Shiseido Maquillage Lip Essence EX

Every cosmetics user knows the agony of losing a favorite product to the big discontinued beauty counter in the sky. Sometimes (more often than not, actually) everything turns out all right, since companies tend to offer new products and better formulas. But sometimes a products just goes away, leaving us with a gaping hole in our beauty arsenal.

Smooch from Benefit Cosmetics was a weird little thing: a thin, watery, non-balmy lip treatment that performed miracles on chapped lips. I've gone through many tubes of this white runny substance and stocked up when realized it was being discontinued. But my stash has been running low and I started looking earnestly for a good alternative. While I haven't found an exact match, Shiseido Maquillage Lip Essence EX is the closest I've gotten so far.

Shiseido Maquillage Lip Essence EX is considerably greasier than Smooch, but still thin and not sticky (at all). It comforts and heals distressed lips, adding a light shiny coat that transforms a miserable look into a happy, healthy one. It also makes pretty but too dry lipsticks much more comfortable to wear, which saved several tubes in my collection from a back of the closet oblivion.

Maquillage is a mass market brand by Shiseido which, unfortunately, is only sold in Asia. The internet is a beautiful, beautiful thing and allows us to buy good stuff not available in our stores. Shiseido Maquillage Lip Essence EX (around $30) is available from various websites specializing in Japanese cosmetics. Google, as always, is our friend.

Photo by me.

Shiseido Maquillage Full Vision Mascara

I simply had to order the Shiseido Maquillage Full Vision Mascara. The delicate curved brush looked very promising for achieving maximum length and curl, and it didn't disappoint in this regard. The brush is very thin and reaches everywhere- I've gotten used to thicker mascara brushes that don't do much for the lash base. Maquillage Full Vision is definitely a high performer in this aspect, and the super glossy black color is quite impressive.

The issue started a while later with minor flaking and dotting. It wasn't too bad and I was willing to live with that as a 4-hour evening mascara. However, removing it was quite disastrous. my eyes aren't very sensitive and I've never experienced issues with any other mascara, but this Maquillage product just burned. Badly.

I rinsed my eyes with Visine and it was fine after a minute or so. Since I'm insane, I gave it another try, just to make sure the culprit was not my eye makeup remover. The results were the same no matter what I used: Lancome Bi-Facil, Almay pads and Liz Earle cleanser. The other eye makeup items I had on during all the testing were my usual staples- Urban Decay Primer Potion and Bobbi Brown eyeliner and eye shadows.

Half a bottle of Visine later, I've given up on the Full Vision mascara. It's too bad, because I loved the way it held the curl.

Shiseido Maquillage Full Vision Mascara is available from various sites specializing in Japanese and Asian cosmetics. I paid around $38, if I remember correctly.

All photos by me.

Shiseido Maquillage Perfect Gloss

Reading beauty blogs from all over the world is both educating and expensive. That's how I learned about Asia-exclusive brands and lines, and started a little quest to discover and obtain some of the gems. All I can say is that the internet is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Maquillage is a Shiseido line that is quite fashion-forward and not available in the USA. I have no idea why, other than the fact that our market is pretty saturated already, and it's rather expensive to launch and do the necessary marketing. Still, everything I've tried so far from them has proven to be high quality and very nice.

Maquillage has been known to collaborate with fashion designers for the seasonal collections. Last year it was Christopher Kane, and fall 2009 was created with Alexander Wang. I bought (more on that below) the Perfect Gloss in RS587, a rich plum with red shimmer. The color is beautiful, of course, but there are also other factors that make this gloss a huge winner. First, the applicator. It's a thin and super flexible sponge wand that is light and very gentle. Second, the texture- not sticky, very light and still highly pigmented. Some of the shimmer and color even survive a drink.

Now, since Shiseido isn't offering Maquillage here in the USA, one can only buy it online, through websites specializing in international cosmetics sales. Thankfully, they take PayPal, so I didn't hesitate to make my first purchase, and discovered the service was excellent and very reliable. The ones with whom I'm familiar are http://ichibankao.com/ and http://www.adambeauty.com/.

Bottom line: Worth the trouble.

Photos: Mine.