HBC's Year End Sale: Best Beauty Buys and Coral Collection Review!

It's the Christmas season again, and HBC celebrates the end of 2009 by giving their customers a chance to partake of the HBC Tatak Exclusibo sale! As a proudly Philippine brand, HBC has been known for their affordable hair and beauty products that are tailor-made to Filipino skin.

Their big annual sale will be running from November 30 to December 8, wherever HBC branches can be found. (This is a pretty easy find, since they have 200 branches across the nation!)

I was given the chance to check out and purchase some their items ahead of schedule, and here are my personal favs from their beauty lines:

"The Coral Collection"
L to R: Face Illuminator in Nude Beach, Shimmer Blush in Sunrise Walk, Eyecolor Wave in Golden Seashore, Moisture Lip Glow in Pink Berry Margarita

"Eyeshadow Trios"
Palettes 1, 2, and 3

I also tried out the following products: Age Defense Liquid Eyeliner (in brown), Age Defense Long Wearing Mascara (in shade 02), Waterproof Eyeliner pen (in brown), Kohl Eyeliner (in brown), and Creamy Matte Lipstick in Nude Brown.

I tested out the entire coral collection plus the Age Defense line of eye products, and the results are below:

After putting on my regular foundation, I dusted on some of the Coral Collection Face Illuminator under my eyes, on the bridge of my nose, and on my forehead. I followed it up with sweeps of the shimmer blush (it goes on pinker than it looks), and dabbed pale peach eyecolor wave on the balls of my lids. I followed-up with the pink eyecolor wave on the creases of my eyes, and the result was a lovely shade of pinky-peach. :D The moisture lip glow slid on like a dream, and it didn't feel sticky at all. The resulting color was a delicate pink gloss.

I then moved on the age defense line, using the brown liquid eyeliner to line my upper lids. This was difficult! The brush was very hard (presumably to give you more control), and the liquid took forever to dry and promptly smudged! :( (See photo above). I used the Kohl eyeliner to fill in my brows (this was all right; it even came with a smudger on the other end), and the age defense long-wearing mascara on my upper lashes. I didn't like the long-wearing mascara because it didn't really thicken my lashes much (just turned them brown), so I guess I'd recommend this for ladies who just want brown lashes. :D

All in all, I give the Coral Collection a thumbs-up! If you're looking to buy something from the HBC sale, I'd recommend trying this or the Eyeshadow Trios and the San San Creamy Matte Lipsticks. (The nude brown lipstick was *divine*! Such a perfect shade for my skintone. :D)

If you're interested in trying out some HBC products for yourselves (albeit the ALLUE teen line and the OHM Men's Care line), my boy and I are running a small giveaway at our review site YesNoMeh.com. Join now and get a chance to win either an HBC Beauty Pack, or and HBC Grooming pack! :D