Befriending the unfamiliar

I took a mental note in my mind to say YES to opportunities this year, even if it's not the usual stuff that I normally do. The last few weeks were about tackling stuff I don't usually do. I took up a couple of unfamiliars.

Unfamiliar #1: Officially hosting.

Okay, I cannot really say this is unfamiliar, but usually it is something I, as much as possible, shy away from. I prefer just to be working behind the scenes. But to date, I have done 3 wedding receptions, (one of three is actually paid, just last saturday) and one piano/violin recital, my first ever paid gig, which is like two years ago.

But the unfamiliar part would be the high office of the university asking me to host a search for deanship event. Well, it's just a small audience, but then again, I know nothing about protocols and how it is done. And just got the script less than 12 hours from the event time.

I did pull through.

Unfamiliar #2: Paid make up gig.

I love make up. Sometimes this blog posts stuff about make up.

But I have never actually done a paid job. I just do my friends'make up ( Maid of honor, graduation make up and emcee gig, for free, because I love doing it.) But after doing my friend, Aya's make up for her MS graduation, I actually got a make up gig to do a home service make up. (Thank you again to my muse Aya). I know nothing about the rates that I had to do a little research first before saying yes.

I was actually sick with tonsilitis during that time, but my fever went away on the day that I am supposed to do my first ever client's make up. And the most rewarding part was she loved my work that she got inspired to wear make up to office, the next working day.

I'm not going to post the before and after photo on the blog, just on my instagram. I believe that those photos are for proper portfolio platform.

I'm really grateful for these opportunities, it really got me excited just when I'm looking for a weekend spice.

"Anything that gets your heart racing is probably worth doing."

And boy, my heart did race.

Fake it with Maybelline Falsies Mascara

Since I hit thirties, I have minimized wearing a lot of make up and just switched and invested in the basics. One of them is a good eyeliner and mascara. I am a fan of Maybelline and I love the Great Lash mascara that I asked Apy's friend to buy two for me from US. I understand now why Great Lash is iconic, but I got the one that is not waterproof. I was hoping to get the waterproof version in the Philippines when Maybelline recently had the Great Lash mascara back in town but it was out of stock. 

My sister got me the Maybelline Falsies (waterproof) instead:

Fanned out mascara brush

Here's what it looks like from the raw pictures from my phone:  Take note, this is the first application. If you apply more, it would amplify.

I love that it actually gives the illusion of more, and longer lashes, hence the name "Falsies". Also, I don't use an eyelash curler. 

I usually put eyeliner first before the mascara, but I had it reversed today for this blog post. 

Pardon the brow situation, I'm growing mine out.

Now for the quick review. Maybelline Falsies is:

• Waterproof, Sweat-proof, Cry-proof. - Trust me, I did all that.
• Hard to take off, it doesn't easily come off.
• Good value for money. (Php 350.00+)
• The bent wand or "fanned out brush" doesn't really do much. I mean, had it been regular brush, it will still be the same effect given the Falsies formula.

And yes, I will purchase again. 

H&M Make up haul: Eye shadows, Bronzer and Brush

I was on a make up roll last year and got into eye shadow obsession. But this year, I decided to go neutral colors and less make up since... hello, I'm entering my 30s.

Which is funny because in college, I wore smoky eyes and my classmates were like "San ang party?"(Where's the party?) and last year I enjoyed blending that I look sick or under the weather when I am not wearing eye shadow at all.

Anyway, I've been searching for an eye shadow make up palette in family of browns (earth colors) because they seemed more natural. Then one night while walking in Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong, I saw this at H&M:

I did not know that H&M makes make up, but when I saw them, I could not help but get them since I think they are cheaper compared to the local brands I've been recently eyeing on. The make up (bronzer and eye shadows) costs 49.90 HKD each. I did the math and it costs less than Php300. I was planning to just get one eye shadow palette, but I know that I will not be able to sleep, so I bought the smoky one at another H&M branch in Hong Kong on a different day.

NUDES

SMOKY

The eye shadows are easy to blend. I used the smoky palette on this one because its a little hard for me to get some color in the nudes. They are good for everyday make up but tends to lighten at the end of the day. 

Unedited, raw photo I just took after applying. No eye primers, no eye liner, and no mascara.

The palettes are already used when I took this pic. I wasn't planning on blogging about them, then I decided to just do it.

Next is the Bronzing Powder

 I love this! Although, I am still learning how to blend these three. I think I am the only morena I know who loves bronzers. 

If you're a long time reader of this blog, I mentioned before I fell in love with the make up brushes first before the make up artistry it self. I couldn't help but buy a make up brush from H&M.

This one is called BB cream brush (69.90 HKD), but I do not exactly know how it can apply a BB cream. All I know is when you are using cream based make up/foundation, better to use a foundation brush instead because of it's bristles. 

