AMW Reviews: The Body Shop Vitamin E Lip Care SPF15

I can't live without a lip balm, I carry it everywhere I go, I have one inside my bag, one near my bed,  and one on top of my dresser.  When it comes to serious moisturizing, I've always been dependent on my Kiehl's No.1 Lip Balm.

I am a bit crazy when it comes to dry and chappy lips, so aside from the scattered lip balms around the house, I would like to carry another form of lip balm, the easier-to-apply type!  I'm done with my Lipsan Lip Care so I'm off to purchase another one!  I wanted something quick!  A couple of twist and swipe, I'm ready to go!

The Body Shop Vitamin E Lip Care says ---

Best if you want to Moisturize and protect your lips from UVA and UVB rays with vanilla-flavored, Vitamin E lip care stick that can be worn alone or under lipstick.

• Vitamin E is a natural antioxidant that moisturizes and helps to protect skin againt premature aging and environmental aggressors.
• Community Trade coconut oil and Community Trade olive oil help to nourish and condition lips.
• Organic Community Trade beeswax helps to condition lips while acting as a barrier that prevents moisture loss.

Key ingredients: Organic Beeswax, Coconut Oil, Vanilla Flavor, Vitamin E.

AMW says ---
Pros

• Has a faint vanilla smell which is quite nice
• Easy glide on lips
• The Lip Balm is quite solid, does not melt easily and yet, it's not super hard!

• Does not have a weird, waxy texture
• Contains Vitamin E which can brighten up the look of your lips, or in my case, even out my uneven lip color.
• Can apply lipstick instantly and lipstick color does not glide off.
• Has UVA and UVB protection in a form of SPF15 which is enough for daily use
• Cute, simple, light pink packaging.
• The light, moisturizing feel lasts a bit longer as compared to other drugstore lip balm

Cons

• Super dry and cracked lips?  This alone is not enough 
• Has tiny waxy feel which will make other people feel a bit weird
• A bit pricey

Overall

I can't really tell if this is Holy Grail (HG) material as this comes off in between.  There's just so many competition out there!  But to be honest, I will be able to finish up this tube as it helps sooth my dry lips and the best thing I love about this is it makes my lipstick glides on easier with no lines shown.

Tips

• Try on tester before you purchase as there are some sensitive noses who just can't take Vanilla scent.
• Never share lip balm with a friend!
• Ask for "Sale" date!
• If your lips are really dry, do not forget to re-apply as needed.
• After eating or drinking, wipe your lips first to remove oil, you can brush your lips with damp toothbrush and re-apply this lip balm.

Will I repurchase?
If it's on sale.

Where to purchase and how much?
At The Body Shop for Php395.00 (approx $8.80)

Lips applied with The Body Shop Vitamin E Lip Care with SPF15 only

Have you tried this lip balm?
I am having positive outlook on this and the darkness on the sides of my lips are getting a bit lighter!
Will let you know if there are further changes once I finish the tube!

Have you tried this lip balm?
Has it done anything for you?
Smile, click comment, and share your experiences!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Ecobeau SkinCare Samples --- WINNERS!

When I posted about the samples of Ecobeau Skincare sets, I got overwhelming responses from readers!  I am so happy that a lot of you read my blog and a lot of you wanted to try the sample BB creams I've tried too!  

Sorry it took me awhile to pick up the 3 winners!  I had to read all the entries, making sure the answers are correct and of course, no duplicates!  I have to list down the names and email address then put it all in this cute Fruit Machine! 

Congratulations to the following for winning your own cute Ecobeau skincare set!

Winner no. 1

Rachael Uson

Winner no.2

Lanie Intalan

Winner no.3 

Cristina Ortiz

Thanks to The Orange Co. for sending me these samples for my readers!
To my dear readers, thank you so much for joining my contests!
Again, there will be more soon! :)
Congratulations to the 3 lucky winners!
I will email you for mailing address!
You got to love the fruit machine for choosing you!

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Nail Art Tutorial: "First Sponge Nail Art"

Blogger friends are truly an inspiration.  A dearest blogger Xin, who I fondly call my long lost sister, because of our love for nail art is fond of nail art designs as much as I do.  I saw a couple of her "gradient" nails using "sponge" and I told her I'll be trying them out myself but things got pretty..well...I got pretty OLD busy and I tend to forget!  Glad I remembered over the weekend because its one of the easiest nail art I've tried that most of the "first time nail art" designers can try at home! 

