drivel about frivol

I tend to cycle between the 'big three' Japanese beauty magazines: Biteki, usually my favourite, has been leaving me rather cold of late, and I feel like my usual second choice Voce has been seriously skimping on makeup content in favour of skincare, clothes and sleb blather lately. So this month I plumped for Maquia for a change, and while its business is still very much brown as usual, I found myself appreciating its attention to those neutral details -- perhaps simply because I hadn't cracked an issue for a while :P

This issue came with a deluxe Obagi cream sample pot, and included booklets on sweet new season hairstyles and new foundation releases. Because I love charts (so redolent of SCIENCE!) here are two representative ones:

From the hairstyles booklet, four girls representing (top to bottom) round, 'base'*, long, and inverted triangle face shapes, crossed with four long hairstyles (right to left): side parting, thick/blunt bangs, short bangs, centre parting. The right-most pics are the 'befores'.

An X is a resounding NAY, a triangle is okay, a circle is a yea and a double circle comes with dingdingding flashing lights and cabana boys bearing cake. I hope.
*according to this chart, a 'base' shape in Japanese beauty parlance would seem to be a pentagon or modified heart shape (jaw wider than forehead but with a pointy chin)

And from the foundation booklet (which also includes reviewlets of all of these formulas), a chart placing the new releases along two axes: the x-axis runs from matte (left) to glowy (right) and the y-axis runs from full-coverage (bottom) to sheer (top). Though there's the usual guff about how these are new, modern, non-flat mattes blah blah. It seems fairly accurate for the handful of formulas I've tried -- does it ring true for you, too?

In the main mag, we have a hilarious-to-me (though apparently Allure etc. does this too now?) set of sums for new seasonal trends in makeup and fashion. Which includes gems like "Wear a sweatshirt with DARK brows" and "copper-red eyes goes with a trench!"

"Parisian chic" outfit with the new beige gradation on eyes:

Okay, I shouldn't snark, because I do really like that look. It really pings my current makeuppy bells of murky, grungy tones, imprecise shapes, and of course the lower-lashline thing.

And the attention to detail and subtle variations in shape, tone, finish and combination in this plethora of new neutral looks is something at which these Japanese OL magazines really excel: the dark straight brow look (top right) is balanced by inner-socket shading and an extended lower lashline; the copper-red look (bottom left) also showcases a triangular placement I've been loving this season, widening my close-set eyes be damned!

And we learn that the new beige gradation (middle panel) involves a tulip shaped lid and lower-lashline gradation, all in tonal browns, with mascara concentrated on the lower lashes. I can see that looking quite sexy and undone while still adding dimension... on a day when I don't have epic dark circles anyway.

That last look is my favourite from this issue: the "C-cheek" blush placement (they used Chanel Présage, btw):

It's youthful and girly, moods which autumnal makeup often lacks -- much as I love my drama and stomping about with dramatically flapping coat pretending to be a femme fatale, sometimes pretty is more conducive to people thinking you're awake/capable/not a vampire/not a consumptive. Pin-pals have picked up on its anime vibe, and that's both apt...

...and the perfect segue into my favourite extended feature in this issue, inspired by late '70s manga The Rose Of Versailles (already the inspiration behind Creer Beauté's La Rose De Versailles line of cult liners and sheet masks):

Again, mostly office-appropriate and definitely wearable looks, but with such a fun spin -- Maquia targets professional women in their late 20s to 30s, so Rose of Versailles is a savvy nostalgic pick. The product 'collages' inspired by scenes and elements in the manga are amusing too :)

Another feature, on powder-free makeup, is also right up my street:

Though I don't know if I'd be willing to use my hands to apply the whole shebang, as they advise, it is interesting to note the different parts of the palms/fingers recommended for different areas -- this is something I've noticed in my Japanese makeovers too, though there does seem to be several competing schools of thought re foundation application: whole palm? entire lengths of first two fingers? or, as here, up to the first knuckle of the middle three fingers:

That tutorial is actually a pretty good illustration of something else that's very visible to me in Japanese magazines -- the aggressive photoshopping seems mostly confined to skin. So the 'finger' application of lipstick does look realistically smudged and patchy, wandering in and out of the lipline. And since I trawl these magazines for clues as to which products I might want to buy unswatched, I do appreciate that they still offer usable clues to colour products' textures, if not being remotely accurate for base.

E.g. this issue taught me that Addiction's new lip stains will probably be too dry for me and emphasise my liplines like woah, without even being particularly opaque or evenly-staining (this is Raisin, one of the shades I was contemplating):

and that the promisingly unconventional colour combination in Élégance's new quad 101 (left) apply as far too muted and warm shades for me:

Also, CHARTS. Did I mention the charts?

A set of beige, pink and red lip colours for everybody! Or at least (left to right, top to bottom): The Feminine Girl, The Trendy Girl; lovers of Mattes, Juicy/Glossy, Long-Wearing, or Translucent/Sheer formulas; and those wishing to flatter red- or yellow-undertoned skin.

After years of dropped hints and broken promises, finally I haz swatched my collection (currently five and counting) of THREE's 4D Eye Palettes. This will function as the master post which I'll update to accommodate new acquisitions from this range and links to individual review/comparison and lookbook posts for each palette.

While all these quads are part of the permanent lineup, they were released in waves (01-04 with the original brand debut; then the sheerer, lighter 05-08 in SS2012; and the less-sparkly 09-11 in AW2013) -- and there are textural differences between the different 'families'. But in general each quad features:

top right: very pigmented and complex silky cream shadow -- slightly more emollient* and saturated than but otherwise similar to the cream sides of the THREE duos, functions as base or liner
bottom left: medium-to-pigmented satin, usually a brown shot through with quad-complementary sparse shimmer (more pigmented and denser than the satin powder sides of the duos)
top left: delicate shimmer/glitter, of light-medium pigmentation, slightly more shimmery and finely milled than...
bottom right: sheerer glitter topcoat, similar to the the Shu G shades but silkier, with good adherence even patted onto bare lids.

*these creams never 'set' and so I hesitate to recommend these quads those with very oily lids or who typically experience problems with (and dislike) cream products creasing/disappearing on them

THREE seems to promote a "rich cream + delicate powder pigment"recipe of eye makeup, and I like these quads best layered into a tonally and texturally complex murky haze, though the ones with stronger colour contrasts also work very well worn in more discrete placements. The textures are so silky and lightweight that all four shades layered on top of one another still retains a delicate, translucent and very flattering-to-skin-texture finish.

Swatches

All stripes run from sheerest to most pigmented: bottom right (3 swipes) // top left (2 swipes) // bottom left (2 swipes) // top right (1 swipe), made with sponge applicators.
Pictures taken in natural sunlight unless otherwise specified; click to enlarge.

02 My Blue Heaven

Pale, neutral gold glitter with larger white sparkles

Sky blue glitter with larger pale lime, and smaller bright turquoise and petal pink flecks

Neutral (both yellow- and pink-based) sable satin with sparse pink and purple shimmer

Cool greyed moss with very fine, varied microshimmer (predominantly gold, green and pink)

04 Art of Parties

Pale, soft, peachy-gold glitter with pink, icy blue and warmer gold sparkle

Medium amethyst glitter with turquoise, sky blue and pink flecks

Warm chestnut brown with sparse shimmer in several tones of pink

Gunmetal base heavily packed with predominantly violet and emerald microshimmer

06 Tranquil Oasis

Palest icy blue glitter with sparse pink, white and brighter blue flecks*

Coral pink shimmer with light violet and gold sparkle

Cool greyed olive satin-matte with very sparse pink and violet shimmer*

Midnight blue-grey with lighter blue flash and pink/peridot/white lights

[*these pans are all sheerer than the comparable ones in 02 or 04]

Better shot of the complex blue-grey and green:

08 Spirit Light

Cool lemon-yellow (not gold) glitter with white and blue-white flecks*

Delicate neutral orange glitter with both cool and warm gold, and icy blue sparkle*

Light yellow-based brown satin-matte with very sparse pink and yellow microshimmer*

Very cool brown with metallic taupe flash and sparse purple, pink, green and blue shimmer

[*these pans are all sheerer than the comparable ones in 02 or 04]

09 Star Guitar

Neutral taupe glitter with palest purple, grey and white sparkle overlay*

Warm rosy pink satin with silver microshimmer

Warm chocolate satin-matte with gold, red and green microshimmer*

Rich plum with jewelled purple, ruby and white gold shimmer, and sparse cornflower blue sparkle

[*these pans are all sheerer than the comparable ones in 02 or 04; the rose satin (top left) is more pigmented and less shimmery than its comparable pan]

Ingredients:

Talc; Camellia sinensis oil; Argan oil*; Sesame oil*; Silk powder; Jojoba Seed oil*; Rosehip oil*; Evening primrose oil*; Shea butter*; Safflower; Beeswax*; Vitamin E; Dextrin; Charcoal powder; Microcrystalline cellulose; Methyparaben

+/- Calcium sodium borosilicate; Glyceryl stearate(?); Dimethicone; Mica; Calcium aluminium borosilicate; Iron oxide; Titanium oxide; Cetearyloctanoate; Nylon-12; Dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone cross polymer; Synthetic phlogopite; Methyl methacrylate crosspolymer; Isononyl isononanoate; Magnesium stearate; Silica; Oryzanol; Carmine; Blue gardenia; Yellow gardenia; Polyglyceryl-2 triisostearate; Petroleum jelly; Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate; Trimethoxysilyl dimethicone; Hydrogenated polyisobutene; Triethoxycaprylylsilane; Hexadecanoic acid; Triethylhexanoin; Polyethylene; Microcrystalline Wax; Aluminum hydroxide; CI 77510; CI 19140; CI 73360; CI 15850

*certified organic

[For the curious, my first impressions post on these, after my trip to Japan in 2011.]

After being overwhelmed by the size of her makeup stash, Helen from Lola's Secret Beauty Blog decided to launch a new blog series called Project Make-A-Dent to force her to use up more of her makeup. Are you in?

Prime Beauty may be too old for teen themed book series and movies, but she knows a makeup value when she sees it. Read her review of the NYX Mortal Instruments Parallel Worlds Makeup Collection!

It is Giveaway time again!!! Visit Pammy Blogs Beauty for a chance to win 3 amazing items from Emani Cosmetics: their new HD Concealer, an eyeshadow trio, and a blush!

