Archives for November 2017

Review: Kat Von D Everlasting Lip Duo Contour Edition

November 27, 2017 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

Hello friends! Christmas, which is my favorite holiday, is just a few weeks away, are you excited? I know I am! So excited that I did my shopping well in advance, hahaha! Today I’m reviewing one of the products I picked up during the Sephora PH App exclusive sale, the Kat Von D Everlasting lip duo contour edition.

What is it: Kat Von D Everlasting Lip Duo Contour Edition

To those unfamiliar with the brand, Kat Von D’s everlasting lipstick is a liquid lipstick that promises vivid pigmentation and longer wear time. The celebrity tattoo artist is quite the beauty maven and her lippies are some of the most popular items from her brand. According to the brand:

This mini duo features Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in two complementary shades. Become a lip-contouring pro by outlining lips with the ultraviolet Susperia. Then, fill in the center of your lips with the Melancholia shade, its pink companion. Blend them in with your finger, a lip brush, or the doe-foot applicator to reveal perfectly shaped lips.

This product is limited edition, vegan and cruelty-free. The formula promises to be lightweight, pigmented, and non-drying. So is it any good? Let’s find out!

Performance

The product comes in a black cardboard box and cushioned with wrapping tissues. The packaging is quite slim, you can slip these in your purse and they won’t take much room. I say the lippies are teeny tiny but there’s enough product in there for a whole lotta uses!

You get two complementing shades of liquid lipstick, Susperia, an electrifying violet and Melancholia, a light rosy pink. You can either wear each shade on their own or together for an ombre effect. Worn together, the shades create the illusion of a fuller pout. Essentially, Melancholia goes over Susperia, applied to the center of the lips. But you can wear the shades whichever way you like!

The lippies have a thin, smooth, almost whipped-like texture. Spreading the product all over the lips is so easy even without a lip liner thanks to the doe-foot applicator. I love the doe-foot applicator, btw. The end is a little flat so it lays the product well!

Once the product dries, it is matte, as in zero shine. It feels lightweight on the lips. If you have a lot of little lines all over the lips like I do, every one of them will show.

The wear time is almost supernaturally long! I swatched these babies and they survived micellar water, a quick shower, and a second wash. It should survive a meal or two! I rubbed micellar water all over the product and it won’t come off completely. You’ll need an oil-based makeup remover to erase all traces of the Everlasting lipstick.

Swatch Party!

Now here’s the thing: these are cool-toned shades and quite unforgiving on warmer skin tones. Since the shades aren’t universal, they are not suitable for Asians with a strong yellow undertone. The lippies are best worn together as opposed to worn individually. I tried to capture the shade as I took pics but the image quality could be better. Still, here are the swatches:

Susperia, which is such a gorgeous violet looked extra dark against my sallow complexion when worn alone. Instead of brightening my face, the shade made my teeth and my skin look extra yellow. I looked dark and sickly, is what I’m trying to say. That being said, this product is opaque in a single swipe. You can build the color to deepen the shade too!

On the other hand, Melancholia was too milky-pink when worn on its own. It’s not a Nicki Minaj-flattering kinda milky pink. It’s the kind that washes me out. I was hoping that Melancholia would pair well with my complexion since it looked like a flattering rose pink in the bottle. But alas, it has such a strong white-based pink that looked so odd against my skin tone! Between the two shades, Melancholia was patchy as hell.

When worn together, Melancholia toned down Susperia’s deepness so the shade is somewhat flattering against my skin. There is a learning curve when applying both products together.

Patting Melancholia alone won’t do it. Your fingerprints will be all over the product. You gotta re-apply Susperia on odd layers to get that perfect contour. I thought I did well! I could’ve added a thicker layer of Melancholia but the patchiness was ruining the look of Susperia so I just worked with the product I laid down.

The lippies are comfortable to wear, there is no tackiness at all once the product dries completely. However, it feels a little drying over time.

Final Thoughts

For only PhP 1100+, you get 2 Kat Von D Everlasting liquid lipsticks for the price of 1. I thought that was such a terrific deal especially those who are new to the brand, like yours truly. I did enjoy playing with the lippies. The overall quality, pigmentation, and staying power of the Kat Von D Everlasting liquid lipstick is beyond impressive.

Do I recommend this product? If you love unique shades and Korean-esque ombre lips, sure. If you’re Asian and you’re planning to wear these shades individually, I suggest picking a better color combination. Mixing these shades together is a must for peeps with a strong yellow undertone. Overall, this is a great product and I’m planning to get full-sized Everlasting liquid lipsticks… in shades that complement this sallow mug.

Davao Trip Part 2: Food, Pearls, and Durian!

