Project BB Cream, Beauty Haul, and No Makeup Look.

My fascination for anything Korean has gone beyond watching dramas and listening to Super Junior. It has now invaded even my vanity kit and train case.

The shopping bug bit me last week, and I went on a frenzy at eBay. These arrived on my doorstep the other day.

Skin Food!

If you can recall from my previous posts, I have developed an addiction to face masks and mud packs. And my makeup ritual is in need of a primer.

Masks and primers.

I've also been obsessing about my eyebags and dark undereyes, which look horrendous - thanks to my incurable insomnia and those addicting Kdramas.

Etude is Love!

I'm hooked to BB creams, too. I call them my wonder worker, because of the miracles they do for my skin and my abominable eyebags. I challenged myself to test as many BB creams as I can, until I find the one that would suit me best. And for the sake of beauty blogging, too. Really now, which makeup junkie won't go gaga over this breakthrough product?

An assortment of BB creams! I smile just looking at them.

And I finally got my hands on this.

By golly, Tony Moly!

I've been wanting to try this product for the longest time, mostly because of Kim Hyun Joong. Haha! He used to be a Tony Moly endorser; now he's the pretty boy of The Face Shop.

Excited to play with my new toys, I tried out some of them yesterday.

Fresh from the shower, absolutely no makeup.

See what I told you about the eyebags? Blame Lee Jun Ki, whose name appears on every other entry in my blog, haha. I chose the Missha M Signature Real Complete BB Cream first.

Photo credit: Missha.net

I actually bought two variants of this, the shade #21 and shade #23. I went for shade #21 in this photo.

BB cream on my face. Just BB cream. :)

I'm amazed at how a tiny drop of the Missha M could go a long away. I squeezed out just a few teeny drops from the sampler and voila - medium to full coverage! It has a nice, mild scent to it, too. (I'd be deterred to use it if it smelled funky.) I also love its dewy finish, and how it gave my skin a nice glow. It gets even better once it has set on your face. After a few hours of wearing, it didn't cake, nor did it break out. 

FYI, I have sensitive skin. My face is not usually dry and flaky though, unlike most people with sensitive skin. Mine is supple, but looks very flimsy - like an onion. (Trivia: I skipped regular CAT in high school and went on light duty instead because of my skin. My fellow LD cadets would call me 'Powder' - as in the movie character - because of that.) And that is why I love this BB cream all the more - it's hypoallergenic! Pure organic ingredients, paraben-free, non-chemical, mineral oil-free, GMO-free, triclosan-free, benzophenone free and alcohol-free - whoa, beat that!

Now using it with the Tony Tint and the Avon Lip Gloss that I purchased just recently, I got this effect.

Hardly any makeup look!

I'm so pleased with the Tony Tint! I got the #1 Cherry Pink, which is just the right shade of pink for me. With the right blending, a tiny dab of the doe foot applicator can give your cheek a really nice blush. This has got to be the best liquid blush I have ever used.

As for the lip gloss, well, you know I'm not a fan of lip gloss per se. The Avon lip gloss barely gave color when I spread it on my lips, considering how pink its container looked. But it works fine when you're aiming for the no makeup effect. 

Swatches from L-R: Missha M Signature Complete BB Cream # 21, Tony Moly Tint #1 Cherry Pink, Avon Lip Gloss in Tangerine Sparkles.

Would I consider getting the Missha M in its regular size? I might, since it worked great on my skin. And I don't mind if its just SPF 25, since I don't go out in the sun too often.

What would deter me from buying it? The price, perhaps. A 45g tube costs a whopping Php 1,400! That's almost double the price of my favorite Etude House Precious Minerals BB cream, and almost four times the price of my Avon Healthy Minerals BB cream. And if you're wary of the SPF properties, there are other cheaper brands that have higher SPF. (Laneige has SPF 40, while Skin79 has SPF 50 BB creams.)

I still have a few more BB Creams to try, so I'll make the final verdict once I've experienced them all. Of course, I'll be chronicling them all here. And in case you're wondering, I bought all of these from bhappywithme. :)

Sharing with BPC and Yellow Monday. :)

Today's Look, and Drugstore Beauty Products You'll Also Love.

