REVIEW: E.L.F. Blush

These E.L.F blushes are part of my Birthday haul. I bought these from Landmark, Trinoma for P250 each. It wasn't the first time that I saw these blushes. I see them everytime I visit E.L.F. counters from different malls but I just don't buy them. The reason why is because I'm not really into blushes, powder blushes at that. I just decided to buy these blushes when I realized I don't have enough powder blushes in my makeup collection and I thought I need them since I am a freelance makeup artist. I usually use my Vanity Palette and Careline blushes for my clients. Anyway... I bought the shades Peachy Keen and Fushia Fusion.

The blush comes in a film which covers and protects the blush itself.

1. PEACHY KEEN - I love this shade. It gives you that natural glowing look on your face

2. FUSHIA FUSION - It's a very nice shimmery pink blush. I actually haven't tried this on myself but

I used this already when I did a little makeover on my friend.

SWATCHES!

Please excuse my filthy looking nail! :-(

I'm not really into shimmery blushes like with lipsticks, I'm more of a matte-woman. (LOL) I just wish E.L.F.

will soon have matte blushes because most of their products are actually nice.

PROS:

E.L.F. blushes are actually pigmented and they stay on for long hours. What I like most about this is that it's not really powdery or chalky unlike other blushes, especially the cheap ones!

CONS:

Too shimmery for me (maybe because I'm not really into shimmery blushes). I actually have a problem with the packaging. It's not really sturdy. When I first took out the blush from the box and opened the blush, the pan came off. Look at the picture below:

I was really disappointed because I haven't even used it yet. It was my first time to open and use it since my College girlfriends and I had a makeup session during my boyfriend's birthday celebration.

So, yeah that's it. E.L.F. blushes are just okay for me. Not in my favorites list.

I hope this review did help you.

Stay awesome my dear dudettes! :)

-ivsc-

Review: FANNY SERRANO TWO WAY CAKES

Fanny Serrano Two Way Cake is probably my favorite powder ever (well, so far). The coverage is just so great. Very flawless and because it's a two way cake, you can wear it without foundation. During my lazy days, I skip foundation and just use this alone and it still looks like I'm wearing a light coverage of foundation on my face. I know it's a two way cake but I haven't tried using it as a foundation. I've just used it in one way. Hahaha! :D

Fanny Serrano Two Way Cake consists of 8 shades:

SATIN, SILK, DUCHESS, ORGANZA, CHINO, ORLEANS, RAJAH, and FANTASIA

I didn't know they have the shade Fantasia until I went to the mall last Monday and saw it on FS's counter. I thought their darkest shade was Rajah. I bought the two darkest shades last Monday, Rajah and Fantasia. I now have 6 shades. Funny, the sales lady asked me what are the shades that I already have and I said Duchess, Organza, Chino, and Orleans. Then she even encouraged me to buy the remaining 4 shades. LOL. I said, nah, I'll just buy the two shades for now. ;-)  I don't really need the two lightest shades right now but I'm planning to buy the Silk next.

I actually buy one powder at a time and I originally planned on buying just the Rajah but because Fantasia caught my eyes and because the sales lady told me that FS rarely releases Fantasia, I went ahead and bought both of them. She even said that FS only releases 5 pieces of Fantasia every, well, every release? Hahaha. You know what I mean.

What's the difference between Rajah and Fantasia?

Well, Rajah is for contouring while Fantasia is a bronzing powder. :)

Pros for Fanny Serrano Two Way Cake:

Good coverage / Just enough range of shades to choose from (some have too few shades while some have too many that you can't even think what to choose) / Flawless finish / Stays on for hours / Price is reasonable (PHP 399)

Cons for Fanny Serrano Two Way Cake:

The only bad thing I have to say about this particular product is the packaging. Well, I don't actually hate how it looks like but there's a tendency that the cover or the lock of the powder may loosen up a bit sometimes. My Organza's lock had loosen up already. Maybe because it's what I mostly use because it's the perfect shade for me.

PHOTOS!

Fanny Serrano Two Way Cakes are just so addictive! I plan to complete the shades so that I can use them for my clients. :)

For those of you who haven't tried this out yet, I suggest you purchase one because it's a really good buy. You can find Fanny Serrano Two Way Cakes in any SM Department Stores (beauty section), Watsons, and Landmark.

That's it! Hope this one helps!

