Nicocosity: Make-up Review

Last year I had amassed quite a number of beauty products, from skincare to make-up, both bought or gifted to me. But since I made it a point to be more conscious with how I consume stuff, from food to clothing, I decide to wait 'til the next year before I could start anew with some of my loot.

Lo and behold, NOW is that next year.

WITH FIKA MELTING CREAM BLUSHER

Usually, whenever my cousin had her monthly voyages all over the world she brings home something for me to enjoy, where it may come in a form of food, clothes, and beauty items. It was around July of last year when she gave me a some sort of loot bag showcasing a mishmash of different stuff, from Cambodia, and from South Korea. One of the amazing goodies I received is this ↓

Since this came along with the Peripera Sugar Glow Tint (which I also wrote a blog about HERE), I admit my excitement was focused more on the Peripera's candy-like packaged tint, than this less novelty-like, humbler packaged cream blusher, hence the reason it took me after 6 months to try it out ~~and I discarded a couple of expired make-up, leaving me with the need to open my stash.~~

Throw 'em

Upon checking, WITHFIKẶ, despite having the Swedish word Fikặ which means,"a coffee and cake break", is a full-blooded South Korean brand that can be bought in Korean Daiso shops. For those with the thought bubble, 'how come our Daiso in Japan [or insert other countries with Daisos in it] doesn't carry this brand?', the simple explanation to that is, South Korean Daiso is actually independent from the Daiso brand that originated in Japan, whereas in 2011 they announced their break-up from Daiso Japan which resulted in selling of different items compared to those sold in other Daisos overseas. Ok, to cut the long story short, WITHFIKẶ is available only in Korean Daiso.

Aside from this melting cream blusher, WITHFIKẶ also carries a couple of different kinds of make-up, like lippies, eyeshadows/creams, and BB creams at really affordable price points from $2-$8. As appealing as the price sounds, let's dig deeper on the actual product.

I. PACKAGING

The packaging is pretty cute, quite nifty actually. It reminds me so much of the aesthetic of the internet, with emojis and quirky colors! This blusher is a tube type, which is perfect for gals who travel a lot, since I find this kind of packaging less susceptible to spills, or those odd 'the-cap-got-undone-then-the-product-got-exposed-to-the-elements-inside-my-bag' situation- of which I am guilty of happening A LOT of times.

This tube is quite SMOL so like I said it's in a perfect size for peeps who love to lug around a simpler, and lighter make-up bag.

II. FORMULATION

For some reason the formulation of this melting cream blusher reminds me of those silicon-y face primer you use to make your foundation stick to your face. It's a bit tacky, and once you apply it to the skin it blends really well, even making your skin feel smoother.

As much as I want to dive deeper on the ingredients to add depth to this ~~nukz~~, unfortunately the packaging is in Korean, and yah girl doesn't understand Hangul. But one thing I find notable about this product is its fruity smell, that smells light but lingers to your nose. For those who have sensitive skin, I don't think this is a good product because fragrant products tend to cause bad skin reactions, so I think it's best not to grab this one from the shelves.

III. PIGMENTATION AND STAYING POWER

The color of the product stays true to the orange color as indicated on the that strip in the packaging that has the WithFika name.

As I have said, this feels more of a primer than an actual blusher. While yes, it serves its purpose of giving colors to those chubby cheeks, the product blends to well that it tends to disappear after applying it. The color is too sheer.

In relation to that, I am giving this a 👎, because even after putting a pea-sized drop on each cheek, it quickly vanishes! HAHAHAHUHUHU!

And poof! It's gone!

VERDICT:

Let's do a quick Pros and Cons:

PROS
- Really cute packaging
- Smells really good
- Inexpensive price

CONS:
- Too sheer barely there pigmentation
- No STAYING POWER WHATSOEVER!
- So hard to get your hands on this, since it's available only in South Korea!

FINAL THOUGHTS?
This make-up product feels more like a kid's make-up, because aside from the fact that like those 'Barbie' make-ups, there is no color pay-off nor those it deliver an 'airy' painted look on your skin.

Would I search for the other WITHFIKẶ products when I go to South Korea?
Maybe.
Would I re-purchase this blusher?
No.

