Archive for the Category »tricks of the trade «

Feb
06

No, not another snowstorm please. I’ve had enough of snow already. Strange as it may sound but this snowstorm always comes on a Weekend! I know it seems fortunate for people who work but what about our family weekends, yay! Anyways, I am too lazy to even check on this credit repair service for a friend so I hope this video on how to do those smokey eye make-up will suffice the lack of make-up updates andhopefully, heer you up on this very gloomy weather. This girl is one of my favorite make-up bloggers/gurus: Check it out and have a blast this weekend! tata!


PS: I might just have to try this out on myself later…

Sep
06

As early as 15, my mom taught me to moisturize my face at least twice a day. I became a solid Olay Moisturizer user from 15 until early 20s. When I got married, I shifted to Clinique moisturizer and other beauty products. I guess all of my mom’s beauty regimen are paying off because she is almost 60 and still, she has not used any anti-wrinkle cream. I even have more blemishes than her. Anyways, I have been reading a lot of reviews on La Mer for quite sometime now and if not because of the skyrocketing rates, I would have tried it along time ago. Now, are you curios what this miracle cream’s ingredients are? Check the list below which I got HERE. I am this close in buying a trial size.lm_3328_156

Ingredients:
• Seaweed (Algae) Extract
• Mineral Oil (Paraffinum Liquidum): emollient
• Petrolatum: occlusive
• Glycerin: humectant
• Isohexadecane: thickening agent and emulsifier
• Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Extract
• Microcrystalline Wax (Cera Microcristallina): commonly used thickening agent
• Lanolin Alcohol: emollient, very closely resembles your skin’s natural oils
• Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil: emolllient, can be irritating to those with very sensitive skin
• Eucalyptus Globules (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil: thought to have anti-bacterial or anti-viral properties on the skin
• Magnesium Sulfate
• Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seeds: Sesame oil is anemolllient, can be irritating to those with very sensitive skin. However, I believe that the whole seed are included here as part of the Miracle Broth component of the creme, which means including all of the vitamins and minerals within the seeds.
• Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) Seeds: thought to improve healing, contains a “large number of vitamins and minerals” according to the references I found on-line
• Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seeds: Sunflower oil is known to possess emollient properties, however the seeds are included as part of the Miracle Broth.
• Runus Dulcis (Powdered Almonds) [sodium, Potassium, Copper, Calcium, Magnesium, And Zinc Gluconate]
• Paraffin: occlusive
• Vitamin E Succinate
• Niacin: Vitamin B3
• Beta-carotene
• Decyl Oleate: emollient
• Aluminum Distearate: emulsifier
• Octyldodecanol: emulsifier with emollient properties
• Citric Acid: used to adjust the pH
• Cyanocobalamin: Vitamin B12
• Magnesium Stearate: thickening agent
• Panthenol: humectant
• Limonene: Oil derived from the peels of citrus fruits such as lemon and lime
• Geraniol: A derivative of geraniums, this fragrance can cause skin allergies
• Linalool: A floral fragrance
• Hydroxycitronellal: Another floral fragrance
• Citronellol: fragrance
• Benzyl Salicylate: fragrance
• Citral: lemon fragrance
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone: preservative
• Methylisothiazolinone: preservative
• Alcohol Denat: Denaturized alcohol
• Fragrance

Aug
22

I’ve been making rounds in my xx# blogs posting a total of 31 things I want on my 31st birthday next month. Like I previously said, I am not fond of writing down birthday wishlists because mostly, my birthday wishes are not material things. But, just for the heck of it, here are some beauty products I would want to GIVE MYSELF on my birthday, but then again, I have maxed out my shopping budget for this year so, these remain to be in my wishlist hahah!
Shu Uemura Limited Edition Brightening Cleansing Oil.
10327_m

SPANX Slim Cognito Mid-thigh BodySuit Shapewear (so, I have something to replace my other Spanx shapewear)
pSPNX1-4402627enh500

