My Top 10 Beauty Products of 2014

Year in Review: My Top 10 Beauty Products of 2014

i can't believe 2014 is almost over. i guess that only means that i've had a very fulfilling time this year because time slips past unknowingly whenever i'm busy with life.

it's been a good year for me! ever since restarting my blog this january, it has gained a lot of momentum from readers around the world - readership has grew by several folds within a year! that's very encouraging for me as a blogger/writer/editor (whatever you wanna call me) because as a creator, nothing encourages me more than appreciation from the public. i'm passionate about creating, and having people to like and enjoy my point of view is the icing on the cake for me.

thank you for liking my content, and my visions.

i started this blog as a place to share my reviews of products i've used. since i'm still nursing my skin and won't be able to test products for a little while, i'll be sharing more non-review entries. as for this entry, it's the condensation of all the items i've reviewed thus far..

the question is, what are my top 10 favourite items of the year? i try to pick one item from each category (e.g. foundation, concealer, eyeshadow etc).



1. etude house precious mineral any cushion
convenient, awesome brightening formula leaves my skin with a subtle iridescent glow that looks so good (what's more, i realize i can't achieve this effect with other products), light weight, can be affordable if you purchase it at the right place. the fact that i don't need to use a brush (and hence, no need to wash it) is a big plus.

2. canmake color stick 09
one of the reasons i picked this over my sonia kashuk hidden agenda concealer is because it's more readily available and affordable in singapore. the formula is creamy and very blendable, medium coverage, the colour is dark enough to correct my dark circles before i move on to brightening (which is pretty rare for a drugstore concealer as most tend to be lighter coloured).

3. innisfree no sebum mineral powder
probably the most affordable silica powder you can find in the market. does its job, albeit a little messy. go for the pressed powder if possible. on a side note, don't expect this to mattify your face throughout the entire day. you're probably better off with an oil control primer for that purpose.

4. kate designing eyebrow N EX-4
i only own this eyebrow product, so i can only pick this particular one! but it's not just that, this eyebrow powder is so versatile, i use it not just to fill in my eyebrows, but also to shade my nose and to double up as a matte eyeshadow when i want some extra depth. it does an amazing job at contouring as the powders are sheer and blendable. i can't vouch for it's long lasting power (it's not touted as a long wear product btw), but i still have my eyebrows filled in at the end of the day (my skin isn't too oily though).



5. kate gradical eyes BR-1 and 6. kate colorcious diamond BR-1
i can't just pick 1 eyeshadow!!! the gradical eyes are perfect for natural and subtle daily looks - thanks to the satin finish and sheer colours. whereas the colorcious diamond is perfect for something that calls for more glamorous shimmer - such as a party where metallic and foil finished are more than welcomed. the latter can definitely be used as a daily palette too, just that i favour the former partly due to its amazing eyeshadow brush that came along with it.

7. heroine make smooth liquid liner
i was deciding between the maybelline gel liner or this one, but i recall how i never had to check if my eyeliner has smudged throughout the day when i'm using the heroine make liquid liner! that peace of mind made me pick it over the other eyeliners i own. not only is the application really smooth and easy (i think even a beginner can pick this up quickly), it's oil proof formula dries quick enough and stays put on my eyelids. the only place that's relatively dangerous would be the inner corners of my eyes which comes into contact with tears - since this eyeliner is removable with warm water. as long as it's not in contact with my tears directly, i'm safe.

8. heroine make volume & curl mascara
affordable, amazingly waterproof (slightly harder to remove than maybelline mascaras), holds curls the entire day, volumizes (a lot) and lengthens (a little), and 2 coats is all it takes to prep my lashes up before i leave house. can't beat that, really.



9. bourjois little round pot blusher 32 ambre d'or
pigmented, glowy, finely milled and natural looking. it already has fine gold shimmer in it to give me a sun kissed look. SOOOO GOOOODDD. only inconvenience is that it'll harden over time and would require some help to revert the blush to it's original state, where one swipe will get you so much colour you may risk looking like a baboon's butt if you don't tap off the excess. staying power on me is good! i want to get more colours already.

