Venus and Mars Lulur Bar

As I've mentioned, I'm kind of nuts about Soap bars. Currently I have 6 which I use interchangeably. I do have favorites though, so those are about to run out.

About a month ago, I came across Venus and Mars' Multiply Store. Ive heard good things about their products so decided to look around and find something to try. I saw the Lulur bar and it intrigued me, since I'm a sucker for products that promise clear skin. I also thought that the mix of ingredients used for this bar was very interesting.

Product image taken from Venus and Mar's Multiply Store

Main ingredients used for this soap:
Emu oil, Tea tree essential oil, tumeric, Tea tree leaves, Shea Butter, Arbutin, Calamansi, Papain, Olive Oil and Coconut Oil

If the curious mix of ingredients isn't enough to entice you to get one bar for yourself, here are some of the benefits of the Java Tumeric Spice*:

• Reduces Skin Pigmentation
• Makes the skin supple
• Inhibits cell damage
• Reduces hair growth
• Helps heal Acne
• Excellent skin beautifier

(*You may read more about Venus and Mars' Lulur Bar over: HERE)

So you see, not only does it promise great skin, it can even reduce hair growth? Yeah, yeah, I'm a sucker for advertising haha. So, I imagined that I'd get great results and got the big bar which sells for P195 (120g). I also got Caby excited about it, and she got one for herself too! haha
'
This is some powerful soap! I don't suggest you leave this on your face for more than 3 minutes when ou first use it. Caby got to try it first and she told me it stung. The pain, she said, can be compared to getting a chemical peel. So I didn't try to act brave and let it sit on my face for more than 2 minutes. But it still stung a bit. Ahh, the price you pay for vanity :P

After using it for about a week, I noticed some slight peeling on my neck. I was actually very impressed and dubbed it as my Organic Chemical Peel ( I know that doesn't make sense haha). I actually wanted to blog about it already, but I told myself I'd have to wait 3 more weeks so I can conduct a proper review. boo! haha

As expected with soaps that cause you to peel, you wont see the effects immediately. So while I was slightly peeling (nothing crazy or anything so don't worry), I was waiting for when my good skin would come out.

2nd week...

3rd week...

I had to stop. I know I should have waited at least one more week. But one morning, I woke up and my cheek felt itchy. I rubbed it a little and youch! it was painful! So i ran to the mirror and checked. My skin was slightly burnt - it was similar to the effects of when I had used pimple drying medications a few years ago. And while taking a shower, I noticed I had similar burnt areas on my clavicle too. Yeek. Not good.

I also decided to stop using it, because my normally combination skin was now Dry. Not even my facial moisturizer could save my face. So I banished the Lulur from my Soap Kingdom haha. Its too bad since I cut up the bar into about 8 pieces and I'd only been able to use 2 small bars. Lesson learned, when trying something new, get the sample size!


Why you should buy it:
- Its organic
- The mix of ingredients used for this bar are all good for the skin.
- I suppose it did help dry up some of my pimples (including the rest of my face)


What you should consider:
- Probably not a good idea to try this if you have sensitive skin (or have low pain tolerance lol)
- Do not leave this on your skin for too long. Might be best to use it for just a few days a week.


As with any of my reviews, whatever is stated here is based on my personal experience and opinion. And as with any product, some might notwork for me while it could very well work for you. If you check the Venus and Mars Multiply Store, you'll see tons of raves for this product. So you see, it does work! ( just not on me haha) I'll probably still try a few more items from Venus and Mars.

Main reason I threw out this bar, was I found it too drying. If there's anything I hate, its dry skin! I did, however, find a great facial wash that helped soothe and improve my skin. I will post about it next time :) But so far, I'm loving it!

Busy Bee

Hey everyone! sorry for the lack of posts. Im sure everyone else is busy doing last minute christmas shopping and preparing for christmas, yes? I wish I was busy with holiday related stuff haha. Ive actually been packing and preparing to move to a new house. It is crazy to go through old things. And being a pack rat that I am, ive accumulated a looot of things! From notebook doodles to letters from highschool. So hard to let go even though I have no use for them haha. I even find it so hard to throw out college handouts! what a cuckoo I am. Maybe I would slowly weed out the useless stuff in the new house..maybe..I should! haha


Whats fun though are all the christmas parties! :) 2 days ago, we had a christmas party and also welcomed Caby's Birthday!


