May-June (2017) Haul

Hey dolls!

I've been having troubles deciding on my next steps in life. Haha! I am still nowhere near completing my thesis for grad school and I dunno if I should start a business or find a higher paying job. LOL 

One thing is certain, I still like buying beautiful things. And that is why I need to decide ASAP! #PressureMuch

Anyway, here are the latest products I added to my beauty and also art and home supplies:

First off, my package from Althea last month:

Healthy Vinegar Skin Toner in Wine - PhP 480.00

It's in wine!!! Haha! Well, I have read that apple cider vinegar is good for the skin so even though this is not exactly the same thing, might as well give it a try. Haha! 

Nightingale Eraser Toner Daily Derma Astringent in Fresh Peach - PhP 770.00

I actually just browsed Althea in search of a new toner so that I can just join in with my officemates in their order so that we don't have to pay individual shipping fees. I ended up buying two toners and other things. LOL

4D Pore and Balance Solution Foam Cleanser - PhP 240.00

It's My Cushion Case in Pink - PhP 235.00

I've been intrigued with this since I saw it some months ago. I have some extra foundations and skin care lying around that I want to finish and I thought that I can create a personally mixed cushion. 

Tony Moly Panda's Dream Eye Patch - PhP 50.00

Because eye patches are LOVE!

During the start of the month, I shared a press release from Daiso showing some of their new items. The post also got me interested to check them out again and I bought some stuff!

Markers and Drawing Ink - PhP 88.00 each

A drawing ink that's affordable at that size! Woot! Gonna share some of my works using that soon. ;) 

Mini Dustpan and broom

Kitchen Sponge for bottles (I use this for my big thermos)

PhP 88.00 each

Laundry Bag and Baby Wipes

Handy for traveling!

Cooling Mat for pets

PhP 88.00

My pet shih tzu loves using this! 

Yoga Mat - Php 88.00

It's not as thick as I want it to be but I actually have an older one (that's as thin as this one) that I place underneath this.

 Dishwashing liquid - PhP 88.00

I also bought other items like a hand bag with red stripes design, some cake and chocolate decorating tools, and an ice cream scoop!

 Human Nature Natural Feminine Wash in Chamomile Cool

I forgot the price. Haha! My friend Helen recommended this. I have yet to use it as I'm finishing the one I currently have.

It's also my first time visiting a Mumuso store! I went to their Fishermall branch. These are the items I brought home...

Banana Milk Beautiful Skin Shower Gel - PhP149.00

 The smell is soooooo gooooood! I even use this as hand soap so I can smell it often. Haha

Spring Hydrating Spray - PhP 88.00

I like facial mist and I just got curious about this one because it is unscented. I actually like fragrant once but I have an officemate who doesn't like floral scented ones so just for the office, I have an unscented one. 

Not in the photos are a square handle comb and cotton pads, both PhP 88.00

And finally, I took advantage of BeautyMNL's mid year sale. Wooot! 

 PRO Studio Beauty Exclusive 10-Piece Expert Class Oval and Linear Brush Set

PhP 999.00 from PhP 2,800.00

I've always wanted a set. I like the finish of my makeup when I have this brush. I alternate it with my beauty blender.

Maybelline Fashion Brow Mascara 

PhP 174.00 from PhP 249.00

My brows badly need this.

#InWithTheBold Bundle 1: 

1 Listerine Healthy White (500ml) + 2 Maybelline Loaded Bolds (Pitch Black & MidnightDate) - PhP 599.00 from PhP 823.00

I AM IN LOVE WITH MIDNIGHT DATE! Stay tuned for the swatch post! 

And that's all the products I bought! Haha! Which ones are you most excited about for a review? Let me know!

Cheers,
DAWN

Ever Bilena: Matic Brow Liner in Earth

Good evening ladies,

Last Wednesday, Dawn attended the Ever Bilena event at Whitespace Manila and she has gave me a choice to take one of the products given to her for me to try out and review. 

Of course, since I've really sparse eyebrow hair, I went with the Matic Brow Liner in Earth.

So this is a retractable brow liner (as the name suggests) and comes in two colors, Earth and Midnight.

Below are the ingredients of this liner:

Cyclopentasiloxane , Paraffin, Diisostearyl Dimer Dilinoleate , PEG - 6 Beeswax, Ozokerite, Hydrogenatred Castor Oil, Ceresin, Tocopherol, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, May contain : Mica (CI 77019) , Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891) Red Iron Oxide (CI 77491) , Yellow Iron Oxide (CI 77492), Black iron Oxide (CI 77499), Bismuth OXychloride (CI 77163)

The pencil is soft and creamy in consistency. You need to keep the tip short if you are heavy handed as it can break easily.

I did 3 different strokes for the swatch, the top one is somewhat of an in-between heavy and light stroke. Middle is the more heavy handed stroke (where I broke the tip of the pencil). Lastly, the bottom is the feathery stroke which is recommended for filling in your brows.

Below is the picture after smudging it a bit. As you can see, it's not smudge proof. If you have the habit of scratching your eyebrows (for any reason), you might want to bring this along with you for retouching purposes.

