Month: April 2014

A Taste of THREE

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One of the Japanese beauty brands I was really keen on trying was THREE. After seeing various posts by Kate, Selphia, and Belly on the eyehadow duos and quads—which, as you all know, are my weakness—I made it my mission to stop by a counter on my trip. By the way, photos from said trip to the land of the rising sun are on my “real” blog, which I use for non-beauty crapola. I ended up getting two THREE Pressed Eye Color Palette Duos, both of which weren’t the ones I intended to get. 02 Love Connection is made of gold peach and red brown. 07 Let the Happiness In is one of the newer duos, consisting of a soft mauve purple and a light brown. The duos are intended to be used in conjunction with each other, as their own shades or layered, creating a “natural three-dimensional impression.” In other words, they are subtle as fuck, but the effect also transforms your eye without anyone really noticing. Which is what I usually like to …

Sleek Blush in Coral 933

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I got this beautiful Sleek blush from my swap with Laala a few months ago. It is a beautiful coral (aptly named Coral 933) and is perfect for the summer, which is actually more appropriate to call this heat we are weathering in a Manila. I’ve faced it a long time ago—we don’t get spring here.

Traveling: What I Brought Along vs. What I Should Have Brought Instead

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I have always been an overpacker. As a child, I would tote incredibly heavy bags filled with shit I didn’t need. I used to carry a DSLR, a laptop, and all my books and notebooks to school as a college freshman. Over time, I’ve learned to take only the essentials with me (usually), and on my last trip to Japan, which happened about two weeks ago, I thought I did a great job of streamlining everything—at least, when it came to my makeup bits. I didn’t want to deal with a proper base, so aside from my moisturizer, I brought along the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (review), which I’ve been setting with the Le Métier de Beauté Eye Brightening and Setting Powder (review). I’ve also got a small bottle of the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer (review) and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Palette (review) for the rest of my face. For eyes, I’ve got my MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork, the NARS NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette (review), and the Le Métier de Beauté Anamorphic Lash Mascara …

Lip Things from Laala

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I got a bunch of lip products from that swap with Laala, and I thought I’d give a short p/review of sorts for each in this post. Here are the lip products, swatched on my arm: Swatched, L-R: NARS Satin Lipstick (Niagara), Dior Addict Lip Glow, Tarte Pure Performance Lipstick (Bold), MUA Power Pout (Runway), Vaseline Advanced Lip Therapy (Aloe) First up is the NARS SATIN LIPSTICK IN NIAGARA, which is actually a sort of hand-me-down from her. She said she couldn’t get it to work on herself, but when I saw swatches online, I knew it was the sort of color that’s right up my alley. 🙂 NARS describes Niagara as a “pink-based coral,” and it’s my first satin lipstick from NARS. It’s a beautiful light coral that’s perfect for spring. Here, I’ve paired it with a neutral eye with a mint accent.

March Favorites

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Nothing terribly exciting on the color front! I was trying to think of any particular palette or shadow I was using for the month of March, but it was really mostly the MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork that was a staple. I’ve also been liking using a brown liner, smudged near my upper lash line for soft definition. Pictured here is the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Twice Baked. Going on that subtle definition trend is the Le Métier de Beauté Anamorphic Lash Mascara, which I love. For face stuff, I have (strangely) a few favorites: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer is a strong #1. I have the shade Ginger, which is a bit dark but still a great match. I also have another concealer, the Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge Correcteur, which I have in Medium. Their shade range is a bit pitiful (just 2, compared to NARS’ 16 or something), but it’s a great match for me. I also have the Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, which is a steadfast favorite, as …

BRTC Jasmine 3D Moist Pact*

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The BRTC Jasmine 3D Moist Pack* is briefly described as a “moisture-coated pressed powder for dry skin.” It is part of BRTC’s “Jasmine Moist System,” which we already partly got to try a few months ago, via their Whipping Essence (reviewed here). There is a total of 8 products in the range. The Jasmine 3D Moist Pack is a “moisture-locking compact powder for dry skin.” The literature (that BRTC products always come with, yay) mentions that the microfine moisture-coated powder in this product is designed to hydrate skin as it evens out skin tones. The “clump-free hydrating formula” also claims to provide protection against UVA and UVB rays, while providing a bright complexion. The powder comes housed in this orchid compact that has a plastic cover to separate the sponge it comes with from the powder, presumably for hygienic purposes. The powder is way too light for me, but it blends in really, really well, almost seamlessly. It allows skin to still look like skin, even under some layers of powder. You can kind of …

5 Things Friday: Makeup to Try This Spring

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Quite a late 5 Things Friday this week, but I really wanted to put one up so I cobbled this post together. When it comes to spring makeup, I know most people revert to pastels. However, most pastels can look horrible on some people (i.e. me), so I’ve resorted to looking for other ways to incorporate springy-ness to my looks. DEWY SKIN In this humidity, dewy skin seems to be the only option for base makeup, whether or not you wear any. Sometimes, it tiptoes over to the side of greasy, but if you’re lucky (or within the vicinity of decent airconditioning), you can keep it dewy and soft. source ORANGE LIPS This is actually not something I have tried wearing out yet, but with the bombardment of bright orange lips all over the Internet, it’s becoming more appealing. source WHITE EYELINER I think this is a soft and bold way to brighten up and define your eyes. It’s pretty simple to do, too, and matches pretty much anything else you want to do with …