Mostly Sunny is going through a pink phase, and the latest addition to her collection is Giorgio Armani Diva Rouge Ecstasy!

What do unicorns and Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser have in common? You'll just have to read Pink Sith's blog to find out the answer.

polish insomniac tells us why nail polish is her secret weapon. Oh, and there's a $50 Visa Giveaway as well!

At Drivel About Frivol, scans and SCIENCE! from popular Japanese beauty magazine Maquia. Want to give your neutrals a new lease of life? Beauty geekery from across the ocean comes to the rescue!

Visionary Beauty succumbs to the charms of the visually beautiful Sisley L'Orchidée Rose from the Fall City Muse collection.

Everyone reading this probably has a wishlist in their mind of what they'd buy if they could. See what Marcia from Beauty Info Zone has on her Top Ten Fall Wishlist. It's a doozy.

Even Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed managed to get a set of Revlon by Marchesa Nail Art 3D Jewel Appliques on her spastic fingers - check out her results and take heart in the fact that if she can do it, anyone can!

One of Holiday 2013's most exciting releases for Perilously Pale is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. Check out her photos, swatches, and comparisons to the standard version.

15 Minute Beauty is in serious love with Too Faced's Holiday Collection, Joy to the Girls. Which piece will you get?

With Halloween around the corner how would you feel about a Shape Shifter entering your life? Eyeliner on a Cat has found one she thinks you'll like and she even has a giveaway for US residents.

Shiseido's Eye Colour Bar is a nine-pan limited edition palette released for Holiday. And ridiculous as it feels to me to be reviewing holiday collections already, I am as usual many steps behind those on my blogroll who've already posted about this baby:

Swatcharama! swatched the Eyebar way back in August (part 1, part 2)
Wondegondigo has a wonderful series of posts (here, here, here and here)
The Non-Blonde has beautifully lit product shots and layered swatches here
Selphia shared some of her always exquisite photos here

Which all makes things very easy indeed for me :) So I'll be progressing straight onto my issues and gripes and general moaning. Because even with all those excellent posts as context and preparation, I was still surprised to find upon playing that:

this really isn't a clear, jewelled palette at all. True to their liqueur names, even the brightest shades retain a powdery-white, artificial brightness: the glow of absinthe rather than emeralds, marachino red rather than ruby...
the shimmer (or hidden shimmer) in these shades tends to be simple and monotonal, also adding to this artificial-brightness aspect, perhaps because one is meant to layer and mix the two 'magic' shades, Champagne and Soda to create complexity -- on my dry skintype and clear, pale skintone, most shades apply as quite 'flat', without tweaking. Parfait Amour is the only shade with the kind of complex multitonal shimmer I love.
the textures are, to me, below Shiseido's usual excellent standard, and fall into several camps -- the best three, delicately shimmery and silkily blendable, Parfait Amour, Menthe and Noisette; two very soft and loosely-packed frosts Soda and Champagne; an almost foiled metallic, Curaçao; and three shades with very minimal shimmer and a drier texture: Cassis, Licorice and the almost-matte Café.

In a slightly out-of-focus shot, I think these textural nuances are visible even in the pans' surfaces -- note especially how Noisette, Menthe and Parfait Amour are the only ones 'twinkling' with complex lights?

Swatches to show how much less jewelled these colours turn once they hit skin -- even pale, clear, neutral skin like mine which rarely skews or mutes down colours. All swipes made by making two passes with a sponge applicator onto bare arm.

Despite the brightness, there's that certain flatness in most of these too, owing to a mixture of texture, finish and tone e.g. Curaçao, the kind of obnoxious colour and magpie-shiny finish you should rightly expect me to love, looks so 'solid' a bright (rather than a clear, complex one) that it makes the skin texture on my lids look at once robotic and crepey, so I can only wear it neat as liner.

Close-ups should illustrate what I mean by 'monotonal' shimmer in most of these, and also how the liqueurish 'flat' brightness extends even unto ye realms of macro. The edges of several shades also look quite dry and texture-enhancing on my dry skin -- the worst offenders being Café, Licorice and Cassis.

None of the usual fuzzy shots, because only Parfait Amour has a variety of multitonal shimmer particles to show. See?

^That shot is also a good illustration of why I prefer the 'delicately' sparkling trio Parfait Amour, Menthe and Noisette of all the shades in this palette -- they sit so much more prettily on my skin than the solidity (degrees of shimmer aside) of shades like Licorice, let alone the tricksy frosts like Champagne/Soda.

Two looks now, because I still haven't made my mind up about this palette and I think about makeup by wearing it, rather than, as others might do, by looking or swatching different colours together or pondering. Both aren't terribly precise because what this palette (and its creator Dick Page) excels at is encouraging playfulness rather than perfectionism. Also drinking games. Is it happy hour yet?

First look is built around my three favourites, and the only shades I like on myself worn neat: Parfait Amour all over the lid into socket, with Champagne blended over it from the inner corner over the mobile lid/fold; Noisette with a Menthe accent to line lower lashline.

I apologise for the atrocious lighting!

cheeks: Shiseido PK305 Peony eyeshadow | lips: Shiseido Lacquer Rouge RS404 Disco

The glorious obnoxiousness of Disco kind of underscores wearable/surprisingly muted these eye bar 'brights' are in comparison, no?

For look 2 I headed in the opposite direction, using the textures I found trickiest. And counterintuitively loved them layered them over Caviar -- I've drivelled before about my love for this black cream base-with-a-kick from Shiseido, and it came to my rescue here, a sheer layer paradoxically cutting through the solidity and bringing out a textural variety and lightness in Cassis and Curaçao without overwhelming them with BLACKNESS.

Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Colour BK912 Caviar as base on lid and lower lashline. Cassis packed over lid, with a tiny dab of Soda in middle of lid and Licorice smudged at outer third of lashline. Café pushed into lower lashes, with Curaçao to line lower lashline.

cheeks: Shiseido PK305 Peony eyeshadow | lips: Givenchy Rose Taffetas + clear balm

Basics in both looks: Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture foundation 001, Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener Porcelain Bisque, Suqqu brow pen 01 Moss Green, L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic WP mascara, Shiseido High Beam White as setting powder.

And hey, isn't it Magazine Monday? I hear you cry. Quite right, my dears and your patience and scrolling shall be rewarded thus, with two looks using the Eye Colour Bar from Dick Page himself, from of SoEn Magazine's November issue:

You can find more of Dick Page's face charts on the Shiseido site with accompanying videos for Notorious and Sweet Dreams.

And finally, some pretty/wearable looks from the Umeda Hankyu department store booklet, courtesy of spookydeuce on makeupalley:

How about you? Have the palette or want it? Love it or loathe it or as dithery as I am? I'd love to hear about your combinations, experiments and experiences :)

"Bright Up"is Suqqu's new pigmented lipstick line, launched for Summer 2013 to replace my beloved "Creamy Glow" formula (previous drivel here and here). The sheer line is still called "Creamy Glow Moist", though I expect the words 'bright' and 'up' will feature in the moniker of a future reformulation of those. All Suqqu lipsticks retail at £27 in the UK.

There were several reasons for my slowness in testing this new formula (when as you all know "new Suqqu formula" usually elicits embarrassingly pavlovian counter-ward slavering and bounding and tail-wagging activities...):

I was out of the country at the time
....thus could only helplessly watch my beloved Creamy Glows in 01 Saebana and 18 Karakurenai wink out of stock on Selfridge's website just as I was working on the final scrapings from my tubes :( Which did not exactly leave me feeling happy and hauly about these interlopers
....which didn't even have a red! Check out the seriously unpromising listing from the Suqqu site:

I know it says '7 shades' here but there are only six core colours -- I cropped out the limited edition one :P

...but as the blurb contains several other pavlovian-slavery keywords of mine: 'creamy', 'smoothly', 'brilliant', 'vivid', 'combats....fine lines,' I couldn't in all fairness and justice and for the love of kittens resist beyond a season. And to be fair, they do swatch more prettily than the squares would suggest:

Suqqu Bright Up Lipstick Swatches 01 02 03 04 05 06

natural light, overcast

01 Momoiro -- neutral coral pink
02 Hanabeni -- ditto, with additional deeper rosy-red tones
03 Barairo -- mauve-pink, the coolest of the six though still not too far off neutral
04 Outouiro -- pale pinky-peach nude, the lightest of the six
05 Hanaazu -- a coral pink with slight brown tones [like 01 Momoiro for darker skintones]
06 Yuubae -- warm, toasted rose

None of these shades contain shimmer, but nor are they remotely matte as advertised -- while less, er, creamily glowing than the Creamy Glows, the Bright Up lipsticks still have a visibly creamy finish with more shine than formulas which aren't marketed as matte (Chanel Rouge Allure, By Terry Rouge Terrybly) and are about on par with Shiseido's relaunched Perfect Rouge line. Despite adulteration with various beige and brown tones, making these all variations on 'nudes' or at least my-lips-but-better neutrals, all six shades show a certain brightness -- a glow that's an aspect of the colour rather than the finish or texture.

The Bright Ups, even the palest 04 Outouiro, are sufficiently pigmented to apply nearly true-to-tube even on my very cool mauve-pink lips, though not as pigmented/true as the Creamy Glows. Here's my (mum-given present for ikea-wrangling) shade, 02 Hanabeni, relatable both to the swatch pic above, and the lip pics below, I think.

Though less pigmented, the Bright Ups are conversely also a heavier, thicker and more traditionally emollient-cream texture than the almost-liquid-air slip and weightless wear of the Creamy Glows -- upon a lip-smush you can definitely tell you're wearing something rich and creamy even hours after applying a Bright Up. That in itself is okay by me -- the weightlessness was a bonus of the Creamy Glows but my favourite lip balm is RBR's Lip Elixir, a distinctly sticky honeyed goop, so I don't have any fundamental issues with lip products feeling like 'something'. However! These Suqqu Bright don't just feel like (admittedly unctuous) product, they look like product too, sitting on top of my lips, and while not quite enhancing, also not doing a thing to disguise liplines and dry skin texture.

natural light, overcast

After around 3 hours of chatting and sipping water, it's slightly less glossy/precise (this isn't a setting/film-forming formula) and looks a little drier, which just reflects my lips' condition; this isn't a drying formula but it isn't moisturising either.

natural light, weak sun

After a proper meal, Hanabeni fades to a light, even stain, just a little deeper and warmer than my natural lip colour -- something also true of the paler Creamy Glows, so if/when Suqqu release darker and bolder colours in this line, they may last longer and stain more deeply.

