Haulage ~ Wet n Wild & Maybelline from Sophie J Fashion House!

A few days ago I stumbled upon an online auction site that had really low starting bids.

I was really excited when I saw the Wet n Wild Color Icon palettes with ZERO (0) starting bids.

Needless to say, I stayed up till 12 midnight to make sure I got all four babies.

Unfortunately on my first attempt I was only able to snag three so I waited the next day in hopes for the appearance of the one I wasn't able to get. Luckily it appeared a day later and I was able to snag it as well! I was indeed a happy makeup junkie!

Anyway, these items were from the shop Sophie J Fashion House. She was the shop that got the auction slot at the above mentioned site. Sophie J has a very systematic way of sending online invoices and their customer service is amazing.

I'll stop blabbering now and will show you guys my loot.

I scored this for only P150! It was a slow night and only a few of us were bidding on this item. What a steal, right? Especially since I've seen this being sold for as high as P399-P499! This palette is called PRIDE and reminds me of another Wet n Wild palette called Blue Had Me. This palette has a mix of matte & shimmer eyeshadows in whites, sea greens and blues.

This one was for P175 and is called GREED. Greed also has a mix of matte & shimmer eyeshadows. It has a nice cream shadow, a salmon pink one and some blacks as well. This would be perfect for a spiced up version of the usual black smokey eye.

This palette was also for P175 and is called LUST. Different shades of purple make up this palette. Again, a mix of matte & shimmer eyeshadows. I'm really diggin' the shadow on the lower right. Looks really pretty in the pan. I hope it's as pretty when worn.

And this palette, the one that I wanted so badly, cost me P225. It's called VANITY. How appropriate because it certainly satisfied my "vanity". I've always been a sucker for neutral palettes and this one was love at first sight. I've been wanting to get this palette but it's usually sold out EVERYWHERE! So when I saw it on auction, I literally yelped with joy. So happy was able to get it at P225 only!

These Wet n Wild Mega Last Matte Lipsticks weren't part of the auction but I ordered them from the shop for P150/each. 915B is SPIKED WITH RUM while 907C is MAUVE OUTTA HERE. Been using these for the past few days. Will definitely review them soon.

This Maybelline Lip Polish in Disco Brown was a freebie from the shop.

So was this Maybelline Volume Seduction Lip Plumper.

I'm really happy that Sophie J Fashion House sent over freebies. Definitely put a smile on my face when I opened my packages! So that's it for my little haul.

How about you? What have you been buying lately?

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Haulage ~ Kering Keri Store Goodies!

It's only been about a week into September and I'm already back with my second haul for this month! *LOL* Anyway, this particular haul is from an online shop called KERING KERI STORE. She had a sale a couple of days ago and I grabbed the opportunity to get some stuff that were up to 70% off their actual retail price! What a steal, right?! So anyway, let's get started...

My items were wrapped up carefully in tons of bubble wrap to keep my fragile babies safe and sound. I like it when online shops invest on bubble wrap. I think it gives off a message that they care about how their items arrive at their buyer's doorstep.

Another thing I liked about the store is this little "receipt" they included in my package. It'll be of help to me when I start doing reviews about the items. I can at least inform my readers how much I paid for my stuff...

Moving on, here are the little goodies that I purchased...

The Tony Moly tint in trial size cost me P75. This wasn't the sale price and I was expecting it to be tiny but this really was quite a shocker! *lol* I'll be doing a review on it soon. The reason I got this instead of a full sized one is because I'm not a big fan of tints so I decided to give this a test drive before committing myself to the full sized product.

This is the  MeMeMe Beat The Blues in Sunbeam. This cost me only P340 instead of the usual P400-P450 at other shops. I'm really excited to try this out because this happens to be my first ever liquid highlighter/illuminator. I hope this works out for me. I know it looks "pinkish" in the photo but in real life this leans towards a golden shade. I'll make up for the bad photo in my review of this product.

POP Beauty Ribbon Gloss in Naked Ribbons. This is made up of 5 lovely strips of lip-shine/lip gloss like product. I've never seen this before and was intrigued by it. So this is sort of a hit-or-miss product. I paid P130 for it.

Oh my gosh. I can't even begin to tell you guys how long I've been lemming for this product. It's the Miners Tin o Tint in Watermelon. This usually retails for P250-P280 but I snagged this at only P 150! Definitely a steal in my opinion.

