YSL Spring 2013 Arty Stone Collection Y Facettes Palette

Posted on March 5, 2013 by admin

YSL’s Y Facettes Palette from this Spring’s Arty Stone Collection is probably one of the palettes that I really thought I would give a pass when I saw the promotional pictures. Yes it looks pretty but it just doesn’t seem to be something that I can wear often. And the disappointment from using the last holiday palette is another reason why I was a bit hesitant to get this palette.

Well, luckily I got to try this palette fully during the pre-launching event, and I have to say this palette performs so well both dry and wet, unlike the Holiday Palette!Just like previous collections, YSL does a little something to the packaging of their star product in the collection. This time the top of the palette features Y facets all over. The palette is all shimmery and consists of four jewel tone shades. The top left corner is Malachite, a frosty grassy green. Top right corner is Fluorite, a sheer shimmery candy pink. The bottom left corner is Amethyst, a frosty violet mauve. And the bottom right corner is Azurite, a shimmery medium blue.

This palette, which is a YSL Pure Chromatics Palette is intended to be used both wet and dry, using them wet would add intensity to the colors. But honestly I find the intensity from using them dry is very strong already and I rarely find the need to use the palette wet for better colors at all. And for someone who’s always look for convenience and of course performance in high end makeup brands, this is a huge plus for me. (That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t like the last YSL holiday palette.)

Below are swatches which were done dry.
Below are swatches which were done wet.

I can’t choose a favorite out of the four shades but I do find myself reaching for the taupe shade the most. I love how shimmery but soft the color is!

For longevity, these shadows are not particularly long wearing but I do get a decent wear of about 6-8 hours. I only see minor creases afterwards.

These shadows are very soft and blend easily. And the shades work very nicely with each other too. This is definitely one of the fun palettes to play with this season. I am very grateful that I currently on a month-long no-work trip, because that means I can get playful with my makeup and won’t have to worry about appropriateness!

YSL Spring 2013 Arty Stone Creme de Blush #7 Rose Quartz

Posted on February 10, 2013 by admin

Now here comes one of my two favorite products from YSL’s Spring 2013 Arty Stone Collection.

As some of you may have already known, I have combination/oily skin, so I tend to stay away from cream-texture products like foundations, shadows and blushes. But I’ve always liked the idea of cream blushes since I can easily reapply blush during the day without needing a brush.

That’s why I wanted to try the YSL Creme de Blush. YSL released 3 shades in their spring collection, and the one I picked up is #7 Rose Quartz, which is a bright pink. This is the pinkest blush I own and I love how it just brightens up my face in an instant!

Even though it is called a cream blush, which would remind me of something with a heavier texture, this blush actually is extremely lightweight like a mousse. This helps to make the product easy to apply and blend. You can apply with your fingers or a blush brush with complete ease. It has a powdery finish, and can be applied before or after powder. And the color payoff is excellent, just a little product goes a long way.The best thing about this Creme de Blush is how amazingly long wearing it is. I have had this on a few times for over 12 hours of wear, and even on my oily skin it only faded ever so slightly.

And you really only need so little product at a time, it would take you a very very long time to finish this product, so even though the price tag is high, I still highly recommend this since it’s a wonderful blush with a beautiful color and has an outstanding performance on oily skin.

YSL Spring 2013 Arty Stone La Laque Couture 34 Jade Imperial & 35 Bronze Pyrite

Posted on February 8, 2013 by admin

YSL’s reformulated nail polishes are released for almost a year already, and I am a huge fan. Each season I look forward to the new polishes they bring to the collection. And for this Spring, they brought us two new polishes in the Arty Stone Collection – 34 Jade Imperial and 35 Bronze Pyrite. 34 Jade Imperial is a dusty jade green. It’s nice to see a polish released this season that is not a pink or bright. Jade Imperial is opaque in two coats, but you can easily achieve full opacity with just one thick coat. The formula is just slightly thicker than the other YSL polishes I’ve tried, but it still gives an even and smooth application. 35 Bronze Pyrite is a highly metallic light olive. The name is quite misleading, since it’s not very bronze-like in my opinion. But it looks like a hybrid of silver and khaki. You really only need one coat of this for full opacity. For a metallic polish, it is not a surprise that there will be visible brushstrokes, however as this dries, the brushstrokes become a lot less noticeable. The formula is also thicker than I would have liked, but application was a breeze, mainly because of the flat and wide tapered brush. The brush also helps minimize the brushstrokiness. I really don’t have anything in my collection that can be considered as dupes of these two gorgeous polishes. I tried my best, but these are what I find close enough for comparisons.

