5 Award Winning KATE Products You Must Try

Here comes my favourite brand.

how can i write about @cosme award winning canmake products and forget about kate, my favourite brand?
i'm once again referencing @cosme's ranking.

FYI, "ranking" refers to the most talked about ranking (by the community), while the best cosme award is an annual award carried out by @cosme editors. as much as i love kate, i'm surprised when i realize kate doesn't have too many award winning items as compared to canmake! so here are 5 items according to the popularity.

DESIGNING EYEBROW N | 1200 yen

this is probably japan's most loved eyebrow powder. kate was amongst the first to release a 3 shade brow product that provided everything you need to get perfect brows AND a contoured nose. the eyebrow powder managed to stay on my face without special priming or whatsoever throughout the day (unless i wipe it off with a tissue). sweat resistant, probably a little oil resistant too. the powder is extremely versatile and can be used as a matte eyeshadow as well. this is one of my absolute favourites from kate (for swatches and my full review on the designing eyebrow N, click here). the dual sided brush that comes with the powder is great for shading the nose. the angled brow brush is too soft for my liking, but it does the job nonetheless.

it's a pity it only comes in two shades of colour, EX-4 is slightly lighter and more yellowish, while EX-5 is a little darker and tends towards reddish brown. i wish they came out with an ashy/greyish brown that's more neutral and natural.

EYEBROW PENCIL N | 700 yen

with a 1.5mm lead, you won't have to worry looking like crayon shin chan after all your hard work. this would be perfect for sketching the end of the brow which is preferred to be slightly skinny. i haven't tried this before, but my friend has and she said the hard lead is able to deposit just the right amount of product on her skin, giving her natural looking brows. it's been said to be sweat resistant by peer reviews on @cosme!

comes in a wide selection of 7 colours.

LASH MAXIMISER | 1200 yen

this may be a life saver for peeps with short lashes. used as a base coat, it can lengthen your lashes naturally with black fibres that look just like natural lashes. i have already added this to my to-buy list :D

comes in two shades, EX-1 are black fibres in a white base, while EX-2 contain black fibres in a black base.

BROWN SHADE EYES | 1600 yen

an eyeshadow trio that comes with an additional matte nose contour powder. this series seems to be more popular in china than in japan. i've seen reviews praising the quality of these shadows and how buttery they are. i believe they're best applied with fingers. setting the boring colour selection aside (as kate always recycles their colour palettes), i'm going to get this palette nonetheless because there is one colour variation that caught my eyes. :D

comes in 6 colours, except for BR-6 which is matte/satin, all other shades are shimmery/metallic.

SUPER SHARP LINER A | 1000 yen

as the name suggest, it's a super sharp liner that delivers jet black ink. this used to be called super sharp liner S, and it was a cult favourite years ago. i've tried this before, i like that the ink dries to a matte finish, and that it really lasted all day on my lids on a hot sunny day even without priming my eyes with any powder products. however, it stained my lids, something i'm not too happy about.

comes in 3 colours.

you can read my full review and see my swatches of the super sharp liner here.

IN CONCLUSION
i have confessed my love for kate many times. most of the award winning products are for the eyebrow, i believe most japanese girls go to kate for their brow products? personally, i have 5 eyeshadow palette from kate and i love them all.

while i really love the eyebrow powder, i didn't agree with the number 2 spot the super sharp eyeliner got. i don't agree with the ranking everytime.

if there's one thing the @cosme ranking does, it's to add more items to my "to-buy" list. to be fair, they also give me a rough gauge of how good a product is before i buy. call it my form of market research :P


image credit: all images adapted from @cosme and kate official site.

KATE 2015 Spring New Makeup

KATE 2015 "New" Makeup For Spring 201

by the time i'm writing this entry, these cosmetics are no longer new. in fact, they've been released for about 2 months in japan already (officially released on 2nd january).

MONOCHROME SHINE | 1600 yen

the black in this quad will enlarge your eyes while the white make them stand out even more, the key is to apply the black above and below your iris. the first release comes with 5 different shades. 

as you can see, 3 of the four colours look extremely light, the only dark colour being the "black" shade. the white shade looks really refreshing though. i suppose it'll suit those who just started makeup? visit the official site to see the colour swatches and a simple tutorial on how to use this eyeshadow!

personally i'm giving this palette a miss because this is in fact just like any other eyeshadow quads that i have, just that i don't use the darkest shade for this specific purpose.

