Smashbox Brown Eyes Palette

With my job, I have not been able to blog that much lately as days have just flown so so fast, but I have yet to throw in the towel. I shall still prevail on giving another review for you. This time, I take on te Smashbox Brown Eyes Palette which also came with the box that was given to us.

As I am actually aiming to get the Urban Decay Naked Palette, I don't mind having been given this palette as it has actually taken to my liking. It doesn't have that many shades as the UDNP but it does serve as giving two basic looks merely Brown Eyes Soft Eyes and Brown Eyes Mokey Eyes. It is also perfect for obviously, brown eyes, as it really makes the brown come alive.

Here is the packaging.

 In this photo you can get a better look at the colors that are being offered, namely: Vanilla (matte) , Brazillian Bronze, Navy (matte) , Marble, Wine and Bark. I won't do swatches really as you can see them all over the internet.

You can see in this photo that the palette itself is sleek and simple.

The palette as it looks like when open. The mirror is fantastic. It's large enough for you to see most of your face.

The brush that comes with the palette is soft. It's actually nice to the touch and usable.

Bigger part of the brush.

 

The smaller brush.

And I saved the best for last. At the bottom of the palette there is a guide on how to achieve the Brown Eyes Soft Look and Brown Eyes Smokey. It is perfect for beginners! :)

I made a look out of this palette.

 

Pros

The packaging is nice and handy.

Mirror is large for a pocket sized makeup palette.

The fact that there os a guide that comes along.

Good brush.

Pigmented eyeshadows.

 

Cons

 Can't think of any really.

Verdict

I'm so in love with this palette so I assume I'll buy this in the nearest future.

4/5

If you have this too or you've tried it before, give me your opinions below! :)

Peter Thomas Roth

Pardon me, I have been quite busy for the last couple of days due to keeping tabs on FCI International Dog Show. I took quite a lot of pictures for the Labrador Retriever entries. Now magine this single picture x50 that I have to edit among all the others things I do. Que horror, but I'm fine. I totally enjoyed it.

Sample:

 I'm still not over the products that I got from the box we recieved. Here are some other items that I got. I got other samples from Shampoo to Lotion. These are indeed handy items. There have been so many instances wherein I go on travels and forget my toiletries so I tend to buy items I don't really need. Hence I'm so happy I have so many of these. :)

 Peter Thomas Roth Shampoo

 

This shampoo is enriched with Biotin B-7 Complex and Vitamins C, E & Pro Vitamin B5 which I think is really great for your hair. 

 

Pros

Smells great because it has that organic/spa scent to it.

 I am and always will be a sucker for a good scent.

 This made my hair really shiny.

I like the packaging and it looks nice.

Cons 

Makes my hair dry if I use it too much.

It doesn't lather a lot and personally I like to work it up so I can really feel I have shampoo in my hair.

 

Verdict

I got the hotel mini kit so I can't really say anything about the price but if you buy it, it's gonna be more on the expensive side. By all means, give it a shot if you want a product that works and smells great at the same time.

Peter Thomas Mega-Rich Conditioner

This conditioner has  Biotin B-7 Complex while Vitamins C, E and Pro Vitamin B5 like the shampoo version. Guess one can never get enough, right? :)

Pros

I do like the spa scent that it brings as during the day I can still smell it on my hair.

Leaves my hair smelling fantastic.

Makes my hair shiny.

Cons

Doesn't lather up that much too.

I tend to use more product so I know I'm using enough.

Verdict

A good smelling product worth trying.

 Peter Thomas Roth Mega - Rich Body Lotion

As the previous products, this one is also enriched and it containc Vitamin C, E & Pro Vitamin B

These are the ingredients:

Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides, Stearic Acid, Isopropyl Myristate, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Dimethicone, PPG-3 Myristyl Ether, Polysorbate 60, Peg-100 Stearate, Ascorbic Acid, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Fragrance (Parfum), Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Bht, Phenoxyethanol, Tetrasodium Edta, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Pinus Sylvestris Cone Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile) Flower Extract, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Citronellol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal.

Pros

 Again, the smell is really something that catches my.... hmmm... sense of smell. I really do like the scent as it reminds me about the spa and relaxation.

Leaves my skin soft.

