Finally!

I've been scouting and looking around for a train case that perfectly suits my needs. And let me tell you, it took quite a long time! I didnt want to buy a traincase and then replace it just after a few months so I had to make sure I get the right one. And finalllllyyyyyy I have it! A sort of early Christmas gift for myself too!

Okay so here were a few of the most important things I was looking for in a traincase:

1. Lights and a mirror

I wanted/needed one with lights. Sometimes the lighting is just impossible! Ive done makeup under GREEN lights, a badly lit room with well barely any lights haha so this was a must because you never know when you might need to reinforce the available lights at the location. I also wanted a traincase that needed bulbs instead of the flourescent tubes? whatever you call those haha

The mirror is a plus. I used to bring a huge mirror with me and I broke it. I cant keep breaking any more mirrors, its bad luck! haha







Double plus! The lights can be adjusted. Im not sure if you can tell from the first 2 pictures but you can adjust the lights intensity. One of its coolest feature! :)


2. It has to be lightweight

Now this was tough. There aren't a lot of options when it comes to lighted traincases. Theyre almost always huge and as heavy as I am! But I needed something that I could carry, because well I dont have a car of my own so lugging a 40 pound (I don't weigh 40 lbs, btw! haha) traincase is just going to be a nightmare and would possibly break my back.

It was a good thing that a friend showed me his traincase and it was considerably much lighter than the ones I've seen. Mine weighs approximately 20 pounds with all the necessary makeup stuff inside.


3. It has to have wheels

Again, I have to consider that I spend a lot of time walking here and there. Wheels are a must because I almost always was in the verge of tears when I had to go to a gig carrying my old traincase. Needed a traincase that I could handle carrying for short periods but not the whole time. I considered getting a makeup suitcase or that smaller one with lights at Suesh but it would be like carrying my old traincase, it would be hell-ish.





4. It has to be sturdy

It does not make me happy to see it with scratches or dirty. But let's face it, during times when my weak muscles fail me haha I could accidentally hit it against something. I cant have a traincase that could easily break from carrying and walking around for too long.

I liked that the wheels look sturdy. I didnt like some of the huge traincases that had really small wheels. It's also made of ehrm some metal thing (im sorry im not sure what it is exactly haha)





Im perfectly happy with my new traincase! Plus I no longer needed to choose between which of my stuff were more important haha I could bring more makeup! But this traincase is elusive! I couldnt find it anywhere else except Quiapo! I was told it would be available after a week, which turned into 2 weeks, 3 weeks and then a month. I actually kind of forgot about it until I found their calling card. I called in to ask and they said it was available and was selling like pancakes. Ofcourse you know what happened.....I dragged my butt and Caby's to Quiapo and got it! haha

The Damage: 8,000 Php (I was actually told the first time I went there that it was 7,500. Greed oh well. They wont let you haggle, we tried for an hour! haha) It comes with the power cord and 6 light bulbs (which I was afraid to use, replaced the bulbs right away haha)

Where to buy it: That mall near the Quiapo church (2nd floor, they have it on the 3rd too but their prices are more expensive. If you want a good deal, dont look rich! hahaha)



A peek at whats inside (and more on that some other time):

Can fit around 15 powder compacts on each side. Compacts on the left, Foundations and some palettes on the right. Kryolan and Urban Decay Palettes on top

It actually comes with a box/container for the middle part which
has a divider that splits it into 4 parts but mehh my palettes wouldnt fit.
And more palettes in the middle haha!

Anyway, the only downside is that it doesnt have a lot of space. It was a bit frustrating trying to arrange it at first. I finally managed to get everything I could possibly need inside. Its a good thing a lot of my things are already compact - Foundations, lipsticks and eyeshadows are mostly in palettes. I end up bringing an extra case for a few more things and my brushes. But other than that, im completely happy with it and its perfect for me so all in all it was worth the wait! =)

I'm alive?

I know ive been neglecting my blog, but the past couple of months have been crazyyy. With just a few more weeks left before this year ends, I promise to blog more often ( haven't I said that more than 1,000,0000 times? LOL )

This usually is the time of the year when I blog like crazy trying out Halloween looks. Unfortunately, I kinda lost track of time and next thing I knew it was Halloween already. Out of fresh ideas, I stole my boyfriends costume mwahaha.


Presenting.........................................

