Ever Bilena
2015/02/25
My Favorite Local Beauty Products + A Giveaway!
2012/09/05
Review : Ever Bilena Matte Lipstick in Pink Flame
Take one look at my lipstick collection and you'll see mostly PINKS! Time and again I've admitted that I'm a pink lipstick kind of girl though I do have a few reds and corals and tangerines thrown in the mix. Anyway, one of my favorite kinds of finish for lipsticks is the matte finish. I know that it isn't the most forgiving for chapped lips but still I just can't resist a good matte lipstick, especially a PINK one!
So today I'm going to share to you one of the more affordable matte pink lipsticks I have in my collection and it just happen to be from a local brand.
Presenting to you, Ever Bilena's Matte Lipstick in Pink Flame!
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| Sleek packaging BUT poor printing quality. The EVER BILENA logo and printing have faded over time. It used to be in silver printing... |
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| Pink Flame! |
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| Clear portion at the top of the tube for easily distinguishability of the lipstick's color. |
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| SA told me that this removable part is supposed to be a lil "tester" but I don't really agree tho. LOL |
Product Packaging : ★★★☆☆
The Ever Bilena Matte Lipsticks are housed in black tubes with a clear colored "cap" at one end and has silver printing and accents. When I initially got my tube of Pink Flame it came all sexy looking in the sleek black tube. I was in love with it! Well, at least I was for the first two weeks then the packaging started looking... Old. The silver printing (brand name & logo) started rubbing off and worst of all the clear cap at the end started popping off! So I guess I got what I paid for. *LOL*
Pricing : ★★★★★
At P155 a tube, this is definitely one of my more affordable lipsticks... Sometimes, if you're lucky, you can score these babies at P99-P100 only! That's why they are so addicting and great for girls (and guys) on a budget!
Scent / Color Payoff / Longevity : ★★★☆☆
In the tube this lipstick gives off a sweet-plastic like smell that quickly disappears once applied. I don't find it bothersome at all. Color payoff for this product is great. I'm thinking that's because it has a matte formulation to it. I find matte finishes give a bolder color payoff and Pink Flame doesn't fail to deliver. It is a bright enough girly pink that's great for everyday. It definitely adds a great color to my lips and is one of those shades that fall under the "no-brainer" category. I fall under the medium skin tone range but I'm sure fairer & tanner girls can pull this medium toned pink lipstick off. It's also quite opaque and very buildable. I apply 2-3 "coats" for maximum color. It lasts a pretty long time, like most matte lipsticks do. I can pull a 3-4 hour wear with this lipstick but I do notice a little drying by the third hour. To be honest the formula of this can be very drying for some. Nothing a little lip balm can't fix. If you aren't careful this can set into the cracks or line in your lips. I'm relatively lucky that I don't usually have horribly chapped lips... But I'm still taking points off for that.
*Tip : Exfoliate and moisturize your lips around 30 minutes before using this lipstick for a smoother application.
Overall : ★★★☆☆
Overall I'd give this 3/5 stars. It's a decent matte lipstick for when you're on a budget pinch and it does what a matte lipstick is supposed to do but I would have preferred better packaging and a slightly more forgiving formula. Would I repurchase this? Yes, in the same shade and in other shades just because I'm a sucker for affordable matte lippies. I'll just have to make sure my pout's well exfoliated and moisturized prior to applying the lipstick.
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| Scuffed up silver barrel. This happens over time. Like I said, cheap packaging. |
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| L-R : 1 swipe, 2 swipes, 3 swipes, blended out... Taken under white artificial light with no flash. Medium skin tone with warm undertones. |
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| A closer look.. |
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| Photo taken under white artificial light with my iPhone4. Sorry for the crappy photo. |
Questions for my readers:
1. Do you own any Ever Bilena Matte Lipsticks?
2. Would you purchase this lipstick for yourself?
3. Recommend a local brand lipstick for me! :)
Oh & don't forget to join my open giveaway here:
Oh & don't forget to join my open giveaway here:
2012/09/03
Haulage ~ First For September!
First haul for the month! *yey*
Some of the items arrived towards the end of August but I decided to include them in this haul post because I haven't really gotten down to using them much. *winks*
Let's start with that hot pink organizer in the photo above. It was really affordable. Only P20! I bought a lot of them and I'm planning to give some away too. This was locally available at a very small "boutique" type store in our city.
These two products are from locally available brands. I've been on the lookout for different foundations that are from local brands since most of my readers have been encouraging me to come up with a "makeup kit" with only local brands that are effective, safe and affordable.
Careline Oil Control Liquid Makeup in Oriental cost only P80 & the Ever Bilena Studio Finish Stick Foundation in Beige cost only P180.
