(continued from the previous post)
—————#6: Shu Uemura————————-
The Look: Juxtaposition of warm and cool hues.
Key Items: Sunrise Prism and Sunset Prism Eyeshadow Palettes. (Another interpretation of the sunrise/sunset theme is Chanel’s two Contraste Lumiere palettes, billed as “dawn and day” in Japan.) Not as bold as MAC’s C-Shock Collection, they are still richer than most pastel shades around. The combinations of colors are very interesting and enticing (turquoise, emerald and yellow for Sunrise Prism and orange, lilac, and gold for Sunset Prism). I’d be tempted to mix the colors from the two eye-catching palettes.
—————#5: Lavshuca————————-
The Look: A Touch of Blusher (Umm……)
Key Items: Cheek Colors. If you like to go heavy on the blusher, then they might not be right for you. (They do layer fine, but it takes time.) They impart a light wash of color. It is predominantly matte, which I like as well.
(I am not really sure how these are compared with the striped Cheek Select, which, from what I have gathered, is too sheer for most people’s liking. I think the Cheek Colors are probably more pigmented, as they certainly can’t be used as an overall face powder…)
—————#4: Lunasol————————-
The Look: Azure eyes.
Key Item: Skin Modeling Eyes in EX02 Beige Cool. This is a great palette for creating the hot look of this season: blue eyes. Instead of the bright and bold cobalt blue, the palette features a light pastel blue and a deeper and more understated dark blue. A very wearable blue eye palette.
To be continued……(see who wins the medals…)
Related Posts:
Lunasol Summer 2007 Collection
Lavshuca Summer 2007 Collection
(Pictured: my summer 2007 makeup additions)
This week, I will present three posts that round up 2007’s summer collections, in the form of my usual Top Ten list.
We’ll start from number 10 today:
—————#10: Kate ——————–
The Look: Glistening and iridescent eyes.
Key Items: Loose Eyeshadows. All the four shades (pink, blue, gold, and silver) are quite light. The emphasis is on the sparkles. Loose eyeshadows are not commonly seen for budget brands in Japan (Majolica Majorca did have some in spring 2007), and they have been quite popular.
(I haven’t featured Kate very much in my blog. I am planning to talk more about it next month.)
—————#9: Jill Stuart ——————–
The Look: Airy and feminine.
Key Item: Brilliance Eyes in 05 Mauve Pearl. A limited edition palette from the Brilliance Eyes eyeshadow palette collection. (Two more are coming this fall!) There are soft pastel shades of pink and blue with a bold shimmery black to frame the eyes. It is a contrasting palette that works seamlessly.
—————#8: Maquillage ——————–
The Look: Eyes with soft creamy colors.
Key Items: Double Shiny Eyes. Fans of the previous PN collection will recognize this reincarnation, this time with a matching highlighting shade. Love the little drawer that holds the applicater.
—————#7: Aube (Sofina)——————–
The Look: Juicy lips bursting with shine and sparkles.
Key Items: Gloss Frutina. Sheer shades of pink, red, orange, and mint green…it is like a refreshing summer fruit bowl. If the sparkles in the lip glosses are not enough for you, the applicators are also decked with Swarovski crystals. Affordable luxuries!
To be continued…
(Note: Western brands are doing well on the list this season and they will be appearing later on. Well, the clue is in the photo……)
Related Posts:
Aube Summer 2007 Collection
Jill Stuart Summer 2007 Collection
(pictured: part of my Lavshuca stash)
As we are still getting ready for some hot weather, Lavshuca has already released news on their fall 2007 collection, in store on August 1st 2007.
See a photo of part of the collection here.
The collection features:
a new line of liquid lip colors (10 shades, seen in link above)
6 eyeshadow palettes (2 seen in link above)
1 liquid eyeliner
2 new shades of Jewelry Lips lipsticks
1 new shade of Eye Color Select palette
The attention grabber of the new collection is the revolutionary liquid lip colors, which will have a highly viscous consistency. I imagine it is between a very syrupy lip gloss and a very creamy lipstick (half-liquid and half-solid). The twist-dispenser with the delicate heart-shape opening will really showcase this consistency.
Who knows?