NARS Kabuki Artisan Brush
177538

Aug
21

olive_oil
The first time I heard of this Oil Cleansing Method was when I was checking my feeds from Google Reader and found THIS ENTRY. It is pretty simple as you will only need these:

- a soft washcloth
- a blend of castor oil and olive oil
- hot water

I had a hard time looking for castor oil and even thought that this kind of oil is being used to tune up cars and other auto accessories, but I was wrong hee hee :) . I researched where to buy it but ended up getting a bottle from DH’s Aunt who always has everything you’ll ever need. Giddily, I did it one weekend and again, the instruction is pretty simple as well:

The Method:
1. Pour the oil into your palm. Rub your hands together to warm the oil and smooth it over your face.
2. Massage the oil into your face. Massage the oil deeply into your pores in a circular motion. Work it into your pores so that blackheads and all that gunk can be dissolved and steamed away. (I love it when I feel little beady, pore-clogging stuff coming out of my pores as I massage the oil, delightfully gross haha!)
3. Once you feel your pores are clean enough, pick up your washcloth and soak it in hot water. The water must be warm enough to open pores and remove the oil.
4. Cover your face with the warm washcloth, and let it stay until it cools.
5. Wipe the oil away and rinse the washcloth well in hot, running water. Repeat steps 4 & 5 for at least 2 more times.

Amazingly, you’ll instantly see how this method can rid off your stubborn black heads! For more information, you can read THIS. I do not recommend it to oily skin because DH who has oily skin, broke out when we did this process together. I have normal-dry skin and got no breakouts.

If you want an easier step but would spare some budget, Shu Uemura really sells out good cleansing oils. Check it out HERE and HERE.
Untitled

Aug
04
Image Swiped from Google Search.

Image Swiped from Google Search.

Here’s a quick run down of the life span of Make-Up before I head on to buy some kitchen rugs. I still wonder what Hoarders and Make-up Addicts do when their Make-Up expires. I bet they just keep throwing them away to make room for newer ones.

This is one of the reasons I control myself from hoarding because I know it’s never healthy to use expired make-up.

  • MASCARA:4-6 Months
  • EYELINER:1 Year
  • FOUNDATION&CONCEALER:1 Year
  • BLUSH&EYESHADOW:1-2 Years
  • LIPSTICK:8 Months
  • BRUSHES:A year of longer, even forever, depends on the brand and how you care for it.
Aug
01

I would probably be the last beauty blogger to be raving about MAC. It’s just that it is not one of my top make-up brand favorites. You would see me checking on counters of Laura Mercier, Benefit, Smashbox, NARS, Clinique, Urban Decay, Shu Uemura, Stila and other nice drugstore brands but not much on MAC counters. I do not really know, maybe I should spend more time on their counters. That or you can blame my 1st MAC encounter which turned into a blunder. My skin broke out on their liquid foundation! I have read and heard raves on their brushes but yay on the price tags, especially if you have house bills and important house furnishing purchases such as a Danze faucet to prioritize.

However, these 3 purchases are just so hard to resist and I consider them my MAC must-haves.

  • MAC Fix+ is An aqua-spritz of vitamin and minerals, infused with a calm-the-skin blend of green tea, chamomile, cucumber, topped off with the fresh, natural, energizing scent of Sugi.  It adds radiance, finishes makeup. Spray i and make your skin appears dewey and healthy. I love that it also helps settle your make-up to your skin and making them long-wearing.
  • MAC Brush Cleaner is your best tool to clean those brushes. It cleans, disinfects, and conditions your brush fibers making them last longer and very soft. This also lessens the drying time.
  • MAC Studio Fix Powder plus Foundation is a powder and foundation in one that combines good coverage with ease of application. Designed to be used dry, the powder and pigments create a matte, velvety texture. It does not give you the super dry coverage, just enough to make your skin look healthy and radiant.

P1010384

Jul
24

Okay as promised, after sharing a natural beauty regimen, here are the moisturizers, cleansers, toners, facial soap/lotion, and make-up remover that I use depending on the season :) . Care to share yours?

