admit it, packaging matters to a certain extent! i have no shame admitting the attention i pay to packaging.
it's kind of the like icing on a really delicious cake, bringing things to a different level of enjoyment.
and don't we all like to admire beautiful things? aesthetics adds colours to an otherwise mundane life.
here is a list of cosmetics that caught my heart with their really good looks (quality not guaranteed though!).

1.

ETUDE HOUSE | DEAR MY WISH LIPS TALK
etude house is noctorious for their cute packaging. their princess etoinette series deserve a place on every girl's vanity. if there's a princessy side hidden in you that is :P

2.

YVES SAINT LAURENT | ROUGE VOLUPTE SHINE
this made it onto my list, which is kind of unsurprising because i've always loved their simple and classy design. gold metallic casing coupled with their logo, all in shiny metals!

3.

JILL STUART | LIP BLOSSOM
i cannot talk about beautiful cosmetics without mentioning jill stuart's beauty products. they are mainly sold in japan and asian countries. their impeccable packaging is just.. spot on for majority of the asian ladies who love princessy designs. they also know that girls love bling, so each item is encrusted with a swarovski crystal.

4.

JILL STUART | LIP JEWEL
the lip gloss packaging has gem stone cuts at the bottom, did you notice? calling this lip jewel can't be more appropriate than this!

5.

ANNA SUI | ROSE CHEEK COLOR N
i'm not sure if they're the first to come up with a floral design for blushers, but it's definitely the first i've come to know of. isn't this the cutest ever!? if the price tag is too hefty, i've got you covered. scroll down just a little.

6.

CANMAKE | GLOW FLEUR CHEEKS
canmake copied anna sui's concept, and i love it! i own one of these and i love the sheer colours and slight glow! featuring this in my instagram #motd photos always make it look that much cuter. i admit i do have a princess living inside me.. but just keep that between you and me, okay?

7.

LES MERVEILLEUSES LADUREE | POWDER CHEEK COLOR
this is laduree's new product for spring 2015 and it's not available on their website yet! a lot of their face and cheek products are egg shaped, reminding me of the fabergé eggs. they'll look dainty on my vanity! 

perhaps you know them by their cult product, the face colour rose laduree. they pressed the colour powder into petals! i don't think i will ever use it just so i can preserve it's beauty.

8.

JILL STUART | LAYER BLUSH COMPACT
another jill stuart product! each blush compact comes with a portable blush brush, encrusted with another crystal! and it's pink!

9.

COFFRET D'OR | SMILE UP CHEEKS
another product line under shiseido, coffret d'or's blush combines a cheek colour and highlighter colour into a lovely swirl.


their limited edition has a floral pattern embossed into the powder! YESSSSS.

10.

CLE DE PEAU | LUMINIZING FACE ENHANCER
i've always been intrigued by the faceted design, it looks like gem stones forced onto a 2D perspective. it looks sophisticated yet edgy at the same time. the price tag is quite an eye opener though. i've heard many good things about how fine the powder is and how natural the glow is, but still!!! i find it hard to justify the price.

11.

ELEGANCE | NOUVELLE EYES
i'm not too familiar with this japanese brand, but their product packaging caught my attention when i was flipping through japanese magazines. eyeshadows being pressed into a jewel's shape, how lovely! and luxurious!

12.

GIVENCHY | PRISME QUATUOR
another 2015 spring new release! i love the bezel on the shadows! make them look like gem stones. by now you should know what elements capture my heart :P according to their website, they have reformulated it for a more even application.  maybe someday i'll own my first givenchy eyeshadow palette? i think they look more promising than the chanel les 4 ombre palette.

if you know of any beautiful products, let me know so i can take a look at them!

xoxo
karman

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.

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!!!

LUST LIST #1: SONIA KASHUK

since it's the holiday season now, i thought it'd be appropriate to talk about some of the many things that retailers have implanted into my little heart of desire. well, it's really just me sharing some items that i'm interested in of late, since i have more time on hand to do more research and "monitor shopping" (i mean window shopping online) now that i'm resting for my skin's sake.

sonia kashuk may be a foreign brand to most who live outside of america, in fact, i never heard of this brand until one fine day, i watched lisa eldridge's video and saw her using the hidden agenda concealer palette. i thought it suited my needs (it's hard to find a salmon coloured concealer here), plus, it's so handy to have three shades! it was hard to get hold of, i had to buy it online at a rather inflated price. it retails for USD9.90, but i paid SGD28 for it. :(

whatever, i thought it's worth the while! ever since then, i've grown an interest for their brand. i wasn't too crazy about them until lately. i noticed they changed all their packaging to black. if you know me, you'd know i'm drawn to the "cooler" end of product design, as in.. black, edgy and stylish. i'm the kind of girl who likes shimmery black. what the hell, right? black, and shimmery? i like to rejoice in what i call "understated glamour", being glam without being loud so that i'm probably the only know who knows how girly i am.. :P i'm a living irony.

product quality is important, and so is product packaging. i think sonia kashuk got the latter nailed. i can't attest to their product quality since i only tried their concealer so far, but reviews about their product seem to be on the positive side. back to the packaging, the simplistic and sleek packaging definitely resonate with me. i also like that their products are all very angled and flat. just one of the small details that gets to me.

here are a few items i am lusting over right now.

