RBR Sweet Dust Seriema swatches and quick FOTD

As I've drivelled before, Rouge Bunny Rouge matte eyeshadows are my favourite formula evarrr. (It's insanely cold, piratical stylings help. But when don't they?) Creamy, pigmented, and extremely blendable -- one of the few powder formulas my dry lids can wear even in sub-zero temperatures.

They recently added two new shades to the lineup, Bashful Flamingo (described as 'a pale powder-pink') and Sweet Dust Seriema ('a cool dusty mauve taupe') which I of course snapped up immediately on Zuneta. As did quite a few of me hearties, which is why it's already sold out. No worries, it's permanent and should be restocked, hopefully before the 20% off code (ELLE20) expires on Feb 28th.

Sweet Dust Seriema rounds out my collection of RBR neutrals nicely. Here with Chestnut-napped Apalis, Papyrus Canary, Grey Go-away Lourie and Solstice Halcyon (the only non-matte in the village collage):

Swatches, one swipe with sponge in natural light (which was fading rapidly. Hence messiness.)

Compared with a random hodge-podge of stash neutrals (it really needs to be depotted to fit in):

1. MAC Wedge (closer to Chestnut-napped Apalis, albeit warmer)
2. Stila Fog (long, long dc'd)
3. Shu Uemura M Brown 801 (2nd gen, dc'd)
4. RBR Sweet Dust Seriema
5. RBR Solstice Halcyon
6. Addiction Concrete Jungle (see how grey it looks set against taupes?)
7. BECCA Lamé

It's pretty much the matte, slightly cooler version of Solstice Halcyon, and the closest 'dupe' for Stila Fog I've found in a decade (with an even better texture than '90s Stila :D), though SDS has more mauve and less brown than Fog.

(Because some will ask: this purchase doesn't count as one of my twelve of this year, because it's a replacement for Wedge. Project One Pan, if you like...)

An incredibly basic look, thrown on the morning SDS landed on my doorstep: SDS all over the lid and under the eye sits as a perfectly unobtrustive neutral on my skintone, the perfect setting for the obnoxious yellow of Shu gel liner Citrine on the inner corner with lemony Suqqu eyeshadow single 12 Usukiiro (dc) to blend. GOSH white kohl on waterline, Helena Rubinstein Feline Blacks mascara, Shu H9 brow pencil Seal Brown.

Other products: Guerlain Rouge G Garçonne, RBR Gracilis blush. Lunasol concealer under eyes.

Paul&Joe Meow! collection swatches

This collection was puzzlingly released in two parts. Three shades each of Face and Eye Colour CS (pressed trios) and Lipstick C in January, and the three epic kitty-head (now with added top-hat and vaguely disquieting smirk) Blusher Sticks and Matte Pressed Powder in Feburary. The full range is now available at counters in Harrods and Fenwicks, and online at beautybay.com and asos.com. Every item in this collection is limited edition.
All pictures taken in natural light, click to enlarge.

Visionary Beauty has already swatched/reviewed all three shades of Lipstick C (£16 each). Based on a quick play at the counter, I would agree that they are the sheer and the slightly waxy kind which usually ends up drying my lips out.

The Blusher Sticks (£21 each) were again fairly sheer and not particularly creamy (they have much less slip than the Addiction or Shiseido cheeksticks, let alone potted cream blushes by Illamasqua or Stila) -- satin-matte bases with visible shimmer. On my very dry skin, they dragged a bit upon application and tended to look uneven once built up -- possibly issues which normal or oily skin wouldn't experience. Each swatch is 4 layers, unblended.

Top to bottom:

001 Glamour Puss -- golden beige

002 Minou -- soft warm pink

003 Cat Fight -- warm coral-orange

Face and Eye Colour CS (£19.50 each) are pressed eyeshadow trios in gradational tones. You get a generous 12g in a pretty printed cardboard box. The textures of these were somewhat inconsistent. Siamese Please and Kittycat were smooth and highly pigmented (superior to P&J's permanent range in my opinion), but Purr-Fect was noticeably drier and much sheerer.

076 Siamese Please (one swipe each)

 

satin-matte beige

very pigmented metallic warm gold

pigmented chocolate brown satin base with silver glitter

077 Kittycat (one swipe each)

pigmented warm matte peachy beige

pigmented peachy pink satin with sparse silver shimmer

very pigmented warm plum  with silver glitter

078 Purr-Fect (three swipes each)

sheer ivory shimmery satin

sheerish sage green satin with sparse silvery shimmer

moderately pigmented greyed olive satin-matte with sparse silvery shimmer

Kanebo Sensai The Lipstick paper swatches

Sensai Colours is a luxury line from the Kanebo stable, launched in 2008 and aimed at more mature women. Consequently, most of their makeup products seem to include skincare properties -- specifically, anti-ageing, based around their 'signature' ingredient koishimaru silk.

The Lipstick is their 'flagship' formula, retailing at a breathtaking £40 in the UK and $55 in the US. (Is there some kind of definite article mark-up?) The patter promises that the lipsticks improve the look and condition of lips both upon immediate application and boost their capacity for self-repair with prolonged wear. But more to the point, The Non-Blonde rates it as one of the best around. 

Paper swatches, in natural light

01 Suou // 05 Benikinu // 06 Niiro // 09 Tsuyabeni // 10 Hiwada*

11 Kurumi // 12 Sugiro // 13 Momiji // 15 Murasaki // 16 Rindou

17 Aya // 18 Koubai // 19 Sawarabi // 20 Sumire // 21 Shirafuji

Here's a picture with flash taken a day after swatching, when all the creaminess has gone:

You can see the golden micro-shimmer more clearly in some shades than others, but this is mostly just a quirk of the lighting. 10 Hiwada, is the only shade with visible shimmer once applied (see how much more densely-packed it is?). The other shades really do just leave a dimensional sheen on the lips, even to my shimmerphobe eye in direct sunlight.

In the UK, Kanebo Sensai has counters in Harrods and Selfridges.