Ok so here is my brow without any product. As you can see, I have sparse and thin eyebrow hair, which are just barely visible if seen from afar.

Now here is my brow after filling it in with the matic brow liner.

I do have to say that I found it a little hard to balance the application. I have a hard time doing the feather strokes and I'm a little more heavy handed when doing my brows. This is one of the reasons why I prefer powders to pencils. But if I do go for pencils, I prefer less creamier ones.

So this is not really much of a favorite of mine. Though it is quite easy to use, and in my case, it being not smudge-proof worked as I was trying to balance it out.

Below are pictures after 7 hours of wear. It tends to fade out as soon as your face starts getting oily. Sorry about the stark difference in skin color, I used a different light source for the 7 hours later.

I kind of expected it to be like this that's why I used it for just that day, since I did not have to be at the office for the whole day. 

This is a fairly affordable eyebrow liner however, I feel like I won't be buying it again if it ever ran out. The liner costs somewhere between 180 to 200 while my current everyday liner costs a mere 100 and performs a little bit better than this one.

So that's it for this eyebrow liner from Ever Bilena. Check out the other products from the event in Dawn's post. You can also visit their website and facebook page for more products from Ever Bilena.

Cheers,

LIZ

Catrice Blush Artist Shading Palette in 10 BronzÉclat

Hello dearies!

When Liz went to the Beauty Backstage Event last January, she brought home some products that we decided to divide amongst ourselves to try out and review. One of the thing I got is this product...

Catrice Blush Artist Shading Palette

The price is PhP 499.00.

If you're not yet familiar with Catrice, it's a brand first launched in Germany which promises to give us high quality products at reasonable prices. It also promises to update their collection and even give us limited-editions products to keep us makeup lovers watching out for more.

I haven't tried much of their products yet but I'm really curious to find out more, especially since I've been reading many good reviews about them. But for now, let me share my thoughts on this particular palette.

Here's the product description from the packaging (click to enlarge):

Info from the website:

For natural colour accents & highlights

Three harmonious shades

Longlasting powder texture

BALANCED TRIO

The palettes offer three harmonious shades each to set highlights and create natural colour accents. The fine powder textures are longlasting and blend softly.

INGREDIENTS:

MICA, TALC, NYLON-12, DIMETHICONE, MAGNESIUM STEARATE, OCTYLDODECANOL, BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2, OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE, CETYL DIMETHICONE, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS (JOJOBA) SEED OIL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, COCOS NUCIFERA (COCONUT) OIL, TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, ALUMINA, SILICA, TIN OXIDE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, PHENOXYETHANOL, MAY CONTAIN: CI 73360 (RED 30 LAKE), CI 75470 (CARMINE), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (IRON OXIDES), CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE).

UND/AND 

MICA, TALC, NYLON-12, DIMETHICONE, MAGNESIUM STEARATE, OCTYLDODECANOL, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2, OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE, CETYL DIMETHICONE, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS (JOJOBA) SEED OIL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, COCOS NUCIFERA (COCONUT) OIL, TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, ALUMINA, SILICA, TIN OXIDE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, PHENOXYETHANOL, CI 73360 (RED 30 LAKE), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (IRON OXIDES), CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE).

The packaging is simple. It's transparent so you get to see the shade you're getting. I like the fonts it used so that even if the design is minimal, it gives a sleek and clean impression.

This is one of the three shades of which this palette is available. I find this the best in terms of which one flatters my skin the most. 

Check out the swatches above. There's an old rose-ish-bronze color, a peach with gold shimmers, and a frosted light pink shade. Even though they are swatched apart, I can see how great they blend together to create a gradient effect.

I use them separately. The darkest one would be placed where I usually put my contour on the cheeks. The middle one is where I usually place my blush, while the lightest one is my highlight! 

See how it works on my skin

It instantly adds an instant glow to my skin and I just love the peachy pink color that it gives. It's pigmentation is pretty decent that you can just build the color however you like. It's also non-chalky, actually it's quite smooth!

I really like it to be honest, I don't see anything negative about it because it delivers a beautiful color and highlight, it's affordable, and it didn't irritate my skin. I just make sure that I blot my oily skin so that it doesn't fade away within the day. What's good about it is I don't feel hesitant to apply and apply because it will last a long while, and if I did run out, I could just buy again because it's so within my budget. :)

And that's my short review of the Catrice Blush Artist Shading Palette! What are your thoughts on this one? Do you have any products from the brand that you can recommend? :)

Cheers,
DAWN

Event: Showcase Your Bold Beauty with Ever Bilena

Hello loves!

Last Wednesday, I attended a blog event! Yeah, you heard that right. I finally attended one after probably two years of skipping. As much as I had fun going to these events and learning the newest in the health and beauty scene, I had to sacrifice it so I could make time with work and studies. Now that I'm taking a break from finishing my post grad stuff, I have time again to join in the fun and get to hang with old blogger friends! 

