Today's Makeup Look - Golden Sage

I'm really loving the new L'Oreal Infallible 24HR eyeshadows!  So for this look, I wanted to feature one of my favorite shades from the collection: Golden Sage.  These shadows have a very unique formula that requires a little extra care in application. 
Using a stiff shading brush, I applied Golden Sage on the outer 2/3 of my eyelids and blended it up a little into the crease.  I also used some under the outer corner of my lower lid.  For the inner third, I applied a shimmering gold shadow and blended it into the inner corners of my eyes.  I also applied the gold above the sage on my crease and blended it up towards my brows.

I used a pearl white shade to highlight my browbones and finished with brown gel liner and lots of black mascara.  I gave my cheeks a natural flush and used a plum-colored lip tint to complete the look.
(Sorry for the poor lighting. I'm still working on that)

Products used:
L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in 333 Golden Sage
Wet n Wild Color Icon shimmer single in C303 Golddigger
Ulta eyeshadow in Iceland
Revlon Colorstay gel eyeliner in 002 Brown
Maybelline Smoked Kohl eyeliner in Smoldered Chestnut
Revlon Double Twist mascara in 01 Blackest Black
CG Cheekers in Natural Twinkle
Maybelline Baby Lips in Grapevine

L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm Swatches and Review

Lipstick-lipbalm hybrids have been all the rage in the makeup world over the past few months.  Hard Candy has had colored balms out for awhile, but more recently Maybelline, Revlon, and Wet-n-Wild have joined in the trend.
One of the most recent hybrid lip products to hit the scene is L'Oreal's Colour Riche Balm.  Currently available in 8 shades, Colour Riche Balm offers SPF 15 in a smooth, moisturizing formula that promises 8 hours of hydration and lasting softness, even after the product has been removed.

Right: Caramel Comfort, Left: Pink Satin

You can see the two shades I tried - Caramel Comfort and Pink Satin - swatched above. True to L'Oreal's claims, the formula is extremely moisturizing and feels smooth as silk on the lips. 

They are not highly pigmented, but offer a wearable tint while making your lips look and feel very hydrated.

However, in my experience, the color and shine doesn't last anywhere near 8 hours.  I find myself reapplying at least a few times over the course of an average day, which doesn't bother me, but those hoping for 8 continuous hours of color and moisture may be disappointed.

Caramel Comfort

Caramel Comfort

Pink Satin

Pink Satin

Out of all the different tinted lipbalms I have tried, L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm are by far my favorite so far.  Depending where you buy them, they can be a little pricier than other brand's versions, but for anyone looking for subtle color and hydration without the heavy feel of a full lipstick, you can't go wrong with these. 

TokyoChel Rating: A-



DISCLAIMER: This product was purchased myself for the purposes of review and the above opinions are my own.

More Beautiful Kimono

Last March, I did a post featuring some lovely kimono.  Here are a few more artistic pics I have collected for you to enjoy! 
You can get a better idea of the traditional makeup style in these shots. Notice how the red in the kimono pics up the red of their lip and eye makeup.

Maybelline Baby Lips Review & Swatches

Left: Peach Kiss, Right: Pink Punch

You may have seen these in the Maybelline makeup section of your local drug store or Walmart lately.  Baby Lips is a new tinted lipbalm offering SPF 20 sunscreen and promising 8-hour moisture and more supple, "better looking" lips after 4 weeks of use. 
Of the 6 available shades, I tried 2: Pink Punch and Peach Kiss.  As you can see from the blurry swatch (sorry, camera phone :P) below, Pink Punch is a cool, matte, cotton candy pink offering medium color coverage.  Peach Kiss is a warm, sheer, and slightly sparkly peach tone. 

Right swatch: Pink Punch, Left: Peach Kiss

Although Pink Punch offers a higher color payoff, I found that it dried, or stopped feeling moist on my lips, faster than Peach Kiss.  Pink Punch also tends to highlight any dry, flaky patches on your lips more than Peach Kiss which, in my mind, kind of defeats the purpose of a lip "balm."  Both colors do provide a glossy finish that fades faster than the color.

