Formula in stone gray 05
(pigmented because applied over skin with sunscreen)
I wish there was a shu hard formula pencil colour that is less brown than stone grey.
Testing the pencil + Kate brow powder

USA website says:

DESCRIPTION:
Achieve and maintain perfect brows all day long. Firm pencil precisely draws in individual brows or fills in broad areas. Maintains a just applied look without need for touch up. Brush end blends hairs and pencil for a natural look.

What it really does for me is none of the above.

The formula is too emollient and it is not long lasting over my skincare.  It might work if I don't use anything on my skin and let it be but that would be painfully dry.  The brush is useless because it's too round and the pencil product will completely move to where I don't want it instead of blending.

Colour wise, the colour is blue-purple tinted grey with a white base, not natural looking on me in person. It did look better once corrected with Kanebo Kate brow palette to add some yellow hue back into it.  I tried it on my eyelids and it looks like I blended purple grey e/s onto my eyelids, not bad if I want a base colour like that.

Overall this pencil is a disappointment if my aim was to reduce my brow routine to a single product.
I can use it in my current routine but it isn't as user friendly compared to the shu pencil because extra effort required for an even application and it doesn't last and becomes patchy too quickly for the extra effort.

I'm going to stick to with my current routine of K-palette (stain base) + Shu stone grey (base colour) + RBR Grey Go-away Lourie (corrector + setting) and that lasts all day in humid and hot conditions and workout/bush walking.  Although, I will continue to search for a simpler brow routine product,  maybe dipbrow in dark brown is next on the hit list?  Any suggestions?

YSL EYELINER EFFET FAUX CILS - Long-Wear Cream Eyeliner 04 Sea Black

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YSL Effet Faux-Cils Long-Wear Cream Eyeliner 04 Sea Black is quite a stunning eyeliner and I have been eyeing it for ages and I have finally purchased it in a birthday haul last month.

So pretty in person




Sea Black next to THREE flash performance eyeliner pencil 04 Eye Belong


So pretty right? I prefer the the look of it to the THREE eyeliner because no shimmer.

Unfortunately for me, this cream liner doesn't work for me... so sad :(  My eyes don't like it, it's a good product but my eyes are just too sensitive.

I think I will stick with black liner and pat blue eyeshadow over it from now on.

By Terry Crayon Khol Terrybly - 9 Royal Navy and Rimmel Scandal'Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Bright Blue

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Can never have too much blue right?  I've been itching to get the By Terry pencil ever since I saw it at DAF.  I picked up the Rimmel in an ASOS order to compare the shades and the result is they are completely different.

First off, yay no bad reaction from either unlike my last blue eyeliner.

I like the By Terry pencil more, it is super pigmented, glides on beautifully and stays put.  Only down side is it goes blunt faster than an other pencil I have ever tried.  

The Rimmel one is not bad, just not pigmented in practice (on eyes) and a bit dry.

I had a bit of a play with the blue liners and they made good bases for purple shadows that either disappear or look wrong on my skin.  Suqqu's Ruridama palette wasn't a very flattering palette for me and Royal Navy was the best base for it so I could get the purple (top right) colour to show as as purple (almost like the bottom left shade but better) and not cool tone greys.

Rimmel Scandal'Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Bright Blue vs By Terry Crayon Khol Terrybly 9 Royal Navy
($4.95 vs $33.41)

Add caption


Once applied they are so different
Rimmel Scandal'Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Bright Blue (L) By Terry Crayon Khol Terrybly - 9 Royal Navy (R)
I hope these swatches in different lighting and exposure are helpful.  My inner arm is a bit lighter than NC20, bottom picture makes me look tanned but that is because of low light.

THREE Renewing Powder Foundation 202

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THREE Cosmetics, why are you so difficult to Google search?

Foundation swatches are so rare and even if there is, they are not compared to something most people are familiar with.  I purchased THREE Renewing Powder Foundation 202 unseen, would of got the cream foundation if I didn't have Chantecaille Future Skin already.  I also purchased Shiseido Maquillage True Powdery UV OC00 to compare, since it is more commonly found on google search.


Fresh pan (refill only), the sponge is very soft (not pictured)


Line up to see how similar they are in pan form

Here is the swatches L to R over primer to show up on my anti powder skin.
RMK Powder Foundation EX 101 (sorry very faint, it's very close to my skin colour)
DIORSNOW FOND DE TEINT POUDRE ECLAIRCISSANT WHITE REVEAL UV SHIELD MAKEUP SPF 30-PA+++ (included for reference)
Shiseido Maquillage True Powdery UV OC00
THREE Renewing Powder Foundation 202 (2 strips light, dark)
Chantecaille Future Skin Foundation (just included for nc20 reference purposes)
Graftobian HD Glamour Cream Porcelain (included for very fair shade reference)

Indoors

Outdoors in direct sunlight

Outdoors in direct sunlight, lower exposure

I think I could have purchased 203 instead since 202 is a bit light to wear as a foundation when applied with a sponge but for my purposes (as powder) it is fine.  It doesn't seem to give much coverage anyway, it colour corrects and keeps things not shiny but not dead matte, doesn't look powdery but it can catch onto flakes (time to pull out tweezers to fix).  Oil control is awesome for me, it won when I put THREE one side and Maquillage on the other.  I like it so far because the undertone is spot on so hopefully no breakouts or I will be very sad because it was kinda expensive.  I hope this will replace my RMK powder nicely, the shade is most similar but better.

You might notice Maquillage True Powdery UV swatches darker but it isn't darker than THREE on my face, it actually has a white cast on areas where redness was.   The textures are similar, I really can't tell the difference, maybe a bit smoother to the touch and more coverage.

Both powders are scent free imo (no overwhelming scents like Burberry or Chanel powder blushes while BNIB) but some people might say they have a faint scent of some sort but I won't go inhaling the powder pans to make sure.

Anyways, I hope the swatches help someone out there.
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