10. l'oreal color riche lipstick
the formula is the best creamy lipstick formula i've ever experienced thus far. pigmented, smooth, creamy, doesn't accentuate my lip lines, and very light weight - it just hugs my lips without making it feel icky. it does dry down to a rather matte finish that may be drying, that's when i know it's time to reapply the lipstick. looking to pick up another colour some time in the near future.

coming up with this list was a little harder than i thought it'd be, considering i have a huge indecisiveness problem :P sure enough, some of these products aren't what i reach out for most of the time (due to circumstances, really. i'd really love to use the bb cushion daily but it's not a long wear formula thus making it less optimal than say, revlon colorstay if i know i'd be outdoor all day!). but, based on their formulation alone, they stood out from the crowd!

how do you like these entries? i hope they didn't leave you unsatisfied :P

last but not least, here's me wishing you a happy new year! may 2015 be a year of more progress for each and everyone of us. :D



title image taken from the dreamstime stock images.

2014 @cosme Ranking (Part 3)

2014 @COSME RANKING PART 3: LIPS, CHEEKS, NAILS

the yearly ranking differs from the weekly "kuchikomi" (reviewed/talked about) ranking as the products are chosen by a panel of judges instead of the community. products featured in this series doesn't not automatically translate to the most popular items! if you're interested in the most raved products, you're better off checking out the kumikomi ranking.

here comes part 3 of the @cosme ranking for year 2014. @cosme is japan's leading community based review site has released their listing for the year! if you haven't seen part 1 of this series where i compiled their best base makeup products, do check it out! i've also put together the list of top eye makeup in part 2 of the series last week.


part 3 consist of cheeks, lips, and nail makeup products! are you ready?

i've spent some time compiling a few of them into something neater for reference sake :) there is actually a english version of the ranking, but they are lacking in a lot of information.. as in, they only show you the number 1 product. :/ i prefer seeing the top 3 at the very least.


all images are taken from the @cosme website.

1st | MAQUILLAGE essence glamorous rouge NEO

2nd | YVES SAINT LAURENT BEAUTE rouge volupte shine

3rd | CHANEL rouge coco shine

1st | OPERA sheer lip color

2nd | CANMAKE candy wrap lip

3rd | CHANEL levres scintillantes

1st | CANMAKE cream cheek

2nd | CHANEL joues contraste powder blush

3rd | CANMAKE glow fleur cheeks

1st | INTEGRATE nail color

2nd | ADDICTION nail polish

3rd | ETTUSAIS gel color coat

i am aware that the links are all directed to japanese websites, but i've done you the favour of translating their japanese names into english so you can do some googling on your own (go on, work those fingers of yours :D) if you are interested. sadly, my japanese isn't good enough for me to translate their reviews into english.

if you're interested in the top base makeup products, make sure to read part 1 of the entry! for top eye makeup products, check out part 2!

what surprises me is the unfamiliar faces here. these aren't products i usually see on the weekly rankings! nevertheless, i see a few items that i would love to try out soon..

what about you? saw anything that you'd like to try out?

Last Minute Christmas Gift Guide 2014 (Gift for myself?)

while it may be too late to be buying gifts for your friends (as christmas is in 2 day's time), here're a few items you can gift yourself this holiday because holiday sets are really good valued purchases (compared to their usual retail price). some of the products i've used personally before and would totally make use of this chance to repurchase them. some of them i've seen them floating on the internet somewhere and thought it may be a good time to try them.

so yea, this is actually just another wishlist. HAHAHA! but i'd totally gift these to my girlfriends too because i think they're crowd pleasers.

either way, hope you enjoy this little list of products i curated!



1. Crabtree and Evelyn Hand Therapy Paint Tin (USD$60)

this may seem a little over kill - 12 tubes of "ultra moisturizing" hand creams (25g each) that will probably last you for the next 12 months! but it's the only set i saw that contains my favourite scent - summer hill. it's a very light and pleasing scent that evokes a scene of english cottages surrounded by greeneries in my mind. the formula is pretty hydrating and the scent lingers throughout the day, however, i have particular dry skin so i need to reapply this if i'm in an air-conditioned place. if i ever snap this set up, my girlfriends will be getting free hand creams from me :D on a side note, the rosewater, lavender both smells heavenly too. i did use nantucket before, it's a scent that i grew to like after several uses.

2. L'occitane Shea Pampering Treat (USD$38)

i chose this set because it's the only range i've tried. the shea shower cream is a soapless bathing cream that leaves your skin silky smooth and i really love the soothing scent. somewhat reminds me of johnson's baby powder and puts me in that calming state of mind. there's also a rose scented soap and hand cream, and i do not know of one person who doesn't like the scent of rose. ok i lied. i used to really dislike the rose scent, but it's because the first rose scent i ever sniffed is artificial and was really horrible.

