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

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

It's Officially Summer!!! Turn Up the Heat with the Limited Edition Lippie Summer Collection from Happy Skin

Whew it's so HOT lately that it's so hard to concentrate on doing anything. Turning on the air conditioner every night has become a must, if not I'll be waking up all sweaty. Despite all these, I'm still thinking of turning up the heat! No I'm not crazy guys, I'm talking about the Turn Up the Heat Limited Edition Lippie Summer Collection from Happy Skin! These babies were just officially launched yesterday, and I coincidentally also just bought it yesterday from Beauty Bar. 

Photo grabbed from Happy Skin's FB page

This is my first purchase from Happy Skin, which is a local brand from the Philippines and the brainchild of beauty partners Jacque Yuengtian-Gutierrez and Rissa Mananquil-Trillo. I have heard lots of good things about this brand, but have never really checked out their items in any of the counters. The first time I did so was yesterday, and I can't believe I immediately fell in love with their newly launched summer collection lippies. These are limited edition by the way so better hurry if you want to grab hold of these products.

Turn the Heat Up Limited Edition Lippie Summer Collection includes 3 wonderful lippies inside the box. These are the Shut Up and Kiss Me Lippies in Summer Crush, Sunset Kiss, and The Morning After. These are my descriptions of the 3 shades:

Summer Crush is a lovely bright flirty pink shade.

Sunset Kiss is a fiery red orange shade. It's more red on the lips with a hint of orange.

The Morning After is a nude light lavender pink (mauve) shade. It can be an MLBB shade for some.

Let's take a look at my review of these lippies:

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

My New Favorite Lipgloss: Revlon Colorburst in Adorned

I have never been a big fan of lipgloss ever since before as my experience with it has always been the worst kind. It would sometimes make my hair cling to my lips, what a sticky situation! Badly enough, it doesn't even stay on my lips for too long. I guess I just wasn't able to find the perfect lipgloss.

What I'm looking for is something not sticky and not drying on the lips, and at the same time I am hoping to find one pigmented enough that will be comparable to a lipstick. I happened to chance upon Temptalia's post regarding Revlon's Colorburst lipgloss in Adorned. It had such a high rating from her that even I got tempted to purchase it. Not to mention that the color is a lovely shade of pink, it immediately got a slot in my to-buy list. 

Product photo

I got really lucky as I was able to get this at a promo this month. You get any shade of Colorburst lipgloss free if you purchase any face product worth P500 from Revlon. I think this promo is still ongoing at any Watson's branch or SM department store. It's really worth it, as it seems that I got two products for the price of one.

Revlon Colorburst in Adorned, priced individually at P575, is a vivid shade of bright fuchsia pink. It might be a little too bright to wear on normal days, but it depends on you if you can pull off this color. It's really opaque and a few swipes can make the color pop out. There are also small purple glitters in the gloss which makes it extra pretty, but it's not really that obvious when applied. The doe foot applicator is also flatly shaped so it can be easier to apply to the lips. 

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Adorned

This lipgloss lasts a really long time, even after you finish eating or drinking there will still be a pink stain on your lips. Talk about long-lasting! This can easily beat any high-end lipstick brands out there. 

Here's a pic of the product when applied. You can slightly see the purple glitters on the lips.

Product applied on lips

After 6 hours (eating and drinking included), there's still a slight pink stain on my lips.

Pink stain on lips after hours of wearing

So that's it! After getting this shade, I kind of have my eye out on the Strawberry shade, a girl can't have too many good glosses.

Any plans of trying this shade out or any of the other shades?

Ciao!
Kat <3

My First MAC Lipstick: Pink Nouveau

I wasn't really very fond of lipsticks before. I had just one or two that I rarely even used. Then came Christmas 2011, my bf suddenly thought of giving me a MAC lipstick as a Christmas gift. He tells me now that it was because I love lipsticks, but I am very sure I did not. Well, not yet as of that moment. I think it was because some of my officemates were really into makeup and lipstick that I told my bf that I wanted to buy a pink lipstick as well. I guess he was very attentive and bought me my own lipstick yay!

