lemming: Color Fever Gloss in Burning Up by Lancome

I'm not such a big Lancome fan, as their popular Bi-Facil eye-makeup cleanser was somewhat oilier than I expected and stung my eyes. So I've never paid much attention to their products. However, at a friend's recent wedding, the makeup artist put the loveliest shade of a rich reddish-orange gloss on me. Burning Up is quite a suitable name, as the shade is rather fiery. The website swatch doesn't do it justice (at least on my monitor). So, although $23 + tax is quite ridiculous to spend on gloss (although I've spent more), I will be stalking the airport duty-free shops for this color.

lemming: Giorgio Armani black gem shine lipstick #40

Described as "sparkling red," black gem shine lipstick #40 fit the description aptly when I tested it at Isetan last winter. Sadly, I think $38 is a bit expensive for a bright and shimmery red that is limited to parties and special nights out. It's a lovely holiday color though.

image from www.giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com

Giorgio Armani Caffe Collection

The Shinjuku, Tokyo Isetan counter is getting an early release of the Caffe collection on February 8th. In addition to the 4 limited edition ArmaniSilk lipsticks, there will be one limited edition Shine lipstick and two limited edition Sheer lipsticks. Five new Lip Shimmers will be released (not limited edition), and two limited edition nail polishes.

ArmaniSilk lipstick: 3990 yen
Shine lipstick: 3990 yen
Sheer lipstick: 3990 yen
Lip Shimmer: 3675 yen
Nail Polish: 3150 yen

The darker lip colors look gorgeous but are probably too dark for me to wear easily. Anyway, I'm staying away from limited edition stuff. I think Shinjuku will sell out quickly. I wish they'd bring back the Red collection; I completely missed that one.

Japanese Powder Foundations part 2

Revue Superior Stay Pact UV SPF 25, PA++ (a brand of Kanebo, made in Japan)
* Good coverage, but less than natural finish. Surprisingly bad finish, actually. Perhaps it was my application method? I'll try it with a sponge.

Maquillage Climax Lasting Powdery UV SP 25, PA++ (a brand of Shiseido, made in Japan, spring and summer foundation)
** Good coverage and normal finish. Unchanged impression from last time.

Paul & Joe Protective Dual Powder Foundation SPF 25, PA++
* Moderate coverage with a rather natural finish. I rather liked this, but I would like a bit more coverage. Not particularly impressive with oil-control.

Elixir Superieur Whitening Compact UV SPF 26, PA+++ (a brand of Shiseido, made in Japan, all seasons foundation)
** Good coverage and normal finish. I can't really detect any difference between Elixir and Maquillage yet.

None of the foundations that I've tried has been particularly good with oil control. Elixir might have been okay, but it could have been my imagination.

Still to review:

Dr. Ci:Labo Compact Foundation SPF 16 PA++

Japanese Powder Foundations

I've received various powder foundation samples from shops and friends (mostly from friends) and I've finally gotten around to testing them out properly. At first I was reluctant to wear the samples in public as most of the shades don't match me well, but I figure that one day in the wrong foundation shade isn't going to affect me much.

Doltier Selective Powdery (a brand of Kanebo, made in Japan)
*** Very natural finish, but only provides light coverage. It seems average on oil-control, although I didn't pay that much attention.

Maybelline Angel Fit Pact (made in China)
** It fits seamlessly with my skin, but despite that the finish isn't quite as natural as Doltier. It only provides light coverage. The sample package is the most space-effective one though. This foundation was supposedly developed for either the Japanese market or the Asian market, I don't remember which.

Ayura Superior Skin Pact SPF20, PA++ (made in Japan)
* Not much coverage, and an average finish. Not particularly natural, and normal about oil-control.

I've tried the above foundations for two days each. I rotated through twice. The following foundations remain to be tested for this second round:

Revue Superior Stay Pact UV SPF 25, PA++ (a brand of Kanebo, made in Japan)
* From what I recall, it was okay. Revue foundations seem very popular here.

