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InRed has posted the video clip of the freebies in their January issue which will be released on Monday 7 December in Japan. This issue comes with an aquagirl multi-case and a Hello Kitty 2010 calendar. The calendar is actually quite large but the illustrations inside are really quite minimal. A tiger character is featured as 2010 is the year of the Tiger.
Some pics of the Majolica Majorca Spring 2010 collection from 2Channel (some of the items shown are from Bourjois and Excel). The silver foundation case is limited edition but the two new Jewelling Eyes quads are not. The collection will also include Lash Bone Black Fibre In (mascara primer), Skin Remaker Pore Cover (foundation) and Skin Lingerie Pore Cove (primer).
Spur magazine reported on the RMK press event for their "Spring Modern" collection, which was attended by the brand creator, Rumiko (that's her working on the model in the photo below). The spring collection will be released on 22 January, followed by the debut of a new foundation in March. No details yet on the foundation.
I dropped by Play Imaginative in Iluma mall yesterday. They had the new Pegaso and Astronauta print bags in stock. I had read about the disappointment with the changes in the Tokidoki bags, such as the switch in materials, rainbow zips replaced by single-color ones. Although the material is no longer as glossy/shiny as the rip-stop nylon used in the Tokidoki for LeSportsac series, I still liked the prints very much so I decided on the Pegaso Matricola bag, which is perfect for use as a document or laptop bag as it is quite well-padded.
Interior of the side pocket. There are pockets on both sides of the bag, one is zipped and the other is not. The new bag material feels thicker and not as smooth (more like canvas) as the LSS series.
Interior of the main compartment.
The new zips and trimmings. The leather trimmings on the LSS bags were a paler shade of beige and looked more classy.
The pegasus print is just too adorable!
As I spent above S$150, I received the Tokidoki shopping bag and the Spring 2010 Tokidoki catalogue. The store staff told me that some people ask for a standard shopping bag so that they keep the Tokidoki shopping bag pristine and unused!
Play Imaginative has a members programme which you can join for S$20 and get 10% off all merchandise (including your purchase on the spot) so it makes sense to join it if your purchase is S$200 and above. The current gift for joining the programme is a Tofu Oyako figure worth S$19.90 and small notebook.
I have no idea what I'm going to do with the Tofu Oyako (or what his appeal is exactly).
There are three new bag prints coming out for spring: Cartolina, Watercolor and Messaggio.
Tokidoki is also collaborating with Hello Kitty and Marvel for spring 2010.
Despite the changes in the bag materials, I'm still a big fan of Tokidoki as their whimsical prints never fail to brighten up my day. They are costly but like with makeup, you are paying for quality and artistic vision. It always makes me very peeved to see all the cheap counterfeit Tokidoki bags around Singapore, usually in the town centres where they go for a mere S$10 or S$20. It is very easy to tell if someone is carrying a fake Tokidoki bag as the style and trimmings are always different from the authentic ones.
Just read on my buddy, Mag's Makeup Stash blog that a new e-tailer, Soap'n'Sorbet, has opened up in Singapore and it carries Steam Creams for just S$26! These are hand made in Japan using an old steam method from the UK and can be used on the face, body and hands. Every season, limited edition designs are released. These retail for 1500yen in Japan. These three new designs have been released for the holiday season.
These are some of the earlier designs.
Click here to view the selection available on Soap'n'Sorbet, and here for The Muse's reviews on these lovelies!
I love watching cosmetic commercials as they always make even the most affordable drugstore brands look amazing. Here are some from Maybelline Japan where their biggest seller are the mascaras and hence, most of the TV ads are for their mascaras.
Christy Turlington is one of my favourite supermodels of all time. Her face is just perfect. I was very glad to see her re-hired by Maybelline a few years ago. She has much more personality and class than all the other younger Maybelline models put together.
Check out more Maybelline Japan TV ads here!
Ooh, here's an interesting little GWP from RMK. Starting 11 December, with any 10,500yen purchase in Japan, the GWP is the Original Winter Kit 2009 which includes a bath pillow, body mist and five sachets of bath salts. The body mist and bath salts have a refreshing yuzu scent. Hope this makes an appearance in Singapore! It is a nice break from the usual deluxe skincare/base makeup samples.
I Nouvi has released its holiday coffret, La Dolce Vita which is worth S$275 but you can get it free with any S$200 purchase. Or if you spend S$100, you can purchase the coffret for S$68.
The Bobbi Brown Mini Shimmer Bricks have landed at the Takashimaya counter!
They just arrived yesterday and are retailing at a hefty S$99 each. Dang, that's even more than a Dior quint and also a couple bucks more than the Earth Metal palette! I popped over to the counter at Robinsons Centrepoint but they were not on display over there yet.
