Kiss Me Sunkiller BB Cream

I first came across this product on WHB's blog, and was intrigued by what it promised. SPF broad spectrum protection, and coverage in one handy product? Time to do some shopping...





I bought this from my usual Asian beauty product source Adambeauty. Packaging wise it is quite simple, very much like Biore sunscreens which have a ball inside to help mix the product when shaken.

Coverage is fairly decent, it is better than a tinted moisturizer, falling just short of a full coverage foundation. To put this into context, it is definitely much better than Laura Mercier or Covergirl tinted moisturizers but sheerer than Lunasol Water Cream foundation.

Here's a before picture:




And the after picture:



As for the wear, because the base feels very much like a water-resistant sunscreen because it stays for a good many hours (except for when I'm at the gym)

It does however have a mattiying effect, which will suit oily skintypes more. Since I have dry to combination skin, it worked for me during the hot summer this year but is becoming a bit too drying on my skin during the fall to winter season. Unless I happened to have exfoliated the day before it tends to highlight dry patches on my skin. If you don't have any issues with dry skin though then this would still work for you in winter.

Overall, the Kiss Me Sunkiller BB is a handy all in one face product that I consider a lifesaver in the mornings when I can't be bothered to apply sunscreen, wait for it to dry and then foundation/base. Definitely a staple in my collection!

Kate Super Sharp liner vs Kiss Me Heroine Make liner

I know, I haven't been a very good blogger lately...been busy with some things at work and home but hopefully its getting better soon. Lots of photos to share from the weekend - I went for a quick makeover at MAC over the weekend, V-day dinner, and I'm also lagging on posting about some new products I got recently :)

For today I'm just reviewing two Japanese brand liquid liners: Kate Super Sharp Liner in BK-1 and Kiss Me Heroine Make liner in Black.





They are both pen-style felt tip liners, but the Kate liner (left) has a slightly shorter tip than the Kiss Me one (right).




There's not a whole lot of difference between the two in terms of lining your eyes. Both are equally easy to use, as the felt tip allows for a lot of control. The Kate liner allows you to draw a thinner line though, which I think is due to the shorter tip (allowing for more control).

Kate liner


Kiss Me liner


Different angles but looks pretty similar in the pics...just that Kate is easier to do thinner lines and Kiss Me can do thicker lines better.


The removal process though is what differentiates the two. I tested them with some water to see if they were waterproof, and also checked how easy they were to remove with DHC Cleansing oil, and Mandom Cleansing Express Moist.

The two lines on the left are Kate, and the two on the right are Kiss Me Heroine Make. I basically swiped across the lines with a little bit of each cleanser.

Water (room temperature, just to test waterproofness)


DHC oil


Mandom Cleansing Express Moist


Some more rubbing and some more Mandom cleanser.




What I notice from the above tests is that the Kate tends to smudge and smear as you remove it, while the Kiss Me liner comes off in little bits. Also with the Mandom cleanser, even when I rubbbed the area to help remove the product, the Kate liner did not remove completely but left a greyish residue on the area.

You can also see that the Kiss Me liner is quite waterproof unlike Kate with room temperature water. However if you do want to remove the Kiss Me liner it comes off easily once you use warm water with a little bit of rubbing.

Overall I still prefer Kiss Me Heroine Make liner because of how durable it is with water. I also much prefer how it is easy to remove (and forgiving when you're correcting mistakes). If I were to correct any mistakes made with the Kate liner, its hard to remove even with a Q tip without smudging the line. With the Kiss Me liner whatever I want to remove comes off easily with just warm water and a Q-tip.


Speaking of Kate, I've been lemming over Kate's new eyeshadow palettes ever since seeing this ad:



I love the smoky eye look in the pics however the palette colours in the picture don't look intense enough to create the same look the model's wearing. I'd probably need to use an additional eyeshadow in black to make it dramatic enough. Anyway I've been waiting to see some reviews on the palettes but so far haven't seen any posts on it from other bloggers...I wonder why? If you have pictures or have seen any online let me know!

My Favourite Products of 2008

Thanks to Grayburn, several beauty bloggers, me included, will be listing our favourite products of 2008 today:

I was originally going to just list 10 items , but it turns out that was quite diffficult, so I ended up with...a lot more :P Also, you'll probably notice as you read the list that 2008 was the year I discovered Japanese makeup as a lot of them made it on my list.

