Sulwhasoo limited edition SHINECLASSIC pressed powder compacts

The Style Page lives for breaking stories to her readers. It is exciting to see Sulwhasoo, one of Asia’s top luxury cosmetics brands, come to the United States, where it is sold exclusively by Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. I want to introduce you to the way science and traditional Korean knowledge of medicinal herbs is artfully fused in Sulwhasoo - a comprehensive line of high-end skin care and color cosmetics.

Sulwhasoo’s SHINECLASSIC limited edition pressed powder compacts are works of art that not only satisfy a woman’s concept of beauty but also travel easily in her purse. Every year since 2003, Sulwhasoo has released limited edition pressed powder compacts featuring traditional Korean design motifs, especially crafted to satisfy a woman’s senses at every moment throughout the day. When I saw and held its pressed powder compacts, I instantly fell in love with the sensual and seductive designs, tender composition, enchanting effects on contact, and romantic embrace.

2005 Sulwhasoo 7 Treasure "Chill-bo" LE compact

A closer look at the Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC 7 Treasure LE compact

For its 2005 SHINECLASSIC Seven Treasure “Chill-bo” LE compact, Sulwhasoo’s inspiration was a traditional Korean patchwork quilt. From time immemorial, quilts in Korea have signified the belief that endeavors bring good luck. The colorful strips of fabric that are stitched together represent a prayer for good fortune. It represents WEALTH, one of the 5 traditional Korean blessings.

Korean 7 Treasure quilt

Inside the compact, there is a delicately scented soft pressed powder. The pressed powder is embossed with a stylized design motif of the Prunes Mume, or plum blossom, one of the first flowers of spring, with the powder whispering in a gentle, powdery way for a sensual aura of opulence. Beautiful!

Image of plum blossom from Wikipedia; Credit: Kakidai

Other compacts in the series of Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC limited edition pressed powder compacts include:

• 2003: lattice pattern – signifies the blessing of Health 
• 2008: Plum Blossom design: signifies the blessing of Virtue 
• 2010: Prunes mume floral pattern: signifies the blessing of Longevity 
• 2012: “Wa-Dang” ornamental tile design – signifies the blessing of Nobility 

Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC limited edition compacts

You may see pictures of the Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC limited edition compacts at SkinnyScoop. In the interest of space, I will describe the Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC 2003 lattice design compact in a subsequent article.

Sulwhasoo SHINECLASSIC pressed powder powder compacts may be purchased ($150) through bergdorfgoodman.com or niemanmarcus.com. Bergdorf Goodman is offering free 2-day shipping for the holidays: check its home page for the promo code. 

DISCLAIMER: The Style Page received two SHINECLASSIC pressed powder powder compacts from Sulwhasoo’s PR representative. It also received remuneration for this article. Opinions are The Style Page’s own.

Bitten by Twilight

Yes, I too have become "bitten" by Twilight. I bought Twilight at the bookshop at the airport to while away the hours on the plane. I love a good romance, and Twilight fits the bill. Now I'm reading New Moon.


DuWop Lip Venom V

Given the anticipation of the New Moon movie, scheduled for release this fall, it's not surprising that tie-ins with the movie are being announced. DuWop will release a limited edition version of its popular Lip Venom inspired by Twilight next month. DuWop describes Lip Venom V as:

"... a shimmering crimson lip stain suspended in a venom-laced liquid lip conditioner with a bite, and contains argan, avocado, olive oils and vitamin E. This product should be shaken before use to represent the blending of the human and vampire worlds …"

Hat tip: Gabrielle Long, NY Beauty Secrets Examiner.

As for me, here's the tie-in I want:

A tie-in with the New Moon movie, The Twilight Journals set includes four blank journals with cover art from the Twilight series of books packaged in a keepsake tin. Pre-order: the product won't be released until October 13, 2009.

For the time being, be tantalized by the HD trailer for New Moon presented by Summit Entertainment on YouTube (I had to remove it from the blog because the space allowed for my articles truncated the trailer).

Your Golden Moment

I love it when L'Oreal comes out with a limited edition collection. Invariably, the limited edition collection features a beautiful eye shadow palette.

Beyoncé and Eva Longoria Parker are featured in the advertising campaign for L'Oreal's latest limited edition collection Your Golden Moment. Your Golden Moment features two beautiful eye shadow collections: A Little Bit of Glitz and A Little Bit of Glam.

As with many limited edition collections from mass-market brands, the availability of Your Golden Moment collection is erratic. You might have to visit several stores before you find it. The search is worth it.

Funny ... but not surprising

Here's this intriguing snippet from WWD: Droll Dame Edna Creates Mac Color Collection:

There’s a new dame in MAC Cosmetics’ arsenal: the irrepressible Dame Edna Everage, who has created an eponymous limited edition color collection for the company.

“I’m doing this out of love — I’m a giver,” said Dame Edna, the lavender-haired alter ego of Australian comedian Barry Humphries. “The audience’s applause was a little louder when I was wearing MAC on stage, so I was a convert. They didn’t have to coerce me.”

To compose the line, Edna holed up in a conference room with James Gager, senior vice president and creative director of MAC Worldwide, and Jennifer Balbier, senior vice president of product...


Dame Edna (Barry Humphries) channels Christine Keeler

Big MAC Attack

I hate crests and emblems. It’s probably because I dislike Juicy Couture. I don’t like its gaudy accessories with their insignia, and frankly, its velour tracksuits with the word “Juicy” emblazoned on the butt are tacky. Who wants to see (as I did) someone’s muffin top above a waistband with the word “Juicy” on it?


