AVON Ultra Moisture Rich Lipstick + Glimmerstick Lipliner Reviews

Hey everyone! Here's part 2 of my AVON stash review, and coming up next are lipsticks and a lipliner!

What's hard about ordering from a catalogue (the way AVON does it) is that its hard to roadtest the shades prior to purchasing. That's usually my hesitation before buying AVON products.

So as you can see, I got 5 AVON Ultra Moisture Rich lipsticks in these shades, plus a glimmerstick liner in Red Brick:

A close-up of that AVON Glimmersticks Lipliner in Red Brick :

What AVON says:

Our #1 Liner!

Enhances the wear of any lipstick. Smooth, glide-on color. Long wear (wears up to 12 hours!) Retractable, self-sharpening.

Weird but true story: I have never used lipliner in my whole life! Its probably because the lipliner's purpose is to make your lips appear fuller, which I would never do because I think they're too full for my face. But the AVON glimmerstick lipliner is pretty easy to use--I didn't have a hard time tracing the outline of my lips and there's no need for sharpening. I'll have to see if I'll be using this one for future use.

Up next are the AVON Ultra Moisture Rich Lipsticks!

What AVON says:

Luxurious moisture, super-saturated colour. Targets dryness with hydrosphere technology. Contains jojoba oil and vitamin A, C, and E. 

I have to say I was pretty ecstatic most of all on these lippies, because they're so many! I was also very satisfied on their staying power as well as how they glide on. Moisture-wise (as what it promises), I didn't experience any drying effects.

Packaging-wise, I thought they looked really good and a nice addition to anyone's lipstick collection! The plastic case does NOT look cheap even though this one only sells for P199! Seriously!!!

But what I noticed the most is that some of the shades come on a bit sheer but some are highly pigmented. On to the shades I have:

M04 in Passionate Pink: this is one of the sheer shades I was telling you about. It goes on soft, so I had to layer it on. I don't know why they called it "passionate" since its not vibrant. I like the soft pink color it gives though, so if you want a non-overpowering pink, this is the shade to get.

M05 in Lava Love: highly pigmented color! I can't find the right words to describe its color, because its not a deep red (deceivingly so on the tube), nor is it a pink. Its more of an in-between shade, and very bright! That shade on my lips was achieved with only 1 swipe. You see where I'm getting? HIGHLY PIGMENTED. But love it when paired with low-key eyes. Its definitely something that will brighten up your face.

M104 in Deep Pomegranate: this is a dark red violet color that's also highly pigmented. I don't like the shade very much and won't be wearing this often--I actually used this for a costume look when my sister became a Black Swan for her creative photo (did the trick with a touch of black eyeshadow) because I wanted to achieve a bruised lip effect.

M200 in Charming Pomegranate: a fun fun color! I like this shade A LOT--because its different from the other shades. Again, this one is also highly pigmented and gives a high dose of color in 1 swipe. This is also best to pair with a simple eye look and no blush. Love this the most!:D

M306 in Coral Fantasy: looks more orangey on the tube than on the lips. This is more on the browner side of the color wheel than on the orange side. I actually used this to create a Miss Tangerine look similar to the one Dara has in her new Etude House campaign, which looked pretty good! A nice coral lippie for me, but you have to swipe it on around 2 layers so you can get that shade. Still also kinda sheer.


Here ends my AVON reviews, I hope you guys were able to find something you like because these lipsticks are lovely for the price they offer.

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2AM and 2NE1 COMING TO MANILA!!! [UPDATED]

I can seriously just float away from happiness right now. I took this time out of my hiatus just to spread the great great news that two of my most favorite k-pop bands are coming HERE!!! TO MANILAAAA!!!

First up will be 2AM, who will be here from April 28-30 (3 whole days!!! Imma hound them I swear!), 2011. Its not yet sure whether or not it will be a concert, a fan meet or a mall tour, since MCA Universal Philippines is still keeping it under wraps what they'll be doing.

I bet its a showcase like the one they did in Singapore.

