Kanebo Lavshuca Jewel Lips N RS-1 (shiny line)

Today I am going to give my two cents on the Kanebo Lavshuca Jewel lips, the newest version. Lavshuca has had the Jewel lips lipstick in their collection for quite a long time: at least for a cosmetic brand, because cosmetic lines seem to come with *new-and-improved* versions of products every time. It seems that their Jewel lips is a keeper in this department. Still, they added a couple of things to their Jewel Lipsticks so it can be sold with the extra *N*.

One of the newer things about their Jewel lips, is that they divided the lipsticks in to a Shiny line and a Color line: shiny is for the sheer and #of course# shiny lipsticks and the color line is probably a deeper version with more pigment.

After pondering if I would like to buy a shiny or a color one, I bought the shiny one. It is my very first Jewel line lipstick, so I cannot say how it compares to earlier versions.

I picked up a rosy version (RS), based on online swatches on their website (here). The RS1 looked a bit more neutral than the RS2, so I went for the neutral rosy.

It is my first Jewel lip purchase, and I found the lipstick to be quite tiny. Even I am not someone to complain about size oftenly, it still reminds me of one of those childrens cosmetics line lipstick that I used to have as a kid.

The benefit of this is that is is more portable and you have a better excuse to replace your lipstick, as it even might be finished one day. (not that I need any excuse for buying new lipsticks *blushes*).

Buying online based on swatches of the manufactor companies can be a risky business. The colour is a tad cooler than I expected. I surely do not mind this, as I have a neutral complexion and I can wear slightly warmer or slightly cooler colours. For a large category of Asian people, it would be better to include better swatches, because they tend to have a warmer skintone and are looking for neutral to warmer shades of lipsticks instead of the cooler ones.

I do like this colour: look close at this lipstick...it has blue shimmer or glitter parts on a mauve-rosy base that makes your lips look a bit fuller and has a slightly cooler surface. Oh, and blue undertones in your lipstick makes your teeth look whiter.

I made a swatch on my arm. It still appears warmer in this picture (and all 7 of the pictures I have attempted to make of this colour) than it is in real life. However, it shows the dewiness of the lipstick and the way the shimmer/glitter reflects the light. The base colour (the neutral rose) is also quite accurate.

So, it is not the biggest of lipsticks, but I understand why Lavshuca kept their Jewel Lipstick line in their collection for a couple of years. It is cute/kawaii, it is moisturizing enough, and it has some lovely shades for girls on the go. It is not my personal favourite of the Lavshuca collection: that is the Lavshuca Rouge Essence Bar. It is my second favourite, though.

I think it is more a lipsticks for girls, as I would find it a bit odd to top op my lipstick with such a lipstick in a mature (office etc) area. I would prefer to flash a more sophisticated tube such as the other Lavshuca lipsticks, Lunasol, Maquillage or such. However, in my daily life I do not have a 'mature' job yet, so I can flash this lippy with easy.

These are for sale at ichibankao and facial-shop.

Lakmé Enrich Matte Lip Color in 127

Yesterday I posted a review and swatches of the Lakmé eyeshadow quad in Peacock, that was part of the two items I bought online. Today I will show some swatches and give a review of the Lakmé Enrich Matte lip color in 127, which was a part of the Bridal Sutra Summer collection 2009.

Bridal Sutra sounds like a highly interesting name, but that might have to do with my lack of knowledge of Indian culture. So I went to the McDonalds of internet sources, Wikipedia, and found out that Sūtra literary means "a thread or line that holds things together". So, that explanation put my slightly naughty mind at ease and it makes it better to connect to the bridal part of the line. Now it really is a romantic name for a cosmetic launch, aww.

Back to the lipstick: it comes in a dark red tube with a matte exterior. In the middle is a gold line that has Lakmé on it with black letters.

When I opened the lipstick, it got stuck on the outside-tube-holder. That means that it does not look that pointed and pretty anymore.

The lipstick broke off on the top, unfortunately. I still posted this picture, as it is an excellent depiction of the colour. The colour is a mixture between old rose, mauve and beige. It looks quite natural compared to my own lip colour.

