April Favourites!

After almost a year of doing this, I've finally decided that the video-favorites thing just isn't my thing. Imma stick to writing this shiz down. :) This  post will cover everything from beauty to music to film to books I've been liking a lot.

If you guys enjoyed this post or have comments about these products/things and/or have some favorites of your own that you want to share, please leave me a comment below! :)

Dirty, Dirty: Make Out Red & Caressing Coral

There aren't a lot of things in my make up collection (if you can call it that) that are "summery". I realized this a few weeks ago, as I found myself wearing plum-colored lipstick while it was 32 degrees outside. So when this month's Avon catalog rolled in, I decided: why not? 

These line of lipsticks are the Totally Kissable lipsticks and the color range is awesome, plus the names are so dirty (always a plus). I picked up the shades Make Out Red & Caressing Coral. 

 So far, I'm really liking these. They're a 4.5/5 because they have great packaging, great color pay-off and stay on even after three cups of coffee. The only thing is that they rub off when you kiss someone (heehee) but I suppose that can be said for most lipsticks so I don't mind so much.

How Does A Raisin Blush?

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this on here, ever but one of the jobs that I'd love to have is being the person who gets to name these make up lines and products. And when I saw this on the catalogue, I just could not believe that it was called Blushing Raisin. It's a beautiful eyeshadow quad and there is not one color on their that I wouldn't wear; this quad is like a beautiful girl named Petrifica--it just doesn't fit. :)) But ah, well. What's in a name?

The four colors that come in this quad are Brulee (top left), Rose Nude (top right), Raisin (bottom right--why, Avon, why?) and Plum (bottom left). All these colors are awesome and are super soft; I swear the texture of these is super creamy. The only thing that sucks about these is that the color pay-off isn't too good. You have to really get in there and build these up if you're using them alone. However, I've found that these go on really nicely on top of the Avon Simply Pretty Marbelized Shadow Sticks which are similar to the NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencils. :)

This quad cost me P 249, also from their February catalog and it's worth it, for the most part. But if you're looking for absolute bang for your buck, then maybe this isn't the quad to get? For an additional hundred, you could get the big palette from Fashion21 or for a couple hundred more you could get one of the big ELF palettes so...yeah. This is great for stashing in your purse though and again, I love that mirror. So I'd give this a total rating of 3.5/5 because despite some of the drawbacks the colors are just too gorgeous to be pissed off about. :D

Avon's Rose Luster Blush

So I got a couple of things from Avon recently and one of them is this Ideal Luminous blush in Rose Luster. The color pay-off if this is amazing--perhaps too much as I spend more time than usual blending this out. While it still isn't my favorite blush I do think it's really pretty and looks uber flattering on us brown-skinned women. Nothing flatters a tan like a rose-tinted powder. :)

As per usual, the blush that comes with this is crappy but I do love that it comes with a huge mirror so you can see how your face looks. You do need to be very careful and light-handed with this because the pay-off is insane. The only person who would need that much color on their face is probably Glicko the clown. :)) Plus this is a slightly shimmery blush so yeah: you have to be even more careful. This has pretty awesome staying power--stays on all-day which, once you've been able to put it on properly is great. This is P175, from their February catalog. I'd give this a 3/5; minus points for the difficulty in blending it out and the horrid brush that's lead to a mini-break out. :)

Wishlist: Berry Me March

March Wishlist by wina-puangco featuring wet n wild blush

In an effort to maximize and perfect and "do this with all my heart", I've decided to put up weekly wishlists which will be labelled according to theme, followed by what month they're made in. :D This week, I've uber been into berry shades: berry pinks, purples and oranges. I've also been absolutely coveting the entire Betty side of Mac's Betty & Veronica collection. Those pinks are just beautiful, I cannot even--

I've also been absolutely coveting Mac's super soft stippling brush and a couple of more affordable things like the Berry blush from Wet N' Wild and Avon's mineral foundation. Plus my beanie collection's been sort of blah lately and I've been wanting to get a couple more colorful hats for everyday wear. Most of the beanies I have are gray and it's just such a gloomy color! I'm thinking pink/tangerine? Or white?

