Archive for July 2014
20 Days of Lipstick: Week 1
Posted on: July 28, 2014
- In: Musings
- 14 Comments
I am joining this beauty dare, where the challenge is to wear a different lipstick for each of the five working days for four weeks. No repeating! It’s going to be a lot of challenge for me because I don’t really have a huge collection of lipsticks. I’m going to try featuring those that I don’t wear very often. Check out Elaine’s challenge too see how the challenge actually goes.
Let’s start with Week 1!
Day 1: Clinique Long Last Lipstick in All Heart
I wanted to start with my current favorite, and one of my most recent acquisitions: Clinique Long Last Lipstick in All Heart. I bought this from Shayne’s blog sale and I definitely do not regret buying it! It’s a nice glossy shade of berry red, with tiny microshimmers that aren’t noticeable from afar. It’s not that robust though, and will fade with eating or drinking.
Day 2: Snoe Rouge Deluxe in Mauve Movement
This is one of the first lipsticks I bought when I was just starting with beauty blogging. This is a loud mauvey pink shade that appears to be understated on me actually. I don’t normally wear this because it dries me up a little even with a balm underneath.
Day 3: Clinique Long Last Lipstick in Pink Peach
Another Clinique lipstick here, and this one is part of the All-in-One Colour Palette that I received last year. This particular shade is an MLBB for me. It also has a subtle sheen on the finish, but not as obvious as the All Heart. The only disadvantage to this is that I need a brush to apply it, but I love how smooth and even my lips look so it’s worth it!
Day 4: Winmax Pearl Rouge #5
This particular lipstick is part of a huge Daiso Japan haul I did earlier this year. This is a nice understated pink shade similar to Snoe’s Mauve Movement, but costs much cheaper. The bullet is of course appropriately cheaper-looking as well. The application is quite easy, but the formula is a little drying too. I find that I need to apply a balm underneath to avoid patches.
Day 5: Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Lollipop
This is, iirc, from one of the first few BDJ boxes I got. It’s pretty soft (buttery, even!) and glides on pretty smoothly. I don’t really understand why I don’t use this more often, to be honest. It’s quite pink, which doesn’t really show in this picture because I have a shitty camera and shitty lighting.
I’ve been enjoying this so far, and I’m happy to have achieved the full five days for last week! Hopefully I’ll get to use up some of the other ones I have in my stash. Maybe you can join me too!
Review: Colour Collection Ultimate Wear Eyeshadow in Golden Veil + Life Update
Posted on: July 21, 2014
- In: Reviews | Swatches
- 21 Comments
Life Update
How are all of you, post-Glenda? I’m very lucky in that, aside from the metro-wide blackout, my family has been mostly unaffected. The tree in front of my house got uprooted and almost hit my car. With the help of some neighbors we were able to upright it back in place, with some rope. I was able to spend a lot of extra time with my daughter since she had no school for almost the entire week. I was also unable to blog because of a lot of work-related stuff, but hopefully I’ll get back in the groove soon!
On to the review!
I received this Colour Collection Ultimate Wear Eyeshadow in Golden Veil as part of the prize pack in The Beauty Junkee’s 5th Anniversary giveaway (I was also able to meet Martha!). It’s one of my most anticipated products in the pack, naturally as it is a neutral eyeshadow palette.
It is a round compact that is relatively large for a 4-shadow palette. It’s as big as the palm of my hand. I like the compact because even if it’s made of plastic, it feels durable and yet light. The finish though is not very good; it attracts a lot of dirt and fingerprints. It should be easy to clean with a damp cloth.
On the back you’ll see the compact name, Golden Veil, and that it contains 4 grams of product. It also indicates that it’s a product of Tupperware Brands Philippines, Inc.
Upon opening you will be greeted by one of the highlights of this palette: the humongous mirror. It comprises the entire underneath of the lid! It’s a really good-sized mirror, and is one of the major reasons why I like bringing this compact around. You’ll also see the actual shadows themselves, which are housed in these tiny pans. It also comes with a double-sided brush, a foam applicator on one end and a shading brush on the other. I’ve never used this, preferring my full-sized brushes for eyeshadow application.
Here is a close up of the palette. I’ve labeled the shadows so that it’s easier to reference it with the swatches below.
