December Empties including Laura Mercier Silk Creme comparison

Another month, another set of finished products and reviewlets. As before, I am only linking to ingredient lists which are harder to track down and to only one of many possible retailers; I have no affiliation to any of these sites nor will I receive any kickbacks if you click through.

I finished a foundation! And not a mixer this time, either.

Laura Mercier Silk Creme in Soft Ivory £33 for 40g at SpaceNK.
As you can see, I've already repurchased this siliconey cream, which is one of the best formulas on the market for my dry skin and provides a close-ish shade match (although I do still have to mix in some white in the depths of winter). It offers very full coverage so doubles up excellently as a concealer; as a foundation, I usually use a rice grain's worth sheered out with a damp Beautyblender sponge. This sets to a satiny skin-like finish on me (matte to the touch) which I don't like or need to mess up with powder -- in fact, several professional makeup artists have refused to believe that I was wearing anything on my face with this stuff on.

A small detail but I really appreciate the "Shake Well" sticker on the lid, large and prominent enough to penetrate even my morning fug.

As it's taken me about three and a half years to finish this tube (including making a few samples and decants for friends), I thought it would be helpful to swatch the last dregs of the old against the first squirt of the new.

Both heavily swatched, pictures taken in natural light.

To my eye, the very slight difference between the two (the old looks more yellow) seems more attributable to batch variation than oxidisation. Once blended out on my face, I can't tell a difference at all. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences on foundations -- do you religiously throw them out a year after opening? Have you ever experienced oxidisation of shades in the bottle?

Skincare Empties

Fancl Mild Cleansing Oil $26 for 120ml at Fancl USA. Ingredients.
I've tried dozens of cleansing oils over the years, and this has remained both my favourite and Japan's, topping consumer polls and bestseller lists annually. It's the only one that doesn't irritate or dry my skin out with prolonged use. Bear in mind that Fancl do not use preservatives in their skincare, so this has a short shelf life: bottles are imprinted with the date of manufacture and will remain fresh for one year from that date, or 120 days after opening.

Bioderma Crealine £14.59 for two 500ml bottles at Leguidesante.
Another staple, it is of course excellent for strategic makeup removal/clean-up but I mainly use it as a waterless cleanser when travelling or on flights.

Avene Skin Recovery Cream £12.50 for 40ml at Boots.
Known as Cream for Intolerant Skin in the US, a basic, soothing moisturiser composed of a combination of mineral oil, squalane and glycerin. I rely on Tolérance Extrême or Cicalfate for real skin emergencies, and turn to this (or the "rich" version in winter) for the convalescent/maintenance phase.

AMPM Skin Ecological Indoor Defence Cream £12 for 30g at Beautyeshop. Ingredients.
AMPM Overtime Skin Intensive Gel Cream £12 for 30g at Beautyeshop. Ingredients.
Both of these Naruko products are packed with potentially irritating botanicals and essential oils, yet they worked beautifully on me. The night cream turned out to be too light for my dry skin once I had adjusted to Hong Kong's humid climate (I resorted to layering Avene over it), but the day cream (a more moisturising but equally cosmetically elegant version of cult favourite Embryolisse) grew on me so much that I've already repurchased.

Ducray Melascreen SPF50+ Cream €11 for 40ml from Vitalya. Ingredients.
It's winter, so I switched from the Emulsion to the slightly richer, more emollient Cream. In either form, it remains my favourite avobenzone-free, high PPD sunscreen; I go through a tube every month or so.

Sun Bears Super S SPF50+ PA+++ HK$38 for 30ml at Sasa. Ingredients. 
Sunplay Super Block SPF50+ PA+++ HK$68 for 30g at Adambeauty. Ingredients.
I've gone through several bottles of these two excellent Japanese drugstore milk sunscreens, both fragrance- and alcohol-free and containing a stable trio of zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and octinoxate UV filters. No white cast or stickiness from either, and there's not much to separate them (even the cute white and red packaging is similar); Sunplay is perhaps slightly lighter in texture. I'm not thrilled with buying body sunscreens in such small amounts, but they are admittedly cheap, and the bottles are handy for chucking into a bag for top-ups after handwashing etc.

Sisley Sisleya Global Eye and Lip Contour Cream Cheapest I've found is around £80 for 15ml at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Duty Free but the official UK retail price is £105.
Inexplicably effective, horrifically expensive Holy Grail. In a future post, I will list all the other eye creams I've tried in an attempt to wean myself off this stuff. A jar lasts me around 5 months of twice-daily use on eyes and lips.

Juju Aquamoist Hyaluronic Acid Essence HK$145 for 30ml.
Uh, what I said last month. (Had forgotten that I already had a backup bottle when I wrote that...)

