Mini Coffret Dor Haul

Happy Valentines Day! I did some shopping today and one of the places I went to was the Kanebo counter to look at the Coffret Dor line. After Fuz listed Coffret Dor as one of her favourites, I decided to give the makeup line another try. So far, I've only got their Christmas 08 Party Coffret palette and I wasn't too happy with the eyeshadow texture. Today's shopping experience was good! I found the colours very attractive and bought the Winter 08 eyeshadow palette (really smooth, like Fuz said, very different from the party palette) and some items recommended by the SA which I might not have purchased otherwise. There was a gift-with-purchase promo of a set of skincare and a bag, but I didn't want the skincare so I was given some makeup instead. Such an accomodating SA! I think I saw the Spring 09 collection, but maybe not. I'm not sure. Th SA told me these are new colours but I don't think so. There'll be a special makeup promotion in March, when a Japanese MA will be in Singapore, so I think maybe that's when the Spring collection will launch here? I heard the Shiseido Macquillage Spring 09 collection will also arrive in Singapore only later in Feb or early March. Anyway, I might review the items one-by-one later. For now, I'll show you what I got. The Winter 08 eyeshadow palette in purple-grey, blue liquid eyeliner (it is dark blue when drawn on the skin) and a lipstick (very sheer and moisturising, not at all like those thick lipsticks that I'm afraid of). The gifts: Quite a useable bag, a makeup pouch, Testimo (eyeshadow, lipstick), Coffret Dor (mini/tester size powder) and Kate (nail polish). Oh and I was at the Kinokuniya magazine section and spotted a shelf full of Japanese magazines related to Korean TV and Korean male actors! Incredible! I never realised!!! © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Japanese Cosmetic Counter Brands (Part 2): Kanebo

This is a continuation of my Japanese Cosmetic Counter Brands review. The last time I wrote about Shiseido counters I visited and today, I will report on Kanebo. Kanebo, BHG, Bugis Junction I went to Kanebo specifically to look for makeup and nothing else. I had not done any reading up on their skincare. At BHG, Bugis Junction, I walked around and tested everything on the Kanebo counters and was excited to see Kate available there but there was no SA around. About 1o minutes later, the SA appeared and started talking to me about the Coffret Dor Limited Party Palettes for Christmas 2008. She told me the purple Sweet Dressy set was sold out and I should get the Noble Dressy set because it was very worth it. Eventually she wasn't pushy at all and left me to decide what I wanted. In some ways it was good that she walked away because it gave me space to think. Not all SAs are polite like that, so in that way, she was a relatively good SA. Kanebo Takashimaya I visited this counter twice, the first time on a weekday morning when I was on leave and the second time on a weekday night, the following day, after I decided I wanted to get the Lunasol Party Coffret. On the first visit, the SA I spoke to was polite but distant because she was busy helping out a couple of regulars with colours and also filling out forms for a makeover promo that was happening that week. She showed me all the makeup items I wanted to see and let me try everything, plus explained to me about the prices even though she was really busy. She didn't show any distaste or frustration when I told her I'll come back later after I've made my decision. On the second visit, it was a different SA who was also busy but she was equally helpful. In fact, she took some time out to help me decide between colours and the various Kanebo sets. I initially wanted to get a Lunasol palette but she told me why not just get the Party sets because they are newer colours. She advised that the palette I wanted was much darker and from last year's Winter collection, so if I really wanted something with a fresher look, I could try this year's Winter colours instead. Overall, she was a very good SA, and I ended up buying both the Coffret Dor Sweet Dressy Party Palette and the Lunasol Winter Party Coffret, which I reviewed previously in another post.

Conclusion about Kanebo

Overall, I found my experience with Kanebo's SAs quite positive. I liked the Kanebo Takashimaya SAs best, fortunately, because from what I understand, it's the only counter that carries Lunasol. I even recommended a friend, Pinky, to visit Takashimaya's Kanebo counter when she experienced bad service from the Robinsons' Centrepoint Kanebo counter while searching for skincare.