COLOUR WRAPPING ROUGE | 1400 yen

contains moisturizing ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and jojoba oil, this lipstick will hug your lips nicely with the addition of some sort of polymer which i can't translate. this is a new series and it's packaging reminds me a lot of the revlon super lustrous lipsticks. comes in an amazing 10 shades. OR-2 looks quite beautiful to me :P

LASTING DESIGN EYEBROW W (FL)/(SL) | 1400 yen
the flat type is a revival of a discontinued product. back by popular demand? the flat pencil allows you to draw both thick and thin lines, while the slim pencil is perfect for sketching out the skinny part of your brows. both types come with a powder chip which can fill in your brow naturally. only comes in two shades.

kate's official site has tutorials on how to achieve the stronger and bolder eyebrow that is trending lately.

SNOW SKIN CC BASE | 1200 yen

claims to lift your yellowish skin tone naturally without giving you a white cast - the result is a pink and healthy glow. formulated with collagen for its moisturizing properties, as well as "nuance change pearl" (mica, titanium dioxide, tin oxide, iron oxide) to produce the transparent yet glowy finish. comes with SPF35 and PA++, it may just be the perfect CC cream for you if you have pretty awesome skin!

this series look quite meh to me to be honest. kate is known to recycle their eyeshadow palettes as they constantly retire the older releases. i hope they bring back the gradical eyes though! i've never tried their lipsticks before, perhaps i can check them out this time round since "colour wrapping" sounds like what the loreal color riche lipstick feels like.

on the other hand, the snow skin CC base look quite interesting to me because it claims to NOT produce a white cast, not that i need another CC base because i'm still using the nature republic CC cream.

QUESTION
would you like to see swatches of the lipsticks or eyeshadows? i can swatch them the next time i pass by kate's counter :D

image credit: all images taken from KATE official website

Kate Stick Concealer (Swatch and Review)

Kate Stick Concealer

kate stick concealer was my second concealer. maybe my third. this was a repurchase not because i think it's absolutely the best i've ever had, but simply because it worked fine for me. this is one of those purchases i did a long time ago before i know much about make up.

IN A NUTSHELL
1. not the most creamy concealer
2. light to medium coverage, may cake if too much product is used
3. brightens pretty well
4. good for spot concealing
5. can be used for concealing dark circles if the shade was darker


this is the old packaging where the inner metal tubing is silver. the newer ones are black, and seems to be made of plastic.

the cap is held loosely by a little wedge on the plastic case, which will wear down over time. pretty soon, the cap will just fall off freely.


there are two shades available, i've gotten the shade "light beige".


image source: kate official website
the other shade is "natural beige" and is slightly darker than what i've got.

this stick concealer is meant to cover slight blemishes and dark circles naturally, according to the official website.


swatched on the back of my hand, a comparison of the unblended and blended product under different lighting.

light beige is a light peach shade that brightens my skin pretty decently. it blends out to give a matte finish.

IMHO

the coverage of the concealer is light to medium, while the texture leans on the drier side despite being creamy enough to blend. it's not the creamiest concealer i've owned (the canmake is probably much more blendable), but its texture gives the product a little more coverage than my other concealers. but i will caution against using it heavily as it tend to build up quickly.

it does crease under my eye, as with all the other concealers. it does last me throughout my day when i set it with a powder. i don't feel like it accentuate dryness, nor make my eye area look dry.

the lightness in shade makes it perfect for brightening of the face instead of actual concealing of flaws. if i were to use this under my eyes, it may make my dark circles appear ashy/greyish. however, if i pair it with a darker concealer with a peachy tone, the two will work perfectly to conceal my dark circles.

i think the formula will work very well for people who require spot concealing to cover up small blemishes on the face, as the drier texture allows the concealer to cling onto the skin better. i've had success in covering up small red spots with the help of a small brush.

all in all, i seldom use it for concealing my under eye area ever since i bought other concealers, because i usually use either my sonia kashuk hidden agenda palette or my canmake colorstick, both of which are easier to blend. for spots, i'll reach out for this stick concealer because it formula seems to fit my needs.

i bought this for about HKD$60 many years ago.

