Archive for December 2012
My New Year nails
Posted on: December 31, 2012
- In: Nails | Random
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I have a confession to make: I am addicted to nail polish!
I wanted to have appropriate nails to welcome 2013 in. These are what I used:
Caronia Nail Hardener and Base Coat, Chic Nail Color in Blue Velvet, Chic Nail Color in Wish Upon a Star, Caronia Fast Dry Top Coat
Upgraded! I now have a base coat, again from Caronia.
I used the blue Chic nail polish first and checked if it is enough. This is how it looked like with just the blue polish:
It seemed nice and shiny, but somehow it didn’t look sparkly enough. I added the Chic glitters and here’s what came out:
Not bad! I like how sparkly it is, just right enough to welcome the new year in!
Have a fruitful and prosperous new year everyone!
Another product review! I’m on a roll! XD
I got this 20-ml sample from my new best friend, Sample Room. It comes in a nice little blue tub that is probably reusable (great place to store earrings maybe!) once all the product is consumed. The full size of 80-ml is a fair Php 1250, which means this nice little tub costs around Php300 (pardon me, I really like playing around with numbers). Sample Room is really generous!
Check it out:
It’s a very classy container, and very sturdy. I must have dropped this several times, and I still see no signs of damage. Inside the tub I was surprised to see a blue fluid.
This fluid is made of magic! It glides on smoothly on the skin, and settles into a very thin mask that you will not feel after a few minutes. A little goes a long way with this, so no need to slather on a thick layer. I felt a slight sensation of tugging after the mask has settled on my face, which I thought was the fluid starting its work on my face. As the name suggests, this should be used at night just before sleeping. Come morning, you’ll feel your facial skin soft and supple.
This product has a scent that is not unpleasant. It reminds me of a combination of powder and some herby balm. I think it actually aids in a more peaceful sleep, as I find myself sleeping better at night with this moisturizer on.
Would I buy this once my sample runs out? I think it is a definite yes.
My Christmas nails
Posted on: December 27, 2012
- In: Nails | Random
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What better way to show my newfound enthusiasm for nails and nail polish than painting my own holiday themed nails! Here’s mine:
Sparkly! I used a nice girly pink Etude House nail polish for the base and Caronia glitters for the, well, glitters! Topped with Caronia top coat.
You can see the glitters much better in this picture:
I like that the top coat is really tough and protects the polish and glitters. It’s been four days since I painted these on, and it’s only just starting to chip at the base.
Merry christmas everyone!
At this late an age, it might seem weird that I’ve only recently started experimenting with nail polish. I used to think that it’s a waste of time and effort (I probably had other things to do at that time), but now I see it as a way to release stress while expressing creativity. This is why it is great to see a nail product in my November BDJ Box. I received a full sized Yuka Nail Polish Remover Wipes, grape-scented. I tried it immediately after I got it, but for this review I waited until I was ready to remove the polish I got from a professional manicure service.
Check out this cute packaging. I am an anime fan, and anything that smacks of it is automatically a plus in my eyes. It’s also in this delicious grape scent that makes me want to taste it. (I didn’t. XD) I also like the fact that this is very reusable. I can see keeping small things (rings, erasers, flash disks) in this after I consume all the wipes.
Opening the container, you’ll see the 35 wipes all in one stack that is almost the same size as the container. This is unfortunate, because it makes it a little difficult to get only a single sheet. More often than not I end up getting a second sheet when I only wanted one.
Let me show you my nail polish. I got this done at Pacific Nails in Makati, a pretty nice nail salon. This is the fifth day I’m wearing the polish, and it only just started showing wear and tear. This is the state of my polish before I used the Yuka Wipes.
I used a wipe on my index nail, using one swipe only. It seems that I have a pretty strong top coat, as it barely dented the polish.
It took about three or four swipes before I got all the polish off.
Here’s the polish from my index nail on the wipe.
I used a total of two and a half wipes to get all the polish off ten nails. I could have used less, but the product dries up fast from the wipes and I didn’t realize it soon enough.
In conclusion, this seems to be a good product. Php68 for 35 wipes comes to almost 2 pesos per wipe which does seem a bit expensive for a nail polish remover. If you take into consideration the nice recyclable packaging and the convenience of the wipes, I’d say that is a 68 pesos well spent especially if you regularly use nail polish. Just take note that the product evaporates fast, so keep your container closed and work fast with the wipe you’re using.
Review: Calvin Klein Beauty
Posted on: December 18, 2012
I’ve been using the Calvin Klein Beauty Eau de Parfum sample ever since I received my first BDJ Box. Here’s the picture of the sample from the unboxing post:
Here’s a better close up shot of that tiny sample:
This is a 1.2-ml sample held in a glass tube with a plastic spray nozzle. It has no cover, therefore it’s very prone to accidentally dispensing product if not stored securely inside a bag. Its full size of 100ml costs a little under Php 5k.
Prior to trying out CK Beauty, I’ve been mostly using body sprays from Victoria Secret. I’m quite used to 2-3 sprays of product at a time, since body sprays are very diluted and the scents are not that strong. CK Beauty, though, is a much more concentrated scent. One spray from the bottle is more than enough, and lingers for a longer time compared to body sprays. It’s a pleasant, fruity scent that’s not offensive (as long as you stay to one spray!).
The cost of the full size bottle is definitely beyond my means. I’m very thankful to have received the sample through BDJ Box so that I could get to try this out.
Review: Benefit Porefessional
Posted on: December 15, 2012
- In: Reviews
- 2 Comments
Time for my first product review! In this post I will review the Benefit Porefessional sample I received from Sample Room.