Love Always,
Nicole ♡

No Comments

Clearly, I am no make-up expert, in fact I am a notch lower than a novice, but hey I love make-up. My love of make-up, particularly 'drug-store' make-up, basically shows whenever I pass by the cosmetics section of our friendly department stores, where I couldn't resist to leave the vicinity without smearing eye shadows and lipsticks at the back of my hand. With that in mind, do I have the right to do this make-up review? Not really. However because I feel that I have a responsibility to spread the good word about inexpensive make-up to frugal women (like meeee 🙋‍♀️) out there, here I am with my make-up review of Careline Play to Slay Full Face Palette.

By 'Full Face' does this mean it also has lipstick and brows stuff?

Before we really dig deep about this pretty palette, let's talk about Careline for a brief moment first.

Earlier this year I posted about Careline's Kiss Sticks lipsticks, which I consider as one of my overall favorite lipsticks (Check it out HERE). There, I have mentioned how this brand evolved from being a child's play make-up that you won't take seriously, to a dependable make-up you should always stash in your purse-that you'd actually hoard it (with the shade Vacay as my favorite-and sadly the most bought shade which makes it harder for me to hoard).

Yes, I need to do this. Show your respect.

Careline, and it's ~~older~~ sister brand, Ever Bilena, made great changes to their cosmetics, as well as extended their product ranges to make-up tools. One of the positive evolution of Careline is...

I. PACKAGING

Careline had definitely amp-ed up their packaging. As seen on the quirky box, you can definitely feel the youthful vibes with the right amount of squiggles and doodles, but after opening the box and seeing the palette itself, I start to have a bit of second thoughts.

The palette covering have surely stayed true to the doodles from the box, however the quality and feel of the plastic only made me remember their old packaging, because it felt cheap and flimsy 😕

Another sad point here is they did not include names per pot of eyeshadow, highlight, and blush. Why does this matter? For me, if you know the name of a particular shade it'll be easier for you to teach others how to recreate your lewks by guiding them which is which you should use ~~hahaha yessss expert, may recommendation part pa para i-recreate yung lewk.~~

But of course we are not only about criticisms here, let me point out things that I appreciated with the packaging of this palette. One of the things I love, aside from the aesthetic, is the full disclosure of ingredients used, and this nice reminder that no animal was tested and harmed in creating this beaut.

Another important thing to note is that make-up pot logo, which indicates the shelf-life of the product starting from the moment you have opened it. These important details are also available on the packaging of the make-up itself, and not only on the box ☝️

2. COLOR SELECTION AND PIGMENTATION

Row 1

Row 2

Row 3

Row 4 - Blushes

Row 5 - Highlighter

The color selection for this palette is 'on-fleek' 💁‍♀️💁‍♀️💁‍♀️ The coral eye make-up is IN right now, because it gives off a youthful, well-rested glow, in contrast to the sulky, sexy, but tiring look of smoky eyeshadow. Not everyone wants to look like they had a great night-out with Kelly Osbourne circa mid-noughties, hence this palette is the perfect solution.

As for the pigmentation, I have mix feels in this department. Generally, Careline's products pack with pigmentation, as seen on how their Kiss Sticks lipstick in Vacay can cover my dark lips without the fuzz. However basing on the pigmentation of this palette, not all shades are winners.

As seen on the swatch of all the colors from row 1 (apparently this is the closest thing I have to giving identity for each rectangle), the lightest one can't be seen on my wrist. Could this be because I am fair, and the color won't register to someone with the same skintone as I do? I don't think so, because make-up with really good pigmentation will still be noticeable even to the whitest woman alive. That also goes to the highlighter from row 5, because highlighters are supposed to BLIND you, but this one is like a flicker from a tired lighter. So that's a huhu for me.

On the good side of the spectrum, I adore the salmon-y pink one from the row 2. With just one swipe, the color quickly sticked to my skin! The blushes are also divine! Because I underestimated the pigmentation, I directly put the blush-ed brush to my cheeks, which made me look like a ripen peach.

Just an FYI, I didn't use primer, so who knows perhaps the underperforming shades may have a fighting chance when primers are involved.

3. FORMULATION

So much fall-out, particularly for those matte shades! If you're going to use them matte shades, better tap tap the brush first before swiping them to your lids, because chances are you'll have unwanted pigments on your cheeks. I suppose this is because the mattes are too powdery, borderline chalky 😕 Good thing the brighter and more pigmented hues really stick to my lids.

Now, this is contrary to the metallics. The metallics are more buttery in consistency, and they do register well on the skin 👏

FINAL LEWK...