Kate Mineral Powder Foundation OC-B

Kate Mineral Powder Foundation OC-B Swatch and Review

call me a risk taker, i bought this from adambeauty without any idea how the actual colour look like. the word "mineral" drew me to this series. i didn't like the previous foundation powder i was using as it's too cakey (why am i surprised? i bought the canmake concealer foundation UV!).

i really like the white and simple casing too. i added some crystals onto the face to personalize it :D

this powder is supposed to be moisturizing as they have infused some olive oil, jojoba oil, and almond oil into the concoction. what's more amusing is the "W effect", i have no idea why they term it as that, but they mean for the powder to 1) protect the skin from friction, 2) cover up pores by diffusing light.

IN A NUTSHELL
1. finely milled
2. light to medium coverage, buildable
3. not cakey
4. leaves face feeling very smooth
5. not long wear
6. matte finish


the casing has a mirror within, a piece of plastic sheet to separate the sponge from the powder. i never opened the sponge though, not a fan of using sponge after my bad experience with the canmake foundation (i feel like sponges apply too much powder too quickly).

afterall, i actually use foundation powder to set my concealer, not really for the coverage anyway. this was a few years ago, before i actually studied the differences between the different type of products. i always think that marketers were trying to get me to buy things i don't need you see.. so getting this fouundation is akin to killing 2 birds with 1 stone - getting some coverage when i need it as a foundation, and setting my concealer with a little bit of coverage.


OC-B is a bright ochre colour - the lightest shade they have in the collection. it looks rather peachy in the pan, but on my skin it takes a slightly different shade. japanese makeup brand makes it easy for us to differentiate between foundation shades. all ochre shades are neutral. if it has a "beige" embedded, it's warmer and yellowish.

this series has a total of 3 shades according to their official website. B is the lightest, while D is the darkest.


on my skin the powder looks less peachy, instead it has a whitish cast. under flash, it appears a little pink.

IMHO

the powder is much more smoother than the canmake one i've used in the past. in fact, i was really happy with my purchase, the powder is fine and smooth, it makes my skin so smooth after application.

on the official website, they claim they accomplish this smoothness by encasing mineral particles with a coat of kanten, which also helps with moisture retention. of course i can see that on the powder with my naked eyes! (hahaha i'm just kidding) i don't know how true it is, but i won't deny the effects i experienced - smooth skin like a baby's butt. as for moisture retention.. take that with a pinch of salt - just how moisture retaining can a powder be, really?

as for covering pores, i managed to achieve that with the help of a flat top brush. i can't say much about the light diffusing properties, in fact, i sometimes feel like the powder made my face look very one dimensional. perhaps it's due to the matte finish, and the slightly whitish cast when seen under certain lighting.

the powder provides a light to medium coverage, depending on how much you slap on. it can cover my blemishes (slight hyperpigmentation) when i buff it with a flat top brush. dusting the powder will result in an even lower coverage.

the powder definitely looks a lot better after it soaked in some of my oils throughout the day. but at the end of a long day, my face doesn't look as bright anymore. i'm not sure if it's because i've sweated most of the powder off or what.

as this is not a long wear powder, do expect it to come off when you perspire, especially if you tend to rub your face with a tissue. light patting is fine though, some powder may come off, but not all.

i bought this from adambeauty, it was a while ago and i've forgotten how much it cost, but it was having a special bundle promotion that time, i got the case and the powder at a much lower price than if i were to buy it separately.

will i repurchase this? not at the moment, as i want to try another one before i can do a comparison.

Kate Jewelry Mode Eyes GN-1

Kate Jewelry Mode Eyes GN-1

even though i'm a big fan of kate's eyeshadows, i never really thought of getting this one, until i saw it going for 50% one day. for about SGD10, it's worth the plunge. the colours left were limited, i swatched as much as i could on the back of my hand and this palette seems to give me that sparkly brownish champagne colour that i was looking for.

or so i thought. as it turns out, the lighting in the store was slightly different.

the naming of this palette seems somewhat misleading, perhaps we've all been to condition to link GN to green, but in this case, i THINK it stands for grey neutral. but that's just a guess, because this is clearly not a green palette.

i remember seeing the marketing material for this series before, they claim to have formulated it with special pearl and shimmer, but i don't know if it's actually that useful when it comes to describing the finish of the eyeshadow at all.

