EB Advance Liquid Lipstick: Review + Swatches

Before anything else, I would love to greet you all a Merry Christmas! Today marks a really exciting day in the calendar. Well, at least for me it is. Aside from it being Christmas eve, it is also one of my closest friend's birthday. So in line with that, let me take this opportunity to greet her. Happy Birthday Lyle! I will be dropping by to visit you later. ;)

Enough with the greetings, let us now move on to the review proper. Let me be real with you. I've never been more excited with a release of a specific local product than now. Ever since Ever Bilena posted a photo of their liquid lipsticks, I've been going back and forth to the nearest Watsons and Ever Bilena counters to check if they already have it and it was only until last weekend when I saw them.

Festive Holiday 2015 Makeup Look: Tutorial

Two blog posts in a day! Yes, I am on a roll. The reason behind is because I really wanted to share with you both Holiday looks I've come up with this year. Last month, I was asked to do a collaboration video along with 11 other beautiful youtubers. Each of us did a holiday makeup inspired by a birth stone. The birth stone was assigned randomly and I got Alexandrite, which is a color changing birthstone for the month of June.

Alexandrite appears to be an emerald green in daylight and purplish red under incandescent light. However, when you look at birth stone charts, you'd see Alexandrite as a lilac shade so I just opted to do both colors, lilac and purplish red. I couldn't incorporate the green one because I really wanted the look to be wearable so I went to the purple side of things.

One Brand Holiday Glam Look: Tony Moly

Personally, I feel that a good holiday glam makeup is defined by red lips. I usually picture my holiday makeup with red lips. This year, I am creating my look using one brand and one brand only- Tony Moly. Tony Moly is a good Korean cosmetics brand.

I recently joined their Holiday Glam Makeup Video contest where I made a video showing how I would do my makeup using Tony Moly products. I thought I's share it to you for a couple of reasons: 1. So you can watch the tutorial. 2. So you have the option to recreate this this holiday season.

To start off, here's the makeup look. It's just a very simple eye look with bright full-on red lips.

Beauty in Full Bloom Blogger Party with Healthy Skin: Event

Let me bring you back to an incident that happened a few years ago while I was looking for a good foundation. A sales attendant was helping me choose the right shade and formulation for my skin but I couldn't choose no matter how many products I've already swatched. I confessed that I didn't see how purchasing any of the items would help with my current makeup routine.

Being the ever-so-helpful sales attendant that she was, she asked me what my main concerns were and offered her input on the matter. I responded by telling her that while I am happy with some of the products that I already own, I feel that my foundation doesn't go as smoothly as I want them to be. The SA smiled, as if the answer to my problem was simple.

She directed me to the opposite side of the store, the skin care section, and handed me a face cream. She explained that while finding a good foundation formula is important, it is more crucial to find a good skin care regimen to make sure that the canvas (my face) is ready for some painting (makeup). And just like that, it hit me. Eureka!

Swallow 1 Minute Hair Smoothing Cream: Review + Hair Care Giveaway (IG)

I like to treat my hair to some form of deep conditioner at least twice a week. This routine, however, is very hard to maintain especially if you have irregular schedule like I used to. Good thing there are products that you can use to give yourself a little something extra without having to spend more than a minute of your precious time. Today, I'd like to share with you a simple review of a product called the 1 Minute Hair Smoothing Cream by Swallow.

Loreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream (Anti-Fatigue): Review

Hi guys! It's been a while. I'm glad to be back. Today, I'm reviewing a bb cream that I recently got called Loreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream in Anti-Fatigue. This is a product with color transforming beautifying beads that help revive tired complexion.

It claims to have four beautifying actions in one. The claims are as follows: 1.) Revives tired conplexion 2.) Corr2ects the look of the skin for a healthy looking even complexion 3.) Hydrates for all day moisture and lastly, 4.) Perfects complexion.

Now let's talk about my thoughts on the product. I will divide my review into parts: packaging, color, performance and longevity.

