Likas Papaya Skin Whitening Soap

Likas is a Philippine brand that seems to be very well known and well trusted in the Philippines. When it comes to whitening, most people I talk to at least seem to go for this brand. It is an herbal bath soap that claims to be purely organic. It claims to be "enriched with papaya enzyme and  blended with tropical herbs to whiten the skin for clearer and finer skin complexion."

I thought this bar of soap is just a solid old plain bar but it seemed to have one singer solid particle near the top layer. It can actually feel like it is scratching the skin if you press the bar of soap too hard against the skin. It only had one, so I thought that was really weird. It does have the odor of papaya but it is very subtle. When you rinse off the soap from your skin, it is actually quite slippery. I've had a few close falls from this because the soap will coat the bottom of the tub when I'm rinsing.

Did it whiten my skin? I think it did slightly. I mean most likely just one shade, but a single shade is hardly noticeable. It did not whiten as drastically as I was expecting it to. I guess technically it did live up to the claim, which was whiten within 14 days. It just didn't describe how drastic that whitening would be. It is pretty disappointing but at least it helps me smell good?

Bottom Lashes from Divisoria

Now just because these lashes are from Divisoria, I'm not sure if they are even a real brand or not. Divisoria is a good place to find some super cheap knockoffs. I like it there better than Greenhills. To me, it is like what Greenhills used to be before they transformed themselves to better cater to foreigners. So the prices at Greenhills aren't as cheap as they used to be, though still significantly cheaper than in malls. However, I'm a bargain hunter so I try to go where the cheapest things are. Anyway, Divisoria is kind of a ways away so I had to take the train to get there.

So these lashes were 40 pesos per pack , so 80 pesos total. Even in the Philippines, bottom lashes aren't very popular so these were pretty much the only bottom lashes I saw that day. I bought these on the bottom floor of 169, I think. It's in the row in the middle kind of near the escalators. I don't know what brand they are. I've never seen this packaging before. Pretty much nothing on it is in English so I don't even know what it says. All I know is that it says "Eyelashes 2pair". The eyelashes themselves are not uniform in appearance. You can see a lot of difference between them if you look closely.

So these bottom lashes are way dramatic and noticeable. Not really my taste but they would look great with very dramatic gyaru or cosplay looks, I think. As you can see, they make my eyes look really doll-like. I actually scared my roommate a bit when I showed it to her. She hates dolls. For a more natural look, I actually cut the lashes in half and just used them on the outer edges of my eye. Still dolly but not as dramatic. I have more pictures of that in my Halloween post.

For me, these aren't the best lower lashes that I've seen around since they don't look all that natural but I can't be choosy when there isn't much to choose from. If only dollywink lashes were more available here on the East Coast. I prefer these lashes cut in half rather. They do make great outer bottom lashes.

Phyto Powder in Cleansing Cream-Black Sugar

"A cleansing cream with the Black Formula containing granules spreads lightly onto the skin without any stickiness to remove tiny blackheads, makeup, and skin impurities"

This cleansing cream is from The Face Shop in Megamall. I was initally attracted to it because it is cleansing and it says black sugar and I always go towards things that are associated with sweet things. I don't really know what it says in the back since it is all in Korean but I'd like to think it's along the same lines as what it says on the front.

I was expecting the product to be a bit more gritty kind of like a cream condensed with particles of sugar, similar to the texture of St. Ive's Apricot Scrub. It is actually a lot more like a cream with only a few particles in it. I personally like face washes that are thicker with a lot more substance because they feel more cleansing in my opinion. When I use this product, it does not feel very cleansing at all. The fragrance is sweet but I wouldn't say it smells sugary. It is kind of an odd sweet smell.

My face is very oily and I need face washes that are really cleansing to remove those oils. Although this product claims to be cleansing, it does not feel all that cleansing to me. After a few days of use, I feel that there is still a bit of oiliness left over after each wash. Those few days of use really let the oil build up on my face and I did start to get some small pimples. My judgement of effectiveness? Not very effective for me at all. It is very disappointing. However, I share this product with my roommate and it has cleared up her skin quite significantly. She attributes it to this product and says it has really worked for her. She has slightly oily skin. So, those are two very different results. Products work differently with different skin types. I would say that if you have a really oily face, don't use this. If you have normal to slightly oily skin, this might work well for you.

