Deep Clean?

I don’t think so. Y’all know that I use Clinique’s 3-Step System but a few weeks ago I developed rashes and a few pimples so I tried using this:

Huge mistake. I ended up with more rashes and pimples that covered  half of my right cheek and my chin. I only used this for 4 days and ended up like that. I stopped using it and went to Clinique for a consultation. Turns out, my skin is Type 3 now. It’s because of the changing weather. They gave me samples and I tried them and I’m happy to report that I only have a few rashes left.

I really feel bad about this product as it’s very affordable, it has a nice smell and I really feel that it would have been great had I had normal skin.

So I guess the moral of the story for me is to not try any other product and just stick to what works. Have you ever had a product disaster like mine?

Haul-over Wednesday

I forgot to post this last Wednesday.

Even when I was younger, I loved collecting accessories. So I guess that explains this haul:

The top three are gifts for my cousin and grandma.






I got these all from my friend who sells accessories. What was your midweek pick-me-up?

Weather Defense

For the first time in my life, I’ve experienced split ends. I have no-fuss hair so I was really shocked when I noticed those darned split ends. I asked my former stylist about it and she said that it might be the weather. As you can recall, the summer months were brutal.

It was fortunate that I saw this product when Kitten and I went out one day in June:

This is the Sunsilk Co-Creations Weather Defense Serum. Kitten also bought one but in another variant. She already blogged about it.

I use this product 2-3x a week at night. Why at night you say? In the morning I apply Monea Curling Milk to my hair and they don’t jive. This makes my hair too limp so I decided to use it at night. Besides, the body repairs itself at night right?

The smell is wonderful. It’s non-irritating. The texture is a bit oily but not too much that you would end up with splotched pillows. I apply one squirt to one side and another squirt to the other.

After a month of using this product with the L’oreal repair shampoo (red and white), I’ve noticed that my hair is healing. There are still a few split ends left but not like before. I will continue using this product until my hair fully heals.

This costs more or less Php200. And for a brand whose shampoo I’m allergic too, I am more than satisfied with the results.

Abstract EOTD’s

I tried doing some EOTD’s using the LA Colors Abstract palette but there was poor lighting in our booth so I had a hard time making the colors show. I hope you’ll get an idea though.

This is my bestfriend C. I used pinks, corals and whites on her.






This is our friend A. I used lavenders and purples on her at her request.






Here’s another shot:


A few days ago, I used greens for my EOTD:

This palette is available at Hyphen. I will try to do more EOTD’s in the coming days.

Pininhos from a Butterfly

I got a surprise last week:

My favorite in the lot

Filipino Pride

Pretty studs

Going Global

Thank you Ahne for the wonderful gifts! There’s actually one more pahabol  that I forgot to take a photo of. Luckily, she blogged about it here.

Now, I told MB that he should buy me enough Havaianas to fit all of these Pininhos!

LA Colors Abstract Artist Palette

“Oh wow”. That was the first thing I said when I swatched this palette.  This palette is absolutely cheap at only Php650 (at the Hyphen Store). It has 50 colors so that’s 13 pesos for each color. I was absolutely shocked when I touched one of the eyeshadows. It had a very creamy texture. When I swatched it on the back of my hand, it was love at first sight. The colors were so vibrant, so visible, even the white one. Even the other sellers in our bazaar gushed how pretty the colors were. Just one swipe and the color payoff was great. Pigmentation, obviously, is great.

 

low light swatch

 

I used this today when MB and I went out. We spent the whole morning driving and in the afternoon we went to MOA to attend to some business. When I got home, my pink eyeshadow was still very pink! This does not happen with my ELF palette. I used this with Money from my UD <3 NYC palette and it held up pretty good. As a matter of fact, Money was drowned by the black Bobbi Brown eyeliner and the Pink LA Colors eyeshadow.  Money was still visible but it was overpowered by the other colors.

 

low light 2

 

Dare I say that this is comparable to Urban Decay eyeshadows? Yes! With the texture and pigmentation, absolutely! I’m not saying this because Hyphen carries this product. This is truly what I feel about this palette. I didn’t have high expectations for this palette because of the price but now I’m a believer.

 

with flash

 

I can guarantee that it does not fade easily because:

1. I only used Benefit Lemon Aid (also available at Hyphen) as a base. (Most of my eyeshadows do not last long with Lemon Aid.)

2. I swatched all the colors on my arm and I already wiped my arm several times with the Beauty Bar Brush Cleaner (yeah, I know. More on that later.) and I even sprayed it directly to the colors but they are still visible. I will have to wipe them off with a good makeup remover later.

 

with flash

 

with flash

 

I used my Sigma E55 brush to apply this on my eyelid. I tapped off my brush once then applied the eyeshadow to my lid. There were no fallouts. The eyeshadow glided on smoothly. The color was also balanced and it stayed on. Some of my eyeshadows (like NYX and ELF) do not look balanced on my lid. The color on one side would be more pronounced so I have to do several layers. With the LA Colors e/s, it was flawless. It also reminds me of my Wet n Wild palettes.

