Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Lionfish Review

I wanted the Stila eyeliner set very badly last Christmas as it was part of their holiday collection and it costs a great deal cheaper than buying an individual eyeliner stick. I just wasn't too confident on wearing colored eyeliners that time so I decided to pass on it. I'm really regretting it now as they're all sold out, and I don't know where to purchase them. Ohh well, at least I was able to get my hands on one of the eyeliners in the set. My friend bought the set, but she sold me the Lionfish shade yay!

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Lionfish

Color Stila is really known for their colored eyeliners. Lionfish is a dark chocolate brown shade with brown glitters. It's really pretty and I think that the glitters sets this shade apart from the other normal brown eyeliners.

Packaging This product is housed in a mechanical pencil type of stick. Do take note that this is not retractable, and once you twist it up, it won't twist back down anymore. I kind of made the mistake of twisting it up too much and thank goodness I could still put the cap back on even with the longer stick so as not to waste any product.

Photo of the product

Price This Lionfish shade costs P750 for an individual stick. I got this for only P350 since I bought this from my friend who purchased the 5-pc set worth P1,750.

Application The texture of this eyeliner stick is really creamy so it's quite easy to apply on the lids. Normally,I just do one to two swipes and it has good color payoff already. Do wait a few seconds for it to completely dry out after applying it on the lids. 

Lionfish with brown glitters

Longevity True to its name, it really is a smudge-proof and waterproof eyeliner. I can wear this the whole day without it smudging on my lids. I've also tried testing it by doing a swatch at the back of my hand, and it really stays on even when soaked in water. Try not to rub your eyes hard though or it will result in minimal fading.

Applied on the lids

So that's it for the Lionfish review. I would really love to purchase other colors of Stila eyeliners as well. I do hope they sell another set soon for I'll surely purchase it right away.

Ciao!

Kat <3

Clinique Bonus for March and Clinique Chubby Stick for Eyes in Pink & Plenty Review

Hey guys!

Any Clinique lovers out there? They're having quite a big promo this month of March. You get this set of deluxe items below when you purchase P4,500 worth of products. Take note that the lipstick is full-sized so this makes it all the more worthwhile. Of course, that's coming from a lipstick addict like me haha! If you have some extra cash, why not step up your game and add P500 to your purchase as every P5,000 worth entitles you to a free vanity case as well. The pink tote is super cute, definitely worth getting in my opinion. You guys know how I love pink stuff as well *wink*.

Clinique Bonus for March 2014

These are the items included in the set (from L to R):

Dramatically Different Moisturizer +

All About Eyes Serum

Moisture Surge Cream

Rinse-off Foaming Cleanser Mousse 

Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector

Even Better City Block Anti-Pollution SPF40 PA+++

Even Better Makeup SPF15 in Fresh Beige

Almost Lipstick in Watermelon

I already have the full-sized products of the All About Eyes Serum and Moisture Surge Cream. I will be doing reviews of these soon.

Will you be availing of this promo? Well, if you are and don't know what products to purchase, I would like to recommend to you the Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes.

The Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes is a product that was launched last year here in the Philippines. It's an eyeshadow stick with a retractable mechanism that's really handy for applying eyeshadow wherever you are. No need for brushes or applicators so it's really convenient. I bought the shade Pink & Plenty.

Box for Chubby Stick

Front View

Back View

Pink Eyeshadow Stick

Price This Chubby Stick costs P920. You might think that the price is kinda steep because you're only getting 1 color for this price, but for me the convenience is really a plus, not to mention that I fell in love with this color immediately when I took a swatch of it at the back of my hand at the Clinique counter.

Color I really love pink eyeshadow, but I'm also careful not to get the same shades of pink as not to waste money. This Pink & Plenty shade is a unique color in my opinion. It's a pinkish gold color. Normally, pink eyeshadows are combined with silver, but this one just takes the cake with the gold combination. It looks much more elegant and it takes the level of prettiness a notch higher. I just got to have this color, especially as this is not easily dupable. 

Swatch at the back of my hand

Application No matter how I love this product, I can honestly say that this is a pain in the butt to apply. It's super easy to apply at the back of the hand, but once you try putting it on your lids, that when the drama happens. It applies unevenly and patchy most of the time. A tip would be to swipe it in only one direction, and to swipe as fast as you can. Just be careful though because once the color is already on the lids, re-swiping would just mess it all up.

Applied on the lids

Longevity Here's a super plus for this product. It can withstand long hours on the lids as it has minimal creasing or fading even when worn for more than 6 hours. How cool is that right? You don't even need an eyeshadow primer for this by the way, the colors won't pop out well and it'll be harder to swipe on the lids with the primer on.

Will I repurchase this? I might consider purchasing the other colors instead, I also fell in love with the purple shade but I'm trying with all my might to control my shopaholic tendencies. I am putting off purchasing another color, not until I have finished up this pink shade.

