March Wishbox 2012 + Giveaway from Yellowy Cream on YouTube!

Finally, someone has posted the details of the March 2012 Wish Box! Am I excited? I definitely am! Everything you need for your day to day makeup is in one cute kit: Klair's bb cream, Ciracle finishing powder, Tony Tint, Skin Food eyeshadow duo and Nature Republic lip gloss. What's not to love about it?  And the good thing is that Yellowy Cream on YouTube has a giveaway. ;)

I am definitely joining this giveaway because I've seen the update on the Wish Trend site and their Facebook page before.  If I get picked, I will be so happy because Klair's and Ciracle both have products included there and I've been so curious about those brands. It also helps that my favorite brands Tony Moly, Skin Food and Nature Republic also have makeup included in this Wish Box! :)

I was right that Klair's BB cream is included. Gosh. She said it's her favorite bb cream right now so I do want to check that out. :) (The brand sounds like my name and so that must be part of the reason why I want to try it!) And the pouch is sooo lovely! I would definitely be proud to carry one with me.

If you're excited about the Wish Box from Wish Trend,  check out the details of her giveaway on her YouTube video.  There will be four winners and you could join as a blogger or as a You Tube channel owner or as a subscriber.  Be sure to follow her directions carefully, ok?

Enjoy this video and good luck!

Review: Nature Republic Home Made Recipe Pack in Kelp

Note: I have oily skin and I deal with white heads, black heads and huge pores. The product reviewed here is based on my needs. What works for me might not necessarily work for you. 

When I heard that the Korean skin care brand Nature Republic will open a shop in SM Fairview, I couldn't help but be excited about it.  I went there the day after their opening because I was at work.  Anyway, it was a good thing I did because I was able to get some goods including this Home Made Recipe Pack in Kelp. (I mentioned this in my skin care routine post.)

What's up with that?

This is the pack recommended to me by their SA.

So I went there looking for possible skin care and makeup products.  I immediately asked about the products they have for people with oily skin and have to deal with blackheads and whiteheads.  She gave me several options but this Home Made Recipe Pack in Kelp caught my attention because it was less than PhP 300 (USD 7).  Affordable? Definitely.  And it's meant to be used only a few times per week so I still have this tube of product with me up to now.

How to use this product

A large version of the image so you could see what's on the tube itself.

As you can see, you need to wash your face first then gently massage your face using this gel. Keep it on your face for 15 minutes.  The SA told me I just need to use this 2-3 times a week so that's what I've been doing for the past several months. :)

Texture and stuff

Straight from the tube, it's a green gel.  Looks dark green.

Once you massage it on your skin, it becomes lighter because it is spread out.

I find it moderately sticky.  But of course, it's in gel form. I think it can't be avoided.  Anyhow, it's not uncomfortable to use even if you have to keep it on your face for 15 minutes or so.  

You might find it weird that it becomes warm when you massage it on your face. I think the SA said that it's really what happens when you use it because warming up your skin opens up the mores which makes it easier for you to wash of the dirt and stuff after.

What I love about this product

• After a few weeks of using it regularly I saw that I was using the pore strips less. Actually, I hardly use pore strips now.  I suppose it helps that I do keep a regular skin care routine but before I used this product, I'd have to use two pore strips on my nose on some days. 
• It's easy to use because I don't have to wait for it to harden on my face like some other masks/packs. I just wash it off after.
• It's affordable. 
• A tube of this product goes a long way because I only little of this product on my face for 2-3 times a week.  I bought mine last November and there's still quite a lot. I think.

What I don't love about this product

• The packaging -- because it seems like the tube is too big. I find it wasteful and I don't quite know if there's so much more air.  Also, because the tube is quite big, it won't be easy to bring this along on trips because it will make your kit bulky.
• It's not in stock in some branches anymore. Well, at least in SM North the Block I didn't see it anymore recently. Nuuuu~! Then again, maybe others have found it effective too, that's why.
• There are parabens in the product.

Sadly I don't have before and after pictures.  It would be gross to show you how much whiteheads I used to have though. If you have time to check out Nature Republic, just drop by one of their branches to ask for this product.  Talk to the SA about it and do a swatch so you know if your skin will react or not.  I know that sometimes skin care products are hard to find but if you get lucky enough, it would be more than wonderful.