I, Nicole Alejandro, is pleased with how my make-up turned out. I think I have achieved the dewy, korean make-up look. In achieving this 'lewk', I also used the following:

🌸 Maybelline Superstay Full Coverage Powder Foundation in Ivory

🌸 Marc Jacobs Powder Foundation (I forgot the shade he he he hu hu)

🌸 Maybelline Hypercurl Mascara

🌸 E.L.F. Eyebrow Pomade Pot in Dark Brown (and it's partner eyebrow brush with spooley)

🌸 Daiso x Mickey Mouse Eyeshadow and Blush Brushes

🌸 Clay Blush and Lip Tint (forgot the brand)

🌸 Burt's Bees' lip balm (forgot the flavor hahaha)

But waaait, this review doesn't end there! I figured it's a must to also talk about the staying power of this palette. What better way to test this than to put on a full-face of make-up for a jampacked day of doing 2 Grand Openings in VERY SUNNY Davao city 💁‍♀️

At 10:30 A.M...

It's still there! As you can see here, the first thing to give up are my bangs 😕

At 2:30 P.M...

This is when the heat starts to take toll of me. Because of heavily oily lids of mine, the color starts to pool on the outer corners of my eyes! Hahaha!

At 5:30 P.M...

My bangs and eyeshadow had finally given up. Look at that weird streak line of Salmon in the middle of my right eye 🙃 Hahahahahah! How I badly need a shower now.

FINAL VERDICT:

I like this palette, but I don't love it. To be fair though, this palette is retailed at Php 279.00 only or roughly $6+, and it's available in almost every drugstore and department stores nationwide (I stumbled upon one of Gaisano's OLD department store, and was able to see this bibi being sold there), so you can say this is still a bang for your buck- Just don't expect to see the same results as you would have with MAC ☝️

I also have to consider the fact that I did not use any primer, so that could be a factor why its staying power is lackluster 💁‍♀️

Soooo, would I recommend it? Sure, I think this is a good product for people who are beginning to explore, and experiment make-up, since it doesn't need rocket science to figure out how to use it. Its price is competitive, and I think this will last you 6 months with daily use. This is also a good product for moments where you need emergency make-up for emergency events that were relayed to you 2 hours prior the event 😂😂😂😂 Ok, that's just too close to home.

That's it pancit 🙋‍♀️

Love always,

Nicole 🌸

No Comments

One random night I got bored that I decided to filter out and finally cleaned my email. Lo and behold, I saw an email about this website that give a lot of people the chance to try out a product, then they can do a review about it. Rather than mind other people's business, I decided to try out and see my luck if I'll get chosen as one of the reviewers for this!

👌👌👌👌👌

...and yes, with that let us now proceed with the review of the Maybelline Made For All lipstick 💄💄💄

THE MAYBELLINE MADE FOR ALL LIPSTICK

Photo from Huda Beauty website HERE

The Maybelline Made for All Lipstick is available in 7 different shades that are meant to flatter ANY skintone. Upon filling up the questionnaire from the Try and Review website, they let you choose what shade you'd like to try out. Since I don't really like wearing dark red, or very strong colors on my lips, I decided to be a bit of a risk-taker and tried out the Plum For Me color numero 388.

1. PACKAGING
The packaging of this lipstick is pretty similar to other solid form lippies of Maybelline, like the Color Sensation line. This could be both a pro and a con, pro being it creates a consistent image for this kind of lipstick for Maybelline, while the con is this Made for All lipstick line might drown in a sea of Color Sensation, Powder Mattes, and etc., which in that case how will we ladies be able to differentiate this particular line from the others? As for the strength of the packaging, given that I am an extremely clumsy fella, I have dropped this for a solid 5 times since I received this package last May 7 (currently writing this May 13), and so far no cracks or any signs of giving up ☝

2. CONTENTS
What I like about majority of Maybelline's cosmetics is that they have a lot of product in their packaging. By the looks of this tube, I can see this will last a good 3 to 4 months of daily use. Your Php 299 will definitely go a looong way with this bad boy 👌

3. SMELL
Another thing that I have noticed with Maybelline's recent lines of lippies are they smell better than other drugstore lipstick brands that are currently available in the market. Just like the Super Stay Ink liquid lipstick, this smells like candy, but not the fruity overwhelmingly sickly sweet kind. In fact this reminds me of a milky kind of candy, though it still have hints of the usual waxy smell, but it is tolerable and it is much better than BYS' lippies, which smells like Crayola and plastic-not a pleasant combination 🙊

4. PIGMENTATION
I tried swatching this first on on my wrist (as seen on the photo above), and weirdly enough it looks sheen and glossy. Sure, this is not a matte lipstick, but this isn't a lip gloss either. Sure, you can see that with just one swipe you'll see the color pay-off, however I have noticed upon application on my lips, you need to have atleast two full coats to really see how plum it is. Not sure if this will apply to lighter lips, but for someone with dark lips, it takes two swipes of this lipstick to evenly cover the color to my lips.

