Lemming for theBalm's Bahama Mama and Mary-Lou Manizer

Since I've hit the pan with my Benefit 10, oh boy, I'm having a strong highlight and contour phase right now. I'd love to improve my highlight and contouring skills so I think I need to get really good replacements for my Benefit 10.

I've scoured the blogosphere and I've read that a lot of you rave about theBalm's Bahama Mama and Mary-Lou Manizer. The two are cheaper than Benefit and the packaging is just as cute. This might be worth a shot!

Much to my surprise, I also found out this is also cheaper here in the Philippines courtesy of Beauty Bar, yay! Thank you Beauty Bar! Bahama Mama costs Php775.

As for Mary-Lou Manizer, I think the champagne hue will suit my pale skin tone just as Stila's Kitten did. Saw several reviews and photos with Mary-Lou Manizer and wow, I'm completely blown away by how natural the lit from within look this baby can achieve. I'm crossing my fingers Beauty Bar will restock this soon! Mary-Lou Manizer costs Php895. 

Review will follow once I've gotten my hands on these two. 

Photo source: http://www.thebalm.com

Benefit 10 Bronzing & Highlighting Face Powder Duo Review and Swatch

What Benefit says:

why we love it:Highlight and contour cheekbones in one sexy sweep with this box of satiny pink and bronze powders. They're a perfect 10!what else you need to know:Complete with soft, natural-bristle cheek brush. 

Easy step-by-step contouring lesson included.

product details

• 10g Net Wt / 0.35 oz
• winner of:
• 2008 Working Mother Beauty Awards "Best bronzer/highlighter"

Lightly sweep brush over powder so pink highlighting powder appears on half the brush and bronzer on the other half. With pink side up, whisk from the apple of the cheek up to the hairline. Now you've done the sexy sweep!

What I say:

I got this from Bon of www.wehaveit43.multiply.com, she gets her Benefit cosmetics at the famous Japanese department store chain Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Taipei City, Taiwan.

I know most have encountered fake Benefit products especially the Box o' Powder series because the packaging is obviously very easy to duplicate but Bon ships Benefit products along with the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi price tag so you'll know it's the real thing.

Here's how it looks at the back, another thing is that you can peel the back label and check at the various product description written in different languages but I opted not to do that because I want things to be neat and tidy.

The bronzer looks very pretty and it's very easy to wear even if you're a pale skin gal. I tried contouring the hollow part of my cheeks and it looks so natural.

The pink highlighter is cute but I would have wanted a more silvery highlighter because pink highlighters don't show up well on my cheekbones due to my natural rosy cheeks but the point is that the pink highlighter still shows up when the light hits my face and that should do the trick.

There's not much chunky glitters which I love but there's a hint of shimmer that's natural enough to make your skin glowing. 

Benefit 10 Bronzing & Highlighting Face Powder Duo Swatch

The powder is quite hard- it's not cornstarchy soft like Stila eye shadows. Benefit 10 Bronzing & Highlighting Face Powder Duo is more like Urban Decay eye shadow hard which is great for travelling especially for the bumpy road ahead. I am still afraid of purchasing Stila powder products because they can easily break.

The consistency is very sheer and light which is great as a foolproof make up; you can just build the color later on after applying the first layer of bronzer and highlighter. It's better this way because it would be harder to undo heavy bronzer and highlighter make up.  

I haven't tried using the brush itself because it's quite coarse so I'm using my Suesh angled brush for contouring and it does the trick. 

The Benefit 10 Bronzing & Highlighting Face Powder Duo has a light fruity floral smell and I'm pretty much okay with that because the scent goes away after a while. 

Coming Soon on Maquillage Lover: More Jill Stuart, Benefit and Vivi March 2010

It's another Jill Stuart Haul!

I'm really having a mini Jill Stuart counter here at home...

I don't know why but I'm really hooked on Jill Stuart

So...

I'm getting the following:

Jill Stuart lipstick in Baby Coral

I was actually lemming for the Rosy Coral but Taiwan's Rosy Coral is limited edition ='( 

Anyway, there will be a whole lot of rosy coral lippies coming in my life 

I'm also getting Jill Stuart Eye Jelly in Midnight Shine

It's not the Midnight shine on the photo though

Jill Stuart is very famous for it's eye jelly and I ought to try one!

