Lunasol Fall/Winter 2010: Aurorized Palette 04 Gentle Variation.

Today I am reviewing some more Asian cosmetics for you. This is a pretty big department store brand, Lunasol, and this item is the Aurorized Eyeshadow Palette from their Fall/Winter 2010 collection, in 04 Gentle variation.

The top left is a soft minty green, with mild shimmers. It works great as a base and it is good for all over the lid. The bottom left is a shimmery, very sheer white, and it’s good for also all over the lid, perhaps before the green? As a nice brightening base. Many Asians  have some darker pigmentation around the eye area, and this white color works beautifully to brighten.

The soft pale yellow on the top right is a lovely color for the inner 1/3 of the lid. I like to do a gradient, from inside to outside, starting with the yellow, then the soft pale green, and then finally the ultra-shimmery dark greenish-inky color on the bottom right.

The middle color is the “aurorized” color, the star of the collection. It’s really really really super duper ultra shimmery. You cannot, cannot sweep this color anywhere. It’s best used pressed lightly on the inner corners and on the center of the lid to brighten and highlight. It’s seriously intense.

Overall, Japanese eyeshadows seem to be less pigmented than their Western counterparts, but are still very buildable  so that you can still do dramatic looks with them by building up.  This is no exception. I would not say that this is an easy palette to work with, however. There is some danger of fall-out from the glitter, and the colors are a bit difficult to manage, especially the super glittery middle color. It’s really beautiful, but hard to control.

Because of its cost (it set me back around $55, and someone bought it for me directly in Japan), and because of the difficulty, I can only give it a B- even though it is a truly beautiful palette with really beautiful colors that look amazing on Asian skin tones.

Dior Designer Quint in Green Design review and look.

I got my hands on Dior’s Designer Quintet Eyeshadow in Green Design from the Sephora F&F sale. It’s pretty exciting. I really like it, and the shadows are smooth and easy to apply and blend. They are also, however, ridiculously shimmery, to the point where it’s borderline inappropriate for the office. It sure is pretty though! The colors are perfect for a fall smoky look, and it comes with helpful instructions in a fold-out sheet to help you. Even someone as uncreative as I am can come up with something easily. You can see above that it comes with these helpful labels on a film (also available in booklet) to figure out the order. I didn’t use the sponges or the brush provided–I always find them too awkward and difficult to use. For this look I preferred to use brushes and it applied just fine.

This would be amazing for a night out. The colors are rich and pigmented, and the dark green in particular is absolutely stunning. The highlight is so extremely shimmery that the glitter-lover in me shouted for joy, but it also had no fall out that I can detect. How is that for perfection? The #1 warm beige “base” color is really sheer and shimmery, while the actual “colors” themselves are quite pigmented enough for anything. The upper left green looks deceptively light in this photo, as it goes on really nice and dark.

For this look I’ve put it together with a bunch of other Dior products I own for you!

Products used:

Eyes:
Dior Designer Quint in Green Design, every color
the new Shiseido Mascara Base
Dior DiorShow Iconic Extreme Mascara
Dior DiorShow Blackout

Cheeks:
Dior Rose Brazilia blush
Dior Rose Diamond

Lips:
Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Glow 262 Rose Soie/Pink Silk

Gray daytime look with Guerlain Rouge G lips.

Products used:

Eyes:
- Benefit Creaseless Shadow in Skinny Jeans
- MAC Smoke & Diamonds
-Stila eyeshadow in Kitten
- Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil in Oil Slick
- MAC Feline
- Dior DiorShow Iconic Extreme Mascara

Cheeks:
- Guerlain Light Terracotta Summer Bronzing Powder 02 Brunette
- Chanel Jous Contraste Blush in Rose Petale

Lips:
- Guerlain Rouge G lipstick in Gaia

Hit the jump for full face pics.

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Life’s Disappointments: NARS Night Rider

Got this during the Sephora sale in November. I desperately wanted this to work as I love lavender and it is glittery! I LOVE GLITTER. However, it was fall out galore and not enough pigmentation for it to even show up. I ended up returning it. Have you ever returned something you really wanted to love but ended up hating?

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