-Lunasol

Lunasol Summer 2007 Collection

by PJ on Friday, April 13, 2007

in -Kanebo, -Lunasol, 2007 Summer, all about Japanese cosmetics, makeup

(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.

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My Top 10: Spring 2007 Makeup Round-Up (#4, #3)

by PJ on Friday, March 9, 2007

in -Kanebo, -Lunasol, -T'Estimo, 2007 Spring, all about Japanese cosmetics, makeup, seasonal makeup top 10

#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.

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Lunasol Spring 2007 Collection

by PJ on Wednesday, January 3, 2007

in -Kanebo, -Lunasol, 2007 Spring, all about Japanese cosmetics, makeup


(pictured: my Lunasol stash)


I am loving the look of Lunasol’s new collection! It is going toward a very soft look. All the colors look so gentle and wearable. It is about subtle and barely-there makeup.

My top pick is the lip palette, or Skin-Modeling Lips as it is properly called. This limited edition palette has four parts:

creamy-matte color (lip base)
natural color (lip color)
sheer gloss
jewel gloss

I’d like to have the one in EX04. I am a fan of blue-tone (but nearly totally sheer, of course) lipglosses. They make lips look really dewy and create a very natural and watery gleam.

This kit reminds me of another one by Ayura. It features a lip base, a lip liner, a highlight liner (for the two ridges of the upper lip, for extra perkiness), and a lip gloss. It is more of a lip-shaping kit that works in combination with your own lipsticks. I have it in 01 and I really like it.

The eye palettes also feature some soft colors. They are not as striking as what Lunasol had for last autumn (which has proven to be so successful that they top the favorite eye palette lists of Biteki and Frau magazines in Japan as voted by the readers), but they are great basics that look airy, breezy and beautiful. They also remind me of Jill Stuart’s latest eye palettes For example, Lunasol’s 04 looks very similar to Jill Stuart’s 02 Crystal Jade, and they both have the ubiquitous beige-tone palettes. I think, in this case, I’ll stick with Jill Stuart’s 04 Amethyst.

Both the four-color face powder palettes (Tone-Up Powder) look similar to Dior Detective from last autumn. It would be interesting to see how different Lunasol’s take on this will be.

The lip and nail colors will be great for the nude-color look.

As you can see, most of these products do remind me of some others. (Of course it is not unusual. New products are usually existing ones with a twist anyway.) But the texture and the pigmentation will vary (and the packaging, of course!) and I look forward to trying them out.

Apart from those above, you can also see Lunasol’s new foundation items here.

The color makeup items are out on January 19th, and the foundation items are out on February 23rd.

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Loving Japanese brands (7 of 7): Lunasol

by PJ on Monday, November 27, 2006

in _Japanese Brand Profile, _Loving Japanese Brands, -Kanebo, -Lunasol, all about Japanese cosmetics, makeup

(pictured: part of my collection)


Meaning “moon and sun”, Lunasol is a very chic and gown-up line from Kanebo Group. In the last few years, the packaging has changed twice but has always maintained a low-key demure image. It used to have a skincare collection but it was discontinued.

I am glad that Lunasol has been quite popular in a couple of other Asian countries. The brand does exude quality inside and out, and the whole collection seems to have a quiet confidence about it in the sea of attention-grabbing merchandise in department stores.

The first two Lunasol items I bought were the lipstick and the powder case, and I bought them on my first trip to Tokyo when Lunasol was only available in Japan. I was then able to fit my own Kanebo foundation cake into the case. (I think all the foundation cakes from most Kanebo-owned lines should fit into one another’s cases.)

I don’t usually go for simple designs (I like glamourous and intricate designs, like Jill Stuart and Anna Sui), but there is something very elegant and sophisticated about Lunasol that really appeals to me. Even though I still prefer the silver and copper-beige square design when the line debuted, the current rich and glossy chocolate-brown look has a great sense of low-key glamour.

Their blusher is the only peach-tone blusher I have (in 03 Light Orange). (It seems to have been discontinued in Japan. See the rest of the colors here.) Most of the time, cool or neutral pink blushers work better for me. (Warm-tone blushers usually make me look too flushed.) But this one actually looks slightly more neutral once it has sat on my face for a while.

The blusher itself, the case, and the brush have to be purchased separately, but the quality of the brush is very good. It is exceptionally soft and has a good density of hair.

The lip gloss I have is in 04 Bright Pink. It is not really a shockingly bright pink. It is a very natural pink with delicate shimmer. (See the rest of the lip products here).

Their 2006 Fall Collection (especially the eyeshadow palettes) and 2006 Holiday sets have been extremely popular.

In the last couple of years, Lunasol has been consistently launching great seasonal collections. Look out for what’s new in the coming year!

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