Naruko Narcissus Total Defence Fundamental Serum £11.33 for 30ml from Beautyeshop. Ingredients.
Naruko's version of the moisturising antioxididant serum popularised by Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair. Equally soothing and immediately brightening/evening, this is (like ANR) a product for maintaining good skin, and will probably disappoint those who expect dramatic results from serums. No preservatives, so shelf-life is 6 months from opening -- not a problem as I blew through this bottle in six weeks, using two pumps morning and night.

Eyeshadow Brush Comparison pictures -- part 4

Finally, the brushes I use for precision work and eyelining (with powders, creams and gels). These divided neatly into four categories so new format today: a group shot to show relative scale and handle lengths, and then closer comparisons.
As before, the short gold-handled Hakuhodos I purchased in Japan; I've linked to the brushes with exactly the same heads and numbers currently available on the international Hakuhodo webshop. The Chikuhodo Artist series brushes also come in black (long-handled) versions.

1. MAC 231 synthetic curved push brush 
2. Chikuhodo Artist Red 6-1 kolinsky curved push brush 
3. MAC 266 angled ox/synthetic blend brush 
4. Hakuhodo 162 angled weasel brush (see S162) 
5. Shu Uemura Natural 6OB angled badger brush (mine is travel-sized; they also make a long-handled version) 
6. Shu Uemura Natural 4F sable flat brush 
7. Maybelline gel eyeliner synthetic tapered flat brush 
8. KATE gel eyeliner synthetic tapered flat brush 
9. Hakuhodo 5531, synthetic script brush
10. Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner sable/nylon blend brush 
11. Hakuhodo 007 fine pointed weasel brush (see K007)

Curved Push Brushes

The 231 (#1) is one of my favourite brushes from MAC -- I keep several on hand for lining (eyelids, lower lashlines, waterline, tightlining) and also for inner corner work and patting on a 'pop' (sorry) of colour or shimmer right in the centre of the eyelid. It handles all textures of powder, cream and gel with equal aplomb.
I purchased the Chikuhodo Artist 6-1 (#2) as a short-handled travel version of the 231. And it actually blows the MAC brush out of the water in every single way. Its slightly smaller dimensions translate to a huge increase in precision, and the kolinsky hair outperforms MAC's synthetics with all textures. A must-have, if you like this shape.

Angled brushes

MAC 266 (#3) is the widest and next to the Hakuhodo 162 (#4) and Shu 6OB (#5) it feels positively floppy. Because my eyes are small and brows are fullish, I can't use this for either lining or brows, but it's handy for sketching out sharp cut creases.
Hakuhodo 162 is the densest and thickest of the three and works best for smokey, smudgy lining. It is also the softest as well as the firmest, and works excellently for working eyeliner right into the base of the lashes. Also marketed as a brow brush, but only recommended for those "more hairless" than me (nice euphemism courtesy of the Osaka Hakuhodo counter manager, who would only sell this to me when I solemnly swore never to let it approach my were-brows.)
Shu 6OB is another staple of mine, used with brow powders and gels, and with powder eyeshadow to line my eyes (almost daily). More angled than the Hakuhodo 162, it draws thinner, less smokey lines with powders, but works less well with gels/creams because it's more loosely packed.

Flat liner brushes

Shu 4F sable (#6) works best on the lower lashline, with powders and loose pigments. With creams I prefer a neater line and more control so turn to my trusty drugstore freebies from Maybelline (#7 -- Lisa Eldridge and Jung Saem Mool like it too!) and KATE (#8) -- both are denser and more directional thanks to tapering. KATE works better on the eyelid, and for smudging out as well as lining, so wins out overall; they are equally excellent on the waterline.

Pointy liner brushes

Hakuhodo 5531 (#9) has become my go-to for spot-concealing. It's replaced the Sonia Kashuk (#10) because despite being bigger, it's also more precise and less, well, poky on sore red skin. I prefer slightly bigger shapes for spot-concealing because one jab is less painful than doing something pointillist with an ultrafine brush.
I've had two months with Hakuhodo 007 and it's officially time to call Holy Grail. Makes more graphic liner (flicks, angles etc.) absoutely effortless. In the past I've worn out many a MAC 209 and 210 and Louise Young 24 and 25, not to mention dozens of Japanese pen liners with attached brushes (KMHM, Rose of Versailles and KATE, for example). At the Hakuhodo counter, I also had a play with several other script brushes, all of which were too long or too rounded; the 007 is simply perfection.

Eyeshadow Brush Comparison pictures -- part 3

Fluffy non-tapered blending brushes -- can you tell that I'm not exactly au fait with artistic/brush terminology? These are even more of a motley crew than usual because I find them particularly difficult to shop for given the size/shape of my eyes and my preferred style of application (more like Jung Saem Mool than the Chapman sisters or Lisa Eldridge).