The next swatch came out a bit darker than it is in real life. It looks more close to the close up of the lipstick above. Still, you can see how it reflects light on the swatch on the skin.

The quality:

Well, I took a chance of ordering a Matte lipstick, because matte lipstick and I do not mix that great, normally. This lipstick is not that different. You really feel that you have something paperish and sandy on your mouth, so you have to put a lipbalm/gloss beneath or on top in order to feel confortable.

As for the scent...ugh. I find it highly perfumed, and not in the most fantastic way. I am used to the unscented Japanese lipsticks, or to the balmy, vanilla scent of Mac lipsticks. This, however, is a bit overscented in an old-fashioned manner.

It looks all right on my lips, even though it does not feel that confortable or smell that great. But it is not the best looking lipstick because of its matteness...it still has the tendency to creep in the fine lines of the mouth and it has this slightly unglossy cast that is not really my thing.

The colour, as I said before, is the best thing. It really is a soft mauvy, rosy colour that looks like a more flattering version of my lips. Too bad I have to add so much extra stuff in order to make this lipstick work for me.

Overall, I loved and adored the Lakmé eyeshadow palette I posted about yesterday, but I am not a fan of this product.

I bought this lipstick at the same webshop as I bought the Lakmé Peacock palette, over here: Bridal Sutra for $11.95 so it is not the greatest mispurchase ever.

New brand venture: Lakmé eyeshadow quad Peacock

Doesn't it feel good to receive something you have been dying to get your hands on?

There she is: My brand new Lakmé palette in Peacock.

Well, this friday I was so happy to receive my anticipated package from India containing Lakmé goodies. I had a small order, because I had absolutely no experience with the etailer before and I could not find that much feedback on it on internet either. I was delighted to find that mall.coimbotore.com delivered within two weeks. My package was packed with the greatest care securing everthing in bubblewrap and those white foamy blocks (see picture).

I ordered a small order venturing on the eyeshadow palette I had been seeing on Jamilla's blog before, and the matte lipstick from the Bridal Sutra range.

I will take a look at the Bridal Sutra lipstick in another post. Today I will show you the Peacock palette and some swatches.

As you can see, the palette is a mix of earth tones and some bright colours on the bottom. Normally, I stick to a eye without much makeup, or bring out some neutral shadows in order to give my eyes a bit of extra depth.

However, a lovely person commented that I could do something more adventurous with my eyes as well: she was the vividly made up person at the Mac counter, so that says it all...

However, she has a point so I think makeup is really wonderful do give your face that extra touch, and you can wash it off at night. That is better, to me, than having my hair dyed purple of blue...he he. (still, I want to have raven blue hair one day....)

I thought this palette would be a good combination between neutral and bold. And, I think they would flatter me better than having my hair coloured dark blue...

Now to the swatches:

The first colour is a wonderful rusty bronze with a brown undertone. The shadows are nicely pigmented and they are soft and buttery as well. I swiped one or two times in order to get the swatches in this intensity.

Colour 2 is a maroon tone with a pink sheen. I love these types of colours for my green eyes.

Colour 3 is an intensly vivid blue. It truelly reminds me of Bollywood makeup that looks so gorgeous on brown eyes. I am not sure it will look good on me, but I think I can make an eyeliner out of it and trace it delicately for that rebellious pop of 80s vibe on my eyes.

The colour on the far right is a delightful emerald green.

Another picture to clarify the intensities:

My camera is often too stubborn to pick up a sharp definition of all the colours. So I made an extra shot of the bright colours in order to show how they look.

I find it fantastic news that I am able to buy Lakmé online, although I would be more than happy to go to India once and find it in the department stores.

The price is so amazingly cheap for the quality you will get. I bought the entire eyeshadow palette for $14.95 INCLUDING shipping. And the shipping is not in a flimsy envelope that will put your lovely goodies into danger of breaking. No, it is securedly packed in a big box with all the extra protection possible.

