Makeup Melange #12 Radiant Bronzed Skin and Peachy Red Lips

Here's a little sporadic Makeup Melange coming right at you.  This time it's a bronzed complexion but with a lot of glow and a very peachy lip that just gives a flirty summery vibe, because we all know that summer is perpetual in the Philippines.

Makeup Melange #11 Georgia and Subtly Shimmery Eyes

Since I've been finally able to put up a fraction of the reviews I've been meaning to write up, I can now write more Makeup Melanges more thoughtfully with links to reviews of said product. Lately I've been sticking to a more natural eye look, and what I mean by that is just coats of mascara. So I haven't given much thought to put on eye shadow on a daily basis except maybe for a on-a-whim crease color. So the looks I've been doing when I do get the time to doll up have been more heavy on the eyes.

Makeup Melange #10 Testing New things

I believe it's been quite a while since I last put up a Makeup Melange. Nearly two months actually. And truth be told I also just haven't been wearing makeup as much lately. So in short nothing really interesting to put up until today. Since I am officially allowed to put eye makeup on again, I have just been itching to reach out to an eyeshadow palette and eyeliner. 

Makeup Melange #9 Bright Eyes and Red Lips

Some of the new products in action here. And I think I was in a more bold mood to sport a red lip. 

Makeup Melange #8: Post Chickenpox face

It's been a week of suffering from chickenpox and it has suddenly made me want to wear more makeup because I miss it and I have a few spots that I need to cover thanks to lack of sleep due to sticking to the strict schedule of my medications.

Makeup Melange #7 Grey Eyes, Sans Foundation

Sans Foundation - sounds brave coming from someone who still has strange bouts of allergies. But that's what happens when you're having super kind skin lately.

Makeup Melange #6 Old And New Things

So I've been doing a bit of revisiting lately of some old favorites that have just might as well be gathering dust in my vanity. And I'm just working out how some new things just work with me at the moment.

So this is more like a beauty on trial fused makeup melange. The new things in question are the In2it hair brush eyeliner and the Innisfree no sebum powder. And the rest are regulars featured on the blog.

Makeup Melange #4: Sunkissed and Golden

Hello everyone who might be on holiday right now! It's a long weekend and basically a lot of people have been going to the beach as a chance to relax with the family. But I'm nowhere near sand and water at the moment so I'll settle with having nearly three bronzers on my face.

Makeup Melange #3 Flushed Cheeks and Pink Lips

So it's been an eventful March with lots of celebrations and birthdays! All in just a span of one week two of my friends gave birth, my aunt and I had a birthday and I also attended my cousin's baby's Christening and Thanksgiving party. I opted for an easy on the eyes look which focused on radiant skin and flushed pink cheeks. 

The Birthday Beauty Edit

And yes, I do consider my birthday a holiday. But here was my birthday face!

The Holiday Edit: Valentine's day Makeup and Outfit

I have been literally swamped this week. But apparently not swamped enough to write a post on Valentine's Day. So here's the holiday edit for the day of the hearts.

Makeup Melange #2 Bronzed Skin and Loud Lips

Just a little makeup look I did a couple of weeks ago which I thought could be very well a nice and flirty Valentine's day look. It's a nice little departure from the usual red lip and cat eye but nonetheless gives a romantic feel and a youthful pop of color. The lips might interfere with some intimate contact but you can always switch to a more subtle color.

Makeup Melange #1 Bright and Minimal

I have tried and failed to keep up with a series on the blog, so hoping that the new Navigation bar will motivate me, I'm going to do the best I can.

Makeup Melange is basically my current makeup look or a look I'm trying out for the moment, think of it as a sporadic Makeup of the Day. So this'll be a simple post of what I'm just currently wearing and some thoughts of the products on the side.

I was in a light and airy mood today, since I've just been obsessed with eye liner whenever I wear glasses. So on the days I don't wear glasses, I put the liner down. and opted for a more subtle but defined look.

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.

My Festive Christmas Eve Look

Happy Christmas everyone! Hope your holiday has been well, besides the overtime shifts and the toxic lines at the malls and traffic. I have just been happy that I’ve made it this far and be with my beloved family. It has been a year to be thankful for but I’ll talk more on that on the New Year post.

Our family Christmas parties have always been intimate so I know I shouldn’t have put on too much, but since it is Christmas and I am grateful for any opportunity that allows me to doll myself up silly. Well the party agenda is always a dinner with the family and some Christmas Karaoke, despite that sounding passe I must say that I always enjoy it.

