Ellana Mineral Cosmetics Cucumber Melon Makeup Brush Cleaner

Hello loves!

As a makeup lover, I get annoyed when folks tell me to stop using makeup because they cause blemishes. I won't say that it does not because some really do, but there are ways in which it can be avoided. Makeup can clog the pores which can lead to acne so removing it completely before going to bed is a must. Another important thing when it comes to wearing makeup is to clean your applicators frequently. 

This is something I keep telling my friends because I hate seeing their pressed powders with unwashed sponges. It can be quite tedious, especially if you are like me who applies makeup almost daily and uses more than a dozen brushes/applicators. But I assure you that you'll get used to it! Before, I also get lazy with cleaning my applicators but now I clean them regularly.

My schedule is I clean them with my Ellana Mineral Cosmetics Cucumber Melon Makeup Brush Cleaner every 2-3 days (more often for foundation brushes) and then thoroughly wash them once a week. Some may find this "too often" but I do this because I feel like my brushes accumulate so much dust and bacteria because... well, it's just so dusty in Manila and I don't even open my room's windows. LOL I dunno... just a neat freak thing when it comes to my applicators I guess. I have oily, acne-prone skin so I try to apply makeup with clean brushes as much as I can. I don't even use the same foundation brush if it's still unwashed (even if I've only used it once). :P But I've read several articles online that every two to four weeks is fine. 

But anyway, I would like to introduce to you the Ellana Mineral Cosmetics Cucumber Melon Makeup Brush Cleaner (which I just mentioned in the previous paragraph)...

I discovered this last March when I attended an event by the brand. I immediately notice the pleasant smell. It's cucumber melon but sweeter. I really like it!

At the back you'll see some product info:

It's in a clear spray bottle that houses 120ml of the product. Each bottle is worth Php 400.00 (you can get discounts if you click my banner! :P).

This is safe to use on animal hair or synthetic hair brushes. It's so easy to use since you don't have to rinse it with water...

You just spray it on the brush...

 and wipe it on tissue... I swirl it around until it's dry. I usually spray a couple of times or until there's no more makeup left on the brush.

I kinda wiped too hard on this one. But as you can see, the makeup transferred on the tissue easily.

And I have a clean brush again!

And it works perfectly in removing my liquid foundations too!

From this...

to this!!

I'm very impressed with this brush cleaner. It made cleaning brushes three times faster and it also leaves my brushes soft and smelling so good. And what's so great about it is that it never caused any of my brushes to shed! 

I already bought my second bottle and I even bought some more to give to kikay friends as gifts! I definitely recommend this to all makeup users! Haha! It's really worth it especially since it's only Php 400.00 and it will surely last a while!

Ellana is available online and at the following branches:

Glorietta 3

The Ramp, 2nd Floor Glorietta 3, Makati City

Shangri-la Plaza

The Ramp, 2nd Floor Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City

Trinoma Mall

The Ramp, 1st Floor Trinoma Mall, Quezon City

Pasong Tamo

Unit 203 La Fuerza Plaza 2, Chino Roces Ave. Corner Sabio St., Makati City

Have you tried this brush cleaner from Ellana yet? 

How do you clean your brushes? How often? :)

Cheers,

DAWN

Makeup Experiment #14 : Selphie Tilmitt

Hey guys!

I'm back with a very quick and simple makeup experiment. 

Remember my previous makeup experiment entry where I got my friend to cosplay an RPG character, Zell from FFVIII? Well that inspired another friend of mine to do another character from the same game—Selphie Tilmitt! Yuki, who has been my model in another makeup experiment, also cosplays and has agreed that I do her makeup when she dresses up as the cute and playful Selphie!

For this post, we just did a trial makeup. The costume she'll be using isn't done yet but it's better to be prepared ahead of time with the makeup.

The pic below is our 'peg,' Selphie.

Image Source here.

Yuki hasn't fixed her wig yet when we did the makeover so tons of hairspray was used (lol). I only learned recently that cosplay wigs are sooooo tedious to do.

I didn't need to do much on her makeup. Just a simple everyday makeup will do. I just had to reshape her brows, get them thicker and bolder, and work with eyeliners.

I guess you can say that this was the simplest makeup experiment I've done so far. :P

Makeup by : Me 
Hairstyle : Yuki
Model : Yuki
Photos by : Me
Place taken : My room

So just scroll down for more pictures. :)

LOL

If you played the game, you probably know that Selphie has a huge crush on Laguna. :P

And that's all! I can't wait to see Yuki with her Selphie cosplay! I'll try to put a photo up on our blog when that happens! :D

Any thoughts on this makeover? :)

Cheers,

DAWN

Review : Brillante Reve Shining Auto Lip Crayon

Hello dears!

It's been a hot but rainy week here in Manila. The weather is getting crazier every year—one moment the sun is so hot and bright, the next it's all gloomy and wet. Good thing there are pretty makeup goodies to brighten my day! Haha!

I don't usually go for bright colored lipsticks but there's something about this lippie, which I'll be sharing with you in this post, that's just so cute and innocent that I can't stop using it...

 Brillante Reve Shining Auto Lip Crayon

This is Php 320.00 and available online at Serry Mall.

Below are some product descriptions:

The shade I have is the Classic Peach.

 I won't normally pick this kind of shade because it's too light and bright for my liking. I feel like I look very dark when I use this kinds of color. But this was sent for me to be reviewed, so at first I was hesitant to use it. 

 Now I learned to like it because of the different looks I can do with it.

