Keep Calm & Beautify

The Versatile Blogger Award is an award that is bestowed to bloggers who are relatively new to blogging - newer than 2 years. It is like a tag which is passed on from newbie blogger to newbie blogger to encourage them try to discover other blogs and bloggers and develop a friendship that would see them for the rest of their blogging lives. :)

I cannot deny that this past 2 years of blogging have made me open up more to strangers which some have turned to friends online. Because of this, I am happy to be able to do another award in hopes of discovering newer blogs and new friends. I would like to thank both Sylden of Delightful Illusions and Arel of The Girl With The Lemon Satchel for nominating me to do this.

Although that was mainly the reason expressed by whoever started the award, I thought I wanted to show you the "versatility" of my blog (lol) so I made a custom image for this post. I guess there is much more "versatility" to be desired, so I guess we can say this award is an eye-opener? I'll be working on making varied posts in the months to come.

On to the rules of this award:

• Nominate 15 other bloggers that are relatively new to blogging. 
• Let the bloggers know that you've nominated them (either thru email or comments). 
• Share 10 random facts about yourself. 
• Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog. 
• Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post.

Here are 10 random facts about myself:

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. :) Have a nice day!

When I learned last year that some select SM Department Stores are carrying Nyx, I hurriedly traipsed over because I heard a lot of good things about the brand - particularly the good quality for the affordable price.

I was looking for an MLBB lipstick in particular (the quest has long begun) and I have swatched several on my hand. There was one big contender (I forgot the name though) so I took courage to swatch it on my lips. Lo and behold, I hated how it looks.

I tried this one next - Milan - because the color has attracted me (this color always attract me) and it was instant love. It does seem to me however that I may be falling for the same type again and again.




It is a cream type of lippie and it comes in an ordinary plastic packaging with a doe foot applicator.



Milan is this beautiful berry shade that isn't too bright or too dark. This color would definitely suit a lot of skin tones.

The texture of the product isn't like anything I've tried (yet). It feels dry-ish, grainy-ish. It's like the texture of egg whites when overly beaten. It's not a cream per se. It doesn't feel moist or creamy.

The fact that it is matte is also in juxtaposition with the term cream. Maybe it's just me and my preconceived notion that creams are supposed to be moisturizing.

Application though is easy despite the texture. The doe foot applicator helps make lining the lips easy and it takes just the right amount of product with it when I remove the cap from the tube.

It doesn't accentuate dry lips although it feels like it's sucking the moisture out of my lips.

The smell is divine. It's like candy. Good thing the texture is dry or else I'll be licking my lips all day.

Would I buy this again?

Yes. I would like to try the other colors too, but Milan I would definitely buy again.

Thanks for reading. :)

That is one mouthful of a name, isn't it? :D Lip crayons are all the rage this past few years and new Filipino makeup brand Happy Skin made sure to include a huge selection of lip crayons in their line.

The name Shut Up & Kiss Me is a little enticing, but wait and see (or hear) the names of the lip colors in the line. My pick Just Say Yes was among the more subdued. ;)

My first choice was The Morning After, because I had hopes of it being my perfect MLBB; but sadly that one was out of stock, so I made a choice to pick this shade instead.


The Shut Up & Kiss Me lippies offers three-fold service: as gloss, as lipstick, and as balm.


This gloss/lipstick/balm in the color Just Say Yes is housed in a peach plastic crayon-type tube with beige markings and text. Pretty cute packaging. The product itself looks darker than when it is applied on the lips.


The swatch on my hand is still a little darker than when applied on lips. I do detect though a hint of a frostiness which I don't see on my lips - which is a little shine that isn't exaggerated.

