Review - Cosmagic Sweet Deco Cheek in peach pink with swatches

Hey Lovelies!

I hope everybody has been having a great new year so far! It tends to be relatively busy during the first month of the year at work, so I have been putting in extra hours every week to keep afloat. -_-

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That being said, I am glad to be back with reviews aplenty! Today, I'll be reviewing Kose's Cosmagic Sweet Deco Cheek in 02 or pink peach.

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Backside:

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The packaging is super cute as expected - just check out the built-in adorable plastic jeweled heart!

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The lid is cut like a giant diamond and screws off easily. So princess-y!!!

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The set contains a minuscule blush brush which feels soft but doesn't serve any real purpose. Perhaps it might be good for contouring? There really is no place in the blush packaging itself that holds the brush securely so I stuffed it into my knick-knacks box where it will probably remain.

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...Finally, a big dandelion-like puffball on a stick...

...Much like the Puffy bird on my windowsill :) ...

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If you open up the inner insert, there are some instructions on how to use the blush to achieve different looks...

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The blush itself in different lighting. The heart-shaped area is a shimmery coral cream blush, and the lower two compartments house a peachy-pink blush with golden shimmer and a lighter pink highlighter.

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*Swatches* With an without flash

The cream blush reminds me a lot of NARS "Torrid" while the darker blush shade reminds me of a pinkier NARS "Orgasm"! Needless to say, very pretty colors and universally flattering IMO! I was surprised that the blush wasn't super shimmery and if used with a light hand, you could wear this to work on a Summer's day.

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The other color is perhaps the more popular blush of the two - 01 in Strawberry pink. I can see the strawberry color looking great on fair-skinned beauties, but I am willing to give it a a whirl in the future sometime!

Price is $145 HK dollars or around $18.61 USD at Adambeauty.com
(Both colors are in-stock)

Overall

Pros
♥ Pigmented and pretty color
♥ Lovely packaging
♥ 3-in-1 blush - versatile!
♥ Extras = 2 freebie brushes
♥ Universally flattering colors

Cons

♥ Must be used with a light hand otherwise can be too shimmery/bright
♥ Hard to find - overseas orders or e-bay


Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ (4.5/5)

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My LOTD

...Some randomness from this past week...

Wore my H&M sweater dress with leggings and F21 "Love" necklace





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I wanted to share the beautiful Hello Kitty purse from Loungefly that I won as a giveaway prize from the ever-sweet RINA!

Super cute dustbag



The pattern is crazy kawaii with bows & hello kitty's face printed all over



The details on the purse are amazing! Even the hardware is Hello-Kittied out!



Delicious hot-pink lining



Thank you so much Rina! Your gift really made my month! :)




Giveaway, reviews and more coming soon!

♥ Irene

Jill Stuart Spring 2011 Cosmetics Collection

Jill Stuart's Spring 2011 Collection - Innocent Sexy

Jill Stuart sure knows how to make super girly, sweet, and princess-y products - This upcoming Spring, she's rolling out a line that is lovely & elegant with colors that are feminine and delicate.

♥ New Blush Blossom duo* - Blush Blossom in Little Anemone ♥
(Anemone is a type of flower as well as the type you find underwater :D)

Image from http://www.fiftyflowers.com

I absolutely ♥ the ornate detailing on the compact casing and the included goat-hair brush with the PINK Swarovski crystal and little bow charm!

It comes as a loose powder that can be swirled together or used separately to create depth

This color is described as a "cute foggy pink combined with a girly anemone pink"

"Like the gentle blossoming of a wreath of pink flowers.
Loose powder cheek color that brings both innocence and luster to your cheeks"

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♥ New Mix blush in Milky Strawberry ♥

"Quad powder blush with pure luster. Blends smoothly and adds a touch of soft color to your cheeks"

I'm excited to try this - I have actually heard that Jill Stuart blushes are very subtle with buildable color - I'm trying to prep myself for initial shock as I know they are not nearly as pigmented as MAC or NARS. If this one works out, I think I may try the Baby blush (01) and Fresh Apricot (06)

Top two colors look like a pinky highlighter & bottom two are a warm pinky-peach

Described as a "sweet and fluffy milky pink, reminiscent of strawberry milk"
(I like that...fluffy pink!)

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♥ New Lip Jewel in ???* 12 New Colors! ♥

"For full and pure lips, as though decorated with the glittering dust of gems.
A liquid rouge for fresh and clear color"



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♥ New Jewel Crystal Eyes Palette in Angelic Topaz and Sweet Amethyst ♥

"Genuine jewel-like shine...
Eye color palette that enables eyes with deep lustrous colors and glorious shine"




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♥ New Nail Laquer colors include Dolly Bloom, Marshmallow Bonbon and Petal Shower ♥

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Oooooh I wish I could be back in Hong Kong! If you spend over $5000 HK you get a free gift. ($5000 HK Dollars = $643.31 USD and $639.06 Canadian) ;_;

It reminds me of a fancy tea set of sorts. What a perfect (and Princess-y) way to display your makeup collection!



