NiceLadiesThings

I've been meaning to buy an eyebrow mascara but because its expensive online and I do not know which brand to buy, I waited and its been on my to buy list for quite sometime now. You see, like my mom, I'm not blessed with bushy brows or say thick eyebrows. So I've been dependent on eyebrow pencils and lately with eyebrow powders. I am curious on how a brow mascara would work and I was dreaming that it will make my eyebrow hairs thicker. So when I saw that L'oreal Philippines has released Brow Artist Chisel Straight I got excited and bought one right away!

On L'oreal's Facebook page it says this is priced at P400. When I went to Landmark Trinoma last week I was surprised to find out its only P300 - the sales associate said that is the regular price for this product.



I have been using L'oreal's eyebrow powder for a couple of months now - the genius kit, and I sooo love it! (See my seperate review for the genius kit) And I only got it for P200 from its original price of P400 because it was on sale :-) So now they are buddies!

My face bare: no eyebrow powder on, no make-up

So I decided to use this alone, Chisel straight, without any eyebrow powder on, just to see how it works and how I will look. It actually wasn't that easy to use. I applied the mascara first on the hairs of my brows, but because it wouldn't make my brows thicker than I hoped I had to rub gently the flocking tip on my eyebrows as it dries giving me an eyebrow pencil effect. If you mistakenly applied more, it would be a mess, but you have to be prepared with a spoolie brush - good thing the genius kit has one, or you can just use the mascara comb.

Me all glum looking - but at least my eyebrows are looking good here LOL

My conclusion is - I would stick to my L'oreal Brow Artist Genius Kit but then since I have this - I might have to use it on top of the genius kit for a more straighter brow tip look. I hope with regular use I'll be an expert soon!

Although I am not a fan, (I've never watched Aldub) I was surprised  and excited to see Maine Mendoza as this year's endorser of Avon's Skin So Soft lotion. I didn't watch her shows at Eat Bulaga but I like her because she is very pretty and quirky and she seems like a very nice down to earth person. So, after seeing her ad on an Avon Brochure as I said I got excited and contacted my Avon lady right away to order.




The ad on the brochure will court you and would make you like/want/order the lotion after reading its description:

I've used SSS lotions before, but I am not a fan. I do love its light floral fresh scent, so I buy a bottle once in a while. Last year, they featured Ina Raymundo on their Collagen lotion and I bought that one too.
I used it but I didn't even finish the bottle.


But this lotion is different though, Skin Whitening wise, I would say don't expect too much. I've been using the lotion for about a month now and I haven't seen any improvements yet - my skin is not fairer. Take note that I am a stay at home mom, I rarely go outside, and I use a Kojic soap as my daily bath soap.
On the other hand, I don't really mind that the lotion doesn't help a lot in whitening because this lotion is just WONDERFUL! It's just great! I can probably say for now its my HG! The 3 forever young benefits as stated are true! After a few days of using it, I felt my skin is softer, silkier to the touch and its very moisturized - I can't feel any dryness in my legs and arms when I use this. I love touching my arms its sooft! The lotion's consistency is not heavy and its good because it makes it easy to apply evenly on my skin. For now I am still using this, I am almost done with my first bottle and will order another one. This lotion is also okay to use this summer, it doesn't feel sticky and uncomfortably hot on my skin. I do not know how long I will be using this hopefully on my 2nd or 3rd bottle I'll have that white porcelain skin as promised!

Update: I am currently on my 2nd bottle. Still lovin' this lotion :-)

Disclaimer: This is not a paid review.

I remember seeing an ad on  a fashion magazine of a powder foundation that stays put on your face for 12 hours and makes it flawless and oil free - that was years ago and I think it was a Shiseido brand which an average earner like me wouldn't be able to afford unless I save up for it. But since make-up is really not my choice of a splurge I had to live with drugstore brands - mediocre powders and foundations and of course, my oil control sheets.

