Reviews and Other Stuff

Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator Review

October 11, 2016 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 Comments

Aloha boyz and gurlz! I’ve been looking for some good powder-type highlighters lately and have looked at some potential products that sparked my interest. There was a lot to choose from but eventually I settled into Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminators.

I’m a huge fan of highlighters or illuminators that I like to hoard them a lot. A review of my personal collection of liquid illuminators can be read HERE. I’ve been curious about how the powder kind of highlighters fare against the liquid type, specially about their lasting powers. I picked the Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirls because I like that there’s a couple of shades to choose from and that the shades are somewhat wearable and not extremely packed with glitters. These also seem easy and soft on the skin to apply.

Ballerina: candlelit rose gold shade. At a glance, this is the darkest shade of all the Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminators, yet also the most neutral because it has both a rosy and golden hue that’s ideal for anyone with a warm or cool skin tone. It gives a subtle shimmer on my NC30-35 skin.

Gilded Honey: effervescent caramel honey shade. The most golden of them all and is ideal for those with warm skin tones. This shade is truly a Mida’s Touch and will definitely make you look gilded.

Charming Pink: soft pink pearl. This illuminator caters to the cool-toned as it is filled with pearl-like subtle shimmers with very very light shade of pink. It’s so cute and refreshing. Reminds me a lot of Benefit High Beam. On my skin, this looks quite bright and leaning towards being whitish than pinkish.

Peach Glow: peach champagne shimmer. A highlighter that leans slightly to those with warmer tones, but still can be wearable for anyone with lighter skin tones who wants a bit of sun-kissed shimmer. It’s a gorgeous color that reminded me a bit of Benefit Girl Meets Pearl.

Swatches:

Favorites: Since my skin is on the Neutral side, which could look warmer or cooler depending on the current season, I still consider it to be slightly warmer and prefers the Ballerina and Gilded Honey as my favorite shades. If ever I wanted to “level up” my highlighter game that day, I’d definitely pick up the Peach Glow shade.

Verdict: I am so in love with these Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminators. Their lasting power is as good as most liquid highlighters or even better and they don’t look heavy on shimmers. They give a smooth and soft highlighted effect on the face without looking too intergalactic or like a Tin Man. LOL.

These highlighters are extremely versatile even though their shades are somewhat designated for each specific skin tones. I can’t say any drawbacks about these illuminators except that I wish they’d come in much bigger containers.

This is my first time trying Laura Geller’s cosmetics an I could say that I’m in love. I am definitely gonna be trying some other products from this brand soon. To purchase these illuminators and some other Laura Geller Makeup Products, click HERE.

Alrighty guys, have fun illuminating!

follow me in instagram: @reviewsandotherstuff

Nars Velvet Lip Glide Review

October 7, 2016 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 Comments

No one can stop me when I taste the feeling… Nothing could ever bring me down… Oh why hello there?!! Obviously, I had too much coca cola today, and obviously I’m elated because it’s Friyay! I just lurve the weekends… Another thing I’m excited about is today’s review.

Nars just released their Nars Velvet Lip Glide which a lot of people are excited about and I’ve been looking forward to testing ever since it was announced. It’s Nars’ own version of matte or semi-matte liquid lipsticks that’s been flooding the beauty counters nowadays.

These Nars Velvet Lip Glides are supposed to be highly saturated with semi-matte or velvet textures and are also long lasting. I couldn’t wait when I arrived to my local beauty store and was surprised to see a lot of these sitting in the Nars aisle section. I was wondering how come there’s not a lot of people picking up these, though I did see that there’s only one product left of a particular shade called Bound, which I picked up immediately because it seems to be the most wearable shade of all the Nars Velvet Lip Glide line. No wonder it became immediately popular.

