Makeup I Loved in 2014

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Hello!  Welcome to my year-end round up of makeup I loved in 2014!  Its not a lot (I think), and you might even be familiar with some of these if you've been visiting my blog, but these are the products I really enjoyed this year.


This is going to be fairly short since you already know I like these.  I'm probably just going to highlight why I like the products.  Let's start with the two eye products:

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My Most Repurchased Makeup Product

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I have one product that I've repurchased a few times already.  I think I've bought five tubes of it already.  It's one of my first makeup products, going back high school.  And this time of the year, its usually on sale at Php 395 from Php 795 or its bundled with another makeup product of their's.

It's the Body Shop Lip and Cheek Stain.  I remember it was called a "tint" rather than a "stain" and I used to have such a hard time saying it.  The first time I bought this, it was even in their old rough / frosted looking plastic that was quite plain looking, but actually looked more generous.  The formula has remained the same though and I really enjoy it to the point where it looks really beat up.


If you're after that "I-just-got-pinched" look or that "blushing-because-you're-embarrassed" look, then this could be your go-to product.  Its really easy to apply, either with a brush or fingers.  It will stain your fingers as well though.  This is probably comparable to some of Benefit's tints, but this comes with a doe foot applicator compared to Benefit's nail polish-like brush.



Basically, if you apply this on your cheeks, you just need to dot the apples of your cheeks.  Then, you blend with either your fingers or a brush.  Here's how your fingers would look like after though.


I usually use my fingers as its the fastest way.  A tip though is to not rub it in and strategically dot it then pat and leave to dry.  If you rub it all away the color would be a little faint.  Same goes if you apply it on the lips.  What I do is, I'll add one layer, let it dry, then add another for that pink "just-bitten" look.



I like this product for the following reasons:

1.  The tube lasts me almost a year!  So if you do get it at their sale price, which pops out often enough, its a steal!
2.  It gives you the most natural look, as if you didn't put anything, but you're really just blushing.
3.  You could easily top it off with liquid, cream, or powder highlighter.  I love doing this!




I'll be honest.  This post is pretty delayed, but in case some of you are still thinking of last minute gifts this Christmas, then the cheek and lip tint is a great idea! 

Enjoy the holidays! :)

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October / November 2014 Favorites (Beauty and Home Decor)

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Hi there!

I have three favorites to share with you today!  Among the several purchases from the #feelingspendy month of October and November, I've narrowed down to two make-up products and a set of trays.  Yup, you got that right - trays.  And I've got a lot of photos of them.  I'm at that point in my life where homeware is on my wishlist (i.e. a set of goblets, coasters, plants - but yeah, that's technically not home ware, etc.).  And I don't even have my own place yet.  Lol.

I know its a little late, but its timely for this season's gift buying.  :)

So, before I reveal the trays, let's get on with the makeup.

1.  Ellana Mineral Cosmetics' Intensive Blend Mineral Powder Foundation in French Vanilla Latte (Php 460).  My MAC powder foundation has hit pan already.  Whenever I have a product about to be finished, I always ask myself if I want to repurchase or try out a new product.  Well, this time, I have to admit, I had to save because I've been quite naughty with my expenses.  Also, it's a great time to try the Ellana powder foundation that everyone seems to be raving about.


2. Etude House Play 101 Eyeliner (Php 328).  I cannot get enough of these liners.  I already have four of them.  It started with a navy blue one.  Then, a black one.  Then, when Etude House had a 3 day sale, I got a purple and brown one.  They all work really well.


Lastly, we have the trays.


3.  Archipelago Chevron and Striped Print Trays (Php 679.75 and 579.75) from Our Home.  These trays just keep things neatly organized in one place.  The bigger one is square shaped and the smaller one is rectangular.





With Christmas coming up, I'm sure any makeup enthusiast would love to receive the Etude pencils.  For someone you really know who wants to try out mineral makeup, the Ellana foundation would be great.  And for aunts, your mom, or yourself, the Our Home trays is a great accessory / organizer for the home.

