Archive for May 2013
- In: Reviews
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I’ve always been a fan of Maybelline as a drugstore brand, but for some reason I’ve never really gone quite deeply into it. Would you believe that I have never tried any of their lipsticks? This is why I really liked the May BDJBox because it featured various Maybelline products. One of the products that I was really excited about is the Color Sensational Lipstick in Peachy Scene.
It comes in a silver bullet with a really dark red cover. The shade name and number are at the bottom of the bullet. The lipstick looks like this uncovered:
It has 4.2g of product which translates to about an inch length. It also has a pleasant non-lipstick smell, sort of juicy. It glides on pretty smoothly even on bare lips, but of course it would be better if lip balm is applied prior. It’s also moisturizing and acceptably long-wearing (about 3-4 hours without eating).
When swatched on the arm it looks like this:
And on the lips it looks like this:
It appears to make my lips a bit darker and redder, but I would consider this an MLBB shade as I mentioned in the unboxing post. This costs Php399 and is available in most drugstores and supermarkets.
Pros: Eyecatching packaging; Great MLBB shade; Affordable price; Availability; Moisturizing
Cons: None!
Nails: Four Dazzle Dry Shades
Posted on: May 28, 2013
- In: Nails | Swatches
- 2 Comments
It’s been almost a month since I bought them, but it’s only now that I’ve finally been able to swatch the Dazzle Dry lacquers I acquired during the Mother’s Day Sale.
As a reminder, here are the four shades I bought: (L-R) Lavender Parade, Polar Jade, Sahara, White Lightning
Let’s start with White Lightning. It’s a very opaque and true white, with a creamy and thick formulation. It’s a little streaky so I used two coats here. I bought this shade mainly for future nail art. Many nail art I’ve seen use a white base.
This next shade is Sahara. It’s a deep yellow that’s also very creamy, thick but not as much as White Lightning. I used two coats as well. I love this very bright shade and I can’t wait to make (belated) summery nail art with this!
This one is Lavender Parade, and is my second favorite of the lot. It’s a perfect lavender shade and very girly and demure. It’s light enough to be worn to the office even if it’s not a nude shade. I used two coats here.
Last and definitely not the least is Polar Jade. I fell in love in just one swipe of the brush! It’s a beautiful frosted deep green, with faint but visible silver shimmers. This has a great opaque formula that I only needed one coat. It’s probably going to come out a stronger green with more layers. Polar Jade is love.
There you have it! Each of these lacquers regularly costs Php450 at Dazzle Dry’s (new) store, but they have a sale until the end of May which drops the price to Php399. I’m actually tempted to get a few more bottles, I love DD that much!
Review: Snoe Mauve Movement
Posted on: May 22, 2013
- In: Reviews
- 7 Comments
Today I want to share with you my review of my first ever Snoe (pronounced “snowy”) lippie. It’s in one of the newest shades, Mauve Movement. This is also my first non-pink lipstick. When you purchase the lipstick it comes in this cardboard box with the signature Snoe format and prints. This costs Php399 and is available in Snoe stalls and in their online shop.
My shade is X19, Mauve Movement.
One of the nice things about Snoe lipsticks is the bullet. It comes in a nice baby pink plastic tube with the Snoe logo, with gold leaf embossing on the lid. Very classy!
Pardon the blurry photo. This is the product itself, when exposed from the tube. You can already see the nice rich mauve color. How does it perform when applied?
Here is the swatch on my arm. This is just one swipe, and you can see that the color is already pretty rich and vibrant. It’s certainly buildable, and you can achieve an even deeper color with more layers.
And here is the swatch on my lips. The above photo is my lips with only a transparent lipbalm (Celeteque) and the bottom shows Mauve Movement on top of the lipbalm. It comes off as a nice bright pinkish purple on my dark lips, which I like very much. It is also very moisturizing as well, and has an acceptable lasting power (about 4 hours without eating).
