These blushes are pigmented and has a very smooth texture. On the pan, they seem to be gritty and filled with chunks of glitter. It is a different story when these blushes are swatched and applied on the cheeks. They give of a natural seamless glow sans any hint of glitter but with the slightest almost invisible shimmer. These blushes are not flat out matte but delivers a natural glow on the cheeks. I got the shades, (from LEFT TO RIGHT) secret it girl, natural beauty and baby doll.

Secret It Girl is beautiful orangey coral shade
Natural Beauty is my ultimate favorite amongst the three shades. It is a muted brownish rosey peach shade that looks oh so divine. It may looked faint when swatched but it gives off the most natural glow on my cheeks. It is not pink or peach, the color just looks so natural on me.
Baby Doll  is a light rosy pink shade that surprisingly looks good on my medium yellow skintone.

ESSENCE Eyebrow Stylist Set

I got this for 189.75 pesos (if I am not mistaken,, sorry I immediately remove price tags on makeup). This is an eyebrow powder set that comes in two shades with eyebrow stencils and slanted eye brush. Okay, the packaging is not the best in the market. The plastic pan of the powder itself will not pass any standard test. It is literally plastic and can pass off as a sample. The brush uhmm well forget about it too and the stencils are not so good either. Obviously, this product is a major major fail in its packaging. Product wise, I think the brow powder is decent not good. It is very pigmented but the color does not seem show when applied on my brows. I tried applying it with all my brow brushes but it is a fail. It also is very powdery. This is a far cry from my HG In2it Eyebrow set. tsk.



The colors in the set look really lovely. Its has a taupe and rich dark brown in it with no hints of red. Sadly, this did not work for me at all.

Essence Lash and Brow Gel Mascara
Now, this baby is a good buy! I have finished more than 4 tubes of this mascara gel and for 149 pesos a pop, it is perfect for everyday wear. I love the fact that this mascara can tame my unruly brows into place for half a day. It does not leave any clumps or those nasty crusts from brow pencils. I love how it can make my brows look well done within seconds after I touch up with powder. (Do you also experience getting powder on your brows when you touch up your makeup?) My only problem with this mascara is that it takes forever to dry. I mean you have to wait for a minute for the wet stain to go away. Careful not to touch your brows after applying this because it can definitely wipe out all your hardwork. What I do is I let the mascara to dry and set before brushing it once again with a spoolie for a more natural look.
The wand of the brow mascara. I have not yet tried using it for my lashes though because it can get really dirty because of the remnants and stains from my brow powder and pencil. I use this brow mascara twice in my makeup routine. First, after applying powder foundation or after setting my foundation, I brush this over my brows to remove powder build up. I have youtube gurus who immediately apply brow pencil or powder on their brows and I can readily see product build up on their brows! Nay!!! Anyways, after the mascara has set and dried, I apply my brow pencil. After achieving my desired shape and brow color, I brush this mascara once again to ensure that my brows stay in place the whole day.

Essence Eyebrow Designer
This only costs 109 pesos (Again, If I am not mistaken). I was drawn to the shade when I swatched it at the back of my hand. It definitely looks pigmented and I got it because it has no hint of red or orange. The shade is just pure rich brown. It goes on very pigmented but I am having a hard time controlling the color and strokes because of its very soft and waxy formula. There are times that one of my brows look way darker than the other. This pencil is very tricky to use. The color can also look too dark almost brown black at times.
I learned that there is a shade blonde in the US which has gotten loads of good feedback.

Over all, the brow mascara is definitely a winner. As for the stylist set and pencil, I think I will just go back to my Ever Bilena Eye Brow Pencil and In2it or I might just give in to my lemming and buy the Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade.

Here is step by step photos on how I used these products on my brows:
Godbless

I can't believe it is June already! May has been a very busy month for me.  Hence, my inactivity in the blogosphere for the past weeks. Compared to April, I just have a few faves this month. Being busy with my career and not time for makeup exploration has lead me to enjoy the beauty items that I got onhand but I discovered a few new things that might interest all of you. Let us start, shall we?

Landmark has been a cheap thrills paradise for me especially if you are looking for makeup brushes. I have seen this Artist STudio brush from different bloggers and it is only early this year that I have decided to purchase it. This is a slanted flat top brush which costs around 150 pesos only. The bristles may not be as soft as Sigma F80 but for a fraction of a price I can not complain. The brush is soft and does not prick my face. I use it to buff foundation all over my face. I love the fact that I can use it with powder, cream or liquid foundation and creates a seamless application.

Etude House Kissful Tint Choux I was looking for a lip tint to use on a short weekend trip to the beach. I wanted to buy the lip stains from Revlon or Max Factor but they are are too pricey  in my opinion. I immediately thought of going to Etude House because I had a darling lip tint from them before. I chanced upon this instead. I was honestly a bit skeptical buying this tint because it comes in a gloss form than a tint. I bought it anyway because it only costs 278 pesos without high expectation on the product. Let me tell that this product is really awesome.This product applies like a lipgloss but leaves a pinkish stain on my lips even after eating. It also gives off a nice sheen on my lips. A little goes a long way and I love using it with my NIchido Lip Liner in Rosette. More on this product soon. :)

Celeteque Brightening Facial Wash I was really bewildered when I bought this product because it feels so heavy and full. Compared to other facial wash housed in a tube which has room for air, this one is like a tootpaste. I have to literally squeezed the tube to get the product out. This is way better than their original facial wash. This is one of the best facial wash I have ever tried because it does a great job of cleansing my face and removing my makeup. Also, it does not leave my skin tight and dry after every use. TThis works very well on my dry and sensitive skin. he great thing is it only costs 150 pesos.

