Beauty Blogger Archives - Page 2 of 3

Beauty + Video: October Favourites (Matrixyderm, Beauté FX, Dr Jart, Tarte, IOPE, Happy Skin, MAC, Star Wars!)

November 2, 2015

Hello, my dears! Sharing with you my October faves video consisting of skin care and beauty products as well as an app! 😉 Not really a techie but this app has got me head over heels. I think most of you might have already guessed what it is.

Also, allow me to just address three things before we go into the products. 😉

Hope you enjoyed it, my loves! Next post probably won’t be about beauty. I plan to write about a recent realisation I had over diplomatic life. Hope that will also interest you! 😉

Till then,

Carol

in Beauty & Fashion

Beauty: Haircare meets sustainability with Davines

September 24, 2015

Hello, my loves. Allow me to take a quick break from all the travel posts and share with you bits and pieces from an event I attended a few days ago.

I went to the autumn/winter preview for Italian hair care and styling brand Davines and I totally had a blast seeing what’s going to be ‘in’ for the latter part of 2015 and learning more about their products.

in Beauty & Fashion, Skincare

Beauty: Clinelle Caviar Gold Range Serum Review + Discount Code For You!

July 27, 2015

In my quest to find the answers to ageing gracefully, I often find myself testing out products I’ve never heard of or always deemed as something I have no need of. Only to realise during the short testing period of mine – which usually ranges between two weeks to a month – will have a lasting effect on me and that certain products sent to me will actually be the catalyst to a new step in my skin care regimen.

I’m talking about serums.

While I’ve been loyal to my creams – from hand, eye, face, to whatever (you name the body part and I will probably have a cream for it) – I always thought that serums are just a redundant product. Why would I need one when I’m actually diligent in using my moisturisers? They’re the same thing right?

That was until I tried some serums from a Korean brand called Purebeauty and most recently, when I was sent serums by Clinelle – a brand I’ve never heard of until I moved to Malaysia.

I admit to buying their toner when the toner I brought from Manila during our big move to KL last year ran out. I was attracted to the clean, professional, and no frills look and the product literature it came with. It worked well on my dry skin that I developed a certain level of respect for the brand. So when they asked me to review their new line, of course I had to say yes. They mentioned caviar, black, and gold in one sentence so I thought back then that this was bound to be interesting.

in Beauty & Fashion, Skincare

Beauty + Events: A Day of Pampering with the Beauty Guide Tour 2015!

June 25, 2015

When we moved to Malaysia last year and finally got settled, I found myself thinking about how I miss Manila and my regular hangouts. The nail salon that has branches everywhere in Metro Manila – always so convenient for me to just drop by where I’m nearest to, anytime I’m in need of a manicure – my favourite waxing place, my go-to place for a massage, etc.

Oh, and how could I forget Oliver – the only person I trust when it comes to trimming my curls. (In case you’re in Manila, you can find him at Vivere Salon in Megamall)

A few weeks into moving here, I found myself with really long nails sporting chipped nail polish. A month later, I had dry hair and my curls were starting to become unruly. Oh, and don’t get me started on my need for waxing back then. Moving into a new country, starting from scratch, and trying out new things can be pretty exciting but when it comes to beauty-related services, I find it hard to take risks. I only want the best services as I cannot stand another waxing accident (more on that later) or a bad hair cut.

Along came Beauty Guide, a website that was brought to my attention by none other than my sister (all the way in Denmark!). A friend of hers recently put it up in Malaysia and was starting to make waves among beauty and personal care aficionados in the country.

Since I signed up late last year, I never had problems when it comes to where to go for any kind of service. I simply just click on what I want, where I want it, and voila – fail-safe recommendations! I love how I can review and also see what other Beauty Guide users are saying about the establishment as well.

Imagine my delight when I was recently invited for a Beauty Guide event where they took us around the city for a beauty day out. The best part? I got to do it with my friends. <3

The day started out at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Bangsar Village II. We had a little meet up and my friend Tammy found out early on the best part of her goody bag:

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I approve of this! Haha! Kidding, la! 😉

Off to start our day of pampering! But first, a #selfie with Arpita and Miriam! 😉

in Beauty & Fashion, Makeup

Beauty: Burt’s Bees Lip Crayon Review (4/6 shades)! Plus: Get your own at a DISCOUNT with this code!

June 3, 2015

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It took a while but finally – Burt’s Bees’ Lip Crayons have finally reached our side of the world! I was lucky enough to be invited at the launch, held at Marini’s in Suria KLCC a couple of weeks ago.

Afternoon tea + blogger friends + makeup. What more can a girl ask for, right?

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Six colours were introduced – Hawaiian Smolder, Napa Vineyard, Redwood Forest, Carolina Coast, Niagara Overlook, and Sedona Sands.