I really liked both colors, but overall, Peach Kiss was the winner for me.  I haven't been using it for 4 weeks yet, so I can't speak to the product claims of more supple, better looking lips over time, but I do really like it.  The color is very subtle so will work with any makeup look (or no makeup at all), and the balm gives my lips a nice, moist feeling and shine.  Although I wouldn't say Baby Lips provides 8-hour moisture, it definitely lasts for a couple hours, maybe more if you're not eating or drinking anything.

Overall, despite some negative or mediocre reviews of Maybelline Baby Lips I've read online, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, and for about $3 a pop, you can't beat them!

Disclaimer:  I purchased this product myself for the purposes of review.

Today's Makeup Look - Orange Fall Look

I haven't done a TokyoChel Look in forever because I only have my camera phone at the moment, but I really wanted to do a quick autumn look featuring this unique burnt orange shade in my 32-pan e.l.f. palette.  Although it's an unusual color, I'm really happy with how it turned out!

I covered the whole lid to the crease in the orange shade, then blended a medium brown into the crease and up towards the brow.  I pulled a little of the brown down under my lower lash line, then highlighted my inner corners and browbones in a white-gold.
After lining my eyes in deep brown liquid eyeliner, I applied mascara and false lashes, coral blush, and cool, nude lip gloss.  Done! :)  Easy to do and perfect for autumn.

Products used:  e.l.f. 32-shade palette (deep orange, med brown, and white-gold)
Revlon ColorStay liquid eye pen in Blackened Brown
Ulta Lash Blow Out mascara
Sally Girl brow powder palette in Brunette
Jordana blush in Coral Sandy Beach
Stila Lip Glaze in Seashell

Bootie Babe Cosmetics - Kawaii or Crazy?

The Muse just posted on an unusual new cosmetics company called Bootie Babe.  They sell these colorful nail polishes in butt-shaped bottles.  The colors are really fun and summery, but I can't decide how I feel about the bottle.  So strange!
What do you think?  Kawaii or crazy?

Sigma Brush Giveaway at Ekiblog.com!

Ekiblog is currently doing a great giveaway of Sigma brushes!  Click her link to read the post and find out how you can enter!  Make sure to join her lovely blog whilst you're there :)

Today's Makeup Look - Shimmering Lavender

Here's just a quick makeup look I did awhile back when I was bored.  I love using purple (as I'm sure you can tell by now), so this may be a little similar to past TokyoChel Looks, but I thought it turned out really well.

What's your favorite color of eye shadow to use?  Are you into neutrals or love the bright colors?

My First Haul! Ulta and Sephora, Part 1

I live in a pretty big town, but unfortunately it has nothing fun and is close to nothing fun for a makeup junkie like myself.  The two closest Sephoras are both over an hour away, and up until a couple months ago, I didn't even know there was an Ulta in my state (also an hour away).  Around here, if you need the kind of makeup you can't find in the drugstore or mall, you order it online.  Lame.

So when my bf offered to take me shopping this weekend, I jumped at the excuse for a makeup roadtrip!  I love browsing in Sephora, and I had never even seen an Ulta before, so I was super excited!  Keep reading if you want to see what I picked up and hear some of my initial impressions of the products :)

Ulta Wild Side Collection

Flirty Pink

I could have looked around in Ulta for hours!  They were doing this great promotion where you received a $75 makeup kit in one of three color varieties and wristlet with any Ulta purchase of $17.50 or more.  So basically I bought a couple eyeshadows and an eyebrow pencil and got all the stuff in the pic above for free! :D O happy day!

Top row: Smoke and Black Ink
Bottom row: Truffle and Polished

Top row: Flutter and Chianti
Bottom row: Iceland and Cherry Bomb

Girlie Cheek Color

Swatches of the Ulta Dual Ended Lip & Eye Liner
Left: Bloom, Right: Raisin

Swatches of the Ulta Dual Ended Eye Liner
Left: Plum, Right: Black

Swatches of Ulta Dual Ended Lip Gloss
Left: Starlet, Right: Siren

I got a couple other things (like NYX white eye base. Looove it!), but Blogger's been so tempermental lately and this post is already picture-heavy.  I've wanted to post this for two days now! 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

So far, I'm really liking the Ulta eyeshadows that I've tried from the neutral palette, and the lipglosses are pretty great.  They're not at all sticky and last a pretty long time. 

