Reviews and Other Stuff

Tarte Rainforest of The Sea Color Splash Lipstick Review + Swatches

July 27, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hey there! I’ve been really impressed with the Tarte Rainforest of The Sea Color Splash Lipstick (0.12 oz for $21) from the moment it was released, and I have a bunch of reasons why. This lipstick is almost perfection. From its packaging, down to its finish and shades.

Ever since this lipstick came out, I had a feeling that I’m gonna love it. The swatches seem to be all wearable and there are different variations of warm nudes and mauves. Perfect for any skintone. Just my kind of lipstick.

If you’re the type that’s kind of bored with matte liquid lipsticks and you’d want something hydrating but not too glossy, then I truly recommend this. Just like most of Tarte’s Rainforest of The Sea products, this Color Splash Lipstick is probably one of the best lipsticks I’ve ever tried. The formulation and the finish are just about right. It is moisturizing and hydrating without feeling heavy on the lips. It’s not overly shiny nor shimmery. It has a semi-matte finish without drying the lips, a bit like Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in Matte Finish but way creamier. It doesn’t have a distinctive flavor nor scent, but perhaps slightly buttery.

There are several shades from this line and they’re all pretty. I really had a hard time picking out the best that I like the most. It seems like every shade I swatched were all gorgeous. The lipstick is also well-pigmented and I love that there are different variations of nudes and mauves in this line. There are coral-ish nudes, rosy nudes, brown mauves, rosy mauves, etc. Apart from the beautiful array of shades, I find this lipstick to be a good value for the money. It’s long-wearing that even after 2 meals (without reapplying), I could still see the shade on my lips. Such is the staying power of this lipstick.

Island Life – Rosy Mauve. A muted mauve rose that’s perfect whether you live on the island, in the city, or in the jungle. This is one of my fave shade in this line.

Set Sail – Dark Nude. Gorgeous perfect nude shade for light to medium complexions.

Siesta – Brown Nude. I’d say this is a true neutral nude shade that could work for any skin tone, especially to those who are in the range of fair to light.

Surf’s Up – Mauve. This doesn’t look mauve at all, at least not on my lips. The shade itself is warm nude mixed with a muted orange/coral/terracotta hue. It’s very unique and very beautiful.

Vacay – Dark Cool Rose. Gorgeous. Just the right blend of slightly dark rose and mauve. A warmer version of Island Life. This is a great pop of color on the lips be it day or night. Also, great for the upcoming Fall.

5 o’clock – Dark Mauve. Looks more like a mauve brown to me, but more on the mid-brown side. Very wearable like a darker version of Siesta.

The packaging of this lipstick has a whole Summer vibe that is totally unique and cute. I love the blue marble-style tubes with golden accents. The Tarte Rainforest of The Sea Color Splash lipstick is a comfortable, creamy, and hydrating lipstick with an incredible range of shades. Its lasting power and very good pigments are really good and something I highly recommend.

Have you tried these already?

The Tarte Rainforest of The Sea Color Splash Lipstick is available at Sephora

See ya later,

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Kevin Kwan’s “Crazy Rich Asians” Book Review

July 26, 2017 / OTHER STUFF / 0 comments

“I have no idea who these people are. But I can tell you one thing— these people are richer than God” – Peik Lin, character from Crazy Rich Asians.

Here’s a bold satirical book that will surely crack you up. This book is purely entertaining and fun to read. It’s a romantic comedy that will not only make you chuckle but it will also touch your heart, especially towards the end of the book. It’s an interesting fast read with a no-nonsense type of writing. Each character is very well developed, so much so that even if you’re not rich, filthy rich or crazy rich, you will still find this book to be a great summer read.

I found out about this book when I read an article that talked about an upcoming romantic comedy film with an all-Asian cast. I thought, now that’s gonna be interesting, and of course, the upcoming film is entitled and based on this Crazy Rich Asians book by Kevin Kwan.

In the first few pages of the novel, you’ll find a family tree of The Young Family, The T’sien and The Shang Clan. It’s a great reference as to who the characters are, where they came from, and in which family they belong. You will find yourself constantly coming back to this for reference while reading the book. This means to show that there’s a lot of characters involved. But there’s a few main ones that are the main focus of the story. Don’t worry, I won’t be spoiling the entire story here, but I’ll give you a glimpse of what the story is all about.

