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| (Top to Bottom: Revlon Colorstay in Wardrobe, Victoria Secret lipgloss, Loreal Collection Star in Pure Garnet, MAC Pro Longwear Lip Creme in Unlimited, Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolor in Addiction Dependence, Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in #15 from Japan and Loreal lipstick in Spring Rosette) |
To put it, I just wanted to simplify my everyday makeup life. And so my story goes by me applying my foundation or tinted moisturizer/ sunblock first, set with a powder, do my eyebrows, apply some blush and on with my usual fave lippies mostly from Revlon. I really think Revlon has great lipsticks selection and they work pretty well on me.
Someone introduced me to Amway's cosmetic line, Artistry. Prior to this, I have no single idea what Amway is, so if you are clueless like me, it is much like the Avon company where they have lots of products to choose from.
Since I shifted my focus on skin care rather than makeup, I wondered how much makeup I can cut and so this Artistry Concealer SPF 15 UVB/ UVA PA ++ looked awesome to me. I have other concealers in my stash to be honest, but then again I gave in.
Since I shifted my focus on skin care rather than makeup, I wondered how much makeup I can cut and so this Artistry Concealer SPF 15 UVB/ UVA PA ++ looked awesome to me. I have other concealers in my stash to be honest, but then again I gave in.
By the way, you need to find an Amway representative else you can check out Amway's website
to buy products from them. This retails for about Php 1,000+ (could not remember the exact price though).
In continuation of my foundation series, I'd like to talk about my true-blood Japanese foundation- the Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation SPF 15/ PA++. If you follow me, you should know that I think Japanese products are one of the best in the world. Everything I own made in Japan just delivers.
Said to be a high-definition, long-wearing mineral foundation, it is formulated with minerals from the deep waters of Bretagne and botanical emollients and extracts, this skin-conditioning foundation smoothes and covers imperfections while feeling weightless and comfortable. This product is also said to be cruelty free and does not contain artificial colors, fragrance, or mineral oil.
Since I decided to run a foundation/ base series this week, I figure it's the excellent time for me to talk about some drugstore foundations I have. So today's pick is from a drugstore brand you're all familiar with, Maybelline!
The Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse foundation is ideal for normal skin according to their website. But the following are the selling points for me:
- Air-whipped liquid provides perfecting coverage for 100% poreless skin
- Oil-free, fragrance-free
- Dermatologist-tested, allergy-tested
- Non-comedogenic – won’t clog pores, safe for sensitive skin
My latest MAC foundation is the Pro Longwear Nourishing Foundation courtesy of my friend (thanks, Mira-belles!). The shade is NC30 (for reference, I am NC35) and I didn't know whether it would match me completely.
This baby had favorably good reviews and I must say that this foundation photographs really well. The NC30 shade was a surprise match to my skintone after it sets. I was careful not to apply too much as it would for sure cake on me (this girl has oily skin!). It never sticks to my face like a paint, my face can breathe (I am feeling it!).
How wonderful it is to have one product with four (4) concealers, right? This was the same thought I had when I first saw the Ben Nye Media Pro HD Tattoo Coverall in SK-11. For less than a thousand pesos, I should be out, ready for my next selfie pose at anytime of the day.
The Ben Nye Media Pro HD Tattoo Coverall in SK-11 is a compact concealer said to cover tattoo, contour the face, hide the veins (yes, I was told), hyperpigmentation or undereye circles! They also save room in your kit, as each is wheel divided up into four (4) blendable colors.
I am compelled to tell you how wonderful the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Standout is!
It is a such pretty red which reminds me of MAC's Russian Red in terms of color pay off. But Revlon wins in terms of its formula I think. Let me tell you the reasons why.
First, it is superbly opaque and would flatter almost any skintone. It is not a red lippie with a bluish hint on it. Instead, it leans towards the brownish-red tones if you know what I mean. Also, it is never drying on your lips.
But let me share a trick or two: upon application, take a tissue and give it a quick smack to take away most of the pigments. Now pack on some more color then smack on tissue again. By then, your lips should be matte with its color.
First, it is superbly opaque and would flatter almost any skintone. It is not a red lippie with a bluish hint on it. Instead, it leans towards the brownish-red tones if you know what I mean. Also, it is never drying on your lips.
But let me share a trick or two: upon application, take a tissue and give it a quick smack to take away most of the pigments. Now pack on some more color then smack on tissue again. By then, your lips should be matte with its color.
If you can leave your place without any makeup on, it means two things: You are awesome and you know it!
