Chantecaille Summer 2018 Swatches: Bronzer, Eyeshadows, Lipgloss, Eyeliner

Chantecaille's Summer 2018 makeup collection has launched, and here are swatches of the entire collection! And close up product photos! I know these aren't exactly the earliest swatches, but I thought better late than never.

The collection is inspired by vacation and beaches, and has an appropriately themed colour selection with limited edition packaging (for the bronzers and eyeshadows). The rest of the collection (Lip Sleeks, Mermaid Eye Matte cream eyeshadows, Les Perles Metallic Eye Liner) are all permanent.

Let's take a closer look at the collection.

Etude House Cherry Moisture Lip Glow Swatches

Etude House Cherry Moisture Lip Glow was launched in January this year, and it's a really cool product! Basically its sort of a cross between a lip oil and a lip gloss, offering both shine, as well as some colour, while claiming to moisturize your lips. I think it'll be a pretty popular product, owing to both the nice feel and colour, as well as that uber-cute packaging - check out the cherry on the tube!

Etude House Cherry Moisture Lip Glow: A cross between a lipgloss and lip oil

Well without further ado, here are swatches!

RMK Makeup Spring/Summer 2017 Swatches: Color Change Collection

RMK's Spring/Summer 2017 Color Change makeup collection is officially launched, and I come bearing swatches! This makeup collection also coincides with RMK's 20th anniversary, and RMK's Creative Director, Kaori, selected the two shades of pink and beige to head up the Color Change collection, as they are integral to any make up look. The number of products in this collection is also pretty large - there are 6 eyeshadow duos, 6 lipgloss duos, 7 lipstick shades, and 7 blush shades, and 6 nail polish shades. So you can imagine my arm after all that swatching!

This isn't even half of RMK's Spring/Summer makeup!

RMK isn't kidding when they say the collection is made up of pinks and beiges - literally every product here is in pink and/or beige, and basically pinks and beiges make up like 95% of the collection. RMK also has a nice quality of makeup, with generally soft textures, and buildable pigmentation, allowing the products to be applied sheerly or packed on for more colour, and this collection does fall quite nicely in line with the quality in the standard RMK products.

Stuff I've Used Up! Super Mega Empties Post: Skincare and Makeup

This is a pretty major empties post, because the last time I blogged about my empties was half a year ago in December last year (it was also a pretty large post, that I split into two parts, part 1 and part 2). This time around, I have even more stuff!

The nice thing about empties is that, for me, using a product up comes with a sense of accomplishment (as in, hey, I actually stuck to something long enough to use it up!) and also a sense of permission (as in, hey, I've used up a lipstick, now I can buy another lipstick)! So for a beauty junkie like me, it's both gratifying and enabling!



Obviously, there's a lot to go through, so without further ado, let's jump right in!

MAC Flamingo Park Swatches and First Impression

The MAC Flamingo Park Collection is the brand's first Spring 2016 makeup launch, and it was recently launched here. I happened to be at the store during the launch, and I managed to get swatches of the products for you! It was quite an ordeal swatching the products, because it was very crowded in the store, with people buzzing around and swarming around the collection testers, so I'm happy to have swatched everything I could!

MAC Flamingo Park Collection

But before we move on to the swatches proper, I'd like to mention that the lighting in the swatches might be a bit lacking due to the fact that these were all swatched in-store.

Also, as you can see from the above photo of the Flamingo Park setup, it seems like for some reason the collection differs slightly here in Singapore. Not all the "official USA" shades were displayed in the Flamingo Park Collection display, and some permanent shades were put in the display as part of the Flamingo Park Collection although they didn't appear in the US version of the shade lineup. I'm not too sure why this is the case, but in any case, I've just done my best to swatch everything that was on display, so any incongruency with what was launched in the US is just due to whatever was in the display in the store.

Etude House Snowy Dessert Swatches and Quick Reviews: Pudding Tint, Ginger Cookie Blusher, Contour, Play 101 Pencils, Scented Tablets

Etude House's Snowy Dessert Holiday 2015 Collection certainly seems to be a hit this year. Between the food-themed items, the absolutely adorable packaging, the attractive products, and the affordable prices, I think Etude House has basically ticked all the boxes for a winning Christmas collection! I've taken some swatches of the colour makeup, namely the Pudding Tint, the Ginger Cookie Blusher and Contour, and the new Play 101 Pencils, so without further ado, let's check out the swatches!

Etude House Snowy Dessert Collection

First up, though, I have to apologize for the swatches. I had some items from the collection but not all, so I tried to get the full range of swatches by going into the store to swatch the shades I didn't have, but I think the lighting in the store was less than optimal. Still though, I think the swatches are good enough to give you ad indication of the colour!

