All posts filed under: Reviews

Drugstore Finds: Small Sunday Haul

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Sunday is my drugstore day because my family and I stop by a mall near our church after lunch. Here’s three items I picked up, from L-R: Flormar Supermatte Lipstick in 209, Etude House Apricot Stick in 3 (Apple), Wet ‘n Wild Color Icon Trio in Walking on Eggshells. Hand swatches from the two lip products. Left: Etude House Apricot Stick, Right: Flormar Supermatte Lipstick in 209. The two thin lines were leftover swatches from my drugstore trip. I wanted the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, but they are too expensive here (Php 575 or about $15). The Etude House Apricot Sticks are just Php 198 each and a good buy if you want to try out a similar higher end/more expensive product. It gives good moisture, but it’s not sustained. The shade I got, 3 or Apple, is a light coral pink. It smells and tastes like apple! I like it a lot and will probably get more shades. 🙂 The Flormar Supermatte lipstick (Php 399) “[has a] velvety structure that gives the …

Fall in Love with bareMinerals READY Luminizer in The Love Affair

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I’m going to be doing a bunch of quick reviews for recently-hauled items, just to get them “out of the way.” I love writing about products, obviously, and talking about what makes them great and whatnot but it’s hard to do consistently when I’m in the middle of Day Job things and when I only have one face to test the products on. So, there’s that. For today, I have a quick review on a pressed luminizer by bareMinerals. The READY Luminizer in The Love Affair is described as a “pink nectar glow.” It’s rose gold and cooler, when compared to its sister, the Luminizer in The Shining Moment, which is more yellow gold. I chose this because I wanted to be more ‘pink’ than ‘gold,’ though I don’t think I would be able to tell the difference, really. It’s not the product’s fault. I’m just not very discerning. The Luminizer comes in a bluish white plastic compact, with a full-size mirror and a beautiful stamped Art Deco inspired pattern. I don’t like the packaging …

Be the Life of the Party with bareMinerals Ready 8.0: The September Issue

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I just can’t get enough of bareMinerals’ READY eyeshadows. They’re truly top-notch quality with an extremely velvety texture and wide selection of shades. I first picked up a READY duo in France during a wait for a train (bored people go to Sephora), then a quad about a month or so after. When bareMinerals went on sale, I decided to pick up two eight-pan palettes since they were marked down, and also because I felt bad about missing out on The Playlist, which I had been eyeing. Hello, Retail Therapy. You rang? (Although, I think I just have unnaturally grabby hands.) Anyway, here’s the first—and more expensive—of the two, The September Issue. I picked this up partly because of the name. I have always dreamed of working in magazines, and also, I am a September baby! I think this palette gives me room to play around more, too. I gravitate towards more neutral anything, and I’m at a place where I’d like to be more adventurous. The September Issue seems to invite that quality. There’s …

Elevate Your Look with Benefit Creasless Cream Shadow/Liner in Stiletto

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To be honest, I don’t know what compelled me to pick this up, but while waiting for Sarie to meet up with me after she retrieved her gift wrapped Christmas gifts from the counter, my eyes wandered around the different makeup stations around me. I’d heard only good things about this ceaseless cream shadow by Benefit, but I never felt the need to try it, mainly because most trips to the beauty sections are based on a list and this was never on it. Ahem. So, why this color? Again, I couldn’t really tell you, because up until now I wonder if I should have gotten a more sensible color, like Skinny Jeans or Birthday Suit. But, I went with Stiletto. And I left it alone for a long time because I remember it being red and I thought, “What were you thinking, Carina? It’s red. Do you want to look like Voldemort’s bride?” Then I braved the possibility of disappointment and swatched it, and well, who’d have thought it would actually be more violet …

Quickie: Rouge G L’Extrait in Avarice and Gourmandise

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Last December, Guerlain had a(nother) 30% off sale, so I took it upon myself to pick up two other shades from their L’Extrait line. For a more detailed review, check my post on my first L’Extrait shade, Orgueil, in which I write about the formula, the heavy metal case, and other such things. There are only seven shades (after the seven sins) in the line and I currently have three. (!!!) Sorry these aren’t the best swatches, but hopefully, you get the idea. The first shade I wanted to try is Avarice, which is a beautiful light nude that looks brown, but has a bit of a rosy undertone, which I love. I wasn’t going to get this shade initially, because I didn’t think it was “wise” to spend so much on a neutral (LOL LOGIC~), but Gracie said that it was her favorite among all her L’Extraits, so I thought I ought to give it a shot. And I am so glad because it’s gorgeous. The staying power of Avarice, compared to Orgueil, is …

Lit Up: Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscope Eye Kit (Northern Lights)

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Photo by Rolf Hicker One of the things I would love to cross off of my bucket list is to see the Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. It’s a beautiful phenomenon that occurs naturally when charged particles collide in the atmosphere. I’m not so familiar or well-versed with the science behind it, but I think you can see how beautifully the Auroras light up the sky. In Norse mythology, it is believed that the lights are caused by the Valkyrior’s armor. These were also believed to be caused by glaciers storing so much energy, they turn fluorescent. Le Métier de Beauté has culled inspiration from this natural wonder and made it into an eye kit. If you’re not familiar with Kaleidoscope Eye Kits, they are 4-tiered shadows with colors that are meant to be layered one on top of the other, from the top shadow to the bottom. This method is called the couche de couleur and it is meant to bring about the ultimate contrast to the wearer’s eye. Northern Lights brings together …

Gloss up with Le Métier de Beauté’s Bondi Beach

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I found out about Le Métier de Beauté one fine day, perusing Temptalia, but it wasn’t until I encountered Xiao’s love for the brand that I even considered purchasing anything from them. As a “test,” I decided to pick up a kaleidoscope eye kit in Northern Lights, as I’m a big fan of eye palettes, and a pretty nudey gloss called Bondi Beach, as I was looking into gloss at the time of purchase. Today, I’ll be talking about the gloss. First off, the Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss has a good non-sticky formula and really, really fine glitters that cast a sheen instead of a shiny, chunky mess. In the bottle, Bondi Beach looks like it’s going to give me glitter trouble, but the effect on the lips, as you will see later, is quite nice. From the swatches, it doesn’t look too nude. It’s a beautiful rosy brown color, with a smattering of gold shimmers. Unblended, it registers quite opaquely and looks extremely pigmented. Bondi Beach comes with a pretty standard gloss applicator–a doe-foot–and …