My Favorite Way to Wear Concealer

I'm sure everyone has their favorite type of concealer. As for me, my favorite type of concealer would me mineral concealer. First of all, I don't need heavy coverage under my eyes, it doesn't have any harmful chemicals and it has some ingredients that help shield our skin from UV rays. Unfortunately, it also has a big downside: you have to apply it in very thin layers, or else it will cake. I honestly don't have the patience to do this every morning, so I apply my concealer in a different way. I combine it with my eye cream.

I just tap a little mineral concealer at the back of my hand, and then mix a small amount of eye cream with it. I end up with a sort of liquid-y concealer.

I find that this method works with most kinds of eye creams. This way, applying concealer becomes a breeze and I don't have to worry about caking. I can control the coverage with the amount of concealer I mix with my eye cream. Plus, I find that mineral concealer stays on me the whole day!

Product Review: Love Minerals Tinted Lip Balm (by Human Heart Nature)

Hello everyone! And so the review of Human Heart Nature products continue. Today, I'm reviewing the tinted lip balm from Love Minerals, the mineral makeup line by Human Heart Nature. 

I tried to make the picture clear, but my camera is having problems so it's quite hard to see the Love Minerals logo. 

Anyway, I bought this lip balm together with my peppermint lip balm and other stuff from HHN. So how did it fair? Read on to find out.

First let me start by saying that this has peppermint in it so it will give your lips a minty feeling which doesn't last long. People who don't like mint will have a problem with this but I don't so I love it! I find that the color is long-lasting for a lip balm. I still have a good amount of color on my lip after eating. It also has good moisturizing power :)

Here's a pic of my lips without anything:

Here's a picture of my lips after swiping on some tinted lip balm:

It gives a slightly coral-rust sheen on my lips.

So here are the pros and cons:

PROS

• It's P69.75 for an organic, tinted lip balm! Need I say more?
• Tint has good lasting power
• Has a minty feeling (which might be a con for some but for me it's a pro)

CONS

• Only one shade available. I really wish they'd release more shades in the future but I don't think they will since they also have a line of lipsticks.

The verdict? I'm really glad that there is a tinted lip product that is very, very affordable and good for my lips :) I'll surely buy again!

Ellana Mineral Lip Palettes Swatched

I was so excited to see that Ellana has come up with Mineral Lip Palettes. I love glosses and tints for everyday use and I only use mineral lippies since they are less damaging than traditional lipsticks. Since these palettes are not available in their weekend bazaars in SM stores, I made time to go to their showroom in West Avenue to buy these.

Look at the front. It's very cute!

Let's look at the Butterfly Kiss Lip Palette first:

top (L-R): Impress, Venus

bottom (L-R): Bubble, Smitten

Yes, I was so excited that I actually tried one of the shades before taking a picture of it. My bad!

Here are the swatches and descriptions from the catalog:

From left to right:
Impress - tinted magenta
Venus - tinted purplish pink
Bubble - tinted light rosy pink
Smitten - tinted magenta

Thoughts:

This palette is the one with the pinkish shades. I like this palette better because I'm biased to pinks. These are lip tints, so don't expect them to be very pigmented. Some shades are more sheer than others. My favorite shades in this palette are Venus and Bubble, because they make nice MLBB shades. I recommend Smitten if you are going for a bright pink lip.

Next is the French Kiss Lip Palette:

top (L-R): Infatuation, Bliss
bottom (L-R): Honey, Passionate

Here are the swatches:

from left to right:
Infatuation - tinted rose red
Bliss

Honey - tinted light peach

Passionate - tinted earthy red

Thoughts:

This palette is more for the ones who like peachy, earthy shades. I find Bliss to be different from all the other lip tints. It's very matte and much more pigmented that the other sheer, glossy shades. Honey is my favorite in the quad. It's the sheerest among the four but will make a nice MLBB shade.

I'm excited about these palettes and can't wait to use them!

The Haul Before Christmas + I'm in a Catalog!

Hello everyone! How was your Christmas? I'm just enjoying my 4-day break. Breaks these long come so rarely. Anyway, I just want to show you some of the stuff I bought a few days before Christmas. 

First, I gave in and bought a bottle of Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. Pammy gave me a sample and I loved it! So I bought a bottle for myself :)

A new brush belt from Suesh! I have too many brushes which won't fit in my two brush rolls so I think it's about time that I bought a big brush belt.