Etude House Bling Me Prism Swatches: Color in Liquid Lips and Eyeshadow

Etude House's Bling Me Prism collection has just been released here in September, and these are very summery bright pops of colour! Two of the products that seem to be getting a lot of attention are the Bling Me Prism Eyes, which are cream eyeshadows, as well as the Bling Me Prism Color in Liquid Lips, which are a lipgloss-liptint hybrid.

Etude House Bling Me Prism Color in Liquid Lips: 5 new shades

As is always the case with Etude House, the packaging for this is uber-cute, and super girly and princess-y to boot. I'm not sure if the shades are added to the permanent collection, but the packaging is usually a limited edition thing. So if you're eyeing any of the items for the packaging, you probably might want to get them earlier, rather than later.


Etude House Bling Me Prism Eyes: A cream eyeshadow in 5 shades
Anyway, enough of my chatter - let's get to the swatches!

The Face Shop Ink Lipquid Review and Swatches

The Face Shop Ink Lipquid (with the really cute portmanteau in the product name) is the Kbeauty brand's latest lip product, and it is marketed as a cross between a lipstick, lipgloss, and lip stain/liptint. The selling of the Ink Lipquid, according to the Face Shop, is the combination of moisture and staying power. I don't have the website, but reading off my phamplet, the Ink Lipquid promises "moist lips with 70% water base", and a "vivid color lasts on lips for 12 hours" (gotta love that slight Engrish over there, but you get the idea).

The Face Shop Ink Lipquid: Advertised as a cross between a lipstick, lipgloss, and lip stain

There are 12 shades in the range, and like most Korean brnds, the colours range from brights to pastels, and cover a fairly good array of colours. I have 3 of the shades today, PK03 Shah Pink, OR02 Orange Some, and RD02, Red Sing.


The Face Shop Ink Lipquid: Gives a long lasting stain, while not drying out the lips
Alright, let's get on with the swatches and reviews! I've got both arm and lip swatches, as well as an (accidental) staining test!

BonjourHK Haul and Mini-Reviews: DHC, Hada Labo, Dr Bauer and More!

I'm always discovering new ways to buy more makeup and beauty products from, and recently I was introduced to BonjourHK's onlince website! I'm actually somewhat familiar with Bonjour, as it is a chain of stores across Hong Kong selling beauty products at accessible prices, much like Ulta (if you're in the US), Watsons, Guardian or Sasa (if you're in Asia). When I visited Hong Kong 3 years back, I stepped into quite a few Bonjour shops, although I didn't buy anything (I ended up with the smallest haul ever - sigh!). But the thing I liked about Bonjour is the eclectic mix of brands and products - there's everything from mainstream brands to niche Asian beauty brands I've never heard of before.

My BonjourHK Haul: A whole bunch of skincare and makeup items from various Asian brands

I actually never realized that Bonjour had an online website, but they do! And the website has pretty cheap shipping (which is free if you buy above a certain dollar amount threshold), and they ship internationally, too. And of course, the range of brands and types of products are just as varied as ever - there's everything from skincare to makeup to skin devices, and the brands range from fairly mainstream Asian brands (like DHC and Hada Labo) to more niche ones (like Choosy and Yu Mei). I was super excited when the package arrived, right on time within the 7-21 days window stated on the website.


My BonjourHK Haul: Includes brands both fairly well-known, as well as some undiscovered gems
The mass of products above, as well as the fact that I actually want to do a mini-review for each product rather than just run through the haul, means that this post is going to be pretty long (and photo heavy). So if you're going to read onwards, don't forget to buckle up before you go! And if you're all ready, let's just head straight into my product-by-product quick review!

MUFE Artist Plexi Gloss Swatches: All 35 Lipgloss Colours!

MUFE (Make Up For Ever) has a new line of lipgloss, the Artist Plexi Gloss, that will be launched in Singapore on 16 April. These lipglosses come in 35 shades, and I've heard that they will be replacing the Lab Shine Lipgloss range. The shade range of the Artist Plexi Glosses are seriously immense - everything from reds, to pinks, to corals, to nudes, and even some cooler shades like purple and black. They come in two finishes - Pure, which is a glossy finish sans any sort of shimmer whatsoever, and Pearly, which has a slight shimmer finish (no discoball, gritty glitter here).

