Rimmel Exaggerate Lipliner / Eastend Snob

Rimmel Exaggerate Lipliner / Eastend Snob £3.99
When Amelia Liana said it was a dupe for Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk, I didn't even hesitate to purchase it from feelunque.com. I always thought Pillow Talk looked a perfect pink, at least on Amelia's lips in the least creepy way possible, but the brand isn't available in Japan and even if it was, I wouldn't be able too afford it anyway. 

So I purchased the lip liner from Rimmel in Eastend Snob when they had this 'buy 2 get 1 free' offer among the limited brands including Rimmel and Maybelline (yes I got some eyeshadows from Maybelline at the same time).

It's retractable which is a big plus, considering the fact my another lip liner from Rimmel is like a normal pencil that I need to sharpen every two weeks or so. 

The colour is a little more bluey that I expected. I was imagining more like a soft, beigy pink with a hint of mauve but it's more like bright mauve. Not that I don't like it, but there definitely was a moment that I thought 'Holy moly it might not look good on me!'.

When it's worn on its own, it looks like this. The formula is soft and creamy, that sometimes crumble on the lips. It glides on smoothly and easy to fill in the whole lips. It looks pretty on its own, though it's leaning towards bluey mauve on my lips in person. But when I apply a nude lipstick like Nude Delight from Rimmel, it gets toned-down a little which I like more.

Then, it happens when I apply lip gloss on top! I cannot believe how plumped my lips look! I simply applied Tanya Burr lip gloss in Champagne Toast on top, and now my bottom lip looks like it's about to burst. It's a little too much to my liking, but it's definitely effective if you're looking for a lip pencil that you can cheat fuller lips!

My favourite autumnal lip combos

It was a short but pretty hot summer we had in Japan this year. I am so sad that it's autumn now and it definitely is getting colder day by day. I hate winter, I just hate everything about winter, and I'm getting so depressed as writing this thinking about winter...BUT I am excited about autumn / winter makeup. I'm all about coral cheeks and coral lips in summer, but I tend to gravitate towards darker lips in colder seasons like everyone else. 

The problem is, I don't look good with dark or bright lips although I'm dying to wear rosy or berry toned lips. And I came up with this idea to mix the lipsticks I own already to create new shades rather than to look for the perfect autumnal shade.

Rimmel London Kate Matte Lipstick / 107 × Moisture Renew Lipstick / Nude Delight
I didn't know that when I bought it but 107 seems to be a very popular shade. On my lips it looks too bright and pinky, so I tone it down with Nude Delight, which is one of my favourite shades of the entire lippie collection.

This is how it looks when both of them are on the lips. They are both matte formula, which creates this beautiful velvet kind of texture which is perfect for autumn.

REVLON  Lip Butter / Berrｙ Smoothie ×Maybelline Baby Lips / Peach Kiss
It's been ages since I stopped wearing Lip Butter although I was pretty obsessed with it when it came out. There is no particular reason why I stopped wearing it, but now I remember how pretty it looked on my lips! Having said that, it's still too bright on its own. So I applied Peach Kiss from Maybelline on top, and voi-la! 

It has the right amount of pinkness but not too bright. Baby Lips give a little bit of shine and I kind of like that.

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Envy Shine / Surreal Sun × LUNASOL Full Glamour Liquid Lips/ 03 
This combo is what I've been loving since summer. Surreal Sun is a very bright orange that I cannot wear on its own. I dab Surreal Sun on my lips and blend with my finger, then add LUNASOL lip gloss on top. This shade 03 is no longer available apparently, but it's such a useful shade added on top of any kind of shades. I love how it feels on the lips.

I LOVE this shade!! I don't know what to do when I run out of this lip gloss, as it looks totally different when the lip gloss isn't added on top. This lip shade makes the whole look more sophisticated, and goes really well with autumnal eye makeup. 

Bourjois Effet 3D MAX Lipgloss / #68 × CANMAKE Stay on Balm Rouge / 04
This lip gloss from Bourjois is awesome. It smells awful like rose petals burnt with vinyl or something like that...which is pretty gross. But how gorgeous it looks is unbelievable. It has this rosy undertone to it, which makes my lips look beautiful. It has glitter particles which might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I like it. I paired it with CANMAKE Stay on Balm Rouge in 04, which is a very natural beige.

