Lotus Palace

Giveaway from HOUSEOFJAM!

2009-11-07T16:43:00.006+01:00

The wonderful Julie (HouseofJAM on Etsy) contacted me a while ago offering 2 giveaway items for my readers as a thank you (quite a few of my readers have ordered from her after I posted my hauls!)!

So today the Giveaway will finally start and will be open for a week for you to enter!

As many might know HouseofJAM is one of my absolute favorite Etsy stores as she offers such beautiful highest quality handmade products (iphone pouches, pouches, key covers and other items). There are quite a few items from HouseofJAM I am carrying around with me and use daily!

There will be 2 winners for these gorgeous items!

Winner #1 will receive:

Beautifully handmade purse organizer/cosmetic pouch that's perfect to put your little things in one place

- Medium-sized purse organizer;

- Both the exterior and interior fabrics are from Japan;

- Exterior fabrics: Hawaiian leaf prints on light linen color background (cotton/linen blend) and light linen color fabric (cotton/linen blend);

- Lining fabrics: Damask on pale green background (100% cotton);

- 4 external pockets for extra storage;

- Reinforced with a layer of fusible interfacing

- Handmade label accents;

- Top quality heavy duty zipper;

- Measures 8.1 x 5.7 inches (20.5 x 14.5 cm)

Please note that I make every effort to take accurate photos of my items, but please keep in mind colors will vary monitor to monitor.

Care instructions:
Hand wash with mild detergents, no bleach, air dry, press with an iron on a low heat setting, do not iron on the zipper.

Winner #2 will receive:

Beautifully handmade card case with plastic removable inserts that can hold up to 20 cards. Great way to organize your bank card, credit card, membership card, etc.

- All fabrics are from Japan

- Exterior fabrics: Small pink roses on whitish linen background (cotton/linen blend), matching large white pokka dots on light blue background (cotton/linen blend) and natural light linen color fabric (cotton/linen blend);

- Interior lining - coordinating fabric as in the picture (100% cotton);

- A layer of fusible interface is used in between the outer fabric and lining for added structure of the card case;

- Beautiful coconut wood button with pattern carving and brown elastic string.

- Japanese lace trim;

- Cute label on the back (note the label may be different from the picture)

- Completely finished interior, no raw edges, no ugly trims.

- Measures approximately 4.5 x 3.27 inches (11.5 cm x 8.3cm) when folded.

Please note that the fabric placement may be slightly different from the picture. Please also note that I make every effort to take accurate photos of my items, but please keep in mind colors will vary monitor to monitor.

Care instructions:
Hand wash with mild detergents, no bleach, air dry, press with an iron on a low heat setting, do not iron on the button and the elastic cord, remove the plastic inserts before washing.

Conditions:
-Only followers of my blog can enter so please make sure to follow me! Please make sure I can identify you by your nickname or name!

-Please leave a comment stating which item(s) from HouseofJAM (click HERE) you like most (also included the SOLD ONES).

-Winners will be randomly chosen by random.org.

-Contest is open to worldwide and will close on Sunday, November 15th at 1 PM my time (GMT +1). Winners should please contact me within 48 hours of close of contest.

-Julie will ship the items to the winners directly!

Good Luck!

Aube, Kate & Lavshuca Winter 2009 teaser =)

2009-11-07T10:56:00.003+01:00

I ordered a few items from the new Holiday/Winter stuff from Aube Couture, Lavshuca and Kate and thought I'd post a teaser pic =) So far I can say the Kate palettes and the Lavshuca lippies are great, haven't sampled the other stuff yet.

In other news: The long awaited giveaway from one of my absolute top Etsy sellers HouseofJam is coming up later today! Be sure to enter!!

And finally I am working on my last batch of sales items for Lotus Palace Sales which should be up within the next hour or 2 and will include some Lunasol, Jill Stuart and besides the usual Japanese makeup also lots of Korean items this time so be sure to check LP sales here!

Here's the promised teaser pic:

Inexpensive Beauty Find: Sana Uruoitaishi, the moisture Ambassador! (Hiaruronsan)

2009-11-05T19:11:00.004+01:00

Sana usually releases interesting or even gimmicky products from time to time and often I simply can't resist =) And honestly the majority of their items is pretty good, too!
I am such a darn sucker for anything cute so I surely had no chance to resist the cute Uruoitaishi Hiaruronsan moisture gel that comes in a pot that resembles a Russian Matryoshka doll! Too cute!

Look at those hilarious cartoons ("Mummy Eyes" *snorts*) explaining the uses of the gel and the spray (which I just ordered but haven't received yet):

As you see both items can be used even on top of makeup. I haven't tried it as I can't imagine to slap gel on top of my face when it's fully made up but I would use the spray.

Now on to the review. I love the gel! It's a rather firm, not liquid milky white gel and has no scent or unpleasant smell (a slight chemical which you might know from unscented products). It contains hyaluronic acid.
The gel sinks in really well and leaves my skin buttery soft without any greasy or sticky residues. I tested it for about 3 weeks now and my skin didn't react to it, on the contrary it looks plump and healthy and I enjoy going out without makeup on some days (with a bit of either Meishoku Moist Labo BB Cream or Etude House Moistfull Collagen Balm).

I will be sure to always have some pots of this stuff around. I definitely need to get one for my bedroom, one for the bathroom and maybe one for the car.

25g retail for 980 Yen (+tax). I picked mine up from Adambeauty (click HERE) It cost US$11 incl. shipping (add US$2 for tracking/order). This means that Adam doesn't charge us really more than what you would pay if you went to a Japanese drugstore yourself. Love fair prices!

Fall 2009: Integrate Line Power Eyes GR720 & Aqua Creamy Rouge PK308 + RD312

2009-11-05T18:23:00.005+01:00

When I found the new Integrate fall stuff on Adambeauty I decided to haul one of the eyeshadows (the one I wanted initially had already been sold out *sniff*) and 2 of the lipsticks.
I am usually very happy with Integrate's lippies but was unlucky with several of their eyeshadow palettes.

The newest line of shadow quads is called Line Power Eyes and features 2 eyeshadows and 2 liners.
The 2 eyeshadows are a medium lid color and a slightly glittery highlighter and the liners are a deep one for eye definition and a white cream version for lining the inner corners.
Of course you can use the white cream liner as a base and the deep liner as an eyeshadow but Integrate recommends them as liners.

The amount of pigment is good and the colors work together nicely. The texture is silky and applies smoothly. I didn't notice any creasing either.

The colors are all basics and there are no remarkable or special color combos available. I think the no-risk colors are a typical thing for Integrate though. I anyway like the green palette I got.