For Jade Imperial, I have Dior’s Lime, Waterlily, RGB’s Mint and Butter London’s Bossy Boots.

For Bronze Pyrite, I have Dior’s Or, Chanel’s Diwali and Deborah Lippmann’s Believe. As you can see, I have nothing in my collection that are close enough to be considered dupes of these two polishes. I think they are definitely worth getting since they are really pretty and perform very nicely.

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Swatches

Posted on December 31, 2012 by admin

It’s the last day of 2012 and I made my way to YSL to redeem my year-end gifts from YSL. My SA gave me a sneak peek of the new YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Lipsticks, and here I have for you all the swatches!

According to YSL:

Rouge Volupte Shine is endowed with “back injection” technology. This unique process allows the creamy texture of the new formula, rich in soft waxes, to be shaped as a stick, for a made to measure lipstick that glides on effortlessly and bathes the lips in color and shine.

There are two times more soft waxes in the Rouge Volupte Shine formula than in a classical lipstick.

There is a total of 19 shades:

#1 Brun in Secure
#2 Pourpre Intouchable
#3 Violet Incognito
#4 Rouge in Danger
#5 Fuchsia in Excess
#6 Pink in Devotion
#7 Rose Infinite
#8 Pink in Confidence
#9 Nude in Private
#10 Chocolate in Style
#11 Beige Instinct
#12 Corail Incandescent
#13 Pink in Paris
#14 Corail in Touch
#15 Corail Intuitive
#16 Orange Impertinent
#17 Rose in Tension
#18 Prune in Fire
#19 Fuchsia in Rage

These will be available at all YSL counters in Hong Kong on 4th January 2013 at 240 HKD apiece.

It’s almost one year since I started this blog and I just want to thank all of my readers and to wish you all a…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(and a very belated Merry Christmas! : )

- Kai

YSL Northern Lights Holiday 2012 Boréal Palette Arctic Night

Posted on December 18, 2012 by admin

When I first look at YSL’s Northern Lights Holiday 2012 Collection, I see of lot of blue hue. The collection includes a beautiful blue shimmery top coat for the nails, a glittery blue lipgloss, and then there’s this last eyeshadow palette I have to show you this season - Boréal Palette Arctic Night.

The palette looks absolutely stunning and even though I’m not a fan of blue shadows on myself, I knew this is a must-have piece for any makeup lovers.

Boréal Palette Arctic Night is definitely the star of the collection, and the packaging was not overlooked by YSL. It’s a sequined pouch which is inspired by YSL vintage dresses. In my opinion, it’s definitely the best packaging I’m seen so far this season.

The Boréal Palette Arctic Night is a pure chromatics palette. The shadows in a pure chromatics palette are supposed to be used both dry and wet. By using the shadows wet, the color will be intensified and becomes more pigmented.

For the shades, the top left corner is a rosy brown packed with blue shimmers. The top right corner is an icy blue with iridescent shimmers. Bottom left corner is an aqua blue with once again blue shimmers. And lastly the bottom right corner is a royal blue with silver sparkles instead of shimmers.

Swatched dry.

Once again these shadows can be used dry and wet, and since the shadow look absolutely gorgeous on the palette, I’m so disappointed with their performance when used dry. They go on so sheer that I had to go over a few times to have them swatched properly. The royal blue color was the worst of all, it was chalky and the least pigmented when used dry. I was unable to create a decent eye look without spending a lot of time layering on the shadows. My other pure chromatics palette all perform well even when used dry, so I was even more disappointed with this. I definitely have to use a primer as a base for the colors to show a bit more.

Swatched wet.