one thing you need to know, this palette can make your eyes sparkle like diamonds in the night sky (under the right lighting).


as usual, it comes with a simple instruction on how to use this palette, and as always, i didn't follow their instructions. hahaha! but still, it's a good addition for people who have no clue how to use eyeshadows, at least they have somewhere to start now!


the palette consist of three shades, two high shimmer and low pigmentation colours, and a darker liner shade which is glittery but much more pigmented than the rest. a dual sided sponge tip application (one chubby and one skinny) is included in the package. how thoughtful.

the shades were actually "named" on the palette casing, from left to right, they are the medium color, brilliant color, and dark color.


swatched on bare skin, L to R:

medium color is a shimmery gun metal gray with a metallic finish under normal lighting (it looks crazy sparkly under focused light). i know it looks more taupe-ish on the pan, but once it's on my skin it just looks gray.

brilliant color is a shimmery greyish champagne with a metallic finish. it may look more yellow in the pan, but once it goes onto my skin it appears as a faint grey. this also look super sparkly under focused light, like a night sky.

dark color is a satin dark grey, it's not matte, but not overly metallic or pearly too. it contains some silver sparkles but not as overwhelming as the other 2 shades.


as seen in different angles.

the metallic sheen is only highly reflective when light hits it at certain angles. as you can see from the last image, the colours are most apparent when it's not busy reflecting light like a mirror, it's a gun metal grey trio that can be used to create deep looks very easily. the sparkly shimmer also took over the metallic reflection in the last photo, partly due to the ray of focused light beaming on it from the camera flash. in fact, they have a totally different finish when seen under spot light, be sure to watch the video taken under focused light at the bottom, they gave off the most beautiful sparkle i ever seen.

i honestly do not suggest using it like the suggested instructions, because the reflective nature of the brilliant colour may make your eyes look very puffy if you happen to have puffy lids.

IMHO

as usual, the powders are soft and easily picked up with either my finger and brush. although they aren't as buttery soft as the highlight and liner shade from the colorcious diamond palette (btw, these are the predecessor, hence the semblance).

picking these up with a fluffy eyeshadow brush may cause some fall outs. whenever possible, i use my finger. they feel really buttery when i do use the latter, it seems to be the japanese formulation that gave them this buttery-powder texture.

kate's eyeshadow tend to be on the sheer (except for the dark color) and shimmery side as it's more wearable on asian eyes, this is no exception. as you've already seen from the different angles above, these will look quite sheer on your eyes until light hits it at a certain angle and bounce right off to create the metallic look.

i think they've done a pretty good job making such wearable eyeshadow palettes. while swatching the other shades, i find them very similar to the colorcious diamond. if you already own the colorcious diamond, it's almost pointless to get one of these. as a kate fan, i've seen how they recycle colour schemes to release almost similar eyeshadows but in different packaging over the years. for example, the dual blend eyes in BK-2 i own is almost similar, except for the finish (the latter has a frosted light colour shade)

these are going to be phased out as they were released in 2012. each series seem to have an average lifespan of 2 years. i can't even see them on the official website anymore. don't feel too bad if you really like it, because it's really similar to colorcious diamond in BK-1, what's more, you get an additional 2 shades with that palette.

IN A NUTSHELL
1. combination of sheer, very shimmery, and dark shades
2. powder is soft and picks up easily
3. you can give this a miss if you already own a grey palette
4. very similar to the colorcious diamond eyeshadows

MAKEUP LOOKS


medium colour is worn as a base here, with a dap of brilliant colour on my inner corner, and the dark colour on the outer corner and outer third of lower lash line (just a wash of darker colours though).


brilliant color worn as a base, medium colour on the outer half, and dark colour on the outer corner to darken things and outer third of lower lash line..

video taken under focused light, and video taken under natural light. click on the links to watch them on my instagram!

i purchased this eyeshadow palette for malaysian ringgit 26 (which is about 10SGD).

Heroine Smooth Liquid Liner VS Kate Super Sharp Liner

Heroine Smooth Liquid Liner VS Kate Super Sharp Liner

a while ago i purchased the kate super sharp liner in BK-1 while it was on sale, i've also done a separate swatch and review on it. i've been a long time user of the heroine make smooth liquid liner. i can't remember what made me want to buy it several years back, but i've since been in love with it as it has worked so well for me, i actually repurchased it because for that price point, this liquid liner is just perfect.



