Reviews and Other Stuff

Sephora Play! October 2016

October 31, 2016 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Trick or Treat! Hey guys Happy Halloween! Before we end this month, I’d like to share with you my Sephora Play October Box contents. For the life of me, I don’t know why it took so long for this particular box to arrive. But better “almost late” than never, right? Anyways, this month’s box is themed “The Cool Cut” or “The Shades of Cool.” It’s all about the next big thing, the next cool product to watch for.

At first, I wasn’t sure about the contents that I got from this month’s box. I was a bit confused as to what they are, what they’re meant to be, and to be honest, I was expecting more lipsticks and more makeups, but I realize that it’s all about skincare, or at least that was my first impression.

BLINC. Mascara Amplified – Meant to be water-resistant and easy to remove mascara that won’t smudge or flake. For me, this feels like any other good mascara, the applications was easy, separated my lashes fairly well, non-clumpy, but it didn’t add volume. It’s indeed easy to remove as claimed. FYI: the packaging takes a lot of patience to open. Wink!
CHRISTOPHE ROBIN – Regenerating Mask with Rare Prickly Pear Seed Oil. A hair mask that’s meant to strengthen your hair and enhances its color. At first, I really thought that this was a facial moisturizer, I guess because of its packaging and its delightful baby powder scent. But thank god I stopped myself and read the instructions. Apparently, it’s a mask that you apply on your hair right after shampooing. Then leave it on for a while and rinse. The result is tamed and relaxed-looking gorgeous hair. I love this!
SKIN INC. Pure Revival Peel – A non-abrasive gentle peel from Japan. I wasn’t so sure about this at first as well. I thought this was still gonna be harsh as a peel, but since I’ve tried it, I’m definitely hooked. Just apply a bit on your skin, leave it for 10 seconds, massage in circular motion and voila! I literally saw tiny pieces of my dead skin sloughing gently. It does a really great job at exfoliating and can be used 2-3 x per week. I highly recommend this.
YVES SAINT LAURENT. Mon Paris – A fruity-floral fragrance that reminds me of those concoction of scents you’d smell every time you enter a Sephora. 🙂 I lurve it!
BELIF. The True Cream Aqua Bomb – Dry skin rejoice! this lightweight gel-cream moisturizer from Korea has the right kind of thickness that delivers extreme hydration to skin. So good for this dropping temps. It can also work as a mask. I really like this moisturizer’s formulation, and I’m thinking of getting its full size.
SMASHBOX. Always On Matte Liquid Lipstick in Driver’s Seat – Reviewed HERE.

Verdict: I thought I wasn’t gonna like this month’s Sephora Play box, but I was wrong. It’s nice to learn, try and see new and innovative products each month, and it’s also very interesting to see what other brands of skin care can offer nowadays. For this month’s box, my likes are: Christophe Robin’s Regenerating Mask with Prickly Pear Seed Oil, Skin Inc Pure Revival Peel, and Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb. Oh and add YSL’s Mon Paris Perfume.

Alright guys, HAPPY HALLOWEEN again! Trick or Treat! Chicken Feet!

Bye October, Hello November!

Follow on instagram: @reviewsandotherstuff

My Short NYC Trip.

October 28, 2016 / TRAVELS & PLACES / 0 comments

How are you all? This post is all about a summary of my short NYC trip a couple of days ago. What I wore, what I shopped, where I stayed, what I visited etc… is all gonna be right here. It was a fun short trip that was fulfilling. New York is always a beauty to behold. In fact, it’s one of my favorite city, if not the most. Something about NYC’s energy that makes you wanna enjoy it even more.

So, when I was in NYC, I stayed at the hotel called The Lucerne. It’s a convenient hotel located to a lot of stuff around New York. It’s so close to Central Park and to a lot of museums and shopping areas around.

When I arrived there, it was just the beginning of fall, so the weather was still temperate, sunny yet slightly chilly. A lot of people wore light sweaters or even t-shirts. As for my part, I knew I was gonna do a lot of walking while doing a bit of shopping, so I decided to look semi-casual. I also like muted colors when the Autumn season starts.

