January Haul

I know I've been away for so long and no amount of apologies will ever suffice. It's just so hard to keep your blog updated when your hands are overflowing with things to do. But thank you all so much for leaving me comments and messages on my chatbox and for sending emails. I'll try to reply to all of them as soon as I can. For the meantime, I'd like to share with you the things that I've purchased this past month. Bear in mind, however, that my reason for posting my [monthly] hauls is not to brag about my purchases but to keep track of my spending because it was while I was taking photos of my purchases that I realized that doing so helps me keep track of my expenses and control my spending.

These were purchased together with the hot pink lipstick and the romantic beauty stand, both of which I forgot to take photos of. Etude House nail polishes are among the must try's of the brand. They're relatively cheap, have excellent pigmentation, and never goopy. Oh, and excuse my dirty brush. I realized how dirty it was after the photo was taken. It went straight to my bathroom counter after this.

I bought these Revlon Colorstay Mineral lipglazes the moment I saw them selling for Php350 (around $) 7on Ebay (mall price is Php520 [around $11], I believe). I love these and I want to collect all the shades. I also got a tube of one of my favorite mascaras, L'Oreal Voluminous, coz my two other tubes have already dried up. I was so glad to see someone selling this mascara on Ebay coz L'Oreal Philippines does not carry this line. I always have to ask my beloved to get it for me in the US. The Covergirl Lashblast, on the other hand, was purchased coz I'm a sucker for volumizing/thickening mascaras. The two shimmer cremes on the upper left were freebies from the seller.

Since purchasing waterproof mascaras in December, I've always felt the need to get a bottle of makeup remover especially made to remove waterproof makeup. Thank God for this cheap yet effective gentle makeup remover from L'Oreal.

I bought the sponges and brush cleanser at the Suesh booth at the Rockwell bazaar sometime last month.

This is one of my most exciting [and expensive] purchases for January. This roll unfolds to reveal...

...a 30pc brush set from Dashe Cosmetics! While some find Php3000 (around $66) pricey, this 30pc brush set is still way cheaper compared to MAC brushes which are priced at $20-$30 each.

This nose contouring brush is one of my favorites from the set.

Bare Naturals is one of my most well-loved mineral makeup companies; their products always impress me.

Please don't ask me why I got another brush set. I know I have way too many brushes (I own all of the brush sets that BN sells) but I just felt like I had to get BN's deluxe brush set because of their gold handles. They look so classy! By the way, the mineral bronzer (the one with the black lid) and the Natural Pink Lip and Nipple Gel along with the sample size soap and other samples in makeup baggies are all freebies.

I don't really use moisturizers (I'm tooooo lazy), but I signed up on the J&J website and got this set for free.

Been wanting these pencils since forever, so when I saw the set on Ebay, I immediately placed my bid until I won. I may have paid more (almost $10) but I think it's worth it. I love Urban Decay 24/7 glide on pencils.

I got the Himalaya's face packs because of the raves I've been reading about them. They may not smell that pleasant, but they work well. The pimple gel from Eskinol is just an experiment.

Here's what I got for my beloved. He's been eyeing this since we saw it at The Fort. He didn't buy it then (coz I told him not to), coz I had plans of getting it for his birthday. He's so stoked to have this; he wears it only on special occasions.

And his birthday cake :)

These may not be a lot for many others, but I feel like I've bought so much more than what I need. I have enough makeup to last me a forever, but it's so hard to pass up good deals on some items you've always wanted to have. Besides, it's such an eye candy when you see your collection growing.

Thanks for stopping by beautiful ladies. Have a good night sleep.

FOTD: Pretty in Pink

On my last visit to Etude House (I haven't been there since the first week of January), I picked up the duo fiber brush which I had reserved late December. Of course, I stayed a wee bit longer and looked around for other things that I can throw into my cutesy shopping basket. Aside from the duo fiber brush, I also threw in a Romantic Beauty Brush, two bottles of Petite Darling nail polishes, two bottles of Dear Darling nail polishes, and a Petite Darling Lipstick. After paying for everything, I rushed home to nurse my feverish beloved and to look into my cutesy shopping bag to admire the items that I got only to find out that I have the wrong lipstick shade! I originally wanted to get the shade BR302, but since I had so much difficulty looking for the shade in the counter, I had an SA assist me. When I was handed a tube of lipstick, I threw it into my basket without even checking if it was in the shade that I wanted. So when I opened the tube at home, I was appalled by a shocking pick hue! I felt frustrated and disappointed and immediately wanted to go back and have it exchanged for what I had asked for. But time wasn't on my side as I still had to go to work. Besides, I was feeling a bit lazy to go back to return the item. So I kept it and thought of playing and experimenting with it when I get the time to. Luckily, the perfect time came.

