e.l.f. Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder: A Review

I am a big fan of bronzers and have been using it since I started to learn about make-up. Cause of my NC 40 skin, bronzers, for me, look more natural than pink or coral blushes. Every time I find my holy grail bronzer it gets discontinued (sad). I've used bronzers from Penshoppe (that I stocked up twice and when I returned to buy one more, they said the product got pulled out for re-packaging and never came back) and Max Factor's bronzer which was also discontinued.

What I don't like about bronzers is that they are often shimmery - it's as if you've taken a pack of glitters and applied it all over your face. It speeds up my oiling process since I get oily skin after 5 hours. Nevertheless, I still use shimmery bronzers as an alternative to blush. I don't contour my face as most people would do with bronzers, as I have a relatively smaller face than most people plus I don't know how to properly contour. Maybe I'm using the wrong make-up brush or I just need more practice.

Since my Max Factor bronzer is consumed, I started to look for alternatives and two products caught my eye - Body Shop's Bronzing Powder which will be featured on the next post and e.l.f.'s Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder.

Images are from Google. Will promise to take more pictures, doesn't matter if I use my phone's blurry camera or my SLR lol. This retails for more or less PHP 250.00 and can be found at local drugstores (Watson's, SM Department stores).

Colors are not as pigmented as I hoped it to be - it's much lighter in person. I can't seem to make out the colors on my skin (or is it because I am too dark?). I became oily and shiny roughly about an hour and it just didn't feel right on my skin. This is not all about criticizing e.l.f. products, but I think this particular bronzer and blush duo didn't seem to make the cut for me. I love their make-up brushes though - affordable and quality is okay.

What I really want to try is NARS Highlighting Bronzing Blush Duo in Orgasm/Laguna but it's hella expensive. You can find e.l.f.'s and NARS' review here. Side note - I've learned so much from this blogger, Karen, who is also a Pinay living in the U.S. You can click here to view Karen's blog and her reviews on other notable products.

So what happened to my e.l.f. Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder, you ask? I gave it to my office mate who's as keen on make-up as I am (she said she didn't mind even if I used it once, the important factor here is it's FREE lol).

So far I'm loving Body Shop's Bronzing Powder, but would you know any more matte bronzers that are of good quality? :)

And We're Back! @ Dasol, Pangasinan (Summer Outing # 2)

About the same time last week, my office mates and I were feeling excited on our then upcoming trip. Remember my first post? Le Boyfie and I went to Dasol, Pangasinan for some R & R. I wanted to go back and so I brought my friends with me (and of course Le Boyfie too).

Manila last week was partly cloudy with scattered rains and so I thought I wouldn't be seeing Mr. Sunshine on our trip, but it was the exact opposite. Blue skies with no hint of clouds greeted us as we arrived in the municipality of Dasol from a 6-hour bus ride. We immediately went to the wet market to buy some crabs (for brunch) and marshmallows and hot dogs for the bonfire that we are to set up.

 

 Yum! PHP 300 for 1 kilo, while in Manila it's roughly PHP 300 each (as in per crab).

 "Lapu-lapu" fresh out of the sea.

"Dilis", yummers! Cooked by Nanay Precy :)

Let's eat!

I have a couple of places that I haven't been to, so we had island hopping immediately after lunch.

From the shore, you need to swim a bit further for you to get to the swings. Swings are attached on the tree above.

Payong-payong Island. This "bahay kubo" is situated on a large rock.

Bonfire at night. Ah.. this is the life!

Lyka - a first timer on roasting marshmallows through bonfire.

 Le Boyfie, myself, officemates (Lyka, Hazel and her friend Lorraine).

The first time I went here, it was like love at first sight! This is, without a doubt, the best place for me to go to every summer. Far, yes - it took us approximately 7 hours (6 hours by bus and an hour more by boat). But good places such as these are not easy to reach, right? I told Nanay Precy that we'll surely come back next year.

Para-para-paradise  ♪ ♪ ♪

Finally It's Friday!

Well that was fast - it's Friday once again! Or was it made faster since Wednesday was a holiday? Anyhooo.. Since I was in the office 2 hours early, I decided to play with make-up and create a subtle, simple, office-appropriate eye make-up. For the past 5 years I have been watching make-up tutorials on Youtube and those make-up gurus make it seem pretty easy to apply and blend eye shadows.