GR720: contains a pretty neutral medium mossy green, a deep hunter green, a glittery pale green and a white cream liner.
Contains 3.5g. I paid US$19.50 on adambeauty.

I also picked up 2 of the new Aqua Creamy Rouge lipsticks.
The lipsticks come in sleek and simple silver/white metal tubes. The texture is really nice and creamy and the pigment is medium so it's quite good and with a few layers the color shows up pretty true to what you see in the tube. The finish is a satiny, a bit glossy look. Really pretty! As always Shiseido came out with a great new range of lippies!

PK308:The color on the right. This is a very nice pink beige. Very natural and flattering on me.

RD312: This is a brownish medium red. It's not really warm nor cool, rather neutral I'd say so it works for me. It's not too dark or bright so it's a very wearable neutral with a bit more color than other neutrals I use. LOTD pic shows this color.

Contains 2.2 g. I paid US$18 on adambeauty.

All in all I can recommend Integrate's newest fall collection. If you like good basic colors I am sure you can find a favorite in the new collection. If you want more daring colors then you'd rather like to look elsewhere.

Lotus Palace Sales updated

2009-11-02T16:05:00.002+01:00

I´ve added some more items to my sale.
Included are more palettes from Jill Stuart, Cle de Peau, Esprique etc.
Also included are some blushes this time (P&J and Cle de Peau)

=D

Giveaway closed! And the winner is...........

2009-11-01T19:17:00.002+01:00

.........ncwl!

Congratulations! Please email me your address to lotuspalace@web.de.

Thanks everyone for participating!

Lotus Palace Sales updated

2009-10-30T19:10:00.003+01:00

I finally had some time to destash some things...
If you're interested please check Lotus Palace Sales =D

There are 3 sales:

Sale 1 for eyeshadows (includes Banila Co, Lunasol, Jill Stuart, Cathy Cat, Kate etc.)

Sale 2 for foundations, BB Creams, powders

Sale 3 for skincare.

Inexpensive Beauty find & first venture into Japanese BB Creams: Meishoku Moist Labo BB Essence Cream SPF40 PA+++

2009-10-29T11:55:00.002+01:00

To be honest this is not my very first venture into Japanese BB Creams..I tried one from Nanoce some time ago but got the wrong color which was so off that I didn't bother trying the cream on my face and put it up for sale on LP Sales right away.

Recently I spotted this new Japanese BB Cream (in 2 versions) on Adambeauty (click here for direct link) and granted I was very interested and decided to get both (natural and shiny) as they were really cheap (US$14.50) and because I was interested to review them here anyway =P
I know by Korean BB cream standards US$14.50 isn't that cheap but I believe the Meishoku BB creams are among the cheapest Japan-produced ones.

Meishoku has a pretty nice under-eye concealer (I got the pink one which I haven't reviewed.. I can say it's a nice concealer which brightens my eyes instantly. Coverage is about sheer-medium so it's best if your eye-circles aren't too severe).

I actually wasn't that convinced that either of the BB creams would work for me but to my surprise both are nice and work for my skin-tone.

Both BB creams have the same color, a very light yellow-toned shade. On the swatch on my hand (left is #01, right #02) they look very yellow but when blended they're nicely adjusting to my skin (as you can see on the pic below where I blended 02 on my hand).
#02 Shiny has some fine silver glitters spread throughout the cream.
I personally like #01 Natural better as the glitters in #02 are fine but not fine enough not to show up as glitters. Good to wear on a dark or rainy day but in bright sunlight you'll get the disco-ball effect I think.

Texture-wise I can't detect a difference either, both are rather lightweight and don't have that heavy silicone-feel some Korean BB creams have. Actually the Meishoku BB creams are really nice and light so they should work well for someone with normal-oily skin.
Coverage is actually quite good, I'd say medium and buildable. I can easily cover my cheek redness and my light eye-circles with the Moist Labo BB Creams.
I love how my skin feels very silky, and smooth but without a greasy or heavy feeling some Korean BB creams leave behind.
The finish is a natural matte. #02 has the added glitters as stated above.

The tubes are small, each only contains 33g. #01 comes in a light golden and #02 in a pale pink tube.

According to Meishoku the BB Cream has 6 benefits:
-Essence
-Cream
-Makeup Base
-Concealer
-Foundation
-UV sun block (SPF40 PA+++)
The hyaluronic acid found in this BB Cream is supposedly only 1/100 of the size as regular hyaluronic acid molecules as nano-technology is used.
Furthermore the BB Creams are sweat-and waterproof.
Retails: 1260 Yen (about US$13)

All in all I can highly recommend this BB cream for anyone with fair-light skin-tone and most skin-types except very dry. Since I have no problems with acne I can't tell you if it would work acne-prone skin or not.

GIVEAWAY! Pocket calendar, Miffy pens & more

2009-10-28T13:51:00.007+01:00

I thought it's the right time for a little giveaway, yay! The really cool giveaway from HouseofJam will be soon, too! =D

Since the year is coming to an end I thought one of my readers will be delighted to get a cute Japanese pocket schedule book, some sweet pens and a small bunch of some letters/letter papers and memo cards for writing some happy lines to their friends and loved ones =). All stationery is either Japanese or Korean (the pens) =D

You get:

-Matryoshka pocket calendar starting from November 2009 through March 2011
-3 Miffy pens (0.5mm), scented gel pens that write very smoothly. Th colors are blue, pink and purple
-3 envelopes with matching letter sheet
-6 message cards
-2 small envelopes with message card enclosed

My rules:
-become a follower of my blog if you aren't yet
-leave a comment (no specific content required)...please make sure I can identify you by your nick or first name!
-Contest ends on Sunday, November 1st 2009, 6 PM (my time, GMT +1)
-Winner will be announced in a new post after random selection by random.org
-Please contact me within 3 days to claim your prize or another winner will be selected!
-Prize will be shipped by airmail WORLDWIDE within 2 business days after winner contacts me! Happy participating and Good Luck!

Cute Stationery: San-X Palette's Sweet Street pocket calendars

2009-10-17T13:34:00.006+02:00

Along with some letter sets and stickers I ordered I purchased 2 cute new pocket calendars for 2010. I was excited to find them with my favorite San-X character Palette!

I got 2 and didn't really know why the pink one was more expensive than the blue one but when I received them I understood why =)
The blue one is really slim and handy and just has a double-page per month whereas the pink one also has a page per week.
I am using the blue one as it's super slim and handy and easy to tote around. I just love the cute illustrations on every page! Of course the themes fit with the month they're used for =)

While I loved my Korean ones I got last year they were so heavy to carry around due to all the pages inside.

