ELLIS FAAS: An Update


Note: If you are looking for ELLIS FAAS swatches, it would be best to go through my Brand: ELLIS FAAS posts (there are several pages). I have written a lot about this brand - reviews and eye looks - and you will find swatches of many (but not all) of the ELLIS FAAS eye and lip products there.


It’s been two months since I’ve had some of the ELLIS FAAS products. I just thought it’s time to do an update. Note: Coincidentally, Grace London of London Makeup Girl had written an excellent piece today rounding up her thoughts on the ELLIS FAAS product range, so be sure to read her post too!

Some time after I had written my review on the Creamy Eyes E104, I received a little surprise from the folks at ELLIS FAAS. In the little package were Creamy Eyes E103 and a card from Ms Faas herself thanking me for doing a review on the E104. Well, thank you, Ms Faas!

So, that’s the disclosure obligation fulfilled! Just so we’re clear, all my other ELLIS FAAS products were my own purchases.....okay, okay, some were gifts from hubby!

Swatches – swipe, swipe, swipe
I was at Skins Cosmetics some time back to buy another ELLIS FAAS pen. The personnel were very busy at that time, so I was pretty much left to my own devices for a good twenty minutes before I was served. To kill time, I decided to swatch some ELLIS FAAS colours on my hand. After making the necessary purchase and leaving the store, I tried to take some photos of the swatches. Unfortunately, the conditions were difficult. It was freezing cold, my hands were shaking and I didn’t have my better camera with me. The photos of my swatches of the Milky Eyes shades weren’t fantastic but passable (please excuse the bony hand and the icky veins!) and so I will be showing them here. However, the photos of the Creamy Eyes swatches were a no-go. Instead, I will show swatches of the two darkest shades of the Creamy Eyes that I have. All swatches are in daylight.


Creamy Eyes
L-R: E103 (basic black), E104 (dark brown)

These are only two, but Creamy Eyes colours are in general earthy, opaque, matte and intense.


Milky Eyes (slightly faded versions)
Top row L-R: E203 (dark blue), E204 (state green), E205 (khaki green), E206 (medium brown)
Bottom row L-R: E207 (terracotta orange), E208 (coral pink), E209 (beige)

Milky Eyes shades are more colourful, opaque if layered on, quite sheer if smudged out and has a hint of shimmer (I will show the shimmer in a later post).

I also managed to squeeze in another row of swatches, this time of the Ellis Red.

Ellis Red
L-R: Creamy Lips L101, Milky Lips L201, Glazed Lips L301

They are in descending order of opacity, left to right. Glazed Lips is the most translucent of the three textures.

I did get to try Ellis Red on my lips. I tried the Milky Lips L201 thinking that perhaps this red would look less intense than what I would imagine Creamy Lips L101 to be. My gosh, I was wrong. The texture may be lighter with some gloss, but the colour is still very intense. I have to say that Ellis Red is not for the faint-hearted. I mean, I love it but I don’t think I have the guts to wear it. Not with my full lips in daytime. I think it would be perfect for an evening out though.

The Pens – clicks and nozzles
It has become quite a guessing game with the clicking. How many clicks are needed before the liquid emerges from the nozzles? Sometimes, two or three. Sometimes:

A few cautious turns. Wait. Nothing.
A few more turns. Wait. Still nothing.
(Losing patience) Another few more reckless turns. Pffftt, out it springs, like a worm!

And now there’s too much product on the applicator (sometimes beyond). Then I’d be desperately trying to salvage the product from the applicator, applying more on the eyes than intended. Well, it’s either on the eyes or on a piece of tissue! You’re free to choose.

When I was swatching away at Skins, just about every single pen was acting that way. So, it wasn’t only with the ones that I have.

So, what do you do? Be patient and wait for the liquid to emerge after a few clicks. It isn’t ideal if you’re applying makeup in a hurry in the morning though. I used to think that having the pen stand pointed down would help speed up the process but I’ve had mixed results with the different pens. What I find does help in saving time is that sometimes there is leftover from a previous click from say, the day before, which you can still use (the liquid isn’t dried up, in my experience). Often times, it is enough for one application. So, it’s like having the product all ready for use in the morning just because you clicked too many times the day before. Did that make sense?

There has been much talk about the applicators, especially the slanted sponge-tip ones, called showerheads by ELLIS FAAS. Those are the applicators for Creamy Lips and Milky Eyes. I have been reading of complaints that some nozzles are not dispensing any product and that the liquid comes out of only one or two nozzles.