My face is like an oil factory - I have big pores and super oily skin. I got this from my mom who has a very oily skin too. Though I've heard that people with oily skin are lucky because of the fact that it helps keep wrinkles at bay I still envy women with matte oil free skin (dry type?). They do not have to deal with applying a lot of powder or foundation to hide that ugly oil or shine - they do not have to worry after a few minutes or hours after applying make-up if they still look fresh or already shiny (sigh). So when L'oreal came up with their product Mat Magique powder back in 2014 I was intrigued because of its  low price at Php400! Then Maybelline came up with their own oil free 12hour foundation too and that one was way cheaper but that is another story.



Anyway here's the description of the product according to its box:

L'OREAL MAT MAGIQUE IN G1 VANILLA IVORY

If you have a very oily skin like mine, then chances are you will only be disappointed with this powder.
It didn't last me 12 hours! 2 hours and I am already a bit shiny with this one. Another 2 hours and I can already feel the oil if touch my face. I still love it, though. I love the shade of the powder and how soft it is. I use this on top of L'oreal's true match foundation in G3 Gold Vanilla and they're a perfect match. I like that I can easily tap it on my face after I apply my foundation and my pores are instantly gone as well as the shine too. After an hour or two, I would use an oil blotting film to remove shine and oil, and then I'd look fresh again.



The compact is surprisingly light - as I am used to IN2It and ZA's compacts which are quite long and very glossy. It is stubby but it is cute. The back of the compact is made of transparent matte plastic but it is still smooth to the touch which is nice - it is curved and hollowed - which I think is better so the powder won't break if you drop the compact.

Beside Maybelline's White Superfresh

Matt Magique in G1, Maybelline White Superfresh in 02 Nude Beige

Overall, I still like this powder because it is very soft and finely milled. After using it all up, I would probably try L'oreal's Infallible Pro Matte 16H powder next. This is priced at P400 and I got it for only P320 which is not bad. Last January, I remember this powder was even on sale at 50% for P200 and P150 for the refill! If I catch it on sale at that price, I will of course buy one again :-)

I remember being a fan of eyebrow pencils, probably about 4 or 5 years ago? With limited funds when it comes to make-up, I just couldn't find the right one for me - I always end up with harsh looking brows and most of the time - uneven brows. I have always wondered how celebrities get their perfect brows and why they looked brushed. Until I stumbled upon my first kit at The Body Shop which is my HG but it is expensive at P1,000+ per compact that has only 2 shades -so I then moved on and used Fanny Serrano's eyebrow kit, which I think I bought for only P350 for 4 shades in a compact, and I used this for quite sometime - about 2 years.

Looking at reviews online of other brow powder kits - a lot of people are raving about ELF's eyebrow kit, even comparing and saying its a dupe to the expensive Anastasia Beverly Hills eyebrow products.
I got curious so I bought one at SM, I got it for a fair price of P250 (this was I think P280 but I got it on sale). Only the dark shade was available which I thought was perfect for me.



No I haven't used this that much - the 2nd photo was the result of my little girl dropping my cosmetic bag and this is what happened, the powder broke so I had to throw away the loose ones.

When I first tried this, I was very disappointed. My eyebrows looked harsh and reddish and very ugly.
I regretted buying it and I forgot about it - until one day I decided to give it another shot. I realized the trick with regards to its application: use very minimal wax powder because it is very pigmented. Then using the compact's brush, the bigger end is not that thick but soft enough to apply the lighter powder by tapping it on the inner part or thicker part of your brows and it creates that natural thick eyebrow look. The other good thing about this compact is - your eyebrows won't budge under humid weather and minimal perspiration and face oiliness. Overall this is a very good buy and I am planning on buying the medium shade too - I only wish that the mirror is bigger so that putting this on and making even eyebrows would be a breeze.

Next, Avon finally came up with their own eyebrow kit, although it is not cheap for P350 - I got mine on sale for P239. 


I have to be honest that I used mine only about twice. I can say for now that the product was okay.
I was surprised that the compact was small because it is housed in the same compact that Avon uses for their quad shadows and blushes. Those were big. Look at them side by side:

Quad compact shadow on the left, and the tiny cute one on the right is the brow compact.

