Month: June 2014

Hitting Pan

Published by

I finally did it. I finally hit pan! Granted, it’s not for a color cosmetic like an eyeshadow or a lipstick, but for a product that I’ve been using pretty much everyday, on and off for two years. Behold: the dark shade of my The Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit in 02 is showing some silver. YAAAAAS! I’ve attempted a lot of Project 10 Pan batches, but I’m really more of a rotater than a MUST-FINISH-THIS-THING so it didn’t work out so well. A lot of the stuff, I ended up giving away, and some I threw out. I suppose this puts my makeup buying into perspective. I don’t feel ashamed or guilty that I’ve amassed a sizable collection, but I just realized just how much I would have to keep using something to finish it up. I’m not too iffy with expiration dates, except for mascara and when something starts to smell funky, so I don’t really bother too much with monitoring which cosmetics might “go bad.” As Gandalf wisely said, “If in …

Quick Summer Skin Care Routine

Published by

Here’s my super stripped-down Summer Skin Care Routine, when I’m feeling lazy. Which is to say these are non-negotiables following the mantra of the skin-care conscious: cleanse, tone, moisturize. The skin care “essentials” have evolved since then, involving eye creams, essences, serums, and whatever else people cook up, but this is what I’m going with. CLEANSE My facial wash of choice is the Human Nature Nourishing Facial Wash, which is for normal or sensitive skin. I’m on my second bottle. I used to use the Moisturizing one (with moringa extract, I think) for dry skin, and that worked better for me, but it smelled like crap, so I’m on this one. And it works well enough! TONE My toner du jour! Or of the past few weeks. I love this stuff. It’s magical. Ahem. The LUSH Tea Tree Water is something I’ve been going back and forth on purchasing until I finally gave in and got it. I had a breakdown in LUSH because I didn’t want to buy anymore makeup. LOL, my logic. It …

Made-Up History: Gerhard Richter’s “Détail (rouge-bleu),” 1970.

Published by

Yay a new Made-Up History! When I made this series, I set out to do it once a week. Kinda funny (not really) how it all played out, but I am going to try to play a little bit more with this series since I’ve been kind of meh about makeup combinations lately. One of the reasons why I haven’t been doing this is because I haven’t found a really nice work that I felt compelled to use for Made-Up History. If you’re new, MUH is a series in which I kind of re-create an artist’s piece as a makeup look by distilling the elements. It’s not really cosmetic art (like how some people re-do Van Gogh’s work on their face), but just translating a work into a look that I may or may not wear everyday. I have done a few of those, which you can see here. Today, we’ll take on a work by Gerhard Richter, who is one of the most famous living artists (82 years old!) today. Richter, who hails from …

Take Two: Sorabee Balancing Aqua Cream*

Published by

I’ve been using the Sorabee Balancing Aqua Cream* on and off since first getting it in March. Like I said in my original review, this cream is a bit too light for me for nighttime use. Nothing much has changed since my last review, but I don’t find it to be particularly beneficial for long-term use either. To recap, here are the claims of the Balancing Aqua Cream: A luxurious restorative beauty treatment cream formulated with a complex of vitamins to intensively nourish energize and fortify skin in its fight against environmental stress and the visible signs of aging Excellent for all skin types, especially skin suffering from dehydration, dullness or fatigue. Provides intensive nutrients and protects delicate skin area from wrinkles Main Treatment Ingredients of SF Collagen Sea Water and Ocean Spa Plankton Extract helps to keep eyes looking bright and clear whilst ensuring eye contours are free from aging and fine lines How To Use: After using Balancing Lotion and Eye Cream apply sufficient amount of Balancing Aqua Cream onto your palm. Massage …

20 Days of Lipstick: Week 3 Recap Delay

Published by

Hello! This post is to informally inform you that week 3 of my beauty dare (to wear 20 different lipsticks for 20 days in June) is delayed. The reason being… I didn’t really wear a lot of lipsticks the last week. The reason being… I was up in the mountains! And was pretty stinking sick for a good part of it. But I was up in the mountains nonetheless. I tried to wear makeup but I just didn’t have the energy to take it off at the end of the day, so I did without it altogether. I even did away with SPF, which is truly lazy and irresponsible, but I just couldn’t bring myself to put any on. I know, bad bad bad! Ahem. Here’s what I wore on Monday, though, when I was still in Manila: DAY ELEVEN feat. Chifure Lipstick in 240 This is a rando Japanese drugstore purchase; I hadn’t even heard of Chifure prior to curiously swatching away. I really like this lip, it’s a demi-matte deep mauve that I’d …

DAYCELL Dr. VITA Vitamin C Cream*

Published by

The DAYCELL Dr. VITA Vitamin C Cream* is a “Vitamin Brightening Gel.” It’s part of a range of Vitamin gels by Dr. Vita that target a specific problem. The Vitamin C Cream is a Whitening Cream made to target “dark & cheerless skin,” an abundance of freckles and blemishes, and rough and inelastic skin texture. It has Pure Vitamin C 10%, no parabens or pigments, and provides melanin control, skin whitening and anti-aging. You all know how I feel about whitening products in general—I don’t like them—but if something promises to make my “cheerless” skin (read: dull) better, then I’m going to try it. The Vitamin C Cream also has Kiwi Cell Extract, which apparently contains more vitamin C than apples or oranges, and Aloe Vera Leaf Juice to soothe irritated skin and neutralize dry skin. DAYCELL claims that their product has high concentration vitamin and a patented “nano-coating capsule containing vitamin core ingredient.” OOOH, SCIENCE! Since this is a Korean product, I was surprised to see several eBay UK listings at the top of …

Thank you, some news + a quick review of 3 Concept Eyes x Pink I’m Good Mascara*

Published by

Hey everyone! First of all, I just wanted to thank all of you who read one of my latest posts, called All the Things: On Beauty, Buying & Blogging. The response and discussion have been amazing, and I just feel really good that the people who read this blog are super smart and wonderful. 🙂 I’m still a little confused and conflicted about this space, in that I’m not sure how to shape it, but I like that questions are being asked and points are being raised and so on. For the next bit of news… I’ve been holding off announcing this bit of news for a while, but I applied to be part of the next round of the BNT Girls Network and I got in! 🙂 I’m actually joined by two members of the previous batch of which I was also part, namely, Kine and Joanne, as well as two new girls, Doris and Bella. If you’re not familiar, BNT Girls is a Global Beauty Editors Group set up by BNT News, an …