Up for Swaps/Sale: Nyx lips glosses and Nyx lipstick

Weeeh! Makeup in Manila officially has it's first makeup swapper! :)

I personally don't own any NYX items. Which is ironic since that's my nickname's nickname (nix, nyx, niks, or a derivative of). Or not really. I dunno. But anyway, people keep talking about NYX cosmetics as a whole being 1) affordable 2) great quality 3) hard to find here in manila. Most people resort to multiply sellers or ebay to be able to get their hands on this much talked about makeup brand.

Well, add this one to your list.

The swapper/seller went on a "panic buy" of sorts and ended up with more makeup than what was needed. (yes, yes, you can never own too much makeup, but we all know the drill: I bet if you looked through your makeup drawer you'd find at least one item that you haven't used in a month!)

Here are the products for sale/swaps:

Nyx Round Lipstick in Pecan

Photo from http://www.cherryculture.com/

Nyx Round Lipstick in Pecan
SRP: Php 180-230 on ebay.ph
makeup in manila price: Php 180
Brand New & Sealed
OPEN FOR SWAPPING

 L-R: Amber, Barbie Pink, Frosted beige, B52 on the rocks, natural, B52 on the rocks

Nyx Brush on Lip Gloss
SRP: Php 280
makeup in manila price: Php 280
Brand New & Sealed

OPEN FOR SWAPPING

Read this to find out how to swap/buy. Or head over to ebay.ph and look for francescaque. The same items and prices are up for sale there.

Happy swapping :)

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Up for Sale: Assorted Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Colognes! - UPDATED

To be honest, I'm not too much of a "scents" person, in fact, other than poor motor skills, my olfactory sense is one of my least developed senses. booo. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate yummy smelling colognes!

Right now, I'm obsessing over two scents: Britney Spear's Fantasy and Bath and Body's Midnight Pomegranate. I first "discovered" the latter when a dear friend gave me a bottle of B&B hand sanitizer in this scent. I loved it so much that I kept the little bottle by my desk and opening it every so often just to *smell* it. So when a friend went to the US for a vacation, I asked that he bring me home that specific scent.

Thus begins my love affair with Bath and Body Works' Products. What I love about it is that it's light but it doesn't fade quickly. I also don't need to spray three, four, five, or six times just to get the right amount of scent on myself. And the sweet and fruity (but not citrus-y or watermelon-y) is just right for the slightly kikay but not-too-frilly me.

Bath and Body Works (and Victoria's Secret) are quite popular for their light, perfect for daywear and some frolic in the park type of scents. They appeal to your inner girly-girl with their yummy floral or fruity scents.

Unfortunately, they're not commercially available in the Philippines. You have to scour the malls to find small PX goods stores selling them for over Php 500 or head on over to Multiply where they sell it for roughly the same price.

Or you can just choose one of these below:

L-R: B&B Japanese Cherry Blossom, B&B Sun Ripened Raspberry, VS Midnight Mimosa,

B&B Cucumber Splash, B&B Enchanted Orchid

What do they smell like?

• Japanese Cherry Blossom - light, feminine, innocently sensuous blend of cherry blossoms with a hint of vanilla; perfect picnic-in-the-park date type of fragrance 

• Sun Ripened Raspberry - sweet and fruity raspberry that brings to mind thoughts of pink cotton candy and watching the sunset while riding a Ferris wheel :)

• Midnight Mimosa - a powdery, comforting scent that makes you think of pillows and sweet dreams :)
  

• Cucumber Splash - a floral but not quite frilly scent with a tinge of light cucumber. This scent reminds me of cool Baguio mornings ♥
  

• Enchanted Orchid - feminine, floral, breezy. If we had spring in the Philippines, I bet it would smell like this. Or maybe that sweet special date with your lover sharing whispered sweet nothings over a couple of glasses of wine...weeeeeh!!!

Get any of these for only Php 400.00. Head on over here to find out how to order. Note that there's only one of each, so get them now! :)

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Up for Sale: Burt's Bees Lip Balm

One of the things that I've learned to love (and can't live without) would be lip balm.


