I don't know what the Japanese put in their eyeshadows, but whatever it is, it's dope. It doesn't even matter if the brand is low or high-end - the eyeshadows are usually smooth and highly pigmented. You'll remember my review of the KATE Blendzone eyeshadow and how impressed I was with it. The new eyeshadow, the KATE Eye Shadow CQ (P960) is no less impressive.

Same as Blendzone, CQ is highly pigmented, creamy, long-lasting, well-milled - everything I'm looking for in a quality eyeshadow. The shades in this palette are all lovely and work great with my skintone.

Mineral here, organic there. That has been the trend in beauty for the past few years, but these days it's more of a given than an optional thing for brands. I mentioned before that I'm not completely sold on 100% natural beauty products simply because they're either ineffectual or, if the quality is good, the price can be prohibitive. Nonetheless, there is one brand that has sucessfully battled this dilemma by being somewhere in between - Human Heart Nature.

The HHN Mineral Eyeshadow Palette in Enchanted Evening (P275) is the first makeup I've tried from the brand. The packaging is pretty and the price is friendly, but is the quality competitive?

What I like about the product

• It doesn't have the usual tacky shade selection. The lilac, dusky violet, and gray purple are sophisticated shades that I didn't expect in a P275 palette. They will work with fair to morena skintones.
• Well-milled and not chalky at all. I like the silky texture.

Some girls don't like wearing eyeshadows because of the extra work involved. They also don't want to give the impression that they're overly made up, especially in professional or formal settings where they need to look clean and almost bare-faced. Hence, the "no makeup makeup" was born.

I think that the Cover Girl Eye Enhancers in Country Woods were designed with that look in mind!

This palette has four neutral eyeshadows that are decently pigmented for a drugstore brand. The eyeshadows won't really show up brightly though. That just give the eyes the subtlest hint of glimmer and contour, improving their shape and color, without giving many clues that they're actually there. Pretty neat if you ask me.

What I like about the product

• Nice pigmentation. Won't blow your mind away, but it works.
• Colors really bring out the eyes without looking obvious. They look good on fair to medium skintones. 

The Tony Moly Berry Lovely Girl Heart Lip Palette (P448) is cute, but at first it hardly looks like something you'll actually use. It looks waaay too much like a toy and reminds me of those "makeup sets" you can buy for kids - bright and fun, but the colors don't actually show up since they're just petroleum jelly.

Well guess who's wrong.

The Heart Lip Palette apparently features Tony Moly's best-selling lipsticks. After using this for a few days, I can totally see why.

What I love about the product

• Decently pigmented. It starts off as semi-sheer but you can layer for a more opaque finish. Make sure to pile it on.
• Great color selection. There's a nude, peach, pink, and red that are all quite flattering. My favorite is the peach!

Have you guys seen the Revlon CustomEyes Shadow & Liner Duo in Metallic Chic? It's pretty no? The textured palette reminds me so much of cozy cableknit sweaters. That aside, you'll find that this palette is better than Revlon's last few ones. 

Shade selection. The CustomEyes Shadow & Liner Duo has five eyeshadows (the darkest of which you are supposed to use as an eyeliner) that are decently pigmented and nicely chosen.

The Bobbi Brown Tortoise Shell Palette in Sand (P3,000) was designed specifically for women who wear glasses, but if you ask me it's still a great all-around palette even if you don't don frames. It has a well-selected mix of eight shades that provide a soft focus effect, as if there is just a natural haze of color around the eyes.

I've been using it this past week and girls, I think I've found another permanent mainstay in my kit! The eyeshadows are well-milled and pigmented.

When I first saw the Bobbi Brown Tortoise Shell Collection in Temptalia a couple of months back, I was floored. I like the theme and the fact that this collection is targeted towards women who wear glasses (me)! You see, it's a more difficult to use makeup when you wear glasses since they bring focus to the eyes. You don't want to be caught dead with droopy or tired-looking eyes, right? The Tortoise Shell Eyeshadow Palette is specifically designed to highlight our peepers without them looking overdone or trying hard. 

Aside from the palette, a set of mini-brushes with tortoise shell handles will be making a debut. If you've ever wanted to try Bobbi Brown brushes but can't afford them, this set is your best bet since you won't have to pay full price for them to get the same quality. It's P3,000 for the set but that's considerably less expensive than the normal size brushes which can go up to P2,000 a piece.  

Click after the jump to get more tips from Bobbi Brown on how to wear makeup with glasses on!

When I think of great blushes I first think of NARS, then MAC, and (because of Sophie's rave) Bobbi Brown. I didn't think of Estee Lauder because the brand isn't really famous for their makeup; they seem to have focused on making great skincare and fragrances instead. So when I got this blush palette from the EL holiday set I bought last year, I really wasn't expecting much.

