Ellana Minerals Lip/Cheek Tint in Amethyst and Ruby

No, Ellana is not a girl — not even a person. Ellana is a proudy Philippine made brand of mineral cosmetics owned by the lovely and super nice Miss Coney. Somehow, it feels like Ellana is a long-lost friend that I’ve reunited with, after I abandoned her last year. I first got into Ellana right after I jumped into the MMU bandwagon. Ellana was pretty new then, and being a local brand, I was really curious. My friend and ex-colleague Ayumi became a reseller for the brand and I got a few items from her: Caramel Latte Premium Blend Foundation, Toffee Mocha Premium Blend Foundation, Espresso Con Panna translucent finishing powder, an Ellana kabuki brush and First Kiss lip gloss.

Out of all those items, I am only using Espresso Con Panna until now. The kabuki brush became too stiff that it was no longer comfortable using it on my face. Toffee Mocha was too dark, Caramel Latte turns dark — eventhough I am not acidic. The lip gloss was what I hated the most because it was so sticky. If my hair flies to my face, it will stick to my lips because of this gloss.

Fast forward to 09: Ellana reformulated some products, added a lot of new products and put up a jazzy website. When I visited their site again, I know I just have to get some items! The new products looked really great, and the reviews have been nothing but helpful. Last week, I got the following stuff from a reseller: Sensual Moisture Lip Color, Lip Treatment in Vanilla Bean, Lip Scrub in Vanilla Bean & Lip/Cheek Tint in Ruby.

Ellana Lip Scrub

The initial judgment: I loved everything I ordered!! That day I got my package, I had a terrible case of chapped lips — my lips were peeling and I was making it worse by pulling the damned skin off so my lips would start bleeding. I know, stupid. So anyway, when I got my lip scrub, I started applying it to my lips. I was at my desk at work, and didn’t care who saw me. I must have sprinkled some of the sugar scrub on my keyboard, not sure. Also, I must have scrubbed my lips at least 5 times in 20 minutes. I was that addicted to the scrub.

After scrubbing, my lips felt really smooth — of course, I still had my lip “wounds”. But overall, the skin was a lot better, less cracking and more moisturized. After the scrub, I put on a generous amount of lip treatment. It’s colorless, and has a minty smell. The vanilla part was just really subtle. After only 2-3 days, I already noticed a big improvement on my lips. Now, a week later, my dry and cracked lips have completely healed, thanks to this Ellana tandem.

Now, on to that Moisturizing Lip Color — when I first opened the jar, I was shocked at how dark the color was. I thought I’d never use that ever, because it is too vampire for me. But when I tried it on, it went on really sheer and light. The color was light red wine with a bit of shimmer. I topped it the the Lip Treatment for extra staying power. Again, make-up kit staple candidate. Maybe I should get duplicate items to leave at work?

The last item I roadtested was the cheek tint. I admit I am not the most skillful when applying cheek tints. I only buy them because, well,

Ellana Lip Treatment

I think tints are cute. Again, lame. But actually, I love my Cherry Cheek Tint from Bath and Body Desserts, and when I heard that Ellana made their own tint, I just had to get it. I am not too happy that the Ellana tint did not have a cap for the bottle. To lock the pump and prevent accidental product spillage, you have to rotate the pump a bit so the “guards” are locked against each other. Still, I prefer a cap. That’s about the only negative thing I can say about the cheek tint, because I love the color payoff of this one. It appears too red in the bottle but is actually very sheer and natural.

Because I don’t know much about makeup, I am not sure how much tint I should be using without ending up like a clown.  So I try to use the smallest amount of product as possible. However, by midday, the color is almost gone. I might have to ask around about how to make this tint last at least 7-8 hours.

Overall, I am very happy with my recent reunion with Ellana — the products are very affordable, readily available and proudly Pinoy made! I’m going back to Ellana! :)

MM-what? Mineral makeup. Makeup that does not look nor feel like ordinary makeup. Does not harm the skin like traditional makeup can. Why? Because mineral makeup is made of all natural, finely ground minerals from the earth, without any of the chemicals, dyes, and preservatives found in your everyday traditional makeup. In fact, most mineral makeup only contain 4-5 ingredients at most, and have natural sun protection because of the titanium dioxide and zinc oxide (?) content.

How did I get into the MMU bandwagon? GirlTalk, of course. I got intrigued by this particular discussion thread that moves so fast they had to create a new thread every 2-3 months. Now, I think they are on the 4th MMU thread now (with each previous thread reaching the maximum limit of 99 pages of discussion!).

