All posts tagged: beauty

Made-Up History: Liberty Leading the People

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Made-Up History (get it?) will be a series of translations of art (for now) onto makeup. It merges two growing loves, one old and one new, which is why I have resolved to do it. In the process, I hope to get better at both, but I guess this really works out my makeup muscle more. This is the first installment, for which I have decided to use Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, or as they say call it in France, “La Liberté guidant le peuple.” “And if I haven’t fought for my country at least I’ll paint for her.” — Eugene Delacroix Liberty Leading the People is arguably Delacroix’s most famous work. You have probably seen it on a Coldplay album cover, or in the Louvre if you’ve gone there at some point in your life. It depicts the “July Revolution” of 1830, during which the people of France overthrew Charles X, who had been in power at the time. Delacroix chose to personify Liberty as a woman of the people—robust, bold, fearless, …

Playlist: Playing with Prestigious Bordeaux

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So, I woke up this morning and thought about playing with my new Prestigious Bordeaux eye and cheek palette from Shu Uemura’s Karl Lagerfeld collection, which I reviewed here. (image from here) Bordeaux is a mix of red and violet, with a hint of brown (see here). A color close to it is Pantone’s 221 (which they call Rose Pink for some reason). The Prestigious Palette shades seems to be a deconstruction of the color, separating the tones into their own pans. Since there are two distinct group of colors—purple and brown—in the palette, I wanted to try out looks that don’t result into a muddy mess. I looked at Patricia Lee’s tutorials, since she posted about two looks that used the purples and the browns. Anyway, I tried. (Also, please remember that I did this after waking up. The only products on my face are Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer, a bit of concealer, Smith’s Rosebud Salve on the lips, and the palette colors itself. My hair is funny.) My (actual) right eye, …

bareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow 4.0 in The Happy Place

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My first encounter with the bareMinerals Ready series was a bored wait for a train. My sister and I went to Sephora to pass the time, and I just could not leave without getting one of these wonderful palettes. I left with the duo in Scenic Route, and I have been hankering for a few more of these ever since. When I was purchasing my Guerlain Turandot quad, I couldn’t resist putting one of these palettes in my shopping cart—this time, a quad—so I picked one of the Limited Edition shades from their Supernatural collection. The Happy Place has four shades, all of which have their own name! How awesome is that? Great for tutorials and reviews. The case is a sturdy rubberized contraption (the finish is like that of the NARS compacts and palettes) with a double-ended applicator and a full-sized mirror. I love the bareMinerals’ plastic protectors. IT IS SAYING HELLO TO ME. Swatched, L-R: Peace, Exhale, Imagine, Euphoria Peace is a soft pale peach that’s perfect for a neutral base. Exhale is …

Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura: Prestigious Bordeaux Eye and Cheek Palette & Painting Liner

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In the next few days, I’ll be posting about what I will call my Holiday Haul, to justify my recent purchases. This is my first dip into collection anticipation, and it’s deeply unsettling (not really) how much makeup I think I “need to have.” Here is one such item, the Prestigious Bordeaux Eye and Cheek Palette by Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura. The palette consists of two Silk Smooth eyeshadows, three eyeshadows, and a deep pinky burnt red blush. It’s a compact enough size, with two double-ended applicators (sponge-tip and brush) and a mirror on the cover, in the shape of Mon Shu! Which I love, but cannot say as to whether it’s practical for use as a mirror or not. Swatches! The Silk Smooth eye shadows (richer, more pigmented color, and that fricken’ beautiful texture) are the first and third shades. In between are the eyeshadows: a shimmery lilac, a gorgeous gold great for highlighting, and a warm, desaturated peach satin shade. Lastly, there is the sole blush color, which I would actually look …

FOTD: Guerlain Turandot

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I wanted to take my eyeshadow palette from Guerlain’s Holiday 2012 collection out for a spin, so I put it on last minute. I was just tailing something like a press conference before Kent Williams’ exhibit at Blanc in Peninsula Manila. Naturally, I didn’t want to look too made up, so the colors of Guerlain’s Turandot Eyeshadow Palette seemed like a perfect fit. FOTD: Guerlain Turandot, Bobbi Brown Long-wear Gel Liner in Sepia Ink, MAC Jubilee Kent Williams is amazing. Here is chinny me, appreciating one of my favorite works on display, which happens to be a painted sketch. I have a love affair with these shoes (Clarks Desert Grace). Matching outfit with Nicky. With fellow fangirl, Val! With Sarie (who took all of these photos) and Kent Williams (!). Anyway, I quite like this palette. I’ll review it soon!

Guerlain by Emilio Pucci: Météorites in Perles d’Azur

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Hi, everyone (by this, I mean the sole reader of this blog)! So, during my late-night, obsessive online trawling, I kept hearing about this legendary product and decided to get one for myself to try it out. I’ve been having a lot of trouble with “finishing” my face, just because my skin somehow accentuates cakey-ness. And well, no one wants that. I hate face powders and contacts. The loose powders I’ve tried are either too powdery or too shimmery. Enter Guerlain’s Météorites! Often regarded as a miracle product, the météorites are designed to correct things like redness, and to illuminate the face and make it radiant. Sounds like mumbo jumbo to me, but I do not listen to my inner voice all that much, so I resolved to get one from this holiday’s Liu Collection. However, upon hearing that it’s more shimmery than the usual météorites (eek!) and not all that warm, I decided to go for one of the permanent shades, Teint Dore. The Guerlain counter I went to didn’t have it, and so, …

NARS Duo in Habanera

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NARS Habanera is technically my first duo eyeshadow purchase, and I say technically because I bought two of these babies in one go, the other color being Paramaribo. I’d swatched this about six or so months ago, but I was hesitant to get something so glittery, so I settled on getting a trio instead (Ramatuelle). As is the case with “things I don’t buy but really, really want,” I have often thought about this duo, going as far as revisiting the same NARS branch and swatching it over and over again. The lighting in the store accentuates the glitter, and I keep saying “No, it’s way too glittery,” but alas. My resolve to “get something else” broke, so now we are here. The question is, of course, Is it worth it? Habanera is a duo that pairs two obvious-but-also-not colors together. The left side of the pan is a frosty mint green that seems to have some hints of silver and, at turns, ice-blue. It’s a smooth, creamy color that applies so well and is …