Paul & Joe Protective Dual Powder Foundation SPF 25, PA++
* very cute sample packaging, I was unimpressed on my first try, but the color was really off.

Dr. Ci:Labo Compact Foundation SPF 16 PA++
* Good coverage and average finish. I liked the fact that the sample package contains 3 colors for you to try.

Elixir Superieur Whitening Compact UV SPF 26, PA+++ (a brand of Shiseido, made in Japan, all seasons foundation)
*** Good coverage, average finish, average oil-control. I don't want to like this one, as I expect it is quite expensive. Elixir skin care is on the costly side.

Maquillage Climax Lasting Powdery UV SP 25, PA++ (a brand of Shiseido, made in Japan, spring and summer foundation)
*** Good coverage, average finish, average oil-control. Amusing name, eh?

Of course, I should just be using up my Inoui ID foundation instead of buying another one, but liquid foundation just takes too much time.

All my lipsticks are from different makeup lines

All except two lipsticks, actually. This has the advantage that I don't need to read the label to know what color is inside. Very convenient, now that I think about it. I will continue this fortuitous coincidence. Gloss usually comes in translucent or clear containers so there isn't the same issue of wondering what color a product is.

while I procrastinate

As a reward for passing my Java test, I opened up my new Bloom lipstick Indulge. It's a warm pink on me with a touch of frost but very wearable. It's not as orange as I thought it would be. I think it'll be a very nice color for summer. Good for work. As usual, very emollient and soothing on. I love Bloom's lip products.

I need to go check out madebyblog. Very behind on all the blogs!

Current staples

It can take a while to work out whether I like a product or not. They're often more complex than immediately apparent.

My current favorites are

• Lipgloss: Bloom lip gloss is my undisputed favorite at the moment. Giorgio Armani lipshimmer is prettier (it sparkles!), but Bloom feels better.
• Mascara: Opera MyLash; a lot of Japanese mascaras are wonderfully smudge-free and MyLash is a moderately priced (about 1000 yen) non-fiber mascara with good lengthening and darkening properties, and some ability to thicken lashes. The formula is pretty light and not watery or goopy.
• Nail polish: Mavala Ottoman; a shimmery bright red. Not a true red, it has a bit of a fuschia tinge with one coat, but two coats gives a lovely, bright, rich red. Reds and burgundies look fantastic on my toes. I don't wear anything on my fingernails because my nails feel like they can't breathe with nailpolish. My toenails don't have any objections. I love the tiny 5ml size. I've never used up a polish in my life, so with Mavala and mini Bourjois, I can stick to small sizes from now on. Ettusais has a charming summer collection of small polishes too.
• Eye shadow: Inoui ID and Majolica Majorca eye shadow; wonderful texture and fun, wearable colors. My brown Kate quad is lovely but the colors just aren't very exciting. My taupe Shu Uemura shadow has the most beautiful texture and shimmer but the color closely approximates shadows on my skin. Not the most flattering effect on me; I'll have to try mixing it up with some other colors.
• Lipstick: I still love my Armanisilk, Dior Addict 2, and Shiseido lipsticks, but I get bored of lipstick colors pretty quickly. I have to change it up more than once a week.
• Eyebrow color: Inoui ID eyebrow pencil. I need nothing more than this. Canmake's eyebrow powder duo is also very nice and creates a natural look.
  

I can live without everything else, although I wouldn't want to. I suppose I shouldn't buy makeup again for a year or two. Maybe even three years.

Jean Patou's Sublime is rather a comforting scent on me. Warm and close to the skin. It's rather similar to Ungaro's Desnuda on me. I wonder which I like better. At the moment I'm leaning towards Desnuda.

Elizabeth Arden's Iced Green Tea turns into something akin to astringent herbs on my skin. Not a particularly pleasant smell. Rather medicinal.