Rachel Chu is a Chinese-born American and an NYU Economics Professor living in NYC with her boyfriend Nick Young who hails from Singapore and is also a History Professor at NYU. Nick’s best friend Collin, is getting married in Singapore and Nick is invited, so is Rachel. She’s never been there and she has no idea about Nick’s family history nor his complete background. Meanwhile, Astrid, Nick’s cousin living in Singapore is a jet-setting lady with troubles of her own. She warns Nick to tell Rachel about who and what their family really is. Also, Eleanor is Nick’s mom who loves him dearly and only wants the best for him. She’s eager to meet her son when he arrives in Singapore but changed her mind when she found out that he’s coming with his Chinese-American girlfriend, whom she’s never met before. Su Yi is Nick’s grandma who also loves him dearly but she has her own mind and sets of standards. Peik Lin is Rachel Chu’s former classmate and best friend from Singapore. Read how their lives will come together in one big funny mess, especially when Rachel finds out who Nick really is, his entire family and relatives’ history and background.

This novel depicts the lifestyle of the crazy rich Asians in a larger than life way, It’ll shock you to the bones and you’ll find yourself being transported to their world while laughing at the same time. It’s a lighthearted take on the lives of the people who have too much for their own good and also a tearjerker towards the last few chapters. There’s moral lessons to learn and several insights to ponder.

The Crazy Rich Asians Book is a trilogy by the author Kevin Kwan. It is available in amazon.com

The Book 2 (China Rich Girlfriend) is also available at amazon.com as well as the Book 3 (Rich People Problems)

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Sephora Collection Oil Infusion Color & Care Review

July 24, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Heya Guys! You up for another lip product review? come along! The following lippies that I’m about to review were inspired by the makeup of Bella Hadid during the Grammys 2016. The moment I saw her photo I was really fascinated by the way her makeup was done. Her skin looked luminous and so did her entire makeup. Yet it wasn’t extremely luminous that it looked unnatural, it was just the right blend of a healthy glow and a moderate yet strategic way of applying makeup.

If you google Bella’s makeup during the 2016 Grammys, you’d see that she had a nice light smoky eye, a light contour and a nice shade of lip color to match. Her entire makeup goal was all about the glow. It wasn’t trying hard, it was just about emphasizing all the right corners and angles. I love it! But more importantly, I was dying to find out what’s the color of her lipstick. It’s nude but it’s a beautiful luminous warm and slightly brown nude.

When I found out that her makeup artist used a lot of Sephora Collection products on her, including the lips, I was like I gotta try that stuff. One of the lip products that she had on was the Sephora Collection Oil Infusion Color & Care in Iced Coffee (0.18 oz for $7) which I think was used as a gloss on her. It’s like a blend of a lip balm and oil, which is very similar to YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Oil-in-Stick (reviewed HERE), but this one comes at a much cheaper price.

This balm and oil blend is extremely moisturizing and shiny, just like a slick lip gloss, but it doesn’t weigh on the lips. It has no distinctive scent, and it’s pretty long wearing. It does seem to transfer everywhere as expected and the lighter shades don’t seem to have a good color payoff. They also tend to settle into the lips’ fine lines but it’s only obvious up close. It’s also very softening on the lips and the overall effect is sheer and subtle.

09 Iced Coffee – This is Bella’s lip color/gloss, together with the Sephora Collection Rouge Gel Liner in 01 The Nudest. I thought this color would show on me, but it did not. I guess Bella must have a very light complexion, so this shade showed better on her like a warm brownish nude. With my pigmented lips, this looks very sheer and very nude. I’m a bit dismayed, but this is also great as a gloss, given its lightweight and slightly shimmery formula.

10 Fresh Berries – Bought this on a whim and this is the shade of my choice because not only that it showed a subtle shimmery berry hue on my lips, this has really good pigments and it’s long lasting. It still kinda settles into my lips’ fine lines, but I love the nice and juicy berry shade.

I think almost all the shades in this line are quite sheer and if you have some pigments on your lips, then the shades will be almost quite translucent on you, except probably the shade No. 10 in Fresh Berries. However, this Sephora Oil Infusion Color & Care are pretty much multi-purpose; as a lip balm/conditioner, as a lip tint, or as a lip gloss.

Overall, these aren’t bad at all, and if you’re into the juicy/popsicle lips trend, then these are for you. Also, if you’re looking for a good alternative of the YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Oil-in-Stick at a much affordable price, then you’re looking at them.

The Sephora Collection Oil Infusion Color & Care is only available at Sephora in-store or Sephora.com

Happy Monday Guys!

Song of the week: Coachella, by Lana Del Rey.

Follow on Instagram: @reviewsandotherstuff