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Venus and Mars Smooch Lip Butter Balm: aka "Lip Detox""

Have you ever experienced having really dry chapped lips and because of it, you dread wearing lipstick or lip gloss because it will show the peeling and chapping?? I have and it's a phase I never want to return to. I tried using Carmex and good old petroleum jelly which works nicely but I find that when I miss putting it on at night, my lips would be drier than ever the next day! It's really frustrating.


But then, I bumped into a thread in a forum (Istorya.net) that I'm following where girls, living locally, swear over V&M's Smooch Lip Butter Balm and they also mentioned that it whitens darkened lips, which I have, so I knew I had to try it for myself. Luckily, there's a seller here in Cebu and I got mine without paying for shipping fees!

A week into the lip detox, and I've realized that I can't go on living without this lip balm! It's very moisturizing and has a nice icy peppermint feel after swiping it on. I can't say that my lips have grown lighter since I wasn't able to snap a photo before starting the detox process but I have noticed that lipstick colors are more pronounced and noticeable on my lips. 

The Venus and Mars Lip Detox is a keeper!


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Almay: Truly Lasting Color Pressed Powder

Last summer, I was looking for a pressed powder to replace my Skinfood Cucumber and Lettuce powder (see review here.) which was too light for my skin. I can not stress enough that it's hard to find a shade that fits my dark morena skin and although Revlon and L'oreal both have a good collection of shades for face powders, they just won't fit my budget (that is when I'm sane. But when there's a sale, I hoard, so it doesn't help much). 


Luckily, while on an online shopping spree I found they had stocks of Almay TLC Pressed Powder in medium. I had read great reviews of this powder in MakeupAlley so I went and ahead and got myself one. And boy how wrong was I to get only one. I should have bought tons! LOL. I fell so deeply in love with this face powder that I forgot about Skinfood in an instant. 

The shade matches my skin. It's offers light to medium coverage and it's buildable. It lasts for the entire day -- except when I'm at work where I have to wear a surgical mask most of the time. I do hate that the powder sticks on the mask but I guess pressed powders do that.

What I don't like about this is that there's not much of the product in the compact and when you use it everyday (like me), you'll find that it will easily run out. 

I need to start looking for a supplier ASAP! 

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Extremely Huge Makeup Haul!


I was makeup shopping online and I got *tiny bit* overboard with adding things on my shopping cart that I didn't realize I had ordered this much!


I got lots of stuff like these Nyx Single Eyeshadows, 


powder blushes,


round lipgloss and lipstick were among the lot.

Haven't tried them all yet and to be sure, it's gonna take some time to do reviews for all of these! 



I swear, I won't shop online again. Again! *crossing my finger behind my back*







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Airbrush Legs by Sally Hansen

The bane of my life has been to wear short shorts and mini skirts in public! And I can't help but wear those leg-revealing outfits sometimes because pants are way too boring to wear everyday. Anyway, when I do wear shorts or skirts, I'm always self-conscious of my dark knees and a few scars that I got when I was a kid so I end up being uncomfortable in the clothes I am in. So when I attended a wedding a couple of months back, I dreaded the day -- not because I didn't like the bride or the groom -- but I knew I had to wear a short dress in midday.

Thankfully, I found a solution to my cosmetic problem -- Sally Hansen's Airbrush Legs. I swear it's a miracle in a bottle! It evened out my leg's skin tone and covered the imperfections that I've been trying to hide for ages. I have this in tanned glow and it's perfect for my morena skin. Although it is quite expensive but the bottle lasts for a long time and you don't really have to use a lot of the product to produce results.

I am so keeping my Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs! =)


**just a thought. you might be wondering why my photos mostly have the same background. That's my bed sheet. I'm taking photos on my bed. LOL.

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Marionnaud Premium Makeup Brushes: N8 Pointed Eyeshadow Brush and Retractable Lipliner Brush

My makeup brush collection is quite lacking when it comes to eyeshadow brushes so when I bumped into Marionnaud's stand at Watsons and found their Pointed Eyeshadow Brush, I knew I had to get one!

I have noticed their brushes before but I never paid much attention to them because it didn't seem to be made of quality materials at first glance. However, recently they came out with Marionnaud Premium brushes that look way better than their old ones.