Glowing Holiday Makeup

Holiday season! It's that time of the year where you can stuff yourself with good food, take ton of selfies and celebrate with your whole family. But whether it's with my family or squad, I love getting ready especially when I know there will be photos. So this is my choice of holiday get-together makeup at the moment.

BASE

Luminous skin is timeless. So I went for a light CC cream by Maxfactor followed by some Happy Skin corrector under the eyes then used my trusty Estee Lauder Concealer to top it all off. Though not pictured here, I applied Mary Kay translucent powder to mattify my face as I am very oily.

CHEEKS

My favorite part of my routine has shifted to cheeks. I used the Carmen Claire Powder as a bronzer and the Balm's Bahama Mama as the actual contour powder. But this is all a light dusting of pigment as I want to keep everything very glowy but defined. I whipped out my Etude House Face designing Brightener in Goddess face which is a gorgeous champagne highlighter and applied generous amounts on the highpoints of my face since I was going for that Strobed look. Then a touch of the Nars Orgasm blush. Yes when I meant glowy, I meant it. 

LIPS

On the lips are described as a deep rose shade from Carmen Claire. I love that it is a muted depp pinky brown shade that is so simple yet elegant.

EYES

Brows were defined using the dark brown shade on the tartelette palette. And my crease was defined by the Bahama mama bronzer and went with a feline flick using the Maybelline Hypersharp Eyeliner as I just feel naked without liner at the moment And my favorite pop-out touch of Maybelline cream shimmer eyeshadow in the inner corners of my eyes and set with my highlighter for it to last and to pop out more. Then a smidge of the dark brown shadow that I used for my brows on my lower outer rims of my eyes to even out the heavy liner. Then finished with several coats of Maybelline falsies mascara since I want fluttery lashes for special days or for general days I feel like bleh.

Here's the final look, and please do ignore the Brad Pitt poster.

Hope this holiday season is another one to be grateful for! Keep safe and thanks for reading!

Makeup to the Pool?

For those who are heading to winter, sorry for the off season summer-y post, but this is one of the few perks of living close to the equator as a tropical country.

Last week my family and I went to the pool after maybe nearly a decade? That long, I swear. I haven't been to the beach in nearly 6 years, I just couldn't find the time, honestly. But yes I did wear makeup. Even though people roll their eyes when someone says they're wearing makeup to the beach, I don't care, I work it when I want to but I keep it on the light side.

This was the look I did. It may seem a tad dramatic for someone who just said they'd be keeping it on the light side. But it only looks like a lot of products because it looks loud. But just because it looks loud doesn't mean it's not light.

Here are the products I used to make this look.

BASE

As you can see no foundation or powder in sight. But a generous amount of sunscreen base is welcomed instead. And a little concealer for those under eye circles. Luckily it was a good skin day. Since this sunscreen was super mattifying I virtually didn't need powder and who needs it when you're going underwater? And the trusty Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer.

EYES

I need something to define my eyes, but I don't need shadows, so waterproof mascara it is! I recently picked up the Maybelline falsies which is pretty good for giving fluttery volumized lashes and just applied generous layers on my very very sad lashes. It got through fairly well through out the day. Truthfully I did put on some eyeliner but it just did not agree with the water so I just took it off halfway.

I also used the waterproof Jazzy Collection eyebrow gel (not pictured) which really stayed on and on and on.

LIPS

Ahh the main focus, MAC's Ruby Woo for the  lips to really make the pout pop. You can always trust the red lip when you want to look put together.

BODY

Can't go to the beach or pool without sunscreen. Can't go anywhere without sunscreen. I've been pretty happy with the Belo Body sun spray since I got it at half price a few months ago. It moisturizes skin well and applies on easily with no irritating smell. So this has been my go-to!

And that is pretty much it and I'm leaving you with a final picture of my feet in the pool with matching mint green nail polish.

Thanks for reading!

Monthly Makeup Routine

Dear beauty fanatics, let's admit it, half of our makeup routine consists of finding products to use. And this takes up precious time in our regimen. So I've devised a method to properly rotate my items and to just cut off all that time I spend searching for products. It's no new concept to the world, but it is to me. And now I present my current makeup routine I've been using for the past month. I'm actually thinking of doing this as a regular feature every month on this blog, let's hope for the best that my schedule will be kind to me.

Everything in my little Daiso Basket

BASE

Sunkiller SPF Base - Keeps me matte all day and after hours, my favorite facial sunscreen du moment. I just have no reason to not use this and repurchase this. No white flashback, no horrible sunscreen smell, has color correcting properties which can really be seen. And with concealer and powder on top, base can be perfected.