Right-click on pictures to view in full size :D

Here we are, waiting for our food. Caby, Jaja and I
were first to arrive. We were very hungry!! haha



And a few hours later...Guess who? haha were both very particular with
our pictures. I actually dont like this one either but this picture was the
only one that showed the black and purple gradient so please dont
mind my woozy look- I was not drunk haha

Did have another christmas party with some of my highschool friends but idnt get to take pictures since we were a little preoccupied wolfing down on the food haha. Last week, our church's fellowship group also had a christmas party for College kids who werent so well off but very deserving. It was nice to see that they enjoyed and hopefully encouraged to strive harder to finish College :)

Me and my friends Michie and Kathy (Ive known
them since the 1st grade! haha)

And as promised, a picture from wedding #2. I was busy taking pictures the whole day since we went early. Ran out of memory space and forgot to take pictures of myself haha so this is the best one ive got lol

LOL you can easily spot me

Wedding #1

Can you believe that apart from last weeks wedding, the last one I attended was over 15 years ago? haha I think I was 7. I was sick and looked like a zombie and to make things worse, I lost a tooth at the reception hahaha.

So it isnt much of a surprise that I dont know anything about weddings. I dont know what youre supposed to wear, what youre not supposed to wear. blah. Weddings are a mystery to me haha. I decided to just go with whatever I had, since I rarely do need formal clothes so I didnt want to get a dress.

camwhoring in front of the door haha. Wanted to see
what I looked like in natural light :)




And again :)




Simple neutral eye makeup

What I used:

FACE

• Cinema Secrets Concealer Palette Kit #1
• RCMA Shinto 2 and 3
• M.A.C. Shape and Sculpt in Lightsweep and Shadester
• NARS Orgasm

EYES

• M.A.C. Charcoal brown and Browset in Mink (eyebrows)
• Urban Decay primer Potion
• ELF Brightening Eye Color Quad in Butternut (used lower left color for the lids)
• M.A.C. Haux (Crease)
  
• M.A.C. Charcoal Brown and Carbon (Outer lid and corner of the eyes)
• M.A.C. Nylon (Inner corner of the eyes)
• M.A.C. Fibre Rich Lash in All Black
• The Faceshop Eyelashes in XLH

LIPS

• M.A.C. Lipglass in Full on Lust

Im off to another wedding tomorrow! Hence the title, Wedding #1 haha. I'll post whatever I come up with tomorrow in a few days :) Im so glad I hauled on a few forever 21 dresses (lifesaver! lol) I wouldnt know what I would wear if I didnt have the dresses I bought a few months ago hehe.

New layout

Im seriously considering leaving blogger. Think it might be easier to code the layout if i purchase a domain or something. But who am I kidding? I cant even code blogger without getting frustrated haha. My new template is downloaded btw cause I cant code css from scratch. So I just got this and tweaked it until I was happy.

I kinda miss my old layout already haha. But oh well. Will try to learn css when I get too bored haha.

My cute notebook layout. Which was downloaded too. This was my second layout here
on blogger. Too bad I didnt get a screenshot of my first layout.
I coded that from scratch, well almost...LOL



I miss makeup/eotd/fotd posts! :( Boo! I promise the next post will be something
makeup related.

I meant to post an eotd but got caught up with changing this freakin layout! Blah. I cant believe how crazy this month is getting. I dont know where to start or what to do first! le sigh!

♥ ♥ ♥

I know ive been sporadic with posts again and yes im still alive lol. December is a really busy month. But posting a quick entry to say....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!



