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Unboxing: BDJ Box August 2014*

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BDJ Box - Aug 2014 - 2

Quick unboxing post of the BDJ Box for August 2014.* The theme for this month’s box is Luscious Locks, with 4 of the 7 items geared towards hair care.

Spoiler Alert: I’m not too excited about this box, but that’s probably because I’m not very into hair products and also I just kinda cut my hair short so my hair care has been pretty low-key (lyesmith). I’ll let the contents speak for themselves!

Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate, 30ml (Php 3500)
My sample size is 5ml. This is an essence to be applied after cleansing and toning in the morning and at night. It promises to make the skin supple and glow with health with just 1 week of daily use.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick Shine in Foxy Lady, 4g (Php 350)
I’ve never tried this range before, even though it’s pretty popular. I got a pretty sheer brown shade that’s quite similar to one of my favorite shades, NARS’ Vendanges. I like the formula of this, but it does fade away with a slight lip line leftover.

Fan di Fendi Blossom, 30ml (Php 2850)
I got three sample sachets with 0.7ml each. I haven’t opened any of the sachets yet. Frankly because I don’t understand how to use them? It sounds like an interesting scent, though, based on the strongest notes mentioned: Nashi Raspberry Accord, Sakura Blossom Accord, White Musk.

L’Oreal Professionel Mythic Oil Nourishing Masque, 200 ml (Php 1,095)
My sample is 75ml. This hair masque (which, I should note, I’ve never tried a hair mask/masque~ before) contains Argan Oil and Cotton Seed Oil, aiming to balance the hair’s natural oil levels.

L’Oreal Professionel Mythic Oil, 125ml (Php 995)
My sample is 45ml. I think I heard about this from Fleur de Force at some point in the past and I had wanted to try it for a while, but I stopped buying L’Oreal when I went cruelty-free. I tried this already, though, and it does work to smooth out your hair without making it look greasy. This contains avocado oil and grape seed oil.

Garnier Color Naturals in 5 Light Brown, 100ml (Php 199)
I stopped dying my hair years ago, but this box dye is supposed to nourish your hair as it colors it, since it contains natural olive oil. It’s pretty low on the list of ingredients, so I don’t know how effective the nourishment would be. I would probably use the Mythic Oil in conjunction with this dye, if I were to dye my hair and care about its nourishment.

blo vouchers (Php 400)
I honestly never saw the point of blow-dry bars (you go there so people blow dry your hair/style it) but like I said, I’m pretty low maintenance (aka lazy) with my hair. Anyway, the vouchers are for a free deep conditioning treatment for every “blo out” and 20% off on any of their 7 signature styles. I will probably pass these on to someone who has more hair than me, though I think I’d have liked to try them if I had enough hair to make it actually worth a trip to a blow-dry bar.

And that’s it! Again, functional items. Nothing horrible, just some that aren’t personally useful to me. I think with the “boring” box last month, a lot of people were expecting this one to be really, really good… And, it’s not. I like some of the things, sure. Still, I think that the reason people are giving BDJ a hard time is because we’ve all kind of come to expect to be wowed by the boxes because they used to bring out more gems than duds.

* PR Sample

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A Case for Bases

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Bases 1

I may have a problem! Look at all this crap. (Just kidding, cuddles face bases.) See, I never thought I would be the kind of “makeup enthusiast” who had a thing for bases. I was always always distracted by color cosmetics, so this is kind of a weird personal revelation.

This is all a restrained effort at acquiring bases, mind you. I regularly clear out my stash, and I’ve also salivated over a number of other bases I’ve chosen to pretend to not exist. All to be mentioned at the end of this post. Ahem.

So what is the case for bases? There isn’t really any case for it, other than the fact that I am a fickle person and I like having options. For the record, I like having “natural looking” skin. By this, I mean, I don’t mind if a pimple peeks through or if my eye bags aren’t 100% erased by foundation and concealer (… that’s a whole other story), so most of my foundations are medium coverage, at most. I just personally don’t like the look of an overly matte, heavy face, and no, it’s not because I don’t like “tricking” people. P.S. If you’re mad at a person who wears full coverage foundations because you think they are somehow “tricking” people, maybe have your eyes (and attitude!) checked because if you’re “tricked” by thick makeup and you feel bad and cheated by it, then that’s not the other person’s fault. It’s yours.

Anyway, back to face makeup. I only have a few, so I’ll divide them into main categories and then talk about the when’s and the what’s. 🙂 Read More

5 Product Face No. 4

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MAC Paint Pot in Painterly // MAKE Colour Post-Impressionism Palette, used Storm and Scarlet Oak // K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Lasting 2 Way Eyebrow in 102* // Kjaer Weis Cream Blush in Abundance // bareMinerals Mineral Veil

Yay, another 5 Product Face. I really love making these things. I mean, if I didn’t already say… which I did. HEH. Anyway, this is a pretty simple look that relies on colors for the drama. 🙂

Make Look 2

I used Storm, which is a matte deep blue green, as a liner and I really exaggerated that wing. (As you can see.) For lips, I used Scarlet Oak, which is a warm red orange. These two came from the MAKE Colour Post-Impressionism Palette, so they’re technically from only one product. Do I count this palette as two products? I probably should—I wish I did without the paint pot (used just to neutralize the lids), if that’s the case. Let’s pretend I didn’t use it… please?

5PF - Products

5PF - 4 - Face 2

Brows are by the K-Palette marker/powder duo* in the medium, warmer brown, 102, and cheeks are from a beaaaauuuuutiful cream blush by Kjaer Weis called Abundance. This has been accused of being muddy, time and time again, but it is so rosy on me. My face base is just bareMinerals Mineral Veil, to take off the shine.