That's all for now. :)


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FOTD 2: Day-time "Smokey"

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If you have eyes like mine, you probably won't have a problem doing a smokey eye during the day.  Tendency is it won't matter how smokey or how thick and black your eye shadow is.  Your eyelids would just engulf your whole lid and put all your eye shadow work to waste.  People would probably only know how much you've put on your eyes when they're closed or when you're looking down.  So, one day, I decided to go for a "smokey" eye look just to change things up.



For this FOTD post, I won't go into detail about some makeup items I used because I've mentioned some in my previous FOTD post or maybe even some of my previous posts.  As you can see, my eyes just seem to be a little more defined than if I didn't put anything but mascara.  It does not look like too much on the photo, but it's more obvious in person.  For the eyes I used:

1.  Etude House Play 101 Pencil in No. 1 (Black, no glitters).  To create a base for the eye shadow, I smudged a bit of this pencil to get that worn in pencil eyeliner look.  This product dries fast, so make sure to blend it right away if you're going for that look as well.

2.  Clinique Color Surge Eye Shadow Quad.  I actually don't know the name of the color, it just says that the color came from the Totally Neutral Trio.  Anyway, I used the darkest shade to cover most of the lid, then just blended the edges with a clean brush.  I went back with the pencil to line the top and bottom lash line.  I blended the bottom lash line and topped it off with eye shadow as well.

3.  Maybelline The Rocket Mascara.  This is what I used to finish the eye makeup.

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Philosophy Purity Made Simple 3-in-1 Cleanser for Face and Eyes Review

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philosophy: purity is natural.  we come into this
world with all the right instincts.  we are innocent
and perceive things as they should be, rather than
how they are.  our conscience is clear, our hands
are clean and the world at large is truly beautiful.

Honestly, this is the first time I've read the whole thing completely.  Yes, I do wash my face with this every night or so and I did sort of read it when I bought it, but its truly the first time I've read the fine text.
Prior to this cleanser, I used the Pond's Deep Cleansing Facial Foam with the activated carbon as the special ingredient.  Now I'm really fine with it.  It does, for me, what a cleanser should do and at a good price too.  But, knowing that there are other cleansers to try, I just had to pass on repurchasing this when I finished my small tube of it.  

Though I have a few products on my mind for my next cleanser, I went ahead with a product I was really curious about from the start, the Purity Made Simple cleanser of Philosophy.  Philosophy, even when they were still in Beauty Bar here in the Philippines, gave me an impression of simplicity, straight-forwardness, and a touch of elegance, which was quite intimidating for a college student like me back then.  Now, Philosophy has its own kiosk at Greenbelt and I still felt the same way about it.  But, I'm not that intimidated anymore.  In fact, I gave the 90 ml bottle (Php 595) a try.  Quite pricey for a cleanser, and for that small amount, but this is the price of me wanting to try different products.  At least now I'd know if its a good buy or not.


I hope you don't get disappointed with me not posting any before and after photos, but I just didn't see much of a difference with my skin.  It was also a little bit too liquid, which makes it hard to have a hold of, especially when pouring the right amount.  When you open the cap, there's just your regular seal and when that's off, its basically open enough for the liquid to freely come out.  It has a similar consistency to Cetaphil.  So, imagine Cetaphil not having a smaller opening in its bottle cap.  Like Cetaphil, as well, it doesn't create a foam or bubble up.  Then we have the smell.  It has an "organic/natural" smell to it, which doesn't really bother me, but may bother other people quite sensitive about smell.

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September 2014 Purchases (Storage Pieces)

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We're almost halfway through October!  Last month hasn't been too exciting purchase-wise.  Most of those I've bought aren't actually make-up or skin care, but storage.  I've spoken about how I now live in Manila (previously, Baguio).  So, basically, I had to rearrange my make-up, leave some behind, throw some (expired ones) away, and fit them in a relatively smaller area.


The first item, I purchased online towards the end of August.  It arrived first week of September.  It was a Miss Bella PH Brush Holder with Lid in Small (Php 500).  The brushes, of course, did not come with the container but the beads did.  They also let you choose the color.  The beads help the brushes stay upright without necessarily hitting the sides of the container.


