my new MLBB lipstick: Avon's Simply Pretty

I have been looking for a good nude lipstick ever since. I have tried a lot but it just doesn't work with my lips. My first nude lipstick is MAC Blankety. It gives me that perfect nude lips without the cadaver-look.

But the search for a "my lips but better" is not yet over. I still want that nude lips but with a touch of color. Blankety, while it is the perfect nude, it is really NUDE. What i want is a subtle hint of color without overly shouting that i have lipstick on.

I have tried a couple of nude lipsticks but it just doesn't seem to work on me...
*sad*

Boy, was i glad when Sis Thriszha gave me Avon's Simply Pretty Love in Bloom lipstick because it is exactly what i am looking for!

It looks cute with that heart-shaped tip though i still prefer my lipsticks to have that normal pointy tip for easier application. I find that i can get away with using it without a lip liner just by having a very evened-out pointy-tip. The shade that i love is the Pink Rose. I don't even know how to describe the color for i'm not good in describing color details but this is how it looks like.

.. uhhh... mauve pink?!
shiranai! i don't know...

Anyway, i love how it looks on my lips. Here are the pics of my bare lips & also the one with it on..

Doesn't it look nice?
It is able to even out my natural lip color, which is pretty pigmented!

Staying power is pretty decent. I was really surprise when it lasted on me for hours! No heavy eating or drinking of course. I don't need to reapply every now & then.

Just make sure that you use a lip balm underneath to prep your lips prior to application. This is not matte so it won't really dry your lips out but it still helps to put a balm underneath. If im going to compare it to a mac finish it would be like Satin finish.

What's great about this one is that it is really cheap! I bought a back up for this & it's only for Php 130 (approx. $3), though it only has 3.5g, but it's no big deal for you can just buy it again & again at your avon dealer. You can just wait for a certain sale period, because i know that Avon usually give discounts every now & then. If i am able to catch it at a discount price i'll gladly buy 5 more of this! LOL!

So, let's make a summary:
PROS:

• pigmented
• staying power is ok
• cheap
• locally available
• doesn't make my lips chap like crazy unlike other lipsticks.

CONS:

• none that i could think of

Will i buy it again?!
Definitely! It's already a must on my make-up case!
^_^

Have you tried any Avon lipsticks?
What's your favorite?

Hope that you all will have a good day!

Jaa ne~!
^_^

Avon Simply Pretty Fresh Radiance Makeup Base Pink Glow In depth Review

Wow! That sure is one of my longest post title ever!

The first primer that i have ever used was Benefit's That Gal...which i love because it does make me look awake & brighter...especially when im feeling a bit under the weather & my face looks so sordid...add the fact that it's pink & the scent is quite lovely..even if i prefer fragrance-free stuff, but i learned to love it & has become one of my 'wake me up"-er ...(you can read my review HERE)

What i just found as a major disadvantage with it is that it's not available locally. You either have to buy it from Ebay or thru local resellers, which often times proves to be hard to find since not everybody uses it.

As i search for a good alternative for it, i saw this tiny pink tube on the online catalog of Avon Philippines...& i wanted to buy one but since i don't know any Avon Lady, it took me sometime before im able to get my hands on them..

For the cheap price of Php150 (more or less $4), it's pretty cheap to let it pass...

We know that most primers are pretty expensive, so i was actually surprise to know that this is really cheap. Here in the Philippines, Revlon is considered as high end brand already..lol.. because its expensive! The Revlon Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer, which i heard is just more or less $12 in US is sold here at $18+....so just imagine how much the REAL high end brand is here...Guess how much the price is for UDPP.....if its $17 in US...you can buy it here (from local resellers) from $21 to $28!

Anyways, going back to the real review...

It's just 10ml on a small squeeze tube, but im pretty sure that it will go a long way for you don't really need a lot....


It's so little that my Lola camera (Lola is the tagalog word for Grandma) can't even focus on the description... (-_-")

I tried looking in the internet for some info about it, but i guess that this is not available in every country that's why i can't find info about it...(correct me if im wrong about this not being available in different countries)

I'll just type it out for you,gals.. (i have to thank my little bro for helping me with this!)
Since, there's no available info on the net so this might be the first real info available so i'll really give it a full blow by blow...lol!

"Make your make-up last longer with Simply Pretty Fresh Radiance Makeup Base. Apply before foundation for an extra radiant glow. Smooth moisturizing formula glides on gently to give an even & brighter skin tone."