Both day planners run from October 2009 (yep, I am already using mine!) through March 2011 and also contain memo pages, address sheets and some Japanese subway maps.

I got mine from Etsy seller JapanKawaiiYa. I paid approx. US$12 for the blue and US$17 for the pink planner.
Both come with a protective clear plastic cover.

Fall 2009: Etude House Moistfull Collagen (Part 1: base makeup)

2009-10-17T10:38:00.009+02:00

Etude House's fall collection is called Moistfull Collagen vs. Code: B. Moistfull Collagen consists of various base makeup items and skincare whereas Code: B is the makeup color collection. Honestly Code: B is a snore and I only picked up one (but a very pretty) lipgloss up from the collection.

I however purchased quite a bunch of the Moistfull Collagen collection with mixed results. I like the original Moistfull range so seeing base makeup from the new improved series really excited me and I indulged shamelessly in quite a few of them.

I will review the makeup items in this post and leave the few bits of skincare for later.

The Moistfull Collagen base makeup collection consists of:
-Essence-In Primer (a dual-phase spray) - 10000 Won
-Essence-In Base SPF22 PA+ (pink or green) - 13500 Won
-Essence-In Foundation SPF22 PA+ (2 colors: #1 and 2) - 13500 Won
-Balm SPF36 (1 color only) - 16500 Won
-Essence-In Pact SPF25 PA++ (2 colors: #1 and 2)- 15500 Won

I got all items except for the primer spray.

Essence-In Base:
This comes in bulky plastic bottle with a pump dispenser. I got the pink version (#2 Shimmer Essence) as I thought it would do a nice job of illuminating my pale skin.

The base is a lightweight cream with a smooth and silky feeling when you spread it. It nearly covers nothing but as I expected brightens my complexion and gives a soft pearly sheen.

So far so good...but unfortunately my skin reacted almost instantly to this product. I got a red rash on my right cheek along with a burning sensation so I had to remove the base and I won't be using it again.

Essence-In Foundation:
The packaging is like the one of the Essence-In Base but the top part is purple instead of peach.

The texture and coverage (about sheer-medium and buildable) are excellent, very moisturizing and smooth. However the color (#1 which is the lighter one) is so off (too dark and yellow) that it looked so fake on me I had to remove it. I think this would be suitable for a NC20-25.

It leaves a beautiful dewy finish and it's really a pity that this doesn't work for me.

Balm:

The balm comes housed in a very pretty light peach compact with an opalescent top. The balm is tightly covered by a soft plastic tray and comes with 2 sponges.

This is the only product among the Moistfull Collagen base makeup series that works for me and I really love it (and will order a few more to store in the car, purse etc.). This is actually astonishing me as I expected this to be the item I would like the least.

This is a solid foundation balm which only comes in one color mixed with white swirls of moisture cream. Together they blend to a very light beige which is really *so* close to my natural skin color. I think this would only work up to a NC-20, for anyone more tan than this it will probably be too light.

I love using this when I am on the run and too lazy for makeup but still want even skin (coverage is medium) with a pretty dewy sheen.
I should add that the lasting power of this isn't that great, only 3-4 hours if you don't set it with powder.

This has a pleasant scent like all the Moistfull Collagen range. It's a lighter and prettier scent than the original series carries.
The balm came in a set with the Cream (will be reviewed later) which cost me 31500 Won. The balm came packed together with a sample of the cream, too!

Essence-In Pact:

This is the obligatory pressed powder from the Moistfull Collagen range. I was delighted to find a moisturizing powder compact from Etude House as I like some of their powders.
The compact is purple with an opalescent cover, just like the compact of the balm but in purple.

The Essence-In Pact is too dry for me and the color doesn't match either. It's a very light-toned powder but the yellow tones aren't suitable for me so I can't wear this either.
I even ordered 2 of this by mistake!

I think I should just stop trying foundations and stick with my beloved and trusted Maquillage foundation and powders! However the balm is a great addition to my morning skincare!

I got my stuff from etudegmark on Gmarket. I purchased a whole lot more stuff (especially from their new body care products) and got some nice freebies.

Fall 2009: Lunasol Star Shower Eyes 04 Star River & Shizukuboshi Jyouka Stardust On Eyes EX-01 Silver

2009-10-13T13:07:00.007+02:00

Again I have been posting so little *sigh*. Honestly I lost a bit interest in blogging lately as I am starting to get super busy with my studies (again) and I had a fraught emergency with my youngest Sara a week ago (she's all fine and well now but she gave me the most shocking 15 minutes of my life!) which just reminded me once again what matters most.

I am way behind my reviews, I have so much stuff probably good for 100+ postings and I will try to catch up on as much as possible over the next period. I also got so much cute Etsy and stationery stuff but will only post some selected items as I just don't have the time anymore to take pics of everything I get, sorry!

As every fall Lunasol added a new range of eyeshadow palettes to their range.
This year's series is called "Star Shower Eyes" and come in the same signature metallic chocolate bronze cases like the other palettes.

I don't know why but I wasn't that keen on the new Lunasol stuff however one of the palettes looked pretty so I decided to go for it.
I wasn't that keen on my Blooming Eyes (=Layer Bloom Eyes) palette as the result was a bit chalky and dull.
The Star Shower Eyes palette I chose is 04 Star River. I also got the palette in 05 Close of Night for my mum whom I made a fan of Lunasol hehe =P

The texture of the shades in the Star Shower Eyes palette is very smooth and packs good pigment in the purple and dark charcoal color. The white and silver are more sheer which is suitable for highlighting shades in my opinion.
To my delight all shades have a rather pearly instead of glittery finish. The shade at the bottom left has a fine multi-colored glitter but far less chunky and annoying as the glitter shade in most of the other Lunasol palettes.

The dark color at the bottom right has a very complex finish, almost like a soft metallic and not the dull dark gray found in many other brands. This is a vibrant and interesting color.
The purple is grayish so it flatters me perfectly. The top left shade is a pretty white highlighter and the slightly glittery shade below it is a light silver.

All in all a great palette I used several time already and got compliments nearly every time I wore it (something that rarely occurs honestly!).
I got this from Gooddealer.com who offered the best price for this palette when it came out. I think still you get the best deal there despite shipping and handling charges.

I also picked up the Shizukuboshi Jyouka Stardust On Eyes EX-01 Silver. I actually don't know why I got this as I am not so much a fan of glitter shadow hehe.

This is a Limited Edition eyeshadow single which contains only glitter, no color so you're supposed to dab this on top of your regular shadows for added sparkle.