・Tray（W:31.9cm D:13.8cm H:2.1cm）
・Cotton box（W:10cm D:10cm H:8.7cm）
・Cosmetic item holder （Φ:8cm H:8.5cm）
・Petit tray（W:10.6cm D:10.6cm H:4.5cm）

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I found a lot of these blogs helpful when looking for swatches/reviews of various products:

• Magical Complexion's blog has someswatches up from the Spring Collection!
• Eki of A Little bit of Eki also has a lot of Jill Stuart looks, hauls & reviews!
• Lisa of Makeupandlife.com has a ton of swatches and reviews of Jill Stuart products on her blog
• MusingsofaMuse has a great blog including a ton of Jill Stuart love!
• Cosmetic Candy is also a good place to find reviews & swatches
• Tummycake has a good video review and also some honest reviews/swatches
• Autumn Masquerade - *update*A GREAT blog - just found! Has side-by-side comparisons and descriptions of Jill Stuart products
  
• Lotus Palace always has a ton of Japanese makeup reviews, including Jill Stuart

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It's hard (if not impossible) to find Jill Stuart cosmetics in the States but relatively easy to find online...a few retailers:

iMomoko
Yesstyle
Ebay
Gooddealer

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I'm so excited for my first Jill Stuart Experience! I will be doing some reviews/swatches once I receive my order. (I picked up the blushes!) :)

In Hong Kong, the line will officially launch on January 10th, 2011

Are you planning on picking up anything from the Spring Collection?

Review: Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream

My dear lovelies!

As promised, an update & review on my new favorite Summer going-out staple!

For some reason, I feel like I'm always the last person to jump on the bandwagon...Double Rainbow, Keyboard cat, NYX cosmetics...and now, BB cream!

BB creams are quite popular in Korea and are meant to be the all-in-one makeup miracle product, many promising to be a base/primer, cover-up, foundation all-in-one with added benefits like anti-aging, hydration, UV protection etc. My last foray into BBcreams (Missha Perfect Cover) left me with cystic acne so I was a bit hesitant to jump back into things...

That being said, after carefully researching a few more varieties, I decided that I would give Skin Food a try. Skin Food is a skincare line available on sites such as Sasa.com - they don't carry this particular bb cream anymore, but Amazon.com currently sells it for around $19.95.

REVIEW

Skin Food Aloe Sun BB Cream (SPF 20 PA+)

On Packaging: Food Therapy - Special food for the skin to eat. Contains lots of nutritive and energetic ingredients such as fresh plants, fruits etc. to maintain our bodies healthy and lively.

Rich with aloe, which possesses excellent hydrating properties and soothing effect, this multi-functional skin care product (UV protecter and blemish correcter) provides moisture and nutrition to your skin while providing protection from UV rays.

The tube is a nice decent size - the size of a medium-sized tube of sunscreen (50g)

The dispensing nozzle allows for hygenic application

As true for most BB Creams, the color selection is extremely limited. This BB Cream comes in either #1 (fair) or #2 (medium). In the Summer time, I tend to get a bit darker but really, I would be a #2 regardless.

I used a foundation brush to sweep the BB cream over my face. The product applies smoothly but requires a little blending. It smells FANTASTIC though - very fresh and clean. If you like Bath & Bodyworks Cucumber melon, you will like the smell of this BB cream. Although this BB Cream has built in sunscreen (SPF 20), I still use my regular sunscreen (Olay SPF 25) all over beforehand. The results with and without flash - I love the overall slightly dewy finish!

Wearing: NYC brow pencil on brows, MAC Blacktrack fluidliner, Darkness KMA 7 false lashes, Maybelline Eye Quad in Taupe Temptress in corners of eyes, Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick in Peach Colada on lips, Skin Food Aloe Sun BB Cream on face

I did not see any of the greyish undertone of #2 that some reviews had mentioned.

Look of the day (LOTD) from this past weekend! Abercrombie stretchy tube dress & Jessica Simpson heart chain necklace. :)

Overall

Pros

♥ Pleasant fresh & clean smell which fades over time

♥ Beautfiul, dewy finish

♥ SPF 20

♥ Not drying

♥ Moderate oil control (my face was just slightly oily by the end of a day being exposed to 90 degree plus Texas heat!)