3. Topshop Mini Lip Bullet Duo Set (USD$20)

i saw swatches of these on a beauty blog one day and it was love at first sight - a perfect nude shade and deep wine shade. i've heard that the topshop lip products are surprisingly good! i used the word "surprising" because you wouldn't expect a clothing label to come up with decent cosmetics. too bad it's already out of stock :( $20 for 2 mini lip bullets sounds quite ok, even though i heard it contains very little product.. but, i will never run out of lipsticks anyway, i don't mind having lesser product just so i can finish it up faster! URGH i hope they release this as a part of their permanent collection some day. I WANT THESE COLOUR IN MY ARSENAL SOON!

4. Sephora Favourites Superstar (USD$75)

the deal almost sounded too good to be true, looking at the products that the box contains, their usual retail value far exceed the price tag of this combo (of course, it also goes to show the huge margin sephora is profiting)! we're looking at nars blush, fresh sugar lip treatment, bumble and bumble surf spray.. and a chloe perfume rollerball? perfect for travel!

5. TYPO A5 Daily Planner (USD$9.98)

if you prefer paper and pens over the digital planners like me, this may be suitable for you! the outer cover definitely suits my taste :D couldn't decide between the polka dot or the gold stripes. both looks amazing. the only thing i'd like to add on my own is a monthly planner because i like to see my entire month at a glance. to another organized year!

last but not least, i'd like to wish you a merry christmas in advance! it's very encouraging to see my blog being read. even though i started this blog to document stuff, it's a little bonus when you know that somewhere out there, someone bothers to give me their precious time to see what i have to say about certain things. you gave me the power to be heard, and that's very motivating. even though my skin is still recovering right now and i'm in no way to do beauty testing and reviews, i'd still try my best to update and bring you whatever i deem valuable to everyone! hope you've been enjoying these non review entries so far.

2014 @cosme Ranking (Part 2)

2014 @COSME RANKING PART 2: EYE MAKEUP

the yearly ranking differs from the weekly "kuchikomi" (reviewed/talked about) ranking as the products are chosen by a panel of judges instead of the community. products featured in this series doesn't not automatically translate to the most popular items! if you're interested in the most raved products, you're better off checking out the kumikomi ranking.

here comes part 2 of the @cosme ranking for year 2014. @cosme is japan's leading community based review site has released their listing for the year! if you haven't seen part 1 of this series where i compiled their best base makeup products, do check it out!

i've spent some time compiling a few of them into something neater for reference sake :) there is actually a english version of the ranking, but they are lacking in a lot of information.. as in, they only show you the number 1 product. :/ i prefer seeing the top 3 at the very least.

part 2 consist of eye makeup products! are you ready?

all images are taken from the @cosme website.

1st | VISEE nudy rich eyes

2nd | LUNASOL skin modeling eyes

3rd | MAQUILLAGE true eyeshadow

1st | VISEE color impact gel liner

2nd | CHANEL stylo yeux waterproof eyeliner

3rd | LOVE DROPS urumi liner

1st | HEROINE MAKE long&curl mascara super WP

2nd | LANCOME virtuose doll eyes

3rd | MAJOLICA MAJORCA lash expander edge meister

1st | ETTUSAIS lash version up

2nd | KATE lash maximizer

3rd | ELEGANCE curl lash fixer

1st | ANGFA scalp D beaute pure free eyelash serum

2nd | DHC extra beauty eyelash tonic

3rd | SHISEIDO PROFESSIONAL adenovital eyelash serum

1st | EXCEL powder&pencil eyebrow EX

2nd | SHISEIDO eyebrow pencil

3rd | KATE eyebrow color N

i am aware that the links are all directed to japanese websites, but i've done you the favour of translating their japanese names into english so you can do some googling on your own (go on, work those fingers of yours :D) if you are interested. sadly, my japanese isn't good enough for me to translate their reviews into english.

if you're interested in the top base makeup products, make sure to read part 1 of the entry!

what surprises me is the unfamiliar faces here. these aren't products i usually see on the weekly rankings! nevertheless, i see a few items that i would love to try out soon..

what about you? saw anything that you'd like to try out?