Actually I like this product, the glitter is very fine and elegant, I used this on top of the Star Shower Eyes palette and the result was stunning. This will be a cute little item for the upcoming holidays, too!
I got this from Gooddealer, too!

Here is a closeup pic of the Star Shower Eyes in 05. Since it was a gift for my mum there are certainly no swatches.

On another note: Here is some food porn =P We were invited to my cousin's graduation party and got these delicious dishes:

Salad with salmon as a starter

The main dish was delicious! Veggies, potato gratin and guinea fowl (a yummy type of poultry)

As dessert we got Panna Cotta with fruits

Gmarket haul - Fall 2009: Banila Co De la Couture II and more

2009-10-04T11:22:00.001+02:00

Woot! I've been awarded a Gmarket Top Blogger for the months of August and September so I got 2 gift certificates from Gmarket valued at 150.000 Won total. So I had some nice fun money to spend and settled on getting the newest Banila Co stuff I was craving so hard!

I've come to the conclusion that Banila Co is one of the pricier Korean brands (especially give the Won got quite stronger within the previous months) but also one of the highest quality ones (if not THE highest quality Korean brands I personally have tried)

I ordered on September 09 and received my package just a few days ago (!!!). The seller took nearly 3 weeks to ship the package to the Gmarket warehouse and along the way canceled one of my items as it was out of stock.
I was nearly canceling the rest of the order but finally it went through and the package arrived.

To my delight this time I got some nice freebies and all came shipped in one box.
I ordered:
-De La Couture II Eyeshadow Palette - 24000 Won
-Copacabana Blusher (50% off) - 9000 Won
-Eye Love Eye Primer in Temptation (pink/clear) - 15000 Won
-De La Couture II The Mineral Surprise Baking Pact SPF17 PA+ Duo Luminous (pink) - 30000 Won

I got a free Love Holic Pearl Mascara, mini Deep The Eyes Mascara, a
mini lipstick palette (includes lip primer and 4 gorgeous nudes), a collagen filler (not Banila Co), plenty of their new Let Me Bebe BB Cream Sheer and a makeup bag.

This is the seller: CLICK

-De La Couture II Eyeshadow palette:
Maybe you remember the first De La Couture palette that came out as an "early Fall" collection in 2008. The palette was the first Banila Co had released and it was selling out instantly. They restocked a month or so later and I was lucky enough to snap one up as the palette finally sold out a few days after its re-release.

The compact looks similar to the first palette but the lace pattern is a bit different.
This time also the palette contains only 5 powder shadows and one cream shadow base.

The texture and pigment are perfect just like in the first version. You get silky, blendable shadows with a beautiful pearly and shimmery finish and a good color pay-off.

The cream shadow base is an off-white shade whereas the other colors are lilac, pale baby pink, golden peach, neutral light brown and a deep pigmented (and not shimmery) neutral brown.

I love the color combination and find it quite pretty and versatile. Lilac and brown is always a combination that looks good in my opinion.

-De La Couture II Mineral Baking Pact Duo Luminous:
This comes in 2 colors: Beige and pink and I settled for pink as I was sure it'd look better on me. While I wasn't too happy with the original Baking Pact I thought the Duo Luminous looked good enough to give it a try.
The compact is the same boring shiny silver plastic which attracts fingerprints too much =X

Also I didn't find a space to put the included sponge in but as I use my face brush anyway I don't care.

The powder consists of 2 finishes: satiny (not flat) matte and frosty. The matte side takes the larger portion so you can use this all over your face without getting the disco ball look. The matte side is also sheerer and harder. The frosty side is really very frosty and pigmented and has a softer texture so this beautiful champagne color would be used best as an eyeshadow or very sparingly with a skunk brush as a highlighter.

The color match is excellent, the finish is beautiful. This Mineral Baking Pact is great indeed!

-Copacabana Blusher:
I got this at the half price so this was considerably inexpensive at about US$7.

This comes in a beautiful pink compact without a sponge or a brush.
The blusher has a very silky texture with a fine shimmer. The color is a very pretty rosy beige that goes with pretty much most makeup looks.
I really like this one!

-Eye Love Eye Primer in Temptation:
I really like the older version (in the ugly plastic compact) so I decided to pick up the revamped one which comes in a sleek slim silver compact.

The Eye Primer I chose comes with a clear lid primer and a light creamy pink highlighter/concealer cream. I like using the (moderately pigmented and smooth) pink color under my eyes and on my brow-bones to make my eyes look fresh and awake.

The primer is a clear waxy very hard cream you apply to your lid before the use of eyeshadow. It does a nice job intensifying the eyeshadow color however I didn't feel that it was very good at keeping the shadow in place.

I will test this out more to see how it'll perform.

The Love Holic Pearl Mascara is nice, too. It has a gray-tinted clear base with silver glitters and a comb applicator.
The Deep The Eyes Mascara is decent but nothing like my favorite mascaras from Majolica Majorca.

I tried the Let Me Bebe BB Cream but it's too dark for me. If you'd like to try the Bebe BB Cream I will send 2 samples to the first 3 readers to email me. All taken, sorry!

All in all a great little haul and once again I am convinced that if you want to try a Korean brand I'd put Banila Co on top of the list!

Revlon Runway Collection (design nails)

2009-10-02T21:22:00.009+02:00

I got the oppurtunity to test-drive Revlon's new Runway Collection artificial nails and after really using them for over a month it's time to review them now.
The Runway Collection offers you a variety of medium-length artificial nails with pretty decorated tips (and one set I received has a croco print all over) so you get beautiful nails without really any effort.
All you need to do is glue them on your nails and the strong glue will bond them to your nails for a week - 10 days.

I admit that to the day I received my packs of the Revlon nails I had never used artificial nails at all. I honestly don't do much with my nails anyway as no manicure stays on longer than 2 or 3 days without starting to get scratched, chip or looking dull.

When I used my first set of the Runway Collection nails I wasn't sure if I was going to like them. I had the glue (which dries in like 5-10 seconds or so) all over my fingers and it was hard to remove it.
However with a little of patience and practice I am mastering the application quite well now. The key is starting on my right hand with the small finger and making sure that I apply enough glue (otherwise I'll end up with white air bubbles which decreases the wear time and doesn't look that nice). I then attach the nail from the base pressing it gently down towards the tip and then holding it firmly down for a few seconds until the nail and glue bond.
Removal is easy with an acetone pot but it's sort of yucky honestly. Anyway, for having 10 days of beautiful nails I will put up with that hehe =D

The nails really lasted on me the whole time which was actually exceeding my expectation.