This L.A. Colors 6 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Dreamy cost me only P85! I was blown away. Now I must admit that I've never used L.A. Colors products before so I'm really hoping this palette works for me since I am so in love with the colors! I'm planning to make use of this palette in my P500 makeup challenge so watch out for that.

Another L.A. Colors item is this Eyeshadow Trio & Eyeliner Pencil in Rose. I've really been into browns, plums and nudes for the longest time. This beauty cost me P99 only.

The last product I got from Kering Keri Store is this Maybelline Colorsensational Lipstick in 535 Park Ave. Peach which cost me P230. This is a very lovely everyday color that may just be my next "my lips but better" shade! *winks*

So there you guys have it. My second haul for this month!

Catch you guys on my next post and don't forget to join my ongoing giveaway.

SEPTEMBER THANKSGIVING GIVEAWAY

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5 Summer Makeup Must Haves

Long time no post, right? I've been stuck in a rut on what to write. I've been experiencing a load of sh*tty stuff the past few days and really wanted to rant about it but in the end decided to hold back. I'd hate to bring negativity into my blog so I put off writing anything till I felt a little better. Now I'm coming back with a list of my 5 summer makeup must haves. Bear in mind that I didn't include skin care products in this list but it doesn't mean you don't need 'em. Since it's summer, remember to load up on products with loads of SPF to give your skin some SAFE sun lovin'!

Now going onto my list...

1. Face Powder

Maybelline New York Clear Smooth All in One Shine Free Cake Powder - 02 Nude Beige

What more can I ask for? It has decent coverage and is very buildable. It applies smoothly and has no nasty smell. It's non comedogenic and it has UV protection. Plus it's pocket friendly at only P240-P250 depending where you get it. It has an even more pocket friendly "refill" version that still comes in a cute baby pink packaging!

2. Waterproof Mascara

Maybelline New York Volum' Express Hyper Curl Mascara Waterproof - Black

This is my current waterproof mascara and I totally love it. Since I don't use a lot of eyeshadows during the summer, I want to have full and curled lashes to help my peepers stand out so I had to keep these in mind when I was scouting around for a new mascara. Luckily I stumbled upon the hyper curl one that does the job perfectly plus it's waterproof!

3. Lip Balm

EOS Summer Fruit & Lemon Drop (with SPF)

I'm currently loving the EOS lip balms. Mainly because of their uber cute packaging! *LOL* I have the Summer Fruit and Lemon Drop variants. I prefer the Lemon Drop one because it has SPF and because of its cute size, I take it everywhere with me and it doesn't even take up space in my bag/kit.

4. Cream Blush

NYX Cream Blush in Glow

I find that cream blushes last way longer than powder blushes and since it's very humid in the Philippines and I tend to sweat a lot, investing on a nice cream blush is the way to go. I'm currently loving Nyx's cream blush in the shade GLOW which leaves a beautiful "glowing" pink-red flush on your cheeks that stays put on my skin for up to 6 hours. Take note I now have oily type skin.

5. Matte Lip Creams

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Addis Ababa

Bright and bold lip colors are definitely "IN" this summer and I'm joining the bandwagon of bright lipped girls with my ultimate fave, the Nyx soft matte lip cream in the shade Addis Ababa. I find that it's a bright hot pink with a slightly bluish undertone that compliments my skin tone a lot. It instantly brightens up my face with an explosion of color but what I love the most about this matte lip cream is that it isn't drying and the staying power is great! Taking into consideration that I eat, drink and talk a lot these days, the Nyx soft matte lip cream lasts up to 4 hours on my lips!

So there you have it guys. My 5 summer makeup must haves.

How about you? What are your summer makeup must haves?

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Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner "Black" : Review & Swatches

One of my makeup staples happens to be eyeliner. I initially started using pencil liners way back in high school. In college I "upgraded" to liquid eyeliners and favored those with felt tip ends. When I started getting more into makeup I decided to try out gel liners and see how I feel about it. I'm in love with gel type liners the most because for me, they happen to be the easiest to use.

At the moment, I've been using my Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Black. I've used it on simple days out and more often when I film my makeup tutorials. It's gotten quite a few comments and since I've been using this product since January, I think it's high time to do a quick review on this baby.

What Maybelline says about the product :

"Smudge-proof and long lasting, water-proof type"

"Creamy gel type allows to draw a smooth clean line without crease. Customized eye line brush allows lines to be drawn as desired from fine to thick. The creamy gel texture dries quickly after application. Long lasting water-proof and smudge-proof formula that resists sweat, tears and water."