Browny beige with a hint of rose is such a perfect shade for the colder season. And the glitters make it suitable for the holiday season as well!

It's so much fun paring lipsticks and lipglosses because sometimes it creates a completely different shade. And I can save money by not purchasing a bunch of new lipsticks!

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation £5.99
When Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation came out in the UK, I was not that interested because I thought it would make my face cakey and emphasise dry patches that appears in winter. But after hearing all the good reviews, I couldn't resist by to try it.

Because it's not sold here in Japan, it was hard to pick a shade. I would like to thank those kind ladies who helped me to find the right shade on Instagram, without their help I wouldn't be able to.

The shade I got is 100 Ivory. I usually use Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 52 Vanilla, and I am in between MAC NC 20 and 25. Ivory is not the best colour match to my skin because it's a little bit too pinky actually, but it's definitely wearable.

The texture is moussy as the name suggests, but very creamy at the same time. You need a tiny bit to cover the whole face, but make sure your skin is well-moisturised. It covers the pores on my cheek, redness around my nose, and even out the skin tone. I use my fingers to apply the foundation, and once it's blended out I use my Real Techniques sponge to make sure there is no harsh line. I have tried to use it with the buffing brush as well but it didn't look as nice.

It gives a matte finish for sure, but I have to say that it won't stay matte for so long. I have dry skin in winter that transforms into oily skin especially around my cheeks in summer. My skin looks a little shiny after a couple of hours even in this colder season with this foundation, which means it might be not "matte" enough for my skin in summer. But the good thing is that it doesn't stay too matte and the dewiness comes through after a while, which makes it look natural, not like a porcelain doll.

This is definitely a good matte foundation for dry skin. For oily skin, it could be a little bit heavy. I wish they had more yellowy toned shade, because most of the shades look pretty pinky. It's not a full coverage foundation but definitely buildable. 

Have you tried this foundation? What did you think?

Sold only in Japan? Rimmel Marshmallow-look Lipstick in Mode Beige

Rimmel Marshmallow-look Lipstick 1300yen
Rimmel is definitely one of my favourite drugstore brands. I love their moisture renew lipsticks, apocalips and stay matte powder...they all are really good quality for the price. But those products are not available in Japan and Rimmel here seems to be completely different from the brand in the UK. Their products here in Japan had never been appealing to me until I saw this lipstick. 

It's called Marshmallow-look Lipstick, and they brought out some new shades a couple of months ago and some shops had a special stand for the range which caught my eyes.

 
I picked up this shade 05 Mode Beige, as it looked like a perfect for every day wear. 

 
 It's got this gorgeous rosy tone which makes is feminine and wearable in my opinion. It looks beigy but definitely more pinky than orangy.

Apparently this lipstick has "marshmallow touch gel" that makes your lips look soft, and "moist oval powder" makes it last longer. It doesn't have shimmer or glitter particles, and formula is creamy that glides on and feels moisturising on the lips. It doesn't last too long to be honest,  but as the colour isn't too bright you can't really tell that it's worn off :P

The formula of Marshmallow-look Lipstick feels more moisturising compared to Moisture Renew Lipstick in my opinion, and I like the fact that it's fragrance-free. They have bunch of pretty shades in the collection and I might pick up more shades for spring and summer!

I'm not sure if this range is sold in other countries, I'm pretty sure that it's not available in the UK but how about in your country? Have you seen / tried it? :)

 

My two favorite nude shades from Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick 
Notting Hill Nude and Nude Delight  £6.29 each
I used to think that nude shades would wash me out and makes me look dead. But when I discovered that they make you look chic and sophisticated when you choose the right shade for your skin tone, I have been trying out some nude shades. Today I am going to write about my two favourite nude shades from Rimmel Moiture Renew Lipstick. Now they discontinued the exact ones that I have but they now have Rimmel NEW Moisture Renew lipstick (what a unique name, well done) which has the same shade range along with some new shades.

Left : Notting Hill Nude   Right : Nude Delight

As you can see in the photo above, Notting Hill Nude has more of a rose tone whereas Nude Delight is more like a beigy nude with an orange undertone to it. 

Notting Hill Nude

Nude Delight

 I love both shades, they are not bright colours but definitely brighten up my complexion somehow, and make me look healthy. Sometimes I add a lip gloss on top but usually I wear them on their own. I love the semi matte finish and the fact they don't contain glitter particles. I heard glossy lips will be on trend this spring and summer but I still love those creamy lipsticks!

