REVIEW: Dr. Jart Rejuvenating Blemish Base Silver Label

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

The product: Dr. Jart Rejuvenating Blemish Base Silver Label
Price: 740pesos (~US$16-17) for the 15mL tube Rating: 9/10 Where I bought it: SM Megamall Department Store Bldg. B (+): Blends well with my skin tone, easy to blend, has SPF 35/PA++, has whitening properties, controls oil well, has medium to full coverage (I could skip concealer with this actually), lasts long on the skin, no allergic reactions (-): Quite expensive compared to other BB creams available locally; smells like foundation while in the tube but this isn't really a bother, smell goes away immediately after blending; only one shade available

Blended, no flash

Blended, no flash

Blended, with flash

Before I discuss this product further, I'd like first to explain what BB cream is. From what I've read online, BB creams (blemish balm or in this case blemish base) were formulated in Germany for the use of post-laser surgery patients as cover-up treatment. Some sources say that South Korean actresses who have undergone laser surgery used it and the cosmetic companies caught on and developed it into a makeup product. BB creams are multi-functional products. They are marketed to have whitening, anti-aging/anti-wrinkling, and anti-acne properties. They are thought to be an all-in-one product--moisturizer, sunblock and foundation in one. BB creams are also touted as being healthier than foundations--skincare + makeup in a single product.

This Dr. Jart BB cream is the most expensive BB cream I've used to date but from all that I've used, this is truly my favorite. It gives medium to full coverage that's enough for me to actually skip using concealers, even on my dark undereye areas. But the thing is though, because my undereye areas are notoriously dark, I still use a bit of concealer on them. If I choose to just use this BB cream though, I think I'd look decent enough still. :)

I can't say exactly whether this has a pinkish or yellowish undertone for sure, but it does blend very well on my skin. Please just refer to the photos I've posted. Sorry for this. :s

I used this instead of foundation when some of my batchmates and I went to an amusement park (Enchanted Kingdom) during our semestral break. I only topped it with a light dusting of In2It powder foundation and my favorite Etude House Precious Mineral BB compact. I applied waterproof eyeliner and mascara and I was good to go! It lasted me the whole day despite getting very sweaty because of the extreme heat and getting wet because of the water rides! Is there a tougher test for a makeup than wearing it to the amusement park? There's is none that I can think of, hahaha.

It did control my oil well but I still had to blot nonetheless. What I liked about it is that it didn't clump on the sides of my nose and other parts of my face even when my skin got oily. That deserves two thumbs up from me! ^__^

I didn't experience any breakouts immediately after using this. I'm not sure how it fares on prolonged usage though (like more than a week of continuous usage) because I usually interchange the products that I use. Also when I'm too lazy to fix myself up for school, I usually just use concealer, mascara and face powder so I haven't had the chance to use it for a long, continuous period of time. All that being said, I'm very happy with this product and when I finish all the BB creams I have I will most likely repurchase this one.

I have lots of BB creams right now... around 5-6. So I really should be using BB creams more often and STOP buying until I finish them all. >__<

I have one specific BB cream that I'm thinking of giving away since it doesn't suit my oily skin. It's the Etude House BB Bright Cream. Anyway more on the other BB creams in my future reviews. :)

Please forgive the SUPER TIRED look! This was taken at past 12midnight already; I've had the product on for more than 12 hours. Lack of sleep+very tiring day at the amusement park :) As you can see, my face is already oily. Was about to remove my makeup and wash my face so I didn't blot anymore :)

Yes another tired looking picture! Omo, so sorry. Haha. Just wanted to show how it looked even after several hours! :)

Taken last night after mass, dinner and hanging out at Starbucks.

3:20AM so still looking tired haha.

The first photo I took when I first tried out this BB cream.

Notes:

• Despite the claims of BB creams, they are still makeup and could possibly clog the pores. Treat it as makeup and remove it as you would any other makeup product.
• Products with high SPF give out white cast on pictures taken with flash photography. This is one of the reasons why I sometimes look extraordinarily white in some photos.
• Dr. Jart has other variants of their BB cream such as the Black Label and the Gold Label. I bought the Silver Label because it's the one for oily skin.
• It would be best to test it out first before buying the big 50mL tube which costs around 1500pesos. This may not work for you. Finding the BB cream that best suits your skin is quite an adventure.
• Most BB creams have only 1-2 shades making it difficult to find one that matches your skin perfectly. Some claim that their products "adjust" or oxidize to suit your skin tone but really, that's not so reliable.

