Surratt Lipslique in Perfectioniste

Everything lipstick is always permitted in love & war

Or for my 2nd Surratt I picked a lipstick with the quintessential name Perfectioniste:

It has been described as a 'Pinky Rose' which is an easy 'me'-colour. Or, it has been for a couple of years. Lately I venture i
on newer lipshades that are different from the inoffensiveness of rosy nude. For oldtime sake, and the heck of comparing it with my other rosy ones, I took this one:

I cannot think of any product-hoarding, newbie-curious beautyblogger who is not slightly a perfectionist at heart. A beautiful Dior lipstick: so nice, but that latest edition of Chanel might be better for that specific occasion.

My lastest precious lipstick falls into the thin & portable form.

We've seen a black tube before, but a closer look shows a graduation between a matte and a slightly glimmery surface. It twists up at the bottom.


The colour of my new lipstick did not dissapoint.

Though it looks like your average peachy pink, it has a vividy blue-pink dimension that shows in the swatches.

The formula feels a bit waxy. Now I'm spoiled to bits with cushiony lipsticks. In this case, comparing will do too:

I'll keep it a bit more specific and bring in the names & numbers (& repeat swatches later):

1. Christian Dior Serum De Rouge - No. 740 Rosewood Serum
2.  Mac Slimshine Lipstick Intimidate
3. Lavshuca Moist Melting Rouge RS 2
4. Shiseido Maquillage moisture rouge rs305

5.  Marc Jacobs Beauty 110 Role Play

6. Chanel Rouge Coco Shine 52 Fetiche

7. Lavshuca Moist Melting Rouge PK 6

8. Benefit lipstick Um Um Uh

9. Giorgio Armani sheer transparant lipstick 10

 

 So let's do the swatches again:

1. Dior 740 is a different hue (brownish rose) but I put it in to show a different opacity compared to Surratt: Dior feels creamier instead of waxy and covers the lip better.
2. MAC Intimate is a hint cooler than Surrat, also with a dewier look.
3. Lavshuca rs 2 is rosier and is my favourite formula of all lipsticks featured.
4. Maquillage has a more nude/rosy tone.
5. Marc Jacobs RolePlay is the sheerest one and feels light but not too moisturizing.

5. Marc Jacobs Roleplay, as before with a sidenote of it looking less pink and more mauvy/nude.
6. Chanel Fetiche has more of a mauve/rosy undertone.
7. Lavshuca PK6 is a rosy nude with no real pink notes
8. Benefit is another mauvy/rosy MLLB
9. Armani 10 is a brownish rosy with a sheer untertone.

What makes Surratt Perfectioniste so cool is the way it lights up pink in certain light, and looks like the demure MLBB in other light:

Airplane view!

Conclusion: Sweet & different enough with that cheeky pink glow.
 

Talking about lipstick & war (more here):

I just love these glossy posters

February Empties

 I think I'll be having a theme for the February Empties, and that is Target: Good Skin...

Read on if it worked or not:

1. La Roche Posay Thermal Water - I've been discussing this spritzy number in my 'Improving French' post. It's really neutral and the lovely size makes it wonderful for carrying around. Somewhere I read that Avene even has a better option -> curious

2. Kris D'Amour Soothing Body Butter -> I talked about it here and I have been putting this one on my eczema spots on both face & body. It's lovely, somewhat soothing but unfortunately not curing. I'm trying the Trevarno TLC cream now that feels like a better melt for the skin.

3. Antipodes Aura Mask -> purchased last year and finished lately for the heck of it. It's nice, but not what I would say "good". I've been testing it pre-[important]-date this summer and it didn't do that much in 1. clearing up skin 2. tightening pores nor 3. soothing dryness. Also nothing on brightening/luminising skin. I don't know what it does except getting money out of my purse. Then again, it's moisturizing and not irritating.

4. Elemis Pro-Radiance Illuminating Flash Balm -> This is one of those Clarins beauty balm clones out there. It smells a bit strong, and does a bit of illuminating under the foundation. I like it, but I wouldn't repurchase it for the fragance.

