Reader's Corner: Q&A + My Nail Polish Collection

Hey all!!!

Here's another set of Q&A, I usually answer them directly and post them again for everyone to share their comments, ideas and answers :)

I also included my nail polish collection which some of my readers wanted to check out. Nothing too fantabulous :)

Question:

What's the difference of NC and NW for MAC shades?

Askmewhats Answers:

NC-Neutral Cool -For golden undertones
NW-Neutral Warm-For pinkish undertones

You can check out this link for more information :)

http://www.specktra.net/foundation.php

Question:

Where can I purchase Carmex Lip Balm here in the Philippines?

Askmewhats Answers:

You can purchase Carmex lip balms at PCX shops. You can find PCX shop at Robinson's Place, Ermita.


Question:

Can you suggest a concealer that can really cover dark post acne blemishes?

Askmewhats Answers:

Post Acne Blemishes are quite hard to cover as it gets to be sensitive and dries easily. Make sure to use a concealer that is hypo-allergenic. Aside from concealer, I suggest use your favorite Liquid Foundation/ Cream foundation that is one shade lighter than your skin and pat on to the area that has spots. After foundation, if the spot is still there, you can add on your concealer. But making sure do not pack on too much and it'll be cakey and the spots will be more obvious.

Some concealers I can suggest are the Make Up Forever Concealer Palette (so you can mix and match the shade), Cinema Secrets Concealer (as this is quite creamy), if you have the chance to find a local reseller, I like NYX Concealer in a Jar as well.

But of course, not all brands that works for me will work for you, do give it a test first before purchasing :)

Question:

Can I see your nail polish collection?

Askmewhats Answers:

Sure you can! But do not expect me to have a nail polish salon type of collection :) When I got married, I left all my polishes at home and my collection started when Toma sent me complete set of ELF polishes, then Sis Aika continued my collection by sending me the neon collection polishes, then Alyssa sent me the nail art dotting tool..and the rest are gifts from lovely friends too! Tine, thanks for the lovely Maybelline polish and a dear friend from Malaysia, you know who you are, for the Kanebo polish :) So in short, I did spend money on my own for my collection but a lot are from dear friends who knew my love for nail stuffs. I'll cherish my collection for sure! :)

Enjoy the photos! :)

My first traincase from my lovely colleagues
for my birthday February 2008! Thanks gals!

When opened, they're usually laid flat
But for photo purposes,
I made them stand up



What's on the lower part of the traincase?
I put my pedicure/manicure kit!

Useless Nail Stamping Tool
Super useless, all 3 polishes all dried up! lol
No, this is NOT Konad



Nail Art Dotting Tools Nail Gems from Market Market
and the rest Are gift from a colleague Pam
<-- Thanks Pam! You have to let me know where you purchase it! :D



Here's the case from Japan Home Php88.00 (approx $2.00)
For my nail art pens



I recently purchased a nail art brush From Koichi Store,
Robinson's Place Ermita
There's just ONE left, so I wish this is good!
For precision nail art :P
Don't take my word for it,
I never do things PRECISE hahaha

People ask me what I want for Christmas and the new years?
Material "want" --- it never ends...
but happiness 'wise, I am very happy!
I've got a good husband, lovely family and supportive friends!
Wonderful blogger friends and readers!!!
Those are more than enough for me!
What are you thankful for the year 2008?

Askmewhats Reviews: Coastal Scents Gel Liner in Truffle

Lovely people!
How's the Christmas celebration? I went to the mall to have lunch with my family and had fun because family is complete! Brother came back to the Philippines. It was a great lunch, we ate at Pepper Steak (will show you the photos of the food soon!)

Dinner came we had Christmas Dinner at Fish & Co. with my husband's family! So it was a day of EATING! :) The mall is packed with so many people! I just can't believe there's "recession" going on!

Anyways, let me go straight to a review!

Coastal Scents Gel Liner
in Truffle

Coastal Scents Gel Liner says ---

Application is easy, has the ability to design and be creative, lasts all day without smudging or creasing and are highly pigmented.