Well, I’m facing the same issues too in varying degrees. There must be about six or more nozzles in the applicator. From my earlier photos of the applicator, I can see that there were no problems at the beginning. Pictured right is what I have now.

The applicator on the left is still fairing quite well. The applicator on the right is dispensing through only one nozzle. Point made.

Drying time – hurry, hurry
Back in November, the drying time of Creamy Eyes E104 wasn’t too bad. It gave me enough time to play around with fading the edges and smudging. However, now in the dead of winter and with all the dryness indoors from the internal heating, I’ve found that my E104 dries much quicker, thus allowing me less time to toggle with the shadow. I’ve had to learn to speed up my application and sometimes, it ain't easy.

Application - dirty fingers, lots of tissues
From my own experience, finger work is very important when using the ELLIS FAAS eye products. I always use my fingers to feather out the edges. I have yet to try that out with a brush. The only brush I’ve used with these products are an eyeliner brush and the brush applicator that comes with the Creamy Eyes.

So, I always end up with messy fingers. My advice would be to wipe off quickly before it dries on your fingers. I honestly hate to see the liquid shadow wasted on the fingers and the tissues but hey, c’est la vie!

Final Words
Great products in sleek, gorgeous pens. My hubby says it’s a pity that the sleek pens would be of no more use when the product is used up. It’s quite scandalous to throw away the gorgeous pens, really. So, how about refills, Ms Faas?

With so much said, would I still re-purchase? Err, ye-es!! The staying power of the shadows is astounding. I have photos from the Creamy Eyes E104 to prove that.

Now, if only the clicking were an exact science.

To find out if ELLIS FAAS is available where you are, please check the Ellis Faas website. For readers in Australia, ELLIS FAAS is available in Mecca Cosmetica, for those in the US, it is sold in Bergdorf Goodman and for those in the UK, it is now available in Liberty.

Adorned Nails: KOH Red!


If you’re wondering why I’m shouting out the name, well, I’m not! That’s actually how KOH names its nail polishes on the website! You see, the names all end with exclamation marks! It’s as if KOH exclaims with joy each time a new colour is christened and given a seal of approval for release!

......That’s my theory anyway.

This is the nail polish that I got during the promotion that KOH was having back in November. Some of you might remember this from my article on my first ever visit to the KOH Experience Shop, now better known to you as the nail polish heaven.

KOH Red is a bold, quite Ferrari-like glossy red. It’s perhaps a tad less red than the Ellis Red lipstick of ELLIS FAAS but still very out there. I thought that its consistency was less thick than the one of KOH Rain Forest. Application was easy and the formula for this red was very forgiving for less than perfect strokes. Opacity was achieved with just one coat. I painted two to intensify the red. I’ve entered Day 3 and I see slight chipping but then again, I didn’t use any top coat and I’ve been doing household chores.

KOH Red is one of the ten nail polishes currently featured in the Let's KOH Away! giveaway, in Pair No. 5 to be exact.

In the bottle, it’s a fabulous red. On the nails, it’s simply glamorous! I’m smitten. Are you feeling the love?

I Love Thee: Jane Iredale Daytime Eye Shadow Kit


It’s been a while since I last wrote about a Jane Iredale product. I seem to have strayed again, seduced by the glitzy lights of other brands. However, the truth is that Jane Iredale has never been far from my mind. Today, I’d like to take you back to the mineral makeup brand that got me started on my journey of beauty awakening.

About Thee
The Jane Iredale Daytime Eye Shadow Kit is one of two neutral palettes that I have, the other being the all-too-famous 28-Piece Eye Shadow Neutral Palette from Coastal Scents. I do tend to use the Jane Iredale one more often. Having 28 shades is fun but these 5 are really all that I need.

Jane Iredale has four eyeshadow kits in its collection. The other three are called Nighttime Eye Shadow Kit, Bling Eye Shadow Kit and Smoke Gets In Your Eyes Eye Shadow Kit. Sigh, all are my perpetual lemmings!

The palette of this Daytime Eye Shadow Kit looks luxurious in gold but it has a pretty standard design as it looks quite like some five-pan palettes of some other brands. It has a mirror and comes with a simple brush.

The five colours are named (L-R) Oyster, Almond, Cappuccino, Dark Suede and Charcoal.

