Maybelline White Superfresh Liquid Powder

I recently had a mini haul and there were two new Maybelline products that caught my eye. One of them was the Maybelline White Superfresh Liquid Powder (Php 349). I am in the shade B4 Sand Beige. I did not like the fact that the product did not have a wide shade range, with only four available. The shades were not even that far apart from each other, two were pink toned, the other two yellow toned. 

I swatched this on the back of my hand back in the department store and could not get over the fact of how much it reminded me of MAC Face and Body, only when I blended it out, it had a matte finish and it felt almost velvety on the skin! 

As can be seen (sorry, I had to swatch very little on the back of my hand because it can tend to get a little messy), the product is watery in texture. You actually need only a small amount, a little of this goes a long way, trust me. I tried a dollop of it on my face and it got cakey, it was not pretty. This product is best for oily skin, definitely. If you are someone with combo or dry skin, I advise to exfoliate and moisturize a lot before using this product as it will cling to dry patches. 

I'm glad that the shade I picked matched me to a T. But since it has a high SPF and UV protection factor (SPF 50 PA+++), it does leave a whitecast to the face. It also makes it perfect for everyday use though, aside from the price point factor. The whitecast goes away in a couple hours after the product oxidizes on the face, or, if it annoys you, it can be fixed by setting it with a powder your shade. 

The coverage is a good light to medium, although, not exactly buildable because putting on too much can cause it to become cakey. If you're someone who needs a lot of coverage, this one's not for you.

Longevity wise, this product lasts a good 4 to 5 hours on me before I start to oil up bad and need to blot. 

I would definitely recommend this product to women (or boys?!) who go out everyday to work or to school. At Php 349, it's not a bad price for something that would be used all the time and repurchased once gone.  

Makeup Revolution I Heart Makeup I Heart Chocolate Eyeshadow Palette

So it has been a while since I've written anything new on my blog. My family has undergone some quite drastic changes and I had been busy with a flurry of activities along with the holiday craze in the course of the last month.

But I am back now and, hopefully, will be able to write more often. I've been using a lot of new products, some of them fantabulous and others not so. One of the things I've been so excited to write about is this eyeshadow palette from Makeup Revolution's I <3 Makeup line, their I Heart Chocolate Eyeshadow Palette.

The packaging is to die for, it's so cute! From the packaging alone, it's clear this company is trying to dupe the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette. 

The eyeshadow palette has 16 shadows inside with a combination of matte, satin and shimmers. The shadows are even arranged (not exactly the same) just like the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette. I've been meaning to buy that palette, but I just could not justify the price tag on that one. I was able to purchase this from one of my favorite Instagram online sellers, Make Up Haul PH (makeuphaul_ph don't forget to check her out!) for only Php 825. When I saw it, I had to have it.

When you open the palette, I swear it also smells like chocolate. I've heard a lot of Youtubers say their I Heart Chocolate palettes don't smell like anything at all, so I'm not sure why mine smells strongly like chocolate. I feel a surge of happiness everytime I open this palette because it's so pretty and smells so good! I actually reach for this palette more often than I do my Lorac Pro one, which I also love, it's just that this palette is cheaper and so I don't feel as bad playing with it.

The palette came with a long dual ended sponge applicator which I (obviously) threw out because it just wasn't any good.

Pigmentation wise, there's only two that I can complain about, one of which is the matte light pink shade called Meet Chocolate. It's patchy and doesn't show true to color in the pan. As well as the shimmer dark purple shade, Unforgivable, which was just, well, not dark. Otherwise, they're all so shockingly pigmented, I could hardly believe the palette only set me back less than a thousand pesos. The shadows are a dream to blend as well, you don't have to wait until your arm falls off they're so easy to blend!

I love the big generous mirror on the palette as well, it just makes it easy to find a spot with good natural light and put on my eye makeup with the mirror. What I hate about it is that the labels of the eye shadows were on this flimsy film covering the palette which, with a two year old, I'll lose eventually.