Just like the Chanel Rouge Allure Ink Matte Liquid Lip Colour that I reviewed a few days ago, (reviewed HERE) I also had a hard time picking up other colors that I like. These Nars Velvet Lip Glides don’t have a vast array of shades to choose from, plus most of the shades are either too dark, too red or too nude for me. There’s not many wearable colors for my medium NC30-35 skin tone. I was really getting disappointed, and much to my dismay, when I swatched them on the back of my hand, I noticed that they’re not really matte, semi-matte, velvet, semi-velvet or anything like that. They resembled like a creamy and thickly-whipped lip gloss. Reminds me a lot of Buxom Wildly Whipped Lightweight Liquid Lipstick in terms of texture.

See below:

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in Playpen : Pink Coral. A nude coral tone with a bit of pink that has a thick formulation but feels lightweight on the lips. Though I find this shade to be a little too bright for me and the formula to be too thick and a bit clumpy, I still like its slightly wearable hue, plus this would be a really great lip gloss.

Nars Velvet Lip Glide in Bound: Rose Pink. Probably the most favorite and the most wearable shade of all the Nars Velvet Lip Glide. It’s a nude-mauve tone that would really work for anyone with a medium skin tone and with pigmented lips. It’s a beautiful hydrating shade, just not a matte in terms of texture. Sigh…

As you can see in the photos above, these Nars Velvet Lip Glides are not so velvety, but more like a whipped gloss as I’ve said before. I’m really kinda disappointed because I thought they would be mattes or semi-mattes at least. I know some people thought of the same as well. When it comes to its lasting power, well, I could only get 3 hours of maximum wear on these. Then I would have to reapply and there’s also no stain left behind. Good news is there’s no strong scents on these Velvet Lip Glides. The packaging is of substantial size and is beautiful with a well-made brush for precise application.

If you haven’t tried these and are really interested in getting at least one, I suggest you purchase the shade in Bound, as I think it’s the most beautiful and wearable shade of all the Nars Velvet Lip Glide. If you want a similar formulation as the Velvet Lip Glides but with more wearable hues to choose from, I also suggest that you try Buxom Wildly Whipped Lightweight Liquid Lipsticks, available HERE.

The Nars Velvet Lip Glides are availabe HERE as well.

Have you tried these lippies lately? What d’ya think?

Thanks for reading my review guys,

for sneak peeks! follow me on instagram: @reviewsandotherstuff

Happy Weekend!

All The Light We Cannot See, Book Review

October 6, 2016 / OTHER STUFF / 0 Comments

Let me tell about a book I’ve read last year that still pains me whenever I remember it. It’s not exactly the saddest book I’ve read, but for me, it’s quite a tearjerker. It’s hard for me to forget about this book because the story focuses during one of the hard times of our history. The story is about a blind French girl and a German boy with the plot set in occupied France during the World War II. The book’s title is “All The Light We Cannot See” by the American author, Anthony Doerr.

The book has won numerous awards, the biggest being the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and has spent several weeks in the New York Times Best Seller.

The book is written in the third person, classic style that really describes the hardship of the people living during the World War II. It’s sad to read about it, and it’s even more sad when a blind French girl named Marie-Laure LeBlanc had to flee Paris to seek refuge in a coastal town where her great-uncle lives. What would happen to her? Meanwhile, in Germany, an 8 year old orphan Werner Pfennig dreams of a much better life. But at what price he has to pay? Two kids from two different countries, from two different standpoints, they don’t know each other, but soon, their paths will cross.

I really like the story, it’s heartwarming yet sad, it’s melodramatic but somehow all’s well that ends well, but not so much because the characters have been through a lot and they’re never going be the same again. It’s quite a tough book to read, not only for its sad story, but also the first half of the book can be quite detailed that you might lose interest. I suggest that you stick with it because the book is an experience in itself. Also, if you listen to its audiobook via Amazon’s Audible, the experience is like complete immersion.

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr indeed deserves all the awards it can get. Have read this? Did you like it?

You can buy the book HERE, or listen to its audiobook HERE.

For more of reviewsandotherstuff, please follow on instagram: @reviewsandotherstuff