Reviews and Other Stuff

Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Cabin 10 Book Review

August 28, 2017 / OTHER STUFF / 0 comments

Hey Again Bookworms! I have an exciting book to talk about today. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware is an exciting edge-of-your-seat kind of book. From its first sentence down to its last paragraph, this book will keep you interested. This is one of those “can’t put down” read that is so riveting, gripping, and stunning, you just can’t stop flipping the pages.

Lo Blacklock is a travel journalist who lives alone in her apartment in which she had just been burglarized. The experience left her shaken and wary. An opportunity to relax, unwind, and distract herself came when her boss asked her to be her proxy aboard a luxurious cruise ship. Lots of well-known guests, lavish parties, and posh cabins are what she had stumbled into. It was elegant by all means, but things took a different turn when one day, she met a mysterious girl at cabin 10 in which she’d never recognized as part of the guests, and then the next day she witnessed a body thrown overboard. Things will get even messier when she found out that there’s actually nobody occupying in cabin 10, and it’s not supposed to be occupied since day 1. Also, there were no traces of the girl she had met nor evidence of the body that was thrown into the sea. Worst of all, almost nobody believes her and that everyone’s accounted for. Was she dreaming? imagining? paranoid? must have been a product of the trauma that she recently experienced? But what about the woman she’d met? Who is she? What about the body that was thrown? Lo thinks she’s certain about the things she saw and experienced inside the cruise ship, which can only mean one thing, there’s a killer among them, lurking inside that luxurious cruise.

This book is full of twists and turns, lots of surprises and shocking revelations. What you may think of as what had happened, is actually not what it is. It’s a story that will grip your attention the moment you start reading its first few pages. The characters are well-developed and there’s an eerie sort of claustrophobic feel to it as you start to imagine what it must be like to be Lo Blacklock inside that ship. It’s a surprising, shocking, and terrifying book to read, but at the same time, it’s a story of survival, friendship, and believing in yourself. A book that truly deserves a movie adaptation, no doubt.

A definite page-turner, fast-paced read, and riveting by all means, this like The Girl on the Train meets Agatha Christie meets Gone Girl. Oh, what an incredible read!

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware is available on amazon

the audiobook is available HERE

Have your read this book already? Did you like it?

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Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipstick Matte Finish Review + Swatches

August 25, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Advance Happy Weekend Everybody! I must have been asleep or in a coma (LOL) when Urban Decay released the liquid version of their fan-favorite and ever-popular Vice Lipsticks, which are simply called The Vice Liquid Lipsticks (0.17 oz: $18). They come in two finishes, which are matte and metallic. Since I’m a huge fan of matte liquid lipsticks, this review is gonna be all about the mattes.

I reviewed the Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks before, seen HERE, and I really like those lippies. They also come in different finishes and they have incredible pigments. I was such a fan of those that I’ve always wanted them in liquid versions and was hoping that Urban Decay might release them soon. Unbeknownst to me, they’ve already released the Vice Liquid Lipsticks, and here I was, always late in the news. Somehow, I don’t know why it occurred to me that the UD Vice Liquid Lipsticks were all in metallic finishes. But anyway, since finding out that they also have some matte ones, I thought of getting a few. Unfortunately, by the time I realized all this, I was a bit a little too late. Most of my preferred matte finish shades are now discontinued, so I was left with only a couple of shades to choose from. Anyways, I picked the ones that I really like and here they are.

Amulet – Matte Brick Rose. This is a shimmery brick rose shade that you’d think it belongs to the metallic finish group, but this dries matte. Somehow, it has a metallic effect since there’s a decent amount of glitter in it. It can be quite reflective but not necessarily shiny. I thought this was gonna be a flashy shade for me, obviously because of the glitters, but I actually like this because it adds dimension to the lips. This is a unique and gorgeous shade for sure.

Backtalk – Matte Mauve Nude-Pink. This pretty shade can work for every skin tone because it’s a nice blend of muted nude mauvy pink. It’s a pretty shade that won’t’ make you look too pale, and it adds just a bit of rosy touch to the lips.

1993 – Matte Medium Brown. Love this SO ’90’s shade. It’s a sexy and edgy shade for light, medium, and dark skin tones. It’s so well-pigmented and it makes your pout truly gorg.

