Esprique Precious Glamourous Glossy Eyes

I opened up my mail loot yesterday and used my tube of Esprique Precious Glamourous Glossy Eyes (EPGGE) this morning. I don't have a habit of "saving" my stuff. If I have them I should use them or they are wasted, aren't they? LOL. My Thoughts Texture: Very smooth and easy to blend. Dries down to a comfortable smooth finish, not cakey. Colours: The colour I got was BR 31. I find it very convenient to have 2 colours perfectly matched for me in a tube. I like how easy it is to create an easy and casual look with these 2 colours. The colours are also very flattering and natural looking on me. They brighten up my usually dull eye area with the shine and shimmer. Pigmentation: Sheer but I only need to use a little to get good payoff. I can actually see the colours on my eyes! I always thought my problem was my application methods eg. because I didn't use enough powder e/s, I don't really get alot of colour payoff. With this tube of EPGGE, I can see colour. EPGGE made me reconsider, because of how good it looks, I now think some of my powder e/s are simply not good enough or perhaps the wrong colour for me. Lasting Power: Lasting. No need to reapply. I have so far only used Kose's liquid e/s, such as Eye Fantasist. Generally, Kose's liquid e/s is very lasting and EPGGE is not different. Final Verdict: Personally, I like the way liquid eyeshadow (e/s) doesn't crease/fade so much as powder e/s. For me, liquid e/s is also less irritating, as no powders fall into my eyes. I'm also not good at makeup, so anything that does not require precision is best for me, and liquid e/s gives me just that right touch of ease in application. So, overall, I love EPGGE and I'm tempted to try get all the other colours too! I'm so looking forward to Esprique arriving in Singapore shores! Can't wait. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Not Fated To Use Kose Skin Care

Be prepared for scary skin pictures (edit: ugh, I felt my skin looked too gross, so I've removed the photos) ... I'm quite upset. My skin was fine for this week when I used the Biotherm creams and the Ultimation eye cream. Then yesterday morning, I started using the Ultimation lotion samples. It made my skin soft and hydrated, not oily, but this is what started happening last night and got worse this morning when I woke up ... Pimples, itchy scaly-dry skin and itchy bumpy rash, pores enlarged terribly ... I do have old enlarged pores from old pimples and probably from skin sag due to aging but this is a horrible worsening of my skin condition ... Look at the scaly skin near my driest areas around my mouth and cheeks! It seems to have gotten worse ... and turned into some kind of contact dermatitis!! OMG ... *photos removed It is exactly what happened to me when I used Sekkisei in the past, many years ago. Just to clarify, my skin used to be slightly oily but it is now no longer oily, it is now quite dry (you can see the dryness in some area) and that is why I need to look for hydrating skin care ... I may need to fall back on natural products ... looks like my skin is too sensitive to try products with advanced-tech ingredients ... *SOB* ... (ref my previous post about Jurlique ... looks like I need my Recovery Gel all the more now *SOB SOB!*). I was so determined to give Kose another try but it looks like the SAs were right when they seemed like they didn't want to sell me any of their skin care. They do know how to look at the skin and decide if it's suitable for their skin care products ... Good thing the Taka SA told me not to buy the lotion but try it with the samples first ... I did say I am dense in this way, didn't I? It took so long and so much for me to finally arrive at this conclusion and accept the truth that I am not fated to use Kose Skin Care ... luckily the eye cream and eye masks are still working out well ... But, you know what? I thought if the eye cream and masks are ok with Kose, it means it should be ok for the skin on the rest of the face too ... I don't quite get the logic behind this. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Photo Request: Astalution Eye Mask & Ultimation

I received a request for photos of Kose ASTALUTION Eye Zone Mask ($47SG)and Beaute de Kose ULTIMATION Eye Cream (SG$91). Here they are. ^__^ I tried to do nicer photos. I haven't been doing any Quality Control on my pictures at all because I'm so lazy and it's so easy to just use my camera phone. Here's the gift with purchase (the SA gave me an extra lotion so I can have a bit more to try before I decide on the purchase), there's a light lilac-pink bag too but I gave it to my mum already. ^__^ © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Japanese Cosmetic Counter Brands (Part 3): Kose