♥ Coverage is medium - hid most of the redness in my cheeks

♥ Long lasting

♥ Smooth, even, application

♥ Does not feel heavy on the skin

♥ Did NOT break me out...so far. (Will update if anything changes)

Cons

♥ Extremely limited colors

♥ May be hard to find (Sasa.com no longer stocks), online availability

♥ May need to use spot coverage for larger blemishes

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ (5/5)

My beautiful friend, fellow blogger, co-worker, and Pharmgirl extraordinaire Liz suggested that I include whether or not products are tested on animals for future reviews. This is a great idea! I am happy to report that my previous review and one of my favorite new cosmetics lines, NYX, does NOT test on animals. I am not quite sure about this current BB cream since it was produced in a foreign country (Korea) but if I do find out, I will surely update!

Here's a little sneak peek into what is coming up next!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

I ♥ Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick +

This is a followup to my initial review on Maybelline Moisture Extreme lipstick in Sugar Plum Ice HERE.

♥ *~REVIEW~* ♥

Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick



No flash

I purchased these during the BOGO sale at Walgreens!

My collection now consists of: Sugar Plum Ice, Born with it, Windsor Rose, Sweet Ginger, & Peach Colada

Here are the swatches



**And on the lips**

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From my previous post, Sugar Plum Ice - shimmery, baby pink. ♥



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Born with it - Like its namesake, a very natural, subtle, sheer pinky color. YLBB



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Windsor Rose - a bright, cool-toned punchy pink. I didn't think I could pull off cooler toned pinks, but it actually looks really gorgeous & dolly on!



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Sweet ginger - I like this color A LOT - a great color for the Fall or matched with an earth-toned outfit. I actually might still have a trace of Peach Colada on my lips (thus the kind of coral-y shimmer in the flash pic) Mmm...reminds me of chai tea for some reason.



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Peach Colada - This one looked super promising and bright in the tube! Maybe it was the base I was using or maybe it just isn't that pigmented... :/ Either way, it just did NOT want to stick to my lips. Even after swiping it a few times, still no dice. It's still a pretty subtle shade in the 'coral' family. I'd still use it on a nice Summer day! :)



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Ok. Feeling lazy, will swatch Peach Colada later. (Maybe in the Summer when I'll actually sport it!) ***UPDATED - added swatch above 3/28*** Nude blush was all sold out, but I'll be on the hunt for it next time I'm stalking the makeup aisle during sale time! Strange observation: I noticed they sell a wider range of colors at the drugstores over Target.

Pros: Super affordable, very moisturizing, SPF15, gorgeous colors, tastes yummy
Cons: Not very long wearing

I am completely taken by this line! It's no wonder other bloggettes have raved about these too - there is a reason! If you're a n00b at lipstick like I am, you'll appreciate the fact that again, these lipsticks don't feel like lipstick on the lips. As previously mentioned, I hate anything but Aquaphor sitting on my lips, so it's pretty amazing that I actually enjoy wearing these lipsticks!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ (5/5)

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Chronic dry-lippers REJOICE!!!

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Although I have received this award previously, I would like to thank Sharlene for all her crazy thoughtfulness in bestowing the sunshine award on me again! :) Recently, I have needed more sunshine in my life, and it really made me feel all types of awesome inside.

In turn, I want to give this to everybody since you guys have also brought sunshine into my life too!


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Thanks for the blog love Rachel, Chamorrita & pwincessanna ♥

♥ Irene

Review: Hard Candy Foiled Again Metallic Shadow Stick - Celestine

If there is one part of the face I like to focus on...it's the eyes, windows to the Soul!!!

So naturally, anything that goes on the eyes must enhance them! A lot of ladies have been blogging about how great the Hard Candy line at Wal*Mart is - I remember running into the line a little while back while searching for a pretty silver polish and being psyched that they had a whole cosmetics line now! It brought back memories of when their polishes were all the rage! Blue nailpolish??? Who would have thought!

After much deliberation, I bought the Foiled again metallic shadow stick in "Celestine" - a pretty sparkly champagne - for $6.

I definitely wasn't disappointed. This cream shadow stick has a smooth consistency and glides on effortlessly! The coverage is light so you have to layer to get the look you want, but it is so easy and feels nice and cool as you smooth it over your lids!

*Results*

So pretty - very much like the name. It is very sparkly, but because of the formulation, it isn't messy. Lots of shimmer & glimmer and NO MESS!


You can see the pretty shimmer in this picture though the rest of my face looks like a greasy disco ball ;_;

The only bad thing is that --like any other cream eyeshadow-- it creases. So do better than I did and actually blend haha...


Darkness lashes, Revlon colorstay eyeliner, NARS blush in deep throat, MAC highlighter in Shell Pearl, Aquaphor on lips

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*big hug* to new princess Anonimous beauty, who understands the true merits of a good tube of aquaphor! :D