Review: Majolica Majorca Lash King Mascara

Majolica Majorca is the little sister line of Shiseido. It’s like buying a high-end product except it’s cheaper with the same quality.

 I have absolutely no complaints over the Lash King mascara. Like most Japanese and Korean mascaras, they’re waterproof and produce thicker, longer lashes. They’re also quite long-lasting, staying on all day from morning till night. The brush head for this one isn't too funky but there are tons of fiber to make the lashes longer.

As for removal, I generally use an oil cleanser on a made-up face at the end of the day and have had no issues. I slap it on a dry face and wash it off with water. It rinses right off. If you don’t try removing it though, it might start bugging you as it coats your lashes so thickly it feels weird when you touch it. Also, if you’re like me, you might wake up while rubbing your eye area and that just sounds disgusting.
 

Generally, a great mascara all around and the packaging is tops. Lash King indeed.

Review: Semk B-bear speakers

I needed some portable speakers and these cute ones from Semk, the B.Bears were top on my list. It wasn’t the base quality or noise-cancellation that enticed me to get these. Nothing but cuteness overload made me want them.

These bears need a two-hour charge before use but once charged, they last for some time, about half a day or more. As for audio, I only wanted these to be audible enough for my kid to play on our 1st-gen iPod and we’re happy enough that they deliver, compared to some of the cheaper ones.

Picspam follows...

Love: VMV Monolaurin Hand Sanitizer

As is usual with a sale at SM, VMV have most of their products at a quarter off. I took advantage of the sale and got myself a bottle of Grandma Minnie’s Instant Moisturizing Antibacterial Disinfectant Kid Gloves Monolaurin Sanitizer. A mouthful, right?

Now I like the Boo boo balm but I’d rather have a big bottle of this handy as my little one has been scratching himself something serious. It’s got a bit of a sting compared to the boo boo balm but it's so much better than a bottle of alcohol and moisturizing to boot.

I love the included pump, though I can never get these things to close right without squirting all over myself but I’m happy with the handyness whenever I need to pump some out to rub over my little one’s legs. Also, when I can’t find my tea tree oil, I use this over my face before I sleep. I have a lot of faith on the monolaurin thing, being antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral and antiprotozoal.

The best thing about this purchase is the freebie. Who wouldn’t be happy with a tube of the best ever lipgloss? Not me.

Review: L'oreal Professional Mythic Oil

Ever since it came out, I’ve been thinking over getting the Mythic Oil from L’oreal Professional. I finally bit the bullet and got myself one from the nearby salon at the nearest mall.

First off, very pretty packaging and the price is comparable to US. There’s no need to buy internationally for this baby. Also, the oil used is avocado and grape seed oil, which is tops on my book. And the scent, is a very pretty one.

According to the packaging, I only needed one to two pumps. I’m probably fine with just one pump with my fine hair but I went and tried two anyway just for fun.

It was very slippery due to the silicones. I like that it didn’t make my hair feel droopy in spite of all the slip when I hand-combed it over dry hair. Said hair was all over the place before I tried the product on that particular day and I was happy that it tamed it a bit without losing bounce.

I tried it over wet hair the next day and blow-dried my hair with additional help with some heat protector. The slip made the blowdrying smoother and while it didn’t end up stick-straight, it helped settle my unruly hair for most of the day, with a bit of wave left here and there.

Earlier, I tried it with wet hair once again, letting it air dry and I’ve finally seen a bit of droop on my hair after a week's use, though I don’t feel it when I hand-comb through. I’m guessing the silicones have accumulated and I’m not too happy over that but I find it an acceptable consequence as my shampoo isn’t the stripping kind.

All in all, I’m actually happy over this buy and see myself using it everyday. It leaves my hair feeling soft and I'm all for self-satisfaction.

Love: Case de Lorenzo Castile Soap

Our little baby’s skin is so sensitive and he’s had a neck rash since we’ve brought him home from the hospital so we always stick to unscented, hypoallergenic and for the most part, organic, in the products we use on his skin. We’ve started him off on Castile soap when he was still very small and have since moved on after a few more months, always steering clear of the sulfate-based ones.

December has given us a chance to get back to using pure Castile soap on him once again, liquid version this time. We actually haven’t used up on the soap we used to use on him before that but I couldn’t resist the lure of 50% off on the Case de Lorenzo soaps so I decided the old soap was for adult use and he could use up the 1 litre soap I got. Yup! I got a litre of their unscented version. They offer COD for an extra P20 charge and that was a plus for me as I’m really bad at catching the bank before they close. (I prefer bank payment over other payment methods.)

