This is a bit anti-climactic dontcha’ think? It ought to have been one of my first posts perhaps, but then again…over time I’ve collected some really interesting makeup items that work since I’m a makeup professional (folio here) and part-time beauty blogger. A few of my blogger friends can’t seem to keep their hands off my stash when I’m around for an event and of course it evolves frequently. Here, however, is my current collection. There’s one item I took out coz I don’t really use it. I’ll make a quick mention later.
I use one of Muji’s clear “kikay” kits. A lot of you must be going “Dapat ba Muji…e ang dami dami diyan na mura” oh yes I’ve had lots of those cheaper versions, the ones with zippers that tear straight off the opening after a few uses and burst or crack open at the seams and creases. Even some from beabi didn’t work well for me.
“No more” I said, a few months back, I got this medium size, fat clear case from Muji for about Php400 that embraces all without bursting prematurely and is stitched all around with fabric. So, here are the contents.
I’m pretty surprise at how many of these items I’ve already reviewed and that the kit contains exactly 30 items. Of course as a follow up to this a few posts ahead I will narrow down the kit to my TOP 10 essentials. The item I removed was the flesh colored Stila Eye pencil in topaz…it was too melty for our country, too soft. Am more excited because I have a lot of catching up to do, I have lots of goodies to review for you guys in the next few days, sorry I’ve been busy. I’ll make it up to you. Stay tuned for the MAKE UP FOR EVER Rouge Artist launch and review of the lipsticks I came away with from that event
Mom just got back from Phuket and Bangkok. I didn’t want to send a list over there with her even though she told me to give her one because it was a business trip and she hardly had any time, but last minute yesterday she texted that she’d be at the Duty Free (tax free shopping) area and she asked me what I wanted. I told her to choose from my pre-selection of 2 MAC brow pencils and a Studio Fix powder, a full coverage powder foundation. She got both in Bangkok, ‘coz in Duty Free Phuket there wasn’t a MAC store in sight, and she threw in a pair of the highly acclaimed long-wear gel eyeliners of Bobbi Brown as a surprise bonus from in-flight Duty Shopping on board Thai Airways.
CLOCKWISE: MAC Studio Fix Powder NC30 – Price in Bangkok: THB 1190.00, Php 1666.00, US$38 (Orig cost in the U.S. $27),
MAC automatic Brow Pencils “Lingering”, “Brunette” – Price for each Bangkok: THB 595.00, Php835, US$20 (Orig cost in the U.S. $15)
Bobbi Brown Long -wear Gel Eyeliner DUO SET “Black Ink” and “Sepia Ink” – Price on board Thai Airways : US$47 (Orig individual cost in the U.S. $22 each pot)
That Bobbi Brown bonus was exactly what I wanted to have and I didn’t even tell her that I secretly wanted that. The truth is I’VE NEVER OWNED ANYTHING BY BOBBI BROWN COSMETICS IN MY ENTIRE LIFE because the price always put me off and I could never part with that much money (by myself) for just one or two items. Moms are cool like that and duty free is the best way to go for luxe cosmetics. She probably remembered that I complimented a friend’s wife at a reception who claimed she was wearing Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner. I’m super excited to review these items for you. Happy Holy Thursday!
StrawberryNET Online Discount Cosmetic shoppingwith Free Worldwide Shipping from Hong Kong relieves my frustration as a local beauty blogger who often can’t get certain imported items here from the limited brand counter selections available. I’ve blogged about StrawberryNET several times and nearly each announcement of a new sale never fails to bring me to the site to check out what’s up for grabs. I don’t always walk away with a purchase, but I like being in the know almost all the time.
What makes StrawberryNET special for me is the rotation of discounted luxury cosmetics, constant promos, and the quality and speed with which they dispatch orders (I usually receive mine within 2 weeks from the purchase). On top of that, every purchase increases your chances of getting an added loyalty discount on top of your discounted purchase.