Here's my "First Sponge Nail Art" design finishing it up with Prettynails' Stickers!

Step 1:

Apply a base coat to protect your nails prior to nail polish application.  After try, choose you base polish.  I used 2 coats of OPI Nail Lacquer Suzi and the Lifeguard making sure its completely dry.

Step 2:

Use "nail art sponge" that can be bought on your nail art stores or Ebay, or in my case, I went through hubby's "trash" and found a gold mine!  A porous sponge!  *laughs*  I will teach you guys how to do DIY sponge for nail art on a separate post soon!

I used ELF Nail Polish in Royal Purple and paint it on the sponge itself, dab excess on paper, and with a "stamping" motion, dap on top of the tip of your nails for that "gradient" effect.

Step 3:

This gets a bit messy so feel free to clean the sides of your nails with cotton buds soaked with nail polish remover.

Step 4:

This step is optional, if you want "sparkly "effect, apply sparkly polish on sponge and dab it on top of the purple shade.

Step 5:

You can top the "Spongey" Nail Art Design with a clear coat or top coat for a simple nail design.  You can go further by adding up 3D Design Nail Stickers.

Step 6:

Use a tweezer to gently lift the stickers and stick on the preferred area of your nails.  Be creative!

Step 7:

Top the design with your favorite top coat.  I prefer to apply 2 coats of The Face Shop's Top Coat to prevent the white 3d stickers from getting dirty.

Voila!  My First Sponge Nail Art with 3D Floral Designs

How do you find my first experiment?
Do check back on a quick post on how to do DIY Nail Art Sponge.

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate Winner!

First of all, thank you so much for sending in all those wonderful entries for the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate Contest!  There are a total of  26 entries and me, together with the judges (2 of them who wants to hide their identity) <--- Hint: Family member, LOL.  Finally chose the winner!  All the touching stories are well written and I seriously hope I can give more prizes out there!  Here it is, the winner ---

Congratulations to
Ms. IYA CONSENGCO

Iya is a 21 year old model who is engaged!  Yes, she knew she's too young to be engaged but let's not judge her!  She's in love!

Iya used to be a model but gave this up to concentrate on her life being a married woman and of course, to finish up college.  

Just like a regular young girl, Iya is quite insecure as she may look perfect on photos because of makeup and Photoshop, she worries about her skin not looking good!  She's afraid that the "perfection" that people see in photos is not the real her and when people get to see the real Iya minus the makeup, people may judge her!  That's why she joined the contest to give Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate a try and see if it will help her current skin condition!  She wants to look good not only for other people but also for herself!  She wants to have a good skin even without makeup, without Photoshop.

Such a wonderful story!
Thanks Iya for joining the contest!
Again, congratulations for winning and for being engaged!

Before I end this post, we picked another 3 for Consolation prizes.  Each will receive 2 Full Size Bottles of SunSilk 200ml Shampoo and a pack of Rexona Naturals Bio Protection 1x Deo and 1x Roll-on.

 Congratulations to ---

Angelica Aragon

Bernadette Villanueva

and
Emiliana Sison

I will email you all for mailing information!
Again, Congratulations!  There will be more contests soon! 
So please do not feel bad if you did not win ok?

Huge hugs and love to everyone!

AMW would like to thank Kiehl's, Sunsilk and Rexona for wonderful prizes for my dear Readers :D

Keep smilin'

Stay happy!

Salon Report: Straight & Smooth Salon

I have my fair share of  good and bad salon experiences.  I went through a stage where I love having my haircut at least once every 2-3 months, and I would go to different salons to try on different hairstylists,  if only I was blogging then, you'll see me reporting on different hair salons across the Metro.

First time I heard about Straight and Smooth Salon was from a fellow beauty blogger friend Tara, who had her INOA Hair Coloring Treatment there.  Factors I'm looking for in a salon:

• Friendly staffs - they don't need to be super friendly but are courteous enough to know your needs and make you feel comfortable
• Nice ambiance - a place where you feel comfortable right away once you step in the salon, I actually prefer not too bright lights as you get to have your hair wet, messed up and you don't want people to see you from outside.
• Prices not over the top
• Ample magazines to read
• Internet connection - isn't it great to check your emails and read blogs while someone treat your hair?

My requirements are not too high eh?  But over the weekend, I was able to visit Straight & Smooth salon at Amorsolo Street, Makati. Did they pass my requirements?  My watchful eyes?  Read on....