Stage Burlesque Ball

Burlesque Ball, the holiday 2009 collection from Stage Cosmetics, seems to combine sultry burlesque with the indulgence that holidays ignite.

Unlike their regular black / clear packaging which I think is rather non-descript, this collection catches the eye with its signature red packaging that hint at beauty luxury.

Eyeshadows are housed in plastic palettes the shade of a mellow claret, while lipsticks are encased in shiny ruby-coloured tubes – very festive and somewhat original.

Stage sent me 5-Shadow Palette in Gossip (S$65) and Wonderkiss LipCrème in Thrill (S$28) from this collection to try.

Made in Italy, these items bear the richness of colour that I see and love in I Nuovi and Pupa, whose products are made in the same country.

Gossip is a palette of smokey shades and a highlighter / all-over colour. I like that it contains an anchor shade of white, an inky navy with blue sparkles (it swatches a deep charcoal), a greyed plum, a silver-grey and a golden chocolate to create classic and interesting smokey eyes.

All the pans of colour are equally intense and each shade pairs / blends well with one another, gradating easily (see the plum and grey swatches in the photo above).

Thrill looks like a semi-metallic violet in the tube but it really is a sweet pinked cherry. Reminiscent of the rose syrup cordial we (used to?) drink during special occasions, this face-brightening shade has minuscule shimmer dispersed within the lipstick. It has the smooth quality of MAC Lustres and also the creaminess of the Amplifieds. The brand describes the LipCrème range as being ‘high-fidelity’ – a rather apt term, I feel.

Both the palette and lipstick have strength of colour, so I wouldn’t recommend using them together, unless you’re doing a very soft look with either product.

The colour selection of the older Stage palettes don’t appeal to me but Gossip, with its rich smokey hues, is certainly worth talking about on the grapevine. ;)

Image source: Stage Cosmetics