Cons

It is a bit runny. I thought it would be thicker.

Verdict

I'd love to actually buy this product so I can bring it wherever I want.

There you go. I hope we see each other again soon! 

Bath & Body Works PocketBacs!

(continuation from the previous post)

 

I asked for one hand gel only but I got four. Yay :) I'm such a sucker for alcohol and scents in general. I never leave the house without bringing one in my bag. Other than that, I'm a sucker for anything that smells good. So when you combine alcohol and a good scent it leaves a product I'd love to use!

You can see on the pictures what the scents are but I'll state them here:

Sweet Pea (floral scented)

Fresh picked (fresh apples)

Caribbean Escape (coconut)

Aqua Blossom (blend of honey, coconut milk, olive fruit and mango fruit extract)

My favorite scent is the Aqua Blossom. It smells so good. Okay fine, I've been sniffing this for like a minute now and I've used it a couple of times while typing. Have to hide it now. LOL

Which one is your favorite?

It's all about Clarins

I got these samples from the my previous post Thou shall recieve (think haul but x10) and it's going to take me lightyears until I finish doing reviews about all the products. I'm so happy though. Haha

Here is a summary of the products based upon my oily combination skin:

One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser with Orange Extract

I used this and it smells good. It doesn't exfoliate as much as the other exfoliators that I have used but its pretty decent. It also doesn't make my skin go haywire on me. All in all it has a good effect for me. I do think this goes well for me as my skin is hardcore. Haha It might have a different reaction on someone else so try an ample size first.

Extra-Firming Tightening Lift Botanical Serum

I used it a few times and it does make my skin a bit firmer than usual. I didn't break out in this aswell. It made my skin smooth.

Intensive Brightening mask

You may call me crazy, but it did feel that it brightened my face the first time I used it. I think I would have to try it for at least a week to see better results.

Beauty Flash Balm

This to me is like a face primer. It makes the foundation blend easily and you get a dewy kind of application. 

Would you purchase?

Yes, I believe so as it made my skin very smooth and more healthy. I was very much pleased.

Has anyone else used these products? What was your reaction? Do share your thoughts by dropping a line or two below. :)

Pond's Love yourself month!

Wanna get a chance to win some spa pampering and a date with your special someone? Get your best writing skills together and enter the contest by following the below guidelines:

You may go to the Facebook site Pond's Philippines and enter the contest here.

It doesn't cost much to enter, so what are you lovebirds waiting for? Go tell them how you love yourself.

Thou shall recieve (think haul but x10)

So yesterday, we got our box from mommy Larraine and Alaine in the states. Let me show you what it contained. I was so surprised everything fit in there. :D I'm not gonna go through everything that was included, but I'll cover the health and beauty stuffs over a few posts or else it will be too much for one read.

Here is the stash ever! If you want to have a closer look, just click on the picture.

So, to the health and beauty stuff and I'll choose this one as my first review as it was a birthday present from mommy Larraine. It's my favorite all time perfume, Daisy by Marc Jacobs. :) Yay :)

 It's one of those you can escape to when you want a daily fragrance that doesn't overpower you. In my words, it's just perfect. It smells like fainted flowers. The packaging is so cute that it's lovely to have on display. It lasts the whole day. Trust me, I always feel like I don't smell the perfume but others do even if you don't.

Pros

It smells just perfect and fits for a day to day basis. It lasts practically the whole day. The outer packaging is cute. The perfume itself is a pleasure to look at and it looks good to have on display.

Cons

Others have mentioned that they feel that the scent doesn't last so long. This is correct and incorrect at the same time. The scent is there, but you have gotten so used to it that you can't smell it anymore. Ask others, they will tell you.

Verdict

I love it! Do get it if you like light scented floral perfumes. I'm so grateful I got this and in 125ml too!

See you guys tomorrow!

Bringing the Spa home

Sometimes, I enjoy taking the spa home instead of going out to do so. I know I'm not only speaking for myself when I say that sometimes we all need to pamper ourselves, so why not just do it at home (less the stress)? I do go to the spa when I feel I need to but there are times I just wanna be at home.

Here is my "spa kit" whom I assume everyone can also do for themselves as it doesn't cost an arm anyways. :)

Here are two items that weren't visible in the first picture.