The mascara has a super strange wand which has taken some time learning to use, but I like the effect it gives my lashes.  Just can't use it on the bottom lashes as it's not waterproof and tends to give me raccoon eyes half-way through the day.

The blush is a pretty, universally flattering shade of pink which, while not making a big impression, does give my cheeks a subtle blushed look.  I love the packaging which feels sturdy and is the perfect size and shape for a fluffy blush brush.

The eyeliners are decent.  I've read many reviews saying they're too hard or dry, which is luckily not a problem I'm having.  They're smooth and creamy, but don't seem to last overly long.

Next time, I'll post on the rest of the stuff I picked up at Ulta and the cute little Benefit set I got at Sephora, so stay tuned!  If you have any questions about anything I mentioned here or my experience in general, don't hesitate to ask :)



Today's Makeup Look - Cool Violet

So last week I picked up this L'Oreal Eye Glosse at a discount store in town and was excited to try it out and possibly review it.  Stay tuned to TokyoChel for the review, but now, onto the tutorial!

I first applied an eyeshadow base, then this L'Oreal Eye Glosse in a light lavender all over my lower lids.  On top of that, I applied a cool, medium purple shadow to the outer third of my lids, an ocean blue to the middle third, and bright white to the inner third.  Blend the three shades together just enough that there aren't distinct lines between the colors, but not so much that you lose the three distinct shades.
Repeat the same process under your lower lashline to balance out the shadows.

Blend the purple shade up into your crease to define the shape, then highlight the browbone with the white.  Next, I applied a black liquid liner to my upper lashline and layered a purple liquid liner above the black line for interest.  After lots of jet black mascara, the eyes are pretty much done.  Add black pencil liner to the lower waterline if you like.

For this look, I used a bubblegum pink blush and a pretty pink lipstick and gloss.  All in all, it's a pretty, summery look that's colorful without being clownish.  What's your go-to look for summer?

Products Used:  L'Oreal Eye Glosse in Charming
L.A. Colors Ocean Breeze palette
Wet n Wild Mega Liner in 861 (black)
Jordana Semi Permanent liquid eyeliner in Go On Purple
Maybelline One by One Volum' Express mascara in Blackest Black
CoverGirl Cheekers blush in Classic Pink
Wet n Wild lipstick in 502A (goldy rose pink)
Jordana Lip Out Loud! Super Shiny Gloss in ASAP

Today's Makeup Look - Deep Green Sparkle

It's been quite some time since I posted a makeup look, especially one as different as this.  As you can see by most of my makeup looks, I tend to shy away from very dark colors.  I honestly don't know how to use them effectively for anything other than darkening my crease or outer-v.

But I was feeling adventurous today and started playing around with some of my dark creme and powder shadows, and this is what I came up with.  What do you think?

So first, I covered the outer three-quarters of my lid in a graphite creme shadow by Wet n Wild.  Over that I applied black powder shadow, and blended some up into my crease.  Then, starting at the inner corner, I added a bold kelly green, and swept it from the inner corner into the middle and blended it with the black.

I added some black shadow to outer lower lashline and the kelly green to the inner lower lashline and blended the two together.  Then to blend out the crease, I swept on some graphite-colored shadow.  I highlighted my browbone with a shimmery baby pink.

Whew! This is a long tutorial!  Anyway, instead of using eyeliner on my upper lid, I added some glittering blue-green liquid shadow to add a little pop to the look.  Finish off the eyes with lots of mascara and dark green eyeliner in the lower waterline.

In keeping with the adventurous spirit of this look, I actually spent a lot of time highlighting and contouring my face as well, which I don't normally do.  I swept a matte transluscent powder all over my face to control shine and even it out, then I added a coral-colored blush to the apples of my cheeks and blended it back towards my temples.

I contoured the hollows of my cheeks and the sides of my nose with bronzer to slim the face.  Then I highlighted the bridge of my nose and the tops of my cheekbones with a shimmery pink shadow.

