Leotard-Optional

Hey guys! I’m so sorry for my erratic posts. I’ve been very busy and stressed. I don’t know if I’m burning out from blogging or from my everyday routine or both. Anyway, I kicked myself hard last night, (like when you’re pissed off with a vending machine), to exert more effort to do things.

Here’s a photo of Leotard-Optional, the nail polish shade that’s included in the OPI for Sephora Urban Ballerina Collection. This is such a pretty nude shade. I  love it to bits! I’m glad I snagged a set from Hyphen. LOL!

These photos were taken using my phone so please excuse the quality:

This nail polish definitely brightened up my day. It’s so nice to be a girl. Even the little things help lift our moods up.

*If you want this set, it’s currently on sale at Hyphen.

Nail Treats

My nails have suffered the wrath of my medications. They’ve become too weak. They easily crack so I decided to try these products from Orly:

Let’s start with Calcium Shield. I’ve been using this product for a month now and it has so-so results. My nails still crack but at least they grow longer than they used too before cracking. This product didn’t make much of a difference but it’s a good base coat.

In A Snap, on the other hand, doesn’t work like it’s supposed to. The polish doesn’t dry in a minute, what more in a snap. Sure it’s faster than a regular top coat but you would expect more considering the price is Php250. If you also like a shiny finish, skip this one. The finish is not shiny enough for me. With the wrong polish, it ends up dull.

I would probably buy Calcium Shield again but will try other quick drying top coats. Any suggestions?

Abstract Blue and Milky Lipstick

I’d like to share with you this EOTD I made using the LA Colors Abstract palette:

When I’m in a hurry, just one bright color will do. Here’s the full face:

This is a classic look that I make – blue eyeshadow, pale lips. Here’s a closeup of the lip color:

This is the Milky lipstick that’s available at Hyphen. This is a perfect dupe for MAC’s Playing Koi. I will post a separate review on these lipsticks.

What’s your bright eyeshadow combination?

Honey!

I love honey! I use it when I cook, bake, I use it as a substitute sweetener (instead of sugar), I use it on my salad dressings and now I use it on my face!

I bought this product in April but I’ve only used it twice. And in both times, I was satisfied.

My schedule is very hectic and when I get home, more often than not, I doze off after removing my makeup. Sometimes I eat dinner at 10. (Sorry, Kitten!) Then I check my mails then shut down the laptop and watch TV just to stop my brain from thinking about the things that I still have to do. The TV serves as my brain’s R&R time then I watch until I fall asleep. So when can I have the time to do these DIY spa treatments? In short, I’m too tired to bother. But I noticed that there were rashes on my cheek the other night. Reason being my period came early. I used this mask hoping that it will prevent the rashes from becoming a full pledged pimple. Oh, I’m so glad it worked!

The first time that I used this mask, I noticed that my rashes dried up a little. Even my pimple dried up a little. My face really felt firm after removing the mask. There was a bit of redness but nothing serious. The redness is due to peeling. This is a peel-off type mask that you leave on your face to dry then carefully peel off the edges. I find it fun to remove the mask. My mom used a lot of these masks when I was a kid and I had so much fun removing them from her face. So naturally, I would be partial to these types of masks.

The smell is a bit like honey, not sweet-smelling of course as this is an aesthetic product. It takes just around 15 minutes to completely dry up as long as you apply a thin layer. I always apply it thinly because I’m scared that too much product would cause a breakout. You’ll know when it’s time because your skin tightens up. Then just carefully peel the mask off. Apply your favorite toner afterwards to remove any excess.The tube says to apply toner before and after application. The first time I used this I applied toner before and after. On the second time, just after.

There are other types of masks at TFS. I got this because it’s the best for my sensitive skin. Let me know if you’ve tried other TFS masks like this.