Here are the swatches:

Piece Me Together, One More Piece, Love Torn, Stolen Chocolate

Thank Friday, More!, Pleasure Girl, Meet Chocolate

Unforgivable, Love Divine, Smooth Criminal, Chocolate Love

You Need More, What a Way to Go, You Need Love (top satin highlight), Endorphins Ready! (bottom shimmer highlight)

Overall, I highly recommend this palette. I'm not sure if the quality is the same with the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette since I don't own one of those, but if you're looking for a versatile eye shadow palette that you need to use for all kinds of occasions but you don't want to break the bank, this is it for you.

REVIEW: Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Makeup

Do you have oily skin, but still looking for that foundation that's going to give you a dewy finish without looking like a disco ball? Are you sick of your matte foundations that end up looking flat and makes your skin look dull? Are you in need of decent coverage without the heavy and cakey feel?

Look no further, because today's product on review might just work for you. I'm talking about the Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Makeup (Php 1,900). This foundation's label is a mouthful! And amazeballs!

I got mine in the shade Petal. While I was looking at swatches online, Champagne seemed a better shade match for me. Fortunately, I decided to actually buy this from a Benefit store and was able to compare Petal and Champagne. If I had neutral skin tone, Champagne would have matched me to a T. But, I have warm undertones, so I went with Petal. I thought it was going to look horrendously light on me. But it didn't, it actually worked quite well.

It comes in a plastic smoked bottle. (Is that how you call it? Like smoked glass because it's not clear? Whatever, you see the picture, lol.) It doesn't feel cheap at all and it's actually good, because if you drop the bottle at least you know it won't break. It has a pump, so plus points for that!

This foundation has a light to medium coverage, leaning more on light. If you have clear skin, this would work fantastic on you. It's buildable, but, come on, in this humid Philippine climate, it's not advisable to go beyond two layers. It'll just melt right off. By the way, I apply this foundation with a brush, because the texture is runny and I don't want to use a damp sponge as that will be a waste of product (this one ain't cheap! Lol). 

Since I've mentioned before that I have a new skin care routine that works very efficiently for me, I've been enjoying this foundation recently because of that. It gives you this natural, dewy finish that looks like skin, only better. I'm very conscious about my oily skin though, so I do blot. The formula is oil free and non comedogenic, so this shouldn't break y'all out with acne prone skin.

Longevity wise, this foundation wears really well throughout the day. It felt so lightweight, even after wearing it for a good nine hours. You know how some foundations feel heavy and sticky after being worn for a very long time? You're not going to get that icky feeling with this one.

And did I mention this one has SPF 25 PA+++?! That's a mighty boast of high level UVA protection! If this thing wasn't too heavy on the pockets, I would totally wear it everyday! (Well, yeah, I actually just interchange it with my BB cream depending on where I'm going hehe.)

And so:

1. Price point: 5/10. Why, oh why, do US brand cosmetics have to be so fucking expensive here in the Philippines?! If I bought this in its US price, it would be totally justifiable, but here, it's just expensive.
2. Packaging: 10/10. Gotta give it a ten. It has a pump. The bottle is basically unbreakable. It doesn't gather dust. In spite of its plastic packaging, it still looks like a high end product, as it should.
3. Formula: 9/10. I get it, generally oily skinned gals aren't fans of a dewy finish. But sometimes, I get tired of my matte and satin formula foundations. I want to be able to sport that luminous glow without looking like a grease ball and this product was able to give me just that. I need to blot, but you really need to do that if you have a temperamental two year old toddler who sometimes throws fits if you don't carry her around.
4. Longevity: 9/10. It didn't feel like it was clogging my pores after being worn for hours at a time, not like most foundations wherein you feel like you're going to break out at the end of the day lol. I did notice it breaking down at the sides of my nose. It wasn't very noticeable, really, unless you looked closely into the mirror. 

VERDICT:

8.5

If you have money to spend, I do recommend this product. And this is a foundation, so it's worth investing in. You could have a dozen cheap lipsticks, but when it comes to foundations (and concealers), go ahead and splurge for the quality.