August Favorites: Maybelline, Avon, VMV, TonyMoly, Palgantong

The thing with this passion for cosmetics: it comes with a constant desire to test new products. There is one and every product for each need and want imaginable. I liken it to getting to know oneself; along the way of every product try is a chance to discover really good ones that raise our confidence a wee bit higher.

While we're at the half of September, I thought I'd run through a couple of products that were in my mental 'Favorites' list for the month of August. These are products which I have tested last month and found to be very effective.

Without further ado, these are my 'hit' products for August:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="403"] Photo credit to Maybelline Philippines Facebook fan page[/caption]

1. Maybelline Baby Lips Cellular Repair Balm in Smoothing Cherry

The kikay girl in me has been a sucker for lip balms since I was 10. I've gone from cult favorite Chapstick to Nivea to Blistex and back but I've never really been very satisfied with it. It tended to make my lips peel and a bunch of other effects which left me wondering when whether lip balm was really as essential as many beauty gurus point out. But this one from Maybelline really works for me.

True to its promise of supple, smooth and hydrated baby soft lips, this is my HG lip balm. No more peeling and rough-to-the-touch lips! :) 

Plus points for not having a chemical taste to it and the yummy scent of cherry. ♥ 

2. Avon Perfect Eyebrow Pencil

 I have to credit my discovery of this baby to Ms. Liz of Project Vanity when she blogged about this sometime last June. For the brow beginner that I am (plus my fear of threading and plucking), I have no recourse  but eyebrow pencils to give my brows a sense of order. I found myself grabbing for this for most of August and almost daily this month during my makeup routine.

Why? Because of its creamy formula, its just-right shade of brown , and its ease of use. The spoolie on the other end of the pencil is a little hard and scratchy, yes, but it's functional. :) This is definitely one of my personal recommendations to my Avon-loving clients.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="389"] Photo credit to VMV webpage[/caption]

3. VMV Spring Cleaning Purifying Facial Wash for Oily Skin

For some reason, my hormones went on an overdrive last month and I had pimples left and right. While this may not exactly be new to me (the same thing happened around the same time last year), I certainly did not cherish the idea of having to take Doxycycline once more and apply all those peeling stuff. The reliable Spring Cleaning Facial Wash kept my skin sane and hydrated last month. Its semi-creamy formula is refreshing to the skin and I like that it rinses very easily leaving the skin feeling clean minus the squeaky-clean tightness.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="260"] Photo credit to TonyMoly webpage[/caption]

4. TONYMOLY Delicious Grapefruit Cleansing Oil Gel

I was the regular cleansing kind of gal (Cetaphil) back when I had not discovered yet the magic of primer, concealer, and foundation. Now that my routine has had additional products into it, I want to sleep soundly every night confident that my face has been rid of any traces of the day's makeup.

Enter TONYMOLY's Grapefruit Cleansing Oil Gel! Another winner in my book for August, this wonder is a mixture of oil and gel with the uber yummy scent of grapefruit. I almost wanted to taste this because of its really nice smell. LOL. It's very effective in removing makeup (except for eye makeup since I use a separate remover for it), cools my face and gives off a nice moisture to my skin.

5. 3W Clinic Natural Makeup Powder

(aka Palgantong Theatrical Powder)

It's definitely my lucky stars that got me stumbling into the Palgantong Powder being sold at a very affordable price in Kering-Keri Store, an online cosmetics store. I had no idea of its popularity until I googled it and found so many raves about it. No more second thoughts came; I immediately placed a reservation for it.

Do I regret the impulse buy? Not really! :) This powder is soft to the skin, finely milled, and keeps oiliness at bay. I love that mine does not make me look ashy- or ghost-white whenever I top this on my makeup. Instead, the look comes off polished yet still natural.

And that completes my list of August favorites. Have you tried any in this list? I'd love to hear your experience with any of these products. :)