Author: Carina

#YolandaPH

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(image via, credits to Agence France-Presse) Hello everyone. Just announcing a quick pause in regular posting. As you may or may not have heard, a typhoon called “Haiyan” (“Yolanda” is its local name here) swept through certain regions of my country, the Philippines. My hometown is considerably far from where Haiyan/Yolanda hit the strongest, which is the Visayas region. Tacloban experienced a storm surge, where the waters rose to about 15 feet, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Currently, the death toll is in the hundreds (reportedly about a thousand in total, but I can’t confirm) and there are a lot of structural damage in certain parts of the Visayas. Haiyan/Yolanda is on its way out of the Philippine area of responsibility, but we are left with entire cities to take care of and help out. Please consider making a donation (I’ll leave the info below) or sparing a thought or two for those who have lost a lot. Haiyan/Yolanda has been reported to have slowed down as it exits, but please be vigilant …

Hands On: Hands Only Makeup Look

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Who needs brushes when you have hands? I was thinking of a “challenge” for myself that I could do and I thought about going tool-less for a full face of makeup, which seems timely since I dropped quite a bit of cash on some brushes recently. I enjoy great tools, but it doesn’t mean that you are essentially powerless if you don’t have high-end brushes or eyelash curlers. This is a pretty simple look I came up with, applied using only my hands, and I think it looks quite good. 🙂 At the very least, it’s functional for everyday. All hands on deck! FACE: — y.e.t. cosmetics Fill it Up Primer (review) — Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation (review) — BECCA Beach Tint in Raspberry (review) — Benefit Watt’s Up! Highlighter (review) LIPS: — MAC Lipstick in Twig (review) EYES: — K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 24H in 01 — BECCA Eye Tint in Baroque (review) — NARS Eyeshadow Duo in Grand Palais (review) — K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner 24H in Black — Eye of …

Beauty 911: Cracked Powder

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Has this ever happened to you? My sister was toting her shu uemura powder compact, despite its brokenness and inconvenience, because she didn’t want to spring for a new one. These things are a bit on the expensive side, and as you can see from the photo, there’s still a substantial amount left in there for her to use. The compact first cracked when a stranger caught her bag and caused it to slide off the back of her chair. Since then, it’s been on its way to a place beyond repair. I volunteered to try and fix it because it was getting way too messy in her makeup bag. First, you want to grind the pieces into an actual loose powder instead of just the chunks. I poured the contents in a Ziploc bag and ground the pieces into fine powder. The Ziploc bag is a good idea to keep everything neat and also so that you can clean the compact first. If you apply foundation with a brush, you can actually just pour …

Unboxing: November 2013 BDJ Box*

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I got a surprise yesterday—the November BDJ Box! It was pretty heavy, so I assumed there was some type of body lotion or shampoo in there, but I was wrong. Turns out, it was a bath cream! Let me show you what is in the BDJ Box this month. 🙂 The Cream Factory Bath Cream, Php 699 (26 fl. oz.) — This is made from real goat’s milk (from the Netherlands!) and 100% active botanical extracts, and they call it “dessert for the skin.” I’m super excited to try this out since I love a good bath cream, and apparently this product is not tested on animals. (No word on the ingredients, though.) My variant is the one with jojoba, and it smells quite fresh! ZA Perfect Solution Restoring Collagen Cream, Php 345 (3.5 oz.) — This apparently has “7 trillion collagen capsules,” which is hard for me to believe but OK. It targets wrinkles and overall skin condition with an “Intensive Triangle Technology” that works on three levels—promoting firmness, translucence, and moisture retention. I …

Join the Search for Maybelline’s New 8 BB Top Models!

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Hello everyone! I came home from my holiday to an interesting box left for me by the Maybelline team. I thought it was just a typical subscription box, but I remembered that I was told there was a “challenge” aspect to it. Naturally, I was intrigued. Upon ripping open the box, I was met with three new base products from Maybelline, as well as a chance for you, yes, you to model for Maybelline New York’s 8-in-1 Clear Smooth BB. Curious? Let me show you how! ABOUT THE COMPETITION Because MAYBELLINE Clear Smooth 8-in-1 BB gives you perfect skin with its 8 healthy benefits, we’re looking for all aspiring models who believe they have what it takes to be one of 8 MAYBELLINE NEW YORK BB Top Models who will represent Clear Smooth 8-in-1 BB in a photoshoot and win a P100,000 modeling contract with Ideal People Models. Among the 8 BB Top Models for 2013 are Jessica Yang, Princess Snell, and Bia Corniero. Get a chance to join their ranks! 🙂 HOW TO JOIN …

Drugstore Finds: Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Coral Crush*

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I got this tube of Maybelline ColorSensational Lipstick from the October box that the folks at BDJ were kind enough to send me. 🙂 It’s in Coral Crush, which if you have been following my blog for a while, isn’t a shade I would normally pick out for myself. Mostly because it is quite warm and orange-y. That color just doesn’t work for me. As far as drugstore lipsticks go, though, these ones by Maybelline are part of the “great quality” bunch. In this swatch, marvel at how opaque the coverage is with just two swipes! Coral Crush is a coral that leans warmer and orange-y, which is not something that is flattering on myself. I think it accentuates the yellow tones in my skin: Because of the slip of these lipsticks, they may go on a little patchily, especially if you have dry flakes. I am not a fan of the scent either. In general, though, if you are looking for a top-notch lipstick at a drugstore price, these might be for you. I …