Banana Republic Blazer: Similar to this. Since I was going for a semi-casual look, I opted for a slightly formal-looking blazer instead of a normal sweater to go around visiting some stores in NYC, especially the ones located at Fifth Avenue or Madison Avenue.
Chanel Boy: Reviewed HERE. A really handy and edgy yet classic bag that can be worn as shoulder bag or crossbody. It adds major style to your outfit while being so easy to pack.
Banana Republic Silk Blouse: Similar to this. As you can tell, I love Banana Republic clothes, they just suit my age and my style. This blouse is great for layering, especially when you need something lightweight and airy for when you’re gonna be doing a lot of walking.
J Brand Alana Crop Jeans: Oh… my favorite high-waisted jeans. These are high-waisted but not to the extreme that it’ll look like mom-jeans. It gives such good support around the waist to prevent muffin tops while traveling or strolling. You can bend, sit or run around with this and it won’t let you down.
$9.99 Cat-eye sunglasses: Cheap and beautiful. Found this sunnies at Amazon and it looks like a Celine-dupe cat-eye sunglasses for much much less. It’s also very durable as I’ve smashed this several times due to my carelessness and it still looks fine. It was still sunny in NYC, so I brought this. Who says you can’t mix high-ends with low-ends? It’s not really what it says, it’s how it looks, right?
Nike Roshe Run Sneakers: These shoes are really comfortable and sleek. I could probably walk around the entire NYC with these. It’s great for people with wide feet as well. On top of that, it feels like you’re just wearing socks. LOL.

Now let’s move on to makeup. When I’m on short trips like this, I tend to not pack a lot. I only pack the basic stuff because I like to have extra space on my carry-on and I really don’t wanna be overwhelmed with the amount of makeup I had to choose for my eyes, lips, etc.. since I usually won’t have the time for that. I stick to products that are travel-sized and that I considered “reliable.” For this trip, I didn’t carry any contouring product, instead, I opted for strobing. Oooh, snap! 🙂

BaBylissPro Nano Titanium Mini Travel Iron: Great travel iron to tame the frizz or flyaways. It heats up really fast within seconds.
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua: I needed something more moisturizing than my regular matte foundation, so this would be a great option for when the weather starts to cool down, in order to prevent that dreaded face dryness. Reviewed HERE.
Makeup Travel Pouch: Got this from CVS and it’s really cheap, similar style HERE. It keeps all your makeups together plus there’s space for more.
Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color: Convenient, well-pigmented, long-wearing and it makes your eyes beautiful. Reviewed HERE.
Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Oil-Free: Great for someone with oily skin and it holds your makeup well. Primers do work. Period. 🙂
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner: Reviewed HERE. I recently talked about this and wanted to test this eyeliner for this trip. Well, good news, this is already in my holy grail list. I love how blendable this is, plus it won’t budge.
Too Faced Shadow Insurance: A reliable eye primer to hold your eyeshadow for hours and hours.
Benefit High Beam Liquid Highlighter: Great for strobing and to create a nice highlight for your face. Reviewed HERE.
Brushes: Mac 217 Blending Brush and Sephora Smudger Brush: These two are great for blending your eyeshadow and eyeliner.
Laura Mercier Secret Concealer: Wearable concealer that covers blemishes without making you look cakey.
MAC Prep + Prime Lip Primer: Moisturizing lip primer that’s great for the chilly season. Reviewed HERE.
Anastasia Brow Definer: Easy to use and creates well-shaped brows. Read more HERE.
YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in #66 Bois de Rose: Gorgeous shade that’s also long-wearing. Swatches HERE.
YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Oil In Stick #48 Smoking Plum: Highly pigmented and leaves lips stained for hours. Reviewed HERE.
Smashbox Always On Liquid Matte Lipstick: Swatches are HERE. Long-wearing and lightweight with great wearable colors.

I only stayed a few days in NYC, so I decided to finally visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art. More photos HERE. It’s such a great museum, lots of things to see and indeed lots of things to learn. I spent a lot of time here and yet I’ve never really seen everything. I would definitely be coming back soon. I recommend this place for anyone planning to visit NYC soon.

A visit to NYC would not be complete without a nice stroll at Central Park. This park is beautiful, even though there’s a lot of people around. It’s so wide and there are nice areas to sit and unwind or stroll around with nature in the background. The views are never the same. Sometimes you’d catch a glimpse of Manhattan peeking nearby, sometimes you’d see fields, statues, horses, lakes, etc. One thing is for sure, this park is far from boring.

