Review: RMK Mix Colors for Eyes EX03 Purple

 This is my first RMK eyeshadow palette and honestly speaking after hearing so much about RMK's eyeshadow, how pigmented they are, how expensive they are and how easy they are to use, etc.

Naturally, I am excited to lay my hands on one of them and try them out. Imagine my delight when i saw them in a sale, the EX-03 purple from the 2011 Summer makeup collection. It's one of the palette that aroused my BFF's and my interest back then.

I hauled not 1 but 2, one for my BFF and one for me.

While RMK's makeup base and blusher impress me, sad to say i can't say the same for its eyeshadow palette, especially after my encounter with this particular palette.

2 words- very disappointed, read on and you will know why.

 The nifty signature silver cardboard packaging.

EX-03 Mix Colors for Eyes (Shiny, think its shimmery) Purple palette.

List of ingredients, contains 5.7g or 0.19oz in total which evens out to a 1.4g per color.

 Finger prints prone shiny surface, its not metal but metallic coated plastic.

In terms of packaging, the eyeshadow palette is housed in its signature sleek silver coated plastic holder, as usual the highly reflective shiny cover is a fingerprint magnet. Other than that, its actually very convenient to bring around, especially if you are travelling overseas, the niffty palette doesn't take up much space. I like the packaging just not the shiny fingerprint magnet casing. 

The beautiful colors.

The colors, oh they are beautiful and the combination is very different from what i have currently in my stash (browns, beiges and blacks dominate most of the time). I have to confess that i am a purple and gold lover in secret, though i do not think i can carry them well, but when i first lay my eyes on this palette i knew i have to have it.

On the palette, the the lavender or lilac purple looks like it can work on my skintone, the light gold and whitish silver look sophisticated and elegant enough to layer on, my only problem lies with the baby blue. It has the potential to look awkward on me and i risk looking like something went totally wrong in the morning.

Still, i hauled it without being able to swatch them on the spot as i really like the other 3 colors. 

That's when things turn out unexpectedly, when i first swipe my MAC 217 on the purple, nothing came off and so i tried with my 239, likewise nothing came off. Now, after trying with 2 brushes, the surface of the eyeshadow became a little waxy and this doesn't seems right to me.

Then i wipe the surface with tissue paper, so the colors managed to came off which i try using my fingers (clean of course), the texture is rather waxy too and i have only hints of color on my fingers. Bad feeling just gets stronger.

Finally, i resort to using cotton buds to apply the eyeshadows, and yes finally we have some decent color payoffs here. The cotton buds literally took off chunks of the eyeshadows (they are actually soft but why waxy? That i do not understand), while i managed to spread them out on my arms, which they finally look pigmented enough, however there are some fallouts as well in the process of swatching as you can see in the pictures below.

Another way for the eyeshadows to show up nicely would be to use those plastic spongue applicators that comes with eyeshadow palettes.

Maybe i got a dud, but i am skeptical about that. QC for japanese products are usually very strict and my previous pleasant experiences with RMK, Lunasol and Shiseido simply does not warrant my doubt that i got a dud.

I understand that the colors are supposed to be sheer and subtle, however that should not translate to bad color payoffs and, especially at the retail price point of S$65.00 for this palette. 

At that price point, personally i would expect at least good color payoff (be it sheer or pigmented), good lasting power (number of hours of wear) and good packaging. Otherwise, i might as well spend my pretty penny elsewhere.

Hope my 2 cents worth helps, as a matter of fact despite this experience, i am not so quick to write off RMK's eyeshadows totally yet. Maybe next time.

 After using my MAC brush to swipe across several times.

 After using cotton buds to swipe it a few more times.

Taken under normal sunlight near the window.

L-R:light gold, whitish silver, purple and light baby blue.

Taken further in the room, under normal sunlight.

L-R: light gold, whitish silver, purple and light baby blue.

 Taken under the lights in the room.

L-R: light baby blue, purple, whitish silve and light gold.

The cotton buds used to swatched the palette.



Something Random..... Corrynne Handmade Natural Soap

This is a little something that my brother got me when he was in Australia for an exchange programme early last month and it wasn't until recently that i had a bit of a time to do some posting. : (

It's from Corrynne's Natural Soap Body Products, a Western Australian company that makes environmentally friendly and harmful chemical free products.

According to my brother, he commented that when he stumbled upon Corrynne in Australia, he thought that i would have check out the store if i were in Australia with him and interestingly the scent of the shop resembles that of LUSH.

Thus, in he went and bought a small bar of "Lavender Patchouli and Vanilla" soap for me. Its sweet of him to have thought of me and bought something that he thought i would like, of course it would have been better if he brought back the "Patchouli, Ylang Ylang and Rosehip", "Rose Geranium", "Patchouli and Sandalwood" and well an assortment of other products home too. But one must not be greedy.

