10 Things About Me

Gracie tagged me for this ages ago, and I finally have the time to do it!

1. Angie is actually from my second name. I go by Dee (from my first name) IRL.

2. Growing up, I loved video games. I still do, especially the weird, quirky kind like Katamari, Loco Roco, and most games on the Nintendo DS. I'm also the "horror game frontliner" for my friends whenever we get together. (They hand me the controller, I play the game - for example, Fatal Frame II, and they huddle behind me watching. XD) In my younger years, I used to be a total Final Fantasy addict too. Today, I still play XII on occasion.

3. I actually didn't care about makeup back in high school. I went to a conservative Catholic school that banned makeup, and since my attention was majorly preoccupied with video games at the time, I didn't bother to sneak things like lip gloss and blush like most of my schoolmates did. Eventually college came around, and with the wardrobe freedom it gave me, I started experimenting. People who know me from my "geek days" usually get shocked when they find out I'm a recent makeup convert. (That's also why my tagline is "geeky on the outside, girly on the inside"!)

4. Next to nail polish, lip products are my favorite kind of makeup. I guess this is pretty obvious, given Nail Polish Ninja and the number of lipstick/gloss reviews I already have on this blog. On the other hand, I hate mascara the most because I don't like the heavy feeling it gives my eyelashes.



5. I love takoyaki, at least the local versions we have of it so far. I've eaten "takoyaki" from Takuyashi at Greenhills (pretty good), Kuya Chito's Takuyaki at Robinson's Galleria (VERY GOOD, this is my favorite!), and from a newly-opened stall that I've forgotten the name of at Tiendesitas (BAD. don't waste your time with it!). I really would LOVE to try the real thing with actual octopus bits in it, though.

6. I want to visit Germany someday. It doesn't get as much tourist hype like other European countries, which is sad because I think it's a very beautiful country. (That's Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany to the left. Isn't it so fairytale-like?)

7. I used to take karate (all the way to purple belt), but I stopped because it was interfering with my studies. I miss it sometimes - it was a great way to keep in shape for me.

8. I have a thing for boys with glasses and spiky hair.  LOL such a nerd, I am.

9. I think Ellen deGeneres and Angelina Jolie are amazing people.







10. People who know me can tell whether I'm stressed-and-busy or not through my nails, because I paint them so often. (YELLOW NAILS, WHAT YELLOW NAILS? I don't care, they'll disappear with time anyway!) No nail polish = BOO ME! Otherwise, it's YAY ME! all the way. :D

Lipstick Swatching at Watson's

[ETA: Picture thumbnails made larger so you can see the lipstick brands better]

My blockmates and I are SO ready to build a statue in honor of our professor, who very kindly moved this Thursday's deadline to two weeks from now.

YAY I'M FREE! Since schoolwork isn't eating so much of my time anymore, I can post more often again!

Anyway, my mother sent me off to the grocery this afternoon to pick up some things for the fridge. After that errand, I went to the nearby Watson's and fooled around with some lipsticks (and one blush):

(Click to enlarge!)

I tried out Rose Shimmer and Cosmic Pearl from Nichido, GTalk's most recent lipstick finds. Not so sure about the metallic finishes on these two, but I think they're both pretty shades of pink. (I'm leaning more towards Rose Shimmer, though.)

Then I tried some of Maybelline's Moisture Extreme lipsticks, thanks to sis Golden mentioning them on her blog. Cosy Tangerine failed to wow me (too bad, I had high hopes for it!), but Silk Flower seems like an awesome color even though I'm not really a fan of dark shades.

Just for fun, I swatched a random peachy-nude lipstick from L'Oreal too. Can't remember the name, though.

And finally, I tried out Careline's Starlight Shine blush, mainly because of this review. Careline blushes are starting to grow on me - they're very good quality for their price. I like to think of them as the poor college student's alternative to NARS, at least until that poor college student manages to save up enough for something like Luster or Orgasm. >8D

And here's the obligatory "different lighting" shot:

I was actually about to buy Rose Shimmer, but then my mother called, telling me to stop wandering around and floor it back home. Boo. Maybe next time.

Elianto Sunscreen Lip Gloss SPF 15 in Rosy Soft Red

I think Elianto named this product wrong. This won't make your lips glossy, as its name implies. Seems more like lipstick or tinted lip balm than lipgloss to me, actually. It does have GLOSSY packaging, though:

Gripes about naming conventions aside, Rosy Soft Red is the perfect peachy-pink color I've been looking for. It's very close to Lancome's Le Rouge Absolu in Peche, which is WAY OUT of my price range. Fortunately, at P299.00, Elianto's product comfortably is. :)

As you will see below, this lip gloss lipstick is quite moisturizing, which makes the need for lip balm/butter optional.

