It’s ironic that I have this health and beauty blog and yet I am completely clueless about make-up. Well, I can use powder foundation, blush and lipstick. But I don’t have the talent to mix colors from an eyeshadow palette. I’m always on the go so I don’t have the time to apply make-up in the morning.  Even my hair is a wash-and-tie it type, I just wear it in a ponytail because I have no funds for a rebonding treatment yet. Another reason is that in this hot and humid weather, make-up will eventually melt in my face, lol! And re-application is such a hassle for me.

Upon reading other beauty blogs, I always admire their posts on their face-of-the-day (FOTD, EOTD), etc. It’s amazing how make-up enhances one’s beauty, it even transforms one’s face dramatically. So I came to think about learning some make-up basics. Besides, it’s never too late to learn new things. Thankfully, there are dozens of YouTube tutorials out there to have a capacitación en maquillaje professional. It’s spanish for “training in professional make-up”, =).

But for some people who are so serious about make-up, there are also plenty of make-up schools out there. And unlike before that the fee is expensive, there are a number of affordable sessions too, some are being conducted by up and coming make-up artists. It’s just you to decide on what course to take.

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I can’t get enough of lip balms, this time is a review for Burt’s Bees lip balms. I’ve been using Burt’s Bees lip balms for years now, this is the only product I keep coming back to take care of my lips because it works for me.

Burt's Bees Lip Balms

The old looking one is the Burt’s Bees Replenishin Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil. It has a reddish tint but it does not appear when applied. I apply this whenever I feel that my lips are dry, even with constant application, I don’t have that waxy feeling other lip products give. It’s light on the lips.

I’m currently using classic Beeswax Lip Balm. It’s colorless and it has an added peppermint oil giving it a minty feel. However, I think the peppermint oil makes it a little drying, this is what I observe on most mint lip balms I’ve tried.

I love Burt’s Bees lip balms because they are all-natural. But on my next purchase, I’ll buy the one with pomegranate oil and try their tinted lip balms too.

Related posts:

1. Pureglow Emu Mineral Lip Butter Tints – a review
2. Nanay Earth The Flowers and The Bees Premium Lotion – a review
3. Mentholatum Lip Ice Sheer Color – a review

I’m not crazy about lipsticks and I can live with just one lipstick for a year, heck, I often find out that lipsticks in my kikay kit are expired already. But because of my dry lips, lip balms and lip tints are my bestfriends. Now for my latest discovery, Mentholatum Lip Ice Sheer Color Fragrance-Free that I got in Sasa Hong Kong, but they’re also available in Watsons for Php 145.

Mentholatum Lip Ice Sheer Color, Php 145

From the packaging:

- Changes color to a natural sheer pink according to individual lips.
- A gentle Beeswax formulation suitable even for very sensitive skin.
- Contains natural ingredients of Shea Butter Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Nut Oil, Jojoba Oil and Aloe Extract to keep lips moisturized, smooth, and healthy.
- Contains effective anti-oxidants of Vitamin E to soften and protect lips against the harmful environment.

Mentholatum Lip Ice Sheer Color

It was love at first swipe! It gave an adorable sheer pink color to my lips, God knows how long I searched for that perfect pink color for my dark lips. It glides on lips effortlessly, and the slim tube is very handy. After a few hours and few applications, it doesn’t leave a waxy feeling on the lips and no whitish substance on the inner part of the lips. For the moisturizing factor, it does its job well in keeping chapped lips at bay. Staying power is limited though, but you can reapply plenty of times, reapplication also increases the lip color.

without Lip Ice

with Lip Ice

Notice the healthy shine on my lips? I’m sure this Mentholatum Lip Ice Sheer Color will even look great for fair-skinned ladies. This product beats Smashbox O-Gloss anytime with its very affordable price. I’m looking forward in trying other Lip Ice variants available, what do you recommend ladies?

Related posts:

1. Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain + Balm – a review
2. Pureglow Emu Mineral Lip Butter Tints – a review
3. Etude House Lippies review

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain + Balm ads and flyers caught my attention because I’m a sucker for natural looking lips or my-lips-but-better-shades. And the idea of long-wearing lip color is too hard to resist!

