Softly Sometimes

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The Lip Product Addict Tag

Published by Carina

I am, by no means, a lip product addict… but I do like doing fun tags every once in a while. I have an okay relationship with lip products. I mean, they’re alright to hang out with and whip out and stuff, but I have never stared lovingly at a lip product like the way I do with palettes. It’s just not the same.

ETA: OK, this video is cut off, so I’m reuploading it. Sorry for this dumb mistake and thanks to Zoë for mentioning something!

ETA 2: YAY reuploaded! Ahem.

The Lip Product Addict Tag was started by Amelia Liana and Estée on YouTube. Here are their questions, in case you want to give this a go, too:
1. Favourite balm/treatment?
2. Best eye-catching red?
3. Best luxury & best drugstore?
4. Best MAC lipstick?
5. The most disappointing?
6. Liner – yes or no?
7. Best gloss?
8. Something extra!

And here is their original video. Let me know if you’ve done this tag (and paste your link in the comments!), or if you haven’t, I tag you to do it, too. 🙂

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Nosy Beauty Vol. 32: Cj

Published by Carina

Hey everyone! Joining us for Nosy Beauty today is Cj. I’ve known of Cj from her infamous commercials as a child prodigy, but I re-encountered her in my adult life when I found out she was working at the same advertising agency as my college friend Paulina, a few years ago. I noticed she was also somewhat into makeup and asked her to do Nosy Beauty, and she said yes. 🙂

Cj de Silva-Ong is a Senior Art Director for Digital who like to paint, sketch, [make] lettering, watch movies and tinker with web (and other digital stuff like apps) design.

Why I use make-up: Honestly, because it is fun. It’s like painting — I get to experiment on lights and shades and play with my features.

Brushes
I have been using my hands/fingers for the longest time until I got the Samantha Chapman Real Techniques Core Collection brushes from http://instagram.com/fmbeautyboutique! Just like what I said, makeup, is like painting. Yes, I can finger paint, but brushes make a lot more difference, especially for contouring.

Here are the brushes I use more often:
Buffing Brush – I use this to set my powder foundation
Contour Brush – I use this to apply my contour powder along my cheekbones
Angled Eyeliner Brush (From Landmark) – For filling out my eyebrows

Now for the makeup! I’ll just describe them according to chronology of application:

Face
MAC Studio Finish NC30 Concealer – I apply this under my eyes and conceal my blemishes.
MAC Studio Finish NW25 – This is a slightly darker shade and a little more orange-y. I use this to conceal blemishes along the contour areas. I also apply this under and on the side of my nose to reduce the redness.

MAC Studio Finish Powder Foundation NC30 – I dust a little on my face to set the everything. Not too much on a normal day, as MAC is heavy duty makeup. But for special occasions, I go full coverage.

E.L.F. Contour Powder – I apply this on my cheekbones to bring it out a little more. I just follow my actual face contour. Sometimes, I extend it a bit towards my chin for some drama. (Yeeees drama.)

TOPSHOP Highlighter in Sunbeam – I apply a very light amount on my cheeks and nose bridge.

Eyebrows
On my wedding day, I saw how my makeup artist Paolo Maranan accentuated my brows — And I realize that good brows helps make you look put together instantly. And they do frame your face!

Everyday:
Nichido Mineral Eyebrow Pencil in Chestnut + E.L.F. Eyeshadow Palette (the one for lining)

Special Occasions:
K-Palette Eyebrow Tattoo + Majolica Majorca Eyebrow and Lash Colorist

Eyes
Everyday:
I only put liner so my eyes look bigger. I just use Ever Bilena black eyeliner and layer it with K-Palette Tattoo Eyeliner so it won’t get smudged.

Special occasions:
I would experiment more with eyeshadow. My friend gave me this makeup box from Forever21 and I love how pigmented the eyeshadows are. I usually use the iridescent peach and metallic brown. Then I add liner, curl my lashes (Shu Uemura) and put some mascara (Maybelline).

Lips
Ohmy, I am super obsessed with lip colours. I’ve always been more comfortable with matte or sheer. But I always experiment with colors.

My current favorites: Revlon Matte Balm, NYX Soft Matte Lip Creme in Milan and MAC Matte Lipstick in Up The Drama. If you notice, I really like wearing colors. NYX’s Milan is super photogenic. But when I feel like going neutral, NYX SMLC in London is my go-to shade.