They will be at the following venues on these dates:
APRIL 28, 6PM-  Newport Plaza at Resorts World, Manila (meet and greet)
APRIL 29, 6PM- The Venice Piazza at Mckinley Hill, The Fort (meet and greet)
APRIL 30, 5PM-  Eastwood Mall Open Park (Grand Showcase)

For the meet and greet, you have to purchase a copy of their Philippine limited edition so you can have it signed and meet the boys in person!!!:D

For more information, you can follow their updates on either of these sites:
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/2AMLiveInManila2011
TWITTER:  http://twitter.com/2AM_Manila2011
They keep teasing us with what's going to happen, but I am sooo soo excited!!!

Next up is 2NE1, who will be having their concert here in Manila on May 15, 2011 at the Araneta Coliseum. Better start saving up guys, because for sure YG will price the tickets high.

No other details yet as when tickets will be released, but keep checking out TICKETNET so you can buy your tickets as soon as they come out!

For more information, check our Manila Concert Scene: http://manilaconcertscene.tumblr.com/post/3953265735 

P.S. The 2ne1 concert has been moved to June 4, 2011! Check here for more details: http://manilaconcertscene.tumblr.com/post/4160202224

I hope someone can sponsor me covering these events (ahem ahem!!!)...are you guys as excited as I am!?!?

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The Tea Tree Oil Project - Day 2

And so the Tea Tree Oil Project continues!!!

I've been applying this one ALL THE TIME--okay maybe four times today. The salesladies at The Body Shop told me I should apply it everytime I wash my face. It just so happened that I stayed in the house all day.

On to the progress:
[photos as usual will be AFTER the jump just in case your eyes are sensitive and don't want to see them pimples!] 

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The Tea Tree Oil Project - Day 1

I am seriously on the edge of sheer desperadoes--I have been breaking out ever since I got so stressed with school lately. And its not just the gentle break-out, its the intense RED, THROBBING HUGE pimples that came out! I have been trying everything, even tried Maxi-peel (made the pimples dry up and made me peel, but more on that next time on my real review), but they're still there.

So when I heard about the wonderful effects of The Body Shop's Tea Tree Oil, I immediately purchased some because I am really really desperate to get these pimples out!!!

What will follow this entry will be day-to-day updates on how the pimples are doing. I'm really determined to keep this project up to date because I'm sure a lot of you are also curious about Tea Tree Oil and its hopefully good effects.

What The Body Shop says:

A medicine cabinet must. A pre-blended oil which can be used in many different ways to help soothe blemished skin. Dab directly onto skin at first sign of a blemish.

I have read nothing but great reviews on this product, so I am praying that this will work for me as well.

The Body Shop's Tea Tree Oil is available at The Body Shop for only P425.
The Body Shop also has a whole line for tea tree oil, they got concealers, toners, cleansing creams, etc. They have a great promo going on that gets you a buy 1 take 1 on all their best-sellers, so go buy now!!!

Now on to the photos of my sad blemished skin so you guys can take note of the progress: [enclosed this part in a jump just in case you get too grossed out--it is pretty nasty]

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AVON Ideal Shade Liquid Foundation + Smooth Mineral Eyeshadow Review

Just look at these make-up! I won it all as a prize from Nikki of AskMeWhats, one of my favorite bloggers around! They all come from Avon and I was so happy to receive them because I have been wanting to try their line since forever but had no idea how to choose the right shades and stuff because you have to buy it from a catalogue.

Was I happy when I got this package in the mail?

Hell YES!!!

So this post starts my backlog, and I'll be starting with the first 2 items on the left, which is the Avon Ideal Shade Liquid Foundation and the Smooth Mineral Eyeshadow.

First up is the Avon Ideal Shade Liquid Foundation:

What AVON says:

Formulated with PreciseLight Technology.** For continuous balance, adds moisture or absorbs oil wherever needed. Natural satin smooth finish. Featherlight medium coverage.

**PRECISELIGHT TECHNOLOGY has innovative light-adjusting pigments, making your skin look natural wherever you are.

So here's how the bottle looks inside:

Definitely not a big fan of this narrow-mouth glass packaging. Its hard to control the amount of foundation that comes out of the bottle. What I did was I would turn the bottle upside down, then get the contents from the inside of the lid so I don't waste the product.

The shade that I was given is NATURAL, which is actually close to my actual skintone:

The foundation has a lightweight feel, and you cannot find any heavy coverage. It gave me a dewy complexion, which I think is okay if you have dry skin. I have super oily skin so I don't use this a lot. It was pretty okay for me.
I think its available in 2 other shades.

