Loving Laura: A Slight Case of Brand Obsession

It’s very rare that a cosmetics brand can get everything right. Some have got it down when it comes to foundations (Bobbi Brown, Lancome), some have the best lipstick formulas (MAC, NARS), and others have totally covered the field with their blush selection (NARS)… but a brand’s formulas almost always falter in some area–wether it’s hit-and-miss eyeshadows *ahemNARSahem* or inconsistent products overall, depending on the collection *ahemEsteeLauder*. Recently, I noticed that the number of Laura Mercier products that form a part of my makeup routine has shot up. When I say recent, I mean beginning only this year (2013).The only item pictured above that I had before 2013 is the oil-free tinted moisturizer. The radiance foundation primer, silk creme foundation, caviar eye shadow stick, and metallic creme eye colour are all new to me– and they are awesome.

I Love Landmark

Could not think of a better title for the life of me, but I just wanted to share a few of my finds from my most recent visit to Landmark. Their beauty section is located at street level (which I believe is the “basement” level of the building) and they always have some of the most random, totally useful, and unique beauty tools and finds. Look out for the generic makeup brushes which are on display close to the escalators. Their packaging is pretty much just clear plastic with a pink label on top that reads “face hair body.” I picked up four of them because 1) I had tried a couple already before and 2) they are really, really cheap. The two on the right are the same as one brush that I’ve already tried out, which is why I got two more. They’re really small and nice to just throw into a travel bag or even just to have around when you need a spare clean brush for blending. The two brushes on the left are ones that I picked because the shape looked good and… that was pretty much it. Haha! They have been performing really well so far and after two washes they haven’t shed.

All under 55.00Php (under 2.00 USD). Amazing. The handles are not made of the best materials (plastic for the two on the left and wood on the right) but they look much more pricey than they actually are. I have brushes that cost me over 3000.00Php and while I can feel (more feel than see) a difference because pro brushes are weighted properly, these do minor jobs perfectly fine. :)

Personal Makeup Challenge (feat. MAC Ronnie Red)

Some time last week Liz of Project Vanity asked her readers a question: What makeup look do you think isn’t for you? So many people left comments and it was really interesting to read what makeup looks or products others find daunting. Surprisingly a lot of people don’t like coral shades on their lips and bronzer. Not so surprising was that a lot of people veer away from smokey eyes and red lips. I myself feel quite a bit apprehensive when it comes to certain kinds of reds. My comfort zone is with the dark, deep reds, and I only ever wear them at night– I call it my “after 6pm” rule and I’ve always stuck to it. In reply to Liz’s post I mentioned that there are girls who can totally rock a bright red lip while the sun is still high in the sky, while I feel like I’ve aged some ten years or am trying too hard (lol). But I promised myself I’d give it another go (because you never know when something will just start working for you) and here I am documenting my little experiment / challenge to myself.

I chose to use “Ronnie Red” from the MAC Archie’s Girls collection because it’s a bright pink-red (totally out of my comfort zone) with a matte finish. Matte lipsticks are generally more modern looking, though that’s really a matter of opinion. I already have a number of reds in my little collection but this is the very first with a matte finish and I have to say I liked it quite a bit more than the usual shiny or glossy reds I’m used to. 

Sunday Steal! Ahava at 80% Off

While walking around Robinson’s Magnolia this afternoon, I spotted an AHAVA stall (close to the exit leading to the ice cream parlor) and me being me, of course I had to go check it out. I was initially just looking at the mineral makeup but they had a small section to the side of the stall with a few products on huge discount. I asked why they were on sale (just in case they were close to expiring or something) and the SA told me that the same items with new packaging had arrived, and so they were just trying to get these older ones sold. I love when stuff like that happens… same product inside older packaging at a slashed price– but the same awesome product nonetheless. I’ll take it! Got myself two morning moisturizers from the dermud line which I had already tried before, and also an SPF 30 sunblock since summer is pretty much here already. They were selling at 80% off if you bought two of the same product. The dermud moisturizers came out to around 800 Php for both and the sunblock at 650ish also for two (the other bottle is for my mom). At regular price, these sell for 2,695 Php and 2,095 Php respectively. So yup, I got a pretty damn good discount. Woot woot! :) Read on to see more photos!

