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Beauty, Reviews

Hong Kong Mini Makeup Haul and Review: Canmake and Dejavu

07/15/2015

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Like I said in a previous post, my last trip to Hong Kong featured a more “adventurous” me by literally swatching and grabbing random things that left an impression on me. Just to give you a back story on how I mostly purchase my makeup, I purchase 70% of my makeup after extensive research online, while I purchase 30% of my makeup through impulse buying. I always feel like going through a spaghetti-shaped maze when looking for reviews on Asia makeup products because a lot of the reviews are in different languages while Western reviews (I feel) are quite limited due to the fact that access to Asian beauty products is very inconvenient. Thus, I always end up giving up and turning a blind eye to Asian beauty products. I wanted to change this habit and just try to discover things on my own, like before so I bought a couple of wildcard products in Sasa. I purchased the Dejavu Fiberware Extra Long Mascara, Dejavu Lasting Fine Eyeliner, and Canmake Conceal and Stretch UV Waterproof Concealer.

Dejavu Fiberware Extra Long Mascara

Both Dejavu items on this review actually came in a package. There was a promotion then and the Sales Assistant recommended it to me. I thought the price was decent (I’m sorry but I lost the packaging and I forgot how much it really costs). I found the mascara very promising because of its curved wand. However, upon trying it a couple of times, it just didn’t work well for my thin and short lashes. It promises lengthening but it did anything but that to my lashes. If any, it helped volumize my lashes by 10%.

But the downfall of this mascara for me is that is that it can’t hold the curl of my lashes. To make it work, I just re-curl my lashes but doing so isn’t really safe for the lashes. One thing I like about its formulation is that it’s waterproof. To end, I don’t see any harm in trying this out because mascaras are very personal items and a lot of products might not work for me but might work for other and vice versa.

Dejavu Lasting Fine Eyeliner

I swatched this a couple of times and i thought that it made pretty decent lines and had good pigmentation. Trying it out was a different story. The first thing I noticed was the borderline rough applicator that provided a lot of tugging onto my lids. Also, the design of the edge of the purple pen nearest to the applicator is poorly executed and causes difficulty in application. I like the true black shade of this liner as well as it’s natural looking finish but I also had problems with wearing time. Overall, I do not recommend this eyeliner.

Canmake Conceal and Stretch UV Waterproof Concealer

After trying out both Dejavu products, I was feeling very low. Until I tried my newest liquid concealer from Canmake. To be honest, I haven’t been trying out a lot of concealers because I love my ZA concealer but I thought it was time to discover new products to love. I’m happy to report that this is one of them. This concealer comes in 3 shades: 01 Light Beige, 02 Natural Beige and 03 Ochrel Beige. I picked 02 Natural Beige because it was the closest one to my skin tone. The consistency is a tad bit thicker than normal liquid concealers but still light enough to place under the eyes. I like how it matches my skin, covers my minor imperfections such as zit and discolorations, how it’s very easy to blend and how it stays put on my skin. Overall, I’d recommend this as an alternative to expensive concealers from Western brands but my only qualm is that its shades are quite limited.

Me Wearing All Three Products:

after I re-curled my lashes… If I don’t re-curl, my lashes won’t be seen :(

Final Thoughts

Although I was let down by two of the products, I’m still happy that I discovered one new product to love. It also doesn’t hurt as much because these are mid-range products. Finally, I missed just trying out products without any insight because the thrill of the surprise is something I’ve forgotten to experience.

Let me know what you think about this post! I love hearing from you. :)

xoxo,

Beauty, Reviews, Tips

Review + Tutorial: Skinaz The Kissable Lip 24H Lip Tattoo*

07/14/2015

3 Comments

I spend a whole lot of my time watching tv shows: American, Taiwanese and Korean. Korean tv shows are my ultimate guilty pleasure! They come up with the craziest storylines and they’re terribly addicting. I honestly can’t help but wonder how the Korean celebrities pull of their looks! Straight, archless brows, glowing skin, tangerine cheeks, stained lips, etc. I’m amazed at how Korean beauty brands have been able to create millions of products that really cater to its women but I’m also happy that more Filipino beauty brands are doing that same thing for Filipinas. But lucky for us, other cultural trends are so easily within our reach through the arrival of their beauty products.