The brush is really nice! I tried it immediately when I got home -- after cleaning it of course. The brush fibers are soft and doesn't hurt the eyelids at all which is great. It's excellent for use on the crease of the eyelids and it also holds eyeshadow pigment very well. The handle has a luxurious rubbery feel to it compared to other makeup brushes of the same price that are made of cheap plastic.


I also bought the lipliner brush coz I don't have one yet and I've been having trouble applying my favorite red lipstick from Styli-Style.

Overall, I love these two makeup brushes and I'm planning to buy the rest of the lot -- one at a time though, I still have other expenses to worry about.




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Now Reviewing: Skinfood Products!

I first heard about BB Creams back in 2009 in some makeup blog (i forgot the name). I was really curious as to what it was so I searched for it online and found that it's very popular in Korea and other Asian countries unfortunately it hadn't broken into the Philippine cosmetic market yet. Luckily though, Skinfood had a shop in a mall here in Cebu and I was so happy to try their Aloe Sun BB Cream and I have been hooked ever since.

Here's another almost empty tube. NNNOOOOO!!!

I love this BB Cream. It goes on nice and smooth on my skin and lasts all throughout my 8-hour shift and even after work. I have oily skin so I was worried that it would make my face oily as a frying pan but it didn't. Although, I patted on a bit of powder on my T-zone. 

One thing that I don't like about this is that it only has two shades. #1 has yellow undertones while #2 has pink undertones. I have #1 but it's a tad bit too light for me but it's not really noticeable so I guess it's ok.





After getting such great results from their BB Cream, I also bought the Lettuce and Cucumber Mild Two Way Cake. It's also nice but still a little too light. It's designed for Korean skin so what can I do? I'm a tanned Filipina.

Another Skin Food Product that I have is the Peach Sake Pore Serum. I have big pores so I was looking for something that could lessen its size and make it less noticeable so I tried this. It was great for a while and it didn't make my skin oily however it broke me out. Too bad though. I stopped using this for a couple of weeks and tried it again but I broke out so I had to stop. The bottle's still more than half full so it's gonna be a waste. *sigh*


Overall, I love Skin Food Products. Their great for the skin and it's made from organic ingredients which gives it a plus. However, they have limited shades for face powders and bb creams and are mostly leaning on the lighter skin tones so it's not really suitable for the tanned.




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Nyx Studio Liquid Liner vs. Nichido Liquid Eyeliner

I had been using Nichido liquid eyeliner for years and I was quite satisfied with it even if it's not waterproof and it's not completely black when it dries. But what really makes me so attached to it is the brush which, for me, is the ideal liquid eyeliner brush. It follows my every move which is great for that minute details and of course, it is extremely cheap.

You see, I had this notion that I don't really need to purchase expensive liquid eyeliners because I'm still going to dump them in the trash every six months (it's for hygienic purposes -- same with mascaras).

But then, I came across Nyx Studio Liquid Eyeliner and I became a convert. I have it in extremely black and it really is "extremely black" -- perfect for smokey eyes. The brush is very much like Nichido's albeit longer but that didn't cause much of a problem. What attracts me most to this little piece of magic is that it doesn't smudge after it dries. It feels almost gel-like to touch which probably helps keep the pigment together. But that's just a theory.

As for the price, Nyx Studio Liquid Liner is not as cheap as Nichido Liquid Eyeliner but the quality is way better than it's competitor which makes it a keeper!

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Maybelline Express Care Makeup Remover

Removing makeup is not as exciting as putting them on. In fact, if you don't have the right tools, it would be really hard to take out all of the makeup especially waterproof mascaras and eyeliner. However, you really have to take them all off before hitting the sack because it can clog your pores and lead to break outs.

Back when there makeup removers were unavailable in Watsons, I used to remove makeup using wet wipes and petroleum jelly or cold cream. These do the job pretty well however, it caused me to break out.

So when I found Maybelline Express Care, I was so thrilled to finally have a decent makeup remover.

It removes makeup rather easily even when using just a few drops in a cotton pad. I love it!

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Cheaper Alternatives: Mac Vs. Nyx

The most sought after makeup products by professionals and newbies alike would be MAC Cosmetics, however, to covet such HG of makeup, you have to shell out a huge sum. Good for us that their are people who are willing to share secrets on how to get MAC dupes from affordable beauty products like Nyx which are pretty cheap but they are really good and a great value for your buck. 

