ETUDE House Colour Factory: Find A Perfect Lip Shade

Etude House recently launched their Colour Factory service at the spacious Wisma Atria boutique and I will honestly say it's something I'm VERY excited about because color-matching is something that confuses a lot of women.

If you love makeup and want to explore colors but are frequently confused what shades to pick cos some just look "off" on your skin while others seem to give you a radiant glow, you might want to go for a professional color matching service at least once. I first tried this when I was in Seoul a couple of years back, and it totally changed the way I look at colors on myself.

As Asians living in the tropics, most of us have been brought up to think we have a "Warm" skintone and should wear orange, warm-red, gold, olive, and other shades complementary to this type of skin tone. Well, apparently surface melanin from sun exposure can create an optical illusion of sorts, and many girls who have a Neutral (or in my case Cool) undertone can be mystified when bronzes, coppers and other "warm" shades look horrible on us.

Guess no longer.

Etude House

Etude House Play Color Eyes palettes: #2 in foreground, #1 in background

Short note: Sorry for neglecting Blogspot! Been a little too busy recently, and just couldn't find time to update both blogs. I've been active and busy though! If you haven't subscribed by email (to the right), you can also find me on Instagram to stay updated on what I'm playing with, testing out, and swatching from day to day!

Super-popular Korean beauty brand Etude House has come up with 2 new 10-color palettes that take fashionable young women through all kinds of occasions, from school and work, to play.

The 10 colours in the So Hot Palette #1 include: Party Gold, Burning Red, Temptation, Naked, Pony Tail, Modern City, Chic Blue, All Night, Snow Queen and Military Khaki.

So Hot Palette swatches part 1

So Hot Palette swatches part 2

The 10 colours in the So Chic Palette #2 include Clutch Brow, Coco Brownie, Pop Champagne, French Kiss, Misty Rose, Diva, Glam Forest, Midnight Star, Sparkling Wine and Leopard Brown.

So Chic Palette swatches part 1

So Chic Palette swatches part 2

I don't really need to say too much; these palettes are very smooth and pigmented and the swatches will speak for themselves! There are a couple of shades in each palette which will be less pigmented or chalkier than the others, but most of them are very rich and smooth. The sparkly shades are especially gorgeous and remind me of sparkly shadows from Japanese brands like RMK and Shu Uemura.

Random swatches from the Play Color Eyes palettes to show pigmentation and sheen

My personal favorite is for the So Chic palette (#2) because the shades are more wearable over all. If you prefer a few more dramatic shades like red and burgundy, then the So Hot palette (#1) is for you!

Both palettes are available from 2 Feb 2014 for S$37.90 each.

Lip Poll Giveaway for Makeup Box Followers!

I want to find out more about your lip concerns, product preferences, etc, so to make it a bit more fun, I've created a short poll on my Facebook page and am giving away 3 full-sized Etude House Lipsticks to a lucky participant. 

You just need to Like the Facebook page in order to participate, and answer a few short multiple-choice questions in order to be eligible!

A winner will be chosen randomly at 12:00 AM, 1 April 2012 (GMT +8) but the poll will remain open to continue gathering information. I will message the winner via either Tumblr or Blogspot for shipping details.

Good luck!

(Disclaimer: All products for this Poll are paid for by yours truly, and not sponsored by any company.)

Day Look: Golden Brown with Violet Crease

This is a simple way to add a twist of color to warm or neutral shades for day looks. 

Step 1: Use a thin, firm pointed brush to apply a rich violet shade to along the crease of the eye and slightly above it. 

Step 2: Then with your choice of a rich golden brown (I chose MAC Brass Pigment, but if you're not able to locate this use MAC Woodwinked or Urban Decay Baked), fill in the inner portions of the lid and use a soft blending brush to blend the edges a little so there are no obvious demarcations between the two shades.

Step 3: Pack on the golden brown once more right along the lash lines to intensify the color, as the blending will have taken away some of the intensity and shine. The purple would at this point be just a smoky trace at the edges of the brown.

 Step 4: Apply mascara and pale liner (beige or yellow) along the waterline to finish the look! Easy-peasy.

MAC Brass Pigment on the lids, I Nuovi Ultraviolet Dust in the crease

On the cheeks and lips, I wanted to keep everything fresh and sweet to go with the eyes.

• Cheeks: NYX Pinky Blush applied a little more intensely than I usually do, for a flush.
• Lips: Etude House Darling Ultra Shine "Strawberry Milk" lipstick (I highly recommend this if you like baby pinks but find Saint Germain or Viva Glam Gaga too blue or white. If you don't have retail stores near you, I think they're still sold here or on ebay here.)

Duping MAC Pink Nouveau

Top-to-Bottom: MAC Pink Nouveau, NYX Matte Summer Breeze, and  Etude House  VIP Girl PK009

If you don’t have access, or don’t want to pay so much for MAC’s Pink Nouveau, but want a bright pink, here are 2 quick options.

NYX Summer Breeze matte lipstick and Etude House VIP Girl PK009.

Note they are not 100% dupes. I’d say they are about 90-95% similar. Both are a twinge less blue-toned than Pink Nouveau, so if you are attracted to true pinks, but find Pink Nouveau a tad too “cool”, try these other two.

Texture wise, NYX Summer Breeze is MUCH closer to the satin finish of the MAC but with a faint touch more peach in the base. The Etude House lipstick is glossy in texture, so you won't get that full-on opaque doll-pink mouth as you would with the NYX and MAC versions. If you have dry lips, or don’t like a matte finish, get this.

Cost wise, NYX wins. The Etude House lipstick might possibly be cheaper if you’re in South Korea (but then I can't say for sure). It’s a little marked up in other parts of the world. But if you are just buying ONE lipstick though, getting PK-009 from your local Etude might be cheaper than footing the shipping cost for NYX.

Nails of the Moment: Matte Orange Creamsicle

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I’ve had my eye on creamy pastel orange/coral with a slight hint of pink for some time. The only thing more gorgeous than that is a MATTE creamy pastel coral.
I got mine from Korean brand Etude House (Matte polish #6), but if you can’t get hold of this online or in stores, L.A Girl has something similar in their matte nail enamel range, although slightly less peach, and more of a stronger orange.

The perfect lip to match? Lime Crime Cosmopop or maybe MAC Peachstock if you can’t wear anything too milky.