I am happy to report that I believe I found the Kose counter that has the best SAs! It's the Kose counter at Takashimaya. I visited that counter 3 times. The first time, I purchased a Eye Fantasist with the help of the SA. The second time, I asked the SA about Espique and she was friendly, sharing the news that it will come to Singapore next year. Yesterday was the third time I visited that counter and I was assisted by the best SA I've encountered with Kose so far. She was wearing a Cosme Decorte tag and helped to advise me on the best items to purchase according to my needs. Kose, Takashimaya Yesterday, I was feeling extremely bothered that everything I was using wasn't really helping to improve my eye problems, in particular the dryness. I constantly felt my skin was dehydrated and tight, so, I was determined to find a good eye cream. The dryness around my eyes also hindered me from achieving a smooth look when I apply concealer. After dinner with my son I headed to the Takashimaya Kose counter, determined to find something there. I have been hearing and reading good reports about Kose products both from online reviews and from friends. I was honestly very keen to use the products if I only I could find something suitable. I also wanted to look at the Fantasist makeup coffret again to decide on whether to purchase it. Anyway, I was at the products at the counter when the SA wearing the Cosme Decorte tag approached me. She simply stood next to me unobtrusively for a while and I didn't feel pressured by her presence. After a few moments, I asked her what's the best lotion to buy if I feel my skin needs moisture. She proceeded to check a few more details about my requirements and then told me if I wanted moisture, Ultimation would be the best bet, so she showed me the lotion. I found I liked the moisturising sensation. The SA also told me it will help to brighten the skin. Then I asked her about eye creams, and was specifically requesting a moisturising one (I totally ignored my dark circle problem at that point because I am already using something and hoping it will work). She showed me the Ultimation eye cream then proceeded to explain more details about the cream. In response to my question about the differences between Sekkisei and Ultimation, she told me Sekkisei is more for whitening, and the moisturisation factor for whitening products is usually lower, so if I'm really looking for moisture, Ultimation would be better. When she noticed I was hesitant and indecisive, she took the initiative to advise me to get the eyecream first, and an eyemask because by her evaluation, she feels my skin is ok but perhaps my eye issues are of greater concern to me. She said not to buy the Ultimation lotion but to try the lotion which was available in the gift with purchase. Also without prompting she very politely and unaggressively advised me avoid rubbing my eyes because it will contribute highly to creating dark circles. Massage gently but try hard not to rub my eyes as the eye area has blood vessels that will burst and the blood pooling there could lead to the look of very dark eye circles. In truth, I do rub my eyes. They get so dry and are often irritated. Although I honestly told her I couldn't decide whether to purchase from her because I have a 5% rebate at Robinsons but not at Takashimaya, she did not change her very good service attitude. Instead, she told me pleasantly I can buy at Robinsons too because Ultimation will also be available there. Can I say that I'm SUPER impressed with her? Her demeanour was professional and approachable. She was knowledgeable about her products and she was able to give good recommendations. Well, I finally decided to buy from Takashimaya instead of walking over to Robinsons because I was very impressed with this SA and I sincerely wanted to close the sale with her. I was also very pissed with the Robinsons' Kose counter SAs and didn't feel like buying from them. HAHA what a spoilt customer I am huh? I think I must get the Takashimaya rebate card, because Takashimaya is the place with the best SAs for both Kose and Kanebo. To complete my review on Japanese brand counters I'll just give a rough run down on the other counters I visited, without too many details. Kose, BHG, Bugis Junction Nice, unassuming and helpful SA but a little confused. When I first heard about Lunasol in November, I somehow thought it was a Kose product. So when I was at the Kose counter, I mistakenly asked the Kose SA about Lunasol and she told me Lunasol is no longer available, and then peered over to the Kanebo counter but didn't say anything else. I only found out later that I made a mistake and that Lunasol is from Kanebo, not Kose. LOL. Kose, Robinsons Centrepoint Very unpleasant SA. She showed me 2 eye creams then stopped talking. *eek* How was I to decide between these 2 if she can't look at my skin and advise? Ack! Then she showed me the Sekkisei and when I picked up a bottle from the counter to take a look, she shrieked and snatched it from me, saying, "It's not a tester!!!" Then walked away with the bottle, holding it like she was nursing a hurt baby. What? How was I supposed to know? It was displayed on the counter!! #_# Veeeery. Creeeeepy. Kose, Robinsons Raffles City Polar was with me there. She witness how the SA was distracted and took a long time getting my Eye Fantasist from behind the counter. The SA then showed me an eyecream when I asked but didn't explain more, just showed me a brochure. :p Ofcourse, I was uncertain about her recommendation and didn't buy anything else from her even though she was pretty friendly and chatted with us about the long queue at the cashier. Kose, John Little, Plaza Singapura A rather nice girl. Hoever, as I was asking about Sekkisei, she looked at my skin and tried to explain its efficacies to me but seemed a little hesitant to recommend me to buy it. So I told her I'll return later to check it out and never bought Sekkisei. Ok, that's all the reports I have for now. I don't think I should go into Orchard Road anymore until after Christmas (for Chinese New Year shopping .. *gasp*)!!!! OMG. I need to go on an austerity drive for an entire quarter of next year!!! © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Holy Grail of Eye Solutions: Kose Astalution and Ultimation