Swatches in three swipes
Top row: On bare skin; Bottom row: With eyeshadow primer

It’s got a simple list of ingredients:
Mica, Boron Nitride, Dimethicone, Pine Bark Extract, Pomegranate Extract. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides.

How I Use Thee
I’m sure I don’t need to go into detail about this but these are other suggestions offered by Jane Iredale: Oyster is not only for the eyes. It can also be used to highlight the top of the cheeks. These eyeshadows can be used wet for eyelining too. I’ve never tried out any of these suggestions but on the eyes, Oyster is indeed a perfect highlight shade.

Why I Love Thee
I hate eyeshadow fallout on the cheeks. Firstly, it’s annoying. Secondly, those tiny bits not brushed off and left on my cheeks can clog my pores. Talc is the culprit, I believe, and I’m very particular about this. I don’t exactly have the problem-free skin that you fortunate ladies have, you see. So, I always apply powder eyeshadow with a piece of tissue held under my eyes to catch the fallout. Yeah, I know it’s not the most convenient and elegant-looking.

With this Jane Iredale Daytime Eye Shadow Kit, there isn't much fallout to start with and the little that there is, I can tolerate because it has no talc. Be gone, you clumsy piece of tissue!

The shadows apply smoothly and they have good pigmentation, especially with an eyeshadow primer. The colours on this palette are so easy to work with. You can’t go wrong with these neutral shades in any combination. This kit is ideal to get you from a natural look (images right, top pair) to a smokey eye look (images right, bottom pair). Jane Iredale Eye Pencil in Basic Black is the other product used from this brand.

Why I May Not Love Thee
Oh-o, this seems to be a recurring theme when I write about Jane Iredale: it ain’t cheap. Compared to other similar-looking palettes, US$46 is on the high side. But compared to other palettes, this one has simple ingredients with some botanical extracts thrown in. It’s a consolation for this spending, I suppose.

The brush is basic and quite scratchy. For this price, I would expect a better quality brush. Having said that, I do use it occasionally though for the sake of convenience if I’m short of time.

Final Words To Thee
Neutral, simple and talc-free. I can almost forgive the unpalatable price tag. When I hit pan on my current palette, I would love to buy another piece of this Daytime Eye Shadow Kit. That would be ideal, but I’m making no promises, Ms Iredale!

If you're curious about my love affair with this brand, you might want to read my Letter to Jane Iredale and my other declarations of love for Jane Iredale's products. Alternatively, do check out the Jane Iredale website.

Giveaway: Let's KOH Away!


This giveaway is now closed and all comment entries have been removed. Thank you.

Believe me, I know how it feels to read about an interesting product on a beauty blog and then find out that it’s not available where you are. It's frustrating! I can imagine that’s how many of you feel when you read my posts about the Dutch nail polish brand, KOH.

You can already tell from the title what’s coming. The head office of KOH had offered to send me ten bottles of their nail polishes for a giveaway for my readers! Wait. Rewind, read that again. Ten bottles.


You lucky ladies! Well, KOH did send me the ten bottles and all ten bottles are now KOH-ing to you! Thank you, KOH, for making it possible for me to Share the Love with my readers! I’ve been contemplating on how to go about this and I’ve decided to split them into five prizes with each person winning two bottles.

The ten KOH nail polishes are:

L-R:
1. Purple Rain
2. Vintage Pink
3. Rain Forest
4. Brilliant Red
5. Firebrick
6. Black Stars
7. Sophisticated Purple
8. Glamorous Green
9. Red
10. Burnished Red

KOH nail polishes contain the gemstone topaz and each bottle retails for €14.95. Of course, every bottle comes with its own classy case, as shown above. If you’d like to try your luck at winning two of these gorgeous colours, here is the information:

1. Open internationally.
2. Open to everyone who is my follower, as seen on Google Friend Connect.
3. Please leave one comment under this post simply stating:

• your favourite nail polish colour or a description of it – by this, I’m referring to your own favourite, not the KOH colours listed above, and
• your email address – for if you are one of the Lucky Five!

4. Optional: I know many of you love doing this for an extra entry. So, if you feature this giveaway on your blog, please leave a comment to let me know (it may be a separate comment or in combination with the above comment). Feel free to include the first photo above of the ten bottles. That will then be your second entry.

