Addiction by Ayako palettes

Reserving my strength to fight off impending post-Christmas lurgy so here's a brainless picture post introducing the Addiction palette system, and reswatches of the eyeshadows I own (you can see my counter swatches of the line here and Aurora Reflection swatches here).

Addiction make two kinds of palette: Compact Case I (¥1050) holds up to four eyeshadows or two blushes, and Compact Case II (¥1575) six eyeshadows and three blushes. Or of course, a mix: a blush pan is the size of two eyeshadow pans, as you may have gathered.

(More statements of the blindingly obvious ahead.)

I would usually chuck depots into a Z, Shu, ELF or MAC palette, but the thickness of Addiction pans make it impossible to close the lid on any of those. Just for reference, they do fit into a Yaby palette, but I prefer to reserve mine for travelling. And, well, these Addiction palettes are just sleeeeeeek.

Compact Case II, shiny black plastic, not too flimsy/light, pops open when you press the button:

But if you angle it right, the lid flashes ruby:

It opens up completely (to 180º) to reveal a generously-sized mirror in the lid and pin-sized holes in the base should you wish to pop your pans out again:

Similarly, the singles come with handy pinholes for your depotting convenience (think Shu pre Colour Atelier), requiring only two seconds and a bobby pin, and partial sobriety:

Poked through: the pans are loosely attached with glue, once again à la Shu (I made a po-em!)

Blushes (you can of course line up three pans horizontally)

Eyeshadows

1. Concrete Jungle (P)
2. Sandbar (P)
3. Neverland (ME)
4. Flash Back (ME)
5. Fudge (ME)
6. Pink Python (P)
7. Ice Storm (P)
8. Poetic (P)
9. Horizon (P)
10. Blue Moon (P)
11. Silent Scream (P)
12. Deep Forest (P)

Eyeshadow re-swatches

Natural light

Natural light with flash

Artificial light with flash

Lip Brush Comparison pictures

The final set! You can see an index to the whole series by clicking the Comparisons tab at the top of the page.

1. Shu Uemura 7HR kolinsky, rounded angled (also excellent for cream eyeshadow and gel liner -- like a bigger, thinner version of the brush that comes with Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eyeshadows)
2. Boots No7 Lip synthetic, square
3. Hakuhodo Push-up flat BkA kolinsky, square -- closest analogue is the thicker Retractable GoS
4. Hakuhodo Misako Portable weasel, rounded -- closest analogue is the thicker, wider Kokutan RS
5. Illamasqua Lip synthetic, pointed

I am a lip-brush fiend, and use them to apply almost all lip colours (including glosses, stains and pencils). The two Hakuhodo brushes are far and away the best I have ever tried:

• depositing colour evenly across the entire width of the brush without leaving any streaks at the outer edges
• soft enough to glide over the lips without tugging and to blend with
• firm enough to create precise shapes (very important if you dislike lip liners as I do)
• don't gouge into the creamy moisturising formulas I like, while also effortlessly picking up colour from harder lipsticks
• made from the highest quality natural hair-- they hold onto pigment without 'drinking' it in, so easier to clean and faster to dry than synthetics
• all the little subtleties of heft and shape make them beautiful and comfortable to hold and use, and the generous lid design means you're never at risk of splaying the brushes while recapping.

The Non Blonde reports that Hakuhodo's English site (which ships internationally) will be restocking later today for the last time before their January 1st price increase, so I hope this comparison series will prove useful. For more, please click through to these excellent blogs, by far bigger Haku-heads than me:
Ars Aromatica
Delicate Hummingbird
Glossed in Translation
The Non Blonde

Foundation matches

As you may have gathered, I'm pretty pale. Not porcelain, and far from the fairest person I know, but already too light to have a ready-made shade from MAC and many other mainstream brands.

Hopefully these swatches of some close-ish foundation matches will help both those looking for similar shades and anyone else looking to extrapolate from how colour products look on my face.

From left to right, they go from lightest coverage (medium) to heaviest (v. full). I personally don't have a use for very sheer foundations -- pigmented formulas can easily be sheered out and if my skin doesn't need much coverage, I'd rather skip foundation altogether...

1. Illamasqua Skin Base SB02 neutral pink, medium coverage
2. Addiction Dewy Glow 01 Wafers neutral yellow, medium coverage
3. Nars Sheer Glow Siberia (my bottle spontaneously flung itself at the floor today, hence the Muji pot) cool yellow, medium coverage
4. Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet+ 15 neutral, medium-full coverage
5. Paul&Joe Light Cream Foundation S 00 cool yellow, medium-full coverage (NB this has been reformulated and now contains alcohol)
6. Shu Uemura Nobara stick 784 neutral yellow, full coverage
7. Laura Mercier Silk Creme Soft Ivory yellow, full coverage
8. Graftobian HD Glamour Creme Lady Fair neutral, very full coverage
9. Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer SX-1 cool yellow, very full coverage

Swatches on white paper to bring out the undertone differences

 Arm swatches -- natural light

Arm swatches -- natural light, by window

Bear in mind these are very heavy swatches on my inner arm, which is paler than my face; once blended out the shade differences are less apparent.

