Essence Hi! Lighting Eyeshadow Mousse in Hi! Mauve

Hello dears!

Four years ago, I blogged about a cream eyeshadow from Essence that I just love to use as an eyeshadow base. I loved it so much that I was so disappointed when I learned that the Essence shops at the leading department stores do not carry those long-lasting eyeshadows anymore. 

Last December, I visited one of their counters to check just in case they carry that cream eyeshadow again or if the brand released a similar product. There was none... but, the sales attendant recommended that I try this...

Essence Hi! Lighting Eyeshadow Mousse in Hi! Mauve
I bought this for PhP 229.00.

December (2017) Haul — Yay for Christmas Shopping!

Hey everyone!

The holidays might be over but I'm still enjoying some of the things that I got from the events that happened last month. One of the things that definitely made me extra giddy last Christmas is the huge sales from different shop! Haha! I'm glad that we had extra money for spending so I was able to get some stuff for me to use. Let me share what items I was able to get so you know what to  expect on my future blog product reviews...

Marks and Spencer Shea Butter Cream Bath - PhP 350.00

Marks and Spencer Floral Collection Silky Talcum Powder in Rose - PhP 295.00

The prices I posted are their regular prices but I got these at 20% off. They had a promo which lasted for only three days on all regular priced items. The sale happened from December 25-27, 2017.

Essence: Lipliner 11 in the Nude

Good evening bellas,

I've recently started using lipliners again. For a long time, I've never really liked using lipliners and it's quite funny why I avert from using them. When I was young, my aunt applied a dark shade of lipliner on me. I don't really remember how my lips looked before that time, but when I noticed the natural dark line defining the edges of my lips, I thought that was caused by the lipliner. This alarmed me when I was young and somehow, the idea got stuck in my mind that lipliners darken your lips.

Then, Dawn steered me back into seeing how the lipliners are good for me. I'm still not touching dark lipliners but at least I've started using nudes.

Here is the nude liner I've been using for the past few months. It's Essence Lipliner in 11 in the Nude.

I really love this lipliner. It glides on smooth and feels very light.

It lasts long and does not transfer easily. It's very wearable by itself.

I love that the color is so near to the hue of my natural lip. I've started using this over my nude lipsticks when going for a no make-up look since it looks so natural on me. Of course, I still do top it with a little gloss as by itself, it tends to make the lips look a little dry.

This lipliner is available in all Essence stall in Watsons and costs Php 99.00.

Anyway, that's it for now.

Cheers,

LIZ

Review: Essence: I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base

Hello loves!

It has been a while since I've experimented with my eyeshadow color. Since the time I colored my hair purple, I've been struggling to create various colored shadow looks - mostly recreations of Lisa Eldridge's make up looks. However, it saddens me a lot that my Smashbox palette's colored shadows are just not giving me the color I want.

I will just briefly rant about my Smashbox Be Discovered palette before moving on. I feel very frustrated with this palette, it has so many beautiful colors but the color pay-off once applied is so thin. Even when I'm packing on dark colored shadows, they come on smoked, and I can't even build up the color when without base. I even tried wetting the brush, and it also did not work. Even the gel liners are a let down since a lot of the colors they mixed in are quite unique. The liners are also not build-able and the line somewhat disappears as you apply.

So, Dawn had reminded me that for these situations, the best solution would be to get an eyeshadow base. Lucky for me, #beautybackstageph happened and I got introduced to essence's I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base. Here's what I think about it.

Packaging:

The packaging for this product is ok, as most eyeshadow base I've browsed are like this. I'm not particularly a big fan of products that are packaged this way, even lipsticks/stains, because I feel that a lot of the product is wasted as the applicator only stays in the middle and you cannot "simot" the products stuck to the side of the "bottle".

However, I do like the simplicity of the print on the bottle.

Ingredients:

This product is paraben-free, silicone-free. Here is the full list of the ingredients from the Essence site. You can check them out below or at essence's site.

AQUA (WATER), CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, CYCLOHEXASILOXANE, GLYCERIN, ISODODECANE, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, METHYL METHACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, POLYMETHYLSILSESQUIOXANE, MICA, DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER, POLYGLYCERYL-4 ISOSTEARATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, STEAROYL INULIN, CERA ALBA (BEESWAX), DIMETHICONOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, TRIMETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, TIN OXIDE, PHENOXYETHANOL, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (IRON OXIDES), CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE)

Performance:

According to the site this maybe used as a base for concealer or eyeshadow, it won't settle on the crease and can make the eyeshadow last longer and intensifies color. So here's how it was on me.