If you have any questions about BB creams, please feel free to comment. I'll try my best to answer your questions. If you're interested to know the complete ingredients of this product, please comment too. I wanted to take a picture of the ingredients list on the box but the box has some sort of holographic design making it difficult. :)

REVIEW: Etude House Precious Mineral BB Compact

Click on the photos to enlarge them.
The product: Etude House Precious Mineral BB Compact in Sheer Glowing Skin Price: 778pesos (~US$17-18) Rating: 10/10 Where I bought it: Etude House, Bldg. A, SM Megamall (+): Brightens the skin, controls oiliness, has SPF30 PA+++, didn't break me out, didn't cause any allergic reactions, blends on my skin easily, makes my skin look glowing instead of just oily, soft and finely milled powder (-): None for me but others might find how it looks a bit shimmery a little intimidating. I do think that contributes to the brightening effect though and they aren't noticeable when you put the product on your skin. It has sheer to light coverage, but it says so on the label so it's not really negative, right? It's just face powder anyway, doesn't claim to be powder foundation. :)

This is the my 2nd powder, a freebie I got from Etude House. Unused. The one I'm currently using has a crack in the middle because I dropped it hence no photos here.

A swipe on my hand (without flash)

Blended on my hand (without flash)

Same swipe on my hand (w/ flash)

Blended on my hand (w/ flash)

The last time I've updated my blog was over a month ago. School has been very demanding as of late, with the management course having started and is already piling on us lots of work. (The Ateneo offers a double degree, MD MBA) I've been tempted lots of times to put off studying and update my blog but fortunately my priorities were in check during those times. :))

Anyway, this product right here is my FAVORITE face powder. I bought it a week or so before Etude House's grand launch party in October without knowing that they were giving it out as a freebie after the event. I'm happy that I got it though, because now I have a ready replacement once I finish my powder up!

When I was in EH there were two shades available, Sheer Glowing Skin and Sheer Silky Skin. From what I know about their BB creams (blemish balm), the Sheer Silky Skin is the one for oily skin so I thought that it would be the same for the powder. Upon looking at it though I found it too light so I opted for the Sheer Glowing variant as it was a bit darker. Sheer Glowing Skin in BB cream is for dry skin, by the way.

I love how this truly brightens my skin, making it look healthy and glowing. On lazy and extremely busy days I just use this on top of concealer. On days that I have the luxury of time to fix myself up, I use it on top of foundation and of BB creams. Sometimes I also use powder foundation and I pat some of this powder on top of it for that brightening effect. ;)

I'm happy to say that this powder controls my oiliness too. With this on my face I blot once to twice a day. Another thing I like about it is when my skin gets oily, it doesn't look like an oil slick; it gives off some sort of a glow. It also has SPF30 PA+++ which based on my research means that it has protection for both UVA and UVB rays. PA+++ is for UVA and the three plus signs means it's the most effective form of protection right now. SPF is for UVB and the recommended daily SPF is SPF15 so this is actually good!

*Apparently, the PA+++ rating is a Japanese system. The PPD (Persistent Pigment Darkening) method, also a way to measure UVA protection, has been recommended by the European commission and has been adopted by Japan, Korea, and China. Read more about these here, here and here. Hmm, I guess a blog post regarding sun protection must be done soon. ;)

*UVA rays penetrate deeper layers of the skin than UVB. UVA is thought to be a major cause of photoaging (wrinkling, loss of elasticity, etc.) while UVB is the one causing skin reddening and sunburn. Recent studies have shown that both UVA and UVB play a major part in skin cancer. Read more here and here. :)

It's the best face powder I've tried from Etude House so far. I've tried their BB Magic Pact and Dream on Pact but this beats those two hands down. I'm definitely repurchasing. :)

This may seem off topic but I finished watching the Korean series Personal Taste starring Lee Min Ho during our semestral break. That show made me fall in love with him! It's great that the powder freebie Etude House gave out has Lee Min Ho on the cover (he's an endorser) and the statement "You are my girl" and his signature on the mirror! Definitely a keeper, hahaha. ;)

Hope I get to post reviews more often! I want to share so much! ROAR!

