[Review] Elf Stippling Brush

Long overdue post about this wonderful brush. Apologize for the delay. This has been requested by Hollie. Thanks sis! :)

Anyway, I bought this in one of the Flea markets in Singapore. Every other month, there is a retail sale ongoing and Singaporeans often call it Flea Market. The products may be second hand or they are still very new but it is priced in a lower rate. This will enable more people to buy in bulk.

Its like Supersale Bazaar in Rockwel but I believe they are priced reasonably and much more affordable. Plus there are really good finds! I once bought a very fashionable flowery dress for a dollar only which is only PHP 32!  I just love Flea Markets…íts the best way for a frugal girl to hang around.

Back to the Stippling Brush, in that particular Flea Market that I went into, they had a variety of good quality make up brands in line at that time. Namely, NYX, ELF, MAC, and other products but in small quantity. Basically these three products are the prominent ones. I bought the NYX orange lipliner which is $8 (PHP 256) I featured it here: http://cecilywishes.blogspot.com/2011/01/products-i-currently-use-skincare-make.html For the Swatch Picture: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-L5rDwxlVaYsDeZDjBQK3zisYLC10teSkkyiKw-0Ei1iNJdjCVNHsOxQw7eLjZX-4gXcY5yvRs-byoGi5PaiMRivzdPOenJzdRuSZXf1VrN28n75pkFQYzGMP3KdwLR8zReazJerTNvlo/?imgmax=800

This ELF Brush, I bought it for an affordable price but I forgot already the price lol. Probably SGD 5? Around that figure. Lets get to the point, these are the major things why I like this brush: The brush is sturdy. There are hair fallouts when you wash but it doesn’t shed. The white tip is soft in the face. The brush does not bleed when you wash it.

Lets test it shall we?

How to use it:

1. Put a significant amount of liquid foundation or BB cream in the back of your hand. Tap the brush using the stippling method. (constant tapping of the white tip of the brush. Do not extend the tapping up until the black hair)

2. Stipple it in the face. Make sure that your pores are evenly stippled with the liquid foundation/ BB cream.

3. After stippling, swirl the brush onto your face to even out the product in the skin.

4. In short, use the stipple and swirl method. More explanation of Enkore here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aoXfB4cVlE

I really like this brush, other than it is affordable, it also works well when it comes to blending the foundation to my face. I also use this to put my cream blush on and it also blends well. High fives to this product. My next lemming? ELF Kabuki brush.

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Verdict: |    Recommended? YES!!!  |  Price: SGD 5.00 (forgot but will edit once researched lol)

[Reviews] Hair products: Dove S&C, Garnier S&C and Loreal Elseve Color Vive Protective Mask

Remember my loot post few days ago? http://cecilywishes.blogspot.com/2011/02/todays-loot.html. Well guess what? I am in a perfect mood to write a review. *hallelujah!* So here it goes. :)

Some notes:

I wash my hair at night. Yes only at night. I do not shampoo in the morning because based on my previous experiences, my hair betrays me during the day if I try to give it a shampoo wash so ever since then I just washed it with water. At night, I try to deep condition twice until thrice a week.

 

1. Dove Therapy Colour Care Shampoo and Conditioner

I used this first among the three products. Both shampoo and conditioner I tested them on the same night. The smell is nice not revolting as expected with every Dove products because they claim to be mild. Its not fragrance free though but its still passable in my nostrils. After washing out and conditioning, my hair feels alright, soft to touch, overall it’s a likeable feeling which extends until the next morning. My hair is not greasy. The hair looks and feels fresh after a day. Although I am not that raving it.