What is your favourite nude shade? Share your favourites with me!

My Best Beauty Finds in 2013

 

Michael Todd Blue Green Algae Toner  
This is a very refreshing toner that I was loving throughout the summer, autumn and winter. It has blue green algae, organic kelp, hyaluronic acid and teatree which help to maintain an acne-free, moisturised skin. It smells so refreshing that I'm totally addicted to it! I apply it on a cotton pad and gently wipe my face with it. It's the perfect balance between refreshing and hydrating.

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask
I don't need to write too much about this product, do I? There are so many amazing reviews about it, and I've written my in-depth review of this peach-smelling face mask a few weeks ago, so I'm not going to ramble about it here again, but my skin can't be the same without it. It smells amazing, feels brilliant on my skin, and the result is very impressive.

Nourish Revital-Eyes Eye Cream
I use it every morning and night. It contains peptides, amino acids, B vitamins and antioxidants to boost natural resilience against signs of ageing, and it also helps to reduce the pigmentation of my dark circles too.


LUSH Let the Good Times Roll
Thank you LUSH so much for making such a wonderful cleanser!!! It looks, feels and smells of cookie dough. If you love sweet scents like I do, it would be your dream come true to cleanse your face with cookie dough, isn't it? Plus it's super moisturising, perfect for dry skin. Thank god it's now available all year round.

Predia Spa et Mer Fango Double Cleanse
It's a very luxurious cleanser that makes you feel like you're in a spa. It gently removes my makeup without any oily residue, while moisturising my skin. It smells heavenly too.

Soap and Glory Smoothie Star Body Lotion
It smells very sweet and nutty without being overpowering. I'm not sure when I'll be able to use up this massive bottle, but I've been enjoying it very much since I got it in Jan 2013. It doesn't make my skin feel greasy at all yet hydrate the dry parts perfectly. And the scent lingers for hours.

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Butter Cream  
Well...it might beat Smoothie Star to be honest! It smells like sweet yogurt when I open it but once it's settled on my skin it smells like sweet brown sugar with a hint of lime as it claims! Although this one is butter cream which must be heavier than body lotion, I feel that this one is lighter than Smoothie Star Body Lotion actually. I love them both anyway.

It's a 10 Miracle Leave-in Conditioner plus Keratin
The most effective leave-in conditioner, ever! It worked wonders on my hair, it made my hair silky smooth without any tangles. That's unbelievable because my hair is usually very frizzy, dry and very easy to get tangled. Plus it smells like hair salon. Bonus.

Soap and Glory Hand Food 
Love this hand cream! It's quite thick but doesn't make my hands feel greasy or over moisturised if that makes sense. I reapply it every 30 minutes at work just to enjoy the scent. Oh, and to hydrate my hands.

Soap and Glory HAND MAID  
Yes, Soap and Glory again. I hadn't used any hand sanitizers until I bought this one in London in March. It smells divine, lighter than Hand Food although it's the same scent. 

MUA Undress Me Too Palette
Such a useful palette for 4 pound! Although the staying power isn't great, the pigmentation is amazing overall and the shades are all wearable on daily basis. I love creating greyish smoky-eye look with the silver, purple and dark grey.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick / Notting Hill Nude
I've been wearing this lipstick none-stop since I got it. It's not completely matte but it's not shimmery or glittery. It has this rosy undertone to it that doesn't make my whole face like a zombie.
 
L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash / Pink Resistance
I believe this shade is not available either in Japan or the UK, but if you love a very natural coral-pink shade, you should get it from eBay! It's such a beautiful shade that makes me look healthy. I love how it's buildable, too.

Rimmel London Exaggerate Undercover Shadow Primer
I purchased it because I couldn't afford the hyped-up primer from NARS, and I'm glad I did! It works really well as a primer, although it's doesn't have a colour-correcting effect. My eyeshadows stay much longer when I use it underneath them, and it's super affordable.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer
I'm so glad I did purchase it in London in March. I have shade1 and 2, that I use on my dark circles. I don't find them too drying as some people claim, but I wish they had more shades.

Max Factor Clump Defy Volumising Mascara
Such a good mascara, isn't it? It really doesn't make my eyelashes clumpy, it just coats each eyelash that I don't need false lashes at all! I wish I could buy it here in Japan.

