All posts tagged: beauty

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 …

FOTD: Hello, Rome

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Hiya, I finally managed to take good photos of my makeup before it got too dark out! I’ve been feeling pretty bored and repetitive, so I ~tried~ to play with my eye makeup this time around. Still neutrals, though, but I cracked open my Makeup Revolution I Heart Chocolate palette* (a supposed dupe for the TooFaced Chocolate Bar palette) and tbh, I’m still quite impressed by it. Realized, too, that I haven’t posted any looks using this palette. Face & Cheeks Rediscovered my y.e.t. Cosmetics Fill It Up Primer… And I kind of don’t like how it ended up working with my makeup. My initial review of it was kind of glowing, lol. But maybe it’s the face oil I used. For this look, I used MAKE Soft Focus Foundation, powdered down with Le Métier de Beauté Peau Vierge Anti-Aging Pressed Powder. I used Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder for my contour, and am wearing a beautiful MAC blush (!) called Breezy, which I got from Laura as a gift. 🙂 Eyes & Lips Eyebrows courtesy …

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 …

MAC Marge’s Extra Ingredients Quad

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Aside from the 3 blush pans, Laura also sent me an LE MAC quad from the Simpsons collection from a while back. She received it gratis, which explains the lack of special packaging, and said she thought it would be fun for me to try out. This one’s called Marge’s Extra Ingredients and has four colors: Harpooned Heart, Sexy PB & J, Beehive Blue, Vivacious Vacuum Cleaner Bag. Harpooned Heart: light baby pink (Lustre) Sexy PB & J: mid-tone bright violet (Veluxe pearl) Beehive Blue: mid-tone bright blue (Veluxe Pearl) Vivacious Vacuum Cleaner Bag: deep navy (Frost) FYR: lustre (smoothly pearlized; intensely frosted with deluxe ultrafine ‘conditioned’ finish), veluxe pearl (vibrantly toned. Velvety soft. Shimmeringly metallic. Veluxe eyeshadow, now overlaid with high-shine pearl), frost (an iridescent shine that adds a highlight to any color). Swatched, L-R: Harpooned Heart, Sexy PB and J, Beehive Blue, Vivacious Vacuum Cleaner Bag When I started getting into makeup, I was really drawn to purples (especially when it comes to eyeshadow), but I don’t wear that color that much anymore …

MAC Blush Palette 2016 Update

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About two years and a few odd months ago, I hauled a sizable MAC purchase, which was kindly arranged for me by my friend Laura, who works there. I purchased the large/double palette with eyeshadow and blush inserts, along with three powder blushes that I never got around to adding to. Over the holidays, Laura sent me three more—out of the goodness of her heart—and it made me want to do a MAC Blush Palette update. Here’s what she picked out for me! MAC Powder Blush in Peachykeen, Breath of Plum & Breezy Swatched, L-R: Peachykeen, Breath of Plum, Breezy Peachykeen is a “very baby peach” sheertone shimmer blush. Breath of Plum is a “light plum” sheertone blush. Breezy is a “plum with pearl” sheertone shimmer blush. Not an expert on MAC blushes, but here’s a helpful guide I found at Nordstrom: FROST (F): Iridescent, lightly shimmering color. Adds highlights: provides a frosted ‘bloom’ to the cheeks. MATTE (M): Flat matte finish. Goes on lightly. Builds well. Blends with the skin. SATIN (S): Light-refractive sheen-style …