A Touch of Blusher — Makeup, Skincare, Fragrance and a Bit of Fashion

Weekend Splendid Reads for December 16, 2007

by PJ on Sunday, December 16, 2007

From Splendicity – the destination for splendid style, come the splendid best post of the week.

BEAUTY
Shades Of U announces the Grand Prize Winner of its Holiday Look Contest.
Snarkstress wonders if “The Katie” will soon sweep the nation.
A Touch of Blusher brings you some exciting spring 2008 makeup collections.
Kyle at Face Candy tries out Senna Cosmetics.
makeup loves me is giving away two prescriptives limited edition illuminators!
eBeautyDaily is touting the benefits of a tourmaline hair dryer from Conair – a great gift for just about anyone!
Let’s Go Shopping Reviews Coastal Scents Silk Cover Light Mineral Foundation.
Beauty Banter offers an insider’s look at the beauty and fashion of the A-list celebrities that attended this years Hollywood Life Breakthrough Awards.

FASHION
STYLEnosh ponders what to wear to the holiday party.
She Knows Best shows us how Quentin Tarantino Rocks The Philippines Barong Tagalog.
Take a peek at the Holiday Look for the Style Tots Kidlets.
Hot Mama Daily asks: would YOU wear a garter purse?
The Fashionable Kiffen reviews Forbes Magazine’s Top Five Trends for 2008.
My Wardrobe Today offers a few promo codes and tips to get those last minute holiday purchases at a primo price!
Wardrobe Oxygen reviews HARDWARE Handbags and is offering a free bag to one lucky reader!

SHOPPING
Teen Style Lounge has found the perfect Diva-lightful last-minute gift idea.
Style It Less has your chance to win 2 Eco-Friendly Totes From Origins Organics.
The Scented Life wants to know – would you buy Perfume for your Pet?
The Latest Luxe shares some stocking stuffer wishes, and proves vanity really is worthwhile.
Haute & Bothered‘s got exclusive invites to the haute members-only shop Ideeli.
Get 20% off Stylagio ClipChic purse hooks at Style Goodies!
Aging Fabulous has some helpful Holiday shopping tips.
CelebLOOK tells us where the celebs are shopping for Christmas.

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Review Update: Green by Nature Starter Kit

by PJ on Sunday, December 16, 2007

in bodycare

The review of Green by Nature Starter Kit has been updated, with details regarding the issue of paraben.

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Bodycare Review: SpaSensials Hand & Foot Treatment

by PJ on Saturday, December 15, 2007

in bodycare

(SpaSensials Hand & Foot Treatment)
(image from www.spasensials.com)

We are moving into the colder months in many countries. I talked about my favorite body moisturizer earlier this week. Today I am moving to hands and feet.

I always wanted to try moisturizing gloves and wondered what they could actually do. The SpaSensials Hand & Feet Treatment offers the moisturizing gloves I wanted to test out.

They are made with a paper-like material and are designed to be disposable. The gloves are basically dry on the outside (but slightly moist if I squeeze the fabric) and they feel moist and slightly wet (but not sticky) on the inside.

(SpaSensials Moisturizing Gloves)

I wore the gloves and socks for about 20 minutes, as instructed (15 minutes for longer). They did leave the skin lightly moisturized and the moisturizer had a pleasing smell, but I feel that my problem areas, like cuticles and heels, were not effectively tackled by the treatment.

I think these would be good to use before you actually moisture you hands and feet, as they do soften and lightly moisturize the skin, which helps your heavy-duty hand and foot creams absorb better. But, for this purpose, I would simply use a moisturizing masque as a treatment and it would work much better on my problem areas.

But I can see the potential in this type of product. It is fuss-free and I can still, say, flip through magazines during the treatment, whereas I can’t if I have my face moisturizing masque on my hands. I think the key would be to make the gloves and socks fit and adhere to the skin better so the moisturizing ingredients can really get to all the surfaces of the skin. Then we’ll potentially have an all-rounder.

Two body products I can’t live without:

Garnier Hand Cocoon & Dove Body Silk

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Weekend Beauty Read for December 15, 2007

by PJ on Saturday, December 15, 2007

in Weekend Beauty Read

Enjoy!

From The Beauty Blog Network:

Elke looks back at her first trip to NY and how it changed her.

Temptalia shares nine beauty-themed gift guides for all your friends and family for the holiday season!

Savvy Skin has a Freeze 24/7 Review And Contest.

