Jordana: Sweet Cream Matte Liquid Lip Color

Good evening ladies,

So I recently got hold of the Jordana Sweet Cream Matte Liquid Lip Color at the Beauty Backstage Event last month.

This liquid lip color initially came in 12 shades namely: 01 - Creme Brulee, 02 Strawberry Shortcake, 03 Raspberry Tart, 04 Mixed Berry Souffle, 05 Mango Sorbet, 06 Cherry Cobbler, 07 Tiramisu, 08 Sweet Marsala Wine, 09 Rose Macaron, 10 Sugared Plum, 11 Red Velvet Cake, and 12 Pomegranate Pie.

In their website, they recently release 6 new shades but I am not sure if they are available locally.

Out of the 12 shades, Tiramisu, was said to be the most sought after. So I took a tube for myself while there were still only a few guests at the event.

While I was at it, I took another one in a different shade. Since I did not have a lot of pink tones in my lip color rack, I picked this one up.

The product smell really lovely as well. Though the fragrance gets overwhelming at first, but it dies down quickly.

As you can see, this is packaged with a doe foot applicator which is really great for this product as it's easy to use that way. Though I do wipe off a little around the bottle's rim since I prefer putting it on thinly at first then slowly build it up. I don't really need to put a lot of layers since it is highly pigmented.

Rose Macaron (top); Tiramisu (bottom)

The consistency is creamy, yet still smooth. Their website describes it as "creamy-whipped". It is lightweight but not to the point that you don't feel like you have nothing on your lips. Once it's on, you know it's on.

The drying time allows for some degree of spread-ability. Once it dries, it stays put and does not transfer. I spent the whole day drinking from my coffee tumbler/cannister and I hardly found any lip color pigments/marks on it.

Rose Macaron (top); Tiramisu (bottom) - swatches on cotton pad

I also noticed that it was water-resistant but can be removed using cleansing water without much difficulty (rigorous scrubbing).

To show you just how long lasting it is, I give you below a series of photos of my lips through out the day.

6:00 am - bare lips

I put the lip color on at around 6:30 am and this picture below was taken around 8:00 am at the office  while I was facing the window.

The picture below was taken around 8:00 in the evening, still at my office. To clarify, I did not retouch this lip color and I ate a LOT this day. As you can see, only little of it "rubbed" off or "faded off". Jordana boasts that this product can last up to 16 HR wear which is exactly what happened with me.

I also like that it did not flake my lips off unlike the matte lip tints I've used before.

This costs around 250 to 300 and can be found at Watsons. Lazada also sells these but at a higher price of about 499 (last I checked).

Anyway, I give this product a high mark of 4.5 only because I prefer tube packaging than ones with doe foot applicators. I do love that this is such a long lasting yet lightweight matte lipstick. I also love that it does not transfer since it makes my tumbler washing easier.

Do checkout what other colors are available locally by visiting their store, and if you happen to be curious of the new colors, visit their website or their facebook page to learn more.

Cheers,

LIZ

Beauty Backstage: European Brand Shopping Galore!

Hello ladies,

Yesterday we were fortunate enough to be part of Beauty Backstage at White Space Manila. This was a shopping party featuring brands distributed in the Philippines by Bhagi's International.

Here is a look at the haul I brought home which I will show to you by brand as you read on. 

The brands consisted of European and US drugstore brands, most of which can be found at Watsons.  So let's start off with my dream-country-to-travel-to, Italy.

Deborah Milano is an Italian cosmetics and skin care market. It promises an array of innovative, top-quality cosmetics and skin care at an affordable price. Their most popular product is the Absolute Lasting Liquid Lipstick which I made sure to secure in my shopping bag. Their foundations are also highly reviewed and it was a struggle choosing what foundation to buy.

I ultimately ended up choosing their Perfect & Natural Foundation Natural Look in 03 which is 0% silicone, mineral oil, parbens, and acrylates.

Deborah Milano's products are the most pricey of the brands in the event with prices ranging from 300 to 800 pesos.

Next stop is Germany, where two brands hail from.

The first of the two is Essence and is the one I am more familiar with. I've tried some of their blushes before - those owned by Dawn. However, since I was in need of a new lip liner and Liz Lanuzo of Project Vanity recommended theirs, I went and got their nude lip liner to try out.

Here's a fun fact that I learned about Essence, they invest more on their product quality than any ad campaign. This is one way that they are able to delivery high quality low priced products. True enough, they are one of the lowest priced items in the event with a price range of 100 to 500 pesos.

I also got their I Love Stage Eyeshadow base and this beautiful Mosaic Blush. It's a little orangey-peach in color - which at some point I am hoping that I don't already have.

Another fun fact, all Essence products are not tested on animals. So feel guilt-free to splurge on their items!

Next is Catrice.

Catrice's make up line can be called as the runway dupes, in the sense that they take the runway trend of make-up as the base for their product development and then from there, the innovate formulas and textures from high quality ingredients. They boast of a large choice of colors which covers both trendy and classic shades.

They also regularly release limited make-up collections per year so you'll always find something new from them. 

Yesterday, their "featured" products were the  highlighting palettes, the cream bronzer and highlighter compact, strobing duo and such. However, since I think I already have too much bronzers, I skipped out on buying it.

Catrice is mid-range at 200 to 500 pesos.

Last stop on our European based brands is Il Salone Milano.

