Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balms in Hibiscus and Pink Blossom Reviews

As stated in my earlier post, I got a free Tinted Lip Balm in the shade Hibiscus from Burt's Bees for attending their workshop. This is actually my second shade from their tinted lip balm line coz I already have the Pink Blossom shade 2 years ago as a gift from my cousin. I would be reviewing both of these shades in this post so that it would be easier to see the comparison between the two colors.

The Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm costs P650 each, and there are 9 shades of this product. It's a moisturizing lip balm with a hint of color when applied. This is a very good dual purpose product for gals who have dry lips and are not keen on applying lipstick. This product really helps hydrate the lips while giving it a small burst of color.

Hibiscus The shade of this lip balm is a reddish brown color, somewhat like the shade of Revlon Adore, except that this is on the sheerer side. Even though the color is sheer, it still shows up on my lips. I really love this shade as colors like these really suits my lips. My lips are highly pigmented and I'm so glad that the color shows up well.

Pink Blossom The shade of this lip balm is a light pink color, and it's also quite sheer as well. Applied on my lips, I can't really tell that there is much difference from my natural lip color as my lips are highly pigmented. It does moisturize my lips well, and I consider this as one of my MLBB shades.

What I think of both products:

Texture Application of the tinted lip balm is easy as the texture is smooth and creamy. It does feel hydrating on the lips and it keeps my lips moisturized for a good few hours. I just need to retouch if the lip balm wears off after about 3 hours on me. 

Pigmentation Color is quite sheer, but the hint of color is still noticeable on the lips. The color does stay on the lips if I don't eat or drink. I tried eating with the lip balm on and it got totally wiped off afterwards. Good thing that the ingredients are natural so I'm not worried if I get to intake some of the product.

Taste For the Hibiscus shade, there is no discernible taste at all which is what I prefer for the lip products I use. For the Pink Blossom shade, there is a weird plastic taste which I totally hate. It stays on for quite a while on the lips as well. I am not sure if all the Pink Blossom shades are like this, but it might be because the one I got was manufactured earlier. I'm not sure but maybe the current ones do not have this plastic taste anymore.

Below are swatches of both products on my lips so that you can compare. I am totally in love with Hibiscus and might be using this color more often nowadays.

Swatch of Hibiscus

Swatch of Pink Blossom

Top: Pink Blossom, Bottom: Hibiscus

Hope this product review helps you in choosing the right shade of lip balm. Till the next review!

Ciao!

Kat <3

My Burt's Bees Experience with Project Vanity

I have been an avid reader of Project Vanity's blog ever since last year. Her blog has really helped open my eyes to the wonderful world of makeup and skincare. It's also one of the reasons why I am concentrating on reviewing beauty products on my own blog as well. It has become such an interesting topic for me that I am totally hooked on anything beauty related. 

I've always wanted to meet Liz, the writer behind Project Vanity, so when I read in one of her posts that she's hosting a Burt's Bees workshop at Beauty Bar Glorietta, I immediately grabbed this once in a blue moon opportunity. She did host some past workshops for other brands before, but I was always busy during those times and missed the chance to meet her. This time, I made sure to set aside time for the workshop.

So, here's what went down at the Burt's Bees workshop!

My friend and I arrived at Beauty Bar Glorietta at about 340pm, but the workshop was scheduled to start at 4pm. Liz arrived at exactly 4pm. It was really great to finally meet her! She was very nice and started to talk to the attendees. She asked for our names and started to converse with us about anything under the sun, but mostly topics related to beauty of course. We waited a bit for the others and the workshop officially started at 415pm.

Maymay Samson of Burt's Bees gave us a brief background and history of Burt's Bees before we headed on to the main purpose of the workshop.

The Burt's Bees workshop is to introduce their new line Daisy White. Liz introduced to us all the uses of this new skincare line. There are basically 5 Daisy White products namely: facial wash, toner, serum, moisturizing cream, and eye cream.

Liz demonstrated to us how to use these products by calling for a volunteer from the attendees. While explaining the different uses of these 5 products, she was putting on the Burt's Bees Daisy White products to the face of the lovely lady.

As per Liz, most Filipinas only recognize one skincare product which is the facial wash. This is quite true as this was also my only regimen before. It was just last year that I started to incorporate toners, serums, and creams into my night regimen. Liz introduced to us the double-cleanse routine which is to use toners after cleansing the face with facial wash. This is to ensure that no trace of dirt is left on the face. 

After double cleansing, it's time to put on the serum. The reason why serums have a watery texture is for the skin to better absorb it. Serums can penetrate moisture and nutrients deeper into the skin to make it feel even more hydrated. Afterwards, apply the moisturizing cream to the face. The purpose of the moisturizing cream is also to make the skin feel hydrated as well, but the structure of the cream is quite thick and cannot be absorbed fully by the skin. This is why it's better to apply both serum and moisturizing cream to make the results doubly effective. When you wake up in the morning, your face will surely feel all soft and supple.

