ELF Brightening Eye Color Quads Review

ELF eye breightening shadow quads make the most perfect travel companions! Bringing huge make up pallettes when travelling can be such a pain (in the shoulder) and you won't even get to use all those colors anyway.


I have tried 3 of their quads- Drama, Ivy, and Pretty in Pink. Since I have different reviews for each of them, I'll discuss them by color.

1. DRAMA- basic smokey eye pallette; with a white shadow, gunmetal gray, black, and silver
The good: Great for nights out, will fit perfectly in a small purse. Blends easily too. Get great smokey eyes in less than 5 minutes with this.
The bad: The gunmetal gray causes a lot of fall out, but that can easily be remedied with some loose powder and a fan brush. Also, the black isn't very pigmented if used just by itself. Try misting your brush with water when using the black shadow.

Left: Drama without primer

Right: Used the black with primer to make the color pop

2. IVY- earth toned greens; contains a light mint green, olive green, forest green and golden brown.
The good: Nice for everyday work/school looks. The darkest color, forest green, is very pigmented. Goes on the eyelids as it looks in the pan. I didn't need to use primer when I used this quad.
The bad: None!

Left: Ivy without primer

Right: Ivy with primer

Pretty much looks the same, right? :)

3. PRETTY IN PINK- contains a white shadow, cotton candy pink, a mauvy pink, and a baby pink
The good: Also works for daily use, very pretty colors
The bad: Not very pigmented. I was very disappointed with this quad. I thought I would be able to easily create a nice Barbie look with it, but the colors don't show up that well unless I use an eyeshadow primer and use a wet brush for application.

Left: Pretty in Pink without primer

Right: Pretty in Pink with Primer

My two cents: Fall outs and poor pigmentation have their solutions, so I will continue purchasing these. The price and the size are winners!

Get them at SM Department Stores and Watson's Outlets at only Php129 per quad.

Shiny Discoball Nails

On a random trip to the mall today, my girlfriend and I dropped by one of our favorite kikay places- Etude House. I wasn't particularly looking for something specific, I was just browsing around and spent most of my time at the nail polish section. I love their nail polishes! They have lots of great colors in a variety of finishes (glossy, matte, glittery, high beam), they don't chip off easily, and unlike most locally produced nail polishes, they don't dry up quickly inside the bottle. If there's anything I hate more than a broken nail, it's globby nail polish that leaves clumps of color on the nails.


And since I was totally feeling the holiday spirit, I tried on glitter polish-something that I have never, ever been a fan of before. And it was love at first swipe! I got the Lucidarling Fantastic Nails Spangle in #9, with gold hexagon glitters in a clear base.

How To:

1. I used Etude House Nail polish in BR209 as a base. Now, this part is optional. You can just use clear polish as base, or experiment with other colors as you please. Let dry.


2. Apply the glitter polish. Layer on as many coats as you like.


3. Coat with clear nail polish to make the manicure last. I used Etude House nail polish in WH701.




And tadaa! The result:

Shiny disco ball nails! I opted to cover the entire nail area with glitters, giving it a very nice gold foil effect. Very christmasy I.M.O. But for those of you who prefer the glitters in moderation, what's great about this product is that you can easily control how much glitter you want.


It's official, I am now a glitter convert.

Lip Loving

A girl can never have too many lipsticks, so goes the saying. Or was it shoes? Anyway, my little lip color obsession took over today and I ended up with 4 new products- two lipsticks, a lipliner, and a lipgloss. I bought all of these at two different Christmas bazaars running now (Metro Christmas Bazaar @ PNB and another one at Plazuela). At only Php 150 each, I really couldn't resist. So here's what  got:

1. Wet n Wild Lipsticks in 519A and 521A

Left: 519A, Right: 521A

The good: Before this purchase, I've already been a fan of Wet n Wild lipsticks because I really like how pigmented they are. What you see in the tube is what you get when you put it on your lips. These lipsticks aren't matte, and are just a teeny bit glossy. I like how it doesn't dry out my lips. Staying power is pretty good too, I managed to get through a meal and leave the restaurant with red-stained lips sans retouching.


I am so in love with the 519A! It's such a beautful, true red with blue undertones (my first true red, since most of the reds I own are deep, dark ones). The 521A, on the other hand, is fuschia with blue pearl. It's a nice, fun color and kind of 80's-ish.


The bad: Smudges when not used with lipliner


Conclusion: I love these! Great steals at such a low price. Just make sure you have lipliner (either one in the same shade as the lipstick or a neutral liner).Would definitely repurchase.

2. Maybelline Line Stylist Lipliner in Red 510

The Good: It's not like the usual pencil liner. It comes in a tube, and you have to twist it in order for the product to come up. It's a really pretty red shade, and the liner is very thin, reducing your chances of messing up a perfect line.


The bad: It's not retractable! Once you twist the pencil, you can't twist it counterclockwise to make it retract into the tube. So if you get one, DO NOT play with it and make the liner go all the way up, because it will stay like that.


Conclusion: I'm 50/50 on this one.Color and staying power are great, but I really don't like that it's non-retractable. And the very thin tip of the pencil makes it difficult to line the entire lip area. And since the product packaging is opaque plastic, I really don't know if there's still a lot of product left.


3. NYX Brush On Gloss in Copper Penny

The good: Copper penny is like an old rose shade, with hints of shimmer (but not too glittery). It's also pigmented, unlike some lip glosses that look really pretty in the tube but when you wear it just looks really sheer or barely-there. It's perfect for everyday wear or those days when you can't be bothered about what to paint on your face. Pretty much goes with anything.


The bad: None


Conclusion: I like this. Would repurchase



Left top: Nyx Brush on Gloss in Copper Penny

Left bottom: Maybelline Line Stylist in Red

Right Top: Wet n Wild 521A

Right bottom: Wet n Wild 519 A

If you want to get these products, go visit the UC booth at the PNB Metro Christmas Bazaar (running until Dec.17) and the Plazuela Bazaar (I'm sorry, I failed to get the name of the booth or the seller but I was sure it was beside Pomelo Clothing's booth). Happy shopping!

Letter to Future Readers

Hello there! Although not exactly a blog virgin, this will be my first time to explore the world of beauty blogging. Ever since I was 5, I was obsessed with practically anything and everything I could put on my face, hair and nails. This beauty obsession started out pretty early (I blame my mother and the influence of girlie magazines) I got my first perm at 10, did a fully made up face by myself at age 6, and started moisturizing my face religiously since age 9.

This love affair still carries on until today as a 22 year old working girl, where there are more pressing beauty problems to be addressed (sun protection, aging and fine lines prevention, and concealing dark circles- gone are the days that the only thing I worried about was what shade of lipstick I was going to use for a school presentation).

Products and tips that will be featured here have been personally tried and tested, easily accessible, and guaranteed not to leave your bank accounts crying out for mercy.

Read up, hope you enjoy, and stay gorgeous!

xoxo
ChinChin