I took Penshoppe’s Beauty Pop lipsticks on a 2-week road test so you won’t have to

There’s nothing like the combination of a comfy feel and a wide color range that sets a lipstick lover in a frenzy. More economical beauty options are making quite the entrance, a trend that must be keeping the bougie brands on their toes as the newcomers of the beauty scene replicate luxurious formulations that don’t cost a fortune.

Local fashion retail giant Penshoppe recently launched its own beauty line with an 18-shade lipstick collection. I know, you probably have a lot of lippies to go through in your personal collection, but with its price tag of P219, it doesn’t hurt to add a handful to your MLBB rotation. Beauty Pop’s matte component featuring this pastel gradient is definitely a big eye-catcher, bound to add some points to your flatlay gaming. But the packaging design ultimately helps set it apart—and I welcome this sort of creativity. Plus, it’s so easy to spot inside your bags.

It comes in two formulas that were developed in Japan: The Litematte and Hydramatte. Penshoppe covers the bases when it comes to preferences, so whether you want that true-matte feel or one that glides with a little sheen, you’ll find your match in this beauty collection. Here comes the tricky part: The shades actually look way different on your lips than how you see it on the bullet lipsticks. There are a ton of options that look intimidating as these seemingly lean toward bolder looks, but its buildable formula allows it to create subtle to statement lips. 

What’s more frustrating is that Penshoppe’s own digital campaigns don’t give justice to the gorgeous colors of the collection. It seems like it only has a range dominated by chocolatey nudes, but it has notable undertones of corals, wines, and pinks that aren’t highlighted. It also seems patchy on arm swatches, but I guarantee you’ll definitely appreciate the colors more once you actually swipe it on your lips. Once you crack your lippie’s powder coating, swatching and application will eventually be a breeze, too. 

I went to a ‘Stranger Things 3’ preview and here’s a list of things to be excited about (at least for the first episode)

The kids are growing up. Our favorite monster-hunting bunch from Hawkins has inevitably reached the cusp of adolescence. They’re awkward. They’re feisty. They’re in all sorts of trouble—and all we gotta do is sit back and enjoy the entertainment. The pilot episode of the third season brings us up to speed by showing tons of making out and comedic couple ticks.

But more than the teenage love affairs, there is no boring moment in “Suzie, Do You Copy?” Early on it revives the scientific fascination on the Upside Down, linking this small Indiana town to the other side of the globe once again. While its ending immediately builds up its newest otherworldly villain and doesn’t waste any time in revealing one of the greatest shockers of the show. Spoiler alert: Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) still doesn’t get a freaking break from this nightmare!

Knowing the Duffer Brothers, it’s bound to show us sci-fi tropes that we’ll surely brand as easter eggs. The new 8-episode season will reinvent notions of fear and fright, but it’ll probably underscore that the scariest thing is still change—after all, it’s still a coming-of-age story.
We’re sure we’ll end up binge-watching the season when “Stranger Things”  finally drops on Netflix this July 4—just like the Duffer Brothers intended us to. But before that, we’re left with these few bits that we’ll obsess over until everything will all finally make sense:

‘Far From Home’ serves us a different Spidey origin story

It’s been more than two decades and we’ve gone through 23 films to complete the “Infinity Saga.” But even with the oversaturation of superhero films shown in recent years, Marvel has  never failed to stun us with the tapestry it has patiently designed. 

Its latest film in the cinemas, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” shows the ingenuity of every direction the studio has taken—every little deviation from the comics, introduction of unexpected mentorships, and significant changes in the characterization of its iconic heroes, just to bring us what we are meant to see on the big screen today.

The final chunk of Phase 3 is where we rediscover the joy of understanding the grander scheme of things. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe lost a great leader in Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), we are sent back to a world that is desperate for a new hero to step up. It is in one of the MCU’s closely intertwined stories where we find a young hero forced to emerge as a reassuring new beacon of security. It’s a role that has been passed on, decided by Stark himself. Yes, even in death, Iron Man’s the hero.