The L'oreal Colour Riche Collection Star lipsticks available in the Philippines were specially chosen to suit a wide array of Filipina skintone and hair color. Five shades, worn by five amazing celebrities, are available for those going for the barely-there lip look.

Product Information:

"Collection Star gathers the most beautiful female icons of our time to design these five nudes to ensure that Filipinas get only the most glamorous take on nude fashion."

Price: P400.00
Weight: 4.2g
Packaging: Plastic, gold

Perfect Nudes? - The Collection Star Experience

The packaging isn't really something I fancy but the stars' signatures and the little square color info that tells you the lipstick shade are quite nice to look at. The bullets seal quick and tight so I don't have to worry about it getting wrecked even if I carelessly chuck it in my bag in a hurry.

 L-R: L'oreal Colour Riche Collection Star Lipsticks in Barely Plum (by Sonam Kapoor), Barely Moka (by Gong Li), Barely Coral (by Fan Bingbing), Barely Greige (by Jennifer Lopez), and Barely Pink (by Doutzen Kroes)
 
On the actual lipsticks-- all lipsticks are rich and creamy, which I don't really prefer as I'm more of a matte-lip girl, but I was able to choose a few nudes I know I can wear. Only Barely Plum and Barely Moka were opaque-at-first-swipe, the rest had to be swiped on at least thrice to show up on my pigmented lips. Wear time is about 3-4hours.

Let's review each L'oreal Colour Riche Collection Star shade:

Barely Plum - a beautiful, universal nude. It is a nice pop of color and I like how it doesn't emphasize some dry areas of my lips. This one has got to be less glossier than the others and probably is my favorite of the lot.

Barely Moka - I loved it when I first used it but when I figured it had too much sheen to my liking, I picked it up less frequently. This lipstick has superb formulation but the finish is just too glossy for me. I know girls with really thin lips will like this though.

Barely Coral - My true nude color. However, I am not fully sold on the formulation. I will need a couple of swipes to make it pretty on my lips and add a few more on drier areas. I don't understand why this swatches on my arm well but translates differently on my lips.

Barely Greige - lovely when swatched, awful on the tube, more awful on my lips. This has the most chunks of glitters on the tube and I don't understand why. Luckily, the glitters help create an illuminated nude look, almost like 3D lips even. HOWEVER, the color hardly shows up on my lips. That's not really the kind of nude I'm looking for.

Barely Pink - The colour is cotton candy pink and will definitely be a nice nude for girls with the fairest skin. It looks funny on me so I'm passing.

Overall Thoughts

P400 is not a hefty price tag considering the L'oreal Colour Riche Collection Star lipsticks have decent formulation and wear time. I wouldn't depend on swatches (either on arms or on lips) as these colours vary depending on one's pigmentation and lip moisture levels. Go try them out at counters before purchasing!

Personally, I love L'oreal Colour Riche Collection Star Barely Plum the most. I like Barely Greige the least and if I should choose a 2nd and 3rd favorite, it will have to be Barely Coral and Moka respectively. I'm neutral on Barely Pink since I am not fair, and if I were, it will probably be as good as Barely Plum on me.


Disclaimer: Products were sent to me by L'oreal Philippines. A review/post was optional.

I have been using the Andalou Naturals Acai + White Tea Oil-free Moisturizer for a week now and am looking forward to using it more until I hit my desired results. You see, ever since the skin started acting annoyingly drier on the cheeks and sides, I knew I needed more moisture to bring more youth and radiance to these dried up areas.

The Andalou Naturals Acai + White Tea Oil-free Moisturizer, 62mL, P959 at Healthy Options


One of my best friends, Mitch, swears by the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Oil and I can attest to how her skin improved from it. I wanted the same, beautiful result she got; the Acai + White Tea wasn't really my first choice, in fact, it was my last! So what won me over? Let me tell you:

• I was already very ready to get the serum from Kiehl's when I stumbled upon its Beautypedia review. It was disheartening.
• In relation to #1 which stated that while Kiehl's can work for dry skin (Mitch had matte, acne-free skin), the oil ingredients in it may be more of an irritant to non-dry skin types. It lists down Coriander, Lavender and Rosemary (oils) as the main irritants to oily skin. Kiehl's could work for Mitch, I can't be sure I can say the same for my combination to oily skin.
• The Oil-Free Moisturizer from Andalou Naturals, categorized under Beautypedia's best products, stood out among a good number of effective but locally unavailable moisturizers on the list. It hailed the moisturizer's list of antioxidants & skin-repairing ingredients.

• Price-wise, Andalou was more inexpensive. Way more inexpensive. Healthy Options tagged it reasonably at P959 (62mL). Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate, 50mL, sells for 3k+php.

The Acai + White Tea Oil-free Moisturizer  is also available in a test size, 12mL, but is part of a skin clarifying set (priced at 900+ too). I would've bought the set if I were eyeing a whole line for the skin beacuse it is such a good deal.