Avon's perfect eyebrow kit in soft brown T102

I went for the Soft Brown shade because I have recently colored my hair dark brown. The other one is Deep Brown which is more of a darker or near black color. I would probably edit this and try using this one more often so I can tell you if this is great. It's all L'oreal's fault - I got excited with their Brow Artist Genius Kit. From P400 I got it on sale for P200. Avon can't beat that price!

One more thing - I didn't like this compact's brush. Come on Avon, do you really think you can actually use this brush? It is a double ended brush but the bristles are made of thick nylon, both of them! - not skin friendly. I have thin eyebrows so using this brush would hurt my skin. So, prepare to use your own slanted brush for this one.


Okay, so L'oreal posted on facebook that for 3 days their Genius eyebrow kit will be on sale at P200 (original retail is P400). On the day of the sale, I went to SM Fairview to buy mine and I am indeed lucky I got one! Most customers were complaining that the product was out of stock in all branches. Anyway, this is indeed a good buy. This is what I am using right now:



The compact is tiny and light. It is not glossy and heavy and expensive looking but it doesn't look cheap too.
I love that it has a large mirror so you wouldn't really need a separate bigger mirror when you are applying this especially if you are on the go and applying your make-up in the car.


The lighter chocolate brown on the left is the wax, and unlike Elf's kit, this one is just perfect - its consistency is quite oilier that if you apply it you really wouldn't see any color on your brows not until after you apply the powder on the right, its darker brown shade is the best because even if you apply a lot it wouldn't look that strong or harsh.

The double ended brush is consisted of a spoolie and a slanted brush, very usable! The spoolie is great when you need to comb your eyebrows to eliminate the excess powder and create that natural looking brows!
Overall for now L'oreal's kit is my HG - I would try Maybelline's soon or Nyx's. Will post pictures soon for each one of these and I promise to give Avon a chance too! :-)

Our family is a huge fan of online shopping - especially those with a COD (Cash on Delivery) payment method option. My brother always has vouchers and would ask me what I wanted to buy at Lazada. Power banks are in these days but I didn't think I really need it - I realized though that its a must have for me especially when I am out in the office on training from 9am to 5pm and since my phone is almost 2 years old - the battery drains really fast especially with the data/internet turned on.

This cute powerbank caught my eye at Lazada - especially because it is cheap. I do not know what a Totoro is but I learned from research online that it is a cartoon character in a Japanese anime film. Anyway, I know I should have purchased a more reliable brand like Romoss but I decided to try this one because it is CUTE!


It was on a discounted price of P474 with a freebie 8ml Rose scented EDT but with my brother's voucher I only paid about P390 for this which isn't really that much.


This is how big it is - for me its quite handy and its not that heavy. The plastic material (the pink portion) has a rough texture (not rubberized) which is fine for a better grip, the white portion is smooth.

The box has no manual or instructions at all even at the back its just blank- and that made me realize that this is indeed a generic powerbank which means that its declared capacity should not be expected. The included USB cable is quite disappointing because its short - probably about 10-12 inches.




The lights of the powerbank blinks as it charges which is really cute - but its performance is inadequate.

Charging time takes exactly 8 hours. I tried it and it only charged my Samsung Note II once (full charge) and an Iphone 4s (1 full and 50% charge). Calculating these devices battery mAH it means technically this powerbank only has 5,245 mAh or probably less at 5000mAh compared to what it claims that it is 20,000mAh.
So I am keeping this cute little thing, I just hope it would last! I don't really mind if it really has only 5,000 mAh as long as it is durable somehow.

I was using Belo Kojic + Tranexamic Acid products (soap and lotion) for a good 6 months last year when suddenly I suffered from skin itching due to a food allergic reaction. I had to stop using both the soap and lotion for weeks because my arms and legs were filled with itchy red pimple like bumps - I used some sulfur soap and vitamin E lotion and after about 3 weeks my skin's back but I felt I needed to use a different whitening regimen. SkinWhite looked promising to me so I gave it a try.