Pigment is really good. That is just one swipe on my hand there. This is one of the reasons I wanted to try out a lippie from Happy Skin, because I heard the pigment is really good and I wanted to try an MLBB or nude shade (because I have more than enough shades of darker colored lipsticks). The reason I don't usually go for nude shades for lippies is because of my really pigmented lips. :/


And here's aforementioned pigmented lips wearing Happy Skin's Just Say Yes. :D The color is peachy-nude when worn. The natural color of my lips is still showing through though, but that is because I swiped a finger on it after applying the lippie. I find it a bit difficult to apply it perfectly from the tube despite it being in crayon form because it's so pigmented that it's so obvious when I went outside the line. The consistency is also creamy so it can pile a bit too thick if swiped too many times.

Don't get me wrong. I actually like this product. It's not everyday that I can rock a nude lip (I know, sounds funny). :D I had fears this color might wash me out, but fortunately it didn't. Now I can venture out with different looks, like smokey eyes or heavily kohl-ed eyes, and not having the lips compete for attention.

I have to say though that it is not moisturizing enough for me. I do suffer from chapped lips frequently and this lippie doesn't do anything in that regard.

Availability

Repurchase?

Availability

Repurchase?

I just want to share with you what I got last December. Some of this things I bought for myself, while others were gifted to me by friends and loved ones. Is it so obvious that beauty products makes me happy? :D

All of these products/brands are my first time to try them, so I'm quite ecstatic to try them out and give you my opinion. If there's any product among this list that you want to read about, just let me know. :)


From top left:
Oryspa Champorado Body Scrub. Oryspa is known to use rice bran as their primary ingredient and to use 100% organic ingredients in all their products. Champorado is a Filipino snack made of rice and chocolate (and sometimes milk). This body scrub is obviously made with rice bran and chocolate. So excited to try this out.
China Glaze in Champagne Bubbles and Tinsel Town. I've already made a post on Champagne Bubbles, and yet to post on Tinsel Town.
Hand Cream Therapy Set. My sis gave this to me after she read a comment I wrote (and was reflected on Google+) about my curiosity with hand creams. I'm trying out Ocean Bliss right now and it's so moisturizing.
Ellana Strawberry Vanilla Lip Scrub. I have an eternal dry lips problem and was wondering if lip scrubs would help. I've tried this once and wasn't very impressed.
Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I got one in medium and it is perfect for my skin tone. It is creamy but isn't too heavy.
Happy Skin Shut Up & Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippie in Just Say Yes. Took me a very long time to choose this color. There's so many to choose from their site. This lippie promises a three-fold function: shine like gloss, pigment like lipstick and hydration like balm. I'll share with you my opinions in another post. This color is a rare choice for me since I usually go for red/berry shades. I am not that disappointed with this color.
Shiseido Medicated Baby Powder. I'm seeing a lot of people reviewing this product nowadays. So weird because I promise I didn't buy this just to jump on the band wagon. Saw this product at Zalora at a reasonable price. It promises to be effective against oil and that was basically enough for me to go ahead and try it out. I have been using this for a few weeks and it does feel like baby powder. :D
Wet n Wild in Walking on Eggshells. Heard so many good things about this eye shadow palette and I just thought it might come in handy.
Sweet Macaron Lip. This balm promises to make pigmented lips naturally pink again. Will let you know if this works on me.

Fashion

Just two big ticket stuff: a little black dress from Something Borrowed and a pink envelope clutch from Ezra. The LBD was what I decided on when I was searching for a dress to wear to an event (more about that dress search here). Too bad I didn't end up attending the event because there was news of a super typhoon then so I cancelled my plans on travelling.


This is how the dress looks like when worn. That's from the Zalora website. Lol, that's not me. I haven't worn the dress yet, but I am sure I would find another opportunity to wear it.

The envelope clutch was the perfect bag to bring when travelling. It easily fits in my bag without taking up much space. It can go from casual to formal just by detaching the wrist strap. It's also big enough to carry most of my necessities when I go out.

So that's all for my new beauty and fashion products for December. Who knows when I'll have another haul post again. Hahaha. :D December really is something else, isn't it? I'm curious to know what new stuff you're all testing out right now. :) Let me know in the comments, or leave your links if you've already posted about it. :) See you in my next post.

