All posts tagged: beauty

Covet: MAKE Cosmetics

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A few weeks (months?) ago, I posted a list of beauty things that I’d been eyeing over at & Other Stories, a brand that I can’t get here in Manila. Here is another brand that is sadly out of reach: MAKE. MAKE is: “a cosmetic brand that finds beauty in inspiration. Its mission is to encourage self-expression through color by fostering contemporary collaborations between makeup artists and creatives worldwide. MAKE is the first for-benefit beauty brand on We See Beauty and is Made in New York.” You can read more about MAKE here. So, I looked through their shop (which, by the way, has very interesting moving campaigns and pictures, when you scroll all the way down) and these are my picks: Matte Eyeshadow in Purple Sage ($18) • Matte Eyeshadow in Poppy ($18) Satin Eyeshadow in Great Lakes ($18) • Satin Eyeshadow in Santa Fe ($18) Satin Eyeshadow in Yellow Brick Road ($18) • Custom Effects Pigment in Reykjavik ($18) Molten Eyeshadow in Metallic Bronze ($18) • Gel Eyeliner Pencil in Very Brown ($14) …

Live in Layers with Le Métier de Beauté’s Lip Crèmes

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Alliteration forever! Obviously. So. These things. These things are amazing. The Le Métier de Beauté Lip Crèmes are lipstick/gloss hybrids, which means that they are a little thicker than glosses and pretty much have the pigmentation of lipsticks, but they come in a liquid formula. I think that’s sort of similar to the concept of liquid lipsticks, although these come in a different finish and formula than those that I’ve tried (i.e. Revlon ColorStay Liquid Lipstick, Guerlain Rouge G L’Extrait). These are also quite unique because they’re meant to be mixed together or layered over each other or other lop products. Which, when you think about it, is kind of like their eyeshadow technique, the couches de couleur, made popular by their Kaleidoscope Eye Kits. I have three lip crèmes, two of which are fairly recent acquisitions. Here are the swatches: Swatches, L-R: Le Métier de Beauté Lip Crèmes in Fraise Crème, Café Crème, and Crème Caramel These come in many other different colors, so it’s kind of hard to pick, but you can always …

Softly Special: My Top Five Favorite Eye Palettes

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I know I did Lipstick Week not too long ago, but the truthiest truth out there is that I’m an eyeshadow lady. I fricken love the stuff. I think that’s really where it all went downhill. I can remember the first eye product I purchased that changed everything and how I looked at eye makeup (i.e. bareMinerals’ READY 2.0 in The Scenic Route). And then I was doomed to a life of swatching. I don’t know if I want to make a whole week’s worth of celebration out of this, because eye swatches are much, much harder to do than lipstick swatches, but I’ll begin by outing my favorite eye palettes for all of you. What I basically look for in eyeshadow palettes is versatility, which I feel like entails a good variety of tone, texture, and shade. With that little checklist in mind, I looked at my palette collection and picked out a few favorites. Here goes nothing! Honorable Mention: Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs in Turandot (Review) This was the first high-end palette I …

Makeup No-Buy Update: One Month Mark

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One month ago, I put myself on a Makeup No-Buy, and this is just a little update to let you know how I was doing. 🙂 So far, I’ve only purchased two things with points from a loyalty card: — e.l.f. Liquid Eyeliner — essence Stay All-Day Long-Lasting Eyeshadow in Glammy Goes To… I’ve also received two gifts from my aunt: — BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal — BECCA Beach Tint in Guava And, that’s about it! Skincare things and clothes don’t count, though, and I’m beginning to think I should have a spending ban altogether. Le sigh. All in all, I think I’ve been doing pretty good, though.

Makeup Inventory: Highlighters & Illuminators

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In one of my recent posts, I decried the hype of a cult favorite—the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade, which I reviewed here—and a number asked Well, what’s a good highlighter for you? I don’t own the most favorite one I’ve tried (I don’t know why), but I do own eight others (again, I don’t know why). I’ve been planning this for a while, and never got around to it, so I hope you appreciate the effort and I hope this short overview helps you out. 🙂 Let’s begin with the one I don’t own, but whose effect I loved—the NARS Illuminator in Orgasm. I received it as a sample, which dried up. I never got around to purchasing the full size, just because. Here it is, in action: It’s a really pretty, peachy-golden pink creamy highlighter that you can put on the “high planes of your face,” or just mix in with your face base. I thought I would hate the shimmer, but I really don’t. To be fair, it actually has more of …

Overhyped Products

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Inspired by Cami Loves Kiwi’s recent video and the hype that surrounded MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade (review here), I’ve gathered together a few products that I feel like are overhyped. It’s a good mix of drugstore and higher end products. Here is a summary, but I go more in-depth in the video: — Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains (review): Love these, hate the stains they leave behind. Regardless of the shade, my lips turn a more orange-y color. — L’Oreal Lucent Magique Light Touch-Up Pen: Nothing special. — L’Oreal Shine Caresse & YSL Glossy Stain (comparative review): Generally a so-so formula. I don’t get the fuss. — YSL Rouge Volupté Shine (review): Was originally a fan of the formula, but when I forgot to bring a tube for reapplication and my lips dried up like a shriveled prune. It’s not bad, but it’s not all that. — Sara Happ The Lip Slip & The Lip Scrub: Great products, but too expensive. — NARS Blush in Orgasm: I don’t think it’s flattering for all …

Quickie: Illamasqua Blush-Up Brush

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Here’s a super quick post on one of my favorite tools as of late: my recently-acquired Blush-Up Brush from Illamasqua! It’s a very tightly-packed, narrow brush with short, soft bristles and a long handle. It’s supposed to apply blush in a revolutionary~ way, eliminating the need for a contour. Here is a tutorial from the Illamasqua team, explaining how. As you can see, it deposits pigment in a different way than brushes usually do. Going by the shape of the Blush-Up Brush, it’s supposed to apply blush in an angular way. When placed right under the cheekbone, it creates a stark line that highlights the hollows of the cheeks, which I suppose is what they meant by it “eliminat[ing] the need for contour.” I don’t know if it works all that well for me if I use it like that, but it does really well for normal blush and contour application, which I think it should be recognized for. Tarte’s Exposed used to be my “standard” for a good blush brush. If the brush can …