February-March (2018) Haul

Hey everyone! 

Just got back from my vacation at Japan a couple of days ago. I'm still on a high because that was a 9-day long trip and I was able to see so many beautiful sights and ate delicious food. I'll share with you some of the details on a future post along with the beauty items I bought. :)

For today, I want to at least post something on the blog. So here's a haul post about the new items I bought for the past two months (I know I keep saying I need to stop but I will give up now because I know myself and I'm pretty sure I'll keep on buying something for the next coming months. Haha!). So here they are...

First is this Althea Box. I took advantage of their clearance sale and I bought items with huge discounts! Yay! I'll post the original price but I was able to buy all items at half off.

Review : The Face Shop Designing Eyebrow Pencil

Hey loves!

When putting on makeup, I try to keep my brows groomed and if needed, shaped using brow makeup, so that my brows can frame my face better. I know many who believe that kilay is life when it comes to ones makeup look, so I try to equip my makeup stash with good brow products. 

Lately, I've been using brow pencils because it's easier and faster to use. The one/s I'm using are...


The Face Shop Designing Eyebrow Pencil
Each brow pencil is PhP 225.00, but I was able to get it on a Buy 2, get 1 promo.


I bought the darkest shades because I have dark brow hair.



Info from the website:
Description:

A rectangular-tipped eyebrow pencil with smooth application for easier eyebrow drawing without irritation
Suitable for make up beginners
 
Available Colors:
01 Light Brown
02 Gray Brown 
03 Brown
04 Black Brown 
05 Dark Brown 


It also contains the ingredients list on a sticker on the bottom cap of the pencil.


The pencil actually has two caps on each end. One has the pencil while the other houses the brow brush that helps you blend the product.

It's a twist-up product and has a triangular shape. It makes it easier to glide the pencil on your brow and will not give you a very sharp, and pointed line. We want a natural looking brow and not a dark and sharp one.


Here are the swatches. From top to bottom: Gray Brown, Brown, Dark Brown

As you can see on the swatches, the lines produced are soft and most importantly, not sharp. It creates soft lines that blend well to fill in the brows without looking harsh. What I did notice though is that it's more pigmented than the brow pencils I've used from other Korean brands.

Anyway, check out below how they work on my brows:

Bare

with gray brown

brown

dark brown

Well, I really do have dark brow hair. I need a brow mascara to make them blend well. But I do think that The Face Shop Designing Eyebrow Pencils are very easy to work with, affordable, and fills in the brow with a soft finish.

It can last the whole day on my oily skin. I don't touch my face much so that helps a lot there. :P

What I LIKE:

- Affordable

- Locally available

- Soft, but pigmented lines

- Easy to use

- Comes with a brow brush

- Available in five shades

- No need to sharpen

- Long-lasting

- Slim and classy packaging

What I DON'T LIKE:

- Nothing... I do think that it can be more pigmented than what I expected, but just make sure to work it with light hands.

Would I recommend it? Yes!

And that's my review, folks! I hope this is helpful!

Cheers,

DAWN

FOTD : Christmas Red

Hello loves!

Gonna share the makeup I wore during Christmas day.

It's not fancy or glamorous. It's actually one of the usual looks I wore, but I used products that are either new or haven't shared in the blog before.

I wore a vibrant, matte red lippie paired with nude eyeshadows and a bold winged liner. I added some shimmery neutral colors to add some glow on my face. 

So here are the products I used:

Here you'll see the products I used for my face.

You might be wondering why you're seeing too many foundations there. I actually mix the Lancome and TCFS to get the right shade (the Lancome one is too dark and I'm trying to finish it), while the Estee Lauder has the best coverage among my foundations, which I use around my jaw area where I most of my acne scars are at. I'm lazy to put concealer on each scar so I just spread the foundation there. Haha! :P

Above photo shows the products I used for my eyes and brows. I used my new Celeteque DermoCosmetics Eyeshadow Palette here and the finish is pretty good. A closeup of my eyes will be shown shortly. ;)

And to add colors for my cheeks and lips, I used the products above. The star of the look is my Ellana Cosmetics Lip in Luxe in Love is True! This is my current go-to matte red lipstick. :D

Anyway, I can put the list of products sometime soon. For now, you can comment below if you have questions. Haha!

So here's a closeup of the EOTD:

Neutral shades and a bold winged eyeliner to compliment the bold and vibrant red shade of my lips.

