Brand Focus: Shawill (Reviews)

Hey again, everyone!

So okay, I've been busy lately, but sembreak is fast approaching so when it gets there I hope to be blogging (almost) everyday. I'll do my best.

But anyway, here is a brand that I think deserves much attention.

I just started seeing this brand Shawill around lately, I think it's only been around for a year or so. I first caught sight of it at Watson's Gateway, and at first I ignored them because their offerings seemed a bit like a rip-off. They had cream eyeshadows (single) running for P128 each (roughly $2.70) that were a lot like G-Lish's, so I didn't bother to try them.

Eventually, I found Shawill at Landmark Trinoma, with a better display and new items. So I had to get some stuff.

At first I only bought a lipgloss (priced at P128) and a lip balm (P98).

But today, my parents and I were at the mall. While my mom was off looking around for home decor and my dad was looking for a new LCD TV/Monitor, I of course was at the cosmetics department.

Imagine my surprise when I saw new Shawill products! They had 12 eyeshadow palettes and new lipglosses so I had to stop by and just check everything out. Luckily the SA, Ate Paula, was very nice and accommodating.

And so without further ado, here are my purchases (including the lipgloss and lipbalm I got before):

isn't the e/s palette (Shawill 12 color palette #1) totally cute? :D

Inside shot of the palette, no flash. The place where the applicator is on is a mirror

with flash

swatches, no flash, no base underneath. 1 swipe each

swatches with flash, still no base, still 1 swipe each

My thoughts about the eyeshadow palette:

PROS

• The packaging is cute and seemingly sturdy
• There is a mirror in the palette albeit a bit small (although it's long so you can see both eyes and make sure your eyeshadow is even!)
• The price -- 148php for 12 eyeshadows? WOW! That's 12php for each one. In $, roughly...
  a quarter each
• Pretty pigmented
• Different types of palettes to choose from (at the Shawill display there were neutrals and colorful palettes. There are also 6 e/s palettes)
• Very shimmery
• Very blendable
• Good that there is a black and a white and many matchable shades
• Expiry date on the bottom of the palette (although..I'm not sure if I believe it. It says it expires on 2017. Whaaaat!)

CONS

• When you first open the palette, it is overwhelmingly glittery!! But, it turns out it is only the top layer with glitter. Once you get to the eyeshadow it's all nicely frost-finished
• Can be a bit hard to pick up with a brush
• The packaging says 12 color cream eyeshadow, although the eyeshadow is clearly powder
• Also, grammatical error on the packaging (understandable--it is packaged in China but made in Italy)

WILL I REPURCHASE? If need be, yes. But I want to pick up the other palettes, since this one shows so much promise! I am loving it.

Shawill blush in #1, white dot at the center was because the blush is domed and was hitting the lid

included mirror and brush in a compartment

swatch, accurate with flash

My thoughts on the blush:

PROS

• VERY VERY VERY pigmented. A little goes a long way. Too much and you look like a clown
• Mirror included in the packaging
• Nice amount of product for the price
• Cheap (128php, roughly $2.50-$2.70)
• So far the blush pops up on my cheeks and stays even though I'm really oily (it's been 2 hours since I applied it, but while I was at the mall the SA applied it on my cheeks and it stayed for 3 hours till I removed it)

CONS

• Limited shades available, and when I was there there were only 2 available. Others were OOS
• Packaging is nice but flimsy to the touch
• Brush included is useless, sheds like crazy

WILL I REPURCHASE? I'd be interested to try it in other shades.

lip balm swatch. effect: sheer, reddish tinge to lips

lipgloss #3

lipgloss #3 swatched on lips--effect: glossy, shimmery wash of pink

lipgloss #11

swatch of lipgloss #11 on lips. effect: shimmery gloss, sheer with barely there pink

My thoughts on the lip balm and lip glosses:

PROS

• Cheap. lip balm costs 98php, lip gloss #3 10 ml costs 128php and lipgloss #11 7ml with Vitamin E costs 128php
• Very shimmery, gives off a nice effect
• Not sticky!! I think this is very important for lipglosses because sticky l/g's make me go "ugh"
• The lip balm applies nicely and gives a subtle glow and nice shine to lips
• The shine of the lipbalm isn't so intense that it looks like you just ate something greasy
• Stays on relatively well (until you eat, pretty much like other glosses)
• Different shades to choose from (4 are available for the lip balm, manyyyy are available for the glosses)
• Lip glosses have very nice packaging
• Light, pleasant scent and taste for the lip glosses :)

CONS

• The lip balm's packaging fades, but it is good and sturdy otherwise
• Strange price discrepancy for the lip glosses--the 10 ml is cheaper! But maybe it's because the 7ml has vitamin E (supposedly)
• The lip balm will run out fast! (at least for those who are as obsessed with keeping lips moisturized as me)
• Some lip glosses are so sheer that they end up looking all the same on the lips. Maybe it was the lighting. I'll have to go back and check.

