Discovering Colleen Poster Color in Gold and Silver

Never have I thought that I will work with Colleen again. But time came and we're here doing artworks together. If you're a 90s kid like me, you probably know who or what I'm talking about.

 Colleen is a well-known brand of colored pencil; my mom's favorite actually. Whenever we buy school supplies she would always want me to get Colleen colored pencils. And if I remember correctly, I had those with dual color, like a twin tip. Nostalgic! That's why I'm glad that after several years, I'm using Colleen once again through these poster colors.

So why did I bought these?

Well, I got these poster colors as an alternative for shimmering watercolors for my calligraphy. Instead of buying Kuretake Gansai Tambi STARRY PEARL Colors Set and the likes, I bought these poster colors to see if I'm going to be comfortable working with glittery or shimmering paints for my lettering. And since I'm not familiar with using such paints, I don't want to spend that much and regret buying expensive shimmering paints in the end.

Thankfully and surprised, I stumbled upon these amazing poster colors from Colleen - gold and silver. I thought they were all just about colored pencils! However, knowing it's from Colleen, I thought these poster colors were expensive; but they're not! Would you believe that this 20mL poster color costs Php38.50 only? Yes, happy pocket indeed! *grin*

Now let's talk about the poster color.

Since this is my first time to work with metallic paints, I really have no standard for comparison. But as expected, coming from a known and established brand, the gold and silver are bright and luminous. The pigment dries smoothly and catches the light when you move the paper. The opacity can be easily adjusted by controlling the use of water.

This can also give a luminous effect when mixed with your choice of watercolor before using it and it could also be used as an accent on your watercolor artwork. If you're going to use it with a dip pen for calligraphy, I suggest that you add more water so the paint will flow smoothly from the nib down to the paper.

Just a little reminder though to shake well or mix well before use because the gold and silver pigment settles at the bottom when not in use; it's about 30% liquid and 70% pigment.

Overall, I love how it performs. I'm good with them and have no plans of buying a shiny watercolor as of the moment. I will play with these for now and see how far I can go with these poster colors.

In addition to my collection, looks like I'm going to look for the white poster color too. Hopefully, I could find one ASAP!  *grin*

The Body Shop's Cocoa Butter: My Stretch Marks Remedy

A friend of mine had her first born a few months ago and upon hearing that I'm pregnant she shared to me one pregnancy tip that might help me when it comes to stretch marks.

Stretch marks?!

Yeah, that didn't come into my mind. Perhaps I forgot about it because I'm too excited with my growing tummy. *hihi*

But then, it got me thinking. Will I get one?

While I'm completely aware that it's part of pregnancy, stretch marks vary on skin’s elasticity whether you'll get a few or none. I'm not obsessing at all, I just want to try if there are products that would help lessen, if not prevent, stretch marks from my pregnancy. Besides, wala naman mawawala 'pag susubukan, right?!

So I've searched for lotions and was recommended a body butter that it totally perfect for my concern.

The Body Shop's Cocoa Butter Body Butter

Oh, wow! A body butter!

My niece gave me The Body Shop's website so I could browse their products, especially the body butter variants. But this particular one, the Cocoa Butter, according to their site is best used for very dry skin (like mine!) and helps pregnant women in preventing stretch marks.

Jackpot!

So the very next day, I went to The Body Shop store at Market! Market! and bought one for me! Yay!

I did a little asking about the product as well. From what the sales lady told me, Cocoa Butter is their best-seller and most recommended for pregnant women because of its effectiveness. I was also told, that for those who has existing marks, the Shea Butter is perfect for treating them.

Alright, so Cocoa Butter for preventing and Shea Butter for treating. Got it!

Now let's talk about the product itself. Here are some thoughts I could share with you based on my 56-day use.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT:

I bought this at around Php800+. It's a little bit pricey for a 200ml lotion/moisturizer but I can attest that it is worth it, considering the benefits that I'm getting. I can also say that this body butter has a long way to go because of its thick texture. You only need a small amount each time you use it, so I'm guessing there will be more left after I give birth. Moisturizing-wise, the body butter is easily absorbed by the skin. It made my skin soft and the smoothness lasted the whole day even with just 1 application. For me, though, I use it twice a day because I love how it feels on my skin.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT:

Oh, there's only one - the scent! The Cocoa Butter has a nice chocolatey scent, but I'm not a fan of it at all. Don't get me wrong, I just don't fancy the scent as of now (blame it on the hormones), but the good news is, it's completely tolerable. So no worries on that. Besides, we have our own preferences, right?!

To sum it all, I highly recommend The Body Shop Cocoa Butter especially to the those who are expecting. I still cannot guarantee the effectiveness of this product YET since I'm only using this for 56 days now and has a long way to go. But for a 25th-week belly, there are no signs of stretch marks at all.

I have high hopes on this and see if it works. I'll update this post after giving birth! *wink*

**UPDATE**

Good news!!! This product is effective! My belly is clear with only minimal stretch marks and almost close to not having at all. I think what happened was I didn't put too much body butter on my lower belly and focused on the upper area instead. They appeared at the lower area along the linea nigra and the lower right-hand side or the appendix area. The stretch marks were not huge nor long and there were no discoloration or darkness, pretty much the same tone with my skin. Oh, and I still have body butter left and continuously using it! Yay!

Am I happy with the result? YES! 100%

Am I sad with the stretch marks? Of course not! I was actually excited seeing a few ones because it's like having a badge for an achievement I got. These are wonderful battle scars, a reminder that my body was able to 'house' a 7.8lbs baby girl and I'm proud of it!

Will I still use it? Definitely! I'd still use this product on my second pregnancy.

Thank you, The Body Shop! *smiles*