I was first introduced to this specific lip balm back when I was in High School one afternoon after going to my tutor. There used to be a Beauty Bar outlet along Katipunan (I'm showing my age!!!) and Burt's Bees was one of the more "affordable" things I could get. It made my lips softer, less prone to chapping, and my lips didn't feel greasy at all!



Since I was in High School and make-up was a no-no in my beloved alma matter, I had to settle for something that is 1) discreet 2) effective. So, I got myself my first tube of Burt's Bees lip balm.


While I no longer stick to just lip balm, and am no longer 100% loyal to Burt's Bees, I still prefer to keep it over the other commercial lip balms. Except that they sell for over Php 300 in Beauty Bar (sadly no longer in Katipunan since that gave way to the expanded Starbucks).

So, here's what's Up for Sale today:

Burt's Bees Beeswax lip balm

SRP: Php 325 in Beauty Bar

makeup in manila price: Php 170

savings: Php 155

Read this to find out how to order :)

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Swappers? Sellers? Shopping Galore!! :)

So, Ondoy has taught me a lot of valuable lessons. One of which is: I have a ton of makeup, but I don't get to use some of them. Why? Well, either I'm not too "sold" on the product, or I prefer to use a different product.


I decided to open up a swapping/buy/sell corner in this blog. And here are the rules:

Swapper/Seller

1. Swap/Sell only products which have barely been used (should have at least 75% in it)
2. Used mascara and lip glosses will not be accepted for swapping/selling for hygienic purposes.
3. State clearly why your product is up for swaps/sale
   
4. Prepare to get in touch with local courier services. I recommend Xend or Air 21. Meet-ups should be okay too, it's really up to you!
   
5. Be HONEST (don't try to steal products from other people, this corner is working on the premise of mutual honesty)
6. Swaps will be made for equal value of products only (ex: face powder slightly used at Php 199 can't be swapped for a blusher at Php 500 slightly used). 
7. For sellers: If you already have an online store, then tell me so I can add a link :)
   

Thrifter/Buyer

1. E-mail me the product which you are interested in
2. Wait for my e-mail on the contact details of Swapper/Seller
3. Meet up/send items for swapping to Swapper/Seller
   
4. Write a short review on the product you received and be one of the "featured writers" of makeup in manila! :)
   

And here is the "how" part:
E-mail me [makeup.manila@gmail.com] the following:

• Name and contact details (e-mail address and cellphone number)
  
• Photo of actual produc
• Description of Product (Brand name, color)
• Market Price (Price at which you bought the product)
• How much you've used up
• Reason why you're giving it up or where else you can be found
  

I'll be uploading the new items as soon as I can. :)


Oh, rest assured, I won't be giving away your personal details. I'll e-mail you first if there's someone interested in your product and then I'll hook you guys up (just like a blind date! :p) and let you iron out the details. I'll leave your items up in the blog for one month, if there are no takers, then I'll remove your product and feel free to do whatever you want to do with it.


(Note:I will not be liable for the individual actions of the other people involved. I'm also not getting paid to do any of this, I just like bargains, and this is a way for me to find bargains myself. lulz)



All I ask from you in return would be for you to send me a short review on the product which was swapped, and why you like/dislike what you received.

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Makeup in Manila's Swapping Corner!!!

The thing about keeping up this makeup blog is that it's soooo expensive to mantain. Now, yes, I'm running this blog on a free platform (halloooo blogspot! erm, blogger. whatever), but buying the makeup (while I ♥) is quite expensive.

I keep seeing things that I really want to buy, but sometimes, I just have too much of one product (read: lipsticks + foundation) for me to keep buying new ones just so I can write a review on it.


Anyway, I got this email that put into hyperdrive this idea that I've been toying with.


I want to create a little swapping corner here in Makeup in Manila for people like me who would
1) want to "share" some of their unused makeup
2) want to have new makeup (and are not iffy about using someone else's old makeup).


This also would help me open up this blog a bit to other "guest writers" who would want to write about their own experiences with their swapped (or to-be-swapped) products. Having a full-time corporate job and trying to get things back to normal post-Ondoy leaves me little to no time at all left for blogging.


