Walking Around Rotorua

Hello everyone!

I'm here for a different post. It has been a while since I have posted a non beauty related post and to be honest my mind is just not working right now . I wanted to inspire myself back into writing so I decided to write something different today. I am now currently in Rotorua, New Zealand for vacation and it is such a beautiful place (minus the cold). I kinda wish I brought my trusty dslr here but unfortunately I'd have to make do with my bf's Samsung 4.

I have been complaining about gaining a lot of weight since I arrived here. I think I might have gained 2 to 3 kgs in the past two weeks. I'm not kidding! The food...my gosh..the food!!hahaha It is super cold (for me!) so I had a hard time exercising as well. Due to my non stop complaints, my bf and I went out for a "walk" since I'm too lame to jog. We ended up walking for about 2 hours, then we had lunch then walked for another hour. I was so exhausted when we arrived home though. Anyway, here are the pictures that we took. It is basically composed of flowers because I was so amazed by how pretty the trees and flowers here are! Hhaha! Hope you enjoy!

 This is us!Excited to start out walk! 

We love neon!

That's a golf course by the way.

Oohh..look at those white flowers! 

Here are some pink ones! 

A Sakura tree!!

We walked from our house until we reached the Government Garden. It is basically a garden with flowrs and hot springs. It is located beside the lake.

Rotorua is located at the mouth of a volcano or something like that. So there were a lot of geysers and hotsprings around. I haven't a chance to see a geyser up close though. 

TULIPS!! I love how they mixed and match the colors of the flowers! Love the red and white combo!

So pretty right?? Aside from the flowers, there were also a lot of birds around. Like this chicken-looking bird! Hahah

There were also ponds around the park. 

 White tulips...classic!

It took us around two hours to reach the park so I was a little tired already.We decided to look for a place where we can eat. We fond a spot under a tree near the children's playground. 

I love me some peaches! I have like 5 cans of these in my room..hahaha..wait ..need to buy  more!

 Gotta have Dingdong!

Once these birdies saw us eating..they came.. they were soo noisy!

After eating, we then went for walk again... this time,heading to the lake..

Under this bridge is a pool/pond that smells like sulfur.. 

We saw some black swans! Black swans were imported to New Zealand form England ( I think) for ornamental purposes and now there are a lot of the swimming in the shallow areas of the lake.

PINK!

We also saw this super adorable giant dog! A lot of people pet him and take pictures and he does not seem to mind. He is soo nice. I'm still a bit scared though...

Other pictures around the lake.

Soo that was it! I hope I was able to give you guys a glimpse of New Zealand! 

Take care!

-MAIA

REVIEW: AVON Ideal Luminous Invisible Coverage Liquid Foundation SPF 15/ PA++

Hi everyone!

So  here I am...alone and bored! Hahha... My bf is out on work so I'm here trying my best to get something out of my brain. I really gotta do more posts..right? I wonder how other bloggers do more than one two posts a week while maintaining an 8 hour job. Anyway, I can do this!! I should motivate mysefl!! Yeah!

Alright! So, today, I am reviewing this foundation form Avon that I got for free from a makeup session with AVON. I also got other stuff and I am going to blog some of them in my next posts. 

I am quite excited about this foundation because when I swatched it during the event, it was very light yet gave a good amount of coverage. So after trying it out for a few weeks, here's what I think about it. :)

Product Name: Ideal Luminuous Invisible Liquid Foundation SPF 15/ PA++

Price: P499, sometimes you can get it on sale for P299  (As for me, I got it for free as mentioned)

Where: Avon or contact an Avon lady.

Amount: 30g

Shade: Nude

It came in a small tube/bottle. 

To get the product out, you need to squeeze the bottle.

Swatches:

At first, I thought the color of the product will not suit me at all because it looked grayish. But it looked nice after it was blended out.

Let's test drive this baby!

Of course, no foundation review is complete without me showing my bare face. And of course to minimize the (unpleasant) impact, I filled in my brows. 

As usual, my skin is dry and dull looking. 

MAC's NW 30 is a perfect match for me.

I started with a three to four drops of the product. It is a little thick but I felt like the coverage is sheer so I had to put more product.

As you can see, the finish is also very natural. It was very easy to blend and does not cake easily. It also has a dewy finish but it does not feel oily on my skin. It actually made my skin very smooth and it smells like very "fruity" which is quite different from other foundations that I have tried. 

 It does have a little bit of white cast so remember to blend it on the neck as well.

Can you see the difference? It evened out my skin tone but I think I need to apply concealer to brighten up my undereye area.

My thoughts:

Packaging:

Since it is in a plastic tube/bottle, I think it is quite handy and very travel friendly. It is quite small so it does not take up too much space. Another thing is that it is also quite hygienic because you have to squeeze the product out  and it is also easy to control how much product you want and it is also less messy.

