Because it's never too late to wear a red lippy!!!

Who said reds were just for Valentine's? It's wearable practically any time of the year... it depends on how intense you wear it, or how your mood dictates it. If wearing a red lippy makes you happy, then GO WEAR IT! ^__^

...Or it's just my way of saying, "Er, Valentine's is over, and this is a late review. Kthx." ^^;

I've always been a fan of red lipsticks; in fact, red was one of the first lip colors I've worn as soon as I discovered make-up in college. At that time, I didn't even know that reds should be worn with caution. Whuut? I like red on my lips, I like it as dark or as "wearable" as I like, so there. xD

That's why when I've discovered that local cosmetic brand Fashion 21 has a collection all comprised of different shades of red, I went ahead and grabbed the lot of them. Well, not all at once. :P But I did manage to nab* all seven.
*FTC: I'm not sponsored or paid to do this review; all items here were paid by me own monies. ^^

So sorry if the lighting's bad. Hadn't had much sunlight for the past few days...

Their respective names: Prom Date, Heartthrob, Sexy Red, Warm Kiss, First Crush, True Love, Miss Valentine

How many different types of shades of red exist in this world, anyway? I'm guessing that no matter how closely these lippies resemble each other in shade (especially the middle three), they just make up a small part of the red color spectrum.

Which leads me to believe that one can never have too many shades of red lippies. :P

Now, for swatches (I swatch very poorly in this one, mind you. Pardons... I only did a couple of quick swipes for each shade):

On me arrrrm:

Without Flash

With Flash!

Well, that was useful. O_o

Anyway, moving on to the lips:

Prom Date - the darkest red among the seven. It's more on the brown-red side; best perhaps for a night out, but if you want rich candy apple red lips in the day, just go for it! :)
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Heartthrob - also a dark red; the lighting is a bit deceiving here. :P A bit more blue-based than Prom Date.
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Sexy Red - Once again, pardon the poor swatch! This is a red about a shade lighter than Heartthrob, and a blue-based red. I think all reds are sexy so... it's a redundant name. :P

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Warm Kiss - personally my favorite shade, because it matches the shade of my hair. :P As the name suggests, it's a warm red, but may look "cooler" on yellow-based skin tones (aka Asian skin tones harhar). Worn lightly, it might even look pink-ish. BUT! I've always worn this full-swing so far (the lip swatch is a lie. Haha). Goes great with the hair, of course. Haha.
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First Crush - my second favorite. :) Surprisingly warmer than Warm Kiss, and more on the orange-red side.
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True Love - a red that's now leaning towards pink, quite visibly, especially compared to the first five shades. One of my newer acquisitions so I haven't had the chance to wear it a lot yet.
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Miss Valentine - as the swatch shows, it's more of a pink than a red "red," and no, I didn't use a light hand for this swatch... my lips are just crazily pigmented as it is. I'm still trying to get my girly side to like pink, but I can forgive this shade because it's a red on the pinkiest side among the seven, after all. ^_^
***

As you've observed, this collection's inspiration is VALENTINE'S what with the choice of color alone, and the names of the shades. Not to mention the lovely and sleek red packaging... (the sticker labels need a bit more work, methinks. They're basically "cheap-looking" stickers whose print would fade rather quickly).

Hmmm... here's what the collection's section looks like in the Fashion 21 web site:

There's the packaging and hmmm... the color swatches may be a bit misleading; the only ones that I can vouch for and which are nearly accurate as seen in the web site are Heartthrob and Miss Valentine. Otherwise, depending on your screen settings, the colors are a teensy bit off. ^^;;

What the web site says about the product:

They are color-rich and moisturizing; however, they all have different pigmentation. Some of them need more than a couple of swipes to achieve a nice, bright, full-on red. My lip swatches were rather clumsily done (haha hellow thar, n000b), but more or less, you'll see how a thin layer would look like on highly-pigmented lips like mine. Long-lasting? Well, reds tend to leave a nice (albeit sometimes uneven) stain on the lips after a day's wear. I can say that they'd last a good 2-3 hours before they start to fade into a stain.

To summarize!