H&M's BB Cream brush has a slightly angled brush that I use for contouring. I love the bristles and it reminds me so much of my favorite make up brushes from The Body Shop.

Anyway, it's been more than a month since we got back from Hong Kong and H&M recently opened its first store in the Philippines. I haven't had the time nor opportunity to check their store in SM Megamall. I wonder if they also carry this make up line because so far, I haven't seen them featured in blogs.

Lip[pie] Service: Happy Skin's Forbidden Fruit Collection

The only time I believed in love at first sight is when Happy Skin Cosmetics released it's Shut Up and Kiss me Lippies Forbidden Fruit, its 2014 Holiday Collection.

The moment I saw it on instagram and at their website, I knew I just had to see it (and have it) for myself. The Forbidden Fruit collection comes in three colors:

1. Mistletoe kiss - coral red
2. Under the sheets - deep nude
3. Naughty and Nice - pink berry

Something tells me that all colors would look good on me. So when I had the chance, I bought myself these lippies:

Actually, I was tempted to buy it online, but because I know that photos can be deceiving, I made sure to go to the shop and tried them all first before buying.

Shown below are the comparison of photos of how the lip color looks like. The top row is from the Happy Skin website, and the bottom row are the unedited photos (with ugly lighting, sorry) of my lips.

And true enough, my lips showed different results compared with the photos from their website:

(Left to Right: Happy Skin Cosmetic's Shut Up and Kiss Me lippies in 1) Mistletoe Kiss, 2) Under the Sheets, and 3) Naughty and Nice)

But still, I love it so much that I bought it because for some reason, all these colors looked good on me. True enough, they delivered their three-fold "lip service": the shine of a gloss, the pigment of a lipstick and hydration of a balm...

I now have a coral hue, a nude lippie and a slightly pinkish berry color. I promised myself my last make up purchase for the year would be the H&M make up that I got last month in Hong Kong, but that's for another story.

Meanwhile, let me fool myself into thinking I got this set as an early birthday/early Christmas present for myself.

Will blog about the H&M make up haul some other time. :)

Lip[pie] Service: Revlon's Colorburst Lacquer Balm

It's been a while since I last posted a "make up"post, but first things first, this is not a make up tutorial post. And I am not a beauty blogger.

Actually this year, compared to last year, I've been donning less make up because I realized I am entering my thirties and I don't want to look too made up with so much effort all the time. Last year I went gaga with blending of eye shadows that I look like a drag queen almost everyday. This year, I wore less and made extra effort to take care of my skin. I don't want to wait til I am 35 to actually start caring about it.

So what is the best way to look like you're-made-up-but-really-it's-just-a-few-products? Find a signature lipstick that lights up the face. Sort of like these women:

Minimal eye make up, full lips impact!

I've been drawn to chubby sticks lipsticks ever since Clinique came up with one. But I prefer drugstore brands (because it's good quality and cheaper) and bought myself Revlon's Colorburst Lacquer Balm after some of my favorite bloggers raved about it.

I bought these few months ago and contemplated over Revlon vs Happy Skin, a pinoy brand with cute packaging. Revlon obviously won and I must admit, I enjoyed wearing it because it's so convenient.

Price: Php 575.00

I like that it's cute, the color on the swatch doesn't lie, and it's got that peppermint feel/taste on the lips that I like every time I put it on. But don't let the length of the crayon fool you, it's only 2.7g so I think it's real length is only 1.5 inch (estimate).

The lipstick is moisturizing, which I love. Like all other lipsticks, it does transfer to the drinking glass and kind of easy to remove. It's not that long wearing. After eating you will need to retouch it. But definitely, I will purchase again.

Actually, I am eyeing another Revlon Laquer Balm, this time it's in this color:

I've known this since I was in high school that as a morena (olive skinned), plum and browns looks better on me so I only stick to those family of color. I don't have nudes, or pinks, or coral stuff because I don't think my color can pull it off.

But then, I changed my mind when I saw Happy Skin Cosmetics came up with a new collection that made me believe at love at first sight (which will be my next post).

Awesome Beauty Hacks

I love lists, tips, and life hacks on the internet. As I said in a previous post, I'm sort of dealing with one of the trade offs for my vision board, and that includes fighting the urge to spend on something. I'm trying to cut back on becoming an emotional shopper by resisting and limiting my exposure to things that might get in the way of what I am saving up for. 

Today, I found this on pinterest  just as I was distracting my self from looking through make up posts, lusting after lipsticks and reading blog reviews about what summer lippies to get. This is perfect for Cheap Tips fans, like myself:

Source here.