February 2013 Favorites + A Little Giveaway!

Hey, guys. :) I originally was going to do this as a blog post, but it didn't seem to make sense as there were just too many products and too many things to rave about. :D I just thought it'd do better as a video. I'm also going to be doing these things regularly (every month, hehehe) because it's a lot of fun and a good way to cap off every month's obsessions methinks! So. Yeah! You can check out the video below!

Also stay tuned 'til the end for a little surprise! ;)

On Second Thought: Products I've Changed My Mind About

I realized yesterday how fickle the human body (skin, mostly) can be and something that works for you in the first week of trying a product can end up not working for you in the long-run and vice versa.

So, yeah. :) I've decided to list down a couple of products that I've changed my mind about for the info of ya'll out there who follow this blog for the beauty reviews. :D I'll also include links to the original entries.

1. Myra Daily Sun Protect: While everything I wrote in that review mostly holds true, I don't think that it's such a good idea to use this under make-up because it doesn't mix very well into foundation or BB cream. It sort of has a very dry formulation which just doesn't do very well under make-up. I'd still use this for days at the beach, though and I didn't experience anything bad like acne or anything while using this product, so yeah. :) Mostly everything except using it under make up still holds true!

2. Maybelline's Toffee Cream Lipstick: I still love the formulation of this lipstick but now I think it might be a tad too light for my skin tone, on second thought. :) So, yeah. Nothing a little darker gloss over the top won't fix but yeah. I don't think I'd repurchase this.

3. Human Heart Nature's Day Fluid: Mind you, I am still using most of the Go-Green Routine products, sans the Day Fluid. I really love how it smells and how it goes on but unfortunately, it really irritates my skin. I love the night cream and the cleansers/toners and the sunflower oil but I just really couldn't get along with this, which is a shame. :( 

Aaaand that's it, really. :) I'm thinking of doing one of these every six months or so just to update ya'll. :D Let me know what you guys think about these products or tell me in the comments below if you've had any products you changed your mind about!

The Face Shop's ME:EX BB Cream

Last week, I picked up this BB Cream from The Face Shop; I wanted to try it mostly because it smelled so good. I know that seems silly but well, yeah. I'm a pretty ridiculous person. :)) Also, it wasn't so bad as far as BB Creams go price-wise. This was P399 for a 20 mL bottle. 

For the most part, I really like this BB Cream. It's pretty light coverage, which is nice because the weather in Manila is pretty killer and weary something too heavy can be hell. As I've already said, I love the way it smells and it feels really nice on.

The only thing that I don't like about this BB Cream is that it gets a little gray in the sunlight ( as a lot of BB Creams are wont to do). Although it isn't so bad (definitely not as bad as some other BB Creams, I'd say), this interferes with how buildable the BB Cream is because if you put on a lot, you'll end up with a gray-tinted face. :) But if you don't really have a lot of blemishes to cover up then it's fine. :D I'd give this a 3.5/5 all-in-all. 

Au Naturale Skin Care Routine: Human Heart Nature!

I was thinking of doing a video on this (like a skincare routine type video), then I realized that I look uber weird when fixing my face, so yeah--if you guys want to see that let me know. :)) Anywho. Recently, I got really into Human Heart Nature's skincare line, thanks to my friend Marz's introducing me to their awesome Sunflower Beauty Oil. So, yeah. As per their recommendation over at their site, I've been doing the go-green routine which involves all-organic face products from cleansing to moisturizing to putting on make up. :D 

I'm going to go through two routines in this post: Day & Night. For both of these skincare routines, I start with washing my face; I use Human Heart Nature's Balancing Facial Wash and then follow that up with their Balancing Face Toner. These are specially made for oily skin and if you have dry skin or normal skin, then you should head over to their site and see which of their cleanser/toner combos are for you. :D I absolutely love these products--they super citrusy and they just feel so refreshing on the skin. Plus they're very gentle so they don't sting and they don't leave your skin feeling tight or dry at all.