Eyeshadows

Lunasol Sheer Contrast Eyes in Lavender Coral



This was a Spring 2009 release. I first read about this on A Touch of Blusher, and just had to have it! The colours are slightly sheer, and have the perfect amount of shimmer without being over the top. The packaging is one of my favourites out of any makeup line I've seen - a simple but elegant metallic bronze palette.

See my review and look.


Coffret d'Or 3D Lightning Eyes in Blue Green 03



These were the first set of palettes released by Coffret d'Or, also from Spring 2008. These are not as sheer as Lunasol's but the shimmer is still just right. The colours consist of gorgeous green toned blues with a dark blue liner shade. The colours do stand out on my skintone more, so I prefer using it for days when I want something brighter. What I like most about the palette though, is how the white shades can be used as both a highlighter and undereye brightener.

Check out my review and look!


T'estimo Frame Impact Eyes in Green



My first Japanese palette! It was a 2007 release but I'm including it here because I only bought it in 2008.

T'estimo is actually now discontinued and replaced by Coffret d'Or. When I used it the first couple of times I was a bit disappointed with the fallout. However since then I've noticed that doesn't happen anymore, so I think once you use up the topmost layer the shimmer in the rest of the product is more finely milled and stays on better. Anyway the reason I love this is because the greens are super pretty, the best green colours I've ever seen (which is also why I haven't bought any green palettes since).

Review and look


MAC Naughty Nauticals pigments in Lovely Lily and Bell Bottom Blue



These pigments were the first ones I ever bought full sizes off! Don't regret it either because the colours are gorgeous and blend well. Lovely Lily is a warm toned lilac while Bell Bottom Blue is a deep blue with silver sparkles.

Review, Lovely Lily look, Bell Bottom Blue look


Shiseido Hydro-Powder in Violet Visions


The Hydro-Powders make great bases for coloured looks. I know, this is also from 2007 but I only tried it out in 2008 and it was love :P This vibrant purple shade is my favourite, it really brings out the colours in purple looks.

Review and look, another look


Liners

Kiss Me Heroine liquid liner



My HG liquid liner! I love how its so easy to apply compared with other liquid liners. The brush is fine tipped and has the right degree of firmness for control. Its also removable with warm water unlike say MAC Blacktrack Fluidline. Thanks to Chiara for her review or I wouldn't have heard about this.

See my review and look.


Lunasol Geminate Liner



My first experience with coloured liquid liner was a bad one (the NYX blue liquid liner) so I'd never been interested in trying any others, until Fuz did a look with this. So far no regrets, the colour is beautiful and the brush and formula is great.

See my review and look.


Blushes

The She Space blush in Recoil



My favourite matte blush of the year (not counting Everyday Minerals blushes I got 2007...)Colour description from the website is a cool raspberry pink. Its actually a brighter pink than this swatch shows when I apply it. The pigmentation is amazing, as good as Everyday Minerals and better than Silk Naturals. The only reason I don't use it more often is because I have too many blushes to get through...


Paul & Joe Disney Face Colour in Pink



The Paul & Joe Disney collection was released in Spring '08 in Japan. Initially I wasn't interested in it (don't know why) until I saw pics of it from Nic and Fuzkittie. I received mine literally yesterday and its so cute! The pink colour is a bright slightly cool toned pink with shimmer. My only complaint would be that the colored balls turned out to be mostly the same colour (not multicoloured like this stock picture shows).


MAC Petticoat Mineralize Skinfinish



My favourite MSF out of my collection! The pink shimmer can indeed be duped with other products I will admit, but the product itself is just so pretty to look at :P I've heard though that NYC does make a dupe of this with similar veining. Haven't seen it in Canada yet though.

Look and pictures of Petticoat compared with other MSFs.


Lip products

Lancome Color Fever lipstick in 302 SOS Pink


This was one of my summer obsessions :) The pink is a bright but not too obnoxious type of girly pink. The formula itself is great, goes on creamy with great colour payoff! My favourite way to wear it is on top of MAC 40s Pink Mattene as a base which brings out the pink even more.