MUFE Artist Plexi Gloss: Formulated with special polymers to give unparalleled shine

The shade numbering system for the MUFE Artist Plexi Glosses is quite simple: shades in the 100s are nudes and beiges, shades in the 200s are pinks, shades in the 300s are corals, shades in the 400s are reds, and the 500s are purple and other more funky shades. The "Pearly" shades are distinguished from "Pure" shades by the addition of the "P" at the end - so for example, 400 would be a red shade with a Pure finish (no glitter, just glossy), while 401P would be a red shade with a Pearly finish that has some very fine shimmer.

MUFE Artist Plexi Gloss Appicator: Specially shaped with a little cutout in the middle to give a smooth, even application of gloss

I'm told the glossiness of the Artist Plexi Glosses is acheived by a special blend of polymers that form a smooth surface on the lips, giving a nice shine. Another thing that's novel about the Artist Plexi GLosses are their applicators. As you can see they are a spoon-shaped applicator with a little cut in the side - apparently this is so the applciator can scoop up the right amount of gloss, and apply it smoothly to the lips to give a nice, even application on the lips..

But enough about the glosses. I know you guys came to see swatches, so let's cut to the chase! I've got all 35 shades swatched for you, so yay for that!

Etude House Color in Liquid Lips Review and Swatches!

Etude House's Color in Liquid Lips has launched here, and according to their website it's a as a "melted liquid lipstick with the intense color and high shine to make provocative yet lovely sheer lips", with "cushiony water-sliding texture" to keep lips "supple and hydrated".

In that sense, it's a product that's sort of a hybrid between a lipstick and a lipgloss - a liquid lipstick, if you will. Based on appearances, it's fairly similar to the Dior Addict Fluid Sticks and Maybelline's Color Elixirs, and even looks like a lipstick, although it's actually a lipgloss! Of course, this is Etude House, so the Color in Liquid Lips comes packaged with a fanciful, princess-y feel, with cute, girly lip motifs.

Etude House Color in Liquid Lips: A cute, girly take on all the liquid lipstick products going on

There are 20 shades of Color in Liquid Lips in all, but I have 5 of them here, ranging from orange-based shades, to pink-based shades, and to reds. So far, they seem to be getting good reviews from other bloggers, so I thought I should get around to reviewing these too!


Etude House Color in Liquid Lips: A melted lipstick with intense colour and shine
Of course, I wouldn't be a good blogger if I didn't have swatches and reviews for you, right? But, because I'm something of an ingredients geek, let's start by dissecting the ingredients in this product! I promise it's more interesting than it sounds!

Vecua Honey Honey Luster Lipgloss Swatches

Vecua Honey is a Japanese brand that is sort of like a cuter, girlier, Asian version of Burt's Bees. Both brands have makeup, skincare, and body care products, both brands have a natural angle, and both brands feature bees and their byproducts prominently in their advertising. For instance, their latest line of lipglosses, the Honey Luster Lip Gloss, is marketed as being part honey serum, part lipgloss.

As it so happens, I've just reviewed a product that also featured another bee by-product, propolis, as its key ingredient. I swear it's coincidence. I didn't plan it, but after the science and research-heavy skincare post, I felt like a swatch post was next, just to give me a breather. It just so happened that the swatches were of another honey product, so that part was coincidental.

Vecua Honey Honey Luster Lipgloss in Honey

Anyway, the lipglosses are quite cool-looking when you first get them - they are dual-phase, so there is a yellow-gold layer of honey serum on the top half, and the bottom half is the lipgloss colour. Of course, as you use the lipgloss, the two phases get mixed together, until in the end you get just one homogenous phase throughout. The price of the lipgloss also isn't cheap - in Westgate's Tokyu Hands shop, the pricetag was SGD$51.40 for a lipgloss, which gave me sticker shock. On the Vecua Honey website, however, it lists the price as SGD$48.

Vecua Honey Honey Luster Lipgloss in Honey, Honey Dew Pon Pon Cheek and Solid Perfume

Vecua Honey also has a range of other makeup products - above is a small blush and a solid perfume, in addition to the Honey Luster Lipgloss (the shade I have is Honey). And like Burts Bees, the products are also often advertised to have some botanical or bee-product ingredients inside. Anyway, on to the swatches!