The medium length for me is okay, I would prefer them a little shorter because I am used to shorter nails. But since my nail beds are quite small these nails might be shorter on someone with longer nail beds.

The nails fit nicely even though I have rather flat and short nail beds. However I can use one 24 piece package only for 1 mani as most of the nails are just to wide or long.

All in all I love the designs and ease of use. If I want fancy nail tips I don't need to go to the salon so this saves me much money. I never tried a salon mani here but from my friends I know it's very pricey. I would love to see some short nails added to the collection though!

Fall 2009: Maquillage (& Alexander Wang)...2x Eyes Creator 3D & Perfect Gloss

2009-09-28T09:23:00.006+02:00

Maquillage is one of my top brands (among with Kate, Lavshuca, Jill Stuart, Esprique Precious and more lol)... anyway, Maquillage usually has exceptionally good quality products (many of my daily staples are from MQ...their foundations in OC-00 usually are my best match... except for powdery ones)

The Eyes Creator 3D eyeshadow series is one of the best shadow range I have found this year (haven't tried the cream-only summer palettes though!). The shadows are buttery soft and pigmented, silky and blend well. And most colors have a certain luster without being glittery which makes them look really good on my eyes (and keeps the shadows from looking dull).
Each palette gives you 5 colors, 2 of them being creams (a base and a liner) and 3 powder shadows (1 for lids, a deeper accent one and a highlighter). Some of their color combos are a bit odd but still manage to look good in my opinion.

MQ released 5 new palettes for fall of which I picked up 2, one of the regular colors and one of the limited Alexander Wang colors housed in a black case instead of the standard pinkish silver ones.
I also got 2 of the new Perfect Gloss lippies and these are absolute faves now, I have been reaching for them very often within the previous month!

The 2 Alexander Wang palettes are safe neutral daily-wear colors (aka browns hehe). I picked up the cooler palette and it indeed is a safe and perfect choice for everyday wear.

The other palette I picked up is the new gray one as it looked gorgeous, too. I didn't pick up the pink and green palettes as these didn't appeal to me that much.

The texture is great, just as I described above. The cream base btw is actually good, I used it and the colors went on vibrantly and didn't fade or crease (as I had expected) on me.
The cream liner is ok, not the best, but it's pigmented and applies smoothly. However it's a cream liner, not a gel liner, so it does fade a bit.

The colors are:
BR365:

This is the Alexander Wang palette. The colors are a bit sheerer than the other Eyes Creator palettes and are a light golden brown, medium plummy taupe, light taupish cream to highlight. The cream base is a pearly golden white and the cream liner is a deeper version of the plummy accent color albeit a bit more plummy brown than taupe. All 3 powders have a beautiful pearl finish. The glitter you see on the pics is just an overspray.

GY867:

When I first opened the palette I wasn't sure if I'd like the color combo. It looked a bit weird and the blue looked somehow wrong with the taupe/grays but since I trust Maquillage to come up with good colors I decided to give it a try. The colors harmonize perfectly!
You get a metallic light taupe gray with an intense lustrous (not glittery!) finish, medium iridescent blue gray, intensely pigmented metallic off-white. The cream base is a pale gold and the cream liner is a deep neutral brown that goes so well with the metallic taupe gray.
This palette is really super pimented and it's a joy playing around with the fantastic metallics in this palette hehe =D

All in all I am tremendously enjoying both palettes! Both are much better choices than the GY865 palette which has this strange mustard brown paired with a taupe and stark white. I am comparing them to GY865 as both new palettes are in the same color scheme (I reviewed this palette in Spring or so) =)

Maquillage admittedly also makes some of the finest lipsticks and glosses Japanese brands have to offer. I believe since MQ debuted I have collected over 50 lippies from them...oops!
I certainly was super excited when I spotted their new glosses as I was sure I'd love them!
The new Perfect Gloss comes in a sleek silver/clear tube with wand. The applicator is a flat soft fuzzy spatula which deposits the gloss so well!

The texture of the gloss is divine. A slick soft cream with nearly no stickiness I can detect. Also the pigment is very good so the color you see in the tube is pretty much the result you'll see on your lips. The finish is a beautiful shimmery and shiny glossy mouth. Very purdy!
The lasting power on me is quite good, about 2 hours I'd say. Reapplying is easy though as I don't feel my lips are getting more sticky or gooey from reapplying without removing the color remains first.
All in all it's total love! The Perfect Gloss in my opinion *is* perfect.

Again I went for 2 safe colors. In my opinion noone can make more perfect natural colors than the Japanese brands.

RD711: This is a beautiful rosy brown
RS702: Beautiful light cool pink, very much a MLBB color on me ;D
Both colors are shimmery but the shimmer is very finely milled.

You can get the palettes on Adambeauty. You can get both the glosses and shadow quints from Gooddealer (where I ordered), Ichibankao and possibly some other online shops.

So all in all this is an absolutely winning collection for me. While the colors aren't really original or very special this is a solid collection of excellent quality.

Fall 2009: Jill Stuart Vixen & Angelic Collection: Mix Blush Compact #09 & 10...and 2 Jelly Eye Color N

2009-09-19T10:28:00.012+02:00

Admittedly the Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact cheek colors are my favorite blushes. I think except for that LE color from 3 years or so ago I have all of them.

What makes them superior to other blushes in my humble opinion are:
-the beautiful mix of colors per compact, allows me to mix and match the way I like
-beautiful flattering color variety
-the absolutely beautiful glowy finish these impart... no glitter (like some other Japanese brands) and no frosty finish (like many of the Korean ones do). My cheeks get a healthy dose of color AND a pretty glow
-the medium pigment which means you can layer these for greater intensity or apply them sheerly and the super finely milled silky texture
-the beautiful packaging and quite good quality brush which is great for touch-ups!

My favorite colors are 04 Rose Bloom and 101 Platinum Illuminance and 102 Gold Illuminance (both were LE); the latter 2 contain a gorgeous highlighter, too!

While both of the 2 new eye palettes from Jill Stuart's Vixen & Angelic collection for Fall 2009 didn't interest me I surely picked up the 2 new Mix Blush Compacts to add them to my collection.

Honestly these 2 won't be my faves as the colors are rather warm and these are quite sheer.
They're really silky and finely milled like the other Mix Blush Compacts but definitely are better suited for someone with warmer-toned skin.
These are scented like all Jill Stuart makeup products.

#09 Little Bouquet: Light warm pink, orange, warm bright pink and medium fuschia. First pic is with flash, 2nd in natural day light.

#10 Sweet Biscuit: Light apricot, pink, pinkish red and tan. First pic taken with flash, the 2nd in natural day light.