My serious model face lol

All in all, I like how this look turned out, but it was a lot more work than I normally put into my makeup routine.  Long post, no?

Products used:  Wet n Wild Idol Eyes creme shadow in Graphite
Black, Graphite, Kelly Green, and Pale Shimmery Pink shadows from Claire's Designer Eyes palette
Hard Candy Eye Def Glittering Eyeshadow in Pool Boy
Rimmel Spark it Up Gleaming Eye Darkening Pencil in Peridot
Maybelline The Falsies mascara in Black Drama
Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder (love it!) in Transparent
Maybelline Super Stay Concealer in Cream
Jordana Blush in Coral Sandy Beach
Sally Hansen Lip Inflation gloss in nude color (the sticker with the shade name fell off)

Beauty Review: Artistry Essentials Balancing Skin Care System

I'm embarrassed to say that, with as much effort as I put into my makeup routine, I have long neglected basic skin care.  My skin care regimen consists of cleaning my face in the morning and at night with Pond's cleansing towelettes.  That's it.

So when my friend Crystal introduced me to Artistry Essentials skin care products and told me how great they were, I was intrigued and agreed to put her products to the test.

 Because I have combination skin (oily around the t-zone, and dry everywhere else), she recommended Artistry's Balancing skin care line.  The 3-step system includes the Balancing Cleanser, Balancing Toner, and Balancing Lotion.

First you clean your face with the Balancing Cleanser.  Once it's rinsed off and your face is patted dry, you sweep the Balancing Toner all over your face to remove any remaining cleanser and makeup.  Finally, once that's dried, you apply the Balancing Lotion.

Left: Balancing Lotion
Right: Balancing Cleanser

 I agreed to use the products as directed for a few weeks and see if I had any positive results.  My first impression of the Balancing Cleanser wasn't great because it is a fairly thick gel that is supposed to be applied directly to your dry skin and worked into a lather.  I had a hard time getting it to lather on my dry skin and felt like I had to use a ton of it to cover my face.

Luckily, Crystal being the great Artistry representative that she is, contacted her director with my concern and came back with the suggestion to wet my face a little first and then work in the gel.  Once I tried this, it worked like a charm and I was very satisfied with application.

According to their website, Balancing Cleanser contains oat extract, Indian fig, burnet root, witch hazel, and Hypo Lipid Matrix - unique, exotic ingredients that combine to exfoliate, refine, smooth, maintain moisture, and control shine.  Over time, it claims to also reveal more even and younger looking skin.

The Balancing Toner feels so refreshing on my skin and smells great.  The lotion is smooth and cool, and blends easily into the skin, leaving it soft and supple.  All three of the products smell organic and fresh, no chemical odor whatsoever.

Aaahh! Me with no makeup!  Don't expect to ever see this
horror again :P

After using the Artistry Essential Balancing skin care line for the past few weeks, I have to say I am impressed.  My skin is much softer and smoother.  Much of the redness has disappeared, and I seem to have fewer random breakouts.

This is something I can definitely recommend and approve.  Try it for a few weeks and see if you don't see the difference!

For more information, or to place your order for the Artistry Skin Care system, please contact Crystal Breitenbach at   cbreitenbach85@gmail.com   She is very friendly and knowledgeable and will help you find the best products for your skin care needs.

Disclaimer:  These products were given to me for the purpose of review.  I am in no way affiliated with Artistry and offer only my honest impressions of these products.

Japanese Cosmetics Series - Majolica Majorca

Majolica Majorca (say that three times fast! lol) is an extremely popular sub-brand of Shiseido Cosmetics. 
In Japan, many large makeup brands have smaller sub-brands within them that cater to different styles and age groups.  Majolica Majorca caters more to young women and teenagers, and is well known for their high quality mascaras. 
They also have whimsical and eye-catching package designs.

All pics above courtesy of Ichibankao

To explore all Majolica's kawaii products, click either of the links above.  Outside of Asia, you'll have to buy them online.  Several different online retailers carry Majolica, such as Sasa and Ichibankao, but you can also try Ebay.  Happy hunting!