I love the hit of grapefruit in the opening of YSL In Love; the perfect slightly bitter scent of a cut grapefruit. It's pretty addictive. Too bad it's only the top notes of a limited edition fragrance. I no longer buy limited editions; at least not for personal use.

On Saturday I bought a nice rugged nylon bag for work - about messenger bag size, with a zip pocket and two magnetic snap enclosure pockets in front, a zip pocket on the back, and one zip pocket plus two open pockets inside. The color is not very exciting, an olive brown, but very functional and appropriately muted for work. Large enough to fit my textbooks and any documents I may be carrying around.

So, having just bought this bag (and retiring a similarly sized corduroy bag), I have zero need for another bag. However! Before I went on vacation I had been eyeing a sky blue nylon Mandarina Duck bag. It was sold out when I went to look again on Saturday, so I ended up buying the olive brown bag instead. The coveted blue bag is now back in stock so I'm going to take a look at it this weekend. In terms of shape, my brown bag is nicer, but the sky blue color and futuristic design of the Mandarina Duck bag make me covet it also. I will probably buy it, because I can't think of a reason not to. I've been looking for large bags for more than a year, so I buy them if I find them.

Ugh. I need to go donate some money. My materialism has been out of control this year! At least I'm sick of shopping right now.

having computer issues, but in the meantime, my current faves

My computer is having issues (lost the will to live on its first birthday?), but I feel like advertising my current favorite products.

Also, some new purchases:
petit b.b. by agnes b.: found in a little store in Shimokitazawa; a bit of sweet citrus? Disappears in an instant; I think this is a perfume for children as it is labelled eau de scenteur. Anyway, I found the 10 seconds addictive and the 60% off difficult to resist. They also had Petit Guerlain and an array of perfumes I've never heard of. I had the impression that Petit Guerlain was hard to find, but perhaps I am mistaken. I liked the top notes of quite a few of the perfumes, but they all seemed to remind me of Farnesiana. As I have a large decant of Farnesiana (will I ever use it up?) it was easy to say no to the other perfumes.

I also bought Tout Oublier from the Les Divines Alcoves Perfume Collection by Crazylibellule and The Poppies. I can't wait to use this cool, quiet perfume, but I feel a bit guilty about all the things I've been buying lately, so I'm thinking of making it a gift for someone.

Anyway, my current favorite cosmetics and toiletries:

* 4711: addictive citrusy cologne. Lasts half an hour but it's cheap to buy lots.

* Giorgio Armani ArmaniSilk #27: a beautiful beige lipstick with a silky finish. It's not matte, it's not glossy, but it's lovely. And has great lasting power. Too bad it's ludicrously expensive. It's a good thing that it'll probably go bad before I use it up. This stuff is practically pure pigment. I can't wait for the ArmaniReds collection to come to Japan, but my wallet quails.

* Giorgio Armani Lipshimmer #22: a beautiful, peachy nude with sparkle. Not frosty or shimmery or glittery, but sparkly. I stare at my lips when I wear this with the ArmaniSilk. It's so pretty! Again, I'm flabbergasted by the price, but this is a beautiful, lightweight, scentless lipgloss with good lasting power. I can also see the amount of product decrease, so it's not going to hold out nearly as long as the lipstick will.

* Visee Aqua Shining Eyes BE 300: a pretty, glittery pale yellow/gold cream eyeshadow. It's long lasting and looks gorgeous. Visee is sometimes on sale at department stores so it's possible to get it for about 1400 yen ($12 or so). It's a pity glitter doesn't quite work for weekdays.

* Majolica Majorca Majolook eyeshadow palette: longlasting, silky eyeshadows in a terribly cute palette. I want to collect them all!

* Opera MyLash mascara: nice amount of volume and lengthening; no clumpiness, and best of all, doesn't smear at all. Trumps Dejavu Fiberwig as MyLash is quite a bit cheaper.

* Inoui ID eyebrow pencil: natural effect, terribly easy to use, and beautiful packaging. It's really a pity that Shiseido discontinued this brand.

