All posts filed under: Tips & Tricks

So You Want to Build a MAC Quad? Part II

This is part two of my “MAC Quad” series. I don’t know if I’ll be doing a third, but if I think of more, I probably will! If you’re new to my blog, this “series” is a way to help you build your MAC eyeshadow collection by suggesting four shades you can play around with/get the most use out of. I tried including “fun” and unusual colors into the mix, which I hope you appreciate. You can check the first post here. Without further ado, here’s what I have for you today! Pinky Promise — All That Glitters, Da Bling, Satin Taupe, Sketch Here’s a quad that’s a little airy-fairy light, but can be built up to a substantial smokiness, or just a bit of drama. I forgot to number these, so (Your) Left Look:, All That Glitters all over the lid, with Satin Taupe at the outer ‘v’. Crease deepened with Sketch. Outer third of lower lash line smudged with Sketch, which blended into Da Bling. (Your) Right Look: Da Bling on the center …

Mineral Madness: Loose Eyeshadow Application Tips

Hello everyone! The first week of Mineral Madness has come to a close. From reading the comments, I’ve gathered that a lot of you had been interested in mineral makeup, but kind of apprehensive about the messiness of it all. I don’t blame you. Mineral makeup is not for the clumsy or rush-out-the-door types. It really requires most people to sit down and take their time. Here’s a quick post on how to use and apply mineral eyeshadow, if you want to venture out into that world anyway. 1. Use a primer or a sticky base. For my Mineral Madness looks posts, I mainly used Benefit Lemon Aid, which I am trying to use up. Similar things you can use are tacky bases like cream shadows or cream pencils, or even primer. Make sure to pick something that is somewhat sticky or tacky, or just “wet.” This helps the loose pigments and shadows to stick to your lid. L-R: Benefit Lemon Aid, NARS Pro Prime Smudgeproof Base, NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk, Urban Decay Primer …

So You Want to Build a MAC Quad? Part I

Here are just some ideas if you want to venture into the world of MAC but can’t justify purchasing eleventy billion eyeshadows in one go. I’ve posted about my friend Laura’s suggestions over here, but to narrow things down, have a look at the combinations I made with the shadows I already own. 🙂 I chose to put together quads, since they seem to be the most cost efficient for people who are starting out, and because MAC creates customizable quads in their PRO stores and online. Sadly, these are not available in the MAC counters here in the Philippines, but you can put them in Wild Peach palettes or Z-Palettes instead. 🙂 Without further ado, here are three of the quads I’ve “created”: Purple Haze — Malt, Quarry, Trax, Sketch This first combination is an assortment of purples and purpley shades. We have two matte shades (Malt & Quarry), and two velvet shades (Trax & Sketch) This is great for all kinds of purple looks across the board. You can have a day look, …

#MakeupMonday with Candy TV: Neutral Smoky Eye Tutorial

Candy Magazine, which is a local glossy geared for teen girls asked me to do a tutorial for their website. As part of Makeup Monday, I present to you an easy peasy neutral smoky eye using the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette! This look is for people who are a bit scared of a blacky black smoky eye. It’s also tame enough to use everyday, and the colors are pretty easy to dupe and the effect easy to replicate with other similar colors in your collection. Click here to watch the video. 🙂 Thanks to Candy for the opportunity!

MAC Starter Kit (Colors & Tools) by Laura

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you’ll know that I hauled a major haul from MAC a few months ago, with the help of my friend from Canada-land, Laura. One of the reasons why it took me this long to accumulate MAC items is because I would get so overwhelmed at the counters. Another reason is because the MAC salespeople are tres unfriendly. Heh, just kidding. Kind of. Anyway! Kind, beautiful Laura suggested some colors for me to try. I asked her if it would be okay to post her suggestions on here and she said it was OK. I’ll mark the stuff I ended up getting with an asterisk (*). Double asterisks (**) means my sister got them. 🙂 Here we go! Eyeshadow: “You seem to really like neutral colours, so I would highly recommend you check out: Satin Taupe*, Twinks, Shale, Cork*, Blackberry, and Woodwinked for some deeper neutrals. For lighter neutrals I recommend checking out Bamboo, Yogurt, Malt*, and Blanc Type. Blanc Type is especially creamy (it’s a …

4 Product Face

Here’s a very quick and basic day look that you can throw on easily, and with only 4 products! It’s very light and ideal for when you wake up late, or if you don’t necessarily want to bring a whole lot of products along with you on a holiday. Here’s what I used to achieve this look: PRODUCTS: — NARS Tinted Moisturizer (Alaska) — The Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit (02) — BECCA Beach Tint (Guava) — Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (Luminous Light) TOOLS: — Marionnaud N°38 Eyes (Slanted + Spoolie) — Hakuhodo H601 brush — shu uemura eyelash curler If you’re keen to know how I did it, watch this video: The only thing I would do differently for this look was to maybe pat a little bit more of the brown shades on my eye to kind of intensify the color, and maybe add a bit of the darker brown to the outer ‘v’ for depth. Other than that, I think this is a pretty good look! It looks grossly simple and …

Make That Face Monday: Easy Smokey Eye with NARS Duo in Dogon

Hello everyone! Today, I have a very quick review on a NARS eyeshadow duo called Dogon, and I figured I could make it a tutorial for a super easy smokey eye, too. I told you, I’d try! 😀 So, first of all, Dogon is supposedly a limited edition NARS duo from the Summer 2011 collection, but I still see it for sale everywhere, including the NARS website. It has a metallic taupe shade with an icy green sheen, and a charcoal black shade. I rather like this duo; I think I’m a sucker for duochromes and different-sheeny shades. The quality is OK; the taupe is really, really pretty, but the charcoal matte may apply patchily on the lid without a base (cream shadow or primer), or if you try to blend it out too much. Still, layering the shades over each other creates a lovely effect. Look at that pretty shimmery, sheeny green in the Venn Diagram intersection of both shades. This is a really pretty duo that I think you can make a lot …