I remember a friend who has wireless alarms/alarm clocks in her vanity dresser. She needs to time herself whenever she applies make-up. Isn’t that cute ;)

Mouse over, complete list in the notes.

FROM RIGHT TO LEFT.

  • Clinique Toner for travel bag
  • Clinique Rinse-Off Eye Make-up Solvent, eye make-up remover
  • Clinique all about eyes. Reduce puffiness, undereye circles etc…
  • Clinique Moisture Surge, very good for extreme weather condition
  • Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
  • Clinique Liquid Facial Soap, Mild
  • Clinique Facial Soap, travel kit size
  • Clinique Moisturizing Lotion, travel kit size
  • Clinique Clarifying Lotion/Toner STEP 2
  • Clinique Moisturizing Lotion
  • Olay Total Effects 7 Signs Serum
  • Regular Olay Moisturizer
  • Olay Total Effects 7 anti-aging moisturizer, one is with  SPF 15
  • Aveeno Skin Brightening  Daily Scrub
  • St. Ives Apricot Invigorating Scrub
Jul
08

Whee, this blog is still alive, ok :) . Thanks for my frequent readers who continuously read my entries here, sponsor3d or not :) . I love you guys! You know who you are. Anyways, I am on the last 2 weeks of Spring Quarter, and yes deadlines and exams are all over me. What is nice about all this is the fact that I will be on a week of vacation, (yea just a week!) really looking forward to our 4th of July weekend getaway with couple-friends. Other than my school, I have been helping out hubby’s cousin and his fiancee for their upcoming wedding. We get to talk a lot about marriage life and they would also seek our advice on the most trivial wedding and family issues such as which life insurance rates and services should they get. Hubby and I are very much willing to help :) . So there, that’s just a glimpse of how busy I am.

Moving on to organizing make-up.
Ever since, I got into mineral make-up and loose pigments, it became impossible to fit all my pigment containers in my make-up traincase because they can get very messy. So after some exchange of ideas with friends at twitter, our make-up forum and flickr friends, I decided to buy this “tools” container from WalMart at only $6.88 for the whole thing.  Voila! They look so organized now. I need to buy some more to accommodate the rest of my make-up which have been silently kept in my traincase. This tools organizer rocks because it fits perfectly on my vanity cabinets and drawers.  You can even try those plastic canisters/mini-cabinets or  silverware organizers. What ever you pick, it’s your choice and let me tell that if you are planning to buy any of those expensive train cases, think twice especially if you do not travel a lot.

More entries in the days to come, I’ve taken photos of my recent hauls and their all up in my private flickr waiting for me to post them here and make reviews :) . Till then.

lalagyan ng tools, ginawang lalagyan ng kalakal ni glo. kulang pa babalik ako ng walmart.P6130284P6130285

May
03

Again, I am so behind in updating this blog :( . If you just truly know how much I want to blog here everyday because each day I find (and sometimes buy) exciting make-up hauls but then again and discover new make-up tips, I have 8 other blogs to maintain, endless graduate school requirements, a son and a husband to tend to.

Yay! Enough of my excuses :)

For now, I promise to alert you of any Make-up sale such as this!

nyxsale1

Yes, all items at NYX are 50% off! If you want to hoard on some nice-quality make-up, very pigmented and lots of colors, and save your pockets from having huge  holes, NYX is for you :) . Especially if you are still experimenting on shadows. They have cheap items and with the 10th Anniversary sale, you can imagine how cheaper their stuff are priced now!

I already ordered my haul along with friends to save on shipping and I tell you, I hoarded bigtime. This got to be my last Make-up Purchase for the next 3 months, at least. I need to stop before my hubby complains lol! In fact, when he sees my vanity closet each time I am  playing with my toys, he can’t help comment that seems like my make-up are growing like gremlins!  I remember him telling me that I do not need to enhance my face with make-up but the body that is connected to it needs some serious working out or probably an Apidexin would be the answer to my weight loss haha.

To some who are still new with NYX, here are some reliable Swatches of their products.