Almost the weekend

Time for pictures of eyeshadow and lip gloss from Inoui ID (Shiseido's line with makeup artist Dick Page). The eyeshadow is wonderful; easy to apply with beautiful colors that build up wonderfully. The case is sold separately but I'm glad I bought it; the brush applicator that it comes with is excellent and I've been carrying the quad around every day. I'm going to buy one or two more quads before Inoui ID closes in March (late Feb?), and refills for the eyebrow pencil. I might get another lip gloss too.


Inoui ID eyeshadow quad #35 and case


Inoui ID lip gloss #5 (Sweet)

TGIF

Yay, it's Friday! This was a busy week, so in celebration I'm going to post one of my pretties from late last year when I discovered that some Japanese drugstores have semi-permanent sales on various Japanese cosmetics. The blush at the bottom is much more peach in real life. My flash washed it out quite a bit.

Shu, JAR, Fresh, grass

I picked up my first Shu Uemura eyeshadow from a duty free shop in Taipei. Love! It's a metallic brown color with a surprising hint of pink in it. Dark but quite wearable, and wow does it last a long time. It even prevents my eye liner from smudging. That has never happened before. I can hardly believe it. Brilliant! I will have to get other colors.

In my whirlwind (albeit longest ever since childhood) tour of NYC, I ventured into Bergdorf Goodman and sought out the fabled JAR boutique. I'd imagined a sheltered cave, but it was more like a dark little alcove with dark velvet. An unmanned dark little alcove, with people flitting in and out of the secret room on the side, and no one giving me a second glance as I peered into the alcove.

I wandered in and out, hoping someone would appear to stand duty over the JARs, but no one did. So eventually I just waltzed into the alcove and peered at the bottles lying in a velvet tray. The bolt of lightening insignia in lieu of any words is rather spiffy. Since no one materialized to assist me, I thought about just picking up a bottle and trying it on, but I wasn't in the mood to talk to security that day. And what if I dropped it?! No new debts needed for the new year. So, that was my experience, or lack of, with JAR.

In lieu of that, I sniffed a bunch of the Carons and Annick Goutals in the perfume area next to the alcove while two sales people ignored me. I tried on the ETRO with almond on it (very nice). I dabbed on one of CB I Hate Perfume's products, a black tea if I remember correctly. Very interesting! I asked around for the Slatkins perfumes and got to try one on; lovely. The lady on duty there was very friendly; we chatted about the unavailability of the perfume in Japan. As I left the store, I slid past a group seeking a restroom being denied entry because closing time had been reached.

In Saks a friendly Bond No. 9 saleslady showed me the most recent Bond perfume; I can see why this line is popular. In Bloomingdales I finally ran across Hanae Mori Butterfly; I'd like to get a sample of this to try on longer. I was impressed that my NY friend had almost used up a bottle of Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely.

At the Fresh store in Soho, a friendly saleslady let us try on Fresh's Sugar lip balm. The scent is pretty but it didn't seem all that spectacular. An hour or two later though, I noticed how pretty the balm looked on my lips. At the end of the day my lips were still soft and moisturized. I can see why this is their top seller; I'm tempted to buy it in spite of the exorbitant price tag.

The nice thing about my trip to NY and Taiwan was the realization that my "the grass is always greener" thinking has been in effect for a long time during my residence in Japan. But other than a few items (shoes in my size), there isn't a lot that I can't get for reasonable prices in Japan. Pretty much the only difference is that certain foods can be a lot cheaper and better outside of Japan (say Chinese food), but there's a heck of a lot of good food in Japan. So now I'll stop thinking "I could get this way cheaper in the U.S." and just focus on whether I like it or not.

I really like my T'estimo metallicolor liner, and I'm still addicted to the smell of Beauty Credit Pomegranate Emulsion. And I have no desire to shop for a long, long time. Which is good because I need to exercise and do some volunteer work.

I still need more shoes though.