Tony Moly Tony Tint Delight in Shade 02 (Red): Review

Let me start this review by saying I've hit a gold mine with this product. Yes, I know. It sounds exaggerated but believe me when I say, it isn't. This is hands down the best lip and cheek tint I have ever tried.

Ariul Stress Relieving Purefull Cleansing Foam: Reviw

Who likes a good stress reliever? I know I do! Today, I'll be talking about the Stress Relieving Purefull Cleansing Foam. This is a part of the Memebox I got last year and I've only tried it a couple of months ago.

It's been some time since I last used a cleansing foam. Over the past four months, I've been using facial bar soaps and it was only when I used this that I remembered how nice it is to use a cleansing foam. This particular product has 75ml packaged in a really cute bright teal and yellow packaging. I absolutely adore how it looks.

This particular product is claimed to gently cleanse and leave skin moisturized through three steps of purifying, soothing and moisturizing. Natural fragrances are supposed to freshen your senses and removes microdust and impurities for healthier "purefull" skin.

After using the product, I can say that it works just as well as other gentle cleansers out in the market. It foams up pretty nicely and cleanses without irritating the skin. It isn't harsh at all. It does leave the skin a bit moisturized but you still have to go through all the steps of your skin care as you will still need a moisturizer.

The thing that I like about this product is the scent. It smells really nice. A bit of citrus, natural herb and clay scents (sorry, I'm bad at describing scents) makes it a good stress reliever, at least for me. I am a sucker for natural fragrances.

This is a pretty good product. I would recommend this to people who do not have problematic skin and doesn't have any particular area that he/she would want to focus on. 

With Love,
Anna Luisa

Nichido Color Eyes Mascara and Eyeliner Duo: Review

Before I turn  this laptop off, I thought I should write a post first. It's been a while and I'd be lying if I told you I don't miss blogging. I don't have a laptop of my own. It broke. Me sad. I'm just borrowing my mom's for the mean time and I'm hoping to get a new one as early as I can. Hopefully soon.

In today's post, I will be talking about a local product that I have been using non-stop over the past couple of months. As pictured below, I got it on sale for only PHP168 at Watsons. It is a 2 in 1 product that saves a lot of space in my makeup bag, a mascara and eyeliner in one!

Taiwan Excellence: Made to Enjoy Singing

Filipinos really are talented. It comes as no surprise to me that a lot of people in and out of the country are amazed by how well our musical prowess are. With a lot of talent shows and singing contests around, I am glad that Filipinos are able to show what they are capable of in different fields of entertainment. Now, I am happy to bear this good news to my musically inclined readers out there. Taiwan Excellence is having an online contest named "Made to Enjoy Singing". Everyone is invited to join and get their talents discovered.

There will be a public votation on who has the best musical submission and these submissions will be judged by a panel of experts. Winners will be receiving Taiwan Excellence products and cash prizes.

The first qualifying leg was held last August and the next ones will be this September and October. Finals leg will be held on November 2015. For more information on the contest, visit: madetoenjoysinging.ph/index.php/page/view/taiwan-excellence-made-to-enjoy-singing

Prizes:

September: Acer Liquid Jade Z or Kingcom Sigma Evo smartphone and each finalist will receive PHP 10000 cash

October: Asus Zenfone 2 or Acer Iconia tab and again, each finalist will receive PHP 10000 cash

Grand Winner: KYMCO Agility 125" Motorcycle and PHP 50000 cash, to be handed out by Maja Salvador

To join, you may register on the Taiwan Excellence Made to Enjoy Singing official website: http://www.madetoenjoysinging.ph/

What are you waiting for? It's time to show the world your hidden or not-so-hidden talents!

#IDoItTwiceAWeek

Weekly routines. These are things that I do on days when I don't have to make money and work. Needless to say, these are routines I enjoy doing because 1.) It reminds me that I'm on my day off. 2.) It means "ME time". I usually do these routines twice a week to help me feel complete. Yes, you read it right. Complete. It has been part of my routine for so long, I feel different when I miss doing them.

