If you're not too busy this Friday, July 30, world-renowned footwear mecca, Payless Shoe Source, opens at the Festival Mall Alabang, Manila.  Trendy, durable and reasonably priced, these shoes from various designers are undeniable treasures which won't cost us an arm and leg.

Payless Shoe Source offers a conglomeration of foot brands such as American Eagle (for Payless), Fioni, Keds, Zoe & Zac, Christian Siriano, plus a roster of other well-reputed shoe makers.

Footwear prices are predicted to range from 800php - 2,000php here in Manila.  Here are some of their shoes I'm lusting for:

Sandals & Flats:

Rockstar Jellystone Sandal, $16.99

Mork Mirrored Sling (i love that it's wedged around 1/2inch!), $16.99

Printed Peep-Toe Flats, $15.99

and something that can go with most of my pieces:

Purple Satin Royal Flats

Capri Snip-Toe Flats, $22.99

Wedges, Heels and more:

Toreador D'orsay Pumps

Isadora Back Zip Heels

Katrina Platform Wedge

There are more pieces to love!  I do hope that Payless Manila will have these designs included in my shoe lust list.

The Bodyshop's Baked-to-Last line from The Nomadic Goddess collection has reached Philippine shores!  I've long read a lot of reviews on this from other bloggers and I was just thrilled that these goodies are finally here.  This line offers 8 eyeshadows, 2 blushers and 2 bronzers.

Don't drool yet.  These goodies are more than just eyecandies.  The Bodyshop's Baked to last collection are products of hardwork of makeup extraordinaires (they're handmade and made of organic products).  They're baked in small batches for a day to ensure that the pigments are packed well giving users a striking and lasting hint of color.

Baked-to-Last Blushes: Coral (02) and Petal (01), 5g

Baked-to-Last Bronzers: Warm Glow (02) and Golden Bronze (01), 8g

Summarizing the reviews I've read about the collection, most rave about the Warm Glow bronzer.  They claim it to be a total dupe of a MAC MSF makeup whose name I forgot (though I remembered it was from the groove collection).  Most love that the Baked to Last blushers and bronzers are comparable to MAC MSF's... minus the chunks and glitters of the latter brand making them more wearable during the day.

For the eyeshadows, however, I've read mixed reviews.  Some hate the glitter being all over the pan, others, hated that the colors didn't last that much.

The Baked-to-last makeup from Bodyshop is so promising.  There seems to be value for your money for good color pay-off.  If you want to roadtest these babies, you can win them HERE.

I'm back with reviewing and I'm pretty much back with loving bb creams!  I've reviewed Skin 79 Waterdrop vis-a-vis Dr. Jart Silver Label, and Elianto Multiplex.  Now, it's Skinfood Aloe BB Cream's turn! 

Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream, #1

I got Aloe among the other available variants (there's Gingko, Mushroom, Peach Sake and Agave, whew!) since it was: meant to control oil (Gingko is for dry skin), had good packaging that does not spill (Mushroom has a bad tube), comes in a 50g tub (Peach Sake costs as much but has only 30mL of product in the tube) and is relatively affordable (Agave is a bit overpriced and performs the same as Aloe, IMO).



Skinfood's aloe variant comes in two shades: #1 and #2.  Most beauty bloggers categorize shade #1 for those with yellow undertones, the latter for those with pink undertones.  I have no idea how they came up with that.  I've tried both shades and I couldn't really tell if #2 suited pink undertones since it kinda suited me (I have yellow/olive undertones) but it made me look tad darker.

Got it from: ebay's skinfood2you ($13, free shipping worldwide)
Transit time: 2 1/2 weeks
Best applied onto face with: fingertips

Skinfood Aloe BB cream blended well with my NC30ish skintone.  It can be scary white at first, but it blends pretty well with the skintone after ~5minutes (quite long, I must say).

without bb cream



Scary white at first glance




3 minutes post-application, bb cream slowly blending in

	Skinfood Aloe Sun
Consistency	Thick, difficult to blend (you have to blend fast enough)
Coverage	Sheer;  not nice when layered on
Shade range	2 shades
Price (over ebay South Korea)	P600+ ($13 to $18 ), inclusive of shipping
Finish	Dewy, may tend to be oily if applied in a humid condition (for a matte finish, top it off with URFP)
Make-up Base ability	Poor
SPF	15
Oil-control (airconditoned room)	Great

I think Skinfood Aloe might've fared better for oily gals like me when applied inside an airconditioned room.  I noticed that it controlled oil better that way.  Also, if you need coverage, this might not be the bb cream for you.  It has a sheer finish and can look ugly if you layer it on.

