Kose Esprique-Dimensional Eyes, Aqua Drape Rouge and Melty Fix Cheek

I was curious to try the new Kose Esprique line (which replaces the Kose Esprique Precious line) so I ordered one of each of the available products-the Blend Dimensional Eyes palette in A-1, the Aqua Drape Rouge in PK870 and the Melty Fix Cheek blush in PK800. The packaging for this line has is made of solid plastic but it has a diamond pattern in black/dark grey which I believe it is suppose to give an air of sophistication but it didn't really impress me much.

Blend Dimensional eyeshadow palette in A-1:

Melty Fix Cheek in PK800:

Aqua Drape Rouge in PK870:

Better picture of the pretty shimmer

The applicator has a flat oval shape.

Swatches:





Top: Aqua Drape Rouge in PK870
Bottom: Melty Fix Cheek in PK800 (swatch in last pic is blended); Blend Dimensional Eyes in A-1

The Blend Dimensional Eyes palette in A-1 was a pretty shimmery neutral palette but it didn't wow me. It went on nice enough and blended nicely but the colors didn't really stand out. I don't often use blush sticks but the Melty Fix Cheek in PK800 was easy to use and blended very nicely. I thought it had a more powdery feel and finish compared to a Nars multiple. My favorite item was the Aqua Drape Rouge in PK870. It felt a bit sticky and thick when I applied it but that feeling soon went away. It gives a nice glossy look; the shimmery is subtle and overall a very comfortable gloss. I'm looking forward to trying out a another color. I ordered these items from Mihoko Shop.

Nars Summer 2011 part 2 and a shiny fing

The sun was out today so I took the chance to take more pics of the Nars summer collection. Here are better pics of Cap Ferrat, Exotic Dance and Dogon.

Cap Ferrat


Exotic Dance and Dogon

The only lip color I skipped on was the Carthage matte lipstick because as much as I liked the color, I couldn't see myself wearing it all that much. Here are pics for Mayflower, Bolero and Wonder.

Mayflower
-Goes on smooth, with a bit of shine.

Bolero Velvet Matte Pencil
-Quite a bold and unforgiving peach color. I prefer it topped with Wonder.


Wonder lip gloss
-Gorgeous glossy and shimmery orange

When I saw the New Order blush, I was afraid the shimmer would be a bit too chunky but once applied, it works as a subtle highlighter.

Swatches:



Top: New Order
Bottom (l ->r): Mayflower, Bolero, Wonder, Bolero topped with Wonder

I've been loving orange/coral lips lately so the Nars offerings were right up my alley and New Order was a pleasant surprise.

As I was looking at the Cap Ferrat trio, I realized the colors were reminiscent of a shiny fing that I recently purchased. I have been a follower of Yasumi's lovely blog and was delighted that she was once again making shiny fings. I ordered her "Principessa Oceano" earrings and they arrived at a lightening speed (2 days from the UK to US-I didn't know it was possible!).

They came wrapped with care:


and safely contained:


I think they go well with Cap Ferrat:

Do visit her emporium here.

Nars Summer 2011-Eyeshadows

I made a visit to the Nars boutique today and to my delight (and my wallet's chagrin), the summer collection was available. I knew I would love the Cap Ferrat trio that would be released but I was hesitant about the duos and eye pencil. I was weak sauce and somehow caved into all of them.

Cap Ferrat Trio (with flash)


Cap Ferrat (no flash, my very yellow indoor lighting)

The trio is a smidge bigger than the regular duo



Cap Ferrat and Exotic Dance Duo

Exotic Dance contains a silvery white and light bronze. These two colors won me over with it's smoothness and lovely sheen.

Exotic Dance (no flash)


Exotic Dance (with flash)

Dogon contains a soft taupe duochrome and a dark grey with a bit of shimmer. I was on the fence about this duo, but once I walked around the boutique and got to see the taupe color change depending on the light; I really wanted to take it home to play.

Dogon (no flash)


Dogon (with flash)

Queen Shadow Pencil has a clear base with green flecks


Swatches for Dogon and Exotic Dance:

No flash


With Flash

Swatches for Queen and Cap Ferrat:

No flash


With flash

Here's Queen applied over Cap Ferrat shadows:

All of the shadows swatched very nicely. I will give these a try tomorrow and update on how well they wear. Also, lip and nail colors to come!

Blog sale page updated

I've added more items to my blog sale page. Click here or link on right side.

Thanks for looking!

Revlon Black with Envy vs Chanel Black Pearl

During a recent drugstore visit, I spotted a new Revlon display with advertising another "it" polish color. After seeing Revlon's take on Chanel's Paradoxal, I was curious if this polish would be mimicking another Chanel color. My hunch was pretty accurate, the new color was called Black with Envy and it seemed like it would be pretty similar to Black Pearl from Chanel. Here are the comparison pics:

Index and Middle: Black Pearl
Ring and Pinky: Black with Envy

Once again, Revlon is super close but not quite identical to Chanel. Black with Envy has a similar black with green tinge feel as Black Pearl but the finish is different between the two. Black with Envy has more shimmer to it while Black Pearl has that pearl-esque sheen to it. I wonder what if Revlon will tackle Mimosa next? :)

Chanel Summer 2011-Part 2

Here are pics for the Khaki-Discret duo, Lilium quad and Rose Platine liner. All of the shadows are nice and smooth. I have to confess though I getting tired of seeing dark green in the Chanel quads...seems like it keeps popping up recently, although the one in the Lilium quad is quite pretty. The Rose Platine liner is a gorgeous taupe color. The color gives a soft definition to the eyes.

Swatches with flash:

Top: Rose Platine liner, Khaki-Discret duo
Bottom: Lilium quad

Swatches no flash (natural light indoors)

Top: Rose Platine liner, Khaki-Discret duo
Bottom: Lilium quad

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I thought L'oreal Yellow Seahorse may be a possible dupe for Mimosa, but was wrong. Here are comparison pics:

With flash:

Both are great yellows and perfect for summer. Yellow Seahorse does have an advantage in formula. It went on very smooth but is a bit sheer so you will need 3-4 coats to not have a visible nail line but it is no where as finicky as Mimosa :)

YSL Pure Chromatics

I was going to continue with posts on the Chanel summer items but my camera battery needed to be charged. So I'm taking a moment to post on the YSL Pure Chromatics eyeshadow palettes that were recently released. I had ordered palettes no.4 and no.6 when I saw they were available on the YSL website. I was super excited to try these shadows out since the colors looked amazing.

They come in a gold casing much like the YSL quints. I hate this casing though because it scuffs easily and is a fingerprint magnet


Palette no. 6 (no flash)





Palette no. 4 (no flash)


Palette no. 6 (with flash)

The shadows can be used wet or dry. In the dry form, the shadows give a soft shimmery look. When used wet, they give intense color with metallic sheen.
The palettes come with a special rubber applicator for using the shadows wet.

I haven't quite mastered using it and for now I'm going to stick with using a brush.

Swatches-Dry form on the left side and wet form on the right side:

Palette no. 6 (no flash)


Palette no. 6 (with flash)
Wet swatches were made with the rubber applicator in the pics above


Palette no. 4 (no flash)


Palette no. 4 (with flash)
Wet swatches were made with a brush for the pics above


Wet swatches from palette no. 6 blended out a bit on the bottom

These shadows are nice when dry but just absolutely gorgeous when wet. The color combinations are also interesting and I'm looking forward to playing with these a lot more.