Stay awesome my dear dudettes! :)

-ivsc-

Review: NYX MATTE LIPSTICKS

Hello everyone! I'm gonna talk about the NYX Matte Lipsticks. I love matte lipsticks more than the glossy ones and the shimmery ones. I'm actually collecting matte lippies. I have the ones from Ever Bilena and now I'm collecting NYX matte lipstick because they're awesome and the shades are freakin' gorgeous. :)

NYX have 22 shades of matte lipsticks and I've already collected 6!

Why I love them?

They stay on for hours and they are really pigmented. If you want to see all the swatches, you can watch Judy of ItsJudyTime's video about it. She swatched all the shades and based on her, some of the shades are kinda chalky but some are very smooth and have good pigmentation. So far, I haven't encountered a chalky matte lipstick from the collection I have right now. Ooh! I don't know about you but I love the packaging, it's very nice. You can see the color from the transparent part in the middle which I think is very helpful because you don't have to check each bullets to see the colors and pick which one you want to use.

Cons about the NYX Matte Lipsticks:

It has a certain smell that might become a problem to some people who have problems with scents, or people who are sensitive when it comes to scents. Don't get me wrong, NYX matte lipsticks don't smell bad. It might just not work out for some.

SHADES I HAVE:

If you're interested to buy, you can order from me (please) hahaha! :D

Here's the link to view more shades. :)

NYX MLS

Stay awesome my dear dudettes! :)

-ivsc-

Review: TEA TREE FOAMING FACIAL WASH

Hello my dear dudettes! I'm back with another drugstore product review. It's a skin care product actually, a facial wash to be exact.

Product's name: TEA TREE FOAMING FACIAL WASH

Price: P189 / 160 ml

Spotted at: SM Department Store (North Edsa), Beauty Section/Skin care area

I am a sucker for mint flavors and it was mainly the reason why I bought this. Tea Tree Foaming facial wash has natural tea tree and peppermint oils. I love having that cool and refreshed feeling after washing my face because it kinda helps me to be more relaxed before sleeping, especially when the weather is a bit humid. So, even though I have my Kojie San kojic acid, I still bought this because I wanted something cool on my face. :))

What it claims (written on the back of the bottle):

Light and creamy, this foaming facial wash with natural Tea Tree and Peppermint Oils will help promote a clearer spot-free complexion and leave your skin feeling clean, smooth and refreshed. Tea Tree originates from Australia. It is a natural antibacterial agent known for its antiseptic healing properties. Peppermint oil is renowned for its therapeutic effect on skin disorders and for its cooling sensation.

Well, almost everything that was written on the back of the bottle are true. Why almost everything and not everything? Well it's because I don't believe it promotes a spot-free complexion. It just makes my skin feeling smooth and refreshed.

It's super light and creamy. Checked!

Leaves your skin feeling clean, smooth and refreshed. Checked!

Antibacterial. Checked!

Cooling sensation. Checked!

Let's take a closer look at the product, shall we?

It comes in a pump as you can see in the photo above. The product is in liquid form, and this pump will convert it into foam. I think it's unnecessary for me to be telling you that because it's quite obvious but I just want to. Hahaha! ;-D

 

So that's how it looks like. See how foamy and creamy it is? It's really light, too. You can feel it's lightness not just by touching it but also when you have already applied it onto your face. When you apply it onto your face, it's like you're just massaging your face with water. It's so light, it wouldn't even form bubbles once rubbed or applied. But you can easily feel the cooling sensation and after rinsing, you can really see and feel the smoothness of your face.

Will I repurchase? Definitely. I love this facial wash! The fact that it's light, antibacterial, leaves my skin feeling 

smooth, peppermint... Ugh! It's just a must-have for me! This is totally going in my holy grail list! :) 

I'm going to give it a 4.5 out of 5 awesomeness. :)

Tea Tree also have other products such as moisturizers and eye cares. You can check it out at Watsons and SM Department Store's skin care area.

I hope this review did help you.

Stay awesome my dear dudettes! :)

-ivsc-

Review: AIDO makeup set

I think makeup palettes are very essential to all makeup lovers especially makeup artists because you get to save money, they're convenient, and they save space from your makeup storage. However, you gotta be careful in choosing makeup palettes. You should examine first the great deal you're gonna get from it and of course, the quality.

