Even though I already have too many more lipsticks than I could count, when I saw the lipstick packaging of MAC's Snow Ball Collection, I knew that I just got to have ém. It's the prettiest Holiday Collection so far in my honest opinion. Not to mention, the colors are stunning!

MAC Rouge En Snow

​When I saw this red shade online, I have bee so tempted to buy it. Honestly, I had been debating inside my head back and forth, do I need it? Do I want it? But I have too many red lipsticks already! 

Anyway, Christmas is coming anyway and the packaging is a limited edition soooo why not right?

Rouge En Snow is an apple red shade with a matte finish according to the  MAC website.

It's highly-pigmented although based on observation, it takes one and a half coat to achieve a even fully-opaque color on the lips. It feels non-drying and light on the lips. I like that the color is bright enough which flatters my skin tone.

At first, it kinda looks exactly alike with MAC Ruby Woo but this one is brighter, kind of pink-based than blue-based, and the matte finish of RES has a bit of sheen while RW has a totally flat retro matte finish.

Currently, this is my FAVORITE lipstick, I have been using this everyday since I got it! Even with minimal makeup on, just a swipe of this lipstick makes me look more polished in an instant!

MAC Elle Belle

Elle Belle is a cool berry, deep red in a creamy, bright finish.

Looking at it close-up, it has a tiny hint of sparkle which I won't mind because the shade is still wearable - not too frosty nor glittery.

The Elle Belle shade is indeed bold yet beautiful but since I don't usually wear dark lipsticks, I had to pass on this coz I won't wear it that much as I would with Rouge En Snow.

The metallic packaging of these lipsticks are veryyyyyy pretty: golden-champagne-ish color that shines and sparkles when hit by the light!

MAC Rouge En Snow and Elle Belle Lipsticks from the Snow Ball Collection for Holiday 2017 retails for $17.50.

Check out MAC Cosmetics website for more info:

​www.maccosmetics.com/products/13854/products/makeup/lips/lipstick

Famed American writer and essayist Flannery O’Connor wrote a short story titled “Everything that Rises Must Converge.” It is a story reflective of the times. It was written when integration was a new concept not every American was willing to accept. It is a story of going beyond what society expects, of stripping away pretensions and prejudices, of acceptance of change.
​
The title of the story was actually taken from a quote by French Philosopher and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. He wrote, “Remain true to yourself, but move ever upward toward greater consciousness and greater love! At the summit you will find yourselves united with all those who, from every direction, have made the same ascent. For everything that rises must converge.”

Age Defying Solutions founder and CEO Aiza Diuco believes that women should help each other rise by sharing their skills and know-how, by mentoring, and volunteering their time to ensure that every woman is given a chance to have a better future.

She recently founded The Glupa Women’s Club, a club by women for women. The young CEO will kick off the club’s activities with a series of talks and workshops aimed to help women in the metro and beyond harness the female power. She sees the club as a civic organization and a way of giving back to the community which has been very good to her.
Ms. Diuco is no stranger to hardships. She has shared with the writer the struggles she had to face when she first started in the beauty industry - from giving up a lifestyle to which she had grown accustomed to picking up the pieces of her shattered life.
​
Ms. Diuco is grateful for her education, her work experience, and love for research. Because of these, she was able to realize her life’s biggest dream – to start her own business. 

Some might dismiss her success and underestimate the amount of hard work she has put into making her company grow. They might even say she was already rich to begin with, and that her father probably gave her the money to start her company.
​
While she is grateful for the love and support of her family, Ms. Diuco can proudly say that Age Defying Solutions is the result of her hard work. It was a backyard business which has grown exponentially over the years, thanks to her stellar stewardship and the amazing people she works with.

This country's hot and humid weather really takes a toll on people who have combination/oily, acne-prone skin just like mine. In order to prevent pimples and comedones from filling up our faces, we have to use deep-action pore cleansers and pore tightening facial products.

