How was your long weekend? Mine was very quiet as I just stayed at home painting and working. ^_^ Anyway, this week I thought I'd do Skincare Week, where I will be talking about excellent products you can use to nourish and protect your skin. We all need a few of those! Hopefully this week you can discover awesome additions to your current skincare routine.

To start off, I have a unique find for you: the Avon Skin So Soft Fast Hydration Body Gel Lotion (P330). I've tried quite a host of body lotions but it's my first time to see a legit gel one! I mean, gel face moisturizers are easy to find, but it's rare to see one for the body in the PH. That's why I was pretty excited to hear about this latest innovation from Avon!

So what's up with this gel moisturizer? It literally feels like you're applying water on your skin - it's light, quickly absorbed within seconds, and leaves no greasy residue. It smells very fresh and clean and has this cooling effect due to the alcohol content.

At first I thought that having SD Alcohol-40B in the ingredients list is counterintuitive as alcohol is known to be drying.

A couple of years ago, one of my clients hired a woman to help out with merchandising and operations. I enjoyed working with her because she was smart and always ready to learn - she was such a huge help since the team was very small at that time. However, she quit within the month if I remember correctly. Why? Her boyfriend gave her a hard time about spending too much time working. She started missing work and he started waiting for her to come out of the office like a stalker.

It was a sad situation, and I was sorry that she didn't choose to get out of it. I know it's none of my business but I wrote a lengthy, emphatic email explaining why she shouldn't have left her job for her boyfriend. I told her, if he controls her like this when they're not yet married, imagine how he'd be like once they tie the knot!

Yes, it's none of my business, but sometimes it has to be. There are many forms of domestic violence. It's not necessarily as direct or physically obvious like a black eye - it could be a partner limiting your economic situation like preventing you from keeping a job or cutting you off from your bank accounts/cards. It could be verbal like him telling you you're stupid or incompetent all the time. It could be emotional like him stalking you via text or preventing you from seeing your friends and family. 

Not really

There are signs - except, we tend to turn the other cheek because we don't want to interfere. We don't want to be labeled "pakialamera". I believe that there are boundaries we shouldn't cross and that everybody is entitled to privacy. But there are situations when we shouldn't keep our mouths shut. I mean, if you truly care about someone, shouldn't you be proactive, say something and offer solutions to ger her out of her misery?

That's why I love Avon's global #SeeTheSigns Campaign.

I'm baaaack! Just came from a Nivea press event all the way in El Nido, Lagen Island. The place was breathtakingly beautiful - think clear azure waters, 360-degree views of basaltic islands, and awesome locals. It was an experience that I will never forget! I'll blog about it later but first, I'd like to show you something interesting from Avon. It's the 8-in-1 Eye Palette in The Metallics (P349)!

I believe this came out over the holidays so I can't guarantee that it's still available. It's better to ask your Avon lady! Nonetheless, I think it's interesting how Avon is coming out with even more interesting products and color selections. I mean, just look at this! 

There are three versions of this palette - the one here is all about metallic colors. They aren't THAT metallic to me though; I'd say they look like normal eyeshadows with shimmer. Pigmentation is pretty good, texture is a little rough but workable, and staying power is okay as long as you use a base. 

This palette doesn't blow my mind away, honestly, but it does have one thing going for it: eight pretty colors for only 349 bucks. Observe!

One of the reasons I enjoy doing themed weeks is I get to dig through my baul to look for things to feature. Sometimes, I forget to write about a certain release (due to the volume of stuff I receive), so there's always something interesting to find. For Lip Gloss Week, it's the Avon Ultra Glazewear Lipgloss (P299). I think I've had this since August 2013!

I remember casually swatching this a couple of times, but forgot about it because I was testing out the Avon Vitaluscious Lipstick. Anyway. The Ultra Glazewear is a fairly pigmented collection of glosses that come in rich, eye-catching colors. I like that it's not sticky, but it does feel a bit thick on the lips. 

It flakes minimally as it dries. You can get away with a wearing a lip balm underneath, so go for it if you have dry lips. :) Staying power is average at three hours. It has a gentle caramel scent that doesn't smell cheap to me.

Here be the swatches!

Have you tried Avon eyeshadows before? I have, but they were woefully unimpressive last year. The texture and pigmentation needed a lot of work, and the sponge they came with? Useless. I have good news though! Avon has finally refomulated their quads, and I tell you, they are pretty good! 

I've been using them quite often since I got them, so I thought I'd start Eyeshadow Week at Project Vanity with the new Avon True Color Eyeshadow Quads (P449).

The new formula is a lot smoother and more pigmented than before. I also love the sophisticated color selection, and how well each color in the quad goes together. You can get a nice day look by mixing just two colors or a dramatic evening look by combining all four. The darkest shade in each quad is a deep matte that's pigmented enough to be used as eyeliner (wet or dry works!).

Chocolate Sensation is a lovely smoky neutral palette. I love ALL the colors, and I think they'd look good across most skintones!