However, when used wet, these shadows are beautiful. They are intensely pigmented and the color payoff is great. It gives a creamier texture so when I applied the shadows it feels like I’m actually painting with the colors. They’re also quite long-wearing. The shadows start to crease with primer underneath at about 8 hours of wear. I have very oily lids, so 8 hours is pretty impressive on me.

Since I am not a fan of blue shadows on myself, and also since this palette only works well when used wet, I don’t find myself reaching for this palette often. Using this palette wet means longer application time, I am someone who’s also in a hurry when I get ready to go out, so this palette is definitely not an everyday palette for me. Not to mention that these shades are more for a dramatic than an everyday look. Nonetheless this palette is still beautiful and is a showstopper when used wet.

After seeing and reading about the eyeshadow palettes from Chanel, Dior, Giorgio Armani and YSL, which one is your favorite?

YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat VS Burberry Velvet Foundation VS Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Makeup

Posted on October 8, 2012 by admin

For the past few months various high-end makeup brands have launched new foundations. I was particularly interested in YSL’s Le Teint Touche Éclat and Giorgio Armani’s Maestro Fusion Makeup. By the end of this month I have actually tried both foundations and also the Burberry Velvet Foundation. I have so much to say about these foundations, so I thought I would do a series of reviews on these and share with you my personal favorite, which I’m very glad to say is the perfect foundation for me.

Now I have a detailed comparison between the three foundations I’ve recently reviewed.

Note: I have combination skin and the comparison below is made based on my observations when using these foundations.

	YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat Foundation	Burberry Velvet Foundation	Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Makeup
Texture	Thin	Thick	Very thin and Runny
Application	Best with Fingers	Best with Fingers or a Beauty Blender	Best with Fingers
Coverage	Sheer to Medium, slightly buildable	Medium to Full, buildable	Sheer, buildable to Medium
Finish	Glowing in areas where lights would hit	Velvety, almost matte	Velvety and smooth but not matte
Natural-looking?	Looks completely natural with glowing skin	Quite natural	As if there’s no makeup on at all and feels weightless
Sun Protection	SPF 19/PA +++	None	SPF 15
Long-wearing?	>8 hours	>12 hours	>12 hours
Oil-Control (No. of times I need to blot during wear)	At least twice in 12 hours	Once in 12 hours	Barely once in 12 hours
Shades	15 (+7)	8 (poor, either too yellow or too pink)	9 (in Asia)
Best for…	Dry, Normal or Combination Skin	Normal, Combination or Oily Skin	Normal, Combination or Oily Skin
Price	400 HKD / 54 USD (30ml)	410 HKD / 55 USD (30ml)	630 HKD / 62 USD (30ml)

If you have read the separate posts I did for each of these foundations, you should have guessed by now that my favorite is Giorgio Armani’s Maestro Fusion Makeup. It definitely is my Holy Grail foundation.

But that doesn’t mean I stopped using the YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat and Burberry Velvet Foundation.

To use Armani’s Maestro Fusion Makeup I do need a bit more time to work the concealer’s magic for perfect yet natural coverage. So I’ll only use it when I have extra time to do my makeup for a long day ahead. The finish is perfect and my skin looks almost completely flawless when used with the Armani concealer. But with or without the concealer it still doesn’t look or feel like I have makeup on. And the best part is it controls the unwanted shine on my T-zone area like magic!

When I don’t have much time to do my makeup for a long day that requires a bit more coverage, I opt for Burberry’s Velvet Foundation. It has good coverage, does well in oil-control, and is long-wearing. But mixing the best matched color is not easy and frustrating, it’s still attainable most of the time, so I just need to find the correct formula for the right mixture.

On days when I’m in a hurry and only be out for a few hours, I’ll use YSL’s Touche Eclat Foundation with concealer, since I do love the natural finish and the subtle glow. I will have to be prepared to blot away shine during the day though since this doesn’t help me in the oil-controlling department.