November 21, 2017 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

I’ve never been to Mindanao and I know the food culture in this region is different from what I know. So you can only imagine my excitement when we headed back to the mainland to explore the city.

The Hotel: Marco Polo Davao

I booked a 3-day stay at Marco Polo Davao. I requested a room with a view and that’s exactly what we got. Our room sits smack in the middle of the hotel, giving us a gorgeous view of the Davaoan skyline!

Below is the hotel lobby, check out the amazing fabric artwork! The hotel itself is nice but it is showing its age. I chose this hotel thinking it’s as nice as the one in Ortigas. Unfortunately, the decor and amenities are quite dated. It’s like being transported back to the late early 2000s.

Our room was spacious but the sink was clogged. It takes a while for the water to drain down. The room is big, the bed was amazing, and there was a tub! The toiletries were great, well-stocked. Service was quite slow though. My husband requested soup bowls and it took them 15 to 20 minutes to deliver them to our room. Security was awesome though!

The Pearls: Exploring Aldevinco Shopping Center

Thankfully, our hotel was situated in the shopping district. Marco Polo was just a few steps away from Aldevinco, a massive souvenir tiangge (bazaar). The place was teeming with Mindanaoan goods, particularly batik cloths, brass products, and pearls!

It was fun hunting for the perfect pearls in Aldevinco! I went to many stores searching for pearls and it was so exciting. My husband gifted me with a pearl necklace for our anniversary. I picked the pearl necklace that I wanted and he got it for me 🙂 I also bought a couple of pearl earrings, a pair for myself and another for my mother. We also scored great deals on fridge magnets, brass goods, and wallets.

For those who are curious about the pearls, I got what they call the “baby South sea” pearls. These are basically cultured freshwater pearls, hence the uniform size and roundness.

Don’t believe what some sellers tell you. I had one telling me “baby south sea” meant the SSPs were harvested early. Not true. A different seller was honest enough to admit these are cultured freshwater pearls.

Genuine South sea pearls are quite pricey here. A pair of stud earrings (with a 9-10 mm SS pearl) will set you back PhP6,000. The larger and the more lustrous the pearl is, the higher the price. Initially, I wanted to get the pricey stud earrings.

But in the end, I didn’t because I thought better. I could just order the earrings direct from a seller and get a better deal. For PhP7K, you can buy a pair of high-quality SSP in 11 to 12 mm. Had I bought the earrings at Aldevinco, I’d be stuck with a smaller pearl so yeah. Since we will be traveling to Palawan next year, I will buy cheaper SSPs there na lang.

I also got a couple of bracelets for my mom, a strand of gray freshwater pearls and a brass bracelet. According to the seller, the brass bracelet is handcrafted by the T’boli, an indigenous tribe in Mindanao.

The freshwater pearl bracelet, on the other hand, was harvested and crafted by the Badjaos, another indigenous tribe in the PH. I love how these local products are helping the community! Also, I noticed how proud the Mindanaoans are when it comes to selling their products.

The Food: Seafood, Seafood, See-food

We made it a point to never eat meat during the trip. And we stuck to that! We had everything from tuna panga (or jaw) to grilled clams and everything else in between!

The image above was our first meal in the city. We had the grilled tuna jaw (tried this for the first time in Japan), tuna eggs sizzling-style, and tuna sushi and maki.

HORY MORY everything was so goooood! I cannot even begin to describe how amazing the seafood is in Davao. I suppose you just need to travel there and discover for yourself! BTW, below is a dish made with tuna eggs done sizzling style… so good!

One of our most memorable meals involved dropping by Roxas avenue’s night market. The night market was a long stretch of makeshift BBQ stalls. The farther end of the strip was comprised of sellers selling handicrafts.

The BBQ stalls have all sorts of skewered meats and seafood, all beautifully presented for people to see. Ordering is done “turo-turo” style, which is a Filipino term for point-point. You literally point the stuff you want and they grill it for you. They have tables nearby and you wait for your order.

As you can see, we had grilled squid and grilled tuna jaw (they were massive so we didn’t order more). We got steamed rice and lato salad, which is a type of seaweed. We see lato on every menu in Davao, btw. They are clearly fond of their lato.

We also had fruit shakes because we’re in the tropics after all. Mango shake for the hubs and avocado shake for me. Unfortunately, I think my drink was the reason why I had the stomach flu. It was the only food that the hubs and I didn’t share.

When the dishes are served, fresh off the grill, you will be given plastic gloves so you can eat without using any utensil. I hope these plastic things were biodegradable. The number of plastic wrapping they use for every customer was making me uncomfortable. I took comfort knowing Davao was quite eco-friendly.