Drugstore makeup are often prejudiced to be substandard and ineffective. As a fan of drugstore makeup, I beg to disagree. Just because they're low-priced and affordable doesn't necessarily mean their quality is cheap as well. While there may be some beauty products that can't hold a candle against their high-end counterparts, there are a lot of budget-friendly brands out there that truly deliver.

Don't get me wrong. I like high-end makeup, too. I have some of them in my traincase, and I usually wear them during special occasions, say, a wedding or a cocktail party. But for makeup junkie moms like me, even my vanity has to step aside for my son's needs. Between an Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette and my little man's vaccine (they're pretty much within the same price range), the latter would have to come first. But between a counterfeit version of high-end makeup (yes, they're out there!) and authentic drugstore makeup, I'd rather have the latter - hands down.

And when it comes to drugstore makeup, there are brands that I love not just for the price, but because of their product values as well. Coincidentally, two of my favorite brands were also last week's haul.

Clockwise from L-R: Montagne Jeunesse Muds in Flower Zen and Chocolate, Almay Intense i-Color Trio for Hazels, Bath and Body Works PocketBac in Peanut Butter and Jelly, Almay Intense i-Color Trio for Greens.

The Montagne Jeunesse muds were a steal at Php 72. That's Php 72 for both! I chanced upon them at the Watson's section of SM Department Store. I love how these mud packs smell really good (the Chocolate one, in particular) and how they work wonders for your tired and worked up skin. Best of all, Montagne Jeunesse uses naturally derived ingredients; their goods are free from harmful chemicals and are not tested on animals. The company also takes pride in keeping their products green and eco-friendly. (I'll feature the muds on a separate post later.)

The Almays, on the other hand, I got from Tita Mac of Smartshopper. It was actually her who introduced me to the brand. She had a smokey eye trio on sale last year, and I bought them out of my penchant for the smokeys. I was so delighted with the product that I asked Tita Mac if she could possibly sell other Almay eyeshadow colors as well. When these two trios went on sale at her site for just Php 175 each, they practically had my name written all over 'em. And when she sent them to me the other day, she threw in the Pocketbac as a freebie. (Thanks, Tita Mac!)

Almay, from the makers of Revlon, is actually the first hypoallergenic cosmetics brand. They're also the first to create 100% fragrance-free products, and the first to formulate for contact lens wearers. I wear my contacts on a daily basis, and there had been instances when my eyes would get irritated from wearing eyeshadows. I've never experienced that with Almay, which is why I'm very fond of this brand. They stay on my face for long hours, too. To think I'm not even using a primer of any kind.

I was so excited with the Trio for Hazels, so I gave them a try when I attended my goddaughter's birthday party last Saturday.

Light Hazel, Dark Hazel, and Pink.

It's an afternoon event (with mostly kids in attendance) so dark eyes wouldn't be too appropriate. 

Strawberry-choco fudge sundae look! :)

These hazels were just right for a children's party.

Wearing a pink top to match! :)

The paraphernalia I used were pretty much the same as the ones I wore with this look. I just used a different shade of blush and lipstick, and added a wee bit of shimmer in my undereyes using another eyeliner. And now the rundown:

Can you spot the Pig Rabbit? :D

Avon Ideal Shade Concealer Stick in Almond

Avon Healthy Makeup BB Cream in Light

Avon Ideal Luminous Dual Powder Foundation in Shell

Almay Intense iColor in Trio for Hazels

Ever Bilena Eyebrow Liner in Brown

Avon Extralasting Liquid Eyeliner in Black

Kohl Royal Selections Eyeliner in Charcoal Gray

Kohl Royal Selections Eyeliner in Arctic Frost 

Avon Super Curlacious Waterproof Mascara in Black

Avon Smooth Minerals Blush in Blushed

Jordana Double Length Lip Liner in Rose

Avon Ultra Color Rich Mega Impact Lipstick in Fuchsia Fun

I'll save the Trio for Greens for another post, as they're still unopened. The way I see it, I can play with the colors to come up with another smokey eye look. Let's see how it works next time. :)