Don't you love it when I'm wrong? The Estee Lauder Deluxe Blush Compact is a great find because it does everything a blush needs to do exceptionally well. The colors are also thoughtfully selected, since there are shades that can match any skintone and look.

Specifically, the blushes included in the compact are called Signature Silky Powder Blushes. Let's go!

What I love about the product 

• Super pigmented. Check out the swatches! I always use a light hand, which means that I save up on product. I've been using these since October 2010 and I haven't hit pan - granted, I use other blushes at the same time, but I use this one pretty often.

I'm finding it a teensy bit difficult to begin this post, which is why I've been putting it off. I want to be able to sound sophisticated and knowledgeable while writing this review but I can't seem to get it right! You see, all I really want to say is this: Shu Uemura makes some of the best, if not the best, eyeshadows out there. Get one if you can, I'm not kidding!

I own a Shu Uemura travel palette but I never really appreciated the brand's eyeshadows until I got to try their singles from the Color Atelier. The colors are absolutely amazing, and the texture, my gosh! So soft and buttery. You don't even need a primer to make them stay on and look intense. These eyeshadows have no cons for me, although I do know P695 for a refill pan is steep. Still, that's considerably cheaper than other similar high-end brands pricing their singles at P900 up.

Shu Uemura recently released a customizeable palette that you can fill up with eyeshadow singles and/or blushes. It sells separately for P1,095 and also comes in one and two-pan versions. It's a well-designed case but you may also opt for a magnetic palette from a different brand to hold more Shu eyeshadows. Because seriously, are you going to stop with just four? I'm not!

Here are the colors I chose for my customized palette. I wanted to get ones I don't have yet; the rainforest paradise vibe was an unconscious theme! Hehe.

ME Soft Blue 655

IR Soft Gold 370

Last Wednesday, Shu Uemura invited beauty bloggers to check out their latest product: a customizable palette! They also introduced new eyeshadow and Glow On blush colors, collectively called the Color Atelier. All these are designed to accommodate any look you can think of, since the palette can carry a combination of four eyeshadows or two eyeshados + one Glow On. It also comes in singles and doubles.

The palette itself is pretty neat since it's functional and no-fuss (no need for magnets or adhesives), but are you ready for the REALLY good news? The single eyeshadows are only P695! I know, still steep, but compared for other high-end brands here in the Philippines, that price is very, very affordable. They're the kind of things you'd love to collect since the colors and quality are just lovely.

Ok I am gushing too much. I can't help it. I have a couple of well-loved Shu Uemura items (a Glow On blush and a palette) so yes I'm very excited to add a few more. When I went to their Rockwell branch, I was like a kid in a candy store. I checked out all the makeup and agonized about the colors I want to put in my own palette!

There was no question: I wanted four eyeshadows.

Majolica Majorca released two new Jeweling Eyes Palettes (P795) in their Sugary Trap Collection - one in bronzy browns and another in candy pinks! So pretty, I tell you. I've been using Caramelisee (BR631) pretty regularly since it's so flattering on the eyes. Sugar Cookie (PK330) is cute, but I have yet to find an occasion to wear it. I promise I'll take a snap when I do!

Both palettes have warm colors that can work with our tan Asian skin. I like that they show up well even without a base, plus the sponge applicator is actually useful.

The Majolica Majorca Jeweling Eyes palette (P795) has pretty much the same quality as the Trick-On Powder Eyeshadow palette, so I won't review it in detail anymore. It does have one discerning quality from the latter, though: it has more of a sheer, iridescent effect. It's not quite shimmer or glitter. I would describe it as something with a very fine sheen.

Packaging is slightly different as well, with the Jewelling Eyes palette having embedded beads on the side and sporting a jeweled print cover design.

The Majolica Majorca Trick On Powder eyeshadow (P795) is easily one of the best drugstore brand palettes I've tried to date. The quality is at par with the high-end eyeshadows I have in terms of pigmentation, texture, and staying power. P800 might seem steep, but for me it's already a bargain considering that, say, MAC and Shu Uemura palettes are P2,500!

I've read a lot of raves about the Majo palettes, but I thought that while it's good, it's still a reduced-quality Shiseido product. I haven't tried it then. Thank goodness I was wrong.

What I love about the product

• Smooth, silky texture. Not gritty or powdery at all since it's finely milled.
• Highly pigmented, even without a base.
• Good staying power even with no primer. I would still suggest using a primer though because it will crease a bit without it.

I've been looking for reviews of the Shu Uemura Art of Travel Palette, but it appears that they are few and far between. From what I understand, this palette is travel-exclusive, meaning you can only find it in airport malls. I find that sad because this is a great palette that's not only convenient for traveling - it can also do sophisticated day-to-night looks with its high-quality eyeshadows and pretty Glow On blush.