Some stuff from Ellana Minerals: Papaya Kojic soap, Lip Treatment in Cucumber Melon Fresh,  Butterfly Kiss and French Kiss Lip Palettes.

I really love lippies so these are great because I get four in one container! And they are mineral lippies so they are much better just for everyday use.

On a personal note, if you've seen their December catalog, you'll find that I'm in their pages! Can you spot me? LOL

And last but not least, my Urban Decay Jackpot that I ordered during the Sephora Friends and Family Sale has arrived. This set has 9 mini-sized 24/7 liners plus a full size pencil of Zero. I really can't wait to use these! I just feel sad that shortly after I ordered these, they released their Urban Decay 15th Anniversary set which includes all of their 24/7 pencils! Wah! At least I didn't spend too much money.

Anyway that's all. Belated Merry Christmas everyone!

My Favorite Everyday Concealer

I love my MAC Concealer, but I don't want to use it everyday because I still believe that mineral makeup is healthier for my skin for everyday use. So I'd like to share with you my everyday undereye concealer. What is it you might ask? It's my Ellana concealer in Cheer.

Let me share with you the pros and cons:

PROS

• A little goes a long way! I'm confident that my tiny sample size will last me the whole year even with everyday use.
• Powder concealers don't settle into fine lines as much as cream or liquid concealers.
• It's light coverage is enough for my undereyes since I don't have terribly dark undereyes.
• It's very affordable.

CONS

• The coverage might not be enough for those who have very dark undereyes.
• It's not handy to bring along because it's in loose form.

So, wanna see the difference it made to my undereyes? Let's show the picture.

 

Don't you think it works well?

TIPS

• Even though this is in powder form, don't forget to set it with a setting/finishing powder.
• Apply in thin layers instead of one thick layer to avoid caking.

Will I buy this again? Yes!

Where? Online, through resellers or during their weekend bazaars in SM Makati, SM Megamall and SM Marikina.

Lumiere Ditto "O": The Famous NARS Orgasm MMU Dupe

Hello lovelies! How are you doing? I know I haven't blogged the whole week. I've been really busy and really tired. I've been all around the place. 

So anyway, everyone knows that NARS Orgasm is one of the most famous blushes ever and there are so many dupes out there. For MMU lovers, the most famouse dupe is Lumiere Ditto "O". So here is a swatch of Ditto "O" on the left and NARS Orgasm to the right.

My camera is not that good, so I'll try to explain the differences and similarities. Both are actually very pigmented, but Lumiere doesn't always last the whole day with me. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. As we all know, NARS has awesome staying power. NARS is a tad more pinkish in person than Lumiere. Both are shimmery but NARS' shimmer is more golden than Lumiere. Dupe or no dupe, I find that Lumiere Ditto "O" is a great blush to have though. I even know some people who prefer Ditto "O" over Orgasm.

Other MMU dupes of NARS Orgasm:

Silk Naturals Climax - I actually have this but I can't find it. This is NARS Orgasm with a hint of plum. Still a pretty color though.

Lauress Uninhibited - I don't have this. They say it's slightly lighter than NARS Orgasm.

Anyway, I hope this post helped some people who are looking for an MMU alternative to NARS Orgasm. Have a nice night everyone!

Reasons Why I Love Mineral Makeup

By the name of my blog, you can see that I love mineral makeup. I have lots of them especially foundations and finishing powders. They remain to be my everyday makeup. I don't use traditional makeup on a daily basis. Now I'll tell you why I love them!

• It has natural SPF
• It's much more skin-friendly
• It has a much longer shelf life
• It's cheaper than traditional makeup
• It looks and feels like second skin
• Does not cake after a few hours on my oily skin
• It doesn't clog pores and it's suitable for sensitive skin
• A little goes a long way
  

So as you can see, there are so many benefits of using mineral makeup. However, I admit that it has its downsides. Here's my list:

• It's can be messy and hard to travel with
• It needs to be applied with a brush (can't use fingers!)
• Does not provide the full coverage that traditional makeup offers
• A lot of brands are not available locally
  

So there you have it. If you ask me, the pros still far outweigh the cons. As for the staying power, some people complain that it doesn't stay long on their skin, especially when it comes to blushes. I believe that they just haven't found the right brand for them yet. I happen to know some brands wherein the blushes last for 10-12 hours on my uber oily skin! And I mean oily! Mineral makeup is my first love and will forever hold a special place in my heart.

