Kate Deep Trap Eyes BR-1

Originally I was thinking of buying a Glam Trick quint for my second Kate purchase, but since the texture of the Glam Trick line is more glittery and party appropriate, it is not something that I need right now. I decided to buy another color of Kate's Deep Trap Eyes due to my great experience with GY-1 and the more understated satin texture of this line that is versatile and works well for the office. Because GY-1 is a cool-toned neutral palette, I decided to get a warm-toned palette for contrast. Here is my new Kate (right) with my old Kate...


The texture and lasting power of BR-1 is the same as GY-1, which I've already written a review on, so I won't discuss that here. Please refer back to my other review to read about those characteristics if interested (link at the end of the post).


The colors in this quint are an off-white (A), a warm medium brown (B), a neutral medium brown (C), a dark brown (D), and a silvery taupe (E). All of the colors are shimmery, the most shimmery being E, followed by A, then B and C, and finally D (basically in the order the colors were swatched). The finished look of this palette is very natural but pulled-together. If I have to describe my small collection of BR palettes with one word each, Kate would be natural, MJ BR751 would be lively, and MJ BR742 would be mischievous. So although this purchase brings my collection of Japanese BR palettes to three, the color combinations of these brown palettes are all different and there is little to no overlap in the individual colors, either.


All of the photos in this post were taken under natural light.

In short: A basic neutral quad with no surprises, pleasant or unpleasant.

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Please click here to read the review on Kate Deep Trap Eyes GY-1.

All That Shimmer

I had some time today so I took flash pictures of my palette collection to show you the shimmery-ness of these babies. As such, this will predominantly be a picture post with very little text. Please refer back to my reviews to read more about each of these palettes.

MJ Trick On Majolooks BR742 + BR751



Kate Deep Trap Eyes GY-1



Lavshuca Eye Color Select PK-1 + BU-1 + PU-2



Coffret D'or Trance Deep Eyes 04 Grey Variation



Shu Uemura Winter 2008 LE Palette (Ninagawa Mika Collection) Secret Luscious Rose

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As a preview, here are some flash pictures of my small birthday haul...

Kate Deep Trap Eyes BR-1



Maquillage Eyes Creator (3D) VI367



Can't wait to try these!

New MJ Acquisition! Trick On Majolook in BR742

As I've referenced in the last post, a very kind friend brought this quad back for me from Asia. Since I was so pleased with my last MJ Trick On Majolook, I thought I would try another color and asked my friend to get me this color while she was visiting Asia. Here is the new quad (left) with my old quad.


The packaging, lasting power, and texture of this palette is essentially the same as the other palette so I won't go into that. Please refer back to my older post if you are wondering about those characteristics. The link can be found at the end of this post.


The four colors in this quad are: a slightly blue-toned pale silver (A), a light taupe gold (B), a blackened brown liner shade (C), and a white Trick On shade with green shimmer (D). All of the colors are shimmery, with D having the most amount of shimmer, followed by A and B, and then C. The pigmentation is about medium to low, as you can perhaps deduce from both the product and swatch pictures. However, the shimmer in D is more noticeable in real life than it is in both pictures. This Trick On color really stands out among the otherwise neutral colors so the look is mostly understated but with a slight pop of color that makes the look interesting. I would describe the overall look created by this palette as woodsy and down-to-earth but with some fairy-like qualities and a streak of mischief. This quad reminds me of the wood nymphs found in Greek mythology ^^ Nonetheless, I think this palette is definitely low key enough for the office, as long as you apply the Trick On powder with a light hand.


I think the similarity and contrast between this Majolook (BR742) and my other one (BR751) is interesting since both quads have a gold and a silver combination in the top two shades but the gold is darker in this quad than the silver, whereas the silver (taupe) is darker than the gold in BR751. In addition, this quad is decidedly more cool-toned than BR751 despite both being BR quads. Also, the colors of this quad are less intense than the colors in BR751, likely because BR742 was a spring release in contrast to BR751 being a fall release.

All of the pictures for this post were taken under natural light.

In short: Another worthy purchase from MJ. Even if you already have tons of neutral eyeshadow palettes, it is unlikely that you'll find something similar to the color combination in this quad.

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To read about the packaging, texture, and lasting power of MJ's Trick On Majolooks or to see the review for Majolook BR751, please click here.

LOTDs - Different Looks with Shiseido Perfect Rouge

I decided to make a compilation post with photos of the Shiseido Perfect Rouge lipsticks on their own and layered with different glosses on my lips. All of the photos in this entry were taken under natural light, though they were taken over the course of a couple of days so the lighting may not be exactly the same.

Let's start with my bare lips with just lip balm.

This is BE109 over lip balm.

The last photo was taken out of direct sunlight so you can see how nude the color is. I think my natural lip shade shows through more under direct sunlight.

This is BE109 with a layer of Integrate Glamorous Rouge in BE323 on top.

Again, I took the last photo partially in the shade so you can see the nude-ness of the lipstick+lipgloss combination.

These next ones are of BE109 with a layer of L'Oreal Infallible Lipgloss in Coral Sands on top.

