Review: Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm in Oxidizing Berry

When they were first introduced online, Maybelline Baby Lip Balms became quite the hype in the entire blog universe. Or maybe I am exaggerating? Haha. But seriously, many people were so into it that I had to do everything possible so that I can also check it out. I saw a lot of bloggers review a few, if not all of the variants and I had my eyes set on those pink ones which gives a cute pinkish lips after.

And so when I finally chance upon them on the Maybelline counter, I was looking at the variants and was wondering why they only have four. I even got into a small chuchu fight with the attendant because I told her that this is not the original baby lips :D I recited all the shades that I saw online when it suddenly became obvious to me. The ones here in the Philippines are different from the ones that most of you guys might have bought :( Sad story ayt.

The product promises results in a week's time.. Hmm isnt that something? I guess that explains the hype on these when they first came out in the market.

Its also preloaded with SPF20, so you have nothing to worry about when your out in the sun because you've got protection already.

Instructions, ingredients and a more detailed specification can be found on the back of the packaging. I dont know for you guys, but I have this habit of reading everything on the packaging. I guess I just want to be more informed as to what I am about to use, but most of the time I'm just bored :D

WHAT IT CLAIMS:

> Instant 8 hour moisture.

> Sheds away rough and dryness, revealing a supple, smooth and cushioned lips all day long.

> Reduce fine lip lines.

> Increase elasticity

> Increase suppleness

PACKAGING:

I really love the packaging of Maybelline Lip Balms, especially the Baby Lips. They are all so cute and funny and trendy as well as the colors reminds me of color blocking. Its really an attention grabbing product so once you see it on the shelf you will be drawn to it.

Once the cover is twisted, you will then see the lip balm. In this case, its colorless or just plain white. The flavor is oxidizing berry and it really does smell like berry :3

Then you have to slowly twist the bottom for the lip balm to come out. Basically works just like most lip balm products or lipsticks.

REVIEW:

I usually use this product at night, because I feel want to wake up to a nice result. Haha. Seriously, I know lip balms are usually worn at broad daylight, but when I happen to wake up to my lips peeling after applying this one at night, then I just made it a point to use this at time so that only me can see my flaky lips in the morning. Though Im not sure if peeling is one of the benefits of this product.. But if the advertisement says "Get back the lips that you were born with", then I guess this mini exfoliating benefit could be up to something,

I am not really the lip balm type of person, but I bought this one because I just want to see if it can really give me that baby lips lol. So I just have to put up with oily like substance on my lips at night. Now dont get me wrong, it isnt really that bad. Maybe I am just not used to lip balms, is all.

Overall, I would give this product a 4 out of 5. I am still using this once in a while at night and when I wake up, the peeling is still there. I cant really say that my lips re dry because they're not chappy or anything.. But I guess everytime I use this my lips end up peeling. And I would like to think of that as a good thing :)

Recommend? Yes. Repurchase? Maybe.. If only the US versions are available here, then I wouldnt mind that much. But seeing that we are stuck with only 4 (not to mention boring and colorless) variations, then I guess I won't be buying again.

Temporary Lip Tattoo Sticker from Born Pretty Store

I have been browsing on Tumblr when I came across a couple of photos of awesome lips. I was like, whoah! I know how lipstick can transform dull and boring plain lips into something else, but the ones I saw were just simple awesome. There were even lips in what seems to be like a bee design, bug ones and even rainbow ones. So I was digging deeper into those kind of things when I came across lip tattoo stickers. When I saw the ones from Born Pretty Store, I then realized that maybe that's how they got their lips to be that creative. I mean, yes lipstick and painting will do but I think the lip stickers are by far the easiest and fastest way to do it.

For those of you who haven't heard of lip tattoos yet, uhm here is my idea of it. Its like a tattoo or a sticker with designs already that you can choose from. Then just like those nail decals and stickers, you just have to stick them or apply to your lips. You wait a couple of minutes before removing the sticker and voila, you now have amazing lips. Haha

Now I mentioned that I found a few of them on Born Prett Store. They do have a lot of designs but here are a few of my favorite ones.

