Glow by Lady E

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Hi ladies! We'll be flying off to Iligan today to attend MB's sister's wedding. Meanwhile, amuse yourselves by browsing through the Archives or watching the funny videos that I've uploaded over the months.  If you're planning a trip to the beach with your family, check out my food blog, 240 baons + 365 meals , for great baon (packed lunch) ideas. You can also plan your Holy Week menu by using the recipes in the archive. I suggest using the Japanese inspired meals. I'll also be posting some packing tips when I get back plus pics of our vacation.  Happy weekend!

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This cute lip balm key chain comes in a set with the Wish Magic Lip and Cheek Tint. It costs P109 at Watsons or Beauty by SM. You know how crazy I am about lip balms. I can say that this is a good buy especially because you can use this to reinforce the color of the Wish Magic Lip and Cheek Tint. If you want very pink lips, use the one on the far left before applying the lip tint. You can use the orange one as a top coat. Meanwhile, you can use the light pink one as a base if you don't want too pink lips. The flavors correspond to the colors. I think the dark pink one is cherry and the light pink is strawberry. They taste kinda the same to me. Apply using your fingers or using a lip brush.  The only thing that I don't like about this is the packaging. It's hard to open. It chips my nail polish off. I probably won't repurchase as I still have a lot of lip balms and lipsticks to finish. = ) It's fun to buy makeup but you have to be practical too, you know.

This was a gift. I never liked lip and cheek tints. I tried the one from Herbench back when I was a teenager but when I got older, I just didn't like it anymore. Since this was a gift and I've been experimenting with makeup a lot lately, I eagerly tried it out.  It's magic because it turns into a bright pink once you swipe it on your lips. Look: This is just one swipe each on the upper and lower lips. I made the mistake of swiping too much on my first try and ended up with very pink lips. I never apply lipstick without applying lip balm first. To get the right shade of pink using Wish Lip and Cheek Tint, apply lip balm on lips first. I use my Ilog Maria Lip Balm . I then apply this using a lip brush in small amounts. When dry, I top it with my Maybelline lip balm (review coming). I use this during the weekend because I don't like putting too much makeup on. I want my face to breathe. Pink lips is all I need plus a face powder and I'm ready to go do my shopping ...

This is a long overdue post. I really like this concealer. It's one of the best that I have right now. It costs P198 at Etude House.  Excuse the pic. The focus should be on the concealer and not my nail! I think the only thing that I don't like about this is the amount of concealer inside the tube. It's more than the one on the picture, obviously but I still find it to be too little. I think I have to hoard these as going to Megamall is such a pain.  It's gentle on my uber sensitive skin. So far, it's the only concealer in my vanity that is able to conceal all my spots from zits caused by steroids. It's also great to use as an eyeshadow primer, as described in my previous posts. See Cathy's Prom Makeup . It blends well into my skin. It's also great to use with Ellana mineral concealers. It stays on the whole day on normal skin. It's creamy and very easy to blend. I use my fingers to blend.  Here's the swatch: I'm definitely going to bu...

At last! It's Friday! And with the weekend comes doing the laundry. Am I right? We do our laundry once a week, on Saturdays. It's best if you wait for a full load to save on water and soap.  Victoria has been around for some time but it's only recently that I discovered this detergent. It has won numerous international awards. It's very environment friendly. As a matter of fact, you can use the soapy (used) water to water your plants. That's how 'natural' this product is. I love how our clothes smell when they're dry. Actually, I love how the room smells where the clothes are hung to dry. Even if you have some unpleasant smelling things in the room, the natural smell of Victoria is not overpowered. Your clothes will not absorb the unpleasant smell.  This costs P152.25 at Landmark Makati. It's a bit more pricey than Tide powder which I used before but it's well worth it. I don't follow the directions at the back of the carton in terms of how...

These are the first bronzers that I've ever bought/tried. I'm glad I was not disappointed. Aside from being affordable at P129.75, they last for quite a while too plus they're gentle on my skin.  Here's Luminance: I actually use this as a highlighter. I apply this on my temples, going in to my cheekbones. Here's the swatch: I love how it gives me a healthy glow when blended together with a blush. Here's Sun Kissed: I use this on the hollows of my cheeks. To find that spot, suck your lips in. The hollow space that forms on both sides of your face is the place where you should brush this on. Be sure to blend. You don't want 2 odd lines on your face. You can also pull this up to your temples then apply Luminance. Here's the swatch: The one on the upper part is Luminance. A little goes a long way with these products. Be sure to pat your brush lightly on the bronzers. They're highly pigmented.  I really love these products. I use them everyday...