There are a lot of inexpensive makeup palettes and some are great, some are just okay, while some are not and just a waste of money and space. I'm going to review here one of my favorite makeup palettes. The Aido Classic Make Up Set. This was actually given to me by my boyfriend. :)

As indicated on the palette, this is one of their classics. They have this palette for such a long time already. My Mom had the same palette when I was in Grade 6. I already love makeup that time and when I reached high school, I started using makeup occasionally. I remember using my Mom's Aido make up set and I loved it. My sister did too. My Mom barely uses eyeshadows so it's basically I and my sister who used our Mom's palette. We loved it so much because there are a lot of colors to choose from plus the quality is actually great. That's why I was so happy when my boyfriend surprised me with this. He knows how obsessed I am with cosmetics! ;)

There is a built-in mirror under the top cover.Aido Classic Make Up Set has three layers.  On the first layer are 16 pieces of eyeshadows with different pretty colors. On the second layer you'll find four shades of blushers and two shades of pressed powders. The third layer, which is the last layer, contains four small brushes, two small eye pencils, and another 4 pieces of eyeshadows. The only missing components in this palette are lip colors and mascara. ;-)

FIRST LAYER

This picture shows the colors from the left side of the palette.

This picture shows the colors from the right side of the palette.

SECOND LAYER

This picture shows the swatches of the blushers from the palette. Pretty nice, right?

L-R: Upper left color from the palette, lower left, upper right, lower right

Here's a closer look.

This picture shows swatches of the two powders.

Top: darker shade, Bottom: lighter shade

THIRD LAYER

This picture shows the four eyeshadows from the third layer. I sometimes use colors 3 and 4 for my eyebrows and they're just perfect!

These are the brushes included in the palette.

These are the eye pencils included in the palette. I use the brown one for my brows as well and it works just fine. :)

PROS:

- I love that it's an all in one palette

- Many colors to choose from

- Eyeshadows and blushers stay for long hours

- Eyeshadows and blushers are not powdery

- Reasonable price for around P450 (forgot the exact amount)

- Decent packaging

- Convenient to use. Great to carry when travelling.

CONS:

- The brushes are really bad. I don't even use them. I just used the sponge for swatching.

- Some eye colors are not that pigmented

- The pressed powders are not that great. They doesn't stay on for long.

If I have to rate Aido Classic Make Up Set, I'm gonna give it 4 out of 5 stars. I can recommend this palette to beginners. This is also great for those of you who loves travelling. Very convenient to use because you get to save more space for other stuff.

That's it! If you have the same palettes, tell me how it works out for you.

By the way, Belle from Candycoatedpaw requested for a pic of the Aido Makeup Set. Here it is dear! I even made a review of it.

Stay awesome my dear dudettes! :)

-ivsc-

Review: San San Matte Foundation

This is one of my favorite foundations ever! I'm into matte foundation because I'm not really a big fan of dewy looking face. San San matte foundation is one of the bests I've tried. This is not a new product of San San. My Mom actually had one of this when I was still in high school? I'm not sure but she had this foundation even before I started learning how to use makeup.

I got the shade 03. Well it's actually darker than my natural skin tone but I chose this one because it has a yellow undertone. I just use a powder lighter than my skin tone to set it so that it would match my natural skin color and I'm telling you, the result is awesome. It's like I'm wearing a foundation that matches my skin color, very natural.

I also loooove the packaging. It comes in a small bottle that looks like a nail polish bottle when closed. One of the many great things about this product is the applicator. It's really like a nail polish but instead of a nail polish brush, a small spatula is attached onto the cap (look at the picture above). I love the packaging especially the small spatula because you can control how much product you want to get and I think it's very hygienic as well. You can clean the spatula after using it. Another awesome thing about the San San matte foundation is that they're really affordable. I only got this for P130 and they're not even on sale! Hahaha! =D

The only problem I have with this foundation is that they don't have a wide variety of shades to choose from. I think they only have 5 or 6. They have the green one (which my Mother had before) for correcting the redness of the face, a shade that is almost close to white, an ivory-like shade which is very light but has yellow undertone, this one (no.3), and their darkest one which has pinkish/reddish undertone. I'm not sure if that's all they have. If you want to check it out for yourself, just go to any HBC outlets. :)

Keep on reading to see why I love them so much.

Okay, so this is me and my bare face. Look at all those little blemishes and the circles around my eyes!

