One of the reasons why we dig The Body Shop's products is because we're completely sold on their Community Trade ingredients that benefit farmers worldwide. It just removes the guilt of indulging in everything kikay because we know our money's going to a better place! Add that to fun packaging and consistently updated collections - we gotta tell you, it's hard to resist!

Here are some new products we recently tried and loved:



Love big, go curvy!

I'm a mascara junkie. I almost always need to perk up my "chisay" eyes (for those who don't know what that is, it's "chinitang tisay") that sometimes lose their double eyelids on bad eye days (yes, there's such a thing). And when I don't wear mascara, people tend to tell me that I look like I didn't get enough sleep. Well, a girl's gotta deal, right? So when I got hold of this Big and Curvy Mascara, I knew I had to put it to the test.

The first thing I look at is the wand. I'm partial to those with flexible fibers that kind of "grab" onto your lashes during application to separate them and avoid clumping. The Body Shop's Big & Curvy Mascara passed this category. If you look closely at the brush, the formula sticks to the base while the fibers kind of jut out, serving as mini-combs that evenly distribute the formula, which, personally, smells really good for mascara. Yes, it still has that distinct chemical odor, but the underlying scent reminds me of burnt cinnamon or honey.

This mascara allegedly includes moisturizing ingredients like B5, Community Trade marula oil, and beeswax. Maybe this is why the formula still allowed my lashes to be flexible even after they dried up. Flake-free and smudge-resistant, it coated each hair to make it thicker, without appearing like I doused my peepers with tar.

It's also pretty easy to remove: baby oil did the trick.

The verdict? Apply one coat, and it's an everyday mascara. Apply two to three, and you can go on a night out. It doesn't clump, it's lightweight, and it comes in a really cute pink packaging. Did my lashes become big and curvy? Big, yes, but curvy - I still had to get some help from my handy eyelash curler. At P795, it's a good deal.
- Jillian

Be a nomadic goddess



This innovative Italian baked-to-last powder range offers a fusion of powder and pearl which is handmade and baked on terracotta discs, so the materials' pure ingredients fuse together for a longer-lasting finish and good blendability. The collection is available in two bronzers for the face and three luscious eyeshadows.

Nature Baked Bronzer
Available in 01: Golden Glow and 02: Warm Glow for P1,295 each

Create a summer shimmer on your face with this subtle bronzer. I used Shade 02: Warm Glow, and I liked how light it was and how it blended well with my skin color. Bronzers like this one are suitable for oily skin, and I applied it around my cheekbones, chin, nose, and under my eyes. Make sure to apply the bronzer to areas where light hits your face!

Make-Up Artist's Tip: “Sweep a blusher brush across the palette, softly smile then blend onto the cheeks and up and along cheekbones, seamlessly blending into the hairline for a sheer wash of color." - Chase Aston

Nature Baked Eye Colors
Available in 01: Copper, 02: Moonstone, 03: Jade for P995.00 each

These Nature Baked Eye Colors come in three sexy shades of copper, moonstone, and jade. For this review, I used Shade 02: Moonstone. It's a shimmer eye shadow that has a flexible color I can use from day to night; it also works great with the smoky eye look.

Make-Up Artist’s Tip: “Apply the shadows dry for the day, or use wet and dry together to create unique eye-effects. Apply the shadow using a wet eye shadow brush to intensify the shades, creating rich, smoldering, smoky eyes." - Chase Aston
- Monina

De-lip-scious lip color you can eat!



Who wouldn’t be curious about edible lipstick? When I heard about The Body Shop’s new line of edible lip colors, I knew it was something I had to try. Studies show that we girls can end up ingesting up to four pounds of lipstick in a lifetime-definitely not good news for our bodies. The Body Shop finally found a way to treat both our lips and bodies right by coming up with De-lip-scious, their own line of Sheer Lip Colors and Tinted Balms that are made of 100% food grade ingredients. It’s dermatologically-tested and made with naturally-derived ingredients like blueberry oil and coconut butter that can condition and moisturize the lips

I like light pink and nude colors for everyday use so I decided to try the Sheer Watermelon lip color (03). The packaging is attractive - the lipstick comes in a light and slender aluminum pack with pink lettering-and the product smells nice, like watermelon candy. The lipstick itself is creamy: it glides on easily, and adds just a hint of color to the lips. Some of the darker colors like Sheer Elderberry (05) can look intimidating to use, but the colors really are sheer so they don’t appear too bold when you try them on. So what does it taste like? Since I only put on one to two light coats at the most, I wasn’t really able to taste anything (which I actually think is better).

With nine mouth-watering shades to choose from and naturally-derived ingredients (it’s vegetarian!) you can drink, lick your lips, kiss, or eat without worry, These De-lip-scious lip colors, at P795 a stick, are definitely worth a try!
- Karyl

- Jillian Q. Gatcheco, Karyl Coseto, and Monina Eugenio
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE BODY SHOP PHILIPPINES