It may seem like a lot, but it isn't.

Hair

 Watsons Smoothing Treatment Wax Yoghurt

I leave this on for about 15-20 minutes. I bought two of these last November because they were only buy one take one. The effect isn't so bad either. It made my hair shinier.

Skin

glam Works Nourishing Body Scrub 

or 

The Body Shop Mango Sugar Scrub (The latter makes your skin feel really soft and smooth.)

Mango Body Butter (DIVINE)

 1. Scrub skin with a Bath Glove with a skin scrub.. I just use any that isn't soft but a bit hard so it really scrubs and exfoliates the skin.

 2.  I use the shower gel so that it leaves my skin smelling so good. I do recommend it strongly!

 3.Last I put on lotion and sunscreen of course.

Feet

I don't have a specific one since the cover has already peeled off, but I do suggest to use mentholated products as they leave your feet smelling and they feel rather cool (in a good way that is ;)

1. Soak your feet in lukewarm to warm water for about 20-30 minutes because you want them to be soft enough to be able to scrub off the calleuses. Add a few drops of foot soak in the water. Make sure to have a towel nearby for safety)

2. Scrub your feet with a foot scrub or a pumice stone. Get rid of all of the calleuses.

3. Dry your feet. Lather your feet with lotion and a foot spray.

Hands

Scrub your hands and wait with the lotion.

Do your usual mani/pedi process.

Then lather on lotion. For very dry hands, I suggest you use petroleum Jelly overnight. This really works because when you wake up in the morning, your hands and feet will be soft. Add socks on so your feet won't be slippery in the morning.

Whew! I know, I know. My post this time was uber long, but hey, I felt a lot better after I finished everything myself. You don't need to do all of this everyday, but when you really feel like it. :) It's strongly recommended on days when you feel like a total mess. A little home spa pampering is all we need. ;)

A little bit of Pinup

Sometimes one just wants to give an everyday look a little spice to make things a bit more exciting than the usual stuff. So I take on the Pinup look.

I'm just gonna give a short summarization of how to achieve this look. This is based on how I put my makeup but I'm just an amateur MUA though.

For some reason this picture turned out very pink. lol

These are the items I used:

Pro Flawless Nichido Liquid Foundation

Maybelline Clear Smooth Powder Foundation

e.l.f. Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder

Etude House Eyebrow Pencil

Etude House Eyelash Curler

Maybelline Magnum Volum Express

Ever Bilena Eyeliner Pencil (better with liquid if you don't want it to smudge)

Careline White Translucent powder (highlight the eyebrows)

Urban Decay Potion Primer

Nivea Lipcare Strawberry (I like to put this on before the red lipstick)

Ever Bilena Red Lipstick

• Start with layering on your foundation.
• Brush on your Powder foundation, make sure all is covered.
• Countour the jawline, temple and nose bridge (this is to make your face appear smaller)
• Add the primer to your eyelids (so it can dry before adding anything else)
• Add eyeliner and follow the edge of your eyelids.
• Curl your eyelashes and add on the mascara. (x3, wait for each layer to dry before adding the others)
• Add a nude colored eyeshadow.
• Draw your eyebrows and fill in the spaces and brush them afterwards. Use a clear mascara to keep the strands at bay.
• Use a lipcare like for example Nivea and then add the lipstick so your lips stay moisturized. 

 

 

Voila Pin up look! :)

 

Beauty Wishlist of 2013

Many, many bloggers have already posted their own list of what they would like to add to their beauty kits. I get so giddy of browsing though thousands and most probably millions of products that are available out there. So finally, I've come up with my own list. :)

No. 1: MAC 187 Duo Fibre Brush, $42

 Which comes off at about Php 1700. Locally, it's worth a whopping Php 2800. Say what?? But still, this is a good brush and the Mac brushes can last for 10-15 years based upon how you take care of them. This one in particular gives you a flawless foundation application. Now who doesn't want that. ;)

Source: Total Beauty

No. 2: Urban Decay Naked 1&2 Palette.

 It's been the talk of the town among beautyholics for the last 2 years. I think it's about time that I add this to my stash too. I've heard that the eyeshadows are very much pigmented and long lasting especially when you use the Urban Decay Primer Potion too. Excited. :) 

UPDATE: Urban Decay online shop is for sale at less 20% off on your entire amount. Gawd.