Pros: Classy looking bullet; Very accessible; Affordable price; Moisturizing
Cons: Nothing really, I like this very much!
Unboxing the May BDJBox
Posted on: May 20, 2013
- In: Unboxing
- 7 Comments
After quite a few months of missing the BDJBox subscriptions, I finally am able to snag myself a quarterly. And just in time, as the May box is three kinds of awesome as you can see in a bit.
Warning: Photo-intensive post ahead.
The theme for this month is Fun Fresh Fierce, which is a clue to that three-fold awesomeness I was talking about. You see, it’s a three-brand exclusive box featuring Ralph Lauren (fun), Garnier (fresh), and Maybelline (fierce). I felt pretty lucky getting this box since I really regret missing the L’Oreal exclusive box (march). BDJ didn’t half-ass this one by just putting in one or two products per brand. No, it felt like I actually received three boxes this month! Check out the height of this box, they had to use a thicker sleeve to allow all products to fit.
Of course we have the usual welcome card and stickers, but in addition we also have separate cards for each of the brands. I’ll not discuss any of those cards anymore, but instead I will just show you.
I would just like to mention that there are several contests that can be joined this month because each brand card has a contest and the welcome card has three. Now, let’s take a look at the contents.
Check out how packed that is!
Let’s check out the Fun factor. This consists of four fragrances from Ralph Lauren, Big Pony Women #1-4. You already know that I’m not really a big fan of fragrances, so I’ll probably just pass this on to my mom. Each sample is 1.5ml, which costs about Php64.50, so total cost for all of these is Php258.
Full size 100ml – Php4300 (each)
Next is the Fresh factor, which is six products from Garnier. To be honest I wasn’t that excited about this either since my last experience with Garnier broke me out (Brightening eye roll-on). However since I haven’t tried other Garnier products, I’m inclined to give it another shot.
First product is the biggest one in the May BDJBox: Garnier Light Intensive Brightening Scrub. It’s a facial exfoliator which I currently don’t have any, so I’m most excited in trying this out. It’s full sized, so the product value is the full Php140.
Next we have Garnier Light Complete Multi-Action Whitening Cream. I’m not really into whitening as I’m quite content with my complexion. I’m probably giving this away too, or save it for a future raffle. This is the full size product, so value is the full Php75.
Next we have the Garnier Light Overnight Whitening Peeling Cream. Well hello again, I’ve seen you before in my first ever BDJBox (November). I didn’t use it then, and I will not use it now either (see reason regarding whitening above). It will probably meet the same fate as the other whitening cream. This is also a full sized product, so value is the full Php229.
We have the first non-Light line from the brand, Garnier Pure Active Anti-Imperfections Cooling Roll-on. It’s basically for spot-treating redness and dark spots which I think can be used for either face or body. This is interesting and I am quite willing to try this out, although I have a similar product in the SoTrue Lavender Skin Repair Balm. We’ll see how it performs compared to that. This full sized roll-on has a value of Php229.
Finally we have a couple of masks from Garnier. An Oil Clear Self-Heating Mask which as the name suggests is an anti-oil treatment, and a Lightening Peel-Off Mask which is for treating dullness and removing impurities and dead skin cells, come in sets of two. I’m excited to try the lightening mask, but not very much about the self-heating mask. The last thing I want to do in summer is to heat any part of my body even further. Each of these is Php49, for a total value of Php98 for the masks.
The Garnier set comes up to a product value of Php771. From this I already got back the value of the subscription, and I still have the last (and dare I say the best?) set to go through.
Last but definitely not the least let’s check out the Fierce factor. It’s Maybelline! I can’t express how happy that made me. I’ve only had a few encounters with Maybelline so far (Baby Skin Pore Eraser, Great Lash Mascara, and a powder foundie waaay back) and I’m quite excited that I have tried none of the products in the box yet!