Next up is the AVON Smooth Mineral Eyeshadow:

I have to say I loved this one! As I've said before, I'm not a fan of mineral make-up because it usually means its not pigmented. But this eyeshadow is really really nice, and I love this even if it takes more care to apply it than regular eyeshadow, due to the fall-outs that occur when you brush it on.

The shade that I got is Mocha Goddess.

What AVON says:

Superfine powder pigments blend like a dream. Use one or layer, go sheer or smoky. Whisper-soft, air-light. Natural radiance, pure luxury.

I have to say though, I'm also not a fan of the packaging because its sometimes hard to twist the brush out of the bottle:

But the brush is very nice, it doesn't feel scratchy and helps glide on your eyeshadow to your lid!

I use this by dusting it on to my lid first: (pretend that my hand is my lid), then I smooth it all over with the added brush.

Here's the look I came up with using only this eyeshadow and just added some pencil eyeliner to complete it:

Sorry if its so blurry! But I'm sure you can see that the shadow is very shimmery. What I love most about the eyeshadow is that it has a range of colors--its not just a drab brown, it has a nice copper finish over the brown.

Also, the color is so pigmented! You have to be careful in getting the amount of shadow you desire, since the brush is submerged in the powder, its bound to contain a lot. So give the brush a little shake before you apply it directly on your eye. Or apply a little, smooth it over with a clean finger, then just add more if you want.


Reviews on the lipsticks and the lipliner coming tomorrow!
This post officially ends my blogging hiatus, happy summer everyone!!! How's the cold weather treating you?:D (Wasn't that an ironic statement? Hahaha!) 

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My Top 5 Favorite Make-up Gurus!

When people ask me how I learned to apply make-up on myself, my answer is quite simple: I learned from YOUTUBE! But seriously, YouTube is a great medium for anyone who wants to learn a thing or two about the basics and the non-basics.

I have been meaning to write this blog entry for as long as I can remember, but it took quite some time before I could. So here I'll present a list of my favorite make-up gurus on Youtube and hope my readers check them out for themselves and become a fan of theirs as well!

I'll be naming my TOP 5 Make-up gurus, give a short description about them and then show you my favorite make-up video of theirs!

1) Michelle Phan

Michelle Phan is a Vietnamese American who has come a looong way from mere make-up videos. She has over a million subscribers and churns out many make-up looks, from simple everyday wearable make-up to costume styles.

I love watching her tutorials because I find that she makes pretty wearable looks and its not hard to follow her instructions. Even though she uses products by her sponsor (Lancome), she still says what shade to use so you don't have to use the exact product she does.

Fave vid of hers:




2) Kandee Johnson

Kandee Johnson is an immensely talented make-up artist who can do ANY look you give her. I'm serious. She's a lovely mother of two who lives in America and keeps coming up with crazy looks that inspire any make-up enthusiast to be more experiemental--it also helps that she's so gorgeous. I think she looks like Megan Fox, definitely a perkier one.

She even has additional videos that does not only focus on make-up, but also other salon related stuff like how to color your own hair, etc. I learned how to color mine evenly because of her!

Fave vid of her: (if you guys can't relate to Jem and the Holograms, well that means I'm OLD.)

She has TONS of other costume looks that are worth so many views, so go go go subscribe to her!


3) Catalina

Catalina is a Korean who lives in New York who has two loves: make-up and penguins! I chose her as my next guru because as compared to Kandee, she's a lot more toned down when it comes to her looks. She mostly makes tutorials on a lot of famous Asian pop stars, whether Korean or Japanese.

I love watching her tutorials because the products she features (the ones I got that is) all work pretty well with me. Her instructions aren't hard to follow. Plus her videos don't take too long so you can see that they're all do-able even for beginners.

Fave vid:

I wore this make-up tutorial for about a month before switching to another look, I swear!


4) Jen FrmHeadtoToe

What can I say about Jen aside from the fact that I find her super duper gorgeous? I wish I had her skin, her eyes, no her face! This guru was a pretty recent find for me, but I've been so hooked on her ever since. Her blog and tutorials feature much more than make-up (which also feature a lot of k-pop artists, are you still wondering why I love her?), she also talks about fashion and hair.

By the way she's also Korean like Catalina.

