The Best of 2016: Makeup

It's almost a farewell to 2016 but for everyone who'll miss this year especially, don't worry, you'll say more hellos in your lifetime than goodbyes. 

I've finally found some time from all the holiday rush to finally take decent photos and I'm currently writing this at the speed of light. Sometimes a "hello" is soon followed by "I love you" don't you think? And here are the makeup picks that made it to the love list this year!

October Favorites

It's been an eventful October to say the least. And as you can see with the lack of posts that I've been busy. It's been an eye opening fact to how hard some bloggers work to deliver quality posts, vlogs, and videos when they're also very busy with life and problems. Especially because they don't really have fixed work hours. But luckily I've squeezed some strength out of me to write up a few favorites this month.

September Favorites

Now that September is over a certain song from a certain band comes to mind. But besides that, a favorites post is due once again.

August Favorites

Already more than halfway through the year and a lot of fun new beauty discoveries through out. And this past month there has been quite a selection from all over the place but be assured that they have well earned their places.

July Favorites

I have been pretty much away from the blog these past days, mostly because of technical issues and my eyes weren't in their best condition to say the least since I had LASIK last June. And a whole lot of personal issues that have just come crashing down during the course of the month.  But here's the favorite lot this past July.

May Favorites

Alright, this might be the most gratuitous favorites post you might see in a while since I've had this incoming surge of new products all over the place and a bunch of forgotten favorites all jumbled up but somehow I've compiled what I thought were definitely for May. I've divided it into skin care and makeup picks.

April Favorites

And we're now officially entering May. It felt like we were cruising through April and we found ourselves here. And here is the monthly assortment that have earned a special fondness in my heart for the month of April.

March Favorites

So, it has been a mad March and it was my birthday month and it was just pretty much well spent with the family and friends. I've discovered a few new things but mostly it centered on skin care. So here are the March favorites coming in like a lion~

February Favorites

It's been a fast and furious February and the days have just been going on and on. But here are a couple of faves this month that have just been on my radar recently.

5 Budget Lipsticks You Won't Need A Mirror To Apply

It is officially February, the month of love for those who have a love life and a month of bitterness or grievance. Well, I'll leave it to your imagination to which month it'll be for me. 

January Favorites

And January has passed us by like a ship in the night. Now it's really sinking in that time flies.

So I have  a few favorites this month which I have just been reaching out for in my vanity. Some new some old but all well-loved at the moment.

Best Makeup Discoveries of 2015

2015 is ending in approximately a day or two depending on your timezone. And it has been such an eye-opening year filled with such joy, melancholia, despair and hope which is pretty much every year right?

Since I figured that putting in old favorites would be too repetitive and some of you are probably tired of my yapping for my favorite products, I decided to do only new products this year.

April Favorites

May already? It only felt like yesterday I was celebrating New year (well actually studying for boards). It still hasn't hit me that we're are nearly half a year done. And here we are with last month's favorites, which I've skipped for a month or two? I have received my first salary and bought some stuff you see here with my own money. It feels surreal. But on to the main dish.

A lot of pinks this month and I have just fallen in love with Preview magazine's April cover! Hot fuchsia pink for a change!

Comfy Fashion Picks

My very first fashion post in the history of forever. My love for makeup and beauty is intense, but I also have a lusty affair with fashion as well. But I have a paranoia of wasting a perfectly good outfit for an ordinary day when I'm just running boring errands, so my fashionista self tends to take a backseat, truthfully the only time I get to bring her out is on special events and going to church (in a conservative way for the latter of course) I can be the girl who goes everywhere in heels and also be the girl who wears sneakers everywhere as well, but I do take in consideration the comfort level I need for the duration of time I am out and about for the day, no way am I taking on 4 inch heels on applying for any government agency ID or things that require much strenuous activity, Here comes the comfy reliables.

So what do I usually wear out on normal, I-don't-want-to-stand-out-too-much days?

Flats and Sneakers

These sneakers are from glee, pretty sturdy but ok for the wallet, not as great maybe as Converse or KEDS, but they do the job. Through rain or shine, I've had this pair for over 3 years now and are actually the only pair of shoes I took with me to a one month trip.

