Estée Lauder LIP COLOR LUXURIES
I don't normally like a lip palette that is bulky and takes up space in my purse, but when the palette has 6 beautiful shades of Pure Lipstick from Estée Lauder, who can resist? It has Pure Color Crystal Lipstick 37 Hint of Peach, 01 Crystal Baby, 26 Mandarin Pop, along with Pure Color Lipstick 53 Wildly Pink, 63 Marvelous Mauve and 64 Abstract Violet.
The first 3 shades from the left are very sheer whereas the 3 on the right are very opaque.
37 Hint of Peach is a very sheer colour with glitter particles that makes your lips look slightly pale. You can use it to tone down the natural colour of your lips, or on top of a bold lip stick to make it more wearable while adding some sparkles.
01 Crystal Baby is a pretty nude shade that gives a hint of colour to your lips. Not too opaque yet makes your complexion fresh. I love this shade as it's such a wearable colour.
When I saw 26 Mandarin Pop on the palette, I thought it would be too bright for me. But it's surprisingly sheer and wearable! I would wear this shade this spring and summer a lot for sure, I love how subtle it looks while brightening up my complexion.
53 Wildly Pink is a pretty pink with a hint of purple. On the palette it looked more like a coral pink, but it turned out a bit purply on my lips.
63 Marvelous Mauve is a little bit out of my comfort zone to be honest, as I look super '80s when I wear a shade like this. But because the formula is amazing and it just glides on smoothly and kind of like melt on my lips, which makes it look very natural in a way. I like to pair this shade with a neutral smoky eye look, when I don't want to wear nude nor bold colour on my lips.
Lastly, 64 Abstract Violet is the hardest one to apply as it goes on very patchy for some reason. It's pretty bright and bold that I have to practice how to wear a colour like this...
Pure Color Lipstick has really strong staying power that impressed me a lot. I did a swatch on the back of my hand, and it was a pain in the butt to remove even with Bioderma. Once it's on my lips, it stays for so long. Even when I wipe my lips, I still can see the colour stained. However, I liked the 3 shades from Pure Color Crystal Lipstick range better to be honest, just because they suit me better.
They all smell so lovely just like the other lipsticks from the brand. It's supposed to vanilla fig I remember, but it literally smells like cotton candy in my opinion. This palette is also available exclusively at travel retail stores!
LISSAGE Skin Maintainiser 5800yen
LISSAGE is a Japanese skincare brand that I had been eying on for years. Their products are developed based on "Collagen Maintenance System" as they think that the most important factor for beautiful skin is to provide good quality collagen, which accounts for 70% of your skin besides water. Skin Maintainiser is a moisturising lotion that you apply after cleansing your face with a cotton pad. It is a hybrid of lotion and moisturiser, which means that you don't need to apply moisturiser after this. They have 6 different types of
Skin Maintainiser that you can pick and choose depending on your skin type.
O : For oily skin
N : For normal skin
OD1 : For combination skin
OD2 : For combination skin with a bit of dryness
D1 : For dry skin
D2 : For very dry skin
Have you noticed that it's got a unique handle? I first thought it was spray but it wasn't -it's got this handle so that it's much easier to make sure to use the same quantity each time. You need 3ml to moisturise your skin properly, and all you need to do is to pull the handle 3 times! Genius!
Their cotton pads (300yen / 70 pads) are amazing too. It has 5 layers which make it so soft and fluffy. I've been using cotton pads that I purchase from Vitacost for years now, but I forgot how soft Japanese cotton pads are. Maybe it's because Asian people have thinner skin and we must be careful not to rub our skin too much, but they feel so so so good.
It's very moisturising yet not too heavy on my skin. I was a little concerned about the fact it's for dry skin, as my skin transforms to oily mess in spring and summer. But it does not feel "too moisturising" on my skin, and it leaves the surface of my skin smooth which makes it easy to put moisturiser and foundation on without waiting for it to absorb in the busy morning. Since I started using this lotion, I haven't had any dry patches and my skin feels hydrated. I love how it smells too -herbal and floral, kind of sophisticated scent that I cannot imagine anyone would dislike.
The cotton pads are very nice too, as they are not harsh on my skin at all. I have tried applying this lotion using my hands but it didn't work as good, so I always use a cotton pad. Since I started using this lotion every single day in the morning and night, my skin has not suffered from dryness and has been in a very good condition. It's definitely on a pricier side, but if you are suffering from dryness but do not like heavy moisturiser, you might want to give it a try.
Estée Lauder 3 Pure Colour Envy Shine Lipsticks
One of the best parts of taking a trip to overseas is to stop by a travel retail shop at the airport to stock up some beauty bits that you've been eying on. Agree? Then you need to add these beautiful lipsticks to your wishlist. These are available at normal Estée Lauder counters, but you only can get this set of three shades at travel retail shops. The shades are 10 Innocent, 08 Pink Dragon and 02 Surreal Sun.
10 Innocent is a very pretty peachy beige, I would say. But please don't count on me for a colour description because I'm really bad at it. This shade is so pretty that would suit anyone I guess, and the formula is amazingly creamy that it glides on and kind of melts into the lips.
How pretty is this? I've been wearing it none stop since I received it as this is literally a perfect-everyday-neutral-shade. Another good thing about this lipstick is that it stays on the lips for hours. It comes off when I drink or eat, but it doesn't completely fade. It's got such a good staying power.
02 Surreal Sun is a bright orange which has got a hint of pink. It's a perfect shade for this summer in my opinion, as everyone's talking about the trend.
It doesn't look too bright in this photo but in person it's quite pigmented. I wouldn't wear it on its own just because I don't look good with bright lips, but I would definitely wear it along with a beigy lipgloss / lipstick on top. Also I like dabbing a little bit of the lipstick on my lips with my finger, to give a subtle colour.
08 Pink Dragon is a pretty pink with a hint of purple. It's a very girly shade that every girl should own.
It looks quite bright on the lips too, so I sometimes pair it with Maybelline baby lips in Peach Kiss to tone it down, and it works well. I wish I could nail this shade alone, I curse the structure of my face that any bright lipsticks don't look good on because it's such a lovely shade.
Overall the formula is amazing, they don't emphasise dryness of my lips at all which means I can wear them anytime without worrying about my lip condition. I also love the magnetic package too, that it's satisfying to hear the "click" sound whenever I close the lid. And of course, the packaging looks gorgeous with their signature colours; navy and gold.
Have you tried their lipsticks before? Let me know what your favourite shades are!