However, I hope those lip swatches show that despite softness of shade, heaviness of texture, dryness of finish and dimness of my lighting, Hanabeni (and the other shades I've tried at the counter) is, true to its name, still bright. With a good balm underneath to mitigate my texture/moisturisation gripes, it really shines as a face-brightening neutral, even in the context of a very simple neutral look on a dull, wintry day:

original post has details of the products in this look

Having pondered and swatched and peered muchly, I think there's a unique base common to the Bright Ups responsible for this glowy neutrality -- not the more common white pastel base, which might produce a more solid/opaque kind of brightness, nor a clear base, but a very pale lemon yellow base. Illustrative* comparison with two similar warm pinky MLBB shades I own: Givenchy Le Rouge Rose Taffetas (slightly white-based modern matte) and Maquillage True Rouge RD382 (glowy crelly, warmer tone on a clear base):

*said optimistically and in the spirit of realisation that all this time staring at makeup has made me certifiable...

Ingredients

Prime Beauty's is wrapping up our "My Top" series with 8 hair styling products to pump up the volume in your hair. See what she chose to get BIG hair!

To bookend my Autumnal Anticipations post, here's a rough accounting of my makeup ins and outs -- acquisitions and evictions -- of the season. Also because my makeup 'empties' pile keeps growing, with my urge to blog about its contents decreasing in proportion; likewise, my plan to post periodic updates of my one-in-one-out pledge made at the beginning of the year has resulted in... 0 posts as of late October XD Although I have managed to stick to it quite easily without feeling deprived and intend to carry on into next year :)

And finally, because I hope to bring my habits of consumption to the forefront -- the subject of money is too-often elided in our pretty world of frivolity-blogging, despite obviously fuelling it. It's a fairly persistent niggle of mine that I may be normalising certain behaviours/assumptions by, as I've recently been doing, posting (and pending) so many reviews of new and shiny things during a season of unusually high expenditure (for me) without giving them a context and making explicit several things:

I have never gone into debt over my frivolities or even exceeded my self-set 'fun money' budget (portioned out after necessities and savings have already been accounted for); this season's purchases have in fact been entirely funded by proceeds from previous blogsales.
The fact that I felt the need to state that^ (which is true in every season -- the budget bit, not the blogsale bit) and make this blahblah of a post testifies to just how much I've bought recently -- which really only means 'it feels like more than usual for me', mind. Ev'ryone bein' diff'rent etc.
My main reason (not the reason, which would simply entail NOT BUYING MORE MAKEUP WOMAN) being that my makeup acquisition/usage seems to proceed in waves, and recently I've finished* several 'staples' dating from 2005-2010 which 'need' replacing; the other major genre of changes are 'necessitated' by changes in my skin (from very dry to insanely dry) which have rendered previously wearable formulas suddenly unflattering. At least scarequotes are free :P
Finding that most of the enduring loves which I've used up to the last speck/drop/dollop have been Japanese formulations, I've mostly sought to replace them with new, made-in Japan products. That I'm able to acquire many of these at all is thanks to the generosity of local friends (who also save me from some poor choices!), but buying blind still has its perils and I'm probably more accepting than I should be that a proportion of my purchases will just head straight onto the give away/donate/sell/swap pile. Haven't quite addressed this in-built waste issue to my satisfaction as yet...

Er.... bullet points are supposed to lead to some kind of concludey conclusion, right? Sadly none to be had from me. But feel free to share your thoughts and experiences and discuss specific issues further in the comments. Hopefully we can make an open-in-many-senses post of this, while keeping things civil and mutually respectful. :)

*I finish stuff at an unusual(? it seems) rate not only because I am a clown ALLDAYEVERYDAYFORLYFE but also because I've acted as (hi-lariously unqualified!) makeup artist at some point to pretty much every woman I know and several of the men. For non-powder products, especially those hard-to-acquire Japanese ones, I often send slices, scoops and decants to makeuppy friends around the world to sample.

Right, some pictures! And specifics!

(dc = discontinued, LE = limited edition, all other products are currently available)

Some things I've finished / nearly -- as mentioned above, too lazy to review all of these in exhaustive detail, especially as most are impossible to acquire now. But please do ask about anything you'd like hear/see more of!

Clockwise from top left:

EST Emotional Aura Eyes quad 03 (dc), Shu Uemura IR605 and matte white eyeshadow singles (both dc), Fasio Shadow Trick Eyes PK-5 (dc), Suqqu 09 Koju quad (dc), Chanel Abstraction Illusion D'Ombre [repurchased], Rouge Bunny Rouge Lola automatic eye pencil and Batiste Grayling cream eyeshadow.

KATE Deep Trap Eyes GY-1 quint (dc), second only to Suqqu Koju above in my warm-grey-shadow-loving-heart :(

Pan showing on another of my KATE Deep Trap quints, PK-1 (dc; and guess my favourite shade from this :P). Also Addiction Last Scene lipstick down to a nub, thanks to my pimping this perfectly balanced soft red out to all and sundry. Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicata blush, formerly my go-to nude, now replaced by Chicca 01 Baby Girl.

Another RBR staple, Solstice Halcyon eyeshadow (top right), which will be replaced by their later release Sweet Dust Seriema (paler, cooler and more versatile for me), along with Shu Uemura Sakura blush (LE from spring 2006), the navy from Suqqu 01 Kakitsubata (dc) which I often use as a subtly cool-toned liner to 'block off' warmer eyeshadows from my lashline, and the grey from Suqqu Koju again (the shade I hit pan on first).

Cream products clockwise from top left:

Rouge Bunny Rouge Kiss Elixir lipbalm (dc, why why whyyyyyy) -- this is my third tube, and confirmed my love for this formula :/, RMS lip2cheek Smile, Korres Natural Purple cherry oil gloss (actually a warm rose), Essence Candybar stay with me lipgloss (a staple last summer), Chanel Confidence extrait de gloss (dc), Suqqu EX03 Shumomo noble nuancing lipstick, and creamy glows in 18 Karakurenai and 01 Saebana (all dc), Chanel Génial rouge allure (dc).

Factor in the things I've ditched as unsuitable:

A selection from my last blogsale

...and my ongoing projects to a) convert to a powder-free blush wardrobe and b) find powder/pencil/gel replacements for all my liquid liners...

my lovely, lovely unsuitable-to-my-skintype-and-makeupstyle rainbow of liquid liners :(((((

....and I hope you'll understand why I've been buying so bloody much lately.

*deep breath* So these are all my purchases of items released this season (autumn 2013):

Clockwise from top left:

Suqqu EX-17 Hatsushimo (LE) -- review, second look

THREE 09 Star Guitar -- swatch

Addiction Suspicious and Fresh cheek polish

Shiseido RD413 Sanguine lacquer rouge

Guerlain Rouge G Madame Flirte (LE) -- review

Etude House Rosy Tint Lip 08 After Blossom

Kiko Twinkle Eye Pencil 04 Bewitched Periwinkle (LE)

By Terry Crayon Kohl Terrybly 09 Royal Navy -- review

Charlotte Tilbury Champagne Diamonds and Amethyst Aphrodisiac -- review, swatches

Maquillage True Eyeshadow RS721 -- worn here

And these are my purchases from core lines / permanent ranges, which tend to be more specifically stash-gap-filling:

The Guerlains (Gala Rouge G and Habit Rouge Rouge Automatique), bought on sale at escentual.com, round out my newly diminished lip wardrobe with shades (er, reds) I know I'll wear in formulas that have proven themselves on my very dry, picky lips. Gala worn here.

Two Addiction glosses are likewise to widen my colour options in a very flattering formula (discussed here) -- Rich Girl, a bright, warm red (worn here) and Yellow Submarine, a mauve-cancelling, lip-brightening sheer.

The new-to-me formulas are Innisfree Vivid Tint Rouge 09 Dandelion Flower Coral, which I hoped would be the bright coral which I couldn't find in my otherwise beloved YSL Glossy Stain line after reading WorshipBlues'review), and THREE Glam Touch Lipstick Colour 11 Edith's Whisper to vamp up my jelly lip collection.

The mascara is RMK W mascara 05 -- a dual-ended tube with white lash primer and a forest green mascara at either end (worn here). Another forest green with a beautiful sheen, Kiko Automatic Precision Eyeliner and Khol in 709 Forest Green. (Building that rainbow in pencil form :P)

In the middle is a wee magical pot of Face Stockholm cream eyeshadow in Seiden -- a pale pink/green duochrome, like MAC Vex in silky cream form.

And the quad is THREE 08 Spirit Light (swatched here) which is my platonically perfect warm neutral palette, and displaces all of these sunkissed former loves:

RMK Ingenious Powder Eyes SH-1 Shiny Brown Gold, Paul&Joe Eye Colour B 003 Tranquility (dc), RBR Caress of Mink pigment (shown here), Jouer Amaretto (review), Visée x Smacky Glam Glam Glow Eyes BR-7 Bitter Brown (swatched here, worn here).

It's a rollercoaster I tells ya!

And I'm not including samples sent for review or generous gifts from friends. Don't even ask. They are strange folk. CLEALY I spoil myself plenty. Erm... I didn't buy any new skincare or haircare products, nail polish, perfume, base makeup, or brushes? *opens mouth for cookie* If anyone is still reading and not projectile vomiting in disgust, do leave me a comment :)

(This post was inspired by several recent reads from my blogroll, in particular Claire's thoughtful post on living below one's means and her Thankful series, and Belly's brilliant, brave and honest musings on this topic, in particular her ode to Pan. If you're more of a printed-pages-with-covers person, I highly recommend the retro-but-so-very-relevant-still, not to mention witty, zingy and zippy! Orchids on Your Budget (orig. pub. 1937).)

What comes after Magazine Monday? Testing Tuesday! The techniques I'm testing here come from a Magazine Monday post from several weeks ago, on Maquia's October 2013 issue, so perhaps tenuous or tangential would have been better 't' adjectives :P In any case, I'll try to be unusually terse after the last blockbuster blahblah, since in any case both looks today are quite simple and communicable by shape alone!