So what about you? What do you prefer? Mineral or traditional? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Product Review: The Face Shop Professional Makeup Base #01 Green

Hello everyone! Today, I will be reviewing The Face Shop Professional Makeup Base.

 

 photo taken from www.thefaceshopen.com

 Product Description:

Oil-free, non-sticky makeup base helps skin banish unwanted shine for fresh makeup. Green neutralizes redness and evens out skin tone.

As you know, green colors are commonly used to neutralize redness.

So here it is when swatched:

 

 And here it is when it's blended in my hand. The lower part is where I blended it. Notice that it turned a bit whiter than the top of my hand:

 

You only actually need a small amount for the whole face, or else you will get a whitish cast. So yeah, a little goes a long way. The Face Shop website recommends this for combination to oily skin. Wanna know why? Because it's oil-free! Music to my ears.

So here's the rundown of pros and cons:

PROS

• oil-free and non-sticky!
• a little goes a long way
• actually does a good job of neutralizing redness

CONS

• can be drying for people with dry skin
• I don't recommend this for morenas. This is better off for people who are on the fair side or else it will produce an ugly whitish cast. I find that for green, the fairer the skintone, the better the result.
  
• Use a small amount even for fair people so it won't produce a whitish cast.
  

TIP:

• Make sure to moisturize well before applying this. Even in my oily face, it tends to bring out the peeling spots (because of my tretinoin usage).

So because I love you so much, I will actually show you a picture of my face without makeup. As you can see it's very splotchy especially around the cheek area, and I'm breaking out in my chin area. The good news is that my face no longer looks like this because I recently had Pixel Laser on my face. This picture was pre-Pixel.

 

So here is how I look like after applying a small amount of the makeup base:

 

It looks all white right? Eww. But as you can see, it did cover up the redness.

So here's how I look like after foundation. I used Earthen Glow Cover Me Foundation in Yuan Yuan:

 

It no longer looks icky white. Notice that my skin tone is more even. Don't mind my eye area, though. I still haven't place concealer yet.

Will I buy this again? Yes. This retails for P355 (around $8)

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.

 

Major Haul + Swatches

 I'd like to show you pictures of my haul last Sunday. This is seriously the most money I've ever spent on one day. Oh well, at least I'm happy :)

I went to Rustans to check out MAC's holiday collection. I got the Haute High Jinks, a Select Cover Up Concealer in NW20. I've never owned any MAC pigments before, so I bought the ones that I felt I could use the most. Then I went to NARS to buy my first ever NARS product, and what else could it be but my very own NARS Orgasm blush! I love this blush and I'm glad to finally have my own. I won't swatch it already since I'm sure many of you have this and there are many swatches around blogger.

Here's a picture of the pigment set when opened. Their packaging and bag is just lovely!

I also went to SM Megamall and bought some stuff there. A lipgloss from In2It, a lip liner from Elianto, and some stuff from Ellana. Ellana Minerals has some really lovely multipurpose minerals. Scroll down to see swatches.

And now for the swatches:

Taken with flash in artificial light:

MAC Haute High Jinks: Reflects Gold, Jardin Aires, Museum Bronze, Rushmetal, Copperized

Taken in natural light, with flash:

All except Reflects Gold, are pigments. Reflects Gold is actually glitter. I'm not impressed with it because the staying power is poor but all the rest are nice, earth colors that are very useful.

Moving on, I'd like to show you the swatches of the three multipurpose minerals I bought and the Yellow Submarine Super Sparkle Powder I bought. I discovered the multi-purpose minerals when I was in makeup school. I got the light colors to use as highlighters in the eyes as a sort-of substitute to MUFE star powders which are expensive.

For P130 (around $2.50) per jar, how can you go wrong?

For those who want to buy any of these products, I hope these swatches helped. I can't wait to use these!

Review: EDM Pressed Powder

Hello dearies! I know I haven't been blogging much lately. My laptop is still in the repair shop so I just use the computer from time to time. Anyway, let me leave you with a little something: a review of my EDM Pressed Powder. I've been on the lookout for a mineral pressed powder with little or no chemicals because it's hard to travel with loose minerals. Unfortunately, the ones that have mostly mineral ingredients are quite expensive, so when EDM came up with this, I just had to try it!