Waterproof Length

I have this thing for trying out different mascaras. I can’t just stick to one. I think if you’re a long-time follower of this blog, you’ve already noticed that. I’ve had my share of ups and downs with mascaras but this one is definitely an up:




It says “length and waterproof” on the cover. Both check. I need to use my oil based Etude House Lip & Eye makeup remover for this. For the length part, see Exhibit A:



This was taken right after I applied the mascara. Does it last? See Exhibit B:



This was taken in the afternoon while I was on duty in our booth. There’s nothing special about the wand but it works:

What I like about this mascara is there are no annoying smells, it doesn’t clump and it doesn’t claim all that hullabaloo. It does what it says – it lengthens and it’s waterproof.

The wand is a bit thin though and I always fear that it might snap so I always carefully put this back into the tube. It doesn’t smudge on my lower eye area so that’s really good news as I’ve tried a lot of mascaras claiming they don’t smudge but they always do.

If you want this mascara and would also like to save a few bucks, I have another one available at Hyphen for only Php1,400. Yes, it’s authentic Shu Uemura. We don’t sell fakes at Hyphen. I get ticked whenever people say that my NAKED palette and other Sephora/UD  products are fake. Just letting off steam here. = )

Just Arrived at Hyphen!

Order yours now only from Hyphen!

Hyphen Luxe Shoot

Here are the photos, as promised in my previous post. Here, I used the Revlon PhotoReady liquid foundation and the Fanny Serrano 2-Way Cake. For the colors, I used different palettes – Naked, UD<3 NY, Clinique, Bobbi Brown, etc, etc, etc.

We did different looks according to the clothes/dresses of each collection. Here are some of the looks:

M’s girl next door look

C’s romantic look (take note, C is super acidic that’s why I used a lighter shade on her)

M’s romantic look

C’s K-pop look

M’s goddess look

C’s party girl look

M’s rebel look

So what do you think? After all the heat, sweat and clothes changing, both Revlon and FS products held up. It was a shame because we only had to take a few photos for each look.

So, I really recommend these products if you want to glam up for a special occasion but don’t want to compromise your budget.

Models: C and M

Photos: Kitten

Hair: my best friend Celine

MUA: moi

Stylist: Celine and moi

Surprise Products

When I started getting serious with makeup, I stayed away from drugstore and local brands just because I thought the quality of branded makeup is much better. I was wrong. Here are two surprise products that impressed me.

Fanny Serrano Two-Way Cake

Revlon PhotoReady Liquid Foundation

Let’s start with the FS Two-Way Cake. This is very affordable at less than Php500. For all you international readers, Fanny Serrano is a famous makeup artist in the Philippines. He is one of the best and one of the pioneers in the local industry.

My mentors say that if you want an affordable quality makeup, then you should go with this line. But, someone also told me that FS buys makeup from Taiwan by the kilo and just repackages it to look like an exclusive line. So I was torn but one day I needed something affordable fast. So I took a chance and bought 2 shades of the two-way cake.

“Oh, my.” That was the first thing I said when I applied it on my client’s face. The texture is very fine. It applies great with a sponge or with a fluffy brush. It also lasts a long time. I used this on a photo shoot and it stayed on quite nicely even on an oily face. So I bought a third shade.

But of course, for makeup to last long, you must have a good foundation (pardon the pun). I wasn’t a believer of the Revlon PhotoReady line even after all those good reviews on different blogs until I’ve tried it myself.   I used this as a base on my models and can I just say that they looked perfect in photos? They looked flawless. I used this on my friend A in the LA Colors Abstract EOTD post and I kept looking at her face all afternoon. She did not even need to retouch her makeup when we went our separate ways. Amazing!

The only downside of this product are the shades. They are either too light or too dark on Filipina skin. You have to mix the correct shade. I’ll show you some photos of the shoot we did for Hyphen Luxe next.

Haul-over Wednesday

I’m pretty late with my Haul-over Wednesday posts. I keep losing track of what day it is because of my crazy schedule. This has been a haul I made a couple of weeks back:

From Clinique, I got my favorite facial scrub:



From Paul & Joe, this Protective Powder Compact Foundation which I  am totally in love with:



And from Kenzo, I got their newest perfume, Silk, that makes me swoon:




What’s the best part of shopping? Gifts with purchases!









I will make separate posts on each but I think I already made a review about the 7-day scrub.