I got them from gooddealer who is still the best source for Jill Stuart price-wise. All the other online shops I know are a bit more expensive.

In the same order I also picked up 2 of the Jelly Eye Color N eyeshadows that just came out for the Summer collection. The Jelly Eye Colors got a revamp and are now presented in much prettier princessy glass jars. The former pots were nice but more simple and somehow heavier. However the more interesting colors like the beautiful complex greens have been discontinued and replaced with the usual boring array of pastels so I hope JS will re-release the nicer shades soon.

The pic shows the new Jelly Eye Color N on the right and the old Jelly Eye Color on the left side:

Texture-wise I don't notice a change honestly. The old and the new version have a certain spongy bouncy feeling when you touch them.

The Jelly Eye Color N shadows are decently pigmented and have a beautiful glistening finish. They are a bit hard to blend (and you need to be quick before they set) just like the predecessors but stay on all day on me.
They're scented for which I see no single use in an eye product!
Anyway, I am happy with the colors I picked up, they're both gorgeous.

#03 Platinum Satin is a pretty golden shell pink color with a hint of beige, a perfect natural my-lids-but-better color on me and makes a great base or subtle highlighter. The finish of this is a gorgeous metallic pearl with sparse glitter.

#10 Vintage Decor is a beautiful taupe brown, metallic with a bit more glitter added than Platinum Satin.

The new version contains the same 6g and costs the same price (2200 Yen & 5% tax) so they're not ripping us off with the new version.
I think it was time for JS to revamp the packaging of their popular Jelly Eyes as the packaging started to be copied (*cough* Castledew *cough*) which in my opinion can decrease the value of the original item a bit...

More Etsy stuff: Blackkawaii & Cranberrylover

2009-09-16T13:03:00.012+02:00

While in Egypt I discovered 2 new sellers in Thailand whose items are in a very sweet zakka style. I am sure when you see the items I am showing you you know what I mean =D

From Blackkawaii I got about 4 packages or so already and these are the items I got (oh, some arrived after I returned to home but it's easier to show them all at once).
As you see I got various pouches in various shapes (I love the "Sausage" pouches). The finishing quality is excellent and the fabrics are really sweet (Japanese!). The sweet hair pin and little plushie were freebies.
I also got this adorable mouse to dangle from my bag =)

Cranberrylover has very adorable items, too! She is selling sweet boxy pouches and other things. I got a variety of items from her including pouches, buttons and hair clips. The small carousel pouch and the little tray with the pigs were freebies. Excellent quality here, too!
Enjoy the pics!

Fall 2009: Lavshuca (various)

2009-09-11T16:43:00.000+02:00

Lavshuca released a sweet new fall collection so I surely picked up some of their new items.
The fall collection is quite large but I only got 3 of the new Full Balloon Rouges, one of the new colors of the Dual Prism Eyes range and one of the new palette series called Light Mix Eyes. Other than that the items looked all like I could safely skip them!

Even though Lavshuca's lippies are quite a hit and miss for me the item that looked most interesting this fall was the Full Balloon Rouge. I just love the way these sleek click-pens look! There is a small button below the cap you just need to push to distribute the color onto the plastic applicator.

I have to say this lippy is a hit (yay!). Like all Lavshuca lippies it's unscented which is something I prefer in lip products (or makeup in general). The texture of this is rather smooth and only very slightly sticky but surprisingly the lasting power is really good.

The 3 colors I purchased are decently pigmented and offer a brilliant finish so my lips look really plump and seductive (hehe). They all contain very fine shimmer, too!

I am very happy with the colors I picked, they're all gorgeous!
RS-1: A cool mauvey rose. Turns to a MLBB color on me. I love this one! (this is the color shown on my lips below)
PK-3: Very sweet neutral pink
RD-2: An elegant pink beige color.

The only small drawback about these is that each pen only contains a measly 1.6g. For the price of 1260 Yen (about US$13) that's quite little!

The other item from the fall collection I really love is one of the new colors added to the Dual Prism Eyes range. These eyeshadow duos are among my top favorites (especially BR-2, one of the most gorgeous metallic taupe shadow duos I own!) as they're really silky and pigmented (especially the darker color, the highlighter is typically a bit more iridescent and sheerer) and they blend like a dream.

The new color PU-2 comes in the same sleek small eyeshadow case (very handy for taking along) as the other ones and retails for 1300 Yen (plus tax) in Japan. The arrangement of the shadows reminds me of the Ying Yang sign and you get a light and a dark color.

PU-2 contains a fantastic cool deep mauvey purple paired with a sweet lilac.

The item that disappointed me a little is the new Light Mix Eyes in BR-2. The new shadow range seems a little blah (color-wise) so the only color which appealed to me was the cooler brown/taupey quad.

There is nothing bad about the shadows, they're silky, have a pearly finish and are decently pigmented (at least the lid and darkest colors are more pigmented... the "Lighting Powder" which is more of a top coat is very sheer) but the whole quad lacks luster and is just a bit...blah. I know it's a neutral quad and it's a solid choice for a neutral quad but there are just nicer neutral quads out there (my current fave quad is from Coffret D'or).

The powder on the top left is a "Mixing Highlight" which consists of a white base with blue dots scattered throughout. The color on the bottom right (a pale golden beige) is a "Lighting Powder" which they instruct you to dab on top of your finished eye look. The lid color (top right) is a pretty light taupe and the color on the bottom left is a deep neutral chocolate brown (no red tones).

The retail price for these is 1680 Yen/each (approx. US$19).

All in all I am very happy with the new Lavshuca fall collection. Especially the lippies with their soft lustrous colors are a great addition to everyone's makeup collection ;D

Siamsquare buyer giveaway result

2009-09-06T09:53:00.003+02:00

As I announced in my Siamsquare giveaway post Masko is giving away another pouch among the buyers who noted my blog upon checkout.

The winner she randomly chose is Winniel from Australia. Your super sweet Cinnamoroll pouch will be with you shortly! Thank you!

Fall 2009: Kate (Part 1): Reflect Mirror Eyes & Super Sharp Liner N

2009-09-02T17:50:00.007+02:00

Kate is definitely one of my top favorite brands so their (usually huge) fall collections are one of the highlights of my year (especially since I love fall, it's my favorite season!)! This year they released a brand new eyeshadow series called "Reflect Mirror Eyes" offering us 8 new colors. Along with the new shadows series they updated some new colors to some of their other series, they revamped the mascara base, released a new volumizing mascara, repackaged the Super Sharp Liners and introduced some other things.

I picked up some items and will split the review in 2 parts. The first part will be about the 3 Reflect Mirror Eyes palettes and the Super Sharp Liner N I picked up.