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain + Balm in Frenzy

-Kiss-proof color with soft shine
-Nourishing balm for supreme comfort
-Lipstain and balm in one convenient, dual-ended package
-Lipstain marker provides precise application
-Color does not smudge or streak
-Contains vitamin C for for anti-oxidant protection
-Creamy, lightweight balm perfectly melts on lips for smooth, glide-on application
-Translucent balm provides instant moisture and soft shine
-Available in 10 lightweight shades

To use: Apply marker directly to clean, dry lips. Build color and coverage as desired. After 30 seconds add extra shine and moisture by applying the balm.

I love the handy packaging because it’s dual-ended with lip stain and lip balm at both ends saving space in my kikay kit. It’s actually my first time to use a marker tip, most lip stains have a sponge applicator.

marker tip end

lip balm end

From the choices at Watsons, most of the shades are loud and dark hues of red. I only saw 2 shades of Pink, I asked the sales assistant what’s the most natural looking lip color and she suggested “Frenzy”, so I bought Frenzy for Php 595.

Unfortunately, I find Frenzy too red and unnatural for me. When lip balm is applied, it even emphasized the burst of red color.

before applying Revlon lip stain

I have dry lips and my upper lip is darker.

Frenzy on me

It looks unnatural when lip balm is applied but I seriously need it because the lip stain alone dries up my lips. Although the lip stain/lip color stays for longer time even after drinking or eating, the lip balm needs constant re-application to prevent dry lips.

The marker tip is perfect for outlining but they should also vary the tip from narrow to wide so that I can fill the rest of my lips quickly.

To sum it up:

Likes:

• slim and handy packaging
• marker tip applicator which is convenient in outlining the lips
• long lasting lip stain

Dislikes:

• lip balm is easy to break if you’re not careful
• lip stain dries up my lips
• narrow marker tip so it takes longer to apply color
• limited shades available
• lip color may be blotchy if application is uneven

Will repurchase?

No

I’m still more interested with the Loreal Infallible Lip Duo Compact than this one.

Related posts:

1. Etude House Lippies review
2. Pureglow Emu Mineral Lip Butter Tints – a review
3. Loreal Infallible Lip Duo Compact: testing

Venus and Mars has come a long way from just selling emu oil-based soaps, they now have emu-oil based cosmetics and a mineral make-up line called Pureglow. I’m a fan of their Emu Lip Detox, a lip balm that does not contain petroleum jelly, but still keeps my dry lips moisturized throughout the day. Venus and Mars’s sister site, Pureglow, made the Lip Detox even better with Emu Mineral Lip Butter Tints.

 

Pureglow Emu Mineral Lip Butter Tints

Break free from chemicals! Give your lips the authentic, lavish pampering it has always wanted. Made out of the finest essential oils, lips will surely be younger-looking in no time. There’s nothing more it could ever ask. Not at all heavy on the lips!

Ingredients: Emu Oil, Castor Bean Oil, Almond Oil, Carnauba Wax, Mica, Peppermint, Beeswax, Vitamin E Oil

Emu Mineral Lip Butter Tints are available in 4 shades; Pink Posies, Wine Pearl, Blossoming Hush and Orgasmic Rush. I ordered Pink Posies, Wine Pearl and Orgasmic Rush. Each tint is sold at Php 150.

 

pink posies, orgasmic rush, wine pearl

Emu Mineral Lip Butter Tints swatches:

 

on white background

 

without flash

 

with flash

The most suitable colors for my morena skin is Orgasmic Rush and Wine Pearl. Pink Posies is way too artificial for my skin color, it’s perfect for fair-skinned girls.

Emu Mineral Lip Butter Tints on my lips:

 

Pink Posies on me

I’d love to have pink lips but Pink Posies is not for me, =(

 

Wine Pearl on me

Wine Pearl is on the reddish pink shade. Pureglow described it as a lips-but-better shade but not for me. I still find it a little reddish.

 

Orgasmic Rush on me

Now, Orgasmic Rush is my lips-but-better-shade! Jamie described it as reminiscent of Nars Orgasm Blush. She’s right on describing it as a peachy-pink shade. Peach shades suits me best and this also applies with my blushes I think.

The Lip Butter Tints come in a twist-up tubes just like the lip balms. I love that it still carries the minty formulation, the reason why I tried the lip tints. These are highly pigmented but it still needs second or third layer of application on the lips.

