This is what we think of the Ever Bilena x Kris Aquino Collab (with swatches!)
Earlier this year, the announcement of Kris Aquino’s partnership with beloved local drugstore beauty giant Ever Bilena was met with much excitement by fans and beauty lovers alike. Knowing that the Queen of All Media is famous for being very particular (especially when it comes to the self-confessed makeup lover’s beauty stash), we were also eager to see how Kris’s meticulous preferences would translate into the collaboration’s releases.
The Kris Life Kit collection is finally here, and the first wave features her all-time must-haves: lipstick and brow makeup! The Kris Life Kit Brow Liner and Brow Mascara (P275) is a dual-ended pen that features a twist-up brow liner on one end and a brow mascara on the other. According to Kris, her goal for the brow release was to have waterproof options, and Ever Bilena was able to deliver this by the second prototype. The pen is available in two shades.
The brow liner has a dry waxiness to it, but is able to produce sufficient pigmentation with a few light strokes. Be patient with those light strokes as applying more pressure in an attempt to hurry the process just causes that waxy texture to clump up and look awkward. The short-bristled brow mascara wand allows for precision application on sparse and thick brow hairs alike. Again, use a light hand when applying because pressing too hard will cause the saturated portion of the wand to create streaks on your brow.
The darker shade of the two is called Beyond Brown, a natural-looking chocolate brown with just a whisper of redness. It suits dark brown and dark reddish-brown hair. Happy Taupe, the lighter shade, is an ashy, caramel-y beige suitable for medium to light hair colors. As promised, the brow duo is waterproof and sweatproof, surviving all-day wear on my combi-dry skin.
One of the issues that came up as Kris was developing her EB lipsticks was the notion that the shades would only end up working for fairer skin types. To address this, Kris opted to create the Matte Matic Lipstick (P245) in an everyday wearable MLBB warm nude pink called Life and an elegant-looking cool-toned medium red called Love. The formula for both lip crayons is on the dry side, so don’t expect a creamy glide and make sure to moisturize lips beforehand. Comfortable wear time is 3 hours before the lips start to feel noticeably dry. I didn’t notice a strong transfer with the lighter Life when drinking and eating, but I did feel that Love transferred like the usual bold lipstick does.
Swatches, from left: Love, Life, Beyond Brown, and Happy Taupe
Speaking of bold lips, it wouldn’t be a Kris Aquino press con without a fair share of pasabog! When asked what products are slated for future release, Kris hinted at a powder and a blush in the works. Liquid lipsticks were also spotted at the launch event, but a release date has yet to be set.
And in case you were wondering, Kris took notes for product development from her own favorite makeup. Her peg for the brow line was a long-wear, waterproof formula that she is known to love. As for the lipsticks, Kris took inspiration from a famous international makeup artist’s luxe line of lippies. Any guesses? We can neither confirm nor deny as no names were dropped, but we’d love to know what you think in the comments below!
The Kris Life Kit is now available at Ever Bilena counters and on BeautyMNL.com
