Glow by Lady E

This has got to be one of my biggest makeup hauls in my life. I don't buy a lot of makeup. It's only recently that I discovered the joy of experimenting with it... especially on other people. Harhar! Most of the products here, I used on my cousin for her prom yesterday. E.l.f. is a really good makeup brand for me. Why? It's cheap and it meets my expectations. Plus it doesn't give me allergies. I won't list the products down anymore because you can clearly see what they are. I will have reviews for each one though. I already started with the Nichido Juicy Lips in my previous post . P.S. I bought these 2 weeks ago.

I've only used this a couple of times but I can say that I like it. This product (or brand) gets mixed reviews from everybody. It seems women my age tend to like it whereas teenagers complain that this makes their lips darken. I've read several reviews regarding Nichido's lipsticks at a teen discussion board and their verdict was they didn't like it. I've also read some makeup artists' reviews and they said that they like this. So, trusting on the wisdom of the ages, I bought one for P88 at Beauty by SM. This shade is Hawaiian Punch. It's highly pigmented. I only apply a small amount on my lower lips and blend it out with a brush or just press my lips together. See how much color that is? I only applied this very lightly. I'd say this is even better than my Dear Darling Lipsticks . They also have the same shades as the ones I bought from Etude House and at a fraction of the price. I can't really say if it dries out my lips as my lips tend to dry...

Then... and Now... It is not known if this was accidental or what. Surely, being a top model, she very well knows the revealing glare of paparazzi flashbulbs. Afterwards, she covered herself up with a folder... Read the store here . Photo credits from Mail Online.

Remember the 2 Chinese Boys or Backdorm Boys? They were internet sensations during the early part of 2000. These two other guys, Kurt Schneider and Sam Tsui are on a whole new different level. They rock is an understatement. What started as a dorm room fun turned out to be a 5 million view (and counting) video. One evening, Sam was supposed to record a duet with a female but the girl flaked out. Instead of cancelling the whole thing, Kurt suggested that Sam sing every part separately. Then they put some digital magic to piece it together and this is the result. 

It's only recently that I've discovered my fascination for makeup. I find myself reading more on makeup via blogs, tutorials, etc. That fascination led me to my first palette - the Fashion 21 Color Set. I originally wanted the dollface palettes but changed my mind when I saw this at Beauty by SM. Priced at P375 for 48 colors. I'd say that's a good deal especially for a newbie like me.  I'm going to hold off purchasing the dollface palettes until I get the hang of blending, contouring, mixing and matching. For that price, I think this is perfect for my practice arsenal.  The colors are shimmery and the pigments are good. I say good, not great. I have to apply a couple of times to make the light colored eyeshadows visible. Staying power is good. I wore this yesterday to church/mall and today in the office. I didn't need to retouch. But I brought my Maybelline Quad E/S just in case.  It also didn't give me allergies, itchy eyes or rashes and bumps. Ever Bi...

Reader a asked a question about Monea Curl Defining Lotion. I do apologize for the very late reply. You can get Monea at Watsons or Beauty by SM. To read my original post on this, click here .

Dear Friends and Beloved Readers of this blog, I am a writer. I've had several essays, articles, short stories, etc. published in different newspapers and magazines since I was 6 years old.  Now I'm not boasting. There is a reason behind this so please stay with me. I have a background in journalism, half of it comes from school and the other half comes from my sister, who, among other things is an accomplished journalist, editor-in-chief and an award-winning writer. Most of the things that I've learned and applied to my position as (ex) editor-in-chief/writer of different publications came from her.  I myself have won several writing competitions during my days as an active writer. Now that I've built up my credibility as a writer, let me say this again. I AM A WRITER. I am a writer first, then a blogger second. I say this because I know some writers who are irked by bloggers who are self-proclaimed writers. Just because they have a blog, they immediately claim to ...

Rawr. It's no secret that I love cats so yeah, boycott zoos!!!

Nichido is a local brand that works well for my skin. I've been using their foundation for years now. It's affordable and it doesn't make my acidic skin dark. Rule of thumb for me, I always choose one shade lighter than my skin tone. When I walk out of the house, the foundation blends well with my tone so I don't end up looking like a kabuki doll. The palette comes with 7 eyeshadow shades, 2 blush shades and one useless applicator. Here are the swatches: I had to apply a lot of the lighter shades - from white to the last pink. The last two shades and the blush are nicely pigmented though so one application is enough.  I use this for day wear (as if I go out at night...). The lighter shades of pink are nice to use as base and highlights. The dark ones are great for that outside V part of the eyes. I sometimes use the darker pinks in the middle for contrast. As for the blush, I apply a small amount with my fingers and blend well using my kabuki brush. I don't...

