MÜLE (뮬) - Sparkling Star Palette (스파클링 스타 팔레트)

Since it had been awhile since I had seen any new products from Mule, I did a quick search on eBay and spotted a listing for a palette but I thought the price was a bit high. I did a search on Gmarket and found much more reasonable prices so I decided to get over my Gmarket hesitations and placed an order.

The palette was larger than I expected; each pan is about the same as the Mac Pro Longwear eyeshadow pans. There are 2 rows of powder eyeshadows and one row of lip/cheek cream colors.

A tube of Chanel Coco Rouge for size reference

There was a leaflet included that had 2 looks and color names.

 Swatches were done indoors on bare skin with natural lighting, no flash. 

Shade names are based on google translate results.

 First row: Sugar Lily (Lavender), New York Yellow (Gold), Apple Green (Lime green), Shot Black (Charcoal Grey), Talk Pink (Beige Pink)

 Second row: Honey Brown (Taupe), Deep Blue (Violet), Strawberry Macaroon (Bright Matte Pink), Luminous White (White with gold sheen), Deep Purple (Brown Purple)

  Third row: Holiday Red (Warm Red), New York Pink (Pastel Pink), Holiday Orange (Bright Tangerine), Nude Beige, Splendid Pink (Fuchsia)

The eyeshadows have a nice soft texture and go on fairly smooth although there is a bit of kick up when dabbing with a brush. When applied over primer, the colors last close to a full day with just minimal fading. I've only used the lip/cheek colors on the lips and they have nice pigmentation. They aren't the most moisturizing so I would suggest using a lip balm underneath. To see the palette in action, here are 2 looks from Jung Saem Mool's channel - Look 1, Look 2; I do believe that these are the same looks that are shown in the leaflet.

Nars Kudoki Kabuki Lip Set

I decided to show the Nars Kudoki Kabuki Lip set against the Nars Bento Box Set from last year. The Kudoki Kabuki Lip set contains 3 lip colors (Botan, Takebue, and Ougi) vs 2 colors (Sakura and Maiko) in the Bento Box set. The exterior packaging is similar with the lacquer wooden box and the same kabuki lip brush is included in each set.

Nars Kudoki Kabuki set
L->R: Botan (deep pink), Takebue (rose nude), Ougi (brick red)

Here are size comparisons between
the Kudoki Kabuki set (Bottom) and the Bento set (Top):




Bowls from the Kudoki Kabuki set are 0.05 Oz (1.5g);
Bowls from the Bento set are 0.12oz (3.5g)




Shades from Bento set

Sakura


Maiko

Shades from Kudoki Kabuki Lip set:

Botan


Takebue


Ougi

Swatches:

Natural light with flash


Natural light, no flash


Indoor light, with flash

L->R: Sakura, Maiko, Botan, Takebue, Ougi

I think that that the Kudoki Kabuki set does have more wearable colors compared to the Bento set from last year. The quality of the lip colors were similar~very pigmented with a soft creamy feel. They are not the most moisturizing and since my lips tend to be a bit dry, I do like to prep with a balm before applying these colors. The shades in the Kudoki Kabuki set do seem to have a touch of shimmer to them when you look at the bowls but the shimmer does not show up when swatched. The Kudoki Kabuki set is currently available at online at Nordstrom.

Nars Kudoki Kabuki Lip Set-Preview pic

I didn't get a chance to organize all the pics for the Nars Kudoki Kabuki Lip Set....so just a preview pic for now~

More to come....

NARS Bento Box Set

The NARS Bento Box has been generating quite some buzz, including a mention in the New York Times Magazine. With the expected release date of November 1st, I was surprised to find out yesterday that Saks Fifth Avenue has received some stock of this item and that it was available for purchase. So here are the pics! As with the Paul & Joe sets, I have yet the heart to use this item; so no swatches. I think I need to start a museum like display case of my own.

The hefty Bento Box Set comes in a matte black Nars box:

With the box lid removed:

The Bento Box itself is a black wooden lacquered box.



With the wooden lid lifted:

Inside are the 2 kabuki bowls and a kabuki lip brush.

The bowl lids come with padding:

Bowls revealed! L->R: Sakura and Maiko

Close up of Sakura (pink).
I did use flash for the pics but both lip colors are pretty vibrant.


Here's Maiko (Red):


Close up of the gorgeous kabuki lip brush. It is only available in the set. Although Nars does offer other kabuki brushes (I am eyeing the Yachiyo brush).


In case you're wondering on the size of the bowls.
Here is a bowl next to a full size Nars lip gloss:



Each bowl is labeled as having 0.12oz (3.5g) of product.

Without a doubt, this is a gorgeous luxe holiday item. Craftsmanship definitely went into the set and everything is solidly made. Is it something you can carry around and show off? No, but it does make a lovely display piece. I think I will eventually use it even though a part of me does want to keep it pristine. If you're interested, but not near Saks, there is a sign-up to be notified of when it's released on the Nars cosmetics site.

YSL Tresor D'Afrique Lip Palette

I felt that a better mood would be set for this post on the YSL Tresor D'Afrique if I wrote it in French; however, my many years of studying the language in no shape gave me proficiency in that languge so entry in English it is! The Tresor D'Afrique lip palette is part of the YSL summer collection. I had thought I would fall for the quint eyeshadow palette from this release but instead the lip palette has wooed me. It comes in a nice matte dark bronze compact which I love because it doesn't show any smudgy fingerprints that the shiny compacts do and comes with a velvet brown sleeve.

Inside contains 4 punchy colors that are great for summer. Each lip color has a watermelon scent similar to the Rouge volupte lip stick.There is a shimmery bubblegum pink gloss, a medium orange gloss with no shimmer, a sheer shimmery pale pink gloss, a burgundy gloss and a fuchsia lipstick. I was worried the bubblegum pink pink gloss would be too sheer but I was wrong and it showed up brighter than I expected. The orange color is a bit bright as well but still wearable. Although the colors are pretty bright, they can be blotted down for a sheerer look.

I am really glad I picked up this palette. I normally don't like lip palettes but all the lip colors have great pigmentation to them and show up well on my medium pigmented lips. I've worn the glosses alone and they've lasted a few hours (no serious eating involved). A nice way to kick off summer!