Product

Stained lips are all the rage right now in Korea and I’m so excited to share the cult product that can achieve this trendy look. Skinaz The Kisaable Lips 24h Lip Tattoo comes in 5 beautiful colors: Girlish Pink, Orange Marmalade, Spicy Red, and Burgundy Shower. But for today, I’ll only be talking about girlish pink. The lip tattoo comes comes in a lipgloss tube and contains 13ml worth of product. It’s such a unique, trendy product and I’ve never encountered anything like it. It’s designed to be applied lavishly on the lips. Once it is dried out, a layer of the product is supposed to be peeled off the lips leaving a natural stain on the lips.

Shade

Girlish pink initially looks like an outrageous, almost neon pink but the stain that it leaves really lives up to it’s name. The stain it leaves is truly reminiscent of the naturally stained lips that I keep on seeing on Korean actresses. It’s amazing.

Application and Texture

The texture is very similar to a clear lip gloss. It’s sticky and tacky but I think it’s designed as such in order for the product to work. Upon application, I felt a very mild sting on my lips. It’s not too uncomfortable, but it’s there. After a few seconds, my lips starting sticking to each other. However, in order to remove the product perfectly, I kept my mouth shut for a good 5-10 minutes until the gloss completely dried down. Once it was dry, I carefully took off the layer of product with mild difficulty, given that my lips are perpetually dry.

Longevity

Although it claims to last for 24 hours, I find that the stain diminished after my first meal. At the end of the day, a very light and subtle stain remained on my lips.

Tips and Instructions on How to Use:

1. For those with dry lips, make sure to moisturize your lips with clear petroleum jelly or any lip conditioning product. Apply the product generously until your lips are coated with the product evenly. I tried using a regular amount of product and I ended up peeling just a small amount of product which is why I recommend that a generous amount of product is applied.

bare, conditioned lips

2. Wait until the product dries down. Carefully peel off the product.

waitinggg…..

carefully peel off the product

3. For those with dry lips, finish off with a colorless lip conditioner.

viola!

Final Thoughts

I love the product for the uniqueness of the experience it brings. There are a lot of lipstains in the market but this is the first time I’ve experienced having to apply and peel something off my lips. I like the natural, Korean-style pinkish shade that it leaves on my lips. However, this type of product doesn’t really suit my problematic dry lips even if I apply a lip conditioner beforehand. My lips always have excess dry skin waiting to be peeled off and this doesn’t really go well with the dynamics of this product. However, I’ve seen a ton of videos of girls with plump and juicy lips looking being able to pull of this product so, I think a lot of girls still will enjoy this product. Also, this might not be for girls who are always on the run because application involves a few steps of waiting. However, I can still also imagine this working for a lot of girls who enjoy taking their time when applying makeup, and of course for those who want to achieve Korean-stained-lips.

xoxo,

*This is a sponsored post but all thoughts and comments are completely mine.

Beauty, Reviews

Review: Dolly Wink Liquid Liner III – Deep Black

07/07/2015

Review and FOTD: Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes

07/05/2015

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I was heartbroken when I missed out on the Laura Mercier Eye Art Artist’s Palette when it was released as part of the Holiday collection in 2013. It was really hyped and was sold out everywhere here in Manila and in the US. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it has been re-released while scrolling through the Sephora website. Second chances don’t come often and I knew that I had to get one before it was too late. I immediately put it on my grandpa’s makeup haul list and literally counted the days until he arrived back in Manila.

First Impressions

One of the first things I noticed is that the packaging is different from the one from the 2013 release. Another is that it retained exactly the same shades from before. This is good news for people like me who weren’t able to get a palette for themselves then. The palette features a total of 12 shades, 6 of them matte and 6 of them with shimmer. From a far, it looks more like a cool toned palette. Apparently, the first row is designed to have cool toned shades while the second row is designed to have the warmer shades. I also like how the palette is arranged with the light shades on the left and the shades intensify as it moved to the right.