Fave vid of her:



5) Nikki of NikkiTutorials

Nikki is only 16! She's only 16 but she puts on make-up like a real pro. Wait have I mentioned that she's only 16? She's goofy, spunky and totally funny. She knows so many tricks up her sleeves, but you should be warned, most of her looks involve glitter--the totally appropriate kind. Her videos tend to run more than 5 minutes because she talks you through the instructions, but its fine with me because I understand her more that way.

Can't believe this girl is only 16, she is ah-mazing!

Fave vid of hers:



I hope you guys do subscribe to these lovely make-up gurus because they continue to inspire me everyday to experiment and just have fun with make-up.

Any other make-up gurus you love? Share them with me!^^

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VICTORIA'S SECRET Very Sexy Blush/Highlight Duo Review

I am totally in love with this blush/highlighter duo. As I said before, I'm not a lover of blushes, but this made me change my mind.

This is the VICTORIA'S SECRET Very Sexy Blush/Highlight Duo. Its shade is called Backstage.

It comes in a really classy black compact, with the words "VERY SEXY" on the right side. It also has a pink trim all over the sides.

What Victoria's Secret says:

Give yourself a velvet touch with the Victoria's finishing powder duo. This Victoria's sexy powder gives you a smooth, silky, and gorgeous look. The natural matte and luminous effect in this Victoria's Secret makeup gives you a naturally glowing skin. The Victoria's finishing powder duo has a unique formula that suits every skin tone type. Get a flawless look with this Victoria's sexy powder due to its lip-o-light technology that reduces defaults, and makes your skin look gorgeous! This Victoria's Secret makeup easily spreads over your skin in a single swipe, and stays on for a longer time. Highlight your skin with the Victoria's finishing powder duo. 

Open it up, and here's what greets you:

The light washes out the colors of the blush!
It has a plastic cover for hygienic purposes:

The highlighter is really sheer, and has shimmers that aren't too bulky. The blush is a nice coral shade that's not too pink or orange. Its nice enough to create a soft flush that's pretty natural.

Both the blush and the highlighter have golden shimmers! But its more obvious on the highlighter. These colors are totally gorgeous on any skintone.

And the back of the compact:

I'm not so sure if this is available locally. But this is a gorgeous blush so if you have the chance to get it for yourself, do so!

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MBLAQ's Blaq Style: A Look Inside!

Okay okay so I kinda cheated on the whole buying Korean stuff because I knew someone who was going to Korea--and because of my restraint for my own self, I only asked for one thing...MBLAQ's firsl full-length album, BLAQ STYLE!

The thing I love most about this k-pop group is that they're so demn hardworking (I meant to spell it that way btw)! Plus the songs they released so far (Stay and Cry) made me want to buy this album even more, so on to the contents:

Album looks so cool but that "M" part is pretty fragile.

The album contains the actual CD, a small photobook, plus photo cards of the members.

1. "Sad Memories (Intro)" Composed by MBLAQ's Seungho.
Arranged by Park Se Hyun 1:40
2. "Stay" Rado, Jean, Won Taek and Gilmi Composed by Rado, Jin and Won Taek
Arranged by Rado 3:20
3. "Cry" E-Tribe Composed by E-Tribe
Arranged by E-Tribe & Lee Chi Woo 3:47
4. "그대여 (Darling)" Rain Composed by Rain, Bae Jin Ryul
Arranged by Bae Jin Ryul 3:13
5. "버린다 (Throw Away)" Bae Jin Ryul Composed by Bae Jin Ryul & Choi Ji Yeong
Arranged by Bae Jin Ryul 3:25
6. "녹 (Rust)" Jean & Won Taek Composed by Jean & Won Taek
Arranged by Jean 3:54
7. "Tonight" Bae Jin Ryul Composed by Lee Jae Yeong
Arranged by Lee Jae Yeong & Jo Sung Kwang 3:53
8. "이러지 않았으면 해 (Wish You Hadn't)" Bae Jin Ryul Composed by Bae Jin Ryul & Choi Ji Yeong
Arranged by Bae Jin Ryul & Choi Ji Yeong 3:25
9. "You're My +" Rado, Jean, Won Taek, MBLAQ's Mir Composed by Rado, Jean & Won Taek
Arranged by Rado & Jean 3:51
10. "Rolling U" Bae Jin Ryul Composed by Bae Jin Ryul
Arranged by Bae Jin Ryul 3:30
11. "Oh Yeah (C-Luv & Blue Magic Remix)" Rain Composed by Rain, Kim Tae Hwan, Jang Jae Min 4:41
12. "Y (JR GROOVE Remix)" Rain Composed by Rain, Bae Jin Ryul 3:29
13. "또다른 시작 (A Different Beginning) (Outro)" Bae Jin Ryul Composed by Bae Jin Ryul 0:41

A close-up of that CD:

Their album concept is all about that wet look--rain cascading on them and even on the CD! (Rain on the MBLAQ cd? Get it?)