REVIEW: Revlon Colorstay Foundation - Combination/Oily Skin

The product: Revlon Colorstay Foundation Makeup with Softflex SPF 6 Combination/Oily Skin in 150 Buff Price: 825pesos (~US$19) Rating: 9/10 Where I bought it: SM Megamall Department Store (+): Controls oil, long wearing, easy to blend and blends completely on my skin, buildable coverage, available locally (-): Has a strong chemical scent in the bottle (but the smell dissipates and eventually goes away once you blend it on your skin), the bottle has no pump and its opening is wide so it's prone to spillage--less control over the amount you want to get out from the bottle, since it's so long lasting it takes a strong make up remover to take it off, low SPF (w/c in this case for me is okay because high SPF can cause white cast in pictures)

I have only used this foundation once but I was so impressed with it that I had to review it already! :) Last night was our school's sem ender party and being a member of the school's dance organization, I had to perform together with my orgmates. I knew that I was gonna be all sweaty and so I had to use make up that won't melt, disappear, smudge, or get cakey. I've read good reviews about Revlon Colorstay foundation so I decided to use it last night and I am so glad I did. :) Despite having been busy applying make up on other people, the heat because the place was packed, performing in the party and dancing with my classmates, my make up stayed on flawlessly! I had it on from 6PM to 4AM and despite me having oily skin and sweating buckets last night, I didn't blot my face even once! All I did was pat the sweat off with tissue, that's it. I didn't look shiny at all. Impressive isn't it? ^^ Of course it wasn't the only one I used. I topped it off with a light brushing of In2It powder foundation and Etude House Precious Mineral BB compact but I've used these products before so I could say that the Revlon Colorstay foundation made everything last longer on my face. I used a damp make up sponge to spread this on my face and neck. I don't use foundation on a daily basis. I use it only when I go out so I have yet to know if this will break me out--hopefully not! :) I didn't give it a perfect score because of the strong chemical smell and the bottle design. The smell could be a turn off for people who think their face will smell that way if they use it. Also, it would be better if Colorstay had a pump just like Photoready. ^^ I have also used Revlon Photoready foundation before and I could say that Colorstay was able to control my oiliness more. I will review Photoready soon. ;) Here's a picture taken by my friend towards the end of the party. That's me in the middle. ^.^

REVIEW: Etude House Oh~m' Eye Line and other eyeliners

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The product: Etude House Oh~m' Eye Line black liquid eyeliner

Price: CORRECTION: Based on Etude House Ph website, this eyeliner costs only 198pesos not 398pesos as I posted earlier. Sorry for that! Mianhae!

Rating: 10/10

Where I bought it: Etude House, SM Megamall Bldg. A

(+): Long lasting, doesn't smudge, good quality, waterproof (even if it doesn't say so on the packaging or I just couldn't read Hangul? Hahaha.), relatively easy to apply, comes off easily with make up removers, doesn't irritate my eyes

(-): Takes a bit of practice to apply because it is a brush-type liquid eyeliner but once you get the hang of it, it's easy to use! I really don't have any complaints about it. ;)

Eyeliners (together with eye shadows) used to intimidate me. When I was in 1st year or 2nd year college I had a pencil eyeliner which I rarely used because I found it complicated. I tried experimenting by myself but I got impatient and gave up. Come 3rd year though, I bought a felt-tip liquid eyeliner from The Face Shop. I used it more often than the pencil ones but still not as often as I do now. :) I finished up two eyeliners from TFS before I started exploring other brands.

My love for KPOP ignited my love for eyeliners. ♥

One product I tried was Maybelline's felt-tip liquid eyeliner. I loved how it was so easy to use and how it was very pigmented. It was as if I was literally just using a marker on my eyelids. It didn't smudge but it wasn't waterproof making it not suitable for hot, humid days and of course for rainy days too. I also tried their gel eyeliner which I still haven't finished up yet. It's a wonderful product--it's smudge proof, waterproof, and long lasting but I don't know why I take so much time applying it on my eyelids. >.< I also tried using a pencil eyeliner from a local brand, Ever Bilena, but it was kind of difficult to apply. It tugged on my eyelids when applying and that is a no-no when it comes to our eyes. Our eyelids are the the thinnest skin on our body and tugging on them can cause premature wrinkles.