I naturally was excited to see a new "Reflect Mirror Eyes" range of eyeshadows as Kate usually has some of the nicest palettes you can get at a good price.
Unfortunately the new range is a disappointment for me. The shadows are just too sheer for my liking and the colors are too light to get good definition. The shadows are still nice and silky but not really useful for a smokey eye look for fall. If you don't like glitter steer clear of these shadows. They are really glittery!

Each palette contains 3 colors, one is a deeper color (but since it's sheer it's not intense enough for my taste), a lid color (a bit too light) and a highlighter (almost no color, mainly clear glitter).

I got:
GY-1:

Super light pale golden taupe-brown, medium gray, sheer silver sparkle.

BR-2:

Gold (more metallic than glitter and one of the best pigmented shades), deep brown and glittery white gold.

PU-2:

I wanted to love this so much! It is a pretty grayish purple palette but the outcome is so sheer I cannot enjoy the colors that much. The shades are super sheer grayish heather, medium purple gray and silver white glitter.

Adambeauty lists them already so you can check them out there. Ichibankao and Facial-Shop carry these, too.

All in all I am mighty disappointed and would say you can safely skip these.

Kate also has 2 kinds of Super Sharp Liners out: Super Sharp N and the regular one. The difference is that Super Sharp N comes in only one color: Clear deep black (BK-1) and the Super Sharp Liner comes in brown and black (a softer black).
The other difference is that the brush of the N is a bit thicker than of the regular version.

They repackaged both in a sleek black pen to fit with the rest of the lineup and by mistake I picked up the Super Sharp N instead of the Super Sharp (regular) in black. I don't like it! I didn't like the Super Sharp N before and like it even less now.

They "improved" it as you now need to shake it before you use it. The brush is fine but alas a little stiff. The color is really a very deep black but the ink sucks! It's the kind of liquid that creeps in the finest lines that aren't visible normally. So I cannot get a super fine precise line like with the regular Super Sharp Liners. This N one bleeds into the finest lines on my lids making the line look blurry and messy.

I have to pick up one of the revamped regular Super Sharp Liners and I really hope they didn't change anything to the formula or brush or otherwise I'll have to kick someone from Kanebo in his butt!

All in all a not-so-good start for my Kate fall reviews.. the new mascara (ahem), mascara base (good) and Diamond Cut Eyes (haven't played with this yet) will be reviewed soon.. I might add that Kanebo's other drugstore brand Lavshuca has a lovely fall collection I should get around to reviewing soon, too! Oh and Jill Stuart and Maquillage will also follow (MQ is mighty good, such lovely stuff!)

My past 4 Etsy weeks I: HouseofJam & FishboneStudio

2009-09-01T12:30:00.001+02:00

While I was in Egypt I didn't really buy anything away from 4 small galabeyas/caftans as gifts... and food... There is simply nothing to buy in Egypt, seriously! I am not into that tourist kitsch normally as I have been going to Egypt so many times in my life already!
That's why I love to massively shop online lol! I purchased lots of Etsy goodies and also quite some items from the Japanese fall collections of Kate, Lavshuca, Jill Stuart, Maquillage and MM... it's really cool to come home and find a stack of packages waiting for you =D (I also had 5 notifications and my first deed was picking the packages up from the PO right after I arrived at my home Tuesday morning after an exhausting night flight hehe! My 2nd deed was going to sleep lol!)

Anyway, I am splitting the Etsy posts up, today I'll show you my favorite purchases I made thus these were the most eagerly anticipated parcels of all!

The fabulous Julie from HouseofJam on Etsy seriously has some of the most unique, zakka and beautiful items you can get on Etsy (all made of Japanese fabrics etc). She is working together with a partner and both ladies really offer you the sweetest pouches and phone/gadget cases you can imagine. If you followed my Etsy posts you will already be familiar with her shop I am sure! After I posted about my key pouch I got from her she got swamped with requests to get one, too! Haha!
Please note that she doesn't take custom orders right now but she's listing gorgeous items nearly daily!

Julie also is helping her friend with the listings in her FishboneStudio store who is offering a similar style of items.
I purchased from both stores, some of the HouseofJam items were custom orders made especially for me and they're so gorgeous I love even just holding them in my hand and looking at them!

From HouseofJam I got (Updated the post before even posting with 3 more items I received today lol):

-Beautiful medium bear tote:

The fabric is so pretty, I love the sweet honey bottle print! The fabric used is Japanese and actually produced in Japan, too, so it really is a fantastic quality! the lining is a cute deep brown fabric with beige, cream and black polka dots! I love the cute star charm on the pocket zipper!
The size is perfect to carry magazines, take packages to the post or just toss in your wallet, phone, keys and some good books =D

-2 Sony eBook reader sleeves:

These were custom orders for me! One for my mom and one for myself as we both got the ebook reader this summer!
I told Julie this about my case: "I´d love to have it in a sweet zakka style (maybe with floral accents and a bit of lace or so...colors preferably linen, cream, pink, anything soft and sweet)" and she did one *EXACTLY* the way I wanted it! I was seriously amazed when I saw the pics in the listing! And it's so cute how she picked up the theme of reading with the alphabet fabric, the cute reading bear and the hand-stitched "read laugh live" on the back!

For the other reader case I requested an elegant and more plain style as it's for my mom and she loves it and uses it all the time for her reader, too!
I gave Julie only the approximate measurements of the ebook reader with the softcover and the sleeves fit perfectly!

-Teapot key pouch:

I picked up the original key pouch back in May or June and been using it all the time as it's so cute! Since I love to alternate between my pouches I asked Julie if I could have more key covers and she listed this teapot cover for me! It's so darn cute! I love it so much! She said it took her *5* hours to do this case for me and I am still in awe! But the outcome is certainly perfect!

-Sunbonnet Sue key pouch:

I also got this cute little key pouch! The Sunbonnet Sue is made of various fabrics, pinks on one side and blues on the other. There is also a cute knitted flower accent on the cord. Really love this cute little key pouch!

-Card case:

What should I say? I just love the fabrics used for this! I am such a sucker for for those faux patchwork Japanese linen fabrics like the one used, lace and gingham lining! Holds 20 cards with ease (and mine is full to the last pocket!).

-Zipper pouch:

I couldn't pass up this adorable beige/blue zipper pouch! My favorite part is the cute cat with crayon applique on the back of it! So cute!

-Taupe linen/cotton makeup pouch:

You knew I couldn't resist this, right? Light taupe with roses and lace? Had to be mine sure =P
This pouch is a little larger than my beloved deep brown cat makeup pouch with the pretty cart/flower applique (the one I wrote about here!) so it can hold a bit more stuff. Love the cute lace accent and the zipper pull!