I will absolutely buy the Purple Oasis palette and possibly the Moondust palette as well. The purple Oasis palette seem like a mix of fabulous purples and the Moondust are a combinations of whites, greys and blacks, which are so suitable for a mysteriously smokey eye.

Oh, Jamilla has created a look with her peacock palette over here, so you can see how the colours will look with brown eyes.

All about the pout...Suqqu Blend Lipstick 17 Maizakura

I have these urges that bring me into temptation...

...to redefine my ordinary mouth into something more soft, balmy, dewy, luxurous and sometimes tempting...

and sometimes these wonderfully, dewy, and technologically enhanced lipsticks are absolutely brilliant for making your lips look better and - more importantly - making them feel better (moisturized, dewy, soft) as well.

Oh my, I make up these excuses to buy more pretty lipsticks and lipbalms, just because I like it...

One of my latest purchases is a new product venture and a introduction to a new Japanese brand: I popped my Suqqu cherry by buying a Suqqu lipstick on the internet. I chose colour no. 17 Maizakura.


Suqqu is a high brand Japanese cosmetic line and is quite hard to find outside Japan or outside the Department store counters of the UK. I knew I wanted to try something from their line as well, however, I found the prices in some online shops a bit too hefty, considering that I had no reference at all of how the colour would look like. Thus, I bought a reasonably flattering (based on swatches) looking colour online.

The lipstick comes in a sleek, and elegant tube with a colour mixed between maroon and purple (paroon perhaps?)

When opening and twisting up the lipstick, I found the colour to be quite vivid-looking hybrid between coral and pink. I love these kind of shades, although I do not buy them that often.

That is because they are not often released by my favourite lipstick makers: mostly Japanese brands or one of Christian Dior latest balmy lipstick releases. I have a colour similar to this, which is Niagara from Nars (post over here). However, Nars is a lovely brand when you demand a matte or dryer type of lipstick.

My dear pout is really addicted to the latest technologies that give it softness, sheen and the illusion of plumness. Does that make me demanding? Perhaps. But there are such good lipsticks out there, why settle for something that does not suit me, right?

Up to the colour and swatches. Well, as I wrote down earlier...it is a lovely peachy pink or a pinky peach, depends how you see it. I was exhilerated that there was actually some kind of sunshine today, so I finally could attempt to make a true-to-life picture of the colour.

And a swatch on my skin. It is dewy, yet it still deposits quite some colour! It is not completely a sheer lipstick, neither a full pigmented one. I find it to be moisturizing and it last for approximately one hour, which must be converted to a 4 hours to normal girls who do not drink so much water or snack so much as I do...

My arms have some weird pigmentation, though...the right side is so much lighter than the left side.

I find these kinds of colours such happy shades, and I normally keep them in my drawer until spring or summer. However, I think I will be sporting this lipstick in this autumn as well. I think it will be ok to break the beauty rules of "dark lipstick in fall/winter and light/perky colours in spring"...who cares about these rules. I want my mouth to look cheerfully springlike...

The price is a bit less of a positive story. Suqqu is a high end brand and the lipstick do not come cheap. Think Clé de Peau territory. I would suggest browsing ebay for cheaper prices. However, that will limit the amount of choice you can have. Suqqu is not sold oftenly on ebay.

Other options are befriending Japanese of British people who are willing to make a purchase for you, or you already live in Japan/UK and can go to the fancy department stores yourself and be in makeup heaven (lucky bunch!).

Or you can browse on ichibankao.com and have your pick!

a scented lady...

My new perfume.....

You were bought in a moment when I felt a growing positivity towards life and the city I dwelled in...

Your ingredients mixed with my chemistry...

I felt ladylike in a unprissy way

the fruits were sharp but lightened by flowers

(the creditcard-an accepted payment...)

and I would become a better woman

(ok, leave that utopian vision of the commercials behind, I just love the scent and it does not make me a better woman, I just smell better)

Let me introduce my latest love in the field of fragance: Creed Aqua Fiorentina.
Really, as in the attempt-of-a-poem stated, I bought it on a sunny autumn day a couple of weeks ago in a niche perfume shop.

