Review: Maybelline Color Tattoo Gel Cream Eyeshadows

I have always been curious with cream eyeshadows and tried some in the past, but I also have to say that i have given up on this things for a long time now because I have oily eyelids and I found that nothing really stayed in place. It would always cake or crease or in general the color is just not that impressive.

People have been raving and are still raving about this product. So I finally caved in and had to try it for myself.

I got my hands on this little pots at the Maybelline Counter at Landmark Makati. It was almost closing time so I just picked out 2 of the colors that were most neutral and left with them but there were several other colors available.

The first one I got is called Barely Branded. It's funny how the packaging is in Japanese (I think) and it's called Color Ink, but the label on the display says it's Color Tattoo and that it is Barely Branded, so yeah. :)It's a silvery-pink, kind of like a cream color, that's definitely shimmery.

The next one is called Bad to the Bronze. Now, this one, to me is a little bit purply or mauvy, like a pink toned brown rather than a bronze. it's a much deeper color than Barely Branded and is also Warm toned.

So here's a comparative swatch on the two. The texture on these things remind me of the Urban Decay primer potion in Sin, which is why I placed that in the middle. Bad to the Bronze on the left and Barely Branded to the right

These things are seriously pigmented. For something creamy and shimmery, you wouldn't believe how matte it feels when it sets. Also, these make for a good eyeshadow base. Only, you have to work quickly to be able to work them together. And that point brings me to the next. If anything, I'm only concerned about this thing's ability to move around. Like I said, it tends to set very quickly but I find that it helps if you use this with a brush and you spray some water or fix + on it.  Other than that this product is amazing!!!

They go on smoothly, they don't AND won't budge. They are waterproof and  I think you can even go swimming in these! If and when used as a primer, it does hold up the shadows really well, it doesn't crease or crack over time. Best of all? They are only P379.75 per pot and that is such a great value for your money. Finally, I would also like to say that they can be comparable to the MAC Paint Pots, in terms of the packaging, staying power and pigmentation, but that's just me, you may have a different opinion on the matter :)

That's it guys! If you are about to make a purchase or looking into purchasing them and you referenced to this, I hope that this has become helpful and informative. Thanks so much for your time and I will see you again next time for a new video.

Check out my YouTube channel for beauty related videos and tutorials and Subscribe if you haven't already. You can also follow me on instagram if you're interested. See yah!

XO,

Gia

Tutorial: ALL Drugstore Makeup Look

I've looked into some requests made to me through my facebook and comments on my instagram and one of them is to a look using Drugstore Makeup products, which is why I made exactly one for you guys! :)

It's easy to do, simple and fresh makeup that you can wear anywhere, anytime, for any occasion! :)

What I love about this look is that it can be very flexible to your mood. The colors on the eye are very neutral and versatile, You can maybe add a dark brown to your crease to make this more suitable for the evening or You can replace the lipcolor according to your preference to convert this ideally day look for the evening!

Products used on this look are:

FACE
Covergirl Queen Collection Foundation in Q720
Loreal Visible Lift Foundation in 107
NYX Full Coverage Concealer in CJ04 Beige
Fanny Serrano Two-Way Cake
PAC Matte Eyeshadow Palette

Eyes
Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Shadow in Bad to the Bronze
Sleek Makeup i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Respect
L'oreal Super Liner (I used 3 kinds, here)
Maybelline Rocket Volum Express

Lips
Revlon Lipstick in Stormy Pink

There you go! Thank you and I hope that this look was helpful to some of you. You can also find me on blogspot if that format is more suitable for you, please Follow my Blog and SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel if you haven't already.

Thanks again and I will see you all again next time!

XO,

Gia

Blogged: 10 Days of Beauty Tag (Day 4: Eyeshadow Collection)

Yup! It's been a while, but I'm back to continue with this tag, and on this one day of the #10DaysofBeauty Tag, I will have to break my rule of showing only 5 things, because... well, I have a lot of favorite eyeshadow palettes. I think I'm also supposed to share single eyeshadows, but I only have a few of those so I'll just skip them.

With that, I'd like to start of Day 4 with:

Sleek Makeup's iDivine eyeshadow palette in Respect from the Shangri-la collection. I think it was October last year when this came out and I got my hands on this one as soon as it was available at The Ramp. This palette has my favorite colors and I don't know how that was even possible! :D It's got the most gorgeous mauves and mauvy-browns and reds and reddish browns, ugh! and the oranges in this palette were so, so pretty! There's even a nice black in this palette that can take all these sultry colors into smoke... ;) if you know what i mean.

