Archives for May 2014

Review: Oil of Argan Argan Oil

May 24, 2014 by Tina Lee 2 Comments

*As much as I wish this post was sponsored, it ain’t.

I know I already featured the Oil of Argan Argan Oil and this is just a follow-up to my first impressions of the product. I’d like to talk about the argan oil, in a general sense. If you’re like me who couldn’t even fanthom the idea of putting oil on her face, the argan oil used as a moisturizer or as a serum will change your skin completely. I can’t even…

First, I can’t believe it took me this long to try the whole oil-on-yo-face thing. I heard that you get the same effects by using extra virgin coconut oil. Not sure about that because I’ve never tried it myself but ladies, leave your preconceived notions about adding oil on your face at the door because argan oil is the BOMB.

I used to have dry, rough, dull skin. Then I started having weird breakouts that came from nowhere and I had a lot of ugleh cystic pimples and acne scars. It was never this bad when I was a teen. Out of desperation, I decided to give face oils a try. I was meaning to get the Josie Maran one but to be honest, I didn’t want to deal with 30 days of waiting. So I sought out local brands that source argan oil from Morocco.I found a great one, Oil of Argan Argan Oil brand.

Initially, I was super disappointed that they only sell their products online. Then I discovered that Sensou Nature Source, a little kiosk from the local mall, actually sell the stuff! I was so happy I didn’t have to got through the usual waiting and wringing the fingers as I wait for the package had I ordered online and snatched a couple of these bad boys up.

So when I got to testing, I was a bit wary at how thick the oil was. I was thinking, this stuff will clog the pores in my nose for sure. But because I’m desperate like that, I went on with it and slathered my face with two pumps worth of the product and left my whole face to marinate in oil overnight.

The morning after, I could not believe I was touching my own skin. At the risk of sounding like a raving maniac, it felt like another person’s skin, not mine. I was so used to my rough, dry skin that the smoothness I felt was so… alien to me. No roughness, no oiliness just plump, super smooth skin. I was hooked!

Now I make sure to apply a drop or two of argan oil on my face right before going to bed and in the morning. I have used up a bottle and I can say the results I got the first time was consistent. I never broke out, I never oiled up and my skin has never been smoother, more youthful looking. I’m actually on my second bottle now and have plans to hoard a couple more next week.

What I love most about the argan oil is it didn’t break me out and it doesn’t cause milia. So it’s safe to use around the eye area without fear of developing pesky sebum-filled grossness.

I also tend to slather argan oil whenever I get hormonal acne or when my skin is acting out because I used something that irritated it. I would simplify my skincare routine to Clinique moisturizer, Eskinol and Argan oil day and night and within a couple of days, the cystic pimples are almost gone.

BTW, above is a look at the state of my skin right now. Excuse the poorly blended brows, I snapped this photo way too quickly. I only applied an extremely thin layer of BB cream in the middle of my face, the sides of my face are free from any base product, just a whisper of MAC blot powder to set the BB cream. I didn’t even bother covering the huge zit scar on my forehead because well, it was an open wound and I didn’t to aggravate its general juicy grossness.

Right. So, the point of the story is oil can be your skin’s best friend. Granted, you need to find the right oil otherwise, you’d end up looking like a really shiny, greasy mess. Ideally, you want to find a facial oil that’s cold-pressed, is 100% organic and fair trade. Although I am open to try other facial oils, my go-to is Oil of Argan Argan oil, the price is very reasonable, it’s organic and I believe their argan oil is pure. For those interested, Oil of Argan’s Facebook page is here.

Review: Missha BB Boomer

May 20, 2014 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

I got the Missha BB Boomer along with the Perfect Cover BB cream I purchased a few weeks ago. The BB boomer cream is such a weird product, to be quite honest. You’re supposed to spread this across the face before the BB cream and it’s said to boost the performance and wear of the BB cream. The BB boomer has a pink-blue sheen and it comes in a light cream, almost gel-based formula.

At first, I thought this has to be a primer. I mean, the boomer was supposed to improve the wear time of the BB cream and we all know that’s basically what a primer does. But having used this several times, I find that it did nothing to improve the wear time of my BB cream. In fact, this didn’t even blur out my pores nor did it help prevent oiliness. It just sits there doing absolutely nothing.

I thought this just might be an isolated case but after a little digging, and by that I mean scouring makeupalley.com for user reviews, I found out that many women felt the same way. Some women do recommend this as a highlighter instead. They said it’s great dupe for MAC strobe cream.

Worn underneath and as highlighter on top of the cheekbones

From the pic above, I applied a thin layer of the BB booster underneath my BB cream then patted a couple of dots on top of my cheekbones and in the middle of my forehead (just above where my brows meet). The sheen isn’t all that bold and the product does fade considerably fast as a highlighter.

The Missha BB Boomer is by no means a complete dud. I think I just need to find a good technique in order to maximize its use? I’m not sure either. I’m just glad I got a travel size sample rather than shelling out money for it.

Review: LUSH Eau Roma Water

May 19, 2014 by Tina Lee 4 Comments

Summer in the Philippines is the worst. The temperature can reach a scorching 39 degrees. It’s during the summer season that I stock up on facial toner water, you know, those face fresheners you take with you in a spritzer bottle?

I actually have three of these (one was by Snoe, another by an unknown organic brand which broke me out like crazy and this one by LUSH) and I carry a bottle in my bag in case I need to refresh my face.

I went to Shang Ri-La mall two weeks ago to get a bigger tube of the Missha BB cream, this time in the right shade, 23. Took me a while to get the tube because it was sold out in two shops I went to. I even got a “BB Booster” together with the BB cream and I will feature that next time.

