Lovely Things On Ukay Manila Today!

This has got to be one of my favorite batches. Why? Let me show you.

Sunshine yellow tiered dress, P400

Lacy brown vest, P300 paired with Ruffled button down spaghetti strap top, P300

Cropped beige jacket, P450

Dotted white vintage-style dress

Yay! Check them out. Also, today is the start of our End of October Sale. This is your last chance to get items you might have missed at lower prices.

Review: Neutrogena Deep Clean Cleansing Lotion

I finally found a makeup remover that’s cheap and works better than what I used before. Tadah!

Originally P364, bought for P254 on sale

I’ve been using the Neutrogena Deep Clean Cleansing Lotion this past week and I must say that I’m really impressed. I see this product in beauty aisles all the time but never ventured to try it. Why? Because I had a great thing going for me in the form of the Nivea Visage Cleansing Milk, and at a cheaper price too! There was no reason for me to change my makeup remover. However, I saw this Neutrogena item on sale at 30% off so I nabbed it immediately. I’ve always been curious about it to begin with.

So is it good? It’s definitely better than Nivea. This is more fluid (meaning, it’s more watery than lotion-y) so you need only a medium pea-sized drop to rid half your face of makeup. It only takes a couple of swipes using a cotton pad to remove my heavy duty concealer, foundation, eyeliner and pigmented eyeshadows. Once I wipe everything off, the after-feel isn’t sticky at all; I noticed that my face feels clean and fresh. It doesn’t sting my eyes too, which is a huge plus. I love it!

Just a heads up though, this isn’t very good in removing mascara. I usually just try to wash mascara off (gently!) with facial soap and then use makeup remover on the remaining smudges.

Will I buy this again? Yeah! If it’s still on sale. 

Paul Smith Rose Summer Edition

Do you like roses? I do! I love the light, distinctive scent as well as the notion of romance that comes along with this particular flower. Roses smell of love, light, and joy. Don’t you agree?

As promised, this designer perfume smells like real roses - just right, not too heavy and slightly musky. The scent also lasts all day even with just a few spritzes. Rose was released just last March so you can still find this in fragrance bars and of course, in Paul Smith stores (I only know of the one in Greenbelt).

FOTD: Plums and Pinks

Today, I woke up feeling bright and fresh. Of course, I have to reflect that feeling for today’s look! In fact I was so busy putting on makeup I didn’t notice that there was an intensity 3 earthquake in Makati. It could also be that I’m just oblivious to earthquakes in general since I also didn’t feel an intensity 6 earthquake when I was at our 27th floor office in Ortigas. Haha.

For the face I used: MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC 30, MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation in NC 30, Ellana Minerals finishing powder in Espresso Con Panna, NARS Super Orgasm

For eyes: In2It brow powder, Dollface 15-piece Shimmery Neutral Palette (I used the white gold shade on the inner lid, then a plum shade on the outer lid topped by a darker shade of plum to contour), Dollface 28-color neutral palette (highlighted browbone with a beige matte color), Dollface Gel Eyeliner in Brown

For lips: Chapstick lip balm, Dollface 32-color lip palette (6th column, 2nd row pink shade), Smashbox Lipgloss in Crystal

I’m loving this color combo - it’s very flattering on my skintone. I also like the finish of the Dollface shimmery eyeshadows since they’re quite fine and apply seamlessly. Did you notice I used only Dollface stuff on my eyes? I actually stopped buying eyeshadows altogether since I’ve got the 88 shimmer palette, 28 neutral palette, and 15 shimmery neutral palette. I have all the colors I can ever need as of the moment.

How about you, what are your favorite color combos? Palettes? What look are you wearing today? Spill!

I’m In UNO Magazine This Month!

It’s not what you think though, haha. Jayvee Fernandez wrote a cool feature on bloggers for the October issue of UNO with Ornusa Cadness on the cover. I haven’t finished reading this yet but so far I’m really impressed by how classy and suave this magazine is. It’s not just flesh flesh flesh - this magazine is for the man who doesn’t think with his dick. The creative direction and the photography is also stunning. Good job team UNO!

 My first time to buy a men’s magazine! This one is huge-ass, people.