The main purpose of this purchase was to keep the dust from getting to the brushes.  I could say I'm happy with this buy.  I haven't seen other online shops selling these yet.  I stumbled upon their IG account and got to order from there.  Because I've added some smaller eye brushes, the container looks a little cramped, but I don't mind.  Getting a larger one would occupy too much space in our dresser.  The shape is well thought too.  If you really have a lot of brushes, they have a larger one, or you could just get two of this.

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My Go-to Beauty Blogs and Channels

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As I promised in my last post, this post would be about my favorite beauty blogs and channels.  I don't really know how this obsession with makeup all started but I don't think I can get enough of watching these beauty vloggers/gurus on Youtube.  I must have said this somewhere, but Youtube is my go-to entertainment in the morning while eating breakfast.  So, let's get into it. :)

Photo from Vivianna Does Makeup FB page
Click photo for source
Top of the list would probably be Vivianna Does Makeup.  I love her!  Isn't she pretty?  I really enjoy her weekly vlogs on top of her usual makeup reviews.  Her editing is not gimmicky and not over the top, but it isn't boring.  She's easy to relate to (well, at least for me), has a great and adorable personality, and seems to have a life that isn't extravagant but is interesting enough for you to wanna be her even for just a day.  Hihi.  Think date nights, shopping, and walking down the streets of U.K.  I'm not too stalker-ish yet to know where she's based in U.K. exactly.  I think she does what she does well and has definitely inspired this blog.   She's very organized and really speaks well.  She has a really good blog too, also Vivianna Does Makeup, which won this year's Bloglovin's best beauty blog.  Makeup-wise, she mixes things up with high-end and "drugstore" products.  I don't know about you but the "drugstore" products they pertain to are actually quite pricey here and are sold in the department stores.  Lol.  Ok, I should stop with Vivianna or else this would be an article about her.

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The First Three Steps for Makeup Beginners

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Hi there!

To anyone building their make-up kit, you can do it!  Lol.  This is in relation to my recent post where I helped out my sister buy a few items for her makeup kit.  These simple steps would probably be best:

  1. Don't buy anything just yet!  Have a look see first in the department store or the makeup shops.  See what catches your attention and take note of them on your phone.  You can ask the sales ladies if you could take photos.  These days they'd even like it when you do, right?  Know what you have and what you need.  Try knowing what you'd use everyday.
  2. As soon as you go home, read the reviews.  With everyone on the internet, there's bound to be a review of that product that caught your attention.  There are actually a lot of beauty blogs out there.  You'd be surprised at how reviews could go really well for a product or really bad.  It may not mean that a product is good for you if it's good for one person.  She might have a different skin type from you, different preference from you, and other factors.  Personally, the blogs I check out most are local because they know how it is here in the Philippines.  The international blogs would show you though of what's coming.  Better yet, ask your friends!  They might have tried the product or might let you try it out.  
  3. Buy what you set out for.  Sometimes, because of you reading a few reviews, you'd eventually know of other products you'd like to try out.  You'd find your browser full of tabs on different reviews, different products.  Personally, I would save some blog posts / reviews on Evernote for faster reference.  You'd never know when you'd want to get back to them.  If something's limited edition, then you might give it a thought.  But, buy those you planned to buy first.  Check your budget.  
To those who have some sort of addiction with make-up, you are not alone!  :)  I'm proud to say though that I'm making progress limiting my purchases and revisiting old purchases, especially now that I'm posting more frequently.  

Next post would be about my go-to blogs for product reviews and favorite "beauty gurus" on Youtube.

I know the steps are simple but they're tips I wish I knew then.  It would save you money and time.  Also, it would save you from extreme disappointment. :) 

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Make-up Shopping with Sister (Php 1,500 budget!)