Packaging is simple and it's pretty much like a typical lipstick where you twist the bottom so the bullet would come out. But this is much cuter because it looks like a pencil!

Important details such as date of manufacturing and expiration are labelled on the product.

This is the full length of the lippie.

It's quite long so this may last a while.

 Swatch on hand

I like the pastel-ish warm color. I just love peach!

 Swatch on lips

It's a creamy lippie. That's my first impression. It smells so sweet too. A big plus for me because I like the scent of sweet lipsticks for some reason.

But I find this too creamy that it slides to the lines of my lips. I recommend that your lips are well-moisturized before using this lip crayon. It's not that long-lasting either so reapplication every a couple of hours is necessary.

It has a glossy finish and it has a good pigmentation. You really see the pretty peach color. But like I said before, it's too bright for my liking. So what I do is...

Gradient lips!

I use it as my base then use a darker colored lipstick at the center of my lips and blend them together. I used a red creamy lipstick on the photo above. Doesn't it look cute?

What I LIKE:

- Good pigmentation

- Packaging

- Price

- Glides easily

- Great base for a gradient lips look

- Smells great!

What I DON'T LIKE:

- The shade is too light and bright

-  No physical store yet (I think)

I'd like to try the other shades. Lip Crayons are quite popular these days and this is so far one of the most affordable ones I saw.

So what are your thoughts on this product? Have you tried this one yet?

Cheers,

DAWN

US TRIP (2014) HAUL PART 2

Hey loves!

It's part two of my shopping spree during my three-week vacation in the US. You can check out the first part here. 

The stuff in this post were bought during my stay in New York City, New Jersey, and San Francisco. So here are more makeup goodies that you'll be seeing reviews of soon in our blog!

LORAC Blushing Beauty Collection

Includes:

3-in-1 Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil
Cobra Mascara

Highly Pigmented Cream Lipstick

Eyeshadows in Pink Champagne, Pro Palette Mauve, and Bordeaux

Powder Cheek Stain in Rosy Glow

I went back to Sephora to buy these:

Clinique Airbrush Concealer in Natural Fair

Sephora 10HR Wear Perfection Foundation in Almond

Dior Backstage Eye Prime 

DiorShow Fusion Mono Matte in Fantaisie

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Chocolate

Sephora Favorites Summer Stash

Includes:

Deborah Lippmann Nail Laquer in Mermaid's Dream

Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Galée

NARS Travel Size Laguna Bronzing Powder

Marc Jacobs Beauty Mini Lash Lifter in Blacquer

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes 12L – Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil

Buxom Divine Goddess Luminizer in Venus

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Stained Gloss in New Wave

Stila Cosmetics Magnificent Metal Foils Finish Eye Shadow in Kitten

Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray

My skin got around 1 or 2 tones darker so I decided to buy a foundation that is also long-lasting since I'm out all day and do not have much time to do some retouching. I bought a tried and tested product—the Estee Lauder Double Wear. My shade before is Rattan but the SA recommended that the shade Ivory Beige is my new color.

I also bought all these freebies after I made the purchase! Yayyy!

Oh, I forgot to add this in the part 1 haul post. The hair products on the picture above were bought back in LA.

Lancome Dual Finish Versatile Powder Makeup in Matte Ginger IV

Yves Saint Laurent Pure Chromatics 4 Wet & Dry Eye Shadows in 7

Victoria's Secret Tinted Moisturizer/Primer in Golden Medium

And I also bought some Clarins skincare!!! These products were in promo sets so I saved a huge deal of money. My sister, Trace really loves their products so I want to try them out too.

Multi-Active Night Youth Recovery Cream

Multi-Active Skin Renewal Serum

Multi-Active Day Early Wrinkle Correction Cream

It also came with a pouch!

Vital Light Serum Dark Spot Correcting

Vital Light Day Illuminating Anti-Ageing Cream

Vital Light Night Revitalizing Anti-Ageing Cream

Toning Lotion Alcohol Free with Iris—Free!

And finally, I bought 2 leather bags from Theysken's Theory and DKNY!

So much new babies!!! I'm overwhelmed. Up to now I haven't open more than half of what I bought. The blogger in me kept insisting I take pictures first. LOL

Which of these do you like best? Which one would you like to read a review about?

Cheers,

DAWN

Unboxing : Benefit BDJ Box

Hey dears!

I'm back in Manila! Hooooray! I have loads of stuff to share with you and tons of products awaiting to be reviewed. But for now, I'll share one of the handful of packages that arrived to my house when I was out of the country for the past 3 weeks...

Benefit BDJ Box

I believe this is the box for the month of June.

This is actually my second box from BDJ Box and I'm so glad that I got a specialty box and it's a Benefit one! I feel so lucky. :D

It comes with quite a number of Benefit samples! As seen on the photo above, the names, descriptions, and corresponding prices are listed.

Anyway, here are individual shots of each sample:

Porefessional PRO Balm

Fake Up Concealer

Big Easy BB

Stay Flawless Primer Stick

It's Potent Eye Cream

Lollitint

Benetint

I also got some coupons for services I can avail at selected Benefit counters around the metro:

And lastly, they provided something like a catalogue of all the pretty Benefit products:

I'm very, very satisfied with this box. I'm thinking if I should avail another box soon... BDJ just delivers a great box every month which I read about from my fellow bloggers' posts. 

I can't wait to try my samples!

What do you think of the Benefit BDJ Box?

Cheers,

DAWN