I (and by this I really mean my lola) purchased this at Watsons, SM Bacolod last January for P449.00.

Packaging / Design : ★★★☆☆

The product comes in a glass-like pot container with a cover that seems to be made of an aluminum-like material. The pot has a matte finish to it and looks post but I somehow find the cover very out of place in the whole product packaging because it sometimes comes off cheap looking. What I do like about the packaging is that it has a very solid feel to it. It has weight, not so heavy, in my hand and I like my products to have a sturdy feel to them.

Another plus is the fact that this product comes with its own eyeliner brush. Now as for the brush, I really don't get why they didn't include an ANGLED one instead. The brush works fine but it does make creating thin crisp "winged" liner a tad bit more difficult than usual no thanks to its more rounded edge.

Quantity / Quality : ★★★★☆

The little pot contains 2.8g or 0.10oz of product. It may not seem like much to some but for me that's quite a lot of product for me to use. I love the formulation of this particular gel liner, it's creamy and applies smoothly and it actually stays put. I've tried using this for 8 hours straight and went home with zero fading. It still looked fresh. I still can't vouch that it'll last up to 24 hours though. Pigmentation of the product is great too. It really comes off black on the first swipe that I don't even have to really go back over it to achieve a solid color.

Now a lot of reviews I've read say that this product has a tendency to dry up if you don't use it often. In my three months of usage this still hasn't happened to me so I'll have to get back to you guys on that claim. I guess best thing to do is to use it as often as you can to get the most of it.

Overall : ★★★★★

Ever since I got this liner I've been slightly neglecting my other eyeliners (pencils, liquid liners and other gel liners) since I'm really diggin' how this product works so well on me. I'm happy that the formula works well on my oily lids. Even without applying primer on my lids, the liner does not fade or smudge so I'm one happy panda minus the "black eye" look. I've even used this on my waterline with no problems at all! 

This black eyeliner happens to one of the blackest gel liners I own so far and I love it! I'm happy that I don't have to apply several layers just to get a great solid black color. It dries pretty quickly and I've yet to have any "transfer to lids" issue with this product. 

I'd definitely repurchase this in black again as well as in other available colors.

Swatch time!

Fresh swatches. No primer underneath. 

Water test!

After being subjected to the "water test".

This is what the swatches look like after trying to rub them off with a baby wipe. Notice the reddish areas around the swatches from my somewhat aggressive rubbing? *lol*

That's it for now my lovely readers. Hope you enjoyed!

DISCLAIMER:

Product was bought with my own money. I was not paid in any way to do this review. Everything said is 100% my own honest opinion.

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January 2012 Favorites!

January 2012 was a great month for me. I have a few favorites to share with you guys. I know it's a lil late to be posting a January Faves thing but better late than never, right? So, let's get started on some of my favorite products last month...

1. St. Ives Timeless Skin Daily Microdermabrasion

I know it's not healthy to use exfoliating facial wash often but I can't help but use this product every other day. I feel that my skin can absorb my other skin care products better after I exfoliate thoroughly with this product from St. Ives. It's micro beads really do work well with my skin! 

2. Asian Secrets Lulur Indonesian Whitening Body Scrub

I started using this last year but have only truly fallen in love with the product last month. It really helped out with my dry skin. I guess January weather didn't bode well with me and left me with dry patchy skin. I also noticed that I did lighten up a bit too!

3. Cream Silk Vitamin Treatment Weekly Damage Repair

I have really damaged hair and this particular product has always done wonders to it. Enough said.

4. NYX Cosmetics Soft Matte Lip Cream in San Paulo

My go-to lip color for the month of January. I just love this particular shade of pink. Not too light, not too dark. Sexy lips in an instant! Plus the fact that it's a matte lip cream, the longevity of the color on my lips just blows me away!

5. IQQU Acne Serum

I've never had good skin so I need to take extra care of it. This acne serum is one of the few things that actually work for me. It hasn't totally gotten rid of my acne but it has lessened the acne and lightened most of the scarring. I love this product plus it smells so fresh! I'd definitely invest in another tube after I finish the current one. :D

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Wish List : FOUNDATIONS

I never really used liquid foundation back in the day. I only fell in love with liquid foundation when I turned eighteen. I know it really isn't healthy to use liquid foundation on a daily basis especially when you don't really need it that's why I reserve liquid foundation for really special days.