Actual product pictures, Look 1 and Look 2.


Shiseido Maquillage Sheer Climax Rouge lipstick in PK730



My favourite pink lipstick for a natural look. Its not drying at all, and suits my skintone perfectly (NC25-ish with a yellow undertone).

See my look using this product.


Coffret d'Or Combient Rouge in 06 Peach Blossom



Another item I love by Coffer d'Or. Its a lipstick and gloss in one, which I find convenient for times when I'm using a small purse because its the size of a pen. The lipstick is slightly on the sheer side but is super easy to apply as it comes in a crayon-like format. The gloss is a pinkish colour, pleasantly UNscented and not sticky at all (major plus).

See my previous review and look.


Beauty Tool

Beauty Blender


I haven't even blogged about this yet but its definitely my favourite way to apply foundation now. So far I've used it for mineral makeup wet, and also with the La Mer tint and they both go on much more naturally than if I used brushes / fingers. In my opinion, this beats out any duo fibre brush for foundation application.


Skincare

Clarins Extra Comfort Toning Lotion



I know, this is something else I haven't mentioned previously before. Its a moisturizing toner (contains aloe) that I like using before moisturizer. I also found it doubles up as a nice finishing spray (like Fix+). Gives a nice dewy look when sprayed over mineral makeup. If not for the price I would be buying this in truckloads, but for now I'm just conserving what I have and using cheaper (but less effective) toners instead.


Fragrance

Masaki Matsushima Cherry



My favourite fragrance to date. Its a fruity type of fragrance perfect for day use. I also like unique bottle shape. However its been discontinued from Sephora so I will have to use mine sparingly...Wish I had gotten a backup!

See my previous post on it.


So...thats it :) Feel free to share any of your favourites or what you think of the items listed above!


Finally, many thanks to Grayburn for organizing this. Check out the favourites list of the other participating bloggers below:

Beautiful Makeup Search

Beauty 411

Beauty Talk

Beauty Tyrant

Binary Star

Grayburn

Life Of A Ladybug

lily loves mac

Make Do Style

Miss Whoever You Are

Perfume Shrine

Platinum Blonde Life

Searching the Inner Me

Slap Of The Day

The Beauty Alchemist

The non-blonde

Urbane Girl

Updates + Natural FOTD

I know, I haven't been very good at keeping up with some requests/comments, sorry about that ! :S I'm going to try and get more of them done.

First, some updates to some products I recently reviewed:

- Coastal Scents Duo Fibre brush

Some of you recommended I try it with liquid foundation. Unfortunately it failed to work for me with liquid foundation either. Part of it wasn't its fault, its just that my skin was dry at that time and would not let the foundation spread evenly. However, I found the brush to be useless to distribute the foundation. The bristles made the foundation streaky, and the bristles were shedding (which didn't happen with mineral makeup). I guess the brush hairs shed more easily because I had to use a heavier buffing action for the liquid compared with powder foundation. Still, picking off the hairs is annoying as hell. I guess I won't be using this brush except in an emergency, and only for powder products. Maybe I'll use it as a body brush to highlight collarbones etc?

- Kiss Me Heroine liner

I still like this a lot, but I've noticed the black colour isn't quite as black as MAC's Blacktrack. Somehow it seems less potent, so I have to go over the same area a few times if I want the line to be really black.

- Coffret d'or 3D Lightning Eyes

Jie-jie asked if there was fallout with this product on one of my earlier posts. I find there is some of fallout, especially if you are using a regular eyeshadow brush. However if I stick to the sponge applicator the fallout is reduced, probably because I can apply the product with a 'patting' motion instead of sweeping it across. So basically, yes it does have a bit of fallout, but much less fallout than the Lunasol Sheer Contrast palette and the T'estimo ones. Hope that helps! :)

- MAC Lip Erase

I haven't done a review of this one yet, but to answer a question I received earlier (sorry I can't remember who it was), it does work similarly to MAC Satin lipsticks like Myth. There are some differences, but if Myth already works for you then you can skip this. But I like the texture of Lip Erase more. Will do a review of this soon :)

***

Buff'd foundation review: (Emilee requested a review of this foundation a few posts back)

Coverage:

Buff'd foundation provides heavier coverage than the other brands I've tried, which are Everyday Minerals Intensive and Silk Naturals. Coverage is even better when paired with Everyday Minerals concealers (another combo recommended by Christiana). All 3 shades I ordered work on me, but I think the closest match for me is Sand, a pale shade with heavier yellow undertones.

