THE VERDICT:

I know that some brands use the term 'brightening' as a newer, less imposing replacement for 'whitening', but as someone who's used both kinds of products, I'd like to believe that there is really a difference between the two.

Whitening is oftentimes associated with bleaching wherein the skin will turn a shade lighter by thinning of the epidermal layer to give it a whiter look whereas brightening is more of evening of the skin tone by clearing up spots that are visible and invisible to the naked eye, resulting to clearer skin that gives off a "lightened" effect, which for me is really one's true skin tone without all the spots.

THE VERDICT:

Before Fresh became THE Fresh that a lot are raving about lately because of their high performance, all- natural skin care range and before LVMH bought into the company, their Sugar lip balm was already popular and a go- to of many lip balm lovers; I've learned about this through my mom about 5 or 6 years ago; she loved Sugar Lip Treatment in Cherry. I think by the time Fresh became a more buzz- worthy brand, Sugar Lip Treatment was already enjoying cult status as everyone's favorite luxury lip balm brand.

I've tried it recently and so far, Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment is my favorite summer lip balm because it has SPF, it's very hydrating yet light, smells divine, and hydrates hours even after the lip balm comes off!

THE VERDICT:

I watched an episode of HUDABOSS one time and it's about a very challenging product development phase and the pressure for baby number 2. In the episode, Huda and her team couldn't seem to get the concealer formula right and it's either the shades would end up too orange or there would be something wrong with the formula, all while having the looming pressure of a final product release date and preparing for a second baby. I believe the product is this concealer and given the trying time it was developed and eventually, perfected, methinks Huda and her team probably thought Overachiever would be the perfect product name.

A new beauty brand from the US has arrived in the Philippines this year and it's Absolute New York. It's been heavily featured by local beauty vloggers and I've always wondered if it's really good. Let's discover this brand today.

Absolute New York is a US-based beauty brand that specializes in trendy, professional makeup formulas and technologies adopted in everyday makeup; because the brand believes that everyone deserves to look good. If you're familiar with the ICON eyeshadow palettes, Absolute New York is the brand behind it.