Late post: Summer haul!

I never got to post pictures of these babies until today. Sorry! But here ya go:

Top to bottom: Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, Wet n Wild Megalast in Mauve Outta Here, Wet n Wild Silky Finish in Sunset Peach

Lippies galore! Got these from Dianna's online shop. The last one was a freebie. :D  Got really curious about the lip butters so I just had to get one. So far, I think it's ok, but I wouldn't pay that much for a tinted lip balm, I guess. I prefer the texture of Human Nature's tinted lip balm.   As for the Wet n Wild lippies, I like the colors of these two lippies. But the mauve one is a bit stronger than my usual color preference so I don't get to use it as much.  On my 'daring' days, I go for that. :D

Top Row: Etude House cotton swabs, Etude House Orgel Light eyeshadows
Bottom Row: Skin Food Rice Mask sample, ELF angled foundation brush

I bought the eyeshadows and brush from Karen, one of my dear blogging friends.  She gave me the cotton swabs and rice mask as freebies. Love them!

Last but not the least, false eyelashes!

These eyelashes were bought by the lovely Shimmerjjang Andy.  When she posted the pictures of these lashes, I knew I just had to try them out. I don't really wear falsies but, come on, who wouldn't want longer fuller lashes? XDDD  I never thought the day would come that I'd want to wear these falsies but it did arrive sooner than I thought. ;)

For now, I am putting myself on a makeup shopping ban because I have more than enough makeup in my stash. To think Weng just sent me a really special gift! A Sephora makeup palette!

I ended up giving my Shawill eyeshadow palette to my sister because I have more than enough colors on this wonderful palette. :3

That's all for now. Hope you found this haul post interesting~!

Quick Review: Skin Food Black Sugar Mask (Wash Off)

I like Skin Food products because they work well on me. The first bb cream that really didn't give me any issues was their Peach Sake BB Cream. :) Anyway, I was lucky enough to be picked by the beautiful blogger Des of Chic Sassy Mom and the products included were all from Skin Food so I got to try some of them including this wash off mask.

Sample size of the product. I used it 3 times. :)

Instructions from the Skin Food site:

Apply evenly after cleansing. Avoid eye and mouth area. Gently scrub and wash off with lukewarm water after 10 - 15 minutes.

Take note it says lukewarm water, not boiling water, not freshly boiled water either~! Don't hurt your skin. I usually mix hot water with tap water and test first so it's slightly warm but not hot. You get what I am saying? ;)

Texture: Yay!


It is thick and grainy, just like what I expected because it has sugar. Look at the pictures below.

It is thick and brown.

Spreadable~! And you could see the grains.

Some of you might fear that the grains are too big. I think that it was ok and it didn't really hurt. I think the sugar kinda melted with the heat from my hands as I spread them. XD  So no worries on how big the grains are.

Scent: Yay!

It was kinda citrusy and sugary. I LOVE IT!  I wouldn't mind using this mask regularly hahaha.

Effect: Yay!

My face felt really nice and clean.  Some bloggers said they looked like they had a glow after using it.  I couldn't really tell because of the lighting at home.  But my face felt oh so fresh and clean.  It didn't feel dry so I think that's a good thing.  

Overall I was happy with this trial packet and I am considering to get this after I used up my exfoliating creams. Well, unless I end up too happy with my Human Nature Strawberry scrub that is!  I can't comment on the packaging because it is different when you buy it full size.  I am also not sure of the cost when you buy it.  I think it's around PhP 550 or something.  Not bad, considering that's their mall price.   I am glad I had an opportunity to try this out for a week! Thanks again, Des! :)

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!

Skin Food Goodies from Chic Sassy Mom :)

Thanks to Chic Sassy Mom for picking me as her commenter of the month! :) I've started reading her blog last year when I was looking for reviews of different products like the bb creams from The Skin Shop, Skin Food products, etc.  And I even asked her about Nyx matte lip creams hahaha. XDDD When I am curious about stuff, I can't help but ask around about them and I guess I am lucky to meet online friends who are willing to share their knowledge.  One other thing I love about reading Des' blog is that her posts remind me of my friend, Mama Meikah. I don't think they talk about the same things all the time, but I guess her tone of writing and her replies make me think of my friend. :)  Anyway, I am just so thankful for these wonderful Skin Food goodies she sent me recently.

Recently I've had bad vibes about blogging but there's nothing like a surprise announcement about winning a giveaway to drive away bad vibes!  And of course, blogging friends have been so kind to me too so I am back in shape to write.  This is mainly a picture heavy post because I was happy to receive my package this morning -- as in the first thing I saw on my desk hahaha!

The photo above is the complete set of goods. All Skin Food! Hooray! :)

Rose Essence Lip Balm. I've seen such cute packaging of lip balm in Japanese magazines. And now I have my own :3  And it's in a pink case too. How convenient!

Samples of Skin Food's Black Sugar Mask and Rice Mask.  These are two things I've been wanting to try. And I will! Thanks to Des <3

Samples of Skin Food's Gold Kiwi line. I hope they would really brighten up my face!

Samples of Skin Food's Gold Caviar line as well as sachets of their Platinum Grape Cell Essential BB Cream. :) I have enough BB cream tubes and samples to last me a year? Or maybe not hahaha. This would be an interesting product to read about.

And she even sent a note with the package. Sweet! :)

I should probably do a haul post from the last two months. I think I amassed a huge amount of skin care and makeup. O_O Hoarding? Not really. Just so happened that last December, I attended a wedding so I bought some more stuff. There was also Benefit's opening. And this January, Laneige's promo for the lipsticks and Human Heart Nature's new products got me buying.   And one more special thing from December was the prize I got from Kikay Trekkie/Marge! Right now I am using the Clinique Dermablock and I am quite happy with it.  (Review will follow soon enough!)

Good vibes for everyone. :) I just wanted to share the goodies and I hope that you will also experience the same kind of happiness upon getting a wonderful surprise. 

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.