Durian: As Bad Smelling as I Remember It

A trip to Davao isn’t complete without buying durian. Now, I can’t stand the smell and taste of durian but somehow my mother loves the fruit. We asked several locals where the best place to score durian and most suggested Magsaysay Park.

Magsaysay Park has a long strip of fruit stalls where locals sell everything from Durian candies to golden pomelo. Since durian happens to be the most popular Davaoan fruit (and it’s in-season), the stalls have loads of durian fruits piled high by the road. It’s great that the sellers will cut and pack the durian for you. A container is hella expensive though. We paid almost PhP 1,700 for a single container.

Back in the day, durian was not allowed by airlines because of the stench. Thanks to the new packaging, the durian is now travel-friendly… but you gotta get it checked in still!

We also got a taste of the local chocolates! Malagos’ Dark chocolate is an award-winning brand based in Davao. The brand specializes in “single-origin” chocs, which meant the chocolates were ethnically planted, harvested, processed, and packed in a single origin. In this case, Davao Oriental.

I love dark chocs and would choose them over milk chocs anytime so this was a great treat. Usually, PH chocos are quite grainy and sugary. Malagos Dark chocolate is anything but! The chocs were so smooth and flavorful. There are three variants, as seen above. The bitterness will vary and I chose the 72%. So good! My only regret is not getting more cuz these are hella expensive.

… and that concludes my travel diary! Still missing the beach and hoping to return to Davao soon. Can’t wait for the summer, we’re headed to Caramoan, woot!

Davao Trip Part 1: Pearl Farm Resort You Are BEAUTIFUL!

November 17, 2017 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

So I just got back from my week-long trip to Davao with the husband for our first wedding anniversary and boy, am I bummed it’s over! I’ve always known how beautiful Pearl Farm Resort was since I was a kid because I kept seeing pictures of it. But to see the views in person, the pictures just don’t do justice.

The skies were overcast when we arrived in Davao. As soon as we deplaned, we were whisked off to the resort in an elegant service car. We didn’t share the car with other guests, despite the fact that some of the peeps from our flight were also set to travel to the resort. It was all class and luxury as far as customer service was at Pearl Farl resort. We were floored by the fantastic customer service.

Resort Entrance: Amazing Views!

Just a few steps from the sandy shore is the iconic parola, a towering structure made from bamboo. The bar is located on the second floor of the parola while the lower floor is a lounge area. This is the place where we had our orientation. A staff member explained all the essential deets regarding the resort’s facilities, amenities, and other services.

Guests were greeted with kumintang, sort of like an ethnic gong. You can take pictures here, so nice!

The Samal houses, which were on the right side of the resort, are meant for couples and groups of 3s. We stayed at Samal House number 11. Such an exquisite room. You can see the Maranao restaurant in the image below, the food was amazeBOMB!

Also, the infinity pool is located a few steps from the parola. I wasn’t able to swim in the infinity pool, unfortunately! Most of the time, we were swimming in the beach! And that’s a good sign. It means the beach is awesome.

The Beach: Clearest Waters I’ve Ever Seen

The beach was hands down the best I’ve seen. The water is clear, the white sand so fine, and the marine life? Thriving! Even in shallow waters, you can see schools of fish!

Here’s the view that greeted me as soon as we arrived. Such glorious landscapes! Again, the pictures do not do justice. It was definitely one of the best resorts we’ve ever stayed in. The suites you’re seeing are mini villas of sorts, the Samal Suites. These two-storey structures are meant for families.

The picture above was taken on our first day. As soon as we checked out our room and got our stuff settled, we headed to the beach. We loved everything about the beach.

There was a slight drizzle on our first day but the rain wasn’t too bad. If anything, the overcast skies allowed us to enjoy the outdoors a little more. We didn’t burn at all!

Samal House: Home Away from Home!

So, we stayed at one of the Samal houses, which were perched on the high waters off to the right coast of the resort. Each Samal house has a veranda or a balcony where you can chill or watch the sunset. The view from our suite was unbelievable!

We were unable to maximize the views during the day because we are mostly spending time on the beach. But on rare occasions that we were in our room, we just stare into the ocean and marvel at its beauty.

The sweeping views of the clear Davaoan waters are enough to make a grown man cry, trust me. I just took everything in and loved every minute of our day spent on the beach!

The Maranao Restaurant, with its bamboo, yantok, and rattan furnishings, was a sight to behold. I love the jellyfish hanging lights! The restaurant was a good 3 to 4-minute walk from our room but we love the thick greeneries along the way.