WILL I REPURCHASE? Yesssssssss! I'll buy more lipglosses, I think I want to own all the shades someday, at least the ones that seem different from each other. Lol.

Yeah, so that's pretty much it for my Shawill purchases! I hope you ladies in the Philippines find this helpful. :) When you see this brand around, check it out and grab some of their stuff! I mostly stuck with the eyeshadows/blush/lip stuff because I think their powder foundations had fragrance in it. So I avoided it. Haha. Otherwise... I give Shawill a 4/5, for something in its price range it is very very good! (-1 pt for shoddy spelling/grammar on packaging and excessive fragrance in some products..also because I haven't tried everything and can't tell if it's all good, lol).

Thanks for reading!!

Playing with makeup/hanging out with family

I really should be working...but well, I'm just going to slack off for maybe just a bit more. I've been reading blogs, so I was inspired to post.

This post has been queued up for a while, just never felt like posting it until now. Gotta love reading blogs, they sure put you in the mood to write! Haha.

Anyway, a while back I got to hang out with my cousins (we never hang out even if they live just next door, pretty sad huh?), and while we played Wii and took turns playing Rock Band and so on, my cousin Catherine (I call her Ate Kaye) asked me to do her makeup, completely out of the blue.

And while I was pretty busy that weekend considering my impending deadlines of doom, I nevertheless agreed. How couldn't I? They say playing with makeup is therapy, and I find this to be absolute truth.

So I took them up to my room and put my makeup on the bed and let them have at it (I was also with my cousin Analyn and a cousin's cousin, Jacq). Ate Kaye picked out my PAC palette and said that she wanted me to do a look on her with the blue e/s. So I got right down to it (I had a bottle of the exact same foundation she uses so I used it on her).

The finished look on Ate Kaye:



On her I used the following products:
FACE Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Cream Foundation in Sandy Beige, ELF Bronzer in Warm Tan for contour, ELF illuminizer in Luminance for highlights, Ellana Minerals concealer in Smile
CHEEKS Ever Bilena blush in Raisin
LIPS Jean-Michelle Lip Couleur Liquide in St. Tropez Fantaisie-2
EYES UDPP, PAC perfect finish pearly eyeshadow palette, Rimmel quad (the one that Cheysser sent to me, I don't have it on hand and can't check the shades), Dollface Cosmetics 28 Neutral Palette, Coastal Scents Gel Eyeliner in True Black, Maybelline Volum' Express Cat Eyes mascara

So I did Ate Kaye's makeup, then she pretty much insisted that I do Jacqueline's, too. If you recall, I've already done her makeup in a post from like...ages ago. Haha. It was fun to do her makeup again, and oh my gosh her lashes are so long. Ate Kaye and I were jealous, seriously.


On Jacqueline:
FACE MAC Studio Fix powder foundation in NC35, Ellana Minerals concealer in Smile, ELF Bronzer in Warm Tan for contour, ELF illuminizer in Luminance for highlights
CHEEKS Ever Bilena blush in Raisin (This blush is so versatile, I love it! Applied with a good brush it gives you a perfect wash of color without making you look like a clown!)
LIPS NYX Round l/g in Real Nude
EYES Art Deco eyeshadow base, Coastal Scents Matte 88 palette, Jesse's Girl Bejewelled Quad for highlight, Maybelline Eyestudio eyeliner pencil, MAC Zoomlash mascara (she didn't even need her lashes curled. I only used the Zoomlash because it was the only mascara I had on hand that wasn't waterproof)

Here is a shot of the two of them together

So far they've both made me pledge to do their makeup. Ate Kaye wants me to do her makeup for her graduation in October, and Jacq wants me to do her makeup for her prom next year. Of course, I said yes. Haha!