Anyway, I digress.

Yeah, after buying the BB cream, I decided to head to the LUSH store hoping to hoard their fabulous face masks. I was a bit disappointed to discover that they only had one variant of their bestselling face masks, the Mask of Magnaminty. Don’t get me wrong, I am a lover of all things minty and chocolate-y but I was hoping to get more of these stuff, you know? Possibly in different variants.

Apparently, this was the only one in stock because it keeps well while the other face masks go bad within a couple of weeks because the ingredients are very fresh.

I got the Eau Roma Water as an impulse buy, maybe out of disappointment, I wanted to get something, anything. The face toners come in two sizes, one in 250g and one in 100g. I got the 100g because I wanted to test how my skin will react to this and because the size is perfect for lugging around.

I have to say the scent is lovely. Eau Roma is made from lavender water and rose water and when spritzed liberally on the face, it refreshes my makeup and instantly smoothened my skin. Using this, I felt my skin became hydrated throughout the day despite the humidity and the heat. It’s mild, refreshing and it smells so,so, so good.

So far, the toner water hasn’t irritated my skin and I’m liking the results I get from it though I doubt this will replace my Eskinol toner anytime soon. Some people, you see, use the Eau Roma Water as a toner. I feel this product is way too mild to do anything to my skin except to refresh my skin throughout the day.

And speaking of Eskinol, it’s so frustrating that my skin reacts badly to high end toners and only respond well to this cheapass toner. I mean, I always wanted to try higher end toners because they feel so nice on the skin but I swear, I get cystic pimples that do not go away as soon as I try switching. It’s a cause of frustration to me, albeit a shallow one, hahahah!

I’m not throwing shade or anything and I’m glad there’s a toner that works beautifully for my skin but I’ve been using the same toner since I was 16, okay? It gets tiring sometimes. Also, I wish Eskinol would reformulate their toners to exclude alcohol from their products so it’s less drying.

I'll Take You Places: Kate Spade Cobble Hill Leslie Satchel

May 4, 2014 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

Because every once in a while, you just want to splurge.

I just love Kate Spade bags and wallets, can’t you tell? I have their wallet and I have been using it non-stop four years and counting. It’s dirty now and all but there’s hardly any show of wear. And I abuse these things. Like, at first I was carefully folding and tucking and then the rest of the time, I just don’t care anymore. My wallet got ugly ink marks and all. I plan to buy a new one, another Kate Spade wallet because their products are just that good and the prices are quite reasonable.

I paid around $270 for this bag. It’s not cheap but it’s not that expensive either considering the leather is just fabulous. Love the quality and the hardware! The size might be small for others but I happen to dislike really big bags. Size is important to me and if a bag is too big, I get turned off instantly. This one is roomy, got a couple of pockets for mobile phones, keys etc., the color is Storm Gray. It may not be the most exciting color but it’s very versatile. I have a couple of gray bags and I can say they are so easy to match outfits with. And the style! I love it! I am a fan of satchel everything and this particular style is gorgeous.

I prefer structured bags, those that are stiff enough to stand on their own but this slouchy leather satchel is lovely, I don’t mind its slouchiness one bit. Overall, I think this is a great buy and quite a steal! I bought this online at MoreThanJustABagShop. This is the place where I get most of my bags, including the gray Coach tote I got two years ago.

The Brow Connection: Doing The Ombre

May 1, 2014 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

My brows used to bad and it never occurred to me to fix it. Now I’m a total eyebrow fiend and I do my brows everyday. I feel a wee bit nekkid if I don’t!

I love strong, bold brows any day but it’s not as versatile. And my technique has been real crappy until now. I’ve done my brows so many times, using different products, that I actually came across a great system to create a fabulous ombre effect.

As you can see from the pictures, I managed to make my brows look natural yet structured and totes defined. The great thing about this technique is it literally lengthens the staying power of all products used here. I already told you how disappointed I was with MUFE and how Anastasia’s Dip brow, though so much better than MUFE’s, still faded patchily on me after 7 hours of wear. Using this technique, the brows looked freshly applied even after the 9 hour mark! It’s awesome!

How I did it?

The secret is a brown eyeliner. Yes, brown not brow eyeliner, and not the expensive kind too! I’m sure this isn’t an original idea or anything but I don’t see this technique anywhere in the MUA videos I watch on a daily basis. Believe it or not, I didn’t even had to use concealer to even out the edges on this one, I just mapped out the tail of my brows using a good brown eyeliner and filled everything in! Now just to give you a look at what my naked brows look like, here’s a before and after pic:

How I defined brows with ombre effects that wear like iron? I used:

Make Up Forever Aqua Brow Corrector in 15

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade in Ebony

Face It Waterproof Eyeliner in Brown

Angled brow brush

Step 1: Assuming that you have groomed and trimmed your brows, take your brown eyeliner and map out the tail of the brows only. Start by lining the bottom of the brow and go halfway through the top of the brow, just like this:

Step 2: Using the MUFE aqua brow corrector start filling in the brows. Apply with a light hand on the first section of the brows, the area nearest to the nose bridge, gradually increasing in intensity towards the tail of the brow. Blend the harsh lines created by the mapped out tail and make sure not to go over the edge otherwise you will mess up the definition of the tail!

Step 3: Layer the Anastasia BH dip brow pomade on the second section of the brow right to the middle. Again, blur any harsh lines and make sure you don’t fill in over the edge you just created. And voila, you are done!

Here’s me with a classic cut-crease eye makeup and defined brows 🙂 Super easy and it literally stay on for hours!