Also, when you’re in NYC, take advantage of shopping at some stores that may not be available in your area. It’s a fun way to end your short NY adventure.

Lastly, when you’re in NYC, don’t forget to drop by at Laduree. I always do. This time I went again to the Madison Avenue location, even though I didn’t have a very good experience the last time I was there. But when I saw that they had a different attendant, oh well… I couldn’t resist and went in to order some delicious macarons. Hmmm… some things in life never change.

Anyways you guys, this post is getting too long. I had a really nice time with my short NYC sojourn. I hope to come back soon. Thanks for reading this verbal disorientation. But that’s it for me and my NYC trip. Until next time…

I hope you all have a great weekend. Happy Pumpkin Time!

Instagram: @reviewsandotherstuff

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “The Met” NYC

October 26, 2016 / TRAVELS & PLACES / 0 comments

Hello again! During my last review, I mentioned that when you’re in NYC, you should never forget to visit Central Park, but, apart from Central Park, there’s one place you should never ever ignore. In fact, it’s the number one thing to do or see when you’re in NYC, as per tripadvisor.com. It’s none other than The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or commonly known as The Met. No, not that kind of Met, ya know…LOL

Of all my previous travels to NYC, I admit that I’ve never really set foot at The Met before. Not because I don’t like museums, it’s just that for some reason I’ve never really had enough days to visit NYC. Most of my NYC trips are in segments that span months to years of completion, Anyway, I finally decided to visit The Met and I’ve read a lot of good reviews about it and my curiosity was bothering me.

The Met is located right outside Central Park, at the very famous Fifth Avenue, which is adjacent to Madison Avenue. If your hotel is nearby Central Park, then you’re good to go. The Lucerne Hotel is a good place to stay so you’ll be close to these places that I just mentioned.

I went on a Friday late morning, but the museum is already jam-packed with people. Full of tourists selfie-ing each other on the long steps. The museum’s building is reminiscent of any grand European architecture, it’s really beautiful. A known acquaintance (New Yorker) advised that the best time to visit The Met is on a Friday evening since there won’t be a lot of people. But hey, I was already there in broad daylight with my camera. So off I went.

Even though the museum looks quite full, it could still accommodate a lot of people. Upon entering, you’re gonna need to show your ticket. The prices of tickets are entirely up to you. Though they listed $25 for 1 Adult, in the end, it’s entirely up to you as to how much you’re willing to pay. It’s like a donation. Once you got your ticket, then it’s valid for the entire Met-related museums and the entire exhibits inside The Met itself.

The Met is HUGE! there’s a couple of cafes but I didn’t see a lot of restrooms. The docents are kind and helpful, the collections and exhibits here are massive. There’s definitely a lot of things here to learn, and that you cannot learn them all in one single visit. In fact, it’s hard to see everything from this place in just one day. Be prepared to walk A LOT. Cameras are allowed here, but no flash. Speaking of cameras, this place is kinda hard to photograph, as a lot of exhibits and rooms are in such dim lighting. Be prepared to crank up your ISO, LOL.

So many arts, exhibits, sculptures, more arts, more writings, wide rooms, paintings, etc… I haven’t visited everything that this place has to offer. I mostly spent a lot of time on the first floor and a bit on the second floor. I believe this museum has 3 floors with a ground floor. There’s a lot of arts that I like, namely; The Egyptian Art, The Medieval Art, American Art, Islamic Art, Greek/Roman Art and the European Paintings up on the second floor. I didn’t see the Asian Art and Costume Institute though because I ran out of time. I guess that’d be for my next visit.

I took a lot of pictures with my camera, and here’s some of it.

Enjoy!

EGYPTIAN ART:

AMERICAN ART:

ARMS & ARMOR

MEDIEVAL ART

GREEK & ROMAN ART

ARTS OF AFRICA, OCEANIA & THE AMERICAS

ISLAMIC ART. ART OF THE ARAB LANDS, TURKEY, IRAN, CENTRAL ASIA, & LATER SOUTH ASIA.

EUROPEAN PAINTINGS

Which exhibit/art captured your attention?

As I’ve said, be prepared to walk a lot. but it’s a walk to remember, ha! This museum is stunning and I definitely would like to visit The Met again and again.

For more of travel adventures plus some other craziness, please follow in Instagram: @reviewsandotherstuff