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone! :)

What's Your Daily Skin Care Routine? Here is Mine

I suppose everyone of us has a skin care routine that we follow everyday.  I've become conscious of how harassed and haggard I looked some time last year and I think that the daily commute and all the grime in Manila were factors.  My friend Renee got me started with Etude House's Mini Size U kit but I have run out of that so I am now on a different routine.  Erika Jjang posted her routine and here's mine.  This is my updated routine.

Morning Routine (pre-makeup stuff that I do):

1. Wash off the sleeping pack from the night before with plain water.
2. Wash my face with oatmeal soap.
3. Tone with Etude House Wonder Pore Freshener.
4. Apply eye cream around my eyes.
5. Apply Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion to moisturize my face. (My review of this product is here.)
6. Apply Clinique Derma White sunblock. I only got mine in a trial size thanks to the wonderful Kikay Trekkie/Marge Tan.  (You could also read about this via Liz of Project Vanity. She has a review of this product on her blog.)
7. Apply Human Heart Nature lip balm in Watermelon on my lips to prevent them from drying.

Sometimes I change things up a bit by using Human Nature 100% Natural Purifying Scrub or Human Nature   Super-Fruits & Black Rice Facial Scrub after washing my face. But I don't always do this. At most, it will be done twice a week or maybe thrice.

As for the emulsion and sunblock -- both products are just great on me! I don't get very oily with them.  I only use a pea-sized amount of the emulsion.  One of my friends says that it's still a bit heavy on the skin for her but I think it's less sticky compared to other moisturizers out there.  And it's been more than a month of continuous use and no breakouts for me. (Yay!) And the sunblock -- I wish I could really afford to buy an entire tube of this!  But in case I really think it's too pricey, there's always Biore's sun cream to try one day.

Evening Routine:

1. Remove makeup with Human Nature Sunflower Cleansing Oil. (Used to be done with Human Nature Sunflower Beauty Oil.)
2. Cleanse my face with oatmeal soap.
3. * Massage Nature Republic Homemade Recipe Pack in Kelp.  Wash it off with lukewarm water after 15 minutes.
4. ** Apply Skin Food Peppermint Pore Diet mask on my face. Peel it off after 15 minutes.
5. Tone my face with Etude House Wonder Pore Freshener. (Such a wonderful product! Will review this later on.)
6. *** Massage my face with Tony Moly Clean Dew Lemon Seed Massage Cream and wipe off the cream afterwards.  Why bother massaging your face? Watch what Bubz has to say about skin care routines.
7. Apply eye cream around my eyes.
8. Apply The Face Shop's Lovelyme:Ex Lip Care Cream in Vitamin.  Got the tip from Geek Girl Manila. Same principle, different product line.
9. Apply Nature Republic Lavender Sleeping Pack.

That's a whole lot of stuff, right? Well, #s 3, 4 and 5 are not done everyday.  #3 and #4 are done twice a week, one after the other. Or if I am lazy, I do #3 one night and #4 the following night. #6 is done once a week, preferably when I am not doing #3 and #4.  But sometimes when I do #6, I don't use the sleeping pack anymore because I find the massage cream quite moisturizing as it is.

All these products are available locally.  It's just that I lost the packaging of my oatmeal soap. ~_~ I will ask my friend about that because she gave it to me.  My skin care routine basically consists of stuff that help me deal with my oily face, large pores and dry lips.   If you're wondering why I use two different lip care products at night and during the day, it's because The Face Shop's Lip Cream is a little sticky but sometimes even if I forget to use lip balm during the day, my lips don't crack. That's something that I really like.

If you will notice, I didn't write anything about using pore strips for my nose anymore. It's because the Kelp Pack does help if you use it regularly. ^_^ A review will also come later. I am just so glad I bought this product when Nature Republic opened their SM Fairview boutique last year.

Out of all the products in this post, only the following were not bought with my own money:

1. oatmeal soap (this was a Christmas present from my friend)
2. Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion (courtesy of Aubrey of Benefit Cosmetics Philippines)
3. eye cream (something I am currently testing for one of my favorite brands)

Nature Republic, Etude House,  Skin Food, Tony Moly and The Face Shop are all Korean brands and you could find all of them in SM North.  Benefit is an American brand and they currently have one boutique in Greenbelt 5, but I think they're going to open shops/counters in other malls soon enough.  Human Nature is a local brand which you could buy online, in Beauty Bar or Rustan's supermarkets.

Some of these brands have Facebook pages or accounts, so feel free to add them so you could learn more about their products.

• Etude House
• Tony Moly
• Nature Republic
• The Face Shop
• Human Nature
• Benefit Cosmetics

If you've got questions about these products I mentioned, feel free to comment.  You may also ask other fans of these brands on Facebook.  At least you will get different opinions and others could also share their personal testimonies about these products.  After all, what works for me, might not work for you.