It's not Jill Stuart though, this is Benefit 10- a bronzer and highlighter in one

I don't own any bronzer or highlighter so this is a perfect package for me

The bronzer seems light enough that it won't look harsh on my pale skin

Last but not the least, another Vivi magazine! 

This time it's gonna be the Chinese version so I could read it. 

Koda Kumi looks very alluring!

All these purchases made possible by Bon

Gosh, I don't know how much I've spent on shopping at Bon's online shop since August 2009 but every cent is worth it.

Her prices are a whole lot cheaper so I can stretch my Philippine Peso and I won't have to beat the traffic going to the malls just to buy make up. The best thing is, the boxes are delivered to a place very near to mine's! <3 

You may reach Bon at http://www.wehaveit43.multiply.com 

I swear, she's the best! 

Name that MAC Seahorse Pressed Powder!

So the seahorse cat is out of the compact bag!

This is named Marine Life Multicolour Pressed Powder! 

So this is a MAC Highlight Powder, does this double as a bronzer or just really a highlighter?

It comes with the Back to the Beach Collection to be released on May 27, 2010

MAC is making a buzz in the beauty blogsphere! 

What do you think? I would love this if it comes in the classic black matte MAC case

The only thing that's stopping me is the green glossy case =/ It looks quite tacky to me but it does fit well with the theme. 

The Body Shop Brilliance Powder in Shimmer Gold

I have had The Body Shop Brilliance Powder in Shimmer Gold for quite a long time now and it costs around Php900+, I bought it at Robinson’s Place Manila as it became my second home since I was 10 years old!

What The Body Shop says:

Just push the button and the Brilliance Powder is in the brush. A lightweight sparkle powder with shimmering pearls that provides a natural-looking sun-kissed finish for the face and body. Available in a shimmer or matte finish. Dermatologically tested.

Brilliance Powder contains the following key ingredients .... 
Marula oil - Is a very effective moisturiser that also helps to condition the skin over time. Also provides essential fatty acids that help to repair the skin's moisture barrier, thus helping to restore moisture, smoothness and suppleness. Provides women in marginalis
Vitamin E - Is an antioxidant that helps to soften, condition and protect the skin.
Light diffusing particles - Instantly brighten the skin and help reduce the appearance of fine lines.

Mica (Opacifier), Talc (Absorbent/Bulking Agent), Nylon-12 (Absorbent/Bulking Agent), Polyethylene (Opacifier), Silica (Absorbent), PTFE (Bulking Agent), Sclerocarya birrea (Marula Oil) (Skin Conditioning Agent), Phenoxyethanol (Preservative), Tocopheryl Acetate (Antioxidant), Methylparaben (Preservative), Tetrasodium EDTA (Chelating Agent), CI 77891 (Colour), CI 77491 (Colour), CI 77492 (Colour), CI 77499 (Colour).

Pump the button to push the powder through to the brush, and sweep over the face and body.

My Review:

The first thing that attracted me into buying this is the push button applicator and I was looking for some shimmer product that time. I am quite pale and I think a bronzer would look obvious on me so I opted to get the lighter version of it.

The push button mechanism takes a while before it starts to release the powder and once I overdid it and the powder came out like it is almost flowing haha! After that I have learned , to control it and I would usually push it for 3 to 4 times and it would be great.

The brush applicator is very coarse so I do not recommend using this for the face, I would opt to use a medium sized fluffy powder brush and transfer the highlighter from the coarse brush to the softer brush so I would prevent scratching my skin.

Personally, the glitter is too obvious when placed on the face but just right when dusted on the body since a person’s face is drastically smaller compared to our body so I would just use this if I want a little sparkle here and there. The glitter fall out is really bad but it does not mean I will toss this out; it just means I have to think of ways on how not to waste this product. One solution can be applying a light layer of moisturizer on your body before dusting this on.

What I love though is that when the glitter falls out, the real shimmer is revealed. The golden shimmer just looks stunning on pale skin and it makes my complexion look healthier and not pasty. This is great to wear for the holidays in my opinion! =)