Year: 2014

Preview: new in the mail

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Occasionally, I’m lucky enough to receive some products from companies to try and test out for you guys. (And for me, too. Hehe.) This is a selection of the items I got in the mail since arriving back home, a.k.a. my backlog. I’ll be hopefully reviewing some of them in the days to come. 🙂 So, this is kind of a haul, but I hate it when people include gifts or PR samples in their “hauls,” so this isn’t technically a haul. You know what I mean. From the always-fun Korean brand, Too Cool for School, I received 3 of their new bestsellers: the Kiss Time Ice Beam (a moisturizing lip gloss with a “dual jelly system” that ensures vivid color expressions and gives the illusion of a lipstick, Php 435), the Max in Pocket (pocket-sized lip balm for always vital and moist lips, Php 605), and the Smoky Nude Lip (a soft nude lipstick to show off dark smoky makeup, Php 715). They have a new kiosk at SM Megamall Fashion Hall, so be …

bareminerals degrees of dazzling

One Week bareMinerals Degrees of Dazzling: 7 Looks

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I haven’t quite been able to keep up with my One Week series, mostly because I’ve been enjoying rotating my old and new products. I figured that I had to get around to using some of my sets and palettes that I haven’t been touching eventually. Here are a couple of looks that I came up with using my bareMinerals Degrees of Dazzling set (reviewed here). This came out last Christmas/holiday, so I don’t know if this is annoying that I’m posting about it. I don’t know, I pretty much believe that you can recreate most looks with whatever you have. (Which is probably a bit weird coming from a self-confessed hoarder, but you must admit that I do have a point.) Ahem. I picked this “palette” to work with because I wanted to explore and play a bit more with colors, and my goal is to use at least 3/4 or 15 of the 20 shades in this collection. Unlike my previous One Week series posts, I chose to go the full week and …

Sample Stash Sunday: Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick Set

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I was going to publish this post next Sunday, but I figured it might be useful for people who wanted to get this set during the Sephora VIB sale this week. OK, so I was eyeing Lovecraft from the new Kat Von D Studded Kiss range, but when I was about to buy it, I spotted a minis set with 9 shades that included Lovecraft, so I thought I’d give it a go. The Studded Kiss Lipstick range wasn’t really met with the best reviews—basically failing at their “an innovative lipstick that coats lips with bold color,10-hour wear, and luxe comfort” claims—so I’m not sure what possessed me to get this, but $39 for nine shades didn’t seem like a bad deal to me. Here’s how much product you get when you extend the bullet: The selection of shades is pretty decent, representing quite a good amount of shades of the range. From left to right: Countess (matte hot orange red), Agatha (matte pale peach nude), Adora (metallic golden red), Sexer (iridescent fluorescent pink), Wonderchilde …

Nailing it with Navy

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My relationship with nail polish oscillates so much between love and hate, we could probably star in a romcom. My small hands (short fingers!) with miniscule nails and nail polish are often a match made somewhere nasty. Call me babyfingers—ewwww. After much trial and error though, I figured out that a) I am not very adventurous when it comes to nail polish shades, b) but I won’t stand by a suckiness in formula, and c) the Seche Vite top coat is a godsend. It is the turning point in my love-hate tale that finally turns it into a romance.

Quickie: Sonia Kashuk Eye Palette in Precious Gems

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Sonia Kashuk was one of the drugstore brands I was most looking forward to trying when I went to the States. Unfortunately, none of the items I wanted to try out—except for the cream bronzer, which I decided I didn’t need more of—were in stock at the places I went to… so I picked this palette up instead, thinking it was a good move to stray away from my usual neutrals. Unfortunately (again), the Sonia Kashuk Precious Gems Eye Palette is not the best representation of the brand. The six-pan palette features jewel tones, of which the green was best performing, imparting color without much effort. I can’t say the same for the others. For the swatches below, I kind of mangled the palette and applied them on my arm really heavily. My palette now resembles an ice cube tray of colorful molten lava. Swatched, L-R: Green, Blue, Red, Gold, Purple, Brown — these aren’t the color names, FYI.

October Favorites

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I often add a space in my calendar to put in a “monthly favorites,” though I don’t always have “enough” products to show that would warrant an entire post. This is especially true for the month of October, most of which I spent in a different country. I do have a couple of skin favorites and mainstays that are similar to that of the last favorites post I did, but I hope you guys don’t mind if I also share some recent finds that I have been loving lately. One Love Organics Brand New Day Scrub & Masque This powder is to be mixed with water (to act as a scrub) or Greek yogurt/honey (to use as a mask). When I remember to use this—just about twice a week—my skin feels so refreshed and clean after. This will definitely be a mainstay in my routine. I just wish it were a bit easier for me to get. La Roche-Posay Redermic R and Redermic R Eyes This range is an anti-aging treatment that contains retinol, which …

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette

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After hastily swatching the palette—running on a 5-minute before meeting back up with everyone deadline!—I went directly to the counter, patiently waiting to pay for this beauty. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette features 3 Ambient Lighting Blushes, one of which is limited edition and only available in this palette. I have big love for the Ambient Lighting range by Hourglass, so picking this up was kind of a no-brainer. I resisted getting any of the blushes when they first came out, stubbornly insisting that they were nothing special and I could live without them. And then I caved and my best friend had to be my mule. I picked Diffused Heat and was blown away because it was just so stunning. The Ambient Lighting Blushes have pigment marbled into the famed Ambient Lighting Powders, aimed to create a “seamless, soft-focus, and multidimensional color.”