Maybelline Volum' Express The Rocket Mascara
My favourite mascara that I can buy in Japan for sure. I like it better than Falsies just because it makes my eyelashes fuller than Falsies, which I found the formula was a little bit too wet for my liking. I love this mascara so much that I'll repurchase once I run out of it.

Maybelline Dream Touch Blush / Peach
In 2013, I fell in love with cream blushers. I also liked the one from Bourjois, but this particular shade easy to wear with any kind of makeup, in any seasons. It feels pretty wet on the skin but once you blend it out with Stippling Brush from Real Techniques, it creates this pretty cheeks that looks like it's from within.

Maybelline ColorTattoo Metal / Barely Branded
This shade works amazingly as an eyeshadow base! It's such an elegant campaign colour that I wear every single day underneath any eyeshadows. I just hope it doesn't dry out until I actually hit the pan.


What are your best beauty products you discovered in 2013? Let me know!


Hope you have a happy new year!

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer £5.99
Although I was dying to try out Apocalips, I always thought it wasn't for me just because they didn't have a single shade which would suit me. Most of the shades are too bright, and nude one is too pale. But the other day I just thought to try out this shade Celestial. I don't know why I didn't think of trying this shade out before, because it's such a lovely wearable pink.

As I had heard from so many youtubers and bloggers, it really is opaque. The colour payoff is just amazing, you can't see your lip colour through it. It has a very weird smell that nobody I know has mentioned. It smells like...a cucumber made with plastic. Wait, then it won't smell of cucumber. So maybe it smells like cucumber smoothie with a hint of plastic. How does it sound? I really don't like the smell at all and it bothers me for quite a long time as it lingers.

 

Despite the weird smell,  I really like how it looks on my lips. It's not completely matte but it's not shiny or glossy. It stays on my lips for hours without drying them out, and I can add a little bit of clear lip gloss when I need more moisture and shine to it.

I was a little bit worried that it might look purply on my lips but it looks more like pink fortunately. I wonder how Big Bang would look amazing on people who look good with red lips...! Now it's sold in the States as SHOWOFF and Apocalips expanded the colour range as well, I hope they will bring more nude and beige toned shades in the future, because the formula is amazing. Have you tried it yet? What's your favourite shade?




 

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick
I don't wear red lips. I admire red lipsticks so much but I cannot wear them because I have quite a big mouth and on the other hand, my nose is tiny. (Don't blame me, I'm Japanese!) So when I wear a bright lipstick, I look really strange. I look like a 5 years old with my mum's lipstick. But I don't wear nude lips either because I want a little bit of colour on my lips. I'm always on the hunt for a perfect lipstick and when I heard great things about Rimmel Kate Lipsticks, I couldn't resist to try out. I bought these in the shade 8 and 16 as they seemed pretty wearable.

As they are not old in Japan, I had to pick shades by googling for swatches. This shade No. 16 looked like a pretty coral shade and it IS, but I didn't think carefully about the tone.

Yup it was a little too bright. But look at the colour, it looks so pretty! But believe me, my lips get attention too much with this lipstick on when you look at my whole face...*sigh* Oh and it smells like watermelon.

I have no idea why my lipstick was sweating this much when I took this photo, but I love this shade too. This is the shade 16, and it's such a beautiful mauvy plummy shade.

This shade is more wearable compared to No. 8 in my opinion. I dub it onto my lips with my finger, to make it look as soft as possible. I love how matte it looks, because it creates this chic look! I love the scent of this shade, I don't know what the scent is exactly but to me it smells like cherry. 

The formula of these lipsticks is very creamy and moisturising. They are pretty matte but do not dry out my lips at all. I hate it when a lipstick sucks up all the moisture on my lips so I was glad to find out these are not that kind. I hope someday they would make more basic shades like pinky nude or beige or a sheer lipstick or something. Rimmel is definitely one of my favourite brands now, their products are cheap but the quality is very good for the price!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation  7.99GBP

As I was running out of my Bourjois healthy mix serum, I considered whether I should repurchase it or try something new. Of course I chose the 2nd option because I'm a beauty junkie. And the one I had been wanting to try out was this product because I heard it was a very good foundation for the price and also it won Cosmopolitan Awards, that must mean something that a lot of people love this product so much.