Next up is, the Matte Eyeshadow Palette from PAC.

If you are in the Philippines and have not checked out this brand, you are totally missing out. This brand is from Indonesia, formulated mainly for makeup artists but it is now available for regular consumers. They are very pigmented, blendable and great on asian skin. The colors in this palette are so versatile and compatible for filipina skin that the two browns in this palette, when combined or used on its own make for a good contouring powder and remember when I said I like subtle blush? I use the orange in this palette not only for the eyes but also for the cheeks. I absolutely love this palette (as you can tell because I've hit pan on a few colors) and have a spare in stock should I ever need to refill, this is one of those palettes I simply cannot go on without.

Stila In The Light Eyeshadow palette

This is my first Stila palette and I cannot say anything bad about this one, in fact it was so good, I made a couple tutorial videos on my YouTube channel using this palette!

Also, currently this baby has been my go-to palette for weddings. It used to be Urban Decay Naked 2 or the PAC Pearly Eyeshadow palette, but this color range is so good. It's got a range of half matte and half shimmery warm neutral colors (except for one), it even has a really nice black eyeshadow which allows me to deepen the looks and create soft day looks to intense evening ones.

TheBalm Balm Voyage Palette

First of all, look at that packaging! You can call me a patriot but when I saw that TheBalm had this palette and it included Manila in the design, it was definitely something I needed to have :) The names of the shades in this palette is just smart, they're seat numbers to an airplane! It also comes with 3 lip and cheek products (which are great, too!) The colors in this palette are mostly neutral with 3 nice colors that were a little off the color palette but they were equally beautiful. A shimmery violet, a shimmery light green and a matte teal. All the shades in this palette are creamy and pigmented, a couple were more powdery than the others, but it wasn't a bad thing, I'm always after the pigmentation.
Tarte Neutraleyes Vol. 2 Have you seen this palette before?

This palette is great because it's half matte and half shimmer, it's all neutrals but there's a nice orange color in this palette and a baby pink matte one that is very flattering. It's also portable and you can customize the colors you put in the palette (if you have other tarte eyeshadows) The textures are creamy, they're very pigmented, so blendable and wearable.

The Balm Meet Matte nude

is an ALL MATTE eyeshadow palette and I love matte eyeshadows, that's why finding this palette may have temporarily put my search for good neutral eyeshadows on hiatus.

It's got my current favorite browns shadows that I have been using as my eyebrow powders and everything else in this palette is just divine! So buttery, pigmented and very flattering for the Filipina Skin color range!

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
Like I said, this palette used to be my go-to wedding eyeshadow palette and with good reason. Now, I didn't replace my favorite, I just like to change things up a bit every now and then.
I love taupes and taupy-browns and colors that are in that color family which is why when this came out I immediately had to have it. It's got a great range colors, but the textures are just not that wide. Almost all of it is shimmery and to tell you honestly, this palette may have changed my mind about shimmery eyeshadows. The pigmentation, staying power and blendability of these are just amazing. Which is why I relied on these colors on my brides :)

Urban Decay Vice PaletteWhen this came out, people wished it had more neutral colors so that it would be more wearable. I on the other hand have a lot of neutral palettes, and completely happy with the Naked palettes, that's why when this one came out I was so happy! (Didn't stop me from getting the Vice 2 that had more neutral colors, though)

The colors in this palette are just great! Chaos and Noise are my favorites and as loud and bright as you think they are... you're right!
And again, as with other Urban Decay eyeshadows, like the others are just great in over-all quality.

Balm Jovi Rockstar Palette by TheBalm.

The best palette to travel with, in my opinion. I took this in my recent trip and everything I need is in here. 12 eyeshadows, 1 highlighter, 1 subtle blush, 2 lip and cheek products.
Has TheBalm failed me in terms of pigmentation? Never. The color range, the textures and the staying power on these shadows are great. I have mentioned about this particular palette on another post, too. Which simply shows that I really love this palette.

Last and but not the least is the Ben Nye Eye Essentials Palette.

Like the Meet Matte Nude palette, this is an all matte eyeshadow palette but it's got THE MOST PIGMENTED EYESHADOWS I have ever tried in my entire life. And I know, I tend to exaggerate sometimes, but I definitely am not on this one. What you see on this picture, is bolder when swatched and even more intense when applied directly to the eye area. Just imagine how it looks like when used with an eyeshadow primer.