Last but not least, slather on some eye cream before going to sleep. Liz explained that eye creams have a thinner texture than moisturizing creams which is designed specially for the eyes. Moisturizing creams have thicker textures which is why they are not to be used near the eyes as it could lead to tiny bumps emerging in the skin. She also demonstrated using her fingers how to rub the eye cream correctly so that it would be better absorbed by the skin near the eyes as it could feel heavy once it's just sitting on top of the skin. Just massage your eyes using your finger in a counterclockwise manner for the left eye, and in a clockwise manner for the right eye.

A small Q&A portion followed afterwards, then we also had a group picture taking done. All the attendees received a small gift pack as thanks for attending the workshop. I got the Tinted Lip Balm in Hibiscus shade. I already have this tinted lip balm in the shade Pink Blossom. I will be reviewing both in a separate post for comparison. I'm very happy that I got to take a picture with Liz from Project Vanity, and also with the event's official photographer Shaira Luna.

With Liz of Project Vanity

With official photographer Shaira Luna

Small gift for all attendees

I'm really grateful to Liz for giving us the opportunity to attend workshops like these. I feel that my time spent in the workshop was really fruitful as I got to learn a lot on how to apply skincare correctly. I will surely be attending her future workshops as well.

By the way, the Daisy White line is having a promo of 20% off from May 1 to 31. If you've been wanting to try this out, I suggest you go to your nearest Beauty Bar now.

Ciao!

Kat <3

Lavender Eyeliner: Essence Kajal Pencil in Everybody's Darling

Lately, I've been hooked on the music app Spotify. It's really cool that I can get to make my own playlist, and there are lots of different music genres to choose from. There are even songs that range from OPM to Korean to Chinese. It's like an all-in music application that any music lover would enjoy. You do need the internet to be able to play the songs if you download the app for free, but if you purchase Spotify Premium for about P130, then you will be able to play the songs even when you're offline. Nice right?

Moving on to the product for review, it's the Essence Kajal Pencil in Everybody's Darling. This is an eye pencil in a very pretty lavender shade. I just bought this product on a whim during one of my trips to the Essence counter. I was buying their retractable eyeliner when I caught sight of this eye pencil's lovely color. The price is super affordable at P79 so I immediately picked this up.

What do I think of this product?

Before purchasing this, I just did a swatch of the product at the back of my hand and it was the color that prompted me to buy it. I kind of regretted not giving it a trial run on my eyelids. The product is easily removed when accidentally wiped by the hands. It's not smudge-proof or waterproof at all. 

Application is easy though as a few swipes really makes the color come out. Also, if you're really really careful in trying not to hit your eyes once this is applied, it does last quite a few hours. For those with oily lids, this product might not be for you as this is prone to smudging.

Will I repurchase?

I don't think so as I would like something more long-lasting and won't budge when applied. The price point is quite affordable though and I don't feel super bad that I bought something not of high quality. For the price, I can do with the overall quality of the product.

Tip when applying

Apply it over black eyeliner. In the below photo, Everybody's Darling is applied on top of Majolica Majorca's Pearl Black Perfect Automatic Liner.

There you go! Maybe you've been looking for a lavender eyeliner all this time. I hope this post helped!

Ciao!

Kat <3

Mother's Day Promos from Makeup Brands

Reading has become such a pastime of mine lately that some of my friends and I have formed a small book club. The latest book we have decided on reading is Flowers for Algernon. It took me about two days to finish the whole thing. It's a really great and unique story about a retarded adult and his quest to become smart via a scientific experiment. His willingness to learn made him the perfect subject. Through his journey, there have been a lot of ups and downs when he indeed started to become smart. Will the experiment become a permanent success or will it be fatal for his brain? Well, start reading if you're curious about the story. :)

Moving on to the main topic.. It's Mother's Day this Sunday, do you have a gift for your beloved mom already? Not yet? Ohh myy, you'll have to start shopping as soon as possible. If you're thinking of buying her some makeup, then here's a bunch of Mother's Day promos that you can avail from different cosmetic brands.

Inglot: The lip set will be priced at only P2450, while the nail set is priced at P2590.

Estee Lauder:

Majolica Majorca:

So here are the promos I managed to look up. The other brands don't really have promos for this special occasion. Hope this post helps you in finding the perfect gift!

Ciao!
Kat <3

Revlon's Kiss Me Coral Super Lustrous Lipstick: Fiery Coral for Summer

Starting this year, the Super Lustrous Lipstick line of Revlon has cut their prices down by a hundred bucks. So instead of P450, you just have to pay P350 for a lipstick. That's really great news as the formula for this line really suits my lips. I went to the Revlon counter to check out the different shades so that I could purchase a coral shade. Coral has been my go-to shade this summer, and I wanted to add another one to my collection.