TIP SIZE:
kate: 0.03mm
HM: 0.1mm

honestly, it looks like the heroine make is finer in the photo. both eyeliner tips are made of thin fibres instead of felt tip. the heroine make tip is a little more flexible and soft than the kate's.


can you make a guess which heart is drawn by which pen?

the left is drawn by kate, the ink seems a little lighter in shade because it was brand new when i did this swatch and the ink isn't flowing as nicely yet, but the apparent difference in the thickness of the line is telling of the tip.




FINISH:
heroine make has a slight sheen to it after it's dried down. it actually feel like a thin layer of polymer on top of my skin.
kate dries down to a matte finish, and it sure dries quickly!
this swatch was taken after i used the kate eyeliner for a few more times, so the ink is definitely flowing a lot better, but you can tell it's still on the dryer side.

COLOUR INTENSITY:
both produce an intense black colour.


pardon me for the weird position of the eyeliners.

the first 2 lines and the last 2 lines are kate's, while the one in the middle belong to heroine make. why this odd placement? because after two swipes of kate, i went on to swatching the heroine make only to realize this isn't fair because kate's ink wasn't flowing as smoothly yet. so i swiped another two lines with kate to show that its ink is actually pretty dark too. #thingsthatcangowrongwhenswatching



OIL PROOF TEST:
both comes off pretty easily when rubbed in vaseline, but the kate eyeliners stained my skin.

WEAR TIME:
i'm recalling this from memory, but both eyeliners lasted me the entire day. they stay beautifully on my lids, they don't melt off after exposure to my sweat or oils.

however, they weren't as reliable on my inner corners. it's fine if i don't touch it there, but if i do, it's likely they'll get rubbed off by a tissue after soaking in tears for the entire day.

EASE OF REMOVAL:
heroine make is definitely easier when it comes to being removed by my eye makeup remover. it can be removed by warm water too, but i don't usually do that. it'll come off in a sheet if you do decide to use water.

PRICE:
heroine make: SGD18.90
kate: SGD17.90

i actually bought the heroine make eyeliner in HK, it's only HKD78 over there.

CONCLUSION:
being the kate fan girl i am, i'm actually not too impressed by this eyeliner. even though both of them fare similar in terms of colour intensity and wear time, i'm not too fond of the fact that it stains my eyelids. i'm also used to the more flexible and bendy tip that heroine make offers, i don't think i'll repurchase another kate eyeliner in the future.

Kate Super Sharp S Spider Line II (BK-1) (Swatch and Review)

Kate Super Sharp S Spider Line II (BK-1) (Swatch and Review)

part of my august haul. wait, this was actually from july, but i didn't have time to open it till now. this is my first eyeliner from kate even though i own so many of their eyeshadows. i don't really gravitate towards liquid eyeliner because i need my eyeliner to be rather thick (due to my wider eyelid folds), and these super fine and sharp eyeliners doesn't seem to many any sense to me. but ever since i tried the heroine make super smooth liquid liner, i decided i can still use them because of the convenience. yea, i just need to force the liner to be a thicker eyeliner for me to do its job for me. :P



i never measure how fine the tip is, it claims to be 0.03mm. hmm.. apparently it's finer than the 0.1mm tip of the heroine make's eyeliner? i'll do a comparison post next time.


ingredients list.


i decided to just reference the official website to give you all an idea of what this eyeliner claims to be.

The brush pen eyeliner for producing super fine lines is now even more advanced: it produces stronger blacks, has higher fade resistance, and applies more smoothly to the skin.

and that 0.03mm thing as well. 


this seems to be a limited edition, the packaging is printed with silver spider web! errrr, not my favourite thing in the world since i hate spiders, but it's alright. BK-1 is the blackest black they offer.


taken from the official website.
there are 3 colours available. i never thought of getting BK, which is a watered down version of BK-1. what's the point of having a grey eyeliner!?


the supposedly 0.03mm tip.
the pen is made of a dozen of fine fibres, it's like a brush! it is easy to control as the fibres aren't overly soft. i think they are slighter stiffer than the heroine make eyeliner.


