Etude House Petit Bijou Allover Spray: Peach Touch

It's peach scented but it's pink colored!

This was just something I bought on a whim in November last year, while browsing through Etude House SM Megamall. It was around P350.00. It smells like peach mixed with flowers. It's not a bad kind of floral scent though, and that's saying a lot coming from me, because I don't like overly floral scents very much. The fruity acidity of the peach cuts through the delicately sweet flowers quite nicely. It's a very refreshing, summery smell.

The product helpfully indicates areas of usage.

This product is meant for use all over, literally. The wide range spray helps a lot with that! I use it most often on my clothes and on my bedsheets as an invigorating pick-me-up. 2-3 sprays are enough on my clothes, while I prefer using 4-5 sprays on my sheets. The scent lasts for about half a day.

Nyx Round Lipstick: Snow White

Wear red lipstick and no one will care what else you're wearing. Even Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) agrees with this.

Wear Nyx's Snow White, and you'll be the fairest in the land.

Price: P180.00
Date Bought: December 2013
Location Bought: neighborhood Christmas bazaar (however, this is also available at online stores like Digital Traincase or at SM department stores that have NYX stalls, like SM North)

Not rocket science: Nyx Round Lipsticks are called that because they're round, as in cylindrical.

The color name at the top of the tube is just a sticker, so take care not to rip it off!

Packaging is Spartan: black plastic tube with printed text in white, color "window" at the bottom for faster identification. If you store your lipsticks in a drawer, it's better to store them with the window right side up for easier visibility. The packaging, combined with the very reasonable price, makes lipsticks from this brand ideal on-the-go kikay kit candidates.

Snow White is semi-matte.

This is what is left of the product after being rubbed vigorously under running water.

The color is an elegant deep red. I think all deep lip colors, like the beautiful Maybelline plum I reviewed last time, are great for lazy makeup and/or clothing days. You could just be wearing a simple shirt and jeans (or yesterday's clothes, like Maisie LOL), but wearing a deep color gives you a touch of class without a lot of effort. Granted, deep colors aren't summer colors at all, but that hasn't stopped me from wearing them even as the country sizzles at present.

How did the old fairytale go again? "Skin white as snow, lips red as blood..."

Although the formula is creamy and intense, I find it rather drying on my lips. Thus, I wear it over lip balm and it ends up being glossy. Either because of the balm or because of my natural lip color, Snow White ends up a little lighter on my lips as compared to the earlier hand swatch. It's still a very workable red though. (Just take care not to wear too much makeup alongside it! Bold colors like this really work best with little else on the face!)

Stay away from jealous evil stepmothers with magic mirrors when wearing this.

This is what Snow White looks like after blotting. It looks nice too, but it's drying.

Would I buy this again? Yes, assuming I ever finish the tube. The color is so strong that a little certainly goes a long way.

Maybelline Colorsensational Lip Polish in Glam 6

A girl in a class I was taking was wearing the most amazing plum lipcolor late last year. I liked it so much that I wanted a plum colored lip product of my own. To this day, I don't know what it was because we weren't close (it wasn't a block section) and she went on a leave of absence. I now suspect it was this color from Etude House, but that doesn't matter anymore since I'm very pleased with this plum shade from Maybelline.

Price: P349.00
Date Bought: December 2013
Location Bought: Watsons SM Megamall

These are called Color Elixirs in the Western hemisphere. I like that name better.

 Thankfully, it seems that the product names are the sole difference between the Asian variants and the US ones. Almost every review I've seen about these 3 in 1 lipstick/gloss/balm products sings nothing but praises, regardless of country of origin.

I won't dwell on the aesthetics of the clever "faux lipstick" packaging anymore because a lot of blogs have already covered that.

I do want to talk about the functionality of the design, however. Since the Lip Polish looks like an "upside down" lipstick tube, one is inclined to display it "right side up" on one's dresser, as in the first photo of this post. Because of this, the applicator is not oversaturated with the product.

Maybelline claims that the applicator is made of "exclusive smoothing angora."

I think that preventing oversaturation  is a good thing, since the applicator is extremely soft and absorbent. I have no way of knowing whether the applicator is truly made of angora wool, but I do know that it serves its purpose very well. The angled tip helps a lot too, especially around the lip corners.

The colored "lipstick tube" that you can see is not the product itself. It's just plastic accurately colored to reflect the lip color inside. Thus, you have no way of seeing how much you've already used up.

When swatched on the skin, Glam 6 is very true to the color presented by the tube. It is a lovely, dark berry color perfect for evenings, -ber months, and days when you can't be bothered or have no time to put on a full face of make up.

Regardless of whatever the applicator is made of, it does a good job of smoothing out the product.

On my lips, Glam 6 appears ever so slightly redder. The beautiful plumness of the color is still there though, so I'm certainly not complaining. I love how it contrasts with my skin - very "glam" indeed!

Not so sticky and not so heavy, but it tends to retain heat. Not good for summer. Especially not good for summer spent outdoors.