Review: LOL Matte Bronzer in Brown Sugar

I've been looking for a matte bronzer since last year. After my frustration to use my BDJ coupons to purchase the Revlon bronzer that I wanted, I decided to try this way cheaper alternative called LOL cosmetics. LOL stands for Lots of Love. (Cheesy, I know.)

The reason I want to use a matte bronzer is because my skin has large, open pores and shimmers only amplify my pores. If I can remember correctly, this matte bronzer from LOL only costs Php 139.00.

I wanted to get a bronzer and use it to contour my face and to sometimes use it as a blush for a more natural look. I can't get away with slightly pink/old rose blush because I have morena skin.

I've already been using it for quite sometime and I love that it's matte. However, since I only paid Php 139.00, the pigmentation is okay but it doesn't last long. You will need to retouch approximately 4 times if you want to maintain that color on your cheeks (if you used it as blush) or accents (if you used it to contour your face) to last the whole day.

I used my powders and blush with Marionnaud contouring brush N32. (The brush is really worth buying!) 

So, in a nutshell review:

Product: LOL (Lots of Love) Bronzing Powder (Brown Sugar Shade)
Price: Php 139.00
Place of Purchase: SM Department Store (Beauty Section)
Performance: 2 out of 5
Purchase Again? Not anytime soon. Other products of the same brand maybe.

Review: Revlon's Nearly Naked Foundation + Colorburst Lipgloss (plus Cheap Tips!)

I, myself, cannot believe this incredibly lucky deal that I got by just going through the make up section. I bought a new liquid foundation and got this Revlon Colorburst Lip gloss (one of their newest shade) for FREE!

Regular Price:
Revlon Nearly Naked Liquid Foundation (True Biege): Php 525.00
Revlon Colorburst Lip gloss (Embellished shade): - Php 575.00

Yes, the free lip gloss costs more than my actual purchased product!

I have friends who tells me that they are quite hesitant when buying lip color/lipstick because they do not want a shade that's too dark or loud. I'm no pro when it comes to make up, I'm just an ordinary make up enthusiast and not even a make up junkie...yet. So to set expectations in this post, I am not a beauty/make up blogger so there'll be hardly any photos of me. But I am a quality cheapskate and always in search for the cheaper alternative but same quality. Let me share some of my cheap tips on these kind of make up:

Review: E.L.F. Eyebrow kit

I must admit, I don't really pay much attention to the eye brows until I saw a photo of me with barely there eye brows! So I made it a point to make myself look human by having decent brows when putting on make up. 

I purchased this eyebrow kit that I've been eyeing for quite some time now. I got the darker color from the selection at the E.L.F. Cosmetics counter. I learned from the make up workshop that I attended early this year that it is better to use a brow powder or a dark brown eye shadow on your eyebrows than use a brow liner. It makes the brows appear natural and not "line-y".

Read more on this eyebrow kit after the jump!

Review: Avon's Shine Attract Lippies

This is actually a late post. I learned months ago about the Avon lipstick that Fil-Aussie actress, Anne Curtis, is endorsing. I got curious about it because this is what it looks like:

(expectation)

I wondered about the coverage and if it's long lasting. Actually, I really am interested in what it looks like because there's transparent jelly surrounding the actual lip color.
More after the jump!

Review: Revlon's Colorstay eye shadow quad palette

I've written before how I am fond of using eye shadow for the reason that blending colors relaxes me. I've had few moments of drag queen-ish eye shadow that I wore to work just to test how long wearing it is. I've blogged about BYS eye shadow palette that I love, but I kept thinking maybe I just got lucky with blending because the palette is shimmery.

Then I remembered I have this quad palette from Revlon. As you can see,(although photo is not clear as I have just grabbed this from my instagram account), only one shadow on the lower left is shimmery (but not as shimmery as the BYS palette).

I'm using the "Addictive" palette. The back portion shows you which shadow to apply first, and it's labeled 1 to 4, but the truth is, in quad palettes, you don't really have to use all four. Use the ones that complement the shades.

When I applied it the first time, I didn't notice that I was already piling up colors because it was so light and I didn't think the pigmentation is that good, but then I took a break from all the blending, that's when I saw it. It may not look like the color is showing up, but it does. What surprised me is it is also long wearing. It lasted more than 10 hours without retouch (considering I have oily face and walked a lot and got really sweaty on that day).

With that, I recommend this if you are going for the no make up look. Now, if only I can get another quad palette of a different family of earth colors...

Make up products worth your moolah (money) + Other Make up Fixes

This year, actually mid year, I have decided to buy only make ups that I will use.  

So I gave away some of my make up and even an entire very barely used make up palette to my cousin Karen. I somehow kept my current make up palette, BYS, that I blogged before because it makes blending very easy, not to mention it is long wearing.

Speaking of long wearing, here are the make up items that I bought that are indeed long wearing.

