We have moved! Please head to http://www.lavieenbeaute.wordpress.com if your browser does not automatically redirect you. Please update your bookmarks with the change! La Vie en Beauté: July 2008

Introduction

Welcome to my abode of pretty things (:. Continuing Oscar Wilde's aesthetic one beautiful possession at a time.

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IMPORTANT: I will ALWAYS disclose which products I have received from companies free of cost. I will never write sponsored or paid articles. Products sent to me are sent for consideration only, and are not guaranteed a good review. Unless otherwise indicated, everything reviewed are products purchased by me.

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Review: Christian Dior Summer Star Asia Exclusive Quint


Released with Dior's Summer 2008 Goldrush collection, this and Goldfever are the two LE quads released with it.
Price: About 58USD. This is 6 dollars over the asking price in the US, but 58 divided by 5 which is about 11.60$ for each shadow, which I reckon is pretty good. I also think that while you probably won't use all five shades for one look, it's great to mix n match and get lots of different EOTDs from it.

Where to get it: This is probably long gone in countries like Japan and Taiwan where they are pretty hot (this confused me at first, then I realized that I did see rather a lot of people at the Dior counters). However, there may still be stock. Or, you can test your luck on Ebay.

Texture: Soo soft and silky! This is my first Dior Quint and now I'm lemming the Stylish Moves one! I am amazed at the quality. Nom.

Pigmentation: Superb! While it isn't as great as my Holy Grail Shu shadows, it's pretty darn close. I really like it for a natural look with oomph.

Lasting ability: This lasts all day on me on top of Urban Decay Primer Potion (another Holy grail!). I always use UDPP so cannot comment on how it wears without it.

Packaging: So classy! Comes it a glossy navy box with silver lettering; in it's own velvet pouch! How luxe is that?

Seen it? Heard about it? Thought it was meh? Wished it wasn't Asia Exclusive? Have no fear! The Europe and North American version of this is the Golds quint. As Jojoba of Makeupalley and mymakeupreviews.blogspot.com reported, the only shade that is different is the pink in the Summer Star quad and the copper in the Golds. Boo on Dior for only changing one shade! That said, I think I would have liked Golds better because of that copper shade.

The rest of the collection:
Face
Golden Dior Medallion - $55
Lumieres Dior in Amber Sunlight 002 - $55
Dior Bronze Harmonie Blush in Spicy Desert 005 -$42

Eyes
5-Colour Eyeshadow in Goldfever 589 - $52
1-Colour Eyeshadow in Terra Sienna 585 - $24.50
1-Colour Eyeshadow in Million-Dollar Gold 645 - $24.50

Lipgloss
Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect in Beige Moire 217- $24.50
Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss in Coral Lame 337 - $24.50
Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect in Beige Lurex 437 - $24.50

Lipstick
Dior Addict High Shine in Shine Pink 354 - $25
Dior Addict High Shine in Ready-to-Gold 414 - $25
Dior Addict High Shine in Show Coral 444 - $25
Dior Addict High Shine in Couture Brown 614 - $25

Nail Polish
Dior Addict High Shine in Shine Pink 354 - $25
Dior Addict High Shine in Gold Nugget 708 - $25

Teaser: Christian Dior Summer Star Asia Exclusive Limited Edition

Expect a review on this item shortly! Here are some pics to tide you over till then!





I got mine for 1800New Taiwan Dollars, which is 58.7621 USD. Hmm, six dollars over the price here...

Lancome Erika F EOTD!

Here's another EOTD I did, using the cult status Lancome Erika F! Unfortunately this baby isn't available States-side (unless ordered in a quad), but in Asia and Europe. Retails 20-23USD; I paid about 16 because of a promotion going on.
I used:
Lancome Erika F
Bourjois Noir Emeraude
Integrate Pencil Eyes 311
Covergirl Lashblast
Urban Decay Primer Potion





Constructive criticism always welcome!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

MAC Starflash and Lustre Twins ONLINE NOW!



The Lustre Twins collection includes 3 nail polishes, 1 of which is LE, and 9 LE Pro Long Lustrewears. Starflash, as most of you know, include 12 LE New formulation shadows and repromotes of 4 Kohl Powers.

What are you hauling?

Ettusais Set of 5 Nail Polish Minis

Ettusais is the hard to find drugstore brand under Shiseido. They do lipglosses and nail polishes well, as well as eyeshadows; even if they're a little sheer. It's pretty cheap, so worth hunting down while in Asia. It is available at Ichibankao. The colors are: Green: 3, Yellow: 7, Pink: 8, Blue: 9, Black: 10. Each bottle is 2ml. The set is called 'Ettusais Dress Up Nails!". There is another variation; a sheer pink to dark reds. Unfortunately, I do not know the retail price since this was gifted to me and the price tag taken off.

The green is a lovely midtone grass green and applies well. It's a creme formula, and not streaky.



The yellow is a creamy banana yellow, banana when it's still the tiniest bit green. Not a true yellow. This one definetly requires two coats as it's a lil streaky on the first one.