I've been using this for more than 2 months already and it's serving me well. I'm using the Fairly Light Golden. It's not my exact shade but since MMU is very forgiving, I can still get away with it. I wish there were more shades though. It's more golden than yellow (since that's what it says) but unfortunately, I'm more yellow than golden. This pressed powder has a slightly dewy finish, with a medium but buildable coverage. Let me give a rundown of pros and cons.

PROS

• Mostly mineral and natural ingredients
• Good staying power
• Eco-friendly packaging
• Easy to travel with because the minerals are pressed

CONS

• Doesn't come with a mirror
• Doesn't currently ship to the Philippines (stay tune for the opening of their Asia store)
• Only a few shades are available

Will I buy this again? Yes. Finally, I have MMU that I can travel with.

Joppa Grab Bag

Lookie here! It's my Joppa Grab Bag! These grab bags are all the rage in GirlTalk, so being the MMU addict that I am, I had to see what all the fuzz is about. These actually arrived last April 27, but I only got my hands on them yesterday. I'm posting this because a lot of people are still curious and debating whether they should get their own. I hope this post would help other people.

What is the Joppa Grab Bag? It's a bag that costs $18 (and free shipping worldwide) where they put stuff filled with clearance items for one reason or another. You can't choose what you get here, you can only hope for the best. So what did my grab bag contain? I got a FS Medium #1 in full coverage (I haven't swatched it yet, but it's REALLY big), a jar of Sheer Finishing Silk, Cherish eyeshadow, Olive Leaf eyeshadow, Field of Lavender Soap, and Devoted Silk and Supple Lip Stick. I haven't swatched any of them but the lippie, it looks like a semi-dark red, but when i wore it, it was very sheer and shimmery. Pretty! My only problem is that it smells like oil :P

So what is the verdict? You get your money's worth for $18, but it's not as much as the previous grab bags where there were a lot of eyeshadows and a few lippies. But it's also possible that it's the giant jar of foundation that ate up my credit. Haha? So what do you think? I leave it up to you to decide.

Anyway, that's all for now. I know I'm supposed to post pictures of my trip, but I haven't gotten all my pictures yet. I promise that my next post will be about my trip :D

Recent Hauls + Award

Let me show you a picture of my recent hauls. Mind you, I did not buy them all at the same time! I'm not that rich. LOL.

Anyway, since Stila is having some problems and is refinancing, I thought it was best to purchase some items already since I really don't know what will happen to them.

I bought the Stila Contouring Trio, it comes with tiny lights as you can see on the side. I'm sorry I forgot to swatch them, though.

Anyway, I also bought a set of mini Smudgepots. It has the bestselling colors: Black, Bronze and Gray. For me, Stila Smudgepots are better than MAC Fluidlines. However, I didn't expect it to be this small. When it said mini, they really meant it! This is much smaller than the regular Smudgepots (which is big). This is smaller than MAC Fluidline. I purposely didn't swatch it to prolong its lifespan since I still have my MAC Fluidline.

My Lumiere Pre-buy brushes have finally arrived! Thank you Grace (OD from Girltalk) for hosting these! We made our order last January pa and it finally arrived. I ordered the LHK, FO and angled FO. I haven't washed these so I can't say how they are. The LHK is very soft though. They're very well packaged for shipping! I can't wait to join Lumiere's next prebuy to get some more brushes since I regretted not buying the FT.

I also got my loot from EG minerals from an order we placed last January! LOL. It's been with Grace all this time. Thank you for holding this for me.

And here are my recent purchases from Rustan's. A Coffret D'Or liquid pen. This is my 2nd one already. It's not boxed anymore since I started using this already. Gia also informed me that Fasio mascaras are back in stock at Rustan's Gateway (Thank you Gia!) so I bought one when I happened to be in the area since I've been dying to try it for a long time.