Me, freshly dug out of my grave!! hahah

And the boyfriend from whom I stole my costume from hahaha


He actually did the skull part on me, isnt he awesome? haha I did his makeup but hmm I think he did better than me. Well, what can I say? Cant compete with an artist haha. Oh and we used snazaroo for this. I would die if we had to use my regular makeup for this haha


Happy Halloween Everyone! :)

Kryolan Loot (Pic Heavy!)

Finally got to post this! One of the many awesome gifts I got from my lovely mother for my birthday! :) This was the last one I saw from the gift bag, and I tell you my eyes welled up when I opened this one! haha =) Thanks Momma!

Look at how cute and handy the case is. It has the compartments (which are detachable) on the side. The are a few slots for your brushes and a handy (also detachable) mirror.

Palettes!

Kryolan Dermacolor Palette, Concealer and

Lip Palette and Eyeshadow Palette

Aquacleanse (makeup remover), Brush Cleaner, Cake Mascara,

Individual Lashes, Translucent Powder and Hand Sanitizer

Brown/Black eyeliner, Lip pencils, spatula, two brushes

There are so many things in the kit, I actually haven't tried everything. But there are a few favorites already, here are the top 3!

Kryolan's Concealer and Lipstick Palette
BU201911

Concealer Colors: D61, D5, D375
Lip Gloss Colors : LP641
Lip Colors: Natl' 4, 080

The first 3 from the swatch are the concealers, next is the lip gloss and the last 2 are the lip colors. I use all of it as lip color. I find the consistency of the concealer a bit too thick and a bit dry for my liking. What I love about this palette though is that it allows me to mix colors! I sometimes just bring this and leave the other lipsticks at home and just mix the color I need

Mixed the colors together on my palette.
And here they are quickly swatched:









Kryolan's Transculent Powder
Art. 5703
20g/ .7 oz

A good alternative to RCMA's invisible powder, i've been using this a lot lately. Similar to the RCMA powder, this doesnt not change your foundations color and does not leave a white cast. This costs more than RCMA but I believe this is locally available through the distributor here in the Philippines. It is finely milled and dissapears as soon as it touches your skin.

Kryolan Professional Makeup Brush
Art. 4308

I find this brush very handy. Its a square tipped synthetic brush. And I use it for concealing, applying concealer, cleaning and defining edges.

That's it for now! Will post the rest when I've had
the chance to use and play with them hehehe =)

Golden Dusk

Someone obviously has free time to blog =) Trying to make up for the lack of posts. Seeing that i've only blogged 3 times this month irks me haha. With still a few days left before september, I am bent on getting that number up to at least 5 haha.


Anyway, just posting a look i did the other day. Should have taken a picture of it earlier though, after a long of day of going here and there, the colors have faded a bit and the eyeliner not as dark as it was earlier. Here it is anyway..

The eyelining on the inner corner starting to fade haha.
Ewwie lashes maybe I should wear falsies everyday, yes? haha

A weird angle but I love how the color
gradient looks. But my lashes are looking rather sparse, boo!

*What I used for the eyes:
-M.A.C Woodwinked (lid)
-M.A.C. Free to be, Hot hot hot, Expensive Pink and Coppering (crease up to brow bone)
-M.A.C. Nocturnelle and Shadowy Lady (Outer Crease)
-M.A.C. Carbon (outer v)

* I know I tend to go nuts with all the eyeshadows I use. But you basically just need a few key things to do this look: Woodwinked, Hot hot hot or free to be (for the crease) Nocturnelle and Carbon =)

Havent had much time to make an effort with my makeup lately. So with a new month coming up, I promise to myself that I will wake up earlier to do my makeup haha and then hopefully i'd get some free time to post and share them with all of you :)

2bU

A few weeks ago, me and a couple of friends got to do makeup for a shoot featuring the UAAP girls. Some of the UAAP players' girlfriends that is =)

2bU: Philippine Daily Inquirer
(August 21 Issue)

It's always so lovely to see your work published. I get giddy with excitement haha and so I immediately went to a store nearby and grabbed all available inquirer papers (there were only 2 left though haha), gave one to my friend Nikka and kept the other one for myself. Here are some BTS shots.

I did makeup for Rikki who also happens to be a courtside reporter from the University of the Philippines. Isn't she adorable? I super love her hair! She made me want to cut my hair shorter again haha

Photographer: BJ Pascual
Styled by: Kat Cruz
Makeup Artist: Maui Manalo (for Rikki)
Hairstylist: Muriel Vega Perez

I looove love the outfit she had on! I had to ask where the corset was from, but Rikki was one step ahead of me haha she had already asked. She told me it was from the Ramp. I am quite sure its the exact same one thats part of the outfit being given away by Little Miss Dress Up =)

Have a fun long weekend everyone! =)

Dress me up!!

