Have you always wanted to try the Lancome Teint Miracle Foundation but balk at the P2,200 price tag? Well,  I have news for you: the L'Oreal Lucent Magique Foundation (P845) is a very close drugstore dupe. That's not surprising since L'Oreal owns Lancome, after all! The texture, finish, down to the ingredients are very much the same with only minor differences. 

Lucent Magique promises to give skin a "radiant halo" with its liquid-light technology. True enough, it's quite illuminating - I love how my skin looks like with this foundation on. Now this kind of stuff is right up my alley, but if you're oily this might be something you want to think about.

Here's the run down!

What I love about the product

• It gives a gorgeous radiant finish on skin. I don't see any shimmer in the formula but it has a subtle satiny shine. It looks absolutely natural with its sheer to medium coverage. Expect to it to cover reasonable blemishes and discoloration! 
• Watery texture is light and easy to smooth all over the skin. It never feels greasy or mask-like even if the humidity is in full force.

I've read good things about the L'Oreal Lucent Magique Liquid Foundation (or Lumi Magique in the US) and I'm so happy to announce that it's finally here in Manila! Lucent Magique is all about "light-infusion" or brightening, but without the obvious accompanying shimmer. I immediately used the foundation as soon as I got it, and mark my words, I sniff a new favorite low-cost base! 

The liquid foundation is only P845. Very, very affordable yet it feels so high end. It reminds me of the Lancome Teint Miracle, actually. Same finish but the Lancome I think is more long-lasting.

Another interesting product is the Lucent Magique Concealer Pen. It's only P545 and works much like my favorite Clinique Airbrush Concealer, although the peg is the YSL Touche Eclat.

Here's whats been happening in the beauty industry! For your information. ;)

Be Part Of The Beauty Buzz with Pond's

Visit the “Pond’s Institute” Manila booth at the SM Mall of Asia’s Main Mall Atrium and be one of the privileged ladies to experience beauty and technology when you join Pond’s beauty activities from June 15 to July 4. Get a free skin analysis and a derma consultation every Saturday and Sunday. 

Color blocking remains as one of the biggest trends this 2012. Before, there were rules on which color goes with what but now, everything goes! That is incredibly fun, if you ask me. I think that everyone should express themselves with something as basic and enduring as color.

I've done several colorful looks before, but here's the most recent one I wore last Sunday. You'll see the bright iridescent green eyeshadow matched with an electric purple eyeliner and a reddish gloss. I decided to keep the cheeks and lips understated since I was just off to the mall, but if I were going to an event, I would probably go for a bright pink lip!

PRO TIP: When doing colorful eyes and lips, it's best to leave your cheeks bare. Contour with an apricot blush or bronzer to get glowing skin that doesn't compete with the colors you already have on. Here I used the L'Oreal True Match Blush in Golden Apricot - I love it! This blush really complemented my Pinay skin without looking overdone.

Okay, so here's the contest part: L'Oreal Paris has partnered with Project Vanity to bring FIVE readers to Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2012!

The fact that we are living in the future is something we take for granted. Imagine, 15 years ago the Internet was just something rich people and offices had; information can only be found in print. We now have personal computers with touch screens that can fit in our pocket. We have hologram Tupac, dead for 16 years, performing in a concert! But we all take it in stride and shrug it off as the natural order of things. There is no wonder, there is no marvel anymore.

Aside from gadgets, this living-in-the-future bit also applies to beauty products. The skincare industry, for instance, is moving fast with new innovations at affordable price points. Products that used to be only available from high-end brands now have doppelgangers in drugstore brands. It's not exactly the same but efficacy is just as good for what you pay for them.

Now, L'Oreal has been diligent in amping up their skincare lines with two new products: the White Perfect Micro-vibration 3-in-1 Eye Brightener and the Youth Code Pre-Essence.

The White Perfect Micro-vibration 3-in-1 Eye Brightener (P695) is an eye cream with a vibrating applicator. The white cream is moisturizing and offers a bit of brightening because it has some shimmer, but the applicator is the real star here. :D It's metal-tipped so it feels very cool and soothing once you place it on your eyebags. The vibration is gentle yet stimulating, a little bit like getting a massage.

Good Monday morning to you! Say hi to Nikki, who shall be talking about the latest L'Oreal foundation to hit the Philippines!

I’m a BB cream fan and I have been using BB creams for a while now, mainly because they are the most economic choice for me. Not only do they cover blemishes and make your skin dewy and delightful but they also offer additional perks like sunscreen and whitening (I’m not really big on whitening but hey, why not).

However, as my life is pretty hectic and demanding (and I have yet to master the art of time management), I’ve been searching for a better form of foundation because BB creams, like liquid foundation, can be a little time consuming and tedious to use. Musing on that thought, I realized that powder foundation is the easiest foundation to apply. I swear, we women go through so much to get perfect skin, but as Liz puts it, “You can call it vanity but I call it survival”. 

As my beauty guru and close friend, I told Liz about my predicament and she told me to try L’Oreal’s White Perfect Pearl Duo Powder Foundation (P995 / P795 refill only). I was really excited to use it because the packaging was really cute and it came with a highlighter too!