5. FORMULATION
Obviously this lipstick isn't matte, instead it's more of a satin creamy type. I had no problem applying this on my lips, since it's pretty creamy, it glides like a butter on my lips sans any tugging; Unlike butter, this doesn't crumble or slush easily- but of course, unlike crayola this isn't that solid, so pleeeease lock this up away from the kiddies. ALSO, I find this easy to blend, since I usually only bring one make-up product with me for touch-ups, usually a multi-purpose item like lip and cheek tint, I tried using this on my cheeks as well. Lo and behold, this plum color gave me a flushed 'drunken' look, not bad, but I don't think Maybelline wants us to use this as a blush hahaha! 🤔

6. STAYING POWER
Oh boy, this one's a problem since it reminded me why I don't use dark colored lipsticks. After applying this color on my lips, it immediately triggered my anxiety; Anxious that I might transfer my lipcolor to everything I hold dear! To give this some slack, mattes are more known to be transfer-proof, but I think they can push this one further and do something about it.

Excuse the face, please focus on the lipcolor.

SUMMARY
Let me do a rundown of my reviews with an old fashioned Pros and Cons:

PROS
1. SUPER MOISTURIZING! I didn't use a lip balm prior to applying this lippie, but the formulation of this lipstick still locked in the moisture, which made my lips soft for quite a while.
2. PIGMENTED! When I tried doing a swatch on my wrist, at first I thought it's too glossy sheen, but when I swiped it on my lips it was more of a satin finish, no specs of glitter.
3. Creamy candy-like smell.
4. The amount of product in each tube can last you for a long time. Unlike other lipsticks, this one doesn't give you a 'bitin' feeling. I think 1 tube can last you a good 3 to 4 months even if you use it everyday- including the re-touches!
5. The product is easy to apply, since the consistency is pretty creamy but not too soft that it'll crumble. I did not experience any tugging shen I spread out the color all over my lips.
6. Easy to blend. I know it is not really advisable to use lippies for other makeup purposes, but I tried using this one as a cheek tint, and whooooa! The Plum for all gave me this fresh glowy flushed look when I smeared it all over my cheeks. So I suppose this is a good 'must have' in every bag that I use in the daily.
7. The packaging appears to be sturdy. I dropped my lipstick, and in fairness the casing did not break. Pretty nifty for clumsy gals like me.

CONS
1. It's hard to cover the inner lip part, or like the 'waterline' of the lips with this. I understand that this is a satin-y cream consistency so the color may not be as 'sticky' as mattes, but it sure would be lovelier to have this kind of lipstick that can also cover the 'waterline' part.
2. As much as I love the pigmentation, I do hate how this is not a transfer proof lippie. It kind of reminded me why I hate wearing dark lipsticks, because if it isn't transfer proof I end up transfering my lipcolor everywhere... don't ask me how, I don't know hahaha!
3.limited shades. Although the claim that it will fit all skin tones, I still feel that they could have pushed for more colors. It would have been nicer if they added some deeper brown colors (which is lovely for both dark and fair skinned ladies), or even nude shades with some old rose flair.
4. Sure it is pigmented, but I feel that you must do 2 swipes to fully get the expected color-especially for girls with dark lips.

Not really a con, but more of a suggestion:
1. It would be nice if the lipstick, aside from being moisturizing, it also provides spf and sunprotection :)

AND THAT'S IT! Thanks to Try and Review for this! For those who are interested in trying and reviewing products, check out their website HERE

Love Always 😍,

Nicole

No Comments

I remember as a kid, one of my favorite past times whenever I am dragged to the mall by my mom, aside from pestering my dad to buy me another Barbie doll, was swatching different make-up products on the back of my hand- oh wait, I still love doing that as a grown-ass woman 🤔🤔🤔

Picasso Level good

With that, you can definitely guess that aside from bookstores and artshops my favorite go-to shop is Watsons. Watsons is a magical place for me, because it has Scott's gummi vitamins, and a myriad of make-up brands with testers that I can abuse! Among the brands that I have eventually fallen in love with, one surprising 'childhood' brand have emerged from the ashes, and that is Careline.