Ingredients:
Water, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Glycerin, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Polysurbate 60,
Stearic Acid, Talc, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Myristyl Myristate,
Triethanolamine, SD Alcohol 40-B, Glyceryl Stearate, Sorbitan Stearate,
Isopropyl Palmitate, Cetyl Alcohol, Carbomer, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Lanolin,
Methylparaben, Lanolin Oil, Lysine, Oryzanol, Propylparaben, Tocopherol, Fragrance,
May Contain Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Iron Oxides

Here is a pic of it
It doesn't look that pink...
it looks more like a pinkish beige at first, but if you spread it out it would then be pink.

Here is a picture if it's spread, together with Benefit. You can see that That Gal is pink & Avon is just pinkish.

What's great about it is that it got that tiny hint of pink "sheen"...which i think is better because it really gives that nice glowing, dewy look especially if you just wear it alone. I guess its because that sheen will reflect light (in a mild way) that could result in you looking glowy & radiant...

See this pic?
I put it a tiny amount of it...then i just lightly spread it out just so that you can see how it stands out clearly...this pic was taken indoors...night time..

Then this would be how it would look like if you spread it. You might not see the difference between the two, unless you click it & you'll see that the one with Avon have that radiant look to it...sugoi!
Last but not the least, it makes the make-up adhere to your skin better....for its a bit 'sticky' but not slick...

Ok...after that lengthy text about it, here's just a breakdown of it.

Pros:

• cheap
• easy to buy IF you have an Avon Lady near you
• convenient enough to toss in your tote bag
• fragrance-free
• hygienic packaging
  

Cons:

• might not be available internationally (again, im not sure about this..let me know if this is available in other countries too)
• not that good in controlling oil (in my case 4hrs at most)
  

I'll definitely buy this...actually ill buy this instead of That Gal...all for the above reasons....first & foremost is that its cheap but i think gives me a more radiant look instead of the more expensive primers that i have tried.

So with that, im done with it..

Jaa~!

its a happy day today!

Today is my Boyfriend's birthday..yay!
i so love my guy!

We have been together for 6years & still counting..
im sure that he is THE ONE for me!

Happy Birthday,Ny! (ny = short for hunny XD )

Then today i also got my packages....at last!
Oh Gosh, i waited forever for these...good thing i got them now...

I got 3 packages....


One from Linda Granillo, it was from a blog sale....


It's a blue wrist let & MAC Zoom Lash. This is my first MAC stuff!hooray!

Next is what i got from Stylemaven of Ebay...

The Dariya Hair Fringe....coolness! now i have it..har har har!

& last but not the least, from Makeup Mix Shop...


I just bought a couple of stuff from Miss Toma, things that i'll be including in my future contest...

Im actually surprised that the LA Colors Dual Blusher are this big!
I was thinking that it would be small like the CoverGirl Cheekers...
Im so loving this one! I definitely see myself buying this again!


This is so cool!
3 down, 4 more to go!
^_^

2nd Make up Mix Shop haul - Ecotools

Its Package day for me today...its the one i ordered from Makeup Mix Shop...i highly recommend that shop..

Moving on...here it is: ...fresh from the package....

And of course, we wanna see what's inside...
Mostly Ecotools... The moment that i read Nikki's blog about it, i knew that i have to have it...so i put on my order because im afraid ill ran out of it..lol..

All in all, i got the:
-Ecotools 5 piece brush set
-Ecotools 6 piece brush set
-Ecotools foundation brush (this is what im looking forward to the most)
-Avon Shimmering Powder (i believe we dont have it here)
-plus some freebies too! Miss Toma sure is very generous!

Since the total amount of my order is above $30 so i was able to have another NYX Megashine Lip Gloss in Nude...then i used the code PRETTY NIKKI (im sure Nikki will have a kick out of this one...but im serious!!! XD), i was able to get the sample jar of Tanushree eyeshadow...then she included a sample bag of the Aishwarya blush plus i also got a coupon!...wow..isn't that such a great giveaway...?
That's why you have to shop there...!!!

Ok, on with the brushes...first one on the row is the 6pc brush set, then the foundation brush & the 5 pc set...

I like how earth-themed the package is...considering that it really is an earth-friendly product...so yay for that!

Nikki already gave an in-depth review of the 5pc brush set...click here to read it. So, ill skip that one...