According to the site, these tattoos are 100% brand new and sealed. They would stay on your lips for more or less 8 hours. The product also claims to be safe and non toxic, so you dont have to worry about licking your lips. And most of all, these will fit any lip size :)

If you would like to take a look at them (which I know you would surely love), you can find them here. These lip tattoos normally retails at $2.28 but a few designs are on sale for as low as $1.82. And, if you use the discount code JELW21, you will get an additional 10% OFF. On top of that, everything is free shipping with no minimum order :)

August is Over {Haul}

Yay for August. I was actually surprised that its already over and yes, September is here. Anyhoo, here are some of the stuffs that I got from last month. Pretty much facial stuff which are part of my routine and a body mist which I bought because I don't feel like just standing there so I had to buy something for me not to look weird or what :p

First up, is my complete set of Daiso Charcoal Products. Yay! I am so glad my mother bought them for me from a local Daiso shop (called Saizen here in the Philippines). I got all three from the charcoal series, which includes the charcoal mask, the cleansing cream and the cleansing foam. I already have a charcoal mask and have posted a review of the product, and the one below is just a spare one in case the other will be all consumed.

Daiso Natual Pack / Charcoal Mask

Daiso Cleansing Cream

Daiso Cleansing Foam

The second item is another variant of St. Ives' facial scrub. I remember the first one that I bought was a smaller one. It was an apricot scrub but the label says invigorating, and so for my second bottle I bought a bigger one but a different variant this time. I was actually having a hard time deciding between this and the other one. Not that I know the difference but I was mainly basing it on the ingredients, this St. Ives Blemish and Blackhead Control which contains salicylic acid and the other one which has AHA. I really wanted the AHA one because I have gone through an AHA treatment, but my previous blog readings told me that I should be more on the lookout for products containing sacylic acid (yeah oily combination skin sucks), so thats how I ended up deciding on this one. Maybe I'll get the other one next time :D

St. Ives Apricot Scrub, Blemish and Blackhead Control

And then of course I didn't forget to grab a bottle of eRAse oil. This keeps me sane eveytime I have breakouts. Though I find it more useful in helping me clear out acne scars, and believe me it really works, well at least for me it does. The peeling would start even after a few hours and in the morning I would wake up to a sunburned face. Ha! Not that I mind peeling, but if it gets rid of the scars, then lets peel all the way because I have all the time in the world. Haha.

eRAse Peeling Oil

And lastly is this bottle of Daily Spell Body Mist from Bench/. Like I said, I really don't need one but was forced to buy because I am not a fan of window shopping, so I have to actually buy something to avoid feeling like an idiot. The tester on the shelf actually smelled good, but when I tried it at home somewhat it smelled like a boy's parfume. Lol.

Daily Spell Body Mist from Bench/

And there it goes. Hopefully I'll be back to full time blogging in the next few days.. I really did miss writing, and so does my friends from here :)

NOTD~ Pink, Purple, Sparkles

July is almost over. Glad that I was able to paint my nails even if I was super busy haha. Today I am going to show my nail art design. Its not that fancy, but better than plain nails, or nothing :)

The result x)

First, I painted my nails with a light pink nail polish. I used something from Etude House. I dont know what's the name of this shade because the label of the bottle is in Korean but there's a number shade for reference and in my searching I think it was referred to as Pinkade. I have already swatched and reviewed this nail polish and you can read about it here. I had about two coats since I find it too sheer for my liking.

With Flash Photography

Under normal lighting the nail polish seems a little darker but its indeed a light one.

Without Flash Photography

 And then I took out my favorite bottle of glitter nail polish. Its from Wet n Wild and the shade is called Hannah Pinktana. You can also see more photos of this nail polish in my review post here. I applied it on top of my pink nails diagonally. This is how it looked like after applying *u*

And for the final touch, I added Flower Lace Nail Stickers on the boundaries of the pink and purple colors. This particular lace sticker is from Born Pretty Store. There are actually 10 pcs in one pack and I decided to use this particular design because I find it fit for this nail art :)

Again, here is the result of my experimental nail art. I think purple and pink blends with each other so I might again use this combination next time.

If you are wondering what products I use, here they are again :)

Flowers Lace Nail Water Stickers Nail Art Decals ($2.99) - Born Pretty Store

Wet n Wild Hannah Pinktana

Etude House Nail Polish in Pinkade

Caronia Clear Top Coat

Review: Daiso Charcoal Mask

Hello there :) I'm back again with another product to review. I've had this product for quite a while already and I have been using it ever since I got hold of it, but not on a weekly or monthly basis. And since I have already tried it more than once, I feel confident now to post my review of this product, the ever popular Daiso Charcoal Mask ^_^

Originally, Daiso products can be bought in Japan as these are from their 100 yen shop. Super affordable right? But when you buy this online like on ebay for example, it would really cost you much so I suggest that you try to look at your local shop if they have Daiso products. As for someone like me who lives in the Philippines, this can be easily found in a shop called Saizen, which is an eighty pesos something shop. So its just like the original Daiso which is 100 yen per item only.