Yay! We’re on page 94. Ive hung out with some of the bloggers featured here before - Noelle, Jen, Bim, Fritz, Rico, and Sasha - and you know what makes them stand out? What makes them successful? They love what they do. Also, in a natural, instinctive way, they know what they’re doing. 

Librarian hot, lol. Si Jayvee talaga! Anyway, the Ukay Manila Store will be featured on Smart Parenting’s December issue so watch out for that as well. 

Review: Dollface Cosmetics Gel Liner

I prefer gel eyeliners over the pencil, liquid, and powdered ones. These little buggers give you the freedom the use a brush that you’re most comfortable with while giving solid pigmentation. They might be difficult to use at first but once you get the hang of application it will only take a few seconds to get a perfect line. Trust me on this!

Anyway, I got a Dollface Cosmetics Gel Liner in brown from Pearl. What can i say? Shall I say it’s awesome?

I’ll be honest with you guys - I seriously wasn’t expecting much from this eyeliner. I have a MAC Fluidline so I was already convinced from the get-go that no other gel eyeliner can ever match it. Good thing I was wrong! MAC Fluidlines are highly pigmented, fluid (as the name suggests), easily glides on, doesn’t budge or smudge and they cost a whopping P1,100 (before the MAC price increase, I don’t know how much they cost now) for a tiny jar. I’m happy to have discovered an awesome alternative.

Dollface gel liners cost only P375 and I swear, they’re a great dupe of MAC Fluidlines. Let me tell you why:

• Solid, opaque brown color.
• Doesn’t smudge or budge.
• Very fluid! If you’ve checked out the other gel eyeliners within this one’s price range (Fanny Serrano, The Face Shop, Elianto) you’ll find that they’re as hard as wax and almost impossible to work with. Dollface liners have the same consistency as MAC Fluidline.
• Easy to remove with makeup remover.

Aaand that’s it. There’s not much to dislike unless you hate spending extra time and effort to apply gel liners like this. As for me, I use this eyeliner when I want my makeup to look as natural as possible since black can be so harsh for day. Definitely a keeper.

Contest Winner!

Thanks to everyone who joined ( Sorbetera and Jasmin) and sortof joined (hehe Tita Mara) my Clinique giveaway! I’m really touched by your answers to my two questions. It might sound that I’m just fishing for compliments, hence this contest, but the main goal was to find out who my readers are and what they like about this blog so I can continue improving it. I really love what I do so I want to be the best in this - career, I guess you can call it.

So without further ado, the winner is…Bianca! Her entry is in video form (I’ll embed it here later) so there’s no argument that she put the most effort into her answer. She has also been a keen follower of this blog for several months now. I think she deserves my little prize.

Bianca, please email me your full name and shipping address at lizlanuzo at yahoo dot com dot ph. 

Review: Dollface Cosmetics 32-Color Lip Palette

I’m stingy with lip products because well, I’m not a lipstick or lip gloss person. I usually wear lipstick or gloss once a day (before I leave for work) and the rest of the day I’m just slathering lip balm like there’s no tomorrow. I only retouch if it’s absolutely necessary like when I have to be in a meeting with the boss or if I’m going to a party. 

Aaanyway, ever since I read this post by Jamie last August I’ve been lemming for my own 32-color lip palette! Isn’t it so nice and convenient to have all the wearable lip colors you can think of in one place? This saves me a lot of time rummaging through my lip stuff in the morning especially when I’m running late. Good thing my favoritest ever online store owner, Pearl, heard my prayers! She’s now selling the Dollface 32-color lip palette at the DollFace Cosmetics store. So why do I love this palette? Let me count the ways.

• Very pigmented. It doesn’t show up well on skin swatches, but check out the lip swatches later on in the post. Amazing right?
• Wearable colors for day and night.There are peaches, pinks, and warmer colors for everyone. I especially love the reds! They’re shocking! Shocking is nice, in my book, when you’re talking about red lipstick. I also like the milky pinks. They’re not runny - they show on my lips very well.
• Different finishes. There’s frost, matte, and glossy.
• Long-lasting. Doesn’t fade easily. I prime my lips with lip balm them finish off with a clear gloss.
• Decent-sized pan. One pan is as big as a 1 peso coin. The whole palette is as big as the 28-color neutral palette.
• Cheap at only P650! It’s a bargain since you get 32 colors in a stylish palette.

