After loving Lip Ice's various lip balms, I'm moving on to another affordable lip moisturizer, the Nivea Fruity Shine in Cherry.

You can expect glossier lips from this product. It gives a sheer pinkish color to the lips which is natural enough to bring more life to your kissers. Although this has a more waxy feel than Burt's Bees and Lip Ice, this feature is something that chapped lips will have a good use for.

• Price: approx P80
• Comes in a tube containing 4.8g of lip conditioner
• Shelf-life: 12 months

See the shimmers? They don't really show up on the lips. These glitzies help create a nice, glossy effect!

This lip balm keeps my lips flake-free and moisturized for a good number of hours outside an air-conditioned environment. I like how well it works to provide a smooth base to lipsticks. However, I feel the need to gloss-up and reapply after shorter hours when inside cooler places.

One of the major reasons I'm hooked to applying the Nivea Fruity Shine balm every so often is its addicting cherry flavour! But despite this, there is a lot of product in the tube that can last me no less than a month.

That's 4.8g of Cherry awesomeness!

Nivea Fruity Shine Lip Balm is a budget-friendly lip treat that works and I'll gladly recommend to anybody. I just have to warn you, Cherry is undeniably delicious and fragrant so keep those teeth from sinking into the product!

Japanese brand In2it has a waterproof gel liner that comes in pen form. I instantly fell in love with the product's creamy consistency, strong pigmentation and budge-proof finish on the lids (I haven't tested it for waterlining. And I have no plans of doing so). 

Pros and Cons

Unlike most gel liners out there that comes in a tub, this pen type eyeliner saves you space in your kit and is definitely easier to tote around. Unlike most cheap pencil liners that can be a pain on the lids because they lack the creaminess (you can blow dry em before use though, but that's an added step), In2it's waterproof gel eyeliner glides smoothly on the skin pretty much like kajal liners.

In2it Dark Brown Gel Liner on my lids
(I use an eye tape to achieve a good, visible crease)

One may find pure glory in its creamy consistency but I found a handful of cons. I find it hard to create a thin line using this because the tip is never pointed without sharpening it. Hence, it seems that I'm using a lot of product already due to frequent sharpening. Third creaminess con is that this takes extra time to dry up on my lids versus my Maybelline Lasting Drama gel liner.

Con #3 is something I'd easily forgive since a little patience can result to a foolproof, pigmented eyeliner. I tested In2it's waterproof gel liner at the back of my hand, waited for more than a minute (for it to dry up) and smudged it with all my might. It smudged a bit, haha. Replacing "with all my might" with "hard enough to see my skin turn pinkish", the liner was amazingly intact. A-mazing!

Availability, Price, Etc

• Available at Watson's, PCX and Landmark, SM & Robinson's Dep't Stores 
• The gel liner is available in Black, Aztec Gold and Dark Brown. This will cost you ~380php ($7) for a 1.2g product plus a good sharpener (Aztec Gold is sold at 320 and does not come with a sharpener)
• 3 years shelf-life (check both manufacturing and expiry dates at the back)

Rounded tip, not pointed --- a challenge for my unskilled hands

Helpful Hints

1. Those with extreme oiliness may want to dust the lids with a bit of powder before using the liner.

2. Counter the cons of its creamy consistency by placing it in the fridge a few minutes before use.

3. This eyeliner is made in Germany so expect to be wowed.

After several hours of walking around the humid metro

I am definitely recommending it to anybody who wants clean eye makeup. If you plan on getting the In2it waterproof gel liner, be sure to get a good eye makeup remover along with your purchase as this can be tough to wash off.

Here are the swatches of Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Sand (2W1), Tawny (3W1) and Ivory Cream (1N2). I'm NC25 with MAC Studio Fix Fluid (although I use NC20 since MAC SFF oxidizes on my skin significantly) and these swatches were taken where natural light generously passes through. I forgot if I took these picture with flash though.

Estee Lauder Double Wear on NC25: Tawny, Sand, and Ivory Cream

The three shades against a white canvas to emphasize the undertone category they belong to. Observe the lack of yellow in Ivory Cream, hence a neutral shade, while sand and tawny exhibiting a tinge of yellow as warm shades (tawny is a few shades near looking orange though). Sand is honestly a very pretty shade for those with fair Asian skin.

None of these three gives me a perfect shade match. If only sand wasn't too light (tawny appears too orange on my skin after a few hours), it would've been a good match. I'm eager to try their neutrals too, Desert Beige (2N1) and Ivory Beige (3N1). It's so sad that these Double Wear shades are not, and perhaps will never be, available in Philippine Estee Lauder counters.

Last July 27 at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel, I was able to attend the Johnson's Milk Bath event that featured the brand's newest endorser, actress, Judy Ann Santos (FYI international readers, she is an accomplished actress in the Philippines). She graced the event undaunted by the heavy rains and managed to educate us on skincare and even spontaneously entertained everyone with her charming antics.

We laughed with her as she shared her experiences as a mom and wife.

Serious topic: Mommyhood!

We laughed harder during the open forum where people can ask her anything under the sun! She's so bubbly! There was never a dull moment with her around during the event.

Major media networks covered the event.

Judy Ann Santos' colleague in the showbiz industry, Angel Jacob, hosted the event. Would you be surprised to know that she already has a 17-year old? Ahhh, I saw your jaw drop for a bit!

Angel Jacob in a silky, white number

Juday is so down-to-earth. Someone ran after her when she was already cued to exit the stage. Instead of snobbing the girl, who in between breaths managed to catch up and handed her a "gift", she paused to receive the token, talked to her a bit and thanked the young lady (the organizers and bouncers were panicked, I tell you).

So accommodating to those who want to see her!

Different representatives from showbiz-oriented shows flanked her after the talk.

Judy Ann Santos, darling of the press

Juday is an unassuming charmer

Judy Ann's bodyguards tried to clear the area after the reporters were done with their respective interviews. Ang sungit nung isang bodyguard big time sa mga bloggers! If not for Judy Ann herself and her kind PA (i think) who broke the rules and accommodated more chit-chats and photo ops, I would not have gone home with her autograph on my brother's wedding picture (the brother and my sis-in-law are HUGE fans!).

I was planning to bring their bigger portrait kaso nakakahiya

I brought home a lot of newly learned skincare tips and future lessons on mommyhood that I'll be sharing with you soon. And I'm definitely keeping that marker "sacred" since Judy Ann Santos, big star yet super humble, was able to touch that very pen.