Tuesday, August 28, 2012

HG Nude Nail Color: Caress Cyclamen Pink

Ever since I got into nail art, I've had some new design on my nails almost every week. But I'm pretty conservative with my toe nail colors. Doing those mint toe nails a few weeks back was actually a new thing for me.

Instagram shot of my minty toes.

I still prefer having shades of pink on my toes. My favorite toe nail colors are those pink-nude kinds. I'd always been in search of a perfect "my-nails-but-better" shade and I found it a few months ago, from a local brand no less!

Caress Cyclamen Pink

This is Caress in "Cyclamen Pink". I tried my best to adjust the photo's color balance to mimic what the color looks like in real life. I don't know how it would look on your screen but I think you can tell how flattering this shade is against my skin. In the bottle, it's not very pretty or remarkable, to be honest. It looks like an old rose pink with grayish undertones. I'm not even sure why I picked it up in the first place, but I'm so glad I did. It's the perfect nude for my skin tone -- not too pale, not too brown. I'm wearing two coats in this photo.

This color usually goes on my toes, but I used it on my nails this time since I'll be attending a formal event later. No crazy nail art. I might have some fun with it after tonight though. Hehe.

Caress nail polishes are sold at most department stores but they don't carry all the colors, all the time. So there's a chance you might have to visit more than one store if you're looking for a specific shade. The most comprehensive "collection" I've found is at Cash n Carry Makati. This particular one, however, I got from Landmark Makati for Php 22.75 (as you can tell from the price tag, haha).

- Jix.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Because those boyfriend tags are so cute.

Me: Hun, gawin natin yung "my boyfriend does my makeup"! Sige naaaa...
Dax: Whyyyy? Ano ba naman ang alam ko diyan?
Me: That's the point! It's funny! Sige na. Then we can do "my girlfriend fixes my car"!

Hehehe.

What I want to put in my Unii: A Makeup Review

Awww. My Unii Palette didn't arrive today because, according to the seller, the courier wasn't able to pick it up in time. Oh well. No big.

So for now, I'll just show you what I plan to put in my Unii and give a short review on each of them.

First up: my unbranded 78 color makeup palette. I got this sometime around Christmas last year. It's very similar to the one being sold by Coastal Scents (they're probably the exact same thing, just rebranded). Many online beauty stores sell these kinds of palettes along with the more popular 88 color palettes. The one I got comes with 72 eyeshadows and 6 blushes.

Google image search result from here.

Checking the Multiply Marketplace, I've found that the price range for this one runs at around Php 750-900. Some sell it for much higher but I don't recommend getting those since I think they're all the same, really. Mine was a steal. I got it on sale for only Php 550 but I can't remember where (I'm so sorryyy T_T). I do remember that the seller was Cebu-based so I got free shipping when I asked them to ship it to our house in Cebu. Good deal!

Just a side note: Yes, I like makeup, but I'm not obsessed enough to blow all my money on it. I'm a real cheapskate, in fact. Though I wouldn't buy something just because it's cheap, I try to look for the best value for money and I (almost obsessively) look for the best deals. Very rarely, I will splurge on something, mostly because I hear rave reviews about it. As in RAVE REVIEWS -- like the whole beauty blogging world is talking about it (ex. Revlon Lip Butters). Lately, I've been constantly checking local availability for the Urban Decay Naked Palette. But I just can't bring myself to spend Php 3,000 for a set of eyeshadows, no matter how pretty they are and how much the beauty world loves it.*sigh* Maybe someone can gift it to me.*ehem ehem* Hehe. For now I shall content myself with my el cheapo palette, which we shall be getting back to.

Google image search result from here.

