Kate Tokyo Philippines has just recently launched a new foundation line called The Base Zero. It's supposed to be a 'zero blemish, zero pore' foundation, and I love the idea. It's a high-coverage, pore-filling foundation that you may thin out as desired.

Kate Secret Skin Maker Zero Powder (PHP 720 / 9.5g) in 02 is a lovely powder. It's soft and has at least medium coverage. I find that this controls oil super well, but I do have dry skin so I'm not sure how it fares for oilier-skinned gals.

It was mentioned that they put in a little pink in this line, which gives it a brightening effect. However, a side effect of that is that you have to jump up one shade to avoid looking darker - color theory is complicated. I'm often between 2 and 3 for Kate, but 1 was already too light and 2 was just right.

The eyeshadow pattern they taught us for 'Metal Eyes' is super similar to the current K Beauty trend! Basically, it's a diffusion on the outer lid, with a halo effect on BOTH the upper and lower lid (aegyosal). There are only 2 differences: 1.) the Japanese eye finish is more translucent while the Korean eye uses a few mattes for more dimension; for a heavier look, and 2.) The Japanese diffusion goes out toward the eyebrow tail rather than the Korean pattern of going in toward the top of the nose.

These layering shimmers from Kate Metal Glamour Eyes (PHP 840 / 3g) in BU-1 are my jam!! I love, love, love layering shimmery eyeshadows! This is very trendy for both K Beauty and J Beauty.

The A shade is a frosty, highlighty white. It's only slightly different from the B shade, which is a creamier, darker metallic silver. The C shade is a powdery, deep brown matte with a few glitters in between. I like how these gradient with each other! The sheerness makes them very easy to blend, and the slight differences in texture make the eye shadow look more interesting and multi-dimensional.

I find B highly similar to the E shade, only that E has a more vibrant blue hue and seems to me have more of a buffed, metallic finish. The D shades are what I call disco balls, and are my favorites! They have a cool shimmer base and are packed with larger glitter particles to really give the eye that trendy look.

All across the 6 quints, the E shades seem to have the most vibrant colors and seem to make the most difference in the looks. Do note though that because all the shades are quite sheer and meant for layering, a blue like this doesn't end up pastel blue on my eyes.

Overall, I love the inclusions and textures in these eye shadow palettes. I think they're really trendy and the inforgraphic (available at the back of the box) is really useful for people who want to try new eyeshadow patterns. I would recommend one of the brown or pink palettes though, as blue, sheered out as this is, is quite difficult to pull off.

As for the Kate Super Sharp Liner EX (PHP 660 / 0.6ml) in BK-1 Jet Black, the tip is amazing. Kate has always had a great eyeliner tip with its Super Sharp. I'm not sure if it's always been the case, but I just found out that the tip was designed in partnership with Pentel! I gotta say, I do love this brush tip. It's super thin at and swishes at the tip, but is full and stiff at the base. This allows you to easily switch between using a light stroke to flick the tail, and a heavier stroke to fill in the lash line. It does almost feel like a calligraphy brush pen :P

I recommend to give this one a second look. The hand swatches I did with these were really underwhelming. The ink looked so sheer and it feathered out on the fine lines on my hand. However, on the eyes, they look great! The ink appears way darker and does not feather at all on my lids.

This season's launch includes:

Kate Secret Skin CC Base Zero (PHP 600 / 25g), available in EX-1, a pink beige primer. You can use this before foundation to further boost the glowy effect. Just make sure you don't currently have redness as it can darken your complexion.

Kate Secret Skin Maker Zero Liquid (PHP 960 / 30ml) available in 6 shades, 00-05. This is the liquid version of The Base Zero. I don't have a sample of it, but swatching during the event and previous experience with Kate foundations

Kate Glamorous Lash (PHP 840), a mascara and lash base duo.

Kate Secret Skin Maker Zero Powder (PHP 720 / 9.5g) available in 6 shades, 00-05. This is the powder version of The Base Zero. Comes in a rectangular case with a nice sponge.

Kate Metal Glamour Eyes (PHP 840 / 3g), available in 6 quints, PK-1, RD-1, BU-1, BR-1, BR-2, BR-3, a layerable, smooth shimmer eyeshadow quint in a compact 3.25"x2.75" pan. Comes with a dual-ended sponge applicator with a fat and pointy end.

Kate Super Sharp Liner EX (PHP 660 / 0.6ml), available in BK-1 Jet Black, a brush tip liquid eyeliner. The formula claims to be waterproof.

Eyeshadow map photo care of gogojapango.com

The featured items are press gifts I received during the media launch.