Texture and Formula

The texture of these eyeshadows are incredibly fine milled and are soft as butter. As I swatched the shades, I noticed that they aren’t as pigmented as I wanted them to be. I checked pictures of swatches from other reviews online and they were all a lot more pigmented than my swatches. Then, I realized that rubbing my fingers onto the shadows a bit longer finally got the pigmentation that I expected, based on the photos of swatches I saw online. Because of this realization, this palette would have to be the first palette I own with medium intensity pigmentation. Surprisingly though, the colors showed up quite nicely on my eyes. Even the lighter shades were recognizable on the lids. I also like how they blend so easily, with very minimal effort.

Shades

I’m going to talk about the shades by dividing them into two groups. First six shades on the left and 2nd six shades on the right.

Left (From left, counterclockwise)

Sparkling Dew – Sparkling dew is a pale champagne pink shade with shimmer. The pink is very faint and it can be used as a base color, in the inner corner of the eyes, and even as a highlight shade but I personally don’t like shimmery shadows for my brow highlight.
Guava – Peach baby pink with pale gold shimmer. I’d use this on my lids as a base color as well.
African Violet – Purple with gold frost. This is my favorite shade of all because it’s so unique and I can totally imagine building a bunch of different eyeshadow looks around this shade. I’d use this on top of a base color to intensify or elevate an eye look.
Fresco – Cool soft brown matte eyeshadow. I’d use this as a crease color for a natural eye makeup look and as a transition color to blend out a dark crease color for a more intense eye makeup look.
Primrose – Muted rosey pink with silvery white frost. This looked very faint on the back of my hand but it translated very nicely on my lids. I’d also use this as a base color.
Vanilla Nuts – Creamy off white matte shadow. This can be used as a bas, a transition color or even as a highlight.

Right (From left, counterclockwise)

Plum Smoke – Muted violet matte shade. Can be used as a base or a blending shade.
Kir Royal – Shimmery eggplant/aubergine shade. Perfect for intensifying a look or as a crease color.
Violet Ink – Dark Matte violet shade for the crease or for the outer v.
Espresso Bean – Dark blackened brown. This is the closest thing to a black shade but it’s nice that it’s not totally black to match the other shade of the palette. perfect for smoking out a look, crease, and outer v.
Bamboo – Muted taupe with a faint hint of golden shimmer. This wasn’t as smooth as the other shades. Can be used as a crease or on top of a base to add dimension to a look.
Truffle – Rick chocolate brown for the crease, other v, or smoking out a look.

Longevity

Although I did have a pigmentation concern with the shadows, I find that these actually lasted all day on me with minor fading. I’ll probably try to use an eyeshadow primer next time to intensify the colors.

FOTD:

Here’s a look I created using guava and primrose all over the lid. Fresco on the crease. and African violet on on top of the 2 eyeshadow bases to create dimension. For the other products I used on my face, I used my Armani Luminous Silk foundation, NARS orgasm blush, TheBalm Bahama Mama bronzer, and NARS Anita lipstick.

Final Thoughts

The palette is such a unique palette in terms of my personal eyeshadow collection. I’d say it’s neutral but an elevated kind of neutral palette. Instead of earth tones, it has a lot of pink and purple shades. The only palette that’s slightly similar to the Laura Mercier Eye Artist’s Palette is the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. But still, both palettes have many considerable differences.

It’s girly in a very subtle way but it’s so easy to create a ton of different looks that can range from girly, to sexy, to edgy. I just absolutely love how they were able to curate a palette that looks very feminine at first but still very versatile.

xoxo,

Beauty, Reviews

Rave Review: Dior Fluidsticks in Tiny Pink and Pandore

07/01/2015

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This is one of the moments in my blogging career where I’m too dumbfounded to rave about a product that I love too much. As I type this down, I’m at a lost of words because really, how can I possibly immortalize my love for these fluidsticks in the most perfect manner possible? But, since you, reader expect a conclusion of my review of this product at the end of this post, I’m going to give you a backstory to understand why this is one of the products that has completely changed my life.

When I was in grade school to high school, among the most acceptable products to have at my age then would be the following: lipbalm, lip gloss, eyeliner, and maybe concealer/powder and cheek tint. From late grade school to early high school, I deeply treasured my tiny makeup army of less than 10 makeup products. I dabbled in trying different lip glosses because all the chick flick movies made it look like the iconic definition of a girly girl. Finally, I woke up from the spell the kept me from understanding what type of makeup suited me when I entered 2nd year high school because I had to build a kit for my dance competitions. By then, I realized that lip glosses were my enemy because of 3 reasons: they were so sticky, they were bad for my perpetually dry lips, and of course, they give me this ridiculous feeling of hatred every time a hair strand grazed my lips. My last lipgloss purchase was in 2010.