Maybelline Lashionista Mascara VS Dolly Wink Long Mascara

Maybelline Lashionista Mascara VS Dolly Wink Long Mascara

my first ever film type mascara was the deja vu fiberwig mascara and it disappointed me. but that didn't stop me from trying more film type formulas.

film type mascaras are water and oil resistant, as far as the formula in the past few years goes.. i can't say the same for fiberwig from a decade ago! they are easy to remove in the shower as they can easily come off with warm water. they form little "caps" of black polymer that will just trickle down your drain after some gentle rubbing.


i'm comparing the maybelline lashionista mascara in black to the dollywink long mascara, also in black.



similarities:
1. both create very natural lengths (seems to have similar lengthening powers)
2. both straighten my curled lashes
3. both last me throughout the entire day, no panda eyes!
4. both are able to hold curls IF i use a heated lash curler after application, and they do not melt or stain the heated lash curler!

differences:
1. dollywink has a wetter formula and tend to group my lashes together, whereas the maybelline is of a drier formula, giving me a one by one look.
2. dollywink has a fatter brush than the maybelline.
3. maybelline is able to go up to 5 coats without looking unnatural, while dollywink may look a little spidery.
4. maybelline may be a few dollars cheaper than dollywink.
5. maybelline's formula feels more light weight.

that's all for a simple comparison! if you were to ask me which do i prefer, i'd go with the maybelline. even though both will straighten my curled lashes, the lightweight formula of the maybelline means i can keep going on and on to build a layer of fibers, and then using my fingers i can push these fibers upwards and they'll hold the curl just fine. they'll probably need some "reassurance" throughout the day to keep them perked up, but i couldn't achieve that with the dollywink because it's formula is just too wet. i did try to remove most of the excess mascara on the wand, but it's just a little troublesome.

for a more dolly look, i'd go for the dollywink since the brush bunch up my lashes together. for a really natural "i don't have any mascara on" look, i'd choose maybelline.

the full review of the individual mascaras are linked above! check them out if you want more details.

2014 @cosme Ranking (Part 1)

2014 @COSME RANKING PART 1: BASE MAKEUP

it's the time of the year again! @cosme, japan's leading community based review site has released their listing for the year!

the yearly ranking differs from the weekly "kuchikomi" (reviewed/talked about) ranking as the products are chosen by a panel of judges instead of the community. products featured in this series doesn't not automatically translate to the most popular items! if you're interested in the most raved products, you're better off checking out the kumikomi ranking.

anyway, it doesn't matter. just know that it's quite a big deal to be able to clinch the number 1 spot amidst the thousands and millions of beauty product in japan. i won't lie, the ranking does influence my purchase to a certain extent. so here are the list of products that made it into the ranking this year!

i've spent some time compiling a few of them into something neater for reference sake :) there is actually a english version of the ranking, but they are lacking in a lot of information.. as in, they only show you the number 1 product. :/ i prefer seeing the top 3 at the very least.

they did a very extensive ranking for many categories of products, to prevent the entry from becoming too long, i'll split them up into parts. in this first part, i'll share the base makeup products only. stay tuned for part 2, which will be up next week!

all images are taken from the @cosme website.

1st | CANMAKE lasting multi eyebase WP

2nd | PAUL AND JOE moisturizing foundation primer N

3rd | CANMAKE eyeshadow base

1st | CEZANNE UV foundation EX plus

2nd | DIOR diorskin forever extreme compact

3rd | COSME DECORTE lacouture loose foundation

1st | REVLON colorstay makeup

2nd | LANCOME teint miracle liquid

3rd | ORBIS essence liquid foundation

1st | SHISEIDO spot cover foundation

2nd | CLE DE PEAU correcteur visage S

3rd | NOV concealer

1st | CHANEL poudre universelle libre

2nd | CANMAKE marshmellow finishing powder

3rd | COSME DECORTE AQ MW face powder

1st | LANCOME UV expert XL BB

2nd | DIOR diorskin nude BB

3rd | P.N.Y. DIVISION SE matte keep BB cream N

1st | JILL STUART airy tint CC cream

2nd | LANCOME teint miracle CC base

3rd | NATURE REPUBLIC tinted CC cream

i skipped out on the "cream foundation" category because none of the products look too familiar. if you're interested, you can click here to see it for yourself.

i am aware that the links are all directed to japanese websites, but i've done you the favour of translating their japanese names into english so you can do some googling on your own (go on, work those fingers of yours :D) if you are interested. sadly, my japanese isn't good enough for me to translate their reviews into english.

do you own any products above? let me know!

L'oreal Lucent Magique Touch Up Pen (Fair)

L'oreal Lucent Magique Touch Up Pen (Fair)

this was kind of an impulse buy. i've heard a lot about the YSL touche eclat highlighting pen. considering how loreal manufactures YSL's products, i can expect them to use similar formulations to achieve similar results, right? that's what i hope for, since i'm only paying a fraction of the cost for this little pen.

these are sold under the name "lumi" in the states. in asia, they're launched udner the lucent magique line.

