That Was The Week That Was

I was struggling for post inspiration today and in the course of checking up on my regular splogger, I went back to have a look at my posts from this time last year. It was interesting as I remember many of the posts well and was surprised that a whole year had passed since I wrote them. I thought it would be fun to revisit the items and see whether my feelings have changed towards any of them.

Some of the items I wrote about in that first week of June 2011 include Giorgio Armani's Eyes to Kill in Pulp Fiction, the Kate eyeshadow palette, NARS Dogon eyeshadow duo, Le Metier de Beaute blusher in Echo and BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl. To my shame, none of these items get enough use and languish in my makeup collection, with the exception of Echo which I no longer own.

Although I don't use them often, I'd consider both the Georgio Armani E2K and NARS Dogon as cherished items in my collection. Pulp Fiction is really pretty but it's also quite sparkly so I tend to overlook it for everyday wear. I put it on today and it was really nice to be reminded that this pot does not belong in the bottom of a drawer for 'best'.

NARS Dogon is one of the items I took on holiday with me at Easter and I wore it a lot. It'd probably say this is one of favourite NARS purchases and I prefer it to Rajasthan, which I have often pondered selling.

I wrote about the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector as part of a post comparing several of my liquid/cream highlighters. I keep meaning to make the comparison between Pearl and the Rouge Bunny Rouge highlighter in Sea of Clouds. I tend to reach for Sea of Tranquility when I use my little RBR samples as I feel its pinky tone is softer and more flattering. However, BECCA Pearl does give a lovely lift to the face if applied as a thin layer underneath my foundation or tinted moisturiser. Like many things, I forget to use it as I'm usually in a rush and it's an easy step to skip.

I haven't used the Kate eyeshadow palette for months but it was lovely to see it again. I want to have a go at using the brow powders in this palette for a bit of a change from old faithful Seal Brown. 

Le Metier de Beaute's Echo was an item I lusted after for a really long time and it's often touted as a must have. The colour wasn't really for me though. It's quite similar in my mind to NARS Orgasm and as I mentioned in a recent post, if I'm in the mood for this sort of colour, I reach for the blusher in my Chantecaille Sea Turtles palette. Echo has been re-homed as I thought it was silly to hang on to when someone else could enjoy it.

Do you ever look back on your purchases and feel bad for neglecting things? Do you find you get as much enjoyment out of items you've owned for a long time or does nothing quite beat the thrill of new a shiny for you?

Kate Kanebo Brown Collection Palette

My lovely blog friend Old Cow from Worships at the House of Blues surprised me with this little gem recently. Kate is an arm of the Japanese brand, Kanebo and I believe it's stocked widely in Japanese drustores. The palette is part of the Brown Collection and this palette is the BR-4 colourway. I think it's safe to say these colours are perfect for me! Taupe and Vanilla? Job done.

I have to share with you this little touch on the packaging.

Inside the palette there are three eyeshadows, a brow powder and a contour powder. Until I looked at the pictorial instructions, I thought the contour was a brow powder too. I could definitely use it that way. I was interested to see that the pans size varies according to how much your likely to use each colours in an eye look. It's quite a sensible and economical, I imagine you're more likely to hit pan this way! The vanilla has a matte texture, whereas the pinky taupe and brown contain some shimmer which you can see in the pictures below.

I used the sponge applicators that are included in the palette to do the swatches. The colours have medium pigmentation, they're a little powdery in texture but these are perfect neutral colours. My apologies for omitting to swatch the brow and contour powders.

I am really enjoying playing with this palette. I find it fascinating trying cosmetics from other Countries. I actually have some more things to share with you very soon and I hope to send my husband on a cosmetics hunt when he goes to Barcelona later this year. I'm not sure how successful that will be! Have you ever found any make-up or skincare brands whilst abroad? Which brands do you desperately wish were available where you live?