The food was so good. We enjoyed the buffet’s selection, particularly the stewed meats and the fresh seafood. This awesome seafood platter has everything from grilled squid to clams. And it’s only PhP1,200. The serving is humungous!

The hubs and I ordered room service a couple of times. In the image above, we had 4 cheese pizza, grilled tuna belly, and gambas. The tuna belly is a must try!

Last Sunday, the resort held a cultural show, the place was packed with guests!

Guests also participated in a fun quiz, the questions were all related to the resort. The hubby won a prize! Unfortunately, we were not able to use the voucher because we had our own snorkel gears already.

The night of our anniversary, the hubs and I celebrated over drinks. I had the frozen daiquiri and tequila sunrise. The hubs had coke rum and lots of San Mig light.

One of the staff also surprised us with a sweet treat! The cake doesn’t look much but it was so, so good.

We also dropped by the bar for happy hour (4 to 6 PM). The hubs had several glasses of coke rum and bottles of local beer. I had a buko shake and a frozen daiquiri, so yummers!

On our third day, we sailed to the other island, which is part of Pearl Farm. This island has all the yayamanin (luxury) villas! The tiny island has several beach spots, we explored several of them and wasn’t all that impressed.

Don’t get me wrong, the landscapes were amazing. But there was a construction thing going so the seabed was a little murky. We didn’t see a lot of fishies here, which was a little sad. So yes, back to the main beach we went. As you can see, we made full use of the Tribord (now Subea) snorkel masks. Do they work? Like a charm! I will write a detailed review, so stay tuned!

We stayed at Pearl Farm resort for 4 days and spent another 3 days at Marco Polo in Davao City! Overall, what an experience. I cannot wait to visit Pearl Farm resort again.

Review: La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser

November 15, 2017 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

As you know, I’m borderline obsessive when it comes to caring for my skin. Nothing ruins my day quite like a bad breakout, not playing. Personally, caring for the skin is more important than perfect makeup application. Because no matter how good you are with makeup application, bad skin has a way of showing through. Also, having great skin makes any makeup apply better!

I’ve been quite fickle in terms of what moisturizer to get but for cleansing, there is one thing that I use continuously and constantly: La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser. It’s ridiculous how I’ve used this pH-balanced facial cleanser for 2 to 3 years now and I’ve yet to write a review about it!

As I grew older, I started shying away from skin care products that are too drying. The La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser is my favorite daily cleanser because my skin never feels dry after cleansing. It’s just so good. On with the review!

What is it: La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser

According to La Roche-Posay, a French skincare brand, the Effaclar Gel Cleanser is a purifying gel cleanser that:

“Gently cleanses dirt and oil” while respecting the skin’s natural pH balance of 5.5. This lightweight, gel cleanser is enriched with zinc to purify the skin and remove excess oil. It’s 100% soap-free, paraben-free, oil-free, and alcohol-free.”

Performance

This is a foaming gel cleanser that yields the most luxurious lather. It’s not fragrance-free because only Jesus is perfect in this world. However, the scent isn’t strong at all. The delicate scent actually makes cleansing such a pleasant experience.

You only need a small amount of the cleanser to get a good lather going. This gentle cleanser doesn’t sting the eyes at all. The foamy lather washes away dirt and grime off the skin with ease. It doesn’t leave a slimy residue on the skin.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser is made for oily skin but it’s suitable for peeps with dry skin too. I have dry-combination skin. My T-zone is oily but my cheeks and the skin around my mouth are drier than the Sahara. I stay indoors most of the time in an air-conditioned room and this aggravated the dryness of my skin. So dry that I actually apply petroleum jelly around my mouth at night!

Once I wash my face with this cleanser, my skin doesn’t feel tight or squeaky clean. It leaves my skin soft, clean, and refreshed!

A bottle of La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser contains about 400 ml., of the product. Since you only need the tiniest amount to wash the face + neck + chest, a bottle will last for a long, long time. I’ve been using mine for almost two years, even decanted the cleanser into two small bottles for travel and I still have a lot of product left.

As you can see above, I still have about an inch of product. I can tell you that this amount will probably take 4 to 6 months for me to use up! It’s that economical. This cleanser is so affordable too. I’ve seen a couple of indie vendors that sell the cleanser for PhP 1,200+++.

The price is quite fair considering the amount you get per bottle plus the quality. The only downside is that La Roche Posay is not locally available, which sucks! I got my stash from my sister who’s based in the Middle East. She was the one who recommended the cleanser in the first place. I wish this is available locally so I could get more.