My friends and I had fun swatching the colours during the event but since the lighting at the venue was way too yellow, getting you good pictures that are true-to-colour was quite impossible. But fret not! I took some just yesterday under natural light. And there will be a review of 4 out of the 6 shades that they came out with in this post. 😉 I made the extra effort because you know I love you guys, right? *virtual hugs for my readers*

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in Beauty & Fashion, Skincare

Beauty: Korean Skin Care Brand Belif Opens First Store in Malaysia

May 12, 2015

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For someone who never really dabbled with anything Korean before moving to Kuala Lumpur for our first posting, the recent effect of the Korean wave on me is just crazy.

From skin care, to makeup, and even on our television. It’s starting to hit me pretty hard albeit quite late. But you know what they say – better late than never!

My friends here in Malaysia even introduced me to K-Drama – something I ignored as I never imagined I would like it. And here I am, all done with My Love From Another Star in just a little over 2 days of marathon-watching. (Don’t ask what time I slept last night. LOL.)

The Korean influence is even stronger in Filipinos back home, I must say. (K-Pop has a very big and quite loud fan base there) However, it’s here in Kuala Lumpur – where their products are much more accessible – that I decided to really open my door to it. Not that I refused to like it before. I was just used to sticking to my overly-Western preferences and I thought that everything about it was too cutesy (from their beauty products’ packaging to the way their actresses behaved) for me.

But now, after trying out their skin care, makeup, and even their drama shows, I actually have more variety in my life. Don’t expect me to act cutesy and do baby-talk in public like Korean actresses do or blast K-Pop in the car, though. I seriously doubt that that image would suit me and my in-between-features the way it looks good on my friends who actually do look Asian.

And speaking of Korea and everything that’s so awesome from their country, another Korean skin care brand decided to set up shop in Malaysia. Woohoo! I’m pretty sure we don’t have it in Manila – yet. But I’m hoping they open there soon as well as I am sure they will be as big of a hit there as in KL.

Belif is a skin care brand that marries apothecary traditions and cutting-edge Korean skin care technology. Their first store in Malaysia is located in Sunway Pyramid Mall and I fell in love with the interior right away.

in Beauty & Fashion, Skincare

Beauty + Review: The Laneige Water Sleeping Mask and Lip Sleeping Mask

May 7, 2015

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Apologies for being MIA the past few days. If you’ve been following my Instagram, you would have seen that I was in Cebu and Bohol for the 2nd Ambassador’s Tour and I was pretty busy working my butt off, helping the embassy out while enjoying the beautiful sites of my home country. While helping out at the tour was fun and I admit that I learned a lot, I gotta say that it was pretty tiring. I was getting 4 hours of sleep every night and was moving around all day. Prior to that was the ASEAN Summit here in KL and in Langkawi – the husband and I would often sleep at 2 in the morning and get up 4 hours later. You could imagine how that took a toll on my skin.

By the time I got back in from the Ambassador’s Tour, my skin was dry and rather dull. The bags under my eyes were at a really bad state and you can totally tell that I was tired even if you were a mile away. Okay, I’m exaggerating. But seriously – my skin was in bad shape. And then I remembered that I was recently given a product that promises to hydrate and give my skin the boost that it needs but before I tell you how it has worked for me the past few days, let me do a little bit of back tracking. 😉

Laneige, a Korean brand that I’ve always heard great reviews of, recently invited me to the launch of their new Water Sleeping Mask. All my friends were talking about Laneige products lately – the BB Cushion, the Two-Tone Lip Bar, etc. I guess it was finally time to see what the fuss is all about. After all, Koreans do have a reputation of really knowing skin care. 😉

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Hello, Cindy! 😉

in Beauty & Fashion, Fashion, Fashion Tips

Beauty + Review: Horien Contact Lenses

April 25, 2015

As someone who’s been suffering from poor eyesight for 15 years, I’ve had lots of experience with different types of glasses and contact lenses. While I do love wearing my vintage-looking specs, most of the time, I opt for contact lenses when I go out due to the convenience it offers. No need to worry about glasses sliding down your nose or being careful with how you move around, right?

I’ve been wearing contact lenses for over a decade now and I can say I’ve tried most brands. Some remain my favourite up to this day while some brought great disappointment (and eye irritation too, in some cases).

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in Beauty & Fashion

Beauty + Review: The Balm Cosmetics’ Mary Lou Manizer Highlighter

April 9, 2015

The Balm, The Balm Cosmetics, Mary Lou Manizer, Highlighter, Beauty, Review, Beauty Blogger, Diplomat’s Wife, Makeup, Contour and Highlight, Pin Up Girl, Cute Packaging

I often relate makeup milestones to Pringles and chocolate. The moment you start eating/doing it, it becomes quite hard to stop yourself.

I remember back when I was in college. I never shaded my brows. I just let them be as they had this normal, natural shape. But once I got around to using a brow pencil, a spoolie brush, and some brow gel, the rest was history. Damn, that 1950s eye brow arch. I just gotta have it on all the time! In fact, I can never go out or be seen by actual human beings without my brows on fleek (as one of my favourite Youtubers would say).

Back then, I wasn’t into concealer as well since I’ve always had skin that’s on the clearer side. But after I saw a makeup artist use concealer under my eyes and to put some shade on some areas of my face which looked perfectly fine before, I knew I was never going to live without concealer anymore. It’s like, you never know something wrong is going on until someone else actually points it out! However, this drives my husband nuts when I tell him I have to cover up some stuff on my face and he’s always like – ‘What are you talking about? There’s nothing there!’

