Sephora Haul and Birthday Shout-out!

Before anything else, I want to greet

my ever so kind

and ever so beautiful

friend,

Nikki Tiu of Askmewhats,

a Happy Happy Birthday!

She just turned 31, and she's fabulous than ever!

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Now for my tiny haul from Sephora!

I got a Cargo blu_ray bronzer, which is on sale for $15!

I really like this bronzer, it looks natural on my skin and it has very understated shimmers so it doesn't look flat. I also love how finely milled the powder is, and definitely suitable for high definition camera, because it really blends in the skin so nicely and seamlessly.

Sephora Platinum Brush #55

This is called the "airbrush brush" by Sephora.

And I couldn't agree any less!

Indeed it's airbrush in a brush!

I've been lemming for this brush for a long, long time and I'm happy I got one!

I think this will topple my Shu uemura #18 brush in the top spot of my favorite foundation brushes. Let's wait see... I'll give an update on this!

MakeUp ForEver HD Foundation in 120.

Last year when this was released in the Philippines, I tried this in the store, but I didn't liked it at all. It looked streaky and the shade that the MA applied on me looked too orangey and dark! So I really stayed away from this foundation. But me being a believer of second chances, I wanted to try this foundation again, and I'm planning to review different HD foundations on my blog. But our MUFE stores here doesn't have stock of it every time I visit. I wanted to try it to see if I would like it if I used another shade that really matches my skin, and if I apply it myself. Thanks to sis Jheng of Abubots, I was apply to try it again. She gave a generous amount of sample of the HD Foundation. She was asking me if I like the shade 117 or 120, but since my skin is slightly darker than hers and her shade was 117, I asked for 120. And LO and BEHOLD! 120 is a perfect match! I have never seen a foundation that matched my skin so perfectly! So that alone, I was sold! And with the sample that sis JHENG gave me, I was able to use different techniques. I liked it so I decided to purchase one for myself.

Last is Rosebud Salve. I just got this to replenish my dwindling stock of this.

That's all folks!

Wait for my Battle of the HD Foundations post!

Now that I have the MUFE HD Foundation, I'm just waiting for my Revlon Photoready to arrive which may arrive next week!

 The Battle of HD Foundations will compare 4 HD foundations: Kryolan High Definition Mattifying Foudation, Coastal Scents HD Foundation, MUFE HD Foundation, and Revlon PhotoReady Foundation. I would like to add the MAC Face and Body Foundation, but our MAC stores here doesn't carry it! And I don't want to buy online because I'm not sure what is my shade. Does anybody have the MAC Face and Body Foundation, and wouldn't mind sending me a sample? It would be great if I could review it too, since it's one of the widest used foundation that claims to be suitable for HD.

Sigma Haul!

My Sigma Makeup order arrived yesterday!

I didn't ordered much...

I just ordered a travel kit, since there will be lots of traveling for me for the next month or so...

So here's my haul!

(BTW Sorry for the crappy pictures don't know why the images looked washed out.)

Sigma threw in a couple of freebies along with my order...

Free travel size SS217

Free Indian girl eye shadow

Free travel SS190

Nice in Pink Travel Set!

I'll definitely do a review once I test these out.

My small Sephora order just arrived earlier.

I'll just show it to you guys sometime this week.

What came in the mail today?!

Here's what came in today...

Yes, it's the Coastal Scent's Undercover High Definition Foundation!

I also got my 2 kabuki on a stick and 1 italian badger buffer brush!

I'm loving the brushes!

For now, all I can say is that I love my kabuki on a stick better than my MAC 109.

The italian badger buffer brush is love! But I'm going to test these out for sometime before I give a proper review, so watch out!

Now, I'm only waiting for one more HD foundation to arrive for me to complete my HD foundation comparisons/reviews!

BTW the Coastal Scents HD Foundation is 15% off today until Sunday!

You might want to take advantage of the deal!

Product Review: Maybelline ColorSensational Moisture Extreme Lipcolor (Asia Exclusive)

This is a review of the Maybelline ColorSensational Moisture Extreme Lipcolor (CMEL).

This particular line of lipsticks is Asia exclusive.

I was very eager to try this lipstick when I first read about it in Maybelline Philippines Facebook page. 

People said that the formula is the same with the ColorSensational (CS) line in Europe and US, but I hate to break it to you beauties, the formula isn't the same.

I personally think that this is a completely different lipstick line than the one in US and Europe.

The most noticeable difference is the packaging. The CS line has a luxe Dior-esque packaging, but the CSMEL line has a similar packaging as the Moisture Extreme Lipsticks in the US and Europe. I first assumed that the CSMEL line is sort of a combination of the CS line and the Moisture Extreme line, due to to the name (ColorSensational Moisture Extreme Lipcolor) and the packaging.

The ColorSensational line in the US and Europe has a creamy, a bit rich formula but after a while of wear, the lipstick tends to dry the lips up. However, the Asia Exclusive line is not at all creamy but super moisturizing and doesn't dry out the lips. I think the formula is similar to the Moisture Extreme rather than to the ColorSensational. The only reason, I think, why ColorSensational was tagged into this range was because of the number of color selections and how the colors were divided into their color family. 

The formula also reminded of the Water Pure Shine (WPS) lipsticks, also Asia Exclusive. The only difference about this and the WPS is the pigmentation. The CSMEL is definitely much more pigmented than the WPS but the pigment of the lips can still show.

Comparing to MAC lipstick formulas, the CS feels amplified creme, cremesheen and frost, while the CSMEL is like the glaze, lustre, and slimshine formula, though the CSMEL is much more pigmented.

The CSMEL is like a mixture of gloss and lipstick, very much like the Slimshine but much more hard.

One more thing to note, the color range in the CSMEL is completely different from the CS line. People say that it's custom made for Asian skin. I personally like the color range in the CS line than in the CSMEL.

Another thing I like in CSMEL is that it doesn't have a chemically scent nor does the scent turn rancid quickly like the CS.

I also noticed that the pigmentation varies on the shades, I find that the darker shades are more pigmented than the lighter shades.

This lipstick transfers quite easily, and not that long lasting. It's just slightly more longwearing than a typical lipgloss.

The CSMEL is P299 (about $6) a pop, quite affordable for the quality.

I got three shades:

Cosy Tangerine, Summer Sunset, and Pink Bloom.

L to R: Cosy Tangerine, Summer Sunset, Pink Bloom.

Cosy Tangerine is a bright pinkish coral.

Summer Sunset is a true red (I like this red, really suits my skintone).

Pink Bloom is a frosty bright pink.

All shades has a bit of a glossy/shiny finish.

Verdict:

6/10

I would really like it if the packaging was similar to the CS. I'd rather pay a little bit more for a better packaging, since the CSMEL's packaging is a bit flimsy and not that appealing to look at.

While the formula and feel are quite nice for a drugstore lipstick, the color range is a bit blah.. IT doesn't appeal much to me and the shades are a bit redundant, since most of the shades are almost the same with the WPS shades. Plus the wear of this lipstick not great.

I might repurchase again if they launch new colors, but as of now, I don't think I'll repurchase.