One of my well-trusted, if not my favorite, peeling facial masks is W-Lab Black Kill Ppore Tightening Pack.

This product is runny like a sticky, icky black liquid gel but don't let its color and consistency intimidate you. Just put a slightly thick layer over the entire face so that once it dries up, it will be easier to peel off. It is a bit tricky applying it because it sticks onto  the hairs so make sure you tie ém up in a bun and avoid your brows at all cost çause it's painful to remove when it gets there!

After 10 minutes, the mask will dry up and the tightening of the skin and pores will be greatly felt. It felt like my face is being vacuumed all over the place, it was hard to move my mouth and cheeks! 

After 20 minutes, it's peeling time!!! I've noticed that there were some dead epidermal skin that was removed along with the mask. Some whiteheads and blackheads were there too. Wow, impressive!

I know it looks disgusting but those are some yucky stuff that were on my face, can't imagine what if they stayed on all day! Yikes! I'm glad they can be removed with the help of peeling face masks!
-----------------------------------------

So what are my thoughts?

Packaging: 4/5
The container was like a toothpaste, all you gotta do is squeeze the bottle gently and the product will come out.

Effectiveness: 5/5
Alright, using this mask won't totally remove all the comedones off my face 100% but out of all the peeling masks that I have used, this is the best one so far. After using, I felt that my face was squeaky clean, my pores were a bit less noticeable, and some dead skin, blackheads and whiteheads were peeled off along with the mask. 

​Price: Php 600 (from Althea PH)

Will  I buy again?
Yes, definitely! Unfortunately, it gets SOLD OUT faster than people sell hotcakes so I gotta keep an eye on this!

For more information, check this out:

http://ph.althea.kr/black-kill-pore-tightening-pack

When it comes to makeup, the variety of hues, tints, and shades are endless so it isn't surprising when beauty enthusiasts are joining the bandwagon towards the sparkling unicorn and rainbow highlighters trend that are popping out here and there in the market. 

One of the first few rainbow highlighters that I stumbled upon is Wet n Wild coloricon Rainbow Highlighter in Unicorn Glow.

This rainbow compact contains shimmery, pastel colors finely milled to look subtle when applied lightly onto the skin. Looking at my swatches above, the supposedly "red" part of the rainbow is pink, orange became yellow-orange, and all the colors are light. The sheen is quite obvious when applied heavily by the fingers just like in this swatch.

Below the "light purple" arm swatch, is the combination of all the colors in the compact blended well together. It actually looks like a blue-toned light yellow-greenish tint. It looked awkward when I applied THAT color on my face, it made me look like I'm going for a costume-y look or something so if I am gonna use this as a basic highlighter for the face, I'd only use the "ÿellow" one. However, I think this can be used as a subtle eyeshadow if you like the light, shimmery eye makeup look.

So what's my verdict:

Packaging: 3/5
The compact is made of light, cheap, kind of fragile plastic material; it has no mirror and blush brush included; the seal is only made by the sticker that starts from the upper portion to the lower portion. Removing the sticker seal leaves a sticky residue over the plastic material which I don't like for the powder might stick on it and that look could look dirty.

Formula: 3/5
The powder is sheer, not too pigmented although it is buildable. It doesn't last that long, it stayed on my skin for an hour or two before it totally faded away. If you don't mind retouching every now and then, you'll be fine with this product.

Price: $ 5.99 
It is pretty affordable and perfect for thrifty people like me. I got this as an impulse buy from an online reseller here in the Philippines for Php 500 (kinda more expensive than the original US dollar price actually).

The important questions are:

Do I like it?
Maybe? I love rainbows as a kid, so it is nice to look at and have in my collection BUT I don't think I need it.

Is it a must-buy?
Unless you are a make-up artist who does out-of-this-world makeup looks and fashion editorials, I don't think you need this. You can skip this product and you will still be fine without it. No kidding!

Will I buy again?
I haven't used mine more than 3x, I don't think I'll ever hit the pan anytime soon sooooo nope. I will not buy again.