Ettusais BB Mineral Cream - When I think I need more coverage, I go for this, well, regular readers of this blog already know this.

NARS Creamy Radiant Concealer - Believe the hype, just believe it baby.

Happy Skin Eye need a Miracle Corrector - My dark circles can not be hidden with a skin toned concealer alone, this calls for a corrector, to be honest I just bought this last week so I'm currently test driving it.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Powder - I am obsessed with finishing this and though I hit pan there's still a lot in the pan, I actually promised myself that if I'm able to hit pan on two powder foundations I'll definitely buy a new one, either the Hourglass ambient powder in Diffused light or the Happy Skin Powder foundation.

EYES

Happy Skin All Eyes on Hue Eye shadow Palette - My favorite colors to give my lids a wash of color are Oatmeal and Biscuit. Both light and wearable for everyday.

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara - Weather is unpredictable even with weather reports, so I believe it to be a great decision to wear a Water proof formula unless you want to end up as Taylor Swift on the Blank Space video.

CHEEKS

Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzer in 02 - For a slight definition for these chubby cheeks of mine, matte and natural looking for fair skinned ladies.

Snoe Beauty Sabstance Blush in X8 Love - I actually dropped this and it's on it's second life with emergency repairs, that said the top area is a bit rough and hopefully with regular use it'll come back to a smoother surface.

Etude House Face Designing Brightener - My favorite highlighter, fragrant and pretty,it just makes me feel like a good day is coming my way with this on. Well, this and coffee.

LIPS

The changing variable, pretty much the only thing I can freely choose on my mood which can be anything from Happy Skin to MAC to Etude House.

Current Favorite Look: The Ingenue

Ever since I started my job I have had less chances to put on makeup. This is mostly due to the my schedule, mostly graveyard shifts. And even I don't have the will power or vanity to put on makeup during that time since I might fall asleep and when I get home it is ultimately a pain in the ass to remove, I would usually just drop dead on my mattress and snooze the day away. But this is my current favorite look of the moment which I wear if I go to dinner with friends, shopping or church. Inspired from Charlotte Tilbury's The Ingenue look. Sadly I don't have even one item from that brand (though I am lemming to get the film star bronze and glow kit) I have utilized the products available from my arsenal. Here's what I used to achieve this look.

The Ingenue look is a fresh bambi-eyed, blooming fair maiden feel. Just what I wanted to look like though I rarely get proper sleep and nutrition. It's no fuss as it is a simple bright eye; white shimmering cream shadow and mascara with a touch of liner.

BASE

Four things for base, first I primed using the Etude House blur cream, I literally feel no need to use a filter when I put this on. On top is my usual go-to Ettusais BB Cream. Then concealed with the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard. Then set everything with a translucent powder. 

CHEEKS

There was no contouring in the original look, but I personally felt my face need more dimension since it was rounder than the model's face. So I used the Happy Skin Sculptucular kit to add shadows. Then for that lovely blushing look, I used the The balm Instain blush in a bright cool diva pink, Lace.

EYES

Eyebrows are of utmost importance, so I used the Maybelline Fashion brow duo in brown to add shape, but I only used the powder side, and then brushed my brows with the Jazzy France Brow gel, which is a new tube by the way and is outrageously pigmented. 

Eye makeup is a simple dab of the Maybelline Color Tattoo shadows in Beige. It is really a lovely shimmering off white which does not budge through out the day or night. This could also be topped with a shimmering powder eye shadow if you want to intensify the colors. And simple brown liner as close to the lash line as possible. Then I finished with generous amounts of mascara, the one I'm using is the Etude House Waterproof Lash Perm mascara which I honestly hated before but I fully appreciate now.

LIPS

I first used the Happy Skin Lip and Cheek mousse in Swept off my feet but I found it wasn't coming off well in camera. So I put on Mac's Chatterbox lipstick to really have that punch out pink.

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Tilbury Cosmetics

Don't compare me to the beauty of this model (hahaha) as she's way out of my league.

Closer look at the eyes

And that is my current favorite look I'm rocking at the moment or actually for the past month or so. it just makes you look effortlessly fresh and well rested. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful happy Mother's day!

Special Event Makeup

Last Monday, March 2, 2015, I finally went to my oath taking ceremony to pledge myself as a pharmacist. Such events are rewarding to the parents and the student, whom have worked so hard through the years. But of course, for such a special event, one must look their best, because we only get to say this oath once in our lifetime. This is what I used to do my own makeup that day.