Bench Fix Frizz Away and Pure Mist Facial Water

One of the things that I love about Bench is that their hair care and beauty care products come cheap. Prices range from around P100-P300 so if you’re looking for something worth more than the money you spent, I think you should give Bench body products a try (if you haven’t already). First time I tried their stuff was around last month. I got their Bench FIx Frizz Away and Pure Mist Facial Water.

"Say hello to revitalized hair! Expect soft and manageable tresses with healthy shine after use. Fix Frizz Away is designed to tame and codition unruly hair" was what it said at the back of the bottle. I must say, this product isn’t too bad. It’s not too greasy like the run-of-the-mill shine serums for its price, which is (if I remember correctly) P105 for 35 ml. How to use it: dispense a pea-sized amount and stroke through your hair with your fingers. That’s easy. But this is how you maximize it: spread evenly on damp hair and DO NOT APPLY any higher than that the area of your head above your ears. If you do that, the serum will make your hair lose volume at the roots. Also, put more serum on the ends of your hair if you like more definition.

Damage: P105 

Would I buy this again? Hmm, I want to try the L’Oreal serum next. But this is okay in the meantime.

"A botanical enriched moisturizing mist formulated to relax and soothe skin instantly. A combination of moisturizing additives and wheat extract to effectively hydrate skin." I bought this because beauty blogs insist that facial mist is indispensable since it prevents foundation from caking later in the day. Also, it moisturizes skin. Pure Mist is just like water—it doesn’t have a fragrance, it’s not greasy or oily. The consistency and scent is exactly like water! I checked the ingredients of the product and it contains flower extracts, lactates, glycerines and allantoin. Allantoin! According to Wikipedia:

Manufacturers cite several beneficial effects for allantoin as an active ingredient in over-the-counter cosmetics: a moisturizing and keratolytic effect, increasing the water content of the extracellular matrix and enhancing the desquamation of upper layers of dead skin cells, increasing the smoothness of the skin; promotion of cell proliferation and wound healing; and a soothing, anti-irritant, and skin protectant effect by forming complexes with irritant and sensitizing agents.

Interesting right? I bought this a month ago and I only used it once, just to test it. It didn’t break me out, which is awesome, considering how easy I break out with new products. It made my skin feel fresh which is nice especially if it’s on a hot summer afternoon and you’re wearing icky, already uncomfortable makeup.

Damage: P129

Would I buy this again: I’m not that convinced about the absolute necessity of facial mists in general. However, I’ll continue using this product and see.

I Am Now A Monave Convert!

I’m not really a fan of foundation since I tend to break out whenever I put something new on my face. I usually stick to lightweight powders (like in those from the Face Shop and the Rice Powder from Palladio) since they give a nice coverage without the icky feeling of foundation. For the blemishes, I use a trusty concealer I’ve been using since high school. Guess what! Nichido. Super cheap stuff!

But I feel that I need to upgrade. I reckoned that foundation gives better coverage and is less time-consuming than my concealer-loose powder combo. I tried other brands, but the results were usually terrible—I couldn’t find my shade, plus, my skin protested in a very violent manner. Breakouts galore, I swear.

So I turned to mineral makeup. I’ve heard about how great the stuff is for some time now so I wanted to see for myself. I wanted to try Ellana, but the sellers were either out of stock or irresponsible in their delivery. So I got Monave. Here’s me wearing the Monave concealer-foundation in Hyeyeon and Autumn Leaves from the Sultry Blush Collection.

Nice right? I’m still having a bit of trouble buffing everything but I’ll get around to mastering it. I plan to buy more stuff from Monave—it doesn’t feel too heavy on the skin plus it stays put! That’s all a girl really needs, after all. 

WHAT I USED: Monave- Hyeyeon for the face and Autumn on the cheeks, Avon Glimmersticks eyeliner in Blackest Black, In2It brow powder, and Godiva lip balm (I swear—this thing makes lips pink!). here’s a no-fuss natural look.