 First two top rows

 Next two rows. Click after the jump to see a couple of lip swatches and my final verdict.

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What To Buy On Ukay Manila Today

New arrivals time! We’ve got a lot of feminine and versatile pieces that’ll take you through a lot of dates and parties. As always, there’s a lot of stuff I wish I could keep. Sigh. Here my favorites:

Navy and white empire sundress, P400

Peony Minidress, P400

Pintucked Beige Dress, P400

Mustard Yellow Corduroy Jacket, P400

So what are you waiting for? Grab them before they’re gone!

Review: Tri-Aktiline Deep Wrinkle Filler Is Photoshop In A Tube

 What’s in the bag?

One major problem we women have is wrinkles. Wouldn’t it be great if there’s a product that can not only lessen the appearance of deep wrinkles immediately but also erase them eventually? Thank God for the 21st century! GoodSkin Labs (an arm of Estee Lauder) has finally brought their best-selling product, Tri-Aktiline, to the Philippines. Basically, it’s a spot treatment for deep wrinkles, filling them out and softening them. It has three major ingredients: Gatuline Expressions (muscle relaxant), Kombuchka (plumps and smoothes wrinkles) and Argireline (boosts natural collagen production of skin).

Currently, 1.7 million units of Tri-Aktiline has been sold all over the world and it has also become the best-selling product of major beauty retailers suck as Kohl’s, Sephora, and Boots. The company claims that 83% of women noticed an improvement in the appearance of their wrinkles in just 4 weeks while 68% noticed an immediate filling of wrinkles. This is just a press release, however. I know what your burning question is - does it work? And how much?

It costs P2,600 and will be available in major Watson’s outlets this November. I can’t vouch for the long-term benefits of Tri-Aktiline as I don’t have wrinkles yet, but here is a demonstration of how to use it and how it fills up deep wrinkles. Photographic evidence is the shiz!

This is how the upper right line of my palm normally looks like.

Tri-Aktiline applied. It’s a sticky lotion, thick in consistency. It basically looks and feels like white glue, but it feels a little hot on your skin once applied. More photos after the jump!

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Review: The September Issue

The September Issue (released last August) is a documentary about how the most important fashion magazine of the year is created. It features Ana Wintour, the intimidating and ruthless Editor-In-Chief of US Vogue and her team of editors. It positions Ana as the ultimate decision-maker in the fashion world, showing luxury houses like Chanel, YSL and Givenchy trying to please her like little children craving for mom’s affection.

It was an interesting documentary that showed how much work and conflict goes into producing the biggest issue in Vogue’s 117-year old history. If Ana is the lead actress then Grace Coddington, a former model and now Vogue Creative Director, is the supporting actress. She does the brunt of the dirty work, thinking up concepts, producing fashion shoots, and even dressing the models herself. She claims to be old-fashioned and romantic which is an amazing contrast to Wintour’s pragmatic, cold, and never-look-back attitude towards fashion. Somehow, after 20 years in each other’s hair, these two have learned how to work with each other in producing issue after wonderful issue of Vogue magazine.

I guess the biggest question here is: does fashion matter? Isn’t it frivolous, shallow, and a generally useless occupation? Sure it’s a multi-million dollar industry, providing thousands of jobs to people all over the world. But should we take it seriously?

Look at this photo:

An editorial called Paris Je T’aime from the September 2007 issue of Vogue magazine

It captures the essence of the flapper era. It was a time when women were finally granted the right to vote in the United States. They had a new sense of freedom not only in political affairs but also with their bodies. Women started smoking in public, wearing pants, having sex casually, and generally treating established customs and traditions governing them with disdain. The 1920’s was a turbulent decade that became an important turning point in US “herstory”.

Now, don’t you think capturing that era in clothes, shoes, hair, and makeup is a pretty amazing AND relevant feat? The fashion of the times reflects the changes, the evolution of a particular society. It is the physical embodiment of ideas, feelings, and morals of the times. Some people tell us what they think by writing a poem, composing or singing a song, directing a film, or taking a photograph. Others, like Ana Wintour and Grace Coddington, tell us through clothes, shoes, and makeup.

Fashion is an art, an art as serious, insightful, and relevant as any other.

