I watched In Time a few days ago and I can't help but notice Amanda Seyfried's look. Her eye makeup was simple and a bit rugged and it made her eyes stand out. So now, my EOTD is inspired by that look. Here are reference photos:

How I did the look:

1. The first eyeshadow I used is Kinky, a matte white shadow from the Smoked palette. Instead of packing the shadow what I did was I packed it on first application then swept it all over the lid to build up the color. I wanted it to be visible and yet natural at the same time. I also used it as my brow bone highlight.

2. Instead of spreading the crease color all over the lid, I concentrated just on the outer part of my crease. You could also do it halfway just like Amanda's but I decided not to. I used Buck first to outline the outer crease.

3. I then used a small flat brush and picked up a black matte shadow and drew a line on my outer crease. The reason why I did that was because my eyes and eyelid space are small (you know, typical Asian) so I needed the line to be precise. If I used a pointed brush or a tapered blending brush, the shadow would just go all over my lid and that's not the look I had in mind. I blended the black shadow with another matte brown shadow. 

A matte black shadow or any matte shadow is a bit difficult to blend so make sure you take time with it. I used two brown shadows: a lighter one and a darker one. I blended the black with the lighter brown first. Then I switched to Buck since I found the light brown a little light to blend the black shadow. Then I switched to the light brown shadow again because Buck was a little dark. I just switched back and forth to blend the black shadow and at the same time balance the brown color on my outer crease.

4. I line my lower lashline with a black pencil and blended it out with a cotton bud. I also made sure not to line my waterline.

5. I lined my eyes and winged the liner out.

6. I applied mascara and false eyelashes and that's it! I'm done!

  Say hello to my nene days! These photos were taken almost 5 years ago, back when I was a highschool Junior. I was browsing through the photos and everything made me laugh! I was in my Japanese phase that time so I did the peace sign during picture taking. This field trip was my last so I'm glad I had a fun one. I'm so lucky to have these people in my life, people who make me laugh, who are as sarcastic as I am, who know how to keep secrets. Some of them anyway. ;)

Around this time I got something out of curiosity: bangs! Back then I thought it looked so cool but now all I can think is "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?". Since this is a TbT post, here's a dreadful photo pf me with bangs.

Heya! Here's a quick post about the the brushes I use for eyeliner application. I use gel eyeliner all the time because of its staying power. I don't need to worry about it fading or cracking. Because of my love for gel eyeliners, I make sure to find the right brush to apply it with, a brush that's easy to hold and picks up product properly. I don't have a lot of eyeliner brushes because I already have four brushes that makes eyeliner application a piece of cake.

Three of these brushes are from Suesh: an angled brush, a small liner brush, and a bent liner brush. I use the angled brush most of the time, both in eyebrows and eyeliner. It's perfect for winged eyeliner because of it's angled cut. I use the small liner brush for thinner eyeliner application. I also use it to make, say, dots or leopard prints or drawn lower lashes. The bent eyeliner brush, I think, is the easiest brush to use, because of its shape. The bent part sits on top of your lid, making it easier to see what you're doing. The last brush I use is MAC 211. I like how the handle isn't long compared to the Suesh brushes which makes it easier to hold and manipulate. With this brush, I can draw thin lines and thick lines. I also use this brush to apply eyeliner on myself.

As much as possible, spend your money on good quality brushes. You may have the most expensive blush or a limited edition eyeshadow palette but at the end of the day if you use crappy tools with it, expect a crappy outcome (except of course if the products are really the problem). Remember: good quality brushes = must-haves.

  I am sooo happy to post a makeup look after a loooooooooooooong time! I've decided that instead of posting  LOTDs, I'm switching to EOTDs because 1). they're easier to do, 2). I don't have to apply face makeup, 3). I can experiment more on eye makeup, 4). I don't have to worry about the zit that suddenly pops out of nowhere because I only have to do eye makeup! I might do LOTDs again, especially if I'm recreating a look, but as of now, I'm just focusing on EOTDs.

How I did it:

1. I first used a violet pencil as a base. I roughly lined my lid and smudged the pencil with my finger. Make sure you use a creamy violet pencil, something that doesn't dry quickly. The pencil I used here is The Body Shop's Glowing Amethyst.

2. I applied Rockstar on my lid. I blended it a little bit on my crease as well.

3. Using an angled blending brush, I applied Blackout on the outer corner/ outer lid then feathered/blended it lightly on my crease, blending with Rockstar. Blend, blend, blend!

4. Using a black eyeliner (I used MAC Smolder), I roughly lined my lower lashline then blended the pencil with a brush loaded with Rockstar.

5. I applied Virgin as brow bone and inner corner highlight.

6. Instead of using Smolder to line my eyes, I opted to use a gel liner and a bent eyeliner brush to line my eyes. I decided to flick the liner as well.

7. I lined my waterline with Smolder as well.

8. I applied mascara and skipped the lashes, and I'm done!

Tidbit: Got the title of this post from The Pretty Reckless' song, "Hit Me Like A Man". ;)

So that's me and my family on my 18th birthday. I've always wanted to celebrate my 18th birthday differently. I never wanted a big party, particularly a debutante party. I never wanted to look like Cinderella or Snow White or a Disney princess. I never wanted 18 roses or candles or all that. I wanted something different. And I got it. I went to Singapore.

It was perfect. I had plane food for breakfast, got a bunch of cosmetics from my sister, went to Boon Tong Kee for dinner. Oh, I love Boon Tong Kee! Totes legit Singapore food. Looking at the food on that picture just made me miss it more. But yeah. I was really happy I got to spend my 18th that way. With my family, with good food, and with the knowledge that my makeup class starts the next day.

PS. You know what, there's one Disney Princess I adore so much. Merida. :)

Last night, I baked my very first batch of red velvet cupcakes. My red velvet obsession last week made me search for a lot of red velvet recipes and I ended up with a recipe Joy the Baker shared on her blog which was back in 2009! It wasn't her recipe but she claimed that it was her most favorite red velvet recipe, so I decided to give it a try. (CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE)

I made some changes too to make my life easier. Here are the changes:

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature -> 4 Tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2  Tablespoons red food coloring

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/2 cup buttermilk -> 1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

For the icing, I decided to go with the classic cream cheese frosting:

2 1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted -> 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature -> 4 Tablespoons (salted) butter, room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

I absolutely love the taste of these cupcakes! It was chocolate-y, it didn't taste like food coloring (I used the bright red 20ml food coloring of McCormick) nor it didn't lack flavor. The only slight issue was the cupcakes weren't chiffon-like soft. I don't know if that's because of the recipe or me. Oh well. But they weren't as hard as rocks either so that's good. :))

This totally beats the popular red velvet cupcakes people are raving about! I'm never going to spend 60php+ for cupcakes that lack flavor with tasteless cream cheese frosting ever again. Now please excuse me as I get another cupcake to munch on...