Am i that greedy? Nah, after he gave me the soap, my sister and mom gave him a piece of their mind for not bringing more back.... tsk tsk. There simply isn't much to share. A small bar of soap is hardly much to share and being a Obsessive Compulsive freak, not to mention i dig the scent of my soap, i kept it in my closet to scent my clothes.

Do check out the website if you are interested and the price is pretty reasonable too.

http://www.soaps.net.au/

Brown paper packaging that strikes me as ecco friendly.

Closer look at the description of the product.

 

The types of scent available.

A peep into the paperbag.

Lavender Patchouli and Vanilla soap. Think its 100g?

 

Marble-like swirls, rather artistic isn't it?



Something Random...... Canele macarons.....

A great way to spend the sunny afternoon yesterday......

Macarons sharing with mom and of course with our usual cuppa of Earl Grey Tea.

Canele Macarons Courtesy of my brother.

The Fuschia pink box.

The sweet darlings......

Left- Right: Sea Salt and Caramel (polished off even before phototaking hence its absence), Rose, Blueberry, Banana, Raspberry with Pistachio and jam filling and lastly Hazelnut

Overexposure to sunlight.

Raspberry macaron with Pistachio and jam fililng.

Blueberry macaron- with jam filling?



Haul and Review: Spoilts from Guerlain and Paul and Joe

This can be considered my first makeup haul of the year and i am proud of myself for being able to resist the temptations for that long, plus i am very happy with my purchases as well.

My most recent haul- Mainly Paul and Joe items and 1 Guerlain.

Paul and Joe makeup items- 3 eyeshadows and 1 blusher. 

 Paul and Joe- Toner and Cleansing Milk.

As we all know, Paul and Joe has pulled out of Singapore since end March, it's a shame that beauty brands are moving out due to the lack of critical mass (demand) to support their presence (we saw IPSA moving out previously and now Paul and Joe, one can't help but ponder who's next?)

So, i took this chance to try out more of their skincare products that i am new to (reviews coming but not so soon), i will be quite sad if i were to like them enough to want to repurchase them afterwards.

 Paul and Joe Nail care oil.

 List of Ingredients.

 The bottle of Nail care oil- in signature Paul and Joe nail polish bottle.

The Nail care oil is packaged in the signature P&J nail polish bottle with the orange flower motiff, it has a pleasant scent and the texture of the oil is actually thicker than what i am used to using (OPI's Avoplex nail and cuticle replenishing oil), furthermore it felt a little sticky to me.

I will go back to it and see if it will grow on me as time passes by, though i doubt so.

 Paul and Joe Face Color- Blusher.

 List of ingredients.

 The pretty packaging that caught my eyes.

 2 tone blusher in 18.

 Left to right: More berry rose pink and light pink.

 Paul and Joe Face Color #18.

This would be my 2nd P&J face color, i would say the coloring of this blusher is actually a little out of my safe zone, it leans more in the favour of fair and cool toned beauties (see the swatches below) but i am giving it a shot as it seems to be quite usable if i use it with care (i am thinking of using it with MAC's 187 Duo fibre brush which seems to work when i am using more pigmented blushers). The texure of the blusher is soft and pigmentation is not a problem, it does not contain any shimmer. I like a variety and this is a nice addition to my collection if i may say so.

 Paul and Joe Eyeshadow singles.

I have walked pass P&J's counter countless times, yet i never felt drawn to their eye colors (i wonder why myself too.... perhaps its too sweet and cute, i felt out of place?). This could very well be one of the those last chances that i can lay my hands on them and i am so glad i did this time round. I was pleasantly surprised by their buttery soft formula and that it glides on the skin beautifully.

Pigmentation is very decent, not the most intense i have encountered but nice overall, though #03 gold is a little less pigmented compared to the other 2. I think this is the revamped range of eyeshadows, if i recall correctly the previous eyeshadows are larger in the pan.

I have picked "safe" colors (those that are tried and tested to work on me) and i am glad i did as i can am already reaching out for them everyday for almost a week).

Each eye color contains 1.1g/ 0.03 oz of product which is slightly lesser than MAC's (1.3g). In terms of pricing, P&J's is S$25.00 while MAC's is S$28.00 ( ? ). P&J's is a wee more expensive that MAC's probably by only a few cents.

In this instance, i am really sad to see P&J pulling out of Singapore.

 Light pink beige with subtle pearlescent shine.

 Paul and Joe Eyeshadow single in #11.

 Pearlescent gold without the glitter chunks.

 Paul and Joe Eyeshadow single in #03.

 Warm toned medium brown with a hint of shimmer.

 Paul and Joe Eyeshadow single in #17.

 Swatches L-R: Paul and Joe face color in #18, self select eye color in #03, #11 and #17.

 A closer look at the Eyeshadow singles or eye colors.