Makeup advertising campaigns: Aube, T'estimo, Esprique Precious

Sofina's Aube, Kanebo's T'estimo makeup lines have been relaunched recently and Kose just launched their new line Esprique Precious (not to be confused with Esprique Select).

Rinka, currently a quite popular model and TV personality in Japan, is the spokesmodel for Aube's relaunch. She looks good in the ads - in particular her skin looks perfect - but the hair styling is a little unnatural in the photos for the pink look. They used the purple and pink eye shadow palettes for the photos. The colors don't really appeal to me but they look pretty good on her. I'm still not sold on the purple though.

The actress Asami Mizukawa is the face of T'estimo's relaunch. I don't like the makeup they put on her. The shimmer and colors just doesn't suit. She's super pretty so I think it's just the color selection that I have an issue with. I've seen her in all of the new palettes and I don't think I liked any of them on her!

The supermodel Gemma Ward is the face of Esprique Precious, the catch phrase for which is "おとな。 but カワイイ," which translates into "grown-up. but cute." I'm guessing she's the most expensive of the spokesmodels for these campaigns, since she's internationally famous, but who know? Heh. For some reason, I really don't like the makeup they put on her. She's gorgeous but the colors seem to kind of wash her out, although they do bring out her grey-blue eyes. They should have gone with lighter lip colors. The pink is a bit too heavy on her. You may be unsurprised that the whole concept of the line is of little interest to me.

Maybe the problem is just that I don't like salmon pinkish colors. But other pinks look absolutely gorgeous - the magazine bea's Up this month has lovely layouts of a myriad of pretty pink lip colors - so I don't think that's the issue.

So far, I like the winter ad campain for Shiseido's Majolica Majorca line the best. Pretty and well done. The lip colors don't appeal to me, but they suit the model perfectly. The makeup for Chanel's Spring campaign is stunning though. Strong impact and looks great on the model. The model for Jill Stuart Spring also looks beautiful.

Recent purchases: Origins Underwear for Lips, and Covermark stick concealer

I bought this because the Armani salesman was a little scary and the friendly saleslady was no where to be found, so I had to flee to the Origins counter instead. Underwear for Lips is a lip base to wear under lipstick or lip gloss. It neutralizes the pigmentation in your lips a bit, and lipstick goes on quite smoothly. Still, I haven't noticed any marked improvement in appearance (I wipe off all my lipstick and gloss at lunch) so I am not overly enthusiastic about this item.

My unplanned purchase of CoverMark stick concealer was the result of an uninterested Inoui ID saleslady (again, the friendly lady from my previous visit was not working that day). Lately, I seem to be unable to say no if I try something on. So I have to hide from cosmetic counters. Too dangerous! Anyway, the concealer is convenient and easy to apply, but does sink into lines a little bit. And I could use a bit more coverage. I'll use it up, but again, I am not overly enthusiastic.

Ah well. My clothing purchases have gone much better (although they have also been pricy). I may take pictures for an end-of-the-year entry (inspired by Koneko).

Kose Visee Aqua Shining Eyes BE 300

Aqua Shining Eyes from Visee is an excellent liquid eyeshadow. It doesn't crease or smear after 8 hours (although I did only test with a light coating, so I don't know what happens if you apply it normally), and looks absolutely beautiful. Shimmer and bits of sparkle give a beautiful effect. Definitely something for evening use though; I think it's a bit much for daytime. It's so lovely that I want to buy more, despite the limited opportunities to use it. I will refrain, of course.

The BE 300 is a pale peach champagne color. One swipe of the doe's foot applicator applies the pigment clearly; you can smooth it out for a sheerer effect.

Packaging is light and a bit on the cheap side but seems perfectly functional.

List price is 1800 yen, which is a bit expensive but you do get a quality product.

Armani lemming!