Hope you like this look! I’m really loving the versatility of this palette. It doesn’t look so useable, but I think it’s just a matter of knowing how to make it work. 🙂

* PR Sample

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Sample Stash Sunday: Ellana Minerals Free Sample Pack

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Foundation matching can be a pain in the butt. I know this because, despite my unwarranted love for face bases (and purchasing them), I’m still unsure of what shade I am. The unhelpful-helpful thing I’ve been really good at is determining whether or not a shade is a “match” for me. This happens, of course, after I’ve bought the full size.

What led me to this frustrating discovery is when I tried to layer on my Ellana Minerals Loose Powder Foundation in Caramel Latte* to act as a concealer and it ended up looking really wrong–too warm for me, really. I really, really like that product, so I wanted to see if there was a better shade match for me. It’s kind of hard to tell on their website… plus, how do you match your skin tone to a screen cap, right?

Ellana Minerals

Luckily, Ellana Minerals offers a free sample pack. I wanted to try their concealers (though, again, was crippled by the affliction of indecision) and the Sheer Velvet HD powder, but I didn’t want to commit to a full jar just yet. Anyway, the Sample Pack itself is free, but you have to pay for shipping if you don’t want to pick it up at their headquarters, all the way in Makati.

The sample pack has a whopping 22 sample baggies of several of their face/base products. It’s a great way to sample some of the shades before settling on one. I think this is a great option, though I wonder what I can do with the samples that I have no obvious use for.

As of now, I’m still not 100% sure what my shade is. I’ve tried Almond Latte, Toffee Mocha, Cinnamon Latte, Cafe Mocha, and Macchiato. The closest contenders are Cafe Mocha (leaning heavily towards this), Toffee Mocha, and… you guessed it: Caramel Latte. Still. I find it too warm, though, so I think it just might be Cafe Mocha for me.

Another face base, you ask? I want to bring a powder foundation with me for a six-week trip because I’m scared of both liquid and loose powder spillage, so I’m toying with the idea of buying a pressed version of my beloved Ellana Minerals formula.

MAKEUP IS HERD, U GUISE.

* PR Sample.

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Weekend Reading: No More Dirty Looks

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I don’t really pick up a lot of beauty books, but I was compelled to get No More Dirty Looks by Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt. Prior to being interested in beauty, I came across this duo through Quarterly, which is a really awesome subscription program. No More Dirty Looks was one of the “curators” in Quarterly. Fast forward to a few years later, and I meet them again, but in a different environment.

Some time in 2012, I became severely interested in makeup and cosmetics for reasons still unknown to me. It just became a fun thing, I think, to be a part of this new way to geek out. The thing is, I was so ignorant about and ambivalent towards the ingredients that make up all of these cosmetics. I began being more conscious of animal testing, opting to mainly support cruelty-free brands, but that eventually branched out into an interest in “cleaner” beauty.

Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt are both journalists who started on the greener path when matching Brazilian Keratin treatments left them a little worried. A Google search led them to find out troubling information about this treatment and what the culprit of their unrest was: formaldehyde.

Weekend Reading - NMDL

Since then, they’ve been swapping out the products they’ve sworn by and repurchased repeatedly, opting for more natural alternatives. I haven’t finished reading No More Dirty Looks, but the tone of it is great. Friendly and conversational, more of an “inform yourself” than a preaching Bible on the merits of natural ingredients. A lot of the dirty work has been done for you—one part of the book contains a list of common “unsafe” ingredients, the side-effects of these ingredients, and their “risk factor.”

The book also discusses many aspects of daily life in which we are in contact with potentially harmful ingredients like makeup, hair care, nails, and body, even lifestyle and diet. I haven’t reached some of these parts just yet, but getting a bigger picture of this monster was great. Like most things, “ethical” consumption is a grey area. These issues are complex, and I feel like there really is no solid, single answer that fits everybody’s life. However, I also feel like it’s important to educate yourself and be aware before making potentially dangerous decisions, and I feel like this place is a great place to start exploring your options.

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5 Things Friday: How to Do a Duo

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Eye shadow duos are sort of the “no brainer” option in Makeup Land. The colours are pre-picked for you, and if you’re like me, you would intuitively place the lighter shade of the duo on the lid and then add the darker shade on the outer “v” of your eye. Et voilà—depth and complexity!

Of course, not all duos are created equal. There are some that are not so easy to use and some combinations that look pretty together, but don’t make sense when used in the aforementioned way. Here are a few ways you can play around with a duo that has stumped you. Read More

Happy 30th, Burt’s Bees!

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BurtsBees30th-0

Some time last week, I was invited to Seda Hotel to celebrate Burt’s Bees 30th birthday! Burt’s Bees started from really humble beginnings, made by a man named Burt Shavitz—the actual person on the Burt’s Bees tin cans!—and a woman named Patricia Quimby. Burt was raising bees for honey, when he met Patricia, who found a way to use all the unused bee byproducts and crafted them into the products we now still see on shelves today.

BurtsBees30th-0a

BurtsBees30th-9
The ‘0’ is made of beeswax and the sign was spelled out with ingredients they use to make Burt’s Bees products.

As you might have noticed, if you’re an ol’ regular here, I’ve been steering my beauty interests into a more natural and green direction. Burt’s Bees is a very accessible brand if you’re looking to go for cleaner ingredients. They like saying that their products are made from “ingredients you can spell.” I know they’re known for their lip care items, but they actually have great body care and skin care ranges.

BurtsBees30th-6
Peach & Willow Mask Deep Pore Scrub

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Something I’ve been wanting to try: the Garden Tomato Toner!

BurtsBees30th-8

The place was decorated so lovely, filled with the ingredients that they make their products with. Read More