SugarShock is craving beauty treats that smell good enough to eat.

makeup loves me is giving away two limited-edition Prescriptives illuminator all over face color bricks! Head on over to leave a comment and win!

A Touch of Blusher loves lilac!

Do you want MARC JACOBS fragrance sets for a steal? Kyle at Face Candy has the scoop.

The Muse Battles Dry Winter Skin with a Review of Philosophy’s Microdelivery Wash!

Beauty Anonymous reviews Roxy Fragrance and Delicate Shower Gel.

Because good things come in small packages, Makeup Moxie’s got the ultimate guide to beauty stocking stuffers that are almost too pretty to part with.

The Glitterati feels pretty… oh so pretty… in West Side .

Beauty and Personality Grooming – Chilblains:a skin affliction that occurs in winter

All Lacquered Up previews the spring polish collections from Chanel, China Glaze, CND and Zoya

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic tries out Max Factor’s Vivid Impact Highlighting Mascara for something fun.

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MAC A-Mei Color Collection – Fantastic Update!

by PJ on Friday, December 14, 2007

in -MAC, makeup

The MAC A-Mei Color Collection has some more exciting updates, this time with links to a beautiful official product image and some great stock images.

Do check them out!

Thank you, Janice, for your great work!

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A Splash of Color – Lilting Lilac

by PJ on Thursday, December 13, 2007

in _I Love Colors, -Ayura, -Chanel, -Jill Stuart, -Kanebo, -Lavshuca, -Maybelline, -T'Estimo, all about Japanese cosmetics, bodycare, makeup, nail color/care, stash focus

Among all my favorite colors, pastel purple (lilac/lavender) has always been near the top of the list. Thanks to the delicate mixture of red and blue, purple, to me, is an elegant color with the right amount of warmness and coolness.

It has been a great accent color in my wardrobe for years (be it pastel lilac or rich violet), but it is only fairly recently that I discovered that soft lilacs look good on my face as well!

Keep pretty:
-Jill Stuart Brilliance Eyes in 04 Gem Amethyst
-T’Estimo Frame Impact Eyes in 03
-Lavshuca Eyecolor Select in PU-2
-Chanel Contraste Lumière palette in Aquarelles
-Maybelline Dream Mousse Eye Color in Divine Lilac
-Clinique Glosswear for Lips in 333 La La Lilac
-AYURA Pure Nails (limited-edition lilac shade)

Keep clean:
-Radox Clean & Pamper Handwash with lavender & magnolia

Keep warm:
-Hat by Fred Bare
(My teddy bear pulls this off much better than I do…)
-Sweater by Sisley

Keep organized:
-Beauty Diary by Biteki & Albion
(from Biteki January 2007 issue)

I have noticed that Chanel, Lunasol, and Guerlain are featuring lilac in their spring 2008 collections, and I am predicting that lilac is a key spring 2008 makeup trend!

I have more lilacs on my spring 2008 shopping list, and I am sensing an arrival of Lilting Lilac Part II!

More splashes of colors!

–Girlie Pink

–Citrus Orange

–Aqua Blue

–New-Leaf Green

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DHC UK Website Launched!

by PJ on Wednesday, December 12, 2007

in -DHC, all about Japanese cosmetics, all about Japanese cosmetics (overseas availability information), skincare

(image from www.dhcuk.co.uk)

One of my readers, Humming, left a comment on my blog a couple of days ago and told me that the DHC UK website had been launched. (Thank you, Humming!)

DHC now joins RMK, Paul & Joe, SUQQU, Shiseido International, and Kanebo International as Japanese brands available in the UK.

DHC is a major cosmetics brand in Japan, where, as far as I understand, still only runs mail/phone/on-line ordering and does not have a physical shop.

But, as we all know, word of mouth has its place in retailing, and when people say something is good, it gets our attention.

(Updated in July 2011: DHC has physical shops throughout Japan.)

DHC’s cult product is Deep Cleansing Oil. Not only is it DHC’s cult product, it is one of the cult skincare products in Japan. It would be slightly bizarre not to see it on a readers’ favorite skincare product list in any Japanese cosmetics magazine. (In the readers’ poll results in Biteki‘s February 2007 issue, it was placed second in the favorite makeup cleanser category, one place above Shu Uemura’s cleansing oil.)

It works just like Shu Uemura’s cleansing oil and removes all makeup, including waterproof makeup, in one go. (There is a good review of it on Beauty Anonymous if you are interested!)