1. L'Oreal True Match Foundation in N7.

I've had this foundation since October last year (2012) and used it for my Kuya Stew's wedding. You only need little amount and it covers really great. I remember researching for a really good foundation and my friend Yeye's friend, Marie Tan, (who does Patty Laurel's hair and sometimes make up, as well other celebs) recommended this product. She made a really good recommendation because I did not regret buying this even if it costs almost 1k)

Price: P995 .

2. After the make up workshop that I attended early this year, I was on the look out for a translucent powder. I found this the most affordable on the market.  (Price: a little over Php 500.00.) The little cheapskate in me was looking for a powder within my price range (cheap) but when I saw this and have been using this for more than 6 months already, I'll say it will still last me for the rest of the year. 

The thing with translucent powders is, as the name implies, it doesn't give much coverage but it settles and mattifies the oily skin. It won't ruin your make up at all so don't buy this if you want coverage.

I needed to change the powder puff though so I got a Marionnaud powder puff for less than Php100.00. I'm glad we have Marionnaud in the local market. I thought they only sell make up brushes and some tools. 

3. Remember how I regret buying E.L.F.'s primer? I decided to come up with own. I bought Max Factor in Caramel because it was on sale, but it appeared to be a lot darker on my face, even though I always go for a darker shade of foundation on my face. 

So I mixed a Nivea moisturizer and the liquid foundation and adjusted the tint and put it in a cream jar that I bought at Watson's. It became a really good primer and make up base, it didn't feel sticky at all!

I made two shades! Containers available at Watsons. 

4. I purchased the wrong kind of foundation at Walmart last summer, when I got it it, it was 2 shades darker than my face color. So what did I do? I studied how to contour!

It worked well, but sometimes I tend to overdo it due to excitement of blending that I ended up looking tanned rather than contoured, but they say practice makes perfect! So if you see me looking tanned during this rainy season...Pardon my contour!

*Photos are from the internet ---sorry too lazy to take actual photos from my stash. :) 



Any make up tricks and make up recommendations you want to share with me?

Bobbi Brown Travel Make up brush

One of my favorite Christmas gift that I got last year was from my friend Shom. I literally let out a little squeal when I opened it:

It's a travel make up brush set:

Product Review: Suesh Make up Brushes

Part of the Suesh Make Up workshop that I attended early this year comes a set of make up brush set. I chose the 7pc one. Since the brush is longer, it gives a professional make-up artist vibe when holding it.

Product Review: Charm and Marionnaud Make Up Brushes

For quite sometime now, I've been collecting Make up brushes and brush set for years now. And I have an embarrassing make up brush confession. I seem to lug around these brushes with me whenever I go. I have yet to meet another person who has an "emergency make up kit" in the office like me.  I can still remember what my friend and colleague, Eisen, said, when I told him about the kit: 

It seems like the word "emergency" doesn't go with "make up kit" in one sentence. 

Haha! But seriously, I think I fell in love with Make up brushes first before the Make up Artistry itself. Maybe it reminds me a lot of my childhood that I used to paint. And before I know it, I've been collecting make up brushes now and I even like to mix and match brushes from their sets.

Review: BYS Make up eye shadow palette

My favorite part when putting on make up is the putting eye shadow on the lids. I love and want to learn more tricks in blending and just by looking at color palettes, it relaxes me. If I have the freedom to just gawk on a make up counter without the salesladies hovering over me, I would hang out by the eye shadow palette section for as long as I want, testing the colors, blending it on the back of my hand and comparing the pigmentation.

For someone who just loves make up and does not do make up for a living yet, I have three requirements when buying an eye shadow palette:

1. The colors in the palette must be wearable for everyday make up. - To be practical. 
2. It must be easy to blend and long wearing. - So there's no need for frequent retouch or potential to smear on the face.
3. It must be affordable. - The most important of all! 

Review: LOreal's BB Max

I hate waste but I can no longer stand the primer that I got just a few weeks ago. I stopped using it and hunted for my next BB cream. I used my trusted Maybelline BB Cream before and now I am on to my next BB cream. I already have a brand in mind, the one that Divine Lee blogged about and the same BB cream that the trainer from Suesh let us use, but it costs more than Php1,000.00. That's over my price range since I will be using under a foundation.

I did not know that L'Oreal has a BB cream so the minute that I saw one, I decided to test it out.

Review: E.L.F.'s Primer

I've been meaning to try a face primer. I researched the most affordable in the market it keeps on coming back to ELF Cosmetics.

So what are primers, really?

The make up trainer last workshop told us, that same with painting the walls, the face also needs primer. Basically it evens out the skin for smooth application of foundation. She also said that BB creams will do if we don't have primers. I've been using Maybelline's BB cream since last year (but not regularly) so I figured out it might be a good way to go since I do not have any primers.