Its your last chance to join Little Miss Dress Up's month long birthday giveaway! And up for grabs are two amazing outfits and a chance to win a beautiful satchel from Aranaz!








To join, head on over to Little Miss Dress Up. All you have to do is answer this question, "Who is/are your style icon/s?"

1. "Like" the giveaway
2. Leave a comment with your name and email address.
3. Follow us on twitter.com/lmdublog, facebook or on blogger.
4. Winners will be chosen via Random.org

Goodluck! =)

Brow Stylist

Aside from august being my birth month, ive been blessed with wonderful work opportunities as a makeup artist so I havent had time to update my blog as much as I would like to. And so, after a long hiatus from blogging, im back with a product review =)


I've been in constant search for a good eyebrow pencil. Ive finally found one that i've lked about a year ago, M.A.C. Lingering! Found it to be the perfect shade I wanted, the right consistency? (I dont like overly waxy ones) and it doesnt make your eyebrows look like they were fom the 1920's - nobody likes obviously drawn in eyebrows. The thing about the MAC lingering pencil though is, it only lasts me about a month (or less) and thats for persoal use only. It also is quite expensive if I keep on buying 1-2 every month. So I was bent on looking for a cheaper alternative. I've heard of L'oreal's Brow Stylist a few motnhs back, but unfortunately when I had gone to check it they didnt have any stock. But a few days ago Caby and I were going around Landmark, and I decided to go look at the L'oreal Counter and surprise, surprise..

L'oreal Brow Stylist in 501 light brown

(both ends hads caps btw, I just uhm misplaced the other cap haha)

The brow Stylist has 2 shades, the lighter one is taupe and the other one is a medium brown. I swatched both, and out of impulse bought the lighter taupe brow pencil. I woulsnt exactly say its inexpensive, but its a lot more affordable than the M.A.C Lingering pencil. It costs Php 695 ( I think, a few pesos short of 700)


What I like about te brow stylist was #1 it wasnt overly waxy, meaning it doesnt overpower my naturally thin eyebrow hair. #2 the shade looked natural, thoug you wouldnt think it would based on the actual color of the pencil. #3 It being an actual pencil, rather than the mechanical? type of pencil, it would last longer and #4 it allows you to build the color. Unlike the other pencils, it doesn' t shade like a Sharpie! haha




I've been using it on myself a lot lately, especially hen im in a hurry. I do like using brow powders, but it takes me quite a while to even out my nasty baldspots. With the brow stylist, i simply fill in the spots and it just looks like I naturally have nice even brows hehe.

Here is the swatch!


Top: swatched heavier ; Bottom: swatched lighter
As you can see, the light brown has a hint of gray which is perect for eyebrows



I'll post a mughsot of myself using it on my next post =)

Living the dream!

Please grab a copy of Chalk's 10th Anniversary Issue
featuring Kim Chiu on the cover =)

I am no Kim Chiu (a local celebrity here in the Philippines) but I can definitely say that I am living a dream! One year ago, I wouldn't have thought that i'd be doing what I am doing now. When I took a 6 month vacation to think about what to do with myself, I didn't think that this is where I would end up.


Funny how everything all comes together before you even realize it. And this blog, which I started out of boredom, turned out to be the storybook of how I got to where I am at the moment. Now, I have a part of my life in my own little space on the internet for me to read someday and reminisce. hahaha!


Anywayys, was super lucky to have done makeup for this months issue of Chalk. 10th anniversary issue, no less! how monumental! haha Me and Caby were tasked to do makeup on 2 college beauties who also talked about how their own style has evolved in the last 10 years. I loved that we asked how they normally do their own makeup and added our own twist to it. Wee! anyway here are the scanned pages (thanks Cabs! )

Beauty Feature
Lexi and Honey

Wee! =)

Getting your work published in a magazine, is such a dream come true for someone who is pursuing a career in Makeup. And to have this and the Lifestyle Asia, overwhelms me when I think about it hahaha. And so a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has made this possible, everyone who helped shove me right along this path haha =)


Words are not enough to express my gratitude but THANK YOU, thank you, thank you to Michelle Katigbak-Alejandro for this wonderful oppurtunity, RB Chanco for being the most wonderful mentor in the whole wide world!!! and Chad Tyler Meadows for the amazing photos!

And that ends my Oscar speech *bow*
Have a great weekend everyone! =)