Fast forward to present day, like always when to glossy products in liquid form, I instinctively turned a blind eye to the craze that conquered the beauty community that is known as the Dior Fluisticks. I was stubbornly just seeing how it looked a lot like a gloss and refused hearing about what type of product it actually was. This was all until one fateful visit to the Dior makeup counter at Rustan’s when I bought one of their highlighters. Then, the dazzling fuidsticks just kept tempting me with their uber luxe packaging and so, I swatched. And then… eventually tried a baby pink shade on. Well damn these testers because I WAS HOOKED.

Packaging

The packaging is ridiculously good. I mean, the design itself gives off an illusion that it’s floating. With the case of this product, the packaging was where our love affair began. The product has just the right amount of weight that spells, L-U-X-E but does not overdo it. The “CD” engraving at the top of the wand is a beautiful touch. It’s one of my favorite lip product packagings to date alongside with Guerlain, and Nars. I also love the applicator it comes with because the shape is so helpful in letting me apply the product within the confines of my lips.

Shades and Formula

I picked two shades: 289 Tiny Pink and 754 Pandore. Tiny Pink is a gorge-iaaaas warm toned baby pink while Pandore is a warm toned vibrant watermelon red. I like Tiny Pink more just because it so much easier to wear. It’s like a no brainer because I can wear it with absolutely any look. It makes me look so young and innocent in a good way, I think. While Pandore is a lot more bold and goes well with a clean makeup look.

The first thing I noticed as I applied the fluidsticks, is a cool sensation on my lips. Not like what you experience when you chew mint gum though. Just a slightly cool and soothing sensation. When I checked the formula, I found out that it’s actually made out of water. Which explains the utmost comfort it gives off.

The product is very highly pigmented and I find that dipping the wand into the tube once does the job in applying the product on my lips. The product is sticky enough not to feel too watery on the lips and to apply evenly but it’s a comfortable kind of sticky. Oh gosh, am I even making sense here? You just HAVE to try it to get what I’m saying because this product’s formula is really out of this world. It’s very glossy once applied, but I find that the product sets on the lips as if the lips absorb the water content eventually leaving it looking like a high-shine lipstick on the lips.

Tiny Pink

Pandore

Longevity

It does survive some meals and some drinking. But since it’s glossy in nature, it won’t stay on like a matte lipstick would. Given its opaque formula, Pandore leaves a very beautiful stain on the lips while Tiny Pink does not.

Final Thoughts

So, why is it so life changing? Well, it’s life changing for me because I’ve never experienced using a lipgloss-lipstick hybrid with a formula like this and it just looks so pretty on my lips. It doesn’t only look sooo pretty but it’s also extremely comfortable. These days, I really like going for products that make me look nice yet still make me feel comfortable.

Now, I’ve said all that I can considering my restraint to babble more and I can go on all day. But I won’t. Because I’ll leave the rest up to you, to try this magical product for yourself and fall in love (I’m 80% certain that you will) like I did. Well of course, Matte-formula-purists will be unconvinced. But lipgloss loving sisters, and moisture formula loving sisters, the birth of this lipstick hybrid is a big WIN for our community. Please go forth and try it out in a Dior makeup counter near you.

xoxo,

Beauty, Reviews

Review: NARS Audacious Lipstick Anita

06/29/2015

7 Comments

My love affair with NARS began in the most cliché possible manner: NARS Super Orgasm. Ever since, I ventured into other face products but never really gotten to trying any of their lip products. Because as a beauty junky, there’s always too many makeup in the world left to buy and I just never prioritized trying any of their lip products. Shameful, I know. I was close to trying out the lip pencils but I can’t brink myself to do so because NARS pencils require sharpening and I hate the wastage that sharpening costs.

Anyway, when NARS launched it’s Audacious lipstick line with FOURTY beautiful shades, the buzz that went with it was deafening. It was impossible not to lust after 1, or 2, or 3, or all the shades. For those who don’t know, my grandpa does my biggest yearly makeup haul because he goes to the States every year. And I always never pass up the chance to send him my shopping list! Of course, that list HAD to include one NARS Audacious lipstick, and I picked Anita based on Temptalia’s ever so comprehensive swatch gallery.