One of the lipsticks I reach for a lot lately is the L'Oreal NutriShine lipstick in Rose Guava (P675). It's a great shade but what distinguishes it from the other brands I have is the super cute packaging! You see, most of my lipsticks are in black tubes. It's kind of a hassle sifting through a heap of them when I'm in a hurry so I just grab what looks interesting. This L'Oreal lipstick certainly fits the bill!

Rose Guava is a warm pink with blue undertones. At first I thought it wasn't a good match for my yellow-toned skin, but since this pink isn't too cool, it still manages to flatter my color. However, I think this would look gorgeous on those with beige undertones, better than on yellow skin.

What I love about the product

• Has a glossy, shiny finish that works well in brightening the face. Great color for the day.
• Glides on smoothly. Love the watery, non-waxy texture.

Ok, I've found my current favorite mascara: the L'Oreal Curl Impact Collagene Mascara (P795) which was released just this month. I admit I didn't like it as much when I first started using it. It was so stubborn to remove (automatic major minus points), and I actually lost more than a few eyelashes in the process! I had to rub and wipe with at least two different makeup removers before it finally came off. That was stupid of me. I should have just read the instructions: it washes off with warm water.

Yep, you got that right. I've tried other mascaras that wash off with warm water, but this is the easiest one to take off. It almost melts on contact with the water plus there isn't that much residue left to wipe off. Winner!

The L'Oreal Curl Impact Collagene promises to deliver curl and volume - and it does. It may have something to do with the special spiral wand. There is a noticeable curl even without using an eyelash curler, but if you want something more dramatic, I suggest using that tool. As for the volume, this mascara fattens up and blackens my lashes quite nicely that I can skip eyeliner when using it.

Let's run through the pros and cons!

Making makeup stay put in our hot and humid country is always a challenge. That's why primers are a must if you're always out wearing makeup for long periods of time! One of the newest primers out of the market is the L'Oreal Base Magique, also known as the Magic Perfecting Base in other countries. It claims to smoothen the skin and cover pores on top of helping your makeup last longer. 

L'Oreal recommends the Base Magique for oily skin, and I rather agree since this silicon-based primer is non-greasy and feels like nothing on my face - if applied correctly. 

What I love about the product

• It's a good primer. It helps foundation and blushes stay on longer! I once used it in an all-day shopping event, and my makeup looked great at the end of the day. There was a bit of oiliness, but nothing major.
• Helps makeup glide on, preventing patchy application.

It's hard to keep track of all the latest skincare products, at the rate and speed they're being released! It's all for the better, don't you think? More choices means more potential solutions to our beauty problems and better prices. Anyway, L'Oreal Paris is one brand that just came out with three products that targets major market concerns: cleansing (for men), whitening (for women), and smoothing/priming for makeup users out there.

The Pure & Matte Charcoal Black Foam (195) is designed to cleanse and mattify skin. It's for men who are concerned with oily skin that's exposed to a lot of pollution and stress. I think it's a pretty basic cleanser, as male skincare products go! This might not be for us girls, but there's no reason to NOT give this to our guy friends. It will benefit us in the long run, dare I say!

The White Perfect Day Cream SPF17/PA++ (P595) offers UV protection and promises whitening using melanin-blocking ingredients. It's light and non-greasy as promised - heaven sent in a world of uncomfortable day creams with SPF - but use it sparingly if you have oily skin!

I was super duper duper bored with my hair. All I can do with it before is just wash it and tie it up. My last hair cut was at a Korean salon called Beauty Brick, way back in March, so obviously my hair has grown a lot since then. I craved for something new, something I haven't tried yet! But what?

The answer was clear as day. I had to dye my hair for the first time. And get bangs! Now, if you have wavy hair like me, you know that bangs are slightly equivalent to having hell on your head. Okay, that's over the top. But you see, when I last had bangs (a decade ago) it was something I hated dealing with everyday so I just stopped having them. That's until last week, when I wanted to be challenged by my hair for a change.

The result, blow-dried:

Here is my hair washed (sorry for the yellow tinge, forgot to adjust my camera's settings):

I had a voucher to try L'Oreal INOA for free, so off I went to Regine's Salon at The Link, Makati to claim the free treatment. It was Karina Mantolino, the head stylist, who accommodated me. I asked her to give me a hair cut first before we got on to the dyeing session. The whole thing was pretty quick at less than 15 minutes since she just gave me layers, and it only cost me P450.

I've never had my hair colored, ever. Whenever I go to salons to get a cut, I always smell the distinctive stink of hair dye. It's the kind of odor that goes straight inside your nasal passage and stays there, painfully. That's a huge deterrent for me! My hair is really thin plus I suffer from hair fall so I've been staying away from any sort of chemical treatment for years now.

And then came L'Oreal INOA. A play on the words "Innovation No Ammonia", L'Oreal's revolutionary hair coloration system promises optimal scalp comfort and the absence of smell. It's because there is zero ammonia in the formula. At the heart of INOA is the ODS (Oil Delivery System) which is supposed to optimize the hair penetration of the coloring active ingredients.

Robbie discussing the system

Demoing. The system has three major components just manually mixed with each other.