I got these NYX Slim Eye Pencils in Gold & Teal for only P80 each since these were on sale. The Makeup Haul (Facebook), yessiree, go check the page out... I've always been impressed with NYX eye liners so I decided to get these two color since I don't have anything like them in my collection. Excited to use the teal one to add a pop of color on my waterline when I do neutral looks.
Careline Lipstick in Butter Scotch for only P100 was definitely a steal. I like this "my lips but better" shade. Been using this a couple of times and so far my only complaint is its "too sweet" smell. The BeautyUk Lipstick in Darkness cost my a little over P150 but it was still relatively cheap because of The Makeup Haul's sale which was ongoing when I got this. It's my first black lipstick and I'm excited to put it to good use!
Another BeautyUk product. Got it from The Makeup Haul as well but I can't remember how much. I think it was around P200 only and is in the shade Rose Pink. The Ever Bilena Powder Blush in Raisin cost me only P155 and it's a very lovely "everyday" shade that compliments a lot of skin tones.
Last two items for this haul are these "essentials". I decided to try out a new Dove shampoo variant and this one is for intense repair. I've been subjecting my hair to bad elements the past week and it really does need intense repair. This cost me a little over P150. The Celeteque moisturizer is actually my attempt to save up my Kiehl's moisturizer for only night time use. Hope this works for me. It's an aquagel formulation which I prefer over heavy creams.
So that's it for my first September haul.
What have you guys been hauling lately?
2012/09/02
August 2012 ~ My Favorites!
A few months ago, I did a "monthly favorites" post. Needless to say, I failed horribly at keeping that up but I've decided to change that. So for today's blog post, I've decided to restart my monthly favorites posts with my top 10 favorite products and/or items for the month of August.
I'm sure there will be months where I'll have more or less than 10 but for August, I'll stick to 10 products.
So, shall we get started?
In no particular order...
1. St. Ives Exfoliating Apricot Body Scrub - As you can see in the photo, I'm more than half way down the bottle. What I like most about this exfoliating product is that it's gentle enough to be used everyday and it smells really fresh. At P350 for only 400ml, I feel that this is quite pricy but still I'd repurchase it if I don't find something better and more affordable.
2. Lorys Hair Cream in Fruit Cocktail - This is a hair cream-mask that's supposed to be used after shampooing. Leave it for at least 2 minutes. For a deeper penetration of the product, leave it on for 15 minutes. I like to use this 2-3 times a week or even every day when I have really dry hair. This was priced at P225-P250 for 450g which actually goes a really long way. I've had my tub for about 2 months already and I have "below-bra-line" length hair. This really does its job of keeping my hair moisturized without making it look or feel oily/greasy.
3. St. Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub Blemish & Blackhead Control Facial Scrub - My "all time" favorite exfoliant. I've been using this for years already. Of course every now and then I venture out of my comfort zone and try other facial scrubs but I always seem to go back to my "first love". This lasts a long time, for me at least. I exfoliate 2-3x a week, depends on how much my face needs a good scrubbing. Haha.
4. NYX Eye & Lip Makeup Remover - New found love. I purchased my bottle from Beauty's Treasure online for about P450 only. It is quite pricey compared to other drug store brands but it's effective and doesn't irritate my skin. 80ml may not seem like much, but I've had this bottle for two months already. A little definitely goes a long way. I shall be doing a more in depth review on this product soon.
5. Ever Bilena Matte Lipstick in Pink Flame - Priced at P155, this gorgeous matte old rose-pink opaque lipstick that immediately caught my eye. I've read so many reviews about this product so a few months ago, I decided to get myself a tube. This tube is my second one already! I do have some quirks with its formulation but matte lipsticks can be very drying to begin with... I smell a review coming up!
6. ELF Studio Line Blush in Peach Keen - I got this blush from an online shop last year and after a few swatches I chucked it into my pile of blushes. Last month I started using it more often and fell in love with its pretty peachy pink flush that looks really pretty on my medium skin tone. Definitely a keeper!
7. Kleenex Botting Sheets - 50 sheets for P95. I have combination skin and I really do need blotting sheets on hand at all times so to keep the oilies at bay. This is getting difficult on the pocket but I still haven't found something as effective that's more affordable. I've been really reaching for this last month, hence it's on my favorites list.
8. Ever Bilena Powder Foundation Refill in Oriental - I've gone through 2 refills last month alone. The one in my photo is my second for the month of August and as you can see there is barely any left. I like using this powder foundation on most days rather than slathering on some liquid or cream foundations. I like that this product gives decent coverage (especially when used wet) and still feels very lightweight. I get the refills instead of the actual compacts because they are easier to carry around. This comes with a free sponge too! The only downside is the fact it doesn't have a mirror.