But alas, my eyes have become very critical even to the minutest of details. And here I go again, going off point. What was I supposed to talk about? Ah, highlighter. Like my brow and concealer story, I was also late to the party when it comes to contouring and highlighting. In fact, there was a time when I would contour my face and totally forego the highlighter. YES. UGH. Weird times.

But then, Benefit Cosmetics popped my highlighter cherry by giving me a sample of Watt’s Up as a gift with purchase (GWP) and it totally changed my life! I’m exaggerating. But it did drastically change my makeup routine!

I’ve been pretty loyal to Watt’s Up and cream highlighters but with all the peer pressure (and by peer, I mean Youtube beauty vloggers) I’ve been getting, I decided to try out The Balm’s Mary Lou Manizer. Everyone’s talking about it so I might as see what the fuss is all about.

The first time I picked it up in Sasa, my first thought was: ‘Damn, this packaging is seriously cute!’ I love vintage fashion and I love pin-up girls so The Balm totally got their packaging right in my opinion. 😉

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The compact is round and quite big but it fits perfectly on one’s hand. It’s packed with 8.5 grams of the product so it will practically last you forever.

in Beauty & Fashion, Makeup

Beauty + Review: Happy Skin Cosmetics’ Shut Up and Kiss Me Moisturising Lippie in Honeymoon Glow

March 27, 2015

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That title’s quite a mouthful isn’t it? So here’s the review (finally!) of my current go to lippie that everyone has been asking me about!

It’s the Shut Up and Kiss Me Moisturising Lippie in the shade Honeymoon Glow from Happy Skin Cosmetics and I’ve been getting so much love for it that I’ve been wearing it almost everyday. And that’s quite a feat because I do tend to switch up my lip colour all the time to give my lipstick babies equal love and attention.

Happy Skin has been available in Manila for quite some time now so I’m actually late to the party. And, man. Was I missing out.

I got my lippie during my trip to Manila a few weeks back. I wanted to try out a new lippie and since people keep raving out this brand, I thought that I should give it a try and see if it will impress me.

Oh, it did.

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It’s such a friendly colour that it goes with almost any outfit and it’s also my new ‘my lips but better’ shade. It’s a bit darker than Nouvelle Vogue in person but it actually looks more natural.

Happy Skin’s lippies are loaded with Shea butter and collagen, making sure your lips are hydrated throughout the day. And while it’s got the moisturising properties of a balm, it’s also packing up some serious colour. I wasn’t disappointed the first time I swiped it on to my lips – it glided smoothly and left an opaque, evened-out hue.

It’s also got a bit of shine to it so there’s no need for a gloss. But don’t worry, the shine is of slightest tinge, making your lips look dewy and healthy – not greasy. 😉

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I normally don’t wear lipsticks without putting some lip balm on first but with the Shut Up and Kiss Me lippies, I don’t have to worry about some tugging during application or whether my lips will dry up and start to chap throughout the day.

Oh, and the best part about Happy Skin is that it’s a Filipino brand! Yes, Filipino! I admit that I was a bit confused with the ‘Made in Taiwan’ label on the lippie’s box but looking through the Happy Skin website, I’ve confirmed that it is the brainchild of two Filipina women – former brand developer for Unilever’s personal care products Jacqe Yuengtian-Gutierrez and model/beauty columnist Rissa Mananquil-Trillo.

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These two ladies wanted cosmetics that are generally good (rather than damaging) to the skin and from that necessity, Happy Skin was brought to life. They’ve got a whole range of cosmetics – from BB creams to eyeliners, eyeshadows, and blush compacts. But from what I hear from my friends in Manila, the Shut Up and Kiss Me lippies are the ones making huge waves. 😉

And isn’t the packaging just too cute? I’m such a sucker for cute packaging.

Anyhoo, here are the photos of me wearing under various lighting situations:

Indoor lighting (warm +cool mix). Say hi to Sophie the bear on the background! 😉

Natural light (bright sunlight)

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Beauty Blogger

Beauty + Video: October Favourites (Matrixyderm, Beauté FX, Dr Jart, Tarte, IOPE, Happy Skin, MAC, Star Wars!)

Beauty: Haircare meets sustainability with Davines

Beauty: Clinelle Caviar Gold Range Serum Review + Discount Code For You!

Beauty + Events: A Day of Pampering with the Beauty Guide Tour 2015!

Beauty: Burt’s Bees Lip Crayon Review (4/6 shades)! Plus: Get your own at a DISCOUNT with this code!

Beauty: Korean Skin Care Brand Belif Opens First Store in Malaysia

Beauty + Review: Horien Contact Lenses

Beauty + Review: The Balm Cosmetics’ Mary Lou Manizer Highlighter

Beauty + Review: Happy Skin Cosmetics’ Shut Up and Kiss Me Moisturising Lippie in Honeymoon Glow

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