False Lashes from The Face Shop

Whenever I asked anyone about a good Korean cosmetics store in the Philippines, I was always directed to the Face Shop. I know they have a store in Alabang Town Center, Rockwell, and the Megamall. My dad took me shopping in the Face Shop in Megamall, which was a lot bigger than the other two locations I mentioned.

I did see these cute lashes at the Face Shop in Rockwell first but I bought them from the store in Megamall. I had been looking for good quality lashes like these because they are a lot more natural than most lashes I see and they have the style where they are shorter in the inside and get longer as you go farther out. These lashes are really only meant for the outer corners of your eye, which is what I wanted. I feel like most lashes I see being sold are a little too dramatic for some casual events.

So each pack comes with two lashes and eyelash glue. The lashes themselves are quite comfortable, in my opinion. But oh my gosh, their lash glue is pretty amazing. They really mean it when they say quick drying. Not to mention, the glue really sticks the lashes on securely. For me, this is the best eyelash glue I've ever used. But gosh, take that opinion with a grain of salt, I haven't tried many eyelash glues so I wouldn't really know.

I truly do love these lashes. They look very natural and that's really what I'm looking for. After all, I'm just a beginner with the whole makeup thing so I will take small steps before I go to very dramatic and daring makeup. These lashes are definitely good for more casual events. They aren't super "whoa look at me" but they do look very elegant.

This is Halloween, everybody make a scene!

A belated Happy Halloween to everyone! I hope you all had lots of fun celebrating this spooky holiday. I know Halloween fell on a very inconvenient Thursday night since most people I know had school or work on Friday. At least the weather was nice to us all and gave us, at least in my area, the perfect temperature for walking outside. Not too hot, not too cold, all you needed maybe was a light jacket? Anyway, I did get to celebrate Halloween twice, Thursday night with a small group of friends and Saturday night at a friend of a friend's costume party. I do make the effort to dress up as much as I can. After all, I can only do this and still be seen as normal once a year.

Thursday, October 31
Well most of the day was especially tedious. I spent the whole morning and afternoon writing the longest personal statement ever. It ended up being 19 pages double spaced, basically convincing my college to let me graduate with University Honors. We'll see how that goes... I probably shouldn't have procrastinated until the last day but oh well.

In the evening, I went to Chipotle for some $3 boo-ritos. Well, I really got a burrito bowl but everything was $3. I can't pass that up. For my costume, since I was being especially lazy and a little grumpy from writing that essay all day, I just did some simple cat makeup and some cat ears. It mostly consisted of a whole lot of eyeliner. I used my etude house liquid liner and ULTA automatic eyeliner. The circle lenses I'm wearing are Kimchi Bambi Grey and my cat ear headband is from ebay. A very simple Halloween look for when I'm feeling lazy.

Then of course, drinks with some friends. After the day's hard work, I deserve to relax and let go a bit, don't you think?

Saturday, November 2
To be honest, I wasn't feeling so great that day. However, my friend and I already said yes to going to the party so I didn't want to cancel plans. We would still go, even if just for a little bit. For this look, I wore a maid costume that I bought from amazon for $29.99, but the price changes every so often. I got the size 2XL to fit and cover my boobs quite nicely. I prefer buying things looser then I used the apron to cinch at the waist and give me shape.

This is my first attempt at a more gyaru style makeup, which consists of both upper and lower lashes. I used my new upper lashes by Ardell, review coming up soon. This was my first time using lower lashes, so I did struggle quite a bit. For me, this makeup is a lot more over the top and complex than I'm used to but I like the end result. The lenses I'm wearing are Barbie Diamond 3 Tone Grey.

The party itself was great. I saw a lot of great costumes like the Backstreet Boys, hipster Ariel with her dog as flounder, Mary Kate and Ashley, a farmer complete with a rake, a mime, a lion tamer with her dog dressed as a lion, crazy cat lady, and much more. The house was really nice and they even prepared some delicious sweets and an apple flavored mixed drink, which was wonderful. I met some great people who I found out went to school with me and are in the same major, but just a year behind. It's great to meet new people.

All in all, I had a great Halloween this year. If any of you have been following me for a while, I was a maid too last year. I think French maid will be my go-to costume. Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween too! Now time to prepare for Thanksgiving!