Apr
12

Reject Mix. Base.Reject Mix. concealer.

So what do you with your reject samples from EverydayMinerals? Mix them with your matched base shades or make a different mixture of all your reject samples. You would be surprised to find out that you would actually create a better shade. My Reject Mix created a warmer bronzer finish. (yay! my cheeks are so chubby these days, I might probably start considering this appetite suppressant, don’t you think?)
Bronze.Bronze 2.
FACE: Everyday Minerals, Reject Mix (Buttered Tan, Medium Olive, Golden, Fawn)
CONCEALER: EM-Mix,  not-really Reject mix (Intensive Fair and Intensive Medium)
LIPS: NARS Multiple Stick Orgasm
EYES: Body Shop Bronze Shimmer Waves palette
LASHES: CoverGirl Lashblast
BROWS: Maybelline Light Brown pressed
CHEEKS: EM All Smiles

3rd order: Up close #3 Brushes and Freebies
Now, let’s move on to Everyday Minerals brushes.I love them all! My favorite is the Skunkless Foptic brush which I use for stippling/finishing and the flat top brush (I had to order another one!) which I use to blend and spread the base. The long-handled kabuki brush has the softest bristles! My face has always been irritated with constant brushing but not with EM brushes.

In general, EverydayMinerals has taken my everyday-barely-there-glowing make-up to a whole new level. Although it may be time consuming to apply as compared to pressed powder/compact but I definitely love the way this mineral make-up gives me the kind of radiance I want to exude :) .

Apr
12

If you read my 2 previous posts, you can therefore conclude that I have become addicted to EverydayMinerals and I could not stop raving about this cosmetic line to everyone I speak with :) . This is my 2nd haul, ordered a week after I tried on the free sample kit.

2nd ORDER: Sample plus additional

2nd EM HAUL/LOOT:
*2 puff jars which I still do not understand how the puffing works so they ended up as mixing jars and bag jars.
*1 Large Mixing Jar. I am definitely gonna buy more of this.
*Sample Finishing Dust, this is nice to drive away the shine and oil but I can do away with this because the base itself do not leave me with oily finish,only glowing and dewy effect.
*Sample Natural Reflections Fair Finishing Powder. (too white and too matte for me, thus creating a flatter finish)
*Baby Kabuki, you can omit this if you’re getting the long kabuki brush. Nice for your purse and vanity kits, though.

2ND SAMPLE KIT, (always get free sample kit when ordering, you pay for the shipping so why not include another sample):
BASE: Golden Medium-original glo, Sunkissed Fair-semi matte, Buttered Tan-semi matte—too yellow for me, my skin colors turn exactly like that of a butter color. I guess these bases oxidized on my acidic skintone.
CONCEALER: Intensive Medium (dark for my skintone so I have to mix it with Intensive Fair &/or multitasking)
BLUSH: Salon Fun

FREEBIES: (they usually give out freebies for $15-$25 worth of orders. freebies vary every month so make sure to check that out.)
For the month of March, the freebies include 2 lipsticks. I got nude and cocoa. This is their only product in their line which I really find tacky. First, it gave out an odd-taste. Then, the shades may be nice but it dried out my lips.

3rd ORDER: Personal Custom Kit plus Sample, after 1.5 weeks hehehe.

3RD EM HAUL:
Personal Custom Kit (choice of anything so make sure to maximize the kit. fill it in with big sizes and brushes)
Brushes:
*Skunkless Foptic Brush (perfect for stippling/finishing)
*Long Handled Kabuki – the bristles are better than the baby kabuki.
*Flat Top brush – This is the perfect brush to blend blend blend!
BIG-SIZED BASE:
*Sunkissed Fair- Original Glo
*Light Olive -Semi Matte
BIG-SIZED CONCEALER:
*Multitasking Concealer (perfect concealer for my skintone, can be applied dry or wet)

Samples: (Again, don’t forget to get the samples every time you order)
BASE: Light Olive -Original Glo, Light Olive-Intensive, Light-Intensive,
CONCEALER: Mint Concealer ( I have red bumps on my cheeks now because of the weather, I use this to cover the red spots on my face. I apply this first to neutralize my skintone before applying the base. Almost comparable to Dior Mint Concealer )
BLUSH: All Smiles, a bit peachy. Apply with very little amount because it is very much pigmented.

