MLBB - My El Cheapo Way

MLBB stands for My Lips But Better. It essentially describes a natural looking, “nude” look for your lips that highlights its natural coloring while giving it a bit of color.

What you want is a natural looking lip color that will suit your complexion.

Popular MLBB lipsticks are MAC’s Hug Me,/ Blankety, Bare Escentual’s Gingersnap, and Clinique Black Honey but these are pretty pricey brands that are really expensive in Seoul.

Truth is, it's more of a trial and error thing to find an MLBB shade that’s a right mix of beige and pink. So far, I am quite happy with my own MLBB look. I call it the El Cheapo MLBB because well, though I use two items to get this lip look, both items are pretty inexpensive, the two items totalling less than 500 pesos.

What I use to get my MLBB look:

Samsung Lava Lipstick in 77 (Nude Beige) + Tony Moly Berry Berry Magic Lip Tint in Strawberry.

The Lava lipstick is really pure beige but it is offset by the pinkish tones of the Berry Tint.
Bonus point for this tandem: An application of the Lava Lipstick + Magic Lip Tint lasts about four hours of full color and the color will not totally be erased even if you forget to touch up ☺

What about you, what's your fave My Lips But Better lippies?

PARDON MY LIPS! ~ Color Swatches of TONY MOLLY Berry Berry Magic Lip Tints~

I have naturally dark lips, so forgive me for the transgression of showing them bare to the world haha. But here is my promised swatches of the Tony Moly Berry Berry Magic Lip Tints. To read my rave on this tint, read my earlier post.

MY BARE LIPS




And now with the Magic Lip Tints!

TONY MOLY STRAWBERRY (Transparent to Pink)
A good tint for young girls and for that barely there, pink lips look

TONY MOLY GREEN APPLE ( Green to Magenta Red)
My personal favorite because I can use on its own to the office. It gives the best color match for my lips

TONY MOLY GRAPE (Dark Red to Red)
The dark red color doesn't really show up on my lips haha. Which is why this is my least favorite of the three. But I suppose for lighter lip colors this will have a nice red effect.

SWATCHES ON WHITE
From left: Strawberry, Green Apple, Grape


My fave of the three is still the Green Apple. How about you? Which one is your fave, your least fave?


P.S. For those asking, stocks of these will arrive at the shop on the 6th of June. Cheers!

Pretty Lips from Tony Moly

I have tried a number of products from Tony Moly : Dual Effects Intensive Sleeping Pack -- good but expensive; Party Lover BB Cream -- inexpensive but has a glossy finish which isn't really appropriate for office workers like me, plus a number of samplers from their Floria skincare line.

But hands down, my favorite Tony Moly product is this ultra-pretty and very inexpensive lip tint.

The Tony Moly Berry Berry Magic Lip Tint in Green Apple



Why do I love this? let me count the ways:


The Price: Very cheap! I think we sell this at a little over 200PHP at the shop. Of course I get it for a bit lower here in Seoul. :-) Just the perks of the trade, aight?


The Color: There are three variants of the Berry Berry Magic Tints:

Berry -- transparent lip gel which turns into light pink upon application
Green Apple -- green lip gel which turns into a reddish-magenta color
Grape -- deep purple lip gel which turns into a burgundy-ish shade of red

Among the three, I like the Green Apple shade most because the shade is so appropriate to use in the office. Like today, I didn't wear any lipstick at all, just this pretty lip tint and I was set. The finish on the lips isn't shimmery at all (For the record, I hate shimmery lip balms and tints as I've noticed that these do not have good staying power or good color pigments at all).


The Wear-off: Well, let me put it this way, I brushed my teeth after eating my breakfast at the office just about an hour ago, and my lips are still sporting that pretty reddish-pink tint.

What it can't do for you: This isn't exactly a moisturizing lip tint. This is a lip tint made to give your lips great and relatively long lasting color. It however will not help you with dry lips. For that, you're better of with Skinfood Shea Butter Lip Care Bar ( I love the one in Raspberry!).

Disclosure: The pics above are stock photos I got from the TM site. I was so excited publishing this (because I sooo love rediscovering this tint again!) that I wanted to publish the post now~while I am at the office haha!~ I will add actual photos of my own liptint and swatches later tonight :-)

Lava: A Cheapskate's Lipstick Nirvana

There's been a bit of a buzz about these lipsticks in Seoul. First, they are impossibly cheap (about 200 pesos each). Second, reviews have compared the finish and wear of these lippies to MAC lipsticks.

I've seen them more than a year ago while browsing through the famous korean internet marketplace, but I never got interested enough to buy. I loved Nature Republic's petit cherry lipsticks, and because they are almost the same price, there was no incentive for me to try a brand that's a bit hard to get (You can only buy these lava lipsticks at wholesale cosmetics shops or online).

However, a client asked about this lipstick line a couple of months ago, so off I went looking for them again and reading the korean reviews (thank you google translate!). Turns out, these lipsticks are quite popular to the younger set. Plus the color range is unbelievable! 70 effing shades! I also learned that it is manufactured only for the domestic market by Samsung's Home & Healthcare division.

Suffice to say, that I was piqued enough to order three lippies for myself, haha! I'm trying hard to convince myself that this is in the name of "product research". Anyhow, 600 pesos for three lipsticks is a steal.


First, here's the Lava Lipstick Palette. 70 colors. At such a cheap price. It's unbelievable.

I ordered Shade 1 which is a bright red color, Shade 10 which is in magenta, and Shade 8 which is a dark pink.

First thing I noticed is that the lipsticks were packed in a no-nonsense way. No frills, no outer boxes. Just three lipsticks in a transparent paper and bubble wrap.

The lipstick cases themselves are a minimalist black. And the Lipstick Colors are just denoted by number.

The lippies are actually very pretty and really value for money. Each fullsized lippy is about 4 grams.

I tried the #10 and I noticed that it was very creamy and practically scentless except for a hint of something cocoa-y, perhaps shea butter? The shades I choose are as is shown in the catalogue so I'm happy with that. As for staying power, I haven't tried them yet at the office, but I suppose they'll be just like most Korean lipsticks which stay only about 3-4 hours.

For the price and considering the creamy finish and the unbelievable range of colors, I think Lava is still a cheapskate's possible source of lipstick nirvana.