Shiny Pretty Things

I love shiny pretty things. It’s irrational, really. I see something shiny, I ooh! I see something pretty, I ahh! It’s a major weakness. Which is why when I visited a shop a couple of weeks ago and saw some materials, I made these. I just couldn’t bear leaving them without making something out of them, you know?

Gorgeous right? My personal favorite is the brown beaded one with bronze appliques. My second favorite is the rose bracelet. I imagine wearing them with a plain dress to add a bright pop of color.

The sequined bracelets will look great with party outfits - they’re catchy and glam. I’m thinking exaggerated heels to go with them too!

I made these for myself, actually, but I’m thinking maybe I can sell them too. How much do you think is a fair price? Would you buy one of these?

Review: MAC Studio Finish Concealer

I got a MAC Studio Finish Concealer from Marionnaud when I ran out of my favorite Artdeco concealer (which I’ve been using since November, btw). This MAC concealer is an oft-reviewed product all over the world so I’ll make this quick and summarize everything you need to know about the product.

What I love about this product:

• Perfect shade match! I got my shade in NC 30. Always remember to get your exact shade when buying concealers. Picking one in a lighter shade will make you look like you have a fungi infection. On your face.
•  Thick, creamy consistency. Easy to apply, easy to blend out.
• 7 grams. That might sound like a miniscule amount, but my Artdeco concealer is only 4.5 grams (pan is as big as half my thumb) but it lasted me for close to a year. 
• Stays put all day. Minimal caking.
• SPF 35! This prevents your blemishes from darkening more due to sun exposure.
• Comes in sleek packaging. You won’t be self-conscious about whipping this out in public. It’s MAC!

What I don’t like about it:

• The price. Sorry, I’m cheap. On top of that, MAC has increased prices in the Philippines. I remember their concealers cost only P870 early this year. Now it’s P900 a pop.
• Doesn’t give the coverage I want in one swipe. I need to layer 2-3 times to cover my major blemishes. Too time-consuming. This is a huge deal for me.

So there you go. Everything else is ok, except the coverage. I’m not very happy about the coverage, I cannot emphasize that enough. I regret that I didn’t buy a Cinema Secrets Concealer when it was 10% in MOA during the major sale a couple of weeks ago. One pot is ~P1300 but the coverage just makes me swoon. It can cover your dirtiest littlest secrets.

Overall, this is a good product worth the investment. Will I buy this again? Hm, I don’t know. I’m sure there’s something better out there and I want to try it next. In the meantime, I’ll be sticking with this until I run out.

PS Check out my review of other MAC products - the Fluidline Eyeliner in Blacktrack and MAC Blot Powder. Also, don’t forget to join my contest! Clinique items up for grabs!

Correction

Hi guys, to all of you who read my post about Philippine Aid - apologies. If you clicked the link, you’re a good person! However good thing a reader pointed out that the link led to an error page with a super long domain name. Apparently, I copy-pasted an entire blog post on the hyperlink field accidentally.

Really sorry about that. Anyhow, Philippine Aid is still accepting donations so gather up your PayPal creds and give what you can! Mike Villar was able to gather P300,000 pesos from all parts of the world and he has already given the amount to the Philippine Red Cross.

Project Vanity Contest: Clinique Facial Wash and Toner Giveaway!

This is my firstest ever contest! I’m giving away a brand new tube of Clinique Foaming Facial Cleanser Mousse and a bottle of their Clarifying Moisture Lotion 2 (it’s a toner for dry skin). These aren’t samples. They’re in travel sizes so they will last you more than a month even with daily use.

So what do you have to do to win these? Well, it’s simple. Just tell me two things:

Why do you love Project Vanity?

What do you want to see more of in Project Vanity?

I dislike contests where winners are randomly picked. If you want to win this, give as much effort as possible to your answer. You can leave a comment, post the answer in your blog, take a photo or video or audio - whatever. Anything goes! Just make sure that you tell me where your answer is in this post. The deadline is October 11, 12 midnight. I will announce the winner next day. Good luck!

Vampire Nails

I’m wearing blood red nails now. Loving it! I used to beg off on wearing nail polish because I thought they were well, pretty useless in the face of the universe. But now I’ve got several valid reasons to wear them everyday.