Ordering and delivery was really easy. They even answered my mail in the middle of the night to inform me that delivery will be on the day after. There were no unforeseen delays and they kept me informed on delivery through the mobile number I provided.

What do you do with a litre of Castile soap? We poured a bit on a separate container with a pump for baby’s wash. We used a capful for laundry when we ran out of baby’s laundry soap. We used a pumpful on a litre of water for baby bottle washing. We poured a bit on a separate container, added a few squirts of virgin coconut oil and/or almond oil, a few drops of essential oil scent and used it as body wash for the adults.

I like how easy it is to wash off. I do believe it helped with baby’s rashes and it has healed up some. For those who like suds, better use a bath pouf, otherwise don’t expect much. I prefer bath poufs. I like bubbles and I don’t use up a whole lot of soap when I use one. I tried it for shampooing on myself but I got a bit of dandruff so I gave up on that.

As they extended the promo in January and there can never be enough of a good thing, I got a gallon of the soap. It gives me a thrill to buy soap by the litre and gallon. I’m weird that way.

All in all, I’m very happy with the unscented soap and even got their Valentine-themed soaps this month as they sell both for the price of one. A rose-scented Castile soap and a chocolate-scented old-fashioned soap (a blend of Castile, coconut and palm oil-based soap) that supposedly suds more. I’ve been using the rose for hand washing. I’m not a fan of the scent from the bottle itself but it lingers in a milder form once washed off. I don’t use a whole lot when washing my hands, using only a third of the usual soap I use but it cleans just fine and does not dry my hands. I’ve got the chocolate soap in stock as really, we have a whole lot of soap to use up who knows when.

Love: The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil and Tea Tree Blemish Night Lotion

Tea tree oil is as effective as benzoyl peroxide in the treatment of moderate acne. As my hormones are out of whack lately, I’ve decided to try the Body Shop’s 15% formulation. It has become an everyday essential and my acne sure dried up fast after using this. I let about three drops on my fall on one hand and apply it with a finger directly on problem spots with the other. I could use a cotton bud tip but I’m lazy and the method works fine with me.

I’m getting another one as I’ve still got the acne problems and my little boy played with the bottle once and I haven’t seen it since. Thank goodness it’s got a child-proof cap so I know he didn’t chug it. Warning: It’s toxic when swallowed so please get it away from children and pets.
Hubby tried it as well before it disappeared but he’s a baby when it comes to stings and he refuses to use it again after trying it once. His skin really is too sensitive.

I also tried the Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion. I’m a sucker for blog reviews and this one got tops. Personally, I’m liking it as my blemishes don’t darken as much as they used to. That’s as straightforward as they come. I don’t have dry skin and I add another night-time moisturizer so I can’t vouch for the moisturizing property. One pump is good. Half-pump does as well, in my opinion.

I’m loving these two so much I’m considering getting the Tea Tree Pore Minimizer next time I stop over the Body Shop. The reviews on that one is great as well. We’ll see. I’m so lazy to shop lately but I'll gladly get off my butt for a great deal.

Looked Up: Samsung WB100 and WB150F Smart Cameras

Our camera has given up the soul less than a year after we bought it. Yes, we still have the warranty but the tech people from Sony would like to charge us roughly 80% of the camera price for having put it underwater or some such. No such thing happened so I'm going to give up on that brand and move on.

 

Samsung has some amazing deals at their mid-range cameras. These aren't the average point-and-shoot and at the price point they are currently being offered, I've started bugging hubby over it and have convinced him to come over to the dark side of spending. Also, we really need a good camera for taking pictures of our cute little baby. It's been a while.

I would love to get the WB100 though it's big and not too handy because the zoom is amazing at 28x. If I have that much zoom power, I can spy on the neighbors across the street and more. Not that I have any plans of doing so but you get the gist, right? I also like the Eneloop charger with 4 batteries included. The price for these are steep already and they come free with the camera. I've been wanting a good charger for a while.

 

The other lovely choice is the 150F. It's more portable and has WIFI. Hubby likes it better because it's got a li-ion as compared to the usual AA batteries of the other model. I'm willing as they've got white as a color option, and there's a thousand pesos off when we fork over cash, which we always do anyway. Also, I have no plans of spying on our neighbor and as long as the photos come out pretty in most light conditions, I'm game.

 

 Promos are with Picture City. Pictures are from the product website.