I was so enthousiastic when I applied this mixture of soft fruits on my wrist that I had to have it immediately.

Only, with perfume...you have to wait for an hour....at least...to develop its full body.

Sometimes the perfume does not live up to its first impression, but this one did!
It even smelled BETTER in its developed state....so I walked, nay, ran back to the shop and bought it with the swipe of my credit card...

Don't you love the sophisticated, romantic bottle?

According to Creed's website it has been inspired by the (Italian) Renaissance:

The inspiration is 15th century Florence in Italy, where artists and innovators such as da Vinci and Michelangelo lit a new flame of beauty and culture, sparking a Renaissance of art always growing in worth, even today. Orchards and farms around Florence are sources for Acqua Fiorentina ingredients.

(source: http://www.creedboutique.com/creed-fragrances-for-women/51-creed-acqua-fiorentina.html)

And the ingredients are exactly in my alley...they are fruity without being too summery. The plum gives it an Autumny feel and the cedar gives it a hint of warmth and sultriness.

Top note: Lightly sweet greengage plum, often used in cuisine as a dessert plum, and bergamot orange.
Middle note: Renaissance roses, pink carnations and Calabrian lemon are a finely rendered portrait of fruits and blooms.
Base note: Virginia cedar and Indian sandalwood are the warm, sculpted frame for this work of art.

(source: http://www.creedboutique.com/creed-fragrances-for-women/51-creed-acqua-fiorentina.html)

The text is not that interesting: it states how the perfumes are created by 'incredible special methods', which are not so different from the ordinary manner perfume is created.

What differs, though, is that Creed has been creating perfumes for about 2 centuries, which is longer than the average perfume house.

So you might think that they know something about creating wonderful concoctions of perfumes...

and in the case of Aqua Fiorentina, I believe they did....

Have a wonderfully scented weekend, and hopefully the other senses will be happy as well...

fashion, ehm...I'll pass

I haven't been on the online blogging scene (love the word scene, it makes me feel so included, tá) for more than a week. Even though I have nothing interesting to say or post for the moment, I think I should make a benefit today.

It will be fashion. My blog is still not completely defined as 'beauty only' so I can do as a please...ha ha! So fashion, who or what are you? Why am I attracted to you (fashion) in one period in life, and other periods you dissapoint me so much (still fashion)?

Mmm, to disappointment...this season of the 80s and all the studded leather things going on is a bit too much for my fragile mind. I look at these padded coats and think...wow, fierce (sorry to use a Tyra-esque expression...he he). When I put them on I think...tiny Birkie with her mum's jacket on. Shoulderpads...I do not feel them. They make me look too bulky and masculine--> so, ok...maybe a tiny shoulder-enhancement.

I think a large shoulder can look stunning on petite girls, though. I found this incredible pic on outsapop, who got it from stylehunter herself. This Indonesian girl absolutely rocks the wings...(as for me...steer clear)

Another hit for the petite are the celebrating-bigbird jackets. Hear hear, Sesame street has been celebrating its 40th birthday, and Bigbird is having a moment on the fashion front. Topshop has been issueing 'bigbird in cow-disguise'


And Bigbird's raven cousin(s)


(if you like the trend...go get some more on topshop over here).

That brings me to one of the biggest trends this autumn....anything leather, studded and black--> biker-chic is back and I am already tired of it....

For example, these shoes could be lovely if the heel was soft and tiny...but this is just too stripper-esque.

For fashion-fans...it is Christopher Kane for Topshop and he wants you to be incredibly tall and possible not walking confortably enough (here).

If I would were these in public I would be offered money by lew types for indecent deeds, or be mistaken for a...to say delicately...non-female person impersonating a female...I would be just too tall for these strutting devices.

(still, I am aware lots of girls manage to wear them and actually rock them as no other...I will just say....WOW)

This studded and leather everything trend is also so overadvertised that I am longing for anything soft, fluffy, flowery, silky in sweet colours.