Ciao!

Kat <3

Make Your Own Pizza at Project Pie

I'm not a big fan of eating pizza for dinner. Whenever my bf suggests eating at pizza places for dinner, I immediately decline and suggest other restaurants. It's not that I don't like eating pizza, I just think that one whole pizza shared by only two persons can make me feel really full and too much pizza will definitely spoil my appetite for it.

Well, maybe I can make an exception. There's a new pizza place in town, namely Project Pie. There are currently 2 branches, one in Shaw and another one in Bluebay Walk. I was able to try the one at Bluebay Walk with my friends. This is a really new and intriguing concept here as you can make your own pizza. You can even choose as many ingredients as you want. Okay, I can't wait to show you guys what I made. At first, it was quite challenging to choose the toppings as there were so many I couldn't decide, but I guess this is part of the thrill of eating here.

Info and contact details

Here's a quick look at the building and interior of Project Pie. The lines were really long when we arrived, and we waited for a vacant table before we started ordering. Just some points that I feel that they could improve on: 

1. Add another queue so that ordering time can be lessened. We waited in line for 30 minutes or more just for our orders to be taken. 
2. Place a staff by the entrance to be in charge of the waiting list. It looks awkward to wait inside the restaurant, and wait for other people to vacate their seats.

Exterior of Project Pie

Project Pie Logo

Interior of restaurant

Interior of Restaurant

Long line for order

Behind the scenes - staff hard at work

Menu The menu is in this long sheet of paper. There are ready-to-order pizza choices if you don't know which ingredients to choose for your customized pizza. As for me, since this is my first time, I would definitely be choosing my own toppings. 

Menu

Order I encircled all the toppings that I wanted to put on my pizza, then I gave my orders to the servers while in line. I asked the server to put in all kinds of cheese, then I chose half red and half white for the sauce to try both out. You can also choose totally different toppings for the left side and the right side so that it's like ordering two different flavors in one pizza. It's more sulit if you ask me.

My choice of toppings encircled

Price Aside from the Classic Cheese Pie that costs P245, all other pizza orders and make your own pizzas are priced at P285. You can add as many toppings as you want and the price will still be P285.

Drinks I ordered the China Mist Iced Tea for P65. You can refill up to 3 rounds of drinks. They will give you a cup, and you can actually choose from softdrinks, iced tea, or juices from the dispensers. 

Cup for refilling drinks

Here's my pizza in process. It does look yummy already if I say so myself. 

Selection of cheese and meats

Selection of veggie toppings

My uncooked pizza (looks yummy huh?)

My order for payment at the cashier

Taste What do I think of my order? In fairness, it tastes yummy and I'm super happy with my order. Maybe it's because of the abundance of cheese which I really love, or maybe it's because all the toppings I chose are the food that I really like. I'm just glad all of my toppings taste well together. I'm a little bit unsatisfied with the pizza bread though as it's a little hard to chew. All in all, I liked it and I'm excited to come back here to try making other pizza flavors.

My custom made pizza yay!!!

So, what's your take on Project Pie? Do you like the concept of their restaurant and the taste of their pizza? Do share your thoughts!

Ciao!

Kat <3

Coral Love for Summer: Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick in OR520

I have always leaned towards pink shades ever since I knew how to apply lipsticks. If I look in my lipstick stash, there's an abundance of pink lipsticks compared to other colors. Lately though, I'm starting to gravitate towards coral lippies. Just in time for summer! Coral is such a lovely color for summer because most of its shades look really natural on the lips. You can always wear it to your out of town trips or beach outings. You won't look too made up either. 

How did I start becoming addicted to coral lipsticks anyway? It was New Year's Eve when I dropped by Rustan's to do some last minute shopping. Shu Uemura was on sale and I decided to check it out. I actually find their products really expensive, but for my love of Japanese cosmetics, I still decided to take a look at their counter. I wasn't really drawn to any of their products in particular, but I did notice their lipsticks because of the creative packaging. I started doing swatches on the back of my hand, and I realized that I did not have a coral shade in my stash yet. On a whim, even without trying it on my lips, I bought the Rouge Unlimited in OR520. It was one of my crazy impulsive shopaholic days.

Box of Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited

Price Regular price is P1195, but I got it at 30% off so I only paid P836.50. I figured that Shu Uemura rarely gives out discounts, so I guess this price is already worth it.

Packaging This product is housed in a semi see-through lipstick case. You can see the color of the lipstick at the top so it's easy to pick a shade if you have many colors of this product. In the pictures, this may seem to look cheap because of the plastic packaging, but in reality it's actually very luxe, and the plastic is quite thick and the lipstick does have some weight to it. It's really something that you'll be proud of taking out of your bag.