1 is a highlight shade, a very light gold. It’s almost invisible against my skin without primer. 2 is a copper, the redness of which comes out pretty nicely with primer. 3 is a rose gold peachy shade which is quite similar to 2. 4 is a grayish brown, almost black especially with primer. The primer I used here is Artdeco Eyeshadow Base.
I really like the colors of this palette. As a bonus, 4 can be used for the brows! I’ve used that as eyebrow powder here, as well as 1 and 2 for the lids.
Here is a close up of the brows and the eye makeup. The shimmers don’t really translate well, which is definitely a good thing since it appears to be quite matte. This makes the palette very work-appropriate!
I don’t have information about Colour Collection’s stance on animal testing. I also could not find any price information about this specific product. For reference, their eyeshadow trios cost Php380 SRP (Php279 in their current brochure).
Pros: big mirror; darkest shade can be used for brows; great color combinations
Cons: needs primer for colors to pop; not easily accessible; no price information
Colour Collection can be bought from dealers, which you can find here.
- In: Reviews
- 11 Comments
When a whole bunch of Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer full-sized samplers appeared at Sampleroom, I knew I have to get myself one. Unfortunately I didn’t know which shade is the best, so I just grabbed one that looks nothing like what I already have. Raisin is the chosen one! I’m really very excited about this because this is my first encounter with the brand.
According to Sampleroom:
Want your lips to speak volumes? Give them a smooch of luminescent color with our luscious Lip Shimmers. Shea Butter and antioxidant-rich Fruit Oils moisturize, nourish and soften lips naturally and lovingly. Choose our Radiance Lip Shimmer for a sheer glow or try one of our other luminescent shades.
• Nourishes and moisturizes lips with Vitamin E and Beeswax
• Enriched with Sunflower and Coconut Oils
• Invigorates with Peppermint flavor
It comes in a really slim tube, and contains only 2.6 grams of product. It’s a lot less than the usual 4 grams (or even 3 grams) of lipstick/balm. On the tube it looks like a really dark burgundy shade, with a little bit of shine (shimmer, even).
The one thing that struck me the most about Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer, aside from the awesome pigmentation, is the scent. It is a lovely, pepperminty scent that is almost overwhelming, but not quite. It actually translates to a cool menthol feeling on the lips, which might be a bad thing for people who are sensitive to such things.
The one bad thing about this is that the twisting mechanism does not retract the product back. Yes it pushes out the product, but it doesn’t put it back! You’ll have to push it back with your fingers if you over-exposed it, which sounds a little unhygienic.
Lip swatch! Firstly here’s my bare lips.
And here’s about one or two layers of Raisin. Check out that pigmentation!
The product is relatively long-lasting, about 3-4 hours with drinking (water and coffee, for me). This tube costs Php395, and is available at Beauty Bar. Lazada also carries some Burt’s Bees items, but not this particular one. It costed me 105 points at Sampleroom.
Burt’s Bees, as far as I know, is cruelty-free.
Pros: very pigmented, relatively long-lasting, lovely scent, cooling effect
Cons: price maybe?, twisting mechanism does not retract the product back
Another blogger tag: Liebster Award
Posted on: July 3, 2014
- In: Musings
- 3 Comments
I’ve actually been tagged in this “award” twice. The first time was maybe a couple of months ago by Nat (my pardons for taking this long!), and recently by Joey. Thanks for the tag, guys! [PS I got inspired and handmade the Liebster Award image above!]
As is standard, here are the guidelines for the Liebster Award:
- Thank and link back to the person who nominated you
- Answer her questions
- Nominate 5 other bloggers
- You must come up with 11 questions for your nominees to answer.
Nat’s Questions:
1. Why did you start blogging?
I’ve been blogging for a very long time, and the reason I started was mostly because I loved writing and I wanted to share my favorite restaurant finds. Yes, I had first been a food blogger before I was a beauty blogger. I started beauty blogging because I recently got into makeup and skincare and nail polish and like the food blogging, I wanted to share my favorite finds!
2. What’s your favourite lipstick? (Yes, pick one)
This is really difficult! I would say any of the three featured in my Melting Horror post.
3. Lipstick, lipgloss, lip stain or lip tar?
Lipstick, and lip stain is a close second.