5. Entries must be submitted by latest Saturday, 13th February 2010 at 11.59pm (Central European Time).

6. Five winners will be drawn randomly using the Mummy Number Generator. Each winner will win two bottles of the KOH nail polishes paired up as shown below. The sequence of the numbers drawn will correspond with the Pair Numbers stated below.

7. The five winners will be announced on Sunday, 14th February 2010. I will contact the five winners by email. If I don’t hear back from a particular winner within 72 hours, another winner will be chosen.

8. I will take every care in sending out the nail polishes + cases to the five winners but neither I nor KOH will be held responsible in the event that the package arrives damaged or goes missing in transit (touch wood!).

I leave you now with some eye candy to whet your appetite. The five prizes are the following pairs:

Pair No. 1: KOH Purple Rain and Glamorous Green


Pair No. 2: KOH Brilliant Red and Burnished Red


Pair No. 3: KOH Vintage Pink and Black Stars


Pair No. 4: KOH Rain Forest and Firebrick


Pair No. 5: KOH Red and Sophisticated Purple

Do check out my previous posts on KOH if you’re not yet familiar with this brand. You might also be interested to read my review of one of the colours, KOH Rain Forest. In the coming weeks, I will be featuring some KOH colours that I have.

Good luck, ladies!

Lip Treatment: Alima Pure Nourishing Lipbalm


Sadly, my days with this lipbalm are coming to an end. Today, I had to accept the fact that I wouldn’t be able to get to that last bit of the lipbalm anymore. Not unless I scrape out the remains like a desperate junkie.

I never knew that life could be possible without Vaseline. For many years, I had considered Vaseline to be my saviour for my hopelessly dry lips. Back then, they didn’t have Vaseline in cute little tins like this one. I had to buy those huge ugly tubs and transfer some into a tiny jar for in my handbag. Almost everywhere I went, Vaseline was there with me. The times when I did forget to bring it along, my lips suffered badly. At one point, I even mixed it with crushed bits of red lipstick for a two-in-one. But we all know the consequences. It simply became a vicious cycle of dependency.

In the recent few years, I tried lipbalms from Carmex and Nivea. They were okay but I always found myself running back to trusty ol’ Vaseline. As you would have noticed, I have successfully weaned myself off Vaseline. I actually never thought I would see that day. It was all thanks to Alima Pure, a mineral makeup brand. It was a slow weaning process that I willed myself into. Eventually, Vaseline became a distant memory and this lipbalm from Alima Pure became my staple lipcare product. Here’s my review.

Product
Name: Alima Pure Nourishing Lipbalm
Shade Choice: Available in 9 shades, including one that is clear
Volume and Price: 0.15 oz net vol. for US$5.25 (sample in a petite jar is available for US$1.00)

According to Alima Pure
Moisturizing lip gloss, in multiple colors, keeps you covered day and night. Our handcrafted luscious, glossy, moisturizing lipbalms are made with soothing natural beeswax, plant oils and butters. They travel well and protect your lips along the way. Rich in pigments and high in quality, you can’t go wrong.

Contents
List of ingredients without the Latin names:
Sweet Almond Oil, Beeswax, Palm Christi Oil, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Jojoba Oil, Meadowfoam Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Avocado Butter, Vitamin E, Rosehip Oil, Aloe Oil, Rosemary Oleoresin, Neem Oil. May contain: Mica, Iron Oxides, Titanium Oxide.

The lipbalm pictured above is Pomegranate which Alima Pure says is a sheer neutral red (it looks more brown to me though). I have a second one called Nectarine, described as a warm shimmering rose-beige.

L: Pomegranate, R: Nectarine

My Thoughts
The fact that this lipbalm has replaced Vaseline certainly speaks volumes. I love how absolutely moisturising it is. It is moist which makes application so easy. It simply glides on the lips. With this lipbalm, the frequency of application has been reduced by half. Before, Vaseline simply slid off the lips, thus requiring constant application.

I like the concoction of ingredients, all so nourishing. The lipbalm has a certain scent (obviously from all the oils and butters) that I don’t find offensive.

Conclusion
This lipbalm is great! I’m so glad I ordered these lipbalms back then. I’m now left with the second one, Nectarine (pardon the slightly faded name on the tube – I have been using it and it’s been in my bag).

I found out not too long ago that the US-based Alima Pure no longer ships to the EU. Those in the EU now have to go through a Europe-based third-party to buy the products. I’m not too pleased about this. I’d much rather order online directly from Alima Pure. In any case, if you’d like to find out more, do visit the Alima Pure website.