 After toning, I proceed to moisturize. I have two moisturizers from this line--their Moisturizing Day Fluid and their Moisturizing Night Cream. They both smell super wonderful--the former is very fresh and smells like lime while the latter smells like berries and is a great scent to fall asleep to. They're both non-greasy and are just-moisturizing-enough. :D

Now, here is the part where the Day routine differs from the Night routine: in the morning, I use the Sunflower Beauty Oil as a primer, under my make-up and this helps set the make up as well as prevent pimples (or so I've found, so far). And then in the evening, I put the sunflower oil on after the moisturizer's dried as a beauty regimen which really helps my skin relax. :D Since these products are organic and are pretty mild, they do take a bit more time than your usual drugstore or medical products to work but I really like how my skin's been looking lately, so I think that's definitely progress. :) I'd give these products a 4/5 (because they've not yet endured the test of time).

I got these products at Sesou, at the following rates for those of you who are interested:

1. Sunflower Beauty Oil P140/bottle

2. Balancing Facial Wash P235/bottle

3. Balancing Face Toner P200/bottle

4. Moisturizers P285/bottle

You can also order these online at their website or go to their store in QC if that's more convenient for you. :) The Sesou in Alabang (Town Center), specifically doesn't carry their line of tomato facial washes and toners as well as their Vanilla line of shampoo. :D

The Face Shop's Perfection Power BB Cream

The other day, while I was at The Face Shop browsing through the merch and heading there to pick up another product (which I'll talk about next week heehee) and they gave me samplers of their Power Perfection BB Cream. :) I absolutely love the teensy metallic purple packaging! Apologies for the bit of tape on the end--I used a bit of it today and am saving the rest for next time.

 This is in the shade 02 Natural Beige. Like most BB Creams that are available here, I think they only have 2 shades of this. This has a heavier coverage than I'd like although it is really seamless and goes on quite nicely. It also stays on the whole day, which was great for today since I was up north in Pampangga today and the heat in Central Luzon is just crazy. :)

 Below is a photo of me wearing the said BB Cream for about 6 hours. It's not so bad; in fact the only problem that I had with it that after a while I got a weird itchy spot on my left cheek (you can see it in the photo below) after a couple of hours. Although since I'm not sure whether this is just because it was super hot today or because of the BB Cream. I definitely think I'll have to give this another go before I can say for sure. All-in-all, I'd give this BB Cream a 4/5. :D

Sunflower Beauty Oil

While I'm not usually a fan of oils that you put on your face (just because I already have kinda oily skin), I found that this works really, really well and isn't too greasy. My friend Marz let me try this as a make up remover and it worked super duper well; I got a bottle for myself yesterday. I'm not quite sure what it is about sunflower oil but it is so versatile. You can use it to remove make up and you can also use it as a moisturizer underneath make-up; it helps BB Cream glide on really easily although you'll have to set your make up with a bit of pressed powder so it stays put. :)

Furthermore, this works really well as a night cream too. I woke up with my skin feeling uber smooth and generally just revitalized. Ever since coming home from Baguio (I'm guessing it has to do with the climate change?) I've been breaking out a little--I had this hooj zit on my right cheek and I put some of this stuff on it the other day and now it's nearly gone. It also really helps lighten blemishes which is freaking awesome! :D This goes for P140/bottle at all chains that carry Human Heart Nature products.

Sun, Sun, Sun!

So. We live in the Philippines and so I find it ironic that I've seen more beauty vloggers from the U.K. and the States that talk about SPF than those living in the Asia Pacific. I have a feeling that it might be because we're so used to the weather and so a lot of the time we just go "well, I'm not sunburned yet" or "I've gone this long not using SPF, what's the biggie?" Well. Skin cancer and premature aging are biggies. Big biggies!!!

