Year: 2012

FOTD: Yabu MOA Launch

Published by

Face of the Day and What I Wore To—the Yabu launch in Mall of Asia. You can read about the good food (read: new dishes!) here or over at Sarie’s blog. I wore this face for a work date, but retouched my eye makeup and reapplied my lipstick before heading on over to Yabu. The blush had faded noticeably after around four-and-a-half hours of wear. Decided against reapplying because I kinda like the flush it left. On my face: Face: Ahava Light Foundation (Medium/Light Sand), The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Pore Minimiser Eyes: Benefit Lemon Aid, K-Palette Cover Control 0 Kuma Concealer (02 Yellow Beige), Guerlain Écrin 4 Coueleurs Eyeshadow (Turandot), The Body Shop Brow Kit, theBalm Nude ‘Tude (Sassy) as highlighter) Cheeks: NARS Blush (Sin) Lips: Karl Lagerfeld x Shu Uemura (Celebrity Beige)

Drugstore Finds: Maybelline Refined Wine Lipstick

Published by

This is going to be a super quick post, as I’m in the middle of a frillion different things, but when my sister brought home this lipstick, I couldn’t not post about it! Last Sunday, she’d been eyeing a rich purple-y lipstick she swatched on herself, but didn’t end up getting it. I guess she was haunted by it because when she got home from getting her tennis racket gutted at the mall, she also came home with this! Refined Wine is part of Maybelline’s limited edition collection, The Jewels by Color Sensational. The Jewels features eight jewel-toned lipsticks that I can’t help but feel are perfect for the holidays. They also have a moisturizing aspect to them, due to the honey nectar in their formulation. She tried it out, loved it, and told me to give it a shot. Neither of us had really ventured out of the reds, pinks, and peaches in terms of lipsticks, so I was glad to oblige. Refined Wine is such a perfect name for this shade, a rich, …

Blush Crush: NARS Sin

Published by

I’ve been a huge fan of NARS ever since I got a pan of Orgasm, arguably their most famous blush. I loved the peach-pink golden shimmer, even though it swatched super sparkly under the weird yellow lights of the NARS counter in Rustans Makati. I thought I didn’t need another blush in my life, but then as beauty nuts know, it’s so easy to switch obsessions on parts of the face. When I started this beauty blog, I couldn’t get enough of eyeshadow palettes. Before that, all I looked at was lipstick. Now, I find myself wandering into the uncharted territory of my face’s middle-regions, aka my cheeks! I got a mineral blush from Revlon (which I’ve yet to review), but it wasn’t enough to sate my rather special needs. I wanted a subtle plum that still warmed my face and brought a pretty glow to it. I didn’t want a harsh blush, but I still wanted the oddly pretty flush of pinched cheeks. I think I’ve met my match with NARS Sin. Like Orgasm, …

Zen Zest Diva Off!

Published by

Last Saturday marked my first Softly Sometimes-related event, the Zen Zest Diva Off! Thank you to Zen Zest and Liz of Project Vanity for the invite! I was surprised but also really, really happy when I got it, since I’m so new to this “scene” of blogging. Here’s to more, hopefully! Before the Divas belted their way to victory, the Zen Zest team first introduced their line of Holiday Gift Sets. Melai of Style and Soul hosted the event, while firing off some questions for brand ambassador, Divine Lee, to answer. Sometimes, I really do have a hard time thinking of what to give some of my friends and relatives gifts that they’d appreciate but that will also fit my budget. Contrary to how spendy my nature may seem to the peoples of the Internet, I do think of all my purchases and Google reviews to the point of obsession before I flush my money down the toilet buy anything. While Divine talked about her personal experience with Zen Zest, I checked some of their …

theBalm’s Nude ‘Tude Eyeshadow Palette

Published by

A few months ago, I helped fill up a Balikbayan box with Sarie and my brother, Luis. At that point, I was not into makeup a lot, but I had started exploring by then. One of the items that caught my eye was theBalm’s Nude ‘Tude Eyeshadow Palette. I didn’t really bother surveying other palettes, since I didn’t think I would ever venture into the world of shimmery shadows. It’s why I opted for this palette, instead of the beauty nut staple, Urban Decay’s Naked. (You are going to be wrong at least one more time in your life, Carina.) Nude ‘Tude swatches on my arm. I have a bad habit of starting a row in the middle of my arm, leaving no room for the next row of swatches. Nude ‘Tude contains twelve shadows, covering the delicate parts of six pin-up girls. I mentioned before how I liked it when palette colors have individual names. Included in this palette are: Sassy: a frosted white Snobby: a sheer, shimmery yellow Stubborn:a pale shimmery pinkish peach …

To Buy or Not to Buy: New Things in My Email Inbox

Published by

That is the age-old question. Do I succumb to consumerism or do I make like an adult and resist? I’m not quite sure as to which camp I belong to, but I do like seeing pictures of pretty things in my inbox every once in a while. If I like it enough, I’m glad that there’s an option for me to get it. Take the newly-released edition from ofakind, Furies Ring by Unearthen, which is all sorts of beautiful and charming. I love that the gem is a little bit bigger and unpolished than what I’m used to seeing. I love that it’s all held up together by something that looks like a claw, and that it’s balancing on one edge instead of being in perfect equilibrium. Still thinking on this, but if you want to gobble it up, head on over to ofakind, since there’s only 40 of these in existence. ($ 160) I don’t even remember subscribing to the Barneys newsletter. I think I subscribed when I was eyeing a pair of Citizens …

Make That Face: A Tutorial for a Warm & Colorful Neutral Eye

Published by

STEP ONE: MAC Paint Pot Rubenesque all over lid, apply with fingers. Paint Pots are kind of like cream shadows, but they dry to a shimmery, creaseless finish. They are a good alternative to primer. Since my look will be a bit warmer, I enlisted the help of Rubenesque instead of my usual Etude House Proof 10 or Benefit Lemon Aid as my peachy gold base. STEP TWO: bareMinerals Ready 2.0 The Scenic Route (white) in the center of the lid, apply with MAC 239. The lighter shade from one of my favorite eyeshadow duos, Breathtaking, is described as a “golden snowflake” color. It registers white but has a beautiful golden sheen when applied to the skin. I’m looking for a nice gradation so I patted a bit of this lighter shade onto the center of my lid. It’s a bit less orange than Rubenesque. STEP THREE: bareMinerals Ready 2.0 The Scenic Route (green) in the outer corner—apply with Marionnaud Pointy Brush—and crease—apply with MAC 217. The other half of The Scenic Route, Spectacular, is …