Happy Birthday to my handsome, sexy bestfriend and boyfriend! :)

No need to say how old you are because you'll whack me on the side of my head hahaha. It was yesterday actually but didnt have time to post this until today :)

Contest Winner

I won a TCA peel from The Beauty Bin! Woo! Ive never won anything haha im soo excited I had to post this haha. Thanks! woohoo! lol

I dont even know what a TCA peel is exactly but ive quickly searched for it and this is what I found:

• TCA stands for trichloroacetic acid. It is a very common chemical used to perform medium depth chemical peels.
• The procedure results in red, swollen, and crusted skin which peels over the weeks following the procedure. This will help improve the skin texture, tone, and reduce the appearance of fine wrinkles and superficial discoloration.
• TCA peels have been found effective and approved by the FDA for treatment of various skin disorders like skin pigmentation problems, wrinkles, fine lines and crows feet around the eyes and even all ranges of acne.

Ive been contemplating on getting a peel done for quite some time. So double yay! But you know, makeup junkies usually use the money they put aside for other things on makeup LOL . Will definitely post my experience :) have any of you tried a TCA peel? what were your experiences?

What a perfect way to end my night! Now off to get some beauty rest have a wedding to go to tomorrow :)

Heads up! - Pigment Sale!

A great way to doll yourselves up this Holiday. Use pigments and glitters!

The Body Needs is giving 15% off discount on purchases of 5 or more M.A.C. pigment samples, M.A.C. Glitter samples, The body needs mineral eyeshadows and/or The Body Needs mixing Medium!

Enter the coupon code: WINTER at checkout and you'll get 15% off your purchase! Follow this link to shop now!

The Body Needs2

*Discount applies ONLY to TheBodyNeeds Mineral Eye Shadows, TheBodyNeeds Mixing Medium, MAC pigment samples, and MAC glitter samples, all other items are excluded from the 15% discount. You must purchase a combination of at least 5 of TheBodyNeeds Mineral Eye Shadows, TheBodyNeeds Mixing Medium, MAC pigment samples, and/or MAC glitter samples, to use the coupon. Code can not be applied retroactively.Code may be used on each order placed during the promotion. Multiple orders may be placed using one coupon per order. Discount does not apply to S/H charges. Offer ends 12/31/2009.

Wide Awake

Most people prefer to use neutral shades for eye makeup. It can go with almost anything, its not as flashy and the colors are easier to use and blend. Neutral usually means without color but Neutral colors are classified as having low colorfulness or chroma on the color wheel. Some examples are beige, taupe, ivory, black and grey. But colors that have a hint of brown are also considered as neutrals when it comes to makeup


Neutral eye makeup is great for work, can be used for weddings and the likes. It can also be a quick way to make you look polished especially when you have little time to prepare for work in the morning or need to be done in 10-15 minutes. I personally use neutral colors for eye makeup when im in a hurry and dont have time to experiment with colors. . My go to colors for neutral makeup are M.A.C. Vex, Haux, Charcoal Brown, Embark and Vanilla.

Vex (lid) , Haux (Crease), Charcoal Brown (Outer Crease),
Embark (Outer crease to add depth) and Vanilla (brow bone)
I usually add nylon to the iner corners of the eyes and feeme fi to highlight the brow bone
Images are from M.A.C.

But brown e/s if not blended well, have a tendency to make you look drab and tired. A neutral eye look is pretty simple and easy to do. You just need to know where to place the colors.



A few tips when doing a neutral eye look:

• To help make your eyes more awake, make sure to line your lashline. If youre not a fan of black or liquid eyeliner, Grab some eyeshadow with a wet/moist brush, line your lids and you can also blend it or smudge it a bit to make it look more natural instead of having a harsh line.

• Curling your lashes is one of the best way to open your eyes. Remember to curl your lashes before applying Mascara

• Line your waterline with a white eyeliner to help make eyes look bigger and brighter. Avoid getting the white liner on he lower lashline or make sure to line your lower lashline with brown or black. Putting a white e/s especially those that are shimmery on your lower lashline can actually make your eyebags look bigger.
  

• Make sure you blend the colors well and leave the darker shades on the outer corner of the lid especially during daytime to keep the look more simple. Dark brown eyeshadow all over the lid or the crease and not blended well tends to make you look tired.

Hope that helps! Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I know ive been somewhat manic-depressive when updating my blog (sometimes daily, sometimes even two posts in a day and sometimes none for more than a week haha) I will however be a bit busy for the next 2 weeks. Im sure most of us will be because of the christmas shopping and what not! =)

Have a great weekend and be safe!