As what i said, the foundation brush is what im looking forward to the most... mainly because of all the brushes that they have this is said to be really good..though i think all the brushes are good, but the foundation brush got the most positive remarks...Upon opening it, I saw a coupon inside...though i dont think i will be able to use it... It says "Save 50cents on ANY Ecotools product"...

I haven't used the brush of course, but i like how soft but firm it is.
I like brushes that are firm (but still soft) because i am able to control it unlike with super soft brushes..I think this is a very promising brush...though i dont use liquid foundations that much, but if i do, i guess that this will be perfect for the job.Look at how it forms in a perfect curve...it means that its resilient so applying foundation will be easy since you have the total control of it...I'll just have to test it first to see if my impressions stand true...

Then on with the 6pc piece brush set:
I got another coupon again....I need to test all of it first to know if its good or not... Especially on the shedding part...I'll get back to it as soon as i have tested everything out.

Although if you're going to ask my initial opinion, i think its a great set...except for the Lash & Brow Groomer...It's just that for the groomer, the brow bristles seems a little too rough to the touch..

I got one question though... Why are the brush pockets outside?I mean look at it.... Aren't cosmetic brush rolls supposed to protect the brushes inside them from dirt & whatever?...So, how the heck will this do its job?See the inside of the brush roll?...its empty...no pockets whatsoever...i can't just put the brushes inside without anything holding it because it will just eventually fall off.I can't just roll it the other way around because the crease of the roll points that it should be like how it was. If i do, then it would just form a budge & ill end up ruining the form.. *sigh*

Then on with the pigment samples...

The last time i did a swatch of it on my skin, i end up ruining the color of the red pigment...so to avoid it, i just put it on a piece of white paper...so that you'll get to see it.

Tanushree is a baby pink eyeshadow sheen that is so pretty...i think it can even be used as a blush & even on the lips...how cool is that?...i love this one...
Aishwarya is more of like a taupe-y brown blush...on which i guess its more of a bronzer...

Well, that's all there is....

Hope you'll all have a great day,lovelies!
^_^

PS:
if you notice my nails, i dont have anything on right now because i wanted my nails to take some time off from too much nail polish...
I just brought 2 artist brushes that i think i could use for nail arts...but i have to experiment first...
I'll put an update if im able to use them for my nails...
^_~

Avon Daring Definition review

Sorry about my feeble attempt to take a pic of the mascara...i failed again... T_T

I was able to have my hands on this mascara just a few weeks ago. I wasn't able to try it out the time that i brought it since i still have a few mascaras with me. Since im about to dispose one of my mascaras i decided to use this now. The first time i used this was when i did the spring look.

First thing that i noticed when i opened it was the brush..im like..'ok, the brush wand is thin enough, looks like application is a breeze'...but i was wrong! Good thing that i applied it on my lower lashes first (i always do that when im trying out new mascaras...i dunno why though), because the wand got wide spaces in between that's why its doubly hard to coat the lashes without smearing your lash line....

Uh oh..so imagine how hard it was for me to apply it on my lashes...i was so extra careful when i did because the eye makeup that i did, i lined my upper lash line using white. It took me minutes in applying it...& with me being super extra careful, i still got some mascara on my upper lash line *sigh*..so i had to apply the white line again...

Im totally fine if it will take me a while to put it as long as i get good results...but NO! boy,was i wrong!

It just weighed my lashes down...At first i thought that its because i put too much makeup on...settled on my lashes..making it heavy..so i just ignored it & took the picture then post it... XD

But the next day when i was about to go out & used it, it was still the same. This time i did not put anything. I just used UDPP, then curled my lashes. That's my everyday thing...just mascara....as soon as i put it on, it looks as if i didn't even curl my lashes at all... =_="

Since i told myself that i wanted to do a review, i decided to just compare it with the mascara that is already on the way to the rubbish bin...the Maybelline Volum' Express... took pictures so that you would have ideas.

Of course i curled my lashes prior to taking pics, just curled it...no concealer or whatever...i used Volum' Express on my left eye & Daring Definition on my right eye. Yes, i have uneven eyes...XD...but just ignore it..lets just focus on the lashes... XP

Looking at the pic, the Volum' Express was able to hold my curl waaaaayyyyy better than the Daring Definition.One thing about the Daring Definition is that if you love to have spiky lashes, then you have to give this a try because it will make your lashes spiky...i guess its because of the wand..again..the wand got wide gaps in between so its possible to create spikes. & with that, if you are opting for a cat-eye effect then this might work. You just need to comb your lashes towards the outer eye area to elongate your eyes...