4. Cream or powder products? (blush, eyeshadow, foundation)
I don’t have much experience with cream products, so I’ll go with powder!
5. Do you change your makeup according to the seasons?
Here in the Philippines there are only two seasons: very hot, and very wet. I usually switch to powder foundation and a higher notch of sunblock in the very hot season, and go back to liquid foundation/bb cream in the wet season.
6. What item (makeup, clothes, jewellery, etc.) is #1 on your to-buy list now?
Lorac Pro Palette
7. The last thing you bought?
That would be Etude House Proof10 Eye Primer, which I spoke a little about in my last post.
8. The last book you’ve read?
I’m recently in a rediscovery of one of my favorite authors, Mercedes Lackey. I bought a few of the anthologies set in her world of Valdemar.
9. Red velvet or chocolate cake?
I have no preference between those two. It depends on the mood, but I like both of them! I would prefer either of these over any other cake types/flavors.
10. Cake or pie? (You can see how I am hungry as I type these things)
Cake usually!
11. Cats or dogs?
Dogs! I really really love dogs, and would love to get more beyond my current baby, Zelda.
Joey’s Questions:
1. Why did you start blogging? Has it turned out to be what you expected?
Check out my answer to Nat’s first question. It did turn out mostly as expected, with the exception being my finding new friends in the beauty blogging community! It’s such a welcome surprise!
2. What is the story behind your blog name?
The reason as I stated above is to document my journey through beauty and makeup, and I thought the aim was to eventually become “sleek”. Hence the name. 😛
3. On any given day, what will we find inside your make-up bag?
I have two makeup bags – one that stays in my purse all the time, and one that I bring on days that I have not applied makeup at home. The contents of the former are pictured above: Pixi Magic Tink Tint in Happy Thoughts Pink, Pixi Shea Butter Balm in Ripe Raspberry, L’Occitane Hand Cream (almost empty!), Maybelline Clear Smooth All In One Face Powder, Calvin Klein Beauty sample, hand mirror. The pouch is from Tickles.
4. You will never leave the house without applying this make-up product….
Any brow product! I feel pretty bare without my brows drawn in.
5. What beauty product do you own the most number of?
I’m embarrassed to say, eyeshadow palettes. I seriously have too many! The photo above shows only the palettes I have in active rotation. And still I want more! Gah!
6. Skin Care or Cosmetics, which to you prefer to try out and why?
I’d say cosmetics. It’s really hard to test skin care, as it takes a long time to see results.
7. Who are your favorite Beauty Bloggers? Name 3.
This is really difficult to answer! I have a reading list of about 50 local and foreign beauty bloggers on both my rss feeds and wordpress reader.
8. Name a beauty brand you want to try but never got because it was too pricy.
Previously that would be NARS, but I recently got to try their tinted moisturizer. I guess I’ll go with Guerlain.
9. If you could travel the world, where is your first stop and why?
Tokyo please! I’ve never forgotten my trip there when I was 12. I enjoyed every bit of it! I’d like to go back and experience it again as an adult.
10. Who do you consider your makeup guru and why?
The internet. There’s loads of resources to learn how to apply makeup on the internet!
11. Tell me something unusual about yourself.
I’ve shared a lot of those in my last blogger tag. For something new, I’ve visited an ostrich farm in the Caribbean last year. It was very informative! I even got to feed ostriches!
My nominees [skipping Elaine and Rae since Joey already tagged them]:
1. Tellie of Beauty By Tellie
2. Victoria (Becs) of The Vee Side
3. Eula of Eula Sleeps
4. Kira of Elegantly Wasted
5. Carina of Softly Sometimes
My questions for the nominees: [I cheated and just copied my 11 questions from the Sunshine Blogger tag.]
1. What started you into makeup?
2. Dogs or cats? Introduce me to your baby!
3. What book would you recommend I read?
4. What is a quick perk-me-up that you do whenever you feel down?
5. What specific local makeup product would you recommend I try?
6. What is your night time skincare routine?
7. What is on the top of your beauty wishlist?
8. Last of the recommendations: what restaurant would you recommend I try?
9. What is your skill that you’re most proud of?
10. Coffee or tea?
11. What are your non-beauty hobbies?
Becoming Sleek 