The formula does indeed capture the essence of a lipstick, a gloss, and a balm. It has the intensity and lasting power of the first, the shine of the second, and the emolliency of the third. Based on the lip products I own, it's not as sticky as a coating of e.l.f. lip shine or as heavy as a layer of Carmex balm. The color payoff is just as intense as The Face Shop's Rouge Extreme glosses. However, the formula feels hot over a prolonged period. This can get uncomfortable really fast, if you intend to wear this on a sweltering day outdoors.

Don't be alarmed, that's just the Lip Polish. It's not an infection. This gives me ideas for Halloween and for generally freaking people out though. >:D

Speaking of lasting power, the product can withstand being held under running water and rubbed vigorously without soap. It leaves a hot pink tint - another plus to its low maintenance nature. Once the product has worn down to the tint on your lips, you can either reapply if you feel like it, or leave your lips as is and still look like you're wearing lip makeup. Easy peasy.

You can also see the slight gloss it leaves behind in the picture above. This proves that it does have the moisturizing properties of lip balm, because lip balm behaves in a similar way once rubbed off.

Would I buy this again? Yes. Maybelline's Lip Polishes are the skinny jeans of 3 in 1 lip products. They're versatile and not fussy, but they can get uncomfortable to wear in the heat. Despite that, it's still sensible to own several pairs of jeans. I dare say that it's also sensible to own several Lip Polishes. (I'm thinking of a pink and/or a coral for next time!)

A Quick Post about a Quick Eye Look

I did my eyes in a basic gold-and-brown scheme one weekend. I thought of adding something to make them more interesting, so I lined my upper lids with an iridescent turquoise.

The gold on my lids and the brown defining my outer Vs are from my Majomajo Caramelisee quad.

The iridescent turquoise is from a PAC palette my mother gifted to me. I applied it using a smudger brush.

PAC is an Indonesian brand (just like everyone's favorite J.Co donuts)

Mini review of the PAC palette: It is called Rainbow Chic. My mother purchased it at Watsons SM Megamall but gave it to me because the colors were too bright and the saleslady was rather persuasive. All four colors are extremely pigmented and buttery - they are comparable to Majolica Majorca's eyeshadows. Unfortunately, the turquoise shade tends to have the most fallout. I always end up using a lot of wet wipes whenever I use it! The color is too pretty to give up on though, at least until I find a similar shade that has a less fallout-prone formula.

In retrospect, I should have added mascara for a more polished effect, but the look is fun enough on its own.

Artdeco Eye Shadows

In the three years I was gone, I learned to work with eye makeup. I like to think that I've improved since 2011, to the point that I no longer focus on lipwear in my daily makeup routine. Nowadays, after base makeup, I just tend to do my eyes and leave my lips with only a layer of lip balm. Sometimes I even leave them bare. I've found that eye makeup is much easier to maintain throughout the day compared to my old favorites, lip and cheek makeup, because the eye area is a part of the face that isn't bothered so much with eating, drinking, sweating, or accidental rubbing. (I did keep accidentally touching my eyes as I was learning though, but now that it's 2014, I've taught myself not to.)

Price: P350 for each shadow pan, P295 for the magnetic container
Date Bought:29 March 2014
Location Bought: Beauty Bar Eastwood

I really felt like getting blue eyeshadow that day. Blame it on Frozen and on one of my favorite tumblr users.

Fairydrops Candy Bar BB Cream: Light Ochre

Once, I tweeted about how I was fed up with always looking like a big, round, white moon in flash photographs because of my BB Cream.

Price: PHP1550.00 (USD35.00)
Date Bought: February 22, 2014
Location Bought: Beauty Bar Shang

A classmate replied to my tweet, recommending Fairydrops. I had heard of their mascara before, but I didn't know that they also had BB Cream. Several Google searches later, I found myself intrigued: "No SPF", "good coverage", "long lasting." I went to Beauty Bar soon after and ignored my wallet's weeping.

Fair warning, long, photo heavy review.

Nature Republic Natural Color Purple Blueberry Pack

This is a wash-off type pack, also known as a mask. You put it on using your fingers or a pack brush, leave it on for 20 minutes, and then wash it off.

  

Price: PHP250-PHP300 (USD6-7)

Date Bought: January 2014

Location Bought: Nature Republic SM North EDSA

Last January, I felt the urge to rewatch the only K-drama I've ever watched: Prosecutor Princess. While watching, the idea to make the experience "more sparklingly Korean" hit me. Thus, after classes, I went to the nearest mall to get a Korean skincare product. I came home with this.

Tony Moly Clean Dew Acerola Foam Cleanser

My sister got the Blueberry variant. I was a jealous ate, so I got this variant.

Price: PHP178.00 (USD4.00)
Date Bought:  April 16, 2014
Location Bought: Tony Moly SM Mega


Acerola is a relative of the cherry. It is reputedly one of the fruits with the highest Vitamin C content.

 This facial foam smells like candied sour cherries. Since I have never seen or tasted an acerola before, I imagine this is what the fruit smells like. Strangely, it reminds me of Strawberry Fruitella. Some people may not like the scent because it's rather strong, but I like it. Because of its sour candy scent, it helps wake me up in the mornings.