YAAAS!

Back then, if someone mentioned Careline, people immediately comes up with this idea of very cheap make-up that feels like one of those make-up sets that are marketed as toys for young girls. They don't appear as sensible make-up that actually works to enhance your natural beauty, given that their formula sucks, and the packaging is as shitty as well - not even exaggerating here. Basically, you wouldn't want to be caught using Careline.

Que Horror!

But lo and behold, just like a revenge movie character, Careline re-emerged in the market, strong and fierce, ready to slay among its competitors.

SOOOOO, let's start with the review!

YES, THEY ARE ON SAAALE!

From 180 to 99 REAL QUICK!

1. Availability and Price.
Careline gets a top score for this one, given that it is available almost EVERYWHERE! Are you in the mall? Perfect, there's module island of it at the cosmetics section of major department stores. Heck yeah, some Careline products are available even in 7Eleven! But for the Careline Kiss Sticks lippies, they are predominantly available in Watson's and cosmetics sections.

As for the price, surprise surprise! These babies are on sale until the end of the month! From Php 180 (or roughly $ 3+) to Php 99 (around $ 2+). But you better expect that some shades are already sold out, because these babies are selling like pancakes!

2. Packaging.
As I have mentioned earlier, the old Careline's lippies' packaging are shitty; From the overall white casing with unnecessary disconnected design to the quality of the packaging itself, it seriously look like a toy make-up I shit you not ✋ Comparing that from its current look, I wouldn't say that it has drastically change, but it becomes a little bit sleeker, and even sort of mimic how Colourpop lipstix look like.

Red lippie in shade All Day.

My favorite one, Vacay!

3. Content.
There's a lot of product in every thin tube of Kiss Sticks. I remember buying my first one, in the shade Vacay last October 2018. I've been using it almost everyday since then, and surprisingly I still have around half an inch worth of product!

4. Formulation.
By the looks of it, I don't think they included harmful chemicals to it. These kiss Sticks are actually quite moisturizing, but wouldn't be much of help if you have chapped lips. As for applying it, I did not find any difficulty, which means there's not much tugging whenever I swipe a quick coat on my lips.

5. Finish.
Just to be clear, these babies are not matte lipsticks, however they aren't glossy nor satin-like finish. They do feel like really pigmented balms though, which means they do not feel too drying! But of course, moisturize your lips to really bring out the pop of color.

From top to bottom: Lucid, Pinch, and Vacay.

6. Pigmentation
I figured, the reason why I still have an inch or two of the shade Vacay is because with just one swipe you get impressive color pay-off already-and yes, Vacay is a Nude shade. Despite having slightly dark lips, the shade Vacay works its magic in making me have the perfect 'my-lips-but-better' shade.

7. Staying-Power
Hmmm this one gets an average score, since it doesn't last a lifetime like the Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid lippies, but also it has more staying power than Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm.

8. Shades
Overall they have 12 shades, with a wild one called Martian. The Martian is a color green one that will definitely turn you into a sultry Disney villain. But if you don't have much of a wild streak, they have around 4 shades that are in the nude side of the color spectrum. One thing I have noticed though is that they lack shades that are into orange-y brown or frosty pink side.

9. Cruelty-Free?
YES! Check out that bunny stamp!

And with all that, what is my final verdict?

Pandag-dag arte haha!

I love it! I suppose I could consider it as one of my 'holy grail' products, given that I frequently reach out for my Kiss Stick in Vacay to finish off my daily make-up look! For a local brand, it exceeded my expectations! However, to be honest, I don't like the shade, All Day, but then again it's just me and my preferences, totally disconnected with the product itself.

I definitely recommend it, especially for ladies who are kinda struggling with the monies, but still wants to look like a million bucks! Now, here's a photo of me smiling like an idiot because I have found true love in Careline <3 p="">

Love Always,
Nicole

No Comments

Older Posts

Nicocosity

Are you looking for something?

Want to Collab, Sponsor, or You Have a Great Idea?

Labels

recent posts

Blog Archive