5. S5 Illuminate serum Hyperpigmentation -> This has been actually good in diminishuing post-sun darkness. I would repurchase but I'm on Kahina Brightening Serum now and that one is stellar.

6. Rouge Bunny Rouge Genesis Primer -> I stick with my original review. Moreover, it really whitens the skin too much [after self tan] and I do not think a primer without any CC (blahblah) should alternate the original skintone, just improve pores/skin/etc.

7.  Kris D'Amour Soothing Serum -> like most organic skincares the serums are often oils. It's nice but it didn't cure my eczema, so the search goes on.

8. Trilogy Very Gentle Moisturizing cream -> Delightfully scentless, and actually delightfully nothing. Perfect for when skin cannot stand anything but moisture.

Generally, nothing really worked so I had to bring in the extra cover of foundation, etc. Thus, I used up my very 1st foundation within 3 months (Rouge Bunny Rouge). Now there's something to say about not using that much makeup when having eczema, but not using it is not very self-confidence-building either: especially when one of those flawless girls next to you in the beautyshop complains about redness on her face: *grlllsishkll&*$%* [oh, I wasn't supposed to get agitated again as it aggraviates the skin??? Ooops]

1. Winner '13 Koh Gen Do Maifanshi still gets my vote, and I have to order from Barneys for that one.

2. Omorovicza Complexion Enhancer SPF 15 almost made it to my Best '13 list, weren't it a bit too orange. Actually, I feel this tinted moisturizer is more of those CC creams and the orange/peach perks up the skin. But sometimes it's a bit too orangy. I adore it's scent: Hungarian hothouse spa-ness!

3. Rouge Bunny Rouge Age Defying Foundation: My ultimate cover-up favourite! Somehow I'm still a 'natural girl' when wearing this one...

4. Pixi Sheer Cheek Gel in Sunkissed: This is also NATURE, not blush...It's lumiscent, dewy and looks like I woke up really beautiful...

5. Shiseido Maquillage Lip Essence Ex: Booohooo, I finished up my last backup! I once wrote about the 'lipstick transforming powers' as this is the powerranger among skinny lips. But where to get it now? I need mooooore...

Yes, my skin hasn't been too succesful these months, so when I didn't wear makeup I went for this Cousin It style:

That needed hair again, so here are the hair-empties:

1. Weleda Millet Nourishing Shampoo: This sample was my introduction to Weleda shampoos. They've gotten the raves but this shampoo was quite meh. It didn't clean that much, the moisturizing was not that good and it smelled like a weird herbal: and that is coming from someone who has been quite organic lately

2. Solgar Hyaluronic Acid supplements: Moisture from the inside to tackle the eczema. Meh, the healthy parts of my skin do look dewier and less wrinkly but I wanted it to help for the parts that really needed it.

3. L'Oreal Professionel Nature Mask Cacao: I totally adore the Cacao line and this mask has been brilliant! My hair has been cut a lot so the dry has been gone; I do not need that much of it these days but it still soothes like nothing else. The yummy & natural scent of chocolate is one of the perks as well! Absolutely gorgeous hairmask.

4. Apivita Propoline shampoo for oily roots & dry ends: Oh man, makeupalley rates this one so high and all I though about it was how average this shampoo was. It's really like Herbal Essences which is nice but not earthshockingly good. Also I felt it was irritating -> it gave me a new spur of dandruff. I've been throwing away this 3/4 full bottle :(

5. Kose Happy Bath Day handcream: Another "Why has this been discontinued" moment! It's also the last one from my stash. I was counting on something dupe-a-ble but I haven't found something that equals the thin-ness and effectivity (original review here)

6. Physalis Krill Omega Oils: I think I consist of 70% of oils these days, instead of water. I've been taking flaxseed oils, Chia Seeds, bake in coconut oil and I've been taking this one too. Effective? Might be but not effective to cure. I'm tired of all these efforts and oils now.

7. Schwarzkopf Bonacure Hairtherapy CS Shampoo in Silver: It's actually purple instead of silver. It gets the warmth out of highlights. My hair has been pulling a bit too reddish lately. I like being slightly strawberry blonde, but I toned down some warmth with this shampoo. It gets high rates and is quite effective. However, not too scalp-friendly so I will be moving on to Lush Daddy-O.