I have been trying on some shadows for a couple of months and since brown is suitable for everyday eye make-up, I decided to buy one from Etude House. I have oily-combination skin (mostly oily, don't get fooled by the "combination" lol) so eye shadows tend to crease in my eye lids after 5 or so hours. To prevent creasing, I used Ellana Minerals Eye Primer.

Photo from Google. I forgot to take a picture of my own primer he he.

These are the products that I used for today's eye make-up:

 

Brown eye shadow from Etude House.

Black liquid eye liner from IN2IT.

Final look. Sorry for the quality of the photos since I only used my phone's camera. I'll upload clear photos on my next posts.

Have you noticed the brown shadow? I just placed it on the crease so it wont be as dark. The trick is to blend~ blend~ blend~ so as not to have harsh lines. I'm not into loud colors (pinks, greens, etc) but now I'm trying to experiment and see what colors would suit me best. Earth colors go well with my dark skin tone so I decided to try on brown for now plus it matches with everything. I'm planning on buying Naked Palette, the only one stopping me is the fact that it's expensive lol. And oh, the Urban Decay Primer Potion! It's a must-have for me, so maybe in a month or two I'll be sporting shadows from the Naked Palette. As of now, I'm content with this one shadow from Etude House.

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend :)

Bobbie Matte Nail Polish Top Coat and Other Things

I know a month has passed since my last post. I have so many things to write about but I just don't know how to express it. Pretty exhausting month for me, with deadlines (work-wise) and summer outings here and there, or is it because of the Manila heat?

Well anyway, to start off, I have recently discovered this amazing top coat from Bobbie which turns your glossy polishes into matte! Introducing this very affordable product that retails for PHP 34.25 and is readily available in your local drugstores (Watsons, SM Department Store, Mercury Drug).

Image from Google

Since yesterday was a holiday and I didn't go to work, my friends and I did our own nails. I had mine in blue, my two other friends had pink and turquoise.

Ombre from left to right! :)

I dunno if you could notice it but it's not as glossy as your regular polish. These photos does not do justice to my nails and looks way better in person. Matte, for me, as in nail polishes and make-up, is cleaner looking than glossy / shimmery ones.

Image from Google. LA Colors Ombre set.

On another note, since it's Summer, I've decided to slowly start my diet and get back to my normal 120 pounds. My officemate and I stocked up on some salami, wheat bread, cheese and tomatoes which we eat every lunch. 

Salami was currently in the microwave when I took a picture of my nearly done sandwich. Wheat bread and tomatoes on cheese. Yum!

After lunch, I had my usual cup of tea. Tea leaves are rarely seen in Manila, this one was bought as "pasalubong" from China.

Isn't it obvious from this post that I like the color blue? Lol

One more day to go 'til weekend. Weee~

All That Glitters!

Upon dawdling around on a mid-afternoon, I saw this tiangge / flea market on the middle of the tall office buildings one Thursday afternoon. I was looking for some cute inexpensive accessories and tops when I stumbled on some cheap but attractive nail polishes. I am not the girly type who goes for noticeable, colorful polishes but then again why not. My favorite color is aqua so I got one, and peach and tan colors as well. I also got two glittery polishes.

Looks like a Korean or Chinese brand. These could also be found at 168 Mall in Quiapo. 3 colored polishes for 100 PHP and 2 glittery polishes for 100 PHP. I spent 200 PHP for all of these - how cheap!

Peach

Aqua

Tan

On my right hand: Aqua and Peach with glitters - sorry for the not so neat application :)

On my left hand: Aqua and Tan with glitters

I usually go for colors that look natural - tans, bronzes and pale pinks. At first I felt like the blue one didn't suit my skin color but after sporting this for over a day, I could say that I really like it all along, especially the glittery ones. I ended up giving these to my sister who's keen on colorful polishes. I kept the glittery ones though - these might come in handy for lull times when I want to add color to my day. :)

The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil: A Review

We were sitting on our desks in the office when I felt a slight shake on my chair, then it progressed to what I can describe as moderate bounces. It lasted for a minute or two, the strongest and longest earthquake I have ever felt, or maybe because we were on the 9th floor that's why I felt it more than those on the ground. Even the wall clock started swaying. The epicenter was on the north of the country, about 80 or so miles from Manila. Quite far from the Metro. Provinces up north were a bit shaken, literally, as featured in tonight's news. Good thing no one was hurt, no casualties were reported and everyone's safe.