Verdict:   |    Recommended? OK!  |  Price: PHP 185.00 (each)

2. Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo and Conditioner

Oh so here we are at the worst product. lol what an intro. Alright, after using Dove, I decided to try this one even though the reviews at Make Up Alley are revolting. As usual, I shampooed and conditioned at night. Has a fragrance but the nostrils again has a passable score for it. But the shampoo doesn’t lather that well. Maybe the SLS content is not that strong? (lol ok that’s a carcinogen accdg to cosmetics database) So I didn’t feel like my hair is thoroughly cleaned but anyway, I proceeded with the conditioner. The conditioner is alright again. First night and day with Garnier products: I gave it a passable score. I actually still liked my hair when I used it. So I decided to try it again for the second day. At this point, I wanted to use the shampoo together with the Loreal Elseve Hair Mask. So as usual, lathered the hair then proceeded with the 1-2 min hair mask. I will not put the verdict first but lets proceed with the next review…

3. Loreal Elseve Color Vive Protective Mask

Here we go. So I put the Hair Mask for 1-2 mins. The smell of this product? REVOLTING. The nostrils couldn’t take it that much. It had a few sneezes all over. I still continued though. The sneezing continued until I dried my hair. Overall feeling? I think I liked it at first, I didn’t realize the effect until late this evening.

Around, mid afternoon, I feel like my scalp has been acting weird. I tend to touch it all the time. I think scratch is the term not touch. I still didn’t wash my hair though. But when evening came, I noticed that the itching worsened and I noticed some oil build up in my scalp. It left a deposit in my nails, imagine that. :o That’s when I finally thought, it should be either the Garnier prods or the Loreal Elseve. I feel like itching again as I type this. *scratch*

I definitely needed a deep cleansing after using those heavy products. Unfortunately I got no clarifying shampoo on hand. (PS. Clarifying Shampoos tend to be expensive :o) Good thing I researched and found out about baking soda to remove the gunk in the hair.

Here’s what I used: 2 tbsp of Baking Soda + 3 tbsp of Dove Shampoo. (My measures might be a lot though lol)

I used that forumula to clarify my hair. And truth to be told, my hair feels lighter right now as compared before. The itching has lessened and I am quite relieved with that.

Here’s more to add insult to injury, I noticed bumps in my hair and back and also in around my hairline!!!! Argh, after taking care of my skin for quite a long time….

Alright yeah so right now I have learned my lesson. I will probably need to rethink about these two products. They are quite expensive though and I do not want to throw them away that fast. But before that, I shall fix my greater concern first, the skin irritation! SO till then Loreal and Garnier, goodbye and goodluck.

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Garnier Fructis Fortifying Shampoo and Conditioner

Verdict :   |    Recommended? use it with caution!  |  Price: PHP 25.00 (for the small freebie bottle)

Loreal Elseve Color Vive Protective Mask

Verdict :   |    Recommended? if you are in for a challenge, then use it lol  |  Price: PHP 250.00

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XOXO, C

[Review] The Body Shop Shea Body Butter

This review is long overdue. I bought this product few weeks ago while searching for Aveeno in the mall. My skin has been scaling around my legs and it itches really badly. (An indication that it is not moisturized) Unfortunately for me, Aveeno is no longer available in the mall on where I have always buy it! T____T Was devastated at that time because I only trust Aveeno in my skin. I do not want to experiment on others because of my nasty history of allergy while testing a locally made lotion.

Until I suddenly remembered the advise of my Derm in Sg. ”Use Shea Butter for your Eczema’’. Boom! It came like a flash. Who else has Shea Butter except The Body Shop? I mean…they were the ones who popularized body butters in the PH back then it was first released. There you go, I bought this at around less than 700 as it was on Sale. Around 10% off I guess.

It is love at first smell. The moment I opened the container, I really was in heaven. It really smells good. I do not usually take any fragrances as you may noticed in my posts but to tell you honestly, this one blew it all. It just made me wish the smell stayed into me lol. Its like a Pheromone fragrance!

It is also love at first touch. Again, I do not really like lotions. I thought, if this smells good, this must be really sticky in the body but truth to be told, it is not! Well unless you put too much. I put enough to cover my scaling skin and about a couple of minutes, my skin is moisturized and greaseless! How could I not love this product?

 

 

Verdict:

 Verdict:   |    Recommended? VERY MUCH!!!  |  Price: PHP 700.00 (less than this)

[Reviews] Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque + La Roche Posay Hydraphase Masque + Dr Bronners Magic Soap in Lavender

Happy New Year girls! To start of the year 2011, here’s a new review for my blog! Yey!