Virginia Olsen Sculpting Brush Price: 450 pesos As I mentioned in my previous post, this made contouring easy as 123!!!! It is very soft and works well on both cream and powder products.  This brush is the first i have ever seen in the local market. Great job Virginia Olsen .

Essence Lash and Brow Gel Mascara This product is very affordable for only 150 pesos a tube. This has been a life saver for me. I have finally found a product that can tame my unruly brows. Before, I use it after applying my brow cake but I find i find it more useful if you apply it twice. Before applying brow cake and after applying brow cake.  If you will look at the first picture, I am almost done with this product. I will make a full review on this soon.

Hurrwa! Black Cherry Tinted Lipbalm This has been sent to me by cutieverse.com. I love the scent of this lipbalm and the hint of color and sheen it gives my lips.  I made review about this in my previous post here: http://www.mylucidintervals.com/2013/05/whats-new-hurraw-lip-balm-review.html

In2it Brow Cake in Eyebrowns  After years of being raved about by local bloggers, I have finally decided to try this product. This stuff is amazing. This is a multi functional product. I use it to contour my nose bridge, as an eyeshadow and for defining my brows. In defining my brows, it is best used with a wet thin angled brush. My officemate commented how nice my the product I use on my brows is, she even thought that I was using a gel liner because it looked very pigmented on my thin brows. More on this product soon.

Glam Works Makeup Remover Cleansing Wipes I never use makeup removers to remove my face makeup because I love using my eskinol to remove my makeup. A beauty blogger commented that I should use a makeup remover because Eskinol can dry out my lips. I have tried a lot of makeup remover wipes but this one is by far the best!!! It has a very refreshing scent, does not irritate my skin and removes my face makeup very well. It cannot remove waterproof mascara or liners, so I still use my ponds cold cream first then I wipe it off with this. This costs 49 pesos and it is buy one take one in Watsons. I have been looking for this in other Watsons branch but I have been buying mine in Watson's greenhills.

That's it!!! What is your faves last May? Have a blessed Sunday to all! Do not forget to MLI's makeup contest http://www.mylucidintervals.com/2013/05/my-lucid-intervals-anniversary-makeup.html and here for the giveaway: http://www.mylucidintervals.com/2013/05/my-lucid-intervals-huge-anniversary.html   Like Mylucidintervals FB Page Here. Got questions? Ask Here. For product reviews, advertisement inquiry email me at mylucidintervals@gmail.com

When the tragedy happened, I became more prudent in handling my income. (or so I thought I became one). Savings come first more than anything. As my boyfriend always says, "be prudent!" I swear his voice kept ringing on my ear whenever I am in the mall. His words kept me from buying makeup or clothes impulsively. I already have an emergency fund (losing an entire house triggered me to pursue this and this is my so called "untouchable" as in hindi ko pwedeng galawin!) now, I am saving for a business fund and for my enrollment for makeup school. Ok, I know these things are not connected with the haul but I am simply justifying the fact that I do not go cray cray over sales and new products. Well, you know, I have my own weakness. Thus, an impulsive tiny haul from Essence. I know you would not believe me when I say that I imagined that I was strolling in Megamall and saw the Essence counter in the department. This imagination became true and it felt like deja vu! Well, BF was not too happy when he heard me say "Ayyyy Essence!!" and I briskly walk through the other makeup counter and left him behind. He knew that buying a new makeup was not in my plan. I simply could not resist because I kept seeing other bloggers with their Essence haul and I was too envious not to cave in. So I stood there swatching everything I could for around 15 minutes. I swear I could have bought a few blushes and other stuff but BF was furiously waiting for me. hahaha I bought the fix and matte translucent powder because of the enticing review of Jolly (http://www.theredlippieadventures.com/). This only costs 259 pesos and BF was staring at this and said  "259 talaga ito?" Oh well, boys can never understand.

I have been in search for a brow and this is such a steal for only 149 pesos. I have been using this since I got it and so far it tamed my brows very well.

I also bought the Essence Lip Liner in the shade "in the nude". This is very soft, creamy and pigmented. I was looking for a color same as the  Nichido's lipliner in Rosette but they have none.This only costs 79 pesos. I want to collect all shades before doing a review about it. But I would probably just get two more color because of its price.

I finally decided to go back to boxing. I bought this gloves today and the hand wrap for 2735 pesos. I also enrolled at the boxing gym and had my training a while. I thought of passing out after 2 rounds of sparring. ( yun nga ba tawag dun?) Ohh the two hours was worth it. I even did the bicycle  for 35 minutes and the machine said I burned 804 calories. That better be true because I was panting and catching my breath every now and then. Also, this is my second day of no rice diet. I also have a meal plan now. I am dead serious in losing all my flabs. DO not worry I took a picture of my bulging tummy in preparation for a future fitness post. That's it. What Essence product do you want me to review first? Have a blessed day ahead.