What’s still pretty new with StrawberryNet is their online app for iPhone and Android smartphone users. It’s convenient and right at your fingertips and you can even track the dispatch and processing of a purchase you’ve made using the app. Check out StrawberryNET and see what’s on and affordable for you at the moment! Here are their upcoming promos for the remainder of March 2012. I just made my 7th purchase ever from StrawberryNET and I’ll be sharing here what items I got when they arrive in a few weeks! Am sooo excited…
This story is a month overdue and as a result I can’t properly plug the Colour Collection Campus bus tour they had then which just finished last March 2… *points down at self* LOZER (on that one). However, they had already been to U.P. Diliman for the campus tour before this press launch because they showed us the video. All I can say now is a few words in appreciation of that brilliant campaign and after this post I ought to hastily review the lovely products they gave me. Sunny makeup lady, Bianca Valerio, as Colour Collection’s on board makeup artist showed us her Colour Collection Campus Tour Bus containing the Colour Collection range of products. The bus was custom fit and decked out with vanities and makeup products inside for nomadic product demonstration. Sorry bout not posting this earlier, I didn’t mean to miss it, as in. Like I said, I’ve currently got a bad case of events backlog just from last month because of shoots and other things which I’m quickly trying to fix right now. Last February 6 I was invited by Liz of Project Vanity to attend Tupperware Brands’ Colour Collection cosmetics launch, an intimate press lunch for local brand direct selling makeup in the company of the lovely makeup artist/model Bianca Valerio. P.S., I’ll be trying my best not to drop “U”s all over the place…because of the “U” in Colour Collection. Scream at me if you spot one I missed.
All that I knew about Bianca, before having a delicious brunch at Cafe 1771, was about her being a famous makeup artist who had just recently launched her own makeup book also sponsored by Colour Collection, Face to Face – The Healing Power of Makeup. The book is available at National Bookstore and 100% of Bianca’s book royalties go to charity via Philippine Red Cross. It’s a great gift to get for someone you know and simultaneously for someone in need.
These are some items I requested AFTER the launch in ADDITION to the items they originally gave me at the Colour Collection event (upcoming review).
Colour Collection Triple Effect Mascara and 3 Colour Intense lipsticks (Bordeaux, Angel Berry, Walnut) which are the ones mentioned by Liz of Project Vanity as having quality comparable to MAC lipsticks,
Not in this Photo: At the event I was also given their BB Cream, an eyeshadow quad, and a lip tint which I will blog about separately.
Read more to hop onto the Colour Collection Bus with us bloggers in the full post plus catch a video of Bianca sharing her thoughts on Colour Collection products!
Here, before you, lie the products I’ve consumed or almost consumed to the end. It seemed only fitting to present them to you at the end of January. Nothing else ultimately proves that you truly, truly like a product that works for you than when you’ve hit pan or nearly squeezed out the last drop.
Itemized by number, reviewed items in bold links, descriptions below:
1. This Japanese cake foundation helped make me more photogenic and natural plus the cream base finish was soft and touchable, W-I-N, with compact about SG$29 (Watsons, SG).
2. A bright lemon citrus and sugary mix blended into the enticing scent of Absinthe, I like using this scrub on my feet, cost US$3.50
3.Found it in the side pocket of my bag from 1.5 yrs ago, tightly sealed but still okay, it was almost gone na rin, bout Php275, hydrates lips and brightens your day with a true sweetened strawberry scent.
4. This 2-way foundation compact provides great quick full coverage for everyday and oily skin, a refill costs Php800 at Watsons.
5.Got this off ebay for bout US $6. People have mixed feelings bout this mascara but Regine Velasquez (saw a photo of her applying it on her wedding day), MUA Cherry Pacheco (saw it in her kit), and I like it very much. I’m not fond of the wand, but this waterproof variant holds a curl really well and doesn’t give me spidery lashes. I think it’s the non-waterproof formula (green&pink) that sucks. 6. It’s our local equivalent of the super longwearing Avon Supershockgel eye pencil. It’s a true black that makes tight-lining eyes easy and is not painful to use on the lower waterline Php300 each, around Php450 for a set of 2.
7. I used this brown ELF eyeliner a lot not for my eyes but for my brows, it’s a great ashy brown that isn’t warm. Kind of like MAC Lingering or Brunette but for only about Php60.00.