They are all great foundations so choose base on your needs! I hope my little comparison here help you make your decision. : )

YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat Foundation SPF 19/PA +++

Posted on October 3, 2012 by admin

For the past few months various high-end makeup brands have launched new foundations. I was particularly interested in YSL’s Le Teint Touche Éclat and Giorgio Armani’s Maestro Fusion Makeup. By the end of this month I have actually tried both foundations and also the Burberry Velvet Foundation. I have so much to say about these foundations, so I thought I would do a series of reviews on these and share with you my personal favorite, which I’m very glad to say is the perfect foundation for me.

I would like to start with YSL’s Le Teint Touche Éclat. It’s the first one I got from the three and even though I don’t use YSL’s famous Touche Éclat, I’ve always liked the Touche Éclat idea, which is to brighten the right areas on your face by catching the light, giving the face a natural aura. But if you read my blog regularly, you should know by now that I get really shiny on my T-zone area during the day, so an aura is definitely something I try to avoid.

I was interested in the foundation but was quite hesitant about whether to get it, but when I tried the foundation at the prelaunch event last month I was sold.

This foundation comes in a glass bottle and has a pump that dispenses just the right amount.

This weightless foundation has a light texture and it melts into the skin almost instantly. It’s very different from the traditional foundations I’ve tried before. Sometimes the traditional formulas can make my face look and feel masked and since I’m very cautious about oil-control, the mattifying foundations which I usually opt for make my face look dull as well. But this Le Teint Touche Éclat Foundation is different. It only glows where the light hits your face, and brightens up the shadow areas. It looks completely natural, it’s almost like I don’t have any foundation on. And the SPF 19/PA +++ is definitely a huge plus as well!

I use the shade BD 40. The coverage is sheer to medium, and slightly buildable. I have to use a concealer for the area under my eyes and also on my blemishes, but this foundation evens out my skin tone well. I can easily apply this with my fingers, although YSL recommends using their foundation brush for application. And since this foundation is so weightless and looks so natural on the skin, by the end of the day (at least 8 hours of wear) the foundation has perhaps already melted but it sure doesn’t look like it. As for oil-control, unfortunately this doesn’t help much. I get quite shiny after a few hours’ wear, which isn’t a surprise, but it’s not greaseville like when I use YSL’s Teint Resist (discontinued now). I simply have to blot away the shine and I’m good to go. There’s absolutely no need to do any touch ups on my makeup.

It feels so nice wearing this. I highly recommend this for people with drier skin, and if you’re like me with combination skin (only oily around T-zone areas), this would still work, you’ll just have to blot away the shine about twice in a 12 hours’ wear. And if you have oily skin, this probably isn’t for you!

You can find this at YSL counters in Hong Kong at HKD 400 apiece. There are 15 shades available so you’ll most probably be able to find the best shade for you! If you have a much darker skin tone, you can find 7 extra shades at YSL Beauty Boutique at Pacific Place.

YSL Fall 2012 Contemporary Amazon Highlighting Powder Palette Couture

Posted on September 6, 2012 by admin

I’ve had this Highlighting Powder Palette Couture from YSL’s Fall 2012 Contemporary Amazon Collection for almost a month now, and I’ve been using this alternatively with Guerlain’s Rose aux Joues Peach Boy (reviewed here) and Armani’s Face and Eye Palette (reviewed here). I love them all and whichever I wear depends on the occasion and my moon since they are quite different.

This product is absolutely gorgeous with an exotic snake-skin pattern engraved on the signature gold YSL compact, and within is the embossed powder with a similar print.

Even though it’s named as a highlighting powder, I find this rather misleading since the product actually consists of 3 rosy peach, brown and rather matte blusher shades. I don’t see how it is a highlighting powder, it will give you a very subtle glow, but it’s more like a bronzer kind of glow. So I have been using this as a blush bronzer and I find this most effective.

It’s soft and blends very well and beautifully on the skin. It’s not powdery at all and certainly not chalky. Unlike the Armani Face and Eye Palette, I can easily pick up enough product with just a normal blush brush for a soft finish. You can apply with a heavy hand and you’ll get a much stronger result. It’s quite long wearing as well, I only see minor fading after 6 hours of wear.

I really like this Palette Couture and I’m glad that it’s not a highlighting powder. I don’t think I’ll like it as much, probably because I’m more of blusher kind of girl.