The pink is much like the green in that it applies well and isn't streaky. I've been looking for this color for a long time, the perfect mid-strawberry-esque colors.



The blue is a little streaky, like the yellow, but that's fixed with another coat. it's a beautiful light blue with just enough pop. Again, another creme.


The last, a deep black with fine silver shimmer is very pretty. It's the only one with shimmer. It's a nice change from the cremes and I'll probably be using this alot in winter.






The OPI is Monsooner Or Later for size comparision.

Monday, July 28, 2008

A Mermaid-like EOTD!

For those who aren't used to common abbreviations used in the makeup world, an EOTD is an 'eye of the day'--your eye makeup of the day. This is mine! Ahhh, and now I see the glitter fallout! Please excuse that, I cleaned it up after the EOTD.

What I used:


How it turned out:






Would enjoy any feedback!! Thanks for looking!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Madonna for Shu Uemura?

"Adding to the rumors and speculation:

I'd love to see Madonna for MAC, but the word is there will be a Shu Uemura collection for her sometime in the future, possibly Fall/Winter. She uses their products exclusively now."

~ Shadowy Lady on specktra.



Hmm, while I know she's a big fan of shu's products (remember the 10,000$ mink eyelashes?) I don't see her collaborating with them? Either way, I love shu collections so I don't care if she does! Your takes?

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Beaute De Kose Esprique Precious Glamorous Glossy Eyes Swatches




These new products from Beaute De Kose Esprique Precious (wow that's a mouthful!) are NOT LE and come in five different colors. They seem to come in a dark shade, and a lighter variation of the shade. They claim to be creaseless, easy to use shadows. While I didn't buy one since the colors didn't appeal to me, I can direct you to a reviewer who I rely on a lot!

They're summer collection also includes two LE Matte Lasting Cream Liners, a pink and very beautiful aqua.
Available at Ichibankao.com for 32USD. Incredibly jacked up, but you could also search on adambeauty.com for it (probably much cheaper too).

Friday, July 25, 2008

Some Nail Polish! OPI Monsooner Or Later, from the India Collection



Hi all! I haven't been really focusing on the other part of fashion I love--nail polish!! This is a gorgeous shade perfect for summer, a great red-orange. Released Spring 2008 in the India Collection, it's a real winner. It's different from all my reds! However, for those shy of brights this is not for you! It's loud and obnoxious and begs to be noticed! (Perfect for me hehe!) Sorry for the foot pics too, but it's great as a pedi.





The shoes are Burberry wedges by the way, got them at an amazing sale! Very Naughtical no?

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited Swatches



The shu uemura (I've been blogging lots about them lately hm?) lipgloss that retails for 22USD finally has some swatches! Comes with a sponge tip applicator in an array of 14 shades. Available online at the shuuemura-usa.com site or at select Nordstroms, as well as the Neiman Marcus and Nordie's sites.





Thoughts? Will you be getting a gloss unlimited?

Shu Uemura Cream Shadows

These are apparently Euro and Asia exclusive at the moment. The US site does not have these cream shadows.

About: It's not very creamy at all! It's a dry cream definetly, and you'll want to rub your finger around in it. Don't though! These babies are pigmented! They come in a flat pot, almost like Bobbi Brown's Pot Rouges but harder to open. They come in 8 regular colors; Light Blue, Green, Beige, Taupe, Black, White, Pink, & Brown. Only Black and White are matte. Compared to MAC Paint Pots, paint pots come in higher jars and are more creamy, as well as more shades. Both are kind of hard to open. They wear like iron however, and do not crease (I normally don't have a problem with this though).

Some pictures:




If you want one of these (About 20USD IIRC), Ichibankao.com does custom orders!

My Taiwan Haulings

When I landed in the Narita Tokyo Airport, I immediately wandered over to Duty Free and picked up an Anna Sui and Shiseido Maquillage shadows. This is the rest of my hauls in Taiwan over a 7-week period. Enjoy!




















This stuff was ALL free:

And 5 pantene shampoo bottles...AND...


And this is what I came home to (My mom got it for me!):


Thanks for looking!! Feel free to ask me what anything is!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Shu Uemura 25th Birthday Collection Swatches & Review



Fleur de Rose:

This is the one I got, a lovely neutral palette punched up with pinks! Lovely texture , and shu eyeshadows are the only ones that last the day on me without a base. Also love the packaging and the fact that you can take the black insert out and fill it with depotted shu! Oh, and the two dark dots are the shimmer liquid eyeliners. Stay AWAY from their eyeliners! Even the SA was grumbling about them, saying 'Why do they dry up so fast? Oh no, it dispensed too much!'

Fleur De Terre:

An interesting palette, I can see some pulling off the pink and green together (which were a bit chalky and a satin finish). Not for everyone though.

Fleur De Source:

I was also going to get this one, but the only colors I really liked were the chocolate brown and lime green. I'm off to look for dupes!

Each of these palettes retail for a hefty 65$, but if you look at it this way, you get 7 shadows for it! Divide 65 by 7 and it's 9USD! A steal! Even though they aren't full size except for the eye highlighter (the very last one on the right), you're never going to use them up! Pick them up now!

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