Careline Rosy Cheek vs EB Rose

(A versus post! I haven't done these in a LOOONG time. This post is LONG OVERDUE too, actually. I've been meaning to write this since 2009!) 

What sort of local drugstore shopper isn't familiar with Careline and Ever Bilena? Both are owned by the same company, and where there's one, you can ALWAYS find the other. When I was an idiot high schooler, I used to look down on these brands because they were "cheap", and not just in the literal sense. Well, not anymore - I know better now! While not all their products are amazing, a lot of them - like their blushes - have decent quality at very wallet friendly prices.

Stila CC vs Skin Food FFLC

Last Monday, I reviewed Skin Food's Fresh Fruit Lip & Cheek (Tint). Last Thursday, I posted my review on Stila's Convertible Color. Let's see how well the two stack up against each other.

FFLC tins have 6 grams of product,

while CCs only contain 4.25g.

The 1.75g that CCs lack is made up for by the inclusion of a mirror.

FFLC's packaging is ultra portable, but doesn't have much aesthetic appeal. It looks like a plain old boring lip balm container.

It doesn't help that the labeling material they used is non-waterproof paper either. What if I use this in the bathroom and it gets wet when I wash my hands? Blotchy sticker paper is not pretty.

In contrast, CCs come in beautifully etched compacts that are color-coordinated with their respective shades.

They also come in their own boxes made of recycled paper. FFLCs only come covered in cheap plastic.

And now, the rundown!

Stila Convertible Color			Skin Food Fresh Fruit Lip and Cheek
Pros	Cons	Similarities		Pros	Cons
· Local price (P845) is way cheaper than US price ($25=P1156.25), so you end up saving P311.25! · has a mirror · Fragrance-free · Amazing packaging	· Lesser value for its local price (P845.00 = 4.25g; meaning P198.82 per 1g) · Quite hard to blend on the cheeks	· Extremely portable, can comfortably fit in your jeans pocket. · Long lasting for cream-based products (both last half a day for me) · Excellent color selection · Can easily be found locally (FFLC at SF stores, CC at Stila counters in Rustan’s)		· Actually has greater value for its local price (P745.00 = 6g; meaning P124.17 per 1g) · Has a pleasant scent accurate to whatever flavor you purchased (mine smells exactly like grapefruits!) · Slightly less drying than CC when used on the lips	· Sells for only 6000 Korean Won (P240.87!), so local markup is a BIG RIP-OFF · Cheaper to buy from online resellers, which is quite a hassle considering our crappy post office rates · Boring packaging · NO MIRROR

My verdict?

Stila Convertible Color wins, most notably for its more reasonable local pricing and for its inclusion of a mirror!

In terms of quality, however, both products are seriously equally good and have really lovely colors. Perhaps if FFLCs were not so overpriced and if shipping wasn't such a bitch here, my review would probably have turned out more like this one.

Pigeon Pressed Powder: Japanese vs Indonesian

There is a bit of confusion going on about Pigeon powders because two variants from different countries are available locally. I reviewed the supposedly better variant from Japan a couple months ago, ignoring the Indonesian variant which seemed to cause pimple problems for those who tried it.

In this post, I am going to dissect the "problematic" Pigeon compact from Indonesia and see how well it stacks up against its Japanese counterpart.

Here's my Indonesian compact, which I bought three days ago. I got the pink variant because I was curious if it would give me a rosy glow.

The compact is manufactured by PT. Multielok Cosmetic under license from Pigeon Corporation Japan.

Perhaps the major advantage of the Indonesian compact over the Japanese one is is the inclusion of a mirror, which makes application much easier on the go.

It is also slightly smaller, making it easier to put in your pants pocket. This is a big plus for me, because I prefer using pockets over bringing small bags when I'm only going to go out for a little while.

If you remember my Pigeon Japan review, I absolutely loved the sponge that came with it because it was super soft. Fortunately the Indonesian compact's sponge is just as soft, except it's much smaller and slightly yellowish, which I think makes it look less cleaner.

While the Japanese compact has a hinge opening kind of like a grandmother's coin purse,

the Indonesian compact has a pushbutton opening. In this aspect, I have no preference over either product. Both styles of opening are fine by me.

And here's the point-by-point rundown of both compacts:

Japan-made			Indonesia-made
Pros	Cons	Similarities		Pros	Cons
· Greater value for its price (P280.00 = 45g; meaning P6.00 per 1g) · Bigger sponge · Fragrance-free · Lasts relatively long (about 6 hours on my skin)	· No mirror · Quite bulky · Hard to find	· translucent blotting effect (at least on my skin) · velvety soft sponge texture · did not break me out		· Has a mirror · Very portable size, jeans pocket-friendly · Easier to find than the Japanese compact, but still quite uncommon	· Lesser value for its price (P230.00 = 20g; meaning P11.00 per 1g) · Smaller sponge · Fragranced · Doesn’t last long (about 4 hours on my skin) · No noticeable rosy effect (since pink powders should supposedly have this)

So which one do I think is better? The Japanese compact gets my vote, but only by a small margin. Because I didn't get the dreaded breakouts experienced by many users of the Indonesian compact, I actually like both products - the original Japanese variant for its value and lasting power, and the Indonesian variant for its portability and its decent similarity in quality to the original.

The only real issue I have with the Indonesian Pigeon is its smell. It isn't particularly bad, but it isn't particularly good either. At least the scent doesn't stick to my face after application.

Penshoppe Pop Beauty lipstick in Russian Doll vs herbench/ paint box lipstick in Orchid Pop

I'm really fond of trying out make up from local companies that don't just sell make up. Take clothing brands bench/ and Penshoppe, for example. The products I've tried from them so far are actually of decent quality, sometimes even better than Pinoy brands that focus only on make up.

Russian Doll is a slightly purple-ey red, and is one of four lipstick colors that Penshoppe offers. (I've only ever seen 4 at the branches I go to; do let me know if they have more~) Their lipstick's packaging is fun to hold because it's so smooth and metallic. Kinda reminds me of the anodized aluminum Apple uses to make iPod Nanos, really.

Russian Doll looked somewhat familiar when I swatched it, so I went digging into my lipstick drawer to verify this. True enough, its color was VERY near rival brand bench/'s paint box Orchid Pop lipstick! (Russian Doll to the left, Orchid Pop to the right.)

I wouldn't call them dupes, because Russian Doll is more sheer than Orchid Pop. The difference is barely noticeable on the lips, though. Here's how RD looks like:

And here's Orchid Pop:

Visually, all Orchid Pop has over Russian Doll is the "creamy" finish, and that's pretty much it. However, if smell were a factor, bench/ definitely trumps Penshoppe. The former's sugary dessert scent easily defeats the latter's icky waxy smell. It's super effective! (Props if you get the geek reference. 8B)

What of bench/'s packaging, you ask? Well, it's certainly very pretty to look at,

but I still think Penshoppe's is more fun to hold.