Monday 30 December 2013

Jill Stuart Airy Tint CC Cream

Looks like the BB/CC Cream wave is not abating anytime soon. Jill Stuart will launch its first CC cream, Airy Tint SPF30 PA++ in two shades 01 Light Floral Beige and 02 Natural Floral Beige on 7 March in Japan. Retailing at 3200yen for 33g, the CC cream has a floral scent and contains a "pore focus powder" to help camouflage skin unevenness, cover pores and skin imperfections, and polarized pink pearl powder for a soft, natural brightening veil. Designed to be both skincare and base makeup in one convenient product for creating peach-like skin, it also contains peach juice for moisturising benefits.


Jill Stuart will be offering this elegant lip tray as a gift with purchase of 7350yen starting 10 January in Japan, with the launch of the Thumbelina in Petal Chiffon Wonderland collection. Now that's a true collector's item!

Wednesday 25 December 2013

Chanel Le Rouge Collection Variation

Here are some pics of an 18-piece lip collection in beige, pink/red and plum tones that Chanel will release on 21 February in Japan. The full list of product names and shades can be found on Specktra. See swatches on Gorogolog. The collection for Japan includes:

* Rouge Coco #61 Chéri #62 Irrésistible 
* Rouge Coco Shine #89 Satisfaction #90 Mutine #91 Bohème #92 Émotion
* Rouge Allure #144 Conquise #145 Rayonnante
* Rouge Allure Velvet #46 La Malicieuse #47 L'Amoureuse
* Levres Scintillantes #181 Bliss #182 Tocade
* Rouge Double Intensite #52 #53 Coral Peach #54 Strawberry Red

Pic below by Tomoichi.


Pic below by Abe Sawako.


Pic below by More.


Pic below by Eclat.

Lunasol 15th Anniversary Palette

According to Maquia, Lunasol will release a limited edition 15th Anniversary Makeup Palette (10,500yen) on 11 February in Japan. It contains popular eyeshadows that Lunasol has released in the past, blushes, face powders, and mini sizes of the Liquid Lips gloss and mascara. Unsurprisingly, the palette is dominated by beige and other neutral shades designed for mass appeal. It's too bland for my liking but it will definitely be a sell-out. See close-up shots on Iida Kyoko's blog.

Saturday 21 December 2013

By Terry Terrybly Densiliss Foundation

By Terry's latest foundation innovation, Terrybly Densiliss, is described as being a hybrid of an ‘absolute density’ fluid foundation with a ‘wrinkle control’ serum. Boasting long-term anti-ageing benefits along with immediate correcting effects for a flawless complexion, it supposedly provides a beautifully natural, matte finish with a youthful radiance. The 'Flawless Time Control complex' is a combination of three powder-pigments: a smoothing wrinkly control translucent powder, an instant rosy glow prism and an 'autofocus affinity' powder for reducing the appearance of imperfections.

Available in 10 shades, I found #3 Vanilla Beige to be a good match for my MAC NC20 skintone, although I can probably wear #4 Natural Beige as well. Being marketed as an anti-aging foundation, it is no surprise that Densiliss is significantly more expensive at €85/US$115/£75 than By Terry's Sheer Expert and Cover Expert foundations which are €48/US$65/£45. Densiliss comes in a more luxe (and fragile) glass bottle that is more befitting the prestigious image of the brand, versus the utilitarian plastic squeeze tube of Sheer Expert and Cover Expert.

I have tried samples of Sheer and Cover Expert previously and liked them enough to consider purchasing them, but I decided to splurge on Densiliss after reading several glowing reviews. It is certainly one of the most expensive foundations I've ever purchased, but luckily I had a 20% discount voucher from Sephora France. List of ingredients below.

After experimenting with different methods of application over the past couple of weeks, I've come to like Densiliss enough that I do not regret purchasing it. Its lightweight texture wears comfortably while offering sufficient coverage to significantly reduce the redness in my cheeks and nose area. It also has a nice smoothening effect on the skin texture, but it does require skin to be sufficiently moisturised beforehand, otherwise it can show up dry patches and flakiness (especially on my nose).

If applying with my fingers, one pump is more than enough for an application. My preferred method is to use either my fingers or the Shiseido Perfect Foundation brush. The matte finish is not overly dull and flat. Even when my skin oils up, it takes on a gentle luminous dewy look instead of separating or pooling in my pores. My skin does not get excessively oily with this even after eight hours of wear, although this is probably partly due to the winter weather. I actually wore this for several hours without blotting at all, and the end result was pretty decent with just a light sheen on my T-zone. The pic above was taken in natural daylight near the window while the pic below was taken under room lighting.