Look 1: C

Inspiration

Last panel:

Products

Addiction Fresh cheek polish [1] applied in a rough lozenge shape (Maquia calls it the C-cheek but it looks more indeterminately sausagey to me :P) high up on the cheekbone extending past the outer corner of the eye. Which consists of the peach from THREE duo 04 Love Satisfaction [5] on the outer portions of lid and lower lashlines, with the yellow from 05 Love Evolution [4] on the lid and, and the yellow mixed with the brown from that duo [2] in the centre of the lower lashline. The grey from 03 Love Revolution [3] used as very fine upper lash liner, extended slightly, straight out. Lip is RMS lip2cheek Modest [6], patted over balm.

As mentioned in the comments section of the original post, I find this a very 'user-friendly', pretty, youthful look, once you get over any worries about poking your eyeballs with your blush brush rather than your liner brush, for a change... and in these honeyed summer-to-autumn shades, I find it a nice way to mark the transitional season when taking a break from the usual (still loved by me!) berry clichés.

Some things I've learned while playing with this shape: for me, similar colours of eyeshadow and blush work best if shooting for pretty -- it heightens the impression of soft blended harmony if the blush almost joining the eyeshadow shade into each other tonally as well as placement...ally. Um. Also, for me, it's best if those shades are warm, as this area is pretty well colonised by my freckles anyway. [The above does not preclude my future posting of any un-pretty and not-best versions of this C-cheek with a cool blush shade and contrasting eyeshadow, btw :P]
I also moved the 'C's'' / 'lozenges' outwards, as a placement exactly like the original model's meant that the inner curve of the lozenge overlapped and emphasised my emerging under eye tear trough (THANKS, ageing) and blending also tended to mess with my under eye concealer.

Look 2. ∆

Inspiration (bottom right panel)

Products

Yesss... tenuous :P Because recreating this look in the original copper-red tones was so woefully unflattering that I ended up swinging violently in the opposite direction with a cool green eye from my Shu Uemura Karl Lagerfeld Smoky Velvet (EU/Asia) palette: green [2a] over lid in a triangular placement and smuged into lower lashline, mint [2b] patted over the inner 1/3 of the upper lashline, silver [2c] to 'shade' from the inner corner up the inner curve of socket bone, gold [2d] patted at the very inner corner of the lower lashline. MOAR greenery with RMK W mascara 05 Green.
Because while still strictly a triangular gradation in the spirit of the original, this is a much more high-contrast look, with the lightest shades at the highest points of the inner triangle, this placement still manages to widen my close-set eyes.

And deciding the opposite of a soft and glossy warm orange lip would be a matte cool pink, Addiction Amazing cheekstick [3] on both lips and cheeks.

...you can only see the gold glitter highlighter on my right (further away) eye. WHY?

Which I later topped with Addiction Miss You More [4] gloss as my dry, lined lips can't really pull off this matte a formula any more :/

I hope this closed-eye shot makes the 'triangle' shape a bit more evident

With the modifications I mentioned above (lighter shades to mitigate a fundamentally unideal placement for my eyeshape), I've been liking and wearing this triangular shape a lot, in various tones this season -- you'll see a few more renditions when I post some THREE quad reviews.

Minor tweaks = wearable ways to rediscover products you already own! Got to love it :D
Anyone else playing with new tricks, from whatever source? Or do share ideas for further tweaks and variations on these looks, and others you might like to see from that particularly meaty issue of Maquia.

As I've written before about the drugstore-dupeability of By Terry's lovely but seriously overpriced Ombre Blackstars, you would be fully justified in asking what the hell I was thinking buying a new £22 eye pencil (aka Crayon Khol Terrybly) from the brand.

By Terry Royal Navy 9 Crayon Kohl Terrybly cobalt blue liner

...but it comes with a sharpener? And the box is SHINY. And PAHRPAL.

SpaceNK N.Dulge points, my friend :P N.Dulge points, and COBALT. The former knocking this down to a drugstore-range (for the UK anyway) £7 and the latter.... well:

Swatch By Terry Royal Navy 9 Crayon Kohl Terrybly cobalt blue liner

Not the sexiest swatch ever, but this is a khol pencil so the edges are going to look sort of waxy drawn on neat -- such is the nature of this kind of formula. Used with a precise brush, you can definitely achieve very sharp lines with this, as I'll demonstrate below. But I wanted to show how smooth and evenly pigmented a bright blue this is -- other cobalt fiends will appreciate the rarity of a formula which isn't chalky and doesn't drag on the skin. Also, no cheating with shimmer to create vibrancy -- this is pure COLOUR; the 'crest' of the last wave (bottom rightmost) looks slightly glossy still (the pencil applies initially as a gel), but the rest of the squiggle has already set to its matte-but-not-flat final state, which will remain totally in place and vibrant all day, resisting both rain and vigorous scrubbing, but coming off easily with cleansing oil, without staining the skin.

Comparisons

With the other brightish blues I own to illustrate how true a COBALT (judicious allcaps are judicious) the By Terry is:

Swatch By Terry Royal Navy 9 Crayon Kohl Terrybly cobalt blue liner THREE 03 Eye Belong Tarina Tarantino Thief Kiko Twinkle Periwinkle

Left to right:

Fyrinnae Lorem Ipsum // Shiseido Curaçao from Eye Bar // Sugarpill Afterparty

THREE Flash Performance Liner 04 Eye Belong

By Terry Crayon Khol Terrybly 9 Royal Navy

Tarina Tarantino Eye Dream Hyperliner Glamorous Thief

Kiko Twinkle Eye Liner 04 Bewitched Periwinkle (LE) -- so bewitched it's going widdershins

I no longer have the two COBALT liners which preceded this one in my wardrobe but they were both felt-tipped liquids: Kiko Super Colour Eyeliner in 107 Bleu Majorelle (slightly darker and more muted) and Barry M Liquid Eyeliner Electric Blue (worn here, slightly lighter and less rich). Though By Terry's khol is far pricier at £22 vs ~£7 for Kiko and ~£5 for Barry M, it's worth the extra to me for its beautiful glide across my dry lids, its longer shelf-life, its far more reliable wear (Barry M isn't waterproof so lasts all of 5 minutes on my watery eyes; Kiko is prone to flaking off in a manner typical of waterproof liquids), and finally, its far greater versatility. I tried to demonstrate this in the following looks:

Look 1: Liner

Like the liquids, Royal Navy is sufficiently pigmented and bold to work for a graphic wing, to sharpen up an otherwise soft'n'pretty eye consisting of Rouge Bunny Rouge Sleeping Underneath a Mandarin Tree on the lid and Sweet Dust Seriema to softly shade the socket and lower lashline. I used the pencil itself in one smooth motion to draw along my lashline, stopping at the outer corner, and then took a clean Hakuhodo G5515bksl brush to flick it up slightly -- because the khol naturally dispenses a little extra 'blob' at the end of a line, I just used that already-placed product to create this baby flick; for a bigger wing you'd want to pick up some khol on your winging brush as well.

By Terry Royal Navy 9 Crayon Kohl Terrybly cobalt blue liner FOTD

Cheek: THREE 19 Love Kick blush | Lip: Addiction Rich Girl lipgloss

Look 2: Waterline

Unlike liquid liners, and my beloved sparkly creams, Royal Navy is waterline-safe :D As I love blues with browns (e.g. first look here), and blues with reds (e.g. second look here), this cobalt seemed to me the perfect waterliner to pair with THREE 09 Star Guitar's mix of yellow-brown (on lid) and reddened plum shades (as liner), especially when that plum already contains cornflower blue sparkles. I also patted a little of the pewter glitter shade from that quad over the centre of the mobile lid.

bright artificial light

Cheek: Becca Guava Beach Tint | Lip: Coffret D'Or BU Rouge Creamy Liquid PK270

Look 3: Shadow

A bold shade in a soft shape, Royal Navy used alone for a basic smokey eye, pigment concentrated closer to lashline. On extremely dry lids like mine, even working on one eye at a time as quickly and messily as I can (and I've had over a decade's worth of practice in this oh-so-illustrious field, and not always sober either :P) it was still a bit of a struggle towards the end as the khol entered its indelibly-set phase* faster than my Tom Ford 13 brush could swirl. So I went over the very edges with Lunasol cream shadow in Nuance Grey and, to prevent the liner floating above my black lashes, tightlined with KATE Super Sharp S liquid liner in BK-1.

*I think this formula will blend more easily on oilier/normal-lidded folk, and probably wear very well too -- if you have experience with it please do leave a comment!

Cheek and Lip: Lipstick Queen Oxymoron Matte Gloss Free Ride

Look 4: Accent

If the first few looks showcased Royal Navy in its unadulterated brightness, this one takes advantage of its clear base to show how something layered underneath can radically change even a colour this pigmented.

To wit, when placed over sparkly black cream from Shu Uemura Karl Lagerfeld Smoky Velvet palette, Royal Navy (outer 'v' accent) turns into a blackened gentian (again, I'd intended a more blended/faded result but the Shu base adheres so closely to my snake-dry skin that trying to then diffuse this khol over it was less fun than anticipated :P). The coral glitter in the inner corner/socket is from THREE 06 Tranquil Oasis.

dim/cloudy natural light

artificial light to capture GLITTAH

Cheek: RBR Gracilis | Lip: Innisfree Creamy Tint Lipstick 01 Flower Buds Pink worn very sheerly over RBR Lip Elixir balm

....As I think I've now managed to make a product I genuinely love and find versatile and have been reaching for several times a week since acquiring it look inordinately finnicky and difficult, my blog work is hereby done *dusts self off*

So to clarify, and provide a little context for your extrapolating: Royal Navy launches this By Terry Khol Terrybly formula right into the category of my favourite liners, which also include my intensely sparkly THREE trio and pair of Pixi's. While I don't think I'd shell out for another shade which I could find in Pixi's line, or in my beloved drugstore brand Kiko's unctuous cream shadow sticks, this unique shimmer-free COBALT (sorry, last time) is definitely one I'd repurchase in a heartbeat.

Ingredients

See how high up the ultramarines colouring is? Second ingredient, folks!

PS so sorry about the shifting lighting! Looks 1 and 2 are from moderately well-lit days, 4 from an apocalyptically stormy one with sudden flashes of sun, Look 3 taken on another, smoggier continent...

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed and Stila want to help you colour outside the lines for the holiday by winning a Stila Colour Outside the Lines Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner set - contest is open internationally and there are 3 sets up for grabs so be sure to come and enter!

15 Minute Beauty has the lowdown on 5 tips to help your blowout last longer.

Mostly Sunny got a pretty gold and black look out of MAC Gilded Night Mineralize Eye Shadow Duo. It almost made having to tussle with the fallout worth it! Almost...