All brushes are mine except for the Suqqu L, which was a loan. All have been used/washed.

1. Edward Bess Luxury Eye Brush 'natural' hair (I suspect goat, maybe mixed with some pony), the biggest, densest most rounded and roughest in this bunch
2. Suqqu Eyeshadow L uncut grey squirrel, looks flat on its side but rounded from the front
3. Illamasqua Blending Brush 1 synthetic -- similar to the MAC 224 in shape but much softer. I use this for concealers.
4. Stila No.9 mine is blue squirrel (bought in 1999) but newer ones are goat hair, v. soft and diffuse brush perfect for all over blending and sheer washes
5. Shu Uemura 8HR angled sable brush -- I use this in a windshield wiper motion in the socket
6. MAC 217 goat hair -- I don't care for this as a blender/crease brush, but love it for cream shadows
7. Paula Dorf Eye Contour Brush angled blue squirrel brush -- this is my favourite socket brush for softer looks / very pigmented shadows
8. Shu Uemura 4R sable -- its loosely packed long hairs make it useless for powder products in my clumsy hands. I can only use it for precise undereye concealing, but it excels at that one task.

A closer look at Suqqu L with EB Luxury (L) and MAC 217 (R)

 from above, they look similar in shape...

...but the cross-section illustrates the shape differences

and a haloed shot displays the textural differences

Suqqu L is probably technically as densely-packed as Edward Bess (in terms hairs per square mm), but the softer, finer and longer grey squirrel hair means it applies pigments in a more diffuse way.
In terms of shape it is a larger version of the MAC 217 but is much more efficient at blending out powders without patchiness, because it is denser and the hairs are more even; however I very much doubt that the Suqqu would handle creams as briliantly -- would love to hear from any readers who've tried this.

Next up, the final part: precise/liner brushes.

Christmas comes early presents and FOTD

Yesterday I was a good beauty blogger and a very bad fiscally-responsible Grown Up, and treated myself to one of the YSL Rouge Pure Couture Glossy Stains (£22.50, exclusive to Selfridges, see BBB's review) whilst finishing up some last-minute Christmas shopping.

My initial impressions basically consist of high pitched squealing but, in bullet point form:

• more pigment, less slip and longer-lasting than Chanel Rouge Allure Laques (slightly stickier too, which helps it stay firmly in place)
• brilliantly-designed applicator, makes precise shapes ridiculously easy to achieve
• wide shade range ranging from pale nudes to dark browns and plums
• no rancid mango signature YSL scent, rather, these are the same candied roses as the Rouge Pure Couture lipsticks
• does what it says on the tin: both the staining power and glossiness last through eating and drinking for me

Two thin coats of 01 Violet Edition applied straight from the tube, no lip brush, and no clean-up with q-tips or concealer brush afterwards :O

The colour you see at the fuzzy edge of the applicator is the colour I get on my lips, which BLEW MY MIND, because my pigmented mauvey-rose lips make all colours pull pink. This shade at least is pigmented enough to apply true-to-tube on me.

The rest of the look I built around the lip. Very clichéd old-school glam type thing. All pics natural light.

Base/Basics

RBR Sea of Tranquility highlighter mixed 1:1 with MUFE Mat Velvet 15 foundation

Lunasol Under Eye Concealer 00

Shu H9 Stone Grey brow pencil

Koji Linequeen liner (I ended up not using this, whoops)

Majolica Majorca LEFP #12

Colour

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Mirifique (which I used as a liner instead of Koji)

RBR Gracilis blush

RBR Solstice Halcyon to blend out crease (depotting accident)

RBR Batiste Grayling cream shadow in crease

RBR Wishing for Wings and Night Wind Sailing pigments all over lid/lower lashline

YSL RPC Glossy Stain 01 Violet Edition

Eye closeup

So that was me trying to at least look like a grown up (minus some neck-craning to catch the intermittent light) despite not acting like one when tempted by new shiny lip products.

Then the doorbell rang.

If there were justice in the world and we all got what we deserve, I should have opened the door to some lumps of coal. Here's what arrived instead:

Opened

Fresh Sugar lipbalms in Rose and Honey; Guerlain Rouge Automatique in Nuit D'Amour

Besame Sweetheart Balm in Cherry; Laura Mercier Lip Stain in Hibiscus

Rescue Beauty Lounge Recherché, Look Rich Be Cheap, Piú Mosso

Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation in Soft Ivory and MAC Face&Body in White (repurchases)

Ellis Faas Glazed Lips L306 and L307

I also received these gifts from two lovely friends who each arrived at the idea independently:

Vosges Bacon Chocolate Pancake Mix and Hickory-Smoked Bacon Chocolate Bar :D

Now how is anyone supposed to maintain a grown-up façade after that?! I'll spare you the edition of the FOTD featuring a dazed ear-splitting grin and smears of chocolate and flour all over my face. (FYI, the YSL stain held up through the entire bar.)