Now, I understand the hesitation toward SPF-laden products: they usually smell like burnt rubber, are extremely heavy on the skin and are usually more expensive than your average moisturizer. BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT this is why sometimes it's okay to be impulsive and walk around drugstores for no apparent reason: things are changing as we speak.

Last week, I ran out of my Belo Sun Protect samples and so I went out to go and buy a full-sized bottle. One of the things I hate about Mercury Drug is that they never seem to have the prices on the labels so I just picked up the bottle and went to the counter--it was a 50 mL bottle--assuming it'd be around P100-150, judging from its size. But holy kamote, turns out that a mid-sized bottle of that stuff is almost 400 bucks! So I hastily cancelled that purchase and decided to go take a look at what was available in PCX. And lo and behold there this was: Myra's Daily Sun Protect Facial Moisturizer with UVA/UVB SPF 15 in all its 50-ml, bright orange, 139-peso glory!

And wow. This is pretty much a perfect dupe for the Belo one! The formula is similar--it's very, very light and while it smells faintly of sunblock the scent fades as it dries so you only have to put up with that beachy-in-a-bad-way smell for a little bit. Plus, it dries really well and goes really well with the B.B. Cream that I've been using; it dries very invisibly and doesn't get oily at all. If you have oily skin, then this is the way to go! So. Yes. :) Yay for sun protection at a price that doesn't break the bank!

B.B. Your Love!

Okay. In case you guys were wondering the title to this post is a lame attempt at a pun that references this song; it's a great song for a great B.B. Cream. So. Anyway. :))

Last week, I was in PCX looking for well--something that wasn't this B.B. Cream and I saw this in the Maybelline booth. In 2011, when B.B. Creams first became a thing, I bought their B.B. Cream but I didn't like it very much because it dried kind of odd on my skin--literally like watercolor on a notebook cover, if anyone else has ever tried that--so after I finished out the tube I didn't go and buy it again after I finished it. I was pretty annoyed that they only had the One-Shade-Fits-All one because really, one shade does not fit all. 

So I saw that they had a new shade (Natural 02) and new packaging and that there was only one tube left. Even the Tester was gone! I ended up leaving PCX with this and a couple of other things and wow, it definitely does not disappoint. I am so happy that they came up with this shade and this formula because it is amazing and I am definitely going to go and buy another one as soon as I've finished this tube. 

The coverage is great--about medium, I'd say--and it goes on flawlessly. Although I'd still recommend a pressed powder over it just to set it, this is really a pretty awesome B.B. Cream and is great value for money. You can get this for P250 at your department/cosmetic/personal care stores like Watson's, Mercury Drug, Metro and PCX. :D

Below is a photo of me which I took via Instagram last week when I wore the said B.B. Cream; if you guys want me to take a more high-resolution photo then I shall next week but for now this has to do as I'm typing this at night. Also, this photo was taken at 5 in the morning so the only place where there was light was the bathroom, hence the token bathroom photo. :))

The Best Hair Serum Ever: Lolane's Natura

I got this the other day because I was on my last packet of Vedette and I'm pretty sure they don't sell it here (I scoured the Metro Department Store, Watson's and PCX). I happened by this hair serum in PCX and I went for it because it said "light and not sticky", which is basically the problem with most hair serum/hair oil products. This was P129 for a bottle.

 And all I can say is wow. This is an amazing product. It's able to hold a curl and just leaves my hair feeling soft, smooth and cures frizz without being greasy or making you look like someone dropped a raw egg on your head. Plus, it smells wonderful. Giving this a 5/5, definitely. :D And going back tomorrow to hoard a bit and buy myself another bottle because I am extremely paranoid when it comes to this. This is just perfect for curly hair, I am ecstatic!!! I also now can't stop feeling my hair, which is kind of weird. :))

The photo below was taken this afternoon and I sure hope you see what I mean by keeping texture but taming frizz. :) If not, leave a comment below and I'll take a better hair photo tomorrow if you guys want one. :D But yeah. Ahhhh. I am so enamored with this product--there are no words. 