The Pink Sith shows you that daydreams don't always have to be about rainbows and unicorns. They can include little gems like the NARS Day Dream Blush!

Prime Beauty is ~~somewhat of~~ quite a makeup palette fanatic. She showcases some of her favorites in this Top 10 Makeup Palette post.

Its always exciting using a brand you haven't tried before, Visionary Beauty has her first taste of Aerin, but was the Fall New York City collection a hit or miss?

Lola's Secret Beauty Blog is thrilled to introduce you to an amazing new luxury face oil from an extraordinary new company! African Botanics Neroli Infused Marula Oil is utterly fantastic- learn why it is just so special!

Are you as intrigued with makeup tools as Marcia and Lisa from Beauty Info Zone are? Read about Touch Face Auto Make-Up Device and possibly win one.

Kate is struck by a COBALT from the blue! Head over to drivel about frivol to find out why this By Terry crayon left her utterly starry-eyed.

Giveaway!!! Are you a beauty box lover who likes to support good causes? Be sure to enter Pammy Blogs Beauty's contest for a Total Beauty Collection Pink Embrace box!

Perilously Pale has featured many great holiday gift offerings this season and one that has her really excited in the new Kat Von D Spellbinding Eyeshadow Book. You don't want to miss out on this! Check out her detailed review and swatches.

polish insomniac really doesn't want to fall in love with any more textured polishes, but the OPI Liquid Sands in the Mariah Carey Holiday collection won her over!

Do two posts constitute a series? If so, here's another Testing Tuesday, featuring another look from Maquia magazine, this time from the September 2013 issue, very kindly scanned and shared by the lovely Claire.

Unlike the last edition, this time I followed the tutorial as faithfully as possible (as I'm currently travelling and not possessed of all my pretties, or indeed of my protractor) while youtubing some 'zuka tunes in the background i.e. the closest I'll ever come to being made over and serenaded by Chiharu-san in the lowest registers of her chest voice *swoon* Erm. ahem. Here are the products I used to recreate the look:

Face: Sea of Clouds highlighter, Gracilis blush, and Sweet Dust Seriema eyeshadow used as contour powder, all by Rouge Bunny Rouge

Lip: Suqqu Bright Up lipstick 02 Hanabeni.

Eyes: three shades from KATE Deep Trap Eyes GN-1 (dc) and the white gold glitter topcoat from Shu Uemura Karl Lagerfeld Smoky Velvet EU/Asia version to sub for the Tom Ford Sahara Haze used in the tutorial. Two Clio liners, the liquid Waterproof Brush Liner in Kill Black, and the gel pencil Gelspresso in 7 Golden Black -- closest thing to their black YSL pencil I had with me and, luckily, perfectly complementing the greyed green shadows in this look.

As you can see the detailed instructions over at Land of Lorp, I'll just focus on the steps which I found particularly interesting/counterintuitive. One thing to note is that I ran some Kiko white kohl over my lower waterline and lightly swept the pale shimmery ivory from the KATE quint [1] over my eyelids to mask some of my wages-of-travel/insomnia redness and veininess before proceeding.

Step 11. outer eyelid accent

I thought at first glance that this was the more usual "place the eyeshadow at a 45º diagonal relative to the corner of the eye" soft wing, but actually the 'horizontal'* line (white dots) is drawn between two points -- the centre of the lid directly above the pupil, and the outer corner of the eye. That horizontal, and the line at a 45º angle above it (green dots), mark the boundaries of a rounded, hazy eyeshadow placement -- tutorial advocates fingers; I used a Tom Ford 13 brush and the lighter KATE green [2].

*so if your eyes tilt upwards or curve downwards, you'll end up with a correspondingly sloping 'horizontal' as base, and a lid shadow-placement that depends on the shape of your eyelids, rather than a continuation of the curve of your lower lashline, which is so often used as a reference for liner angles, or of the outer crease which is usually the referrent in 'outer-v' placements.

(I left Step 12 (central lid highlight) for last, as I was using a Shu Uemura glitter topcoat [4] which is best pressed on over a 'finished' eye; I also used this shade for the inner lower lashline highlight i.e. Step 19.)

Step 13. lower lashline shadow

Again, the two lines mark the boundaries of where the shadow (lighter greyed green, KATE [2]) is placed: the 'horizontal' (white dots) is drawn from the pupil to the outer corner of the eye and the diagonal (green dots) comes 45º below it.

For Step 14 (tightlining) I used the Clio Gelspresso pencil and for steps 15 and 16 (smudging and extending the liner straight out), the darker KATE green [3] to smoke out the liner.

Step 17. liquid liner

Another interesting one -- rather than angling the flick by following the outer curve of of the lower lashline onwards and upwards, as most English-speaking makeup artists advise, this tutorial extends the inner curve of the lower lashline down (white dots running from inner corner to centre) and then places the wing at a 45º angle to that line (following the black dashes), with the centre of the lower lashline (directly below the pupil) as pivot point.

On my eye, this makes for a wing that's slightly closer to vertical i.e. a few degrees perkier! than usual, and which is slightly in-set before the end of my eye proper, which gives even more of a lift. There's no 'floating' liner effect at the outer corner, because of the smudging/extending of the tightliner (powder in my case) in the previous steps.

Step 18 lower mirrored wing

You'd think (or I did, anyway) that this would be a simple case of 45º mirrored from the first flick, right? Nope, the horizontal line (white dots) actually runs (in an absolute horizontal) straight out from the end of the eyelid fold, and the lower wing (black dashes) is supposed to drop 45º below that. Again, kind of counter-intuitive, but makes perfect sense if you think about it -- the line of your fold is also a part of any look, and mirroring it opens out and frames the eye more naturally than mirroring a drawn-on wing, even one that follows the natural curve of the eyeline.

Unfortunately at this point my concentration and ability to follow directions (never particular strong suits) had failed, and my hotel keycard (key prop and staff in these complex geometries :P) had gone awol, so my lower wing is a wonky 38º abomination *self-immolates*

Steps 20-22 lashes

Curlers held at a slight angle and mascaraed (with Fasio Full Dynamic Volume BK001) lashes tilted outwards with the aid of a brush handle. This is probably the subtlest tweak yet, but for someone (like me) who is totally addicted to her curlers and mascara, it made a huge difference, and a noticeable one -- I rather tragically ended up doing double-takes all day, every time I caught sight of my own eyes in a reflective surface.

I even like that this left my inner lashes untouched in their straightness (my curler fits my eye perfectly held straight, so messing with the angle was bound to leave things out) -- if you already tilt your curlers to get a good curl, I'm not sure how you'd recreate this effect -- a mini curler maybe? Ideas in the comments please!

(this recent lookbook post shows how my curled and mascaraed lashes usually look)

The final eye look without random chicken scratches :P

The full face. With the RBR face products above, over Shu Uemura Whitefficient pink/purple UV Underbase Mousse. Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener in Light Bisque under eyes.

I really loved the effect of the triple-swept blush radiating from the outer corner of the eye (step 8) and low angled highlight (step 10) from this tutorial. Usually face shading (blush, highlight, contour) aims at either angular/sculpted or pretty, soft and rounded effects, so it's brilliant to find something that unites the two so neatly and easily.

What definitely didn't work -- the angled brows (steps 23-5). Ack, I am just too were to brush my gangling brow hairs so casually in opposite directions. A cleaner, less literal take for me would involve gel/wax to create a neater version of this shape.
A maybe on the 45º lip line -- perma-smirk has both advantages and disadvantages I suppose...
Everything else is a win! Expect to browse future looks with protractor in hand, to see if you can spot these angles recurring :P

Will you be giving these techniques a shot? Would love to hear/see the results and your thoughts!

***This post features samples sent for review; as always my opinions are entirely my own and stated in full.***

Diego Dalla Palma is an Italian brand founded in the 1970s, and often called the MAC of Italy for its huge and on-trend colour range and emphasis on makeup artistry. They have recently expanded UK suppliers, and can be found at Marks & Spencer's newish and poshish beauty departments and at Debenhams.

For autumn/winter 2013 DDP's Scissor Sister Collection is headlined by an oh-so-now Twiggy-inspired promo, but contains some very solid products which can be used to create a wide variety of aseasonal (dare I say timeless?) looks. You can see some of my dabblings here :)

I was sent three products to test from the new collection: Smooth Eyeshadowno. 165 Storm Violet, Creamy Blush60 Glow Baby Pink, and Liquid Lipstick104 Cyclamen.

Diego Dalla Palma Smooth Eyeshadow no. 165 Storm Violet, Creamy Blush 60 Glow Baby Pink, and Liquid Lipstick 104 Cyclamen.

Minimal packaging in black&white, again very MAC. The boxes are hefty cardboard:

The cases are matte black plastic -- both more solid and sleeker feeling than MAC's:

I particularly like the way the hinge and release wrap sleekly around the compacts. These are easy to open, and close securely with a snap, by the way, no manicure-destroying Sleek struggles here.

Aaanyway, onto the products themselves!

Swatches

Three on the right are all ONE SWIPE onto a bare arm *_* leftmost is the blush blended out:

We're talking what-you-see-is-what-you-get PIGMENT, people! Witness the Smooth Eyeshadow165 Storm Violet pan (okay this is just an excuse for sexy complex sparkly purple shot):

Matter of semantics, but to me, this Smooth Eyeshadow formula is a very smooth silky powder, feeling like a pressed pigment (think Armani Eyes to Kill Intense, L'Oreal Infallibles or Estée Lauder Cybers) rather than a drier cream like those from THREE or Shu Uemura. While its complex, glitter-packed nature means that swatches often throw up some fallout, I've experienced no issues during actual application/wear on the eyes -- obviously pressing on the pigment helps, but adherence over bare skin (no primers) stays excellent through all day/night. It can be used wet or dry, but as pigmentation is already so intense dry (as in my swatch), I see no need to foil.

But that pretty much goes for all the menny menny glittery shades I love and own. Where Storm Violet stands out is in its tone, a gorgeous true jewelled purple, which makes most of my other options pull grey or blue, emphasising their pastel or dusty facets.

e.g. with Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicate Hummingbird, Chanel Illusoire, Fyrinnae Sequinned Master, Shu Uemura G 745, THREE 04 Art of Parties purple glitter

eyeshadow swatches Diego Dalla Palma Smooth Eyeshadow 165 Storm Violet Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicate Hummingbird, Chanel Illusoire, Fyrinnae Sequinned Master, Shu Uemura G 745, THREE 04 Art of Parties purple glitter.