First let me refresh you on what sample I am talking about.
This tiny tube contains a lot of power, I tell you. Benefit Porefessional is basically a face primer, meant to go under makeup to even out the pores and make them appear smaller. The product looks like this out of the tube.
The box of the sample reminds you to first moisturize before applying the product. After moisturizing, apply the product on the problem areas where the pores are. In my case, my pores are concentrated on the cheeks right below the eyes and on the bridge of the nose. Here is the problem area I am talking about. (Face moisturized already) Notice the big pores on the nose.
Here is where only the Benefit Porefessional is applied. There is a distinct reduction in the appearance of pore size.
Finally here is where the rest of the makeup is applied over the Benefit Porefessional. Note that there is a distinct reduction in the appearance of pore size.
It feels great on the skin. It doesn’t make me feel that I have anything heavy on my face, and in addition the product turns very powdery upon application. I can definitely see this becoming part of my routine, especially since I am very conscious of my pores. The price is a little steep though, at Php1600 for the full size (22 ml).
One of the recent interesting things going around the beauty blogging sphere is this thing called Sample Room. It’s a site where you get to try beauty products through free samples. The mechanism here is very simple: upon signing up you are given 100 points with which you can claim samples for certain amounts of points each. You pay a minimal amount for shipping, then you receive your sample straight at your home. You try out this sample, then go back to Sample Room, write a review for the product you tried, then you get your points back! As a bonus, you get extra points for writing a review! The aim of course is to make Sample Room a review hub for beauty products.
I signed up shortly after Sample Room went live. Unfortunately there must have been hundreds of other girls who are waiting for that moment, and I ran out of samples to try in the first round of samples. Fortunately, a few days later Sample Room restocked and I was able to score a Benefit Porefessional sample. It was a breeze to go through the check out process. Unfortunately, I chose GCash as a method of payment, which meant I had to pay an extra Php20 on top of the Php100 delivery fee all because I paid through a GCash outlet. Perhaps I will try to use GCash through my phone instead next time. Or use Paypal.
On to the actual unboxing!
I ordered and paid last December 7, and the package arrived December 10! They are pretty fast! It came wrapped in the blue XSEND envelope, and inside is a brown paper bag with the Sample Room sticker seal.
Inside is the Porefessional sample, which came in a very attractive box.
Opening it up, I finally see the tiny tube of Porefessional nestled inside, with nice illustrations on how to apply it.
Here’s the actual tube alone.
To show you how tiny this tube is, I put it beside a standard gel pen. It is after all just a sample.
There you have it! I will have a separate post for the review of the product itself.
Unboxing the November BDJBox
Posted on: December 1, 2012
- In: Reviews | Unboxing
- 9 Comments
So, I caved in and bought myself a subscription to BDJBox. I checked the other available beauty box subscriptions, and based on the reviews of their respective October boxes I decided that BDJBox offers the best value for money.
So first, where do you sign up for this service? Here is where to sign up as well as find more information regarding the brands and subscription terms. I signed up about two weeks ago through a pay service called DragonPay, in which you essentially go to the bank of your choosing (among the possible options) and pay the monthly fee. The important thing to note here is that you have to go back online to submit proof of your payment on the same day that you pay, to make sure that your payment is valid and your box will not be delayed.
On to the unboxing! Make sure to click on the images for a larger view.
This box arrived yesterday promptly, a day after the BDJ team announced that they were shipping the boxes. I assume it’s the same size box they sent for the October shipment.
Here’s what greets you when you open the box. The theme for November is “Take Me With You”, which I take to mean that this box is travel themed. Sure enough, opening up the box reveals a bunch of travel-sized products. Before I go any further, let me just say how amazed I am at just how packed this box is. It’s incredible.
Again, here’s a shot of the greeting card, plus five stickers that say “I make things beautiful”. Pretty awesome and inspirational.
This is what you’ll see when you open up the box. You can see how amazingly jampacked it is, and the products are almost popping out of the box! After I took pictures of the products inside, I tried fitting them all back in and believe me, it’s not at all easy. Let’s move on to the contents of the box.
Left to right: 2 25 g. samplers of L’Occitane Extra Gentle Milk Soap, 5 ml sampler of L’Oreal Men Expert Energetic Multi-action 8 Cleanser, 50 ml full sized Physiogel Hypoallergenic Intensive Cream, and 20 ml Garnier Overnight Whitening Peeling Cream
This is what smells so good! The L’Occitane soaps really smells delicious, I can’t wait to try it out. The latter two are the biggest products in the box.
Clockwise from the left: 2 sampler packs of Garnier Light Complete Whitening Cream, 1 sampler tube of Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Resist 24 Day Cream, 2 sampler tubes of Shiseido Extra Gentle Cleansing Foam, 1 pack full sized Yuka Non-Acetone Wipes, 1 sampler tube Calvin Klein Beauty Perfume, and 1 sampler tube Dentiste Plus White Vitamin C and Xylitol Toothpaste
I am especially interested in trying out those Shiseido samplers. The Dentiste toothpaste smelled really nice too, I am looking forward to trying those out.
Finally, the last product is the Nippon Cleansing Sponge (lower right), here shown with the vouchers and discount cards. The vouchers listed in the greeting card are 1. L’Oreal Professionel inoa Hair Color and X-tenso Moisturist vouchers redeemable at Azta Urban Salon 2. Strip Upper Lip Waxing voucher 3. Shiseido FREE product sample, quick facial and 15% discount vouchers and 4. L’Occitane 10% OFF voucher
I have to say, this is a really generous box and I definitely do not regret subscribing. I got all these for just Php480!
Becoming Sleek 