About a month ago, I went into a low buy status, although I never made it official because I was not sure if I could hold on to that. The reason for that one was simply because I went overboard in Japan. Like seriously I was almost going bankrupt. When I saw all the pretties at the counters and brushes and skin care, I thought I was loosing my mind. Good thing was that hubby was with me and he managed to give me his "is this reasonable?" look each time I was loosing it. It helped a little though not so much. After all how can he understand why I need the 20th face brush right? Even I can't but I know it is needed! *chuckles*
Some of you asked if I could show my Japan haul after I was back. I already posted a few haul photos at Instagram. What I am planning to do on the blog is to introduce you to some of the Japanese make-up brands. Today I would like to start with THREE. I already owned a few of their products prior to visiting their counters in Japan. I had one of their quads, which didn't work all that well for me. I had a few of their liners but I was unsure if I liked them enough. Therefore I didn't feel I could bring some insight. After playing with them and purchasing some of their products, here are my thoughts about the items I have picked up.
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| THREE, Shimmering Color Veil #37 6760 Miles, Color Veil for Cheeks #20 Love Twist, Velvet Lust Lipstick #06 Shiva Dance, Nail Polish #05 Cloud Aura and Performance Eyeliners |
I think the most exciting products of THREE make-up line are the loose pigments which are called Shimmering Color Veil. Those have incredibly pretty multi dimensional shimmer which blinks at you until you give up and purchase them. I just got only one to try out and now I regret I didn't get a few more. I was not sure if I would use the loose pigment all that much because it is harder to make it work than say a pressed eye shadow. The shade I picked up is called 6760 Miles, it is a taupe with silver and gold shimmer. The finish of this is out of this world. It is wearable, no way over the top but very unique. Big love here. Check out Belly's great review of the same product here.
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| Swatch: THREE, Shimmering Color Veil #37 6760 Miles |
Now comes the most famous product of the line, THREE Performance Eyeliners. Thanks to Linda who picked up a few for me, I already had some of these to start with. I have to admit, despite the gorgeous color selection and very complex shimmer in them, I didn't find a good way to make use of them. I have rather thick eye lashes so everything which is light doesn't show up on me all that much. I also like smoky eye looks so a lighter liner is destined to be applied on the lower lash line. Other than 03 and 05, I can only use the others along the water line or lower lash line which limits the usage a lot. 01 works great on the water line to open up the eyes and make them appear bigger. I don't think these are really longer lasting than Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On ones and they are like two times more expensive. I really don't see the point but if you do, please let me know why. You can find great swatches of all the shades here at the lovely blog of So Lonely in Gorgeous.
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| Swatches of THREE Performance Eyeliners, #01, #02, #03, #05, #07 |
Here is an eye look using Shimmering Color Veil #37 6760 Miles all over the eye lid, Performance Eyeliner #05 along the upper lash line and 02 on the waterline. I love 6760 Miles as a stand alone eye shadow. It is so complex, you hardly need anything else on the eye look. I used MAC Quarry on the crease though just to deepen it slightly more.
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| In-action: THREE, Shimmering Color Veil #37 6760 Miles and Performance Eyeliners #02 and #03 |
As for the cheeks, after swatching most of the shades, I decided on one of the coolest called Love Twist. It looks very scary in the pan but it is less vivid on the cheeks. With a squirrel blusher brush I pick up enough amount to build up a color. The packaging of this one is very simple, without mirror and very sleek but not cheap looking. It is also very reasonably priced, at about 3500 JPY if I recall correctly. You can check out Linda's swatches and review of the shades #22 and #23 here. All in all I like the shade I selected but upon swatching I have seen that some of the shades swatched a little sheerer than they seemed in the pan.
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| Swatch: THREE Color Veil for Cheeks #20 Love Twist |
I got to try THREE Velvet Lust Lipstick and the color I selected is #06 Shiva Dance. This one is really very pretty. It is hydrating and pigmented, light weight and long lasting. Big love for this one. Also the color is great for everyday. Another thumbs up here.
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| Swatch: THREE Velvet Lust Lipstick #06 Shiva Dance |
Here is the full look with the items I have just shown you. Loving the loose eye shadow pigment and the lipstick. Like the blush. Liners are a little meh but I am probably only one of the few who think that way. All of the items are long lasting. I didn't experience fading or creasing whole day.
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| FOTD: THREE Shimmering Color Veil #37 6760 Miles, Color Veil for Cheeks #20 Love Twist, Velvet Lust Lipstick #06 Shiva Dance |
I also picked up one of their nail polishes to give it a try. It is a gorgeous lavender with a kind of jelly finish. It is a little sheer but builds up nicely in two coats. It reminded me a bit of Rescue Beauty ones with sheer jelly finish but THREE one is more long lasting. I am wearing it for four days now and there is only a slight tip wear. The other nail polished I picked up from Japan are also extremely long lasting. It is a pity that Japanese postal system is against shipping of nail polishes so it is very hard to get those. Maybe it is good for my wallet though. Here is two coats of THREE #05 Cloud Aura on my nails.
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| Swatch: THREE Nail Polish #05 Cloud Aura |
Final thoughts: I hoped you enjoyed this small introduction to the items I selected from THREE during my trip to Japan. All in all my favorites of their make-up line is Shimmering Color Veils which are loose pigments with incredibly complex shimmer. I also love their Velvet Lust Lipstick formula and Shiva Dance is a superb color for my complexion. Although I like their liners, I am not head over heels with them. Blushes are a little sheer for my liking but I enjoy the shade called Love Twist.
Have you ever tried anything from THREE? What are your favourites?
Do you like using loose pigments on the eyes?
Disclaimer: The products in this post are purchased by me.