Eyeshadow Brush Comparison pictures -- part 2

Pointy/tapered ones this time -- my other favourite shape. If you asked me which single eyeshadow brush I would save in a fire, I would roll my eyes at you contemptuously. But I would agonise over Shu Natural 10 and Suqqu S on the inside.

Onwards!

1. Boots No7 Smokey Eyeliner Brush designed by Lisa Eldridge (hair unknown. Anyone? Bueller?)

2. MAC 219 deservedly famous goat pencil brush

3. Chikuhodo Z-10 uncut grey squirrel

4. Suqqu Eyeshadow S uncut grey squirrel

5. Suqqu Eyeshadow M uncut grey squirrel, larger and more rounded than S

6. NARS Small Domed Eye No.12 long, loosely-packed tapered squirrel hair

7. Kevyn Aucoin Small Eyeshadow Soft Round Tip pony(!) but amazingly softer than most goat brushes in my experience. More rounded than the Nars 12 but firmer too.

I use all five pencil brushes (1-5) with both powders and creams; No7, MAC and the Suqqus handle both brilliantly, but Chikuhodo Z-10 is a little too loosely-packed for thicker/drier cream textures.

A closer look at 2 through 5:

The most versatile of these for me is the Suqqu S. I can and have used this alone to do full eyemakeup: lid wash, crease, brow highlight, outer-v, smudgy liner, lower lashlining and inner corner work. Suqqu M is more efficient at laydown and browbone-highlighting, and those with larger eyes and more lid space may find that the best all-rounder.
While I am very fond of the MAC 219, it now feels horribly scratchy compared to the grey squirrel trio, and was only ever suitable for precision work in any case. I can use this to sketch out shapes, but need a separate blending brush to buff out the harsh lines; both the Suqqu S and M deposit pigment and blend with every stroke.

My latest acquisition the Chikuhodo Z-10 suffers in comparison to the Suqqus (likewise the Hakuhodo Kokutan T, which I decided not to keep). Its similarity to Suqqu S in particular makes a head-to-head inevitable, and the Z-10's longer hairs make it harder to control and manoeuvre, while its loosely packed nature make it less useful for smudging and, as previously noted, for creams. Despite its finer tip, it delivers less precise results than I can achieve with the Suqqu S.

More pictures of the Z-10 (C) and Suqqu S (S) to illustrate these differences:

Pressed down until I could feel the natural 'tension' in the hairs

Freshly-washed, damp brushes

Z-10 has fewer, longer hairs that taper to a finer point

 

Suqqu S has a wider base too

flattened while damp -- Suqqu S is more densely packed with shorter hairs

Hope this has been somewhat helpful! As always feel free to ask further questions and I'll try my best to answer them.

Eyeshadow Brush Comparison pictures -- part 1

Another picture post to give some idea of how the Hakuhodo/Chikuhodo brushes I own compare in size and shape to some more well-known ones from MAC and Shu.

Again, all brushes are my own, and have been used/washed. I like my brushes to be multi-purpose and find these flat(ish) fluffy(ish) shapes quite versatile -- all of them perform at least two functions out of three of lay-down, blending, and precision work.

NOTES:
I bought my short gold-handled Hakuhodos in Japan. They do not seem to be available on either Japanese or English webshops so I've linked to the brushes from different series but with exactly the same heads and numbers, currently available on the English site.
The Chikuhodo Artist series comes in both black (long-handled) and red (short-handled) versions.

1. Hakuhodo Kokutan MLL blue squirrel

2. Hakuhodo 021 blue squirrel (see K021)

3. Chikuhodo Artist Red 12-6 grey squirrel

4. Hakuhodo 127 Canadian squirrel (see B128BkSL)

5. Shu Uemura Natural 10 kolinsky/sable mix

6. Shu Uemura Synthetic 10 synthetic (!)

7. MAC 239 goat

8. MAC 242 synthetic

9. Chikuhodo Artist Red 6-6 Canadian squirrel

10. Chikuhodo Artist Red 8-1 kolinsky

11. Louise Young LY09 sable

Closer look at the bigger, fluffier paddle brushes with Shu N10 as a reference

1. Hakuhodo Kokutan MLL

2. Hakuhodo 021

3. Chikuhodo Artist 12-6

4. Hakuhodo 127

5. Shu Natural 10

And the flatter, denser brushes, with MAC 239 as a reference

1. Shu Natural 10

2. MAC 239 (much blunter, fluffier and less versatile than the others)

3. Chikuhodo Artist 6-6 (which is not angled, just prone to rolling around while being photographed)

4. Chikuhodo Artist 8-1

5. Louise Young LY09