A closeup look so that you will see it clearly.

I used Volum Express here ----->
-lash is curled
-its been that way for like 5 minutes & curls are still intact...yay for that!
-will i recommend this? yes!
- ^_^




<----- I used Daring Definition here
-looks like i did not even curl it
-5 minutes has passed since i put it so its already a bit dry, even if i try to curl it..it will stay that way...
-will i recommend this? no!
- v_v




Ok, one thing about this is that it got a thick formula, which i guess why they call it as a mousse mascara. At first i don't have an idea why say 'mousse mascara' but after using it...i already have a fair idea why...

I don't like the wand...& the formula... It takes a long time to dry...for which this mascara wont suit people on the go... If it does dry..it doesn't budge or flake which is supposed to be good, but if you forgot to comb your lashes before it dries out you will be left with a clump of lashes...
I can say that when its dry, its good..but i hate the waiting part...a lot could happen while you're waiting for it to dry... it could smear & it could clump...

One more thing...the formula is so thick that you don't need to apply more than 2 coats...if you do..you'll end up looking ridiculous...You'll see it when you remove it, that its so black (i got mine in black..that's why)...feels like you packed your lashes with mascara...

It might not work for me, but i think this would work best for people who have lashes that are a bit hard to control...because this would definitely control & define those types of lashes...but for me who have short lashes...this won't do...

My Makeup Mix haul!

Yatta!

I picked up my Makeup Mix shop haul today at the post office.


& of course, the best part of receiving a package is opening it! As soon as i opened it, i was actually surprised to find out that it's mostly consists of NYX items....hehe...as what i said before, i forgot what i ordered & i don't want to check the confirmation mail on my inbox because i want it to be a surprise....& surprised i was!

Anyhow, this is the contents of the package:
-NYX Doll Eye Mascara : Long Lash
-NYX Concealer in a jar : Beige
-NYX Jumbo Pencil : Milk (i've been wanting this one for so long!)
-NYX Fruit Lip Gloss : Strawberry
-NYX Round Lipstick : Femme
-NYX Round Lipstick : Thalia
-L.A. COLORS Art Deco Nail Art Lacquer : White
-AVON Haiku Parfum Spray



What's great about it is that I got some freebies!
Isn't the owner just so uber nice?! (i think her name is Toma, i think i read it on Nikki's blog) & she even wrote a handwritten thank you message on it....Im touched...

The one on that cute silver pouch is a NYX Megashine Lip Gloss in Burgundy & a sample jar of Makeup Masala Minerals in Priya... & that's not all... just looking at the pic..you will see that i got another one...
look....
did you see it?...
can you identify what it is?....
no?....
ok...ill give you a close up look...


See that.... I got 3!!!
(oh & also the handwritten 'thank you' message...due to some circumstances, i have to erase my real name...sorry about that...but isn't that just so sweet!it got a personal touch!)
She even included a sample baggie of Vishesh pigment...doesn't that color just look great? The pigments are great! Here is a swatch of the 2 that i got:

I dunno what happened to my camera, but Vishesh is actually a plum-like red shimmer... & its really gorgeous! Priya on the other hand is like a light beige sheen.

As for the other stuff, I don't think i'll be using the Dolleye Mascara yet since i still have a few mascaras with me. Ill just keep that for now. Im not a lipstick person so for the round lipsticks ill be trying it out if i have the chance to go out.

The Haiku perfume, i included it because i can still remember the time that Avon released it that i liked it. Although i did not buy it at that time, but i remember that i wanted to buy it before but for some reason i didn't. Based on Makeup Alley, most people find it good, so i might as well just try it out for myself.

For the next few days Im gonna have my hands full trying out the products that i have..This will keep me occupied since I'll be taking this whole month off from work. I wanted to be able to relax for some time, since i can't even remember taking a vacation from work for the past couple of years.....

I lost my job because of the economic crisis...& i felt before that it was the end of the world...lol!...but now im thinking that it's not exactly that bad...

I got a job...actually the companies that i applied for accepted me & now im having a tough time deciding what company i will choose...

& now i can take a vacation..isn't that just great...?!

Life just works in ways that we can't understand..
its just up to us how we are going to make the most out of it...

Ok,back to my haul....
ill do a couple of reviews as soon as i have tried & tested most of them....
so,until the next time,ladies!

Have a great day & always smile!
^_^