The Blush of my dreams & other newbies I'd been eager to get...

Holy purchasy October...

I've finally caved on a couple of items that were very wishlist for a while. 

It has been a yes/no/yes/not-yet debate, resulting into visiting certain sites frequently, making a cart, leaving the cart behind, getting reminders from websites I have a cart (I KNOW, it's so hard to forget), pretending I don't want it, visiting the same reviews over-and-over again to decide I still want it...

I've scored the most perfect blush I have encountered in a while: Meet my Surratt La Vie en Rose.

After falling in love with the neutral Grisalle shader (here) I upgraded towards colour. I picked a colour most closely to my own flushed cheeks (after working out/being embarrased/in love, ect): a rosy flush. 

Picking a colour like this is like adding youth to your face. It's my effortless colour, though I need a softer brush for application (think NARS Mie Kabuki) as it is delightfully pigmented. 

I have been wearing this blush 7 days in a row: a record! Then I decided my other ones felt neglected and I went for some peachy pink again: sometimes I like to look made-up dolly instead of natural :).

The other haul: my 1st Suqqu & Chanel brush.

After debating for more than 1 year I've finally have my 1st Suqqu blend palette in the most neutral no. 10 Kochueza. As for elegance sake, I added the Chanel brush No. 19 for eyes that is supposed to be quite the catch (review here & here)

I'm glad I caved to see what's the deal about Suqqu blend, but I'm also slighty underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong: Suqqu's texture is simply amazing, but the colours are too neutral for me. It's a "maybe in 3 years"-type of palette.

And finally that horribly pricy Tom Ford brush no. 2: foundation-time.

Tom Ford's brush no 2 feels slightly too limp. Oh gosh, I could imagine telling mr. Ford that his brush it too limp, and then I couldn't. Perhaps I'm too used to Real Technique's expert face brush firmer bristles. Temptalia reviewed this one as the most flawless foundation-brush ever and I'm probably not that used to it yet....

*Practice-makes-perfect?*

And sorry, I don't have any reviews or swatches going on yet. It's been busy and if it wasn't, it was just too cloudy for photos outside. I might take it slower on this blog as I'm slightly too obsessive/high maintainance on beauty lately: think full-face makeup to the gym whereas the other girls go bravely barefaced (or mascara only). Just a bit easier on being pretty on the outside to focus more on my inner beauty, or such... :). Well, we'll see...

Before Resolution 'Spend Less'...

I have found some really interesting sales going on:

Selfridges has the cutest Takashi Murakami Collection palette from £60.00 -> £40.00 in both colours. I have found some swaches here & here.

The SA in Holland said that Laura Mercier's baked eyeshadows "Les Petits Bonbons' were a limited edition and really hard to get. Well, it's on sale now over here in the most gorgeous wooden box. 
While you're saleshopping, do not forget Selfridges non-sale-but-really-useful Suqqu range & the hyped Charlotte Tilbury too.

Harrods has a good deal on the pricy Chantecaille range and especially their palettes are tempting: The Bengali Tiger & the Shadow & the Rose palette are half price now. Karla's famous arm shows Bengali over here

Beautybay is having a fair discount on the Le Metier de Beaute range and I already caved and own the gorgeous Carnaby Street Kaleidoscope. Cultblogger Sabrina from TheBeautyLookbook has them swatched here.  BTW, isn't it strange that the so-called 'exclusive' Bloomingdales/Neiman Marcus palettes are often to be found somewhere else? Not that I'm complaining.
Another cult-LMDB is their dewy lip & cheek Fresh Tints.
 Beautybay also has Rouge Bunny Rouge on sale & Edward Bess, but mostly for about 10% discount

Liberty is having the spring-zesty/summery Jovoy Mojito candle on sale with a gorgeous glass bell jar: what a way to tone down your Holiday's alcohol habit and rejoice for summery times & mojitos. If you prefer your room to smell like cake (think Marie Antoinette), they have this candle without the jar.

Also, this Kenzo cosmetic purse is now discounted from £90.00 to £27.00 so you can be fierce about carrying your makeup around.

Some December Newbies

December often makes me feel more (self-) indulgent than normally:

 I finally ordered my first Charlotte Tilbury! I've read some mixed reviews but couldn't resist the name "Golden Goddess" and it's stunning hues:

The Golden Goddess upclose

I absolutely like the effect of the colours in the dictated suggested Tilbury colour scheme. However, I have some brilliant primers (hello mr. Bess) so I do not feel the need to overlayer. I received the compliment "wow, nice eyeshadows" from a makeup expert so I guess I put it on in a kinda right way too? Oh jolly!

However, I do not feel like glam shimmer & flecks on everyday base even though Charlotte T thinks everyone can benefit from that (can't remember where I read that but her line proves she likes shimmer). But I rarely have a standard eyelook anyway so I like this addition to my bronzy stash.

Relaxing in times of pre-Holiday tension is not only an indulgence: you'll be a much nicer person towards others and get some more focussed gifts as well. I think a bath is relaxing but most importantly warming when temperatures drop.