But for “mortals” like everyone of us, this is quite a feat. Now, imagine what if a great looking skin is possible with very minimal coverage. Well, the answer can be found in Olay Total Effects Pore Minimizing CC Cream with Sunscreen.
I got into skin care pretty late obviously because of ignorance (raise your hand if you are guilty too!). I seldom get pimples though.....now that's the good thing. Though my skin is between combination to oily, I am lucky that pimples don't like to breed on my face all the time.
About two months ago, I had the worst breakout ever. So in my effort to prevent the same nightmare from happening again, I had to make a quick inventory of what's on my stash in terms of skin care. This led me to a reunion with the Missha Super Aqua Pore Correcting Refine Serum which I picked up in Seoul last year. I really love their BB creams which I also got on the same trip so I didn't have a second thought to get this one. I believe this product is part of the many skin care steps from Missha but never really bothered to pick up the rest of them.
I used this before when I came back from my trip, but stopped because I didn't see any significant change to blog about except that it can be a nice makeup base. The bad news too is that I forgot how much I paid for it.
Serums are way better than creams because they are more potent hence you get more benefits than the usual creams. However, they can be pretty expensive so watch out if price is your consideration. The Missha Super Aqua Pore Correcting Refine Serum is pretty thick, white in consistency product and makes my pores visibly less noticeable. I notice that it prevents my makeup from running too fast. I doubt that it has silicone, I threw away the box, to be honest.
This product claims it can refine my pores but I don't believe in such thing as the size of your pores are determined by your genetics. I bought this thinking this can be a nice makeup base afterall.
So, yes, it's a nice base prior to your foundation but apart from that, it didn't really help me at all in refining my pores. I still like it though. It's not too heavy, and gives my face a nice matte finish upon application.
Overall Verdict:
4.00 Lipsticks
Buy Again: I will probably pass up for now. I already picked up some primers some months ago.
Love,
My fingers did it again!
After some makeup-buying strike, I recently purchased a palette from Germany's Zoeva through Singapore's Luxola.
After some makeup-buying strike, I recently purchased a palette from Germany's Zoeva through Singapore's Luxola.
I've had similar concealer and corrector palette before from another brand but because I was just starting makeup back then, I stupidly gave it away to someone. Well, it's never too late to own this baby, don't you think?
One day at work, I was asked by some colleagues to do their
makeup for some special activity that our department had. Under duress of course, lol. I don’t carry a
lot of makeup now. If you see my makeup pouch, you would find two (2) blushes, two (2) lipsticks, a lip balm, eyeliner, eyebrow
gel and a single eyeshadow. I usually leave my base makeup at home but carry a
pressed powder or a powder foundation for retouch.
The girls who “booked” me asked their friends for some
makeup and they brought it with them. As one girl sits waiting for me to start,
I was thinking I didn’t have a good lipstick which may match all of them. I
mean, the girls are pretty to begin with but not choosing the right lipstick
may be disastrous. Then as I dig into my own pouch, I remember my Wet N Wild
Mauve Outta Here which I find quite similar to my MAC Pro Longwear lipsticks
only that my MAC’s are more long lasting. The only MAC I had in my pouch that time was a matte called
Russian Red.
I have the perfect set of brows! Well, that’s just me
dreaming, lol. I’m always dreaming of perfect brows eversince I developed
liking on makeup. However, in my case, it took me years to finally find the
perfect shape for myself. The way to even tame and shape them was another
story.
So I would probably skip taking my blush with me but not my
eyebrow tools. That’s how sacred my brow relationship is. A well-groomed and
shaped eyebrows can really make a difference in your face. I tried tons to be
honest from pencils to powders. But since I do sweat heavily during summer and
maybe less during rainy days but powders or pencils even set with brow mascara
tend to disappear on my face after sometime.
And so I was originally eyeing on Makeup Forever (MUFE) Aqua Brow, but then rumor has it that there is a dupe out
there from a brand called NYX. I’ve had success with other NYX products long
before they opened their very first store here in the Philippines. Then one day while browsing at online makeup
store called Digital Traincase, I spotted that they
now have the NYX Eyebrow Gel. Also, Digital Traincase ships really fast like
they always do (I bought stuff from them few years ago).
I’ve seen in some other beauty blogs where they are too
excited to talk about the products where they hit the pan! I mean, for someone
who accumulated tons of makeup, that is a huge milestone indeed.
So I am jumping in to the bandwagon after seeing that I hit
the pan of my In2it Oil Control & Oil Free 2-Way Foundation SPF 25. Four
words: Oil Control and Oil Free.
These are enough for me to try this product
back in 2007 when I just started collecting makeup. Yes, I’ve had on and off relationship with this product because I
am always excited to try a new one after sometime.
