Lip-Talk 07 : Princess Etoinette Crystal Shine Lips in PPK001

4:42:00 PM

Heyyyy!!!

Time for another filler post! I am currently still in Makassar, the wedding's just over and we still have another day to explore before returning to Surabaya. It's been a wonderful trip so far (even though i lost a ring *a cheap costume jewelry, nothing valuable* and broke the hotel's glass *dammit i'm gonna have to pay around IDR 100.000 for it, i know zzzz. It's totally my curse, breaking hotels' glasses-it's my second time already!*, but even those annoying incidents didn't manage to ruin my mood *as a hugely OCD person, that's a total achievement okay!* since it's been like a huge family reunion, and a super fun one at that! Now please enjoy the rest of this (totally unrelated) post!

I am back with another lip product's review (i just realized that i've never done any eyeshadow reviews yet OMG, most of my makeup reviews are about base and lippies! I will do eyeshadow reviews in the future, i promise!) from one of my fave brands, Etude House! It's from the limited edition Princess Etoinette line and yes, i am aware that it's winter 2012's limited edition (they even had the new Princess Etoinette line already with the silver and white packaging, which isn't my cup of tea so i didn't get any) but really, with the speed those Korean brands produces new lines, who can keep up???

Well, some people obviously can, but not me zzz. Anyway, i only got my products sometime in mid 2013 because even though they claimed it to be a limited edition, it was around for a pretty long time (around the same time as their other seasonal lines, i'd say!). I guess the demands for this line was very high and they didn't do anything wrong by milking it!

I take my time when i do reviews and if i keep on doing it in chronological order (like i usually do) it might be next year that i would review this lippies *LOL*. I did some research before start writing the review like usual, and found that lots of bloggers only reviewed this line as late as a few months ago, so i am not that bad right... I'm just very lax when it comes to reviewing products, unless they're sponsored of course.. I haven't even touch that Minnie Mouse lippie yet... Maybe i'll review them next year (if not later) hahaha...

Okay okay, enough with the ramblings already! Let's start!

Princess Etoinette Crystal Shine Lips in PK001

The color choices from this line

I fell in love at the first sight with this line's packaging! Anything pink and princessy... *sigh*... Just take all of my money!!! I kept on placing Pre-Orders (3-4 times WTF) for the lipstick, loose powder and blusher but they kept on going out of stock, but in the end i got my hands on the lippie+powder, i sort of lost interests of the blusher after the 4th try i guess zzz. And right after that it seems like most local OS started stocking up on this line, ready stock! FML! The price range for this line is ~~very~~ pretty high compared to their normal lines though, that's the only thing stopping me from getting the whole line in the end LOL.

I didn't use to have any color preference when buying lipsticks (now that has changed, of course, less than a year later) and i only used safe colors back then, so i naturally gravitated towards pinks. I saw PK001 being one of their errrr i dunno what the logo supposed to mean, recommended maybe? Or special? And i had bought a lot of fuchsias so i chose the lighter color in the end.

Let's start with the first (and the best, LOL) thing.. The packaging!

The Crystal Shine Lips comes with a pink and gold box (the same color scheme as the lipstick casing) *but the box's gold is more lame* with reflective silver parts as well

Not every Korean cosmetics comes with English infos so it's a plus!

The lipstick casing is made from baby pink and soft gold light weight plastic. I think it's still very pretty but not as luxurious looking as the promotional pictures (or compared to their kinda high price). I guess i was hoping for a more sturdy, better quality plastic? But i wasn't too disappointed by the casing.

I love the details like the button topper

And the pink swirl in the bottom

I really love pretty packaging so i snapped a lot more pictures that i would usually for lippies :p

If you've read my haul posts (last year's haha) then you should know already that i received this lippie in far from perfect condition. When i opened it up for the very first time, the bullet was detached almost completely from the casing and the tip was already destroyed because it was mushed against the top T.T. After a while of not having the heart to see it for the second time, i finally muster the courage to try to fix it *dramatic*. I managed to push the top part and squeeze the bullet back to the casing.

Somehow my camera captured a much more vibrant color than how it actually looks. In reality, the bullet is a lot paler in color

I think the fact that the lippie got loose so easily from the casing (i think heat from the shipping causes this) is a testament about how soft and creamy this lippie is. I don't know if you can see from the picture above, but the bullet actually has very fine shimmery glitters but for glitter-phobes out there, don't panic, it's super subtle and you can't even see it on when worn on lips.

It has a lovely rose scent, reminds me a lot of Anna Sui's products so that might be a plus for those who love floral scented lippies and a total nightmare for those who cannot stand them! As for me, i don't mind them in the least, anything is better than badly scented lippies (the ones that smells like really old lipsticks!) >.<!