Enjoy The Heat!

Mornings start out okay, but when the clock strikes 10am, the sun goes on a murderous rampage! I’m sure you’ve noticed it—the heat lately is close to unberable. Thank god for airconditioners right? But like they say, we can always run…but never hide. Ugh.

The sun can be a girl’s best friend. It can give your sallow, overworked skin a chance to glow with a new tan. More often than not though, the sun totally ruins your fashion statement—frizzy hair due to the humidity, melted makeup (grawr), sweaty clothes, uneven tanning and wrinkles. So girls, beware! But most importantly, prepare.

1. Wear sunblock. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Buy a lotion with a high SPF, there are tons out there in the market. For your face, moisturizers, toners and even makeup come with sun protection too.

2. Wear sun glasses. They protect not only your eyes but your face as well (if you’re wearing super large ones, which are fashionable anyway!)

3. Shorts are still hot this summer. Pair some denim ones with a white, linen blouse or a plain cotton shirt to keep your cool. The key word for dressing up in the Philippine heat is simplicity. It’s time to junk the jacket, the heels and the fancy frills—your outfits during the day should be no-nonsense, functional and elegant. You don’t want to sweat too much walking around the metro in those heels right?

4. Always, always bring an umbrella. I know you don’t want your bag to be too full or too heavy. Some people prefer to carry small bags with just enough space to put their kikay kit, wallet, and phone. But make space for an umbrella! Well, if you want to look nice toting an umbrella, try an all-white one. it looks so fresh and neat. Plus, unlike colored umbrellas (especially black) white ones don’t absorb that much heat.

5. Lastly, keep your makeup to a minimum. A tinted moisturizer or light foundation, loose powder, a bronzer, eyebrow powder/pencil, eyeliner and lip gloss should do the trick! Save the complicated eye makeup for the night, when you’ll actually need it. 

Cool Stuff You Could Do With Your Makeup (and then some)

We all love buy-one-take-ones, do-it-alls, and stuff with dual uses. Buying something that can be used for something else saves us money and space. Apply this idea to makeup and let’s see what we got!

1. You can sweep gold eyeshadow on your cheeks, the bridge of your nose and your chin, much like you would a bronzer. It gives you an extra, subtle glow that a bronzer can’t give (since it’s usually dark).

2. White shimmery eyeshadow can double as a highlighter for your face. Apply on the bridge of your nose and your cheekbones for a more defined face. Blend! You see, using just foundation and blush for your face is okay, but sometimes the thick foundation makes your face look flat. A highlighter can solve that problem.

 
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The Face Shop Face Stuff: A Review

If I had good skin, I wouldn’t mind going out of the house wearing only lip balm, blush, and eyeliner. As it is, I have terrible skin—blemishes, uneven skintone, oilyness and all. I think I’ve mentioned somewhere that I’m very self-conscious of how I look. I also LOVE colors! And I like myself. So colors + myself= colors on myself= make-up! Perfect equation.

Anyway one of my favorite cosmetic shops is The Face Shop. Their stuff is fairly cheap and the quality is awesome (powders, eyeshadow, blushes, but the foundation sucks)! I like the personnel at the Mall of Asia branch, they don’t pressure me or anything. I mean, when I buy make-up I take an awfully long time. I take a long time when I buy clothes too, but not as much time as buying cosmetics. I mean, if I don’t like a shirt, I can just throw it in a corner of my messy closet and wait until I like it. But a wrong shade of makeup is something that I can never use short of sugery.

Anyway, here’s my review of three Face Shop prducts: their Dewy Flower Moist Loose Power in 23 Natural Beige, Pro Foundation in 21 Light Beige and the Luminating Loose Pearl Powder in Peach .