Some people think that the makeup and skincare innovations in Japan are at least one decade ahead of the Western counterpart*. Maybe this is the perfect formula of combining the color intensity of lipsticks and the shine of lip glosses.
Lip colors that are both highly pigmented and ultra-glossy? Can’t wait to try them!
*Next week I will talk about a certain pressed powder that has taken the Japanese market by storm.
(the oh-so-pretty Lavshuca Jewelry Lips)
(engraved with the Lavshuca logo)
Lavshuca‘s Spring 2007 collection tops my list for the season, and these cutest little lipsticks are part of the reason. Lavshuca’s Jewelry Lips (approx. 10 USD) are exquisitely packaged. They also happen to be much more petite than most other lipsticks. Below, see how it is compared with a Chanel lipstick:
(They are nicknamed “Lavshuca Mini Lipsticks”.)
(And It is 1.8g of lipstick,
less than most others.)
The two I have, PK-1 and RS-1, are both very wearable. PK-1 is a sheer pink and RS-1 is a pinkish-plum with a little bit of shimmer.
(from left: PK-1 and RS-1)
They are launched with 11 colors in February, and there will be another 11 colors to follow later on. So I assume they have been very popular!
(Read my Lavshuca brand review here.)
(pictured: my Lunasol stash)
Blue is going to be so in for this coming summer, and Lunasol’s summer 2007 collection reflects this trend. Aqua and navy blue take the center stage among a shimmering beige and bronze backdrop. It is a collection with a clear identity.
The collection includes:
two eye palettes (beige and blue)
three eye colors (jelly-texture; white, beige, and blue)
one bronzing powder
three mascaras
three lipglosses
three nail colors
I think the blue eye palette will be a hit. All the jelly eye colors will probably be hugely popular too, as jelly- or mousse-textured eyeshadows are selling very well in Asia at the moment.
The collection is out on May 11 in Japan. All are limited-editions apart from the lipglosses and nail colors.
(pictured: my Lavshuca stash)
One of the summer launches that I am really looking forward to is Lavshuca‘s collection. Without a clear color scheme, the main focus is on the 11 new colors of Jewel Lips and the launch of a new blusher collection (packaged in the same way as the single eye color).
The collection includes:
Two Jelly Pot Eye Colors (brown and silver)
Four Cheek Colors
Three Nail Colors
Eleven Jewel Lips
As always, the packaging is cute and princessy, just how I love it!
The launch of the cute little Jewel Lips this spring has obviously been so successful that Lavshuca is bringing out 11 more colors. I have got two of them and I will be reviewing them later this month.
As a blusher lover (hence the name of my blog!), I am also excited about the new blushers. I wasn’t keen on the previous Cheek Select. I think I might get one of these new ones.
More new summer 2007 items next time!
(Edited: You can read my Lavshuca brand review here.)
by PJ on Wednesday, March 21, 2007
in -Kanebo, -Kao, -Lavshuca, -Sofina, all about Japanese cosmetics, makeup, makeup - base makeup, makeup - base makeup - foundation, makeup - base makeup - powder, stash focus
As requested by a reader, I am going to talk about my daily foundation routine.
Every foundation product I use is in powder form (loose or pressed). I have oily skin, and anything liquidy or creamy (liquid foundation, creamy concealer,…) doesn’t stay on very well.
I try to make everything simple. I almost never use a primer. I only use a daytime moisturizer with sunscreen (like Estee Lauder DayWear Plus for Oily Skin SPF 15). Then:
1. I put on my ZA 2-way foundation (pictured mid-left).
Well, 70% of the time, that’s actually it. But if I want a more polished look:
2. I put on some transparent loose powder. My favorite two at the moment are from Raycious (mid-right) and Lavshuca (top). They are both very good in disguising pores. They both have minimal shimmer but it is barely visible on the face. Or I use Raycious pressed powder (bottom-left), which is completely matte.
Occasionally, if I need to conceal a pimple (here comes the big trick):
3. I use Raycious powder foundation (bottom-right) as a concealer with the corner of a rectangular sponge and gently press the powder onto a breakout. The light-defusing particles in Raycious powder foundations (especially the earliest generations) are fantastic for precision concealing. Not only is the redness covered, the shadow around the bump is instantly less visible (so the pimple looks much flattened). I want the powder to stay absolutely put on my breakout so it is applied last.
