Review: Lunasol Modeling Cheek - EX01 Soft Pink

Lunasol came out with two limited cheek colors along with their 3 Dimensional Eye Shadows for the Fall 2011 collection. After reading several Taiwanese bloggers on the eye shadows review and swatches, I've decided not to buy them. It's just too pricey for an eye shadow palette and they are mostly neutral tones ($60??? even though it contains 8 colors). For a person who already has a ton of neutral palettes, it's okay to pass their Fall collection. What caught my eyes is their limited blush. It comes in coral and pink (as seen in the pic). I spent about $33 on this. You can purchase the case for about $14 separately but I totally didn't realize until I hit the submit order button. Anyways, I figure I rarely bring a blush out unless I'm on travel, and the product has a sturdy plastic box to hold it, so having a compact case is not so necessary.  Besides, I am glad I didn't spend another $14 just for the case. If I have a few of these, I will consider getting an Unii palette.

I didn't do a swatch because they are pretty light colors. If I swatch it hard on my hand, that will not be a true reflection on how it supposes to look on your cheeks. You suppose to blend the color out and create a natural look. Looks pretty nice for lighter skin tone and I don't know if it will show on darker skin tone. The pearl and beige color on the right have shimmers in it, so they will be good for highlights.

Swatches & Review: Chanel Fall 2011 Illusion D' Ombre ~ 85 Mirifique

Chanel Illusion D' Ombre is Chanel's Fall 2011 long wear luminous eye shadow collection. It comes in 6 colors. Each costs $36. Very pricey but its texture is something quite unique compared to other cream eye shadows I've tried. When I purchase things now, they have to be something I don't have and relatively unique. I don't purchase the entire line of products just to collect and stock them. 


I got 85 Mirifique, which is a black cream eye shadow with fine sliver glitters. The Chanel sales manager at Nordstrom highly recommended this coz I was contemplating about 83 Illusoire and this. It comes in a glass jar, engraved with the Chanel logo and contains 4g of products. I don't know if I will ever use up this eye shadow. It does have a 12 month expiration date once you opened it. 

I didn't use flash on my pictures but you can still see the sliver glitters from the jar. The shadow comes with a brush. I must say this brush is the best one I've used so far for drawing lines.

The brush is about 3.5 inches long when you remove the cap and attach to the end of the brush. When you close the cap, it's 2 1/8 inches long. It's pretty compact if you need to carry this with you and do some touch up. For me, this stays home coz I will lose it if I carry it around.


Let me also show you a comparison between this brush and the Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine Eye Liner Brush, so you have an idea how compact this is.

And here's the swatches ( the bottom line is 1 swipe to show you when apply as an eye shadow and I've reapplied twice on the top as a liner):

This eye shadow is not an intense black; rather sheer but yet can build to the color you need. If you use a cotton swab to swatch it at the counter, you may think it's a very intense black. Anyways, you can control how intense you want it to be. I've used it both as an eye liner and as an eye shadow. Just a dab will do. Be careful of fall outs though. You may want to put a tissue on your under eye area when you apply. It's long wear and I've tried wearing it without NARS shadow primer and could last for about 3-4 hours without any crease. For my oily lids, I would use an eye shadow primer just to be safe and keep the color vibrant and long lasting throughout the day. 


Btw, after I used this for a week, I couldn't resist and ordered 83 Illusoire as well... ;)

Swatches: Butter London Fall 2011 - Toff

I own a few Butter London nail polishes and Toff is my latest purchase. Got it at Ulta for $14. This time the store coupon did not work... Oh well...

There's a little bird imprint on the cap. Cute details.

This color is very nice. Butter London says it's a darker, dustier, brownish variation in a rose pink. Depending on the lighting, sometimes it looks like chocolate brown and other times it may look more plum. 

Here's a picture with yellow lighting:

And this one was taken during day time under natural lighting:

Lip Balm Reviews: Smith's Rosebud Salve and Jack Black Black Tea & Blackberry

My lips feel very dry and chapped if I don't wear any lip balm. I use up a lip balm pretty quickly; usually lasts 2 months or so. I always search for a good lip balm, so don't have to reapply all the time. A lot of people recommend Carmex lip balm but I cannot stand the smell. Feels like putting an ointment on my lips. Currently my favorites are Smith's Rosebud Salve in a tube and Jack Black Intense Therapy with SPF25.

Day time: Jack Black Intense Therapy SPF 25 in Black Tea & Blackberry  $7.50, 0.25oz/7g
Ingredients: Shea Butter, Avocado Oil, Black Current Seed Oil, Green Tea Leaf Extract and Vitamin E, Octinoxate 7.5%, and Avobenzone 3.0%. Made in USA.


Jack Black product line is primarily for men but Sephora sales highly recommended their lip balm. It comes in 5 flavors but I don't really care for that. Actually would be nice to have one without any scent. What's good about this lip balm is very moisturizing and has SPF 25. Hard to find a good lip balm with SPF. I've used a bunch of drugstore products but those just cannot compare to this. Because this product has active sunscreen ingredients, I do not keep this in my car and put in my purse instead.


Night time: Smith's Rosebud Salve $6, 0.5oz/15ml
Ingredients: Cotton Seed oil + Trade secret blend of essential oils in a special petrolatum base. Made in USA.


I don't use Jack Black at night coz no need to wear sunscreen when I'm asleep. zzzzz I like this just the same as Jack Black and only use it at home or before bedtime. It smells like rose but can't smell it after I applied. My lips feel pretty moisturized when I wake up each day. 


The sales at Sephora said she prefers Jack Black to Smith's Rosebud Salve but if you don't care for the SPF, I would suggest Smith's Rosebud because you can get twice as much product. 

Swatches: Essie Fall 2011 Collection

Fall is just around the corner. Where's my Summer? This summer has been chilly around here. We are getting some sun lately but Fall is just around the corner??

I went to Ulta the other day and saw Essie came out with a new Fall collection. The best way to try them is to get the mini size ones without breaking your wallet. They are 1/3 size of the regular bottles. The retail cost for the 4 mini bottle set is $17.

From left to right:

• Power Clutch (Dark Grey)
• Carry On (Dark Plum)
• Very Structured (Rich Brown - Essie calls it "Burnt Sienna")
• Lady Like (Muted Pink, Mauvy color)

I love all of them!! Much better than the OPI Touring America line. Let's look at the swatches. Sorry didn't do the swatches on my fingers, coz they are quite fragile these days, so I only repaint my nails when they chip. That will take forever to swatch, and I can't wait to share this with you, so...

My favorite color out of this line is Lady Like. I painted on my toes but probably be too weird to post online. LOL. 

This pink probably is the best one for my skin tone besides OPI Steady As She Rose (btw some people say Steady As She Rose has purple but it shows up pink on my nails.)

Review: Shiseido Tsubaki Water

I've tried all the Shiseido Tsubaki hair products. They have a red, white, and head spa (gold) bottles. Red is too thick for me. I've used White Damaged Care line for about 6 months and like it but tends to have build up, so I interchange with other shampoos and conditioners. Then, their 3rd Head Spa line came along, so I am permanent with using Head Spa shampoo and the White Damaged Care conditioner.


My hair is getting pretty long. It's about 23 inches from the top to the bottom. The White Damaged Care line has released a new Tsubaki water. I ordered it on ebay like a month ago. Can't remember how much I paid but it's around $10 with shipping.

It smells heavenly and has a floral scent. It contains camellia oil, so helps to nourish your hair. I spray the mist on hair ends about 5-6 inches to prevent them from getting dried. I usually use it before blow dry my hair.