Formula:

The foundation is very smooth and a creamy yet, it is so lightweight and thin. It made my skin feel soft and smooth after applying it. I have dry skin so it really moisturizes my skin making it feel less dry.The smell! Oh!! The smell! I really love the smell. If you are into "fruity" smell, you will love this product. The formulation is quite good, I love how it is really "invisible" and looks natural. It give light to medium coverage and is very easy to blend. You can use either your fingers or your brush with this. It does have a dewy finish and in my case, I like dabbing powder on my T-zone whenever I use this.  

Lasting Power:

Though it is so lightweight, it can last up to 4 hours under humid weather. It really sticks to the skin making it last longer than other thicker foundations. If you work in a non-airconditioned area, then I think you have to apply your powder after 3-4 hours depending on how oily your skin can get. In my case, this can last up to 6 hours on me with minimal touch up like powdering my nose area. But of course, if you plan to go out and party then I suggest using a primer or a setting spray.

Affordability/Availability:

If you know an Avon lady, then it is easy to get this product. It usually costs P499 which is an okay price but make sure to look out for sales because it can retail to only P299. Either way, unless you pay cash, Avon products paid after a month so you still have one month to save on this. 

Overall

What I like:

- the finish is very natural

-has a really good smell

-lasts 4 to 6 hours

- gives a light to medium coverage

-great for everyday

-super easy to blend

-great for those with dry skin

-feels light on the skin

Some Issue:

-I think this only comes in two to three shades so it might not suit other skin colors (especially darker ones)

-has a dewy finish

-gives a little white cast

- light to medium coverage so more concealing is needed if you have more blemishes

All in all, I love this product. It is great for everyday or on days when you're in a hurry. I recommend this to girls who have dry skin (like me!). I'm sure students, and those who don't like putting on too much makeup will love this product too! I will surely buy this again when I run out. 

So what did you think of my review? Please do comment below! I would love to read your thoughts!

Take care!

-maia

REVIEW: The Face Shop FACE it Smart Capsule Color Control Cream SPF40

Hi everyone!

Sorry for being MIA lately my schedule has been very off but I hope I will be able to upload posts again starting this week!

Anyhoo... I recently joined the BB/CC cream bandwagon. It is funny because I almost rarely use BB/CC creams since I find their coverage too light and too oily for me. However, last August a friend of mine told me that there is an online shop in Instagram wherein you can order Korean products for less. When I checked it out, I discovered that there was an ongoing 50% sale on THe FaceShop's products! Being the "trying-to-be-thrifty" makeup junkie that I am, I was not able to restrain myself and ordered.

Product Name: FACE it Smart Capsule Color Control Cream SPF40 , PA ++

Price: (at the store) P1300, I got it for P650.00 (yey!!)

Where I got it from: 

                 Facebook: Parkvill Shop 

                 Instagram: parkvill_korean_shop

What it says on the label:

It claims to have SPF and has a long lasting effect. Before, I have already seen this product and it got me really intrigued mostly because of the packaging and the pump.

Basically, you push the pump and product comes out of the hole in the middle. I was really surprised because the product itself is kind of white but turns a different color and when blended into the skin.

As you can see, you can barely see the product since once you blend it to your skin, it changes in color. It was called "smart capsule" because of its ability to "change" and match a person's skintone.

Let me now show you how this baby look on me.

But first, here is my no makeup self:

Okay.. so I did put some eyebrow powder on. I just think I look more human if I have thicker eyebrows.

Skin color: medium-dark

MAC's NW30 is a perfect match.

Here, I used just one full pump and I kind of think that it was too much.

At first, I find it difficult to blend, plus the fact that I applied too much, but it really helps if you warm the product with your fingers before applying to the skin. I tried using a brush but it tends to take a while for it to change its color so I think the "warmth" from my hands are better suited for this product. 

AS you can see, it really looks natural and it did brighten my face. 

Close up

It is not matte but it is not too oily as well. It just gives the skin some sort of glow. If you are not into that kind of finish that you should definitely use a setting powder.

Me, after applying the product on both sides of my face.

I like how natural the finish is. It also smells like an expensive lotion or something so that's a plus for me. It does have a minimal white cast so it is important to blend the product on your neck as well.

As mentioned, it proved a light coverage perfect for daytime or on days when you still want to look put together but you don't want to use too foundation. If you want more coverage then you can apply some concealer on your blemishes. I have tried adding this to my foundation fro a brightening effect. I have also tried applying this first to sure as a primer and it does make my foundation last longer, however, I need to set it with a good powder because it can still make my T-zone oily.

What I like:

- smells good

- gives a brightening effect

-natural finish

- the packaging is very hygienic

-a little goes a long way

-long lasting (4-6 hours)

-has spf40 

Some issues:

-a little expensive

- does not give a matte finish

-needs to be blended well using that warmth of my fingers in order to really change the color of the produc

-gives a very light coverage

All in all, I am quite happy with this product. I actually use it almost everyday since it gives me a really natural finish. But of course, I still use a little bit of concealer on days when I have breakout or super dark circles. I recommend this to those who have the money to spend and to those who have less problem areas on the their face. This is great for school, running errands or for work.

That's it for my review! What CC Creams have you tried? Do share on the comment section down below!

Take care!!

-maia