Review : NARS Black Moon Audacious Mascara

Hey dears!

Here's another short review about a product that my sister gave me a few months back.

NARS Black Moon Audacious Mascara

The one I have is the smaller or you can say travel-size (3ml).

I don't usually get the chance of owning products from brands like NARS unless I really saved money for it or my sister gives them to me like this one for example. This is why I was so excited to try this one out. 

But before I go on with my thoughts on the mascara, here's the product description from the website:

Winner of the Prix Beauté Stars Madame Figaro.

Intensity for the making. Control for the taking. From instant definition to blindsiding impact, every layer multiplies. Amplifies. Mesmerizes.

Designed with over 200 molded bristles and lengthening hooks, NARS’ lash-catching brush evenly grips and coats lashes from roots to tips. Simultaneously separates, lengthens, and amplifies. Its tapered tip finishes off the inner and outer reaches of your imagination, while enhancing lower lashes.

An extraordinary balance of suppleness with staying power, this uniquely fluid first-to-market formula offers extreme buildability. Lightweight. Long-wearing.

The packaging is the classic NARS look. Simple. Black. Matte. 

The wand is plastic in material and it's actually quite big. The bristles have different lengths arranged alternately, which helps in avoiding the clumping of lashes. I actually had a hard time controlling it because some of the longer bristles poked my eye at first. I eventually had the hang of it... I'm still a bit scared applying the mascara on my lower lashes though. Haha!

Even though I had a hard time controlling the wand at first, I can say that the bristles are very effective in separating my lashes.

I also like the blackness of this product.

View the pictures below to see how the product performs on my lashes...

Bare lashes

Lashes curled

With the product (1 coat)

With the product (2 coats)

So, for the good bits:
It doesn't clump my lashes and I like how black it is. I also like that it looks very natural when I wear it alone. It doesn't pull down my lashes when curled, so you can say it's lightweight. It does do a bit of volumizing and lengthening... but just a bit. I don't get flaky bits under my eyes too, which is awesome. It's pretty easy to remove with a makeup remover too!

The bad bits:
It's not sweat proof! The heat and humidity here in the Philippines is bad for your makeup when you have this product on. I usually wear waterproof mascaras so I rarely get to experience panda eyes nowadays but now that I use this, it's just so annoying. :|
And the wand is hard to get used to.

So yeah, those are my thoughts on the NARS Audacious Mascara. It's neat to try products from brands I rarely shop at but when it comes to this mascara, I think I'll pass. I like the light formula that doesn't clump, but to experience the product melting off when I get sweaty is a big no-no for me.

What are your thoughts on the NARS Audacious Mascara?


Cheers,

DAWN

Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Addresses Dry, Sensitive Skin

Hey dearies!

Just a month ago I introduced a product from Physiogel that helps sensitive skin get stronger. It's the Calming Relief range and Liz will post a review about one of the products from that range pretty soon. 

Yesterday, I received another package from the brand...

And it contains more products to make your skin #EverydaySTRONG! In this post, I'll introduce these new products that are up for review. But before that, you may be already familiar with these info graphics since I've posted them before. But to support the press release that I'll be adding, let me repost them again...

I have oily skin but I do sometimes experience the dry, itchy feeling, especially when I use anti-acne and peeling products. With that said, I am interested in products like this since recently, I want to address my skin concerns more.

Here's the press release to learn more about the product:

Continuing its mission in empowering women with sensitive skin issues so that they can face the world without fears and reservations, Physiogel, the expert and authority on skin sensitivity, comes with a complete range that restores moisture to even the driest skin, starting from first use.

According to a study conducted by Nielsen in Asia-Pacific¹, 61% of women in the Philippines experience skin sensitivity on the body – and among the exhibited conditions, dry and dehydrated skin ranked 2^nd. 

Jon Lee, Head of Skin Health and Nutrition of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Philippines explains, “The prevalence of skin sensitivity among Filipinas is growing year by year. We have seen that changes in weather and excessive external aggressors such as dust or pollution, contributes to this growing incidence. Today, we place this challenge to all women – stop avoiding the problem and start tackling these skin issues, because Physiogel is here to make your skin less sensitive.”

Skin sensitivity is no longer an obscure condition as Filipinas often experience sensitive skin indications usually in the form dry, flaky and tight-feeling skin. These signals should not be ignored. Dry skin, if not moisturized and addressed immediately, may worsen and lead to more serious sensitive skin conditions.

Physiogel® Daily Moisture Therapy range through the Physiogel® Daily Moisture Therapy Lotion is part and parcel of Physiogel’s mission to provide head-to-toe expert solutions for skin sensitivity. With its unique BioMimic Technology® formula that mimics the skin’s very own lipids, it restores the skin’s natural barrier to lock-in moisture and improve hydration.  It also forms a layer of protective barrier on the skin, preventing harmful irritants or allergens from penetrating to make skin less sensitive. Dryness is visibly reduced from the first use, even on the driest skin.

“The sun, the environment, even the level of stress and overall lifestyle can further aggravate dry, sensitive skin. As the no.1 most prescribed brand by dermatologists², we put emphasis that your skin will get moisturized and protected starting from first use of Daily Moisture Therapy,” Lee states.

Our habits define what matters, and the choices that we make build up the habits that we create. Physiogel encourages women to drop their inhibitions and go beyond the limitations of skin sensitivity by giving dry and sensitive skin the moisturization it needs.

¹ NIELSEN Incidence Report, APAC markets, June 2014

² PMDI January 2015 – December 2015, IMS Health Philippines, Inc.

