Pure Ice: Taupe Drawer

Pure Ice nail polishes are only $2 at Walmart. Taupe Drawer is the only color I've tried so far though.

MUFE Concealer Palette

MAKE UP FOR EVER 5 CAMOUFLAGE CREAM PALETTE

OVERALL RATING: 3/5

WHERE TO BUY: Sephora stores, Sephora.com

WOULD I REPURCHASE?: Probably not.

PRICE: $36.00

POSITIVES:

- Offers good coverage

- Long wearing

- A little bit goes a long way

NEGATIVES:
- Expensive

- Not enough shades for medium skintones

- Accentuates dryness

- Can look cakey

MY THOUGHTS: I purchased this palette because I thought it would be a good value. Even though it was $36, it evened out to around $7.20 per concealer.

I guess I'll start with the negatives first. I have a warm, medium skintone (NC30) and I had trouble finding a suitable palette. I heard that palette 3 would have worked well for me, but for some reason, they don't sell it anymore. It wasn't at the store and they never have it online. The only available palettes are numbers 1,2, and 4. Strange. Palette 2 was too cool toned and palette 4 was way too dark. I really wanted to try it so palette number 1 went home with me.

These concealers can look a bit cakey because of how thick they are. They don't work very well for covering blemishes or acne scars since they accentuate dryness. Therefore, I don't really use the green shade very often. I can't use the first 2 shades either because they're too light for me.

Now onto the positives. These concealers (the 3rd and 4th shade) work really well around the eyes, as long as I make sure to moisturize with an eye cream first. A little bit of product goes a long way. I only need a small dab to cover up the discolorations around my eye area. They make me look more refreshed and awake. Lasting power is good too. They seem to stay on throughout the day and I don't need to touch up very much.

Overall, I'll continue to use the 2 shades that work for my skin tone but I don't think I'll repurchase. This might work better for those with oily skin who can find a good color match.

swatched heavily

left - without concealer ; right - with concealer

Update, Outfit of the Day, & Dove

Hello lovelies! Long time no blog. I'm really sorry that I've been MIA for a while. I was actually on vacation for over a month. I know, what kind of "vacation" is that long? It was actually time spent with family. One of my sisters had a baby a few months ago, so I got to meet my nephew for the first time! Got to babysit him, play with my niece, hang out with old friends, and bond with my sisters. Now that I'm back home, my schedule isn't all that busy until school starts up again. Hopefully I can get back on the whole blogging thing and post more often.

Here's a quick outfit of the day. Belt is from Forever 21. Dress is actually from Walmart! I think it's from the brand OP. I honestly checked it out because the models for OP include Cory Monteith and Dianne Agron. AKA Finn and Quinn.. I'm a GLEEK! Haha.

Speaking of Glee, I won some Dove coupons from the Glee For All Giveaway that was going on a few months ago. Any suggestions for what products I should try? :)

LUSH Catastrophe Cosmetic

Sorry for the lack of updates! The last few weeks of school can get pretty busy, finishing assignments and studying for final exams. I'll be going on vacation soon, so I won't be able to update very much. I really wanted to post something new though, so here's a LUSH review! Hope you're not getting sick of them yet :)

OVERALL RATING: 4/5
WHERE TO BUY: lush.com, lush stores/counters
WOULD I REPURCHASE?: Yes

MY THOUGHTS: This is a soothing mask which is great for sensitive skin. To me, it smells like a mixture of yogurt, blueberries, and clay. There are also little chunks of what looks like blueberries mixed in. Like other fresh face masks, you have to keep it stored in the fridge.

The consistency is thick but creamy and spreads onto my face easily. I leave it on for around 10 minutes. Once the mask is dried, it starts to crumble off whenever I move my face. I wiggle my nose or raise my eyebrows and there's a bit of powdery fallout. It's kind of messy, so I have to make sure I run back to the sink as soon as the mask has dried. However, the end result is soft, clean, and calm skin. It doesn't make me break out either, so I would definitely buy this again.

POSITIVES:
- Spreads onto my face easily
- Makes my skin feel smooth, clean, and calm
- Doesn't irritate my skin

- Doesn't make me breakout
- Affordable
- Fresh

NEGATIVES:
- Only has a shelf life of 3 weeks
- Must be stored in the fridge

- A little bit messy once it dries

*UPDATED* Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips

OVERALL RATING: 4/5
WHERE TO BUY: Most drugstores (Walmart, CVS, etc)
WOULD I REPURCHASE?: Yes

MY THOUGHTS: This is my first time using pore strips. I purchased these because everyone and their mom seems to use them. I followed the instructions on the box for application; I wet my nose, placed the strip on, and peeled it off after 15 minutes. It stuck on to my nose really well. Removal was a little bit painful, but tolerable, sort of like taking a band-aid off your skin. Inspection of the strip showed that some blackheads and whiteheads were removed, but not everything.

UPDATE [May 09, 2010]: I don't think I did anything differently but these worked a lot better the second time I used them. They removed a lot of whiteheads so I'm bumping up the rating from a 3 to a 4. I'm also adding new pictures :)

Each pore strip comes in its own individual packet.


Here's what a brand new pore strip looks like.


On my nose.

First pore strip I used. Removed some blackheads.

Second pore strip I used. Removed a lot of whiteheads!

MAC Viva Glam Cyndi & Laugh A Lot

I got a lovely package from MAC this week.. a birthday gift from my other sister. Thank you Ate Lisa, Kuya Bobby, and baby Gabriel! :) They sent me lipsticks that were on my blog's wish list, so here are some swatches.

Viva Glam Cyndi


swatched lightly on the left, heavily on the right


coral-red. i heard this suits a lot of skintones.


Laugh A Lot


swatched lightly on the left, heavily on the right


this is like like my natural lip color, but a tad darker.
i can definitely see myself wearing this on a daily basis.