In Part 1 of my Budget Makeup recommendations, I talked about budget foundations and blushes that don’t cost an arm and a leg and still do what they are supposed to do – help make you look beautiful.
In Part 2 I will do the rest of the face – eyeshadows, lipsticks and miscellaneous items.
For budget eyeshadow here are my personal preferences:
I was enamoured with this eyeshadow palette from Kate by Kanebo when I first saw it online and read the rave reviews on it.
The reviewers basically gave it a thumbs up for colour and texture, and the one most raved about was the dark blue palette (BU-1) for what they say would make a lovely smokey eye. So, understandably I was all hyped up about it.
Over the weekend I finally found some time to check out Kate cosmetics again, and saw that this palette is finally here in Malaysia and retailing for about RM42.90 or so at Watsons.
Eagerly, I tested the tester sets for all the colours and unfortunately, I came away disappointed.
Firstly, I found that the colour was too sheer. It would have been much better had it been more pigmented because there is a lot of shimmer. So, when an eyeshadow is sheer with a lot of shimmer, you tend to just end up with lots of shimmer on your lid and not much colour.
Secondly, the texture. It felt soft but hard in the sense that there wasn’t much colour pay-off. Also, the surface of the colours loooked off after a spell. It looked messy and dirty and colour was hard to pick up. It got me thinking. If this is what happens after 100 fingers have touched it, how about if I have touched it 100 times myself? So, that did not impress me much.
Thirdly, there is very little product. The colours are arranged into these geometrical shapes in the case and the little square of dark liner shade for example, is really very little. So, it does work out rather expensive for something from the pharmacy.
All that said, I think BU-1 is the prettiest of the lot, with the best colour payoff. With dark colours you can get away with sheering the texture out because dark colours will still remain dark. And the shimmer looks pretty on them too. But for the lighter palettes like PU-1 and GD-1, all I got on my hands were pure shimmer and nothing much else.
So, my verdict of the Kate Glam Trick eyeshadow palette is that it might be worth buying BU-1 if it dropped to about RM30 but otherwise, I personally would not buy it at retail prices.
This is a new item from Kate Cosmetics, sub-brand of Kanebo. Actually, its not entirely new. It was launched in Japan early this year – Jan/Feb 2007 and is now already available in Hong Kong. I guess it’ll take a while before it reaches our shores. Mine was courtesy of a good friend from Hong Kong who sent it to me.
The Kate gel eyeliner comes in a little glass pot, very similar to that of Bobbi Brown and MAC. However, the pot is smaller and product is less. The great thing about this however, is that it comes with an eyeliner brush!
Yes, every single pot comes packaged in a plastic box with that brush in it. Its a great little brush too. Its bristles are short and flat which is good for lining. The bristles are also very firm but soft. I’d buy this just for the brush alone. You don’t get better brushes elsewhere for as cheap.
My eyeliner is BK-2 which is a black with glitter. You can’t see the glitter in the picture, but once you dig in with the brush, you’ll see it. I’d never used an eyeliner with glitter before which is why I got this one.
The colour is good. A dark black with silver glitter. The glitter wasn’t too chunky, but once or twice, a particle or two did get in my eye which was irritating. So, I’d deduct some points for that. Texture wise, its very smooth and easy to apply. I’d say its great even for newbies, because the brush works really well with the liner.
Compared to my Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner which I use everyday, the lasting power of this one is rather lacking. By the end of the day, about 20% of the colour has faded. This does not happen with Bobbi Brown for me. I don’t have oily lids so most colours stay put. There was also some transference onto my lower lid throughout the day. Nothing dramatic, but not pleasing nonetheless.
There are a few other colours. BK-1 (Flat black no shimmer), BR-1 (Brown) and a dark purple shade. I’d love to check out the other colours when this item finally reaches our shores. I got it for HKD95 (RM42.50). I wouldn’t say its expensive but if I compare it to say Bobbi Brown which retails for RM65 a pot for slightly more product, its actually about the same price. I’m very happy though that an Asian brand has finally come up with a gel liner. Its about time. As the latest T’estimo palette has a great cream eyeliner, I hope to see more of it in Kanebo’s lines in future.
Overall, I’d rank this somewhere in between Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner and MAC Fluidliners. I don’t quite like the fluidliners so that goes on the bottom, and I still stand by my favourite Bobbi Brown gel eyeliners. But as I said, I’d get this just for the brush. I’d use this brush for all my gel liners from now. Its the bees knees and more!
Pros: Great eyeliner brush, long lasting, smooth
Cons: Slight fading and transference, pricey
[rating:4.5/5]
This is not a review per se. I wrote about this new eyeshadow by Kate on my old blog a while ago. I mentioned I was keen to try this from the new Kate collection (at the time)
Well, to my surprise, its here! Earlier than expected.
I saw it in Watsons yesterday retailing for RM45. Although Watsons is having 15% off on Kate cosmetics at the moment, this is not included as its a red tag item. I think its because its new. Sasa also has it at about RM42.75 or something.
Anyway, I took the opportunity to test it, and yes, I like it! Its shimmery, so those who don’t like shimmer would have to steer clear. There are 2 complementing colours, one light, one darker.
I swiped most, but only liked BR-1 (brown shades) and GD-1 (gold shades). I’m into neutrals lately so that might explain my current preferance. I did swipe the Green duo as well, as I like green eyeshadows. However, I did not like this one, as both the greens looked muddy for some reason.
Would I buy it? Yes, maybe later but not now. RM45 for 2 colours is just too much for me, especially for a brand found at pharmacies/drugstores. Yet if I’m truly tempted, who knows!