Back to BEAUTY School

Quick post! I was going to share a different video from Flippish but saw this! Though that you ladies might be interested to see what its like to study makeup here in the Philippines. The segments host enrolls at Maquillage Professionale at Bonifacio Highstreet. I know many of you are interested in taking classes, so enjoy! :)

EDIT: Im having problems embedding the video, so please follow this link to view it

Girl Next Door - Back to BEAUTY School.

Nail Art: Water Marbling

Im always jealous of you girls who can do nail art on yourselves. Heck, im even jealous of you girls who can paint your own nails haha. I suck at nail painting and always make a lot of mess. To ensure I get Nail Polish on my entire nail surface, I paint my fingers too hahaha.


Right click on Images to view in full size :D

Not bad eh? :D

I came across Trishza's blog page and saw her post on Water Marbling. At first I thought, "Wow what sort of Nail Art equipment do use to get snazzy nails like that?" haha Im totally clueless when it comes to nail art. And as I read and scrolled futher down I saw that you can actually do it yourself. You can search for water marbling or watch this video to learn how to do it

This was done with acrylic nails though. its basically the same thing you just dip your
finger on a pattern that you like.

Im a sucker for DIY projects! The tougher, the messier, the more I want to do it! I dont succeed most of the time haha I just like the challenge. So I took out my nail polishes and got ready to try it on myself. And voila!! well no, it sucked when I first tried it..lol

EPIC FAIL!
I couldnt get round circles on the water and I think I put too much nail polish. The pinky finger nail looks good though, but I didnt like the color (I used Beige and a Hot Pink color from Caronia) so I removed it.

Like most challenging DIY projects I take up on, after failing I move on haha. But my nails were icky and I couldnt leave em like that. So I decided to try again. I used White (Kiss Nail Polish), Beige (Caronia) and Teal (Claire's Nail Polish). This time determined to make it work.

I skipped on a minor detail (aplying tape around the area of your nail before dipping) and I so regretted it because I ran out of Acetone haha. I ended up having to scrub my hands :/ So please, if youre trying this at home. Dont be a lazy ass and apply tape around the nail area.




I tried my best to take a good picture. But my Phone's camera cant handle details. i love the very detailed swirly pattern. And the patterns are all different. Every nail is unique. Added some nail stickers to some areas where it looked bare.



Pictures crappy. It looks much better in person :) haha




Im loving it for now. But its mediocre, I will definitely be getting more nail polishes to try different colors :)

And here is my cat, Fluffy, posing for all of you! haha. Right click on the image and you'll see her funny face. I didnt see it until I placed the watermark on it haha

Have a Great Weekend Everyone! :D

Twilight makeup, anyone?

I happen to be surfing and came across an article about Twilight Makeup!! Crazy right? Just a few weeks ago I saw Twilight candies and now they have Twilight makeup? What?! haha. They have everything from eyeshadows, lipglosses, mascara, blushes, palettes, eyelid primer and a whole bunch of stuff to get you to look vampy hot! LOL

From the website,

"The goal for Twilight Beauty was to create two beautiful and striking lines that women could fall in love with, much in the same way they fell in love with the Twilight saga. The hope is that, beyond the lure of its edgy, sophisticated packaging, true makeup consumers will find they have discovered products they can’t live without."


There are two lines which were released in conjuction with the release of the Movie, New Moon. Totally riding on Twilight's success in my opinion, but definitely a genius idea! What with the holidays just around the corner, im sure tweens all over the world and perhaps most Twilight fans would want to own some Twilight makeup. Great Stocking Stuffer! haha :)


Here are some of the more interesting product images from the Luna Twilight line:

"Mortal Glow Blushing Creme" $22

A blend of mousse and cream with a satiny finish. Distinct colors create a
melange that forms a pattern unique to each individual blush.

Swoon - the ultimate trio of nudes
Adrenaline - Warm and cool pinks blended

• Shades remind me a lot of the MSF's from the M.A.C. Sugar Sweet Collection

"Luna Twilight Color Palettes" $28

Bella – Soft and Subtle with nude shadows, warm nude blush, nude lipstick and the sheerest cherry red gloss.

