August Collective Haul

Wow, it's been a while since I hauled stuff. I'd just like to share with you some of the stuff I bought this month.

A trial set from L'occitane. I've been very curious about their hand cream for a long time now so when a seller sold a trial kit, I grabbed the chance!

I actually just bought this today: false lashes from Saizen's clearance sale for P25 each only.

My new MAC 187!

MAC In the Groove collection: Mineralize blushes in Stereo Rose and Candlelight. I know, I know I'm late but I had mine ordered from the US so they just arrived. Will do a review on these :)

Lastly, around two weeks ago I got my prizes from Aileen's giveaway! Two mineralize e/s also from MAC In the Groove collection.

Makeup-wise, August has been good to me. Pocket-wise, not so much! LOL

The Best of 2009

Hello everyone! Christmas is done, and the year will soon end. So, I'd like to present my list of the best of 2009. Now, when I mean that it's the best of 2009, I'm talking about products that were released in 2009, or have been released previously but didn't make waves until 2009. I loved a lot of products this year but if I put them all, it might take forever. So, here's my version (Please note that they have no particular order):

1. Adorned With Grace Foundation

This foundation was released in 2008 (I think) but didn't become really popular in GirlTalk until late 2008 until early 2009. This is my favorite mineral foundation brand, although I still don't have a full pot myself (I haven't gotten to it yet). It gives me a really natural finish, but at the same time giving me coverage. I wouldn't say full coverage; it's probably a medium.

2. Saizen Charcoal Masque 

This product made waves amongst GirlTalkers and bloggers alike. And why wouldn't it? Its job is to remove whiteheads and blackheads in our faces. And it does exactly what it's supposed to do. And the best part is, it's only P85 (around $1.60).

You can read my full review HERE.

3. Kryolan Products

Makeup artists have been using Kryolan for a long time already, but it didn't make waves in GirlTalk until the 2009. A lot of beauty addicts now have turned to Kryolan as less expensive alternatives to more expensive brands. Products in particular that because sellouts were the TV Paint Stick and the Anti-Shine Powder.

4. MAC Beauty Powder Blush in Summer Rose

This beauty powder blush came out in MAC's A Rose Romance collection. The moment I swiped it I knew it was love! This quickly became my everyday blush. It gave me a sheer wash of color, very natural, as if I didn't have anything on, yet it lasted all day. And who doesn't love the rose design?

5. MAC Mineralize Blush in Hand-Finish

Another favorite blush of mine that came out this year as part of MAC's Colour Craft Collection. It goes on sheer but buildable. It has big glittery bits which not everyone might like, but since I like shimmer I sometimes put this alone for daytime, or put this on top of another blush for night time events.

6. Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. II

This is one of the two must have limited edition palettes this year. I missed out on Vol. I and I made sure I wasn't going to miss out on this one. How can I resist Urban Decay? They're creamy and nicely pigmented. I love UD e/s. This palette has 16 shades! It doesn't hurt either that they included two travel sized pencils and a travel sized UDPP to match.

7. Barbie Loves Stila All Doll'd Up Palette

 

 

 

This is the second must-have limited edition palette. Even though I had the UD Book of Shadows already, I couldn't resist getting this too! This palette offers great pigmentation, and it's a steal for P1250 (around $25). The advantage of this over the UD palette is that this is much smaller and easier to tote around.

So this is my list. What's on your list? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

Product Review: Saizen Charcoal Masque

Good morning everyone! I'm sorry I've been MIA. I've been so busy lately but today I have some time. Today is a holiday but the world doesn't stop turning for me since I'll be following my usual schedule for the day. But before that, let me leave you with a review of Saizen Charcoal Masque.

After reading a lot of raves in Girltalk, I just had to try it out. It's a masque that's supposed to take out whiteheads and blackheads. Being a gal with really oily skin, I'm very prone to skin impurities so I badly need stuff like these. I was able to try it out for the first time and I was surprised because it really did a good job of removing whiteheads. I didn't expect that there would be nothing left (that would be asking too much considering my skin type) but it was still able to remove a good amount.

At first I wasn't sure how to use it, like if I needed to wash it off or peel it off. Thank goodness my sister can read Japanese and she told me it's most likely to be peeled off.

This masque works better than other nose packs I tried such as Biore, IWhite and Bench plus the added bonus is that you can use it on your whole face or just in your nose or T-zone, depending on your problem. The tube is quite small and you do need a lot of product to make the masque black, so I think one tube will last me about 5-7 uses only if I use it on my whole face. Thank goodness the price tag makes me happy!

So here is my rundown of pros and cons:

PROS

• Cheap at P85 (less than $2)!
• Does a good job at removing blackheads and whiteheads

CONS

• Only available in Saizen, which has only one branch so far (Robinson's Galleria)
• Stocks are so hard to come by! Seriously.
• It can hurt when taking it out (I actually teared up!)

TIPS

• Take it off right away once it dries because it can hurt!
• Make sure the masque is black and not just almost black because a thick layer removes the whiteheads and blackheads better
• Keep it away from your eyes, mouth and your hair parts such as your eyebrows and upper lip because it hurts more if it goes through the hair.

Will I buy this again? Definitely!

Haul Pt. 2: ELF and Saizen

The pictures I previously posted wasn't the end of my haul! Haha. My ELF Studio Line haul arrived after more than 1 month of waiting. We took advantage of the 50% off sale they had. Thank you September for hosting this pool. Please NOTE that I payed for this around 6 weeks in advance and I did not pay for them around the time that I did my previous haul. :P I'm not that rich.

And so, on to the pics:

These are all synthetic brushes, and yes they are soft. But the eyeshadow "C" brush is ginormous! I'm hoping it will work well because I don't like the looks of it. It's so wide (as wide as the CS big fluff brush) but not fluffy. Everything else looks good though.