What's your skin care routine? ^_^ I'd love to hear your tips too.

NOTW: Nature Republic BR901

This happens to be my favorite nail polish among everything I have.  I thought I'd like matte nail polishes more but really, this is just so special to me. To think that I just got it from Nature Republic on a whim, it was a lucky find and a great decision to get it. ;)

The pictures show you how nice and metallic this  nail polish is.  It has some shimmery stuff but nothing too big.  It's like heavy/thick caramel syrup with golden pixie dust to me XD  If you put just a layer of it, it doesn't look so brown.  It's pretty light, like maple syrup with some shimmers.

What I love about this nail polish:

1. In terms of texture, it isn't too thick nor very watery.  Just like the other Nature Republic nail polish I have, it's consistently like that.  That's why it's not so difficult to use it.
2. The color of BR901 is really pretty if you like browns or golds.  It's something that gives you a little of both.
3. The shimmers of this nail polish are small. They are so small that they're not that obvious.  If you're not into big chunks of glitter, or if you want to wear something shimmery on your nails without looking too casual or party-like when you're in the office, I think that this nail color will do.
4. For PhP 65 (or roughly USD 1.5), this nail polish is affordable considering the bottle isn't so small.  
5. It is available in the local market.  You don't need to order this online. ;)  Just head to the nearest Nature Republic branches in SM Fairview, SM North the Block, Festival Mall in Alabang.

What I dislike about this nail polish:

1. It chips off after 3-4 days.  It's pretty average in terms of chipping off from one's nails.  Most nail polish I have has that issue.  I wonder if getting from the more expensive nail polish set will yield longer-lasting nail polish.  Nature Republic has a more expensive set of nail polish and I have none from that set. Hmmm. That's something to try, I guess? :)
2. All glittery nail polish from Nature Republic are a little more difficult to remove. I guess it's the stickiness of the shimmers that is affecting it?  I suppose that if you're a little more careful with your nails this nail polish will last longer without chipping off.  At least that's my conclusion based on how difficult it is to remove.  It takes me much more effort compared to the plain nail polish. Maybe 3-4 swipes of cotton with nail polish remover compared to the 1-2 swipes to remove the plain/non-shimmery ones.

Unobserved point:

Drying time.  I haven't really observed how long it takes to dry. I just know that when I use the top coat with it, it takes much longer to completely dry.  Without the top coat, maybe it completely dries in 40 mins max?

In the end...

I really love this nail polish and would probably look for a silver version of this. :)  And if they have a black version too, that's another to check out. I am going out today so I am definitely going to see if they have other similar nail polish in stock.  In general, I think I've come to love Nature Republic's nail polish and most of the ones I have at home are from their shop. If there are two things I recommend from their shop, it's the nail polish and their kelp mask which I have yet to review.

NOTW: Glittery Pink Party Princess

See what I did there? Lol. I got inspired by Erikajjang's post: Etude House Party Queen Gradiation No. 2. It's not quite Party Queen-like because I don't have glittery nail polish like that. But this is the closest I could get. :) And I really think it's a cute combination. <3

I used three nail polish products from Nature Republic. :)

From left to right: PK202, clear top coat, PK203

How did I paint my nails?

1. I used PK202 first. It kinda looks like a really pale lilac in the bottle but once on the nails, it looks more like white with a hint of pink to me. I used two coats because the first one was quite streaky. At least with 2 coats, it looks decent.

2. PK203 is the transparent one with little pink shimmery stuff. After the first color has dried, I applied this to the tips of my nails.  It doesn't have to be perfect like French tips because it will look like some cute gradient effect. The shimmers are so small and dainty. I think it's a bit harder to make the glittery goodness obvious unless you apply around 3 coats -- which I did.

3. Apply the clear top coat so it would be neater for much longer. Well, at least that's true in my experience. :)

It's my first post on nails of the week. I hope this would last long enough on my nails.  Longer nails are tougher to maintain because I type everyday and I am such a clumsy person.   The top coat has been helpful to me more often than not so maybe this would be fine.  Anyway, the nail polish from Nature Republic come in bigger bottles so it's a good thing because this newbie here has difficulty painting nails and I did start over on certain nails. Ahahaha. XDDD

I might post other nail related blog posts someday soon. Looking at great nail art by Thiamere and Erikajjang's posts are making me want to do my nails more often.