In2it Moisture Release Lipstick in Flame

ME, IN A RED LIPSTICK?!
I needed a little oomph in the lipstick department so I went around to look for a nice shade. I already have pinks and peaches so I would like some deep red color just because.

I got In2it's Moisture Release lipstick in Flame from a department store. I tried it out with the tester and I was astounded at the pigmentation. It was flaming red like I've never seen before. I'm too used to the pinks and peaches. I was doubting if I should take it because it costs around P420.00 something and I can only use it sparingly or during special occasions.



You can see how really red it is. It's totally seriously red. But what I like best about this is that it is wonderfully moisturizing and doesn't create cracks or make the lines of my lips prominent like other lipstick seem to do (I like Nyx but it shows the lines on application.)

It glides easily and a single swipe has a lot of color already. Its not hard to apply. Its a great line to try out for those who like lipsticks but are suffering from chappy lips.



It looks a little orangey here don't you think? Maybe its the afternoon sunshine.

Thanks for reading! :)

Full of Lace

What's keeping me busy these days? Well, not much. Things have been kind of slow lately so I'm trying new things and spreading my skills into handmade crafts.

I've always been a huge huge fan of romantic dresses and accessories. I like tulle, satin, lace, other sheer fabrics, pearls and rhinestones, pastel colors and soft floral designs. It's a little general if I describe it, but here's a picture of what I had in mind from a picture taken from SuperKawaiiMama :

That shop is heaven! Those stuff are so beautiful! I would love to browse that store. Most of the time I can't find it here from where I am, and I always end up disappointed. I browse for it in various online stores and sometimes if I'm lucky I find a piece or two.

Because I have a lot of time on my hands now, I went to some craft stores and found lovely rolls of lace and ribbons, got some rhinestones and pearls and various delicate fabrics that I think I will use.

Overnight, I managed to make one bracelet. This one is made up of antique lace and faux pearls. Those aren't easy to make as I thought. But I really enjoyed it, especially when I finished all the pearls and proceeded to make the rose out of a gray ribbon. I sewed it on one end of the bracelet and there! I finished it!



I also made some other stuff because I purchased a bigger roll of lace in a different design. I made a headband...

I also put it on my favorite barrette (because it needs that oomph!)

And finally a small lacey hair accessory that I am currently using when I go out! The design is a clone of the decoration on the headband above. I really really like this because I can put it anywhere, not just on my hair. I also wear it as a little brooch or put it on on my cellphone keychain too.

I just bought a couple of strings of pearls, as well as pink and gold ribbon. I'm thinking of making more hair accessories for me and my friends to wear. I really love those from Jesus Diamante, a japanese hime gyaru fashion brand. I'll try to look for some inspirations too! :)

thanks for reading!

Meiji Amino Collagen Powder

Oprah featured the Meiji Amino Collagen Powder as "The Japanese Women's Secret to Youth and Beauty" in one of their shows and it is an instant hit for those beauty-conscious women all over the world trying to find an effective supplement to fight against aging and restore their youthful skin.

I have a sister who lives in Japan, so I talked to her to ask if she could find me a can of collagen powder. Little did I know, she drinks regularly those instant collagen drinks from Shiseido! Those are pricey but all the women she knows swear by the drink. She also told me how collagen is a HUGE thing in Japan, and how everything advertises collagen now. HUGE market, I tell you. They have collagen lipstick and lipglosses, collagen ingredients in mascara, pure collagen+vit e soaps, fruit juices with collagen and anti-aging, and even lemon flavored collagen candy!


WHEW!

It was easy peasy for her to get me the Meiji powder as it is available in convenience stores, even. I just asked her for a can, instead of hoarding a lot. I'm not too sure if I'll like it. So there are sellers from ebay and multiply who have this, but they jack the price up sooo much! I saw one selling this for around P1,500 and another for P2,000. My sister told me that she bought it around the price range for P400-500! Better find a relative who's in Japan and let them buy for you guys!

Amino collagen promises a "beautiful, smooth and toned skin", helping it become "supple, radiant and moist" with regular use. One review from Lioness in Japan who's a collagen drinker herself found that she had a youthful look to her after taking the powder regularly.

In her website she tells of another experience with Amino collagen:

"She witnessed a Japanese gal pal’s transformation a year after she left for Taipei and returned for a visit in Japan — apparently her middle-aged friend’s skin changed dramatically from a papery, dry state to becoming more supple and smooth. All the friends in their group jumped into the habit immediately. My student took it for four months and I thought she looked much better. Let me clarify that her fine lines were still there but the texture of her skin looked more plump and youthful." Taken from Lioness in Japan

Very nice piece of information, right?