As it's not sold in Japan, I had to pick a shade online. It was very hard because all the swatches and samples looked different in each photo. I finally picked this shade "True Ivory" because it looked similar to my Bourjois healthy mix serum in Vanilla, that was the only way for me to choose a shade without applying on my skin. This shade is a little bit darker for my skin tone in conclusion but it's better than a foundation that's too light for my skin because that would make me look like Geisha!

Well it looks much darker than my skin in this picture but maybe that's because it's the back of my arm. It's got shimmer in it and I was scared if it would make my whole face glittery. But actually it just gives a nice radiant glow which I really like.

The only thing I don't like about this foundation is the smell. It's got a pretty strong scent which is like a perfume. It's too strong to put on my face, I prefer more subtle scent :( But besides the smell I love the finish it gives and I think the quality of this product is very good for the price! 

Now I'm looking for a good powder to put on top of it, right now I'm using my mineral silk powder but I don't like it much. Please let me know if you know a nice powder :)

Rimmel Match Perfection Illuminating Concealer

Rimmel Match Perfection Illuminating Concealer  5.99GBP

Although I have been using concealer under my eyes since I was 15, I had never found a perfect concealer to cover my dark circles up completely. The concealer I had been using for the past 8-9 months was too yellow and got cakey but somehow I didn't look for a better concealer. But the other day when I was wandering feelunique, I suddenly wanted to get a concealer and added this one into my basket without reading any reviews by any bloggers. 

The colour I got is 040 Soft Beige. I'm quite pale for Japanese and the foundation and concealer for Japanese are usually too yellow for me, so I thought this colour would match my skin colour.

I like this applicator with this small brush. But the tube is not so good to be honest because it doesn't come out even when I push the tube so hard! I push for like 5 seconds but it doesn't come out, and after a while it comes out suddenly and I end up with too much liquid on the brush! It's such a bother especially in the morning when I'm in hurry. 

Other than that I like this concealer. The brush is soft and doesn't irritate my sensitive eye ares. The consistency of the liquid is perfect, and it doesn't get cakey at all. It blends in really well and covers my dark circles and redness besides my nose.

At first I thought this colour was too pink for me, but it blends in perfectly actually. I would like a brighter colour actually for highlight because this concealer is supposed to be 2 in 1 -concealer and highlighter! This colour is a bit too dark to use as highlighter but it could be a cheaper version of YSL Radiant Touch Concealer. I really like this product, it's much cheaper and better than the one I'd been using!

I'm also interested in Collection 2000 Concealer as everyone's raving about it. Have you used Collection 2000 one? Do you have any recommendation for me? 

My daily eye makeup

RIMMEL Chocolate Sweet Eyes
Lancôme Virtuôse Divine Lasting Curves & Length Mascara
Lady Oscar Liquid Eyeliner 

These are the items I use often. Sometimes I use different eye shadows but I use the mascara and the eyeliner every day. Unfortunately I don't have sockets above my eyes so I have limited choices for eye shadows. I wish I could do smokey-eyes-look but it just doesn't work for me. And also red lips look so nice but it doesn't work for me either somehow. What a shame.

This eye shadow is the only item I own of Rimmel. It smells like sweets and I love the smell! This color is pinkish brown, there are other colours like golden brown, beige, khaki-brown and purple-brown. I picked this one up because I simply loved the colour, my skin is not too yellow and it's more like pinkish yellow, so I thought it would look good on me.

Here are swatches. Nice colours, aren't they? I especially like the highlighter which is on the top right. I put this colour on the center of the eyelid, to make my eyes look standing out.

This eyeliner is the best one I've ever used. This is my 2nd or 3rd already, I'm so in love with this eyeliner. The reason is that because it doesn't get smudged by water at all. I yawn, put eye drops in my eyes as I'm wearing contact lenses, and sometimes I cry, but my eyeliners stay as they were in the morning. But it's so easy to remove that I don't even need a special eye makeup remover. It comes off with warm water like magic. That's very important for me because I cannot be bothered to use eye makeup remover before washing my face, and I don't like to use a strong cleansing oil either.

This is the look but I know, you can't see anything. It looks quite strong when I see it through the mirror though.

The glitter is not too strong, so it's suitable for work. When I go out with my friends I wear black and gray eye shadows most likely, and I add some glitters. Just so you know, I don't go clubbing or drinking! 

I actually purchased a new eyeshadow palette the other day, I will show you when it's arrived! :)