	Skinfood Aloe	Dr. Jart Silver	Skin79 Waterdrop
Consistency	Thick, difficult to blend (you have to blend fast enough)	Thick, difficult to blend	Thin, blendable
Coverage	Sheer;  not nice when layered on	Medium to heavy	Poor
Shade range	2 shades	One shade only	One shade only
Price (over ebay South Korea)	P600+ ($13 to $18)	P1200 to P1600 ($28 to $33)	P600 to P1000 ($12.50 to $21)
Finish	Dewy, may tend to be oily if applied in a humid condition (for a matte finish, top it off with URFP)	Dewy, not matte (for a matte finish, top it off with URFP)	Dewy, not matte (for a matte finish, top it off with URFP)
Make-up Base ability	Poor	Can be cakey	Great make up base
SPF	15	35	0
Oil-control (airconditoned room)	Great	Great	Great

I first raved about Skinhour's Mattifying Day Cream last October 2009.  I got the chance to use it for around a month and a half before I fell in love with Clinique's DDMG impulsively.  And so I was a Skinhour-turned-Clinique fan for almost a year until now.

Skinhour Mattifying Day Cream: used and scratched!

I don't know... Clinique's DDMG just suddenly lost its magic on me.  I still find my dry jaws flaking after smearing it with my ex-HG moisturizer.  I was suddenly flooded with acne on my chin and I haven't been using new stuff, except that I noticed how oilier my tzone is becoming.  I stopped moisturizing for more than a week to see if it was indeed Clinique's fault.

For over a week sans a moisturizer, I noticed how I stopped breaking out, however, my skin lacked the soft and supple look.  This lead me to revisit an old friend.  My good old primer/moisturizer/sunblock --- Skinhour's Mattifying Day Cream!

I'm glad it hasn't expired yet (thanks, fridge).  Although it looks more tattered and torn now (I used to bring this with me everywhere), it still delivers the way it used to.

Yipee, there's still some left in the tub!

Funny, I read through my first take on this prod and among the things I didn't like about it was:

I used to hate Skinhour's Mattifying Cream for breaking me out on the chin!  My antidote was Clinique's DDMG.  Now everything's reversed!  Now, how weird is that??!  If I haven't revisited my mattifying day cream, I wouldn't have known that these odd things can happen.  Has anyone of you experienced this, too?

I'm back.  And what better way to celebrate my comeback to beauty blogging than to post a review!  Today, I pay tribute to my most used foundation these past few non-blogging months... the body shop's oil-free liquid foundation in 03!

The Body Shop Oil-Free Foundation, SPF15, in 03, 30mL

bought at less than 1200php, TBS counters

website tag: $23

Website says:

Best if you want to: Perfect and balance skin while minimizing pores with a lightweight, shine-free formula.

Best for: medium to full coverage, oily and combination skin

What it is designed to do:

• Special blend of minerals and high performance spherical powders work together to achieve all-day balanced coverage.
• Sunscreens provide a medium level of broad spectrum UVA and UVB sunscreens to help protect skin.
• Vitamins C and E are antioxidants that help smooth, soften, condition and protect skin for improved radiance.

Product swatches compiled from the body shop's website
I just don't know why they jumped from shade 04 to 06

When I first tried this on (used my fingertips), I had to take it off since it melted really ugly on me like my other foundations.  I coudn't blame the product; our country's summer 2010 was one HOT summer.  And so I stashed it hidden.

Officially a couple: TBS oil-free foundie + wet sponge
On days I want the au naturale feel, I reach for
this tandem to even out and liven up my skintone

I was about to sell it on ebay when I remembered about how wet sponge application can change the course of most foundation's finish.  And I wasn't disappointed.  The Body Shop's Oil Free Foundation is now among my HG's!  This liquid foundie in a light plastic bottle travels with me!

What I love about It: 

• no break-outs on everyday use
• it's among the few foundies I found a perfect skintone match with! 
• very lightweight and sheer if applied using wet sponge/brush
• no clumping/caking when layered on to achieve a fuller coverage (just make sure to wait till the previous layer dries up before another application)
• doesn't settle into pores and fine lines
• SPF 15
• comes in a very light plastic container you can carry around easily
• the pump and the fullness indicator

Uh-ohs:

• I have combination oily skin and it can dry up parts of my jawline with the wet sponge technique (antidote: more moisturizer on that area, it works so far)
• ugly finish without wet sponge/brush technique (try it)
• it doesn't have the most pleasant scent
• can be considered a bit pricey for those who are on a tight budget

A few more things I'm raving about The Body Shop's Oil-Free Foundie are its efficient pump and fullness indicator.  The pump dispenses the amount of product equal to the pressure of your push, it never failed me.  The fullness indicator is something new to me and I totally love the nothing-goes-to-waste concept by pushing all the product up till you drop.

Fullness Indicator:  I never noticed that it was actually one until I've used up the product a month after.

UK beauty magnate, The Body Shop, didn't fail me on their oil-free liquid foundation I'm happy to say.  On days I want good coverage plus a healthy glow, which is practically everyday, I reach for this prod as a face base.  I set it with my usual mineral powders and I'm more than good to go!

I'm so happy with this purchase (I got it 10% off the rack! weee!).  I'm happy too that I'm back to beauty blogging with a great product to review.  I'm actually glad I gave it another shot before putting it up on sale.  The body shop's oil-free foundation is totally a good investment I wouldn't hesitate to do a repeat purchase on!