Pjew, lot of mini-reviews and a bit of complaining. Sometimes it gets a bit too much of having heaps of products that claim to be effective, but are not. I hope this helps a bit for the ones looking around :)

♥

Blush-Crush: Michael Kors bronzer in Flush

What does it take to become my latest blush-crush?

Glamour 

Size 

velvet 

softness 
performance

niche 

perfect colour 
the right kind of glow

Glamour:

 

 Michael Kors as a brand stands for Uptown New York glamour so its makeup is on par with the fashion aura of the brand. A white packaging and golden letters, and inside a golden grande compact that could easily been mistaken as a small palette.

Size: 

I was secretly thinking 'how American' to have the blush/bronzer being supersized to this generous compact. My British Burberry is laying on top (still in dominating mode, who said size matters?) but the idea is clear.

All of this gotten me slightly cynic about its performance. I loved the latest launches of Fashionbrands going makeup (waves to Burberry and a nod to uncle Ford) but Michael Kors has never really appealed to my clothing aesthetic. And then the grandeur of it all.

 Thus: colour, performance & velvety texture:

Flush was my colour of choice after hearing it being described as a sister of NARS Deep Throat. Honestly, they are more distant cousins but I liked the few swatches online enough to indulge.

I picked up some other bl-onzers (blush/bronzers) that could have been siblings:

I omitted Bobbi Brown Antigua (too pink) & Maquillage (too much mixing) from the next swatches. I also mixed the 2 shimmery shades of the Le Metier de Beaute Kaleidoscope & the two topshades of NARS Soulshine.

Swatch winter-daylight (3 pm)

 

 At first glance:

•  No twins out there.
• Banila Co Copacabana is the closest match, only slightly paler & a bit more mauve
• Michael Kors has the most delightful & complicated shimmer of them all
• NARS Soulshine & Le Metier de Beaute have a pinkish hue when mixed
• Sofina Aube & Armani Sheer bronzer 2 are reddish compared to MK
• NARS Soulshine & Le Metier de Beaute are quite similar when mixing them in the right amount.

And now for the shimmer time: *FLASH*:

• my blush-crush is totally justified: look at the delicacy of the glow of Michael Kors...is it cool? Is it warm? Not sure, but it is gloooowy
• Le Metier de Beaute Kaleidoscope also flashes up in a complicated glowiness
• Banila Co. Copacabana has been a favourite for a long time, and for a good reason
• I sure love bl-onzers a lot!

Conclusion: Can you justify a crush? Yes, I just did...

Palette Swatching Project: Maquillage Alexander Wang BR365

In the category "so many new collections, but what about some of the past?" I'll continue to swatch my precious limited editions for you.

*So I am not going to discuss colours in depth, but more the useful-ness of the palette*

as 'palette-ness' has certain standards of *compatible colours* travel-friendly *nice exterior for showing in public* not-too-messy* etc

Alexander Wang was an upcoming designer when he collaborated with Shiseido Maquillage in 2009. Fastforward to 2013:  Everybody who frequently wants to buy something fashionable knows who this Mr Wang is, as his name has become quite the household name in fashion. Or, that bag with the studs at the bottom.

small letters top-left says "a collaboration with a new talent".

The line consisted of their gorgeous eyeshadow palettes and some lipsticks too. In the line of Maquillage the colours are neutrals and this particular Br365 consists of a beautiful collection of taupes, mushroom beige and the red-flecked black eyeliner.

I bought this palette in 2009 more as being incredibly into everything that Maquillage released. Somehow, I forgot to swatch it for the blog, so I am truly late :

In Maquillage's mode, the instructions are in Japanese on the rear of the palette:

Swatches: warm light: 

• the three on the left are powders of the top row in same order (no 2,3,4)
• the two on the right (1 & 5) are cream formulas placed in the bottom of the palette
• the consistency of all powder e/s are buttery and smooth (no dud texture/shade)
• the creams can be used as either an eyeliner as an eyeliner base
• The black on the right has reddish flecks in it, quite beautiful (best seen in upper swatch)
• the cream swatches are good and pigmented.