The lip tints are not creamy hence I need to swipe it over again. After a few hours, I noticed that my lips easily gets dry and the color will be visible at the lines of my lips. I have to check from time to time to reapply.

Venus and Mars/Pureglow may have the perfect lip balm, the Emu Lip Detox, but with the added ingredients to make it into a lip tint may have diminished its moisturizing properties on the lips. I still use the Orgasmic Rush but I top it off with my Burt’s Bees lip balm.

Pureglow website: http://pureglow.multiply.com/

Venus and Mars website: http://venusandmars08.multiply.com/

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I’m a low-maintenance gal, I just use baby powder on my face and I’m fine. But whenever I’m on a rush in the morning for work, I don’t have time to allow my sunblock to set and to dry for additional minutes that’s why I apply baby powder after. This causes some powder to clump in some areas, unsightly and very childish. So I decided to buy a powder foundation I can use this summer. I previously used Neutrogena powder foundation but I want to try other more affordable brands.

G-lish has stalls in malls and their very pretty and girly kiosks made me check out their products. They have Duo Foundation in a very sleek all-white compact, reminds me of VMV packaging. It’s also very slim, perfect to slip in a girl’s small bag. The sales attendant said that when it’s time to buy the refill, they will replace the whole compact with a new one, just bring the old compact too. Pretty neat especially that the compact is white and it will really get dirty over time.

I got the Duo Foundation in Shade #10 for Php 300. The G-lish Duo Foundation claims to have SPF and oil control.

G-lish Duo Foundation in Shade #10

G-lish Duo Foundation

G-lish Duo Foundation opened

I like the wide mirror that maximizes the inside of the compact. The soft sponge has a separate compartment but it is thin though. I forgot to ask if the new compact when I’ll buy a refill comes with a new sponge as well. The shade matches my skin tone well.

Sadly, the powder foundation is a major fail in oil control. After a few hours, my T-zone gets oily. After a week of using it, I got few bumps on my chin area, I rarely get zits and if I do, just one or two pimples only. I stopped using this because I know this is the culprit, this is the only new addition on my regimen.

I will not buy this again. If you want to have and try this, I can give it to you, just leave me a message of your intent. It might work for you. I only used this for a week, just buy a new sponge for this.

No related posts.

On my first Etude House visit, much of my haul are lip products. I don’t wear make-up, just powder, cheek tint and lipstick/lip balm and I’m set. I use mascara and eyeliner sometimes but no eye make-up for me. Anyway, let me review the lip products I bought from Etude House, Code B Dear Darling Ultra Firming Lips, Plumping Lip Tint, Apricot Stick and Dear Darling Lip Tint.

Code B Dear Darling Ultra Firming Lips RD101 – Mission Red – Php 448

Code B Dear Darling Ultra Firming Lips

Code B Dear Darling Ultra Firming Lips in Mission Red

Lips that Say ‘Dear Darling’

Lipstick promotes moist, lip firming volume

Most of Etude House’s shades of lipsticks are more on pinks and peaches. I think I only saw 3 or 4 reddish shades for the lipsticks, the one I bought included. The lipstick is dangerously red with a hint of shimmer. This glides on the lips smoothly and has a creamy texture. Swatch of Code B Dear Darling Ultra Firming Lips below:

Ultra Firming Lips swatch

Apricot Stick No. 4 – Sour Apricot – Php 198

Apricot Stick No. 4

Apricot Stick in Sour Apricot

Vivid Tint & Translucent, Sparkling Gloss in One Application!

Do not be misled by the name, it’s not sour. =) The Apricot Stick comes in slim plastic white tube that’s perfect for a girl’s small purse. It’s a tinted lip gloss, however, I think it lacks color and all it gives is shine to my lips. I felt that my lips went dry after a few hours of application too.

Dear Darling Lip Tint 02 – Real Red – Php 198

Dear Darling Tint No. 2

Dear Darling Tint in Real Red

Jelly Lip Tint for Rouge Colored Lips
Jelly texture adheres to lips without fading (No lip strain)
Natural, vivid lips
Long lasting lip moisture supplement

This one goes into my kikay kit after my purchase. This gives me a natural-looking red lips. The taste and smell is not bad, a little bit sweet for me. I’m not a fan of sponge applicators before because it harbors bacteria more but the Dear Darling Tint comes with this so I don’t mind. Be sure to apply it to dry lips so that the tint adheres to the lips. I always apply 2 coats, and to even out the tint on my lips, I use my finger to spread.