*I'd love to talk more about some other eyeliners I've tried, but maybe I'll reserve those for future reviews. This entry is getting very long already anyway so, yeah. ;)

Etude House is a Korean make up brand that opened their first shop here in the Philippines late last year. One word to describe it is PINK. It's a very cute pink-filled shop and their products come in equally cute packagings as well. Their prices are relatively cheaper compared to other Korean make up brands. I can't comment on how their quality differs from other Korean brands though because I didn't try out enough products from other shops. Mianhe.

Anyway, I like using this eyeliner of theirs. Like I said above, I find it easy to use. It's well pigmented, smudge proof and water proof making it a good buy. ^.^

I like how eyeliners emphasize the eyes, making them seem bolder and more beautiful. And even though I have issues with my eyes (I plan on consulting an oculoplastic surgeon someday) I grew to love eyeliners so much!

Don't be intimidated by eyeliners. Go ahead and practice applying it on your eyelids and see how much of a change it can bring to your face. It will make your eyes pop, emphasizing your beautiful eyes and making it seem as though you have full, thick eyelashes. You can start with pencil eyeliners because those are the easiest to handle and mistakes aren't so obvious. ;) I'm no expert when it comes to eyeliners or eye make up but whatever I know about make up application now I credit to self experimentation and YOUTUBE videos! :)

***You can check out Etude House Philippines' website for more info and product list & prices! ♥

REVIEW: L'oreal Total Repair Shampoo

The product: L'oreal Paris Total Repair 5 Repairing Shampoo

Price: Around 130-140pesos for the small bottle (180mL)

Rating: 7.5/10

Where I bought it: SM Hypermarket Pasig

(+): My hair feels soft and smooth after shampooing, even without using a conditioner. Lathers well and rinses easily. I find the smell okay, nothing special.

(-): Using it for consecutive days made my hair feel rather heavy. Continuous usage also gave me slight dandruff. Had the same experience with another variant of this shampoo brand actually (L'oreal Elseve Re-Nutrition with Royal Jelly).

Curiosity got the best of me when I saw this shampoo so even if I already had a so-so experience with another variant of the same brand, I still gave this one a try with the hopes of it being better.

Using the shampoo alone made my hair softer and smoother, and yeah, my hair felt nourished. :) I liked using it during days when I didn't have time to use a conditioner. Like what I stated above though, using it continuously made my hair feel heavy and gave me dandruff. What I did was use it interchangeably with another shampoo brand and with an anti-dandruff shampoo. I can't really say if it did make my hair stronger because I used it with other shampoos and because I think I still have the same amount of daily hair fall. Luckily I still don't have major problems with split-ends. I'm almost done with the whole bottle now; I think I only have enough left for one shower. :)

*I used to see a few of my hair strands with split ends (even before I used this shampoo) but I think it's because of hair breakage due to tying up my hair and pulling on the elastics rather harshly. I cut those ends when I saw 'em. Hahaha.

I will not be repurchasing soon after I finish this up. I would like to try other shampoos to see what would be best for my hair and well I also just like trying out new stuff. ;)

This is my personal experience with this product. This shampoo might work really well for you so if you've tried other L'oreal hair products and are fine with them, adding this to your bath products would be good. If you have problems with dandruff but still want to use this, I suggest using it alternately with an anti-dandruff shampoo. :)

I rated it with a 7.5/10 because of the heavy feeling and dandruff. If it didn't give me dandruff though I'd be rating it with a 9.

***I've been very busy with school recently so I wasn't able to post any reviews. I have several products for review in mind already so do watch out for those. ♥

Bottled Tea: Antioxidants Barely There

Bottled Tea: Antioxidants Barely There

This is an interesting read. I've grown to love drinking tea (milk tea!!!♥) and from time to time I drink bottled tea too. This article goes to show that we can't really trust advertisements. Let's just stick to good old tea leaves or tea bags--cheaper and healthier! :)

REVIEW: Pond's Activated Carbon Facial Wash

The product: Pond's Pure White Deep Cleansing Facial Foam with Activated Carbon

Price: Less than 100pesos for this 50g tube, may be around 75-95pesos. Sorry I'm not sure! Bought this more than 2 weeks ago if I'm not mistaken.

