BKK haul: Gino McCray eyeshadows and blush

A friend of mine went to Bangkok the other week so I googled for makeup brands I can try. I went to Bangkok once but back then, I wasn't that interested as I am interested in makeup now. One brand that called my attention was Gino McCray. I only found a couple of reviews about it but it was enough to pique my interest to try it. I decided to have my friend buy me 4 eyeshadows and 1 blush. I only gave him the number codes, which I wasn't really sure if it was the colors I wanted. I originally wanted a shade in white, yellow, brown and blue. Apparently the number codes that I gave my friend corresponded to brown, gold, black and blue. Not bad, though.

So I got the following:

Gino McCray Benefique Blusher in 06 Lush Raspberry
Gino McCray Pro Make-up Eyeshadow in 02 Black Charcoal
Gino McCray Pro Make-up Eyeshadow in 03 Deep Sky Blue
Gino McCray Pro Make-up Eyeshadow in 10 Wheat Gold
Gino McCray Pro Make-up Eyeshadow in 12 Golden Brown


What the products say:

Gino McCray Benefique Blusher

Gino McCray Benefique Blusher offers the best way to give cheeks color that look natural and fresh. This luxurious blusher glides on smoothly and effortlessly for a soft, youthful glow.

Gino McCray Pro Make-up Eyeshadow

A soft and sily formula that illuminates your eyelids and enhances your natural eyecolor. Gino McCray Pro make-up eyeshadow brings back dimension to your eyes so they look refreshed all day long.

My verdict:

The Blusher is a nice sheer shade of raspberry with a hint of shimmer. I like it because as what the product claims, it glides smoothly and gives a natural glowy finish. I am definitely interested in the other shades.

As for the eyeshadows, I was surprised on how pigmented they were, especially the blue one! The eyeshadows are shimmery and unlike cheap brands, it is not powdery. The colors glide smoothly and are easy to blend. I love it! I just wish I got to try the yellow and white eyeshadows.


Swatches:

L-R Blusher in Lush Raspberry, Eyeshadows in Golden Brown, Wheat Gold, Deep Sky Blue and Black Charcoal

All in all, this was a good buy for the 135 Baht (Php 183) blush and 148 Baht (Php 200) eyeshadows, which all go a long way by the way.

Gino McCray products are available at Cosmeda Shops in Bangkok.

Review: 4U2 eyeshadow palette

I absolutely love hunting for good cosmetics at affordable prices. That's why I love Watson's too much. One of my recent discoveries is a brand called 4U2 (Thai). I already have one of their quads (neutrals) and a single eyeshadow. I love 4U2 eyeshadows primarily because it's highly pigmented and cheap! The only problem I have is that they don't have matte eyeshadows.

...or so I thought.

Last Saturday, I passed by Watson's after class to restock on wetwipes and tissue. I passed by the 4U2 counter and was surprised to see a matte eyeshadow palette (Classic). The sales lady said it was the last one and that they seldom restock on it. But since I didn't have money with me then, I tried my luck the next day in the nearest Watson's to my place. And fortunately, they had two! So I got one for myself...



Swatches:



4U2 I-Pro Professional Eye Make-up Palette in Classic

Price: Php 994


Pros:

• Highly pigmented


• Affordable


• Nice packaging ( i like the mirror haha)

Cons:

• No other shades available


• Other than the first one, I can't think of any

Overall, I think that this palette is a steal for its price. The texture is just alright, not too powdery unlike other drugstore brands. The shimmery palettes are nice too. I just want a matte palette. I especially like how the black and brown turned out. I also recommend their eyeshadow duos and quads. Really worth the price. :)

Collective Haul

After buying the stuff I need for makeup school, I did a mental note to set out on a no-buy mode (which I keep telling myself to do over and over again). But who am I kidding? I always seem to find a reason to buy something (despite my meager wallet and bank account). By far, this month has been the most extravagant in terms of my spending on beauty products. Since I was in a positive mood today, I decided to take pictures of some of the stuff I got over the weekend.

1. MAC lipstick in Russian Red



Okay, so I've been looking for a good red lipstick. I found one at The Face Shop but I decided to check with MAC first thinking that I might find a better one. And I did (and its the last one they have)! I looooove the shade of red. It's matte and is on the bluish side of red. However, I've been so used to wearing nudes that I'm not too comfy wearing a red lipstick. But we'll see...

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2. MAC eyeshadow in Ricepaper



Ricepaper is a peachy gold e/s with shimmer. I decided to buy this because Mikee from MAC told us that this is a perfect shade for a highlighter. and he was definitely right! :)

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3. Maybelline Brow Definist in 02 Brown



I go to Maybelline for mascaras (hands down!). It has been my brand of choice for mascaras before I discovered The Balm Two Timer Mascara (my HG! I'll try to review this some other time). It's affordable and does its work. So as I was lurking around Landmark looking for a good and cheap eyebrow kit, I was surprised to see that Maybelline now has an eyebrow kit (and eyeshadows! LOL.) I wasn't expecting much from it but when I swatched it, I was surprised by the natural light brown color. I've been looking for a lighter and more natural shade of eyebrow kit because I wasn't satisfied with the one I bought from In2it and The Face Shop.

Anyways, Maybelline Brow Definist has two shades of brown in it. One smooth wax (darker shade) to define the brow line and one silky brow powder (lighter shade) to build intensity. I find that it easily glides and packs color to the brows.

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4. Nichido Girl's Night Out Eye Contour Pencil in Deep Blonde



What can I say. I love the shade of brown. It can be used as an eyeliner and a brow pencil. My only concern is that it smudges easily.

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5. Fanny Serrano Blush in Georgia Peach



The photo lost its quality upon upload. It looks totally different. In the picture, it looks pink but this blush is a perfect peach shade, which is a bit on the shimmery side. I bought this for my class but I think I might use it. LOL.

I have yet to try their eyeshadow quads, which I saw from Aika.

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6. My first batch of NYX round lipsticks



My mini lipstick army from Nyx. I ordered these from Nonpareilboutique about a month ago but I had to wait for my uncle to arrive to get these. I also ordered 2 round lipglosses, 1 megashine lipgloss and 1 eyeshadow trio (which I forgot to take pictures of). Anyways, I cannot stress enough how much I love these lipsticks. They're not MAC quality but they're good enough for me. They glide well and don't dry my lips. And they're cheap! I can't wait to order more!

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7. Eyeko Cream



FINALLY! After a month long of waiting, I got my order. I'm not sure though if this was my original order, or the one they re-sent (since I filed a dispute in Paypal). I love it. (and how cute is the packaging?!) It makes a good highlighter. You can even wear it alone, giving a healthy glow to your skin. I applied a thick layer for visual purposes only (I wanted it to be really visible in the picture). The smell reminds me of sunblock but oddly enough, I love the smell. LOL. The only con I can point out right now is that its in a tub and I have to dip my finger to get the product. So what I did was I bought those little containers with spatulas and transferred some to it so I don't have to get straight from the tub.

So there. I'll post the second part of my haul when I get in the mood to take pictures again.

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On Thursday, I will be joining my teacher and some of my classmates in a fashion show at Bureau (Makati). Janna, my classmate, told me that we will be doing 30 faces (SRSLY?!) for the show. But we'll only be doing the base (foundation etc.) since that's what we've mastered. I'm excited and nervous. I hope I do well... *cross fingers*