So Fab! has a great selection of flats and shoes, pretty affordable as well. Flats are a girl's best friend when it comes to situations where it requires us to be on the go all day, they won't break a heel, cause blisters and won't let you trip over something (normally).

 Long-sleeved shirts and Shorts

Forever 21 has a ton of stylish long sleeved shirts and dress shirts in an array of color, and great prices especially if they're on sale. For shorts, I usually buy them at flea markets since they're not indispensable to me. I usually find myself wearing pants or leggings no matter how hot it is. (UV ray protection ehem ehem)

Basic Shirts

I love Bench basics, good quality and for the price it's a steal, I am a big fan of basic shirts and tank tops. though F21 also has good and cheap basic tops, I find Bench's to be of higher quality and wear and tear power.

  Leggings and Jeans

 Jeans, where would the world be without jeans, good local places for jeans would be Jag and Freego both have stylish and sturdy jeans especially the latter which has really stepped up in terms of design and concept. I have a ton black jeans since I find it extremely convenient for anything, I think I only have 2 pairs of blue jeans in my closet actually.

But when I find myself not in the mood for jeans, or some chaffing is happening, leggings are the way to go.I found leggings in a variety of styles at ZALORA. More breathable than pants and more boldness in design, my mother personally prefers them more to jeans, I think I even have a few colored ones in my closet just to dress us an otherwise boring long shirt outfit.

That concludes my comfy picks, but to be honest if I am going all out, it would be a different story and hopefully I'll be able to post outfit posts and bag posts in the future, if it's not too much of a pain on my part as I do have a job and thankfully my job doesn't require a particular dress code or uniform, so it may be possible, might even be posting about fashion purchases soon.

Thanks for reading!

January Favorites

A tad late and repetitive as all the products on my January Wallet Damage post are featured, and some old things that I have been loving again.

• The Balm Instain Blush in Argyle - A lovely fresh pink that looks absolutely rosy on fair skin, 
• Happy Skin Shut Up and Kiss me Lippie in Under the Sheets - My current go to nude/ tawny lip
• Happy Skin Feeling Sculptacular Contour kit - A great got-to-go bronzer-highlighter duo
• Etude House Drawing Show eyeliner in Brown - My very first proper eyeliner and I just had to get brown because it felt more forgiving than black.
• Maybelline Rocket Mascara - One very easy, no fuss mascara
• Mary Kay Makeup Finishing Spray - Finally, makeup spray that actually works for me.
• Etude House Play Nail polish in #26 - The perfect, are-you-wearing-nail-polish-or-not, pinky healthy nail color, basically, it's an absolute go to when I prefer my nails to look clean but healthy as well. 

• Derma E Scar Gel - Brilliant for acne wounds to accelerate healing
• Alba Organics Acne Toner - Contains salicylic acid and overall great for my acne-prone skin

2014 Favorites: Skin Care

2014 has equally been as good to me in skincare, with new discoveries and trusted loyalty to some products that have been kind to me. This pretty much sums up my skin care routine as well which I rotate from time to time. But my basic routine is pretty much Cleanse, Tone, Moisturize and Treat.

Etude House Real Art Cleansing Oil - My Holy grail cleansing oil, removes all makeup thoroughly and quickly for nights and days when I just want to take it all off as quickly as possible, so I use oil for that. It has a nice fragrance and doesn't feel as thick as other cleansing oils I've tried. I'll definitely repurchase a refill in the near future.

Cleansing Research AHA cleanser -  Alpha hydroxy acids from fruits usually help clear up skin with exfoliation which increases skin renewal, This cleanser is packed with that and gives a good refreshed clean feeling as well especially after using cleansing oil. This is recommended for acne prone skin.

Etude House Every month Cleanser in 7 Aloe - I love this line of Etude Cleansers, it is so fun choosing variants, I had Green Tea before but I prefer Aloe more, due to its gel consistency and amazing scent which just relaxes me, I use this usually on mornings.

VMV Hypoallergenics Illuminants Face Body and Hand Lotion - Hyperpigmentation and acne go hand in hand, and to combat that I use this as my moisturizer to help. It has done improvement overtime and I wouldn't mind using this on scars on my body as well. It's quite multipurpose.