Here's how I looked a few seconds after i finished my makeup. 

 Most of the items I used are matte—my lipstick and eyeshadows. I even add powder on my face to keep it matte. I added some highlighter to add a youthful glow as you can see on the photos!

And that's my FOTD!

What makeup did you wear during Christmas day?

Cheers,

DAWN

Review : The Face Shop Aura Color Control (CC) Cream

Hey loves!

One of my friends gave me this product a few months ago and I'll be sharing my review on today's post. ;)

The Face Shop Aura Color Control (CC) Cream
I believe the price is somewhere near Php 1.5k. I'm not sure though as this one is given to me. Refills are available though. ;)

CC Creams are pretty much like BB Creams (base makeup + skincare), though it claims to be better as it also promises to have better coverage to cover redness, acne, and other skin discolorations.

Anyway, let's get to know the product from the labels of the packaging first:

And more info from the website:

* Brightening + Anti-wrinkle + SPF effect

Creates a "Spotlight Makeup" : turns up the wattage of your skin tone with enhanced skin luminosity

"A Born-color Cream" : just like you were born with a brighter ,healthier and naturally luminescent skin!

*12H Long-wearing : with its innovative darkening-proof formula, the makeup is maintained morning-fresh & bright for 12 hours.

*12H Hydrating: promotes Clear & lively skin tone

Super blendable & layerable texture allows buildable coverage & easy touch ups on-the-go.

It comes with a mirror and an applicator which is very soft and pink! It's the usual rubbery material you get from cushion products. I don't use it much because I prefer to apply the product using a makeupbrush.

At first I thought that this was a CC Cushion, but upon opening the compact, it's actually different...

You push that transparent button to dispense the product. With one push, you get this much amount of product as seen below.

A little goes a long way with this CC cream. Two pushes and that's enough to cover my face with one layer, I do get more to add coverage when I need to. 

The difficult part of this packaging or system of dispensing is that you have no idea how much product is left. And my friend who also used this product mentioned that at first, she had problems dispensing the product. Our theory is that some of the product at the opening of the dispenser may have dried and blocked the opening. 

The shade I'm using is Natural Beige and at first application, it's quite light but once it settles, it becomes closer to my skin shade. See swatches below.

on my arm

There's a faint floral-ish scent on this product that is barely noticeable. The consistency is quite creamy (my friend didn't like the thick, creamy consistency but I'm quite used to this because most foundation with high coverage is also creamy).

slightly blended

I like that it's in the warm tone so it can easily blend with my skin tone.

When blended

It gives a semi-matte finish, which I prefer very, very much because it doesn't make my face shiny or dewy (I avoid that because I have oily skin), and it's not totally matte that it makes my skin look flat. It's pretty easy to blend on skin too.

Below are pictures of my face without and with the product.

Bare face

With a layer of the product on

The coverage is good and it gives a nice and natural glow on my skin. It also made my pores appear smaller! 

What I love about this product is it never cakes on my skin and it's long lasting power. No irritations nor breakouts encountered too.

To summarize my review:

What I LIKE:
- Long-lasting
- Good coverage and buildable
- semi-matte and natural finish
- no irritations nor breakouts
- Has SPF 30 and PA++
- I like that it has a warm tone that compliments my skin
- Makes my pores appear smaller
- Easy to blend
- Comes with mirror and applicator
- Faint floral scent
- Easy to dispense product
- Refillable

What I'm NEUTRAL about:
- No oil control, but it never claims to have one anyway so no big deal

What I DON'T LIKE:
- It can be a bit pricey
- Can't see or feel the amount of product left
- I think it's only available in two shades and the one I have is the darker one

Would I buy again? Well, I think this is a good product and also a recommendable CC Cream to try. I just don't think that this is an exact shade match for me. It's just too light! As much as I find the finish good on my skin, I want my base makeup to look closer to my real skin as possible. This can be a problem with people with the same skin shade or darker.

And that's it for my review of the The Face Shop Aura Color Control (CC) Cream. Have you tried this yet? Thoughts?


Cheers,
DAWN

EOTD: My Current Go-To Eye Makeup

Hello loves!

This is not really my "eye of the day" since I wore this last Thursday. I just want to share this eye makeup look that I usually wear nowadays, especially when I'm in a hurry...

I wear this pinkish nude eye makeup partnered with a pinkish nude lippie. It only takes a few minutes to do and I think it would look great on many skin tones. 