I finally stopped by Isetan today and asked the Armani saleslady to show me a nude lip look. It was beautiful! Just the lipstick (over concealer) was a lovely nude (just a hint of rose/mauve to it, so it wasn't colorless). And when she applied a lip shimmer to it, it was really gorgeous. Such a simple look but so pretty! Specks of gold sparkled in the gloss. I really may have to go back and buy it. I think I'll ask the Saleslady to reapply it so I can confirm that the colors are correct. I don't know what color shimmer she applied and I think she used Armanisilk lipstick #18, but I want to be sure. I tried replicating the look with other lip glosses, but I don't have anything with that pretty gold glitter. It's not a metallic look but more glittery. A clear gap in my lip gloss collection. :P

I'm balking a bit at the price though! Both the lipstick and the shimmer together would come to more than $50. I wonder which I want more. I could buy the other one for Christmas :D

I liked the saleslady too. She was helpful and not pushy. When I told her I would think about the lipstick, she chirped that I should come back anytime. I haven't run across too many cheerful salesladies in dept. stores yet. I don't remember what she looked like though, and I didn't get her name.

I'm very impressed by the fuschia Chanel lipstick I have. At first I was a bit daunted by the brightness, but it's very blendable so I'm using just a touch to get a light pink look. The Estee Lauder lipsticks blend very well too. I suppose that's a sign of quality. The Fasio lipstick I have doesn't blend very well.

Revlon ColorStay Overtime Sheer Lipcolor

After my last post, this post is a little ironic. I just tried out Revlon ColorStay Overtime Sheer Lipcolor (sheer mocha). I'm a fan. It's easy to apply and a simple, flattering color. No discomfort and it lasts as long as advertised, through dinner and dessert. I'd like to try the other colors. There's something really nice about lipstick that stays on forever. I'm pretty lazy about touchups so this is convenient. Maybe I'll give up on regular lipsticks and glosses.

current lip favorites

It's funny how quickly I got bored of the Revlon MoistureShine Lipgloss. Well, it took a couple months, so maybe not too quickly?

I bought a Shiseido The Makeup Perfecting Lipstick in April; I love it! Lovely, light texture and strong pigment. And I am rediscovering how awesome the Shiseido The Makeup Lipgloss (clear) is. It makes any lipstick look pretty. I don't know how they do it. If only they'd fix the taste (although it's not too noticeable on top of lipstick). As it is I'll use it happily but not repurchase. Oddly enough the lipstick has no bothersome taste to speak of.

My current favorite lipstick is Shu Uemura Lolishine Rouge #769. It's light and pretty, with a nice glossy shine. I want to try the other Lolishine colors, but 2600 yen is a little hard to justify spending often.

The Shu Uemura Lip Shimmer (strawberry compote) is also a great lipgloss. It goes well with anything.

It's interesting how my favorites turned out to be my most expensive purchases.

Shiseido The Makeup Perfecting Lipstick P12

For some reason, this extremely dark brown lipstick with a hint of mauve suits my coloring perfectly. Despite that, I have to apply it lightly and cover with gloss in order to get a wearable look. Normally applied, it gives a gothic effect because it's so dark. Still, I love the color! A lighter version would be perfect, but all the lighter colors had too much red in them for me. The lipstick is very nicely packaged in a smooth metal tube with a comfortable heft to it. It feels like a precision crafted gadget, really. Rather luxurious. Estee Lauder doesn't have nearly as nice packaging for their Pure Color lipstick.

About 3000 yen in department stores.

I've noticed that Shiseido The Makeup (one of Shiseido's makeup lines) does not seem to be carried by the Shiseido retail shops, although they carry everything else including Cle de Peu. The Makeup only seems to be in dept. stores.

By the way, Clé de Peau has a very nice moisturizing stick. Greasy yet very light. It looks as pretty as a gloss. Sadly it's about 5000 yen.

Maybelline Color Wear Eye Shadow

メイベリンカラーウェアアイシャドウ

This may be a product packaged for Japan. Individual eye shadows sell for 460 yen each.

I tried a medium taupe color, but when it gets into my eyes it seems to be mildly irritating.

I give it a thumbs down for the irritation.