Rouge Unlimited OR520 lipstick

Close-up Shot of Rouge Unlimited OR520

Color OR520 is actually a very light coral shade. It's totally different from the swatch on the back of my hand to the color that came out when applied on my lips. On my hand, it came out a bright coral orange. However, on my lips, it's more subdued and looks like a light coral shade. I consider it my MLBB shade as it looks really natural on me, and I'm sure that this would suit any skintone. I kinda felt disappointed at first, and I wanted to kick myself for not trying it out before purchasing. My lips are very pigmented, and I prefer lipsticks with colors that really show up. In the end, this has become one of my favorite lippies as I realize that I can wear it everyday and it brightens my face instantly. It's not too obvious that I have lipstick on when I wear this, but the overall brightening effect it does makes it one of my go-to lipsticks.

Swatched at the back of my hand

Texture This lipstick is very creamy, and glides on smoothly on my lips. I do one to two swipes normally. I swipe three times if I want to have more color payoff. Just make sure that your lips are not dry before applying this lipstick as this has a tendency to clump on dry skin, and may even settle into fine lines. It's best to exfoliate your lips first before application. 

Bare lips

Rouge Unlimited OR520 applied on lips

Verdict I'm totally in love with this product! I am now a certified coral lippie lover after purchasing this. I would totally recommend this to those who are looking for their MLBB shades as it's perfect for everyday wear. 

Hope you guys liked this post. Any Shu Uemura lipstick lovers out there? What colors have you tried and would recommend as well?

Ciao!

Kat <3

A Review of the ZA Perfect Solution Cleansing Foam

If you guys remember my post from last November, I availed of the ZA Perfect Solution Cleansing Foam from Sample Room. I got a little busy afterwards and wasn't able to share with you what I thought of the product. So, this post is a review of this facial wash in bright pink. 

Just a brief summary, the ZA Perfect Solution line launched late last year here in the Philippines which is the reason why there were so many promos on how to avail it. I was lucky enough to be able to avail it from Sample Room as it sold out in a matter of minutes. It was full-size too so imagine how worth it my P100 fee was.

Front packaging

Back packaging

Price This product costs P345 for 100g. Sometimes you will see promos in Watsons or SM Department Stores that it's giving away this facial wash for free when you avail of their toner or moisturizer. You just have to be patient and wait for the promo.

Review I really love the scent of this facial wash. It smells really luxe, and you'll feel like you're using a high-end brand. I just use a pea-sized amount, and it can wash my entire face. This stuff really deep cleans, as in my face feels devoid of oil after washing. Just be careful not to use too much or your skin will feel really dry afterwards. I don't use this everyday as I only use it when I feel that my face is super oily and acne-prone. This will surely kill all the sebum and excessive oil in my face after every usage. 

How the facial wash looks like

ZA is a Shiseido brand by the way, even though this brand is obviously way more affordable than Shiseido products, the mere fact that it is under the same company makes me believe in the brand. I really love Japanese brands because I feel that they always make sure to produce the best quality products for consumers. 

Will I repurchase? Yes, I think so, though it will surely take me a while to finish this off since I do not use it everyday.

Do you have any experience with ZA's facial wash? Please share in the comments!

Ciao!

Kat <3

My Double Experience at Ramen Nagi (SM Aura and MOA branches)

Have you been bitten by the ramen craze nowadays? Well, I have. Ramen restaurants are now always in my options when thinking of a place to eat. Just last week, I ate ramen thrice in 3 different restaurants. Have you heard of Ramen Nagi? If you have, then surely you would know that it's the latest ramen place to hit Manila. It's a franchise from Japan so once entering the restaurant, you will immediately notice that the servers keep on shouting Japanese phrases the entire time. The server explained that this is a strict requirement from their Japanese manager. Maybe this is to make the customers feel an authentic Japanese ambience? Not really sure, but honestly the servers were so noisy that it was really hard to concentrate on our food and it was hard to keep a decent conversation with my companions.

Actually, I ate at Ramen Nagi twice last week, but in two different branches. Ramen Nagi in SM Aura was already open since December last year but I was just not able to try it out early on. Ramen Nagi in SM MOA just opened this March, and I can say that I'm one of the first few people to try out this new branch. 

Ramen Nagi SM Aura branch

Exterior of Ramen Nagi SM Aura branch

Entrance to the restaurant

Logo outside the restaurant

Interior of the restaurant

Poster on the wall

Ramen Nagi SM MOA branch

Exterior of Ramen Nagi SM MOA branch

Interior of the restaurant

Difference between the 2 branches 

Waiting time I got to eat at Ramen Nagi SM Aura for the first time last Sunday, and I have observed that the lines at SM Aura are super long. There are about 30-40 names (or even more) in their waiting list for dinner time. It took about 30 minutes before it reached our turn. Then, I ate at Ramen Nagi SM MOA last Wednesday for dinner and we were number 4 at the waiting list. It took less than 5 minutes for us to be seated. 

