Recent Haulage

This month was an UBER-productive month for brushes. Nearly every lemming got slayed/fulfilled and although a lot has to do with the fact that I'm moving all the way across the globe to another continent (more on that later), I'm getting panicked I may not have the luxury of having literally every brand at my fingertips here in the United States. The move also is responsible for the delay in frequent updates BUT once I settle into the new place, this summer's mission is to be as consistent as possible with the blog.

The new additions are mostly brushes (I was totally on a brush kick this whole past month). I had been meaning to "upgrade" some of my brushes and I finally made that Hakuhodo order I mentioned earlier. Along with a Shu Uemura order. As well as a Chikuhodo one. Ahem.

I''ll go into further detail regarding each and every brush but here is an overview.

Notice the trend? I think I am slowly developing a soft-spot for everything Japanese.

1.  TATCHA Aburatorigami blotting papers 

2. Hakuhodo K020 Brush

3. Hakuhodo B103.(I forgot to include the K007 brush!)

4. Chikuhodo Z-2 Brush

5. Shu Uemura 5R 

6. Shu Uemura 10 Natural 

7. Shu Uemura 8HR

8. Shu Uemura 14 Synthetic 

9. Shu Uemura deluxe sample of cleansing oil (GWP)

10. Shiseido trio in 'Fire'.

Not shown: Hakuhodo K007 Brush and Shiseido trio in 'Opera' 

L - R: Shu 5R, Shu 10N, Shu 8HR, Shu 14 Synthetic, Haku B103BkSL, Haku K020, (forgot to include Haku K007!) and Chiku Z-2

I had an issue with this trio the first time I ordered it because look at how it arrived...</3

Luckily, I was able to order another off Nordstrom immediately: 

Fire trio

1. NARS Pleasures of Paris palette
2. Illamasqua Cream Blush in 'Promise'
3. Stila Convertible Color in Rose
4. Rouge Bunny Rouge 'Sea of Showers' liquid illuminator
5. Paul & Joe Face Color Powder in #101
6. MUFE Aqua Cream in '#16 Pink Beige'
7-8. Flirt Eyeshadow Mousse
9. Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in 'Skinny Jeans'
10. Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in 'Illusoire'

Details, prices, swatches and thorough reviews to follow!

Rouge Bunny Rouge 'Orpheline' Comparison

I posted my Rouge Bunny Rouge order recently and mentioned I'd do a comparison post comparing Orpheline ($40.33/3.5g) to blushes within a similar color category. The blushes I assumed would be close (photographic evidence says otherwise) were NARS Amour ($28 // 0.16 oz), NARS Gilda ($28 // 0.16 oz) and Tarte's Natural Beauty ($25 // 0.20 oz) because of the similar warm-strawberryness to their undertones. 

Recap of Orpheline (reviewed here):

NARS' Gilda is described as a "coral with a hint of red'; NARS' Amour is described simply as a "peachy pink"; Tarte's Natural Beauty is described as a "muted strawberry red"; while Rouge Bunny Rouge's Orpheline is described as a "medium, warm strawberry". The formula varies amongst each line but generally NARS blushes tend to be the type which deposit a lot of product and generally fall under the "pure pigment" category and require a light hand. Tarte's Amazonian Clay blushes have a slight gritty-but-velvety texture which is both pigmented but easy to blend due to the slight softness of the formula. Rouge Bunny Rouge's blush formula is of the softer and more delicate variety and have the best of both Tarte and NARS blushes. As I mentioned in my previous post, Orpheline has a softness in the formula which makes it superb to blend and apply. Blushes of this category deposit pigment very evenly and blend away flawlessly.

As for the color difference between the four, only Amour and Orpheline are pretty close dupes with Amour leaning a bit more warm-coral while Orpheline is pink. Natural Beauty is a much deeper than Orpheline while Gilda is only close to Amour due to its slight peachy-coral undertones. Of course, swatches determine the true difference.

I swatched all four heavily below and Amour and Orpheline seem like spot-on dupes (minus the slight warmness in Amour) while Gilda swatches like a flat matte peach and Natural Beauty pulls red-pink.

Formula-wise, I prefer Rouge Bunny Rouge and NARS but the color of Natural Beauty is gorgeous and uber-unique. Does having all 4 make sense? No, especially since Amour and Orpheline pull the same on the cheek, but if I had to choose between formulas, Rouge Bunny Rouge's Orpheline wins, hands down. 

Mini Zuneta // Rouge Bunny Rouge Haul

Recently, Rouge Bunny Rouge released depotted refill single eyeshadows alongside empty duo and trio palettes to make customized palettes (check on Zuneta.com). The palettes run for $19.38 (duo) and $24.23 (trio) while the refill single shadows run for $25.85 for 2g. NOTE: Prices converted from GBP£ to USD$.

Now, for a tiny little order I placed despite my no-buy was only because I couldn't give up the chance to get a particular eyeshadow I had been lemming for ages (was always out of stock): Abyssinian Catbird.

First up is the obligatory box + packing picture. I adore the packaging and love the sleeve the refill shadows come in; highly preferred over the compact versions which I'd depot anyway. I also picked up a blush in Orpheline, and along came a GWP Long-lasting Cream Eyeshadow in Batiste Grayling. 

Abyssinian Catbird ($25.85/2g) described as a "metallic bronze with golden highlights" pulls slightly green in pictures but once swatched is a bronze-gold with a gorgeous shimmer. The formula is superb and buttery-as-heck smooth and the color is gorgeous! I have a soft spot for colors which can be blended out to create a smokey eye giving the look of a more elaborate look. Abyssinian Catbird, if heavily swatched, looks gold-bronze but once blent out the green-gold undertones start to come out making it perfect for the one-eyeshadow look. If you're new to RBR eyeshadows (like I was) this shadow is a great introduction to the range of RBR shadows. Plus, the color is quite unique (at least within my collection). As for the size, the pan fits perfectly into a MAC palette and is slightly smaller than the compact pans which are $ 35.49/2.4g (refills are 0.4g smaller). But if you're like me and prefer to depot single shadows, you're much better off buying the refills.

Orpheline ($40.33/3.5g) is described spot-on as a "warm strawberry-pink". Rouge Bunny Rouge blushes have a certain creaminess which is apparent from the indentation they get if pressed and blend beautifully on the skin. Even on bare skin they don't get patchy whatsoever. And how darling are those flowers? Love cute detailing like that!

I'll be posting some comparison photos of this and a few other blushes of the same color range for comparison purposes. 

And last but not least is a cream shadow in Batiste Grayling ($41.94//4 ml). Described as a "satin wash of cool, true medium-grey". Rouge Bunny Rouge cream shadows, comes in a tube with a doe-foot applicator and I'd describe the color as a cool grey with a slight taupe-ness. Unlike many cream shadows, this sets and doesn't budge AT ALL. I tested this without primer and it lasted all day. Even after swatching, I tested it by rubbing and it didn't smear whatsoever. It does set completely and has a "tightness" to it but it doesn't feel uncomfortable whatsoever. I also like the doe-foot applicator because using a synthetic brush would probably waste too much product. And because these set, you must work quickly to blend it out. I can already see the perfect sultry smokey look using this. Also, something about this is very reminiscent of Maybelline's Color Tattoo in Tough as Taupe.  

And now for swatches! Taken with and without flash. On top, with flash, you can see the undertones as well as the refined shimmer in Abyssinian Catbird. Colors are more true-to-color on the bottom taken  in natural light.