You can get the feeling that Physiogel's mission to fight sensitive skin is taken very seriously by the brand as they have already launched two skincare range to address that issue. One is more on calming the skin from redness and irritations while one is making sure that the moisture needed by our skin is retained and still safe for sensitive skin, and even making it stronger.

I will still have to test these claims and I'm lucky enough to try all three products from the range. These products are...

Daily Moisture TherapyPhp 220.00

 Daily Moisture Therapy Cream 75 ml – Php 750.00

Daily Moisture Therapy Lotion 100 ml – Php 420.00

I'll try these out and will post a review for each. Stay tuned! ;)

Cheers,
DAWN

NOTD : Berries and Sequins

Hey guys!

I've been getting a lot of compliments about my NOTD. I've been wearing it for a few days already...

And it's pretty easy to do. I just used a base coat and these three nail polishes...

Maybelline Color Show in Crazy Berry

The Body Shop Colour Crush Nail Colour in Sequins Gold

CODE Professional Nail Polish in G603

It's just layering. I used the violet shade from Maybelline as base and then added the glittery polishes. First was the one from CODE and then the gold ones from The Body Shop. The glittery ones were applied on only the 2/3s of each nail.

The dark violet shade gives that serious vibe but the sparkly glitters just adds the glam! This look is very eye-catching because like I've mentioned, I've gotten compliments even though I didn't intentionally show my hands so that my nails can be seen. :P

I just love glitter polishes... I just don't like removing them. Haha!

And that's all for this NOTD post! 

Cheers,
DAWN

Review : 1028 Visual Therapy Double Wear Hydrating CCdation

Hello loves!

Are you as curious as me when it comes to makeup that when you visit another country, you buy at least one thing from a brand that is not yet available in your country? Well, that's me and even when it was not me who's traveling, I tell friends to buy me something that's not in the Philippines yet and I just give them the shopping money (sometimes they give it as pasalubong! Yayyy!).

The one I am reviewing is a product from that kind of curiosity (or shopping sickness?). I asked my friend Yuki who went to Singapore some months back to buy me a face product that I haven't tried before and she bought me this:

1028 Double Wear Hydrating CCdation

She saw this in one of the shopping areas she visited and took a picture. I didn't have any idea what this product was about nor know anything about the brand. So I said go ahead! 

She bought this for SGD $29.90.

It's available in two shades only. I have the darker shade, Nude Beige.

Firstly, let's get to know the product by checking out the labels:

These are info from the website:

The website is in Chinese and I only added those that I can understand (even when translated by google translate, I still didn't get much from it).

Color correction

High Concealer

A super-moisturizing day

So to sum up all the claims written, the product promises foundation-like coverage and skin corrector while giving skincare benefits such as hydration and skin cell repair. It also promises to last all day long!

The packaging looks very classy. The black bottle's design is minimalist. It's a squeezable bottle so you can get the product easily since the product's consistency is pretty thin.

The nozzle is thin so it's easy to control the amount of product dispensed. The product do not spill on the cap too.

This is what the product looks like. It's lightweight and quite runny so I was doubtful of its claims to have high coverage at first because most foundations/bb creams/cc creams I've tried that have high coverage usually has creamy textures.

But color-wise, the shade is pretty close to my skin color! It has a warm tone that compliments my skin pretty well.

When blended, it disappeared like it's actually my skin. To be honest, I wasn't sure if its because it didn't have coverage or if it's just that close to my natural skin color. I had to test it on my face (where I have pimple scars to cover) to make sure. :P

My bare face

My problem area is usually the jaw line as seen on the photo above.

With the product on

I'm very, VERY surprised at how good the coverage is! It took care of the redness of the pimples and almost covered all pimple scars! It even reduced the appearance of my pores! And it's so lightweight like I'm not wearing makeup... like I just added some moisturizer on my face.

However, it exposes the flaky areas of the skin. I usually have products that help peel off the surface of problem areas so that the pimple scars would lighten. And as you can see on the photo above, those areas are flaky and it's very visible when I have this product on.

That's my whole face with only the product on. No concealer yet nor finishing powder. The shades is a little lighter than my skin, but it oxidizes and then the color blends better on my normal skin tone once it sets.

The finish looks pretty natural. It's not totally matte... it actually has that slight dewiness that makes the finish look like natural skin.

Here's my face with the rest of the makeup on. My face looks brighter—like it's glowing!

The lasting power is pretty decent. It can last the whole day when I'm in the office where it is air-conditioned. However, I noticed that it fades whenever I get sweaty, but not too much... it's still there but the pimple scars are becoming noticeable. Oil control is pretty okay. I don't get very oily when I wear this... my estimation is it takes around 6 hours before I get shiny with my oily skin.

Does it hydrate? I don't think it gives enough hydration. I still prefer how my face feels when I add moisturizer than applying this alone. 

So to sum up this review:

What I LIKE:

- Good coverage

- Natural-looking finish

- Lightweight

- Classy and sturdy packaging

- My pores look smaller

- Decent lasting-power (except when sweaty)

- Decent oil control

- Warm shade compliments my skin tone

- My face looks brighter

- Covers redness

What I DON'T LIKE:

- Only two shades available

- For a CC Cream, the SPF25 is too little

- Not yet available in the Philippines

- Flaky, dry areas of the skin are more visible

Would I buy again? Well, I like it but not so much that I want to get another one again. I want to try and explore more products. It didn't win me over as much but I still love the "glowing" effect it gives my skin.

I do wish that they have more shades because I already have the darker shade and it's still lighter than my skin. The morenas wouldn't be able to appreciate this product as much as I did.

Anyway, that's all for this review. Have you tried this product yet? What about other cosmetics from this brand?

Cheers,

DAWN