Not only is it pigmented, the staying power is awesome, the shades are so blendable. And whatever good qualities you can imagine in an eyeshadow, this definitely has it!

That's it for me and Day 4 of the #10DaysofBEautyTag, I may be running a little late on my posts, so I'll be on it in the next few days. I hope this was helpful to some of you. Thank you and I will see you all again next time!

I'm also on YouTube, check out my videos and Subscribe if you haven't already! :)

XO,

Gia

Review: Koren Zander Brush Soap

There are a few things I wanted to talk to you guys about this brush soap but before that, let me put it out there that this is the first time I'm ever using a soap formulated to clean my brushes.

I've always been into Parian Spirit for spot-cleaning my brushes and baby shampoo for my routine, deep-cleansing. I always let them air dry except for when I need them the same day, I tend to blow dry on the face brushes and then keep them in brush guards for them to return to their shape.

So, what you basically do with this soap is you (of course, take it out of the plastic case :p) 

1. Wet your brush.
2. Sweep your brush over the top of the soap to create a lather
3. Use the loofah side of the soap to loosen the makeup residue on the brush.
4. Rinse thoroughly with water and lay flat on the towel to dry.

First of all, I appreciate the loofah side of the soap, but then I find that it is more suitable with the smaller brushes, eye brushes, if you will.

The lather is not as much as I thought it would create (with face brushes) as compared to when you're using a shampoo. I find that the product does a good job cleaning the powder residue on the brushes, but it's not the same as for with creams, mousse and liquid residues, as well as makeup that's been sitting longer on the brush.

I tried cleaning a brush that's had foundation for a week (I left it on there for the purpose of this experiment) and I had to lather it 4 times to get he product to loosen up.
In effect, I got it clean, sure. But, it's caused some fall out on the bristles, which is no surprise because this product claims to have 5x conditioner, and while that is good for the bristles' texture, it isn't for the roots of your brushes, it loosens the adhesion which leads to fall out.

The sweet scent of Cantaloupe is so nice! It leaves my brushes smelling clean even when it's dry. They actually smell like cotton candy when the brushes have dried. This comes in many other scents, too!

Over-all I think this product is great for eye brushes, I personally do not like deep cleaning my smaller brushes with shampoo because I feel I'm wasting a lot of the shampoo.
I also love the loofah side of the soap which makes loosening stubborn makeup for smaller brushes easier I find that doing that for smaller brushes is harder than it is for bigger ones.
It leaves the brushes smelling clean and fresh, however I am not a fan of this brush soap for my bigger brushes because it's hard to make a lather with and hard to rinse off. You build up on the soap to get it to work, which then makes it hard to rinse off. In effect, makes your brushes shed.

Would I recommend this? Yes! To those who like fragrant smelling brushes because it's always a good indicator of freshness and hygiene and if you tend to use more powder than cream products with your brushes. I definitely want to get this again because I just feel they worked so well with the small brushes and because they smell so good!!!

These things go for P430 a piece, I know it sounds expensive at first but I washed a big batch of face brushes and eye brushes yesterday and I've just erased the etching from the soap :)

This is available from Updated Trends, the official distributor of Sleek Makeup in the Philippines, visit their facebook and instagram page to order, or their website: beauty-corner.myshopify.com. They're also available in many other variants, which I am so excited to try!

Review: Maybelline Rocket Volum Express Mascara

I love my lashes and they are always a big part of any eye look that I do, that's why I love me some good mascara. But my thing is that I do not like spending money on mascara.

In the past, I did splurge on mascara and while they were great and I don't regret those purchases. I don't think I'll buy expensive ones again mainly because I think it's uneconomical to spend too much money on a product that I'm going to discard in 3 months. If you're interested on which mascaras were those that I spent on, they were; Lancome Hypnose, Dior Show and Smashbox Bionic. Bionic was my staple mascara when I was starting out in makeup and quite frankly, easily, the most expensive product in my kit. 

Moving along... I would always keep a stock of my favorite Maybelline Hypercurl Volum Express Mascara. They performed so well, so cheap and they are great for when I do wedding makeup because they are smudge-proof & waterproof. Falling in love with this one mascara was how I got into trying each and every Maybelline Mascara that's available at the Department Store.