Pantone Colour of the Year 2015 Marsala: Shopping My Makeup Stash

Marsala is Pantone's Colour of the Year 2015, and unlike some previous years' Colour of the Years, I'm actually pretty excited for this, because as a makeup junkie, I feel like Marsala is pretty versatile on lips and cheeks. (I wouldn't be keen to wear it on my eyes, though.) Naturally, you can expect lots of commercialization with the Colour of the Year - like the Sephora X Pantone collections, and to be honest, the whole "Colour of the Year" thing always feels a bit enforced/commercialized to me - for one, the colour of the year is a decision that is made a year in advance by a small number of people in the industry, as Wiki helpfully points out: "Twice a year the company hosts...a secret meeting of representatives from various nations' color standards groups. After two days of presentations and debate, they choose a color for the following year...the color for summer 2013 was chosen in London in the spring of 2012." So yes, for some reason, people we don't know choose a colour for us a year in advance, and deem it the "Colour of the Year". It sounds arbitrary and a tad bizarre to me, but there it is.

My Marsala-ish coloured makeup stash!

At least, this year's Colour of the Year looks pretty good to me. Unliek 2013's Emerald, which I found a tad unwearable makeup-wise (emerald eyes just aren't my thing, let alone lips or cheeks, although I did rock an Emerald eye look in 2013!), and 2014's Radiant Orchid, which I liked personally but can imagine how some people with warmer skintones might find unwearable, Marsala looks pretty universally flattering, and actually wearable when it comes to makeup.

The closest things I have to Pantone's 2015 Colour of the Year

I'm definitely eyeing some of the items in the Sephora X Pantone collection this year, but I thought, as an excercise in frugality (don't look at me like you're not convinced - I said frugality, not futility!), I should attempt to dig through my makeup stash to see what Marsala-coloured products I already have in my stash, to see whether I am already all up to my eyes in Marsala products, or whether I still have room for a few more!

Pantone Colour of the Year Radiant Orchid: Look at the Radiant Orchid-ish Stuff I Already Have!

Pantone has officially announced Radiant Orchid as the Colour of the Year 2014, and this time, I'm actually pretty excited for it because, as I've been saying in my previous blogposts, purple is my favourite colours. If you've been reading for a while, you'll also know that I think that this whole Colour of the Year thing is just another means of making them companies more $$$ through commercialization of a single colour shade, and those feelings still hold, but hey, at least this year I'm going to have companies try to make money off me with a colour I actually can get on board with! I wasn't feeling last year's Emerald or the previous year's Tangerine Tango, so FINALLY! Come get my money with a colour I actually like, companies! Haha.

Radiant Orchid is Pantone's Color of the Year for 2014. Here are my Radiant Orchid-ish makeup items!

Anyway, before I get all ready to get my commercialization on (yay retail therapy!), out of curiousity, I thought I'd just run through my beauty stash and pull out all the Radiant Orchid-colour-alikes I already have in my stash, and show them to you guys - and really also to myself, as a reminder to not bust my budget when Sephora puts out their Sephora X Pantone Radiant Orchid Limited Edition Makeup Set with Unicorn Whiskers, or whatever they have up their sleeve. Just a little reminder to myself. So here we go!

All the Radiant Orchid products we'll be bombarded with soon in the coming months! LOL! (Source)

An Ingredients Analysis of Colour Changing Lipsticks, Lipglosses, Lipbalms, and Blushes

Ever since Smashbox put out its O-Glow blushes and lipglosses, Dior put out its Dior Lip Glow, and Sephora put out its Color Reveal Lip Balm, it seems like colour-changing lipglosses have been exploding over the blogosphere. There are so many breathless reviews on how it's changing into the "perfect shade of pink", or how it "reacts with the skin's pH" to give you a customized shade, and there are also equally many reviews disliking the pepto bismo pink it changes into on them. And, there are (of course) a lot of comparison swatches between the various types of colour-changing glosses.

I've had a few of these - you can see one that I reviewed here. Back then, I had written that I was suspicious of all those lipglosses claiming to know my body chemistry and pH, and I had written, "in my experience these turn into some generic shade of super-bright pink." So, since all the hype has been going on, I thought I'd do a little bit of the ingredients-analysing that you guys all know and love, and explain just how it is that these glosses/lipsticks/lipbalms/blushes do their work!

With these products, you'll always have a PH-relevant/skin-chemistry-relevant/hocus-pocus-magic-quality relevant shade!

Of course, as the nice little graphic summary I did above shows, we know that these types of lipglosses, lipsticks, and lipbalms have been around for quite awhile. In fact, there are so many of them - in addition to the Dior, Smashbox, and Sephora versions, Mark by Avon, Duwop, Jemma Kidd, and NYX Cosmetics have all jumped on the bandwagon at some point in time. And it's not just US brands that are donig it - Essence Cosmetics and Barry M from Europe have done it too. And even outside the West, other brands have done it - there's Lipice in Asia, and even a strange Morrocan Hare brand from (where else) Morroco! And it's not just lipgloss or lipstick! Cheek products have also been given the special treatment, with Stila, Smashbox and Givenchy all have blush versions to give you that pH-adjusted cheek colour.