-Le Sucre medium makeup bag:

I saw several items made of this adorable "Le Sucre" fabric but they were always reserved for someone else.. so I arranged to have a large makeup bag made as actually despite all the pouches I own a really nicely sized large makeup bag was something I missed out so far (with a large gusset etc.). So i got this absolutely stunning large (8.3 x 6.1 x 2.95 inches = 21 x 15.5 x 7.5 cm) makeup bag and it's really fab! I love the cute fabric and the back shows this cute shop made of various gingham and polka dot fabrics

2x iPhone pouch (My garden):

I got also these 2 cute iPhone pouches, they're wider so they fit the iPhone with plastic shell perfectly. I am only keeping one, 1 is a gift for someone special =)

And I got these 2 items from FishboneStudio:

-House key pouch:

Haha! Here we have a house key pouch again! This one is so cute, too! The combination of fabrics is really sweet!

-iPhone/cam/gadget case:

I really think the soft greenish blue fabric with ivory flowers is so pretty! The flap is made of a light brown fabric with lace and button accent! It also has a wrist strap which is always very convenient!
Fits my Olympus cam or iPhone with plastic shell perfectly!

I am thoroughly enjoying all items, even if I am not using all at the same time (after all, I can't use 3 key pouches in the same time hehe) =D

Siamsquare Giveaway...

2009-08-30T20:09:00.003+02:00

Information received. Thank you for contacting me!

The prizes have already been shipped.

Thanks!

DHC Platinum White Lasting White Color Base & Cream Foundation

2009-08-29T17:32:00.007+02:00

While browsing one of my favorite eBay stores where I like to pick up skin care, body stuff and sometimes makeup I stumled across some interesting makeup from DHC. I actually visited his shop because I wanted to order one of my beloved Q10 Eye Treatment Concealer in Light Beige (I reviewed it here on my blog and used it up on my trip to Egypt!)
Anyways, back to the stuff I spotted =) The whitening makeup series from DHC contains platinum which sounded pretty interesting thus worth trying out.

I purchased the Lasting White Color Base SPF35 PA++ in Ivory and the Lasting White Cream Foundation SP37 PA+++ in OC-00.

The Color Base comes in 5 colors out of which I picked the ivory one. The others are pink, shiny beige, natural beige and cool green.
It comes in a bottle with a strangely shaped cap and you need to shake it before application.

The base is a lightweight milky emulsion with a pale yellowish beige light tint so it evens out my skin a little. I find it creates a smooth canvas for the foundation, too.

This has a relatively strong chemical smell in my opinion which annoys me a little.

All in all a good base but not super special in my opinion. Priced somewhere around US$15 for (only!) 25ml.

The Cream Foundation comes in a simple squeeze tube containing 30g. There are 6 colors of which I picked the one I assumed to be the lightest one (OC-00). I had relatively good luck with DHC foundations so far so I thought it would fit.

The foundation has a really nice creamy texture and goes on smoothly without looking blotchy. The coverage is quite good, about medium I'd say and the finish is slightly dewy.

Sounds great but it has one big problem: the color is waaaaaaaaay too yellow and about 2 shades too dark. Really a pity!
(If anyone is interested email me, I'd let this go for US$14 incl. shipping, tested only 1x).
I paid about US$22 for this +shipping.

All in all a bit of a disappointment as I really like the texture and finish of the foundation but just won't find a color suitable for me!

Fall 2009: Shiseido Majolica Majorca "Fairy Sadistic" (!?!)

2009-08-29T13:34:00.006+02:00

Majolica Majorca always used to be one of my favorite brands as the quality and packaging are always great. To be honest my love for it cooled down a little within the previous years but still they do release good stuff from time to time.

MM just revamped their Automatic Liner this fall which is the 2nd time since I know the brand. About 2 or 3 years ago they replaced it with the Neo Automatic Liner which - in my opinion - didn't really have a very improved formula (I should mention that I liked the old and the Neo version). The main problem the liners always had was that the ink was a little too sheer so 2 or 3 layers are needed to make the liner show up well.. which can result in slight flaking.

This fall MM introduced the Perfect Automatic Liner featuring 7 colors. I noticed that the colors generally got a little darker than their predecessors which is a good thing as I prefer darker liners for better definition. Especially the green shade, which so far was an olivey golden shade, is now a gorgeous deep blackened emerald green.

The packaging hasn't changed, just the print is a little different from the previous version. It's a pen filled with liquid ink which you can ooze out by twisting the botton. When you get the pen please make sure to remove the pink plastic ring and push the 2 parts of the pen together firmly otherwise you'll have a big mess.

The tip is a medium synthetic bristles brush which does a great job of drawing a precise line (thick or thin works equally well for me).
I pretty much love this eye liner but I wish they had made the ink more pigmented this time. It still takes 2-3 layers to show up intensely though I have to admit that the flaking problem seems gone for me so doing 3 layers is fine.

The staying power is great, the liners stay on all day long on me without fading.

RRP is 1260 Yen in Japan (about US$12)

I got 2 colors which looked like the most attractive/unique among the lot:

-GR604: A gorgeous very deep emerald green with a sheen. Gorgeous jewel color for fall!
-BK920: A metallic deep silver gray. Love this color!

The "Fairy Sadistic" collection (what a stupid name, really!) also features a new Cheek Customize in pale pink (I think it's a highlighter) and some Honey Pump Glosses Neo which I all skipped. I however picked up the Honey Pump Lip Essence.

Majolica Majorca has an amazing lip care out (Majex Lip Cream) so I decided to also try the new Honey Pump Lip Essence. It comes in a squeeze tube just like the glosses and has a honey color to it.
Unfortunately the scent is the same as they use for their glosses...a fruity weird scent I really can't stand. I wish it would either smell like honey to match with the name of this or to have a fresh minty scent like the Majex Lip Cream.

Otherwise the lip essence is nice, it has a soft glossy finish and makes my lips really soft.
Retails for 504 Yen (about US$5).

All in all the collection itself is a bit disappointing as there were no new eyeshadows (sure they just released 8 colors for summer so it's not a surprise!) but the liners are really worth getting!

GIVEAWAY from SIAMSQUARE closed....

2009-08-25T21:19:00.002+02:00

Here are the winners (as chosen by random.org):

-Pouch #1 goes to: comment #23 throuthehaze

-Pouch #2 goes to: comment #32 kalai

Please email me you addresses to lotuspalace@web.de!

Thanks to everyone for participating!