VMV Hypoallergenics Superskin 3 Toner Monolaurin + Mandelic Acid - This is a toner which treats acne.

Derma E Scar Gel - I use this to speed up the healing process of acne scars and other injuries on my body as it contains Allantoin which improves wound healing.

Nature Republic Aqua Peeling Gel - I exfoliate about once a week, sometimes with a scrub but I prefer these gommage peeling gels more, It is so interesting to see dead skin just rolling off your face (not a good mental image) however very satisfying to see gunk just get removed. I would repurchase if I can find a seller.

Sunplay Watery Sunscreen - In lieu of the pricey Biore sunscreen, I decided to use a more budget friendly and easily sourced sunscreen which I can just find in department stores. This is quite affordable, no horrid sunscreen smell and has a very thin consistency. This is the consistency which makes me want to put on SPF everyday,

Thanks for reading!  If you have any recommendations for skin care please do share in the comments below~!

2014 Favorites: Makeup

Finally back and free to blog, I've recently passed the Pharmacist Licensure Exam and am totally ecstatic to be back to do activities I love, and blogging is one of them. And starting off 2015 with 2014 Favorites.

It's always been hard to choose my favorite things, since variety and diversity of products are so rampant. But after careful consideration and indecisiveness here are my top picks of 2014, in no particular order since they all belong in different categories.

Real Techniques Nic's Picks Collection, easily one my best purchases this year, spending good money on quality brushes is never a bad idea, and has easily made applying makeup much more satisfying, and that means that I'll be purchasing more makeup brushes in the future.

The Balm Nude Tude Palette - My first official Eyeshadow palette and not a disappointment in the least, richly pigmented and wearable colors, And I bought mine for a good price.

Happy Skin Shut Up and Kiss me Lippies - I love supporting local brands, though my collection says otherwise ,so I'm so happy that Happy Skin is a home grown brand with great quality products. And their lipsticks, great colors for Filipinas ranging from light pink to tawny mauves and dangerous reds. I believe I'll see myself collecting more and more of their products.

Mary Kay HD Powder - Translucent powder is a must for me, but most of the time they are severely overpriced for such little product, but this is just right, 11 g for P800. It does have some shimmer but a subdued one. I love this for flash photography paired with the MUFE HD Foundation.

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzer - I have had an aversion for bronzers, but 2014 was the year for cheeks, my collection of bronzers and blushes have considerably increased and I could never be happier.

. 

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara - I've never cared for mascara until I saw how much of a difference it can make, 2014 was truly a year of new and renewed opinions, This mascara just intensifies what little lashes I have, but I would love a Waterproof version (Which there is) but I have not been able to get a hold of it.

Etude House Face Designing brightener - Loved time and time again, not too shimmery but has a refined glow not a crushed glitter on the face at all!

Jazzy Collection Brow Gel - An inconvenience to dying your hair is needing to match your brows, not all worry about this, but I do since it looks just to unnatural in my eyes, the hair and brow color must be at least in the same color family. So I was on the look for a good brow gel and this local product was quite a pleasant surprise. I'd repurchase again and again!

MUFE HD Foundation - My go to foundation when flash photography is employed. It just makes you look flawless and glowing on camera, A foundation I personally though was over hyped, but it fulfills its promise of being HD on and off camera, Not to mention good riddance to the ghostly pale face on photos.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer - Hype is the first word that comes to mind since almost every Youtuber I subscribe to has featured and loved this product to bits, a little impulse brought me this baby. And yes the Hype is real. High coverage with a creamy and thick consistency, but blendable and does not accentuate dry spots like healing acne. A reliable concealer indeed.

Snoe SABSTANCE Blush - Another local brand which I am getting into. though a bit pricey at times, they spare no expense for quality, this blush is extremely pigmented.Smells pleasant and is packed with tons of skin loving ingredients. Planning to purchase more of the colors in the near future.

November Favorites

This is my first favorites post! I couldn't do this before since I had the same favorites over and over again. But I decided this time is nice time to put this up, since I have some new stuff I've been over the moon for and rediscovering some old faves.