I had to edit these photos for the color to appear closer to the actual color. Since my lips in the pictures turned out more pink than in real life, I added some warmth to the pictures. Just wanted to let you know in case you noticed that the shade of my skin is different.

This is BE109 with a layer of L'Oreal Infallible in Blush on top.

I think my lips were getting dry at this point from the removal and reapplication of lipstick on that day, which is why they look so wrinkly in the first picture. Normally, the effect from the gloss (i.e., smoothness of the lips) should be the same as in the below pictures with Blush over PK307.

Finally, moving on to PK307. This is just PK307 on top of lip balm.

This is PK 307 plus a layer of L'Oreal Infallible in Blush on top.

If you click to see the last picture at its original size, you can see the shimmer in Blush.

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Please click here if you would like to read the review on Shiseido Perfect Rouge.
Please click here if you would like to read the review on the glosses I used in this post.

Shiseido Perfect Rouge

I've been eyeing these lipsticks since Shiseido started their marketing campaign. The red lipstick on the model in the ad looked absolutely stunning, so I was really drawn to this product even though I'm not big on red lips. I finally got a chance to check them out on Monday, and I caved in to buying two after trying them on.


I really like the color and design of Shiseido The Makeup products; they always look very sleek, sophisticated, and modern. Since I'm paying so much for the product, it comforts me somewhat to see that the product looks pretty =P

You may have already noticed, but I didn't own any lipstick prior to buying these new Shiseido ones. I just don't like using lipsticks because most are too drying for me, even over lipbalm. However, this is not the case with Perfect Rouge. They are fairly moisturizing, though I still have to apply lip balm to my lips beforehand. The coverage is medium to full if you just apply the lipstick directly to your lips, but I like to use my fingers to apply it in sheerer layers. I haven't done a rigorous test on the lasting power of these lipsticks, but it seems that they can last a while as long as I don't eat or talk too much (e.g., giving a lecture).


Since I never wear bright red lipstick like in the ad and I'm lacking something that can tone down my easily-flushed lips, I went to the department store counter with getting a nude lipcolor in mind. The two colors that I ended up with are BE109 Spiced Cream and PK307 Tourmaline. BE109 is really a true nude color on me. I was amazed at how nude and good it looked when the sales rep at the counter put it on me. However, when I tried it on at home, it seems to be less opaque, probably because I don't use lipliner, whereas the Shiseido sales rep did use a lipliner before he applied the lipstick on me.

Similarly, PK307 didn't look quite the same on me at the counter and at home. I caved into this unexpected purchase since it really brightened up my face when the Shiseido rep applied it on me at the counter (also over a lipliner). However, it looked brighter than I would like when I tried it on again at home. Still, the effect is pretty if I just apply a sheer layer or if I apply a little bit of BE109 over the PK307. The color is what I would call fuschia, basically a medium-toned bright pink.


In short: The lipsticks are moisturizing, offer sheer to full coverage based on your application method, and last fairly well. I would consider buying BE109 again if I run out, but I'm not sure PK307 works perfectly with my complexion.

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Please click here to see swatches of the lipsticks on my lips.

L'Oreal HiP EOTDs

I actually did these EOTDs a while back, but because they are so simple, I was hesitant to put these on the blog. However, since I haven't posted in a while and I don't have pictures taken of other EOTDs, here they are ^_^ All of the EOTD pictures were taken under a mix of yellow and white light.

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L'Oreal HiP Gunmetal Look

Products used:

L'Oreal Wear Infinite Eye Shadow Single in Shroom Shimmer
L'Oreal HiP Metallic Eye Shadow Duo in Gunmetal

Directions:

(A) Yellow line - Shroom Shimmer
(B) Olive green line - lighter olive color in Gunmetal
(C) Green line - dark forest green color in Gunmetal

1) Apply A all over lid, concentrating more on the brow bone and the inner corner of the eye
2) Line the top lash line with C, flicking up slightly at the outer corner of the eye
3) Line the outer 2/3 of the lower lash line with B
4) Line the inner 1/3 of the lower lash with A
5) Curl lashes

Like I said, extremely simple. Simple to the point that there really is no reason for this being on my blog except as a record for myself =P In any case, this is a makeup look that is very low key, but still gives you a slight pop of color and more focus to your eyes. I really like how the metallic olive in Gunmetal looks on the lower lash line.

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L'Oreal HiP Charisma Look

The same concept and method of application used above can also be applied to the L'Oreal HiP Concentrated Duo in Charisma.

Products used:

L'Oreal Wear Infinite Eye Shadow Single in Shroom Shimmer
L'Oreal HiP Concentrated Shadow Duo in Charisma

Directions:

(A) Yellow line - Shroom Shimmer
(B) Lavender line - lighter mauve in Charisma
(C) Purple line - darker matte purple in Charisma

Follow the same directions as above.

Sorry for the slightly unevenly line on the top lash line. This look is even lighter than the one with gunmetal since the colors in this duo show up less vibrantly than the metallic duos. It is, nonetheless, a simple, elegant, and effective daytime look.

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Please click here to read my review on these L'Oreal HiP eyeshadow duos.