I do have to admit that I was a bit nervous to return to that scene. I don't know if some of the bloggers that I had the pleasure to hang out with back then would still recognize me. I also had the feeling that this event is gonna be big because it was held at White Space, Makati. Other than my slight nervousness, I was also embarrassed because I was almost an hour late! A huge fire occurred at one of the places that we passed by on our way to the venue. It caused heavy traffic and rerouting. :(

 When I finally arrived, I saw so many familiar faces! Friendly faces greeted me and I was able to catch up with most of them! I was welcomed by the Project Vanity team as well and explained to me the instructions regarding the activities for this event. 

The venue was divided in four. At the left most side is the area where you can eat. Food and drinks were available and I must say, I love the skewers and the fried wanton nacho fusion (I don't know the exact name of that food). The right most side has a photography studio set up. At the middle, you get to see makeup stations complete with mirrors, lights, chairs, and makeup and tools. Across it are counters filled with Ever Bilena products just like the one on the photo below.

The main activity was to choose one of the looks that are considered current beauty trends which you see at the photo above. Each look has at least three Ever Bilena product as its key items to create the look. Each guest will pick one and will get the items needed (we get to take them home too! Yippee!) and proceed to the makeup station where we try to attempt to recreate the chosen makeup look.

The walls have the different looks displayed that we can use as our references aside from the given sketch. They were modeled by the beautiful ambassadors of the brand—Diana Menezes and Loisa Andalio.

Check out the bloggers and influencers getting busy with their makeup application.

While the makeup stations were full, I browsed the counters to check out the different products from EB.

I really wanted to try any of these cleansers. I'm curious about how it works since it claims to cleanse the skin, remove makeup, whiten, and one can even tighten pores. I was able to use the makeup remover when I removed the swatches I made. The remover was really effective for it completely wiped off the waterproof makeup I applied. It doesn't feel too oily or greasy too.

I also noticed the liquid lipsticks! Check out the swatches below (Thanks Tellie for letting me take a photo of the swatches you made! Haha!).

Left to Right: Private Beach, Chocolate Truffle, Jet Setter, Skinny Dip, Fire Opal, and Hotel Heiress

Oh, we were also welcome to borrow any of the testers in one of the counters for our looks. The other counter, on the other hand, is equipped with more stocks of the products which the guests can buy on a discount.

From the nine looks to choose from, I chose to try and create Sunrise Pink. I chose this because I think it's one of the ones that I can get creative but not TOO creative (if you get what I mean). I stayed away from the most colorful one because I will have dinner with friends after this event. Haha!

Sunrise Pink has a strong pink blush accompanied with nude eyeshadow and lips. A clean and precise brows are also important to help frame the face. That being said, to create the look, the key products are the Ever Bilena Matic Brow Liner in Earh, Cheek Blush in Shy, and Matte Lipstick in Skin.

Before I proceeded with my makeup, here's a selfie with my makeup buddy, Tellie of Beauty by Tellie. Yeah, she uses my shoulder as her prop for her poses.

Aside from the given products, I also used some of the tools and makeup available at the booth. The testers were unused too and the mini blending sponges were adorable! I was able to try their eyeliners. The black pen type liquid eyeliner was really black and easy to use. It dries pretty quickly after application. I also used the eyeshadow palette that Tellie has (the colorful one at the photo above), mostly the yellow one for highlight.

Check out Tellie posing seductively while applying makeup. Haha! I noticed back when we had our overnight that she does smile and pose a lot when applying makeup. Haha! 

And just look at how pretty her makeup turned out! She picked the most colorful and probably the hardest one to do among the selections, Color Shift. I kept calling her a spring goddess!

Look who's also in the event! It's my good friend Helen of Lucky Citrine! She chose the Brow Story makeup look.

And here's how it looks! Haha! I added a black winged liner to the look. 

After applying the makeup, we proceeded to having our photos taken. Check out how my photos looked like below.

I wish I fixed my hair before going to the photo studio set up. Haha!

I find the matte lipstick in Skin too pale so I added a hint of color.

And yeah, I took a lot of selfies... and yeah, I already narrowed it down to a smaller number than it originally was. Haha!

BUT WAIT! There's more!!!

We were able to get a sneak peek of the new products to watch out for from Ever Bilena!

They have mascaras, brow pens, liquid lipsticks and highlighters! Woooooot!
Which one is my fave? The highlighters, of course!

Just check out the swatches...

They are so smooth and buttery and not chalky! It's a must-try!

Another one to look-out for is the brow pens. They dry on skin pretty quickly and will stay put until the time I used makeup remover.

The darker shade would work well with my dark brows!

I wasn't able to try the mascaras, but four new kinds will be released soon! I wonder which one gives the best volume and length. 

And check out these liquid lipsticks!! These are the classic matte lipsticks of the brand but in liquid form!

(Thanks for swatching these, Helen!)

And there are new shades too!

From left to right: Juno, Serena, Thalia, Aphrodite, Aura, and Iris

These new products will be at Ever Bilena counters either on July or August so you better watch out for them, especially the highlighters and liquid lipsticks. The rest of the year will indeed be more colorful with these in your stash. ;)

And that's all I can report about the event. For more info about Ever Bilena and their products, do check out their WEBSITE
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Do you think I was able to achieve a Bold and Beautiful face? What do you think of my attempt to create the Sunrise Pink look?

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