You can see swatches of all 10 shades on Beauty Professor and read another review by the black panties. For this look, I used Charlotte Tilbury The Rebel Color-Coded Eyeshadow Palette and Pixi Iridescent Iris eyeliner pencil.



Thanks for reading!

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Shu Uemura Spring 2014 Bijoux Collection and The Light Bulb UV Compact Foundation

For Spring 2014, Shu Uemura will release the Bijoux collection, designed by International Artistic Director Uchiide Kakuyasu, on 1 January in Japan. ("Bijoux" means jewellery in French.) All products are limited edition.


Silk Cushion Eyeshadow in Amber Brown, Peridot Green, Morganite Pink and Amethyst Purple (2730yen)


Silk Cushion Cheek in Orange Quartz and Rose Quartz (2940yen)


Dual Fit Pressed Powder (4410yen)


Skin Bijoux (2625yen)


Rouge Unlimited Satin Matte Lipstick in Pink Opal and Beige Topaz (3150yen)


Nail Color in Green Pearl and Lavender Pearl (1785yen)


False Eyelashes in Blunt Bijoux (2940yen)


Below is a video clip featuring a Shu SA talking briefly about the eyeshadows in this collection.


Shu Uemura will also launch The Light Bulb UV Compact Foundation (4935yen for refill and 1365yen for the case with sponge) in 14 shades on 7 February in Japan. The sponge (682yen) features two different textures - one for applying the foundation while the other side is a "glow polisher". Pics below from Vitaminef. See pics of how to use the sponge on i-sook.

There will also be a new Fresh Shine Clear Cleansing Oil in the pink bottle, that contains cherry and sakura leaf extracts, and Whitefficient Whiteseal Carbonated Mask, inspired by Japanese onsen (hot springs). The Whitefficient Mask is a carbonic acid-based mousse that transforms into a cream upon application and does not need to be rinsed off.

The SAs will also sport new uniforms designed by Uemulo Munenoli starting 1 January.


Dior DiorSnow Spring 2014

Abe Sawako tweeted these pics of the DiorSnow collection to be released on 28 February in Japan. The makeup collection is usually Asia-exclusive.

Looks like there will be three new makeup bases and a BB cream.


Pic below of the new DiorSnow Whitening Transparent Essence from Baila.

Lancome Blanc Expert Collection for Spring 2014

With each spring comes a new slew of whitening skincare and makeup products in Asia. Lancome will launch the following new products on 21 February in Japan. The new versions of Blanc Miracle liquid and powder foundations boast higher sun protection power with SPF50 (versus SPF26 for the previous versions). New Lancome spokesmodel Lily Collins is the face of the campaign. See more pics on Gorogolog and Poporachi.

1. UV Expert XL Shield SPF50 PA++++: in 3 shades - white, standard BB and BB II (natural beige) (5775yen, 30ml)

Pic below tweeted by Abe Sawako.

2. Blanc Expert Melanolyser III Integral Whiteness Spot Eraser (13,650yen)

3. Blanc Miracle liquid foundation SPF50 PA++++

4. Maqui Blanc Miracle Compact powder foundation


Maquillage Spring 2014

Here are the pics of the Maquillage Spring 2014 collection due out on 21 January in Japan.


1. Essence Glamorous Rouge Neo: Improved version of the bestselling Essence Glamorous Rouge with longlasting wear, glossiness and hydrating benefits. There will be 4 permanent shades BE721 (natural urban beige), RD312 (warm natural red), PK323 (brilliant pink), RD554 (feminine rose) and 2 LE shades RD406 (juicy red) and PK205 (fresh shell pink) (2415yen, 6g)



2. True Eyeshadow: Two limited edition palettes BL231 and PK232 (3675yen)


3. True Rouge: BE700 (rich beige) and PK701 (fresh rich pink) (3150yen)


Cle de Peau Spring 2014 La Boheme

Cle de Peau will release its Spring 2014 collection La Boheme on 21 January in Japan. The ad visual of Amanda Seyfried looks like yet another unfortunate example of over-zealous Photoshopping, similar to Katie Holmes for Bobbi Brown.

It includes:

1. Rehausser D'Eclat #14 (8400yen, 10g)


2. Ombre Couleurs Quadri: #211 and #212 (5250yen)

3. Rouge Eclat Confort #224, #225 and #226 (3675yen, LE)