This is a hair care and hair color brand. They actually have 27 hair color products to choose from BUT there are only 6 of them available in the country; and if my memory is any good, those are:  Dark Blonde, Light Blonde, Burgundy Red, Dark Copper, Light Caramel Brunette and Light Chocolate Brunette. If I ever get one color wrong do tell me. I'm just generally sad that they do not have Blue Black available in the country.

Also, they have a spray leave-in that is perfect for colored hair but I'm not sure if it's available in the country as well.

Now we head on to Turkey with their number 1 make-up brand Flormar.

It's being number 1 isn't only in Turkey though, as you can see in my picture of their booth below, they were the first ones to get most of their items sold out. All of their liquid foundations were just gone in a few minutes to an hour.

And since I didn't want to lose out, I grabbed one of their matte foundations before somebody else takes it. I was also fortunate enough to get the last piece of loose powder in 04 which according to the sales representative, is not really the tester. Well, I just really wanted it and when she opened the lid, it did look pretty untouched so I just went for it.

Since I was "gaya gaya" and Helen of Lucky Citrine got a lipstick, I also got one. Anyway, it's in a shade I've always wanted to try so win-win. Their prices also range at 200 to 800 pesos.

Now we cross the ocean and go straight to USA.

Jordana, in comparison to the previous brands, is relatively young at 25 years in the business. They're a family-owned, LA based brand which offers value-priced cosmetics.

Their best selling product is the Sweet Dream Matte Liquid Lip Color in Tiramisu. Actually, Jordana was our first stop during that day and so we were able to secure a Tiramisu shade before everyone else. 

Since I wasn't familiar with the brand yet I decided to just go with their tube 2-in-1 concealer foundation. The good thing about this, according to their sales lady, this has yellow tone in it and is perfect for us Asian ladies so I don't really need to fret that much if the color I got was a little lighter.

The final stop is the perfumes section. The perfumes were from Joe of London  and Romantic Collection.

I chose the blue one since it smelled the lightest. There were also two fragrance mist from this brand which to me smelled like jelly-ace. :)

Joe of London had several scents available during the event like: Sage, Lily, Creme Noir, Orangey, and Lime Mousse to name a few. I really wanted to get Sage since it smelled powdered down and soft but I guess I share the same taste with a lot of the other attendees that's why it sold out quick.

Also aside from playing around the booths and getting busy shopping, there are also other activities set-up; for example, this make-up session and the nail atelier. I guess people were just too busy shopping to think of getting their nails done. :)

Now, I'd just like to share that Helen, Kaycee of KikaysiKat, and I were really early birds. It was nice seeing Helen again after so long. 

I was also equally happy to meet Kaycee and her purple hair! Ah, I think we kind of bonded over our mutual like of purple color in our hair. Hers however has such a pretty fade out... kind of inggit inside. :)

Anyway, that's it for this post. Do wait for the reviews of the products.

Hope you enjoyed this short trip around the "world" stalls.

Cheers,

LIZ

NOTD : Gradient and Black Tips

Happy Sunday guys!

I had an unproductive weekend. *sigh* I wasn't able to do any artworks that I planned on creating and I also wasn't able to go to the gym. :(

Oh well. But at least I have a new NOTD to share with all of you.

The gradient effect is probably one of the easiest nail arts you can do. It's beautiful and classy but just be careful with the choice of colors. Make sure that they blend well together. :)

 Here are the polishes I used for this look. I forgot to add the pink polish in the picture. :P

I also used an old makeup sponge to do the blending. :)

And more nail photos:

I took the pics a few days after I created this NOTD. The black tips were already chipping off. Booo. Bad black polish!

 So that's about it. I apologize for this very short post. I'm just getting so sleepy. Haha!

Going to bed now. I'll have to wake up early tomorrow. :P

Good night, guys! 

Cheers,

DAWN

NOTD : Jordana Nail Polish in Boy Oh Boy

Hi dears!

My March Salad Box gave me the perfect polish for the summer!

Just take a look at this shade!

Jordana Nail Polish in Boy Oh Boy

This is my first polish from the brand and I'm really happy that I got a full size of this from Saladbox. 

I really like the shade since it reminds me of the beach with nice, clean and calm waters.

It only took me 2 coats to get this solid, bold color. The polish is so easy to use because of the fine consistency and easy-to-manipulate brush.

And I just love that a polish is 15ml per bottle. I'll be using this a lot for sure~!

Though it could be a little pricey for Php 350.00 each.

So what do you think of this shade?

Have you tried any Jordana Nail Polishes yet? What shade is your favorite?

Do share!

Cheers!

DAWN

My March Salad Box

Hey guys!

How's your Saturday going?

Today I received my Salad Box for the month of March.

And I think this is probably one of the best boxes from Salad Box that I have received since I think I am willing to try all the items included. I shall be sharing with you the contents of this box in this blogpost.

The usual letter is still here and it's all about how to feel cool using the products in the box during the scorching heat summer brings!

Below are the items included and the price of them in full size...

And here are the pictures of the items. Please refer to the list above for the names of the products. I placed them according to how they are listed on the letter.

I am loving the products! Some I've tried before like the BB Cream and some I am so curious to try ASAP (Avon Lotion and Innisfree Mask)! 

I'm quite relieved that there are no Carmex Lipbalm this month (LOL I have 4 in stock! Yikes!) and that they don't have the useless vouchers (I don't think I've used any of those I got). :P

That's all for today! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, loves! :)


Cheers!
DAWN