Glow by Lady E

  In my latest Soft Saturday Diaries , I mentioned that I dropped by the BYS pop-up shop at SM Makati. I had a very interesting time there, talking to one of the, what I would call, Glow Guides — women who don’t just sell makeup, but help you glow from the inside out. Her name is Ceje.  I regularly see BYS at Watsons in a small gondola. This is the first time I've seen so many BYS products in one place!  I was immediately drawn to these stick blushes and bronzers My loyal Glow Ladies know that I have been experimenting with BYS makeup for the past month. I used to be an Estee Lauder Group girl. I used Clinique skincare daily. My makeup consisted of Bobbi Brown, MAC, Estee Lauder, and other high-end brands. However, years of autoimmune medication have wrecked havoc on my body, leaving me with a number of skin issues. At first it was chronic urticaria then painful cystic acne, and now the remnants of papulopustular rosacea. Clinique skincare wasn't working for me anymore. B...

Tusen takk, my Glow Girls from Norway! 🇳🇴✨ You’ve made it to #2 on the blog rankings and I see you — glowing, growing, and shining from the fjords to the cities. Sending you all my love and a big warm hug from across the miles. 💖 Are you ready to glow up your week with me? This post is for YOU! There’s a certain kind of heartbreak that only makeup girls know — when a product looks so promising, feels luxurious, and still doesn’t work for you. That’s the case with the NARS Soft Matte Primer for me. Let’s get one thing straight: it’s not a bad primer. In fact, it’s beautiful on paper — lightweight, adds a luminous sheen, and blends effortlessly.  But here’s what no one tells you when you're just starting out: not all primers work with all foundations. 😮‍💨 I discovered this when I tried pairing the NARS primer with my holy grail NARS Punjab foundation. I thought, “same brand, they should play nice together, right?” Wrong. The finish didn’t sit right. It made my skin look cakey an...

  Dark circles. We all have them at some point—after pulling an all-nighter, during our period, when we're stressed, or sometimes, just because. They're those pesky shadows that make us look more tired than we actually are (or maybe they’re just telling the truth 😅). But let’s unpack this properly, like you’re chatting with a wellness coach friend who also hoards concealers and correctors like they’re gold. 💬 So what causes dark circles? Several things: Fatigue and lack of sleep – Your skin becomes dull and pale, letting dark tissues and blood vessels show through. Dehydration – Your eyes can look sunken, and the skin gets darker. Genetics – Some people just have naturally thinner skin under the eyes. Aging – As we get older, we lose collagen and fat around the eyes. Allergies and rubbing – This causes inflammation and broken blood vessels. Vitamin deficiencies – Lack of iron, vitamin K, or vitamin B12 can also cause darkening under the eyes. 🧃 Can vitamins help? Yes! Especi...

The natural look evokes freshness and youth, something that we all want to feel in the summer time. The natural look flatters women of all ages.You don't need to apply a ton of products and makeup. Just find the right ones that complement your natural skin tone to show off your clear, luminous face. I know it's a bit early for most of my international readers for a summer post but here in Manila, the heat has started and sometimes it already feels like summer so I thought I'd write this post to get you ladies ready. Start with a clean and clear slate I already discussed this with you in my last post. If you want to get a clear face, check this out.  Use a good primer This one from L'Oreal hides the pores to create a flawless look. If you have good skin, you can get away with just this product.  For the eyes, I like the Too Faced Lemon Drop. You can wear it as is or under eye shadow. Foundation Like I said, if you already have good ski...

I'm sure a lot of you have a love-hate relationship with Lemon Aid. I know I did. When I first tried it, I liked it. As I continued to use it, I started to hate it. There's that creasing and caking issue with it. I don't have oily lids and I still experience those problems. (Surprisingly though, people with oily lids swear by this product). Also, I feel that it does nothing to prolong my eye makeup.  I still had to contend with this much (see below) so I started experimenting with it and used it for different ways. If you are like me, here's how you can get the best out of your Lemon Aid.  Corrector It's basically a corrector so you can use it to neutralize redness and dark circles. Take a small amount with a Q-tip and transfer to your ring finger. Heat it up by rubbing your two ring fingers together. Dab on your under eye area. Be sure to blend, blend, blend! If you have dry skin, I would recommend blending it with a liquid concealer.  ...

Next up, BB Creams If you want to skip the foundation and the concealer, invest in a really good BB or CC cream that will help cover all your imperfections and leave you with a flawless finish. Opt for Pencils and Creams If you can’t be bothered with shading and contouring and mixing and matching eyeshadows, your solution is a pencil shadow or long-lasting creams: You can just apply one color and you will look all made up. You also don’t have to contend with fall-outs. You can instantly get a smokey eye with these pencils. Use a cure-all moisturizer at night I suggest beauty oils that you can use for your hair, face and body such as: This keeps your skin hydrated and helps with the repair process that goes on at night. Cleansing wipes Finally, at the end of the day, don’t forget to remove your makeup. You will end up with a lot of skin problems if you leave it on. Buy cleansing wipes. I don’t personally use cleansing wipes because I am OC with my routine but I sug...

Admit it. There are some days when we’re just too lazy to apply makeup and get all dolled up. Some girls are high maintenance, some are low maintenance, some struggle to find the balance between the two and some are just, well, plain lazy. If you fall in the last category, don’t fret. You can still look and feel like a million bucks without spending so much time in front of the mirror. Here are my tips. Invest in a good skin care routine I use Clinique but you can use whatever works for you. You want to look radiant right? The best way to achieve this is by having a good base i.e. your face. You need to take care of your skin. Get rid of all that deep-seated dirt and zap those zits. Get rid of the oilies too. If you have a good canvass, you only need a minimal amount of makeup and that is good news for a lazy girl, right? Get good primers I know this is just an extra step but believe me, you need this. A good primer will help your makeup last longer so you don’t have to keep tou...

I think the reason why I don’t have a lot of blushes is because I only apply a little at a time, maybe too little. It’s one of those things that I don’t give much thought about when I’m doing my makeup. I’m also too lazy to retouch during the day. But, the right blush application can make you look healthy and give you that certain glow. Now that I’m very pale, I really need to make an effort with my blush. I don’t need to go overboard and look like a clown but I should really make it look like I have rosy cheeks (so that I look healthy). Here are a few tips on how to make your blush look more natural. Choose your shade Start with a shade that is close to your natural flush. The darker your skin is, the deeper your blush should be so that you won’t look sallow. Pick the right brush I usually use these 3 brushes. The first one is the ELF blush brush. It’s actually too small so I have to really blend the blush so that I won’t end up with blush circles on my cheeks. The next i...

I don’t know about you but when I’m sick and I need to go out, I make it a point to still look presentable. I don’t skip makeup because makeup is my best friend when I feel all crappy inside. My office mates used to comment that I don’t look sick even though they know that I’m having a bad day (health-wise). Who wants to look sick anyway? Here are some of my quick makeup tricks that you may find useful when you’re sick. First of all,do not skip the moisturizer. You need this to hydrate your skin. To simplify your routine, choose a multipurpose product like this Stila One Step that moisturizes, corrects and primes your skin. The less you do in front of the mirror, the better you will feel. You can also use a tinted moisturizer that doubles as a foundation. I don’t have tinted moisturizers so I use my BB creams. For the eyes, choose one shade and color your lids. Never mind giving your eyes some depth and contour. What you need is color to hide those sick eyes. Don’t forget to...