Since office clothes can be a bit boring (especially for someone as young as I am), I always spice up my outfits by accessorizing and by wearing makeup. Though I normally match my eye makeup with my outfits, I thought of doing something different for a meeting at work. So while getting ready, I looked into my lipstick stash and searched for a nice shade to compliment and brighten my usual black-and-white combo. That's when I picked up the cute little pick tube and a light bulb lit up.

Since the shade is a shocking pink, I opted for something light to balance out the entire look and to let my puckers be the center of attention. Who knew I'd have use for something this scandalous?


I wasn't really planning on curling my hair that day but I did coz I had enough time to kill.

And of course, some eye shots.

On Eyes
ELF Mineral Primer (on my left eye)
Etude House Proof 10 Eye primer (on my right eye)
Bon Bons Creme Shimmer used as base (got as a freebie)
Too Faced Boy Toy
Too Faced Glamazon
Too Faced Party Girl
Too Faced Milk Chocolate
Maybelline Eye Studio Liner in Violet
Urban Decay Ecstasy
Urban Decay YDK
Urban Decay Sellout
Covergirl Lashblast Waterproof Mascara
L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara
L'Oreal Telescopic Clean Definition Mascara

Do you wear bright colored puckers? I don't usually do, but I think the overall look wasn't so bad.

NOTW: Bling It On!

Do you dig chunky, blingy accessories? If your answer is YES, then allow me to dare you to put some bling onto your nails with Etude House's Dear Darling Nail Polish in #34. Its got loads of chunky glitter enough to dazzle [and blind] you and your peepers with or without the spotlight hitting your nails! But the thing that I like most about this glitter-bomb is the fact that it's not all glitter-madness. The polish itself is pigmented, so much that bottle color can be achieved with one [thick] coat. But you wouldn't want to do it that way for sure, so two coats is still the way to go.

(excuse the mess around the nails. wasn't able to clean them up well.)

Dare to shine and dazzle in some glittery goodness!

In The Spotlight: Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer

In a country like ours, primers are a must. These serve as a base for our makeup, enhance the vibrancy of the colors, and prevent makeup meltdown. These are just some of the many reasons why I always itch to try primers from different brands even if I already have more than enough primers for my personal use and occasional invites to do other people's makeups.

At the moment, I have about five (5) eyeshadow primers in my stash: UDPP, ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer, Smashbox Photofinish Lid Primer, TFSI and Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer. While I've never bothered myself to review UDPP, TFSI, ELF and Smashbox, I feel that Etude House's eyeshadow primer needs a bit of an introduction.

Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer

What the label says
Proof 10 Eye primer supplies coverage to eyelids and around the eyes to enhance eye shadow color and integrity for a longer lasting Perfect 10 look.

The applicator

How the primer looks like

EH Proof 10 Eye Primer is almost identical to UDPP, except that EH is a bit more liquid compared to UDPP and even TFSI. For a fraction of the price, I'll most certainly pick up EH Proof 10 Eye Primer over UDPP. On the other hand, the mineral eye primer from ELF remains to be my top eye primer of all time (unless I find an eye primer that can beat ELF). I mean, honestly, do I have to shell out $17 for a "[semi] high end" primer when a $3 drugstore eye primer can do the same job just as good as the expensive ones? I think not.

Yay!

• Price. It's pretty cheap at Php298 (around $6).
• It evens out the discolorations on our lids.
  
• It makes eye shadows appear more vibrant and last longer on the lids.
  

Nay!

• It dries a little too fast. You have to spread and blend the primer as soon as it touches your lids. This isn't a biggie, though.
  

In Betweens...

• Packaging. While the packaging appears to be cute, it's somehow reminiscent of Urban Decay's annoyingly packaged genie-in-a-bottle. I wonder how I'll be able to get the last drop of this primer. Break it perhaps? And what's with the handle? It gets dirty so easily! I guess the only good thing I can say about the packaging is that it allows you to see how much product you have left. Other than that, I have no other qualms about the it.

To show how well Etude House's Proof 10 Eye Primer delivers, I decided to take eye shots of my eye makeup for two consecutive days (NOTE: I've been road-testing this primer for two weeks).

My daily routine is: When my beloved doesn't take me to work, I walk a distance of about a kilometer or so, under the sun, carrying about 5lbs of weight; therefore, I sweat.

EDIT: For all the eye shots, I used UDPP on my left eye (your right), and EH Proof 10 Eye Primer on my right eye (your left). See any difference?

After application. Taken by the window around noon.

After 13hours. Taken in the bathroom, with flash, under yellow lighting.

After application. Taken by the window around noon.

After 13hours. Taken in the bathroom, with flash, under yellow lighting.