However, I'm again disappointed the SAs did not offer any samples without me asking. And I suspect even if I ask, I won't get any samples. I think I'm spoilt by my experiences at counters like Fancl, Korean cosmetic stores and even Jurlique and Lush. I'm extremely spoilt by my experiences shopping in Taipei where samples are given freely for any cosmetics I purchase.

I must make an additional comment about Coffret Dor's Sweet Dressy Party Palette. After I reviewed it, I've used that palette several other times and my opinion of the palette has changed a little. When I use the Eye Fantasist as a base, the Sweet Dressy palette is actually very useable, not powdery at all and the colours show through better, so, I begin to like it quite a bit and I think I can consider looking at Kanebo's other eye makeup items.

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Kose Eye Fantasist, Kanebo Lunasol and Coffret Dor Report

I have no photos of my eyes for this report, because I realised the camera phone isn't able to pick up the colours at all, even if I wore heavy eye colours! (And I don't have time to take nice photos in the morning with my DSLR ... rushing to work) ... And also ... I'd prefer to avoid showing my face or any parts of it ... But I wanted to make some personal comparisons and evaluations about the eyeshadows from Kose (Eye Fantasist) and Kanebo (Lunasol and Coffret Dor Party Palette) that I bought the other day. I've included some swatches on my arm for sample. I'm beginning to think maybe I've bought colours which might be too light for my skin tone but for my eyes, I feel colours that are too dark darken them even more ... Hard to find a balance ... (Also, my skin tone is not as yellow and dark as it seems in the photos here. I can't seem to adjust them to get the acurate colour ... but the yellow light helps to bring out the eyeshadow colours a little more.) On to the reports ...

Kose Eye Fantasist (Moonstone/BE353) For both times I used the eyeshadow palettes, I used Kose Eye Fantasist (SG$30plus) liquid eyeshadow (shown above) as a base (I was inspired by Bittenbefore!). The Kose SA recommended me Moonstone/BE353. She told me my eyes are too dark and need something to brighten them. I really found it helped to brighten my eyelids and give them a "lift" as the colour is neutral but bright enough and there is very subtle shimmer that lasts through the day. I found that with this as a base, eyeshadow colours were more "visible" on my lids, compared to other times when I did not use any base, even if I did use concealer to hide my dark circles on my eyelids. So it was a good thing to have bought Eye Fantasist as a base ! I'm so in love with it, I have decided I need to go back and buy 2 more colours I was eyeing. Maybe next month, as I've busted my personal "beauty" budget already. Kanebo Coffret Dor (Sweet Dressy - Limited Party Palette Christmas 2008) Next, I will talk about Coffret Dor Sweet Dressy Palette. (Eyeshadow on the right, lip glosses on the left). It costs SG$50plus. After alot of indecision, I bought Coffret Dor's party set because I really liked the case and I liked the idea of having lip colours together with the palette. I chose the Sweet Dressy purplish-pink palette in the end, because I thought it might be useful to try more "colourful" and sweet colours instead of my usual muted/natural eyeshadow preferences. I used the eyeshadow on Tuesday and I found the colours helped give me a light and fresh feeling. I might have piled on too much eyeshadow though, because I found my eyes very irritated by the eyeshadow powder. It floated into my eyes through the day and I had watery eyes the entire day. As for the lip colours, they are very sheer and moisturising. However, even though I'm a lipgloss user (I dislike the feel of lipsticks), I still find the Coffret Dor lip glosses are too light and lack staying power. I do like the colours but I think they might be a bit too "young" (bright+shimmery) and light for me. I also think I should have gone with the Noble Dressy combination instead as I originally intended. But overall, it's a good option to have, perhaps for use on weekends, casual Fridays or on days when I need some cheering up. Lunasol Winter 2008 Limited Party Coffret - Eyeshadow Palette In comparison to Coffret Dor, I truly *LOVE* Lunasol, which is the 4-colour palette eye shadow from Lunasol's Limited winter release Party Coffret 2008. Firstly, when I used the Lunasol eyeshadow palette today, I found the colours more suitable for me. I love the subtleness of the colours, which make me look fresh yet, not overly madeup. The eyeshadow is very fine and goes on smoothly, not powdery at all, even though it is a powder eyeshadow. I had an intention to look for better eyeshadow that doesn't hurt my sensitive eyes, but I never realised something like Lunasol is possible. I might have been just buying too much cheap eyeshadow. I confess right now, that I am completely sold on the quality of Lunasol. This quality was not so evident when I tested the shadow on the back of my hands, but is completely evident when I apply the shadow to my eyelids.