LUSH’s Fresh Farmacy Soothing Calamine Cleanser

I’ve never been a huge fan of Lush products. You can usually smell the store long before you’ve even set foot in it– and once you’re actually inside, the scent is overwhelming. Any girl who has sensitive skin (as I do) knows that products with strong scents are something to avoid. Even the the store’s colour story –yellow, black, and bright green — doesn’t seem to match its advocacy (all things fresh and handmade) in my opinion. I do quite fancy their bath bombs though, which I only use every once in a while as a treat to myself since they are not cheap. It was only a bath bomb that I was after when I went into Lush some time last month. I found one, picked it up, and started to walk over to the till when their face cleanser soaps caught my eye.

I had seen Lush’s Coalface soap many times before and I’m certain that Fresh Farmacy was always sitting there right beside it, but I never really took notice. Coalface is black as coal (obviously) because it’s got powdered charcoal as one of its main ingredients–good for oily skin and as a mild exfoliator. Fresh Farmacy on the other hand is a muted pink colour which totally reminded me of calamine lotion. If you’ve ever had chicken pox or if you were a mosquito-magnet as a kid, then you probably know calamine lotion as the pink stuff mom would slather all over your bites to soothe them. Sure enough, calamine is Fresh Farmacy’s main ingredient.

The description on the Lush website (in case you can’t see it in the photo above) reads:

Feel like you have the world’s most sensitive skin? Allow us to prescribe you a bar of Fresh Farmacy, our calamine-based cleansing bar. Fresh Farmacy contains chamomile extract to calm, rose and lavender to soothe dry patches and tea tree to clear up any blemishes. The name stems all the way back to the beginning of LUSH, when we held a competition to name the company. Although we (obviously) went with another option, we thought the name appropriate for our problem-solving cleanser.

Isn’t cool that Lush was almost called Fresh Farmacy? I actually might prefer that name. Hehe. Anyway. Sensitive skin? Redness? Dry patches? Blemishes? Yup, all of those things pretty much describe my skin, so I figured trying out a bar couldn’t hurt. 

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense: Swatched & Worn

When I went to Hong Kong last month I knew I was going to get myself at least one Chubby Stick Intense. I had heard so many great things about the formula and the swatches just looked amazing. Sure enough, I walked out of the store with not one but four Chubby Sticks in hand. Don’t you just love Clinique packaging? The combination of the floral print, muted colours, and silver lettering give it a really nice sort of vintage vibe–or lola vibe–depends how you feel about it, really.

Thrifty Tip: Your Used-Up Candle Jars

I love burning candles. There’s a scent for most any occasion and they totally set/compliment the mood. For example the apple scented Glade candle pictured below is the most amazing candle to have burning during the Christmas season. The “pink sangria” one from Bath and body Works on the other hand is more of a summer scent. These are both relatively cheap candles so they burn down quite fast (compared to high-end candles which often have 40 – 50 hour burn time, depending on what size you get) and so I’m left with an empty glass jar that I would never just dispose of.

If you’re a beauty junkie and a bit of a neat-freak like I am, here’s a suggestion of just one thing you could do with your empty candle jars:

Step 1: To begin, you obviously need a candle to burn. If you’re not really into candles yourself, there’s a big chance your mom or one of your titas (aunts) will be. If the candle is yours, wait until you’ve burned it all the way down– but don’t rush naman, they’re meant to be enjoyed! If they’re someone else’s, wait patiently and ask if you can take the empty jar off their hands. A tip: each time you burn your candle, you should let the wax burn all the way to the sides so that the wax stays level and you get the most use out of your candle as it will burn down evenly. This means 1 – 2 hours of burn time, depending on the candle. Step 2: Clean out the wax at the bottom of your used candle, remove the wick, and remove the sticker label as well if you want to (the glade candle had none). I adore the frosted finish on the Glade candle jar and the Bath and Body Works one actually has a cover but I forgot to photograph it, hehe. A tip: hot water will help melt the wax away.  To get the glass extra clean, you can use nail polish remover. Step 3: Fill ‘em up! I use the clear glass jar for my cotton pads and the frosted glass jar for my small/detailer makeup brushes. I added some glass stones to the bottom of the frosted glass jar because it was still a little too deep for some brushes. I also kind of like the hint of aqua blue peeping through. I love how these look on my dresser. They’re much prettier than the plastic containers I used to have, at least. And that’s it, really! It was easy as 1, 2, 3 and I didn’t even have to go out and buy new containers! Like I said, this is just one way you could recycle your old candles. You might even want to use these as mini vases for flowers (wether real or fake) or as general decorative items around your room or house. OR you could decorate the glass and use it again for tea light candles for a whole new look! The possibilities are (nearly) endless!