Just a quick 'thank you' post to my very dear friend Ms. A . This was her birthday gift for me. I actually didn't realize that this was a birthday gift until days after my actual birthday. Why? First, I forgot that it was going to be my birthday the following day. She gave this to me on a Friday. Second, she's sweet like that. When she sees tchotchke that she likes or something that reminds her of someone, she will buy it and give it to that person even if there's no occasion. Isn't that sweet? So anyway, I think it was a week after she gave this to me and I was taking a bath and it suddenly hit me that this was her birthday gift. Am I crazy or what?? She's probably going to laugh at me when she reads this post. So I want to say thank you to Ms. A for the gift and for being such a great friend, one of the best that I've ever had. Love you! Reviews to follow very soon!

The Landlord from Will Ferrell

Finally, I was able to use my Aquazorb Fingertip Towel. This costs around 110-150. I can't remember the exact price but I bought it at Powerplant. Please be wary of imitations. I've read in some blogs that this only costs three for P100 and they come in much smaller sizes but are still called fingertip towels. I asked the sales attendant if this is the smallest size that they have and she said yes. So be careful of fakes.  This is quite big for a fingertip towel: Why they call it a fingertip towel is beyond me. It's roughly the size of two face towels. It comes in different vibrant colors that you would have a hard time choosing. I bought only one because I wanted to try it out first. I used this to wipe off my Wish lip tint which is sooooo hard to remove. More on that later. I also used this to remove my Maybelline mascara and my HB eye liner. I have yet to use this to remove my Fashion 21 liquid liner but I'm guessing it will do the job quite nicely. Remember to...

Happy Monday everyone!

I ran across a few pictures of a vanity in a blog the other day. So I thought I'd take a picture of mine and post it here. I think my vanity is interesting enough to have its own space. I love my books as much as I love my makeup and I thought my vanity would look better with the books mixed in. I also needed the book space. I have too many books! These are some of my favorites. I love Jostein Gaarder, Paulo Coelho, Umberto Eco and Sophie Kinsella. I also have a few other authors that I like but I have yet to buy their books. I promised myself I will set aside some time this year to read 12 books. I already finished 2. I still have 3 here to go. So that means I only need to buy 7. I put the Twilight books there because they're black. They go nicely with my black Fashion 21 palette and my Etude House Beauty Box.  The little guy is actually a mini flashlight. It's quite bright for its size. That's the Hello Kitty baby wipes that I talked about in a previous post . I ...

This has got to be the eyeshadow combo that I've gotten the most compliments with. The first time I used this, my officemates immediately noticed. One of them actually said that my eyes looked "fierce." That's a nice compliment isn't it? Even the guys noticed that there was something different with my eyes. They said my eyes were "twinkling" Haha! There's a reason why this product won the Cosmo Beauty Awards. These are the shades that I picked because I wanted an everyday look. There are other trios to choose from. This costs a little less than Php200. Quite affordable for such an amazing product.  It doesn't hurt my eyes, no rashes or irritations. It stays on the whole day as long you don't rub your eyes too often. It's also great if you apply primer first. I don't have one so I used my Etude House concealer to set this.  The pigmentation is nice. Just a few swipes will do the trick. The dark one is great for the crease and the...

If you're having an 'effin time in the office, watch this. It seriously cracked me up.

I know this post is a bit late. But let me give you my 2-cents worth. This is my first makeup brush set. I'm not fond of eye shadows before. My regular makeup routine is foundation + blush + lip balm + lipstick. Then out the door. If you've been following my blog, you'd know that I recently purchased a few makeup palettes. You can read about them here and here . And with new palettes, comes new and proper brushes.  This set costs only Php950 plus Php70 shipping within Metro Manila.  From left to right: Powder brush Blush brush Crease blending brush Eyeshadow brush Concealer brush Pointed liner brush Angled brow liner brush Lip brush I like the powder brush but not as much as my Ellana kabuki brush. It doesn't give enough coverage plus it's not as soft as Ellana's. But I still use this everyday to apply my mineral foundation so that I wouldn't have to get my makeup kit out of my bag. Just control your application as sometimes the product gets concentrate...

Because I work in a very cold environment, my lips tend to dry up. That explains this . I use this product once a week to gently slough off dry skin cells on my lips. This is in vanilla. Other flavors include strawberry and cucumber melon.  It tastes like sugar and feels like sugar. I don't know what else they put in it to make it a lip scrub. I haven't tried this in the bath. I just wipe it off with some wet wipes. It makes my lips soft but it doesn't last. I think I have to do this again during the middle of the week to retain their softness. Is that advisable? This is my first time to try a lip scrub. If any of you have an HG lip scrub, I would really appreciate the help. I would like to try out other lip scrubs. I just don't want to use sugar, you know. I actually find this product too sweet already. Using sugar or a regular toothbrush just wouldn't cut it.  This costs Php150 and you can purchase it here .