• I’m wearing retainers. I have this bad habit of biting my nails whenever I’m stressed or bored. Biting my nails chips my teeth and moves them out of alignment.
• I bite too much that I wound myself. This is really yucky, but I bite the skin around the nails sometimes. Very painful.

So now you can see how wearing nail polish is a genius solution. I hate the taste of nail polish, and more than that: I hate knowing that my nail polish isn’t perfect. 

I got this bottle for only P30. Surprisingly enough, for a dirt cheap nail polish, this is the best I’ve tried! The texture is thick and rather creamy. It applied evenly and there were no bubbles when it dried. Best of all, it dried fast! I’m going to hoard on these. I found them at the Rob Galleria grocery area. Of all places.

I don’t know, I can’t stand light-colored nail polish. I feel too frivolous. How about you, what’s your preference for nail colors?

Absolute Necessities: Anti-frizz serum and cosmetic wedges

Lately, I’ve been using a sponge to apply my concealer. I discovered that the makeup adheres better and lasts longer, with a more natural finish compared to using fingertips or brushes. Hence, I decided to get a whole pack of cosmetic wedges. If you’re looking for cheap, quality ones free from allergy-inducing latex, check out Victoria Vogue sponges in Beauty Bar. It’s only P150 for 32 pieces. Awesome right?

Another necessity for me is the Bench Fix Frizz Away serum. I blogged about it waaay back in March 2008 but my sentiments are still the same: this is an awesome product! I don’t know how many bottles I’ve bought already! For an insane price of P109 my hair is shiny and smooth without the greasy heavy feeling that usually comes with products like this. It’s definitely a steal.

Hey Bench, you better pay me for this! I would appreciate a cash advance. Haha. But no seriously, these two products are worth checking out, if you haven’t yet. Essentials should be cheap since they need to be replaced every week or month, but you don’t have to sacrifice quality. Okay? Okay.

Jayvee’s Nokia Ovi Contest

Remember the Sassa Bikini Giveaway from Jayvee? Well he’s at it again! It’s manlier this time though. As one of the ambassadors for Nokia OVI, he’s got a series of weekly contests with really cool prices. This week, it’s P2,000 worth of Ayala eGC’s which is as good as cash since it’s accepted in major malls. So what do you have to do? Here are the mechanics and contest page:

Mechanics:

1. This contest is open from September 28 ‘09 – October 4 ‘09
2. Cut off date is every Sunday 11:59 PM
3. The prize for this week is P2,000.00 worth of Ayala Electronic Gift Check (which is actually as good as cash)
4. You need to be a resident of the Philippines

Contest Steps:
1. Create an OVI account and activate your OVI email address
2. Upload a photo of your workstation onto my OVI share folder (what’s cool about OVI is the fact that you can create public folders where anybody can drop photos / video) following the theme (again, a photo of your workstation)
3. For every photo entry, you should have your name, OVI email address (name@ovi.com) and a short description about the photo

Easy right? Jayvee’s the one to pick the winner so make it good. Also, stay tuned for next week’s contest -I hear he’s giving away a Nokia phone!

PS I wanna win! And get payday loans while I’m at it.

Donate to Philippine Aid!

Everyone is still reeling from that disaster which is Ondoy. There’s only one word I have for it: grabe. It’s like a really good movie with all the cool special effects and dead bodies but in real life HD, which makes it not good. Not good at all.

Anyway, if you’ve got spare PayPal creds lying around, please donate whatever you can to Philippine Aid. It’s a project put up by fellow bloggers gathering funds to give to the Philippine Red Cross and so far they’ve collected $1781! You don’t have to go out of your comfort zone, if that’s your thing. It just takes a few clicks. Go!

Something Bright

Yesterday was one of Manila’s darkest. Hundreds of people were trapped in roads and homes with very little food and water, trying to save their possessions. I know how they feel. It happened to my family twice, in 2001 then in 2006 in our home in Cavite. It’s quite traumatic. I hope everyone’s okay.

Here’s something I hope would cheer you guys up: a really bright outfit! And when I say bright, I mean bright. The dress is a very striking shade of indigo while the cardigan is a deep true purple. I bought the dress from Topshop a couple of months ago but never got to wear it because I found the color too loud for my taste. However I really enjoyed wearing this outfit last Friday. It’s a nice change from the blacks and greys I wear to work.