Plus the mini-photobook:

 underwater group shot

 Seungho and his blonde hair

 G.O looking all gorgeous and manly (my fave shot out of the five!)

 Mireu, my favorite maknae rapper

Lee Joon--very charismatic as always

Doongie all blonde (I prefer him being non-blonde) 

It contains a lot more photos than these but I just took a shot for the individual members so you have a general idea of how it looks like.

I have to be perfectly honest, I like the concept of the Y mini-album better than this. The guys on motorbikes are so much better than them in water. Also the Y mini-album is actually bigger and packs more on what's inside than Blaq Style.

But Blaq Style has been receiving a lot of love in sales!

Photo cards also inserted in the album:

These are GORGEOUUUUS, especially those of G.O and Mir. I literally just drooled on the floor while looking at these. Wet look concept worked for me right here!

A minor complaint on the packaging is that its so hard to put everything back into that M! :((

The good news (for you guys, definitely not for me grrr) is that MBLAQ is repackaging Blaq Style with 3 new songs so if you haven't gotten yourself a copy, wait it out and just buy the repackaged one.

As for the songs, I do listen to this album all the way through, compared with the Y mini-album. My favorite has to be Stay, which immediately caught my ears on the first listen, as well as 그대여 (Darling), a song that's actually written by Rain for the boys. Cry took me a while to like it, but now I can't stop listening to it. Tonight is also a favorite of mine!

Love this album, extra points for no auto-tune!

Got the MBLAQ Blaq Style for 15,000won, or around P600 in a OK! in Myeongdong Underground Shopping Center.
Also available in YesAsia HERE.


Note: MBLAQ always repackages their albums which I hate the most.

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Just an Update!

Hey everyone! I know I've been MIA lately, and that's mainly because my laptop broke down, had it fixed, and now its back with me again. I also can't seem to upload photos to the blog! Gah!!!

I'll be back in a few days, I'll just figure out why this thing won't let me post photos!!!
In the meantime, thanks for all the comments posted in the past entries, try checking back again soon, I promise I'll have an entry up by then.

Love,
Bea

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JBE Jelly Blue Circle Lens Review

Its been such a long time since I've bought myself a pair of circle lens, but here I come with a review of the JBE Jelly Blue Circle lenses!

My lenses weren't shipped, since my sorority sis is the seller, the lenses were handed to me personally. Each pair you order comes with a free lens case.

Raising up the jars, here's how the lenses look like:

And of course, when its deposited onto the lens case: (the left one is actually overturned)

When worn:

The lens become a dark blue against my dark brown eyes. Not as bright as the photo above, which was actually fine by me because i can wear them everyday and not be bothered that people think I look like an alien.

As compared to my regular eye size:

Huge as compared to my original eye! It has a 16.0mm diameter but it doesn't come off as that imposing probably because it blends well with the original color of my eyes.

You can see the blue more in the above photo because I held up my eyes more to the light (Photo had no flash! I only used my room light.) I thought the effect was very unimposing and more on the natural side.

And finally me with the lenses on:

See? You can't even tell its blue! When I wore this, only one person noticed that my lenses are blue. Now I thought maybe it was too dark to be seen. Kind of disappointed because JBE is said to have more vibrant colors, but well not really for me.

Overall, I like the jelly blue lenses because I can wear them everyday and I had no irritations. As with all circle lenses, my eyes dry up easily but the solution to that is just getting eye drops for contacts.^^

Not really my favorite pair out of my collection (favorite remains to be the fresh grey), but these are a good buy nonetheless.

JBE Jelly Blue is available at Lailani Blancaflor's FB page HERE for only P700!

She also sells GEO and other circle lenses and transcations are easy and fast. Go buy buy!!! 

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