This is probably going to be a rhetorical question but is it only me or are there others out there who’ve signed up for the Isetan membership card (the one where you don’t get to receive the newsletter) and you’re supposed to receive a sms from them with a PIN number to access the newsletter online but never received the said PIN number? I only knew about the Isetan 3 day special (where members receive a RM10 voucher for every RM100 purchase on cosmetics) last weekend when I received a sms from one of the beauty counters.
Flipping through the latest issue of Isetan’s newsletter at their KLCC cosmetics floor entrance, I saw an image of Anna Sui’s Eye & Lip Color Palette 2012. Now this was something I could be interested in and it has been months since I was particularly drawn to any eye shadow/lip palette.
01 Beach Palette
02 Sunset Palette
It has been some time since my last Anna Sui eye shadow palette. I have been waiting for Anna Sui to come up with a palette with a whimsical, fun, funky design which is unique both inside and out. Finally, it’s here. These 2 palettes from Anna Sui’s Beach Collection consist of 3 eye shadows and 2 lip colours each. The case reflect the Anna Sui signature colors of black and purple. With gold added, the case has a rocker chic vibe to it. There’s a yellow rhinestone on the left side of the cover too.
Inside is a generous sized mirror almost the entire length and breadth of the case, a plastic cover over the eye and lip colors, a lip brush and a dual-ended brush for eyes with a sponge applicator and brush on either end but the brushes are just too small and fine to be of much use.
The Ocean 01 palette has the following colors:-
Eyes : Turquoise/Tropical Pink/Deep Blue
Lips : Hot Pink/Silvery Purple
The Sunset 02 Palette has these colors:-
Eyes : Copper/Gold/Burnt Sienna
Lips : Sunset Orange/Shining Gold
Color pay-off from both palettes is equally good with just the right amount of shimmer making them wearable for day. Of the 2, the Sunset 02 palette was the more saleable since the shades are easier to wear with just about any outfit. Not everyone can pull off turquoise eye shadow nor is it complementing with every outfit. I toyed with the idea of getting Beach 01 palette because the turquoise was quite beautiful on its own but I didn’t really like the Tropical Pink shade.
On the other hand, the 02 Sunset palette had 3 very complementary shades which matched each other perfectly. They really reflected sunset shades and while the colors are highly dupeable (L’oreal’s Magic Amber Open Eyes Chrome Intensity Palette 2010 has 2 shades very similar to the Copper & Gold in the 02 palette), there is a certain iridescent quality to these shades.
As the 3 eye shadows are next to each other, expect some migration of the shadows into each other, this is inevitable and unavoidable when there is no demarcation. The eye shadows are rather powdery as well and when I used them the first time, bits of it fell into the space for the brushes. However, the design embossed on the shadows makes up for these shortcomings. I guess the design reflects the coins from the pirate booty/treasure. Ka-ching! Ka-ching!
Perhaps it’d have been better if the middle Gold shade had been placed on the extreme left where the Copper is because when I pick up the Gold with my brush, I tend to pick up some of the Burnt Sienna as well and it won’t be long before the Gold gets thoroughly muddied by the Burnt Sienna. Placing the lightest shadow in the middle may not have been a good idea especially when the shades are so close to each other. Design looks good but not exactly so practical.
As with all Anna Sui products, expect a rose scent. Personally, I like the scent as this is one of the things that makes Anna Sui special. I haven’t swatched the lip shades (one is said to be a lipstick and the other a gloss but they both look like gloss to me) for 2 reasons:-
1. they are so sheer that you wouldn’t see much even if I swatched them; and
2. I don’t have the heart to dig into the product and “destroy” the lovely design.
Anna Sui Eye & Lip Color Palettes are limited edition retailing at RM145 which is quite a reasonable price especially if you think of it as paying RM72.50 for the 4g shadows and RM72.50 for the 2g lip colors.