Here are the products I used:

Etude House Play 101 Pencils in #33

The Face Shop Eyebrow Pencil in Grey Brown

 Holika Holika Jewel-light Waterproof Eyeliner in Brown Ember

Lancome Artliner Precision Felt Tip Liquid Liner

NARS Audacious Mascara

Dior Backstage Eye Prime

Sephora Book of Wishes Eyeshadow in Wish No. 2 (Be a Role Model)

The look is a mixture of matte and shimmery colors. Since the colors are soft and almost neutral, I paired it with an edgy cat liner wing.

Just blend the shadows well so there's the contrast between the soft colors and the sharp liner.

However, I would prefer a darker eyeliner. Unfortunately, my kuripot (stingy) self do not want to use a new eyeliner until the current one I have dries up or reaches its expiration date. Haha! :P

And that's my current GO-TO eye makeup! Any thoughts?

Cheers,
DAWN

May (2016) Haul

Hello loves!

I know that I just got back from my Sydney trip last month, but I just can't help myself from taking advantage of the end of season sales of brands. There were so much goodies with hugely marked-down prices that I just had to withdraw some of my money and promise my account to not withdraw again for the next two months. Haha! If you see the new stuff I bought, you'll understand why. ;)

These are just... half of my haul ;)

All the shopping happened in just three separate days. Haha! Some of them I really planned on buying, while some are just random things that I thought were too cool of a deal to pass out. 

So here are the new items that you will be seeing in future blog posts... :)

The Face Shop Designing Eyebrow Pencils in Gray Brown, Brown, and Dark Brown

Each costs PhP 225.00.

I got them on a promo—you buy two and you get one for free! 

The Face Shop Premium Eyelash Curler
PhP 205.00

I had to visit a Beauty Bar branch to help a friend pick some makeup for her... I ended up buying more stuff than her. Haha!

Smashbox Santigolden Age Eye Shadow Collage

Original price was PhP 1,900. Got this for only PhP 665.00.

ArtDeco Kajal Liner 04

Original Price - Php 395.00

Bought for PhP 256.75

Mineral Fusion Intense Hydration Face Cream

Original price was PhP 850.00

Sale price is PhP 637.50

The next three products are the planned purchases:

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion - PhP 1,095.00

Mario Badescu Anti Acne Serum - PhP 1,545.00

Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner - PhP 1,145.00

I also got free samples of their Enzyme Cleansing Gel and AHA and Ceramide Moisturizer!

Etude House Beauty Tool Brush 121 Skin - PhP 848.00

I just thought it was cute and I wanted to try it out... I did hesitate because I didn't expect the price to be that high, but I actually like using it to apply foundations or bb creams. :)

A few days ago, my bro and I had a shopping spree when we went to a sort of warehouse sale. We splurged on brands that are quite high-end or too expensive for our wallets but they were discounted for more than 50% in this sale so we took advantage and bought a lot! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to keep the receipt so I forgot how much we bought them. Sorry. :P

AVEDA shampoos and conditioner

(Mines the "be curly" variant while the "dry remedy" and "smooth infusion" are my brother's)

Elizabeth Arden Skincare—Toners and a Hydrating cleanser

Aveda Men Pomade (also my bro's)

Issey Miyake L'eau Dissey (also my bro's)

Philosophy time in a bottle

I wish I didn't buy the one I got from Beauty Bar if I knew I will be getting this. Haha! I think I was able to get this for less than 1k. 

Yes, I buy unused testers. Haha! These are Guerlain products though. And they are gooood and I'm sure they are authentic.

Shiseido Maquillage True Liquid Long Keep UV in OC20 Natural Ochre

Got this for PhP 500.00.

Make Up For Ever Powder Blush in 88 Cotton Candy

Sleek Matte Me Ultra Smooth Matte Lip Cream in Birthday Suit

Sleek True Lip Colour Lipstick in Smoulder

Sleek True Lip Colour Lipstick in Cherry

Sleek True Lip Colour Lipstick in Barely There

Lanvin Merry Me Eau de Parfum

And that's all! Haha! I guess you won't be seeing a haul post anytime soon (two months shopping ban for me). Even though I spent so much, I'm really happy with all the products I bought. Hihihihi...

Which product are you most interested in reading a review of? Comment them below!

Cheers,
DAWN