Nailed It! Summer Orange

Summer has long started and people are starting to hit the beach!  Summer also means the perfect time to don very colorful nail colors.  Lucky for me, I bumped into a nail polish sale at Skin Food, SM Baguio.  I bought Skin Food Fruit Drink Nail in No. 5 Orange Drink for only Php79.00 (~$1.75)! Yipee, what a steal!

For my first nail post, I opted for a simple nail art using this new polish. Check it out!

To achieve the above effect, you'll need:

• any orange nail polish color
• a clear top coat and base coat
• small strips of masking tape, big enough to cover half of your nail
• q-tips for cleaning out the edges

What to do:

1. Apply a thin layer of base coat on clean nails. Let it completely dry.
2. While waiting for your base coat to dry, weaken the adhesive on your masking tape by sticking it to your skin and quickly peeling it off.  You don't want your tape to be too sticky as it might peel off the coats that you've already applied.
3. Stick your tape diagonally on your nail, covering only the bottom half of the nail.
4. Apply your orange nail polish on each nail.
5. Wait for about two minutes and apply a second layer of orange nail polish.
6. Very carefully peel off the tape.
7. Let the orange color dry.
8. Apply top coat.

Voila! Super easy summer-ready nails! :)

Revew: Clinique All About Eyes Rich Eye Cream

I was a little bit unfortunate in the genetics lottery when I inherited dark undereye circles from my father side. As I approached my mid-20s and with law school, I've noticed that the dark circles got worse.  Add hideous puffiness due to sleep-deprivation, and a bit of fine lines to the equation as well.  So I decided and get myself my first eye cream, the Clinique All About Eyes Rich Eye Cream. 

Let's get right on to it, shall we?

Product and Packaging:

The product is a very thick formula contained in a tiny, peach-colored jar. (You'd have to make sure to have clean hands before dipping right in.)  There's 0.5 oz or 15 ml worth or product in the jar, which is quite normal for eye creams.   However, The consistency of the cream is so thick that this tiny jar would certainly last for months! Even if I turned the jar upside-down, none of the product would drip off! I've had this eye cream for more than 2 months now, and I've only used up less than a fourth of it.

Claims

The Clinique website claims on this product states that:

Moisture-rich eye cream diminishes the look of undereye circles, shadows, fine lines-instantly and over time. De-puffs, calms with botanicals. Helps boost natural collagen production. Strengthens skin's moisture barrier against common irritants. Ophthalmologist Tested.

The Verdict

The current condition of my skin right now is oily-combination, and it gets oilier during the summer, so I'm just using the eye cream when I won't be wearing any make-up or before I go to sleep. It is a tad too rich for me to be used during the day.

In the times that I've used this product, I did like that:

• it did lots of improvement in de-puffing the bags under my eyes; 
• it is very moisturizing and at the same time, does not irritate me;
• it does not give me milia;
• it smells good right off the jar, but the scent doesn't bother you upon application;
• a little goes a very loooooong way; and
• the packaging is very pretty (I'm a sucker for pretty packaging ^^,).

However, I did not like that:

• it is very pricey -- I bought this for around $40 at Duty Free (~Php1700.00);
• the packaging is not hygiene-friendly;
• it did not get rid of my dark circles (yet);
• it did have any significant improvement on my fine lines; and
• my eyelids get very oily if I use this during the day, such that my concealer would just melt off within 2 hours of application

For my first eye cream, I'd give this product 4 out of 5 stars. Hopefully, with longer use, it will prove its claims on reducing my dark circles and fine lines.

Will I recommend this product? Yes. Those with dryer skin than I do will definitely love this product.

Are there any beauty products or services you'd like to be reviewed? Leave a word or two on the comments section down below!

Ciao~!

Review: Celeteque Dermoscience Hydration Makeup Remover Cleansing Facial Wipes

First blog post! First review! Yey! Here goes...

I recently went home to my parents' house in the province, and much to my dismay, I forgot to bring along my trusty makeup remover wipes.  So, I decided to buy some emergency facial wipes for my stay here.  I decided to purchase the product under review today, Celeteque Dermoscience Hydration Make-up Remover Cleansing Facial Wipes. Phew, that's a mouthful!

This is what the product looks like.

Packaging:  

The product is in a typical and simple plastic packaging with a resealable opening, like most wet wipes. Considering that there are 20 wipes included, it's quite lightweight and travel-friendly.

Ingredients:

You guys can check out the list of ingredients below.  This product contains paraben, so it is not advisable for those who are going au naturel with their face products. It also has a bit of artificial fragrance in, which I was able to smell when I wiped it on my face.  It smells like a combination of alcohol and flowery scent (if that makes any sense haha).

List of ingredients on the packaging

Claims:

On the Celeteque website, it claims that:

CELETEQUE DermoScience™ Hydration Make-Up Remover Wipes gently removes make-up, excess sebum and dirt that may clog skin pores. It hasActive Skin Hydrators that help boost skin’s level of moisture. It is convenient to use anytime anywhere.

The Test

Just an intro, before I go into the test results, I have oily skin around my T-zone. My U-zone is pretty normal. I'm also acne-prone around my nose, upper lip and chin area.  Because of the treatment I've been applying to treat my acne, my upper lip area is dry.

Today was a light makeup day for me. I only used my Clinique face powder and Etude House lipstick.  Before going on to my night routine, I wiped the makeup off of my face and here's the outcome.

Ewww, all that gunk!

It did take the makeup off quite well off my face, but it gave me awful stings around my the dry areas of my face.  The stings lasted for a good 3-5 minutes.  That was a very bad downside, since I expected this product to be moisturizing.  Because of that, I didn't even dare wiping it unto my eye area.

The Verdict

I would give this product a 2.5 out of 5 stars.  

Will I repurchase this product again? Probably not. I found this product quite harsh on my dry patches. My skin can have an on-and-off sensitive phase even in the most humid weathers.  I don't think the Hydrators actually worked on me because I did find that my dry patches are even more drier the next morning. :(  However, if you have normal skin, then this product might work for you. 

Pros:

• very affordable - It retails for only Php160.00 at Watsons
• lightweight and travel-friendly
• removes basic makeup around the face efficiently

Cons:

• products seem to be harsh especially for sensitive skin
• alcohol-like smell
• not advisable to be used around the eye area

So, that's it for my first-ever product review. I hope you found this informative. If there are any other products that you would like me to review, leave it on the comments section down below, and I'll check it out.

Ciao~!