The finish is quite matte which I like. However I find a finishing powder is definitely necessary as the foundation will get a bit oily after a few hours without powder to set. I used my sample of Silk Naturals Perfecting powder, and after a few hours it does get more dewy but not oily at all. Note that I have dry to combination skin, so am not sure how this will look on oilier skin types.

I do like how this doesn't oxidize / change colour on you. I used to find that Silk Naturals would oxidize on me and get darker after a few hours, but not with Buff'd.

The coverage of the foundation is quite good when wet. However I still have to test that part out more, as the one time I tried spraying some toner over the foundation, I sprayed too much moisture and it made me look super dewy haha. I'm not sure if it was the toner (because the toner was the hydrating type with aloe in it) or just too much moisture, so I have to try that again with less moisture, and maybe just a water spray.

Other general observations:

I noticed the foundation is less free-flowing than other foundations I've tried. It almost lumps up into tiny balls when I am swirling the brush in it. As a result I do have to be a bit more patient to apply it.

Also it was harder to pick up the powder with my duo fibre brushes. My Sephora brush didn't like it at all, it just refused to pick up enough of the powder lol. Fortunately my MAC 187SE was more cooperative. Not sure why...but I think its related to the more clumpy nature of it. So I've been using the MAC 187 SE for Buff'd and using my Sephora brush to apply my finishing powder.

Ordering/shipping information:

You can order samples off the website at $1.50 per sample. All samples have free shipping. It might seem daunting to choose a colour, but the descriptions on the website are quite accurate. Also you can always email them and ask for some recommendations :)

I was a bit put off by the general shipping costs on the website because it said something like $10 for shipping within Canada, but Christiana alerted me to the fact that they have refill kits, which come with free shipping (under the Kits section). Sweet! :)


FOTD with Buff'd and Lancome SOS Pink lipstick:

Buff'd foundation in Sand
Silk Naturals perfecting powder

Everyday Minerals B&B blush
MAC Emote blush to contour

MAC Lip Erase
Lancome 302 SOS Pink lipstick




Minimal eye makeup: Kate Square Cut liner in Natural Brown, Maybelline Cool liner in Chill the Champagne, Blinc Kiss Me mascara







Note that SOS Pink looks a brighter pink in real life...

Review: Kiss Me Heroine [updated with where to buy]

As previously posted, I got these back in March.

1. Kiss Me Heroine mascara in black




2. Kiss Me Heroine eyeliner in black




Kiss Me Heroine in red tube vs Blinc Kiss Me in silver tube:







I thought that Blinc would be quite similar to the original Kiss Me but they're quite different.

The brushes are shaped differently:






The Blinc brush (top) has more widely spaced bristles, and comes in a 'dumbbell'/hourglass shape. The centre of the brush is thinner than the ends.

The Kiss Me Heroine brush (bottom) has bristles that are set closer together. It has a curved shape.

I find that Blinc creates more spiky lashes, while Kiss Me Heroine creates more defined, well-separated lashes because of the brush.

Generally, I prefer Kiss Me's brush over Blinc's because the curved shape makes it easier to do small sections the lash at a time. The hourglass shape of Blinc doesn't fit my eyeshape perfectly, so i have to either use the tip (and wipe off the excess mascara), or use the innermost part of the brush which is more difficult.

I was going to do a comparison of their lengthening effects but I found that both looked the same when I did one on each side, so I didn't bother.

In terms of removal, the Kiss Me Heroine is harder to remove. I thought it would have the same "tube your lashes" formula as Blinc, so it would slide off easily. However that isn't the case. I find that it doesn't slide off in tubes, rather, I have to use a separate eye makeup remover to get rid of all the traces :( In that aspect, Blinc is still my favourite in terms of convenience.

