Year: 2013

Unboxing: BDJ Box for June 2013* & Thoughts on Subscription Boxes

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I received my BDJ Box for June a few days ago, but I’ve only gotten around to writing this post now. I edited the pictures on my iPad Mini and am writing this post on the WordPress app. I’m already so tired of typing (because I keep making mistakes!) but let’s see how long I can keep this up. The June box is chock-full of stuff. Let’s see if they’re things that I’d enjoy. First up are three items from the L’Oreal Paris Fall Repair 3x Line: the shampoo (Php 110, 180ml), conditioner (Php 119, 180ml), and hair tonic (Php 259, 90ml). This line is designed to reduce hair fall by strengthening and nourishing your hair. If these look familiar, then you’ve been paying attention! Both the shampoo and conditioner were part of BDJ Box’s L’Oreal themed box a few months back, and they were bigger sizes then. I appreciate the inclusion of the tonic, but there’s just something about getting repeats that is disappointing, even if they are perfectly good products. Next up is …

LUSH Cream Eyeshadow in Sophisticated

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A while back, LUSH released a color cosmetics line and I’ve always wanted to try something from there out but didn’t really get a chance to. Until recently, that is! I finally took the plunge and got a cream eyeshadow. I figured that I might as well try some CF cream shadows that I like before saying goodbye to the ones I love and have. Anyway, I picked out Sophisticated, a shimmering taupe cream color. I tried out a couple, but I couldn’t take my mind off of this. It’s a beautiful taupe shadow that I felt would go with most of the colors that I owned. I really fell in love with it. This is an opaque swatch, and below is a blended out swatch: Here, it’s Sophisticated with shu uemura’s ME medium brown 885 in the outer corner and crease: These don’t crease, by the way. The line on my eyelid is just my eyelid. 🙂 I can’t put my finger on if it’s warm or cool, to be honest. I feel like …

Makeup No-Buy Update: One Month Mark

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One month ago, I put myself on a Makeup No-Buy, and this is just a little update to let you know how I was doing. 🙂 So far, I’ve only purchased two things with points from a loyalty card: — e.l.f. Liquid Eyeliner — essence Stay All-Day Long-Lasting Eyeshadow in Glammy Goes To… I’ve also received two gifts from my aunt: — BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal — BECCA Beach Tint in Guava And, that’s about it! Skincare things and clothes don’t count, though, and I’m beginning to think I should have a spending ban altogether. Le sigh. All in all, I think I’ve been doing pretty good, though.

Makeup Inventory: Highlighters & Illuminators

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In one of my recent posts, I decried the hype of a cult favorite—the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade, which I reviewed here—and a number asked Well, what’s a good highlighter for you? I don’t own the most favorite one I’ve tried (I don’t know why), but I do own eight others (again, I don’t know why). I’ve been planning this for a while, and never got around to it, so I hope you appreciate the effort and I hope this short overview helps you out. 🙂 Let’s begin with the one I don’t own, but whose effect I loved—the NARS Illuminator in Orgasm. I received it as a sample, which dried up. I never got around to purchasing the full size, just because. Here it is, in action: It’s a really pretty, peachy-golden pink creamy highlighter that you can put on the “high planes of your face,” or just mix in with your face base. I thought I would hate the shimmer, but I really don’t. To be fair, it actually has more of …

Instagram FOTD Rewind: Vol. 2

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Hello everyone! Here’s just a collection of a few looks from the last few weeks. Check out the first batch here. Funnily enough, I’ve stopped posting FOTDs on Instagram because I feel weird about them. Maybe I’ll just post some here every once in a while. 🙂 4w ago: MAC Paint Pot (Bare Study), MAC e/s (Satin Taupe, Handwritten), MAC eye kohl (Prunella), MAC blush (Springsheen), MAC lipstick (Twig) 4w ago: MAC Paint Pot (Bare Study), Chanel Ombres Fleuries (Delicatesse), MAC e/s (Mystery), MAC eye kohl (Prunella), Majolica Majorca Lash King, Chanel Joues Contraste (Frivole), Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (Mood Light), Le Métier de Beauté Colour Core Moisture Stain Lipstick (Miami) 3w ago: MAC Paint Pot (Bare Study), NARS e/s Duo (Grand Palais), MAC eye kohl (Teddy), Eye of Horus Mascara, Tarte blush (Flush), Hourglass Ambient lighting Powder (Mood light), Le Métier de Beauté lipstick (Bondi Beach) 2w ago: L’Oreal Infallible (Amber Rush), shu uemura e/s (ME medium brown 885), NYX eye pencil (Emerald City), Maybelline The Falsies Mascara, Revlon Mineral Blush (Roseberry), Le Métier …

Overhyped Products

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Inspired by Cami Loves Kiwi’s recent video and the hype that surrounded MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade (review here), I’ve gathered together a few products that I feel like are overhyped. It’s a good mix of drugstore and higher end products. Here is a summary, but I go more in-depth in the video: — Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains (review): Love these, hate the stains they leave behind. Regardless of the shade, my lips turn a more orange-y color. — L’Oreal Lucent Magique Light Touch-Up Pen: Nothing special. — L’Oreal Shine Caresse & YSL Glossy Stain (comparative review): Generally a so-so formula. I don’t get the fuss. — YSL Rouge Volupté Shine (review): Was originally a fan of the formula, but when I forgot to bring a tube for reapplication and my lips dried up like a shriveled prune. It’s not bad, but it’s not all that. — Sara Happ The Lip Slip & The Lip Scrub: Great products, but too expensive. — NARS Blush in Orgasm: I don’t think it’s flattering for all …

Quickie: Illamasqua Blush-Up Brush

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Here’s a super quick post on one of my favorite tools as of late: my recently-acquired Blush-Up Brush from Illamasqua! It’s a very tightly-packed, narrow brush with short, soft bristles and a long handle. It’s supposed to apply blush in a revolutionary~ way, eliminating the need for a contour. Here is a tutorial from the Illamasqua team, explaining how. As you can see, it deposits pigment in a different way than brushes usually do. Going by the shape of the Blush-Up Brush, it’s supposed to apply blush in an angular way. When placed right under the cheekbone, it creates a stark line that highlights the hollows of the cheeks, which I suppose is what they meant by it “eliminat[ing] the need for contour.” I don’t know if it works all that well for me if I use it like that, but it does really well for normal blush and contour application, which I think it should be recognized for. Tarte’s Exposed used to be my “standard” for a good blush brush. If the brush can …