Red Earth Haul

Yet another makeup promotion at Sasa saw me making a tiny haul; this time from Red Earth. This brand has come a long way from being a counter within Esprit retail stores to having its own standalone stores. I still remember its simple black packaging with embossed red lettering. If I recall correctly, there was also a sprig of leaves or flowers on its packaging, conveying the natural feel of the brand. I still have a blush brush from way back, made of unbleached wood and goat hair.

Unfortunately, its stores have folded in Singapore and Red Earth can only be found locally at Sasa outlets, as of this post.

without flash

There was a 20% discount offered on Red Earth items and I bought (prices before the discount):

Absolute Brows Brow Perfecting Kit in Mahogany (S$25)

Skin Perfection All-In-One Concealer Kit in Nude (S$25)

Illusion Lights Beauty Pro Eyeshadows in Cool Water and Cleopatra (S$16 each)

with flash

Absolute Brows contains two complementary brow colours and a brow wax. I particularly appreciate the depth of the palette hues – it is not easy to find such dark colours in a brow palette these days; most are partial to lighter browns. I like a soft yet defined brow to match my dark brown – almost-black – hair and this palette seems to contain the perfect colours for this. I mostly rely on the combination of a dark brow pencil and a lighter brow palette to do the trick. Now I think it is possible for me to use this palette on its own. The pomade will be welcome too for taming stray hairs. One pleasant surprise: the kit comes with many tools for its price. However, their performance remains to be seen.

Another seeming winner is the concealer palette. With colour correctors and flaw hiders (five wells of them!), the value-for-money Skin Perfection promises to balance your skin tone. The two different textures – cream to powder and smooth cream (read: silicone) – offer variety but I will need time to fully evaluate it.

And then there are the Red Earth eyeshadows. These used to be hit and miss (more misses than hits) but the current range, upgraded and more pigmented, has its fair share of intense and pretty shades. Swatching these shadows was enough to convey this and being weak at the sight of clean aqua and rich brown shades, I succumbed! ;)

Cool Water is a clear sky blue with hints of aqua. It applies like a dream and is soft in colour, yet intense in pigmentation.

Cleopatra is a rich chocolate brown shot through with gold shimmer. It would make a lovely liner shade with Cool Water. Makeup mavens with darker skintones would look absolutely stunning with this on their lids. This would be lovely on some Asian Indians I know.

Both are in the Brilliant Pearl finish, which lends them an almost-metallic appearance. I would imagine that these would be fabulous foiled!

Not only did I purchase these items at a lower price, I was also given two free gifts: a brush case and a lipstick (one gift with every S$30 purchase). The case looks handy, while the lipstick is apparently a soft coral-pink. Both seem to be from Red Earth pre-revamp. The lipstick looks very new though! ;)