Packaging

The first thing I immediately noticed as I laid my hands on my first-ever-NARS lippie is the cool sensation of the metal packaging soothing my skin. I was ecstatic to know that Francois Nars has FINALLY listened to all our woes over his dust-collecting gems! And the best part of the new packaging is that it comes with a magentic closure. It doesn’t really help with making things more efficient but it’s a new experience and I believe that premium quality products should come with experiences that you’ll remember.

Formula and Shade

I had a realization recently that a lot of my bold lip colors often get neglected because as much as I loved them before, they’re actually quite a nuisance to use. And because of this, I tend to gravitate towards more neutral, every-day-wear colors. I still love my occasional hot pink or cherry red shades but I just find these shades so high maintenance. So, the predictable me went for Anita, a beautiful warm pinkish beige shade. I think the shade is so pretty and easy to wear. I can wear it with almost any look, but I can’t wear it alone without wearing any makeup because I look weird. Although it’s a more neutral shade, it’s still very opaque and can actually cover my natural lip color after one swipe.

It looks like a very common shade, but I thankfully have no dupe in my collection. Urban Decay Fiend is pinker, Giorgio Armani Brun Créateur is more orange, and MAC Hug Me is browner.

The formula is out of this world. It’s been a while since I came across with a formula that’s forgiving on my naturally dry and chapped lips. The texture is so beautiful because it applies so smoothly on my lips. I can’t help but swipe on a few more layers just because the sensation is addicting. It’s also very comfortable to wear and it almost feels weightless.

The Drawback

This may be just one of my favorite lipstick shades and formulas EVER but it does come with one catch: longevity. Since it has a satin finish, it can barely survive a meal. This is a problem for me because I like to eat…. a lot. So, I’ll have to reapply once in a while. But in the end, I don’t care really. I’d rather have a chapped-lips-approved lipstick than a matte one.

Final Thoughts

The Nars Audacious Lipsticks are not the most unique formula in the market. I still have a lot of chapped-lips-approved lipsticks in my stash. But what makes it stand out to me are the following:

The knowledge that there 39 other beautiful shades with the same formula waiting for my love.
Their accessibility. I love the UD Revolution Lipstick line but we don’t have it here.
Finally, the overall experience it brings. Like I said, the formula is SO WELL MADE. How can one not love it?

I think though, that this won’t appeal as much to matte lipstick junkies. But for those who had sad chapped lips like me, you’re going to love this! To end, I can’t wait to purchase another shade. But knowing me, it might take a while because my wishlist is still full of products I’ve yet to try.

xoxo,

Beauty, Reviews

MAC Wash and Dry Highlight Powder in Freshen Up

06/24/2015

4 Comments

I haven’t been following beauty trends closely like I used to because I’ve been busy with other things but I’ve been seeing/hearing about MAC’s Wash and Dry collection here and there. I chanced upon the actual products two weeks after their official release here in the Philippines and I instantly fell in love. At first I was hesitant because I recently had 3 separate makeup hauls. But the packaging was just so mesmerising. I had to grab the best product that wasn’t already sold out.

At first glance, I thought that MAC Wash and Dry Highlight Powder in Freshen Up was a blush until I read the label which indicates that it’s a high-light powder. I actually didn’t find it pretty in the display counter since all the gold shimmer was already gone. It was only until I saw an unused box that I fell in love instantly because of the beautiful gold shimmer. I knew that it didn’t run all the way though the to the pan since the testers didn’t have any shimmer. I was about to walk away…..but heck I walked back anyway as if the compact was a magnet pulling me to it.

Shades, Texture, Opacity

This is my first MAC high-lighter (but really, it’s a blush!!!) containing 3 shades. The top most shade is a red-tangerine shade. The middle shade is a peachy-orange shade. Finally, the lower most shade is a yellow beige shade. Like I said, the gold shimmer doesn’t run deep at all. It already disappeared the first time I used the product with a blush brush. The product contains the least of the darkest shade and equal amounts of the two other shades.