Photo from iherb.com- Andalou Naturals Get started Clarifying Set: Great for Oily and Combination Skin

The Andalou Naturals Acai + White Tea Oil-free Moisturizer can be a mouthful as is the more popular and well-loved Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. I hope I made the right choice by trying out the more inexpensive one before jumping to the more luxurious brand. Detailed review in the next few months-- wish my skin luck!

As if the jammed December streets aren't enough to stress us out, there's the unfinished December shopping list waiting to be done. Now if you'd like this year's holidays a lot less stressful than last year's, rock that list with the help of an infallible one-stop shop-- when in Manila, shop at Uniqlo SM City San Lazaro! @uniqlo_official @smcitysanlazaro

Japan's number one clothing apparel brand has opened its 20th store in the country last December 5, 2014 and they're spreading the holiday cheers by bringing the best deals in town! I wasted no time and scoured the (oh, so clean!) store for stuff I highly recommend for inaanaks, moms, dads, besties or special someones.

Roll out those red on-sale tags!

Starting with the ladies: sweet Merino striped and plain sweaters, coloured cropped legging pants, and awesome hoodies with cute cartoon prints.

Uniqlo's Heattech apparel-- perfect for you girlfriends who fancy working out in airconditioned gyms!

Some items without the discount but are still worth checking out: colored shirts, basic pique polo shirts, slub shirts, patterned leggings, and more legging pants!

A couple of  "for him's":

1. Slim fir coloured jeans

2. Heattech accessories

3. Long and short sleeved character shirts

Regular-priced items he will surely like include coloured walking shorts and nice belts:

For the little boys and girls-- some fleece jackets for the brrrr months, hoodies, basic tees, heat tech apparel and some long sleeved polo shirts!

The newly opened Uniqlo SM City San Lazaro will not leave you wanting; they have the best holiday presents for everyone in your list! Follow @smcitysanlazaro on instagram and you might even win for yourself a brand new mobile phone!

@uniqlo_official @smcitysanlazaro is located at the Upper Ground Floor, near the Event Center.

I am not new to pimples or pimpy as I've been with it almost half my life! I've had a long list of insecurities and woes just because I had tons of pimpy all over my face. The very reason I started chronicling beauty products & regimens and dermatologic procedures is to make others aware that there are things that help alleviate stubborn pimpy and make them go away.

Belo Essentials now offers an anti-acne skin solutions in the new AcnePro three-step Clear Skin system. The skincare line banks on the efficacy of Purified Bee venom in clinically treating mild to moderate acne by minimizing inflammation. Through AcnePro's Cleansing, Toning and Repairing stages, almost anyone can say hello to a cleaner and clearer skin everyday!

  

Belo Essentials AcnePro Gel Face Wash (50mL, P99.75) "Effectively helps eliminate acne-causing bacteria & remove excess oil leaving skin smoother and pimple-free."

A pea-sized amount of the gel-like facial wash generously foams into a lather that cleans the face well and leaves skin fresh and still well-moisturized. This wash is nice to use in following up a good makeup remover to ensure deep-seated oil and dirt are taken cared of.

Cleansing is almost a forgettable part of a skincare regimen. I was able to love it more when I felt how soft and supple my skin has become after the 2nd week into using this.

Belo Essentials AcnePro Treatment Toner (60ml, P79.75) "Effectively unclogs congested pores, dry up pimples and exfoliate dead skin cells."

The toning experience further refreshes the skin with a cool, soothing liquid. I like how it is lightly scented making me forget that toners usually smell of medication or strong alcohol.

A word of caution to those with oily skin: the toner can take time getting absorbed into the skin so make sure not to over saturate the cotton pad for it. It's fine if it happens in the evening before bed time but can be a pain if you use to much toner in the morning as it can feel a bit tacky against the skin. What's great about the toner is that you don't need too much to make it work.

Belo Essentials AcnePro Pimple Gel (10g, P149.75) "Helps dry up pimples fast, lighten blemishes, calm inflammation and promote healing & ant-bacterial action."

Repair is probably the most exciting stage in the system as this is where "magic" happens. The AcnePro pimple gel tube is packed with a non-fragrant product that effectively retards the ugly process of an exacerbated & inflamed pimpy. The key is to be keen enough to do the Repair Work at the onset of a growing pimple!

I like that all products in the AcnePro skincare system are oil-free and are truly hypoallergenic & non-comedogenic during the whole time I've been testing it out. The three products are also packed well and in durable, fuss-free tubes and bottles and the sizes of each product is perfect either for travel or for a full-month's use.

With the truly affordable price tag on top of it all, Belo Essentials AcnePro 3-Step Clear Skin System is probably the next best skincare line worth checking out. Using the products twice a day makes it easier for anyone to finally take charge of their skin, face the world and do more, and finally say goodbye to pimpy!

Disclaimer: Products were sent to me for review purposes