I may have found my Holy Grail of Eye Solutions. I purchased it last night from Kose (will tell you about my shopping experience in another post) - Kose ASTALUTION Eye Zone Mask and Beaute de Kose ULTIMATION Eye Cream. This morning, my eyes look better than it has been in a long time and feel better too. Circles seem to have lightened, skin is moisturised, lines and crepiness filled out. The undereye makeup seem to be smoother too. Let me retrace the things I did to arrive at this point: I used the Kose ASTALUTION Eye Zone Mask last night. It is full of orange-coloured serum and was extremely soothing. After I removed the eye patch I gently massaged in the remaining serum. There was still alot of serum in the package so I used as much as I liked, applied some on the corners of my mouth as well where there was dryness and still had some more left to keep for use the next day! This morning, my eyes looked rested and less wrinkled! It felt better too, because there's none of the dehydrated, tired feeling around my eyes that have been bothering me alot lately. The dark circles seem to have been alleviated even though Astalution isn't marketed for lightening dark circles. After I applied my Biotherm HYDRA-DETOX BIO-DEFENSIS Yeux (I will review this later together with my other Biotherm products), I put on a small rice-grain amount (as instructed by the SA) of the Beaute de Kose ULTIMATION Eye Cream. It feels like there is too little to go over both eyes but when I applied it, the cream was not only enough for both eyes, it was absorbed quickly and easily. Then I applied my undereye makeup, carefully and taking my time. The concealor did not cake up and I didn't have to apply as much as I previously had to. In fact, the overall look is smoother. (I had a good think to recall the instructions carefully and I will make a post about how the Bobbi Brown makeup artist/SA taught me to apply eye brightener and concealor). I liked Purederm Anti-wrinkle Gel Patches that I reviewed previously for its efficacy at a fantastic affordable price, but I must confess it pales in comparison to Kose ASTALUTION Eye Zone Mask! There's something extra in Kose ASTALUTION Eye Zone Mask, I can feel it in my eyes. Sometimes, products work while they are still on the skin but after it is removed, eg. after a shower or after you clean your face, the skin still feels unchanged, eg, if it was previously dry, it still feels dehydrated. On the other hand when I used these 2 products, I felt like the underlying problems have also been treated, so that overall, my skin has become healthier! I know it is too soon to make such an exaggerated proclamation, after all I've only just started using these products! But I am so happy with the immediate visible and experiential improvement that I truly believe this will be a good long term solution. I will continue to use these products and hopefully I have even more good news to report after a few weeks or even months. © Copyright. All rights reserved.

Bobbi Brown Haul

After work today, I returned That Darned Bling Bling Bag and got a refund. Then I walked to another department store and bought these from Bobbi Brown. Ohoh I seriously don't know how to save money, do I? So, now I'm a Bobbi Brown Club member and I have 6 free makeup lessons to attend! I never knew this, but if you spend SG$150 you can become a club member and receive these makeup lessons: (1) Beautiful skin, (2) Perfect brow, (3) Everything about eyes, (4) Natural blush, (5) Perfect lip, (6) Conceal and cover up and finally a complimentary Makeover or Brow Grooming. Nice huh? On top of this, if you gather 500 points ($1 per point), you get a lifetime membership and can redeem stuff from your points. Cool. The SA showed me a better way to apply the brightener and concealor (I have a separate report on this that will be coming up in the next post). And, I totally love the palette and lip gloss! They are so me, so terribly colourless and monotonous, aren't they? Left on my own, I'm sure I'll use them in such a way that no one knows I'm using any makeup at all. Ugh, the bane of my life! I hope I have the time to go for these classes and learn some updated makeup styles. A little personal history: When I was 18, just after Junior College (our equivalent of American High Schools), my parents sent me for a grooming class, so I can walk, talk, eat and dress properly (ie. know how to be a nice in society). LOL!! Though I graduated well enough from that, I think my personality is too strong and I never did get into the highly-groomed woman role, preferring a more natural style. It's only recently that I find myself revisiting the idea of looking more polished. Finally, I have some news to share. I was at the Kose counter at Takashimaya and found out something. This might be old news to Kose fans in Singapore, but the SA told me Esprique will be coming to Singapore sometime next year! Yeah! © Copyright. All rights reserved.

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 ...