8. I won’t be without this unless I don’t have the budget to top up (like right now). It’s the no makeup makeup base I brought around with me a lot and it looks PERFECT on me when at the beach or at an outdoor activity.
9. Hands down, my favorite hand spray because it doesn’t spritz, it sounds like this “FFFFFFFFFT!” and shoots a super fine mist, by Splash Corp. I don’t like the feel of alcogel and I like it when makeup clients can obviously see and SMELL that I’m disinfecting my hands, an alcohol spray that smells better than regular alcohol. Php30.00 for Php55ml and theres a smaller one for Php25 at almost all leading drugstores.
10. Made in Japan, I got my travel size one with conditioner from a convenience store in Singapore. I love Shiseido shampoos, mom got their Moist hydrating one in dark blue. This one I used out of town and when my hair needed a mild shampoo to reset. Floral Green is such a pretty scent, my best friend Alma used some of it when we were at the beach and she told me it smelled so wonderful in the shower.
11. I received sad news about this miracle exfoliating cream of mine…a friend said they were going to phase this out Sigh, some good things must come to an end, I hope Jurlique replaces it with an equally good product.
12. I scored a really good deal off Ebay on this Embryolisse Lait Creme, I got this and it came in a duo pack with a travel size one that I gave away last year. At first I didn’t like it, I thought it was too rich for my skin in a humid climate like ours, but then I changed how I used it. I applied it at night then went to bed and woke up with the most amazing supple and soft skin. It takes awhile to absorb and obviously works amazingly well as a night cream. It also appeals to me because it gently smells of Jasmine and light milk.
Coming soon, my daily favorites for the month of January 2012
When the people of Anastasia Beverly Hills, or at least their PR division, emailed me asking if I’d participate in reviewing their product I was skeptical at first. I’d never been contacted by a company from abroad with a request for a direct product review so it was almost unbelievable that the company that Oprah entrusts her brows to was actually going to send me this, but they really did!
I was quick to check the return address for authenticity and was “kilig to the bones” or as most of you better understand it “over the moon” with satisfaction. The packaging is classy and reminds me of old hardbound books. This is what it looks like inside.
Today’s post won’t be including a brow tutorial just yet. I’ll be doing a totally separate post showing how I use this product on myself and it will kind of be a semi how-to-do-brows tutorial. For today will just be presenting the Anastasia Brow Kit with some swatches for you. Click on to read more and see the brows I drew in on a pro model.
If you are a beauty babe you’ve most probably heard of Anastasia Beverly Hills in your online search for achieving perfectly defined eyebrows. If you’ve watched Michelle Phan’s videos or those of Jen of frmheadtotoe YouTube you would have definitely seen them use a few of Anastasia’s brow defining products. It’s no small thing to note that even Oprah entrusts her brows to them. Properly groomed, shaped, and defined eyebrows can change a face dramatically. When I was attending formal makeup schooling in Singapore we spent two days just focusing on eyebrows, that’s how important it was to the teacher.
The brand was founded by Anastasia Soare who has been committed to the aesthetic cause of balanced beauty. The brand got America’s full attention, too when Oprah dedicated an entire segment of her show to the art of eyebrow defining as presented by Anastasia Beverly Hills, that’s when I first heard of the brand, when watching Oprah’s show. Here’s a video of Oprah going to Anastasia Beverly Hills to get beautified the day before the Oscars. Oprah talks beauty, too
The reason I brought that up is I wondered how my blessed readers would feel if I featured Anastasia Beverly Hills products on here for the very first time, as I was contacted by them personally . Would you be interested to see any of these products on here?
I most certainly would!! Here’s a quick how to video on the item I’m most interested in, the Beauty Express Brow kit. I’m actually also MOST interested in their brow defining pencil in Medium Ash, the one with a brush at the other end, but that’s not in the photo. Watdch this quick tutorial and you’ve taken the first step to learning more about better brows.
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Sigh, some good things must come to an end, I hope Jurlique replaces it with an equally good product.
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