And now, the product in action!

Palladio Natural Rice Concealer in Dark

This product's complete name is Palladio Natural Rice Eye Stick Treatment and Concealer. What a mouthful! I'll stick with calling it Natural Rice Concealer.

In the Philippines, this concealer is available in four shades: Light, Medium, Dark, and Green for redness. (They list more shades on their website, though.) Their shade spectrum is SUPER light. My skin usually falls in the medium range with other makeup brands, but not for this one.

The amount of concealer seems a bit short, doesn't it?

Below is what their Dark shade looks like. Still seems pretty medium to me, honestly.

Anyway, it blends in very well:

You can barely see it! Amazing!

Now, while this is a product meant for undereye circles, I found that it doesn't do its job in that aspect very well. This is my eye without it:

And this is my eye with it:

Not very much difference, but I suppose this could work perfectly for you if your undereyes aren't as genetically dark as mine.

I found that it does an EXCELLENT job of covering up pimple marks, though. Here's a particularly visible one:

(Sorry if my face looks oddly pink in this. Had to move closer to my light source so the pimple mark could be seen better.)

And here it is covered up with the concealer:

Pimple, what pimple? XD

Now all it needs is a light dusting of face powder, and it'll be virtually flawless!

The Natural Rice Concealer retails for PHP425.00 at most Beauty Bar outlets. It's odorless and lasts for about half a day on my skin, but I feel that the product amount is not enough for its price. This is a good buy, but if you can find better deals, prioritize those first.

e.l.f. Luminance take two

Yesterday's face shot of this was pretty bad, so I did a do-over.

Upper cheek:

Bridge of nose:

There are some VERY slight shimmers, but nothing really noticeable. I generally like e.l.f.'s products, but this time around, FAIL.

e.l.f. Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Luminance

I'm a total noob when it comes to bronzing powders. I wanted to see if they could really make me "glow", so I got e.l.f.'s version in Luminance.

I like how they have the brand name stamped onto the product.

What I don't like is the glue showing up at the bottom. (Remember my review on San-San eyeshadow duo 01? Same sentiments here.)

Here I am with the bronzer applied to the bridge of my nose and on my cheeks. (ETA: I just realized how DARK my undereye circles are in this pic. Blech. My apologies. X_X)

I can't really tell if anything happened. Hmm, maybe I should've gotten the darker shade (Sun Kissed) instead...

ETA: better photos of the product in action here

Shawill Vogue Noble lipstick 04

This is my first time encountering this brand. I saw its newly-opened stall at Landmark Trinoma and decided to have a look because it seemed promising. I ended up getting this P120.00 lipstick:

It's a very pretty coral pink shade that I thought was more peachy-pink, but I like it nonetheless.

The lipstick is semi-sheer and is not drying. Pretty good for its price, yes?

And now for the obligatory lip shots:

The origin of this brand confuses me, though. While it has Hangul on its packaging,

its quality control seems to be sourced in China. It's also licensed by A&W Cosmetics, which (correct me if I'm wrong) is a Chinese brand.

And to add to the confusion, the SA told me that it was a Korean brand with ingredients sourced from Italy. So many countries! I trust the SA's info the least, though. The SAs I've met (not just for this brand) have been really inaccurate lately. :|

Thank you, Golden!

Wow, four new awards! These were given to me by sis Golden from One Proud Mom, One Proud Wife.

She also gave me the Adorable Blog award which was previously given to me by Shobe of Your Little Beauty Bag! Aww, thanks for this too!

I would like to pass these awards to all my followers:
Khymm of Shopcoholic for Makeup...
Tish of Practical Vanity
ellainedale of My Learning Experience
THE BEAUTY JUNKEE of The Beauty Junkee's Musings about Beauty, Art and Life
makeupjunkie of confessions of an unapologetic makeup junkie
gracie of Gracified Shopaholix
*Nehs* of Nehsai loves N and CHIPIPAY'S
the Girl with Glasses
myjuicyfruit of It's Juicy Time!
RHEN of ILOVEANDREI
Jee of BEJeeJeeFIED
~tHiAmErE~ of on beauty stuff and what else's
Ida of Naturals and Minerals
donnarence of my lucid intervals