Such like this... Silk One Shoulder Pleat Dress

Soft - check

drapy- check

lilac colour- check

silk fabric- check

a-line shape - check

not too short/not too long- check

not too demure/not too sexy- check

affordable- check

YES, it ticks all my boxes...

I could wear this all day...were it not that I would get strange looks wearing this with 10 degrees celcius to my daily occupation...eeek!

So, what do you think of this season's fashion and how does it work with your body shape and personality? What would you like to get rid of or what would you like to bring back to the shops?

Fasio PU-3 swatches & Prettypanda's scarvelicious haul

What a week! I had the pleasure to celebrate my first year's anniversary as Birkinbagbeauty! I gave a giveaway and had my 200th follower as well.

I had a request from Blair to swatch my latest acquisition of eyeshadow: my lovely Purple Fasio palette PU-3 I had proudly showcased in this post. I love my readers and I think Blair is fantastic. You should check out her blog if you haven't done that yet.

I really like the name Blair as well, for the odd reason that ........Blair is my favourite character in Gossip Girl...he he. I think her twisted 'relationship' with dark boy Chuck is so brilliantly portrayed in a teen-meets-adult kind of way that it appeals to women beyond the age of ...ehm...twenty as well. I could go on why the beyond-teenager-age women like me still watch the odd serie of Gossip Girl every now and then, but hey, this is a beauty blog so I will return to the beauty part ;P

I have tried to swatch and photograph my palette perfectly with the right light, etc...but I failed a bit because of the autumny weather. I will still publish them, because I should give Blair and other readers a look of how the colours are in swatched glory. So here they are.

The colour on the left is a glittery cream. The next three colours are soft, buttery powder colours. The last colour (dark) is intended for eyelining, thus suitable to use with a liquid, and a hard texture.

The next picture is made in natural, cloudy daylight. The colours are swatched in the order of the palette itself.

This picture has been made with flash-light. The far right colour is a dark eggplant colour, thus not a black colour, and contains some glitters. I am sorry for this poor picture, but my camera only seemed to focus on the lighter colours on the left, so I could not photograph this properly.

Again, sorry for the poor quality of these pictures. I hope it still gives some impression of the colours.

My personal impression of this palette is quite positive.

I love the texture of the three colours in the middle, as the quality is buttery and they hardly crease on the eyes.

The glittery cream on the left is ok, however, glittery creams are a bit useless as I hardly use them.

The darker eggplant eyeliner is such a brilliant colour for people who think that black eyeliner is a bit too harsh and brown eyeliner too soft (and colour, well, too eighties??). The eggplant hue is fantastic for making green, blue and hazel eyes pop a bit. The glitter is not obtrusive for more mature or OL makeup purposes. I would recommend using it with a wet substance, for example with Mac mixing medium, a homemade mixing medium or distillated water.

I have to show you something clotheswise as well. I purchased this scarf from etsy lately, from the sweetest seller named Prettypanda. Ulung from Prettypanda is such a dear and is excellent in the communication with the seller. She notices when you add one of her scarfs as your favourites and does her ultimate best to make the purchase as fine as possible.

I love a nicely packed present, even when I gave it to myself ;D

So many ways to tie up your scarf...amazing! These instructions are very helpful. I normally just throw on a scarf and always envy the girls who have these perfectly tied neckscarves. Now I can be one of them...yey!

I bought the Rosy Morning Scarf...a composition of colours that remind me of a perfect sunrise (often not seen in this tiny Northern country with murky weather). The scarf is thin enough to wear for the summer (I brought it with me on holiday, and it was perfect as a sarong, headscarf or protection against overzealous sunrays). I love it for unpredictable autumn weather as well.

Ulung from Prettypanda included TWO amazing freebies...a couple of hair accessories that would not look unfamiliar on Blair from Gossipgirl...sweet little ribbon clips with cherries on the fabric!

Wow, and this pink rose!!!

Her scarf and everything from her shop will not exceed the $15 price tag.

Overall, I am really enthousiastic about Prettypanda. (why else would I blog about it?)

So my dears, I hope you will have a wonderful sunday and I hope the weekend gave you the rest or excitement (or both) you wished you had.