I think, beauty comes from being comfortable. When you’re comfortable, you’re more likely to act more sincerely and confidently. Another thing, I think beauty radiates from people who know themselves well — they may embrace trends but they definitely make the trend work for them.

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Yay, thanks for letting me pick yo beauty brain, Cj! 🙂 You can read Cj’s blog and view her art here. For more Nosy Beauty, click here.

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Recent Acquisitions / Currently Testing

Published by Carina

I know I just did a post on my recent acquisitions, but these are some of the other things I just received last week that I’ve been testing out. Unless I meet something I truly love and enjoy using, I don’t think I’ll bother with a full review, so let me know if there’s anything here in particular that you’d like me to talk more about.

Kjaer Weis Cream Foundation in Just Sheer
After so many months of going back and forth on whether or not I should purchase this, I had a moment of weakness and just went for it. I didn’t anticipate that the casing of this thing would be this heavy. The packaging (which is refillable) is way luxe—even more than Guerlain, which has the most luxurious packaging I’ve met in my life (i.e. weight, feel, look, etc.), so that’s saying something. I’ve been looking to get into some brands that are “cleaner,” and this is one of my explorations so far. I really like it, but let’s see how well this feeling lasts, lol. If I like this enough, I just might try out their other products (they don’t have a lot, phew), all of which are in refillable cases.

Ilia Multi-Stick in All of Me
I was looking at the range of Ilia, another natural/green beauty company… and I noticed that their lip products were the most popular and was considering getting some lip product to try out. Then I saw this interview with Krystle Kemp, the fashion director of Need Supply, on Tomboy Style and I totally SWF’d her like a creep. Thankfully, All of Me looks really nice on my complexion and is kind of really perfect all year round. I’ve only tried it on my cheeks, though, so I’ll report back on the multi-usefulness of this multi-stick. It’s alright—nothing worth noting about it just yet.

NARS Dual-Intensity Eyeshadows in Cassiopeia and Subra
I COULD NOT RESIST. I was looking to get one or two more shades, but figured I’d try out my top 2 to see if I like the formula enough. So far, so good, but I haven’t found anything about them just yet that would make me want to get more shades, though both are quite stunning, when used on the eyes. We’ll see with more use just how special these are, compared to regular eyeshadows.

Makeup Geek Pigments in Sweet Dreams, Kryptonite, and Night Life
I don’t know why I do this to myself. As much as I love loose eyeshadow and pigments, I rarely ever spring for them just because they are so messy to use. I love them, but I’m over the fussiness. Or not, I guess, since I bought three more loose pigments, this time from Makeup Geek. So far, they’re really pigmented, but I haven’t tried them out yet, apart from swatching (good) and cleaning up the spills (bad).

One Love Organics Morning Glory Brightening Complexion Booster
I was looking for some type of serum for the day time that would help with my dull skin and decided to get the small bottle of this one by Love Organics. I’ve been intrigued by the brand ever since seeing it pop up in a couple of beauty videos, mostly attracted by the packaging (natural/green beauty = just a bonus!). So far, this is great, but I realized that I feel really uncomfortable using oils on my face during the day time. So far, I’ve seen that this plays well with the Kjaer Weis foundation, however.

MAC Zoom Fast Black Lash Mascara
This is just a sample I got recently from purchasing the NARS eyeshadows. It’s okay, but it doesn’t hold my curl well and the formula is fairly wet. It is so cute, though, and I wish I had waited to open it before a trip just because it is so perfect for traveling! So far, I’ve been using it on my bottom lashes, but the wand is quite big so I have to be careful.

And that’s it for today’s installment. I actually have quite a bit more of items I’m playing with, but I figured I’d focus on these first so I don’t feel so overwhelmed. What makeup bits have you been playing with lately?

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Lazy Girl Makeup: Pops of Color

Published by Carina

Non-neutral colorful makeup can be intimidating when you look at other people’s faces who are at ease with it. But not everyone can pair a hot pink lip with a hazy purple smokey eye.

But fear not! There is an easy way to add some color into your look. If you’re unsure about combinations or are just too lazy to bother, I suggest doing your makeup the same way, but focusing the color action on just one part of your face. Sort of easing the rainbow in, if you will.

