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Happy New Year! May this year be better than or at least as good as 2014. May you still have complete fingers and toes and may you not have a bad hangover from all the alcohol in your system (if you had any, of course). Cheers to the new year and to new adventures!

If there's one beauty buzz I loved this year, it's Kylie Jenner's Bratz-like lips. Everyone went gaga over it to the point where both my Bloglovin and Youtube feeds were full of tutorials on how to get larger-than-life lips. While other people find it ridiculous, I, on the other hand, love it. I don't care if Kylie uses a lip liner, had a lip augmentation, or did some voodoo magic; all I know is that she rocks full lips like no one's business.

Hello hello! Hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas. Mine's pretty chill. Our annual family Christmas gathering with our relatives was't on this year so instead we visited some of them to wish them a Merry Christmas and give their gifts. Since that means going out, I figured I might as well doll up a bit.

I didn't really go all the way with my makeup. I decided to skip face products (except for moisturizer), eye products (was supposed to wear mascara but I didn't have time anymore huhu), and cheek products. I did, however, give love to the two places I love jazzing up: brows and lips. I had my brows threaded a week ago so all I did was lightly fill them in, just so it would balance the top half of my face. As you can see on the photo above, I went for red lips because it's Christmas duh. :)) This is the perfect occasion to wear red lips so I took advantage of that. My look is Model Off Duty-inspired although in my case it's more of a Semi-Haggard Model Off Duty look (the red lips made up for everything haha!)

Makeup Breakdown:

Prismacolor Ebony Pencil in Jet Black

Guerlain Le Stylo Levres in 25 Iris Noir

Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Effects Lipstick in 02 Cranberry Cream

 Before everything gets crazy, lemme post this first.

Just wanna share my Christmas mani: NARS Pierre Hardy Polish in Sharplines Right. It's the perfect color and the perfect polish for the holidays. And yes, there'll be an NOTW post about it, probably before NY.

Also, MERRY CHRISTMAS! I know it's not the 25th yet but I figured that I might as well greet you all now before I get sleepy and/or drunk. Absolutely loving the weather here in my country and I wish you're having fun wherever you are as well. May everyone have love, peace, and everything in between. Sending my love to you all. :**

x

Are you all done with Christmas shopping? Whether you're still shopping or looking for something to buy, I have something that might help you. Here's my gift guide: beauty edition!

Can't believe that Christmas is just around the corner! I'm absolutely loving anything holiday-related: shopping, wrapping of presents, cool weather, parties, bold lips. But before I head out, here's some beauty stuff I'm sure will be in my bag wherever I go in the next few days.

When you go to a makeup counter, you see beauty items in all shapes and sizes. You've got your pencils, palettes, bottles, tools, and compacts. But thing is, every makeup counter you go to will always have that one thing: a potted product. Some people avoid potted products like the plague, some are unsure of buying them, and some are confused on how to use them. Looking for a Potted Products 101? Don't worry, I got you covered.

Hi everyone! Gonna make this entry nice and quick.

If there's one thing I wasn't able to outgrow, it's nail biting. I started biting my nails when I was seven and 14 years later, I still am, it's embarrassing. So to prevent myself from biting them, I wear polish. Unfortunately, I went polish-free for three weeks hence my short nails. I was finally able to paint them yesterday and here's my polish of choice.

I love wearing polishes that are dark enough to look like black polish. This polish is exactly that. Stairway to Heaven is somehow a muted navy blue color and when you do two coats, it's dark and doesn't look blue at all- you'll see the blue color under a really bright light. I really love the color because it lets me have two things I love: dark polish and color. If you're like me who's tired of black polishes, try something like this. Also, this color looks so good as a base, don't you think? I'm thinking of applying glitter polish on top of it. Whaddyathink? :)

PS. To my Filipino readers, stay warm and safe!

 Another haul? Ikr. But hey, tis the season to be haulin'!

Omgomgomgomg!! I finally, FINALLY have my own Konad stamp set! I discovered a shop that sells Konad plates and tools so of course I had the urge to drop by. I went to the store last Sunday and walked away with my first Konad plate, scraper, and stamp(er?). There were a loooot of plates to choose from but I decided to go with m71 since I like the lacy designs. I had to settle for one for now though since the plates weren't exactly cheap. But for a start, this ain't bad. Can't wait to stamp my heart out!