First up we have the Maybelline Clear Smooth All-in-One Shine-Free Foundation (To Go), whew what a mouthful. A powder foundation, with SPF! I’m quite thrilled to get this as I’m just currently using either BB creams or tinted moisturizers. I got the shade Natural. This small compact costs Php199.
Next we have Maybelline EyeStudio LuminEyes, an eyeshadow palette that has an included illuminating primer. The one I got is Bronze, which is composed of gold and bronze shades. I like that it’s very neutral and can be used on an everyday basis for office. This is again full sized, with a value of Php599.
Next is a mascara! Yay! It’s Maybelline The HyperCurl VolumExpress Waterproof Mascara. I can never say no to mascaras, and I’ve been looking for other variants as I’ve already tried the Great Lash. This one is waterproof which is just excellent since I do sweat quite easily. The only thing I’m scared off is the wand (it’s huge!). I’ve been known to stab myself in the eye with large mascara wands before, so hopefully it won’t happen with this one. It’s full sized and valued at Php250.
Next is perhaps my favorite item in the whole box, Maybelline Color Sensational Lasting Lipstick. I am recently addicted to lipsticks and this is quite exceptional. I got the Peachy Scene shade which is my MLBB. It’s also very hydrating and so far I’m really loving this. It’s definitely competing with my Snoe lippie for the favorite spot. It’s full sized and valued at Php399.
Finally we have Maybelline Baby Lips Color Lip Balm, in Berry Crush. To be honest I’m not really looking for more lip balms (I have a long list of balms to try!) but this is actually one of the brands I wanted to try. It may look pretty dark red, but it applies on sheer and has a really yummy scent. This costs Php89.
There we have it, a most awesome lineup for Maybelline. The product value is a whopping Php1536 which is about three times the value of the subscription. BDJ, you have outdone yourself!
And let’s not forget that there is still some vouchers included in the box, which is for Ralph Lauren.
And since I am a quarterly subscriber, I got a bonus item which is unfortunately my nemesis in Garnier’s lineup. Yep, it’s the Brightening Eye Roll-On. I am still grateful for receiving a bonus product, I will probably pass this on to my mom. Check it out, I got a nice handwritten note! (I love handwritten notes!)
My impressions of the May BDJBox: This is like a mini-exclusive, since we get 4-6 products per brand, but on steroids since we get three brands in one box! It’s absolutely mindboggling how amazing this box is. Never mind that the fragrances and about half the Garnier products are unusable to me, but BDJ is just so generous.
Value review: The total product value in this box comes up to an amazing Php2565! Even just taking the value of the Maybelline products makes this box one of the best ones released. Just a note though, BDJ has increased the cost of the subscription from Php480 to Php580. I don’t really mind this increase, since BDJ is consistently delivering premium boxes.
- In: Unboxing
- 7 Comments
If you’ve been following my blog for the past few weeks, you’ll see that I have recently been initiated into the wonderful world of Dazzle Dry. I am now a huge fan and since they are currently hosting a Mother’s Day Sale in their Facebook page, I decided to get myself a set of DD lacquers. The regular price of each of these is Php450, but they are only Php399 during the sale. I was able to receive my lacquers in about three days since I ordered over the weekend. It’s usually shorter if ordered on the weekdays. The package came in a rather large cardboard box filled with large packing peanuts. I’m not showing it anymore since it’s just a regular courier box. Inside that box is a smaller box that contains my new lacquers.
It has my name handwritten on top! I gather that this is previously a box that contained High Velocity Red lacquers (you can see it vaguely from that sticker on the upper left). I love that they recycle! And now, I have a nice and handy container for my own lacquers too. Let’s see how it looks like when opened.
There they are! My new babies! Four glorious bottles of DD lacquer, ready and waiting for me to try them out. And I have two more slots! (hee hee) Let’s see how they look like.
