Goopy, sheer, thick and extremely sticky. This was really popular in the early to mid-2000s. And I didn't really care for them. The smelt nicer than the typical lipsticks at the time. Came in cuter packaging and cool (Lizzie MacGuire a.k.a. life peg) people wore them. But I just couldn't get over the constant hair sticking to the lip scenario. Not to mention it looked like I ate something really oily because most lip glosses available to me were reaaaaaally sheer. So I stayed away from them.

You know how enabling instagram is. With the perfectly arranged outfit, lunch, motd or ootd it can both be inspirational and envy-inducing. Especially with makeup, at least for me. I got these Pinkies Collections Matte Lipsticks after I've seen a few pictures of it online. I have swatched a few in person way before I saw the pictures, but turned the other cheek as I deemed it too drying or too unwearable. That is until someone posted Bark. Next thing I knew I was at the counter with said colour and another in tow—Calalily. Both are "natural" "nude" colours. Bark is a deep mauvey-old-rose kind of shade while Calalily is a light pinky light-nude beige—perfect for dark dramatic looks.

As for the Maybelline Lip Polish (Or Colour Elixir depending on the country) they were having a 50% off and Php 100 off sale on a lot of their items so being the opportunistic little twit beauty enthusiast that I was, I grabbed a shade that really "spoke" to me. I just wanted to try out the texture and Glam 6, a seemingly creamy (non-glitter) deep purple shade was something a little more unique in my eyes. That and there weren't a lot of choices at the time. Touted as the first of its kind, this liquid lipstick+balm+gloss hybrid is smooth, moisturizing and pigmented. It's a pretty and shiny non-sticky lip gloss for non-lipgloss wearers (me).

If you remember my post about the Korean gimick that is the lip tint packs/masks, you'd know that while I was intrigued I was also perplexed. So I got one to try out. Ssssh it's for SCIENCE.

I think it's a little pricey considering you need to use a thick application each time but it stays true to the lip tint claim. The gimick lasted until after the first try then I realized I'd rather use a regular lip tint than wait for this to dry and peel costing me precious minutes. Minutes I could be using to eat.

I'm still testing these out but I'll definitely be posting reviews about most of them. What do you want reviewed first? Let me know!


xx,
CJ

PS. Maybelline only had the sale until Dec 31, 2015. Revlon isn't on sale anymore :(. Essence might have a few things still on sale but I wouldn't bet on it.

UPDATE :
Review of the Pinkies Collection Matte Lipsticks and lip pencil here.
Review of the lip glosses here.

---

This 2015 I've gone past just watching beauty Youtubers creating gorgeous eyeshadow looks and thinking "How pretty." then watching another makeup video or doing something else. I've had a few shadows in the past but I've never really been past the two (or one) colour look I wasn't also a big fan of practicing at home. I mean I just had to take it all off again. And knowing myself, I would have to take off several attempts before giving up for the day. I seriously tip my hats off to makeup artists.

But I can safely say that now I know a trick or two. I know how to blend, what works for my eye shape, eye colour, what colors works together and what I personally feel like doing at the time.

Adding to the Kate Tokyo palette that I love, are these new matte and shimmer palettes from well-known high street/drugstore brands.


Both Essence Cosmetics and Catrice Cosmetics are known for carrying affordable products that are good nay sometimes even amazing for their price.

I thought buying Essence's All About Nudes for my shimmer and Catrice's Absolute Matt would be better for storage and variety of both colours and textures. Alternatively I could've gotten any of Nyx's, L'Oreal or Maybelline's neutral palettes that also have both shimmer and matte. But this came out a tad cheaper and like I said it's easier on me for storage as well as giving me the option to just carry all matte or all shimmer which I've done before.


The plastic packaging is pretty solid and feels secure to the touch. The small size (about 3 inches) easily fits in the palm of my hand. The shadows aren't glittery. But they give off a little glisten —an understated shimmer that I really like. All are shimmery except the first cream colour in the swatch, which is more of a satin. Smooth and very pigmented even without a primer, they do kick-up a little powder (same as the Catrice one) but nothing a little tap of the brush won't fix.