IN A NUTSHELL:
1. very brightening
2. i can't tell if it really has the lit from within look
3. low concealing powder
4. rather thick consistency


the pen comes with a twist mechanism - twist the back and product will extrude from the plastic fiber tip. it takes about at least 3-5 clicks to get enough product streaming out for smooth application. there's no need to worry about getting too much product out at one twist.

the product claims to be infused with liquid light technology, a transparent liquid silver that helps to reflect light. !?!? i can't source any information on the "byron technology". but what this pen aims to do is to "cover" by reflecting.

you hear me right. if you can make something reflective like a mirror, then you won't be able to see what's behind the reflective surface, instead, you see light - the area will appear brighter and whiter.


suggested instructions and ingredient list.

there are two colours in the series, fair and light.
fair has a pink undertone, while light has a yellowish undertone.



fair is a light pinkish beige, several tones lighter than my original skin tone.

once it blends out, it becomes more subtle and seeks to brighten in a subtle manner. it performs pretty horribly in flash, be warned.

IMHO

the highlighter pen is a different kind of highlight to me. as opposed to the pearly kind of highlighter that we're familiar with, this is more of a whitening kind of highlighter. most of the highlight is due to it being in such a fair shade when contrasted next to my skin. while it can't cover or colour correct my dark circles, it did reflect light in a way that made them less visible.

i really can't say much about the "lit from within" look when i use this product, as i've tried flashing myself with the camera flash wearing this on one side of my face and my normal concealer on the other, both of them appear to have the same kind of brightening effect.

perhaps the difference is only noticed under ambient light, as i did notice some "blurring" effect on my skin after i used this product.

the consistency is slightly thicker than what i expected, making it a little hard to blend unlike the foundation from the same series. it helps to use a little more product as it allows it to be blended a little easier. it dries down pretty quickly, so tap and blend fast.

i find that i can use this as a brightener on my face to substitute foundation if i just want a brighter look. i usually use my foundation as a brightener, but thanks to its packaging, it makes it much more easier to deposit products onto my face. i think they should totally consider packaging foundation in this kind of packaging next time, it makes it travel friendly too.

i purchased this for SGD$10 when it was on 50% off at john little.

Lust List: Visee

Lust List #2: Visee

continuing on with the festivity, here's lust list number 2! i'm just sharing what i've seen during my "monitor shopping" lately since i can't make videos now.. i have more time on hand :P

visee is a japanese brand that has been around for quite some time, but they didn't really fall into my radar for some unknown reason. they've recently overhauled their brand, graduating from "girl" and moving on to "lady". they're calling themselves glamourous, and the packaging definitely fits the bill - lacey patterns embossed into the packaging and the product!!!

i've been looking at the visee eyeshadow palettes ever since they did a "line revival" - they totally redesigned their brand image and product packaging. now they're really appealing to me, despite knowing how good their eyeshadow was all along. it's said to be even more pigmented and creamy than kate's eyeshadows!

visee is a product line produced by kose that caters to the younger crowd, just like what kanebo did with kate, and shiseido did with majolica majorca. smart move.

EYES

as usual, the eyeshadow caught my eyes first. there are 4 products in their entire product line - eyeshadow duos, quads, and two quints. BEAUTIFUL PACKAGING, especially the glossy rich eyes.

i've only showed three of the products here, from left to right:
glossy rich eyes: eyeshadow quad, containing one sheer pearly base and three pigmented colours
smoky rich eyes: gradated eyeshadow quint, containing one "souffle base", 2 gradation colour, and 2 liner colour.
nudy rich eyes: sheer and gradated eyeshadow quint, also containing one "souffle base", 2 gradation colour, one liner colour, and one highlighting colour (for the inner corner of eyes).

based on online reviews, the nudy rich eyes are the sheerest of them all, while glossy rich eyes are the richest. i'm not too sure what kind of texture the base is, but it appears to be a semi cream type kinda product that may promote creasing. :/

screen shot from @cosme eyeshadow ranking.

gotta admit, part of the reason why they caught my eyes this time round is because they were ranked number 1 in terms of popularity. i mean, it must be pretty good if that many japanese girls like it, right? or is it just hype? :X

GLOSSY RICH EYES: (1200 yen)

they offer 8 colour selections, i rounded down my interests to two. actually, i'm really interested in their orange and pink palettes too.. but... i feel bad lusting after 4 eyeshadow palettes from the same series at once.