Swatches in cold daylight:

The palette is really on the go perfect. When I look at Alexander Wang's contemporary designs, they still match his aesthetic of neutral colours with a dash of daring.

All textures are high quality: even that weird white colour that is frequently featured with Japanese e/s palettes. Not that the colour white is weird but often the featured white comes with too much glitter, chalky or hardly any colour-payoff: this is a useful whitish base with a tinge of silver/mushroom beige inside.

As the aesthetics: it's a minimalistic, matte black exterior with a matte & glossy look enhancing the sleek monochomatic M. This totally fits Alexander Wang's fashion aesthetic combined with Maquillage mature feel. Or, perfect for showing off when topping up your eyemakup during the day (not that you would really need it, as the pigmentation and hold of the eyeshadows is really good).

The only complaint about the palette is the messiness:

A palette who has both powder & cream units have the danger of transferring them into each other. This happened to my palette as well.

Still, I have it for 3 years now and it is not that messy yet, so the design and the borders between the separate units are quite good.

Overall, I really like this palette and am glad I found it in my stash again. Why did I forget about it in the first place?

Upcoming posts

• Blush-palettes are the latest thing?

Nope, I've seen it before by Shiseido Maquillage. I was remembered by Frontrowbeauty's FOTD how fantastic these are, and will compare them with the Le Metier de Beaute's one.

•  More on the Palette Swatching project:

I finally will swatch The Shiseido Maquillage Alexander Wang palette. It has been a couple of years old when Alexander Wang was an upcoming designer.

• Black is the new black

This amazing post made me buy a Pixi Endless eyeliner pencil. I will compare them with my other 5 fave black eyeliner pencils to see how they can be different in their eyepencil blackness.

Maquillage lasting Perfect Rouge RD 306

Since Shiseido Maquillage had lauched a new type of lipstick for 2010, and I am always interested in

a. Japanese lipsticks, especially from Maquillage

b. New and improved products (even though the improvement might not be the ultimate miracle product ever, I still stay curious)

c. ordering online (called shopping therapy...a type of therapy that can lead into other therapy-> that is undoing an online-shopping-addiction, he he...but hey, it helps every now and then!)

d. doing profound research for the blog (ha, what an excuse?...but wouldn't you use it too?)

result after a,b,c and d= I purchased yet another lipstick....

Maquillage actually launched two types of lipsticks, which they normally do: one of them is the sheer version and the other type is a colour version. Simply, the sheer version is...well...sheer and the colour has more pigment.

I opted for the colour version, because I already have a huge range of sheers that seem similar on my lips...at least to an untrained lipstick observer (normally men and other persons who are not really into lipstick and colour, as it all looks natural or "the same" to them...my boyfriend, in contrast, is quite sharp by seeing the lipstick....more that he does not like to kiss 'goop' of my lips)

Oh, I bought colour no RD 306, as it looked like a toned down peachy red on the picture I borrowed from the Maquillage website.

The colour is more a orangy peach in this picture, but it actually has a hint of pink in it as well. I am quite suprised that it is somewhat not in the RD Red category. Or, normally the Japanese lipstick makers will put a colour like this in the PK pink category.

picture in daylight, no direct sun

The colour is lovely and quite light, which is fine, only I really was counting on a reddish base. Plus, it has quite some microglitter that has the tendency to cluster together.

picture in direct sunlight

I do not consider this lipstick to be incredibly longlasting. I would actually say that it is quite shortlived.It provides an accurate amount of moisture, and it is an evolution far away from those dreadful longlasting lipsticks from the 90s (for the younger public...probably the ones your mother's used to wear) which were some superglue versions of lipsticks that would fade in a clownish manner. Still, these are not coming close to Maquillage superb launch of 2009 Maquillage Moisture Rouge Sheer Type and Colour Type.

Overall, even though it is a lovely colour and a good quality lipstick, I will not repurchase the Maquillage lasting Perfect Rouge again.  I simply prefer they Moisture Rouge Sheer and Colour over these.
More opinions and other colour swatches of these lipsticks can be seen at Rougedeluxe and Lotuspalace.

