Valentine's Day Treat/mini-haul: YvesSaintLaurent Touche Eclat Radiant Touch and Dessin Des Sourcils Eyebrow Pencil

I decided to treat myself to some cosmetics for this Valentine's day, and so picked up a couple of things from YSL. Read on for my thoughts :)

1) YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch - $50 CDN

I got this in the shade 2.5 as recommended by the counter staff for my slightly peachy undertones (a sidenote about undertones, I've been told many different things about what my true undertone is, ranging from "warm" to "cool" to "yellow" to "pink" to now peach by different conter staff from different cosmetic brands, thus it remains an elusive subject to me).  First off, as expected from any luxury brand, the packing is pretty and pleasing to eye and touch. It's pen-styled, where you "click" the button at the top to dispense the product into the brush tip.  It took a LOT of clicks to get it started at first (instructions advise on 30 clicks), but afterwards the product flowed quite easily with each subsequent click. It's very thin and felt nice when applied on the skin, and blended out beautifully.  It matched my skintone well and I can wear this alone without any other makeup for a look that is "refreshed" and less tired but not looking like I have makeup on.  Unfortunately it's a bit too thin/sheer to be used as a proper concealer on those really bad face days, but for the not-so-bad days, it works well enough to cover the mild dark circles and slightly darker shades I have around my mouth and nose area. I also use a little down my nose bridge for a subtle highlight.

Overall impression: good product, does what it advertised as a highlight to bring light to dark areas and help you look more refreshed/awake. Would not recommend this for concealing blemishes. Is it worth the price? I think it depends on your budget. If you regularly purchase products around this price product anyways, this is a nice one to add to your collection.  If you usually buy drugstore makeup, and are looking to splurge on that one special item, this is probably not it, as you can get similar effects with the right shade of a blendable concealer and/or other highlighters.

 

2) YSL Dessin Des Sourcils Eyebrow Pencil - $30 CDN

Before getting this, I was actually considering the Shu Uemura pencil in Stone Grey as other bloggers have raved about it. However, that pencil is is an incredibly "hard" pencil, and I felt like I had to press very hard on my brow for any color to show.  The staff then told me that it's because my eyebrows are not very oily, and the Shu pencil is meant to only shed color on hair and oil, which makes it apparently an awesome formula for those with oily brows for color and staying power. The YSL is slightly softer, but still a harder pencil than my previous go-to, which was the Shiseido Natural Eyebrow Pencil (I have both the Deep Brown and the Natural Black).  The harder formula makes a much cleaner application, as sometimes I've found the Shiseido can look messy if I'm not careful due to it's softness and propensity to smudge.  I also liked the color, which I got in #4 - Ash.  It's a grey color with a very slight hint of shimmer (barely noticeable, but gives the brows a bit of "glow", it's hard to describe but it's more natural in my opinion).  YSL describes Ash as meant for those with blonde or grey hair, but I find it works well for me, as an asian with naturally very deep brown hair which appears black indoors, but brown in sunlight.  I previously found most brown pencils too brown/reddish and looked unnatural, and any more black pencils too dark and thus unnatural.  The YSL pencil is a much better match for me, and is a lighter grey than the Shiseido Natural Black pencil. I do have to use more pressure on application, but the result is much nicer.

Overall impression: My new go-to eyebrow pencil! I love it, and it will be replacing my Shiseido Natural Black. I will keep using the Shiseido Deep Brown in the summer months when I feel the mood for a lighter eyebrow.  Is it worth the price? For me, who finds it hard to get a color match in eyebrow pencils, it is.  $30 for an eyebrow pencil may seem like a lot, but I feel that when I REALLY like a product, it's worth it because I use it almost every day and enjoy it every time I use it.  I also haven't been able to find a cheaper/drugstore dupe for this color.  If you do have coloring that is more widely available, such as brown, and find that cheaper pencils match you well, then likely you won't need to splurge on this and it won't be worth it for you.


That's all for my thoughts on my little shopping spree/treat for myself for Valentine's.  If you have used these products please share your thoughts as well :)