Reviews and Other Stuff

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips Liquid Lipstick Review & Swatches

November 2, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

This review has long been overdue. I’ve had this prepared right after arriving from Chicago. I happen to wander around their downtown Nordies in Michigan Avenue and I was stunned at Charlotte Tilbury’s poster of such pretty model with a well-done makeup and pretty lip shade. Obviously, the model wore the newly-released Hollywood Lips Liquid Lipstick ($34) and she looked gorgeous in it. I knew I had to try it ASAP.

First thing I noticed about these liquid lipsticks are their very odd, very different yet very unique brush applicator. I’ve never seen nor tried anything like that before. It’s like the brush is sliced vertically halfway, revealing a half brush on one side, and a full brush on the other. A bit “L” shaped as well. I understand the concept behind it. It’s meant to shade the lips on the full side of the brush and to line or contour with the other (half-brush side). I found it to be quite tricky to use at the beginning, and it did take some getting used to. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll actually like it as I did.

The formula is thickly-whipped, super pigmented, but never drying. It has a slight vanilla cocoa milkshake scent that is not overwhelming to the senses. It glides smoothly on the lips and I dipped the brush twice on the product to get a full coverage. The result was really pretty. The nice thing is that the formula never dried my lips. It remains well hydrated and comfy throughout the day.

It noticed a similarity between these and Burberry’s Liquid Lip Velvet. Even Baremineral’s Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lip Color is quite similar to these two as well. The main difference is that these Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips feel a bit thicker, even more pigmented, and though they didn’t dry on my lips, they’re still slightly drier than Burberry’s or Bareminerals. But these don’t transfer as much as Burberry’s, which basically has very good and very wearable color range, but requires regular reapplication especially after eating.

I had a bit of a hard time picking the shades I like because a lot of them are kind of on the bright side, and I wanted something that would suit my lip’s color, and also something that’s ideal for Fall. Eventually, I settled on these two.

Show Girl (Deep Berry) – Looks more a like medium to deep reddish muted mauve to me. It’s a pretty shade that’s perfect for the start of Fall and Winter. Also, an ideal shade if you don’t wanna go full-on with the ripe berry lips trend.

Dangerous Liaison (Rusty Rose) – I wasn’t really planning to purchase this shade, but I just couldn’t take my eyes off it. It’s so beautiful, it’s making my heart stop. I also love its pretty, hard-to-resist, matte deep red-wine shade. It’s so perfect also for Fall and Winter.

These two shades are pretty much close to each other. You could say that Show Girl is a lighter version of Dangerous Liaison, though they may have a slight variation in tones. Overall, these are really gorgeous matte liquid lipsticks and the two colors reviewed are ideal for these cooling temps. On top of that, they have minimal transfer and they also have reliable lasting powers (5-8 hours).

The Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips Liquid Lipsticks are available at Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Net-A-Porter, Bergdorf Goodman

Thanks for reading! see you again in my next beauty review.

Ciao!

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Loving Right Now

October 20, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey Guys! I apologize again for my long absence. I am still typing this on the plane on my way back home while watching The Devil Wears Prada. I’ve been sick and a lot of things have happened. Also, I am very jet-lagged, so bear with me if I commit some typos or if my grammar is all over the place. Anyhow, I’ve got some random products that I’ve been loving lately and I want to share my opinion about them with you. So, without further ado, let’s get this jet lag-inducing review going.

Nyx The Skinny Mascara ($7) – Since I have small eyes, I’ve always wanted a teeny-tiny mascara thinking that it could somehow work better on my short sparse lashes. Well, this Nyx skinny mascara seems promising because it’s tiny enough for what I need. When I opened it, I was a bit disappointed at how thin it was, so it was pretty obvious that it was not going to work for my upper lashes at all. What’s surprising is how well this particular mascara worked wonders on my lower lashes. It is quite precise at lining my minute lower lashes that it emphasizes my eyes well. I tend to look fully awake whenever I use this and it didn’t even smudge so far.

Sephora Collection Mud Mask Purifying & Mattifying (1 oz: $12, 2.03 oz: $20) – I’ve talked about this particular mask before when I received a sample of it from Sephora Play! A lot of people don’t really like this, but I really enjoyed this mask quite a lot. It’s kind of like a cheaper alternative to Glamglow Supermud and it works pretty much the same as Glamglow’s but with a slightly better scent in my opinion. It sets and dries really fast on the face and it’s ideal if you have an oily-prone skin. It cleans the pores very well and your face will feel soft and clean. Also, I love the bluish-gray tinge that this mask has instead of the usual dark gray color that you’d get with most charcoal masks.

