Review: Maybelline Velvet Matte Liquid Lip Color in MAT12

Maybelline Velvet Matte in MAT12

Price: P349 for 5mL/0.17 oz.

I’m at that stage where I don’t have enough energy to play with toys, but get excited anyway when there’s something new or different. Cases in point: Maybelline’s new Cream to matte liquid lipstick, which I had to get – in spite of my not being a big fan of liquid lipsticks – just because it  reminded me so much of those little plastic lipstick toys we used to play with as kids.

Review: Daiso Make Up Corrector

Who else is guilty of doing their makeup in the car/cab? Why not make use of all that time you're stuck in traffic, right? You feel like a productive, multitasking wizard and the lighting is pretty neat in the morning. 

Unfortunately, our roads that are world-renown for their pot holes, speed bumps, swarming motorcycles and crazy pedestrians that can lead to this.

Bad things happen when you try to wing it in the car.

So let me introduce you to one of the many hidden treasures in Daiso that you didn't know you needed until you saw it: The Daiso Make Up Corrector

Ta-dahhhh!

Daiso Makeup Corrector 

P88 for 2 g

Review: V&M Naturals Bikini Bomb Salve

Beach season might be officially over, but we all know that this is the perfect time to score a few deals on discounted beach trips and resort accommodations. And with all the long weekends coming up, not to mention the Holiday Season, it's time again for some beach prepping with V&M Naturals' Bikini Bomb Salve.

 P280 for 40g

Review: Etude House Lip & Eye Remover

I'm usually down for trying various Korean products, what with their miraculous formulas, cute packaging, and encouraging prices; but there has been one kind of product that I have held off trying ever since: the Insert-body-part-here Remover products.

Call in an unhealthy obsession for words, or maybe chalk it up to suspicions with untranslated ingredient labels, but I have been uncomfortable about even touching bottles that say "nail remover", "eye remover", "lip & eye remover", or anything of the sort. Because if the stuff ends up burning through the nail polish and removing my actual nail, people would go "Duh, Valerie, that's what it said on the packaging."

But I did end up with a bottle of this Lip & Eye Remover (yikes) from Etude House after my dad misunderstood a text I had sent him to get a different brand of makeup remover.

So here we are.

Etude House Lip & Eye Remover
P198 for 100mL

Review: Maybelline White SuperFresh

When was the last time you got well and truly pumped for a new product? With all the “innovations” coming in minuscule increments (hello, front camera “upgrades” from 0.3 megapixels to 1.2 megapixels), coupled with baldfaced marketing tactics that get old after the 15^th “best foundation EVER” of the season. There are so many empty promises being flung about that it's obviously going to take something special to convince us skeptical consumers, right?

Something like a live demo? A live demo you can actually try with your own hands? 

Yup, you guessed it; here’s a .gif of me shamelessly playing with the Maybelline White Superfresh in-store demo.

Brand X versus White SuperFresh

(And I obviously  don't have enough coordination to shoot this horizontally)

Review: V&M Naturals Bare it All Cream (Minty)

One of the shopping "rules" I always break is the one where you're not supposed to get something without trying out a tester or a sample pack, first. And when some (read: almost all) local brands don't provide testers, it gives off the impression that they don't trust that their product will appeal to anyone who isn't playing beauty roulette: Will this make me smooth, or will it make be break out in oozing hives?

But at the time I told myself "Hey, it's body cream, it's not like I'm going to pick out the wrong shade, right?" So here we are.

Price: 285 for 100g; 595 for 250g; P695 for 300

Human Heart Nature Heritage Oils Collection

I've always been curious about essential oils, since online health gurus keep going on about which oil can treat what kind of illness or help with anything from mosquitoes to migraines. So I was pretty excited when I found out that one of my favorite homegrown brands introduced their own line of essential oils which claim to do a lot, from improving concentration, to keeping away stray dogs and cats. Don't worry about having to memorize the benefits and uses for each, as each box contains a little cheat sheet on how to use the oil (I mostly use them for aromatherapy and as linen scents).

The best part is that these come with actual droppers, and not that little plastic nipple you usually find on teeny little bottles of aromatherapy oil, except for the orange oil, which has a roller ball.

Ingredients are caprylic/capric triglyceride + the essential oil. It's not 100% essential oil, which affects the longevity of the scent -- it's more of "scent of the moment" rather than "ambient room scent"

Review: Happy Skin Shut Up and Kiss Me Moisturizing Lippies in Hold My Hand and Bride-to-Be

Like every beauty rule I've imposed on myself, I've broken my No Limited Edition Lipstick rule. It's heartbreaking when your favorite fragrance or nail polish gets discontinued, as a cruel reminder na #WalangForever (that there is no forever). But unlike your favorite ballpen that you can tuck away by the box for years, lipsticks will go bad.

But, like the sucker that I am, I caved because of the witty name and the cute packaging

 P599 each for 2.7g; P999 for the pair
Made in Taiwan

According to Happy Skin:
"This lippie offers three-fold "lip service": the shine of a gloss, the pigment of a lipstick, and hydration of a balm! Spoil yourself with Shea Butter & Collagen to keep your lips in lip-lockin' shape!"

Quite a lot of promises to live up to. Review and swatches after the jump!

Review: Pantene Pro-V 3 Minute Miracle Conditioner

Any product that is advertised as a "zOMg super bestseller evar!!!! <3 <3" at the exact moment it hits the shelves gets an adequate amount of side-eye from me. It's about as believable as a "bestseller's" list of a new restaurant on soft opening.

That said, I wasn't terribly excited to try Pantene Pro-V's new 3 Minute Miracle Conditioner. But when your chemically-murdered waist-length hair costs you enough conditioner to make you reconsider your life choices, you'll find yourself skeptically putting every new product on your shower rack, hyperbolic promises and all.

Price: around P57.00 for 100ml
Sample from BDJ.com

Review: V&M Naturals Karma Cleanse Soap

Who would have thought that a combination of olive oil, coconut oil, emu oil, castor oil, and peppermint essential oils would actually make for a less oily face?

V&M Natural's Karma Cleanse soap has natural oils to both soothe and moisturize skin, while French green clay and kaolin clay help to both clean out and tighten pores.

Price: P295 for 135g or avail of My Soap Arsenal (available during sale/bazaar weekends)which is P1,000 for any 5 V&M Naturals soaps

Review: Maybelline Great Lash Mascara Water Proof

Price: P350 12.7mL

When you hear about a product that's been around since before your parents were born, you're bound to get a little bit curious. Maybelline is bringing their iconic mascara to the Philippines for a "limited time" (until September) which I assume to mean that they're testing if it'll sell before deciding to make it a regular item like it is abroad.