The last time I blogged about makeup, my friends Jess and Flisha were terribly amused. I suppose makeup is not something I can claim to be an expert on. I only started using them regularly when I got forced by my bosses when I was a teller and needed to face customers and all. While I was still a student, I didn’t even use baby powder on my face, and only started using lip balm in College at my then boyfriend’s suggestion. I even used to frown upon fellow students who used more than the barest hint of lip gloss and told myself that I would never wear makeup because it supposedly destroys the skin, which it probably really does. But the thing about makeup is, it’s like Pringles – once you pop, you can’t stop. Once I started using makeup and saw how it enhanced my features, I couldn’t seem to bear seeing myself au naturel anymore. These days, I can’t go to work without using mineral powder, eyelash curlers and lipstick, at the minimum. When I first started out, my kikay kit contained a Johnson & Johnson’s compact and a tube of Avon lip gloss. Now it has at least these ten:
I was first drawn to this because of the pretty compact design, but the powder inside is really good, too. When I went to Korea in 2008, I discovered that they sold them at half the price in Glorietta Makati (Php700 in 2008), so I bought two. Nowadays, though, I use this for touch ups (usually for my oily T zone) and as a mirror, but my favored face base is the Loreal true match mineral powder in Golden Beige, which I apply in the mornings and leave at home because it’s too big too fit in my kikay kit.
To conceal unsightly scars, pimple marks or dark shadows under the eyes. I love to pose for pictures but rarely edit them with Photoshop, and this makes me eveready for the cam. I was supposed to buy the Maybelline one recommended my Singapore-based makeup artist friend Cel, but when I passed by Sasa, this one was on sale at S$12, 40% less than its original price, so this was the one I got.
It was my makeup artist friend Rome, based in Metro Manila, who first put shadow on my brows. She applied Mac brow shader in soft charcoal with her brow brush and set them using clear mascara. Everyone loved the effect on me, myself included, but Mac was not within my purchasing power, so I did my research in Cosmopolitan magazines and discovered In2it, which is cheaper (Php200+ in Landmark in 2008), comes in two shades (black and brown) and already has its own mini brow brush. What’s more, since I don’t have brown eyeliner, I also sometimes improvise by dipping it into this powder with a moistened stiff brush and drawing on my lids with that. I learned this trick from Rome too.
I had been eyeing this in the stores for months but only bought it after my former teammate Jen bought one for herself and Rome demonstrated how useful it could be. It cost me Php1000 in the Greenbelt 3 branch, but it’s worth it because it will last me years. I use a brush (mine came from the Loreal blush kit; I just love that brush!) to sweep the colors altogether on my cheeks, giving me a tanned blush, or use an eyeshadow brush or my fingertips to apply the colors individually as eyeshadow. Rome uses the darkest shade for contouring, but I leave that complex part to the professionals.
(5) Mac technakohl eyeliner in graphblack
When I asked the saleslady what eyeliner she would recommend, this was her answer, and so this is what I ended up buying, though my friend Kes says she likes the eye kohl one which was used in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. My friend Yen loved eyeliner and kept insisting that I use it to enhance my eyes. I don’t like eyeliner pencils because they are too hard, so I tried the Avon retractable one, which is actually similar to this
(6) Loreal telescopic clean mascara
I read somewhere that the three basics in makeup that one must never leave the house without are: powder, lip gloss and mascara. I’m not so sure about that last one, so I only use it on special occasions. I fell in love with the idea of mascara, however, when I saw Hayden Panettiere’s lashes in the TV series Heroes. They were curled and separated, and I set out to find the mascara that would separate instead of clumping. Thanks again to Cosmo, I discovered my current mascara. Its brush is different from the others and does a perfect job of separating my lashes. The curling part, however, is handled by the next product.
(7) Shu Uemura eyelash curler
I probably should have put this before the mascara, since you should curl your lashes before putting mascara on them. Anyway, my friends Kes and Gelle were the ones who sold me on the idea of eyelash curlers, saying that they open up the eyes and really, they do. I’ve read everywhere that Shu is the best one around, but it’s expensive at Php1000 in Rustans + or S$26 in Tangs and I’d been gazing longingly at them in the stores for months till my friend Zenie finally bought me my own as her birthday present to me last year. Sure enough, it lives up to its hype. It’s not at all painful on the eyes unlike the ones I used to own, and it’s very easy to use, too… I can even curl my lashes while in a moving vehicle, which I sometimes do when I am running late and need to rush out of the house without makeup. I just put them on while in transit.
(8) Burt’s Bees lip shimmer in rhubarb
If I remember correctly, I think this one was recommended by an online contact, Maristel, after she read that I used Nivea. She said this was better. She was so right! Burt’s Bees boasts of making the world’s best lip balm. I wanted one with color, so I ended up buying this. I love the minty taste that soothes the lips and the color is just perfect, too. One tube costs around Php250 in Beauty Bar, Greenbelt, Makati.
(9) Mac amplified crème lipstick in brick o la
Everyone says that Mac is the ultimate makeup brand, so when I was finally able, I got myself a tube of lipstick. I asked the sales staff which of their products was long lasting, and he recommended matte or amplified creme finish. I chose a dark shade because they look best on me. Sure enough, it is long lasting. But to trick to make it last even longer is something I read somewhere (for the life of me, I can’t recall where that is) in four steps: (1) put on a layer of lipstick (2) take a sheet of tissue and blot your lips on it (3) put on another layer of your lipstick (4) blot your lips with tissue again.
(10) Salvatore Ferragamo’s Incanto Heaven perfume in an atomizer
I had been using Davidoff’s Cool Waters since I started using branded perfume till I started working in Singapore and realized that I was sick of its scent and needed a new one. While shopping in Lucky Plaza one day, I fell in love with this scent. It helped, though, that a 50ml bottle only cost S$28, cheaper than Versace Bright Crystal or Dior Addict, the other scents I was vying for. I bought a small atomizer so that I need not tote the big bottle around in my bag.
Maybe next time I’ll blog about the makeup I leave at home. 😀
Ooooh! Me wants your perfume! I can smell it from her! Bango! hahahaha!