What I love about the product

• Four highly pigmented eyeshadows that I find well-picked in terms of color coordination and versatility. There are lots of ways to combine them for day and night looks.
• The cream base is a huge surprise for me. On the pan, it looks like a boring white cream base, but it actually applies as a gorgeous golden shimmer! It reminds me of Bobbi Brown's glitter eyeshadows. The shimmer is very, very fine, and I prefer applying it on top of eyeshadows to give the eyes that extra "oomph".

• The Glow On adds a pretty glow to my cheeks as promised. I've owned a Glow On previously, and I really love the effect on the cheeks. The blush doesn't have a name, but I guess it is very close to (if not the same thing as) the Shu Uemura Glow On in M Pink 33.

Do you like seeing your makeup together? I do! I'm sure you understand how I feel if, like me, you enjoy collecting and using makeup. You get that tiny thrill inside when you know that you have nice stuff you can depend on. 

That's why I thought to feature a neutral palette face-off. It's limited to my small collection of neutral palettes, but I wanted to quickly share with you my capsule review of each palette for, well, posterity. I've been steadily using neutrals most of the time these past few months, and I guess I want to keep tabs on my constant beauty companions. Hope you find this feature useful!

Note: Most of the palettes featured here are sadly limited edition or not available locally.

Let's start shall we?

Last week, I received a beauty loot from Anne, a friend who lives in Canada! You remember that I swapped with her last September. This is our picture with Noemz, another friend I met online, who kindly shipped the package to me even amidst her busy schedule!

me, Anne, Noemz

These two girls are the sweetest. We only met online, eventually met in person, and, thanks to the Internet, we manage to keep in touch! I can't wait for Anne to visit the Philippines again so we can have a proper dinner or something. 

Anyhoo, this is what Anne sent me:

A friend of mine (hi Anne!) sent me this Maybelline palette from Canada. I don't buy Maybelline palettes because whenever I swatch one in the store, I always feel underwhelmed. However, I was really surprised by how this particular palette performed! The eyeshadows were silky, highly pigmented, and performed well over a base. Definitely a keeper.

Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Quad in Natural Smokes

I love the color selection because they make for a quick, flattering smoky eye that's not too dark. I'm not sure if this palette is available in the Philippines, but if they are, I will definitely buy one in different colors. 

Face: Clinique Supermoisture makeup, MAC Studiofinish concealer, Ellana mineral foundation and finishing powder, NARS Super Orgasm

Hola! How's your long weekend? Me I didn't do much except shop, eat, read and watch fantasy movies. It's cool. I spent it with my family. 

At the Bobbi Brown Beauty Rules classroom!

So! I'd like to tell you what's new at Bobbi Brown. They recently launched the Bobbi Brown Beauty Rules Book and a Face Palette to go with the theme. The book is about makeup for teens and young twenty-somethings, so that's something you should own if you want to learn new techniques on the best possible makeup for your age and features. Of course, it also features Bobbi Brown's philosophy not only on beauty, but motherhood as well. 

pictures from Temptalia.com

The Beauty Rules Face Palette ($45, around P3,000 locally) is created for girls who are just starting to use makeup. It has the colors you would need for a natural day to an evening party look, and the makeup is formulated in such a way that you don't need to use a lot of tools. In fact, the makeup artists recommend using your fingers! Bobbi Brown Singapore makeup artist Cecilia Tay demonstrated how to pull it off to the press:

I haven't been wearing colorful makeup for months now. Well, okay, there were a few times during evening events but most of the time I have neutrals on. So what happened? Just two things, really. When I go to meetings of course I have to look polished and professional. When I go to events, I sometimes meet people I want to work with in the future, so I don't want to pile on the color. In between meetings and events I run errands, and even though I love makeup, I don't love it enough to wear eyeshadows all the time!

BUT. If there's one thing that will bring back my love affair with colorful eyeshadow, it will be the Mini Bobbi Brights Palette by Bobbi Brown!

I saw this in an event for Bobbi Brown's new book and palette called Beauty Rules. Anyway, I swatched some of the eyeshadows and was wowed by the pigmentation and how buttery smooth the texture is! Love.

A lot of enterprising Pinays have built a business out of selling US-brand makeup online. This is great news for us makeup lovers, but many of these resellers overestimate the demand for such luxury products so they tend to overprice their goods. But really, while I want this really nice piece of makeup, there's no way I would pay for a 40%+ markup! Frustrations just rage all around.

Thus, I'm glad that Shirlina of Get Sophisticated contacted me to check out her site. She sells Urban Decay products, Coastal Scents brushes, NYX makeup, China palettes, and a mix of popular items from other US brands like Too Faced, Rimmel, and E.L.F. What I like about her store is that the prices are competitive. The items she sells are also well-picked - she's obviously a makeup enthusiast because she knows some cult favorites.

I decided to get a Too Faced Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer (only P1,100) since I read some rave reviews. Many contend that this is better than the Urban Decay Primer Potion.