All posts filed under: Features

Growing with vs. outgrowing makeup

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It seems a little absurd to me when I realise that my obsession with — or even just consumption of — makeup began about 10 or so years ago. I came out as a lesbian*, was depressed but undiagnosed, with a freelance career that was good on paper, but gave me no routine or stability. Blogging about makeup was one of the things that helped me feel sane. It was a distraction of the best kind, even though it may have led to several impulse purchases and an undeniable overconsumption, the realisation of which led me to kind of let go of engaging in the beauty community. But, still, my stint in beauty blogging helped anchor me to the world so that I did not topple over the edge of my sadness. I look at makeup and beauty through a vastly different lens now, but I don’t even think I recognised it as a life line at the time. Blogging about beauty was just one of the things I could do where I had nothing …

Making space for makeup

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Hello. I’ve been meaning to make a comeback on this little slice of the Internet for a while now, but I think I kept getting stuck on the why. It made little sense to resurrect a space that was dedicated to makeup and beauty when I had slowly been, in a way, weaning myself off of it over the last couple of years. Which isn’t to say that I’ve stopped consuming or using beauty-adjacent products… I’ve just reined in the monster, so to speak. I moved to London to pursue a masters degree in late 2017, bringing along some key items, with full intention on moving back home once the programme finished in 2019. Well, I’m still here, and the collection I’ve amassed is back home in Manila. At some point, I did a “big” clear out, and I intended to bring some more of them back here, but I haven’t been able to leave the U.K. since late 2019. Anyway, my point is, I have so much crap and I can’t use them. Which …

Barely any base: BECCA Backlight Priming Filter

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So, a few days ago, I led a customer into a fitting room and she took the time to pause and tell me that my skin looked really great. Obviously, I beamed… some more, ha. I’ve been too lazy to wear any type of base, especially during the summer when my skin went very tan and nothing I had matched me. Anyway, I thought I’d share the base combo I was wearing that day, since I did wear something new that I felt helped give me a little facelift. I picked up a travel size of the BECCA Backlight Priming Filter at SpaceNK¹ for… uh, reasons. I think I wanted a bit more glowy-ness, but having tried the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector (in Opal!), I wanted something more subtle. I figured that “primer” meant it was meant to use under makeup or alone (I was right — but yes, I could have read the instructions). The product is much more watery than the Shimmering Skin Perfector, and I don’t have mine with me at the …

Tales from the top shelf: skin care update

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Hello, friends. Today, we talk about skin care. Contrary to how I titled this post, I don’t actually reach for the top shelf when it comes to skin care (off to a great start, aren’t I?) — if it works, it works. I do enjoy trying new things, though I’ve scaled back the trying a lot. These are the skin care things currently in my rotation, in case you want to try new things, too. A caveat: I don’t currently have the best skin situation, though I can say that these have more or less taken care of my skin, under the stress of moving and changing temperatures, among other things. (I’m moving in a few weeks, and I thought it would be nice (lol) to say ‘hi’ from my current student halls bathroom. I have an ensuite — hallelujah.) On my very tiny shelf, I’ve got: micellar water and a face wash from the drugstore — nothing to write home about; they get the job done! I also have a face scrub in the …

Softly, again

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Uh, hi. You might (?) remember me from years ago when I wrote a lot about beauty. Likely in a curious, albeit misguided way. I locked this account away at some point for various reasons I don’t feel like getting into now, but the beauty bug. It has bitten me once again. Not in quite the same way, and certainly, the first initial sting never left me completely. But, I was over it for a while (it felt too consuming, if you can believe that), and now I’m not. So, hi. I’m in the process of cleaning up house here, but I wanted to just say hi, a bit. I guess? I don’t know. This all feels very strange… First thing to get out of the way is that I’ve moved continents on account of school. So, I don’t have a lot of makeup with me and I don’t plan on accumulating a lot more (although I did a spot of shopping here and there, of course). I look like this now: While I was …

New Loves: 2016

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Hey everyone, I’m alive. I just wanted to take a bit of time to write about some (admittedly kind of boring, but still amazing) things that I’ve been enjoying during the year so far. To be honest, I haven’t been that adventurous with makeup in a while. I’ve been working part-time and I usually have to throw on a quick lewk before dashing out the door. In any case, what I’ve got here are just essentials, really, to my routine lately. I tried to pick the items I haven’t really spoken about at length here before. Just a disclaimer: most of this post is made up of items that are gifted by friends and family or sent by PR teams, as that’s the only time I’ve been able to really test new stuff out. I’ve cut down on my spending (on makeup, at least) a lot as I’m saving up for trips later on in the year. Lucas’ Pawpaw Ointment One of my mom’s brothers has been based in Australia for a while with his …

Sephora Says Hello!

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Good news, girls and boys—Sephora has come to Philippine shores! The Sephora team kindly sent me some of the products they carry on their website, and honestly, it felt a little bit like Christmas to me. If you shop online a lot and the list of brands seems familiar to you, it’s because Luxola (which I’ve mentioned here and here) has rebranded to Sephora.ph. They’re rolling out more brands soon, and I tried to poke around to see which ones, but they wanted stuff to be a surprise (understandably!), so I guess my fingers are crossed for some of my favorite Sephora staples to cross over. What’s great about Sephora.ph, too, is that there is a pretty varied selection. Here are just 3 cruelty-free brands that they carry: Nudestix Eyebrow Stylus Pencil and Waterproof Setting Gel in Dirty Blonde* I didn’t think this was going to work out for me because of the color, but it was so easy to use and the shade matched me strangely well! I love the soft definition it gives …