 Likes

• Lovely red shades
• Moisturizing when first applied
• Seven shades of red to choose from
• Leaves a nice stain at the end of the day
• It's a local brand! Support! :D
• Very affordable! It's a sweet treat at only 155Php a pop so you can collect all shades in no time

Dislikes

• Not as long-lasting as expected
• Can be drying after a while (without re-application)
• Pigmentation and texture may be inconsistent depending on the shade

And on with the drill:

Rating: 3.5/5 

Will I repurchase? Man, I already have all seven. :P But if I do run out of Warm Kiss, and if I still have red hair then, I might just get me another tube. ^_^ 

P.S.'s: It's a Philippine brand and available in most Watson's and Robinson's Department store outlets. Fashion 21 is a brand partnered with Fanny Serrano Cosmetics; the former is geared towards teens and young adults, while the latter is marketed more towards ladies in their twenties onward. That's not a rule set in stone, though. Both brands have quality products, except that Fashion 21 seems to have more options and varieties that look like candy on a rack. How can girls resist? xD 

P.P.S.'s: The Red Romance collection is available year-round. It's not a seasonal limited edition thing as far as I know; the collection just happened to have been inspired by Valentine's. :)

Well, a Belated Happy Valentine's to you all! (If you're single, don't feel bad. Bake cookies. Heehee)

Here's a fishie; hope ya likes~~ <3

Lurve,

It's no secret among friends, family, and fellow geeks I've met over teh Interwebz that I have such a PASSION for The Lord of the Rings (or "LOTR," which fans call the trilogy), first made endearing to me by J.R.R. Tolkien's series of three books (with a prequel, The Hobbit), and eventually, Peter Jackson's film rendition. LOTR has become a huge part of my life, and it somehow sneaks into my daily life so naturally... and you'll see something LOTR-related scattered about the house: the books, collectibles, a dragon figurine, calendars, etc etc...

And yes, toys.

"The Fellowship of the Bracelet." Wait, whuut? xD

I believe LEGO's been part of a person's childhood one way or another, in spite of how expensive they've become for the past years! Along with Play-Doh, LEGO was just one of those toys I gave up last because growing up had to get in the way.

I was wrong. :P I've never really given toys up... only now, I'm more of a collector than anything. But what's LEGO if you don't actually build with it?

WE MUST HAVE IT.... YESSS PRECIOUSSSS WE WANTSSS IT......

We'll be nice hobbitsses, won't we, Preciouss?

Of course, like most people, I get updates from all aspects of life through Facebook (hehe), and I've first gotten a glimpse of the news via TheOneRing.Net (the link leads straight to the LEGO news bit, so go ahead and check it out. :D). As expected, fellow geeks and friends of the LOTR fold began re-posting it and re-Tweeting it, instantly adding LOTR: LEGO to their wish lists (like me... ohohoho~!!) even though the sets haven't been released yet! They're to be unleashed released some time in the Summer (or so says the web site), but I'm already seeing "minifigs" (tiny Lego figures made into the likeness of certain characters, like the LOTR characters) over at Amazon.com, and they've nearly sold out!!!


I mean... WHO CAN RESIST THESE LITTLE GUYS???  

The Hobbits have fierceness. Everyone else has... cheekbones. *serious nod*

OR better yet, here's the LOT OF 'EM..........

And you thought the "Star Wars" LEGO sets were the cutest thing EVAR.

So you see... I'm in such a dilemma here. I'm not only lemming for make-up; there are also shoes, clothes, books, and TOYS on my list. That is why I don't mind--and I mean don't mind AT ALL--if I get any of these sets as presents. *wink wink nudge nudge cough wink*

I WANT THE HELM'S DEEP SET FER SURE!!!!

There's always a huge chunk little bit of childhood left in most of us. There are some things that, no matter how old you get, you just CAN'T give up. 

Also, it's a great excuse to get your own kids these goodies too... or wait, isn't it the other way around? xD

So luvs, apart from our sheer interest in makeup and fashion, what are things your hearts desire? (world peace and true love are a given so shush. :P)

LURVE,

*photo credits go to Technabob.com, Gizmodo.com, and Kotaku.com. :)

This is a pair of boots which I got myself last year, nearing my birthday:

Prior to the purchase... and I mean months before that, I've been on a search and a quest for an ideal pair of boots. Firstly, it's got to be neither leather nor leatherette (because leatherette chips like ANYTHING after a while); secondly, it;s got to have at least and better if not more than 2-inch heels. Thirdly, it's got to be PIRATE-Y LOOKING. Lastly, it's got to be within a reasonable price range. And throw in a good bonus: Animal print lining (folks who have seen me may have noticed that I'm into animal print nowadays)!

And yes, this pair had it all:

Check (it's suedette);
check (2 inches, and studies say that's a healthy height limit for heels if you need to walk long distances);
HELL, CHECK! (a fine pair for pillagin'! YARR);
Check (well, it was about Php1.9k... but it was the end of a search and all worth it. ^^); and
check (leopard print WIN)! :D

What the pair looks like with flash on:

I've worn it with costumes and I've worn it as part of my casual, everyday attire. The only downsides are that you can't get them wet because the material it's made of isn't waterproof, and it's also a dust bunny magnet, so I gotta dust these guys regularly, even in storage.