So, why did he choose MAC? He said that it's because he heard that MAC is well-known for its makeup. See, even guys know MAC, you can't really go wrong with buying MAC products. The SA recommended the Pink Nouveau shade to him as he was looking for a pink shade. Pink Nouveau is a very popular shade and was always out of stock due to high demand from customers.

This costs P1,000 which may be quite pricey for a lipstick, but if you really love pink and MAC products, then why not? I remember I almost flipped when I learned of the price, but it's okay as it's a gift and the quality is top-notch as it lasts longer than other lipsticks.

Pink Nouveau is a satin shade blue-based pink. It glides on my lips quite easily when applied, and doesn't dry my lips out. Do take note that my lips really don't dry out easily. It can last on my lips longer than 4 hours if I don't eat or drink. I'm just not too happy with the strong vanilla scent that this has as I really prefer non-scented lipsticks.

On me, it looks kind of like a purplish pink. This shade is really tricky to work with. Sometimes, I feel that this color doesn't really suit me, and that it makes my teeth look yellowish. However, I do believe that this shade looks really good on me depending on the outfit I wear.

Have you tried Pink Nouveau or other MAC pink lipsticks? 

Love it or hate it? Do share!

Ciao!

Kat <3

The Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Adore

Hmmm what would be a great alternative to good ol' lipsticks? Aha I know! How about balm stains for the lips? Yes, can be, nice answer! However, this balm stain would need to have the staying powers of lipsticks. Is there even such a thing?

Ever since the Clinique Chubby Sticks came out, a lot of different cosmetic brands have followed suit. One of these brands is Revlon, and their version is called the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain (JBKBS). It's affordable enough at P575, compared to the chubby sticks which cost almost twice the amount. The stick looks like a fat crayon that is retractable so the amount of product can be adjusted when being applied to the lips. There are 12 shades to choose from so knock your socks off!

A friend had been telling me of the goodness of JBKBS for quite a while already, raving about how long lasting the balm stain is on the lips. I'm not really a fan of balm stains but her high praise for this stuff had got my senses tingling. Every time I pass by Watson's I would check out the Revlon counter just for kicks! It was one fateful day in August that I decided to check it out again. Okay good move, it was on sale, as in 50% off!!! Can you believe my good luck? I did not really have plans of purchasing this in the first place, but how can you say NO to 50% off? The price of P287.50 was calling out to me saying Buy Me, Buy Me! Fine, I give up, time to throw out some cash.

Of course, I had to check out the colors first. I wasn't really sure which shade to buy. I only knew that I wanted a red shade. It was that time of the year wherein I had been eyeing red lippie shades. This Watson's store only had 8 shades available, and oh fudge there was only 1 red shade available. I guess I'm stuck with this one.

This shade is called Adore and it was not the typical red shade we normally see. It's more of a brownish type of red. I was thinking yuck does brown even go well with red? After the SA helped me put it on, I was feeling ecstatic. It blended well with my skin tone, and it's like this color was meant for me as it looked so natural on my lips! Wow I can't believe a color that I did not really like would suit me so well. I guess it pays off to test out products first before buying. Just to share, the texture is really glossy when first applied. When the gloss has faded, the color still stays which is really a big plus so there's no need to keep on retouching. I put on this lippie before dinner, and after we finished eating, the color was still on my lips. Cool huh!

Here are my thoughts on the product:

- nice color payoff

- really pigmented

- long lasting (confirmed!), just add more layers to prolong the staying power

- has a hint of peppermint when put to the lips which gives a nice cool sensation

- handy to bring around which is why I always have it in my makeup kit

Adore on the lips

Picture of me wearing Adore

Would I repurchase this? Yes and double yes! I really love this product and I would like to try out the other colors as well. Who knows, it might also suit me surprisingly! Hope they have this item on sale again next time haha :)

Which color have you tried from this line? Do share as well!

Ciao!

Kat <3

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks in Pale Pink

When buying beauty products, I always make sure to get my money's worth. It's okay for me to buy brands that are a little more on the expensive side just as long as they do what they are intended for. It's a big plus if they can do more than just one purpose.