The party coffret is selling for SG$90plus for the whole set of eyeshadow palette, liquid eyeliner, blusher, nail polish all contained inside a gold purse (There's a picture of it in an older post below). Overall, I find it very worth while, because an eyeshadow palette from Lunasol is already SG$70plus.

Conclusion Overall, I found my favourite combination in Eye Fantasist as a base and Lunasol eyeshadow for colours. While I like the freshness of Coffret Dor's colours in the party palette I bought, I might not be buying anymore Coffret Dor. I think I will keep my money to buy Lunasol in future. I will talk about the hairsprays I bought in another post. I do have some reports on them! :D

Shopping And More Shopping!

I went shopping yesterday determined to buy some Japanese cosmetics but though I spent more than 2 hours walking about trying the colours, I ended up not getting any. I did have a thought I might still go back and try out Lunasol and Coffret Dor again, just to satisfy my yearnings. I don't understand why I am so hesitant. (But there's a later development from today ... which you can find out if you read on ...)

Anyway first, about yesterday though. I found a good concealer and powder surprisingly, from Mac! Why do I say surprisingly? I say that because I always thought Mac is not suitable for me, because it seemed so American-focussed and I thought their colours will be more for Western skintones than Asian. But I was totally wrong. I went to the Mac counter after checking out Japanese cosmetic counters and Bobbi Brown, so I was thinking, I will try my luck with Mac. Interestingly, I spent only 2 minutes talking to the counter girl about concealer and powder, and in my heart had already decided I will buy those colours she recommended. Even before she let me try them on my face! So, when she said, "Let's try on your face," I had full confidence it will be a match and truly, they were good matches, plus the concealer is both moisturising and conceals well. I used both this morning, the powder over my Legere BB cream and felt my face looked very smooth, finished yet natural (I apply with a brush). I'm now a huge Mac fan and convert. I believe I will keep buying these base products in future as they are both good and not that pricey for the quality and great finish they produce. And will probably explore their colours too in future. In addition, I cut my hair and bought some hair products in the effort to try give my hair some volume. I can't help my hairloss. It runs in the family on my mom's side, we all lose hair early, but I could try to do the best with what I have. I bought velcro rollers to roll my hair after I showder in the morning, to create some volume. I am trying to avoid heating products like hair dryers to hopefully keep whatever hair I have left, in a healthy condition. My hair dries very fast anyway, due to the lack of it. LOL! I also bought hair spray that I saw on Bittenbefore's blog - Air Arrange! And more stuff... here's a photo of all the things I bought yesterday! I overspent, truly! (How could I have spent so much on so little???) I have to say, the clay(?) shampoo is really good! It doesn't foam very much but cleans off everything without stripping the hair dry. It says alot that I've found this a good shampoo, because I have really oily scalp but limp and dry hair that's really a terror to manage (bad hair days everyday). This shampoo doesn't have sodium lauryl sulfate. Maybe that's the key. Anyway today, I was so stressed at work, so right after I completed all my work at the end of the work day, I ran out of the office and drove straight to Takashimaya. Then, I immediately bought the Kose and Kanebo items I fought against buying yesterday ... And though I feel I've spent waaaaaaay too much, I feel so contented now ...