PLUS FREEBIES again: 2 lipstick.

You notice I am hoarding on all mixture of Light Olive and Sunkissed Fair because these 2 shades are the perfect shades for my complexion.

In total, I have this HAUL in 3 weeks and I am tempted to order another Personal Custom Kit to fill in with more base (in olive light and sunkissed-fair), blushes (walkee talkee, cookie sheet, sprung) and a big-sized mint concealer.

Em's E.M. Haul :)
When I totaled all of the orders I have accumulated in a span of 3 weeks, I was surprised that I got it for a relatively small amount  almost like a total amount of buying a Laura Mercier Concealer plus Nars Lipstick and Blush :) . Money well-spent, I may say.

Now, I can’t wait to try out these 20 eyeshadow shades which I am splitting with 2 other EM fanatic/friends :) .  Expected to arrive tomorrow. (photo taken by glo)
untitled

Apr
12

After I tried out the EverydayMinerals sample kit, I had to research and see what difference it has over the leading mineral make up which is Bare Escentuals.  Obviously, people would easily try out EverydayMinerals because of their free sample kits. I guess the company is pretty comfortable giving out this sample kit because they are fairly new in the business as opposed to BareMinerals which is 20 years old and that most of their clients testimonials would confirm that they did not have skin breakout. Giving out samples was a plus factor for me because it only shows that the company believed in their products to be able to give out tons of freebies and free sample kits.

1.) After some readings, I discovered that apparently EverydayMinerals HAS NO Bismuth Oxychloride which causes skin irritation. That is why the ratio of women who broke out with BareEscentuals(BE) are higher than those who use EverydayMinerals(EM) because BE contains these ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, mica, iron oxide and bismuth oxychloride. While EM contains titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, mica, iron oxide ONLY. Bismuth Oxychloride can add to the sheen, almost shimmery factor of BareEscentuals.  However, this Bismuth Oxychloride can be quite heavy on the pores too because it is a lead by-product, no wonder EveryMinerals is much lighter on the face.

2.) The second factor would be the pricing and starter kits. Bare Minerals starter kit includes two foundations (3g each), mineral veil (6g), warmth (3g) and three brushes which is priced at $59 plus shipping. Everyday Minerals has Personal Custom Kits (6 item of your choice) priced at $34 and Super Custom Kit (12 items of your choice) priced at $50.  Then with EM, you can always try their FREE sample kit of 3 base, 1 concealer and 1 blush. You only have to pay for the shipping.

3.) EverydayMinerals has more shades(24 shades of base) and BareEscentuals has lesser shades (12 shades of base). What I did with my reject samples, I mixed them in a mixing jar and created a new base shade which I also use as everyday base. You would be surprised with the shades you can create by mixing their base. (more on this in a separate post).

4.) Store availability. The only downside with EverydayMinerals is the fact that they do not sell on retail stores. Everything is done via the internet, so the only way for you to try out their products is by ordering the sample kits.

5.) Packaging. I must admit that EverydayMinerals should improve on their packaging but with the amount I paid, I could not afford to complain about it. BareEscentuals has nicer packaging, though.

But then again, we all have different skin undertones and skin types. EverydayMinerals may work on my skin and BareEscentuals gave me skin breakouts, but your experience might be a different one.  So, it is very important to order the FREE sample kit before deciding to buy the big sizes. Make sure to try it for a week. Mind you, I slept on it overnight. That is what I usually do to check if a certain make-up brand would cause me skin irritation and if it is long-wearing enough to last a night’s sleep :) .

Glad to have all this mineral cosmetics line, at least we have enough choices with this eco-friendly make-up line plus we are assured that these stuff are cancer free, which reminds me, I need to check on this mesothelioma site.