Storm Violet even holds its true, glittery own against some of my not-inconsiderable stash of Fyrinnae purples: (L to R) Mystical Hedgehog, Parental Advisory, Cuddlefish, Meerkat, Sequinned Master, When I Grow Up.

eyeshadow swatches Diego Dalla Palma Smooth Eyeshadow 165 Storm Violet, Fyrinnae Mystical Hedgehog, Parental Advisory, Cuddlefish, Meerkat, Sequinned Master, When I Grow Up.

bright artificial light, sorry!

The creamy blush is another beauty -- properly a cream and not a powdery abomination masquerading as such (Chanel and YSL, I'm looking at you), but with a silky matte finish and less greasy slip than Illamasqua or Becca creams that's likely to appeal even to dew-haters. It does have a very faint, fruity-sweet scent, however, so those with very sensitive noses beware.

60 Glow Baby Pink is a light (paler once you 'break' the surface) yellow-based pastel peachy-pink which warms up as it's blended out and wears as one of my beloved pop-bright pastels. In fact it's very close to but slightly brighter than the Ladurée Cream Cheek Base 102 I auditioned earlier this year for this particular blushy niche, and in a much creamier, smoother, glitter-free formula to boot :D

Like the Ladurée, which I no longer own, it runs lighter and pinker than my other light peachy-pinks, but would look more coral next to blue-pinks. Here with YSL Glossy Stain 27 Pêche Cerra-Cola, Illamasqua Rude cream blush, Chicca Flush Blush 01 Baby Doll, Becca Guava beach tint.

Diego Dalla Palma Creamy blush 60 Glow Baby Pink, YSL Glossy Stain 27 Pêche Cerra-Cola, Illamasqua Rude cream blush, Chicca Flush Blush 01 Baby Doll, Becca Guava beach tint.

swatch Diego Dalla Palma Creamy blush 60 Glow Baby Pink, YSL Glossy Stain 27 Pêche Cerra-Cola, Illamasqua Rude cream blush, Chicca Flush Blush 01 Baby Doll, Becca Guava beach tint.

The creamy blush's mirrored compact also includes a brush. Which is similar to the ones that come with Shiseido satin face colour blushes (right), albeit half the size and more tightly packed with more finely tapered hairs. In the middle is one of Suqqu's grey squirrel offerings included in their blush duos -- much finer and more directional.

Liquid Lipstick in 104 Cyclamen is where my squee turns into a 'huh?'. This is the one product, only the left swatch is blotted down into a stain and the right was swept on straight from the sponge. I don't think I've ever encountered such a cool-toned shade sitting on such a warm base before, though I suppose it's true to the way cyclamen petals often shade from fuchsia/magenta to a warmer, rosier red.

Formula-wise, the liquid lipstick applies as a fully opaque, smooth cream with a tiny bit of drag (not liquifying/gel-like) and sets to a slightly glossy, somewhat tacky thick balm, which you can definitely feel on your lips for hours. It's scent/taste-free (woohoo!) and wear time is very good, thanks to the slight stickiness -- it takes about two meals and several drinks to get down to the warm (and even) stain shade, which also retains a slight sheen. On my very dry, picky lips, I'd say this is very slightly drying, but nothing a bit of lip balm underneath can't deal with.

The shade shift is so pronounced I did two sets of comparison swatches.

1. 104 Cyclamen full-on with cool berries: Illamasqua Crush cream blush, Burberry Bright Plum lip cover, YSL Glossy Stain 24 Fuchsia Intemporel, Sonia Rykiel Sublime lipstick 24.

Diego Dalla Palma liquid lipstick 104 Cyclamen, Illamasqua Crush cream blush, Burberry Bright Plum lip cover, YSL Glossy Stain 24 Fuchsia Intemporel, Sonia Rykiel Sublime lipstick 24.

swatch Diego Dalla Palma liquid lipstick 104 Cyclamen, Illamasqua Crush cream blush, Burberry Bright Plum lip cover, YSL Glossy Stain 24 Fuchsia Intemporel, Sonia Rykiel Sublime lipstick 24.

2. 104 Cyclamen blotted down, with a selection of reds I like to wear as stains, with a rose for reference (i.e. the shift blew my mind and I grabbed tubes at random): Addiction Last Scene and Monroe Walk, Revlon Fire&Ice, Guerlain Rouge Automatiques in Liu and Chamade.

swatch Diego Dalla Palma liquid lipstick 104 Cyclamen, Addiction Last Scene and Monroe Walk, Revlon Fire&Ice, Guerlain Rouge Automatiques in Liu and Chamade.

Smooth Eyeshadow Ingredients

Creamy Blush Ingredients

Liquid Lipstick Ingredients

Once Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed starts writing (bad) poetry, you know it's time to put an end to our favourites lists - so please tolerate this last one from her and at least know that you have our next Beauty Spotlight series to look forward to where you will learn all the deep, dark and disturbing (yes, we're talking about Elvira) secrets from all the Beauty Spotlight ladies!

A look-dump post featuring the items from Diego Dalla Palma's AW 2013 collection reviewed and swatched here.

Look 1. Wear all teh things!

Smooth Eyeshadow 165 Storm Violet as a one-shade smokey eye -- the complex glitters in this catch the light to add a great deal of dimension depending on how the light hits. Not naturally a minimalist, I then got very lashy with L'Oreal Telescopic False Lash WP mascara.
Creamy Blush 60 Glow Baby Pink on cheeks -- see what I mean by this wearing as a(n impresively pigmented) pop pastel? Both bright and definitely light, even on my pasty skin :D
Liquid Lipstick 104 Cyclamen in lips.
(Foundation is Illamasqua Skin Base 02 foundation, because I need to remind myself annually that I hate hate hate its powdery matte deadness.)

Better angle for the blush:

Kind of painfully clashy, I know. But once I blot down the liquid lipstick to its freaky warm rose stain mode, it plays much more nicely with the peachy pink blush. (Also, slapped on half a bottle of RBR Sea of Clouds to try and revive my Illamasqued skin.)

Look 2. Just the lip

Without the distracting tones of the peachy blush, Liquid Lipstick 104 Cyclamen paired with Addiction Rose Bar cheek stick. On the eyes, a very nothingy application of the rose/pewter/brown shades from THREE 09 Star Guitar quad, and natural lashes with one solitary slick of Maybelline Rocket WP mascara.

Look 3. Led by the lips...

If you know me from these frivolous archives or from makeupalley, you may know that my comfort zone does not really encompass a lip colour as cool as Cyclamen. The warm rosy red stain it leaves was an easy goes-with-any-look instant love, but the full-on, fresh-from-the-tube colour? EEEEEK. Periodically I try out of bloodymindedness (and hey-y-u-scared-tho?-makeup-washes-off-ness) to step out of this comfort zone, so when I came across this Diego Dalla Palma summer 2012 Electric Soul collection ad, which paired a cyclamen-ish lip with lime and blurple on the eyes, I jumped at the chance to give the full-on lacquer another shot.

Working from Beautylandia's swatches of the Electric eyeshadow trio, I used Addiction Soda Lunch for the blurple and off-white shades, and the yellow from that quad mixed with Addiction Silent Scream single to make the lime.

Also obviously a very different eyeshadow placement :P RBR Gracilis, very lightly, on cheeks; Fasio Full Dynamic Volume mascara.

4. The lipstick is dead. Long live Lipstick!

This look employs the creamy blush and smooth eyeshadow without the liquid lipstick, but is confusingly inspired by 'Lipstick' (the music video to a song by K-pop trio Orange Caramel), in particular, this look of Nana's:

Which I'd been hankering to imitate for ages, but couldn't properly, being stymied by lack of real jewelled purple before Storm Violet came into my life. ....Then of course I threw fidelity out the window by replacing the orange socket shading with creamy blush Glow Baby Pink's peachypink instead, in the interests of showing you that it doubles up as cream shadow :P And it does, blending effortlessly without looking powdery, but with enough grip to stay only where you place it.

Also, aint no driveller got time for falsies or jewel stickers or earring shopping or orange wig or epic duckpout. Sorry.

Lip is Guerlain Champs Élysées glossed up with Malin&Goetz balm -- which btw marks the limit of my cool-lip comfort zone. Cheek is a lighter application of DDP Glow Baby Pink blush than that in the first look, and dewy base is Shu Uemura Underbase Cream Pink with RBR Sea of Clouds to highlight.

Eye close-up: apart from the two DDP products, I used Topshop Kohl Pencil in Sable and RBR Abyssinian Catbird shadow, with Fasio Full Dynamic Volume mascara.

Artificial light pic to show that there was sheen, honest.... it's just been eaten by my terrible weather / lighting conditions:

In all looks: Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener in Light Bisque under eyes, Shu Uemura Hard 9 Brow Pencil Stone Grey. In the second and third looks I'm wearing Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation 001.

Thanks for looking! Jury's still out on the scarycool Cyclamen liquid lipstick, but both Storm Violet eyeshadow and Glow Baby Pink cream blush will be joining my regular rotation :D

Worry not, this will be far less testing (of your patience) than the last diagonal epic ;)

Another small panel from the September Maquia's 45º angled makeup feature caught my eye, as it provides a short-cut to the most interesting technique for me -- that particular diagonal, fractionally in-set-from-the-end-of-the-eye wing.

Again, I'd like to thank Claire from Land of Lorp for sharing with me the article from which this scan hails. Hop over for further details of the main 45º tutorial, and for even more inspiration from Maquia.

This accent wing is placed atop a finished, neutral, slightly elongated eye, for which I used a delicate gold shimmer all over the lid and inner 2/3 of the lower lashline, with a grey satin smoked straight out from the outer portions of both upper and lower lashlines; both shades from Suqqu 06 Ginbudou quad (review). The hot pink wing is Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow 30 Shiny Fuchsia (swatch) and overall colour scheme is inspired again by Suqqu EX-16 Benichagasane (the autumn quad I didn't buy).