The Rocket Volum Express Mascara was an impulse purchase I made when I was passing through the Maybelline Counter at Watson's thanks to the beautiful 25% OFF sign hanging out. I picked these up out of curiosity and because of the nice blue tube. I got them about a month or 2 ago, researched about them and found good reviews but I forgot about them because at the time, I still had a tube of my other mascara.
I discovered them in my drawer yesterday and I decided I'll give this one a try but saw on my facebook another makeup artist friend of mine saying to stay away from the product! Haha! So! I put it down and went back into using my usual mascara.

But today, while doing a new video I couldn't find my other mascara and I didn't want to open another tube so I figured, oh well.. I guess I'll try this one and I have to say that I am very happy with the results.

I typically like spoolie type bristles for the mascara applicator because I feel that they help do the volumizing job better than rubber bristles and because the rubber bristles are pointy, therefore not comfy. But these were plenty volumizing (although still pointy) and they performed well considering it was the first application. I find that mascaras tend to perform their best after a few uses when the mascara has started to get some air built up inside the tube. 

Here's a look at how my (eye)lashes look without the mascara:

And here's how they look like after 2 coats of the Maybelline Rocket Volum Express Mascara:my lashes appear longer, thicker, fuller and definitely black after application. I also found that they did not clump over time and while they are smudge-proof, they are easy to clean off of your lashes but they did not run or clump together when they got wet. These mascaras go for P399 a piece at the beauty and health section of the department store and I believe some select Mercury Drug outlets. 

Here's what I think of the product; The grip is nice on the wand, the color of the tube is great because It wouldn't mix up with my other black stuff if I leave them laying down on my mat when I do my makeup jobs, the wand has good length, I love that it's easy to rinse off, the formula works for me but I still am not and I guess will never be a fan of pointy rubber bristles for mascara applicators which is why I'm giving this mascara 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I would absolutely repurchase and get these babies in my stock (like I do with the hypercurl). I definitely recommend and encourage you to go and try this one yourself if you've been wanting to try it or if you're looking for an (inexpensive) alternative or another mascara to try.

That's it for me and this review of the Maybelline Rocket Volum Express mascara. Thank you and I hope that this was helpful to some of you. Please like and follow my blog if you haven't already. I'm also on WordPress if that platform is better for you. :)

You can also check out my YouTube Channel! Like and Subscribe, if you will :)

Thanks again and I'll see you all next time!

XO,

Gia

Blogged: 10 Days of Beauty Tag (Day 3: Highlighters, Bronzers and Blushes)

I’m slowly, (but surely) moving on to Day 3 of #makeupinmanila’s #10DaysofBeauty and today, I’d like to share with you my most loved Highlighters, Bronzers & Blushes!

Starting with my newest discovery (even if this is not a new product) and my HOLYGRAIL Bronzer is Benefit’s Hoola Bronzer. First of all, It’s Matte. Second, the color is just perfect for me. It’s a nice neutral coffee taupe color that gives your (my) skin a nice contour and/or color if you choose to use it as your bronzer. I find that I have, in the past struggled on choosing bronzers so I just quit.

This sample size came from the Benefit ‘Ulta’mate sexy six set and I’m so happy that that set came with this one. I am pre-ordering one now, from @nicolettemakeup on instagram because as much as I love this product, I don’t think I’m gonna hit pan anytime soon on this travel size (4grams) because this stuff is very pigmented. But, if you are taking my word for how wonderful this product is and don’t want to wait, you can get yours at Benefit Greenbelt 5 or at Rustan’s.

Next up, is the Limited Edition Foreplay Cheek Palette by Nars. --- Need I say more? This cheek palette has 3 of the best blushes and probably the only colors I’ll ever wear. (No, that’s and exaggeration. Haha!) The reason I love this cheek palette so much is because I’m not big on blushes, I like very subtle hints of color on the cheeks cos mine are prominent so these 3 are just perfect for me. They are very pigmented, the finish is so smooth and the texture is buttery on your skin. You can even combine them to have your custom blush color.

On to my next favorite blush! Blush by 3 by Sleek Makeup in Pink Sprint. Do not be afraid. I know. I said I like subtle hints of color and this is the polar opposite of that. This was sent to me by Updated Trends (The Official distributor of Sleek Makeup in the Philippines) to try out and review and I thought: WOW! However am I going to use this? -- But I like me some challenge, so then I started playing with this blush palette.