This is not long lasting though, after just one drink of water, the tint diminished already. Also, after a few hours, this made my lips dry. What I do is apply my Burt’s Bees lip balm over the lip tint.

Dear Darling lip tint swatch

Plumping Lip Tint No. 1 – Red – Php 348

Plumping Lip Tint

Plumping lip tint applicator

Plumping Lip Tint in Red

Colorful lip plumping tint supplies smooth moisture

Packaged in a small nail-polish like bottle, this one comes as my second-fave among the Etude House lippies. I normally don’t like glossy lips and I don’t need any lip plumpers but this one is an exception. The applicator is a silicon-tip instead of a brush. After a few seconds of application, a minty feel is felt on the lips, I think this is supposed to be the part where lip plumping occurs. But for me, the image of plumped lips is because of the glossy finish it gives to my lips.

Plumping Lip Tint lip swatch

I use this over Dear Darling Lip Tint in Real Read, doing so makes the color lasts longer.

So there, it’s still up to you if you wanted to try Etude House products, but if you’re asking for my suggestion, try the Dear Darling Tint and Plumping Lip Tint.

Related posts:

1. Etude House haul

I discovered Loreal Infallible Lip Duo Compact accidentally at Watsons, I was actually looking for Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick because that’s the one I saw from magazine ads.

Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick

Since there’s no SA at Revlon, I wasn’t able to inquire about their testers, the SA from Loreal suddenly offered their own version, Loreal Infallible Lip Duo Compact. If Revlon lasts for 12 hours, the Infallible Lipstick lasts for 16 hours, beat that!

Loreal Infallible Lip Duo Compact

Discover our 1st longwear lip duo compact!

In just two clicks Infallible colour and comfort lasts up to 16 hours.

You’re 2 clicks away from the new shape of lip colour.

Our 1st longwear lip duo compact; seals in colour for up to 16 hours and locks in moisture.

Infallible Lip Duo Compact is around Php 900. The SA offered to swatch their 2 bestselling shades and taught me how the lipstick works. The lip duo consists of a lip color and a conditioning balm. The lip color is applied first to clean dry lips and allow to set for 1 minute. Then apply the conditioning balm to keep lips moisturized and this can be reapplied whenever necessary. I tried 102 Blush Obsession and 201 Stay Ultraviolet…

Blush Obsession (top) and Stay Ultraviolet

Blush Obsession (top) and Stay Ultraviolet, with flash

I like the Stay Ultraviolet more but the Blush Obsession looks great on fair-skinned ladies.

So does the lipstick lived up to its name, YES! I tested the lipstick earlier around 7 pm, its already 2 am as I write this and I’ve washed my hands 3 or 4 times already. I also rubbed it a few times but still the colors won’t budge. I wonder how it’ll work on the lips, though. But one thing’s for sure, Loreal Infallible Lip Duo Compact will be included in my “lemming-for” list.

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I’m on a shopping binge lately for health and beauty products, perhaps too much reading the Girltalk forum is BI =). One of the raves is Styli-Style products especially the eyeliners. The girls are raving about it partly because there’s an Ebay seller that sells them dirt-cheap, Styli-Style Flat Liners are Php 75 each!!! Beauty Bar sells these at approximately Php 400. So who’s that Ebay seller?… just search jnlink777.

For being such a make-up noob, I had to search first what is Styli-Style…

Styli-Style Flat Liner 24

Colors available for eyes and lips…

Styli Style Flat Liner 24 colors

I bought the Black/Brown Flat Liner from Meg (jnlink777) and she’s fantastic enough to give me another Ruby Flat Liner as freebie.

Black/Brown and Ruby Styli-Style Flat Liners

Swatches of the Flat Liner…

Styli-Style swatches

Pros:

- cheap, for only Php 75 each, how can I complain?

- creamy texture

- comes in a twist-up tubes so no more sharpening needed

- smudge-proof

Cons:

- my Black/Brown liner is a little bit drier than Ruby. So a little trouble in my application…

- twist-up tube can’t be retracted so be careful when you twist

- stocks ran out fast from Meg and if you’re hooked with this, you have to buy at Beauty Bar at approximately Php 400 each

No related posts.