This is limited edition, and you can find this at any YSL counters all over Hong Kong such as in Lane Crawford. Or if you have the time, do visit the world’s first YSL Beauty Boutique at Pacific Place!

YSL Fall 2012 Contemporary Amazon La Laque Couture 31 Khaki Arty & 32 Rouge Expressioniste

Posted on August 29, 2012 by admin

Since the Summer Collection, YSL has relaunched its nail polishes with new packaging, new formula and new colors, and they’re called La Laque Couture. I tried quite a few and I fell in love. They are some of the best nail polishes out there and I honestly don’t know why it took me so long to show you all these amazing polishes!

The new YSL nail polish line offers 30 colors when it launched and in this Fall’s Contemporary Amazon Collection, YSL brought in 2 new colors: 31 Khaki Arty and 32 Rouge Expressioniste.

Khaki Arty is a military/army green with creme finish. It’s a perfect color to match with the other products in this Fall collection, such as the green eye palette and eyeliner.

The formula is very nice, with just one coat you get a near opaque finish (I did two coats in the photos). And the new brush, which is shorter, thinner and wider helps you get a clean and easy application. The brush fans out very nicely and applies the polish onto the nail bed with just one or two swipes (depending on which nail you’re working on), and the thinness of the brush helps the brush distribute the polish evenly onto the nail bed. Everything is made so easy that I don’t have any cleaning up to do afterwards!

Even without a top coat it has a glossy finish, but I still added a top coat for a more long lasting wear and an even glossier finish. The color can get a lot darker when it’s not viewed under bright lighting though…

I have here Dior’s new Fall 2012 Polishes Bengale and Amazonia (reviewed here) for comparison.

I find YSL’s Khaki Arty almost right between Amazonia and Bengale. It is more brown than Amazonia and more green than Bengale.

Rouge Expressioniste is a deep and mature brick red that also gives a vampy vibe.

Sorry! I seem to have lost some of the swatch photos... This is the only one I have left...

Just like Khaki Arty, Rouge Expressioniste’s formula is amazing. One coat gives a near opaque finish, I did two coats for the perfect coverage. It of course has the same brush as Khaki Arty and just makes the whole application process a joy. It has a glossy finish even without a top coat, but again I still used a top coat for a more long lasting wear and glossier finish.

I have here YSL’s Rouge Pop Art and Chanel’s April (from Spring 2012 Collection) for comparison.

YSL’s Rouge Pop Art is a bright red, a classic color. Next to it, Rouge Expressioniste definitely shows the vampiness in it. Chanel’s April is a bit more close in color, but has a strong hint of plum color in it.

So far I’ve tried quite a number of these YSL polishes, and they all perform so beautifully. If you’re looking for a great high-end nail polish, I highly recommend you to check out the YSL ones. They don’t have crazy colors like neons in their selection, but with 32 color options I’m sure you’ll be able to find something you like!

6 things I’m currently obsessed with… July 2012

Posted on July 5, 2012 by admin

1. Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Silk Eyeshadows #28 – gorgeous color from the new Eyes to Kill Silk Eyeshadows, and amazing quality! (review coming soon!)

2. YSL Pure Chromatics Wet and Dry Eyeshadows #9 – from the Summer 2012 collection, I’ve always wanted to try this eyeshadow palette, but they’re so expensive here in Hong Kong! I got this palette since the colors are so easy to use, and of course they’re of amazing quality!

3. Chanel Tan de Soleil Summer 2012 Collection Luminous Bronzing Powder 917 Sable Rose – reviewed here. I’ve been using this every day!

4.Dior Croisette Summer 2012 Collection 401 St. Tropez – reviewed here. A polish that I seem to keep going for the past 2 months.

5. Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Silk Eyeshadows #27 – another gorgeous color! (Review coming soon!)

6. YSL Long-lasting waterproof eye pencil #9 Azure Blue – I love these eye pencils (Reviewed here), and this blue color is just breathtaking…

kai's obsessions

Obsessions and random things… but mostly about beauty…

Category Archives: YSL