Having said that, it was still burning today, a whopping 37 degrees Celsius or almost 97 degrees Fahrenheit and the hottest reported for this year. Of course, as I have oily skin, it shows up more in this kind of heat. As mentioned in my previous post, I seldom try new products for battling zits but I was influenced by a number of blog entries from beauty gurus that I often read.

Everyday, on my lunch break, I regularly visit Beauty Bar in Eastwood Mall (the perks of having a mall beside your office, I could just go shopping everyday!). I purchased two products - a matte bronzer which would be featured in the next coming posts, and the popular Tea Tree Oil. I was swayed to buy this for at that time I had three large zits on the right side of my face.

From the name itself I thought that it is fragrant, but it has, not too strong and not too faint either, well, weird smell. As you can see from the liquid it is slightly consumed. I only used this for three days cause I noticed that I began to have small pimples on the areas that I would apply Tea Tree oil, and the bigger zits doubled, not in size though but literally doubled. It's like it gave birth. Eww. So I decided that this product doesn't work for me, even the bottle says to discontinue use if irritation occurs, and so I did. On day 3.

I'm not saying that this product won't work, cause some say Tea Tree oil became the solution to their zit problems. As for me, this didn't do the job. 

Since this happened I'm now cautious in trying products out. I read every review there is before deciding to buy a product. If anything, I just stick to what I'm used to, that is, with those that don't break me out. As in life, what doesn't work won't ever will, and every experience like this you would gain knowledge not just on your skin, but to your whole body as well. :)

My Tried and Tested Skin Care Routine

Upon checking the weather today...

Yes. It's that hot, and it's evening here. Imagine eight hours ago - It. Is. Burnin'. Tssss. Weather forecast brought to you by The Fucking Weather.

In days like these, my oiliness-is-next-to-ugliness fezz is secreting twice its sebum. So I thought of sharing my beauty regimen (?) for all those who have the same problem as I do.

I see to it that I cleanse night and day, before going to bed and when I wake up first thing in the morning. I'm not one of those who uses multiple products for washing my face. I seldom use make-up remover and I don't definitely use moisturizer cause it tends to make my face more oily on a humid country such as the Philippines.

I only use these 2 products:

Celeteque facial wash and toner.

Photos are taken from Google.

Celeteque is non-comedogenic, meaning that it does not cause break outs because they do not plug the pores of the skin. Non-comedogenic doesn't guarantee an acne-free skin for some products have this in their labels. It really is based on your skin type.

I'm not promoting Celeteque, this is just one product that my skin loves for some reason. I've tried a couple of products but my face doesn't seem to like it when I experiment on different brands. Ponds, Clean and Clear, Eskinol, Neutrogena and even Cetaphil - all seem to be too harsh on my skin as I had breakouts in a matter of days. When I found Celeteque, it was love at first sight. My friend introduced it to me back in college and 5 years have passed and I still use it every day.

Since I experienced breakouts from trying different products, I just stick to what my skin feels most comfortable with and I hardly ever test other brands (though I've recently purchased a product which every blogger has raved about, will talk about it on my next post).

I have oily and acne-prone skin, so to those who have the same dilemma as me, here are some pointers to battle looking like a frying pan ready to cook on in this summer heat:

1. Wash your face regularly. Not too frequent though as your face might dry up and become flaky, and also not to impede your skin in secreting its natural oils.

2. Drink lots of water. I'm guilty of this as I don't finish my 8-10 glasses everyday but at least now I'm trying. Water keeps your skin hydrated.

3. Don't sleep with make-up on. Make-up could clog your pores, thus resulting to acne.

4. Don't constantly change products (make-up wise and even facial washes). Not all products are compatible with acne-prone skin like I have, so just stick with what you're used to. Experimenting on different products will not only break you out but also aggravate your pimples.

5. Never ever pop your pimples. It'll leave marks on your face, and some marks are even accentuated by wearing make-up. Concealing will make it show more.

6. Don't eat too much junk food. As they say, "You are what you eat.". If you eat junk, then it'll reflect on your skin.

7. Sleep. I worked on night shift for almost 2 years, and it has taken a toll on my skin. My face was all blotchy and red, and no matter what I do, zits couldn't seem to stay away. I tend to drink too much coffee or  eat more than the usual just to stay awake at work. When I switched to working on a regular schedule, that is, on the day shift, I observed that my skin became clearer. Sleeping at night is way more better than sleeping in the day.

I'm not an expert or a make-up guru, I only found these out through experience. I hope this post has been helpful. :)