This is exactly why the Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks (P1,500) got me all interested. Not only can it be used as a cheek stain, but you can also use it to put more color on your lips. There are lots of shades for this product, but I chose the Pale Pink shade as I'm really more into pink than orange colored shades.

The size of this product is very handy so you can tote it along anywhere, be it just for everyday use or for travel purposes as well. I love it that the packaging already includes the mirror. The SA said that there was no mirror in the old packaging. Thank goodness my timing was just right or else I might not have bought it if there was no mirror.

Just use a finger to dab a little bit of the product into your cheeks or into your lips. Just make sure that you put face powder first before applying it into your cheeks so that the color will last long. I tried applying it into my bare cheeks and the color fades away really fast. 

For the lips, the color is just subtle, not as pigmented as normal lipsticks are. You would have to keep on retouching, because the color fades away after an hour or so. The texture of this lip rouge would be just like that of a tinted lip balm.

Here's a photo of me wearing it on my cheeks. The color is very natural, and it looks as if my cheeks are just rosy.

This is perfect for days when you are too lazy for makeup. This baby would be all you need to bring. Just don't forget your face powder though so that the color would last longer on your cheeks. The plus side of having this product around is that your makeup kit will surely become lighter.

So is this product worth the purchase? Yes, because a little goes a long way. Just two dabs with the fingers can cover the whole cheeks. Same with the lips. This is quite perfect for girls who don't like bringing along brushes to apply blush. Although, this product might be a bit of a problem for some girls who are OC as they may not want to touch their makeup directly with their hands.

Would I repurchase this product? Maybe, but in another shade. This is because I like trying out different products after I hit pan. There might be another lip and cheek rouge that will suit my skin color. It's nice to also try out different brands as well. However, this product is really on top of my dual purpose cosmetic products for now!

Have you tried this out yet? Share with me your experience. Happy weekend everyone!

Ciao!

Kat <3

MAC Ruby Woo Lipstick: My Current Fave

I believe every girl should have a red lipstick in her makeup bag. Red might seem to be a very intimidating color, but believe me, with all the shades available I am sure that there is a perfect red shade (or shades) for every girl out there.

So let me share with you my perfect shade of red lipstick! It's MAC Ruby Woo!!!

I purchased this at the duty free MAC store in Korea last September and all the brands were on sale so I got it for just P850. In MAC stores here in the Philippines, this lipstick is about ~P1,000.

Since last July, I have been in love with this baby when I tried out the tester at the MAC Store at SM MOA. I was actually eyeing the shade Russian Red but it seemed wrong on me when I tried it out. The red was somewhat too bright for me, or I was just not used to it. Since I was looking for a more toned down red, the SA suggested that I try Ruby Woo which she said is the exact red shade that Anne Curtis wears. 

After trying it on, I was like woah this is the perfect red for me! The finish is retro matte and definitely different from the satin finishes that lipsticks normally have. Ruby Woo is a red shade that's not too bright, and it felt oh so right when applied to my lips. I could not get this lipstick off my mind for a good 3 months, which was why I knew that I had to purchase it.

For those girls with dry lips, I would not recommend this. The texture of the lipstick is really dry as it is retro matte. Retro matte means that it is even dryer than the normal matte lipstick. Application on bare lips is not as easy as one swipe. You would need to carefully apply it swipe by swipe, or else the lipstick will bunch up or harden in one area of the lips making it harder to smoothen out the color. It would be suggested to put lip balm first before applying this lipstick. If your lips are naturally dry, this might not be for you as it may accentuate your lip lines and chap your lips even more.

Try the tester first before purchasing. Then, leave it on for a few hours to see how it looks on you before your decide. The price is not something for you to just throw your money away just like that. Better to make sure if the shade suits you to avoid wasting precious moolah.

For me, since I have non-drying lips, I love this!!! I feel even better when my friends all commented that I look good wearing this. This is one of my holy grail lipstick products! I have mostly pink lipsticks, and I'm really glad that I discovered the wondrous joy of putting on a red lipstick.

Ruby Woo on my lips

Picture of me wearing Ruby Woo

How about you? Have you found your perfect red shade yet? If you have, do share! :)

Ciao!

Kat <3