So, what would you choose to do with your old candle jars? :)

 

p.s. The paintings and sketch in the background are my mother’s work. :)

A February Treat

The first February was a Friday last week and I thought that the combination of the beginning of my birth month and a long weekend was just the perfect (albeit slightly irrational) reason for me to get a new lipstick! A pink lipstick in particular, it being the month of love and all. ♥ I initially wanted one of the new Bobbi Brown matte lip colors, but the shade I had my heart set on was out of stock so I had a little browse at the Laura Mercier counter (loving LM lately; more on that another time). I had never tried one of their lipsticks and their color selection looked pretty good. It didn’t take me long to find the Shimmer Lip Colour in Raspberry Sorbet. I knew that it was the colour I was looking for the second I swatched it! It’s a “berry rose shimmer” according to the LM website, which is just all things that I love together in one lippie– berry, rose, and shimmer (in the right amount). Hello, perfection.

Now I have no idea why LM lippies don’t get more hype, but they definitely deserve it. The formula of this lipstick is comparable to MAC lustres, which are my fave finish from MAC. LM also offers Creme Lip Colours as well as Sheer Lip Colours, which cover the heavy and sheer finishes respectively. The Shimmer Lip Colours fall in between those, offering great colour pay-off with a nice, healthy shine. The formula wears on me for just under three hours. Nothing great but it doesn’t fade in patches so you just have to remember to reapply more often. I have my eyes set on another colour (also a pink) from the Creme Lip Colour line. Maybe I’ll pick that one up closer to my birthday. :)

Laura Mercier lipsticks are available at Rustan’s for 995.00 Php. Have you tried anything new on a whim lately? :)

Holiday Splurge: Laura Mercier Deluxe Travel Brush Collection

Buying travel and/or holiday sets is one way to get a good deal when it comes to cosmetics or cosmetic tools. They are usually pretty pricey, but after calculating how much each individual item in a set comes out to, it’s very rarely a waste of money. So when I saw this brush set from Laura Mercier last December, I could hardly contain myself and I almost flew out of the store with it. The quality of the brushes was fantastic and the design of the case was absolultely gorgeous. It took a lot of will power, but I did not fly out the store with this right away last  December. The price tag read 3,950.00 Php (roughly 90USD), so the sensible part of me took control and I decided to think about it and do some research first. About a month later, as you can probably already tell, I decided it was 100% worth it and brought my new baby home. ♥
The Laura Mercier Deluxe Travel Brush Collection includes five brushes (four double-ended ones and one regular one), a little detachable mesh pouch, and a hard case that zips closed. The colour scheme of the set is a deep chocolate brown which might not appeal to everyone but I think it’s very classy and it’s obviously in line with the rest of Laura Mercier’s packaging, too. 

Quick Review: Milani Liquif’eye Metallic Eye Liner Pencil in #03 Gold

Whether it be the colour or the material, I love, love, love gold. When it comes to using silver or gold jewelry, gold just looks better against my skin–a good sign that I have warm undertones– and the same goes with makeup. I rarely ever go with a black and silver smokey eye because it tends to wash me out. I much prefer a bronzey look with lots of browns and warm golden tones. Naturally, getting a the Milani Liquif’eye eyeliner in gold was a no-brainer, especially since it didn’t look to be too bright of a gold and more like an “antique” gold shade.
I picked this up from Stuff in Style  about a month ago for 350.00 php, which is not a bad price for a good eyeliner. It came in sealed packaging (the kind with cardboard backing and sealed plastic over top) so I knew it was brand new and everything.
The wear is decent, but I still prefer the formula of NYX slide on pencils which sell at a similar price and come in a wider range of colours. I’m not sure if this is meant to be waterproof but it doesn’t seem to be that way. It’s nice on the upper lid but slips and slides off the waterline pretty quick.

Overall, this is just a good eye liner pencil. Nothing to rave about but nothing horrible either. Its strongest point is the muted gold colour, which is harder to find than very bright golds.

Buy it here. :)