Archive for the ‘Wishlist’ Category
Wishlist: Nail Polish
Posted on: November 20, 2013
- In: Wishlist
- 2 Comments
For the second edition of Wishlist, I present to you my Nail Polish wishlist. I am listing this by brand, although some brands have several items listed in them. My primary consideration in including anything on this list is that it has to be cruelty-free.
1. Dazzle Dry Esnavi Collection, and Dazzle Dry Bloggers Mystery Collection
Image credits: http://sereinemagazine.com/
Image credits: http://wackylaki.blogspot.com/
Why I Want It: Dazzle Dry is my favorite brand primarily because it dries rock-hard in literally five minutes. This is tried and tested, and the Philippine distributor is so nice! The first collection is limited edition and is a collaboration with the singer Esnavi. It has only three shades (green, purple, and peach) and I want all of them! The Bloggers Mystery is a collaboration with five prominent nail bloggers (the sixth shade being a DD-made one), and is released as the 2013 winter collection. I would like to get all six shades but realistically I would probably only get my top three (white, blue, and green). All three of the Esnavi shades are available at Dazzle Dry PH while the Bloggers Mystery will be available at the end of the month.
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: Nothing, really. Probably the price, but that isn’t how wishlists are supposed to work, right? 😀
2. OPI Couture de Minnie Runway Minnies
Image credits: http://www.glambunctious.com/
Why I Want It: I’ve always liked Minnie Mouse, as she presents as a strong female character without being over the top. This OPI set (includes four of the five shades of this collection, in mini bottles) seems to capture that idea quite well. In addition I love pinks and starting to lean on reds as well, so this is the perfect set to get started on OPI.
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: OPI may be cruelty-free, but it is owned by a parent company that tests on animals (Coty). I’m not yet sure how I feel about that, but I figure if a parent company profits from a cruelty-free daughter company then that ultimately supports the animal testing of the parent company.
3. Models Own Nail Polishes
Image credits: http://nitrolicious.com/
Why I Want It: My experience with my first Models Own made me want to get more shades. It applies well and dries relatively fast.
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: The local reseller, Glamourbox, only has limited shades available. And among those shades, I probably only want one or two. It’s not “sulit” to order only a couple since I’d have to pay extra for shipping anyway. I’d rather order a bunch for efficient ordering.
4. Deborah Lippman Wicked Collection
Image credits: http://www.polishpolice.com/
Why I Want It: I like fairy tales, and the Wizard of Oz is one of my favorites. While admittedly I have neither read the book nor watched the play, I like the swatches of the Wicked collection I’ve found online. That green polish would fit quite well into my greens collection.
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: Deborah Lippman is a brand I’ve never tried before. I have no idea if it will work well with my go-to base and top coats (Dazzle Dry) so it will be a gamble if I buy this set.
5. Rescue Beauty Lounge Fan 2.0 Collection Coquette
Image credits: http://www.peachypolish.com
Why I Want It: Emboldened by my positive experience with Liberty, I want to try more shades from RBL. From the latest colaboration with RBL fans I chose the shade Coquette as the best.
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: Unlike Liberty, the Fan 2.0 collection was not picked up by any reseller so it is very difficult to acquire this. I’ve never had the experience of importing an item directly. In addition, getting this will only make me more addicted to RBL, which is by far the most expensive polish I own (and is probably not that sustainable, hehe).
6. Picture Polish
Image credits: http://polishplease.ph/
Why I Want It: Picture Polish is an Australian brand of nail polishes that produce really interesting shades. Thankfully it is being distributed locally by Polish Please, and has a pretty good selection of shades. I love most of the greens and blues (hence the shade selection above) and would love to try at least a couple of these. I can combine this with OPI Couture de Minnie above to save on shipping fees.
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: Just like Deborah Lippman, this is a brand I’ve never tried before and may not work well with my go-to base and top coats (Dazzle Dry) so it will be a gamble if I buy this set.
Bonus Item: Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Image credits: http://seche.com/
Why I Want It: My go-to top coat does not work well with some brands, and I need an alternative. I’ve seen many praises for this top coat which have convinced me that this should be on my wish list even if it’s not a nail polish per se. As a bonus, I can combine this with the OPI Couture de Minnie set to save on shipping (from Polish Please).