Rating: 10/10

Where I bought it: Watsons, SM Hypermarket Pasig

(+): Effective deep cleansing action, no red patches after usage, smell doesn't bother me (I find it actually nice), affordable, easily available.

(-): None for me, but others may find it drying.

I first saw this facial wash on one of its ads in the newspaper. Got me really curious because of its added ingredient which is Activated Carbon. You see, it reminded me of something I learned from nursing: activated charcoal (which is basically carbon) is used to adsorb toxins as in the case of poisoning so as to prevent GI absorption of the toxins. Anyway enough of the nerdy stuff. >.<. I also got attracted to the packaging--I like black very much.

So when I went to Watsons one day, I bought a sachet first. I was really impressed with this facial wash because I really felt the "deep cleansing" action it claims to do. I have very oily skin and when I use make up removers my face ends up even oilier but using this, I only have to wash once and my face feels very clean already. One notable thing I liked about it is I didn't have red patches on my skin after rinsing. When I use other facial cleansers my face ends up getting red--with wheals (the type of skin lesion mosquito bites are)--I'm guessing I get some type of hypersensitivity reaction which would typically subside after 10 minutes or so. But still such a hassle, really.

Oh yeah, the actual product has a gray to dark gray color which I find unique compared to most cleansers that are white. :P I'm glad that I found a Pond's product that works for me because their other facial cleansers give me intense red patches, i.e. Pond's Age Miracle and White Beauty facial wash.

I'm not a fan of mild facial cleansers because of my oily skin (so no Cetaphil for me, sorry). I want foaming cleansers which actually remove oil off of my face because that's when I feel that I've really cleaned my skin.

When I used up the whole sachet (which lasted for about a week) I bought another sachet to still give it a longer try. And as you can see from the image above, I already bought a tube! :) I noticed though that the product in the sachet is darker than the one in the tube, I don't know why but they work the same anyway.

If you want to try this product out, I suggest buying the sachet first. I love that Pond's sells their products in sachets--more handy for travel and cheaper for trial usage. :)

That's all. Take care and God bless!

♥ FIGI

An Introduction

Well hello there!

I have no idea as to how you've come across this new blog of mine but I'm glad and thankful that you're here!

WELCOME! :)

I'm FIGI, a BS Nursing graduate from UST and currently a first year medical student of the Ateneo. I've been very interested in make up and other beauty products since I was in high school but I only got to really explore these things back in college. Oh yeah, I'm planning on becoming a dermatologist someday. Hmm, right now I'm a huge fan of KPOP (BIGBANG and SHINee!) and that led me to try out Korean products too!

Putting up a blog containing my thoughts on different products was something I planned on doing a long time ago but because I didn't have constant/regular internet access when I was in college I didn't push through with the idea.

Why am I starting this blog anyway?

I love "googling" the products that I want. I find review blogs and videos (on youtube) very helpful and informative. These give me the pros and cons of a product I'm interested in and I get to know if a certain product is worth my money or not. The thing is though, everyone has different skin conditions, problems, etc. that's why something that works for you may or may not work for me. :) I'm hoping to be of help to people who are curious about trying out a product and who have more or less the same skin condition as mine. Plus reading several reviews is better than just reading one, right? :) This blog will also remind me of the products that worked or didn't work for me so I don't end up buying 'em again. Sometimes I get so trigger-happy when I'm in the mall soooo, yeah. Hahaha. :)

Seeing that I am still a student, I am (sadly) still dependent on my parents for allowance that's why I only purchase products I deem affordable--those which won't burn holes in my parents' pockets or won't exceed my credit card limit. Heehee.

Thank you for taking time to read this! Will probably post my first review later. Take care and God bless! ^__^

♥FIGI

TRIAL ENTRY

Will most probably delete this entry later on. I'm not much of a techie when it comes to layouts and stuff--I don't even know how to use photoshop. :s So I'm just going for simplicity and efficiency. Heehee.

<3 FIGI