Year: 2015

FOTD: Vela

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I wore this look to a book launch and an exhibit, and I thought it was a good time to play around with makeup, aka Not an Office Look. I based it on this because I really wanted to wear a dark lip. Funnily enough, it led to a fun eye look, too. It’s not as ~fashion~ as the picture I based it off, but I think it’s quite nice! I haven’t been wearing a lot of blush lately. For this look, I just used a general combination of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light, Dim Light, Incandescent Light and Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder in Medium for contour. For the eye look, I mainly ran Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear through my crease, and sandwiched Oslo Cosmetics Vela patted in the center of my lid with Rouge Bunny Rouge Bejewelled Skylark. I ran a bit of Cocoa Bear on the lower lash line, too, and lined my upper lash line with a liquid liner. My (shoddily reapplied) lip color is ColourPop Matte Lippie Stix in …

Coming Out of the Woodwork (plus, a giveaway)

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Before I discovered rings and lapel pins, my main accessories of choice were necklaces and some kind of wristwatch. I love how watches look, especially if they’re either a touch masculine or somewhat minimal. I’ve mainly been wearing a simple watch with a white face, tortoiseshell frame and leather strap from AÃRK Collective for the past few months, but I received a cute watch from JORD a few months ago. JORD creates unique wood watches, with sustainability, efficiency, and experiential living in mind. Their website is pretty cool, too, where they share a lot of information about their watches, in case you’d like to get into the nitty gritty of the types of wood, movements, and glass they use to craft their watches. I currently have the JORD Ely in Green Sandalwood and Maple* which was named after a bunch of historic brick buildings in St. Louis called the Ely Walker Warehouse. I love the sort of patina-toned stain on my wood watch, although of course it’s not a stain, but a natural coloring. It’s …

My Newest Concealer Trick

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This is such a simple thing that I don’t even know if it warrants a whole post, but let me indulge. Because it works really well. I’m not a full coverage foundation person. I don’t even know if I’m a medium coverage foundation person most days. I’ve been really liking spreading a thin layer of foundation or, more often, reverting to my Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint—a product notorious for “pointless” coverage. After using up my much-loved NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, I decided to dig through my stash and attempt at using up the concealers I do have instead of repurchasing. I’ve been using the Ellis Faas Concealer* which is another favorite formula, but I came across the Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge Correcteur, which I’ve inexplicably stashed away after a love affair with the NARS RCC. So, this concealer is amazing and pigmented, but it doesn’t go on as well as the NARS RCC, which has great pigmentation and enough slip to it that it doesn’t look cake-y, ever. I’ve never managed to perfect …

FOTD: Navy & Neutrals

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Another day, another FOTD. Here’s a largely neutral look that took way too much effort, probably, to achieve. I saw this look and wanted to recreate it, but I guess I needed to commit more, and also a super sparkly pale blue liner instead of all the neutral/rosy/dark ones I’ve got. My eyebrows are really uneven, huh? For my eyeshadow, I just used the ColourPop Super Shock Shadow in Just a Sip, which is my obsession as of late, then I lined my upper lid with 3CE Creamy Waterproof Eye Liner in #5 Moulin Rouge, which is a gorgeous sparkly navy. For my lower lash line, I just went with the Innisfree Gel Liner in 3 (I think). Other product info after the photo. Products Used: — Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation (Just Sheer) — ColourPop Super Shock Shadow (Just a Sip) — 3CE Creamy Waterproof Eye Liner (#5 Moulin Rouge) — Innisfree Gel Liner (3) — K-Palette 24H Real Lasting 2Way Eyebrow Pencil (103)* — Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder (Medium) — ColourPop Blush (Aphrodisiac) — …

Scrub the Day Away

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I don’t remember the last time I’ve exclusively used bath soap, favoring shower gels and meshy bath sponges in the last couple of years. As such, I have an extensive array of shower gels (another story for another day). Washing away grime doesn’t feel quite complete without a little bit of exfoliation, either. I received the Keekai Charcoal Sponge* in the mail a few weeks ago. I thought it would replace my regular mesh bath sponge, but it doesn’t give the same kind of cleansing grit that I like, so I use it after my normal/regular cleansing. If you don’t like too-rough exfoliation, this might be perfect for you. The charcoal sponge can be used alone or with your cleanser, as it’s a little hard to completely rinse away the cleanser from the sponge. It’s gentle enough to use for the face, too (though I haven’t used it back on my face after using it on my body). The charcoal sponge is great to massage the skin to stimulate blood flow. (Activated) charcoal is also …

FOTD: Thick Liner

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Just checking in: I’m still alive. So, last Friday, I was doing my makeup in the car and overdrew the liner on my left eye. If you’ve been around a while, you’d know that my lids aren’t exactly the same, in that the fold on them is different. This means that I either have to wear my eyeliner really, really thinly (and compensate with an outrageous wing) or go on full-thick liner, which I like to call “The Point of No Return.” Anyway, despite what I thought was a disaster, I ended up liking how it looked. So here are the selfies. Products Used: — Becca Resurfacing Primer — Ellis Faas Concealer (S204)* — Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Pressed Powder (Shade 2) — K-Palette 24H Real Lasting 2Way Eyebrow Pencil (103)* — ColourPop Blush (Aphrodisiac): used on eyes and cheeks — K-Palette Essence in ShadowLiner (02 brown black x camel brown)* — Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder (Medium) — NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil (Bahama) Guess what? My bangs were helpful, too! * …

Burt’s Bees Holiday 2015 Sets

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My go-to gifts for people whose wishlists I’m not privy to are books and holiday sets. I’m such a sucker for these, so imagine my delight when I came home to a bunch of Burt’s Bees Holiday Sets for 2015*. These didn’t come with any PR information, so I don’t even think they were expecting me to post anything—i.e. this post may or may not be helpful—but like I said. I’m a sucker for efficiency and gift sets—especially when they come so cutely packaged! Beeswax Lip Balm and Moisturizing Lip Balm in Wild Cherry The beeswax lip balm (Php 325) is perhaps what Burt’s Bees is most well-known for. I’m a fan of these myself, as are the rest of my family, even my brother who is kind of wary of most “beauty” products. Everyone could use a bit of lip balm, though, right? The beeswax lip balm comes in a tin, too, which contains more product, but although this incarnation is not as physically appealing, I do prefer not having to dip my fingers …