All posts filed under: News

Poreless Perfection: Ellana Minerals Re-Launch

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I went to the Ellana Minerals Re-Launch last week, which was held at Rastro in Burgos Circle. Many thanks to Liz for inviting me. 🙂 I am afflicted with terrible shyness, so I was relieved x 1000 when I was seated next to Tellie, Tina, Shari, Bea, as well as new friend Yuki! Ellana Minerals is a local brand that has recently changed their look. They are re-launching it with packaging featuring Manila’s top lifestyle illustrator, Soleil Ignacio. You may have seen her illustrations grace the likes of Trinoma, Giordano Philippines, and Meg Magazine. See more of Soleil’s work here. Ellana’s new look—and new product offerings—redefines dependable daily wear. She made a total of five illustrations, which makes me want to catch them all. 😀 Ellana Minerals has been around for quite a while, but I never really got around to checking out their products. While I feature “traditional” makeup products here, I absolutely love using mineral makeup from time to time, though I primarily use mineral foundation these days. My Holy Grail foundation is …

A Midafternoon in Paris with L’Oreal

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I don’t get invited to a lot of beauty events, so I really appreciate it when I do. Last Saturday was the launch of some new and exciting products for L’Oreal in the Philippines. The products were divided into skin care, hair care, and of course—makeup. A Midafternoon in Paris was held at Sweet Bella Cafe in Greenbelt 5. It made me really nostalgic for my most recent (and first) trip to Paris, just because I was attempting to edit my video diary for it a few days ago. The cafe was littered with tiny Eiffel Towers. I really liked this particular event because it was small (but not too small), and I don’t know. It was just a very relaxed gathering~ Here’s the invite, because I found it so cute. Here are some new people I met: Lana and Arnie. They’re local fashion bloggers. Niche is an old, old friend. We met online and worked briefly for an online publication called Altercation. I was around grade school/high school age then. Now, we see each …

I spy Spring 2013: Chanel

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Chanel was the first high-end cosmetics brand that I ever tried, starting with a tube of Rouge Coco in Perlé. It was the first lipstick I ever tried that smelled really nice, went on smoothly, and had a shade that was subtle but still really pretty. From that first shade, I went on to buy two shades from the Rouge Coco Shine line (Boy and Antigone) and one from the Rouge Allure Velvet line (La Distinguée). I love all of them, and I don’t really feel all that bad spending on Chanel lipsticks because I know that I will get the quality that I expect. With all of that said, I missed out on their Holiday 2012 collection. I was eyeing the Harmonie du Soir quad, but I had already gotten myself a pretty similar, though not exactly the same, quad—Guerlain’s Turandot. The upcoming Spring 2013 collection and Les Delices 2013 one have got my heart all a-flutter, however, so I’m sharing the pictures I found with you. Spring 2013: Chanel Precieux Printemps Collection

I spy Spring 2013: NARS

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Tracking down the Spring 2013 collection for NARS was a wee bit trickier, since I don’t think there are official releases of press photos yet. There was a lot of information, but all of it was all over the place! Howver, the Internet is a glorious thing, and so I have attempted to cobble a picture story for NARS nuts (like me!) to get a good grasp of the upcoming collection. NARS’ Spring 2013 collection will be released globally in February 2013. NARS Spring 2013 Available globally on February 1, 2013: Persia Single Eyeshadow Mad Mad World Duo Eyeshadow Bouthan Duo Eyeshadow Dressed to Kill Lipstick Cythère Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil Seduction blush Disco Inferno Nail Polish Light Reflecting Setting Powder (Pressed) Light Reflecting Setting Powder (Loose) Available globally on Mar. 1 2013: Radiant Creamy Concealer Available globally on Apr. 1 2013: Satin Lip Pencils: — Hyde Park — Floralies — Biscayne Park Phew. Honestly, NARS’s Holiday 2012 collection left me reeling from the sheer volume of it—and it looks like I will also have …

I spy Spring 2013: MAC Viva Glam Nicki

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(source) We need to talk about Nicki. Spring 2013 will see her second MAC Viva Glam shade, the Viva Glam Nicki 2, which is a “pastel lavender pink.” It comes with a lipglass in the same color family, which you can see below. The first Nicki Minaj shade was described as a “bright yellow pink,” aka a shade I would not wear, though I imagine it could be really pretty on other people. The truth is that when it comes to lips, I am less adventurous. It is only recently that I have been trying out some of the more darker shades. At some point, my sister asked me why all of my lipstick looked the same. And I realized that while they all had their little differences from each other, they all looked fairly similar on my lips. Now my point is, I have never tried lavender lips. To be honest, my adventures in lip color tend to lean towards the darker shades—plums, reds, even a sheer grape—but never light lipstick. Even my go-to …

I spy Spring 2013: Guerlain

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So, the holiday collections have rolled out, and I haven’t even caught my breath yet and the next season’s makeup collections already have ads popping up everywhere! So, this is what it feels like to be updated with beauty news. I gotta say, I am a little bit scared! But of course, I’m excited, too. Holiday 2012 saw a lot of plums, muted tones, reds and golds, and metallics. The thing I’ve noticed for most of the Spring 2013 collections I’ve seen is that they are trying to push bright, youthful eye looks. Here are a few items that I’m anticipating from Guerlain’s Spring 2013 offerings: Guerlain Spring 2013 (sources: 1, 2) L-R: Écrin 4 Couleurs Collector’s Palette (#501 Attrape-Coeur), Shine Automatique (#761 Flirt), Rouge Automatique (#600 Ballade), Écrin 4 Couleurs (#502 Coup de Foudre) Ah, I have been smitten with Guerlain ever since I purchased the Turandot quad from the Holiday 2012 collection. I’ve looked many-a-time at the Guerlain counter in Rustan’s Makati, on the off-chance that one of the other quads will catch …

Zen Zest Diva Off!

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Last Saturday marked my first Softly Sometimes-related event, the Zen Zest Diva Off! Thank you to Zen Zest and Liz of Project Vanity for the invite! I was surprised but also really, really happy when I got it, since I’m so new to this “scene” of blogging. Here’s to more, hopefully! Before the Divas belted their way to victory, the Zen Zest team first introduced their line of Holiday Gift Sets. Melai of Style and Soul hosted the event, while firing off some questions for brand ambassador, Divine Lee, to answer. Sometimes, I really do have a hard time thinking of what to give some of my friends and relatives gifts that they’d appreciate but that will also fit my budget. Contrary to how spendy my nature may seem to the peoples of the Internet, I do think of all my purchases and Google reviews to the point of obsession before I flush my money down the toilet buy anything. While Divine talked about her personal experience with Zen Zest, I checked some of their …