Ingredients:

Isododecane, Polyethylene, Trimethylsilocysilicate, Cyclomethicone, Ozokerite, Ploymethylsilsesquioxane, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Quaternium-18 Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Lecithin, Propylparaben, BHT. May contain: Mica and Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Ultramarine Blue, D&C Red No.7 Ca Lake, FD&C Blue No.1 Al Lake, D&C Black No.2.

Askmewhats says ---

My review is based only to the ONE color I've tried, TRUFFLE

Pros

• no smudging
• lasts all day
• easy to apply, dries quickly
• pigmented
• does not cause any eye allergies (for me)
• easy to remove with make-up remover
• I've used it on my waterline too and it stayed for 6 hours, which is good! It didn't smudge, it was just gone by late afternoon!
  

Cons

• not available locally, shipping is expensive!
• the jar is not labeled, if you purchase a lot, you have to put the name by yourself to avoid confusion
  

Overall

CS Gel Liner in Truffle is a true matte brown color. I like it because it is very pigmented and it does gives out a very natural look!

The other gel liner I've used is my HG Stila Smudgepots in Black. I've heard and read so many raves about the CS Gel Liner in True Black but it was out of stock when I ordered Truffle. I have great experience with Truffle, I actually danced the whole lunch time and I was sweating like crazy and it stayed on till I remove my make-up.

With the price itself without the shipping cost, it is worth it and very inexpensive, but added with the shipping cost, I can just buy myself a Bobbi Brown or MAC gel liners.

Tips

• If you plan to purchase the CS liners, do read reviews and look for swatches online as I've read some of the colors are not pigmented enough and you have to apply many times for the colors to show up. Research please!
• Use an angled liner brush or a thin angled brush depending on which one you're more comfortable to use.
• Always close the lid between applications to prevent the product from drying up
  

Will I repurchase?

Yes! They came out with more colors!!! I want more!!!

Where can you purchase and how much?

At Coastal Scents website for $6.95 (shipping NOT included)

I usually just draw a thin line during work days!
Here's how it looks like after more than 12 hours!
I love that it stayed on, no smudging and it didn't fade!

Plan to buy CS Gel Liners yourself?
I honestly plan to get more!
I am definitely waiting for discounts again!
So if you see any CS discounts or coupons coming up!
Do holler! :D

Masala and Askmewhats International Christmas Winners!

Merry Christmas again everyone!!!
Here's the winner for the contest I posted here

Drumroll please....



Dwana!!!

Congratulations!!!
I will email you for your mailing info!

Philippine readers:

Head straight to Makeup Masala to see if you are as lucky as Dwana! :) Goodluck!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!

Askmewhats Reviews: BRTC Cover BB Cream

Almost everyone who blogs about beauty knows what BB creams are. But for readers who haven't heard about this "craze", let me introduce you to them, and try to persuade you into this craze too *evil laugh* heeheehee ---

INTRODUCTION to BB cream

Blemish Balm, also call BB Cream, is known to have been formulated as an after-treatment cream to help patients who have gone through laser skin surgery to soothe and regenerate the skin. Soon, it became popular with many Korean celebrities.

~Advantage~

-Helps to soften skin texture
-Prolonged used of product may help to improve overall texture of skin & fade acne scars
-Act as a makeup base & foundation
-Helps to cover the irregularities on the skin, even out skintone, camouflage undereye circles, scars & add radiance to face

There's so many BB cream brands out there! There's Skinfood, Missha, L'egere, BRTC, Dr. Jart, Etude House, Lioele, Skin79....to name a few! For someone like me, who's into research and I wanted to read a lot of reviews before purchasing, I find it overwhelming to even start off by choosing just ONE BRAND.

And I finally did the choosing!

My first BB Cream Purchase BRTC Cover BB Cream

What made me choose this brand?

Before I answer this question, BRTC is an abbreviation for Bio Remedies Therapeutic Cosmetics. I chose this brand because I have read that this brand is one of the most famous and trusted together with Dr. Jart's.


Out of all the BRTC BB Cream lines, why did I choose the Cover BB Cream?

Because the size isn't big, and the price is reasonable. If it doesn't work on me, I won't feel bad! lol But of course, I chose the Cover BB cream because it states that this covers blemishes and uneven skin tone naturally!!! <-- very important for Askmewhats.