One of the things I have to do on a weekly basis would be to workout. It is the latest addition to my routine. I woke up one day and decided I needed a lifestyle change and I chose to go the healthy route and ditch being a couch potato for a few minutes at least twice a week. So far, I'm loving it. :)

Another routine that I like to do is scrubbing my face and body and applying hair treatments. These routines, although takes a bit of time and turns my usual 15-minute shower into 30-40 minutes long, makes me extremely happy because I mainly do it to pamper myself. It keeps my skin and hair looking soft, smooth and healthy. It also leaves me smelling good and clean.

Tony Moly Face Mix Cover Pot Concealer: Review

From time to time, I'd get full blown breakouts without any idea why it's happening. Of course, I'd pay a visit to my dermatologist but the blemishes and the scars these breakouts leave on my face need intervention, or at least they need to look less visible. To do that, I use the Tony Moly Face Mix Cover Pot Concealer.

Get Your Jergens Glow On!

Hi guys! I am very excited to share with you this new campaign from Jergens. Jergens has long been an advocate of healthy, natural glowing skin. In this newest campaign, Jergens will be hosting a series of activities for the rest of the year in the metro's premiere beauty destination, Araneta Center, to promote a healthy skin care habit.

Jergens has always been one of my favorite brands. I've tried numerous variants and not one has failed me. My favorite variant is the Original Beauty Lotion to moisturize and soften my skin. It's what I'm using right now and I just can't get enough of the cherry scent it has. I am very excited to invite you all to get Your Glow on at  #GetGlowingWithJergens Skincare Fair!

Mise en scene Perfect Repair Treatment Pack and Serum: Review

I  started having hair troubles from October, last year, when I had my hair permed. Sadly, after having my hair permed, I suffered with dry and unhealthy looking hair. Because of this, I have been religiously taking care of my hair. Thankfully, my Memebox Global Box  #15 had products that helped me with my problems. 

Aside from conditioning my hair everyday, I now apply hair mask twice a week and apply hair serum every single day. Specifically, I use the Mise en scene Perfect Repair Treatment Pack and the Mise en scene Perfect Serum.

 The duo. I got the full size for both. Yay!

J Tomas Solutiuons No Sweat Anti-perspirant Deodorant: Review + Giveaway

It's the start of rainy season, guys! But then again, it's still extremely hot and humid most of the time. I find myself sweating all over in the middle of the day. It sucks, I know. Especially when my underarms start to sweat. I find it embarrassing and uncomfortable at the same time. Previously, I just went with it. No matter what antiperspirant I use, I still end up having the same results (sadly).

About a month ago, Ms. Joy of JOTOCO Corp and I decided to do a collaboration which would involve me trying out several products from their company for review, hence this post. Yes, the products were given to me for free but rest assured, all opinions are my own. They did not pay me to say anything in particular for this review.

One of the products they sent me would be the JTomas Solutions No Sweat Anti-perspirant Deodorant which comes in a handy white simple spray bottle. To be honest, my first impression wasn't really anything extraordinary. Read on to find out how it changed within 24 hours of use.

Maybelline White Superfresh Long Lasting UV Cake Powder: Review

One of the things I decided to change with my routine is how often I use liquid BB creams and foundations. Back then, whenever I'd leave the house for work, I'd always use these kinds of makeup bases. This time, I decided to focus on concealing problem areas and just leaving the rest of the face powdered.

I am not blessed with perfect skin. This is why this goal didn't come as easy as I thought it would be. I searched for different brands of different powder foundations for something that can provide me with a little coverage, melts just right on the skin and keeps me looking matte or glowy for the rest of the day. The drugstore winner from my collection is this Maybelline Super White Fresh Powder Foundation.

Mestiza Soap: Review

I first came across this product while going through random youtube videos. Well, you know me. When I have nothing to do, I just go through my subscription list. I wasn't looking for anything in particular. I was merely video hopping when I saw a video by Joyce Sola where she mentioned this particular product. She mentioned it was good for back acne and I was instantly sold.

