iHope KANEBO 2020 Luxury Makeup Revamp (plus Swatches)

KANEBO Eye Color Duos 2020

Japanese luxury line Kanebo has revamped their entire makeup line this year, and did a complete 180 from conservative “OL” (office lady) aesthetic to something completely fresh and vibrant.

Besides including funky mixers and pop shades in their buttery N-rouge lipstick line to let you tweak and create completely unique shades yourself, they’ve also added interesting multipurpose creams called Drawing Dual Rouges and Drawing Dual Pens that promise to be usable on eyes, cheeks, lips, anywhere you like. Even the eye palette is a small custom compact into which you can slot up to 3 mini duos. We are basically free to experiment with colors and textures and it's all done with maximum portability, minimum weight and fuss.

Considering lipsticks cost about S$60 a pop and the tiny eyeshadow duos are S$35 in Singapore, it’s not easy to explore the line if you’re shopping online during the current pandemic, so here are all the color products (aside from the 3 basic monotone Drawing Pencils) swatched for your reference!

Rouge Dior Fall 2016 "It" Shades swatched!

Seems this is the month for daring lip colors; even the venerable house of Dior has launched their edgy Dior Rouge Mattes, in shades I never thought I'd see under the CD banner.

Besides shades and finishes, the packaging has been slightly "upgraded" as well. (Hint: look under the caps and you'll get a Louboutin-esque indication of which tubes are from the new collection and which are older.) Aside from a whole host of pretty, lady-like shades, there are also some incredibly daring ones - including the 4 Matte "It" shades ranging from a chic dusty grey to a deep dark navy that looks almost black in the tube.

Rouge Dior 602 Visionary Matte and  962 Poison Matte

I love all of them, but 789 is a pretty standard bright wearable violet (if any such shade can be called "standard") and something you can find from many brands from Urban Decay to NYX to MAC. 207 Montaigne is ultra-cool but more of a mixer shade to do interesting dusty ombre looks, unless you are super porcelain-pale, in which case you can probably wear it on its own.

My personal picks were 602 Visionary, a navy which swatches a lot more vibrant and less black than it seems in the tube, and of course 962 Poison. This color is named after their iconic Poison perfume, and mimics the deep prune-purple bottle. 

First off, the formulas are very smooth and creamy, rather lightweight for mattes, which is in keeping with the Rouge Dior line in general. Swatched on the wrist, they are less pigmented and dense than Diorifics (my forever fave) but you can definitely build these up to opacity. The good news is they don't feel heavy or dry on the lips, but if you really want an ultra-matte finish you will need to blot because these do have a comfortable low sheen and are more the "comfort matte" type of texture.

I do need to remind everyone that I am shooting freshly applied lipstick in front of a bright lamp. In real life, after the lipsticks have had time to set a bit, they will always look more matte and less "creamy".

Dior 962 Poison Matte

I personally feel Poison is an ultra dark purple (much darker once on the lips than it seems in the tube) that suits medium to dark skins beautifully. Pale skins CAN pull it off but it tends to look prettier as a stain, and extremely goth if worn full on.

Be aware that it has very little red or rose and can make you look a little washed out if you don't balance it out with some blush etc.

Rouge Dior 602 Visionary Matte

As for 602 Visionary, this goes on sheerer than I'd expected. Somewhat disappointing because I thought I would get a thick dense dark indigo. The good news is it's not opaque in one coat, but you can build it up quite easily, although it will never look as black as it does in the tube. When you do get it built up though, it really slays.

Tips and Tricks: What To Do with a Blue Lip Mix!

The idea of blue lips always sounds so ridiculous. Until you actually wear it and realize it looks pretty cool.

I'm demonstrating with Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetic's Rx Lip Tar, which is a rich creme cobalt blue. It's quite deep and strong in real life, but for some reason in white fluorescent light, it looks bright blue.

In 2 of the images, I applied Lime Crime's deep indigo-blue glitter, Aquarius, over the Lip Tar. The glitter is darker than the gloss, so it created a deep metallic-looking effect. To see the intensity/depth of the final color, check out the low-light image above. (I apologize for the unfocused image; for some reason my camera doesn't want to focus without light. I probably should have tried an indoor setting.)

If you're taking photographs with it, remember 2 things will happen:

1. In indoor light, the sharp contrast of the blue against your skin color is going to create a dark border right around the lip color. 
2. In flash, the blue is going to GLOW.

Tools and Tips:

• Use a small concealer brush. There is no way you are getting this on using your fingers or directly from the tube. You will need plenty of precision because any streak, smear, or uneven lines is going to show up instantly.
• It's best to apply a lip primer or clear liner first. This is because lip tars will rapidly bleed into fine lines around your lips (as you can see from the slight fuzziness on some of the images above).
• For an extra precise lip, pick up a little concealer on a small brush after you apply your blue lip, and then go around the border of your lips just to clean up and get an ultra-neat line.
• OCC Lip Tars AND MAC Lip Mixes will go on glossy, but eventually set to a matte finish. If you want to apply any glitter to it, do it quickly while it is still glossy, because once it sets it goes matte and it will no longer be as tacky.

Some Ideas for Mixing

Wearing a cobalt blue lip isn't practical for everyone. So what else would you find useful in a Lip Tar or blue lipstick?

Color adjusting/mixing!

A strong blue can do 2 things:

1. Add cool tones to a color that you find a little too warm (yellowish, orange) for your liking. Adding this to a basic red lipstick allows you to make it almost berry-ish or blood-colored. Very cool if you're going for a glam look or have deeper skin and find most reds showing up orange on you.

When added to a pink or mauve, it intensifies the bright magenta/violet tones so you can add a twist to your regular bright pink lipstick.

2. It adds depth to an already-deep color. Try adding a dot into a dark plum or liver colored lipstick. Instant Noir. This works the same way that a translucent blue-toned hair dye can turn brown hair black. 

Final reminder:

Don't over-apply when you're using it as a lipmix! The color is extremely pigmented and can overtake the original lipstick you're trying to adjust. 

How much do you need?

This little. That's ALL I used for the 3 lip color adjustment swatches above. One tube is probably going to last you for years if you're only using it on yourself.