I'm trying the double-ended eye primer and liner sealer, eyebrow treat and tame, eyebrow kit and the much-raved about contouring blush and bronzing powder. I bought the primer and liner sealer for the liner sealer. The reviews of the liner sealer are good but the eye primer has mixed reviews :P I've already tried the colored end of the eyebrow treat and tame and I think it's ok. I have yet to try the eyebrow kit, though. I've tried the blush and bronzer. I wish the bronzer didn't have glitters so I can use it as a contour instead, but hey, it did say bronzer. I tried it on and to my surprise, it stayed on the whole day! And guys, you know how oily my skin is :P

When I met up with September, I also adopted some of her babies. Yey! I also got her Life and Companion Brushes. I love them! They're cheap, and the right size for my small lids. The bad news is that some brushes shed, some don't.

Moving on, today I went to Saizen to buy the much-raved about charcoal mask but didn't find any! It's all gone! But I did buy some stuff: brow stencils, 2 roux sticks, an eyelash glue and an eyebrow coat. I'm curious about this since I've never seen one before :P I'll give a review about it.

That's all folks!

Saizen Store + MAC tag

Hello dear readers! I'd like to write something about the Saizen Store located in Robinson's Galleria. I've seen some posts about it in Nikkiz' and Donnarence's blogs, so when my sister asked me to come with her to Saizen, I just had to say yes!

Here it is from the outside:

Just so you know, everything inside the store is P85 (around $1.60). There's a lot of stuff to look at. Not everything inside is value-for-money, though. There are some that you're better off buying somewhere else. But there's a lot of nifty finds in the beauty part...

Here's a picture. There are a lot of good nail stuff there that's interesting and they also have a nice selection for falsies. I haven't bought anything yet, but I will in the future!

Anyway, moving on, I got MAC tagged by Pammy and Martha. I have to admit I'm not as into MAC as most makeup junkies are (since I'm a MMU addict at heart), but I'm always happy to oblige!

Here it is...

How long have you been using Mac?

Maybe more than a year.

What was your first Mac product?

MAC Blot Pressed Powder

What's your all time favourite Mac product?

MAC beauty powders

What's your least favourite Mac product?

Their lipglasses. (ditto!) It's nice but for it's price, I'll just find something that isn't sticky.

Do you own a Pro Card?

Nope, coz we don't have a Pro store here.

Your Mac foundation shade:

I haven't found my exact shade yes. I'm definitely lighter than NC30 so I'm around NC20-25. Yes, I don't use MAC foundations since I only use MMU foundations.

What's your favourite Mac-

Foundation:

N/A

Concealer:

N/A

Lipstick:
N/A

Eyeshadow:

creme royal

Lipgloss:

N/A

Liner:
fluidline in dipdown

Brush:

187 (it's most people favorite, i think)

Nail Lacquer:

N/A

Pro Product:

I've never tried any pro products! wahhh!

Comment on the following Mac product; Have you used them? If so, give feedback:

Prep + Prime Skin: N/A

Full Coverage Foundation: N/A

Studio Sculpt Foundation: N/A

Face + Body Foundation: N/A

Mineralize Satin Finish: N/A

Studio Fix Fluid: N/A

Hyper Real Foundation: N/A

Select SPF15 Foundation: N/A

Studio Tech Foundation: N/A

Studio Fix Powder: N/A

Studio Stick: N/A

Hyper Real Pressed Foundation: N/A

Beauty Powder: i love it! it's sheer and natural.

Sculpting Powder: N/A

Shaping Powder: N/A

Loose Blot Powder: N/A

Pressed Blot Powder: it's great for oil control. very sheer and doesn't cake with repeated application.

Mineralize Skinfinish Natural: i'm trying really hard to stay away from this product. it looks so tempting but it's expensive!

Mineralize Skinfinsh: same as above

Powder Blush: good products

Blushcreme: N/A

Mineralize Blush: me wanna try!

Gel Blush: N/A

Cream Color Base: N/A

Studio Sculpt Concealer: N/A

Select Cover Up Concealer: N/A

Select Moisturecover Concealer: N/A

Studio Finish Concealer: N/A

Studio Stick: N/A

Lip Erase: N/A

Tinted Lip Conditioner: a little expensive for lip conditioner but i love how it feels like glossy lip balm but with a good amount of color

Lipstick: N/A

Lipglass: it's nice but it's too sticky. i hate stickiness :(

See Thru Lip Color: N/A

Dazzleglass: N/A

Cremesheen Glass: N/A

Lip Gelee: N/A

Lip Pencil: N/A

Solar Bits: they're really lovely.

Nail Lacquer: N/A

Shadestick: creased on me within 5 minutes

Paint: N/A

Paint Pots: creased on me but not as easily as the shadesticks

Eye Shadow: very good pigmentation but i like to buy in palettes since they're more value-for-money

Pigment: uber pigmented

Glitter: N/A

Eye Kohl: N/A

Chromaline: N/A

Fluidline: good but i've found something better

Liquid Last Liner: N/A

Lustre Drops: N/A

False Lashes: N/A

ProLash Mascara: N/A

Zoom Lash Mascara: N/A

Plush Lash Mascara: N/A

Fibre Rich Lash Mascara: N/A

Dazzle Lash Mascara: N/A

**REGARDING MASCARA, I DON'T LIKE TO BUY EXPENSIVE ONES BECAUSE THEY EXPIRE SO EASILY. I'D RATHER STICK TO DRUGSTORE BRANDS

What has been your favourite Mac collection to date?

HK! I LOOOOVE hello kitty.

What products do you think Mac are missing?

lip and cheek tint. why don't they have one? i love those.


I tag anyone who'd like to do this!