EYES
This is the most obvious way to me, since I don’t usually go crazy with lip colors. You don’t have to look like a rainbow barfed all over you. I usually just rim my lower lash line with a colored liner and call it a day. You can also switch out a neutral shade you always use for a beautiful color you don’t usually use.

USED: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Deep End flicked out on the outer lash line.

Here, I’ve switched out my typical crease color—matte brown—with something more fun:

USED: Makeup Geek Eyeshadow in Cupcake on the crease

CHEEKS
The easy way is to get a really loud, really bright blush and go to town! However, a more fun way is to do a bit of a gradient with your blush. It sounds hard to do, but it’s not really. Illamasqua has these blush duos that are a perfect demonstration. I’ve got Lover/Hussy which is just a duo with an apricot shade and a hot pink shade. Just blend the two together to create a really dynamic pop of color that looks more interesting than just a single swash of color.

USED: Illamasqua Blusher Duo in Lover/Hussy

Of course, you can just always choose to go fluorescent:

USED: Oslo Cosmetics Blush in Carina

LIPS
This is pretty self-explanatory. Pick your lipstick and run with it. I tend to use neutral blushes like Tarte’s Exposed and simple eye looks when I go for a bold, bright lip. Mostly because I haven’t mastered the art of color combinations for makeup, but also because when you’re rushing out of the house half the time, you don’t have time to learn color theory!

USED: NARS Semi-Matte Lipstick in Heat Wave

I’m a total color wuss, despite what my eyeshadow stash may say about me. What’s your favorite way of adding a pop of color to your look?

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FOTD: Ginger Lily

Published by Carina

A quick Face of the Day using a long-forgotten love—my Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes! I have the 2012 version, and it was my first big palette purchase and I fell in absolute love with it. To Me, You Are Perfect kind of level. I think it still might be my favorite palette, if not after the NARS NARSissist Eyeshadow Palette, released earlier this year. Anyway. The look is pretty simple, despite what this long-ass intro might lead you to believe.

I think it’s pretty and soft and suits this bold-ass orange lip by Flower Beauty called Ginger Lily, which is the orange lipstick that made me swear off orange lipsticks. And then it grew on me—go figure!

For the eyes, I used a MAC Paint Pot (Groundwork) for a base on the mobile lid, blended a little past my natural crease. For my lid color, I used Vanilla Nuts, a creamy off-white matte from the palette, all over the lid. I deepened outer ‘v’—just the outer ‘v’!—with a beautiful shimmery chocolate brown called… Chocolate! Then I used Plum Smoke, a light matte plum for the crease, then foiled African Violet (with MAC Fix+) on my lower lash line. It looks golden in the picture, but if you notice the eye farther from the camera, the shadow on my lower lash line shifts to purple. This is a gorgeous color and makes an appearance in practically every Laura Mercier palette.

In other words, African Violet is Laura Mercier’s Orgasm.

Anyway, I made a little wing with the Illamasqua Precision Ink in Wisdom, a beautiful golden khaki olive liquid liner. And that’s mostly it! I’ve been trying to be a bit more fun with my makeup (because it makes me happy), and I think this is a happy medium between fun and basic.

Products Used:
— The Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit (02)
— MAC Paint Pot (Groundwork)
— Laura Mercier Artist’s Palette for Eyes, 2012 (Vanilla Nuts, Plum Smoke, Chocolate, African Violet)
— 3CE I’m Good! Mascara*
— Illamasqua Precision Ink (Wisdom)
— Rouge Bunny Rouge Prelude in the Clouds
— BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector (Opal)
— NARS Sheer Glow (Punjab)
— NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (Ginger)
— Illamasqua Cream Foundation (CF 320)
— Le Métier de Beauté Eye Brightening and Setting Powder (Refresh)
— Tom Ford Cheek Color (Wicked)
— Flower Beauty Kiss Stick High Shine Lipstick (Ginger Lily)

The Artist’s Palette for Eyes is still the one and only product I have by Laura Mercier. I took such a long time deciding what to get from them, the next thing I knew they weren’t cruelty-free anymore. Oh well.

I hope you like this look! 🙂

* PR Sample

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The Nose Knows

Published by Carina

Until quite recently, I hadn’t been particular about perfumes and colognes since I was in high school. I started wearing scents regularly when I was in the fourth or fifth grade, with my choices being increasingly masculine until I began wearing more feminine and fresh scents in high school. I suppose, it felt like sort of a ritual, a part of my everyday routine. It fell by the wayside when I had a jumbled up schedule in college. All of a sudden, I was always just scrambling to try and get to school on time.