C20 Pure Vitamin C 21.5 Advanced Serum: Review

Hi guys! Did you miss me? I missed blogging a lot! I've been too busy with work that I didn't have time to write reviews as much as I wanted to. I haven't shared this yet but I've gone back to being a nurse. I still work in the ICU. The only difference is that I'm working for a smaller hospital near my house instead of my previous one. Anyway, I won't get into that. I'll get on with the review. :)

Today, I'm going to be reviewing this Vitamin C 21.5 serum from Wishtrend. I was lucky enough to be offered to write down a review regarding this product. I tested it out for about 2 months just to make sure that I can give you an in depth review of the product. I also tried taking before and after photos for reference.

I usually use this product twice a day after I apply toner.

Qik or It Didn't Happen

A picture is worth a thousand words but you can say more with Qik, a quick video messaging/communication app that allows you to exchange instant and quick video meessages for free. I've only had it on my phone for a few days and I believe it is here to stay.

It allows me to exchange  videos with a group of friends without the hassle. Just like it's name, it's so quick and easy to use. 

With the Skype Qik video messenger, you can create groups easily from the contacts on your phone, and send messages to them privately. You can also enjoy watching your chat movie grow as more people respond.

Instead of plainly recommending a tv show or a movie to a friend by giving out the show title in text, I can send videos of me watching the show! It adds a little extra and it actually works to convince them to watch them ASAP! Of course, the use of this app isn't limited to that. I can easily show my friends how to use a certain product when they don't know how to by quickly sending them a short how-to video. 

Shawill Lipstick Color Gorgeous (#001): Review

Hi guys! I guess it's been a while since I talked about a local lip product. Today, I'm going to be talking about a lip color from the brand called Shawill. I got this from Watsons and it is a good everyday lip color that only costs PHP188. I got this over a year ago and it got pushed at the very back of my makeup stash that I ended up forgetting about it. Good thing the product has an expiration date and I was happy to find out it wont expire until August 2017. It was also a good thing that I decided to thoroughly look at my makeup collection for some items I may have missed out on.

If you've been following me on instagram, you may have seen the swatch of this product. It was love at first swatch. It reminded me of my Etude House Look at My Lips Lipstick in Ladylike Pink. That was one of my ultimate favorite lip colors and I was happy to find that this shade is similar to that.

Holika Holika Egg Soap Special Set: Review

Happy Easter everyone! I may not have easter eggs to show off but I have this- Holika Holika Egg Soap Special Set. Holika Holika Philippines was kind enough to send me this for review. I've tried some Holika Holika makeup but not skin care. I figured it's about time that I do so which is why I wholeheartedly accepted the offer.

They have an ongoing promo where a purchase of any egg soap product, whether 2-pc or 4-pc, will get you a Jelly Cleansing Puff which retails for PHP165 until supplies last.

I searched online for existing reviews on this line and surprisingly, it has good reviews. This set comes in four variants- white egg, green tea, red clay and charcoal. The white egg soap is for pore tightening, green tea is for moisturizing, red clay is for removing dead skin cells and charcoal is for sebum control. I have oily, acne prone sensitive skin and we all know that April is the start of summer here. The temperature gets warmer and warmer plus the humidity makes us sweat more than ever. This is the reason why I chose to try the charcoal soap first.

Berry Lens Yori Violet: Review

Please join my Korean skin care giveaway HERE. Ends March 31, 2015.

Today's review is going to be a little bit different from my usual makeup and skin care posts. Over a month ago, I received a pair of circle lenses from Berry Lens 5 Plus One Online Shop. Grace, the owner of the shop, kindly contacted me and sent me a pair for review. Of course, I agreed and she sent me the pair of my choice-- Yori Violet. I'll try to talk about the product in terms of color, enlargement and comfort.

 I got plano lenses. No grade.

 How it looks from the bottle

 Lens Specifications: Diameter- 14.5mm, Base Curve- 8.6 and expiration date

 Following the mark, it is very easy to open.

Nature Republic Honey and Herb Sleeping Pack: Review

Hi guys! In case you missed it, I'm having a giveaway in collaboration with Wishtrend and I am encouraging everyone to join. If you are interested in Korean skin care products, you're gonna love this giveaway. Link HERE.