Why did I get into the MMU bandwagon? I hate makeup, and I hate the word ‘kikay’. I am the anti-thesis of kikay. See, this makes MMU perfect for me! I want to look flawless, without looking made up, and without having to touch up all day. MMU gives me the no-makeup look that I love. Ang kinis! Kala mo nagpaderma ako…although once pa lang akong pumunta sa derma. As in once lang sa buong buhay ko!

What do I like about MMU? Well, aside from its natural, no-makeup finish, I like the fact that it does not harm the skin with all the chemicals, fragrances and what-nots that you get from ordinary makeup. MMU is relatively inexpensive and you have tons of choices. MMU is also very economical. Because you need only very little amount of MMU for each use, 1 pot will last you for a year or more. ^_^ The only downside I can think of is that it’s very addicting and it makes you want to try out every brand there is — so your wallet suffers. At least your face doesn’t!

Being the cheapskate that I am, I started with the cheapest brand I could find: Babydoll. Babydoll is a local MMU brand with really great products and attractive prices. Eventually, I heard the company closed down because the owner was leaving the country. Ayan tuloy, tinitipid ko ung mga natira kong Babydoll powders kasi wala na akong makukuhanan nun ngayon.

After Babydoll, I ventured into the most popular MMU brand (and one of the most expensive?), Bare Escentuals. After a few months of using BE, I decided to try other brands — particularly those much raved about in GT. Here is the verdict:

1. Babydoll - Inexpensive, but great quality. Cute packaging. The products also smell really nice! Too bad it’s gone now.

2. Bare Escentuals – My first MMU love! I was floored the first time I used BE…so I had to order bigger sizes. ^__^ For the first few months that I’ve been using BE, the foundie color was right for me. Then I tried it again early this month (see, ganun katagal maubos ung isang pot…almost 1 year na, meron pa rin ako. Talk about economical!)…weird, it’s ashy on me already. I don’t know if my skin color changed, but Medium Tan wasn’t working for me anymore. I ordered Tan and I will try it later in the week to see if this is more my color. One major thing I hate about BE is it makes my skin itch. Sabi nila, this is caused by the bismuth oxychloride content – the same ingredient that gives BE its yummy sheen. Dilemma, right?

Anyway, I still try to use my BE foundation every now and then, but mixed with other brands just to lessen the itchies. What I do like about BE is the shiny finish. Not ‘disco ball shiny’, just glowy. Like, like. It’s so, hmm, alive and healthy looking. I am not a big fan of matte, sorry. Also, one thing I noticed about BE is that they don’t have a lot of yellow in their foundations. Not many shade choices for people with yellow undertones.

Just a listing of my favorite BE products:

• Mineral veil – Kaaway ng langis! Use this if you are super oily. I have combination skin, but this is great to keep my T-zone fresh looking. I especially like the original formula. I have the tinted MV but I have yet to try it. I am also interested in the feather light MV because it’s supposed to have a sheen to it. Nice.
• Warmth – Can never live without Warmth. Before, I never cared about this product because I don’t know how to use it, and I am not a fan of blush…But I tried this at home when I had nothing to do and KA-BOOM! Siyet. Love at first sight. *sigh* Most of the time, I top this with Pure Radiance, just for a bit of shiny shiny. Di ba, I don’t like matte nga. Warm Radiance is supposed to be similar to this — probably Warmth with shiny shiny but I found the color too bland so I prefer Warmth with my own dusting of Pure Radiance.
• Radiances (In Pure, Bare, Warm) – Love the subtle sheen! My favorite will have to be Pure Radiance. It’s lovely for morenas. I have Rose Radiance and Clear Radiance too, but I hardly use them because they are too pinkish. They will probably work for lighter skin tones. I added Clear Radiance to my MV and my Monave Angel just to give it a little sheen. Nice nice.

3. Monave – Officially my HG!!! Holy Grail…you know…Grrrr talaga! Bakit kasi ngayon lang ako namulat sa Monave! This is by far the most long lasting and the most natural MMU foundation I have ever tried. The color match is perfect; my skin, only loads better. It stays on for more than 10 hours (my average time at work, haha!) and only minimal touch-ups (with Monave Angel finishing powder) and almost no blotting (because I almost never get the oilies with this). It’s actually more economical than most MMU brands, because you need only a little to get that coverage you need. It’s so creamy, it does not feel like a powder at all but it’s also very light on the skin. Monave has a wide range of shades perfect for women of color, whatever your undertone is. Bumingo nga ako sa Canela. That is credit to the beautiful Sophie, who owns The Mineral Makeup Blog, and feeds the Monave addiction in the Philippines.