Nice big beautiful bottles that contain 15ml of lacquer each. I got four shades: Lavender Parade, Polar Jade, Sahara, and White Lightning. I got lucky; I think I got the last bottle of White Lightning. Originally I wanted Frozen Lemonade (a flatter and more pastel yellow) instead of Sahara, but now that I have Sahara with me I have no regrets. DD also didn’t have a lot of green shades yet, but as green is my favorite color I have to have one so I chose Polar Jade. It’s the only frosted shade I got.
You might notice I didn’t get any pinks or nudes. This is because I am waiting for the full sized version of Strawberry Macaron. It’s not yet available at the moment.
I can’t wait to swatch these! And maybe try some nail art too. DD dries so fast which makes it ideal for doing nail art.
Want your own Dazzle Dry? Hurry and catch their Mother’s Day Sale over at their Facebook page! Some shades are already out of stock, so better hurry and choose your own.
- In: Reviews
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Finally after a long time I’ve been able to do a review. Today I’m reviewing BYS Brow and Eye Pencil in Brown, which I briefly showed you in my April haul. Let me refresh your memory.
It’s an automatic pencil, meaning no need for sharpeners. You just need to twist the tip to dispense the product. As you can see, the product comes in a thin and flat strip, with a slanted end for easier application. Here is the pencil swatched on my arm.
I swatched it both on the wide side and the narrow side. This shade is a very dark brown, and looks even darker when on the brows. This is okay since my hair and brows aren’t dyed, and is still quite black. This shade is what the BYS SA recommended when I asked to choose between this and the Blond shade. Now while I was swatching this on my arm, something bad happened. I must not have been using the correct angle, or I’m putting too much pressure, but the product broke! Twice! So just like that, I lost about a centimeter worth of product. On the bright side it taught me a very valuable lesson about fragility of products and swatching.
Here it is applied to my eyebrows.
My bare brows (top) are really pretty sparse especially towards the sides. Applying the BYS pencil made my brows look whole, unbroken, and neat. I smoothed down the product with a brow brush. Overall I am pleased with the effect. I’ve been using this almost everyday. As for longevity, it lasts the whole day if you didn’t sweat much or rub your brows. I think this is not waterproof, so sweat can erase it. It’s also not smudge proof, so one needs to be careful not to rub at the brows or the product will get erased as well. This cost me about Php350 (purchased at Watsons), which is not really that bad but it could be better considering it’s not waterproof or smudge proof.
Pros: readily available from Watsons; works well as brow pencil, and can double as eye liner
Cons: fragile; non waterproof; non smudge proof
Nails: Afternoon Tea
Posted on: May 7, 2013
This is quite delayed, but I do want to show you swatches of the Afternoon Tea collection of Dazzle Dry. If you will recall from the unboxing, there are four shades in the Afternoon Tea collection: Forget Me Not, Petit Four, Spearmint Tea, and Strawberry Macaron, . Here again are the shades in their sample-sized bottles:
I started swatching the last two shades, Spearmint Tea and Strawberry Macaron. Here they are, I made a mani out of it with opposite accent nails.
Spearmint Tea is a nice teal, while Strawberry Macaron is a dainty pink. I like how glossy they came out. The Dazzle Dry system (nail prep, base coat, and top coat) make it very durable; I’ve worn this mani for a whole week without noticeable chipping. More importantly, Dazzle Dry really dries fast! They claim to dry rock hard in 5 minutes, but the heat in Manila makes it dry even faster.
I loved the experience so much that I made bold to try nail art on the other two shades, Forget Me Not and Petit Four. I just wanted to try a simple dotting experiment, but alas I didn’t have a dotting tool. I just took some sewing pins and used the round pinheads to dot the lacquer. The dots turned out to be rather large, but I thought it wasn’t too bad for a first try! Check it out:
Forget Me Not is a true blue, while Petit Four is a nice apricot shade (almost orange, really). Again, notice how glossy it came out. Very pretty! I’m a convert to DD now, definitely!
Do check out Dazzle Dry Philippines’ online store. They are currently having a Mother’s Day sale, hurry while stocks of your favorite colors last!