Now that I'm no longer dependent on Vaseline, I have become more adventurous with other lipbalms which I hope I can feature in future posts. Ahh, Lip Balm Girl should have been my blogname!

What's In The KOH Experience Bag?



.....I hear you ask. Well, here are the little treasures that were in the bag after my visit to the KOH Experience Shop last weekend.


First up, I bought two nail polishes (yeah, I hung around the Wall of Joyful Colours for quuuiiite a while). Look at how beautifully presented they are when you’re done choosing the colours! It’s almost like getting a gift-wrapped present for yourself, don’t you think? Only at the KOH Experience Shop have I ever seen it presented in that little black organza pouch. At other general beauty stores, you do get the KOH case but not the pouch.

I bought the only two matte nail polish colours that KOH currently has in its collection – Flamingo and Matt Black (as per the spelling on the bottle). It’s an interesting pair of opposites: bright and cheery contrasted against the dark and broody. I tested the colours at the shop and I couldn’t decided on one, so I shamelessly took the easy way out and went for both. Oh, I am weak-willed.....

The following two items came as a surprise to me. For my purchases, the lovely staff included two complimentary items in the bag.


The little case on the left is a fairly new product launched a couple of months ago. It’s called KOH Colour Booster. It’s supposed to be able to get rid of minor scratches on your polished nails and intensify the shine of your dulled days-old nail polish. I will be trying this out in coming weeks and of course, report back to you on it.

The large case with embroidery on the right is an empty case. It would certainly come in handy for storing the KOH products that I've purchased in recent months.

The images on either side here are sneak peaks of my nails painted matte with KOH Flamingo (left) and KOH Matt Black (right). Proper posts featuring these nail polishes will be coming soon.

Yes To Carrots: Eye Contour Cream Review


I had been looking for a new eye cream to replace my Superdrug Vitamin E Moisturising Eye Cream (a predecessor of the one currently available in Superdrug) which I had been using for several years. Since I had no access to a Superdrug store in this country, I resorted to trying out several random drugstore brands available here. They failed miserably and that’s when I decided to give the Yes To Carrots Eye Contour Cream a try.


Product
Name: Yes To Carrots – Eye can C Clearly Now Eye Contour Cream
Volume and Price: 50ml / 1.7 fl oz for €12.95

According to Yes To Carrots (excerpts)
Yes To Carrots is a complete family of skin and hair care products that combine the anti-oxidant power of Beta Carotene from orange organic fruits and vegetables, with Dead Sea Minerals.

You never believed your mom when she said carrots were good for your eyes. Our Eye can C Clearly Now moisture rich Eye Contour Cream will have you believing differently. A gentle spring water based Eye Contour Cream with organic carrot juice, organic cucumber juice and 26 Dead Sea Minerals.

Paraben-free.

Green tea contains excellent anti-inflammatory properties, whilst aloe vera gently nourishes the delicate skin around the eyes.

Apply every morning and evening to your eye contour using gentle loving strokes.


Packaging
Comes in a box. The broad jar is made of frosted plastic.


Contents
Very light peach-coloured cream that is moderately thick in consistency. Here’s the list of ingredients without the Latin names:

Water, Cucumber Water, Carrot Juice, Carrot Seed Oil, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Dead Sea Water, Isopropyl Myristate, Propylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Beeswax, Cetyl Alcohol, Peg-40 Stearate, Chamomile Extract, Sorbitan Tristearate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Fragrance, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Green Tea Extract, Silt, Niacinamide, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Pomegranate Peel Extract.

For the ingredients list with Latin names, please check the Yes To Carrots website.

There is an expiry date stated on the jar cover.

My thoughts
Packaging
The jar is basic but the cream being housed in a jar does mean that you would have to dip your finger in it. So, always use with a clean finger.

But the size of the jar! Oh, why is the jar so big?! 50ml is a lot of eye cream to go through. The period after opening symbol says 12M. Will I make it to the bottom before one year is up?!

Scent
I’m having difficulty describing the smell of this cream. It has a pleasant scent, but it’s not quite carrot. All I can say is that when I smell it, I’m strangely reminded of the scent of my Mum’s makeup when I was a child.

Consistency and Application
The cream is quite thick but application is smooth and easy. With a mixture of tapping and stroking motions, I apply it on the delicate skin all around the eyes, paying more attention to the outer corners of my eyes which tend to feel tight after facial cleansing.