Lets open the can shall we...






The Meiji can has a plastic scoop inside, and it helps regulate your collagen intake. The first thing I noticed about the powder is that its not finely milled. It seems a little coarse compared to most milk powders. But the powder is very light! The second thing I noticed is the smell...

THE SMELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok so this isn't the nastiest thing in the world, but its not the most fragrant-smelling either. I researched a little about collagen and found out that Meiji Amino Powder comes from fish-derived collagen. No wonder it smells a little funky. Whenever I open the can, I kind of hold my breath a little.

I prepared a normal Milo drink which I take everyday (yes, everyday! It gives me a little energy boost in the morning.) and added a scoop of collagen powder which consists of 5,000mg of collagen, which is the recommended daily intake. You can take Amino Collagen in any drink you drink regularly/everyday, be it a fruit juice, tea, morning soup, chocolate or milk drink.

I heard somewhere that Amino collagen powder is best taken at night before you go to sleep. And it is most absorbed by the body in an empty stomach, or else you drink it 2-3 hours after a full/heavy meal, or 1-2 hours after a light meal.

But what can I do, this package from Japan arrived around 9:00am and I was too excited to wait until bedtime! :)

What can I say about my initial taste?
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As you might have guessed....
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It tastes NASTY.

LOL!

For what is advertised as a "FLAVORLESS" powder, it sure distorts the smell and taste of Milo! At the first big sip I nearly choked and the second sip I made a face, until the last drop I was mildly disgusted. I finished it all because I couldn't very well throw this "Canned Fountain of Youth" away now, could I?

There are people who only mix the collagen with water, and I can't fathom how they could stand the taste and smell!

"This is healthy", I kept on telling myself. "You're 23 and the amount of collagen in the body plunges downwards after 20!"

....Or maybe I should get a bigger mug of Milo, because the ratio should be 1 scoopfull in a 150ml drink. I think I barely reached 100ml in that little teacup. Maybe that's why the collagen taste is so pronounced? I'll try better next time.



If you're in a diet, you can still incorporate the Meiji Amino Collagen in your daily intake as it is Sugar-and-sweetener free, and only contains 27 calories and 0.08 grams of fat! Those are virtually nothing for the price of 5,000mg of beauty-enhancing collagen :)

Thanks for reading!

Beauty Secret: Insanely Smooth Feet

I'm going to share to you my secret in maintaining healthy, smooth and supple skin on the feet. I'm sure many of you practice this...

One of my favorite parts of my body (and there's very few of them) is my feet. It is something I take care of as much as I can and it has fast pay off as far as I can tell. My toes, sole and heels are all accounted for! That's why I'm proud to say that my heels aren't chappy, my soles don't have thick skin, and the skin on my feet are nice to touch.

I think that we should all take care of our feet. They're the farthest from our body, and sometimes we neglect them. I don't buy those expensive foot creams to keep the skin soft, I buy only drugstore products but I make sure that it does its job well.

I do this routine every night after I cleanse and moisturize my face and body.

1. START WITH CLEAN FEET

Take a small damp towel and clean your feet all over. Its best to swipe the instep, the heels and in between the toes. If you want to disinfect your feet, its good too. Take an isoprophyl alcohol, spread the fluid on the towel and gently pat on the skin.

2. PREPARE YOUR STUFF

Doesn't take much to achieve this! All you need is a moisturizer and a pair of socks (even mismatched pairs like mine! LOL!) Just like any part of the body, you need to moisturize the feet. All you need is your favorite lotion or even a face moisturizer that you like. I think that those get soaked very easily. I used Lander Hydrating Cocoa Butter since it's virtually always on my bodycare stash that I take it out rarely because I only use it if I have some dry parts of on the body like my elbows and knees. As much as possible use those lotion that were designed for dry skin.

3. START MOISTURIZING

Take a generous amount and spread liberally on your feet! Take note that you may have to apply it 2-3 times to get the desired thickness. The more you apply the better! Have fun massaging your foot, and make sure to get the skin in between the toes, too. It is important that you get more lotion on the driest part of your foot.



4. COVER!
Leave the whole thing overnight and there you are! The first time I tried this I had to wait after 3 consecutive days for the smoothening to take effect. I had super dry, and scaly heels before, but with regular moisturizing soaks, my feet are callus free and super soft now!