Merry Christmas everyone! It's 2:45 am here in the Philippines and I'm still awake after all the Christmas rush yesterday. :) So I wanted to make this short post about what I have on my nails. It's China Glaze's Champagne Bubbles. I only have one coat on and I like how it looks sheer in some angles. I'm sure it will be more vibrant with another coat but I like how the semi-sheerness of a one coat makes a gold lacquer more wearable. :)

That's all for my post today. For New Year I'm planning on wearing a silver nail lacquer, so stay tuned for that. :)

Hi! I'm back with a review this time and it's about the Etude House Blotting Paper Pact. You all know how much I suffer from oily skin, so blotting papers are essential to my makeup kit. So when I was at Etude House to buy another pack of blotting papers, I saw this "Blotting Paper Pact" and was both enthralled by the look of it and curious as to what a blotting paper pact could be.

Well, it was a big duh moment for me when I opened the box later on and discovered the answer to my question. It was blotting papers. In a compact. Complete with mirror and puff.

It was different and interesting though, so I was excited to give this a try.

Front Back / Left / Right

Let's start with the box. It is pink with white and black design and font. The back and left side has Korean description while the right side contains the English description.


The compact resembles the design of the box, except it doesn't have any writings/descriptions at the sides and back.


When opened, you will see a puff with the Etude House logo and a decent size mirror.


Taking out the puff, you will see how blotting paper and compact are merged together. The sheet sticks to the puff via an adhesive that is also stuck to the puff. You can then press that puff to your face, to blot the oiliness away. You can also seek the help of the mirror to find out if you've missed a spot or something.


After blotting, or if you've soiled the entire sheet and need another, you just need to peel off that used sheet and press the puff back (with the adhesive side down) on the container where the sheets are (and where the powder is usually contained in a typical compact). It will then adhere to another sheet and you can easily pick one out without having to tilt the compact to dislodge the sheets.

What I don't find easy though is placing the puff back into the container perfectly every time, because I can't just slip it in or something, it has to be put in perfectly squared right on top of the sheets or else the top sheet will stick to it haphazardly and it will wrinkle because it will still have to be kept and fit in that square box.

My other dislike about the product: it is too bulky for my taste. I usually bring a packet of blotting papers in my back pocket when I go out on an errand. Most of the time I don't bring a bag, and with that my comb, compact (powder), lip balm. But I still bring with me blotting papers, just to make sure I am somewhat presentable still. The easiest way for me to retouch is to just blot. :) So with this blotting paper pact, I can't do that anymore, except maybe if I take out a couple sheets and put those in my back pocket, but that's gross.

I am thinking though of placing them in the old Etude House blotting paper envelope so I could easily carry them. And for this lovely compact, I'm thinking if maybe I could peel out the adhesive from the puff and use this to carry loose powder or something.

Will I buy this again? I don't think so. I like the old one from Etude better - Etude House Oil Control Film (I have a pic of that in this post). Why? For it's portability, for it's effectivity (those blue sheets are more effective than these parchments in my opinion), and it's price (cheaper than this).

So how about you? Will you try something like a blotting paper pact?

*On the front of the pact, there's a bluish stain there. I smeared stamp pad ink there with my thumb and I couldn't wipe it off. Just saying that that's not how it looks when newly bought.

How long has it been since I last posted? Anyway, I decided to make a short post just to get things rolling again. Hopefully I get to stick to a pattern and churn out posts on a regular basis.

Forgive me if I'm a little rusty with all this review writing thing.

Anyway, I got this lotion several months ago for my dry skin (I have dry skin for my body and oily for my face - which is weird). The scent is cherry which I have mentioned in previous posts as one of my faves, but I know several if not most people hate this strong scent.

This Jergens lotion is pretty thick and heavy. It really doesn't get absorbed much into the skin. I have tried it once while my skin was still damp and it felt like oil sitting on top of water. And it stuck onto my clothes when I put them on.

Pretty inexpensive at less than P50 for 100ml bottle {absolutely forgotten the real price by now}, but I won't be making this buy again. :D

That's all for my review. :D Nyahaha I told you it'll be short.