As you can see, my eye makeup did not crease nor fade even after 13hours of wear. What you are mistaking as proof of fading is the flash of the camera. Also, I think the difference in the lighting somehow affects the colors' appearance/vibrancy in the photos.

What do you think about Etude House's eye shadow primer? For me, it's at par with UDPP, Smashbox and ELF (why not TFSI? Because TFSI makes my eye shadows crease and fade). But since ELF's mineral eye primer is just half the price of EH, I'll probably stock up more on ELF. Sorry EH.

Others have sold/given away their UDPPs and TFSIs because of EH's Proof 10 Eye Primer. Will you ditch your beloved UDPP, too? I would, and I have!

NOTW: Etude House in BL009

Etude House is slowly climbing up the list of my favorite brands for the quality and affordability of their products. So far, I haven't really been disappointed with the ones that I've tried. Their eye primer (bye bye UDPP!), nude lip concealer, lip glosses, and highlighter are slowly becoming staples in my makeup stash. Their nailpolishes, which are priced at Php48 and Php198, make quite a good deal especially if you'd consider the prices at which most imported nail polishes are sold in the country (think Essie, Orly, The Face Shop, Skinfood, etc).

Below is a picture of my left hand dressed in a beautiful teal hue (it looks blue in the photo but it's appears to be a darker teal hue in person) courtesy of Etude House. This particular nail polish shade in BL009 achieves bottle color in just one coat. It's neither streaky nor goopy. It dries very quickly and is very long lasting. I've had this color on my nails for a good 9days and it hasn't chipped one bit. No signs of wearing off, either.


Edit: This nail polish is from Etude House's Dear Darling Nails line and is priced at Php198.

This nail polish is definitely a winner. The pigmentation, longevity, smoothness and undeniably gorgeous packaging of this nail polish will surely blow you away. I know I was and I still am. My eyes are forever glued on my hands.

Needless to say, I'll be heading back to Etude House to sample more of their nail polishes.

Have you tried their nail polishes? What's your favorite nail polish brand? Let me know!

Ah... Etude House!

As soon as I read posts about the opening of the first Etude House branch in the Philippines, I knew I had to pay that cute little store a visit. I could have done so before the 25th, but the heavy traffic (especially in the Ortigas Area) and sea of people flocking malls put me off for a while. And so after all the holiday rush (and after doing Ynez' makeup), I headed to Megamall and began my search for Etude House. It isn't that hard to spot if Megamall's your turf, but in my case, I got lost a wee bit before spotting the store.

On my first visit to Etude House, I spent only about 10minutes or less inside the store as I still had to meet my beloved and his mother in Mega B before rushing to work. I could've picked up more than a Secret Beam Highlighter, Top 10 lipgloss and Dear Darling Lipgloss (these three items got me a free Code B Eyelash Curler) that day, but I didn't have enough time to look around and search for a good find. After admiring the gorgeous packaging and after being stunned by how inexpensive their products are, I promised to go back to Etude House to search for the items that have been getting so much raves and recommendations over the internet. I was supposed to go back on Tuesday, but my beloved asked if I could put it off to the morrow so he and I could have dinner together. I, of course, obliged. To tell you frankly, I've been itching to go back to Etude House since my first visit and well, I did...yesterday. What did I pick up the second time? A Black Head Heating Scrub, Black Head Off Finger Tip Silicon, Nude Lip Concealer, Proof 10 Eye Primer and a nail polish. Shopping blunder: I picked up the tester bottle of the nail polish in my frenzy. Haha! This gives me a reason to go back to Etude House to return the tester and well... pick up a few more items!

My haul (from my first and second visits)

Apart from spotting and picking up great products at Etude House last night, I spotted two pretty girls: our resident Kikay Pinay, Shen, and the lovely Korean SA, Sarah. I first saw Shen two Tuesdays ago while I was doing a bit of shopping at SM Hypermart (again, before work). I wanted to say a quick hello but I was in a rush as I had a meeting to attend at 2:30. Weeks passed and what do you know, I bumped into her in Etude House! I greeted her and she almost instantly recognized who I was. Cool eh?

Ahhh... Shen is lovely even without makeup. She also seems like the perfect shopping buddy! I recommended a few items to her: the Nude Lip Concealer, Proof 10 Eye Primer, Black Head Heating Scrub and Black Head Off Finger Tip Silicon, all of which she put in her shopping basket. Who knew I could enable the Kikay Pinay to purchase these?

Anyway, here's the doll-like SA, Sarah.

Me with Sarah (I look harassed. hehe)

Sarah with Shen

It was such a pleasure meeting you, Shen. Too bad I couldn't stay long. I hope we could go on a shopping date one of these days. Till then, see you on blogger.

5hours and 12minutes to go till 2010! Wooooooohoooooooooooooooo!