The soap at 90g is about P60 at Puregold Supermarkets and the smallest lotion (very cute and handy 50ml bottle btw) is priced at P89. (It is expensive!)

So since I saved the box of the soap - here's exactly what was written on the back:

"Here's an energetic way to white! Treat your skin to a large helping of Glutathione made better with a dose of Vitamin C for a refreshing way to beautiful blush white skin in just 7 days!
Still not convinced? This soap is also powered with our exclusive Advanced TriPower Technology that:

1. Helps block nasty UV rays*
2. Suppress melanin production, and
3. Prevents its release to the outermost skin layer, preventing skin darkening

Skinwhite's Vitanourish formula contains Vitamins A, B3, C and E for full on moisturization so your skin doesn't just look good but feels good. Its Synchronized Whitening Technology whitens, moisturizes and protects your skin all at the same time.

You're on your way to your beautiful blush white skin ever, so atta girl1

For best results, apply SkinWhite Glutathione + Vitamin C Lotion after bathing.

*synergistic effect when used with SkinWhite Glutathione + Vitamin C Lotion


The soap lathers great and smells lovely! One 90g bar lasted 2 weeks on me compared to Belo's soap which at P60 also only lasts 7 days. The lotion - hours after my first application my skin was dry! I can see the patches of my white dry skin which is bad. The good thing is after a week my skin was able to adjust and the dryness was gone. What I didn't like about the lotion is its TOO THICK. I had a hard time at first applying it evenly on my arms especially because I am quite on the hairy side (balbon hehe). You also have to wait a while for this to dry down on your skin but after that you'll see that the lotion delivered in terms of its promise of instant whitening. The good thing is my skin is lighter from using Belo - and it even got whiter (only instantly) with this lotion.

Stepping into the shower I realized how thick the lotion was. I watched my arms transform from a white color to a darker shade as the lotion washes off. Its like body foundation, and after 2 weeks of using the lotion I felt its not effective in terms of natural whitening. It instantly whitens, yes but its still not the real thing which is bad. What if it rains and your arms get wet? I'm sure you'll see white steaks on your arms which won't be a good sight. I can't imagine how this lotion would look on a natural morena skin toned lady. It is WHITE and it is THICK and will sit on top of your skin and act like some kind of foundation for that instant whitening - it wouldn't look pretty on a morena, if you want to use this you'll probably have to use a Kojic soap first then this one.

Let me show you a picture of me in natural outdoor daylight with this lotion:


As you can see my arms skin color are lighter than my legs - I only use the lotion on my arms btw given that it is expensive - I use a Nivea whitening lotion for my legs. All my life I've always known that my legs skin color is whiter than my arms because it is always exposed to the sun whenever I go out. But after the summer of 2015 due to several swimming parties with my family and me wearing short shorts I suspect my legs were still trying to recover from skin darkening. My point is the lotion's instant whitening effect is good given how light my arms look in this picture. And given how thick it is - it only has SPF20 but when my mom and I shopped over at Divisoria last December and walked hours under the sun my skin did not suffer from any darkening at all!

I also used these while using the soap and lotion:



The facial cleanser is just okay. Its just an ordinary facial cleanser. It didn't give me any breakouts same with the face cream powder - but I didn't like that it smells too strong - its like you're putting alcohol on your face. Meanwhile, I was impressed with the face cream powder's shade - the natural beige is so perfect for me! My face color is whiter than my arms I think - but this one disappeared on my facial skin like a perfect foundation shade! A true match for my (all over) skin color! Its also a cream face powder so you'll feel weird at first applying this on your skin the texture and feel is different but I am pleased because it is very matte and it covered my pores. I used up about 3 sachets of this and if you're lazy to put your foundation on then this will do.