I'm seriously loving these nail polish from Caronia. I used to avoid this brand because of the quality. The nail polish just lasts a day. It's so frustrating to see your nail polish chipped off in the morning. But I guess with brand rebuilding comes better quality.  These are the colors that I carefully picked from their brand. Most of my polish come from The Face Shop.  From left to right - Golden Sun which reminds me of sunflower fields, Goddess which is my absolute favorite from the bunch. It's a nice mermaid green. The third one is Purple Punch which I'm wearing right now and which also chipped this morning. I applied this last night. This was one of my first purchases from last year. So maybe the quality wasn't that good yet. Next is Silver Platinum which has been around for some time. I used this in December. Then we have Copper Rock which is a beautiful shade and complements my hand color really well. And Blue Velvet which I saw in a Cosmo ad and fell in lo...

Aside from my Etude House makeup remover , I regularly use baby wipes to remove makeup especially on my sensitive eye area. I regularly use Hello Kitty baby wipes. The pink one. We were at Baby Company, Powerplant last week, looking for a gift for the new addition to the family in Iligan and I spotted this. It costs P69.75 for 72 sheets. I thought it was reasonably priced so I gave it a go.  I have mixed feelings about this. It's scented, which I don't like. I think the scent would be too much for a newborn. The sheets are small compared to the Hello Kitty ones. Because of that, I need at least 2 to wipe my hands and/or remove my makeup. With the HK, I only use 1. But this effectively removes my makeup. Just be sure to wipe gently as I find that this hurts my skin. I exert the same amount of effort with the HK wipes but that doesn't hurt. This hurts. Now I'm wondering if this is really safe for babies.  Another interesting find are the cotton buds which are packed li...

Hi, I'm Lady E and I'm a lip balm addict. To which you answer _____. = ) I love lip balms because my lips get too dry due to all my meds. I've always been fascinated (and obsessed)  with lip balms ever since mom gave me one when I was a kid - an orange lip balm from Avon. I like buying lip balms more than buying lipstick. I guess it's because of the colorful, creative packaging (just look at the ones from Maybelline) and they're waaay cheaper than lipstick.  The York and Junior Mints are from Gourdo's. Yes, Gourdo's Greenbelt. They once had this huge selection of flavored lip balms based on popular chocolates and sweets and I asked MB if he could buy everything for me. Teehee.. of course he didn't so I settled on these two. You already know about the Human Heart Nature Lip Balms which I featured on a previous post .  And the Ilog Maria lip balm featured here which I use every morning before applying lipstick.  I have yet to review the ones from Mayb...

The first thing that I notice in makeup is packaging. If the packaging is blah, I ignore it. So it's obvious why I was drawn to this product even though I'm not a hearts girl. These are the mini versions and cost around P278. I think this is the P278 and not the blush in the earlier post. Still, the blush costs less than P300. With flash... Without flash... These are not highly pigmented. As a matter of fact, you have to swipe them on at least 3x to get some color. I especially swipe more than 3x because I always apply lip balm before applying lipstick and this product just glides on the lip balm without leaving any color. Swatches... Notice the difference in photo quality? The pictures above where taken a month ago when I went shopping at Etude House. The swatches were taken a few minutes ago. (Yes, I'm home sick...again.) And I've been tinkering with my camera, adjusting settings and all that and this is the result.  All my photos are not Photoshopped. I ...

I can't tell you exactly what shade this is as it doesn't say on the packaging. Or maybe it does in Korean. Anyway, if it helps, here are the codes written in English - CH004 C91020.   This costs around P278. Sorry, I lost the receipt. But it's definitely way cheaper than The Face Shop's blushes.  As for pigmentation, I'd say it's okay. It's not rockstar great but for that price, it' okay. I applied the blush 3x to get the shade on my hand. Of course, I only dab my finger once on the pot then stroke my finger on my cheeks then blend it with a Kabuki brush when I'm using it for everyday wear. The shade is a nice peach-pink with a bit of shimmer. I like shimmery makeup. I don't like matte because it doesn't jive with my skin. But I use matte products every once in a while. It also suits my sensitive skin. No rashes, redness whatsoever. It also lasts until half a day.  Will I repurchase? Yes! But only when I'm in Megamall. I don...

The first time I used this lotion, I absolutely hated it because it smelled like salad. I didn't want to smell like cucumber salad the whole day! Immediately after applying I thought, "sorry, sis. I'm blogging that I hate this". Good thing, I was so busy that day that I forgot to blog about it. I applied this on my lower legs. As the day progressed, I keep smelling this faint whiff of flowers. It smelled sweet. I thought it was one of my officemates' perfumes. When I got home and took off my pants to change, it smelled exactly like the sweet flowers that had been with me all day. This wasn't so bad after all! After about a week, I used this again and this time slathered it all over my arms and legs. Oh my... I didn't need perfume anymore! It smelled nicely the whole day and night even after taking a shower. And when I decide to spritz some perfume, it complements my Ferragamo Charms perfume nicely. It also works well with Bench Baby Me so long as you don...