EYES

Eye Couture Eye On Neutral | Shimmer (USD19.99 each)

consists of 12 neutral shades each palette. they come in two variations, matte and shimmer. i'm lusting after BOTH to be honest..

i would love to use the matte palette to try out the american style makeup, as well as to use it to contour my nose and define my brows since they contain a good selection of soft beige colours. i also foresee myself mixing the grey with brown to get a cooler toned brown so i can fill in my eyebrows. even though i really like my kate designing eyebrows (eyebrow powder palette), i find the darkest brown a little too red sometimes. i'd like it to be more neutral. as for shimmer, those pinkish shades look so gorgeous.

FACE

Chic Luminosity Glow Powder (USD12.99)

this is meant to be a very subtle highlighting product that gives the "lit-from-within" look. seriously, what's lit from within? i still don't get it. i heard that this can be used as a finish powder, i'd totally love having this because you know i don't like having an overly matte face as it looks too flat and lifeless to me. it does contain silica, so i expect it to be pretty friendly for people with oily skin!


BRUSHES

Limited Edition All That Jazz 10 Piece Brush Set (USD34.99)

it was love at first sight. ever since i saw these over at musingsofamuse, i can't stop thinking about owning them.. the pairing of black and gold is just so.. luxurious yet not over the top. all of the brushes are made of goat hair, except for the angled duo fiber brush (goat and nylon), angled duo fiber crease brush (pony and synthetic mix), domed pencil brush (synthetic mix), both synthetic pointed eyeliner brusha nd the lash/brow groomer are made of nylon.

the 10 pieces includes (left to right):
domed powder brush, flat top multipurpose brush, angled duo fiber multipurpose brush, foundation brush, eye shadow brush, blending brush, angled duo fiber crease brush, domed pencil brush, synthetic pointed eye liner brush, and a lash/brow groomer.

Golden Age Four Piece Brush Set With Clutch (USD19.90)

i swear it's the packaging that got me..  look at those shiny black handles with gold accents. they also seem to be smaller in size, so it makes them perfect for travelling! i don't know about the clutch though. the tassel is nice, but why two zips?

the 4 pieces includes:
powder brush, duo fiber shader brush, angled eye brush, and a smudge brush.

Fluffy Eye Shadow Brush No.112 (USD4.99)

i'm attracted to fluffy brushes because they seem to blend eyeshadows out better. i started wearing make up using this really cheap eyeshadow brush i bought from a small shop that sold these travel sized brushes. all the other brushes sucked, but the eyeshadow brush was just what i needed - something soft and slightly long bristles so that they can soften out any shadows. too bad i lost that brush :( the other 4 eyeshadow brushes that i currently own doesn't seem to be able to give me that effect. i'll talk about them later maybe?

Travel Blusher Brush No.125 (USD9.99)

they kind of remind me of the jill stuart ones that came with their blusher. do i need one of these? actually.. no. hahaha but this is a lust list. plus i really like the black packaging. SO CHIC.

i don't own any blush brush (in my opinion, the only difference between a blush brush and a face brush is the size). i usually carry a very small brush (the one from the media blusher) along with my powder foundation when i go out in case i decide to touch up a little bit of my make up. they tend to crease under my eyes, it's good to have a powder to dry that up. this brush seems small, so it should fit that area just fine for me! and i do foresee myself being on the go very often, so having a portable brush seems like a necessity. who am i bluffing, it's a imposed necessity :P

IN A NUTSHELL

you can totally tell i'm more into the brushes more than the other products that sonia kashuk offers. they actually have an extensive range of cosmetics and body care products. i blame the beautiful packaging of those brushes that spurred my sudden desire in owning 10 brushes. i really don't need it..

that's why this list is called a LUST LIST. :)

surprisingly, i couldn't find too much reviews of their products, i guess it's because sonia kashuk's price point is relatively higher than most drugstore brands, people tend to favour the wallet friendlier brands. the price is ok to me because most products in singapore are that expensive anyway (since they're all imported).

do you like me sharing items i'm interested in from specific brands? let me know!