April Haul Mega Post
Posted on: May 5, 2013
- In: Haul
- 7 Comments
As I bought a lot for the month of April, I decided to just do a huge post to show you my haul. First up is my haul from Sample Room.
I got the Zen Nutrients All is Well Oil (40 points) and the SoTrue Lavender Skin Repair Balm (10 points) from their Earth Day set.
The All is Well oil is very similar to White Flower. It soothes headaches, coughs, and dizziness through inhaling the soothing scent of eucalyptus, lemongrass, and peppermint. I’ve tried this out and it does the job for coughs. I’ll try this for headaches and dizziness once I get those. This is actually a full-sized product, which costs Php125.
The Lavender Skin Repair Balm is basically what its name suggests. It’s a moisturizer for lips, elbows, knees, and heels, supposedly, but I’m mostly using it to soothe itchiness and lighten dry patches. I love that it comes in a tube as it’s easy to carry in my purse. I’m not sure about the full sized product though, I think it comes in a tub. The full product costs Php350.
The next products come from my favorite drugstore, Watsons.
I am starting to love wet wipes, and I decided to try out the Watsons brand of anti-bacterial cleansing wipes. This is a 3-pack of 10 wipes each, for about Php99 I think.
I’m now a fan of Nouveau hair items, from my last Watsons haul. I purchased a set of scruchies this time, 4 pairs for Php99.
I’ve been wanting to get this Maybelline Baby Skin Pore Eraser. There’s been lots of positive reviews and I am keen on trying this for myself. It’s only Php399 which is not bad for a primer. I scored the last one from the store!
Next is BYS Brow and Eye Pencil in Brown. I’ve seen reviews of this as well and I wanted a better brow pencil than the one I currently have. I had a choice of either this automatic pencil (Php350) versus the non-automatic one (Php250) which came with a brush. I decided that since I will be bringing this for travel, I didn’t want the hassle of bringing a sharpener as well.
My next haul is from Snoe, Landmark Trinoma branch. I’ve been wanting to try a lot of products from Snoe (due again to positive reviews online) but I kept myself to two products for now.
First is the new Awesome Poresome Beauty Bar, which is a facial cleanser that has calamansi, witch hazel, pineapple, and cucumber, all products that aim to reduce the pores. The SA mentioned that this is an upgrade of Snoe’s Calamansi bar. This is a huge bar, 140g, and costs Php199. I’m sure it will take me a long time to finish this. The scent is soothing too!
This is Snoe Rouge Deluxe in X19 Mauve Movement. This is also one of their newest shades. I actually have a long list of shades I want to try, but I decided to go for the one outside my comfort zone. This has a slightly purple tint to it, which is definitely something I haven’t used before. I love how pretty the tube is, quite unique among my (meager) collection of lippies. This costs Php399.
Lastly, I went on a splurge of Dazzle Dry lacquers as they are currently on a month-long Mother’s Day sale. The original cost of a bottle of lacquer is Php450, but it’s down to Php399! I thought that since I am so in love with the DD samples that I won, I might as well use this opportunity to get a good spread of colors. I’ll have a separate unboxing post, but let me show you a sneak peek:
I got four! Woo! I can’t wait to try these out. For your reference the shade names are: Sahara, Lavender Parade, Polar Jade, and White Lightning. Some of the shades are already sold out, so go right ahead to their online store and get your own before it runs out!
Unboxing the April GlamourBox
Posted on: May 3, 2013
- In: Unboxing
- 4 Comments
It’s finally here! Actually I received this last April 30, but I am only now able to write about it. Without further ado, let’s see what we have for the April Glamourbox!
This April the theme is Green Beauty. “This month, we honor the source of all beauty, Mother Earth! We therefore selected eco-friendly products that offer natural benefits to enhance your beauty. We hope you enjoy these exciting discoveries as much as we do!” A theme close to my heart! I love this month’s theme, I’m always in favor of using eco-friendly products. Let’s see what these are.