For now I am back to using Belo's Kojic Acid + Tranexamic Acid lotion and found a perfect pair for it which is Kojie San's Dream White Anti-Aging Soap (cheaper than Belo's Kojic Acid + Tranexamic Acid soap and effective! They are compatible.) I would say that my legs has recovered and is now back to its natural whiter color but the good thing is my arms and legs' color are now even! :-)

For now I can say that I would buy SkinWhite's lotion again just for the purpose of instant whitening if needed and also because it is a very good sunblock!

This is my very first time trying out a L'oreal hair color. I bought this because it was on sale for P399 from its original retail price of P499- then after a few months L'oreal announced that this hair color will be on a permanently markdown price at P399. I had to laugh because I remember rushing into a Watson's store just to buy this one to catch up on the sale and save P100.

It took me about 15 minutes to decide which color to buy and I settled for this one because I hate orangey/coppery colors - it just doesn't suit my skin tone. I learned from my Revlon disaster hair color experience that any hair dye with a "golden" on its name - no matter how beautiful the model's picture was on the box - will turn out reddish/orangish on me. But after trying out this one - I learned it will also depend on your previous hair's color/state.



As you can see on the box, this is a beautiful color - it doesn't have a hint of red/orange on it.
Its almost like a darker hazel brown or caramel brown shade. But I was disappointed with the outcome after using this.



When I first opened the box - I can't stop sniffing it - it smells lovely like an expensive perfume has been sprayed on it. Only L'oreal hair colors have a protective pre-color serum. Most brands doesn't have one. They have also included a mini comb that you can use to replace the pointed applicator for an easy even hair color application.


I'll make this review short - so here are the facts:

My hair: natural straight hair - shoulder length as of this coloring January 2016
Previous hair color: Kolours in Medium Brown October 2015

About 12-14 hours from my last shower - I applied the hair color minutes after putting the protective pre-color serum on my hair. I didn't bother testing for any allergic reaction which I know is wrong. I was praying while dyeing my hair because I've read some articles of people who died while coloring their hair. Anyway, so I did put the protective pre-color serum mostly on the lower parts of my hair as advised on the leaflet - to protect the dry ends.  The serum smells a fresh floral smell - very nice. I was a bit doubtful also because the serum shouldn't be rinsed off according to instructions - so I was really thinking how the color would stick.

So here is my after shower photo. When I first looked in the mirror - I wanted to cry:




Clearly a disaster I know. My hair feels oh so soft and smells great thanks to the generous amount of their after color conditioner (a 40ml conditioner that you can use 2-3x) but when I looked in the mirror I was very disappointed.


The top of my head is color orange or gold or whatever. The middle and bottom - its dark brown - same color before I dyed. I wanted to like it so much and say, give it a couple of more days but I will be attending an office meeting in 2 days and I can't afford to look like this.



It's impossible that one box isn't enough - I have thin shoulder length hair. I used all of the mixture and my hair was very saturated all over with this hair color. I used a shower cap too and left it 30-35 minutes before rinsing.


Kolours saved my life after 24 hours - good thing I have a spare Medium Brown shade stock. I colored my roots the next morning. I really wanted to like this but I can't stand seeing myself with a very orangey top hair color and dark brown in the middle to bottom - if all my hair has turned this orangey/golden evenly all over perhaps I wouldn't mind.

So perhaps in the future I would still buy a L'oreal hair color given that their price is more affordable now at P399. Next time I would skip the Pre-color protective serum because I was suspecting that was the culprit why the color didn't stick. I would also leave it on for 50 minutes. I would also probably buy their Chocolate / Caramel brown shade.


PROs:
- Serum and conditioner smells good
- Color when mixed also smells pretty
- I love the comb applicator
- My hair feels so soft and shiny after coloring
- Easy to remove hair color stains on ears/face

CONs:
 - Color outcome on me not good - the color didn't stick
 - Chemical is too strong - I felt some stinging and my eyes watered a little while applying this
 - A bit expensive at P399


So the next time I buy a L'oreal hair color or if you plan on buying one - have a L'oreal expert at the mall apply it for you. They sometimes have booths that offers free application service and I will probably try that.