Today, I am going to be reviewing a product from Nature Republic, my favorite Korean skin care and cosmetics brand. Specifically, I'll be reviewing the Nature Republic Honey and Herb Sleeping Pack. Before I go into that, I would like to ask you one thing. How effective, do you think, is the marketing strategy of giving away sample items after a purchase in a specific store? If you ask me, it is very effective. Honestly, I have found a lot of good skin care and cosmetics because of samples given away by different brands.

Let's take my favorite BB cream as an example-- the Nature Republic Snail Therapy BB Cream. It is, by far, the best performing BB Cream for my skin type and I mainly found out about it because I got a sample of it before. I didn't expect much from the product but because I already had the sample with me, I decided to try it out and fell in love with it on first use. I loved it so much that it's one of the first things I looked for when I went to Myeongdong.

Now, for the second time, Nature Republic has trapped me (in a good way) with another product called the Honey and Herb Sleeping Pack. I got the sample while I was shopping in Myeongdong last December and I just decided to test it out these past 2 weeks.

NYX Triple Shadows for Sexy Babe's Eyes Only: Review

This post is actually just going to be a simple swatch post. Today, I'm going to be swatching a trio shadow from the brand called NYX. This is actually a gift that was given to me by my friend, Lyle. (Thank you!) The thing is, I kept this in my drawer and it got pushed at the very back part of the compartment so I failed to use it for a long period of time. I doubt this product is still in the market but I thought of still pushing through with the swatch because I know there are still a few online shops that carry this type of trio eyeshadow from NYX.

Korean Skin Care Giveaway (Open Internationally) | WISHTREND

Hi guys! It's that time of the year to thank you. I'm having a giveaway! Yay! Thanks to Wishtrend, I am able to give you, guys, the chance to win high quality Korean Skin Care products. This giveaway is open internationally and will have 2 winners- 1 from this blog and one from my youtube channel.

K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Eyeliner (Liquid and Pencil): Review

Hi guys! Today, I'm pretty excited with the products I'm highlighting in this post. This product isn't actually something new to me but for some reason, I forgot to take nice shots of this particular product when I first got it for myself.

You may have seen this product in so many beauty blogs and I'm sure a lot of beauty vloggers have featured it too. If you're a fan of Asian makeup,  I'm sure you've heard of this product at least once. I'm talking about this Japanese brand eyeliner called K-Palette.

Clairol Herbal Esences Totally Twisted Shampoo and Conditioner: Review

Today's review is actually about a product that you may have already seen in my blog before. This was included in my "Permed Hair Necessities" post. I was actually contemplating on whether I should do a separate post on this or not, forseeing that I won't be able to say much about the product anyway. Given the situation that I'm pressed for time today, I figured it's the best time to talk about this awesome product.

Travel Seoul: Olleh KT Wifi Prepaid Card (How-to)

Let us all take a moment to take in the fact that 2 months of 2015 have already passed. So fast, right? I know! I know! I have the same thoughts! I can't believe January and February flew by just like that. However, reality is here and we can do nothing but embrace the month of March, which just arrived.

On one of my travel posts, I mentioned that one of the first things we did when we arrived in South Korea was getting our T-money loaded (for easy commute on trains, buses, taxi, etc.) and grabbing an Olleh Wifi prepaid card. Both of these things can be done in GS25, which is a convenience store that we saw nearby the bus station.

The thing about Korea is that there are a lot of Olleh wifi networks all over Seoul. There are networks in most tourists spots and subway stations. The only down side is that most of it are password protected so if you don't have the pin, you won't be able to access them. This is frustrating especially to those who want to update their social media real time or maybe if you just didn't bother to get roaming since messenger apps are used by everyone nowadays. (Raise your hand if you can relate.)

One cheap solution to this is getting the Olleh KT Wifi prepaid card. At first, I didn't know if I should make a separate post about this but since one of my readers, Claudine, wanted to know about it, I thought making one would be worth it.