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My sister, who I fondly call Sonya-shin, asked me a few weeks ago to help her build her make-up kit.  Well, this is a career I would want to pursue.  Lol.  Florence Sison, Professional Shopper.  Not bad!  Hihihi.  You think I'm kidding, but I'm serious. :)

So here's how it went.  We bought her "basics" the last SM Aura sale, same time I bought some of my August buys.  She had liquid foundation already and a lipstick.  So, I opted for her to get powder foundation, a blush, concealer, and a brow product.  I didn't think it was going to be that hard until we were already looking around.


The difficulty wasn't even with the budget, it was with the many options you had to choose from.  Obviously, I wanted the budget to lean more towards the powder cause that's something she'd use everyday.  That's what we went for first.

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The Brow Series: Etude House Drawing Eyebrow Pencil, Easy Eyebrow Pencil, Color My Brows and ELF Treat and Tame

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So here's the last of the brow series for now. :)  In the past month I've wrote the following posts:
Today, I'm writing about the Etude House Easy Brow Pencil, Etude House Drawing Eye Brow Pencil, Etude House Color My Brows Tint, and the ELF Eyebrow Treat and Tame.  So, its going to be quite a long post. :)


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The Beauty Wishlist 2014

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September is here!  And here in the Philippines, Christmas starts early.

One day, I decided to go over some apps on my iPad.  One of my favorite apps to open, especially during downtime, is Polyvore.  I really like how easily you could make a collage of things, not only clothes.  So, I went ahead and made a "beauty wishlist".  I believe the prices listed below are prices converted from US dollars.

Beauty Wishlist



Vegan makeup brush, 3,340 PHP / Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer, 2,460 PHP / Yves Saint Laurent lipstick, 1,530 PHP / Nars cosmetic, 840 PHP / Maybelline concealer, 435 PHP / Tarte blush, 1,135 PHP / Mac cosmetic, 1,230 PHP / Charlotte Tilbury lips makeup, 1,665 PHP / Anastasia Beverly Hills eye makeup, 915 PHP / Mac cosmetic, 1,050 PHP / SEPHORA COLLECTION Embossed Traincase – Black Faux Croc, 4,805 PHP

 Well, I don't expect to buy or receive all of these.  Also, the list is not even all of it.  I'll probably come up with another collage, one that would probably have the Nars Sheer Glow and MAC Cream Cup to name a few.  Lol.  Why is makeup so damn addicting?

 Another addicting this is Polyvore, definitely.  So, expect to see more of these and maybe check out my other "fashion" pegs here. :)


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August 2014 Purchases & Mini Reviews

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August was quite a long month for me.  I was in transition mode from being a working girl to student once again.  To top that, I moved cities by the end of the month.  But, as usual, this has not stopped me from trying out new products.  I must resist next time, I really must.  Somehow, I have justifications for these purchases!


It started out with me wanting to find a sort of serum or primer for the lashes in attempt to have healthier lashes.  I apply mascara almost everyday and I started feeling bad for them.  There weren't much options when it came to brands.  Etude House was actually the only one that had an option.


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The Brow Series: Elf Eyebrow Kit & In2It Waterproof Eyebrow Color

10:59 AM Unknown 2 Comments

Hi there!  Just a quick life update: I just transferred to BGC (from Baguio City) to continue my studies here in Manila.  Thus, the slowness in posting.  I don't want to promise anything, even to myself, but this September will hopefully be a better month.

So, prior to this post, I wrote about two other brow products I use - the BCL Browlash EX and the MAC Brow Set in Beguile in this post.  This is the second of maybe three or four installments of the "brow series" I'm doing on the blog.  You can refer to the earlier post for a reference of the natural state of my brows.


This post features two quite comparable products compared to last post which had complementary products.  And yes, sorry for the very dirty, beat up cosmetics we have here.  I've had the products for a while now.  First up is the Elf Brow Kit (approx. Php 250).  I'm not entirely sure of the shade because I purchased this last year but did not really use it right away because I couldn't let go of my In2It Brow Kit.  But it has a sticker on the back that says #30123.  Second is the In2It Waterproof Eyebrow Color (approx. Php 299).  The website doesn't do much in my opinion, but there are a LOT of reviews on this product, which is what let me to the product.  Both products can be purchased in Watsons.


