Fall Collections: Anna Sui, Laduree, Addiction and Sonia Rykiel

Below are pics tweeted by the Maquia editor of the Anna Sui reformulated eyeshadow lineup to be released on 2 August and the Ladurée fall collection, Forest Symphony, debuting on 20 July. The new eyeshadow line by Anna Sui is quite a surprise considering that they only just reformulated the eyeshadows two years ago in fall 2010. There will also be a case that can fit three eyeshadow singles. The bottom row of the display looks like cream highlighter and base shades.


Sonia Rykiel has a Daisy Duck collection to be released on 3 August. See pics here, here, here, here and here.

The ad visual for the Addiction Desert Rose fall collection from Kokusaishogyo. See a pic of Coal Eyeliner here.

Les Jardins du Chateau de Vullierens

On this sunny spring day, we visited Vuillerens chateau near Lausanne that is famous for its iris gardens, numbering around 400 varieties. Started in the 1950s by the American owner, it is open only from 5 May to 17 June.

We arrived early just after the opening time of 9am, which was perfect as there were hardly any other visitors around. It was a truly mesmerizing sight, nature in its most glorious splendour. The chateau is set amidst rolling fields of wheat, overlooking a vineyard.




The frilly voluptuous petals have a satiny sheen that glistens in the sun. (Click on the pics to view in higher resolution.)











Every shade of purple could be seen, from pale lilac to bright lavender to blackened amethyst.















Hope you've enjoyed this virtual walk through the gardens!

Visee Glam Pink Eyes

Visee will release five Glam Pink Eyes eyeshadow quads (1680yen) on 16 June in Japan.

The pic below shows PK3 and PK4.

Jill Stuart Patisserie Collection

Jill Stuart will release a Patisserie Collection on 13 July in Japan. It includes five Custard Lip Pots, Mix Blush Compacts #107 Fig Tart and 108 Berry Tiramisu, five lipglosses and three nail polishes, all in special white packaging. All of the products should be limited edition. See the pics on Chiaki Cosmetic Column and Naoto Kimu's blog.

Operation Use It Up

This month, I managed to finish up several full-sized products (finally!).

1. Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Advanced Classic is a special edition featuring illustrations by Moyoco Anno from the Tokyo Kamon Girls collection. This melts off the toughest waterproof makeup in a jiffy. A 450ml bottle lasts about 3 months with daily use (at three pumps per application). I still have two bottles from this collection, which is why I only purchased one bottle from the recent Mame Chiyo collection.

2. Jurlique Balancing Foaming Cleanser is a gentle cleanser that works well as it does not strip my skin or leave it feeling tight. I use this on its own as well as with my Clarisonic Mia. However, it's just too pricey for a face cleanser at S$64. I purchased this only because there was a 50% discount at Robinsons at that time. It contains many herbal extracts and essential oils, which can be irritating for some people.


3. The Body Shop Chocomania Body Scrub provides decent exfoliating action but it seems to melt away quite fast so I ended up having to use quite a lot of product. The 50ml pot lasted less than three uses for me. I also did not like the chocolate scent of this, which is a bit like chocolate milk that has been left out too long. Philosophy does much more delicious-smelling chocolate shower gels .


4. I had high hopes for the Lush Dreamwash which is a calamine-based calming shower soap, as the skin on my shins have been especially irritated of late after the dry winter. However, this did not have a significant effect and it also left my skin feeling slightly dry afterwards.

5. Lush is famous for their Fresh Face Masks which are made with lots of fresh fruits and other food ingredients. Cosmetic Warrior is targeted at acne-prone skin. It has an invigorating tea tree scent and kaolin to help draw out impurities. It left my skin feeling very smooth and cleansed afterwards, but I still do get acne thereafter. The 75g pot looks small but this provided six generous uses for me. Also, if you return five clean pots to Lush in the UK, you get another one for free. The pots are recycled to make new pots.

6. Soap & Glory Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths are touted as 3-in-1 cleansing, toning and skin smoothing cloths. These did not impress me at all as the cloths were not sufficiently moist. Cleansing cloths in general do not remove all traces of makeup so I still prefer to use either a cleansing oil or micellar cleanser like Bioderma, which are faster and more effective.


7. The Body Shop Morinaga shower gel is pretty standard. It lathers up easily and has a soothing floral scent that is not too heavy or cloying.

8. Rituals Sereni-tea comes out of the bottle as an incredibly rich foam that feels luxurious on the skin. The clean green tea and cherry blossom scent is nicely relaxing although I still prefer the mandarin scent of Fujiyama.

9. Dove Intense Repair Overnight Treatment helps to tame the frizz somewhat but it did significantly improve the fundamental state of my hair, which is very dry currently after the last dye job. I prefer to use a hair oil, which makes my locks sleeker and more manageable.


10. Essential Rich Premier Shampoo is the worst shampoo that I've ever used. I was quite surprised by this as I used a previous version of it some years ago and quite liked it. This left me with an itchy scalp that then proceeded to break out in several spots, which is something I've never experienced with other shampoos.


11. Daiso Sponge Detergent is a staple for cleaning my sponges and foundation brushes. It removes the powder, liquid and cream foundations much faster than MAC Brush Cleanser. Plus it's incredibly cheap at just S$2.

I also used up the three LoveMore My Melody masks that Elaine gifted me recently. These were good for combating skin flakes, leaving the skin feeling plumped and soothed. I also finished three candles from Archipelago Botanicals and Slatkin & Co.. The Sparkling Mojito from Slatkin was a bit too vanilla sweet.