As for longevity the darker colours last long past an 8-hour day without creasing while the two cream colours (one a more beige-y satin and one a little more shimmery and pink) have already faded a little. But that can be expected from not using primer and from the colours themselves (light creams). As for the colours, the only one I would classify as "warm toned" is the bronze-y colour. The rest are more neutral or cool-toned. All-in-all it's a solid little palette wherein you don't really have to have another matte palette or matte colour as a transition. All the darker ones work just as well and it won't look too shimmery and glittery in your crease/outer corners. Buying two palettes is just me being...me.


I've read every blog post and watched every video about this palette, even ones that are in German I think. The first time I swatched this, I was a little disappointed, because it was more powdery (because soft shadows tend to be powdery) than I anticipated. But it's not a total deal-breaker as the pigment, smoothness and softness are really good. My sister has the Maybelline The Nudes palette and I find those shadows to be a little hard in the pan. They're decently pigmented but they're hard to get to. Like you really have to dig in. I just didn't like the texture. These are way better in terms of texture, blendability and pay-off. The whole palette is cool toned and reminded me of the Naked Basics by Urban Decay actually, this might be a pretty good dupe for it based on pictures I've seen and reviews I've read.

I'm quite happy I picked these up. They're just right for me who only needs basic neutral colours. I find these to be excellent buys for the price whether you're a beginner or a full-fledged beauty expert.

Have you tried these? Or do you have anything else you can recommend from these brands? I picked-up the Essence XXXL lipglosses on sale for half-off. So I bought two to test out. I like the texture so far. :)


xx,
CJ

---

Price - Catrice : around Php400; Essence : around Php 300 at department stores/Watson's
Online stores like instagram and ebay might have them a few bucks cheaper. I bought mine at @beautyshopph / www.beautyshopph.com

I've never really considered myself a nail polish person. My first and supposed last love-affair with nail varnishes was in college. After my freshman-sophomore college phase I always wore my nails bare. Part laziness, part my nails' brittleness.

Lately though I've taken an interest in painting them again and here are just some that have impressed me based on their formula, brush-shape, colour and efficacy.

---

Website : http://www.goldenrose.com.tr/en/homepage

Price : Php 79
Weight : 10.2 ml

---

This online-exclusive Australian brand — Picture Polish, was love at first swipe. Rebelle, a light creamy peach shade with silver glitters and Ornate a royal purple with multi-coloured glitter with golden glitter chunks combined look pretty on especially if you have longer nails [mine are super short]. They're a little pricey but [in my opinion] for good reason.

• Smooth despite the glitters [even the chunky glitters of Ornate]
• Non-streaky
• Opaque
• Vegan!
• 5 Free [meaning free from formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, camphor and formaldehyde resin - chemicals that could disrupt the endocrine system and/or cause cancer].
• Touch-dry in 2-3 minutes
• Has two metal ball bearings inside to shake up the liquid thoroughly and keep it from thickening

I never really understood the necessity of a base coat until recently. The Jordana Calcium boost base coat was a fast favorite. I can't really affirm the Calcium absorption but I feel like it helps lengthen my nail colour on top and provides a barrier between my nail bed and the polish. I also bought the white coloured base coat but I feel like that one makes my nail colour chip way faster.

Available at : SM Megamall
Price : Php 99

This Essence "quick dry" top coat gives more shine to normal polishes and true to its name it does dry fast [touch dry in 2-3 minutes]. I haven't tried a lot and I can't say this is the best but compared to Caronia or the other local top coats, this beats them by a mile.

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/essence.philippines
Price : Php 99 - 100


xx,
CJ

PS. Have you tried any of these brands? What other polishes can you recommend that are thin but fully opaque in two coats?

2. I finally got me some Maybelline "The Rocket" volume express mascara because they were 30% off and me and my sister couldn't pass it up. For some unknown reason, Maybelline mascaras here seldom have discounts. Got the washable versionbecause I needed to let my eyelashes rest from my frequent use of waterproof mascaras. Has anyone else tried this blogger-hyped product? 

~P290

3. This may seem familiar, because I've already written this off and claimed to never repurchase it again. But since I can just handle it carefully and not twist it as much, for the price - it does perform quite well. So I got the Essence Stay Natural Concealer again as an everyday under-eye brightener. 

P169