Urban Decay Releases its Fall Collection!

Hello everyone! Who here loves Urban Decay? I know I do! With the exemption of their glittery shadows, I love their eyeshadows! They're creamy and pigmented for an affordable price. Last night, I got an email from Urban Decay about their Fall Collection and this one caught my eye: the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Palette!

I want this! But unfortunately, it's out of stock in the Urban Decay website. Hopefully, they'll have stocks again! How about you? Are you eyeing this?

My Top Beauty Discoveries for 2010 + My New Gadget

Happy New Year everyone! Finally I'm going to show you my top beauty discoveries for 2010. I know I haven't made individual reviews of a lot of these products yet so stay tuned, guys. I will do my best to do individual reviews for those that I haven't done. Mind you these products have no particular order.

1. Cream Silk Precision Repair Treatment

What can I say? For around P200 for a 250 ml tub, this is a great steal! I use this once or twice a week on my damaged hair and it really does make it soft!

2. Asian Secrets Lulur Whitening Scrub

Another affordable product that can be easily found. Like the previous product, it costs less than P200 for around 200g. I'm not sure about the whitening part, but as a scrub it does the job. It's not too harsh but not too mild either. It has a great scent too!

3. Clarins Double Fix Mascara

If you know me, then you'll know I have the oiliest lids on the planet! I've tried all the so-called "waterproof" mascaras, but they don't stand a chance against my oily lids. Instead, I've had to use fiber mascaras which are great for everyday, but don't really give the extra oomph that I want during night outs. This mascara has solved my problem! I put it on top of my waterproof mascara, and it stays on! It comes with a hefty price tag, but it's worth it for me!

4. Urban Decay Naked Palette

I'm surprised that I haven't seen this in lists so far, considering that this palette has a very high demand and is always sold out on the website. This has become my go-to palette especially for weddings!

5. Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup Foundation

I tried a sample of this and loved this! I'm definitely going to write a more in-depth review about this. For now, let me just say that this has become my skin enhancing foundation. And it's cheaper than foundations from Shu Uemura, Bobbi Brown and MUFE, although you get a little less product.

So there you have it everyone, my top beauty discoveries for 2010.

On a side note, I finally bought a new phone after three years! Meet my new gadget: my HTC Aria! I've been wanting to try an android phone for some time now, since my techie friends are recommending it to me more than an Apple phone. Besides, lets face it, I don't have enough moolah to buy an IPhone 4. Hihi!

I'm really enjoying my new phone!

Watch out guys, I'll be doing a blog sale within the week. I sort of have to make up for the money I spent on my phone!

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!

Urban Decay Naked Palette Review Part 2

Hello everyone! Still enjoying the holiday? I for one enjoyed the rest. Anyway, I promised that I would show you the Naked Palette in action. So here is some sample work showing the colors in action. I told 'ya guys that I haven't been able to put it down since I got it last week. I reckon that pretty soon, I'll be needing a new one.

Here are some samples. Note that I'm only listing the colors that came from the Urban Decay Palette. For pictures 2 and 3, I used a different brand for the highlight colors.

Sample number one using the most matte colors in the palette:

 photo by John Richard Velasquez

Highlight: Virgin
Lid: Naked
Crease: Buck


Sample number two:

photo taken by John Richard Velasquez

Lid: Half Baked
Crease: Smog
Outer V: Dark Horse




I hope this last picture won't hurt your eyes too much. I'm posting this to show some more samples. Tee hee!

photo taken by Jomel Tadeo

Lower lid: Hustle
Upper lid: Toasted


And there you have it. The colors in action! If you do a lot of neutrals, this is the palette for you :)

Urban Decay Naked Palette Review Part 1

Hello everyone! It's a thursday, and normally I have a good amount owithf time during this day so I'll be making a post about my Urban Decay Naked Palette. If you've been following my blog, you'll know that my Naked Palette arrived last week with a broken mirror. Sad as I was, I immediately took this baby around with me, and you know what? I'm very happy! Thanks to this palette, I can finally let go of my Coastal Scents 28 Neutral Palette. I've been using it for a very long time, and now I can replace it with something way superior. 