BUT! What caught my eye and was quite tickled about it is this small print below the brand name of the famous le yellow F21 plastic bag:

Unfortunately, it seemed to have been smothered by my photo watermark, but that's just to give you an idea of where it actually is on the bag. :P Here's a better photo:

WHAT HAVE WE HERE? Bible passage?

John 3:16
New International Version (NIV)


"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."



One of out favorite retail stores preachin' the GOSPEL? 


I think it's a rather nice touch, though. It's just very VERY unusually placed; but then again, perhaps the marketing people or whoever thought about the plastic bag design wanted it to blend in with the "everyday" but still stand out. Heck, it stood out to me, and I was amused. In a good way. ^^;

So I gots me a nifty pair of boots, and a dose of the Good Word in one day.

I think I just got myself a pretty good bargain. ;)

And OH YEA, one more thing:

Leopard print? It's all good. ;) I'll let the actual leopards frolic in their natural habitat. :P




Lurve,

Aha! So this is the first time I'm using my labeling system and I'm already doing a double-label. :P Well, if I just write about the mini haul, it'll be an awfully short post (a mini post for a mini haul... though not bad for those with ADHD hahaha I kid, I kid!! ^_^;;;). 


I sort of have this goal of saving up more this year, so I try (yes, it's the magic word) to limit my spending as much as possible. Therefore, I'm giving myself the illusion that if I do small hauls at a time, it won't feel that I'm spending a lot.... :P

u've got 2 b kiddin meh

Enough rambling! On with the bits I got for the past week:

Nature Republic, which is one of the Korean cosmetics brands quickly becoming popular in the country, opened a branch in Festival Mall in the latter months of last year, and I only got to finally drop by the place now. AND it's because I didn't even know that there was a Nature Republic in Festival Mall... until I visited their Facebook fan page, and kikaytrekkie mentioned it in passing in one of her blogs.

So I go in, browse through the stuff, but at that moment a few piqued my interest... see, I was shutting my mind down a bit from the temptation of dishing out some dough for pretty things (but was still taking down some mental notes of their products which I'd like to try someday). The nice SA guided me through the store, asking what my skin type was, etc. I was settled on telling her that I'll be back someday since it's my first time in the store and only wanted a look-see, and was about to glide out of the doorway when a curious little thing caught my eye... it was hanging among the "accessories" section:

Yyyeaaah. It's a tiny face scrubber thingie (what a profound description!) which slips into the three middle digits of your hand quite snugly, and has the texture of a face towel, basically. I'll do a review on that soon... I just about used it twice. ^_^

Anyway, here's the rest of my mini-haul, which consists of two items from Lush:

The "soap" I got is actually a shampoo bar (disc?), and the little tin with the pink label below it is lip tint.

I do get a lot of tips from kikaytrekkie, and the shampoo bar was one of her tried and tested recommendations. It didn't have a name when I picked it up at the Lush store from Alabang Town Center, but I believe it's called "Stimulating Spice Shampoo Bar." And IT SMELLS SO DARN GOOD. IT SMELLS OF CINNAMON OH LOVE LOVE. Rather reminded me of Christmas, it did. I hope the nice lady at the store didn't feel all weirded out as I kept sniffing on a bar of this and getting high.

Next:

I actually had a purpose of going to Lush that day, and it was so see if they still had any of that much-raved about Snow Fairy Shower Gel lying around... only to find out that it quickly sold out even days before Christmas. Dang, I'd have to wait till next Christmas again since those things are seasonal. Fortunately, the lip tint from the same line was still available, and at half-off price at that, so I ended up getting it anyway, if only to fill that Snow Fairy Shower Gel-shaped hole in my heart in vain.

I s'pose I'll do a review of my Lush haul when I can. :)

AND THEN SUDDENLY....

TOYS!!!

My aunt was sorting out a room full of old toys since my dad will be visiting from overseas this weekend (and for the rest of February ^_^). In the process, she unearthed some artifacts of my childhood... MY PLAY-DOH SETS.

Ah, they bring such memories. Play-Doh was definitely one of my favorite toys as a child, and among one of the last toys I "gave up" as I grew older.

Yes, you saw that, all right. TMNT. :) Not by Play-Doh, though...

And "The Little Mermaid," this time by another brand, "Super Dough."

Ah, reminiscing those lovely times of yore.

Ahem.

I'm sure a lot of ya'll out there have a toy or two that remind you a lot about the good times of your littlest youth. :P

Well, that be all for now. I gotta return to work and make more moolah to feed the need for shiny objects (huh?).


 Lurve,


LadyRaggedyCat