Reviews and Other Stuff

Ilia The Necessary Eyeshadow Palette Review + Swatches

February 10, 2020 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Ilia Beauty is a brand of makeup and skincare that I’ve been investigating lately. I really love their concept of delivering clean beauty with high-impact colors. Their products have been hitting Instagram and so far, I’ve only heard and seen really good things about their stuff.

I was particularly interested in their clean eyeshadow palettes because I really love the cohesiveness of the colors in each of the compacts even though so far, they’ve only released two eyeshadow palettes which cater to those with warm or cool skin undertones. Also, clean eyeshadows are very important especially for those who tend to react or are sensitive to non-clean ones. However, most of the clean eyeshadows I’ve tried in the past tend to lack good pigments and staying power.

These Ilia eyeshadows are talc-free, sulfate-free, SLS/SLES-free, paraben-free, formaldehyde-free, cruelty-free, etc. Also, they are vegan and their packaging is recyclable. The texture of each shade is quite velvety because it contains Jojoba Seed oil. Each compact contains six shades that are a mixture of nude and neutral tones together with deeply pigmented colors, while the finishes are a mix of mattes to mildly shimmery ones.

The Necessary Eyeshadow Palette (0.05 oz: 38 USD)

Cool Nude – This may be made for those with cool skin undertones, but anyone with neutral or warm undertone can pull this off as well.

Warm Nude – The shades of these remind me a lot of Urban Decay’s Naked Heat, but with cleaner ingredients.

I definitely think that these Ilia eyeshadows are not your typical basic neutral eyeshadows. They may be on the neutral side but their colors are definitely dramatic and highly-pigmented. Their lasting power is really good considering that they’re made of clean ingredients, and on top of that, there is no fallout. So far, I’m very impressed with these.

I happen to have a sample of Ilia’s Liquid Light Serum Highlighter in Nova (0.5 oz: 42 USD) which is a soft gold shimmer. There is a lot of buzz about this gel highlighter lately and that’s because this highlighter is really wonderful and totally versatile. The consistency of this is actually quite creamy, thus, making this very easy to blend on the skin. There are a lot of ways you can use this highlighter. First, you can use this as a basic all-around highlighter where you can highlight the high-points of your face. Second, you can mix this with your favorite foundation and customize your glow. Third, you can use this as a lid topper, and last but not the least, you can use this on the collarbone, shoulder, and everywhere on the upper body for maximum highlighting effect. What I also love about this highlighter is its lasting power and its good adherence to the skin which can pretty much last the whole day. On top of that, this highlighter is also made of clean ingredients.

The Ilia brand of beauty and skincare has very good high-quality products that don’t compromise color impact and saturation while being made of clean and natural ingredients. I find this brand to be very promising and I hope they will keep making more exciting clean beauty and skincare products soon.

Have you tried this brand already? What are your favorite clean beauty brands?

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Fresh Sugar Lychee Review

February 4, 2020 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

If you ask me what’s my favorite bath and body products, you can definitely expect me to mention the Fresh brand of shower gels and lotions. In fact, their products play a starring role in my current bathroom situation. One of the scents I love from Fresh is the Sugar Lychee. It’s probably the scent that solidified my love for Fresh products because it’s quite unique, and nothing like I’ve ever smelled before. I also love some other Fresh scents like the Hesperides Grapefruit which I reviewed here in the blog a few years ago, and I also adore their Citron de Vigne line which I will be reviewing soon.

In this review, we’ll talk about the very intriguing Fresh Sugar Lychee. Fresh has made a soap, a body lotion, a shower gel, a fragrance, and a sugarbath out of this lovely scent. Let’s take a look at their lotion, shower gel, and sugar bath below.

Sugar Lychee Body Lotion (10 oz: 26 USD) – This lotion has sweet notes of lychee but it’s not overwhelming. It’s really moisturizing on the skin even with just a few drops. I love the softening effect that this has and it’s definitely lightweight. It also sets on the skin easily so there’s no sticky feel. I love that this lotion moisturizes my skin throughout the day, leaving no dry patches. I didn’t really notice any additional scent from this lotion, other than being a pure light lychee.

Sugar Lychee Bath Shower Gel (10 oz: 23 USD) – This antibacterial shower gel foams very well and you don’t need to use much of it. I do find that the scent of this can be quite cloying at times, yet still bearable nevertheless. For me, it doesn’t smell like lychee that much. It’s more like a mixture of lychee, brown sugar, a bit of citrus, and something else. Out of all the Fresh Sugar Lychee products mentioned here, this is the one I like the least.

Sugar Lychee Sugarbath (6.35 oz: 39 USD) – This the first Fresh Lychee product I’ve ever tried and I loved it immediately. It’s basically sugar cubes filled with lychee scent and Bicarbonate soda that aids in exfoliating dead skin cells as you shower. Each cube is made with natural ingredients and you can either use one directly on the skin or you can throw it in the tub. Be very careful when rubbing the cube against the skin, because it can be scratchy. Although I find that it isn’t really as scratchy as some other sugar baths I’ve tried before. The scent of this is what I considered a true lychee scent and it’s really really good. The heavy glass container of this product also looks pretty and can be repurposed as storage for cotton balls or cotton pads.