this was the virgin swipe of the eyeliner, that's why the colour is so light. it's worth noting that the eyeliner seem to go on a little "patchy" on bb cream. perhaps the oils in the bb cream don't make a good base for it, so girls, powder up before using this eyeliner.


after the virgin swipe, the ink was flowing a little more freely and appears much more blacker subsequently as i used it throughout the month. (ignore the center part where i added mosaic)
again, notice how the eyeliner seep into the lines on the right hand side (a oily bb cream as a base), while the one on the left appeared sharp and crisp (over powder foundation).

the ink dries really quickly into a matte finish that is budge proof to a certain extent. a few hard rub will result in a sheer layer of black of your skin, but thankfully the eyeliner doesn't flake off.


after removing with vaseline, some stains are visible.


slight staining on my eyelids after removing with an eye makeup remover.

it is easily removed by an eye makeup remover, but it seem to stain the skin. :( i wouldn't mind a lip or cheek stain, but an eye stain is alarming because i'm worried that i'll end up as something permanent.

IMHO:

the eyeliner wasn't as sharp as it claims to be, at least that's what i observed when i put it side by side with the heroine make eyeliner.

the application is pretty smooth, although tip tends to be on the dryer side. perhaps that's why it dries so quickly. no more eyeliners transferring to your eyelid folds when you open your eyes in between eyeliner application!

i've worn this out a few times to test it out, the staying power on my eyelids is great, no signs of fading or budging in the sweltering heat and humidity.

after using it a few more times, the ink gets progressively blacker. now it's just jet black like the heroine make eyeliner. :) but i don't know if i'm really liking that staining effect :/ it's not my eye makeup remover's problem. something's up with the formulation.

given a choice, i'd choose heroine make over this, as much as i adore the brand, i think they can change the formula a little to reduce staining.

i purchased this for SGD12.90 when it was on sale.

kate diamond cut eyes bk-1

Kate Diamond Cut Eyes BK-1

as you can see i'm starting to feel a little more brisky and adventurous with my colour choice after dabbling with make up after some time.
i think i can rock this blue palette! (keyword: i think)
this palette come with 4 colours, but i think it's actually 3 in reality, since the diamond shade on the top left is a mere wash of shimmer and glitter. there is next to no colour to them.

as usual, the packaging is the sleek black plastic case and it is embossed on the inside to make the eyeshadow appear to be grooved. it comes with a dual end sponge chip, one side is slimmer than the other to allow for more precise eye lining with the darkest shade.

a look at the website tells me that kate is probably phasing this out soon as well. i didn't know time flew by so quickly. the diamond cut eyes were introduced in spring of 2009, that's a good 5 years from then, when mika nakashima was still the spokesperson (i prefer her to the new one btw).



the "diamond" shades were the only one that has embossing on it, it has worn out a little over the years.





swatched over foundation powder.

(bottom right, bottom left, top right, gold diamond, silver diamond)
the diamond shades has a harder consistency, making it slightly harder to pick up the powder with a brush or finger. the other shades are butter smooth and soft.

from left to right,
the darkest shade is a blackish blue with silver micro shimmer. a very gorgeous shade!
the medium shade is a slightly greyish blue, with a slight pearly and shimmery finish to it.
the lightest shade is a frosted light blue, perfect for highlighting the inner corners of the eyes and brow bones.
the gold and silver contains glitter of the respective colours. it appears golden and silver in the swatch, but upon blending out only the glitters remains while the "base colour" disappears.

IMHO:
i admit i bought this palette because it looked really good on mika nakashima in the ads :X
in reality this palette is a little hard to rock as it's not a very common day time colour.
i usually wear this when i party, which serves that purpose very well because i love how the shimmer in the darkest shade brings out the contrast in the colours. ok, let's just say i'm a fan of "understated glam", i like dark bling!
also, the diamond shades adds that mysterious shine to my eyes whenever the lights flashes and hit my eyes. i can already imagine guys seeing my diamond shimmery eyes when they are high in their world, everything seems dreamy and ethereal.
even though i don't wear this palette that often, but i love it whenever i have the chance to wear this. i can't remember a time when i didn't use this palette when i hit the club. hahaha this is officially my club eye shadow palette!!!

i got this for HKD$115 in hongkong sasa.

MAKEUP LOOK