MAC Royal Assets holiday collection
6 Warm Eyes eye shadow palette

Still, I couldn’t resist buying this eye shadow palette 6 Warm Eyes from MAC’s Royal Assets limited edition holiday collection. The packaging features a white cover accented in gold with a crest in relief. The casing is made of metal, which provides some heft to the package, and has an authentic vintage look.

Makeup artist and blogger Elke von Freudenburg describes the shades in 6 Warm Eyes as “Golden leaf gold, pale shimmer peach, rich forest green, deep burgundy and rich earth brown.” There is also a matte tan with some pink undertones. The description on MAC’s web site has no relation to what’s in the palette.

Still, Elke didn’t describe the finishes. The shade that she describes as “rich forest green” has shimmer and looks like greenish gunmetal when applied. The deep burgundy is shiny. The rich earth brown shade (bottom row, right), which is matte, coordinates easily with the with the pale peach shimmer (top row, L), the matte tan (top row, R), and golden leaft gold (middle row, L). Coordinating the burgundy (middle row, R) and forest green (bottom row, R) shades with the other shades is more challenging (I prefer tonal shades). The burgundy and forest green shades probably would best used for the crease or outer corner of the eye.

I'll defer judgment on this palette until I'm able to experiment with all shades, including the burgundy and forest green shades.

Revlon limited edition collection

No doubt about it - Revlon took a drubbing in 2006, with the collapse of Vital Radiance the same year that it debuted. One also wishes that Revlon would have brought in new faces when it totally revamped Almay, but instead model Elaine Mellencamp (wife of singer John) continues as the face of Almay.


Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain


Enough of that - Revlon has introduced a number of flashy new products in its limited edition collection, including Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain
and Bedroom Eyes™ Powder Liner. Just Bitten™ Lip Stain has a rollerball applicator - not the best for even layering. What's more, it dries quickly. The shade of Just Bitten™ in Blood Orange reminded me of orange popsicle stain. Other shades include Berry Juicy, Cherry Tart, and Plum Wicked.

I chose Revlon Bedroom Eyes™ Powder Liner in Smokin', which is great for creating the smoky eye. Be sure to tap excess powder from the applicator onto a tissue beofre applying - otherwise, it gets all over your cheek and countertop. Clearly, when using Bedroom Eyes™ as part of your eye makeup, do your eye makeup before you apply base. As FT Weekend columnist Edwina Ings-Chambers, who had a makeup application by NARS artist James Boehmer, writes:

The first thing to remember, Boehmer says, is that you shouldn’t try to replicate the 60s thing: keep the liner off the lid and stick to putting it round the eyes. “It’s more about the outer corner of the lid, not all over the lid,” he says.

Be prepared with cotton balls and eye makeup remover or Swabplus Liquid Filled Cotton Swabs, Eye Makeup Remover. Be sure to finish this look with lots of volumizing mascara.

BTW Generally, I find lipliners too harsh. Revlon is one of the two companies I know that offers a clear lipliner (ColorStay®) at a nominal price - the other being Paula Begoun's Paula's Choice line. Paula also recommends Lip Line Fixer from The Body Shop, which proves that she's not partisan.

I haven't seen L'Oreal's clear lipliner in ages, so I guessed that L'Oreal discontinued it. An alternative is a lipliner that exactly matches the color of your lips, which is why MAC's lip pencil in Spice has remained so popuplar.

Great drugstore finds

As the interview with Aunt Beep for ThisNext showed, I'm an inveterate roamer at CVS, particularly its cosmetics aisles, which not only have the usual mass-market brands, but also Lumene, a cosmetics brand from Finland exclusive to CVS and the French skin care brands Avene and LaRoche-Posay.

Here are some drugstore finds that I'd like to share with my readers:

Maybelline Dream Mousse Shadows in Rose Kiss and Black Spice from their limited edition Sugar and Spice collection for Valentine's Day (the collection even featured nail polish with heart-shaped sparkles!) . Rose Kiss is a beatiful shade for the lid, while Black Spice is great for the outer corner of the eye for the class smoky eye look. If only Maybelline would add these shades to its regular collection!

L'Oreal has now added liquid bronzer to its popular True Match™ collection of foundations, powders, concealers, and blushes designed to flatter a wide variety of skin tones. I am very fond of True Match™ liquid makeup in N3 - see my review at ThisNext, so I picked up the liquid bronzer in N1-2-3. This liquid bronzer may be blended with your foundation or be used alone.

UPDATE: The May 2007 of Lucky has a good tip: apply liquid bronzer before foundation to even skin tones. It worked for my skin, which has a tendency towards ruddiness

Physicians Formula Mineral Wear™ Talc-Free Mineral Eye Shadow Quad

Finally, Physicians Formula has released six different talc-free Mineral Eye Shadow Quads, all in beautiful shades. My complaint is about the packaging - you have to flip the compact over to use the mirror, so it's a clumsy way of applying the eyesahdow.

You can find Maybelline, L'Oreal, and Physicians Formula at major drugstores, mass-market retailers, supermarkets, and drugstore.com. Lumene is exclusive to CVS, and you can also find Avene and LaRoche-Posay at select CVS stores. Stores carrying Vital Radiance are now trying clear their inventory, so now is the time to snap up these products (which were good, although the line was badly marketed) at the right price - I was fond of Vital Radiance's Smoothing Eye Primer mousse, so I bought two at half-price. Paula's Choice may be purchased through the web site for Paula Begoun.

UPDATE: I have since found out that drugstore.com and Amazon.com carry a wide variety of Vital Radiance products.