9. Kleancolor Nail Lacquer in Chocolate Brown - I got this from The Makeup Haul when it went on sale and snagged it for only P80-ish pesos. I sported this color on my toes and fingernails for about two weeks straight. I love this pinky-brown shade so much that I'll probably be sporting it again very soon.
10. Nursy Baby Wipes - Last but not the least, this particular brand of baby wipes caught my eye in the grocery store last month because it was on sale. They do the job well and I like that its scent isn't overpowering. I use this to clean up surfaces, my hand, to take my makeup off and a whole lot of other things.
So there's my list of August favorites.
Care to share some of yours?
2012/09/01
Review : Ever Bilena Advance 3D Compact
It's the first of September! Personally excited since Christmas is just around the corner.
Anyway....
Today I shall be introducing to you Ever Bilena's Advacne 3D Compact!
I first chanced upon this product way back June 2012 but being skeptical about purchasing product without doing research about them made me stay away till I saw a review (reviews actually) on it. Feel free to read review1, review2 & review3 here. Honestly it was Celline's review that made me really go out and buy the product because I just needed to try it out for myself. *lol*
So anyway, last month I finally decided to get myself my own 3D compact from one of the Ever Bilena counters at a small local mall. There were three different shades and I got the darkest one is Dark Baked Fusion because I think it would be the one that would show up on my NC30-35 skin more.
Read on for a more in depth review of the product.
Product Packaging : ★★★☆☆
The 11g product comes in a pressed powder form and in enclosed in a white + silvery mirror-like packaging. The top cover is slightly domed which makes the compact easy to grab. The compact is made out of a hard plastic-like material which honestly comes off a bit cheap looking. I would have preferred this to be in a sleeker black packaging like their powder foundation compacts. I also had a problem with how bulky this compact is. It definitely makes my makeup traincase sad because its chunky and takes up space! *lol* What I did like about the compact is that it comes with a decent sized mirror, and it has a hard plastic "barrier" that holds the free sponge and separates it from the actual pressed powder. That means lesser chances of bacteria transferring too much from the sponge to the product. Mind you, I would have preferred a free brush to apply the product because I have never tried contouring with a sponge! But the sale representative explained that the powder can also be used for setting your liquid/cream products hence the free sponge was included. *hmmm*
Pricing : ★★★★☆
I was pretty pissed at the fact that our local Ever Bilena counters sell these at a whopping P180-P230 while other beauty bloggers have snagged this product at P150 only! Still, at P180 it beats the prices of other contour powders/products out there.
Three contour powders for the price of P180 was definitely a steal!
Scent / Effectiveness / Color Payoff / Longevity : ★★★☆☆
First off, the scent can be mildly annoying at first. It gives off this baby powder like smell that fades over time. At the moment, my compact powder actually smells slightly like the disinfecting alcohol that I spray over it. *lol*
Moving on, one should ask, is it effective as a contour powder? Now with the three shades in one compact you have a choice of which powder colors to use. I also have a separate compact for clients and for fair skinned girls I usually use the lightest & the middle powders for contour, while for more tanned clients I use the middle & the darkest powders for contour. On my myself, I give my contour brush a swirl all over the three powders to get a nice contour powder shade. It gives off a nice subtle contour that you can build up BUT don't go overboard because it can (and will) look a bit too orange sometimes and we don't want to end up looking like the Lorax!
Color payoff was good. It wasn't chalky or too powdery and was easy to blend out. As you can see on the swatches below, the lightest shade did blend into my skin almost seamlessly.
Almost perfect product right? But the lasting power of this powder was horrible on me. I have combination-oily skin and this lasted only a maximum of 3 hours on me. That was with a setting spritz! I can't imagine it lasting that long without any setting product. On my clients with normal to dry skin though this lasted up to 4 hours without setting sprays to help, which I think is pretty decent.
I also tested this out as a setting powder and I found that mixing the lightest & middle powders gave a sheer coverage on me and balanced out my "a little too light" NYX liquid foundation in #2. *yey!*
Overall : ★★★☆☆
Overall I'd give this a 3/5 stars. Minus points on its lasting power, smell & chunky-cheap packaging but not paying much attention to those little "kinks" definitely makes me love this product a lot. It's affordable and a multi-use product which I think would be a great addition to one's personal collection and also a newbie's (like me) makeup artist's traincase. Go check it out at your nearest Ever Bilena counter!
Questions for my lovely readers...
1. Did you find this review helpful?
2. Would you go and purchase this product to try it out?
3. What's your favorite contour powder that you would recommend me to check out?
Watch out for my next post! It's a giveaway! <3
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