 

Here are closeup photos:

 

That pink is absolutely gorgeous! It reminds me of NARS Schiap.



Because it has minimal to zero fallouts, it did not give my eyes any allergic reactions. The NYX palette is harsh on my eyes. The ELF palette makes my eyes itchy when the powder comes into contact but this palette was A-okay.

By the way, this palette is Abstract. There’s another one that’s called Inspiration. Here it is:



Both are available at Hyphen! Okay, I’m going to stop waxing poetic about this palette now. If you want to try this palette or other LA Colors palettes, just visit Hyphen.

P.S.
About the Brush Cleaner, I finally found a use for it! It’s good for removing eyeshadow on my fingers when I swatch a new product. Finally, I can get rid of this cleaner!

The Battle of the BB’s

Since there are a lot of review requests from friends, I present to you Bobbi Brown’s BB Cream:

This shade is Light. I’ve been using this for 2 months now and I am declaring this as my HG BB Cream. I only use this for special occasions as it’s a bit pricey at Php2,160(?). I have super acidic skin on my face and I’ve tried countless foundations – MAC, Clinique, Bobbi, Shu and all of them failed me. My face became darker after a few hours. My mentor decided to use this BB cream as a base then topped it off with a dual foundation. Oh my, the results were astounding! 7 hours and counting and my face became only a tad darker. I only have to clear off the oil then re-touch my foundation and voila, no more acidic skin!

What’s also great about this is it did not give me allergies. The scent is not strong nor irritating.

The coverage is not too great compared to my Laura Mercier liquid foundation (more on that later). This BB cream gives you a light coverage. My pimple scars are still visible even after application.

Another thing that I like about this is it lasts the whole day. My face looks clear, polished and even-toned unlike with just ordinary foundation where oil and dirt tend to overpower my makeup. This BB cream protects my face against those nasty things.

I use a sponge to apply this. You can use a brush but I think my skin prefers sponges for a better coverage.

On the other hand, I’ve also tried this BB Mousse or UV Under Base Mousse from Shu Uemura:

The shade is Beige. I only used this for a week or so then stopped because my mentor noticed that my face became really dark. I was soooo ashy! Too bad as I really enjoyed using it. It didn’t give me rashes, the scent is good and I  only need a small amount to cover my entire face. It’s also light and gives my face a fresh feeling. But, it’s also quite pricey at Php2,000+.  I’ll just use this on special clients.

I’d like to try other BB Creams that are good for super sensitive, super acidic skin. Recommendations are very much appreciated!

Haul-over Wednesday

There are a few Haul-over Wednesdays that I missed. Here’s one of them:

Bobbi Brown brush set with kit

Bobbi Brown BB Cream in Light

Photo credits: Kitten. She took the photos at Marciano’s. It was a bit dark that’s why she had to use the flash. Thanks sis!

The Saturday Clinique Face

I said I would post a close up look of my FOTD by Baby of Clinique but as usual, I forgot because of the gazillion things that I have to do. But here it is now:

Baby was fooling around with my camera. She was the one who was taking these shots. I was really not in the mood for photos but as they say, the show must go on!

Here’s a close up of the eye:



I love how they make me look simple and fresh! A perfect pick-me-up!

Guess who visited Hyphen?

First of all, I am very thankful and grateful to the Lord for all the success that Hyphen is experiencing. To Him I give all the glory.

I am super, super tired but I just had to blog this. If you’re a regular of this blog, you’d know that Hyphen already has celebrity clients. This time around at SuperSale Rockwell Tent, BLOGGERS invaded Hyphen!

 

Liz of Project Vanity

This will  be my signature pose for all three photos! My back is killing me already! LOL.

Liz told me that she is a regular visitor of Hyphen online. We both know each other through our blogs so we talked about things like we were friends already but in reality, it was the first time that we met.

 

 

Lauren of iambourgeois

 

Lauren was a surprise visitor. I introduced myself to her  and we talked a little. I wasn’t able to talk to her as much as I wanted to because the booth was swamped with customers when she arrived. I had to ask her to wait for our photo-op. Good thing she was really sweet about it.

 

Kari of Pretty Owlsome

 

Lastly, the super duper sweet Kari! I saw her walking past our booth but we had customers so I wasn’t able to call her. Fortunately, she came back so I called her. We chatted a little but again, our booth was swamped so I asked her to wait for our photo. Kari was like a breath of fresh air. I was already tired because of the day’s events and I was wearing these new wedges that I bought (more on that later) which didn’t help make the situation better. When Kari left, I was energized again. She is super sweet and super nice (please pardon all the ‘supers’  as my brain is already in hibernate mode). I’d love to spend more time with her to get to know her better. I think we will be good friends, just like Kitten and moi. Before he left, she didn’t forget to say bye to me. Kari, I hope I can see you again in a less stressful environment! Thank you for visiting and thanks for your purchase!

 

And I saw another blogger, Michelle of Mitchwearsclothes! Oh, yeah! I saw you! As a matter of fact, I’ve seen you in all my bazaars! I wasn’t able to call you earlier because of all the customers. I hope we can chat next time!

