First Post/Ellana Mineral Cosmetics

(A short introduction) I was never into make-up, so not only am I an mmu newbie, I'm a newbie to make-up in general, hehe. I've had dry, sensitive skin since forever and during pregnancy I developed acne. My skin is a bit better now, but I still have pimples and blemishes. So I've started experimenting with mmu, which I find really fun. I haven't actually even figured out what shade I am exactly and a lot of other stuff but it feels good to put on make-up and feel like a girl again :)

First up, a local brand: Ellana Mineral Cosmetics

What I got:



Brushes - baby buki (comes with a case), concealer brush, crease brush. Priced, respectively, Php 300, Php 200, Php 200 (all approx $6.20 or less)...which is quite affordable. They're soft, and I washed them once and they didn't shed or discolor. The baby buki is cute but too small for applying foundation all over. Good for touch-ups and travelling since it comes with a case. I use it for applying blush 'cause my blush brush is still in the mail. The concealer brush is OK, but this is my first concealer brush so I've nothing to compare it to. If you know of a better concealer brush please feel free to suggest to this mmu newbie :) I only got the crease brush 'cause it was recommended in the catalog for applying concealer on blemishes.



Foundation - french vanilla latte (premium blend) , hazelnut latte & caramel latte (both pure blend 2-1 Foundation & Concealer). No itchiness nor break-outs but I'm still not sure what my shade is. I got all the mmu in 1g sample pots, each at Php 100 (about $2).

Blush - flirtation (a sheer pink).

Concealer - innocence for red spots, awake for undereye circles (this is the one without a label in the photo above).

Finishing powder - espresso con panna (this one came in a jar that was kinda different from the rest).



Lippies (left to right in photo) - lip treatment in strawberry kiss, moisturizing lip color in infatuation and sensual, liquid lip color in lovely (on top). These are priced merely Php 150 ($3.10) each.

Lip treatment in Strawberry Kiss - leaves a very slight, light pink sheen. It smells just like strawberries but the scent isn't overly artificial or annoying. It does make my lips soft.

Moisturizing lip color in Infatuation - the color looks very bright and pigmented in the pot but goes on sheer. Infatuation looks bright red in the pot but is actually a pinkish red color when applied on the lips.

Moisturizing lip color in Sensual - again this looks different when applied. It looks dark in the pot but is so natural looking on the lip. It's pretty much an everyday color, and is easy to wear. These smell good too.

Liquid lip color in Lovely - is not glossy, more like a lip tint, which I like. Not sticky either. A pretty purplish-pink. Color lasts long but I'm still getting the hang of using the pen applicator. I think using a lip brush would be better so I'm on the look out for a good one.

The lip products are naturally my favorite because I love lipsticks and lip tints and lip balms. Also 'cause sometimes I'm too lazy too put on make-up and just put some color on my lips.

You can browse their complete catalog at their website, ellanaminerals.com. They also have a showroom at West Avenue, Quezon City.
I prefer to order through a certain local reseller though, because she gives faster replies :)