Archives for November 2014

Between revisiting one of the best beaches in PH to caring for my sick boyf and then working all throughout, my haggardness level is shooting up to the point of no return. Hahahaha! Hello, I’m back!

It’s officially 30 days before Christmas and you know I’m BIG on the holidays! I love all the gift-giving and all the other cheesy stuff. I don’t think I’ll ever outgrow the giddiness of anticipating for Christmas! Of course, as the holidays roll in, holiday palettes and collections are also debuting left and right! Ugh, I can’t even! Last year, I treated myself to three awesome stuff as gifts for being such a good girl. This year is no different!

Can I just say it’s been one hell of a year for me and I feel like I should end the year with a bang. Unfortunately, I could get really fickle-minded over what to get this year. Here’s the stuff I have in mind:

Bare Minerals Lip Spectacular

Six beautiful mini glosses in one sexy package. How could I resist? I love the warmer hues and I read that the formula is beautiful!

Tarte Chic to Cheek Amazonian Clay Blush Set 

I’ve been eyeing this blush set ever since it came out. I heard Tarte’s Amazonian blush formula is smooth, long lasting and highly pigmented so even if this set includes mini blushes, it’ll take a while to finish one pan! I think this is a great deal and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one’s sold out.

Naked On The Run Holiday Palette

Seriously, this palette is calling my name. I love how it has absolutely everything in one package. All you need is a base. It’s handy, the colors are flattering and I’m hearing the quality is top-notch. I got my sister last year’s Shattered Face Case and although I liked it, this year’s offering is much more wearable. Not to mention, the Anarchy Face Case was a complete letdown. My only gripe with this palette is the bronzer. It looks too orange, no?

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Box O’ Blushes

Yet another blush palette, this time by Benefit. For once, something that I can pick up from the local beauty counters. Five blushes, a bronzer and a highlighter in one package. Lovely! I heard that the colors aren’t true to their full sized counterparts though. The blushes in this set run sheerer too. I still wanna get my grubby paws on it though!

Tarte Tartelette Palette

This baby made it to Temptalia’s Best of the Best Holiday releases though it got a B+. I thought the colors are just lovely and it has a lot of matte shades in there. I’m wondering though if this is Tarte’s old eyeshadow formula or a re-formulated one? I hated the old formula, it’s patchy, powdery and it barely shows up on me.

Smashbox Masterclass III

I know I want this for various reasons. Great reviews, high quality, fabulous and sturdy packaging, and perfect for travel.

NARS Virtual Domination Cheek Palette

Super handy palette with three blushes, a highlighter and a generous pan of bronzer! So pretty!

Tarte Kiss & Belle Lipsurgence Lip Set

A cool mix of glosses and lippies! It’s a great way to try out Tarte’s acclaimed Lipsurgence line 😀

Makeup Forever Artisan Brush Kit

Eight brushes in one kit! I’ve always wanted to try MUFE’s brushes I heard they are amazing. But they’re expensive though. This kit seems like a good deal to me.

Ugh, can’t make up my mind! What about you? Picking up anything beauty related this holiday season?

I received my Zoeva rose golden brush set a week and a half ago but I didn’t want to post another first impressions review because it’s not as complete. So I had a lot time playing with these babies and here are my thoughts:

As you might’ve known by now, Zoeva brush sets come packed in a gorgeous pouch. I love the pouch because it’s well-made and very roomy! I will be taking the pouch with me on my beach vacation this week!

As for the brushes, I’ll be honest, I kept caressing each one because they are just so damn pretty! Prettier in person, really. One thing that I noticed about the brushes is the larger ones are lighter than Sigma face brushes. I’m not sure if that counts for something but it’s one thing to consider, methinks.

I like brushes with a bit of heft, but only because I get the impression that the piece is really well-crafted. That’s just my personal take on that. Zoeva’s quality is comparable to Sigma. Sigma is better but at a much cheaper price point, Zoeva’s brushes are really great alternative.

The brushes feel so soft! Instant favorites include the powder brush, the small crease brush and the angled blush brush.

The biggest brush in the kit is the powder brush. The bristles, though not as dense, are kitten paw soft. It picks just the right amount of product and evenly spreads it on the face. It’s probably my favorite among the set.

Now some says the star of the set is the Silk Finish brush. I do get why it’s popular. It’s similar to the Real Techniques Expert Face brush and the Sigma F82.

The difference is that the Silk Finish brush has more give because the bristles are longer than both RT Expert and Sigma F82. This is one feature that I like about this brush.

To me, when a brush has a lot of give, there’s less skin tugging. The product spreads evenly and effortlessly on the face. Unfortunately, I have very heavy hands so using stiffer buffer brushes tend to cause unnecessary strain on my skin. I can say that the Expert Face and the F82 are similar to that respect. But with the Silk Finish, I don’t have to work the product in as much!

The Luxe Sheer angled blush brush is another great piece from the kit. Its cream colored bristles feel softer than the powder blush and sweeps color on the face ever so delicately. It’s a great blush brush for super pigmented blushes because it applies color so subtly. This is my second favorite brush from this set.

The Face Shaoe brush I haven’t used yet because I don’t contour my face as much these days. I was thinking of using it for my highlighter but again, I have heavy hands and I was afraid I’d go overboard so this remains unused.

The Concealer Brush is extremely similar to Real Technique’s Deluxe Crease Brush. Let’s be real, you don’t use a brush like this for the crease unless you have really big eyes. Even the PixiWoo sisters use it for buffing concealer under their eyes. I still haven’t used this though I know, from having the Deluxe Crease brush, that I’d get similar results.

My third favorite from the set is the small crease brush! I love this thing! It deposits just enough color on the crease, it gives precision control and it blends colors beautifully!

The Luxe Soft definer is nice too, though I’m not really into it that much. And nope, unfortunately, this is not a dupe for MAC 217, at least as far as I’m concerned. The shape is extremely different. The Smashbox crease brush is the closest dupe I have for the MAC 127. The shape is very similar.

Finally, there’s the wing liner. At first, I wasn’t keen on using this because the bristles are a little sparse but it does a beautiful job of creating crisp lines. It’s lovely!