I absolutely adore this blusher. It's not harsh on my skin and it stays long. It's cheap too! Only P129.75 at Beauty by SM. I've been slowly trying out the e.l.f. products and so far I find them great. No single complaint with this product.  If you want really pink cheeks, you have to swipe this on for about three times. I use this almost everyday and here's the shade that I get: Actually, this is even thicker. I just swipe the product on twice for a natural glow. It lasts until lunchtime in an airconditioned office. It will probably slide off easily on oily skin. I use this together with my e.l.f bronzer which I will show you in a bit. It makes your cheeks stand out with the subtle shimmer. This shade is Coy by the way. Aptly named if I say so myself because it's just right.  The container is small and convenient to bring along everywhere especially in my tiny makeup kit. It also doesn't spill and the blush container doesn't slide off easily. It locks i...

This is the fourth post on my cousin's prom look. This is Cathy's before hair. I used this product for her at-home treatment: This is her wet hair after soaking in the product for 20-30 minutes. I can't tell how long exactly. I took a bath while waiting.  To use, just apply on wet hair after shampooing. Leave for at least 15 minutes under a shower cap. Cathy's hair is naturally wavy with some big curls. Her hair is rather limp in the photo above. Here's her hair after air drying: Less buhaghag and the strands are more manageable. The curls are also much defined now. I told her that if she weren't going to the prom, she could go out like this. I just combed her hair with a wide-toothed comb and allowed it to dry without doing anything.  I also used this product once, about 2 weeks ago. I love it! It didn't ruin my curls and didn't give me allergies considering the time it stayed on my hair. It's gentle enough for my permed hair and sens...

Hi girls! I'm selling my February and March issues of Cosmo. The March issue still has the inserts. They're both in good condition especially the March issue which arrived only yesterday. Pay only P150 for the two issues plus   FREE SHIPPING within Metro Manila if you buy them from now until Tuesday only. I accept gcash, bdo deposit and paypal. Email me at manilathriftstyle@gmail.com if you're interested. 

This is a continuation of my previous post about my cousin's prom makeup. For her face, I used The Face Shop make up base and liquid foundation. I then applied Surprise Stick Concealer from Etude House on her blemishes. I also used this concealer as an eyeshadow base because I don't have an eye shadow primer.  For her under eye area and on the sides of her nose, I applied Ellana Mineral Concealer in Awake. I then dusted some mineral foundation, also from Ellana, in cafe mocha on the rest of her face, neck and decolletage. I also used the TFS makeup base and liquid foundation on her neck, decolletage and back.   For her cheeks, I used e.l.f. blusher in coy and TFS blusher in BR803. I also used e.l.f bronzers in sun kissed and luminance. For her lips, I applied Human Heart Nature lip balm in peppermint   just because I'm a lip balm addict.   I then applied Avon lipstick in coral berry which is a nice neutral shade and Maybelline Water Shine Collagen Shimm...

Meet Cathy, my "almost 16" cousin who had her prom on my birthday. I sacrificed a day of celebrating to be her slave for the day. As with her older sister, I also prepped her from head to foot for her prom. We, her ate and I, were on a tight budget. Her dress and shoes were only bought the day before the prom. They totaled P1200. That was her sister's share. Mine was the prepping/prettifying bit. Instead of sending her to the salon, I gave her a hair spa, foot spa, manicure and pedicure. I did her hair and makeup. I also lent her the bag and shawl and gave her some colored gloss for touch ups. She only had a face  powder in her paper bag when she arrived Saturday morning. I gave her some supplies to put in her bag such as band aids (for paltos because of the new shoes), Whisper and oil blotting papers. Yeah, it was a red day for her. How awful is that? I will break this down into several posts as one will not suffice. It will be too long and you might stop reading in...

I bought this liquid eyeliner for my cousin to use on her prom makeup. I tried this on myself while playing with my Fashion 21 palette . You have to wait for a while for the product to fully dry before opening your eyes. Otherwise, you'll end up with double lines or black splotches on your eye area.   The applicator is sturdy enough for my shaky, newbie hands. I was able to apply this without any problems on my cuz' eyelids. As with all liquid eyeliners, be extra careful. I only had a tiny problem with making a wing at the end of the lid. Maybe because I'm still new at this. I'll be able to master that with more practice. Any volunteers? Hehe... So what I did was, I used my Herbench black eyeliner pencil then smudged/defined the lines and the wing with my Charm angled brow liner brush. I'll show you the results soon. No allergies from this product whatsoever. The Fashion 21 Dipliner in Black cost P100 (I think) at Beauty by SM.