LOL I actually finished off a bottle of Davidoff Cool Water in the fifth grade. Does anybody remember this scent? I wore this WAY before Sawyer did, though.

Recently, I’ve been trying to get back into wearing scents. For some reason—I’m not really sure what, but I’ve been gravitating towards certain smells. Here is a rundown of my favorites lately:

Diptyque Vetyverio — I fell in love with this scent while browsing Diptyque. I was originally looking for the rose scent, even if I’m not necessarily one for roses as an all-over smell. My hand wandered over to this one, and I’ve been hooked since. It can be a little overbearing sometimes, but it’s definitely one of my favorite scents lately.

LUSH Dirty — This is my perfect everyday scent. It’s crisp and fresh, like the opposite of its name. The only thing I hate about this is that it doesn’t push back down. Luckily, this scent comes in a spray form, too.

Marc Jacobs Daisy — I sprayed this on me in a Sephora many, many years ago, and I kind of really fell in love with it. My mother bought me a bottle a few years after that, and then my perfume-wearing fell by the wayside, so I haven’t touched it much since actively trying to wear more perfume. It’s a little bit too floral-y sweet for me sometimes, but I still do like to wear it occasionally. I love smelling it on articles of clothing, like my sweater or a scarf.

Here are some samples I’ve been really liking:

Commodity Moss — I liked this so much, I bought it in a 100ml bottle and a 10ml one that I could carry around with me always. This is definitely my favorite scent from my Commodity Fitting Kits—fresh and woodsy, but not heavy or overly masculine. Ever since running out of it (you get about 8 or so sprays in the fitting kits), I’ve been desperately waiting for my bottles. Update: I got them already!

Commodity Mimosa — This is another one of my favorites. Mimosa is tangy and sharp, with a little bit of citrus sweetness swilled into the concoction. It’s a beautiful, fresh and friendly scent and I can’t wait to wear it again.

Cartier Baiser Vole — I don’t even remember which order I got this sample from but I find myself rationing it. It’s a fresh, sharp smell that’s a cross between floral and a citrus. Apparently, it’s mainly made up of the smell of lilies.

Yves Saint Laurent Saharienne — I got this in a Glamour Box and I’ve been meaning to snag a full size of it. Again, it is a fresh, clear scent with hints of floral, but quite warm and bright.

Looking at the scent profiles of these scents, I realized that I gravitated towards scents that have bergamot, jasmine, some type of citrus scent, and woodsy notes. I tend to avoid anything overly floral or scents that heavily feature some kind of alcoholic heaviness. I initially thought it was amber, but I found it in some of my favorites as well, so it must be something else.

What are your favorite scents to wear?

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FOTD: #TeamYS

Published by Carina

Hey guys,

Here’s a quick Face of the Day. Recently, The Philippine Star (a national broadsheet in the Philippines) celebrated their 28th anniversary, and one of their lifestyle sections, Young Star, picked out 28 young people who they felt inspired other kids. My brother and I were picked to be part of the 28 (which is why the photos here include a strange bearded man), which you can read here if you were interested. I thought I’d show you my makeup for that day, since I have awesome pictures by the supremely talented Joseph Pascual. 🙂

BASE: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation (Punjab), NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (Ginger)
EYES: K-Palette 24H Real Lasting Two Way Eyebrow Liner (G101 Grayish Brown)*, MAC Paint Pot (Groundwork), Rouge Bunny Rouge Eyeshadow (Bohemian Waxwing, Delicate Hummingbird), KATE Super Sharp Liquid Liner, Pixy Waterproof Mascara*, Happy Skin Gel Liner (Peppermint), MAC Eye Kohl (Prunella)
CHEEKS: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush (Diffused Heat)
LIPS: NARS Pure Matte Lipstick (Mascate)

I’m pretty sure that’s all the makeup I have on, anyway. Hope you like this look and the photos. 🙂 Natural light is the best!

* PR Sample

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Softly Sometimes

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Latest Posts

The Lip Product Addict Tag

Nosy Beauty Vol. 32: Cj

Recent Acquisitions / Currently Testing

Lazy Girl Makeup: Pops of Color

FOTD: Ginger Lily

The Nose Knows

FOTD: #TeamYS

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