To know more about this product, visit

Wet n Wild Website

​#wetnwildbeauty

The "Girl World" has been hit by a wonderful news when Spectrum just made "fetch" happen with their Spectrum x Mean Girls range!

Being a HUGE Mean Girls fan myself (who knows all the lines throughout the whole movie!), I just "can't even" when I heard about it so I quickly went from thrifty boring person mode into "Get in loser, we're going shopping!" mode and immediately ordered myself "THE BURN BOOK" despite its kinda expensive-for-a-brush-case price range because, hey, why not, "Ï'm not a regular mom, I'm a cool mom!"

When I got the box, it already has some dents most probably caused by shipping and delivery. Dang it! But I still kept it anyway because it looks so cute and big it can fit a lot of my stuff inside!

Oh shut up! I'd definitely put a photo in there that doesn't make me look like a "fugly sl*t" hahaha!

Now lemme show you THE BURN BOOK!
​It's made of cold, hard shiny plastic! Just kidding!

"So you agree, you think t'ís really pretty?"

I am sooooo in-love with this case. The quality is great but my only concern is that the material used in the cover is PU leather so I am hoping against hope that it will not peel off anytime soon. Yeah I agree,  gotta give this a lot of TLC! 

Even the sides and the back areas were designed beautifully!

If only this case could talk, it'd be prolly asking
"Why are you so obsessed with me?!?

So here's why:

I like that this case is convenient for me. This case have 40 brush slots made inside. I already have lots of makeup brushes but not all of them has a pretty case that I can keep them in. When I got this, my makeup brush collection suddenly became well-organized.

The middle part which I'll just call as the 2nd and 3rd "pages" can fit the smaller-sized brushes. That thing where you can put your brushes inside is made of stretchy garter material.

As you can see, some thin brushes still fall off which means that you can still fit 2-3 thin brushes if you'd like.

The last "page" can also fit the larger-sized brushes. I tried putting my mermaid brushes inside, but as you can see, some are still loose, so you can still try to fit more thin brushes.

THE DEETS!!!

SHUT UP!!! You can now get your hands on your own official full size Burn Book babes, we know...so fetch. But even better, instead of filling it with insults you can fill it up with beautiful makeup brushes.

We can't blame you for being obsessed, well, if Regina George has one you totally need one...

Some of my fellow beauty enthusiasts are asking me why I didn't buy the 8-pc brush set no more. The reason why is because first, I already own lots of brushes already and I don't need more as of the moment and second, they are kinda expensive too and it'd be such a waste if I spend a lot on something that I won't be able to use as much. But who knows maybe next time.... whatever, I'm getting cheese fries!

How I wish that when it comes to money, "the limit does NOT exist!"

OH! And on Wednesdays, we wear pink! (Light blush pink for my baby!)

Product Details:

The full size Burn Book is part of the Spectrum X Mean Girls product range. This product is the full size Burn Book only, this product does not come with makeup brushes.

Stores 18 large handle makeup brushes, 10 medium handle makeup brushes, 12 small handle makeup brushes.

30cm tall, 23 cm wide, 6cm deep

All brushes are made from the highest quality synthetic hair.
No Unicorns were harmed in the making of our products. Proud to be vegan registered and cruelty free.

Summary of my review:

Packaging: 5/5
Pretty girly design, sturdy material, soft and smooth PU leather

Function: 5/5
It fits 40 brushes or more tiny ones, perfect for beauty enthusiasts and makeup artists who owns lots of brushes

Price: 3/5
The Mean Girls Large Burn Book (no brushes) cost £49.99.
I think the price is steep for most people, probably because hey, you're paying for the movie rights and all that. I bought mine from a Philippine-based online seller @nailsandvanity in Instagram for Php 3,800 + Metro Manila shipping fee (around more or less Php 260 via Grab Express)

Is it worth it?
For me, yes because I like the beautiful packaging as well as its function! If you are a makeup brush collector AND a HUGE Mean Girls movie fan, I mean a really BIG FAN who's got the scripts almost memorized, then yes this is nice to have in your collection! It's a limited edition as well which adds to the value! If you aren't a fan of the cult film, no need for this.