South Korea Day 2 (Gyeongbuokgung Palace, Lotte World): Review

After uploading my travel entry about South Korea last week and after getting my South Korea vlog published, I am now more motivated to continue writing about my experiences when I was roaming around Seoul. Here's my second  post where I will be going about what happened during my second day in South Korea.

Late night snack at 2AM before sleeping-- Spicy Chicken is really spicy!!!

On Day 2, we started our day late. We didn't plan it this way but since we got back to the hostel at around 3AM from trying to explore the streets of Myengdong (while snowing) and having a late night snack, we ended up waking up a few hours after our original plan. We knew our itinerary was going to get messed up but we still managed. How? Read on and find out.

Originally, our second day was planned to be our Nami Island/ Petite France day. But seeing as it was  snowing, we chickened out. We can only imagine how cold it's going to be when we get on the ferry trip with a weather that could possibly freeze us so we quickly decided to switch in our day 5 plans for this day.

Visee Single Eyeshadow in SV006: Review

Hi guys! Today's post is just a simple swatch + mini review of a product that I had lying around my makeup drawer for months (maybe even for a year) without being touched. Of course, I didn't plan it that way. It just happened. :p

As mentioned in the post title, I will be talking about the Visee single eyeshadow in the shade SV006. I believe this is a Japanese brand as the packaging had Japanese writings in it. Correct me if I'm wrong, though... I got this from Jasmine as a prize for one of her youtube contests a while ago. It was kept at the very back of my makeup drawer so I hardly got to use it. Recently, after cleaning my makeup drawer, I took notice of it and now I'm finally making a review on it.

South Korea Beauty and Skin Care: Haul

Hi guys! Today's post is just going to be a very simple haul post. Remember I went to South Korea last December? Here's the haul I got during that trip. I honestly restrained myself from buying too much products in Korea, and I feel that I did a good job by resisting the temptation of buying every single cosmetics there. Hehe!

Frankly speaking, buying cosmetics in Korea is so much fun since most Korean brands offer good quality makeup for drug store prices. If you didn't know, I am a huge fan of Korean cosmetics. Before going to South Korea, I did my research and listed the things I needed and wanted to buy. I tried my best to stick to that list but of course, there were unnecessary purchases that I didn't plan ahead. In my defense, I think I still did a good job during my shopping spree so I request my readers to please give me a pat on the back (if you read this). ;)

Travel: South Korea Day 1

Hi everyone! Today's blog post is something I'm really excited about. I've put off writing about it for a long period of time but last night I decided it's time for me to reminisce my good old days in South Korea. Oh, and there's a vlog at the end of this post if you're interested to just watch what little clips I filmed during our first day.

credits to owner

If you're a new reader, I think it is just courtesy for me to let you know that since 2007, I've been a Korean culture enthusiast. It started off with my love for Korean drama, which actually helped me to stumble upon Korean pop music. Little did I know, I was already hooked on anything Korean. This is why it doesn't come as a surprise that one of my dreams is to actually visit the land of South Korea.

Nizoral Dandruff Shampoo: Review

Dandruff... It is quite a common scalp problem for a lot of people, me included. Although dandruff isn't dangerous and is easily controlled, it can still be embarassing to have flakes that dot your hair and sometimes fall on your shoulders. The good news is, dandruff shampoo is already widely distributed all over the world so mild symptoms of these cases may be resolved easily.

There are several causes of dandruff. Some of them are having dry skin, not shampooing enough, irritating hair products, change in weather and many other factors. To read more about dandruff, you can view this link from Mayo Clinic.

Tony Moly BCDation All Master: Review

Hi everyone! Today's review is all about the Tony Moly BCDation All Master SPF 30 PA++. I got this particular product as a part of my Memebox Global #15, which I unboxed here. However, even before I got my Memebox, I was already very interested in getting my own Tony Moly BCDation the moment it was released. It was on the top of my list of 'things to buy' when I go to South Korea but I was fortunate that I was able to get my hands on it before the planned date.