 Guerlain Ecrin 4 couleurs Eyeshadow palette.

Guerlain..... Guerlain...... I can't help but to be drawn to you everytime.

This time, i behaved myself and only gotten myself 1 eyeshadow palette from Guerlain, yes! Its from the Holiday Collection last year.

Sleek and luxurious packaging, gorgeous colors.... nothing less is to be expected from this high-end makeup brand.

It is no surprise that i am very much captivated by this palette, first of all the packaging...... it is a improved packaging if you asked me. The large pan surface meant that one can sweep her brush over each color more easily.

While the colors are not terribly unique (except perhaps the aqua turquoise above the navy blue), there are dupes available for the other colors elsewhere. But what sealed the deal for me is the PIGMENTATION!

They are INTENSE!!! Totally love the color payoff.

 #10, Les Ombres De Nuit (Limited Edition from Guerlain's 2011 Holiday Collection).

 The sleek packaging.

 Contains a total of 7.2g/0.25 oz of product.

 A closer look at the palette.

 Swatches L-R: A Shimmery Grayish Silver, a Light Aqua Turquoise, a Rich Blue (reminds me of OPI's You yoga-ta get this blue but less intense), a matte black (the only matte color in the palette).

All in all, a great haul for this year!



Fragrance of the Moment: The Different Company Osmanthus

Osmanthus by The Different Company is the next niche fragrance that i have gotten after Serge Luten's Ambre Sultan. And i had the good fortune to get it during a sale which i hauled along a few other fragrances, hopefully i will be able to review them if i have the chance to.

Some background on Osmanthus, the fragrance is composed by the current nose of Hermes fragrance, Jean-claude Ellena and was launched in 2001. Osmanthus is a feminine fragrance and according to the description on The Different Company's website, it is a delicate and musky floral fragrance.

Top Notes: Bergamot, Mandarin, Green Notes.

 Middle Notes: Osmanthus, Jasmine, Geranium.

Base Notes: Musk, Rose.

I have not had the fortune of smelling Osmanthus the flower personally and thus i am absolutely clueless on how it is "supposed" to smell like. Hence, i am just going to give my honest 2 cents worth in my layman terms......

My very first fragrance from The Different Company.

The Second layer of packaging- which i think is not necessary, perhaps they hope that it will add a extra "luxurious" touch to the packaging.

The fragrance nicely and safely housed in a more sturdy cardboard box.

The fragrance contained in a thick hefty glass bottle.

Top, middle and base notes printed on the bottle.

Packaging has never been something that fragrance companies will spare expenses on it, afterall it is the very first thing that catches the attention of consumers like you and i . True enough, the Osmanthus is housed in a thick heavy glass bottle, with silver spray cap that you can screw open to pour in refill of the fragrance and of course, you have a list of the top, middle and base notes printed tastefully on the bottle (which constitutes part of the design of the product). However, what i am rather skeptical is that the silver cap does not screw securely onto the bottle if you do not use quite a bit of force (i had the good mind to carry my fragrance in its upright position, as i found that the cap is not secured properly when i reached home). Imagine if i let it loose in my bag as i usually do..... that would be very very expensive wastage and i would very much prefer me than my bag smelling good. Other than that, niche fragrance, luxurious packaging.

Now, how should i even begin to describe this fragrance.....

Osmanthus is nothing like what i have in my current stash, i always like that when i am fragrance scouting, hunting or seeking. I mean what is the point of having fragrance A that smells like fragrance B and also like fragrance C, D and E that is in your stash. One can be adventurous in very few things in life, and fragrance is one of them. Yes, it is different...... yet it is not very special in the sense that i am totally captivated by it. Osmanthus is a delicate and demure lady who is properly educated in manners and the way of the world, never exposed to the vulgarity in life, she never shouts nor laugh out loud, but only to speak in hush and smile. 

A very gentle fragrance to wear if you do not wish to offend people around you and they can only smell it on you if he/she leans very close to you. Yes, Osmanthus is that polite and is someone who easily makes people comfortable around her.

On me, Osmanthus smells of white tea floral, a little soapy like, somewhat woody, it does not last more than a couple of hours on me to which i am utterly confused as i have not encountered a fragrance that does not last at least a few good hours on my skin ( i have oily skin). It smells watery and fades away very fast, which i do not expect from a niche fragrance house at such a price point (if one buys it at full retail price, it would cost more than a 100ml Chanel eau de parfum of anything, be it Coco or No. 5). 

Much as i appreciate and like how quiet, clean and demure the fragrance is, i simply cannot withstand the thought of forking out $$$ on such a beauty, unless one is prepared to bath in it literally. Until there is a reformulation to make it last longer, i guess i won't be parting with my hard earned dough for her.

Available in 90ml and in refills at Escentials at Tangs Orchard and Paragon Shopping Centre.