I tried the Deep Cleansing Oil many years ago, but I personally didn’t like it. It did cleanse very effectively, but I was fairly certain that it gave me breakouts. (I have also tried Shu Uemura’s various cleaning oil formulas, but I usually find that they don’t emulsify well enough. For years, I have remained loyal to RMK’s Cleansing Oil and Boots Botanics Cleansing Oil.)

But, since that was many years ago and I live in a different climate now, I might consider giving it another go. Also, many DHC toners are alcohol-free and have simple formulations that have the potential to suit my sensitive skin. They will be the products I will pay more attention to.

So far, only the basic skincare items are sold on the DHC UK site. I hope the stock will be expanded later on. In the meantime, if you would like to see the vast array of DHC skincare and makeup products, do head over to the DHC US website. (But…do ignore the fact that the prices are, yet again, lower in the US…)

My Daily Skincare Routine
(featuring RMK Cleansing Oil)

All About Japanese Cosmetics
(My love for Japanese cosmetics will never end…)

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Finally! FDA Regulates UVA Labeling

by PJ on Wednesday, December 12, 2007

in skincare

(image from U.S. Food and Drug Association)

I am sure many of you who are skincare-savvy know the importance of UVA protection. UVA rays cause premature aging of the skin, and sunscreen products as well as daytime moisturizers that have adequate anti-UVA ingredients can help prevent it.

I am surprised that FDA is only doing this now. Most Japanese brands have been specifying the strength of UVA protection of sunscreen products for quite some time, using the scale from PA+ to PA++++. Also, several European brands like Boots No. 7 and Garnier have been labeling the level of their sunscreen products for a number of years.

But better late than never. After all, adequate labeling on all sun-protection products is by far the best way to make people more aware of the importance and necessity of using adequate sun protection. I hope the new labeling system will be put into practice as soon as possible.

10 Golden Skincare Rules
(Let’s try to follow all 10 of them.)

The Only Words You Need to Know About Anti-Aging
(Make sure you know them before your next trip to the drugstore.)

New Sunscreen Regulations for UVA Protection
(from cosmeticsdesign.com)

FDA Aims to Upgrade Sunscreen Labeling
(from U.S. Food and Drug Assiciation)

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MAC A-Mei Color Collection – More Update

by PJ on Tuesday, December 11, 2007

in -MAC, makeup

The MAC A-Mei Color Collection post has been updated with a link to an image featuring A-Mei wearing shades from the collection. The image was released to the Taiwanese press but I am not certain whether this would be one of the official promotional images.

Please go to the end of the post for the link, and enjoy!

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Can’t Live Without: Dove Body Silk

by PJ on Tuesday, December 11, 2007

in _Can't Live Without, -Dove, bodycare, stash focus

(Dove Body Silk Beauty Body Cream)

Today I am bringing you another product that I can’t live without!

I first bought Dove Body Silk simply because I decided I was not going to buy a body moisturizer that came in a bottle. With or without a pump, it could be quite a pain at the end with all the scraping to get the last bit.

I remember trying Boots Botanics Nourishing Body Butter, which came in a jar. It was very moisturizing but slightly too greasy. I then bought a Garnier one (which has been discontinued) but I later thought the per-ml price was a bit too high for a budget line.

Then I bought Dove Body Silk and this turned out to be one of my favorite body moisturizers ever.

It smells pretty good. (It is hard to really love a body moisturizer if I don’t like the smell.) I wouldn’t say it smells absolutely heavenly, but it has a faint soft comforting smell that I like very much. Apart from body products from a fragrance range, I don’t usually like those with a strong smell. So this one is absolutely fine with me.

It has a light cream texture and spreads so easily and evenly. It takes less time to apply than many other body moisturizers I have tried. The skin is left very effectively and delicately moisturized with no greasiness or heaviness.

But I think what I love the most about this body cream is how the skin feels after each application. I still remember how surprised I was after I put it on for the first time. I was just making sure that everything was absorbed, and I felt that the skin was so delightfully silky smooth. My skin never felt like this before, I have to say.

The product is named Body Silk, which, for me, is quite spot-on. I think I will definitely continue to enjoy it (and all the silkiness) as long as it is available.

I also can’t live without: Garnier Hand Cocoon
(top-notch hand cream)

Haircare Review: Dove Cool Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner
(a great match)

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