Like how i suspected earlier, this Crystal Shine Lips is very creamy and soft, it glides on my lips easily but... weirdly creaminess doesn't equal moisturizing in this case. I've been told by LL who also used this lippie (she fell in love with the packaging too, and ended up with almost a full collection of the whole line!) that it's very drying and i experienced the same thing (sadly) but only sometimes! It's one very moody lipstick haha!

I used it with two different bases for review's sake :

I prepped my lips with Skin Food's Honey Lip Treatment that is the best base i have to soften my dry lips without altering my lipstick's texture. It looks a bit glossy in this pic because the treatment's not fully absorbed in yet. EWWWW my mustache! It's no longer there now!

*Applying* I was pulling of a (very) tanned gyaru look that day


PPK001 is a lot paler on the lips than on the tube! It's quite pigmented though (when used with non glossy lip base) and it's easy to apply but as you can see-it's a bit uneven and hard to blend

I actually wore this lippie with a glossy lip balm first and it has a very different characterization when paired with glossy lip balms (worse, weirdly!) but i'm going to explain my experience wearing it with only the lip treatment (which is actually almost like wearing it on my bare lips, only less dry) first.

I didn't have to work too hard to make the color pop when i used it this way, just soft strokes and it'd coat my lips nicely immediately. The color is more vibrant (than when used with lip gloss), less drying (HOW WEIRD!!!) and it last pretty long even after eating and drinking! But it does transfer very easily (because it's very creamy). I prefer using this lippie this way! It performs so much better and look more suitable for me as well.

With tanned gyaru makeup+PPK001

Now when paired with the usual, glossy type of lip gloss :

This is my lips with only a light and glossy drugstore lip balm (it's a Hello Kitty lip balm FYI :p).This is my actual natural lip color, they just look a lot paler when it's dry and parched!

Hello Kitty Lip Balm + PPK001 (Sorry for the hair sticking on my lips >.<!!!)

You see how the lippie stuck and define the lines on my lips when i used it with glossy lip balm??? It's so weird! Other lipsticks i used before always become easier to apply and less drying when used this way (and no, it's not the lip balm's fault because it's actually very moisturizing and performs normally with my other lipsticks!), but it's the other way round for this Crystal Shine Lips!

It was a lot harder to apply on top on glossy surface (but that's actually quite normal since the lipstick couldn't get a grip to attach on such slippery surface hehe), i had to apply 5 layers for the color to show up and it also felt very drying (i have repeated the word "weird" so many times in this blog post and am about to do it again. WEIRD! There!). I actually used this lippie this way first and it gave me such a bad first impression that i was really disappointed! But then i decided to give it another chance and used it with only the lip treatment and i actually don't think it's half bad!

With my more normal complexion makeup (LOL)+PPK001

In the end i don't think it's a fantastic lipstick or whatever (plus i totally chose the wrong color because it looks nothing like the promotional pics and i am not a fan of pale colored lipsticks) but i really adore the packaging, enjoy the scent and think it's not too bad but compared to the price (it retails around IDR 132.000-152.000 which is not THAT expensive but still quite high compared to Etude House's other lipsticks (my fave would be Dear My Jelly Lips Talk that retails less than IDR 100.000).

Even though it is a limited edition (that stays for a very long time *LOL*), a lot of online shops still have stocks of them, locally i found that my fave cosmetic OS Chic Princessa and another OS i found accidentally when i googled for the price (coz i obviously can't remember anymore) Meme Beauty have them. I also found an Amazon seller that have them in stock here so everybody can still get them if you're interested!

I would recommend this lipstick for those who have weakness for cute and pretty packaging, particularly who are interested in cutesy Victorian style, enjoys pleasant floral scent and don't mind wearing it on bare lips/only with non glossy lip treatments (if you like glossy finishing like i do you can still apply lip gloss on top of it).

Would not recommend this for those who has very dry lips, hates scented lip products and a fan of more mature, professional looking lipsticks. I also wouldn't recommend this particular color for those who aren't a fan of pale colors, don't be fooled by the color on the tube/promo pics!

Would i repurchase this lipstick? Nope, not even in other colors. It's just not exactly my cup of tea. I don't hate it but i don't love it and one is more than enough since i only want the packaging in the first place anyway. Having say that, i'm not saying every EH's lipstick's bad okay, i actually love a few of their other lines (for example the Dear My Blooming Lips that i've reviewed here or the Dear My Jelly Lips Talk that i will review sometime in the future), this particular line just doesn't agree with me much. I would definitely purchase EH's other lipsticks in the future, especially if the come up with cuter packaging (i am not a fan of their few latest packaging like the Disney Princesses one... I't very bittersweet *LOL* in one hand i'm glad that i am not tempted to get more makeups in the other hand i worry that EH would stop producing uber cute packaging that i love so much *sigh*)!

Have you every tried Etude House's lipsticks? Which line did you like and which one you dislike? Come and share it with me!