Hey fellow beauty dreamers, there is only ONE day left to Beauty Box’s 3rd Anniversary Giveaway so get down there and nab the chance to win one of three prizes up for grabs — beauty hampers full of Japanese drugstore faves!
Onto my latest obsession….I have to admit while I’m a strong advocate of Japanese drug store cosmetics brands, I tend to look down on Western ones (I do have some skincare faves but they are not easily accessible to me in Japan). It’s not that I think they are so bad but I feel that the packaging is not very attractive and the selection of colours limited. I know that there are probably some hidden gems out there, but out of sheer snobbery, I just avoided them altogether.
Until I watched this video.
This video was made by top UK makeup artist Lisa Eldridge and it was fascinating to listen to a beauty insider talk about superior drugstore products. I was completely sold because if a famous (and experienced) makeup artist thinks it’s good enough for her, it’s definitely good enough for me.
As much as I love luxury brands, I know that if I could find a drugstore alternative, I really should be saving my pennies for more important things (though I do believe that a bit of Chanel does make you feel more beautiful).
Lisa Eldridge mentioned that Revlon Matte Lipsticks are a rare find in the sea of shimmery shiny lippies in drugstores. I’m not sure if it’s just Japan but the selection of shades is so limited that I think there are only 6-8 available and I chose a nude and a coral because the rest were just varying degrees of nude and very similar to each other.
The basic black casing is alright to me but I’m still resolute in thinking that the packaging for Western drugstore cosmetics is unappealing. The coral colour above is just called 12…
And a non-pinky nude (I don’t have such a shade in my stash) called 02.
As you can see, the colour pay-off is excellent and I’m reaching for either of these lippies almost daily and topping them with a Jill Stuart gloss. What do I think of the matte lipsticks on their own? I tried the nude one, 02, and it really needs a gloss on top because I could see my lip lines and the colour looked a bit chalky, while the coral, 12, looks okay but I just feel it needs some gloss to soften and brighten it up. Overall, the texture of both lipsticks are moisturizing but because they are matte, they tend to settle into the lip lines.
It seems to me that the real benefit of matte lipsticks is the opacity/intensity of the colour and it’s not really meant to be worn on its own — I mean, who wants to look like they have dry lips? And for long-wearing lip colour, I think you would need a lip pencil to do the job.
Lisa Eldridge also said that Revlon matte blushes are “smooth” and that it’s hard to find matte blushes in drugstores (I never realized this till she said that – how true!) so I got this warm pink shade 08 because the other three were too cool or too orange or too pale for me.
It even has a mirror that pops out – a little gimmicky, I must say…. I generally don’t use the brushes that come with compacts, luxury or not, and prefer using my own makeup brushes.
In a separate video on anti-ageing makeup tips, she used Revlon ColorStay Pressed Powder to complete her base makeup so I had to try it because she looked amazing in that video.
I wasn’t too sure about this compact when I first got it but I realized I was just putting on too much product and looked “aged” instead of more youthful!! To make it work for me, I use a large MAC blush brush and ever-so-gently tap it on the compact and dab it on my face to take away the shine and nothing more. I used to be a loose powder freak and thought the more the better because it would make me look more “made up”. Au contraire in my 30s now…
I got it in 104 Medium and it matches my NC25-30 skin tone very well.
Now this Bourjois Delice de Poudre Highlighting Powder was not featured in any of Lisa Eldridge’s videos but I got this because she mentioned the bronzer version, a dark matte brown, was one of her favourites. There is a newer version but what I saw in person was a very reddish brown and I didn’t think it would go with my skin at all.
I couldn’t find the bronzer (and was glad I didn’t because I don’t really use much bronzer in the first place) and read that the highlighter companion to it was really excellent on Makeup Alley.
The chocolate bar and booklet form are kind of silly looking but I really like the subtle glow this product gives and the delicious vanilla scent it gives off.
And of course I had to get some base makeup!! Lisa Eldridge said that she was a big fan of Bourjois liquid foundations so I got my mitts on two…
I got Fond de Teint Healthy Mix in 54, and when swatched, looked beige but it matched my skin tone amazingly.
The texture is incredibly smooth but it has dimethicone as its second ingredient…
This foundation blended in like a dream and it really does smoothen out uneven complexion and provides good coverage without being mask-like at all.
I think the high silicone content has something to do with this but it really makes me look like I have great skin. If I use this product, I would try to put on a clay mask that evening because I know silicones block your pores.
I thought I would like this Bio Detox Organic liquid foundation in 62 better than the Healthy Mix one but the colour is slightly too yellow for me. As you can see, this version bought in Japan is called Bio Pure Organic and I tried to do a search on this but I think it’s a Japan-only version so very little is written on it.
Apparently this foundation contains no silicones but that means it is hard to spread. It is a much maligned foundation on Makeup Alley but it seems the trick is to put on your moisturizer and/or sunscreen and quickly spread the Detox foundation on immediately so you can make use of the “slip” from the other products.
It has pretty good coverage as well but it doesn’t have the same lasting power as the Healthy Mix one. I tend to look slightly blotchy at the end of the day which makes me relegate this to short outings.
Though it is a bit more yellow than my other foundations, I don’t find this to be a problem at all because the difference is so subtle. There’s also nothing that a good powder can’t fix either. Right now, this Bourjois Mineral Radiance pressed powder compact also seems quite interesting…
There you go, a long ramble on my latest craze over Revlon and Bourjois. I know that Revlon ColorStay eyeshadow palettes and Bourjois blushes and eyeshadows are very good quality too but the prices are pretty high in Japan compared to Europe, US, and Singapore so I might have a look if I’m out of Japan. The main point of this post is that these videos opened up my mind on how to look at makeup with more analytical eyes and to see beyond all the marketing hype.
Are there any solid drugstore products that you’ve got in your collection? I’d love to know why you like them!
-
“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed or Youtube to get the very latest updates, giveaways, and promotions.