Here are the colors:

This palette is perfect for office use, bronzy looks, neutral smokey looks, and bridal looks. They contain the same creaminess and pigmentation that Urban Decay is known for. I have to say, though, that the two completely matte shades (Naked and Buck) are not as pigmented as their not-so-matte counterparts. Sidecar is a little too shimmery in the pan, but it's not that bothersome when applied.

So here are the swatches. Sorry I couldn't take better shots. The lighting in my house is not so good.

from left to right: virgin, sin, naked, sidecar, buck, half baked

from top to bottom: smog, darkhorse, toasted, hustle, creep, gunmetal

I couldn't swatch gunmetal properly, since I was using only the side of my thumb. I'm sorry for that. All shades were swatched lightly, dry with no base.

The swatches really don't do the palette justice. They're really much prettier in person. I also love how they included my most favorite eyeshadow: sin! Now I'm not so worried about running out of it.

Wanna see these colors in action? Stay tune for part two of my Urban Decay Palette Review.

Urban Decay Fail

Everyone knows that I've been lemming for the Urban Decay Naked Palette for a long time, so I finally bought myself one. First of all, I'd like to say that when the item was shipped via Air21, there was a big fragile sticker in the plastic. I opened up my package and excitedly took pictures of my new baby.

But when I opened up my palette, this is what I discovered much to my surprise:

The mirror is broken :( The broken mirror is not a huge deal for me, because at least the pans were intact. It still sucks, though. I contacted the seller about it, and at least she offered me a discount for the damage. I've had more breakable items shipped via Air 21 before, and this has never happened to me. Take care guys. Hope this doesn't happen to you.

It's Finally Here! The Urban Decay Book of Shadows III

 I totally love Urban Decay eye products. Their eyeshadows are great value for money! Good pigmentation and creaminess that isn't heavy on the pocket. So when these babies became available, I immediately ordered one for myself. So now, here she is in it's splendor...

It lights up!

It comes with two travel-sized pencils in Zero and Ransom as well as a mini UDPP.

Here it is side-by-side with the BOS II. This is the only other BOS I have, since I passed on Alice because I already have a lot of the other colors on that palette. BOS III, though, also has a few colors that can also be found in the Ammo palette but that's okay since I use my Ammo palette quite a lot.

Both of these palettes contain Perversion, a matte black, and Midnight Cowboy Rides Again. I'm happy to say that the new version of this shade has less chunky glitters, since I'm not fond of glittery shades.

Here are some swatches. I had to manipulate the colors a bit to make them as close to the real thing as possible. These are all swatched once, dry and without a base:

from left to right: Perversion, Uzi, Loaded, Kush, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Last Call, Rockstar, Money

from left to right:  Haight, Maui Wowie, Smog, Bordello, Radium, Snatch, Suspect, Psychedelic Sister

Urban Decay Book of Shadows III Out Now!

The Urban Decay Book of Shadows III is already out but got sold out right away! I checked the website before I went to sleep and it wasn't even posted yet, now it's already temporarily sold out! Thank goodness more stocks are coming soon. I'm so desperate to get my hands on this!

Who's going to order? Wah!! I want!

Coming Soon: Urban Decay Book of Shadows III

Just when I'm still lusting over Urban Decay's Naked Palette, Here comes another palette to make me drool even more! The Urban Decay Book of Shadows III!

It's loaded with 16 colors, 7 of which are exclusive to this palette, two Sephora exclusive shades and 7 from the permanent collection. And of course, two mini 24/7 liners (Rockstar and Zero) plus a UDPP! 

I seriously lurrrrrrve Urban Decay eyeshadows. They're very smooth and have great pigmentation! And their palettes are really value for money.  Seriously! I WILL have this! No release date yet, but it's expected to be released late this year.

Lemming for: Urban Decay Naked Palette

I really love Urban Decay Eyeshadow Palettes! Creamy shadows with wonderful pigmentation, all for a price that ain't too bad on your wallet. So when Urban Decay came out with this Naked Palette, I knew I had to have this! Finally, a UD palette for neutral lovers! It comes with 12 neutral shades, a mini UD Primer Potion and a double-ended pencil with Zero and Whiskey!

I have to have you! If only ordering from Urban Decay were as easy as 1, 2, 3.... Good thing this is a permanent palette so I won't have to panic! It's OOS right now in their website due to the high demand, though. See, Urban Decay? I knew a neutral palette would be a hit!