Take care! :)

My Silly Little Makeup/Skincare Stash

"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud"
-Coco Chanel

When I started this blog, all the make up I had were Maybelline Pressed Powder and an Alba Organics Terra Tints Lipbalm. I didn't even have a proper lipstick, no eyeliner, no eyeshadows or blush! Err, well, Ok so up to now I still don't have any eyeshadows and blush (shocking right?) but I'm remedying that with the Majolica Majorca jeweling line soon! I looked at the other ladies' stash and I am just floored at how many stuff you have to have on your drawer.

I wish I had that many brush, I wish I had that many palettes, I wish I had that many shades of pink and peach blushes! Even TheMakeupSob has like 200 lipsticks!? Goodness! XD

I used to believe you only need one of each thing to keep you satisfied. Especially when you find the color that suits your face. If I didn't start on this beauty blog, I would have scoffed at someone for having 10 lipsticks, "HOW NINCOMPOOPY! THAT MANY? WHAT DOES SHE THINK SHE IS, SOME KIND OF ALIEN WITH 10 LIPS?!?" Hahah, that kind of thinking. Now, I believe that you just can't have enough. There are so many shades to choose from. So many brands to try. So many things to buy! It's a downward spiral actually.

So I am here to show you what I have. Its so meager, I tell you. I don't even have to review most of the products here because you all have probably tried it already, or wouldn't really try it because you have a better product than what I have.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS.

LOL. See? So small! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I want more! But some they say its not a matter of how much you have, but if what works for you. Well all of them do their job well, surprisingly. I'm not really sure about how valid that claim is though, maybe I'm just saying that because I don't know any better? LOL! I freaking hope not!

TOP MOST: FACE STUFF
1. Biore Moisturizer - Daily moisturizer for face and neck. This is so good to me.
2. Clean and Clear Moisturizer - Didn't work for me because it left weird streaks and left me looking freakishly gray (I'm guessing because of the sunscreen) so I use it on my feet during daytime! Well, I hate wasting products and it has SPF 15 and its moisturizing enough anyway.
3. Nivea Sparkling White Night Cream - Very nice! This did lighten my skin! I'll post a review of this soon, along with the Nivea Sparkling White Foaming Face Wash.
4. Shiseido Revital Cream - I use this sparingly. It has a tendency of overmoisturizing me! Leaves me oily when I put it on at night. I only use it when I am in total need of something non-drying.
5. Nivea Age Defying Hand Cream Q10 - Keeps the skin on my hands soft, has a really nice smell too. My palms stopped being too rough - it used to be so rough like crazy! It also has a lightening effect somehow, the skin on my knuckles used to be like a 5 shades darker, now its just like 2 shades darker than the skin all around it. Its such a surprise. Sometimes I use it on my toes too, if I'm feeling particularly worried about that part of my feet. Hands? Feet? They're basically the same anyway.

FIRST LAYER
1. Pink and white box - my usual face stuff! All of them are staples. Well except the careline blush which seems to never work on my face
2. Transparent box - nail stuff. Some Skinfood, Etude, Revlon and Caronia. I have a trusty sharp nail thingy that I have no idea what's called.
3. Blue Box #1 - Lip stuff! Some NYX and an IN2IT lippie (which I will post a swatch soon- It probably the most moisturizing lipstick I've tried), Godiva and The Body Shop balm.
4. Blue Box #2 - Eye stuff! Fashion21 eyeliner that smudges so bad, a jumbo eyeliner from San San, eye makeup remover pen from Revlon, Shiseido Integrate Darcy lipliner, Maybelline Volum Express and Victorias Secret Very Sexy mascara

SECOND LAYER
Some stocks that don't use yet. The kojic soap and tissues, some random mineral concealer and eyeshadow samples, Beauty Credit lipgloss and the Majolica Majorca pressed powder.

The third layer is my jewelry stash. Not much and all of them are fashion jewelry anyway! Most of them are gifts as the only jewelry I bought are the handmade swarovski ones from Pumpkinbeads.

ALSO, I NEED BRUSHES!! DO YOU SEE BRUSHES THERE?!?! YEAH!! I DIDN'T TOO!! Darn it. I need brushes. I can't seem to find the best one that fits my budget.

There! I posted it! Now you know why I don't do FOTDs because I look bare all the time! No fancy eyeshadows or blushes to make my face pop up or anything. My nail stash is so tiny not much color mixing and stamping I can do, so no NOTDs too! I'll wait a couple of months until I'll build it up. Do share with us your make up drawer/cabinet/stash/traincase/kit/whatever you have :)

How about you guys?
Did you start with a lot of make up already or did you accumulate that over the months/years?