Full size 0.10oz – Php735
First up: Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm Magic Tink Tint in Happy Thoughts Pink (wow what a mouthful!). The welcome card says: “Think happy thoughts as this subtly blooming, super-nourishing gel crayon tints your lips in true Tinker Bell style. With shea butter & lip-plumping hyaluronic acid, it will keep your lips in optimum condition.” A tinted lip balm! This will be my first. I love the packaging, and am quite surprised that this has Tinkerbell branding. I’ve already tried it, and it does have a sheer color to it. I’ll do a swatch and a quick review of this soon. This is full sized, so the item value is Php735.
Full size 0.2oz – Php740
Next we have Mox Botanicals Lip Butter in Coconut Almondine. The card says: “Made with 100% natural ingredients, Mox Botanicals lip butters incorporates the benefits of shea and avocado butter with Jojoba and Meadowfoam Seed Oil to create a truly luxurious lip experience.” Hmm, another lip butter/balm? To be honest I’m not as excited about this as the Pixi tint. I have a lot of lip balms in line for trying, so I’m not really looking for more to try yet. Not to mention, those beads of moisture on the surface does not inspire confidence either. I’m not sure how much this sample contains, but let us assume that this might be the full size so item value should be the full Php740.
Full size 140g – Php250
This one is Mir & Ryvi Banana Soap, for which the card says “Made only from ethically sourced organic banana, acerola extract and cupuacu butter, this Mir & Ryvi soap lightens acne scars and age spots to promote natural skin elasticity and renewal.” Interesting product, as I haven’t seen a lot of beauty products based on banana. Unfortunately I am already trying another facial soap at the moment, so it will probably take some time before I try this one out. On the bright side, I don’t think soap expires, so there should be no rush to try this. (Do correct me if I’m wrong with this.) I estimate this to be about 50g, so item value is around Php90.
Full size 130g – Php94
Next we have Droplets of Nature Beauty and Bright Anti-Ageing Serum Bar. According to the card, “The first wash-off serum bar in the Philippines. It effectively lightens and moisturizes one’s skin. It is loaded with moringa, acai berry, kojic acid, papaya, lemon extracts and lactic acid.” A serum bar! Talk about innovative. I’ve heard a lot of positive things about Droplets of Nature, and this one sure is very intriguing. I’m sure this is the full sized bar, so item value is a full Php94.
Full size 275ml – Php195
This is Hollywood Style Light Summer Lotion, the biggest and heaviest product in the box. The welcome card says, “Replenish skin with an instant burst of hydration! This 100% oil-free lotion is made with cucumber, aloe vera, vitamin E and natural sunscreen ingredients for a cool & fresh daily summertime protection.” I might have mentioned once or twice in this blog that I am a lotion fan, so this one really excited me a lot. This feels like the full 275ml, so item value is Php195.
Full size 50ml – Php395
Lastly we have Regatta Leisure for Men and Leisure for Women fragrance samples as bonus items. I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised about receiving fragrance samples in my beauty subscriptions, but a girl can hope. Oh well, hopefully I will enjoy the scents. I haven’t tried them out yet as they are sealed. These are probably around 2ml each, so total item value of the samples is about Php32.
I didn’t receive the soap flakes that other subscribers received. That was probably for the quarterly subscribers so I’m not surprised to get one. It’s just a little sad, I guess. Let me also mention that this box did not have any vouchers or gift certificates.
My impressions of the April Glamourbox: I find it quite interesting that this is mostly a skincare box, with only the Pixi tint being the only cosmetic item. In general I like the items (except of course the fragrance and the lip balm) and look forward to trying them all out. Hopefully though, the next box will contain more cosmetics.
Value review: The total value of this box is around Php1890, assuming that the Mox Lip Butter is full sized. The Pixi tint alone covers the price of the box (Php595) so I did get my money back and then some. Most of the items I liked here are the lower-priced ones though (which means I will probably rebuy them if I like their performance).
Becoming Sleek 