Kanebo Lunasol Star Shower Eyes 05

Star Shower Eyes is Kanebo Lunasol's new Fall 2009 collection. There are 5 palettes and I picked the neutral color 05 - Close of Night. Many reviewers picked 03 or 04. 03 is a blue and green palette and I would buy it just by looking at the other people's reviews. But I'm not a fan of blue color eye palette. I've purchased a few but they don't seem to look right on me... My friend picked this up for me from Hong Kong. If you purchase it online, it can range from $49 to $67.  The packaging is the same as the other Lunasol palettes, nothing special. Inside the box, the palette is wrapped with a styrofoam to protect the palette. Good for me who depend on mail orders.;)

The palette is pretty shimmery. Let's take a look at the swatches:

(1) is an orange base color. It reminds me of the orange base color in the Estee Lauder's Caramel Truffle palette. Lunasol has all the sparkles and the orange color is slightly brighter. See there's a star logo on the upper left corner. I will just let it stay there. ;)

(2) is a white golden frosty shimmer and can be used for highlight your brow bone area. I like to put a little bit of this in the middle of my eye lid.

(3) I mix this along with (4). (4) is a darker color and when the two mix together, the color looks more like a dark olive green. Pretty interesting.

Overall, I think this palette is pretty versatile. The sparkles in this palette are very nice... I love it!

Beauty Maker AquaEye Concealer

I have tried Bobbi Brown's concealers like Eye Brightener (light), Face Touch Up Stick (Sand), and Creamy Concealer. I'm currently still using their eye brightener and touch up stick. Too bad the Touch up stick cannot be used for the under eye area because it contains clay that may dry up your skin. Otherwise, that will be perfect for me. It's very convenient.

BeautyMaker AquaEye concealer is made in Taiwan and has 3 shades. The product line is targeted to the Taiwan market mainly but you can find this concealer on several websites for less than $14. Inside the box, there's a white pamphlet printed in Chinese about the whole product line. Here's the description of the product: "it's developed specifically for use under and around the eye area. The ingredients help counteract shadows, reduce redness, hide dark circles and other imperfections and give skin a more even tone. Long-lasting coverage builds from moderate to full."

One interesting thing I found was the ingredients listed on the box and the back of the actual product are inconsistent. Perhaps I don't quite understand the chemical terms listed at the back to tell whether it's inaccurate or what. And the expiration dates are different (36 months vs 24 months). Well, you probably will finish this 3 grams of concealer up in less than 2 years. ;) I would throw away after a year or so for sanitary reasons.

In terms of the texture and consistency, it's not as thick as the Bobbi Brown's creamy concealer. I don't use my finger to pad onto my undereye area and use a concealer brush instead. It's easy to put it on and as you dab, it becomes dry and turns into a powder form. I find that quite interesting. You don't really need  powder to keep it on. Because it's slightly dry after you put it on, I don't recommend using this if your under eye area already have developed fine dry lines. Coverage is pretty good though, see before and after pics for a comparison. Btw, that's a mosquito bite mark that lasts over a month.

Kate Reflect Mirror Eyes PU-2

Kanebo Kate Reflect Mirror Eyes is their new Fall 09' collection and you can get one from some beauty websites between $16 to $18. I saw this PU-2 on the August More magazine and thought it looks kinda good. I have been buying Kate's eyeshadows ever since my friend bought me one years ago. Its quality is no different than some of the department store brands and very reasonably priced. Their eyeshadows usually have high pigmentation and the texture is smooth. Love it!

Since I have accumulated a few Kate's eyeshadows, particularly the brown palettes, I got this PU-2 instead. I am not sure if I like so much about this palette because it's quite sheer. A bit different than the other Kate palettes. Let me show you the swatches:

 

This palette has 3 colors; more of a purple grey combination and all have shimmers. I would use (1) as a base for eyelid. The pigmentation on (1) is not so great because it's sheer. I put on a few layers on to make it show on this picture. (2) is quite nice and most pigmented out of the three. (3) probably can be used as an eyeliner or used on your eyes' outer corner for a more dramatic look.  If you are not into heavy makeup and want something more natural, this will be a nice palette. I wore that for work the other day and looked kinda nice. :)

Beauty Package

My best friend helped me got a few things from Hong Kong. Here they are:

1. A Koji Makeup Mascara Protector Comb. Got this only because to qualify for free shipping to my friend's place. Will figure out how to use that later. The comb is sort of wide. I hope I don't poke my eyes.
   
2. Beauty Maker Aqua Eye Concealer - Bright (lightest shade).
   
3. Kanebo Lunasol Star Shower Eyes 05 - Close of Night
4. Jill Stuart Jelly Eye Color 08
5. Coffret D'or GY-37
6. Coffret D'or GY-45
7. Sasa nail sticker

Out of all the stuffs I got, I like Jill Stuart jelly eye color the best. The Lunasol palette is quite good because of its earthy tone. Will review some of them individually later...

Lunasol Lighting For Eyes 03

I have heard a lot of good things about Kanebo Lunasol eye shadows. It costs quite a bit to ship from Asia to the US, and so I don't feel like purchasing it at all. The average price on the web may cost from $45 to over $60. Bobodave had this item on sale earlier with free shipping, so I ordered it right away.

The palette itself is quite natural. Each shade has sheer shimmer on it. If you use just the top two colors (1&2), it probably won't show much other than people will see you have something on. The bottom left shade (3) has some purple sparkles and can be used for smoky eyes or just a liner. The bottom right (4) silver color is very sparkly. You can dab a bit over your lid or use to line the inner corners of your eyes. Keep in mind the sparkles are quite big; you don't wanna put too much.

Here's a swatch for your reference:

In terms of the texture, I like it because it's quite silky and smooth. I would prime my eye lids and this palette will stay on most of the day.