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: Seche is mostly cruelty-free, but they do not guarantee the same for their ingredient vendors. This is not such a big deal for me at the moment, but it’s a point of contention.
Verdict: Dazzle Dry it is, to be honest. Nothing can beat a tried and tested brand, and it already works with my base and top coat of choice (of the same brand, hehe!). I might get the Seche top coat anyway since I do have other brands of polish that I regularly use too.
Have you tried/owned any of these brands? Which would you recommend/not recommend and why, or would you rather recommend something else?
Wishlist: Eyeshadow Palettes
Posted on: November 7, 2013
- In: Wishlist
- 8 Comments
Just to try something new, let me show you some of my wishlists. The idea is to write out the reasons why I want to get the things on my wishlists, and the reasons why I shouldn’t get them. In this way, I can judge whether or not it makes sense to buy them with the limited money I have and at the same time, avoid buying stuff that are not on these lists.
This first edition is my eyeshadow palette wishlist. My primary factor in choosing all of these is that it has to be a neutral palette, and as much as possible a good percentage of them consists of matte shadows.
1. Lorac Pro Palette
Image credit: http://www.loraccosmetics.com/
Why I Want It: Lorac is known to have really good quality shadows, and most reviews on this palette confirms this. It has a great range of shades, and has both matte and shimmer shadows. It has sixteen shades! If you look at the price per shadow (Php137-166/shadow) it looks to be a ridiculously good deal. It also comes with a small tube of primer! Finally, Lorac is also cruelty-free.
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: It’s the most expensive item on my wish list, and it will take a lot of budgeting to buy this. It’s not available locally and might be hard to find. There is a big variation in the prices, as low as Php2200 and as expensive as Php2650. In addition, it has no applicator included and the case is made of hard cardboard (as opposed to plastic). This combination makes it a little hard to be portable.
2. Urban Decay Naked Basics
Image credit: http://www.urbandecay.com/
Why I Want It: Naked Basics is usually on the list of many bloggers’ top eyeshadow palettes. It’s a pretty handy palette consisting of six shadows (neutral of course), and they’re all matte. It’s a great starting point for a makeup beginner like me, and on the whole it’s a reasonably priced palette too. As a bonus, Urban Decay is cruelty-free.
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: The shade variation is a little meh. Three of the six are highlight shades and will pretty much look the same on the lid. It’s also a little hard to find, and there is a big variation in prices across different online stores. I’ve seen it as low as Php1300 and as high as Php1800.
3. Sleek I-Divine in Au Naturel
Image credits: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/
Why I Want It: I’ve always wanted to get Sleek Makeup since it reflects the name of my blog, and I did hear a lot of good things about the brand. An eyeshadow palette from them would be a great start, and it’s not really that expensive either. For Php650 you get ten neutral (mostly) matte shadows which is such a great deal! I like how the packaging looks as well.
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: Some reviews say that the lighter shades aren’t very good. Sleek is also not cruelty-free, which is a big factor to me.
4. San San Single Shadows in Earth Tones
Image credits: http://peachypinksisters.blogspot.com/
Why I Want It: San San is a local brand that makes excellent makeup and nail polish, and I’ve always liked supporting local brands. They came out with awesomely cheap single shadows (which is definitely not a palette, but I’ll add this here anyway) at Php50 per shadow. I am interested in the five matte neutrals they have, and I’m counting them like a palette. HBC, which sells the brand, is located in a lot of places so this is pretty accessible.
Why I Shouldn’t Buy It: It is not a palette, and I can imagine how messy it is to work with single shadows. It can be fixed with an empty palette like Wild Peach but it would increase the price of the whole thing dramatically. Reviews also say that some of the shades in this line aren’t very good and need a primer. I also have no idea if San San is cruelty-free.
Verdict: After writing this all out, it seems to me that I should go and invest in the Lorac Pro Palette if I have the cash for it. The cases against it are not that big a deal (I have eyeshadow brushes, and I don’t need it to be portable). Otherwise, I can start with the San San Singles if I am in a hurry (which I am really not, since I do own a Nichido palette and two Ellefar palettes that are more or less neutral).
Have you tried/owned any of these? Which would you recommend/not recommend and why, or would you rather recommend something else?
Becoming Sleek 