Dewy Flower Moist Loose Power

This stuff is awesome! Just put it over your concealer and you’ve got a nice, light finish. If you don’t like using foundation because of the heavy mucky feeling, this is a good option. It will make your skin look smooth, like TV skin smooth. Gush gush gush. The only problem is that it only comes in three shades: Pink Beige, Light Beige and Natural Beige. I have more or less fair skin with yellow undertones, but the Natural Beige shade makes me look like I’m wearing a mask when applied excessively (three or more applications). If you have the typical Filipina skin (tan or beige) using this would be tantamount to suicide: you’d look at your worst. Well, maybe you can use a pat or two, but no more. You have to use foundation appropriate to your skintone to maximize this product if you have dark skin.

Damage: P525

Would I buy it again? Definitely!

Pro Foundation

Hm, this one I don’t really use. First, I broke out! Second, my skin dried and peeled in ugly white patches along my jaw. I’ve read fairly good reviews of this stuff on other websites, but this is not for me. I have a nasty suspicion that any kind of foundation formula will never work for me (but I’m very interested in mineral foundation, still). Anyway, I bought the wrong shade. It’s one shade too light. Muy terible! If you want to buy this from me, please do contact me. I want this thing off my hands.

Damage: P355

Would I buy this again? Doi, no.

Luminating Loose Pearl Powder

Nice stuff. Applied sparingly, it gives you a glow. It has micro-glitters that look awesome when the light strikes your face. I know, who likes glitters in their makeup, but the glitters aren’t really obvious since they’re so finely milled. Once again, don’t overuse, even if you’re mestiza or what. The product comes with a powder puff and a sifter with few and tight holes so there’s really no immediate danger of over-application. What I like about this is that you can also sweep it on your shoulders, collarbone, and cleavage for that extra voom. Great finishing powder.

Damage: P619

Would I buy this again? Yeah!

So there you have it. If people like this, I’ll post more reviews in the future.  

Review: Prestige Color Stories Palette

I love palettes. First, they’re so easy to lug around in your vanity kit. Second, they have all the colors you need for a few days when you’re traveling or during the day when you’re in a different mood and you want to change your look. They’re convenient and practical, so I  buy them when I get the chance.

I was visiting the newly opened Beauty Bar located in the Midtown wing of Robinson’s Ermita. The packaging immediately caught my eye—the palette looked like a planner, with a funky picture of a girl on the cover and a ribbon on the side! It looked very chic and interesting so I got the blue one. There are two Color Stories palettes. The blue one contains eight eyeshadows (around 2 grams each) and the black one has four eyeshadows, two lip glosses and two blushes-cum-eyeshadows. Since I just got two palettes of Penshoppe lipglosses (will blog about them soon), I passed up on the black Prestige palette.

Anyhoo, here are the swatches:

From left to right: a dark hunter green, khaki, baby blue, pink, beige, light green, chocolate brown, off-white

Verdict: the brown and the hunter green are very, very pigmented. The others are pastel colors—the blue, light green and beige are pearly while the off-white, pink, and khaki colors are very glittery. The palette is perfect for day wear, since most of the colors are subtle. If you want to go for a feminine, sweet look, this palette is perfect for you. Also, when I wore the shades (particularly the khaki one) it didn’t rub off easily and lasted throughout the day (note: I’m not acidic and my lids are not oily, so you might want to consider that). The colors won’t overpower your face since they’re so light.

My only gripe about the product is that the glitters in some colors are rather big. I don’t like glitters in my makeup and if they have to be there, they have to be so fine I won’t notice them much.

Damage: P695

Will I buy it again? Uhm. I want to get the black one!

Welcome To Project Vanity

Makeup. Fashion. Beauty. I have it all here for you at Project Vanity, a blog dedicated to updating you on what’s hot in the beauty business. I’ll be featuring tips, glamorous looks, makeovers, reviews, and most importantly, how-tos! If you’re a make-up noob, this blog is perfect for you. It will contain helpful information to aid you on your way to becoming a pro. If you want to be updated on the newest fashion trends, visit Project Vanity for features.

Here goes!