I've bought a bottle of Tisserand De-stress bathoil based on a good & detailed rave on naturisimo (here): I agree! I've really think its an awesome blend and it really outdoes it pricetag. I've had samples of Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax bath & shower oil and this is quite similar, only a whole lot more afforable: and that's relaxing as well

And yes, you can use it as a shower-oil as well!

 Kate = Queen...
whether it is the Dutchess of Cambridge, the ubermodel Moss or our Driveller-guru. So when she declared Suqqu M eyebrush to be a superior choice over mr. Ford (review)... I added it instantly to my Selfridges cart.

Thanks to its superior quality my blending skills have gotten better. Also, I have been rediscovering older infatuations such as Sienna Orchid.

 I've become more curious about natural and personalised blends so I ordered a couple of samples from Pollen & Wax: Among it their Peridot Cleansing Oil:

The Peridot Cleansing oil really smells refreshing, more like a Spanish Cava than a Peridot but I'm hardly the wine connoisseur. Most importantly, it cleanses the more profound makeup with the most gentle and beneficial of ingredients (listed here)

The Gold Petal facial serum (=oil) is indeed of a golden colour and smells more neutral. It is made for "{sensitive, ruddy, inflamed, combination, dry, irritated skin types}" so the amount of fraganced essential oils is not too strong. I detect the rose geranium.

Both have been really lovely. They last about 2 times and I do think I need a bit more to give out a good conclusion. 

Review: B&C EX water strong W Eyebrow in Natural Brown

A while ago I bought the highly acclaimed Suqqu eyebrow pen when dollyleo was still in service. Geeeh, why did that shop go away? It was the cheapest way for me to get some Suqqu. Anyway, I would probably not repurchase the Suqqu eyebrow pen on reasons I will explain later, but I loved the concept of a pen and I went further to seach for another pen.

B&C Water Strong W Eyebrow

The most famous one afterwards that I saw on blogs is the KPalette version, but it was sold out on adambeauty so I went for the B&C EX water strong W Eyebrow in Natural Brown instead (listed here). These names are choking me up sometimes: what does the W stand for?

Translated from Adambeauty's site from Chinese:

B & C Waterproof Eyebrow Pencil with Pencil + liquid on both sides of the pen design, pencil , moderate hardness, can depict a very coarse, fine and soft lines, suitable for the brow and eyebrow contours depict; liquid written with elasticsense of the fine brush design, suitable for depicting the thin lines.
Containing a special water-retaining membrane, a 24-hour waterproof, anti-sweat, anti-sebum.

It's a dual sided browliner device giving you the option to use the pen, the pencil or both: each for a different effect.

I bought it for the pen side, and, strangely, the pen didn't even come with a lid on the pencil side: doesn't that dry out the pencil in the end?

out of package (I didn't loose the lid from the pencil side, it comes like that)

Next to my Suqqu pen (the one in front)

The pen side has a similar sized shape and tip as the Suqqu one, perhaps a tiny bit larger:

The Pencil part:

 It's approximately 0.4 cm and I consider that shape to be rather thick for drawing in a finer line with eyebrows. On the other hand, this part is for a different effect so if you like your eyebrows to be a bit more dramatic. You can use it slightly slanted for a thinner pencil look.

The swatches:

Verdict:

• Colour of the pen: obviously, B&C is a lot warmer in tone than Suqqu. I was quite put off in the beginning and intitially it looked too brown/reddish on my eyebrows. Until I looked at the mirror 2 minutes later and I saw it actually matches them. I think this one will work for warmer blondes, redheads, perhaps auburn or warmer shaded brunettes.
• Colour of the pencil: Huh? how come this is a completely different shade being almost an ashy grey brown ? Indeed, it's a lot darker but in combination with the pen you can work up to either a natural-looking brow (mimicking the natural difference in hairs and tones that they have) or go dramatic.
• Inkiness of pen: It gives out more pigment than the Suqqu with the first swipe. Personally, the lack of pigment was my biggest gripe of Suqqu: I kept on swiping and hardly saw anything (and I often dislike eyebrow products for looking too harsh on me). So I prefer the inkiness of this one: it is still light enough to look natural.
• Inkiness of the pencil: I was complaining about the lack of a lid on the pencil part? Yes, and the effect is that it balls up at first when using it (see above) and you have to break of a piece to go to the better part. However, without the lid I have to do that over and over again and that is not really efficient of the pencil side. Too bad, because, with a light hand, this colour works and I guess it can work for quite some complexions and haircolours too for being neutral enough.
• Durability: It claims to have that 24-hours and anti-sweat/water effect and it stays rather put but I wouldn't say 24hrs. I have exercised with it and it stays rather put: I found that it is splash resistant too, but completely waterproof? I'm not sure yet. I can remove it quite easily with normal cleansers so I don't have to bring out the special waterproof cleansers that some Majolica Majorca mascaras need.

Conclusion:

 Unexpectedly, when you think you bought a Dud-product based on your first swatches, it can turn out quite good afterall. I have to find a (sort of) matching lid for the pencil side or tape it off so it doesn't dry out. Using the pen gives a light effect (with a warmer undertone), the pencil a neutral, and both either a mimicking natural brow or a strong both, depends of how you shade and use it.

Availability:

I bought it on Adambeauty for $14 and they have a darker/neutral version as well (here).

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!