Urban Decay Vice LIQUID Lipsticks Arm Swatch

Compared to the Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks

I might have been late in reviewing these liquid lipsticks, but I’m glad I found them, it’s better late than never, right? As for the formulations and the shades, these Vice Liquid Lipsticks don’t have a lot of love from the reviews at Sephora, that’s because even though these are very well-pigmented, there’s something wrong with the formulation. I’m not sure if all the shades are like that, but I noticed that these liquid lipsticks tend to feel sticky while they’re settling on the lips, and if you close your lips together, you’d feel them sticking to each other. It’s weird and it’s kinda annoying. Also, it takes a while for these liquid lipsticks to set, which reminds of Colourpop Ultra Satin Lips, reviewed HERE. They both have beautiful and well-pigmented shades, but the formula is somewhat sticky.

Other than that, these UD Vice Liquid Lipsticks have such good color payoff to them. They apply as creamy and not that streaky, and the scent is almost indiscernible. I like its sleek and shiny packaging with a pretty sturdy applicator. It does a good job at precisely lining and applying colors on the lips. Overall, these lipsticks last a long time for me, though some shades may feel kinda drying on the lips, and the sticky formula needs to be improved.

What do think about these liquid lipsticks?

The Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks are available at Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, Selfridges, and Macy’s

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T.G.I.F

X.O.X.O

G.T.G

Anastasia Beverly Hills Sun Dipped Glow Kit Review + Swatches

August 24, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

If you’re looking for a palette full of well-crafted highlighters with different tones, well, look no further because this Glow Kit from Anastasia Beverly Hills ($40) might just be the answer you’re looking for, especially if you’re crazy over highlighters nowadays.

I’ve reviewed several highlighters here in the blog, some of them are in kits or palettes, while some are in one single compact. Some are even in liquid or stick forms which I will be comparing with this ABH Glow Kit later on this post. While it’s nice to have everything in one single compact that contains a blush, a contour, and a highlighter shade, this Anastasia Glow Kit is quite different. It has 4 highlighters in one single kit or palette, which I think is made especially for those who just can’t get enough of highlighters and for those who need a highlighter that truly matches their complexion.

Depending on your skin tone, some highlighters may overemphasize or underemphasize your features. Some may even make you glow too much like a flashlight. There are even some shades that just don’t show up on your skin. So with 4 highlighters in one palette? I’m all up for it.

Bronzed – This is a shimmery bronze-gold that can work as a bronzer or as a golden highlighter for different skin tones, but I think this is specially meant for medium to dark skin tones as well. This is really shimmery and if you wanna look super gilded like the queen of the Nile, then this one’s for you.

Summer – A pearly-gold shimmer for those with lighter complexions. This really highlights your cheekbones and all the bony prominences of your face.

Tourmaline – A rosy shimmer that’s a bit similar to Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal. I love this shade because it’s not too bright and not dark for a highlighter. A great complement to any light-medium skin tones.

Moonstone – This is a blend of peachy-pearl-golden shimmer that appeared to be very similar to the Summer shade once applied on my light-medium skin. In fact, it’s hard for me to tell the difference between the two. The difference between them is very subtle, but this is for sure a better option for those with light to medium complexion if you’re looking to level up your highlighter shade but doesn’t want a pure pearly shimmer on your face.

These highlighters are well-pigmented and they’re really shimmery. You can layer them for sure, but I find that just a single swipe of a fan brush or a finger will already give an instant glow. They’re easy to blend, so that’s a big plus, but I find that they’re a bit more shimmery when compared to Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfectors (reviewed HERE), yet they’re also as finely-milled and soft.

I definitely like all the four shades in this ABH Sun Dipped Glow Kit and I noticed that there’s really not a lot of fallouts, and if there is, it’s almost unnoticeable. Compared to some other popular highlighting palettes out there, like the Becca x Chrissy Teigen Glow Face Palette (reviewed HERE), well, even though that’s a different kind of story because that’s more like an all-in-one highlight/contour/blush palette, I feel like this is such a contender. This is great for traveling or just something to have around that’s easy to reach all the time, and with 4 choices of shades, you can’t really go wrong. When it comes to stick or liquid highlighters, well, there’s a lot of good stick highlighters out there that delivers smooth natural highlighting effects like Benefit’s Watt’s Up!, Trestique’s Highlight & Perfect Multipurpose Stick (seen HERE), or Nudestix Nudies All Over Face Color Bronze + Glow (reviewed HERE), but still this ABH Glow Kit in Sun Dipped is very practical, convenient, and worth the money. Overall, the formulation is superb, the shades are wearable, versatile, and they make you glow beautifully.

The ABH Sun Dipped Glow Kit is available at Sephora, Ulta, Macy’s, and Dillard’s

It’s almost weekend, Yey!

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