After applying the San San matte foundation, VOILA! See the huge difference?

My blemishes were not that visible anymore and my dark circles were totally concealed. My face looks smooth and flawless!

Now, this is me after applying powder, blush-on, lipstick and all that jazz.

I look awesome! Hahaha! My face just looked so flawless and it's all thanks to San San matte foundation.

The foundation stays on pretty well for long hours, too. 6-7 hours tops.

This is me after 2 hours.

After 4 hours...

After 9 hours.

I love this foundation! I also use them on my clients. This is definitely in my top list. I just hope that San San (HBC) will create more shades so that a lot of women can use this. I totally recommend this product. It's perfect for combination to oily skin type.

I hope you liked this one.

Stay awesome my dear dudettes! :)

-ivsc-

Review: CARELINE LIP GLOSS

I finally got my hands on these famous Careline lip glosses! I found out about this first from Judy of itsjudytime. I watched it from her drugstore haul from the Philippines. I was amazed how pigmented the lip glosses are so when I visited the mall few days after, I went over to the Careline counter to buy the lip glosses. I was disappointed because I did not find them. I saw a bunch of lip glosses but they were different from what I saw in Judy's haul. So, everytime I go to malls, local stores, supermarkets, and drugstores, I check if they have those lip glosses but I really can't find them!

Then one time while I was reading random blogs, I found a review about the Careline lip glosses from Donnarence of MyLucidIntervals. After reading her post, I was amazed even more. I found out that there are many colors to choose from and that they're really pigmented. I just felt super frustrated because I don't know where to get them. They're super cheap but the colors are super nice and based on the picture of swatches Ms.Donnarence posted, you can really tell that they are so creamy. On the last part of her blog, she mentioned that the sales lady told her that the lip glosses are exclusively sold in Robinsons Malls. She wasn't sure if it's true and I am also not sure. So, I searched for different reviews and I was convinced that they're really exclusively sold in Robinsons malls. So, that's why I couldn't find them in SM supermalls and local drugstores.

Robinsons malls are quite for from Tagaytay except the one in Dasmarinas but the last time I checked, the Careline lip glosses are not available there. I can't find the time to visit Robinsons malls plus the transportation fee is a little expensive. It will just be a waste if my only reason to go there is to buy the lip glosses (I'm still being practical, of course). That's why I was so happy when we planned to take the kids (nephew and nieces) out for a quality time. We chose Robinsons Galleria over SM North Edsa. Although SM North is way nearer from our house, we chose to go to Robinsons Galleria because we wanted a new environment. We've been in SM North a million times, ever since I was a kid! Yeah, so when we got there, we ate first and went straight to the department store. Of course the first counted I looked for was Careline's and at first glance, BAM! I saw the famous lip glosses! I actually felt they're the ones looking at me, hahaha! I immediately swatched the colors and gawd, I've finally seen up close and personal how great they are. I even convince my sister-in-law to buy as well. Hee! I bought six shades! I did not buy the other shades because I'm not a fan of those colors.

See the price tag? (Robinsons)

Pretty colors, right?

I'm just a little curious why the pink one has a bigger Careline mark than the other ones, see?




Why I love them?
They are very creamy and real smooth on the lips. They're almost like lip creams already. Another thing is that I can wear these even without lipstick because they are really pigmented. The container is like a tube that you use for experimenting in the Science lab. LOL. You can tell that they are really cheap just by looking at them because of the design and the tube is made of plastic. I don't know about you but I think they're really cute. Judy time said they smell like peaches but for me, I think they smell like watermelon. Whatevs! Basta they have fruity scent. :)


SWATCHES:

101 is a very pretty nude color with peachy-pink undertone. I love it, one of my faves!

110 is also a nude color but with a brown undertone.

107 is a mauve color. Great for everyday use. One of my faves as well. :)

104 is a very nice pink color. Very girly-girl! I love it!!!

111 is a nice dark orange shade. This can be paired with Ever Bilena's matte lipstick in Scarlet and NYX's matte lipstick in Indie Flick. :)

108 is sort of a berry red. Ms.Donnarence was right. If you layer this color, you'll get a darker shade of red. I love this! :)

I love inexpensive finds like these. The next time I visit Robinsons, I will definitely buy more of these lip glosses!  :)

That's it!

Stay awesome my dear dudettes! :)

-ivsc-