Clinique Pep-Start Double Bubble Purifying Mask (1.7 oz: $24.50) – Ever since this mask came out, I really wanted it because it sparked my curiosity and it seemed really unique. A mask that bubbles on the face? Sign me up for that. While recently there are other masks that came out of the market that also has the same property of bubbling up once applied on the face, like Glamglow Bubblesheet Oxygenating Deep Cleanse Mask, which I haven’t tried yet but I will, this mask from Clinique is really fun to use. A lot of people even said that this is much better than Glamglow’s. This has a mild clean and fresh scent and it applies like a light pinkish gel. It starts to bubble on the face within a matter of seconds and it gives that fun tingling sensation on the skin. It feels like something is popping on your face and you’d wish all masks are like that.

Too Faced Peach Kiss Moisture Matte Long Wear Lipstick in Sex on the Peach ($21) – I was curious about this lipstick that was released by Too Faced recently together with their Peaches and Cream Collection. A lot of people said that this is matte and moisturizing at the same time, and that also, it smells really good. Well, those comments are definitely true. It does smell like yummy fresh peaches and while I like the scent and does not abhor it, some people may find it to be too strong. It’s definitely a unique scent for a lipstick though. The formulation feels cushiony and definitely much more hydrating than most matte lipsticks. I like its matte effect because it doesn’t settle into the lips’ fine lines. It also has a decent lasting power of 3-4 hours and the pigment is fab as well. The shade Sex on the Peach is pretty and though it has a bit of a grayish beige undertone to it, I like it as a nude shade for someone with a light to medium skin tone.

MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour/MAC Select in Preferentially Yours ($21) – Only available to MAC Select members, I was really excited to have this shade. At first, it comes out as a mauvy rose, but as soon as it settled, it had a bit of a grayish cast which sorta deters me from using it. I ignored it for a while, but then again, I gave it a try one more time, and I actually like it this time. It still has that grayish undertone but it’s a pretty matte shade for Fall. It does kind of feel very drying on the lips though, I think much more drying than most matte liquid lipsticks, so removing this can be a challenge. I just use the Kopari Coconut Melt to remove it and it does a good job at taking off the product while moisturizing the lips at the same time.

Tarte Tarteist Quick Dry Matte Lip Paint in Vibin ($20) – I love the Tarte Quick Dry Matte Lip Paints a lot, especially their array of shades. So, when I saw Bretman Rock with Nessa on youtube doing the makeup, I fell in love with Nessa’s lip shade. I found out she wore Tarte’s Matte Lip Paint in Vibin. It’s a gorgeous wine red matte liquid lipstick that’s so perfect for Fall and it’s a total standout. It’s great with any skin tone, and it’ll just simply make you look beautiful. I swear.

Burberry, My Burberry Blush Eau de Parfum (Mini: $29, 1 oz: $68, 1.6 oz: $90, 3 oz: $120) – Got a sample of this in Sephora Play! and I wanted to purchase the regular size, but since I’m traveling and I wanted to test drive this scent on my trip, I decided to get the travel size instead, then I’ll get the larger size when I get home soon. A lot of folks said that this smells like Ed Hardy. Hmmm, I do own a few Ed Hardy scents, and I really like them, and I also think that it’s true that there’s a bit of a similarity in their top notes, but this one has a stronger and fresher pomegranate scent that I really like, and it’s not boring.

Have you tried any of these beauts lately?

Stay tuned for more loving right now products guys! Regular beauty and other stuff posts will resume soon.

* Large Wash Bag is from Ted Baker called Jana. Available HERE.

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Volant, PA

October 4, 2017 / TRAVELS & PLACES / 0 comments

Hello guys! My apologies for not being constant with my postings lately. I’m currently truly, madly, deeply, busy but I hope things will start to simmer down in a few days soon. Thank you very much for your understanding and please check out my Instagram regularly as I’ll be posting more stuff there in the days to come.

As what I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been in a couple of trips lately and will still have to do more. For this particular travel log, I divided this down into two parts as I pretty much went to two sights in one day. Both are very nice and wonderful places to see.