Anddd this post would not be complete if I was not in it (jk, jk). But yes, I also did my makeup and Ate Kaye straightened my hair for me (wow I had no idea it's that long already!), so here I am:

On me:
FACE Ellana Minerals Intense Coverage Mineral Foundation in Hazelnut Latte, Ellana Minerals Oil Absorbing Mineral Finishing Powder in espresso Con Panna, ELF Bronzer in Warm Tan for contour, ELF illuminizer in Luminance for highlights, Ellana Minerals concealer in Smile
CHEEKS Ever Bilena blush in Raisin (can't get enough of this lately!)
LIPS Revlon Matte lipstick in Mauve It Over, topped off with Shawill Gloss #11 (I think?)
EYES Art Deco eyeshadow base, Makeup Masala Mineral Eyeshadow (sample) in Agni, Rimmel quad, ELF pencil eyeliner (in coffee I think), and Maybelline Volum' Express Cat Eyes Mascara. Also, used I think an Avon quad for highlight

Here's the three of us goofing off together:


Tada! That finishes my post for today. Bye! :D

Typhoon Ondoy

As you may all know, this typhoon hit the Philippines last Sept. 26, 2009. I'm still reeling from the fact that so much happened, and so many people were affected. A typhoon this strong hasn't happened in many many many years, according from all the stuff I've heard on the news, and so on.

I'm really glad that people are slowly picking up the pieces, and I hope that everyone who needs saving has already been saved. However, a lot of people still need help.

I'm really glad to see so many people pitching in, from all over the world. It just makes me feel a lot better about things.

Thankfully, it didn't get flooded in my area. However, people I know were affected. So I still sympathize with them.

I hope people will be better prepared for disasters like this, and that the government won't pocket the money needed for emergency infrastructures and organizations.

Oh no. :(

I just read this. Now I'm sad, it's always been a brand I've wanted to try.

http://www.stylelist.com/blog/2009/09/17/breaking-news-estee-lauder-to-close-prescriptives/?icid=main|aimzones|dl3|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stylelist.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F09%2F17%2Fbreaking-news-estee-lauder-to-close-prescriptives%2F

Award, package in the mail and what my nails look like right now

Wow, that was a long title, haha. But anyway, I have to pack my posts right now since I want to post about so much stuff and I don't really want to spam people with 1 post each for every thing I want to post about.

First off, I want to thank Toma from The Makeup Mix Shop, because as always, my package arrived quick (for international postage it was quick) and perfect. I ordered several items from her shop and everything arrived in perfect condition, and I really am very happy about it. (Check out her store by clicking the image on my sidebar -------->)

The package:

I mostly ordered brushes because I really wanted to try EcoTools. An item was omitted from the picture because it's going to be part of a present for a friend. :') The above picture is all my brushes after I washed them...lol man am I glad I got the EcoTools brushes.

So again, thanks Toma!

And because I've really really really missed doing my nails, here's how my nails look like right now:

I'm really glad I got the chance to do my nails because lately I couldn't even bother with applying a simple coat of nail polish. It was a good way to relax from all the stress of school. I still wish I had a nail dotting tool, but I settled with one of those wood sticks you use for manicures (one side is pointy and the other is like flat and angled), it worked like a charm.

Lastly, I got this award from Pammy. Thank you sis, that was really sweet of you to give me one, even though I haven't really blogged in a while.

The rules of this award are that you have to pass this award on to 12 blogs that you love to read. I can't pick just twelve, my gosh. I love reading so many blogs. So I'm going to cheat and just give this to everyone! Haha. Don't kill me! >>

Thank you Cheysser!

Wow, I'm so out of it! I haven't posted in a long long long long long time and I really don't even wanna know how long it's been. I kinda feel bad neglecting my blog like this, but sometimes I'm just so busy I don't even have time to think. And I should be doing homework right now (I already wasted 2 days doing nothing!), but when you're not inspired to design, you're not inspired to design. Sigh~

I'd like to thank all my new followers, by the way. Wow, I logged in and poof, I had 175! Shocking.

Moving on, I'd really like to thank Cheysser for what she sent me! If you don't remember, I won her contest (well, 2nd place) a while back. I got her prizes finally. I was so happy that I skipped school that day cause the LBC guy came...lol!

I had to retake the pictures cause I transferred the ones I took the day they came and put them on my laptop. Which broke. LOL.

Of course some of the candies she sent me got eaten already. XD

She sent me a lot of Rimmel goodies and some ELF lippies. I also got candies and a notepad, and a NYX glitter cream palette.

Swatches of the two Rimmel Eye Twist duo liners and shadows. It scares me to use it, the weather here is so hot they got kinda melty! But I guess I just gotta be careful. :) This picture is w/o flash.