P.S. Pardon the bird cages in the background. :))

Make Up Bag Tag!

So, yesterday I was browsing through my feed and saw this post by Denise of Simone's Fashion Closet and it was just absolutely so much to read that I decided to do one of my own and tag people! :) Before we begin, I will say that I have a lot of make-up and I apologize if this post seems bitin (like it doesn't quite make sense haha) but I took the title into consideration and only decided to cover the stuff that was in my make-up bag at the moment. Hence, no eye make up (if you'd like to see that though, do leave a comment below)--I'm not fond of putting my eye make-up in my teensy make up bag because my palette is huge (Denise has the same on if you head over to her blog). So this is mostly lipstick and face products.

 Leather make-up bag. Pretty standard. Puzzle-piece design.

 My favorite lipsticks--arranged here from (L-R) the peachiest to the pinkest.

Lip Service

My favorite make-up item is hands-down lipstick. I think it makes the major difference between a meh look and bitchin' one. It's the splash of color that every outfit could use, methinks. I bought a couple of Maybelline lipsticks over Christmas break and I thought I'd share them with you guys.

First, I got Toffee Cream which is a brown/orange/tan shade. It's a step above a neutral lip and it's definitely sunnier than what I usually go for (I'm a bruised fruit kinda girl). The color payoff of this is pretty good too--you really just have to do your lower lip. It stays on even after a cup or two of coffee, which isn't bad! I guess the thing about this is just that I'm really partial to more purple-tinged lipsticks so I've not been wearing it as much as my other lipsticks. (Also, apologies for the bad focus of the photo below, my camera was going crazy!)

This also looks pretty good with morena skin. When I was younger, I absolutely hated lipstick because there was so much pressure to wear blue-tinged pinks and those ones just look horrendous on me. But yeah, I've found that the trick to it is finding something with a hint of either brown or orange. 

The second shade that I got is called Lovin' Red. It looks really crazy when it's not on, but it's actually alright. There's a hint of purple in it that tones it down a bit and keeps it from being overly bright. This has incredible staying power. I had a couple of glasses of water + 1 cup of coffee and it was still on after that. And the color payoff is amazing! You can put on just a dab of it then spread it out and it'll still look pretty amazing. This is one of those rare shades that you can wear during the day or at night and it'll look super appropriate either way.

Aaaand this is how it looks on. I think it looks really awesome with these glasses too and this was exactly how I wore it this morning, actually--along with a pale pink sweater. You can follow me on Instagram (@winawonders) to see that. Also, for those who've been asking why I haven't done an outfit post in a while, it's because a) my tripod broke and b) all my classes start at 8 in the morning this term and the lighting is just terrible at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning. I'll get back to that one of these days. For now, I hope this keeps you guys entertained. :)

Make Those Eyes at Me

I've been getting a lot of questions from fellow glasses-wearing females about tips on how to beautify your eyes when wearing specs so I thought I'd do a post about (at least in my experience) the best glasses-friendly mascara I have ever tried. 

I've found that the trick to not losing your eyes to your glasses (especially if you wear thick lenses or big frames) is putting on a good waterproof mascara and a bit of eyeliner (although I won't get into the eyeliner bit in this post). To be honest, I prefer a non-waterproof mascara because it's easier to take off and the formula isn't so strong but when wearing glasses, I find that waterproof is the way to go. Because of the way that glasses react to temperature change (fogging) non-waterproof mascaras tend to smudge. Plus the eye area tends to sweat more and again, that just makes your eyes look like they're melting if you're wearing something that isn't waterproof.