Its easier to compare these two side by side.  They both have similar packaging and they both have those small plastic brushes that no one uses.  The obvious difference though is the Elf one has a gel / wax product.  The brush included in the kit is double-ended for you to be able to apply the wax first then set with the powder.  The thing is, I'm not so comfortable applying the wax and then topping it with the powder, because, as I explained in my previous post, I would almost always use a brow set like MAC or Etude.  As for the powder, it was okay.  Its funny how the dark wax side applies sheer and lighter than how it looks like in the pan and the powder actually applies darker.


I prefer the powder of In2It better in terms of shade, consistency, and staying power.  The In2It, as you would see has three shades options that you could probably mix to form colors in between the colors available.  Also, the Elf is quite powdery while the In2It seems more intact.  This may contribute to their respective staying power and In2It's claim in being waterproof, which I actually believe is true.  Again, in my case, my brows are quite full but with some sparse patches, which is why using a light shade is not so hard for me.  But I do think that the In2It is a better over-all. :)


Once again, I hope you find this useful for the next time you go brow product shopping! :)

2 comments:

The Brow Series: BCL Browlash EX & Mac Beguile

6:12 PM Unknown 0 Comments

One thing that I think I have a lot of products of are brow products, next to lip products.  I don't know why but after having had cellophane in my hair (the one with color, I'm not sure which color though), its been lighter than my actual hair color ever since as if I had my hair colored.  And I've been trying to match my brows as a result.  So, instead a quite lengthy post, I'm going to break it down and do it one by one and maybe summarize once I've shown everything.

This is the current state of my brows, untouched.  Basically, they're thick and dark, but quite unruly. 


Like I mentioned in my previous post, I usually go for the Elf Brow Set and the MAC brow set in Beguile.  Here, I used the BCL 24H Browlash Ex Water Strong W Eyebrow in Natural Brown, a double ended brow product with a liquid liner of some sort in one end and a pencil on the other.  In the photo, I did not use the liquid liner as the shade is quite light for me and I do have difficulty controlling it.  You can't blend it like the pencil once you've used it.  If I had lighter brows I think it would be just fine though in filling in sparse areas.  Sometimes though I'd go ahead with this side of the product and make the outlines precise.  

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Face Of The Day (FOTD) 1: The Usual

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Everyone on the internet probably knows the acronym OOTD (Outfit Of The Day).  Well, among beauty people on the internet, there exists such thing as the FOTD - Face Of The Day.  And I decided to give it a go.  Though, due to some events this was my FOTD... yesterday.  Lol.

I decided to post a look that I usually go for on a daily basis, which is minimal and barely there (I guess, compared to my other looks).  The main face base product I'd use is a powder foundation because it takes me a whole 5 minutes or more just to put liquid foundation on.  I'd skip bronzer, any contouring product, and even highlighter and go for blush right away.  The most time is taken up when I start doing my brows, even though I have sufficient brows already.  I love eye shadow, liner and all that jazz, but when I'm in a hurry to get out of the door, I usually skip it and go straight to mascara.  To top it all off, I'll go for a suits-everything lip, which I have quite a few options of.

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Brand Spotlight: Happy Skin

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Admittedly, I first knew about Happy Skin through Kris TV, Kris Aquino's local television show that focuses on lifestyle.  One day last year, I believe during the Christmas season, she featured some shops online and offline that sold products that could make great gifts.  One of them was Happy Skin, a local cosmetics company.  The brand caught up quite fast due to its great packaging and the value you get.


The makeup junkie in me tried to restrain upon seeing a counter of Happy Skin in the only Plains and Prints shop in Baguio.  I purchased a tube of the Eye Need a Miracle concealer (PhP 699) as I needed concealer that time.  See what they did there!  The brand does a lot of puns, which definitely helps with their marketing.  They have a Benefit feel to them, actually.  The concealer, though, comes in only one shade which is Butter.  I think its a good match for my under eyes as I tend to go for a lighter concealer for that area.  It doesn't do much for my eye bags, which I don't think will ever go away (sad...), but it does brighten up the area in an instant.  If you're my shade or lighter, you might appreciate this.  Check out my photos below to see me wearing this.  Note: I do have baggy bags; double eye bags I even say.



