Year: 2014

Recent Acquisitions / Currently Testing

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Doing this series made me realize just how much I accumulate, and how quickly. International post duration makes it a bit hard to wrap my head around the fact that I have been buying so much stuff, but I have. And these posts are proof. I know I keep yapping on about accumulation—so I’ll stop—I think I just want to kinda say that “I’M AWARE! I’M AWARE!” but I don’t know what to do after that admission. I don’t want to be the kind of person who recognizes the symptoms of hoarding and brushes it off with a laugh and a few jokes, steadily trudging to the point of no return. But anyway. These are some objects. That I bought (and received). As a human. Who likes pretty things? Kjaer Weis Cream Blush in Abundance I’ve been putting off my Kjaer Weis purchases but I finally caved and got a single cream blush. I’m looking at the sets, but this is great for now. I love Abundance, even though it looks slightly scary. I actually …

Unboxing: BDJ Box August 2014*

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Quick unboxing post of the BDJ Box for August 2014.* The theme for this month’s box is Luscious Locks, with 4 of the 7 items geared towards hair care. Spoiler Alert: I’m not too excited about this box, but that’s probably because I’m not very into hair products and also I just kinda cut my hair short so my hair care has been pretty low-key (lyesmith). I’ll let the contents speak for themselves! Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate, 30ml (Php 3500) My sample size is 5ml. This is an essence to be applied after cleansing and toning in the morning and at night. It promises to make the skin supple and glow with health with just 1 week of daily use. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick Shine in Foxy Lady, 4g (Php 350) I’ve never tried this range before, even though it’s pretty popular. I got a pretty sheer brown shade that’s quite similar to one of my favorite shades, NARS’ Vendanges. I like the formula of this, but it does fade away with a slight …

A Case for Bases

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I may have a problem! Look at all this crap. (Just kidding, cuddles face bases.) See, I never thought I would be the kind of “makeup enthusiast” who had a thing for bases. I was always always distracted by color cosmetics, so this is kind of a weird personal revelation. This is all a restrained effort at acquiring bases, mind you. I regularly clear out my stash, and I’ve also salivated over a number of other bases I’ve chosen to pretend to not exist. All to be mentioned at the end of this post. Ahem. So what is the case for bases? There isn’t really any case for it, other than the fact that I am a fickle person and I like having options. For the record, I like having “natural looking” skin. By this, I mean, I don’t mind if a pimple peeks through or if my eye bags aren’t 100% erased by foundation and concealer (… that’s a whole other story), so most of my foundations are medium coverage, at most. I just …

5 Product Face No. 4

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MAC Paint Pot in Painterly // MAKE Colour Post-Impressionism Palette, used Storm and Scarlet Oak // K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Lasting 2 Way Eyebrow in 102* // Kjaer Weis Cream Blush in Abundance // bareMinerals Mineral Veil Yay, another 5 Product Face. I really love making these things. I mean, if I didn’t already say… which I did. HEH. Anyway, this is a pretty simple look that relies on colors for the drama. 🙂 I used Storm, which is a matte deep blue green, as a liner and I really exaggerated that wing. (As you can see.) For lips, I used Scarlet Oak, which is a warm red orange. These two came from the MAKE Colour Post-Impressionism Palette, so they’re technically from only one product. Do I count this palette as two products? I probably should—I wish I did without the paint pot (used just to neutralize the lids), if that’s the case. Let’s pretend I didn’t use it… please? Brows are by the K-Palette marker/powder duo* in the medium, warmer brown, 102, and cheeks are …

Sample Stash Sunday: Ellana Minerals Free Sample Pack

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Foundation matching can be a pain in the butt. I know this because, despite my unwarranted love for face bases (and purchasing them), I’m still unsure of what shade I am. The unhelpful-helpful thing I’ve been really good at is determining whether or not a shade is a “match” for me. This happens, of course, after I’ve bought the full size. What led me to this frustrating discovery is when I tried to layer on my Ellana Minerals Loose Powder Foundation in Caramel Latte* to act as a concealer and it ended up looking really wrong–too warm for me, really. I really, really like that product, so I wanted to see if there was a better shade match for me. It’s kind of hard to tell on their website… plus, how do you match your skin tone to a screen cap, right? Luckily, Ellana Minerals offers a free sample pack. I wanted to try their concealers (though, again, was crippled by the affliction of indecision) and the Sheer Velvet HD powder, but I didn’t want …

Weekend Reading: No More Dirty Looks

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I don’t really pick up a lot of beauty books, but I was compelled to get No More Dirty Looks by Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt. Prior to being interested in beauty, I came across this duo through Quarterly, which is a really awesome subscription program. No More Dirty Looks was one of the “curators” in Quarterly. Fast forward to a few years later, and I meet them again, but in a different environment. Some time in 2012, I became severely interested in makeup and cosmetics for reasons still unknown to me. It just became a fun thing, I think, to be a part of this new way to geek out. The thing is, I was so ignorant about and ambivalent towards the ingredients that make up all of these cosmetics. I began being more conscious of animal testing, opting to mainly support cruelty-free brands, but that eventually branched out into an interest in “cleaner” beauty. Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt are both journalists who started on the greener path when matching Brazilian Keratin treatments …

5 Things Friday: How to Do a Duo

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Eye shadow duos are sort of the “no brainer” option in Makeup Land. The colours are pre-picked for you, and if you’re like me, you would intuitively place the lighter shade of the duo on the lid and then add the darker shade on the outer “v” of your eye. Et voilà—depth and complexity! Of course, not all duos are created equal. There are some that are not so easy to use and some combinations that look pretty together, but don’t make sense when used in the aforementioned way. Here are a few ways you can play around with a duo that has stumped you.