Ellana Minerals Loose Powder Foundation and Finishing Powder Review

I opted for the oil-absorbing formula and the perfect blend because the Ellana website explains that they are best for oily skin like mine. The smaller jar is actually the awake concealer.

Last summer, I was in desperate search for a great blush. You see, my HG blush was actually from Elianto and when I finding something I absolutely love, I stock up on it. That time, I had already hit pan on my last blush, but I thought I had enough time to shop around for a replacement. Until my friend J dropped it and that was that.

It was only a few days after that I found out that in the past two years that I have been using up my blush stash, Elianto had pulled up stakes in the Philippines. I went on their website and checked how much it would cost to have my order shipped internationally all the way from Malaysia, and said to myself: forget it. In the meantime, I just trolled a couple of beauty blogs and found a few reviews about Ellana blushes.

The blushes themselves were as cheap as P100 each (for 2g jars) so I thought why not? After all, mineral makeup was supposed to be good for your skin, so even though I tended to have reactions to some makeup, I plunged ahead and took a risk.

Avon Ideal Luminous Blush in Peach and Cool Plum Swatches

Avon does have some great products but a pet peeve of mine is that their catalogues are such a dud. I mean, if you are looking for a specific shade, chances are that you won't end up with what you want exactly.

This month, their Ideal Luminous Blush is on sale. The special intro price is listed at P319, from a regular price of P370, so you save P51. These blushes are 6.23g each, so you are getting a lot of product, and it has SPF 15 to boot. You can choose from three shades, Peach, Rose Lustre and Cool Plum.

I have two of these blushes, Cool Plum and Peach and while I will be reviewing them in a few weeks or so, I thought I'd share some swatches just in case you were thinking of getting these while they are still on sale.

MAC Angel and MAC Touch plays Mix-and-Match with MAC Pink Swoon blush

I have really been into brightly colored lipsticks for the past several months but I think the bright streak is over. These days, I am now more into the neutral or subtle lip worn with a smokey eye or just for a no-makeup makeup look. These two babies, MAC Touch and MAC Angel, can pretty much do everything in the neutral lip department. I like pairing both with MAC Pink Swoon, stippled along the cheekbones just for that subtle glow.

Suesh Basic Makeup Workshop

Ok, so this is something that I have been planning to write about for a few months now, but I have somehow never gotten around to doing it. Until now. It's the weekend and I finally have a few minutes to write a beauty-related post.

So last April (told you this post is long overdue), I enrolled in one of Suesh' basic makeup workshop for kicks. I have somehow never really learned to do makeup properly-- and it is only lately, as I descend more comfortably into my very early thirties that I have enjoyed makeup. So, I thought it was just about time.

As you will know if you have ever been on the Suesh website (suesh.com), the price of the workshops depends on the makeup brush set that you want to get. This makes sense, because you will definitely need your own brushes. As for me, I had actually purchased a 21 piece set along with a foundation kabuki brush and a Beauty Blender dupe about two weeks before that so that means that I would have to pay for the full price of the workshop, which is P2000 + a 5 piece brush set.

I texted one of the owners, Ms. Sheryll, about wanting to enroll. I had been texting her previously because I had ordered my brushes and tools online as opposed to one of their branches and she remembered me. (Don't worry, I plan to review my Suesh tools in a later post, when I get around to it.)