The wing differs from that in the main tutorial, as the 'horizontal' is now established by extrapolating from the curve of approx. the last 5mm or so of the eyelid, and then the wing is placed at a 45º angle above it. Because my upper eyelid is more curved than the Maquia model's (who has longer eyes), my wing looks more curved with my eyes open, and swerves further from the extended corner of the eye, even though it's drawn on a straight line :

Compared to the original 45º look, which places the flick in relation to the inner half of the lower lashline, this wing is also even more sharply angled upwards, but on me at least, it doesn't provide more of a natural lift so much as holler "HAI, I AM A WING!" Which is why it's so suited to brights, to up the playful artificiality quotient even more. :D

As I love makeup that calls attention to itself as makeup, I loved this variation. Bonus, it only takes 30 seconds on top of a 2 minute basic neutral eye. The full five-minute face also includes Addiction Amazing cheekstick for blush, and Guerlain Gala Rouge G on lips, with base again a combination of Shu Uemura Underbase Cream in Pink topped with Rouge Bunny Rouge Sea of Tranquility (airiest pale pink+gold) highlighter.
Mascara is Fasio Full Dynamic Volume, brows filled with Shu Uemura H9 pencil in Seal Brown.

Without: do you agree that the wing doesn't really lift the eye so much as just BE PINK? :D

Again, I'd love to hear from anyone who tries this trick -- and it's so much easier/quicker than the full on geometric version, it's practically mandatory. I loved hearing from everyone in response to the last post both here and on Makeupalley, and in particular seeing Anne from Rushing Glam's two takes on the original 45º technique, which explores how different colour palettes changes its effects.

This post was to go up as a (wordless) Wednesday swatch round-up, but my schedule is so crazy at the moment I'm writing it at 4am on a Saturday :D I've always thought bubble tea had negligible caffeine content, but apparently slurping five supersized tubs of an evening will keep even a hardcore addict like me awake and buzzy.

Um, wordless. Right.

My current wardrobe of berries, from pretty'n'rosy to winey'n'vampy:

Addiction Vamp (worn here)
YSL Glossy Stain 1 Violet Edition (first impressions; further looks) -- I apologise for the terrible patchy swatch! As you see, I wear it in all seasons, so much so that I can no longer pick up an even amount of pigment from the tube however much I scrape the applicator along the sides.
Illamasqua Crush cream blush (I don't wear this much on lips, actually, but anyhoo)
Burberry Bright Plum lip cover (worn here, first reviewlet)
THREE Glam Touch Colour lipstick 11 Edith's Whisper
Etude House Rosy Tint Lips 8 After Blossom
Daniel Sandler Valentina luxury matte lipstick
Guerlain Samsara rouge automatique (worn here -- an autumnal staple, as you see)
Becca Raspberry beach tint (worn here, ditto)
Sonia Rykiel Sublime lipstick 24 (worn here, and here -- 2nd look)
Addiction Psychadelic lipgloss (review; worn in the last look here)

I swatched these in highly subjective order -- from most to least 'dramatic', which is why the sheer Edith's Whisper (5) with its muted base, and Bright Plum (4) as the coolest of the colours, sit to the left of the brighter, louder and therefore more-in-my-comfort-zone After Blossom (6) and Valentina (7).

Drama isn't the same thing as opacity (well, I'm not sure it's a thing at all...), and I built up the swatches as needed to show colour and tone, so in order from sheerest to most saturated, these formulas run:

11, 5, 10, (9), 8, 7, 4, (3), 6, (2), 1

Bracketed shades are odd textures, so this is based on their strength-as-I-usually-wear-them.

In terms of finish, from matte to glossy (on lips):

9, 1, 3, 6, 4, 7, 8, 10, 5, 11, 2

Scent taste:
1, 7, 11 are scent/taste free
5 is faintly nutty/ingredientsy
4, 6, 8, and 10 are floral; 2 is a drunken rose
3 is vanilla cupcake (blech + why I prefer it as cheek colour), and 9 is synthetic fruit pop

Also, while autumn is the season for the berry lip, sweetiedarling, I don't solely reserve these beauties for the cooler months -- in particular, Vamp and Bright Plum are surprising summer staples (both work so well to sober/sombre up a girly sundress or easy maxi); Raspberry looks fantastic with a tan (I'd recommend anyone with olive skin to check this shade out pronto) and the beach tint formula is made for carefree summer jaunting free from worries about melting makeup. The jelly textures of Sonia Rykiel 24 and Psychadelic are so optimally flattering both lookswise and comfortwise on my lined, dry, crone lips, they stay in my regular rotation all year.

That said, here's an all-out autumnal cliché of a monotone berry look, featuring my current favourite of all of these products, Etude House Rosy Tint Lips 8 After Blossom (applied over balm on lips, used neat on cheeks), with another of this season's favourites on eyes: THREE 09 Star Guitar quad (swatched here).

What are some of your favourite berries? Any your favourite pairings with them?
And you like to dress with the seasons anyway, or are you an absolute contrarian, or somewhat confused and hoarding of all the makeup options like me? ;)

If you love vampy lips, and you love twist-up lip crayons- then say hi to the new kid in town! Lola's Secret Beauty Blog is smitten with Surratt Automatique Lip Crayon in Mahogany- it's a stunning oxblood shade and a wonderful formula!

Marcia of Beauty Info Zone is thrilled that the Eddie Funkhouser cosmetic line is finally available for sale. She finally got a chance to review and a chance to go shopping for more. Learn all about Eddie F's new line.

The 2013 Holiday collections are arriving, and Prime Beauty has the scoop on one of the holiday offerings from bareMinerals, The Perfect 10.

Innovation always comes with a risk. How did Estee Lauder's new Instant Intense EyeShadow formula turn out? Mostly Sunny looked into the blue trio, Arctic Zinc!

Check out polish insomniac's review of the China Glaze Happy HoliGlaze collection, and don't forget to enter her giveaway - she's giving away not one but 5 sets!

Love Top Ten Lists? Pammy Blogs Beauty shares her Top 10 Moisturizing Products for Winter!!!

Kate's still tilted on her axis, orbiting the Japanese 45º diagonal makeup technique. Head over to drivel about frivol with protractor in hand to check out the latest spin.

Brace Yourself. Winter is coming! The Pink Sith gives you her Top 10 list of cold weather skin care items she adores.

Carrie at eyeliner on a cat asks for your help in spreading the word about a fab eBay charity auction that's currently underway that benefits Friends to the Forlorn Pit Bull Rescue in Georgia. There are several beauty goodies to be had!

Clarins is saving us the cost and stress of limited edition holiday releases by instead featuring holiday looks using existing and permanent products. Perilously Pale shows us these Festive and Glamour Holiday Looks.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed has a crush - a colour crush that is on The Body Shop Colour Crush Lipsticks! Check out her swatches and fall in love yourself!

Carrying on with the quest for the perfect under eye concealer, Visionary Beauty reviews the Tom Ford Illuminating Highlight Pen

For Holiday, Suqqu again released two limited edition quads in coffrets, the details of which you can find on Rouge Deluxe. As I dislike Suqqu skincare, find their mascaras either mediocre or curl-wilting, am happy with my 70p plastic apple mirror, and share Haru's thoughts on the polysatin bag, I jumped at the chance to try just the quad, thanks to a makeup fairy :D You can find also find swatches of both Suqqu quads on Swatcharama!: EX-18 Aoboshi and EX-19 Touryokuzora.

Suqqu EX-10 Touryokuzora (冬緑空, wintergreen sky) sits in another limited edition compact -- like those from this Autumn and Spring there's a 'hidden' iridescence which becomes visible at certain angles, though, as this holiday collection is inspired by starry night skies, the iridescence flashes across a generous sprinkling of embedded blue glitter:

Included applicators are as usual -- the two excellent squirrel-hair brushes and wide'n'narrow spongetips, and pans are the standard size, and depot as usual, so let's go straight on to the shades.

In natural light:

Suqqu EX-19 Touryokuzora Christmas Set B quad

With flash

Angled, full sun, close-up:

Suqqu EX-19 Touryokuzora Christmas Set B quad closeup

Clockwise from bottom left:
1. matte white primer/base shade -- sheer, evens out skintone/texture, improves adherence and wear of other shades
2. pigmented, warm copper-peach shimmer, very smooth and buttery
3. pigmented, warm bronze-taupe shimmer, again so dense and buttery as to be almost wet-feeling, slightly more satinny/less sparkly than the peach
4. very pigmented forest green satin base packed with glitter in a variety of gold tones, sizes and shapes; slightly drier in texture than the shimmers, but still richer and denser than e.g. Armani ETK Intense/ Estee Lauder Cyber / Diego Dalla Palma Smooth shadows

Swatches in the same order

(one swipe each with included sponge applicators, over bare skin)

Suqqu EX-19 Touryokuzora Christmas Set B quad swatches

natural light

full sun

^The full sun pic illustrates the range of sizes and shapes of glitter in the forest green shade -- larger round gold sparkles, medium flecks of celadon, teal and cool gold, and a finer dust of moss, white-gold and occasional bronze microshimmer, all sitting atop a cool greyed-green satin base. While you can see stray powdery bits on the edges of this swatch, bear in mind this is ONE SWIPE with a sponge. After three days of wearing this without a base (patted on, edges blended) I have experienced 0 fallout throughout the day -- and with my dry lids adherence is often an issue.

flash + deliberate fuzz

^This fuzzy pic is to show the tones of microshimmer in the bronzetaupe and copperpeach: both very interestingly incorporate orchid pink and lime, alongside the more expected tonal gold/bronze/copper metallics. The bronze-taupe also contains odd flecks of ruby, while the peach features a plentiful sprinkling of white glitter to add a more delicate, snow-frosted aspect.

On me, the white is...skin-tone shade :P But I left it in in hopes you can see it doing subtly perfecting things to the skin texture on my wrist, and outlined its stripe here:

full sun

Some comparisons with the shades I have with me (travelling sans Fyrinnae 40 palette this time :/), all swatches made by patting onto bare skin with a fingertip.

Suqqu EX-19 Touryokuzora forest green with Kiko Automatic Precision Eyeliner and Khol 709 Forest Green, the darkest shade from KATE Deep Trap Eyes GN-1 (dc), the complex moss cream shade from THREE 02 My Blue Heaven, and the golden-green cream from Shu Uemura x Karl Smoky Velvet palette (LE holiday 2012).

The Suqqu shade is both the darkest and the lightest, thanks to its densely packed sparkles -- in fact I don't have anything comparable in my stash in terms of effortless impact. Just as it makes the creams from THREE and Shu (which I happily wear as complex one-shade washes) look drab, it would make an Illusion D'Ombre seem like a flat, almost transparently lightweight glitter without heft. This pan is the reason I purchased this quad (remember my flailing over the tiny glitter sliver in the autumn palettes?), and I couldn't be happier with Suqqu's interpretation of the all-that's-best-of-dark-and-bright starry night sky.