So, what do you think? :)

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Cheeky: G-lish colour pot review

I first heard of G-lish around early part of this year when a high school classmate and budding MUA, Benelyn Javier, recommended that I try their Gelato Eyescream. I never got around to actually buying the eyescream (mostly because I kept buying from 4U2, Ever Bilena (!) and Nichido(!!)).You'll see samples of how the Eyescream looks at Benelyn's portfolio.

Anyway, last week while walking aimlessly around the mall, debating whether to head over to my favorite ukay haunt, or to raid Watsons and get some makeup, I stumbled (literally) upon a teeny tiny stall with a sign that said: Buy 1 Get 2!!!

I was hooked, intrigued, and downright interested. To say that my craving for an asthma attack care of the dusty ukay bins was (momentarily) displaced is an understatement. I tried to contain myself, but by Saturday afternoon, I found my bag almost 32g heavier--that's three colour pots for you!

These are actually eye shadows, but I tried using them for this mini shoot I had with my friends last Sunday. Here are the colors I bought:

Caffeine Rush

 

Champagne Cocktail

 

Tickled Pink

All photos from the G-lish site 

I used them during the mini shoot as blush and some colors as highlighter for the eyes. To say I was impressed with quality of the product is far from true. I found myself taking three to five swipes using the angled brush from Suesh before it would register nicely on the morena skin tones of my models.

 

Champagne Cocktail was the pot I used on my first model, Laur . I used mostly the bottom three colors to try and come up with a sun-kissed look, but it just wouldn't work! I don't know if I should have swirled my brush a bit more if its the style the photos were taken, but they hardly register on cam. Though in person, it brought out Laur's cheekbones and gave her this healthy glow about her.

I used Caffeine Rush on Kristel. I used the middle brown and 2nd to the last color to contour and bring out her cheekbones, and the lightest color at the top to highlight the top of her cheeks. It looks great on cam, but I think it also helped that I pseudo-countoured her cheekbone area with a darker foundation.

The effects are a bit more noticeable in this shot with them together:

 

Here are the pros and cons based on 1) the shoot, and 2) the past week days that I've been using all three pots as blush:

Pros

• Even spread of shimmer upon application

Cons

• Took me more than two swipes with an angled blush brush to get enough color on the brush
  
• Need to reapply every four hours or so in an air-conditioned environment
• "Falling" particles when used as an eyeshadow
  

I also tried the colour pots as eyeshadow (since the colors I purchased are used more often as eyeshadows). However, I find that too much pigments fall under my eyes, even if I tap off the excess. The colors also hardly register.

The colour pot of G-lish is "optional" to have in your kikay kit. I still use the product since I didn't get any breakouts and I also like the colors (especially Champagne Cocktail as a blush). However, if you're looking for a really "sulit" purchase, you might have to look elsewhere.

I'm still not giving up on this brand though. As you can see in Benelyn Javier's portfolio, the eyescream looks quite promising. :)

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Maybelline BB Cream

BB Cream lovers! Heads up!

I got word yesterday afternoon that Maybelline Philippines recently launched (well, as in started shipping out yesterday) their own line of BB Cream. The product will be retailing for Php 299.

When I heard of this, I found myself almost flying to Landmark Trinoma and checking out the Maybelline counter. Oh, the tragedy! Their shipment will be arriving tomorrow (October 14) and I'll be able to get my hands on the product on Thursday at the earliest! :(

Anyway, I'll be checking out Robinsons Galleria as well to see if they already have this on their shelves. Keep posted on the reviews! (and pray that I get new data cables soon so I can post photos. After all, a makeup blog without photos is a bit...sad).

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My first blog "award" nomination

Ok, so I basically got this comment on one of my entries from talksmart.


Basically, it said that my blog, this very same blog you're reading is nominated to be it's 181st Filipino Blog of the Week.


WEEEH! I'm excited. Do click over at this link and please please please please please please vote for me. It would really mean a lot to me to win this :)

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