Aaaanyway (I rambled, sorry)... As for the quality of the 78 color palette, it's kind of hit-and-miss with this one. Some of the eyeshadow have good pigmentation, particularly the shimmers and the bright colored ones. The rectangular shadows are especially good (love those). Some of them need to be applied heavily for the color to show. And there are one or two that don't even show up at all. It's like I didn't even pick up any powder. Maybe it's just because the color was too close to my skin color? I dunno. The blushes are okay. My favorite is the third one from the left. The other blushes are either too light or too shimmery. I'd like to post swatches and actual photos but the camera is with Dax. Maybe later.

This palette is the main reason I want the Unii. The 78 color palette is far from compact (a little bigger than 9"x6.5"). I love some of the colors but obviously don't use the others. It's a pain to bring all of it around. I used this palette for my Oath Taking makeup and had to bring the whole freaking thing for touch-ups. I left it in the car.-_- When I travel, I have to settle for some of my smaller eyeshadow compacts whose colors I don't like as much. With the Unii I can just depot my favorites and bring just those. Pwede na ba kong pang-marketing ng Unii? Hahaha.

Let's move on to the next item on my list. This one was definitely a splurge for me. I got the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in "Exposed" from Stuff in Style for Php 1,200. Yeah, 1,200 smackers for one single blush. But this was one of those rave-review items that I was able to convince myself to buy because people kept saying that when they tried this, they didn't want to use any other blush anymore. And I rationalized it by telling myself it'll last me a long time. Heh.

Photo from Tarte's website.

I can say this is a really good blush. Beautiful texture and quality. Even the way it looks in the pan -- so pretty! "Exposed"is a matte brownish/nude pink and looks very natural on my skin tone. However, sometimes I feel like it's too natural looking. I think it's because I'm used to the pinkness of my trusty Ever Bilena lip and cheek stain. I'm not sure about the 12-hour wear time either. When I apply it in the morning, by mid-afternoon I feel like my face could use more color. But again, maybe it's because it's too natural looking.

I'm a wee bit bummed that I'm not super happy about something I spent so much for. Maybe I should have gotten a pinker shade instead. It gives a very nice, subtle contour to my cheeks, though. I think the color "Exposed" would work well for fairer skinned individuals or for the "no-makeup makeup" looks on those with medium skin. I do like it enough for it to go into my Unii, so there.

The last item I'll be talking about is the "Nose Shadow" from Saizen (you know, that awesome Japanese store where everything is priced at Php 85). Another one of my cheap finds which I got for, well, Php 85. It's a compact that contains a brown contour color, and a white highlight color.

Photo from Saizen's Multiply site.

In the pan, you can see that the brown has some shimmer to it, but when applied it's not noticeable at all. I use the brown to contour not just my nose, but my cheeks, forehead and chin, as well. The white, I apply to the bridge of my nose, brow bone, and the inner corners of my eyes. The lids of these things keep breaking off on me, though. So once again, I'm happy I can depot this and place it in a more secure container. Hihihi.

When I finally get my much-awaited Unii, I'll probably write about how I'm going to depot everything, too. I'm a bit nervous, about depotting my favorite eyeshadows 'cause I don't want them to break in the process. Here's to hoping they all survive.

- Jix.

Friday, August 24, 2012

A plastic container started this.

New blog! Woohoo! For those thoughts that can't fit within Twitter's character limit. Heh.

For some time now, I've been wanting to start a blog for reviews of all the things I find awesome -- whether it's about fashion, beauty, food, travel, literature or film. I'll probably throw in some DIY tutorials (nail art, makeup, crafts, travel, etc.). This'll be sort of my personal version of The Awesomer.

The tipping point, actually, was my decision to get a Unii Palette. It's this customizable makeup palette/storage case and I'm super excited over it. I'd been searching local beauty blogs for information on these, see how it appeals to the Filipina. But I only found two or three posts about it, so I'd like to write my own take on it. I'm expecting it to arrive tomorrow and that's probably what my next post will be about.

Yeah, that's how psyched I am. I started a blog because of a makeup case. Hahaha.*headdesk* I really hope it doesn't disappoint.

- Jix.