Suqqu EX-19 Touryokuzora copper peach with Charlotte Tilbury Champagne Diamonds colour chameleon crayon and two discontinued Suqqu shades: the light peach from 01 Kakitsubata and the shadowing orange from 07 Komorebi.

Touryokuzora's shade is again the darkest, and also the warmest of these; closest to the Komorebi orange, it has stronger red tones tipping it into copper, and a more solid burnished patina versus a delicate sparkle. Bearing in mind that the Touryokuzora shade is the second lightest in the quad, and that the Komorebi one the second darkest darkest, and it's clear that though the two quads share a predominant colour combo of green/orange/brown, Touryokuzora's heft and sumptuousness is miles away from Komorebi's delicate watercolour play of light, rendering it an inarguably weighty wintry palette.

Suqqu EX-19 Touryokuzora's bronze taupe, with RBR Abyssinian Catbird, and another two shades from those discontinued Suqqu quads: this time the bronze shader from 01 Kakitsubata and the dark brown liner from 07 Komorebi.

These swatches are a bit biased since I'm swatching a warm taupe against absolute bronzes/browns; next to a moderately warm taupe like RBR Bohemian Waxwing (or on its own as in the swatches towards the top of this post), the Touryokuzora shade would look decidedly orangey/bronzed. In any case, I think you can still see that unlike Abyssinian Catbird's green, Kakitsubata's gold and Komorebi's yellow notes, this shade sits on a ruddier, rosier base.

Finally, a quick look, heavy on the GIANT GLITTER PAN OF MY DREAMS (patted all over lid and lower lashline with a Shu Uemura N 10 brush), with a bit of the copper-peach to shade inner socket and a little of the bronze-taupe in a half-moon shape joining the outer socket and lower lashline.

For some reason, the other two shades showed up best in my worst-lit pic:

dark, gloomy natural light

But this one is more accurate for the tones (see the rosiness of the bronze-taupe coming through?) and the GLITTAH:

weak sun, natural light

While artificial light really brings out the bling:

bright artificial light

Full-face context, paired with Guerlain Rouge G Girly on lips. (Fuzzy because dim light + glitter = camera has palpitations but posting anyways because ~~shameless~~ it shows the green looks sparkly even in natural light!)

natural light

Base: Shu Underbase Cream Pink, Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation 001, Burberry Sheer Concealer 01 under eyes (finally they haz restocked!), RBR Sea of Tranquility highlighter. Brows: Suqqu brow powder 03. Lashes: L'Oreal Telescopic False Lash WP.

I apologise for the poor and variable light in these pics, but I wanted to post a review before/in case this set comes back in stock on selfridges.com to help those still on the fence to make up their minds.

For swatches/details of the Suqqu quad, click here.

Happy Tentative Tuesday! In which you can see how my frivolous brain works in coalescing some recent influences:

1. Again, that Maquia 45º tute from Land of Lorp, specifically its use of partial placements to create effective but not too stagey/literal shaping, but more widely its demonstration of how little tweaks can send 'daily' makeup spinning in a slightly different (fun!) direction.

2. Mary Grenwell's updated Biba look video, which Maria drew to my attention. See also Lisa Eldrige's Biba videos here and here.

2i. That decided nip in the air which signals the beginning of (fake) fur gilet i.e. fake boho season!

Gilet: HK market stall, 3 years ago // Dress: Max&Co, 9 years ago

...at least my boots are newish?

3. A certain Belly and her unspeakable, senseless savagery:

That is the head of her Rouge G in Gracy, and this is what FRIENDSHIP LOOKS LIKE, PEOPLE. Friendship, and madness. (ILY 5ever, bellyssima! <----see what I did there)

Which all united in convincing me that it would be a good idea to respin the colour ~~clash~~ er, combo in this look, with more deliberation, in a look that showcased the bronzetaupe and copperpeach from Suqqu EX-19 Touryokuzora to illustrate its affinities with and greater 'weight' than the Suqqu Komorebi palette used there, briefly discussed in yesterday's review.

Long involved sentence is involved and long. Look, sparkles:

bright artificial light

natural light

As you can see, apart from the rusty warm tones, I interpreted the Biba thing verrrrry loosely (I hear making droopy doe-eyes like a time-travelling opium eater does not create the most professional of vibes?) by creating a more rounded shape than usual but not bringing the shadows too high up. Peach all over the lid and lower lashline, blended upwards towards inner brow. Bronze to shade outer socket. Forest green dabbed on the outer lower lashline, for a subtle workwear nod to the 'sleepy' Biba eye, without falsies.

Since Biba is all about the bambi lashes, I took my time with a very thorough coating of L'Oreal Telescopic False Lash Mascara WP. In a reversal of the original Maquia 45º mascara tilt, I used a brush handle to angle my lashes (especially the outmost ones) slightly inwards to emphasise the rounded/owlish lid shape.

Full face pics, both taken in natural light -- first pic skews a little cool and second a little warm

Cheek: Addiction Damask Rose cheekstick in a decidedly dollyish concentration. Lip: Guerlain Rouge G Belly (ok, Gracy). Base: Shu Underbase Cream Pink, Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation 001, Burberry Sheer Concealer 01 under eyes, RBR Sea of Tranquility highlighter*. Brows: Shu Uemura Hard 9 brown pencil Seal Brown.

* I usually prefer the more neutral Sea of Clouds, but Tranquility's warmer opal-pink notes help these warm orangey tones harmonise with my skin.

If the weather / my motivation holds up, I might whack on a more faithful all-out Biba look this weekend :) Anyone else have to spend most of their time in normal-person drag like me? How do you reconcile your love of makeup with social acceptability? ;) More prosaically, what pairings do you like with copper and bronze shadows?

I am crazy about Guerlain lip products -- the very first post on this blog, back in 2011, includes my purchase of Rouge G in Girly. Rouge Automatiques have numbered among my favourite lip formulas ever since their launch, but with the recent changes in my skin/lip condition from dry and picky to ultra-, painfully, freakishly dry and sensitive, I've come to a new and deeper appreciation of Rouge G's too, ungainly space-tampon-holder packaging aside: this year's acquisitions include Madame Flirte, Gala (2nd look here), Belly-Gracy (see here) and Genna, a present from another, as yet unblogged but no less adored.

For Christmas, the addition to my Guerlain wardrobe is Rouge Automatique in 661 Reflex, limited edition and in a special black+neon version of the push-up neo-1930s packaging:

Guerlain Reflex 661 Rouge Automatique Crazy Paris Holiday 2013 lipstick

Reflex has the Guerlain candied violet scent/taste and absolutely no shimmer and lies on the sheerer side of the Rouge Auto average, with has a definite semi-translucent jelly finish (which I think you can see in the 'squishy halo' on the edges of the bullet, above) rather than the line's more usual crelly finish. This means that on my very corpsically-cool mauve lips, it looks a little lighter and cooler than in the tube, but still retains a very fun, neon brightness:

best pic I could get here, but it's even brighter in real life :D

THREE 08 Spirit Light quad for matching playful*, delicate neutral eye, with fluttery Fasio Full Dynamic Volume mascara on lashes. Addiction Amazing cheek stick as blush.

*and by playful I mean sparkly, as artificial light shows:

Yeah, I know, another damn bright pink lipstick look. Clearly, I am on a kick. But it means I get to do comparison lips swatches, which show differences much better than arm swatches.

Evidence. Armswatches first (built up as necessary to allow comparison of colours):

Lipstick swatches 1. Shiseido Lacquer Rouge Disco 2. By Terry Rouge Terrybly Hot Cranberry 3. Givenchy Le Rouge Corail Décolleté 4. Chanel Rouge Allure Génial 5. Guerlain Rouge Automatique Reflex 6. Guerlain Rouge G Girly 7. Guerlain Rouge Automatique Champs Élysées

natural light

1. Shiseido Lacquer Rouge Disco (1 swipe)

2. By Terry Rouge Terrybly Hot Cranberry (1 swipe)

3. Givenchy Le Rouge Corail Décolleté (1 swipe)

4. Chanel Rouge Allure Génial (2 swipes)

5. Guerlain Rouge Automatique Reflex (3 swipes -- still sheerest, and note jelly squishiness)

6. Guerlain Rouge G Girly (1 swipe)

7. Guerlain Rouge Automatique Champs Élysées (2 swipes)

Angled in artificial light, some things become clearer, namely the specifically neon base (vs. clear or pastel) uniting Génial (dc.) and Reflex, and their differences from each other -- Génial is significantly warmer.

Lip swatches

(all taken in v drab natural light just to get a quick idea of how they relate to each other; I will take better pics when I have some sun)

Reflex

Génial

Girly

In conclusion, Reflex is a very fun shade in one of my favourite formulas. And as my Génial has been worn down to its very last scrapings since I took this pic (far left):

...it's a timely arrival, filling the neon hole in my wardrobe. I expect I'll get much more wear out of Reflex in summer, but that depends on whether you, o wise and all knowing readers, can suggest ways to wangle neon into winter looks? :)

PS since I had some trouble tracking down reviews/swatches of this shade before just pulling the trigger with a Debenhams' gift card, you can see Reflex on some other bloggers of various skintones at Rushing Glam, Beauty Addiction, Silverkis' World, and Charismafull.

Magazine Monday: Maquia October 2013

THREE 4D Eye Palette Stash Swatch

The Beauty Spotlight Team: Weekend Links

Shiseido Eye Colour Bar

Suqqu Bright Up Lipstick Swatches and 02 Hanabeni Closeup

The Beauty Spotlight Team: Prime Beauty's Top Products for Big Hair!

State of the Stash: The Season in Review

After Magazine Monday

By Terry 9 Royal Navy Crayon Khol Terrybly

Beauty Spotlight Team Weekend Links

Technique-Testing Tuesday: 45º Diagonal Makeup

Diego Dalla Palma AW 2013 Scissor Sister Collection Review, Swatches

Beauty Spotlight Team: Beauty Crazed...for Blue!

Dancing With Diego

Angling For More? 45º In Brief

Very Berry

The Beauty Spotlight Team Weekend Links

Suqqu EX-19 Touryokuzora Christmas Set B

Suqqu EX-19 Touryokuzora Look 2

Guerlain Reflex Rouge Automatique from Crazy Paris Holiday Collection