First thing you need to remember before you use this product, regardless if you like it subtle or if you are a big fan of blush: DAB YOUR BRUSH VERY LIGHTLY ON THE PAN. Haha! This is no joke the most pigmented blush powder I’ve ever had in my entire life, which makes it such a great product. The finish is smooth, it’s matte and it’s versatile, I promise you. -- I will be coming up with a full review on this product and how else you can use it, so stay tuned for that :)

Moving on with, Clarins Barocco Face Palette. This is a blush and highlighter in one. You can swirl your brush in there to get hints of fine golden shimmer or pinch your brush and dab on either areas to use specifically for blush or highlight. I love this palette because of the nice matte, baby pink color it leaves your cheeks and because it’s neither pale or too pink for me, which is my frequent issue.

My next favorite highlighter is Urban Decay’s Urban Glow in Brown Sugar.

They are just amazing little cream highlighters that mimic light and stick to your skin so seamlessly (when blended properly) It looks like a taupe cream on the pan which makes it look more like a contouring cream than highlight, but it has a pinkish silver glow when applied, which I really love! It’s best if your skin is on the cool side, but I wear this one regardless ;) A little baby dot on the highpoints of your face will be enough. NEVER go overboard with this product unless you intend to look like a sparkling vampire ;)

That’s it for my favorite highlighters, bronzers, and blushes! I will be back next time with my eyeshadow (palette) collection! :D

Thank you! I hope these tips and my opinion on the products here were helpful to some of you, Like and Follow my blog if you haven’t already. Check out my youtube channel and do the same! I will see you all again next time!

XO,

Gia

Blogged: 10 Days of Beauty Tag (Day 2: Foundations, Primers, Powders)

Keeping up with @makeupinmanila's #10daysofbeauty tag, here's my Day 2 of my Favorite Foundations, Primers and Concealers... (because I haven't repurchased my favorite MAC Mineralize Skin Finish )

First off, are the primers, the Urban Decay primer potion is my all-time favorite for the eyes, Eden has to be my favorite variant because it evens out my eyelids and does the color correcting part very well. If I'm being a cheat; Sin is my favorite for shimmery eye looks And since I tend to go with neutral smoky eyes, this is my best bet. They don't streak, they make your eyeshadow last so long, and improve your eyeshadow's color pay-off.

For face primer is the L'oreal Base Magique, which is literally: MAGIC. It evens out your skin, leaves a sheer matte base for your foundation and I find that this primer maintains your foundation really well especially if you're someone who doesn't like touch-ups and appreciates the natural "glow" the longer you wear your makeup.

For concealer, I used to be a Mac moisture cover girl but I had ran out of that stuff a few months back and tried different alternatives and I had just resorted to using lighter foundation because I found that everything creased and/or caked... until I discovered this! Honestly, i don't know what I did in my life before I used this.

This concealer from Amazing Cosmetics is what this brand is; AMAZING. I literally need a pea sized amount to conceal and highlight both undereye areas and when I set it (usually with my ben nye neutral set or rcma colorless powder) I find that it doesn't budge, cake or crease almost like it was airbrushed. It comes in a variety of colors so that no one skintone is alienated i'm either a light golden or medium beige depending on my mood or depending on how dark my undereye area is at the time hehe :p

Next up, is foundation!

I have a good mix of high end and drugstore foundations and my skin isn't problematic (Thank God!) so I really don't have demands on coverage, my only real demand is the finish and texture. Specially here where everything can tend to feel muggy and icky and over-all annoying. 
For medium to full coverage foundation, my pick is straight up YSL Teint Radiance. I didn't think it was buildable at first, but when I got into again recently, I rediscovered the awesomeness that's within this product. It's a great day to night foundation and it's not heavy at all. Another good thing about this product? It pumps little baby squirts so nothing goes to waste (better be sure of that because this stuff ain't cheap hehe).

For full coverage foundation, it was a toss-up between this one and MAC Studio Fix Foundation, but ultimately the PAC All Day Coverage Foundation bagged it, for me. I'm in the shade C3 and that's usually light for Filipina skin, but like I said before, I'm acidic so that's not a problem, at all. This foundation, is no joke an ALL DAY Cover minus that feeling of suffocation on your skin. It's great for Asian skin color and skin tones and I find that this foundation doesn't need setting because it turns matte, it other occasions when the weather is super hot and humid or if I use it on weddings, I need to set it with a powder and it stays forever! well, not forever. But you know what I mean :)

So, there you have my Favorite primers, foundations and concealer for Day 2 of the 10 Days of Beauty Tag by @MakeupinManila

Please do share your favorites on the comments section below! I hope this was helpful to some of you and I will see you all again next time!

XO,
Gia