Victoria – Bold and Fiery with shimmering jewel-toned shadows and deep wine colored lipstick and gloss.

Rosalie – Regal and Refined with peach toned shadows, a coral blush and apricot lipsticks and gloss.

Alice – Eclectic and Spunky with shimmering blue and silver shadows, rosy blush and sheer hot pink lips.

"Twilight Venom" $16

"Twilight Venom is a shimmering crimson lip stain suspended in a venom-laced lip conditioner with an intensely potent bite. Its exhilarating formula plumps and hydrates with argan oil, avocado oil, olive oil and vitamin E."

Because you cant just credit immortality for their gorgeous faces. No, no, they have Vollturi makeup for that! hahaha. They also have a makeup line called Volturi Twilight! haha This is seriously amusing me and kudos to the person/team who pitched this idea!

Here are some of the more interesting product images from the Volturi Twilight line:

"Volturi Crown Mettalic Mascara" $16

Volumizing and lengthening with a metallic finish. Available in 3 shades: Black Knight, Royal Blue and Silver Plated

• The also have a Mascara from the Luna Twilight line that comes in Panther (Dark Brown), Lapiz (Almost indigo blue) and Mist (silver)

"Volturi Foreshadow Eyelid Primer" $11

Silky champagne colored balm that goes on colorless to prime the lids for creaseless, long lasting shadow application.

• Now this looks like something id want to try haha

"Labyrinth Loose Eyeshadow" $9

Decadent shimmer shadows in stackable compartments.

Available in the following shades:

Lover – hot shimmering pink
Myth – warm metallic pewter
Frost – snowy white shimmer
Beloved – iridescent baby pink
Dusk – Deep metallic eggplant
Dawn – Sparkling champagne
Legend – glittering silver




All items posted on this blog post and a few more other products are available at www.Twilightbeauty.com For people from the UK and Europe you may get your hands on these by ordering at www.simplebeauty.co.uk


Very very interesting haha. I mean come on, even I want to own a Volturi Mascara hahaha. The packaging is really nice too! Its just too bad this makeup line wont be available to anyone from outside the US, Europe and UK for now. But im pretty sure theyd be getting a lot of orders this Holiday Season! :)


Have a great weekend everyone! :D




*Product images and excerpts from products description were all borrowed from Twilight Beauty

Dreaming

A perfect gift for Christmas!

Came across it while I was drooling over checking Urban Decay's website. I checked the website just yesterday because I didnt want to ogle while there was a 30% Friends and family sale. It would just break my heart too much haha.


So today, im pretending I actually got a $200 gift card hahaha and these are the things I would get. This also serves as a guide to my friends and family who are getting me Chrismas presents LOL

Eyeshadow Primer Potion Duo $26
Cult favorite! Mines about to run out and I havent tried sin! And 2 for 26? what a deal!



24/7 Super stash $36
Ive always wanted to try these! the colors all look yummy! I swear ill use them everday! haha




24/7 Sets $29
Im just being nuts by wanting this and the super stash set (the one above this). If youre feeling generous, id love to receive both! hahaha oh and I want the stereophonic set btw :))




Complexion Primer potion - Pore perfecting $30
Their eyeshdow primer potion works so well, this must too! I actually havent read reviews since the frist few weeks it came out so I dont know how this stands to makeup obsessed junkies. But if i had $200 gift card, this ones going to be in my cart.



Eyeshadow Ammo Shadow Box $36
No, this was not my frist choice. I really want the Book of Shadows Vol. 2 But I guess its out of stock, boo! But this'll make me happy too





Lipstick in Naked $22
Naked is a creamy pink nude shade. Ive been wanting to get my hands on this since it came out. heard the UD's lipstick are a bit drying though so I alo want to receive get...




Lip Primer Potion $20
Again, im trusting the success of the eyeshadow primer potion and will get this with my imaginary gift card lol

All in all thats $199 off my imaginary $200 gift card haha. That was fun! What would you get if you had a $200 gift card? :)