A few weeks ago, I went on a trip to a little borough in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania called Volant. Actually, I planned to go and see Lake Erie and wanted to drop by somewhere to see an Amish village. I thought of going to Lancaster PA at first, but it’s really not on the way to Lake Erie and I only have a day to do both. Someone told me that there are few little Amish villages on the way to Erie, and one of them is Volant. In case you’re wondering why do I wanna visit an Amish town, oh well, I’ve always been curious and I wanted to take a break from the usual city life. It seems like a trip to a nice and quiet Amish town will be exciting. And of course, yeah, I’ve seen TLC’s Breaking Amish show, lol.

Volant is about an hour away from Pittsburgh and is very close to Grove City where there’s outlet shopping. It’s also an hour and 28 minutes away from Lake Erie. I drove there and most of the road throughout the trip was pretty flat and smooth. It was nice to see the leaves slowly changing their colors to prepare for Fall. I went there early morning and the temperature is a bit cool and fresh. The sceneries during the trip were nice although I started noticing that my phone was losing coverage as I was approaching Volant. Suddenly the road started to get narrower and narrower and was getting windier and windier. There were lots of cornfields around and my phone’s signal was pretty much fluctuating until there was a point that I didn’t have any coverage for a couple of minutes. I started breaking out in a sweat as I looked around, and all I see were vast and never-ending cornfields. I was like “oh no! I could die in here and nobody’s gonna know”, but anyhow, as soon as I got passed that silly imagination, I reached an intersection and saw the quaint little town of Volant.

The air was fresh and cool when I parked near Volant Mills, which I understood as the main attraction/store of the town. At the entrance of Volant Mills, I saw an Amish lady greeting people and the store had a very vintage feel. I really like it and I saw a lot of unique products that are composed mostly of Halloween/Fall stuff plus some handmade rugs, decors, curtains, candles, soaps, etc. I noticed that not all of the products were Amish-made, so I decided to pick up a few preserves that were locally made in Volant (which I assume were made by the Amish) and some wooden Amish figurines as souvenirs. Volant Mills has three floors, with the third one being more of an exposition/mini museum for a few traditional Amish clothing and memorabilias mix with a few gardening/decor products. If you don’t have cash, don’t worry, because the store accepts all major credit cards.

After Volant Mills, I got hungry and realized that it was almost time for lunch, I saw that there were a few Amish ladies selling some preserves and baked goodies, and another group selling some delicious-looking Amish donuts. I wanted one, but I decided to venture into the full-service restaurant just across Volant Mills, called Neshannock Creek Inn. They also accept credit cards and since I don’t have enough cash to purchase those donuts yet, I decided to have lunch at Neshannock Creek Inn. I’ve read that they’re known for their Giant Cod Sandwich, so I ordered one and the sandwich arrived well-cooked and looking really delish with some fries and condiments. While the sandwich could have tasted better with more seasoning, I really enjoyed their fries and mayo. They’re so good, one of the best I’ve ever tried.

I was already full by the time I got out of the restaurant and I sorta stopped longing for the donuts. Although, now that I think about it, I realized that I really should have tried one. Oh my, nothing haunts us like the things we didn’t buy. LOL. True, right? Anyways, at the back of the restaurant was an ATM which I used to get cash in order to pay for things I wanted to buy around. The area is full of little quaint houses that serve as shops for coffee, clothes, art, foods, etc. I went into a nice little store/house that sells antiques and it was really interesting and exciting while a bit creepy at the same time. There were lots of things to see and to explore, and they’re pretty cheap.

From the Antique store, I visited some other stores and had fun just browsing. There are also male and female public bathrooms in the area that you can spot immediately, as well as stores that sell Amish furnitures. As you all know, Amish people are known for their finely-crafted furnitures and I pretty much ended my Volant trip scouting for some stores that specialize in selling true Amish chairs, tables, and cabinets.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that I saw this cutie on my way out of Volant Mills? Meet Al, the Alpaca, LOL. His owner was selling some Alpaca-made scarves and I purchased some while taking a few pics of Al’s cutie face. He was looking at me seriously, I bet he was getting ready to spit on my face. Oh my, he would have ruined my contouring.

I really enjoyed Volant, it was like stepping back in time and it was very peaceful. Even though I didn’t see a lot of Amish people, I still enjoyed the simplicity and beauty of the place. The people are friendly too. It’s so nice to get away from the city life and experience simple living from time to time.

I really like it there and I’m thinking of going back sometime soon. Perhaps even make a trip to the nearby village of New Wilmington and take a tour to see the Amish way of life.

That concludes part 1 of my travel log guys. Stay tuned for part 2, which is Lake Erie.

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