Overall: Even though I prefer the brush, and the separated lashes effect that Kiss Me has, I like Blinc better because its so easy to remove. However the price is really expensive....about CDN$40 here for me :(


Kiss Me eyeliner:



I love how the tip is really fine. I can draw a super thin line, or make it thicker. And the brush is the right firmness/suppleness, so it gives you a lot of control.

I also find the pen-style format much more convenient that the brush + pot formats that many liquid liners come in.

The formula stays put quite well. Its waterproof but comes off with water and gentle rubbing. However for me, I hate the thought of using any pressure on my lashline so I still use a makeup remover anyway to expedite the removal process. That way I can use the absolute minimal pressure to get it off.

Overall, I think this is a great liquid liner, especially for liquid liner newbies like me. The problem I had with other liquid liners in the past was flakiness or a brush that was hard to control. This liner has none of these problems, and is so easy to use.

[Update]

P.S. Chiara has also posted her thoughts on this liner before here. In fact I got this because of her review :)

[Update 2]

Note that Kiss Me Heroine mascaras and liner can be purchased from Ichibankao. Sasa also stocks the liner, and the Volumizing version of the mascara. I don't think they have the Long & Curl version though.

a haul of major proportions

i finally got some time to take pics of the haul my bf very kindly bought from Japan :)

Firstly, he brought me some clip on earrings which was sweet of him :) I didn't ask for them at all so it was a nice surprice :)



I don't have my ears pierced...my mom never wanted me to get them pierced. Even so, I've been considering getting them done since I was 15 but even now I still haven't decided if I want to.

Anyway, I'm always envious of the selection of pretty earrings other friends have, and have mentioned it to my bf several times so I guess he thought I could use these ones in the meantime. What I like about them is that two of the earrings don't look like clip ons at all from both the back and front. Only one of them (the one on the right) has the telltale clamp thing on the back of them.

For most people these probably look really blah, but to me, these are finally the first pairs of earrings I can actually wear out. I bought a couple pairs of magnetic earrings before but those always hurt my earlobes after a while, plus I couldn't find dangly ones that weren't obviously clip-ons. These are my favourite out of all the stuff I got ^^

He also got me 3 bottles of DHC Cleansing oil, and 2 bottles of DHC washing powder which I'd requested:




And some makeup...He and his friend were so sweet, they went and searched for every single item on the list I gave him even though I'd emphasized he didn't have to get everything. And its not like they even know what any of this stuff looks like so it wasn't easy....





Details and closeups:

1. Kiss Me Heroine Long and Curl mascara

I wanted to try the Japanese version since I'd been using Blinc for the past 3 months and its good, just pricey at over CDN$30 vs 798 yen in Japan...thats less than 1/3 the price I paid for Blinc :S




2. Kiss Me Heroine liquid liner

Chiara's review said it was easy to remove with just warm water, similar to the Kiss Me mascara so I had to try it :)




3. Kate Gel liners in purple and gold



I didn't expect the pots to be that small actually, I thought they'd be close to Fluidlines but they are a bit smaller. Will review when I try them.




4. Lunasol Sheer Contrast Eyes in Lavender Coral



I love the packaging, its all metallic, even the bottom. Pricey though...





You'll see that almost every palette gives you two double sided applicators that are actually shaped for a specific purpose. Only the cheaper brands like Majolica Majorca and Lavshuca provide one applicator, which are still better than the crappy Maybelline / ELF ones.


5. Coffret D'or 3D Lightning eyes in Blue Green





I love the metallic cover, but too bad the base is plastic instead of metallic like the Lunasol one, but then it IS cheaper by about 1500 yen (US$15) so...

6. Sofina Aube Jewellery Shower Eyes in Purple







7. Majolica Majorca Majolook palette in GR741 (LE)





I love this one the most even if it was the cheapest because my bf had to check several different stores before finding it. Most stores were sold out of it, probably because its LE.


8. RMK Shiny Mix Eyes in Light green








9. Shiseido Maquillage Sheer Climax Rouge lipstick in PK730






10. Coffret D'or Combiant Rouge lipstick/gloss in 06 Peach blossom




11. Shiseido The Makeup Hydro powder eyeshadows in Violet Visions and Languid Lagoon

I asked him to pick these up at the airport because they're more expensive here with the 13% sales tax plus whatever markup there is for Canada.




So...reviews to come when I try them out :D