With flash.


Swatches of the two single e/s she sent me, and the quad. The green single e/s cracked in shipping! :( But it's okay, I saved it. The quad wasn't very pigmented but it's okay. This image is w/o flash.


With flash!

I was so excited to get this that I totally did an FOTD with it when I went to school later on (I only skipped my first class). :D

Again, thanks so much, Cheysser!! I loved the candies you sent, too. Yummy.

Okay, I have a backlog of stuff to post about now...but this is it for now. Tomorrow is my ELF haul! :) Gosh, I missed this and I feel so behind! How is everyone?

Tags!

Wow, I've been MIA again for a while...gosh. It's been hard to sneak in some time to post. D:

Geesh, I feel awful. Oh well, that's how it is!

I've been busy with school and all, and I have stuff to do (at least this one will pay!), but yeah...been completely ignoring stuff lately. :( Also, it's been hard for me to get to my stuff because my external hard drive is on the fritz, and all my blog stuff is on there. Grrr.

Okay, so! First things first.
A reader e-mailed me some time back. I promised Denise that I would post about this. Denise is a makeup artist who is also a rep for a high-end brand, Motives. I haven't tried anything or bought anything from the site, so if you decide to try it be careful, etc etc. :) From what I've seen, the products look really interesting, though. Just wish there was more colors to choose from!

To all my new followers (and to all my old ones), thank you so much for following my blog! :) I hope you enjoy reading.

And now for the tags:
MakeupJunkee tagged me to for "6 things that make you happy". I'm sorry but I'll be boring and post this without pics. :/

So! What makes me happy? :)
1) It may be sad, but the Internet makes me all sorts of happy. I like that I meet loads of people on it and make lots of new friends. Also, it's such a huge source of information, I can practically learn about anything I want to by just reading up on it! It's greattt. No wonder I've been hooked on it since I was 8! Oh dear, 10 years. LOL. Back then dial-up was so expensive, too...

2) Music makes me happy, too. I like listening to music, and I'll listen to anything once. I mostly like rock though, but I branch out if I like the song/artist. I love that music lets me express how I feel (I love singing :) I wish I could get back into it!), even just by listening to it. And that it's totally something that I can relate to. Don't you love curling up in bed with a cup of hot choco on rainy days, listening to your fave songs on your iPod/mp3 player/computer? Okay, I'll be honest--I don't drink hot choco nor do I curl up in bed on rainy days--I'm too busy staring out the window. I love rain!

3) Family and friends make me happy. If you notice, I put them under 1 item, and I did that because I consider all my friends family, too. I love my family, and my friends, they just make my life so much easier and whole. (Please pray for my mom, she needs a hysterectomy in the near future for Myoma.)

4) I love my hobbies. I can be under a lot of stress but my hobbies make it a lot easier on me. When I can't deal with something anymore, I watch TV or a movie for a bit (yes I do consider them habits), or I sew, or knit... Or, I play with makeup! ;) Hobbies are great stress busters, don't you agree?

5) Makeup! Do I really need to say any more?

6) Food also makes me happy. Even if it also makes me sad sometimes (eek, I've been piling on the pounds lately!).

For "6 things that make you happy", I tag everyone who hasn't done this yet. Since I haven't been around lately, I don't know who's done it and who hasn't. :(

This next tag came from Maya. The rules are:

1. Open your first photo folder.
2. Scroll down to the tenth photo.
3. Post that photo on your blog and tell us the story behind it...
4. Tag 5 or more (or less) other people to do the same!

Okay, I'll be cheating a little since my laptop is in the shop and my external hard drive is broken. I'll get the photo from my photobucket account.


This is a picture of my college best friend, Sam. This was taken for a project I did for one of my Fine Arts classes. She was supposed to be a marionette, like a doll, but I guess I didn't manage to pull that off all too well. I did her makeup, her hair, and made the pinafore she was wearing (too bad it doesn't really show in the picture). I also took the photo (sorry for the fake eyebrows, eh. meant to do them better in photoshop but ran out of time...yes she does have eyebrows LOL I just erased them for this photo). The theme was the 7 deadly sins...this one was gluttony. Sam loves wafers. :3

Okay, I taggggg...everyone who hasn't done this. >>

I guess that's all for now! My skin is looking great recently, I hope it continues... if it does then I'm totally making like a giddy post about it or something. XD This is the best my skin's been in years! Still oily, but a lot better.

Okay, I'm off to do homework and stuff~!