Final Thoughts

To draw a comparison between high-end gel cleansers for sensitive skin, I use a different cleanser when I shower: the Clinique Liquid Facial Extra Mild Soap (yes, review soon). I can say with utter certainty that the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser is milder, gentler, less drying on the skin. You can quote me on this!

Had the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser been fragrance-free, the formula would’ve been perfect. Highly recommended!

What Came in the Mail: Soak Artisan Soap’s Bath Bomb Trio

November 9, 2017 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

Since we haven’t traveled to the city for a while now, I had to do most of my shopping online. I was hoping to score bath bombs as I prepared for my Davao trip. I like having several bath bombs with me whenever I’m holidaying cuz usually, the resort or hotel has a bathtub. I wish I had a bathtub because I live for frilly bath kaartehan in all shape and form! Bath bombs and bubble baths are mah jam!

I usually get my bath fizzies at Lush but the store is so far away. Unfortunately, the brand has no online store in PH, boo! There I was, frantically searching for bath bombs sellers when I came across the Soak Artisan Soap brand.

For those unfamiliar, this is an indie store that sells all-natural, cruelty-free bath essentials, particularly artisanal soaps and linen sprays. I came for the bath fizzies and that’s exactly what I ordered. Do note that I ordered these babies using my mobile phone so the whole process was quick and easy.

Unfortunately, the selection’s a little scant. Also, I hit checkout too fast not thinking about adding more fizzies. I emailed the customer support asking for additional orders so I won’t be charged twice for a single delivery. Sadly, I was told that none of their bath fizzes come in regular size so there’s no point in ordering more. Oh, well.

The good news is, delivery is swift. I ordered these babies on October 29th and received the package on November 3. That’s fast considering October 31 and November 1 were national holidays. Packaging’s a little blah but there’s bubble wrap so the products came in a pristine state, as you can see.

The package consists of 3 mini bath bombs called Party Beach, Sweet Dreams, and Poison Berry. The scents are Soak Artisan Soap’s signature fragrances. I do love the fragrance, although it might bother peeps with sensitive noses.

I wish these came in regular sizes though. I feel that I’ll use these up in one go because they’re so smol! I will, of course, write a review once I use these babies up so stay tuned!

What Came in The Mail: Sephora PH App Exclusive Sale

November 5, 2017 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

If you remember a few posts ago, I tried shopping at Sephora PH using my app and picked up a few items on sale. I have shopped at Luxola.com/ph back in the day but this would be my first time shopping after the e-beauty store was sold to Sephora.

Shopping using the app was easy although there were a couple of glitches. For instance, two items that I picked up weren’t reflected at the checkout so I didn’t get them. That’s okay because I was quite happy with the items that I picked up.

I got one of Becca’s iconic highlighter, the Shimmering Skin Perfector in rose gold. I would’ve gotten the Opal, which is the most popular shade in the range, but the shade is too similar to my theBalm Mary Lou-manizer. The rose gold is quite bronzy and deep, I’m sure it will suit my skin tone perfectly.

Next, I got the Kat Von D Everlasting Lip Duo contour kit. I am new to the brand and but was always curious about the Everlasting liquid lipsticks. Glad I snagged this item just in time. I’m eyeing another lipstick set from the brand, the Holiday Deluxe Liquid Lipstick Set. It’s still on my wishlist together with the Foreo Luna Mini 2, hahaha! I’m just waiting for a FRESH restock before I make another purchase, a larger one this time.

Finally, I got a bath gel from Mario Badescu. I actually got this by mistake. I was thinking of getting this for our Davao trip because our hotel has a bathtub but I realized too late that I can’t put this in my carry-all. So that sucks. Now I got another bath gel to add to my already sizable bath gel collection, heh.

Weirdly enough, my parcel also came with an extra Becca highlighter, the Jaclyn Hill Shimmering Skin Perfector Mineral Blush Duo (in Champagne pop and hyacinth). I told you the app was buggy! I was so surprised! I did accidentally add this to my bag while shopping but somehow, it disappeared during checkout. I wasn’t charged for the product and though I don’t really like this combo (partial to the coral version), I can’t say no to free shit. I live for it, actually. The parcel also came with a free canvas tote (with a print that announces my beauty addiction) and a couple of samples.

That’s my modest purchase. Too bad there wasn’t more stuff on sale, the items were quite limited. Shopping using the app was okay but it was laggy at times, especially when checking out. It took a while before I received the stuff I bought. I ordered these last October 26 and got the package on November 4. Granted, Sephora did say the delivery will be slightly delayed during sales + the package came from Singapore.

That being said, I will continue to shop during sales because Sephora PH does offer great deals! I’ve already tried most of the products and the highlighters are BOMB. Stay tuned for the reviews, have a happy weekend!