I've tried several brands already but this particular wish list contains foundations I've been dying to try out soon. I'm on a No-Makeup-Shopping thing so I can't invest on these at the moment. Feel free to send me these as gifts! *haha*

1. Maybelline FIT ME line - This particular foundie comes in a glass container which I think will make it pretty heavy, plus it has no pump so I really don't know how I'll feel about that. Yet I've heard that the foundie's lightweight and you can barely feel it at all.

Photo Credit : MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG

2. L.A. COLORS Liquid Makeup - I want to try this out because I see a lot of FILIPINA Makeup Gurus use this particular product. A big plus is the pump that comes with the packaging! 

Photo Credit : CHERRYCULTURE.COM

3. Revlon PhotoReady Foundation - Since I've tried the ColorStay foundie by Revlon I've been wondering if this particular foundie is as good. I've read so many great reviews about this product plus it has a pump! I super love foundies with pumps. 

Photo Credit : MAKEUPGEEK.COM

So there you go my dear readers. So far these three foundies are on the top of my list. I want to try out a lot of other foundies till I find my "holy grail" one but for now I'll just look forward to these three.

Questions for my readers:

1. Do you wear liquid/powder/cream foundation?

2. Is it on a daily basis? Why?

3. What's your "holy grail" foundation and why?

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Look : Valentine's Day Purple Haze

Valentine's Day is nearing and I'm sure all you girlies have something special planned out with your loved ones. Doesn't have to be a boyf, it may be a night out with your best girl buds or dinner with your family, whatever the plan is, I'm sure you want to look your best.

I was on YouTube again the other day and went straight to MakeupByJennifer's channel. She's this really pretty makeup guru who has some pretty awesome looks. Since purple's one of my favorite colors, I decided to recreate one of her makeup looks.

Jennifer of : http://makeupbyjeniffer.blogspot.com

Doesn't she look gorgeous? Plus she works with a lot of drugstore stuff so they're quite affordable. Beauty for less indeed!

This is my version of her eye makeup. Read on to learn what products I used for this particular tutorial.

Product List!

Face:

Kiehl's skin care products

Revlon colorstay foundation - medium beige

Nyx concealer in a jar - CJ04 medium

Ever Bilena powder foundation - oriental

Brows:

Ever Bilena eyebrow pencil - brown

Eyes:

Nyx eyeshadow base - ESB03

Dollface 88 earth palette - all eyeshadows

Nichido kohl eye pencil - onyx

Maybelline line stiletto - black

Lashes:

Estee Lauder Sumptous - black

Unbranded pair of false lashes

DUO eyelash glue

Lips:

Nichido lipliner pecil - rosette

Ever Bilena matte lipstick - mauvey

Full face photos of how I look with this particular eye makeup. I think it really complimented my circle lenses and skin tone. Maybe I should use purple more often, eh?

If you want to learn how I did this look, please check out this short video where I do it step by step. I hope it was helpful and if you have any questions or comments, don't be scared to say so below on the comments box! Thank you and have a lovely day!

Questions for my readers:1. Did you like this look?2. What kind of look would you like me to create for this coming Valentine's Day?3. What are you excited for on Valentine's Day?

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January 2012 Haul

WARNING : Heavy Image Post!

Hello my lovely readers! As promised, here's a haul post on the stuff I recently purchased and received. Mostly makeup products with a few makeup tools. Two of the items were purchased by me with my own money and the rest were generously sponsored by my grandmother! Luckily I'm her favorite! *haha*

Now, let's get started on the actual haul post. First off I got a few brushes. Actually, I got five brushes. Two of these were purchased by me. Three brushes are from ELF, and the two are from Marionnaud. I now have three new face brushes, one eye brush and one eyebrow brush.

ELF powder brush, ELF angled foundation brush, ELF eye blending brush, Marionnaud foundation brush, Marionnaud 2-in-1 eyebrown + eyeliner brush

The first brush on the left is one of my ultimate favorites. I already have two other brushes of the same kind. It's from ELF and cost about P249.75 only. I like how dense it is and feels stable in your hand. I've been using it to apply liquid, powder and cream foundations and it works like a charm that's why I got a new one as a back up. I also got the ELF eye blending brush for only P129.75 because it's another favorite of mine. I use this brush to blend out eyeshadows and even to apply color to the lid area.