 

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque

In my previous entry, I reviewed the other Queen Helene Product which is the Mud Masque. Because I didn’t experience any adverse reactions to it, I decided to buy the Mint Julep immediately. Little trivia: The main reason why I choose Mud Masque first is because my skin has been so sensitive lately. It just suddenly stings when I apply products. Probably due to change of weather and some products that I use as well. So I think if I buy and test the Mint Julep first than the Mud Masque, it will only trigger the sensitivity of my skin as it has sulfur on it – which is a bit drying – dryness make my skin more sensitive. But anyway, I bought the product already and I used it sparingly.

How I used it: I tested it only on my forehead. Because my forehead has some active bumps on it. I also applied on the sides of my cheeks. Waited for 15 mins then removed it with washcloth. Yes it smelled a bit like a toothpaste (as most forumers describe it) but its refreshing. I like it.  I felt a bit of a sting as well when applied it so a bit caution there. Good thing I didn’t apply it on my whole face. Didn’t bother to take a photo of me with it because I really decided out of the blue to try it without thinking that I will blog it. lol. Tried this one yesterday btw.

 

La Roche Posay Hydraphase Masque

I got this for free when I bought my Physiological cleanser. The lady from Wastons in Tiong Bahru Singapore was kind enough to give me 2 free sachets of mask to try on. I am already halfway done with the cleanser but still wasn’t able to try this freebie until tonight. Cant say this is a sample. Weird as I cannot find this product in their website…

This is a bluish creamy leave on masque. Made especially for dehydrated skin as it is highly concentrated with LRP Thermal Spring Water treatment. So I tried this today and the instruction says: Leave it for 10 mins and wipe off excess but in my case I didn’t wipe off. I just massaged lightly until I see the cream getting a transparent consistency. Afterwhich, I just pat a tissue off and used it as a blotting stuff for the shine. Yes, it left a shine on my face after using but surprisingly, I like what I see in the mirror. It doesn’t look like Im an oil mine. It fulfills its promise of suppleness and softness. Cant wait to wake up tomorrow and see the results of letting the masque stay overnight! :)

Dr Bronners Magic Soap in Lavender

Bought this accidentally while buying My QH Mint Julep Masque. Because according to the lady sales assistant of Healthy Options, I need to have at least PHP 1000 in order to get the PHP 50 voucher. I don’t know what convinced me but I obeyed immediately. Sometimes you do things which makes you rethink later on lol. So when I took this bottle, I thought its like an oil cleanser but was surprised when I tried it at home --- It foams! That means, it needs to be washed by water.

The smell reminds me of Dessert Essence’s Thoroughly Clean Face Wash which I used before. (When I was all so freaked out about Parabens and all LOLLL) When I used Dessert Essence before, I completely raved about it and then all of a sudden after finishing two bottles, I decided to call it quits. Reason? I thought the wash is too drying on my face even though its organic. I didn’t like the feeling that my face looks stretched and dull cause of dryness. This is also one of the reasons why I am a bit careful with Dr Bronner’s Magic Soap. It claims to have 18 in 1 uses but apparently I still cant find over Google the complete 18 uses lol. But I used this together when I tested the Mint Julep. It really cleanses and yes it’s a bit drying in my opinion. I still used this one today together with the LRP Hydraphase Masque. I accidentally opened my eyes while washing and GOSH it stings my eyes like hell! So that’s a bit of a hint how strong the product is, even though its organic.

 

Verdict:

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque | Verdict:   |    Recommended? Absolutely!  |  Price: PHP 329.00

La Roche Posay Hydraphase Masque | Verdict:   |    Recommended? Absolutely!  |  Price: got it free!

Dr Bronners Magic Soap in Lavender | Verdict:   |    Recommended? Just okay!  |  Price: PHP 250 roughly. forgot lool.

 

 

Till then. Skincare regimen next entry hopefully. :)