So yes, we know everyone loves a colour-changing lipstick/balm/gloss/blush. And who can blame us for loving it? The novelty of seeing the colour change on your lips and cheeks is quite something, I'll admit. The thing is, are they really all that different from one another? How on earth are they even changing colour in the first place? You know that if this post involves some ingredients analysis, there's no better place to start than the ingredients list!

So, for this post, I'm going to look at as many ingredient lists of such colour changing products that I can dig up, including lipbalms, glosses, and lipsticks, and blushes, and see what we can learn from there! In true geek style, there are 10 of them (yes, TEN!), so buckle up!

Stuff I Use Daily: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss

The Revlon Super Lustrous Lipglosses have always been one of my drugstore favourites. Great texture, lots of colours, and nice shine, all at a decent price - what more could a girl want? And, they always have a couple of limited edition colours every season, just to keep you buying (it works for me, anyway). I realized I haven't actually yet featured these drugstore staples on my blog despite these being a staple in my makeup bag for sooo long, so I am now rectifying the situation!

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipglosses - check out the super old tubes!

I have two colours that are my favourites, and I bought both of them a loong time ago. Like, at least a couple of years back. The first one is a super-old-from-long-ago-limited-edition colour, Pearl Plum (my tube is almost all gone!), while the second one is a permanent colour (I think it's perm, anyway), Glossy Rose. Just look at those ancient square tubes, man!


Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss: Swatches of both Pearl Plum and Glossy Rose

The Perfect Hot Pink Magenta Lip: MUFE Aqua Rouge 16 (It Stays All Day, Too!)

I think I have officially found the perfect hot pink magenta lip colour. Ever. And when I say perfect, I mean perfect in every way - not only do you get awesome, super-saturated colour, it also lasts forever. So what is this awesome product? None other than the MUFE Aqua Rouge in 16. This is actually part of MUFE's Summer Collection this season, but if you're anxious about stocking up, relax, it's a permanent item and you can get it anytime.

MUFE Aqua Rouge in 16: It doesn't move, and it's hot pink!

MUFE is starting to become one of my favourite brands - almost everything I've tried from them to date has been pretty darn good. So of course I did have some expectations for the Aqua Rouge, but this surpassed even those. The Aqua Rouge is a dual-ended product. One side houses the colour, which is a thick cream that dries to a perfectly matte finish. The shade I have, 16, is an absolutely awesome shade of hot pink - kind of like neon pink highlighter, only more pigmented!

MUFE Aqua Rouge in 16: Hot Pink That Doesn't Budge!

KATE Makeup Haul: Eyeshadow Palettes and Lip Products (And a Related Ramble)

Kanebo, the Japan-bases parent company of KATE (drugstore cosmetics brand that I've swatched before), Lunasol (upscale cosmetics brand), Freshel, Impress, and Blanchir, had a sale just a couple of weeks ago. And you know me - I just had to check it out! I do have a fondness for both KATE and Lunasol, so it would have been understandable if I had emptied my wallet into Kanebo's coffers. Fortunately, I was a good girl, so I did some planning - I set myself a budget, rationalized all my purchases, and revised each item before proceeding to the checkout counter. And, this was what I finally ended up with!


Who doesn't love a cute Asian cosmetics haul? And it's KATE, too!

Quick Look: Sleek Lip4 Palettes (Lip⁴, Really) in Ballet and Siren

Sleek has released the Lip4 (it's really Lip⁴, meaning Lip Cubed, but Lip4 seems easier to type, heh) Palettes, and because I've been busy in real life (which you know, I have, because I can't exactly survive solely on the light and heat emanating from my laptop), I've been kinda...sitting on these. No excuses, I know, but I hope some pretty Lip⁴ Palette photos and my first thoughts of them will be sufficient until I swatch these babies for you! I have Ballet and Siren here with me, and man, are these gorgeous looking!


Sleek Lip⁴ Palettes - L: Siren, R: Ballet

Spotted: Cute Lipbalms and Glosses!

You know that I love me some cuteness, so when I spotted these I just had to snap a photo for my blog! These are some Lip Smackers glosses and balms in the cutest flavors - I totally want a lipbalm that tastes just like Coca-Cola! (Actually, on second thought, I don't - I'd just end up eating up all my gloss and using it up in a week, LOL.)




Anyway I love when I come across stuff like this - it's cute and makes me smile. Is anyone else a sucker for such novelty items?