 

Thank you to all the bloggers who visited, to all our customers and friends who continue to support Hyphen!

Carmi at Clinique

This is a late post. So sorry, as you know I’m at a bazaar again. Well, actually, I am in the bazaar as I write this. LOL.

Last Saturday, I was able to meet Carmi who won a Clinique Gift from my Thanksgiving Giveaway. There were 3 who won but it was only Carmi who was able to claim her prize personally. Because of that, she was treated to a consultation and makeover by Clinique Beauty Expert Dindin.

Pretty Carmi

Here she is being  educated by Dindin on the skin care regimen she should use.

I wasn’t feeling too swell that day. I was exhausted from driving all morning and to top that, my period came early so Baby decided to prettify me to look presentable to Carmi. Here’s what she did:

I’ll make a separate post for the close up look.

Here’s everybody:

Hey Carmi, I hope you had fun that day. So sorry I wasn’t my usual bubbly self (during Clinique events). Now you know why. And I hope you and your boyfriend learned a lot! Enjoy your prize and thanks for joining!

Thank you Clinique team – Ms. Malou, Ms. Joy, Ms. Baby, Ms. Dindin and Ms. Mira for supporting bits+treats!

O2 White

I haven’t personally used this product because of my choosy skin but I’ve used this on 3 different clients and my best friend who has sensitive skin and it has not failed me.

I got this from Etude House. The SA recommended this product for its whitening properties. I chose this because I wanted a whitening product in case a client has acidic skin.

Of course I won’t be able to see results on a one-time use but I’m pretty satisfied with what I’ve seen. All my clients didn’t develop allergic reactions – no rashes, redness, itchiness. Their skin tone was good after application and definitely ready for makeup application.

The smell is not harsh. The packaging is good. The bottle doesn’t leak although it’s too big to put in my small kit for quick makeup gigs. The price is definitely less than 500 pesos. Sorry, I can’t remember but you can always ask your suking Etude House SA.

Sweet Shenanigans, where are you?

Last call for Sweet Shenanigans! You won a prize from my giveaway. Please email me your complete name, shipping address and cellphone number at thehyphenstore@gmail.com. I’ll wait until Friday. If not, this prize is going to my next giveaway.

 

Thank you!

Deep Blonde

I bought this Laura Mercier Eyebrow Kit a long time ago when I was in search of my HG eyebrow kit.

It’s less than a thousand pesos and I thought that being a Laura Mercier product, it would be very good. It turned out fair. I keep having a hard time getting the powder to stick to my brush even with wet application. And that’s how I apply eyebrow powder. 

Just look at the powders:

They really look like they don’t want to budge right? It takes several swipes to make my eyebrows appear decent.

I’m not satisfied with how my brows look here but I guess, this is okay for young clients who just need a little bit of fixing on their eyebrows. My HG eyebrow powder is definitely Bobbi Brown.

By the way, Hyphen will be at the Blessings & Prosperity Bazaar on Ayala cor Rufino starting today til Friday. Our booth opens at 10 am. If any of you see me, please say hi!

Last Batch of Winners!

Kari, you won the ELF palette!

Helen and MissGennD, you each won a Bobbi Brown Mascara. As for the third winner, Congratulations Sugar! Your “entry” is not in the pic because it got blown away and fell into the abyss AKA, the side of the bed and I couldn’t find it anymore. So sorry for that. = )

So ladies, please email me your complete name, shipping address and cellphone number at thehyphenstore@gmail.com. Thank you all for joining and till next giveaway!

NARS Makeup Primer

This is one of two face primers that I own. It’s a white liquid that goes on clear on my face. There are no annoying smells but I did get a few rashes on my first week of usage.  It’s no biggie. I have sensitive skin and it was just adjusting. After that, I didn’t experience any more allergic reactions.

I use a wedge sponge to apply this on my face. I tried using a brush but it felt like the product was just going around and around my face so I tried the sponge. Much better. I only need a pea-size amount to cover my entire face. My BB cream and foundation stay put a very long time. Sometimes I only need to re-touch in the afternoon after a long day’s bazaar or a long day at the mall. This is definitely worth its price.

Hey, Miss Tangerine!

I could have sworn I already made a review about Etude House’s Miss Tangerine line but for the life of me, I couldn’t find them! So maybe I was just imagining things?

Anyway, orange is a color that I will never wear but it is a color that I will gamely wear on my nails and on my face.

The Miss Tangerine line is not all orangey. In fact, I got a lipstick that is hot pink:




Swatches:

hot pink

orange that doesn’t look like orange on my lips

This is the nail polish trio that my cousin C and I absolutely love! But you know, the problem with EH nail polish is that they thicken quite fast even though I don’t always open them.  I already knew that based on experience but I just couldn’t resist this trio. It looks so pretty! So I think it’s good until it lasts.

I haven’t been to EH Mega in a while and I hope they have new products when I visit. The only major force in my life that’s making me buy stuff from Etude House is Sugar. Oh, yeah! You're guilty!