Butter 01

That time also, my makeup artist friend, Krizia, raved about the Shut Up and Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippies.  As tempted as I was, I didn't go for it until this year when Happy Skin released a set of three lippies for Summer 2014.  They called it the Turn Up The Heat Limited Edition Summer Collection (Box of 3) (PhP 1,249), which I mentioned in my previous blog post.  Right of the bat, I liked the lippies, especially The Morning After.




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Beauty Bar Haul

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You know the feeling when you finally decide on buying something then someone beside you decides to buy whatever it is that you want to buy first, by just a minute, and that was the last stock left?  Well, that happened to me during one of my few visits to Beauty Bar.  It was for the Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer.

First, let me explain my Beauty Bar visit rarity.  I live in Baguio City, that is why each trip to Manila equals a sort of shopping spree.  I try my best to save up for these trips by not spending too much in Baguio.

Next, I didn't expect the Luminizer to be less than PhP 1,000.  I have read reviews, but did not exactly take note on the price.

So, naturally, given my expectations surpassed and my eagerness to buy the product, I do not know why I even hesitated to grab it right away.  Well, of course PhP 895 is no joke.  It was just kind of weird that somebody bought the last stock before me by a minute.  I shrugged my disappointment off and headed to MAC instead.



Still bothered by what happened, I checked if I could order online instead.  I was so happy that I actually could!  I wish this were possible for other department stores.  The website also offered free shipping if your purchases reach Php 2,500.  I am a sucker for these types of marketing strategies, so I decided to grab the opportunity since I was also eyeing the Happy Skin Summer Lippie Collection (Box of 3).  I wanted to try an orange shade and the reviews showed a lot of praise for their nude-ish shade (The Morning After).  Although, these limited edition colors could be bought individually, the set is quite a bargain since the lippies come out to cost Php 416.33 each rather than the individual price of Php 549.

Having the Luminizer and the lippies in my cart, I had a total of Php 2,144.  To complete the Php 2,500 order, I added Happy Skin's new eyeliner, the Eye Am Here To Stay 24-Hour Gel Pencil Eyeliner in Brown.  I was surprised that before paying for my order, they gave me a choice of which freebie I wanted.  I assume though that these are in sample sizes.  I chose the Naturelle d'Argan Cleansing Milk, which I can't seem to find a link of. 

 Overall, my online shopping experience was great.  You have to be patient though since the orders come after 3 - 5 working days.

Happy Skin Summer Lippie Collection (Box of 3) (Php 1,249)



the Balm Mary-Lou Manizer (Php 895)



Happy Skin Eye Am Here To Stay 24-Hour Gel Pencil (Php 499)



I must say, it still is different doing the shopping in the shop where you could swatch till you, umm..., run out of arm space?  Lol.  But given the circumstances, it was great to do some online shopping.  Hope you have a great experience as well!

P.S. I hope my post isn't too late, especially if you're interested with the limited edition lippies. :)  Reviews will come shortly. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

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Firsts

12:31 AM Unknown 0 Comments

Hello there!  Let me tell you what this is all about.

Every morning, I prop up my iPad and watch videos of beauty "gurus" on Youtube while having breakfast.  I also do this in my spare time and most of the time immediately after seeing a new product in the makeup counters.  Even before Youtube, I used to enjoy reading reviews on certain products as makeup seems to be quite pricey here in the Philippines (well, at least, compared to the States).  Also, there are so many options that you just have to do a little "research" at least before shelling out money.  Although I'm aware that there are so many blogs like this already out there, I'm sure another voice won't be too bad.  So this is where I will share my opinion on mostly products I've been enjoying in general (not necessarily makeup).


I'll try to be as detailed as possible and provide the best photos I can come up with.  And yes, that is me. 

Thank you!

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