 Maybelline New York's the Falsies mascara is just wonderful! The brush is specially tapered so that it fans out your lashes and even if you apply around three or four coats your lashes don't get clumpy. This is perfect for brightening up the eye area instantly! It's great by itself or with a bit of brown eyeliner and an inner-corner highlight. On a scale of 1-5, I'd definitely give this 5 stars. :)

This awesome product goes for P399 at PCX. :D

Maybelline's Yummy Plummy Lipstick

So, last Saturday I accompanied my mom to a morning meeting of hers in Makati and (because my mom is forever the early bird) we got there even before the establishment where the meeting was to be held opened. As a result, we decided to head into one of the Mercury Drugstores in the area--just because it was hooj and the cosmetics section looked especially inviting. One of my favorite make-up/skincare brands is Maybelline--because their products are both reasonable and of good quality. So, yeah while we were perusing the cosmetics area I stopped by the Maybelline stand and started doing swatches of some of the lipsticks they had on display--this was also because I didn't have a lipstick to go with my purple tights. And as soon as the tip of this lush lipstick hit skin, I knew I had to have it.

 I've always been a fan of plummy, earthy-red shades of lipstick but I've never had one that's come quite this close to actually being purple. I'm giving this 5 stars, definitely--it has great color pay-off, it lasts forever and it's only P399/tube. Below are a couple of photos of me wearing the lipstick--sorry for the low quality; my tripod's been hijacked by my brothers so I used my laptop's photobooth app. :)

Blue Lashes

Today, I thought I'd blog about the oddest product I've tried in a while--given to me by one of my oddest friends, Trizha (I love you! hahaha). This mascara by Majolica Majorca is pretty damn cool. It lengthens your lashes because there's hair in the formulation (I know that sounds weird and kind of gross but the formulation of this product is actually very nice) and so you can get amazing, amazing lengthening with this. Plus, it comes with a very cool tiny-bristled brush that helps you comb through your lashes really well. As if that wasn't cool/odd enough, this particular mascara comes in dark blue. And you'd think that was weird but it goes on pretty subtly. I've worn this a lot in the past weeks and no one (except Trizha harhar) noticed that my lashes were blue. My only complaint about this is that it's a bitch to wash off at night. I'm not usually one for waterproof mascara because it's just too much trouble (and I don't cry a lot during the day haha) and this proves that. Two cotton wads of make up remover later, and not all of it is off yet. Sigh. This is probably great for nights out though. :D I'd rate this at 4/5 stars. It's also a bit pricey for something that I don't wear very often (because of said exaggerated waterproof-ness); if I'm not mistaken this goes for about 500-something a tube.

Caramel Camel

Headed out to school today because I've got class and I need to pay my tuition (I forgot to yesterday). I've been thinking a lot about this sweater and how I'd usually call it camel-colored but I realized that it's also caramel-colored and then I got to thinking about whether those two words have anything to do with one another. :)) Anyway.

I'm wearing this shift-dress/top as a top today because the dresscode in LaSalle won't permit it as a dress and even if it did, I don't think I'd be comfortable commuting in this worn as a dress anyway because it's extremely girly and just not the kind of thing you can hop off a bus in. You can take a looksie at how it looks in dress-form here. 

Wearing: white shift-dress (worn as a top), Old Navy || Sweater, GAP || leggings, bazaar

shoes, Centropelle

 One of the things that I absolutely love about this outfit is the lace detailing on the shiftdress (worn here as a top). It's intricately made; it sort of reminds me of the weaving on a dream catcher or these crochet coasters that my grandmother used to make. :)

 I also thought I'd take some time out to talk about this really pretty lip balm. I've had this for a little over a month now and so I've more or less tried and tested it. The thing I love about it is the light pigmentation that it offers--lighter than a lipstick but still more than your usual lip balm. Plus, it comes in a berry-shade and I think that goes wonderfully with tanned, sort of olive, morena skin. :) Yayyy. This was around P80 at PCX, if I'm not mistaken. :D