Alexander McQueen committed suicide, following the footsteps of his friend, Isabella Blow. Read the story here . What's going to happen to all those edgy, exciting, avant-garde shoes? Lady Gaga's going to be sad... 

I didn't bother researching (or asking) about the scents of these two. But I do know for certain that I don't like the smell of the pink one. It has this lingering smell that I can't quite put my finger on that just doesn't jive with my olfactory system. Will I finish the bottle? Of course! It's worth P75. The blue one on the other hand, I used this morning to hurriedly remove my chipped polish which I forgot to remove last night. Big mistake. Never use this when you're in a hurry. It took me a little over 5 minutes to remove polish on all 10 fingers! With The Face Shop's nail polish remover, I can do this in 2 minutes. I like the scent of the blue one though. Not too strong. And it doesn't linger.  Aside from not doing its job quite well, these removers are not economical. I used up 4 cotton pads this morning whereas with TFS, I only use 1-2. You also have to put a lot on a pad to be able to get rid of all polish on ONE finger. So you have to pour som...

A girl with Sleeping Beauty Syndrome or Kleine-Levin syndrome naps for 13 days! Watch here

What do you when you're surrounded by stupid, incompetent people? How do you blow off steam? Me, I go to the bathroom, apply makeup and take a deep breath before I go back to wherever it is I'm supposed to be. Then blog about it. I need to write in order to calm myself. Does that sound weird? Perhaps. But you see, if you watch Grey's Anatomy and know Arizona Robbins, I'm like her. When she's angry, she cries. My eyes water up immediately when I'm frustrated and mad, like really, really mad and I can't let it out because of some stupid rule or out of respect for somebody or because I don't want to make a scene and make the other person appear really stupid (which by the way, he/she is) in front of everybody.  Incompetency is a disease. It's contagious. It's especially bad if it can be found in the workplace, in customer service oriented shops and companies of any size. I find it unbelievable when I encounter managers who blame their staff, worse,...

I have mixed feelings about this eye shadow. It's not as pigmented as I'd hoped it would be. It doesn't last long. But it lasts longer than the local made ones. It's gentle enough for my sensitive skin and eyes. The packaging is great. It locks securely into place. This shade is PP994 if I'm not mistaken. This costs P148, I think. Here's how it looks like on my skin. That's the only thing I applied. It took me about 3-4 swipes before I got this enough color on my skin. Hmmmm.. Not very economical, yes? I'm not sure if I'll repurchase. I'm planning to buy palettes instead of single pot eye shadows for convenience and cost.

Here is my private army for fighting all those bad things that we don't want on our skin. Regulars of this blog already know that I use Celeteque facial wash. I also use their toner. I use the one with the blue cap but I saw this yesterday at Watson's and so I decided to try it out because of these two words - 'alcohol-free'. I used it this morning and I love it already! I use Human Heart Nature Night Moisturizer with Royal Jelly and Aloe Vera after washing my face at night. Of course you already know about my Etude House makeup remover  which I use prior to washing. I use this night moisturizer when I don't have spots to get rid of or when my face is very dry. It works wonders for my skin. I apply this on my face, neck and decolletage.  Meanwhile, I use this triple threat from Garnier to A. Moisturize my face (right). B. Lighten dark spots (left). C. To lighten eye bags (middle). I use the moisturizer in the morning and the other two at night.   For once a wee...

I would have liked it to be more luxurious. It's not as luxurious as my Victoria's Secret Champagne and Strawberries Body Butter which is absolute bliss when applied, by the way. This body butter feels like thick lotion. It's not as thick as my Simple Pleasures Hope Lotion though. Let's see, I think it feels like softened butter. You know, butter that you take out of the ref and wait to soften because you're going to use it for baking. Then you mash the butter and mix it with sugar and eggs. That's how this body butter feels without the grainy feeling of the sugar. It's not gross mind you. It's just that I benchmarked it against VS.  Let's talk merits. I like the fact that it gets easily absorbed by my skin. I don't have to rub it in so hard so it takes less time for me to get ready in the morning. I've been applying this on my legs for a few days now. It's only this morning that I tried applying it on my arms. I was scared to get that ...

Now, that's amazing!

Whew! That's a mouthful! I never liked cleansing creams and makeup removers. But the price (P189) and packaging of this cleansing cream was practically screaming, "try me! try me!" And so I did. And I'm glad. The direction says to apply on the face then wipe off or rinse off the leftover with water. On my first try, I wiped the cream off with some tissue. Hmm... Still some makeup there. On my second try, I wiped it off with a cotton pad. Better results. On my third try, I wiped it off with the cotton pad and rinsed off with water. Hmm.. Not much of a difference there.  And so on my next try, I decided to apply the cream all over my face. I rubbed it in, like I'm using a facial wash then rinsed off with water. I then wiped my face with some cotton pads. Bingo!!! It was a success! I got rid of all the makeup plus mascara. So that's how I use this now.  You might think that that's too troublesome. But see, I don't like the feel of cleansing cre...