The consistency is creamy but easy to blend/spread out. A small dot can cover pretty much my whole eyelid. It dries on the lid quickly once spread. It does not feel heavy on the lids but is not light enough that you feel like you've nothing on.


Upper - without base; Lower swatch - with base

It does intensify color and has helped in making sure that I can build up the color of my Smashbox palette.

It also somewhat helped in making my lids even in color.



8 am in the morning

However, it could only keep the oiliness of my lids at bay for at least 5-6 hours.


12 noon

After that time passes, my lids started oiling up and the shadow had started to concentrate/rest on my crease. Though I do believe that it has helped lessen the oiliness, as usually, if I do not powder or blot, the oils on my lids start stinging my eyes. I did not experience that here, but as you can see, my lids had become pretty oily after 12 hours.


9 pm

The good thing though is that the color is still pretty much there though it did settle over my crease after some time. I do not recommend it if you're planning on wearing your make-up for more than 8 hours and while you are outside in a humid and hot environment.

Price and Where to buy:

This costs around Php 149 pesos and comes in only one shade. You can find this in any Watson's stores inside SM Department stores.

Final thoughts:

This definitely is a good enough product, especially if you're just using it for when you want a more intense version of you're eyeshadow for office, short trips, and just your everyday type of make-up. It's hardly a steal, but it is a good choice for an affordable base.

I'd give this product a 3.5/5 overall.

Aside from this product they have another eyeshadow base from the same I love collection. I wonder if it is better than this one. If you've tried the other one before, do share with us how it went.

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

EOTD: Deep Teal and Smokey Topaz

Hey dearies!

I'm so excited for Christmas. I love this holiday because I love getting stuff for my friends. I have this joy and excitement to find that "perfect" gift for friends. It may be a running joke or something sentimental but my goal is that it has to be something my friends would like. And also, if I have to be honest, I also like unwrapping gifts. :P

Another reason I love this season is I'm always in the mood to create different makeup looks. I like wearing bold lipsticks, sparkly eyeshadows, greens, golds, reds, and all! Even though I wear these on ordinary days, there's a different joy to it when it's during this season. 

Here's an EOTD I wore just a few days ago...

And below are the items used:

Lorac Mega PRO Palette

Snoe What's Up Brow! Water Resistant Eyebrow Gel Corrector

Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadow in Coppy Right

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara

Dior Backstage Eye Prime 

Sephora Waterproof Jumbo Liner 12HR Wear in Gold

Lorac Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil

Nature Republic Botanical Eyebrow Mascara

Koji Dolly Wink Liquid Eyeliner in Deep Black

More photos of the EOTD below:

I like the green and gold blending. It may seem dark but it looks sort of toned down when I have my eyes open.

The green is a nice pop of color and the gold brightens up the look.

So what do you think of this EOTD?

Cheers,

DAWN

Essence Ticket to Paradise Long-Lasting Eyeshadow in Tropical Heat

Hey dearies!

When it comes to makeup, I can control myself from splurging money if the product is expensive but I know that it's really, really good. I guess I got that from my mom who is very thrifty and would rather find a more affordable version even if the quality isn't as good. What I can't help control myself from doing is buying really, really affordable things that are on sale (I like great deals) even though I have no idea if it's good. Haha!

That's the case with this product...

Essence Ticket to Paradise Long-Lasting Eyeshadow

I was able to get it for a super low price of...

PhP 75.00!!! 
They were on sale that day and I just thought that that's such an awesome deal. I remembered their Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadow, which I love so much, was around PhP 200.00 so if this product's original price was somewhere near that, then this is definitely a steal!

The shade I got is 03 Tropical Heat.

I chose it, besides that it's the only shade left available, because it's gold and it can be easily paired with many lipstick shades and create various makeup looks. It would also be a good makeup base for powder shadows which is something I do with the brand's All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadows.

Here's a swatch on my arm.

And how it looks like alone on my lids.

The shade is wearable and can pass as an everyday eye makeup look. And yes, it can be an eyeshadow base as well. The warm color won't affect your powder shadow if its pigmented. This can actually accentuate the color more. Unfortunately, this one is not as long lasting as their All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadows. My eyeshadow creases when my lids get really oily.

But for a PhP 75.00, I still think I got my money's worth... Haha! But this is not something I really like just because it creases on my lids. But when I use it on friends with dry-normal skin, then it can last the whole day. :P

What do you think of the Essence Ticket to Paradise Long-Lasting Eyeshadow in Tropical Heat? Do you have any recent hugely discounted purchases?


Cheers,
DAWN