The powders are smooth and silky. The first layer with the gold shimmer might emphasize pores. But once the gold runs out, the powders have a satin finish leaving only a hint of shimmer. I like to run my brush through the 3 shades once to apply on each cheek. I find that these are quite opaque so I make sure to apply it with a light hand and a not-so-dense blush brush.

The powder translates into my skin as a girly peach/coral glow with hints of gold shimmer.

Staying Power

It lasted all day on me but of course, with some fading because I live in a very humid country.

Overall Thoughts

I’m so happy with this impulse buy because it’s such a unique product to have based on my own collection. I don’t have anything like it yet. Based on experience with my MAC highlighters shaped like this, they also run out very slowly. And like I said, it’s quite pigmented so you don’t really need to pack on the product for it to show.

Although I still would use it as a blush and not a highlighter.

I’m so glad to have purchased it and I’d recommend you guys to buy it if you find a chance to. :)

Beauty, Reviews

Review: Chanel Joues Contraste in Rose Tourbillon

09/09/2014

3 Comments

This post is very special to me because it’s the first time I’ll ever be reviewing ANY cosmetics from the iconic French brand, Chanel. It’s even more special because my first ever “JC” was given to me as one of my birthday presents by my very own J.C. aka Joshua Cordoves (wahaha geddit? ok. I’ll stop embarrassing myself now). But truly this was one of the items that made my heart flutter as I opened the beautiful box filed with items the boyfriend carefully curated. It’s because this was the only item he bought without knowing whether I liked it or not and he bought it because the nice lady at the Chanel makeup counter suggested it. THANK YOU, nice-fabulously-Chanel-lady! <3 Josh was of course, relieved to know that this was the only Chanel Joues Contraste blush that I was eyeing.

Packaging

I have forever been lusting over these gorgeous Chanel compacts from pictures all over the internet like a 4-year old eyeing her dad’s secret stash of chocolate bars. Now that I finally FINALLY have my very on JC, I was utterly shocked at how light and flimsy the compact is. The plastic material that makes of the compact can definitely be improved. I’m very clumsy and something just tells me that I have to be extra careful not to drop this. I do appreciate, however, the large mirror it has inside the compact. The small brush it comes with is awful especially since this particular product is quite pigmented but I guess they can’t really do anything about it and it’s really for emergency use.

Product

Rose Tourbillon is one of my brightest blushes to date. It’s a bubblegum pink shade and is infused with tiny silver and pink glitters. I know, the blush is starting to sound like an exploded silver and pink disco ball but surprisingly, it comes across my cheeks very naturally. The shade is a true pink and doesn’t have a typical brownish-rose tone at all. When blended out onto the skin, the glitter seems to disappear almost completely but still leaves a few specs of glitter which I do not mind. It’s very finely milled but a wee bit more powdery than some of my blushes.

1-2 swipes is enough for it to show up on my cheeks and leaves a beautiful satin finish. I love how it makes me look like I’m glowing from within! It’s definitely very easy to wear. I can definitely see myself wearing this while I do my daily errands, to school, and even on a date where I wanna look fresh and glowy!

This lasts around 4-5 hours on me and it doesn’t oxidize on my skin which is absolutely perff.

The Only Catch

I find this blush a bit too expensive even considering that it’s a designer brand. It only has about 4g worth of product. A typical blush can contain from 6-8.5 grams worth of product (MAC, Benefit, The Balm). When I look at the technical side of the product, it just surprised me how its price point is really high while its product content is very low. Since this costs around P2350, I would expect a bit more in terms of packaging and content.

Final Thoughts

Although I’m really loving this blush, I don’t see myself buying another compact any time soon because 1) I rarely hit pan on my blushes. 2) It’s really expensive for me and I think it’s a luxury for me to own. I also like that I have one compact for now because it makes me value it even more.

Overall, I’m still super satisfied with the quality of the blush and with the effect it leaves on me. I really love it and I’m so happy to be a proud owner of a Chanel JC. However, I barely find any HG-level blushes and this isn’t one of them so I wouldn’t push this product for anyone to buy. If you have the means to buy it, I say go for it because it’s a nice product to have and Chanel offers a lot more shades to choose from. But for those who think that P2350 for a blush would be a huge dent to their wallets, they shouldn’t feel so bad for not being able to purchase one.

Do you own any JCs? Let me know your thought below! :)

xoxo,