Fresh recently updated the packaging of their shower gels and lotions, which now has a pump. I find the pump to be a little difficult to maneuver as it seems to get stuck on the product and you have to exert more effort to pump the product out. I honestly kind of prefer the previous design of the packaging. But overall, I highly recommend these products and I think Fresh did a very good job of creating them.

Are you a fan of Fresh body and skincare products? Have you tried any of these before? What do you like about them?

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Beauty & Skincare Presents I Received Last Christmas (2019)

January 28, 2020 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hi there. I won’t be ending this month without sharing with you some of the “beauty”ful presents I received last December. My friends and family know that I love makeup and skincare. So, as you’ll see, most of the presents I received pretty much pertained to this category. I couldn’t be happier because I received a variety of goodies and I am forever thankful for the stuff they gave me.

Check out what I got.

Ciaté London Astrolights Eyeshadow Palette in Jewelled (35 USD) – Words cannot describe how beautiful this eyeshadow palette is. I’ve always been curious about this and I’m glad I finally have it because it is hands down beautiful in terms of color range and packaging. Each shade has a nice color payoff and is super long-lasting. The tones are unique, out of this world, wearable, and are just really beautiful. I highly recommend this palette if you’re looking for something that is compact and with versatile colors.

Charlotte Tilbury

Filmstar Bronze & Glow Contour Duo in Fair/Medium (0.56 oz: 68 USD) – Given by my bestfriend and partner in crime – my dearest cousin who also loves makeup and is just recently a Tilbury-convert. This highlighter and bronzer duo is a star-favorite and one of Charlotte Tilbury’s bestsellers because it really does give you a nice glow and nice natural contour on the face.

Superstar Lips Lipstick in Walk of Shame (34 USD) – This is supposed to be a lipstick topper because it has a glittery finish, but I find this berry rose pink shade and its consistency to be more like a semi-glossy pigmented lip balm. It has a similar formula to the Nars Afterglow Lip Balm and the Dior Lip Glow (swatched HERE) or even the Tom Ford Ultra Shine Lip Color (seen HERE). Even though this is quite sheer and balmy, it’s surprising to see the stain it leaves on the lips and its overall very good lasting power.

Marc Jacobs Eye-Conic Multi-Finish Eyeshadow Palette in Fantascene (49.50 USD) – As part of the MJ Coconut Fantasy Collection, this beautiful and eye-catching eyeshadow palette feels creamy and quite easy to blend. I wouldn’t say it’s very pigmented but it’s the kind of eyeshadow shade you would want to grab as soon as the weather gets warm and the sky starts to turn blue, or if you just want an everyday natural/neutral eyeshadow look.

Pat McGrath Labs MatteTrance Lipstick in Femme Bot (0.14 oz: 40 USD) – this midtone pinkish matte lipstick with a slight bluish tone from PMG is a very good everyday nude lip color for those with light-medium skintone. On my skin (NC20-25), it can look quite too nude, depending on the lighting of the room. It’s a little bit warmer than 1995 and probably two shades warmer than the Christy shade, and also two shades lighter than Omi.

Taste Beauty Succulent Lip Balm in Watermelon (8 USD) – This brand probably has the cutest lip balm packaging ever. Its cute succulent/cactus-like design is perfect as a decor and is definitely eye-catching. The formula itself isn’t very balmy or moisturizing. It takes some rubbing and dabbing on the lips for it to work.

The Inkey List Brighten-i Eye Cream (0.5 oz: 9.99 USD) – Behold! My favorite affordable eye cream that looks luxe and feels luxe. I can’t believe this eye cream is under 10 bucks, but hey, The Inkey brand is a really good brand that delivers quality and affordable skincare. I still have to investigate their products more, but so far, there’s a lot going on with their stuff. This eye cream for sure has a really good luxurious applicator that is easy to apply on the eyes, and since it’s metallic, it feels really cooling on the undereye. The formula itself feels watery and you may need to shake the tube first before you apply it. I haven’t noticed any brightening effect on my undereye bags yet (will update you soon), but this cream works really well under concealer and as a daily undereye moisturizer.

Stila Heaven’s Hue Highlighter in Kitten (0.35 oz: 32 USD) – Just when I thought I already had enough highlighter in my stash, along came this extraordinarily good Stila highlighter and I’m not sure if I’ll ever look back at my previous favorite highlighters. This is probably the creamiest most cushiony highlighter I’ve ever applied on my skin. I love how easy this goes and it lasts the whole day. You can layer this and it looks seamless on the skin. It feels really good, it looks good, and it works so well. No wonder it’s an Allure Best of Beauty Winner.

My sincerest thanks to all my dearest friends and family who gave me these amazing beauty and skincare goodies. Also, a special thank you to my wonderful cousin who has made me laugh and cry at the same time, lol. Also, thank you all for reading this post. Love lots.

What are your faves among all of these? Have you tried any of them?

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