Interested?
Here's how it looks like on my hand
Has a pinkish tone rather than yellow

Blends a bit
As seen, it has a thick consistency
Looks like a cream foundation



If blended well, you hardly notice anything!
The color blended in with my skin
(click on photo to enlarge)

You'll see that there's a certain glow




Now let's go to the real deal...
The Product Review!!!

BRTC Cover BB Cream says ---

It naturally covers the uneven skin problem caused by blemishes and trouble marks and express vital and brilliant looking skin.

Various botanical active ingredients are effectively delivered to the skin and care the blemishes and trouble marks while presenting flawlessly natural looking skin tone.

Main Ingredients:

Macadamia Nut Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Vitamin C derivatives, Swiss Alphine Herb Extract, Allatoin, Camomile Extract

Askmewhats says ---

Pros

• Tube is hygienic and easy to use

• natural looking
• sheer-medium coverage depends on how much you put, can be used alone on lazy days
• brightens my skin: I can't help staring at my skin every now and then
• it didn't cover my blemishes and spots BUT my skin is definitely MORE even.
• ingredients are all natural
  
• A little goes a long way
  

Cons

• not available locally
• quite pricey for 10ml tube
• if you are looking for heavy coverage: This is not the one as it does cover up some blemishes and undereye circles, but not completely. Have to follow up with foundation though and it works ok
• Oil Control: not too much, have to re-touch a 3-4 hours later
• no SPF as other BB creams have SPF and Anti-wrinkle
• Available in ONE shade only, so not everyone will appreciate this
• has a tiny "clay" scent, but it doesn't bother me (could bother others)
  

Overall

If used alone, the BRTC Cover BB Cream looks like a tinted moisturizer with a tiny amount of concealer. If used together with your favorite foundation, it gives out a flawless looking skin with the natural "glow". I like this! I can't tell about it's function as the "healing" agent as I've only been using this for a couple of days. Definitely check back for Askmewhats Revisits when I finish this tube.

Is this vital to your skincare and make-up regimen?

It is considered a luxury for me, we can live without the BB creams as we aren't actors/actresses who needed the "CLOSE UP" shots all the time. For coverage, we can always use a concealer and our favorite foundation.

BUT, if you're someone who wanted the "extras" in life, it is ok, but I have to warn you! It gets ADDICTING! Can you believe I am now searching for other BB cream brands? I am looking into Dr. Jart's or Skin79!!! And I am not even halfway done with this!

Imagine how hard it is to choose your foundation shade? Choosing BB creams is harder because you don't get to see the product unless you're living in Korea!

So...... I'm holding off choosing for now.... because.....

Thanks to Tine though for sending me Missha and Skinfood BB cream samples, at least, I have my hands full for reviews.

Tips

• you have to apply moisturizer before using this product, especially for my dry skin, can cause a bit of skin flakiness
• apply BB cream AFTER basic skincare BEFORE makeup application
• you don't need to apply this BB cream all over your face, you can use a small amount on areas that needed more coverage and finish with patting motion all over the face
• you can apply BB cream with a Stippling brush/Make-up Sponge or Fingers. I've tried everything, I like using my fingers better! <-- funny how this doesn't sound right! LOL
  

Will I repurchase?

I might! I'm loving the extra glow!

Where can you purchase and how much?

Ebay! I bought this for $20.00 plus $3.50 shipping (approx Php1,175.00)

Now, this ain't a review if I don't use this on my face right?
Are you ready? lol
Am I the only one who's NOT ready?

Left: nothing but pure skin
Right: nothing but BRTC Cover BB Cream


(Click photo to enlarge)

As seen on photo, it didn't cover and "magically" remove the spots on my skin but it did brighten my skin a bit and even out my skin tone :)

I hope my review is helpful to people who plans to start using BB creams! I hope I'm not enabling some of you because I know how hard it is when your "ENABLED" button is switched on! Goodluck BB Cream hunting!


Christmas is near!!!
Christmas is near!!!
Are you opening up any Christmas presents?
Me, NONE :( I've opened up everything already! LOL
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Stay Happy and Stay Pretty!