Bang for your buck

KRISTINA BERNADETTE “Kris” C. Aquino might quite a polarizing persona but one cannot deny that much like the Kardashians of the US, the public has an undeniable curiosity for all things Kris Aquino.
And with the launch of her first collection with Ever Bilena, which she touted as her “ride-or-die” products — hence the name Life Kit — it only seemed fair that this writer take the products for a test run.
A self-avowed makeup addict, Ms. Aquino has often waxed poetic about her love for brands like Eli Faas and Marc Jacobs, and in a June 3 blog post she said that her passion for makeup led her to create the collection containing “the best products at the most reachable, value for money prices.”
So when I got a Life Kit after attending the line’s launch on May 31, I wasted no time in trying the Matte Matic Lipstick which comes in two shades — a neutral bluish-red shade called Love and a dusky rose shade called Life.
The accompanying press release said that the lippies have a “comfortable matte finish yet moisturizing balmy texture,” and it’s true, but only up to a point — while the lip products are comfortably matte, they are not moisturizing enough to be worn on their own, especially as I have dry lips. I have to wear with on top of a lip balm.
But the shades are beautiful. I am particularly drawn to Life as it’s the perfect dusky rose shade reminiscent of another personal favorite, Nyx Tea Rose. It’s completely wearable every day and affords a decent four to five hours of wear before it starts fading.
Love is a similarly pretty shade though what I noticed after putting it on is that it does feather a bit on the sides, making it important for one to use a lip liner to keep things from turning all messy. The color tends to be a bit more neutral than it is a bluish-red which makes me believe it would go really well for people with darker skin tones.
The brow products are nice though the shade range is limited and none match my dark brown eyebrows, but I do appreciate it being a 2-in-1 product. The texture of the brow liner sits between soft and waxy which I do prefer because it stays put for a long time, while the brow mascara — with its tiny spoolie — dispenses just the right amount of product unlike my Wunder2 which creates quite a mess if not handled with a light hand.
So do these products give the user enough of a bang for their buck? Certainly, though the lip products tend to have loose caps, so be careful — but the shades are beautiful and the brow products are pretty good.
The Kris Life Kit by Ever Bilena are available in all Ever Bilena counters and online on Beauty MNL and Lazada. — Zsarlene B. Chua