So here's a list of what I've compiled from sources in the internet:

FOUNDATION & CONCEALER:
NYX Liquid Foundation = Mac Hyper Real SPF 15 (Mac Pro only):
NYX Twin Cake Foundation = Mac Studio Fix Powder or Studio Tech
Maxfactor Pancake Foundation = Mac's Full Coverage (Pro only)
NYX Concealer Jar = Mac Studio Fix Concealer
NYX Concealer Stick = Mac Studio Stick Concealer
NYX Concealer Wand = Mac Select Moisture Cover


POWDERS:
NYX Bronzer Powder = Mac Bronzers
NYX Loose Face Powder = Mac Select Sheer Loose
NYX Highlight & Contour Set = Mac's Sculpt & Shape (Mac Pro only)

BLUSH:
NYX Mosaic Powder Blush = Mac Mineralize Blush
NYX Rouge Creme Blush = Mac Blushcreme
NYX Powder Blush = Mac Powder Blush**
** I noticed a lot of the NYX blushes have the same name as Mac's blushes and are very similar in color (dupes).

BRUSHES:
NYX B07 Flat Top Brush = Mac 187/188 Duo Fibre Brush
NYX B01 The Big One Brush = Mac 150 Large Powder Brush
NYX B24 Kabuki Brush = Mac 182 Buffer Brush
NYX B02 Cheek Brush = Mac 168 Large Contour Brush
NYX B03 Blush Brush = Mac 129 Blush Brush
NYX B05 Foundation Brush = Mac 189/190 Foundation Brush
NYX B06 Powder Brush = Mac 134/150 Powder Brush
NYX B08 Fan Brush = Mac 184 Duo Fibre Fan Brush
NYX B09 Flat Foundation Brush = Mac 191 Square Foundation Brush
NYX B10 Blending Brush = Mac 217/222 Blending Brush
NYX B20 Concealer Brush = Mac 194/195 Concealer Brush
NYX B15 Smoke Brush = Mac 219 Pencil Brush
NYX B13 Shadow Brush = Mac 213 Fluff Brush
NYX B14 Shading Brush = Mac 239 Shading Brush
NYX B11 Primer Brush = Mac 242 Brush
NYX B12 Crease Brush = Mac 224Tapered Blending Brush
NYX B16 Contour Brush = Mac 275 Medium Angle Brush
NYX B17 Smudge Brush = Mac 228 Mini Shader Brush
NYX B22/B18 Angled Brush = Mac 266 Small Angle Brush
NYX B19 Liner Brush = Mac 209/210 Liner Brush
NYX B21 Definer Brush = Mac 212 Flat Definer Brush

SHADOWS:
NYX shadow trios are similar to the Mac special edition palettes that come with three or four shades together. I believe NYX makes 45 different trio palettes alone, not to mention their single and loose shadows. Their single shadows have the same finishes as Mac ones, ie. Pearl, Frosty, Matte, etc. Some shadows I can attest for:

NYX Black = Mac Carbon
NYX Cream Cheese = Mac Nylon
NYX Midnight = Mac Black Tied
NYX Irises = Mac Electric Eel
NYX Morocco = Mac Deep Truth
NYX Golden Orange = Mac Orange
NYX White = Mac Gesso
NYX Deep Bronze = Mac Bronze
NYX Herb = Mac Brun
NYX Yellow = Mac Chrome Yellow
NYX Hot Pink = Mac Passionate
NYX Platinum SIlver = Mac Electra
NYX Seafoam Green = Mac Newly Minted
NYX Khaki = Mac Mink & Sable
NYX Marrakesh = Mac Greensmoke
NYX Deep Purple = Mac Beauty Marked
NYX Lime Juice = Mac Bitter
NYX Antique Gold = Mac Woodwinked
NYX Odyssey = Mac Contrast

LIPS:
NYX Tube Lip Gloss = Mac Lipglass
NYX Lip Gloss w/ Mega Shine = Mac Lustre Glass
NYX Lip Plumper = Mac PlushGlass
NYX Sheer Gloss = Mac LipGelee
NYX Tinted Lip Spa = Mac Tinted Lip Conditioner
NYX Diamond Sparkle Lip Gloss = Mac Dazzle Glass
NYX Round Lipstick = Mac Slimshine
NYX Black Label Lipstick = Mac Lipstick

A special thanks to @omahdarling from candymag forums for this list! :)

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