The other three brushes were purchased for me by my lola. The ELF angled foundation brush and Mariounnaud foundation brush are two brushes I've been wanting to try out. I wonder which will work better for me. As for the 2-in-1 brush, I just wanted it because of the dual purpose of the brush. I've been immensely preoccupied into getting perfect brows the past few months. 

ELF powder brush has a flat top and is packed densely.

ELF angled foundation brush seems to be perfect for getting into corners.

Marionnaud foundation brush is paddles shaped like most foundie brushes.

Marionnaud 2-in-1 has a spoolie on one end...

And an angled liner brush on the other end.

ELF eye blending brush which is another favorite!

I also got to get a few Nichido products. These aren't available in Zamboanga so I'm happy I'll finally be able to test them out for myself. I've heard a lot of good things about Nichido stuff. Hopefully I'll also have good things to say about the products.

I got two eye pencils and two lip pencils. The first eye pencil I got is actually a KOHL pencil. It's mineral based and is in the shade ONYX. The next eye pencil I got is the one in MEDIUM BROWN. CORAL RUST and ROSETTE are the shades of the two lip pencil I got from Nichido.

Here's a couple of swatches on the photo above. I'm excited to try out using the kohl pencil to tightline and line my eyes. I've always had a hard time using pencil liners since I have pretty watery eyes and the liners don't tend to stay put.

I also got the Maybelline clear smooth 8-in-1 BB cream with SPF 26 in the shade 02 Natural. Lola told me to get the 01 shade but I think the 02 shade will suit my skin tone better. I've tried other BB creams before and have liked only one so far. I wonder how this particular BB cream will turn out? 

Another Maybelline product I received is this clear smooth all in one foundation refill. It's in the shade nude beige and had SPF 25. I've never tried this product before so I'm going to make sure that I'll do a review on it as soon as I've started using it more often.

I've been wanting to get new lip balms and these two from Maybelline caught my attention.

My last Maybelline product is the lasting drama 24hour gel liner in black. I'm a huge fan of gel liners because they're easier to manipulate than liquid liners. I'm hoping to test this out very soon. This was pretty pricey at around P400+ so I'm hoping that it's worth every penny my lola paid for!

Got this regular Ever Bilena sponge for about P48. I have three of these, they work well with powder foundations.

The Fanny Serrano two-way cake has been raved about by a lot of YouTube gurus. I've been interested in this product since last year but it was pretty pricey here in Zamboanga. I was about to get one last month but then all of the sudden, the local beauty store decided to stop selling this. So when I saw this product on the shelf at SM, I took the opportunity to get it. This is in the shade Chino and cost P399.

Another powder foundation I got is the Ever Bilena refill one in the shade Oriental. I accidentally stepped on the box of the one I got in Bacolod so the box in the photo is of my old refill! *haha* Anyway, I've been using this foundation for quite some time already. I switch between this and my MAC studio fix in NC35.

I also got two other things from Ever Bilena and it happens to be their matte lipsticks in the shades Mauvey and Love That Red. Each tube cost only P145. I've purchased matte lipsticks from EB before and loved the consistency and pigmentation so I decided to try out other shades as well. Check out the swatches below...

L-R : Mauvey, Love That Red (both on its own, no lip primer underneath)

Last two items from Ever Bilena are these glitter eyeliners. I got one in Gold and one in White Diamond. I've yet to try these out, so wish me luck! I'm not a fan of glitter BUT I will try anything once. (or twice)

Aside from my EB matte lipsticks, I also got the ELF lipstick in the shade Classy. It cost P180. I've never tried ELF lip products. This is definitely a first for me.

Next ELF product I got is the plumping lip glaze in the shade Ruby Kiss. It looked like such a pretty red glaze and the fact that it's supposed to give you plumper looking lips immediately got me excited. This product cost around P120. 

Last but not the least, I got this all over cover stick in the shade Apricot Beige. It costs P120. I've used this product before in a different shade. It works as a great concealer and I know of some people who apply it as a cream foundation! Will update everyone on how this works.

So there you go guys! This is the end of my haul post. Can I interest you in the haul video? Check it out please? :)

Questions for my lovely readers:1. What do you usually pick up at beauty stores/shops?2. Are you a lipstick kind of girl or do you prefer lip glosses/lip balms?3. Do you want me to post more haul-related posts?

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