All posts filed under: Tips & Tricks

Foundation Routine for the Tropics

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I live in Metro Manila, Philippines and it’s usually too hot here to wear liquid foundations. If you’re going to be on a commute, exposed to the elements, it’s probably not a good idea to have too many liquid or cream products on your face. I think a lot of people here favor powder foundations. While I like to wear liquid foundations when it’s not too hot or humid, I’ve also come up with a foundation routine that I’m super happy with for normal days where I just don’t want to bother with my face as the day goes on. I’m not really particular about covering up blemishes or having perfect, poreless skin. I think I mostly use face products a) to keep oil in check, and b) for the SPF. HOURGLASS VEIL MINERAL PRIMER This works super well with loose mineral foundation, as well as smoothening out my skin. I don’t have a lot of enlargened pores, but this adds a soft-focused blur on the places that need a little bit of help. After, …

Quick Tips: Face-Eye Makeup Coordination

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For the last feature on this month’s eye makeup special, I wanted to bring the rest of the face along. 🙂 You can wear the most elaborate, exciting eye look but a not-so suitable cheek and lip match may dull the impact of your eye makeup either by being too subtle or too bold. Just a disclaimer: there are really no rules you have to follow when it comes to makeup. Wear whatever you want, but here are some tips to consider if you want a more ‘put together’ look. 🙂 I’ve gathered some of the things that I felt work well, and attempted to explain why they worked well! As a general rule, it helps if you pick one feature to highlight. If you want to wear a bold lip, go easy on the eye and cheek makeup and go for a more natural, defined look. You can do that by eyeliner + mascara combination, and a strong contour instead of going for a bright blush, or going for a neutral, understated eye.

Breaking the Neutral Mold: Colored Eyeshadow for the Not-So-Bold

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I’m sorry for the no-post day yesterday! I had a scheduling conflict, lol. But it’s kind of sad because it’s been a while since I went a day without a post. I’ve just been a bit busy lately! But hopefully we are back on track. 😀 I think you all know by now that I love eyeshadow. I mean, let’s get the obvious out of the way. I used to be really scared of colored eyeshadow and would stay away from them. Except for purple because purple is really pretty. Don’t get me started on blue eyeshadow! I mean, yikes, right? But then I got over it. And certain blues didn’t seem so bad. I think a lot of people are scared of wearing colored eyeshadow because they think that it’s a one-way ticket to Train Wreck Island. I was one of those people, but here are some ways you can ease your way into the colored eyeshadow world. Here’s just a few things to keep in mind if you want to be a bit …

Quick Tips for Bright Eyes

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There are two basic tricks for an immediate bright-eyed, Disney Princess effect, and those involve a light-colored liner on the lower lashline or an inner corner highlight. For that extra-bright, wide-eyed look, use both tricks. THE SCIENCE BEHIND A NUDE LINER The first time I found out about a bright liner on the lower lash line was when I was watching an episode of America’s Next Top Model. I wasn’t so convinced when Tyra said to use a white eyeliner, so it was a tip that went ignored—until people started talking about swapping it out for a nude eyeliner. Placing a light, neutral liner on your lower lash line makes you appear more awake because it cancels out the red on the inner rim of your eyes, without defining it the way a black or brown eyeliner would. It creates the illusion of bigger, brighter eyes, because there is continuity with the white part of your eye. This is why a light-colored eyeliner sort of creates a bigger eye look, where as a black or …

Ace of Base: Making Eyeshadow Stay Put on your Oily Lids

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One of my greatest frustrations when I was starting out with makeup was eyeshadow. I think that’s why I was so ecstatic to find out about primers. They made crappy eyeshadow look good and stay put. I eventually found some awesome eyeshadows that work well, even without a primer, but I couldn’t not wear primer once I started. Eye primers are basically the magic glue that bonds your eyeshadow to your eyelids. If your eyelids are prone to oiling up, a good primer or base will prevent your eyeshadow from ‘creasing’—or bunching up in unattractive lines, around your eye folds—and will get you through the day with pretty flawless makeup. There are a lot of good ones out in the market today, and I’ll share with you a few of my favorites. For your standard, dries-down-translucent eyeshadow primer, my top picks are Urban Decay Primer Potion and NARS Pro-Prime Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base. These have worked the best on my eyes so far. Other alternatives are the e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow Primer (though it didn’t agree with …

Mascara Magic

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Or, how I make the most out of my short, uncurlable lashes. It’s been a point raised on this blog a couple of times—Why don’t you ever wear mascara? I used to go and do this extra step, but for reasons of laziness (mascaras are the worst to remove when you are tired and want to go to bed), and frustration, I haven’t been bothering. Lately, I’ve found quite the perfect solution for me. While it won’t give me va-va-voom lashes or any sort of volume that would make me want to stop trying falsies, this subtle definition is good enough for me. Are you ready? STEP ONE: CURL YOUR LASHES A bit of a given, but humor me. The Eye of Horus Mascara, I find, actually works better on my uncurled lashes, but the effect is just pretty, fluttery natural lashes. My favorite curler is by shu uemura. STEP TWO: TAKE A WATERPROOF MASCARA Waterproof mascaras tend to hold a curl much, much better. If that’s not the case for you, feel free to …

GRWM: Brow Routine + LMdB Couches de Couleur

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No one really asked for this, LOL, but I figured I’d show you anyway. Here’s a Get Ready With Me Video, in which I show you how I do my brows. I have fairly thick brows that don’t actually need much help, but they’re less substantial than I’d like them to be. I posted my brow products here, but for this post, I’ll be using my most-used item—The Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit in 02. I’ve also demonstrated Le Métier de Beauté’s Couches de Couleur method, which essentially requires you to layer on each tier of a Kaleidoscope Eye Kit (from top to bottom), in this case Northern Lights, on your eye. This creates optimal balance and contrast, due to each color’s “temperature,” and the idea is to bring attention to your actual eye and eye color, rather than the makeup. The Le Métier de Beauté signature application technique is comprised of four hues that are able to give maximum contrast to the wearer’s eye. Known as the “Couches de Couleur” (layering of color), …