Space The SM Aura branch had a bigger interior than the one at SM MOA. There is twice the number of tables at Aura than in MOA. Both branches do have tables outside as well.

Noise Level It was definitely noisier at Aura as there were more servers here than in MOA. The Japanese phrases being shouted was also more consistent in Aura as the manager in MOA does not seem to be Japanese. This is merely my observation, and I would rather eat at a restaurant that is peaceful and quiet.

Menu

There are just 5 different types of orders that can be chosen from. These are the Butao King, Black King, Red King, Green King, and Limited King. I was only able to try out the Butao King and Black King so I can't really give my reviews on the Red, Green, and Limited King. The Limited King depends on what they were serving for the day. In our case, it was the Curry King. I wonder how that will taste though, ramen with curry(?) hmm. There are some other new side dishes added to the menu like the Gyoza and Chashu Rice, but we didn't order it. As of this writing, these are currently only available in the SM Aura branch.

Menu of the different ramen variants

Limited Curry King offering

New Side Dishes Offering

Price The Butao King costs P390, while all the other variants cost P410. For me, the price is kinda steep. Let's see how their ramen fares.

Checklist You can customize your whole order according to your preference, or if you don't know what you want, you can easily just choose the Chef's Recommendation. You can see in this photo what are the things you can customize. You can also add toppings like tamago and others. I really felt like answering an exam when I was filling this out for the first time. It's as if I wanted to get everything just perfect so that I could enjoy my ramen to the fullest.

My filled-out ramen checklist

Black King is the favorite order of most of my friends. I was really excited to try this out as well but unfortunately my order was mixed up and I got Butao King. Of course, they immediately sent it back to the chef to change to Black King. I was really pissed off by this time since I was really hungry and all this additional waiting time is not doing any good. I still can't believe how they got it mixed up since my order was totally different. I hope they be more careful next time as this is such a turn off for me. Anyway, enough of my rambling, let's get down to the review.

Black King (P410)

This is the first time I got to try ramen with this flavor. It's totally different and the taste is really something new for me. I did not really like the taste of the soup as the flavor is a little too strong for me. The soup was also surprisingly a bit too spicy for me even though I just chose 1/2 spicy. The noodles are nice though and I can say that it has just the right hardness that I like. Honestly, I wish there were more noodles though. I feel that I can still eat some more after I finished my order (or I was just really hungry). I'm also really happy with the pork belly since the meat was super soft and juicy, and luckily I was able to get a big slice. Lastly, be careful when eating this as the black particles might get into your teeth after eating. How awkward would that be!

Black King Ramen

Extra Tamago (P50)

Too bad I wasn't able to take a picture of my tamago. I devoured it faster than you can say "I love Ramen Nagi!" This is the type of tamago though that I like, the runny yellow yolk one. I was just a little confused with the taste as it felt a little too salty.  

Butao King (P390)

I got to try Butao King from my friend's order and I have realized that I like the taste of Butao King better than Black King. So, on my second visit (MOA branch), I made sure to order Butao King. I changed all my preferences to the total opposite. I made the soup flavor light, then the noodles to soft, and the pork belly to pork shoulder. Big mistake, the soup tasted almost like water because it was too light. Good thing you can ask the server to bring it back to the chef to add more flavor to it whew. I realized that I prefer hard noodles to soft noodles, but it's okay just the same. I can't really say good things for the pork shoulder because I got only three thin slices of it. The meat was soft but it won't make you feel full at all. Overall, I still prefer Butao King to Black King, but I would gladly recommend that they put more ingredients into their ramen as I feel that it's the soup that's making me feel full, not the meat or the noodles.

Butao King Ramen (Non-spicy)

Butao King Ramen (Level 4 Spicy-my bf's order)

There are also free condiments on the table like to-ge, garlic, sesame seeds, chili powder etc that you can add to your ramen for a more preferred taste. The server will bring out a garlic press so that you can crush the garlic and pour the juice onto your soup.

Condiments on the table

Verdict I really liked my experience eating at Ramen Nagi. The servers were nice, and the place really felt Japan-authentic. I just wish they would tone down their shouting. This is not my favorite ramen place surprisingly as I do not feel that the taste of their ramen is super special, but I believe that I will still come back here to try out their other variants like the Green and Limited King. I read in other reviews that they will be having even more variants soon, and I do hope that will be soon so there can be more choices for customers. I also wish that they can maybe decrease their prices a little as I feel that it might be a little too expensive compared to other ramen that are comparable to them in taste and may have even better quality.

Picture picture with the freshly served ramen

So that's my honest review on Ramen Nagi. What do you ramen lovers think of their food?

Ciao!

Kat <3