 

Source: Temptalia 

No. 3: Clinique 3-Step System: Exfoliating Scrub, Acne Solutions Spot Gel, Turnaround Concentrate Radiance Renewer.

The reason why I want absolutely these items is because lately I've been having breakouts on my forehead. I've tried their products before, but my skin lately has been going against me for some reason. I dropped by the Clinique site and took a skincare test for items that would suit my skin the best and voila! You can also take it here.

No. 4: BH Cosmetics 120 Eyeshadow Palette 4th Edition

These eyeshadows have gotten mixed reviews because of the bad and good qualities, BUT with the right eye primer, the eyeshadows last longer and don't crease that much. Thank goodness I have the Urban Decay Primer Potion. :D I really want this set since I'm only a beginner and I'd love to have all of the colors available at hand so I can experiment. 

No. 5: Josie Maran 100 % Pure Argan Oil

This is THE product I really wanna try as several people really can testify that it really works. I checked this link Josie Maran Cosmetics and it states that "Historically, Argan oil has been used to treat acne, stretch marks and skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis!". I even checked their Argan Beauty page and it sounds indeed that it is a wonder product. I'm not sure if it's available locally, but I'd love to test it out!

 I've told you about my favorite products for this year (so far, that is). What are your products that you'd like to try? Have you tried these products already? Gimme your feedback. :)

Etude House: Mini haul

Last December, I wanted to check out Etude House since I've been reading several blogs doing good reviews of the brand and it has been well recieved. It just made sense to me because it originated in Korea where skincare is very important. This peaked my curiousity even more. I so wanted to try their products!

As I entered the store, I was taken aback at how "girly" the store was and it looked as if I had entered a little girls room. I have no problem with that, it's just that on a general note, I tend to gear towards more mature looking items like e.l.f. or mac. On the contrary though, I was very much satisfied with the majority of the items I bought.

L - R: EH Eye Brow Pencil no 2, EH Precious Minerals Sun BB Cream, EH Eyelash curler, EH Greentea Nose Pack

I won't be doing a review on the BB Cream as it was the first product that I reviewed.

First off is the Eyelash Curler. It is pretty much a standard eyelash curler. There is no imprinted "Etude House" on the curler. The handles are quite cute because of the pink handles. I was trying to resist them, but I finally gave in. Haha

Eyelash Curler 

Pros:

The shape fit my eyeshape. Managed to curl my eyelashes well. Pink might not be for everyone, but it really catched my eye somehow.

Cons:

At first it actually didn't curl my eyelashes. It might have been because of the rubber being so hard. After a few tries though, it did indeed curl my eyelashes.

Price was only Php 90. It might be a bit expensive than other more affordable curlers but if you like the pink, then go for it.

Below are better close up of the curler.

Eyebrow Pencil

Pros:

The color suited me well. It looks natural and it stays eventhough I'm sweating when I'm outside. I like the brush it comes with. Enough product to last me a few months.

Cons:

I can't think of any.

It cost only Php 128.

Here is the Eyebrow Pencil. I have read that this is the better eyebrow pencil that they have because it lasts longer than the retractable. I tried to use it in the store but it seemed so fragile that it could break so I chose this one instead. The color suited my hair and eye color.

 This baby has to be sharpened but that's not a problem.

As you can see, I've already used it a couple of times. The brush seems a bit hard though. You might still have to use a spoolie brush.

Here is a picture of me without the eyebrow pencil and the eyelash curler. Oops, looks like I need to get my eyebrows waxed. :)

I've used both the products here. My eyelashes naturally faces downwards but whenever I use a curler, they tend to stay up.

Nose Strip Green Tea Pack

I wasn't able to take a picture of the Nose strip, but it looked just like other nose strip but it had this funky green tea smell. It might be too smelly for some. It was colored green.  

 

Pros:

The color green is kinda refreshing. It is supposed to deep cleanse.

Cons:

I'm not a fan of the Green Tea smell and for me, it didn't remove most of my blackheads. It only removed the smallest possible blackheads.

Will not repurchase though because it didn't suit me.

So there you go, hope this review was able to be of service. Do leave your comments of your experiences with the items. We all have different opinions. :)