Eyeliner Showdown: Black Pencil Liners

Hello everyone! I'd like to do another eyeliner showdown, which I love doing. I'll be doing four eyeliners, ranging from expensive to downright cheap. So I'll be doing black eyeliners. I have four contestants: Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil, NYC Waterproof Pencil and Nichido Girls Night Out. I bought these four based on good reviews.

So here they are when swatched. Please excuse the MUFE swatch. I wasn't able to do it so properly.

I let some time pass, and then smudged them with my finger.

 

As you can see, there is no change in MUFE and NYC while UD smudged a little. Nichido smudged a lot.

Here are they after getting wet. No change in any of them.

 

  I once again smudged them with my finger. Nichido smudged even more.

 

So in the end, it was the MUFE and NYC that held up. Pretty nifty considering that the NYC pencil is only $5! Yey for cheapness!

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 from the U.S.

Hello my dearies! How is everyone? I'm sorry I haven't been blogging lately. I've been very busy. But now I'm back! So I'd like to show you the stuff that my parents brought home when they came from the US. I asked for some of these stuff while some of these were given as gifts. So here's what I found when I came home:

Here's this really cute makeup bag from ULTA. It's pink and shiny! How great is that?

Here it is when it's opened! A makeup kit! It has lots of eyeshadows, lipglosses, some lipsticks and blushes. It also has two shades of concealer and some loose powders. I've tried the eyeshadows and they have good pigmentation. I can't say wow really but for the price I can't complain! The lipsticks are sheer but buildable.

 

 And here's what I've been waiting for the most.....

 

I'm really so excited about this! Here it is when opened.

 

Nice right? It has 16 shades, a mini UDPP and mini 24/7 pencils of Zero and Bourbon. If you've been following my blog for a long time, then you know that I loooove UD shadows! These are really great. Very good pigmentation, and it applies very creamy!

Here's a picture of different stuff from Clinique, Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Arden, and ELF. Also in the picture is an NYC waterproof pencil (which I've been reading good reviews about) and a NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Strawberry Milk. I originally asked for 4 shades of JES as well as a Concealer in a Jar but they were all OOS.

 

 And finally, a brush set from MAC's holiday collection and a MAC MSF Natural in Medium Plus.

 

Reader Requests: UD Swatches + Tag + Awards

As requested by Crissy, here are the swatches of the Urban Decay Ammo Box. I have to say, my camera didn't do these shades justice. They are so pigmented and pretty, but it was hard to capture them right.

Here are the swatches done without flash in indoor light:

L-R: Smog, Mildew, Oil Slick, Last Call, Chopper

L-R: Maui Wowie, Shattered, Polyester Bride, Grifter, Sin

Anyway, I hope these swatches helped.

Moving on, Kaz tagged me regarding where I blog. So here it is! I'm sorry it's messy. :P

1. Post a picture of where you blog.
2. Feel free to tell us a little about your space or explain certain items in detail. Or not.
3. Link back to the tagger's original post.
4. Tag five other bloggers to show their blogspot.

Okay, I won't go into detail about my spot anymore. hahah!


What are you wearing right now?
Black shorts and a pink blouse

What's the last thing you've read / are currently reading?
does a music piece count? haha

Do you nap a lot?
No. I wish I'd nap more often though.

Who was the last person you hugged?
OMG i'm not really sure

What's your current obsession / addiction?
saving up for makeup school

What's for dinner?
Sinigang and Pancit. Yum!

What was the last thing you bought?
A cream blush

What are you listening to right now?
nothing really

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
The power to create something out of nothing

What is your favorite weather & why?
cool & cloudy so I wouldn't sweat --> I agree

What time do you usually wake up?
Around 9 am. I know, I'm lazy.

What is your most challenging goal right now?
saving up --> ditto!

Say something to the person who tagged you.
Hi Kaz, I hope we'll get to know each other even better! Glad to have made a new friend.

Moving on, lovely bloggers Vonnie and Narita passed on this award to me. Thank you girls!

-Include the award logo in your blog or post.

-Nominate as many blogs which you like.

-Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

-Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

-Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award

There's more! Lovely ladies Martha, Nesz and Elsa passed these awards to me.

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I'd like to pass these awards to the ff people:
Whit
Pammy
Nlng*Star