Review: Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Bronzer, Blush and Eye Shadow

Whew. That was a long name, yes?

How are you ladies doing? I am feeling less paranoid today with the typhoon [it's all we really think of, these days, with the trauma Ketsana brought to us] and I am grateful that God heard our prayers because reports say that Typhoon Parma has slowed down a bit. I hope that it eventually leaves us.

In times like these, when there are endless rains and the sunshine is far from sight, I reach out for my gold or bronze-toned makeup and work some glow on me. For this post, I am sharing with you one of my favorites.

Physician's Formula Custom Bronzer, Blush and Eyeshadow in
Waikiki Strip / Peachy Glow Bronzer

Physician's Formula says:

Shimmer all year long with this glowing powder which highlights skin with five luminous bands of warm beige, sand and bronze.
All shades blend together for the ultimate glamorous, tan glow.
Use all over face as a Bronzer, sweep over cheeks as a Blush or use each individual shade as an Eye Shadow.
Silky smooth texture for a radiant complexion.

Ingredients:

TALC, MICA, OCTYLDODECYL STEAROYL STEARATE, ZINC STEARATE, DIMETHICONE, WATER, BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2, CETYL DIMETHICONE, SORBITAN SESQUIOLEATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, METHYLPARABEN, ETHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN. MAY CONTAIN: TITANIUM DIOXIDE, IRON OXIDES, ULTRAMARINES, FERRIC FERROCYANIDE, CARAMINE, YELLOW 5 LAKE.

The product was intended to be a custom bronzer. However, I noticed that when I used it as a bronzer, the shimmers made my oily skin even more oilier in appearance. Since it can also be used as eyeshadow, I tried it on for a neutral look and voila! Here's an eye look I did using the 2nd, 3rd and 5th strips. It was really neutral and somehow the photo washed out the colors:

~~Special Asado Siopao~~ Face of the Day

FACE:

Ellana Premium Blend Foundation in French Vanilla

Artdeco Camouflage Cream in 02

shu uemura Sheer Loose Powder

EYES:

Physicians's Formula Shimmer Strips in Waikiki Strip

Revlon Lash Fantasy Mascara in Blackest Black
Revlon Liquid Eye Pen in Black Noir

CHEEKS:

L'oreal Blush Delice in Rosy Cheeks

LIPS:

Paul and Joe Lipstick in 19

What I loved about it:

Packaging is simple and no-frills. I am a lover of classy clear cases. This is my second PF palette and I'm happy that they have the same case even if they came from separate lines.
Inexpensive at $12.95 [approximately Php 608.65] for Net Wt. 0.3 Oz./8.5g
Pigmented. I'm a light-sweeper [is there such a term?] I use much too less eyeshadow and usually I think I have too much on, when in fact it's really very light. Using pigmented shadows can help me with that problem.
Stayed put on my eyelids ALL DAY. The thing is, no matter how oily my face gets, my eyeshadows seem to never crease. At the end of the day, it looked exactly the same as I applied it in the morning.
Color-coordinated. The shades in the palette look like a gradient from Photoshop, arranged from the lightest to the darkest --- something a non-expert in makeup like me will have no trouble using.
Not powdery at all. The colors are packed and I'm glad to report that whenever I swipe my brushes on this, colors are not flying.
If you don't own a neutral palette yet, this is a great product to start with because it can double as a bronzer!
Made in Italy. Isn't that exotic?

What I don't like about it:

It is not readily available in the Philippines. We'd have to watch out for Tamera Online if it has stocks of this. For the mean time, TO doesn't.
No variety. Since the line was intended as a bronzer, all variations [Hawaii, Las Vegas, Sunset, Riviera and Miami] are all bronze-based.
Contains parabens, and I'm pretty sure a lot of makeup artists and enthusiasts dislike this.
If you're going to an event where you'll be photographed a lot, try not to use this as shimmers doesn't look too good in photos.

Directions from the Physician's Formula website:

As a Bronzer: sweep brush through all five shades and dust lightly over face where light naturally hits for the most flattering look.
As a Blush: sweep through all five shades and dust lightly over cheeks to highlight and accentuate.
As an Eye Shadow: to add sheen to eyes, use a medium shade on the eyelid and a dark shade in the crease of the eyelid to contour, add a highlighting effect by applying the lightest shade in the compact just under the brows.

Swatches [my skin is NC 25 to NC 30 for reference]:

Will I buy this again? Yes!

I hope this was a helpful review. Should you have any comments, inputs or questions, do let know through the comment box or email me at tjcabullo (at) gmail (dot) com.

Speaking of buying, I just got the belt [named after me] the other day and I'm so in love with it!