The name is Bond, Etude Bond...

Uhooh, I have been a bit absent lately and left my little bloggy alone.....

Actually, I have been away from my blog for more than a week...that is a record in my book. I am sorry for that, but I have been receiving too little thingies to post and honestly...my personal life was not that brilliant either.

So I am a bit in need of a special agent who will lift me into better spirits.

Which brings me to Korean Cosmetics!...Etude House has been releasing a new line and it is called Code B.

So, we have a lady in charge...she is a feisty Asian lady who is not shy to use eyecatching makeup.

I really wanted it all, however, as I shy away from Gmarket lately (Customs at my country has been hunting on Gmarket packages too much', so it was hardly worth it anymore) I had to limit my choices.

And I wanted one of the eyeshadows the most.

Although I loved the natural colour scheme of all of them, I decided to go for the Khaki one, as I have had an ungoing love afair with a khaki MAC eyeshadow from one of their Limited Edition collections in 2005...I wanted a similar colour or a dupe...

So, the Code B gadget that I bought was an eyeshadow in colour 04 in Strong Khaki.

Mmm, the case looks a bit plastic and is not as girly as the usual form that Etude B has...I is a bit cheap-looking, IMO.


The content is of a better quality!!!! Ohh, I really love the buttery texture which makes it a perfect value! This colour is really similar to the MAC one, only a tad cooler.

Mission accomplished!

By the way, I bought the eyeshadow on ebay from a seller named ohalice on ebay.

Another fab discovery has been the Maquillage Alexander Wang lipstick and lipgloss collection. I have been buying the sample card on bobodave.com.

I often buy sample cards, if they are available. Sample cards are a perfect way to discover the true colour of a lipstick or lipgloss.

Honestly, I love so many colours of this card...I have been loving the RS721 for its deeper glow on the mouth, and the tiny green shimmer. It is one of the Moisture Rouge Sheer types lipsticks.

The Moisture Rouge Colour On types are even more superior, as the deliver incredible moisture and a fantastically natural, but lip-enhancing quality.

RS305 looks quite dark on the card, but it is sheer enough to look natural and not heavily made up.

The PK 373 and PK 244 are more pigmented, however, the moisture quality and somewhat lipline smoothing ingredients makes the colour flow over the mouth. I especially love the PK 244 (middle colour) as it is my lips but 20 times better.

Overall, I have too much lemmings right now...I really want to buy a couple of the Maquillage Alexander Wang lipsticks I have on this chart...he he...How many lipsticks can a girl have?

Another thing...my blog will have its first birthday this month: How should I celebrate this milestone???

My gorgeous new colours, and Jamilla's generosity!

• I haven't been buying that much eyeshadows from Japanese Brands for a while. I haven't been buying much eyeshadows at all in the last couple of months. That was because I had a large collection shades at home, and lately, I could not wear eyeshadow because of sensitivity problems with my eyes.
  
  However, my eyelids have improved and I was so happy to see some gorgeous new Autumnal collections popping up at my favourite Japanese makeup pusher-sites.
  
  Let me present to you my new, beloved boxes:
  
  

• Kanebo KATE Diamond Cut Eyes PU-1: a gorgeous palette with lilac and purple shades.
• Shiseido Maquillage Alexander Wang BR 365: taupes and browns
• Kanebo KATE Reflect Mirror Eyes GY-1: greys and taupes.

I also bought the supergorgeous Jill Stuart Blush Fresh Apricot 06 from Jamilla Camel.

Jamilla is such and inspiring and fantastic blogger who always has the best features in her blog.

Let's not forget her generosity....wowza. She was soooo sweet of sending me all of this:

A Mac eyeshadow in expensive pink, an eyeshadow pencil in brown and a Paul & Joe pencil in purple. Some decadent skincare sample from KenzoKi, sheet masks and other goodies.

Thank you Jamilla Camel, *HUGS*

My sweetest readers ♥ ♥, I will post some swatches of my newest colour next week (probably at the end of the week) so you will have an idea of how the colours would look like in real life.