The tightness disappears when the cream is eventually absorbed into the skin. The surface of the skin is left with a hint of stickiness which I sometimes use to my advantage – it acts as an eyeshadow base. It can certainly bring out the colour of your eyeshadows, provided that you apply the eye cream evenly on your eyelids. I can’t guarantee that there won’t be eyeshadow creasing later though. Below are swatches of the blue eyeshadow from the Etos All in One Party Colour Kit.

Swatches in three swipes each
L-R: On bare skin, with Yes To Carrots Eye Contour Cream, with an eyeshadow primer

Effectiveness
This is just a moisturising cream, so don’t expect it to be an anti-wrinkle eye cream. I don’t find the cream too rich, a common worry where eye creams are concerned. I’ve been using this cream twice a day without any problems.

During the period between the eye creams of Superdrug and Yes To Carrots, I was having problems with dry flaky skin on one of my top eyelids. I suspect it was from the drying side-effects of using eye makeup removers for waterproof makeup. The other random drugstore eye creams didn’t help one bit. It was this Yes To Carrots eye cream that finally solved the problem. My eyelid hasn’t had that dry flaky skin since.

Conclusion
Never mind the corny line about carrot being good for the eyes and the cheesy ‘Eye can C Clearly Now’ name. Fortunately, I’m only here to review the cream.

For now, this eye cream certainly works for me. It nourishes the skin around my eyes sufficiently. My one grouse is that the volume per jar is too much for an eye cream. Pictured right is the state of the contents three months on.

I’m nevertheless determined to get to the bottom of it!

KOH Experience Shop: The Heaven Got A Facelift


Aiyaiyai! I really don’t mean to bombard you with three (almost) consecutive posts about the KOH Experience Shop but I think you should see this. I was at the KOH Experience Shop on Saturday, that being my second visit to the shop since my first one back in November. I went there with the intention of oggling at the Wall of Joyful Colours and perhaps purchasing some items. Imagine my horror-confusion-delight when I saw this:


I didn’t know that a heaven could be renovated, but apparently, it’s possible. The nail polish heaven has got a facelift! On one hand, I’m not too happy because I now have to write another post about it. This is totally unplanned but, on the other hand, if truth be told, I’m quite delighted because I can write another post about it!

As I was unprepared, I didn’t have my usual camera with me. I had its mini cousin in my bag though, which might explain for the different quality of these images here. So, there I was, again asking for permission to take pictures of the shop. Thankfully, the lovely staff said yes. I think they must have found this all rather amusing – me always turning up at the shop with a camera. I was quite embarrassed but well, you gotta do what you gotta do! It was a good thing that the consultants were all very friendly and helpful.

It wasn’t a major facelift but the two Walls of Joyful Colours do look different now.


What used to be the seating area is now used as a display area for products.


The hand cushions on the manicure table are also different now.


Huge new shelving


Some KOH products and packaging


Thanks to the lovely staff, I found out about a few things during this visit.

Something to look forward to in spring
• I got a sneak preview and demo of a yet-to-be released KOH product. It doesn’t have an official name yet but it’s basically a matte top coat to mattify any nail polish. This needs no further explanation, I’m sure, as matte top coats are already available on the market.

• The tally of KOH nail polish colours still stands at 124 but there will be new colours (mainly pastels) scheduled for release in spring.

• The classy case that comes with every bottle of nail polish gets an additional design: it will have a little ribbon and bow across the flap, just above the press-stud. The bright-coloured cases on the wall of nail polishes pictured above are actually with this new design.

For returning customers
• Every customer of the KOH Experience Shop now has a personal card on which every item purchased is recorded. When the customer has purchased eight items, she gets one KOH product free based on the value of the average spending.

Of course, yours truly couldn’t leave the shop without purchasing a tiny piece of heaven (honest, I didn’t buy much!). I received them packed in this gorgeous drawstring bag! I’m not sure when one gets this bag with her purchases as I didn’t get this bag with my previous (albeit small) purchase in November.

I’ve already mentioned in the KOH nail polish heaven post that the KOH Experience Shop is situated on the second floor of De Bijenkorf in Amsterdam. It might be useful to let you know that De Bijenkorf is within the vicinity of Dam Square and is just a five-minute walk from the Amsterdam Central Train Station.

I think we had better discuss the contents of my drawstring bag in another post. This post is after all dedicated to the renovated heaven!