I kinda got sidetracked with all the wonderful shades and it was hard to choose. I also tried on the popular shades like Really Red and Cherries in the Snow, but in the end I still went with a coral shade. I really wanted to get the shade Coralberry but unluckily the Revlon counter I went to didn't have that shade. I finally decided on getting Kiss Me Coral instead which I don't think is a super popular shade, but it's no big deal as what's important is that the shade suits me.

Here's what I think of this lipstick:

Color Kiss Me Coral is an orange-red shade and the orange color is more dominant than the red. I believe that I made the right choice as I already have many red shades, and coral is definitely the color I'm keen on wearing right now.

Packaging I like that the packaging is plain black with gold in the middle as it looks quite luxe for the price. It's also helpful that there's a transparent area on top so that you can see the shade that you are looking for immediately. 

Texture The Kiss Me Coral shade is under the creme variant of the Super Lustrous line, and as the name suggests, this shade does have a creamy texture. This is a good thing as the color easily transfers to the lips, and it applies evenly as well so there's no patchy areas on the lips.

Pigmentation This shade has good color payoff, and one or two swipes can really bring out the color. The color stays on the lips for a good 4 to 5 hours. Once I start eating or drinking, then the color starts to fade easily and I would need to retouch immediately.

This is such a lovely color, it's definitely one of my go-to colors lately. It would be great if you get to try out colors like these as well.

Hope you found this post useful!

Ciao!

Kat <3

The Mount Pinatubo Adventure

During this year's Holy Week, instead of taking trips to the beach or just chilling out, I decided to go on a hiking trip with my relatives to Mount Pinatubo. I believe that trekking is good exercise for the body. This is actually my second time to visit this place. I had fun the first time which was last year's March 2013, but we only hiked for a short while because we took the shortest trail possible. It just took us about 1 hour roundtrip for a hike to and from the crater.

For my second hike at Mount Pinatubo this year, I was actually surprised that the shortest trail is not as short as the 1st time anymore. For a roundtrip hike to and from the crater, it took us about 3 hours. The time of trek also depends on your endurance and how fast you can walk amidst the very rocky road. Honestly, my feet hurt after all that trekking not because of the long walk, but because of the sharpness of the rocks we were walking on. Thank goodness for the 4x4 vehicle that we rode on for more than half of our trip, or else my feet were gonna fall off anytime soon.

Just a little trivia: Mount Pinatubo erupted June 15, 1991, and lasted for nine hours. The volcano ejected not only ashes but also sulfur dioxide. During the hike, there can be seen some orange particles on the ground which is actually sulfur. Due to the strong eruption, numerous earthquakes were created because of the collapse of the summit of Mount Pinatubo which resulted in the creation of a caldera. The caldera is what we are now referring to as the crater of Mount Pinatubo. To clarify, the caldera is not the same as the crater because the crater is where the lava comes out whereas the caldera is formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. So, I guess what we are really seeing during our Pinatubo tour is the caldera and not the crater. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

We coordinated directly with the staff from Pinatubo, and luckily a lot of other people were also going so the rate we got was P2050 per person. If you want to go on a Mount Pinatubo adventure as well, just contact Sonia Bognot at 0932-6094226. She's the one directly handling the Pinatubo tours. She's very nice and has a lot of stories to share. The food for breakfast and lunch are already provided by them. The tours are year-long except for the rainy seasons. Just call them up to ask for their available tour dates.

Here is the timeline of our hiking adventure:

3am - wait at designated meeting place for the van to pick us up (in our case it's the gas station near my cousin's house)

4am - van finally came (the reason the van was late was because they picked up other passengers as well)

6am - arrived at area for orientation (restroom break with charge of 10 pesos per person)

630am - filled out waiver forms and listened to orientation

730am - Adventure starts now!!! Rode 4x4 vehicle

8am - stopover for 5 to 10 minutes to take pictures

840am - get down from 4x4 vehicle to start trekking

905am - reached 1st stopover (ate breakfast here)

955am - reached last stopover (1km to crater)

1015am - 10 minutes left to crater

1030am - Finally reached crater!!!

1050am - Rest at the stopover huts by the crater (ate lunch here)

Crater Pics:

1120am - start hiking back

1pm - rode 4x4 vehicle again

210pm - returned to area of orientation

250pm - van starts departure back to Manila

5pm - Back in Manila!!!

So this is the whole adventure! It might seem easy but really it's very tiring especially since the sun was scorching hot that day. It's such a unique adventure because really where do you expect to find a tour for erupted volcanoes? Grab the chance to try this out while you're young or still have the energy to. 

Hope you enjoyed this travel post!

Ciao!

Kat <3