I thought my BB cream future episodes have ended. And so
that’s what I thought. But my usual Instagram stalking has thought me a good
lesson: Too much information can entice you to death.
That’s what happened when I saw Jigs Mayuga’s recommendation
on the Pond’s Age Miracle BB Cream SPF 30 PA++.
And I also learned that actress Heart Evangelista endorses this product too.
For Php 499.00, all I had to do was buy. This is available in your local
Watson’s counter.
It is summer in where I live--- Manila that is! Therefore I
need to somehow change my usual everyday makeup game. These days, no heavy
foundations, I only stick to tinted moisturizer, lip balms and lip and cheek
stains.
Then I remember that I had this cream blush from Australian brand, Bloom Cosmetics. The Bloom
Sheer Colour Cream in Who Me is a deep mauve cheek color that would fit most
Filipinas out there.
I was asked before how many lipsticks I’ve got but to be
honest, I lost count already. My first beauty obsession are lipsticks!
I wore one when I was a freshman in college. I remember the brand which was Revlon, a hand-me-down from my mom. Just like any teenager, I was excited to put color on my lips for the first time. The shade however was off—something red-brownish and I thought not appropriate for my age.
I wore one when I was a freshman in college. I remember the brand which was Revlon, a hand-me-down from my mom. Just like any teenager, I was excited to put color on my lips for the first time. The shade however was off—something red-brownish and I thought not appropriate for my age.
When I started working, I wanted to own MAC lippies however
they are too expensive for my wallet. In the Philippines, this would cost you Php 1,000.00 ($ 20). So I ventured to drugstore brands and the
rest as they say is history.
Right now, I have quite a few MAC lippies that I use in
between depending in my mood:
MAC Amplified Up the Amp: Similar to this year’s pantone
color: radiant orchid
MAC Matte Russian Red: A bright red with orange undertones,
this would suit most medium to dark skinned ladies.
MAC Pro Longwear Positively Dashing: Mauve for my taste
great for everyday wear. It’s your my-lips-but-better pick.
MAC Pro Longwear Love Forever: This is a neon pink lipstick
and my current favourite. It does brighten my face and gives me that youthful
look. This is however not available locally. I had a friend buy me this shade
from the US.
MAC Matte Ruby Woo (faded tag in photo): This is a red shade
but with blue undertones, perfect for fair to medium skinned ladies. If you are
blonde and has pale complexion, this is the bomb.
I think MAC lippies are great investment and you should get
one if you can afford it. They are usually very opaque, long lasting and there
a lot of shades and formula you can choose from.
What are your MAC lipstick favorites? I am dying to know!
Love,
Just before Christmas last year,
I was able to pick up the most famous concealer/ foundation in Instagram-ania
in one of December bazaars at the World Trade Center for Php 600 ($14).
It’s
the Naturactor Cover Face which is made from Japan. A number of local
celebrities have been raving how good this product is so naturally I was
curious.
I picked up the shade 151 which
is the darkest shade. I wanted to get the shade 171 too (green) but then it was
out of stock unfortunately. The green one is great to cover red blemishes I was
told.
The product is somewhat cream-type, very opaque, covers my blemishes and
very blendable. It has a decent staying power under your favourite primer
though if you are too oily this may pose a slight problem. I need not use a
separate concealer too and that’s pretty awesome.
I am a firm believer of primers, they truly work! The
only key of course is to find one which works best for you. I picked up the Smashbox
Photo Finish SPF 15 Foundation Primer with Dermaxyl Complex at Beauty Bar couple of months ago
(around Christmas time so I had money to spare that time).
This product is priced at Php 2,100+ (USD 50.00) and yes, it
is pricey for crying out loud. However, I had the opportunity to get few discounts
but could not remember exactly how much I paid for it.
They say this primer is for ‘mature’ skin; albeit it will
work on ladies 20 and up I think. The texture is somewhat silicone-y if you
know what I mean. However, it is not as silicone-y as the others I’ve tried.
I just came back from my Beijing trip and I must say the
cold was unforgivable in most days. I've been to Beijing quite few times
in the past, it is the most visited city in my passport to date. I have
the best (and the not-so-good) memories in Beijing only because I had
my heart broken there once (sniff, sniff).
But of course, that's all in the past! I had been healed, moved on and never been better. Well the guy who "broke" my heart even became one of my true friends in this lifetime, I just couldn't believe it.
But of course, that's all in the past! I had been healed, moved on and never been better. Well the guy who "broke" my heart even became one of my true friends in this lifetime, I just couldn't believe it.