Thanks for reading! See you around! :)

Bioré® Pore Perfect Shine Control Oil-Free Moisturizer

The first time I heard of the brand Bioré was when I was watching one of the youtube beauty gurus, Michelle Phan. She featured some great brands I haven't heard before like ROC and Queen Helene. I remembered that I saw a moisturizer, exfoliator, and deep cleansing wipes that were from Bioré on our department store (it was next to J/A/S/O/N/ and I love their organic line!). Since I needed a new moisturizer since the Clean and Clear Facial Moisturizer with Vitamin C and SPF 15 didn't work for me, I went ahead and bought 2 Bioré Shine Free Moisturizer.

Now I heard good things from Michelle Phan about this brand and I was ecstatic that at the first try I really really really REALLY love the product! From the first time I tried this out until now, it hasn't disappointed me! I used to hate putting on moisturizer before because it left weird streaks on my face and neck, and made me go gray all over. I had some hesitancy over purchasing moisturizers but I really can't do away with it. I need to keep my skin elastic and supple! Ugh to wrinkles and bad skin!

Its a great product to recommend, since I am in love with it. Its my staple moisturizer and it will take a LOT to have me switch to another one/another brand. My face has become smoother somehow, and it is especially smooth after every time I slather it on. It doesn't have SPF, brightening, whatever but it does its work to keep my face oil-free for at least 6 hours (I put it on in the morning before I start working and it lasts.)

Pros
1. Does not clog pores! Its really nice because its a very very light moisturizer.
2. Controls shine during the day very well. It dries matte and keeps the skin really smooth afterwards.
3. Hygenic because it has a pump. Plus points because it pumps easily and because of that you can have a little control on how much product goes out.
4. Readily available in beauty care aisles in malls.
5. VERY VERY AFFORDABLE! Its usual price is P265.00 ($6) and for a 50ml pump bottle thats a frikkin' steal. And then it went and got marked down at P84.50 ($2) just recently!!!!!!!!! I AM GOING TO HOARD! (I bought 2 at the first purchase.)

Cons
1. Weird smell especially when spreading it on the face. Its not that it smells totally bad, but I'm kind of used to the whole fruity/floral smell of my skincare stuff. For me the smell kind of reminds me of opening a boxful of books. It's not that it's rotten, but it smells like something very earthy.

I usually pump a coin-sized amount. This is for the face only. I spread it as evenly as I can on my forehead, temples, cheeks, nose, around my mouth, and my chin. Its very easy to work with since its almost watery.

Spread it all around. At first its kind of fluid like but give it time and more spreading motions and your skin will soak it all up!
There you go. Moisturized! But matte! I love it. If you can feel my arms its really smooth.

Step:
1. Moisturize (Bioré Moisturizer)
2. Cover (Skinfood Aloe BB Cream SPF 20 PA++)
3. Veil (Skinfood Buckwheat Loose Powder #23 - used Ellana retractable kabuki brush)

Its really so good that its my staple moisturizer. I always layer it on my face before the bb cream and it prevents me from getting oily. I don't agree with mixing moisturizer and foundation/bb cream, some people do this and it weirds me out. I guess because the moisturizer is supposed to seep in through the skin, whereas foundation and bb creams are supposed to be on the surface only. Putting moisturizer before helps my bb cream become more spreadable, since it glides so easy with the moisturizer on.

Hopefully this is helpful to Nikki she requested this as she's on the lookout for a moisturizer. Recommend her your own! Go to her site

We Have A Giveaway Winner!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone who have joined my giveaway! It means a lot to me to have you guys! (^___^)

I gathered the entries from the comments box and here's the complete list! (which surprised me btw, because I thought it would be like just less than 10 but lo and behold- we have 17 entries!)

1 CamRenRai16(SHOBE)

2 CHARRY

3 rhaindropz

4 Nix

5 Cabyness

6 Sherry

7 Calia Yang

8 trizh űű

9 RHiiAN

10 // krissy ♥

11 ♥ mia

12 beauty and geekness

13 madhel

14 Nina

15 ayn

16 yhen said...

17 luckyfinds


And here is the winner via random.org

CONGRATS CHARRY of EYECANDY!!!!!

Please send me your mailing address so I can ship you your prizes ASAP! :)

And for all of you guys, thanks so much! I'll be sure to do more giveaways in the future.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL OF YOU!

See you around,
-Aicha