Burt's Bees Moisturizing Lip Balm

Lip balm is the most basic item we can have in our kit, some would swore they could not live without it. It's a necessity. I can go without makeup but without lip balm, I feel bare. 

There is just so many brands to choose from in the market. My group of friends have different preferences when it comes to lip balm. One chooses to use petroluem jelly and only that. One is forever loyal to Chapstick, other is loyal Carmex. One likes to have the tinted type and as for me I want to try all.

I've been seeing Burt's Bees for a while now I refused to buy it then because it's a little expensive than others like double or triple the price of most lip balms

So being pricey than the others I wanted to know its quality. 

-It has magenta color on tube and I thought the color will translate to my lips when applied. Opaque color on lips, I'd like that it has a little tint to it

-Uses natural products

-It has medicated smell than a fruity pomegranate smell

-Gladly it's tasteless and doesn't tastes super sweet like candy that would make you lick your lips instead

-Moisturizing power is great. Well lip balm does not actually moisturize lips to prevent chapping, it just keeps or traps natural moisture to prevent dryness

-Overall it's a great product 9/10 but so far with the lip balms I've tried it has the same quality with cheaper ones 

Skin Ingestibles

On taking care of my skin I don't only use topical products I make sure I also take care of it from the inside. 

I'm always a big fan of whitening products. Not that I hate my skin color to drastically alter it with whitening products but using such gives out fairer skin that glows and even out my skin tone (I never had even skin tone btw) and I always want to whiten my skin to a tone lighter because I always acquire an unwanted tan with just a little to moderate exposure in the sun. With summer finally closing in (actually it's way past it), of course I didn't miss out on going to the beach. I had a tan--a badge of having the time of your life under the summer sun. Not a bad thing after all but of course you would want to at least bring back your original skin tone. 

I tried Gluta-White capsules. I started with 150 mg then 500 mg. Although I think you should start with the higher dose then onto the lower dose.

Gluta-White capsules 150 mg

Glutathione is popular in whitening skin. Glutathione helps to whiten the skin in different ways. Melanin is the pigment that gives our skin its color, produced by the activation of the enzyme - Tyrosinase. GSH binds to Tyrosinase and helps prevent the enzymatic pathways from producing melanin. GSH helps to prevent the activation of Tyrosinase by reducing free radicals in the body that can activate it which cause decrease in melanin production. Less melanin production the lighter the skin. 

Gluathione as an antioxidant improves the quality and health of skin and skin whitening is only a side effect. People expect dramatic changes in their skin tone in using gluta but I think it will be more effective if used continually and in higher dosages recommended. Nonetheless, I still want to continue my routine in taking gluta everyday.

Gluta is better taken orally than topically. Applying gluta on the skin had been a fad. Whitening lotions or cream attracts us with its effect but it is proven less effective.  

Needless to say, my skin wasn't that drastically fair after a month of taking gluta but I noticed that my skin tone got lighter, my skin got firmer and clearer (because I had childhood scars).

Now with Myra E. I don't take Myra E along with gluta because I want to see the effects separately. With Myra, I can notice the effects in first take. I notice my skin is dewy and it has this 'glow' going on. My skin feels younger I also feel younger because aside from effects on my skin I noticed that I am more energized in general. I feel less fatigued and I feel light (because I often times feel groggy from too much sugar and unhealthy foods).

Myra E 400 IU

Vitamin E is also an antioxidant and it has a lot of health benefits such as preventing diseases of the heart and blood vessels, such as chest pains, high blood pressure, and blocked or hardened arteries.

 

Taking gluta and Vitamin E has been a routine for me. Although I don't take them together, it has been a part of taking care of my skin aside from drinking lots of water and applying creams. With this routine my skin is generally healthier, more supple and younger looking.

Shawill Perfect Powder review

My favorite makeup are contour powders, not really much of a fan of contouring cream/highlighters. So I had these 2 contour powders: Shawill Perfect Powder three-dimensional and perfect TENDER AND SMOOTH in shade #001 and #003. I wish they had names on their shades though. They have 4 shades all in all.

It is a compact powder, one would mistaken it as a pressed powder with its packaging. Though it did not directly state 'contour' powder, as written in the description 'mold stereoscopic facial outline' it has the same purpose of contouring. The saleslady however, does not know what a contouring powder is so clarifying this with her might be confusing.

                                     

Anyway, all that said I bought 2 one for contouring and one for highlight. As you can see shade 001 is super light and shade 003 is dark perfect for sculpting the face.

For highlighters, I don't prefer those with glitters or any form of shimmer because either I end up looking like a disco ball or a grade school art project. 90% of highlighters in the market--drugstore makeup or not are loaded with shimmer that more often than not cause breakouts. Some products equate highlighters with bronzers and those are not the same thing. Bronzers have the right to have shimmers while highlighters? Not necessarily.

I would really commend a highlighter without shimmer but still does its job for being a highlighter. Believe it or not there are products like that. I am in constant search of that. This Shawill perfect powder here is a highlighter without shimmer. But does it do its job? That is the question.

Packaging looks elegant but simple. It has a large compact mirror inside. It is far from sturdy I might say, as one of the compact already broke after a week of using so I have to transfer the product to another container.

Finish is matte which is of my preference by the way. No unnecessary shimmers whatsoever on both shades. A little bit too chalky but does not cake. Not hard to blend at all

swatches

Color - Shade #001 (light) is just another light powder. Pretty weak on highlighting but just right to my liking. Shade #003 is almost perfect for my skintone--not reddish not too yellowish. I give shade 001 a 3/5 and shade 003 a 4/5

Lasting power was a bit of a letdown-- around 2-4 hours. The contour lines cease to exist for just a few hours. Constant reapplying is ok. Better set the makeup with a setting spray.

If you dig for that matte finish/natural everyday look without the obvious contour lines this product is perfect. Also, if you are new to contouring you wouldn't find it that difficult to experiment or blend with this product

Pros
-Cheap. Costs around $4 dollars, less than $10 for 2. Still a good find
- Large compact mirror
-The shades are awesome

Cons

-This is a Chinese brand. Makers of not so sturdy materials. And this particular brand copies packaging from other makeup lines. You can search their products. Their product performance however, are not that awful in fact, it is FDA approved. So I am giving it a try, not only for this powder but also their other products. 

-The compact breaks easily. It comes with a super thin puff that is almost unusable due to its thinness and inability to hold and transfer the product. I used my angled brush to apply the product instead.

-It would be better if the 2 shades share one compact because 2 compact powders on my kit takes too much space


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Glad to be back after a hiatus. Will be posting more than usual starting today :)