Check out Spectrum's Mean Girls Collection at

https://www.spectrumcollections.com/collections/mean-girls

My last hair color had been done several months ago and my roots are now showing a few inches already. If you're a busy yaya-less mom (of two!) like me, for sure you can totally relate with the struggles that women like us face: less pampering time for the self which also means less or even no more time to visit the spas and salon!

Now i am happy that DIY beauty stuff such as Liese Blaune Creamy Foam Hair Color are already available in the market now to make life easier even just a bit for us!

Family gathering. Check. Meetings. Check. Niece’s graduation. Check. Big Presentation. Check. Seems like everything is in order. But, one look in the mirror and can already see some grey showing. You may be busy doing a lot of things, but seeing some grey makes you feel older and haggard. You already know that you badly need to get it done ASAP, but there isn’t any time to do it.

Women have a lot on their hands nowadays. If they aren’t busy succeeding in their careers, they’re busy nurturing and bringing up their children. Many are opting to do both. Even with amazing multi-tasking skills, even a short break does wonders. Pampering should always be included in a busy calendar.

The truth is having visible grey hair isn’t great at all. It makes you feel much older than you are, and you look like you’re more stressed than usual. Getting your grey hair colored doesn’t just even out your hair, it makes you feel refreshed, younger, and more put together. Ever feel that spring in your step when you get a new look? 

Finally, you can get salon-quality colored hair at the comfort of your own home with Liese Blaune. Surely, more women will feel more confident and renewed with this new home kit. There are a lot of brands that offer at-home solutions to cover your grey hair, but none do as well as Liese. 

​LIESE BLAUNE BENEFITS:
 
Even Gray Coverage
 
Grey hair can be very stubborn and some coloring kits don’t do the job well. The hair doesn’t take on the color of the product and can be a waste of money. Coloring hair is the easy part, but making sure everything gets colored is another story.
 
Liese Blaune solves this for you, thanks to its easy and even gray coverage. Women who have this problem don’t have to think twice if the product will work. Filipina women prefer fully recoloring their hair when they feel like it is needed, even if its just a regrowth of 1-2 inches. This won’t be a problem as Liese aims to deliver great and even color. It’s the same great quality color that doesn’t miss out on those gray strands.

​Do It Yourself
 
No time for a trip to the salon? That’s no problem with the Liese Blaune hair coloring kit. The Blaune series still uses Kao’s Bubble Technology to color hair effectively at home. There's no need to trouble anyone to help apply the hair color. This means coloring you can do it all by yourself. In fact, you can get a new hair color in 30 minutes!
 
There are five great colors to choose from to freshen up your look. Choose from Golden Brown, Bronze Brown, Rose Brown, Brown, and Black Brown. All the colors are sophisticated, classy, and easy to wear, so it won’t be too difficult to choose a color.

Women don’t have to sacrifice a big amount of time for their busy day to look great and feel great about themselves. With The No.1 Japanese Hair colorbrand, Liese Blaune, a big chunk of worrying is already done for you. One home color kit and thirty minutes of your day is all you need to pamper yourself. You deserve to feel younger, more confident, and revitalized, and that’s all from showing your hair some TLC. ​

For more information about this new product,
visit LIESE PHILIPPINES on

Facebook: Liese Philippines
Instagram: @liesephilippines

Suggested Retail Price for Liese Blaune is Php419.00 pesos only. You can find it at the following retail stores:

Robinsons Department Store and Supermarket
Metro Department Store
Pioneer Supermarket
PCX Stores and 
The Landmark Department Store

It is also available online just visit https://beautymnl.com/pr oducts/13552-liese-blaune-crea my-foam-color