Bought these at BeadtleSweet at 03-19A Plaza Singapura. The stamper & scraper set cost S$6.90 and the plate was S$7.90. 

PS. Locally, I've seen Konad stuff in Shopwise Libis. Dunno if they're still available though.

I don't usually cook but when I do, I make a mean pasta dish. :P

New shoes!

Damn right it's another haul. :P

Oh look, I'm joining the NARS bandwagon now!

Models: Luna and Anaelle

HMUA: Shaunne Kimberly; Luna's hair by Kate Aguilar

Photographers: Milan Del Rosario & Chris Reyes

Date of Shoot: October 19, 2014

My sister has a new brush cleaner and I knew I had to share it because it's impressive.

Howarya?

OH HAI GUYSS!! So sorry for the lack of posts these past few weeks. I'm in Singapore again and vacay mode is definitely on. I feel uneasy for not updating my blog so I'll try to post some photos of whatever I'm up to every now and then.

Ahh, books and brushes- two of my favorite things! It's funny because right when I got my birthday money, National Bookstore held a book sale where everything was down to almost 70% off- and this ain't the MIBF yet! Anyway, here are the books I was able to buy and an added bonus: my first Beauty Cosmetics purchase!

Let's start with the brushes, shall we? I've read and heard good reviews about Beauty Cosmetics brushes from local bloggers and Youtubers so I guess you could say that they're on my "To Try" list. Thankfully, Beauty Cosmetics brushes is available in a boutique in Robinson's Galleria which is perfect because it's quite near from where I live. They have a lot of individual brushes and they also have sets. I decided to try their eye brushes, namely the tapered blending brush, angled shadow brush, and eyeshadow brush. The tapered blending brush seems like a very affordable dupe for the MAC 217 so I can't wait to try it out. I can't wait to try it so much that I bought two! :)) I got the angled brush so I can easily *crossing fingers* do an outer v on my small lids. The eyeshadow brush I got was pretty dense, a little bit stiff, and not at all flat. It actually reminds me of the Real Techniques shading brush. I know I won't be using it on my lids though; I'll use it to blend!

For the books, I got the September issue of Preview (I love the finish of the cover!), City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare, Variant by Robison Wells, and Shards & Ashes by Melissa Marr, Kelly Armstrong, and more. I really can't wait to read these books along with my another unread ones. Also, I watched The Maze Runner this afternoon and I loved it! Seriously you guys, go watch it. I've heard negative things from people who've read the books but I'm not of those so I can say that I really enjoyed the movie. Because of that, I decided to buy the Maze Runner boxed set because I really want to know what happens next!

So yeah, there's my haul. It's been a while since I splurged on books and it feels goooood. Someone stop me from going to the bookstore again!!

Happy Sunday, y'all! Got some smokey eyes for you today! It's another "unplanned" look and something I just wanted to try. My main shadow is a bronze-y shimmery shadow and I wanted to incorporate a shade that'll spice it up. All I know was that I wanted the second shadow to be on the center if the lid and when I did that it resulted to a "sandwich". A sandwich is when you have a shadow (usually a dark one) on the inner and outer corners of your lid and a light shadow in the middle. It's something I find difficult to perfect on my small eyes and limited lid space so I cheat by making a dark shadow my lid color then just patting a light shadow in the middle of my lid. As usual, I balance my shadow-heavy upper lid by applying a dark shadow on my outer lower lid. 

Products Used:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Urban Decay shadows in Buck + Naked (crease)

Urban Decay shadow in Barlust (lid)

Urban Decay shadow in Toasted (middle of the lid)

MAC Shadow in Jaan (brow bone highlight)

Urban Decay shadow in Backdoor (outer third of the lower lashline)

Maybelline Gel Liner in Black

Maybelline Volum' Express Hypercurl Cat Eyes

This look is another favorite of mine. It's simple and easy to do yet it looks quirky and cool at the same time. I've always liked colored mascaras but because of my very dark lashes, they don't show up that much. Thus, this look is my take on the colored lashes trend. It's not blue or pink or green but it's freaking stark white. It was really fun to do and I didn't have to buy a tube of colored mascara. All I did was take a spoolie and rub white eye pencil on the bristles. Tada! DIY colored mascara at its finest. I like that I can do this with other colored pencils in my kit. There's one catch though: it won't set. I used a really creamy pencil and every now and then, I'd get white smears on my lashline and on my lid. I guess if you have an intense colored pencil that sets immediately then maybe it can set but I'd give it 1-2 hours max.