So what do you get for $99? Sadly, only 3g/0.1oz of product compared to 10.3g/0.4oz for the normal Shimmer Bricks (which cost S$67). So, yes, I'm afraid you're paying 50% more than the normal price for one-third of the normal product. Well, it does come with its own suede-like slip case and extra-heavy chrome packaging which is also, unfortunately, a fingerprint magnet. I was surprised that the shelf life is printed as only 6 months, but I'm sure it will stay good for much longer than that as my Shimmer Bricks that were purchased more than 2 years ago are still fine.
What convinced me to splurge on this was the gorgeous array of shades in the Plum Shimmer Brick, which will work very well as a glowy blush. And I figured, even with the much reduced size, I have never finished another blush in my life, with the exception of MAC Angel. Plus it's (almost) Christmas :-)
This costs US$45 (about S$62), £42 (S$96) and RM180 (S$73.50) in the US, UK and Malaysia respectively. (Do click to view in full size.)
Like all Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks, these are "handmade individually in Italy".
Kose is going with a beige theme for both its spring collections for Visee and Beaute de Kose. Visee will release a new line of Glam Nude Eyes (1890yen) on 16 January in Japan:
N1: orange-toned beige
N2: pink beige
N3: brown and gold beige
N4: cool khaki beige
N5: smoky beige
Beaute de Kose will add three beige shades to its popular Eye Fantasist (2625yen) range on 2 January: BE352, BE355 and BE871. These are shades that were previously released as limited edition shades or as part of Christmas coffrets.
Pics and info from Biteki.com.
Prestige is holding its warehouse sale from today until Friday 4 December at 6 Jalan Kilang from 10.30am to 7pm. (It is opposite ABC Brickworks.) I had attended the sale previously in November last year so I knew roughly what to expect. There was another sale earlier this year but I skipped that.
I arrived there very early at about 9.30am as I had thought that the sale started at 10am. It was blazing hot and by 10am, a long queue had already formed. The sale started late as the staff took some time to get organised and unpack some late-arriving boxes, and then they held a prayer circle. Similar to last year, once the sale started, most ladies swamped the Paul & Joe and Givenchy makeup/skincare counters (these are the only two makeup brands that Prestige distributes) and the 2-3 staff manning each counter ended up having to serve a few customers at the same time. It was only awhile later that the staff asked a queue to be formed for the P&J counter.
The selection is less extensive than last year as there was no loose powder, pressed powder, bags, pouches or the latest products like the Lip Lacquers. Instead, the selection comprised mainly discontinued items or limited edition items from past seasonal collections such as the Collection Sparkles lipsticks and eyeshadows from Autumn 07 & 08 and Spring 08. They also had the cream foundation, a foundation in a white compact, creamy powder compact foundation, eyeshadow singles, soap dish, round mirror, lip liners, lipgloss, eye gloss, pearl powders, refreshing leg lotion and treatment oil. I didn't see what was available at Givenchy makeup/skincare as the counter was too crowded.
Again, like last year, it was not very well-organised and the long slow queue for the cashier is very frustrating. But given the deep discounts, especially on the perfumes, the Prestige sales remain popular and one should not expect to shop in an department store-like environment. For example, of the 2 cashiers, only 1 was working this morning. The queue for the cashier was horrendously long and slow.
One tip for those buying Paul & Joe/Givenchy, after you pick your items, they are packed into ziplock bags and you are given a piece of paper with a number (unlike perfumes which you can take and put in your basket). The ziplock bags are then transferred to a small room behind the cashier. So before queueing up at the cashier, go retrieve your ziplock bag from the room first and verify your items. Otherwise if you queue up and get to the cashier without the ziplock bag, they will make you go out of the queue to get the bag. When I got to the cashier, first they could not find my ziplock bag. And then after they finally found it, I had to get back in the queue, only to be stuck behind two ladies who insisted on splitting their purchases into several payments, argued with the staff over the correct price (a difference of 50 cents), had items with no bar codes etc.
The staff are generally quite helpful though, with many staff on hand to help you test the perfumes. I left my handphone at the cashier desk by mistake and when I drove back to get it, the staff promptly found it and returned it to me, for which I was deeply grateful.
I picked up the Nail Enamel #1 (S$8), Stick Concealers #1 and #2 (S$20 each), Lipsticks CS #56, #57 and Lipstick L #2 (S$12 each), Gap Body Mists in Dream, Dream More, So Pink and Heaven (S$12 each except for Dream which is S$18), and Moschino Hippy Fizz (S$19, 30ml) and a FCUK Him (S$18, 100ml).
I wasn't sure which shade of the concealer suited me so I just picked the two lightest shades, figuring that I can always blend them if necessary. This is the discontinued version, which has been replaced with Stick Concealer N.
The lipsticks with the red face and beige &green/cat packaging are from the Spring '08 collection, "Bonbon Factory". These cost S$37 originally, I think. The red lipstick is from Holiday '08 and originally retailed at above S$40.