(This trick works wonder for my friends as well when I help them with makeup.)
My suggestion is to always take time doing the foundation. The foundation from a rushed application never stays on well. Taking time and doing everything slowly, gently, and carefully makes a huge difference, even with exactly the same products. (My routine is straightforward enough so it takes 10 minutes from 1 to 3, but I always make sure I don’t rush things through.)
My next post will be about some favorite cosmetics products as voted by Japanese consumers.
#2: Jill Stuart (“Brilliant Veil” Collection)
The Look: “Brilliant Veil” is quite an accurate description of the colors on offer here. Medium-pigmented colors add soft hues to the face with a great amount of glow and sheen. The emphasis is on the eyes, with the launch of Jill Stuart’s first collection of eye palettes.
Key Item: Brilliance Eyes palette in 04 Gem Amethyst (reviewed earlier here). A beautiful lilac palette with featherweight powder and intense shimmer and glitter. It gives a veil of color with dazzling and multi-dimensional sparkles. A palette that adds a bit of drama to the eyes.
Winner: Lavshuca
The Look: When I saw the ad campaign featuring the Japanese girl band PUFFY (the two girls you see as soon as you enter the Lavshuca website), I couldn’t believe their transformation. They used to be two funky girls with slightly mad hair jumping around the stage. Now they cannot look more polished and sophisticated while they still keep the coolness and edge. I guess this is the image that Lavshuca’s new collection is trying to convey: cute, fun, feminine, and with a bit of an attitude.
Key Item: Too many to mention, actually, but I will single out Eye Color Select in PK-1 (reviewed earlier here). Pink eyeshadow is hot for this spring, and this pink palette gives a couple of different looks. You can go for a soft pale pink or an intense cherry pink. The lightest shade is good as a base or a highlighter and the brown can be a natural eyeliner.
For me, it was very close between Jill Stuart and Lavshuca this season. They kept switching positions when I was finalizing my rankings. But Lavshuca wins at the end with its more complete range and updated packaging to keep the brand image fresh.
If you are interested in mineral makeup, my next post will be about von Natur’s mineral powder foundation.
#4: T’Estimo
The Look: The whole collection (both the color and the packaging) is so pretty. The look is femine and elegant. The emphasis is on the eyes. Beautifully and delicately blended gradation from pale to soft to intense, from browbone to lashline, the single-color concept for eye makeup works seamlessly.
Key Items: Frame Impact Eyes palettes. Four eye palettes feature four gradations of colors (blue, green, lilac, and brown). Each palette comes with a cream eyeliner. Don’t be put off by the green and the blue. The colors are soft enough to look natural but pigmented enough to impart a gorgeous hue.
#3: Lunasol (“The Ultimate Skin” Collection)
The Look: The concept is to create flawless skin with the softest colors. Pale pastel colors for eyes and beige-pink for lips. The whole effect is fresh, polished, and very sophisticated.
Key Items: Skin Modelling Lips palettes (second from top on the webpage). It’s the ultimate lip kit. Each of the four palettes features a tinted lip primer, lip color, shimmer-free gloss, and shimmery gloss. The tool for sculpting the perfect pout.
(If you can get hold of the April issue of the Biteki magazine, it comes with a free DVD which is all about creating “The Ultimate Skin” using Lunasol’s latest makeup and foundation collections.)
I’ll reveal my top 2 in my next post (although you can probably guess what they are if you have read some of my previous posts). Still, don’t miss it!
After that, I will talk a bit about one growing trend — mineral makeup.
Lavshuca again today. They make some of the cutest stuff around. Their eye palette is just adorable, and this lipgloss pen is another example. In seven colors, the Gloss Stick looks just like any other lip gloss that comes in a pen, and the color I have (PK-3) is a nice basic everyday pink with a bit of shimmer.
But what makes it interesting and fun is the applicator:
The heart-shape dispenser is what seals the deal for me. What a nice little touch! It has a very similar advantage to that of the spatula applicator of Curvy Lip Silicone. It doesn’t smudge off the lipstick and is easy to clean. Cute and clever.