One last advice: use a disposable spoolie. I used a proper spoolie brush and, I kid you not, the product is a bitch to remove. It took me 3 washes to get most of it out but there's still some product on the bristles. I'll try to wash it again and hopefully I can get it squeaky clean. Wish me luck!

Products Used:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Urban Decay shadow in Freestyle (lid wash)

Urban Decay shadow in Naked 2 (crease)

Sleek shadow in Noir

Sleek shadow in Nougat (brow bone highlight)

NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk (lashes)

Catrice Made to Stay Highlighter Pen in In the Mood for Nude (waterline)

If you already haven't guessed from this post's title, this look is inspired by Rita Ora's look in the music video of Black Widow. Rita's look was a really bold winged liner and a dark lower lashline. I have to say, having a small lid was a struggle! Creating the winged liner wasn't the problem. The problem was the product transferring to my crease! Can't really do much about it since I can't just look down all day, can I? But anyway, I love this look and I'm really considering doing a thick liner now because I find it so cool. Have to build up some courage for that though!

A little tip for doing a bold cat eye? Create the outline first. I sketched mine with a sheer black shadow before retracing it with a gel liner. It just makes things easier, trust me. You can also use a liquid liner instead of gel if you prefer. I don't recommend using a black shadow for the liner mainly because the chances of product transferring on the crease are high. For the lower lashline, I used a creamy black pencil, one that doesn't set immediately and smudged it with a black shadow. I opted for the soft, smudged look instead of a harshly drawn black line. Other things I added to the look was a strip of outer lashes and some glued-on studs. I don't know but I just felt that the studs made the look edgier and kind of reminded me of Lisbeth Salander. If I were to wear this look, I would definitely leave the lower lashline bare and fill my waterline with a nude liner to open up my eyes. And yes, I'll gladly wear the studs. :)

Products Used:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Urban Decay shadow in Freestyle (lid wash)

MAC shadow in Carbon (for sketching the outline of the wing)

MAC Fluildine in Blacktrack

MAC Eye Kohl in Smolder (lower lashline, smudged)

Sleek shadow in Noir (lower lashline)

Prestige Eyeliner in Deepest Black (waterline and upper waterline)

Maybelline Volum' Express Hypercurl Cat Eyes

Sasatinnie Falsies in 08 Fantasy (cut in half, placed on outer lashline)

This is the 11th look already? Where did the time go?? Well I hope I'm not boring all of you with my EOTDs. I'm definitely getting used to posting looks everyday and I find doing the EOTDs so much fun. Hopefully I'd be able to post more after this 14/15-day series. We'll see!

Today's look is very cool-toned. And no, it wasn't my intention to do a cool-toned look. :)) The realization hit when I was editing the photos. I was like, "Man, this is too......cool!" You've got your silvers and pinks, not a hint of warm-tone on the lids. I guess I kind of knew something was a bit different because I really wanted to add a little bit of brown on my lower lashline to balance the coolness going on on my lid. I've two shades of silver and two shades of pink, dam right I needed some warmth on my lower lashline, haha!

Products Used:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

The Body Shop Eye Definer in Shimmering Steel (lid, smudged)

essence shadow in Irresistible (lid, on top of Shimmering Steel)

Too Faced blush in Cocoa Rose (base crease)

NYX unnamed pink shadow (on top of Cocoa Rose)

Urban Decay shadow in Gunmetal (outer third of the lid)

Urban Decay shadow in Sin (brow bone highlight; not included in swatch)

Urban Decay shadows in Naked + Buck (lower lashline; not included in swatch)

MAC Blacktrack Fluidline

Coastal Scents Gel Line in Wicked (first third of the wing liner near the inner corner)

Catrice Cosmetics Made to Stay Highlighter Pen

Maybelline Volum' Express Hypercurl Cat Eyes