However, being even persnickitier about foundations than I am about...everything else, even slight mismatches or textural flaws, like, make my heart ache, which is where this arsenal of primers and mixers come into play:

A. MAC Face&Body White for lightening liquids or water-based creams

B. Rouge Bunny Rouge Bronzing Glow Liquid for darkening, and to add warmth and a sheen

C. RBR Sea of Tranquility to add pink and a sheen

D. RBR Sea of Clouds to lighten and add a sheen

E. RBR Metamorphoses Primer to create a satin-matte effect and conceal pores (I also love mixing this with eyeshadows and lipsticks)

F. Suqqu Makeup Base Creamy to add pink and help foundation apply over dry, flaky skin

G. Shu Uemura Stage Performer Instant Glow nominally a primer, I use this magical pore-perfecting, yellow-tinted cream instead of foundation, topped with some spot-concealer

H. Make Up For Ever HD Primer 5 Blue to cool shades down

I. Barry M Foundation Creme White for lightening thicker creams (this is much more pigmented than MAC F&B).

You'll notice that most of these add a glow -- it seems that paler shades tend to come in formulas which are really unforgiving to my dry skin.

A few other close-ish matches which aren't in my collection:

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation 00 Alabaster neutral pink, light-medium coverage
Illamasqua Light/Rich Liquid 115 cool pink, full coverage
Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream 13 neutral, full coverage (I've swatched over a hundred BB creams and this is my only match)
Sonia Rykiel Fresh Gel 10 cool yellow, medium coverage

In summer, at my most 'tanned', I can also swing:
Alima Satin Matte N1 neutral, medium coverage
Chantecaille Future Skin Porcelain neutral yellow, medium coverage
Dior Diorskin Forever Compact 010 yellow, full coverage
Graftobian HD Glamour Creme Bombshell neutral, very full coverage
Laura Mercier Mineral Powder Soft Porcelain yellow, medium-full coverage
Lunasol Water Cream OC-01 neutral-yellow, medium-full coverage
MAC Studio Sculpt NC15 neutral-yellow, medium coverage (about a shade paler than other MAC NC15s)
Shu Uemura Face Architect Smooth Fit 584 neutral-pink, full coverage
Suqqu Frame Fix Cream 001 (mixed with pink)

December 25th

Happy Christmas to all those who celebrate it, and to everyone else, a fabulous and frivolous last week of the year!

This stack is pretty representative of my booty bountiful collection of gifts:

Although there were a few beauty treats as well:

 

The Addiction addiction rumbles on:

Fudge and Sandbar eyeshadows (previously swatched)

Amazing powder blush

3 x Compact Case II

Last Scene lipstick

Suspicious cheekstick

All much-loved staples in my rotation -- Chergui and Voleur de Roses are refills(!), Magazine Street and Russian Caravan Tea will displace my mess of decants.

A look inside A Stitch in Time Volume 2, the base of the stack above:

It reprints a selection of vintage ('30s through '50s) knitting patterns alongside updated versions in contemporary yarns, re-sized for modern frames.

I love that the original patterns are shown with smudges and all:

Of course, this very authenticity can make for some epic lulz:

Major props to that blonde model, who pulls off some of the wackier pieces with more aplomb than the original models...

Of course, there are also many pieces which were covet-at-first-sight, and I will be tracking down some yarn for these in the Boxing Day sales:

And this above all, one of the few patterns which have not been rejigged for a modern knitter's short attention span, but uses the original cobweb-weight yarn on 2.5mm needles.

Those who are familiar with Volume 1 will be glad to know that the sequel displays even more meticulous attention to detail, with an expanded size range and more complete schematic diagrams, as well as notes on achieving the 'authentic' fit for each decade and garment type

down to advice on period-appropriate button choice.

Christmas is a lazy family, food and telly affair for me, so no elaborate FOTD here. Being a contrarian (who frequently wears sparkly green eyeshadow and red lips to mark, say, a Tuesday...) I took retro and unseasonal inspiration from this Henry Clive painting:

via sisterwolf's tumblr

all pictures in artificial light (sorry) without flash

Eye close-up -- I dispensed with the falsies, obviously, because lazee.

Products

RBR Sea of Tranquility all over, everywhere!

Ellis Faas S201 concealer under eyes

Kevyn Aucoin SSE SX-1 on blemishes

Paul&Joe eye gloss 05 Rock&Roll, gold all over lid, dark blue in socket and along lashlines

P&J L'Horizon Bleu eyeshadow in Tranquility (LE) over the blue

Shu Uemura Mascara Basic (DC), with Hourglass Lash Lacquer on outer lashes only

Etude House Sweet Cherry Tint in Pink on lips, topped with lipbalm

Etude House Cream Choux Blusher in Miss Grape, topped with Shu Uemura M225 blush

(This combination didn't create the same strong 'pop' of lavender I wanted -- any product recs or application tips much appreciated. Perhaps it's just one of those looks that look better contrasted against darker skin...)