Some pics of the fragrances on offer.
Mango
Gap
Givenchy
Jessica Simpson
Paris Hilton
Click on the pic to read the details on the makeover event and GWP.
theBalm is a niche US makeup brand that arrived in Sasa stores in Singapore awhile ago but I only chanced across it today at the Wisma Atria store. My buddy, The Muse adores this brand deeply and I trust her taste, so I knew it'd be good. Do check out her truckload of reviews on theBalm products.
The display is right at the entrance.
The price range is quite affordable with products ranging from S$13+ for a small brush to S$42+ for the timeBalm foundation. The difference in prices between Singapore and the US is also just a few dollars. Once you add in the US sales tax, it makes more sense just to purchase it at Sasa where you can test out the products before buying. Here's a brief comparison:
Overshadow S$26.90 vs US$15 (S$20.72)
Stainiac (cheek and lip stain) S$25.90 vs US$15 (S$20.72)
Hot Mama shadow/blush S$29.90 vs US19 (S$26.24)
Shady Lady S$24.90 vs US$16 (S$22.10)
I was quite impressed by the texture of the ShadyLady eyeshadows although some shades felt silkier and more pigmented than others. My favourite was the shimmery blackened emerald Jealous Jordana, which felt very similar to the best of Stila's shimmery eyeshadows.
The round pots are the OverShadow loose mineral shimmer powder. The Pick Up Liners come in sets of three mini eyeliner pencils but I felt that the pencils were a bit too hard, definitely not as soft as, say, MAC Pearlglide liners. The extremely short length also means that it's a bit tricky to hold and apply, especially after it's been worn down after some use.
The Muse was on the hunt for the Cabana Boy and it turned out to be every bit as gorgeous as she said it was. It's a gorgeous rosy pink shimmery blush, with a texture that is very similar to NARS blushes. But Sexy Mama and Bahama Mama did not impress me. Sexy Mama is a bit chalky when swatched while Bahama Mama looked quite dull.
I didn't buy anything today as I wanted to compare the prices with the US retail prices to make sure they were not a rip-off. Overall, the brand reminded me of Benefit and Too Faced because of the whimsical cardboard packaging. I'll probably go back for the Cabana Boy blush soon!
There was also a big shelf display devoted to Shills but to be honest, I don't know much about the brand. Plus I'm not into the whole BB creams thing. There was also a Palgantong powder display. This is supposed to be very popular but I didn't find it that special when I tried it.
I received a couple of requests to do an EOTD with the new Lunasol Lighting For Eyes EX05 White Lighting from the 2009 holiday coffret so here's my first attempt at using it today.
The Lighting For Eyes series, launched a few years ago, helped to establish Lunasol's reputation as the go-to brand for eyeshadow palettes in Japan. Since then, the holiday coffret has always include a Lighting For Eyes palette. To be honest, it's not my favourite series as I prefer the texture of Sheer Contrast Eyes and the new Star Shower Eyes. As shown in the pic below, the quad consists of a Highlight Color (C), Medium Color (B), Lighting Powder (D) and Shadow Color (A). The Highlight, Medium and Shadow Colors have a lovely silky texture that is easy to blend but the Lighting Powder is just a glittery mess. The Lighting Powder is meant to be applied last with one's finger in the middle of the lid for added sparkle, but I find the glitter bits do not adhere well and instead, fall all over the place.
I applied the icy white shade with the brush applicator over the brow bone area, then used the fat sponge applicator to apply the pink shade in the crease and then the slim sponge applicator to line the upper lid with the dark grey shade and the lower lid with the pink shade. I didn't have time to use the rest of the products in the coffret.
Overall, I would say the palette is easily wearable for most ladies and it produces a sweet feminine look that is perfect for every day wear but if you want to be more adventurous, then Lunasol has other more dramatic and interesting quads than this one. The shades are probably easily duped as well. I was glad that the pink shade actually showed up quite well and contrasted against the white shade as I hate palettes where the pale shades are indistinguishable from one another when applied.
If you would like to see swatches of all the products, check out this Taiwanese blog. She did a lovely smokey eye with it.
If you're interested in reading more about the brand history, do check out my earlier post translating a Voce magazine article on Lunasol.
According to this FANet post, the new line of Givenchy Le Prisme Yeux that will debut in January each contain an eyeshadow shade in 4 different finishes. Using the latest technology, the eyeshadow particles have been reduced to just one-fifth of the original size for a silky and soft finish. The four textures (from top left of the compact in a clockwise direction) are:
1. matte: pure, pigmented and silky
2. light pearly: made with 20% mother-of-pearl for an elegant finish
3. intense pearly: made with 45% mother-of-pearl for a gorgeous finish
4. spangle :made with shimmer particles that are larger than the normal mother-of-pearl
These can also be used to create a gradational effect. Due out on 15 January in Japan, the 16 shades will retail for 3780yen each.