Anyway, I had the chance to try Monave’s staying power yesterday when I had to sneak out of the office to go to Cubao during my lunch hour (incidentally, to pay for another foundie from another MMU brand). Commute by jeep lang yun ha, at tanghaling tapat pa…Pag balik ng office, ta-daaaa!! No oilies…my face still looked fresh, and the foundation did not darken at all. Panalo talaga!! Sa ngayon, talagang love ko ung foundation in Canela + Angel finishing powder. More, more, more Monave, please!

4. Ocean Mist – Great product at a great price too. I have foundation samples in Almond and Sandstone, though I think they are a little light. I can combine them with other shades to get the color I want. The foundation is creamy and long lasting. I had the chance to test its staying power the other night through the ultimate housewife test. Sinadya ko talaga maglagay nito sa aking fez…tapos naglinis ako ng bahay! Ay, ng sala lang pala. Kalahati ng sala, to be exact. Nag-floor wax ako tapos habang pinapatuyo ang floor wax, nilinisan ko ung mesa ng CPU ng computer. Layers and layers na kasi ng alikabok ang nakalagay dun (ang bantot pala nung MC, ung “Wipeout” wannabe. Note to self: Do not buy MC anymore). After nun, nung tuyo na ung floor wax, buff buff na ng sahig until shiny shiny na. Ta-daaaa!! Intact pa rin ang Ocean Mist maski pawis na ko. Very good! Ocean Mist will definitely be in my MMU staples.

5. Ellana Minerals – Another local brand created by the beautiful Coney. Maganda na, mabait pa. Seryoso, kung lalaki lang ako, crush ko siya. Anyway, I found that Ellana is WAYYYY creamier than Ocean Mist. At nagagandahan na ako sa Ocean Mist ha. Mas OK ang finish ng Ellana; creamy and dewy. Plus,the foundation and the finishing powders do not clump up inside the jars (unlike other brands). Tingin pa lang, alam mo nang maganda ang finish nito. My perfect match is Caramel Latte (medium warm?) though I am also planning to get Toffee Mocha (medium olive?) kasi summer na. Also, the finishing powder in Espresso con Panna is LOVE! The foundation colors are very forgiving. Both my officemate and I can use the same foundie color even if she’s lighter than me. Pareho lang kaming dilaw, pero mas maputi sya ng konti. Also, the Ellana Kabuki is LOVE LOVE LOVE. So soft. It’s not scratchy so it does not irritate the skin. It also comes with a pouch so you can take it anywhre for quick touch-ups. I love my Kabuki so much I gave it a name: Hikaru (meaning “to shine”, after Utada Hikaru). One technique when putting this on is to layer it this way: finishing powder – foundation – finishing powder. This way, it won’t darken even if you’re acidic. The other day kasi, napansin ko parang nangitim ung face ko nung gamit ko ito. So today, nag-experiment lang ako ng parang sandwich method at voila! It worked! The only thing I noticed is it does not stay for a long time on my skin. After 3 hours (or was it 2?), I was already starting to oil around the nose, and the foundie was fading already. Come lunchtime, parang wala nang nakalagay. Sad. I will have to work on applying and layering this to make it longer lasting. But overall, I love Ellana to bits. Di pa nga dumating ung ibang order ko, nae-excite na ako!!

I have a listing of MMU brands I still want to try, like Luminare, Blusche and Bare Naturals. Un muna sa ngayon, tapos stop na muna. Baka maubos na ung pambayad ko ng kuryente at renta ng bahay. Pero talaga, mahaba kasi ung listahan e, mahirap na masyadong maadik. Whew! I didn’t realize I had a lot to say about MMU. Sa lagay na yan, konti pa lang ang nasubukan ko ha. Malamang dumami pa itong nasa list ko, pero next time na muna un. For more MMU reading (and shopping), visit the following links:

Mineral Makeup blog – Everything you want to know about MMU
WebMD.com on MMU – MMU from a medical perspective

Where to buy

• Bare Escentuals: BareBeauty, BareEscentuals Multiply
• Monave: BeautyandMinerals
• Ocean Mist: Kikay Corner
• Ellana Minerals: Ellanaminerals.com, Icon Beauty Box