PK-3 is probably the most popular colour because it's the one featured in the ads. it's a burgundy palette that consist of beige and berry shades. i won't lie - i am really attracted to the colours, but then again this isn't a very daily colour.

BR-5 is a gold brown palette, looks really similar to the lavshuca melting eyes palette i have in terms of colour. this leans towards the yellow browns as the description says.

i just changed my mind.

PK-2 is a collection of gold pink shades, containing a blend of gold and pinks. looks so lovely, isn't it?

OR-6 is the orange brown palette. according to the description, it has a "clear milky tone orange brown", does that mean a pastel orange kinda effect? either way, it's really up my alley.

SMOKEY RICH EYES: (1400 yen)

also offers 8 colour selections, WOW. this palette seems like a good replacement for my kate gradical eyes A, not just because of the gradation, but also because of the brush that comes along with the palette! it's not just the dual sided spongey chip! it's a chip AND a brush!

the two darkest colours on the right are liner colours, yes, both of them!

you can tell i'm not too adventurous here. can't decide which brown i should get next time.
BR-3 has orange brown shades, while BR-5 has gold brown shades. the swatch they have makes BR-3 look like copper toned, while BR-5 looks more neutral.

i'm liking BR-5 more looking at the photos.

NUDY RICH EYES: (1400 yen)

this product line offers 5 colour selection, it seems to be most appropriate for those who want just a hint of makeup. it's economically unfeasible to get something like this because you can probably make do with the previous 2 lines when applied with a very light hand. however, it may just be the best thing ever for makeup beginners since there's no way you can go wrong with this - the lack of pigmentation means you won't ever get any obvious unblended colours.

BE-4 contains pink beige shades, which actually looks more neutral to me than the other shades (seems to be too yellow or red).

this palette ranks number 4 at the @cosme ranking, FYI.

CHEEKS

another thing that caught my eyes are their blusher. the lip and cheek cream is a relatively new product that came out this year, but they totally beat their own powder cheek blusher hands down!

screen shot from @cosme blusher ranking.

3rd place! canmake cream cheeks are 4th place!


there are two blushers offered, a cream and a powder formula. the cream blusher can be used on the lips as well..

but my lipstick can be used as a blush too, so i'm giving it a pass.

BLEND COLOR CHEEKS: (1500 yen)

there's 8 colour selection, each of them offering a cheek colour in a series of pinks, corals, and reds, and a "blending colour" (the colour right at the bottom). apparently, you're supposed to use the blending colour across the nose bridge (according to its instructions)!? i don't know about that.

BE-8 is called gold beige. offering a cheek colour and "skin blending colour". i'm wondering if this shade can be used as face contour. the formulation seems to be pearly based on the description: "gold pearl shiny bronze".

LIPS

CREAMY LIPSTICK: (1500 yen)

comes in a selection of 10 lip colours! honestly speaking, i'm not too interested in their lip colours since japanese formulas tend to be super shiny and creamy.. not that i'm complaining, but i don't always want that shiny look. if these were matte, i'd give it more thought. 

CORRECTION: i won't give it a second thought if they decide to release matte formulas.. BECAUSE LOOK AT THAT PACKAGING!! i love it to bits! all black everything! SLEEK! and the matte black lace printed on the tube.. good lord.

WINTER SPECIAL:

they even released a limited edition for winter this year! i'm not a fan of nail polish, but the colours look awesome like that!

5 matte nail polishes, two limited edition eyeshadow (a pinkish brown and a beige purple), and two eyeliners (brown and gray purple). the eyeshadows are in a white packaging as opposed to the usual black case.

good lord, the brown palette (BR-9) looks good. looks really subtle and meek! it's called warm skin. from the photo, it looks like a very soft pink beige and some browns thrown into a palette.

PU-10 is called winter orchid, it's something that can go wrong very easily on asian skin. do you know that orchid is the pantone colour of the year? random bit of info! this palette consist of grayish purple shades, which just may work on asian skin if you're fair enough!

IN CONCLUSION

i know i'm going a little cray cray here. i'm looking forward to swatching them when i'm back in HK, since they're now available there! no need to travel all the way to japan >_< i'm actually very excited to try new eyeshadow brands, since my stash is mostly dominated by kate..

not that i need anymore eyeshadow though.

seen anything you like here? let me know!!!