Summer beauty

By Zsarlene B. Chua
Reporter
HOT SUMMER days loom which means it’s time to bust out the waterproof makeup and skin care products that can withstand the heat, the sweat, and everything life throws at you. So here are four products — two cosmetics and two skin care items — that may just do that for you.
L’OREAL VOLUMINOUS LASH PARADISE
Mid-March saw the launch of L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise, a mascara promising everything: volume, length, and staying power, all for drugstore pricing. Launched in the US the year prior, the mascara, with its “soft wavy bristle brush [holding] the maximum amount of formula,” got the attention of YouTube beauty gurus like Tati Westbrook who raved about Lash Paradise.
It then follows that with all the hype surrounding the product, its Philippine launch was much anticipated — this writer in particular, was very excited to try it out because if there’s anything I cannot leave out in my daily makeup routine, it’s mascara.
I have short and sparse lashes so a little mascara goes a long way in making me look awake — even when I don’t feel like I am — and ready. I had previously tried L’Oreal’s False Lash Miss Manga Mascara (P500), a volumizing mascara which claims to give you the eyes of a manga (Japanese comic) character, and I loved it because it really gave me longer and thicker lashes, but it does clump and felt a bit heavy on the lids.
For the same price, Lash Paradise is offering the same things (a “dramatic volumizing effect” according the company website) but with a promise that the product, once it goes on your lashes, will be feathery soft.
I tested the product over a two-week period in varying degrees of humidity and time of wear to see if it would really stay with me throughout the day and not move, smudge, and could maintain a curl. Once I wore the mascara for half a day and was impressed that it really was lightweight — it didn’t weigh down my lids and it wasn’t hard to remove — and it didn’t smudge. But during a full-day of wear (we’re talking more than 10 hours) under the hot sun, it did smudge a little on the lower corner of my eye, but aside from the mild annoyance, the product held up.
So is it worth the money? Yes. For P500, this is a really good waterproof mascara and is especially good if you have a long day ahead of you.
L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise is available in L’Oreal counters and at its online store.
WUNDERBROW
For the second weather-proof makeup product, we have the WunderBrow, a gel type eyebrow product from UK-based makeup brand, Wunder2.
Promising brows that can last for days and can be put on in two minutes, WunderBrow is perfect for people who believe “kilay is life.”
Launched in the Philippines on March 20, the product (SRP P1,600) comes in five shades — blonde, auburn, brunette, black/brown, and jet black. This writer tested it for about a week to see if it would really hold up and from the first swipe, I realized that this is a product that would give you a bold brow — there’s no in-between — which is perfect for people with sparse eyebrows but a bit hard to work with for people like me who just need a little color to fill some parts in.
The staying power is really impressive — it lasted a day and a half on me, though on the second day I saw a considerable amount of fading, although I would caution anybody against wearing makeup for an extended period of time as it may clog pores or irritate the skin.
For people who are used to using spoolie brushes to apply product, note that WunderBrow has a more traditional brush-type applicator which takes time to get used to.
The brand has a separate product called the D-Fine Brow Liner and Gel (SRP P1,600) which features both a pencil and a gel in a tube. This product I liked better because I can control the boldness of my brows using the pencil though the gel on the other end is determined to give me stronger brows, so use it sparingly.
While this is a good product, it might really not be for people who need very little brow product. I found myself reaching for my Detail Makeover Eyebrow Pencil with Brush (P119) most of the time — it’s far more affordable and does the job perfectly.
WunderBrow is available at BeautyMNL.com and Zalora.com.ph.
POND’S WHITE BEAUTY DAILY WHITENING SUN PROTECT FACE SUNSCREEN
The sun causes a lot of damage on the skin so putting on sunscreen should be part of everyone’s skin care routine. In the past, it was hard to find sunscreen that would go well under makeup, as many SPF-laden products are too thick and sticky.
But now there are a host of products that are formulated to be non-sticky and lightweight, and a lot of cosmetics and skin care products have SPF built in so there’s no longer any excuse not to wear sunscreen.
I recently discovered Pond’s White Beauty Daily Whitening Sun Protect Face Sunscreen (P299) during a Watsons event promoting sun care products. It is an SPF 50 PA+++ product that “helps protect skin from sun damage outside and whitens the skin from the inside,” according to its packaging.
What’s really good about this product is that it is affordable — though it only comes in a 30-gm product size (my Belo Tinted Sunscreen has 50 ml of product for P449.75, while my Holy Grail product, Biore UV Perfect Face Milk, 30 ml, is at P397). It’s also non-sticky and very lightweight.
This is a good product for those starting to introduce SPF into their skin care regimen or for those who just want to try out other options.
Pond’s White Beauty Daily Whitening Sun Protect Face Sunscreen is available in Watsons stores and other department stores nationwide. It can also be bought online via Lazada.com.
MEDIHEAL
Finally, after withstanding all the summer sun and humidity, the skin needs time to relax and repair itself and that’s where Mediheal comes in. The popular Korean mask pack was launched in the Philippines on March 20. Its complete line of mask packs are now available locally, from its best-selling N.M.F. Aquaring Ampoule Mask EX to the R:NA Proatin Mask so consumers can pick and choose which mask best serves their needs.
Currently available exclusively in Watsons (both physical stores and its online portal), Mediheal mask packs prices vary in price from P99 for the essential line — Collagen, Tea Tree Care, and Placenta — and P149 for their other masks including the N.M.F. Aquaring.
I have been using the N.M.F. Aquaring mask for more than a week now — I have gone through three mask packs — and my skin does feel very moisturized after using it but what I gravitated more towards was the N.M.F. Midnight Capping Pack — a sleeping mask that one puts on before sleeping and washes off upon waking up.
The 15-ml mask (which is also priced at P149) can be used two to three times and for me, that’s value-for-money and considerably more environment-friendly as I don’t have to throw it after I’ve used it once. I wake up with a soft-as-a-baby’s butt-face, and there’s nothing more I can ask for.
Beyond the launch of the full line, Mediheal is also offering a limited edition line done in collaboration with the Korean boy band, BTS. Four MedihealxBTS boxed sets (retailing for P1,250 for 10 masks) includes 14 photo cards of the band inside each box. Those who buy all the four sets will also get a limited edition box. The sets are available online on watsons.com.ph.