I also got this friendship award from Chrissy, Donnarence, Khymm and Soapaholic. Thank you dearies! Mwah mwah mwah!
The rules are:

1. Take your award here

2. Put the logo on your post

3. Link the person who awarded you

4. Nominate at least 7 other bloggers

5. Add the links of those bloggers on yours

6. Leave a message for your nominees

So now, I'm passing this to 7 different bloggers:

1. Nikki

2. Nlng*Star

3. Gale

4. Shasta

5. Aileen

6. Yumeko

7. Blair

Mail Day

This is a picture of my purchase from EDM together with other sisses from Girltalk. Thanks Kat (katiztic of GT) for hosting this! I got it today. I got an FO brush and a pressed mineral foundation. The FO brush looks flimsy, unfortunatey, huhu! However, the foundation seems okay. I got the "Fairly Light Golden" shade. Well, as expected, it was more golden than yellow (I'm more yellow than golden). EDM's shades for the pressed mineral foundies are quite limited, but based on the description, this seemed to be the closest match for me. Although it's not an exact match for me, it's pretty close. I have to try it though. It's shimmery from the swatch, I just hope there's not too much shimmer when I apply it on my face. I have to give kudos for the packaging, though. I expected it to be in a plastic compact, as shown from a previous pic from the EDM forums, but it's actually made of recycled cardboard! Yey to being earth-friendly.

That's not all I received today. Recently, iamshallow.wordpress.com held a contest. They were giving a way a Chapstick Ultra and a Cherry Chapstick to the first 5 people to answer the question correctly. Sadly, I was the 6th. BUT I didn't go away empty handed--the 6th to 10th contestants were given a Chapstick Ultra. This is great since I want it more than the Cherry Chapstick anyway since it has SPF 30. Perfect for summer.

Here it is:

I'm sorry that the pic came out blurry for some reason. Anyway, that's all for now!

2nd Loot from the Makeup Mix Shop

I just wanted to show you a pic of my 2nd loot from the Makeup Mix Shop! I ordered the Ecotools 6-piece set (it's 5 brushes and a hemp roll) and the Ecotools retractable brush. I also got a free FS Makeup Masala eyeshadow by typing the code "NIKKI" as well as an e/s in a sample baggie! All this on top of free shipping (for a minimum purchase of $20). Her store is so addicting. She's just so generous!

Anyway, the brushes are so soft! I'm especially excited about the retractable brush. Just by looking at it, I can already feel that I'm going to love this. This is my 3rd retractable brush already so I'll be making an entry about my retractable brushes. I'll also be getting back to you on the 6-piece set.

The FS eyeshadow I got (Amar) wasn't as dark as I expected but it's still a lovely color! I can't wait to use it.

Review: E.L.F. Mineral Lipstick

photo taken from www.eyeslipsface.com

Product Description: Now you can hydrate your lips and get a lasting soft color naturally! This nourishing blend of exotic oils, natural waxes, vitamins and plant extracts create the perfect moisturizing formula. The sleek lipstick has superior color payoff, glides easily onto lips, and is long wearing. Lips stay perfectly hydrated and soft throughout the day for no fuss, lip loving happiness. All our mineral makeup is 100% mineral based with no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes.

I've said many times how much I love lippies right? I've been waiting for a long time for E.L.F Mineral Lipsticks to arrive here because I've been curious about them. Well, finally I bought myself one and tried it.

Contrary to most mineral lippies, this is packaged like most traditional lipsticks in the market. Trying it out, I had no problems. It's non-sticky, non-greasy, and long-lasting enough. After a meal, there is still a good amount of product left, but of course, still needs some retouching.

The color I bought is called Ripe Rose, and it's a very wearable shade of red. I only use a light layer, though, because I want a lighter color.

Here's a picture of me wearing a light layer of Ripe Rose (the light is a little bright here):

The main con? It's only $5 in the US but is P400 (around $8) here in the Philippines. That more than a 50% increase, but there's a lot product in this lippie, much like regular lipsticks.

Will I buy this again? Well, it will take me forever to finish one up, but I'll buy again if I find another color I like.

Aromaleigh Pure Drama Eyeliner

from left to right: blue, cocoa, copper, green, red, silver, teal, topaz, violet

Phoebe (swipesomegloss.com) was selling her set of samples of Aromaleigh Pure Drama Eyeliners. I've been lemming for them since I saw them on her blog so I haaad to get them. I couldn't get the colors to show up well on cam, I'm sorry I should have used my other camera. The differences for each color are more obvious in person. They're much prettier in person. All of them are swatched dry BTW. I already have my favorites: silver, cocoa, teal and topaz. Now, if only I can get my hands on an eyeliner sealant or UDPP to make sure that it stays put.

Phoebe also included two AL sample e/s. One is a Le Mystere which I haven't swatched yet, but the one above is a picture of the e/s in Blast from the Elemental Luster Eye Collection. I couldn't get it also to show up properly (darn!) but this is really more of a gold in person. Real pretty!