Its a charcoal peel off mask that promises to remove blackheads, whiteheads and other skin dirt as well as tighten pores. Hmm. Considering the hype that this has become, the reviews online are actually fifty fifty, a mix between good and bad ones. But then again I still think that in whatever product, there will always be good and bad reviews because of course each person has a different skin type. What might work for someone might not work for the others. But here is my honest review of this product :)

SPECIFICATIONS

• Item Name: Charcoal Mask Natural Pack
• Brand: Daiso
• Country of Origin: Korea
• Size: approx. 134 (L) x 36 (W) x 36 (D) mm (5.28 x 1.41 x 1.41 inch)
• Net Weight: approx. 80 g (2.82 oz)
• Weight with Packing: approx. 91.7 g (3.23 oz)

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

This is a Charcoal Mask is made by Daiso that is formulated with Natural ingredients from Oak trees. It removes oils, dirt, keratin and sebum in the sebaceous follicles of the skin. It deeply cleans the pore, leaving your skin clearer and smooth with less visible pores.

INGREDIENTS

Water, Polyvinyl alcohol, Ethanol (alcohol), Charcoal, Magnesium aluminum silicate, Crystalline cellulose, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil Methylparaben, Cortex mori extract, Xanthan Gum, Butylparaben, EDTA - 2Na

MORE DETAILS

Formulated with Natural ingredients from Oak trees

Removes oils, dirt, keratin and sebum in the sebaceous follicles of the skin

Deeply clean the pore and leaving your skin clearer with less visible pores

Made in Korea

Produced by Japanese Brand Daiso

HOW TO APPLY

After cleansing your face, apply evenly on the entire area on your face in appropriate amount. Please ensure that eyebrows, eyes, and mouth do not come into contact with mask. Let it completely dry for 10 ~ 15min. If completely dried out, peel if off starting at the bottom, pulling toward the top. (You will know this when it's no longer sticky and skin feels tight.)

• Use it once per week
• It can be very sticky so peeling it off can be a bit difficult. You can apply an amount that's just enough to cover your skin's surface (Don't layer it on thickly)
• For sensitive skin, test the product on a small patch first to test for irritation and allergies. Apply facial essence before use, and slowly peel it off starting at the top toward the bottom
• After peeling off the mask, cleanse your face well with cold water to close up the pores

After cleaning my face, I applied it for the first time on my entire face just for this review. I usually only put it on my nose, T-zone and jaw because the peeling process hurts :D

PRECAUTION

• If any irritation occurs, stop using it and consult with doctor
• Keep out of reach of children
• Having it on your eyes please wash it immediately.
• Remove the residue with water after peeling it off from your face.
• Keep away from the reach of children.

I had two layers of this mask applied on my face because I figured it works best if it is thick. But you have to apply it layer by layer and just build it up.


After it has dried up completely, I started to peel it off. Yes, its painful :|  But you'll get used to it too. Haha Its just painful because facial hairs are removed too. Here's how the peeled mask is. It looks dirty and gross and ew and all, sorry :)

MY THOUGHTS

I really love this mask. Now I totally understand the hype about this product. It works well and is also very affordable. The only thing I dont like about this product is that its not locally available, and buying on ebay would cost me a lot. But other than that, this product really works well for me and I like it. Also, it says it can remove blackheads but I cant seem to see any black heads on the mask because uhm its black? Haha I'm not sure though

Pros

✓ removes dead skin 

✓ removes facial hair

✓ removes white heads

✓ very affordable when bought in Saizen or Daiso

Cons

x not locally available

x expensive if bought on ebay

x painful when mask is removed

x sticky when applying

x black color makes it impossible for me to see if blackheads were removed too

RATING

♔ ♔ ♔ ♔ ♔

If you want to try out these mask, you better check out your local Daiso stores. I also saw that there are 2 more other products of this range and I am hoping to get my hands on them soon when my mother visits Saizen again in Davao City. I will be reviewing them soon, and a lot more other products :)