Stila Autumn Blues

Stila brings you its exclusive online special, the Autumn Blues set for only $30. The actual retail price is valued at $100 +.

It includes:

Blu Orchid Palette – four exclusive Eye Shadows shades in Sunkissed, Nectarine, Venus and Mohagany. Cheek Color in Quaint; Lip Color in Melissa and Apricot Lip Glaze.

Lip Glaze – Peach Cobbler

Major Lash Mascara – Brown

This set is available at the Stila website: http://www.stilacosmetics.com

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Alive and Doing Makeup

It’s been a while since I posted. Been through a lot these past few days but none of them should make me abandon this site. Whether people actually read this or I only write to amuse myself, this blog shall continue.

I just thought of dropping this post to make my presence felt. I am still very much alive and not gobbled up by cancer.

In a few days, I will be training a makeup apprentice to assist me in gigs. She will be trained for free and will earn from paid gigs. I have a couple of bookings in the next few months so I will be needing an extra hand to make people more beautiful.

I have reviews cooking up but I have yet to take pics of the products. After work, I usually make a date with the TV instead of the computer. I’m so bummed out I need to recharge.  Maybe the PR 1 ranking should cheer me up. Not bad for a blog that’s been in this new domain for about a month.

Will be prepping up for my next articles. Til Then!

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4 Steps To A Perfect Canvas

Makeup is your paint and the face is your canvas. An essential step to a great makeup application is perfecting the skin surface, or else the rest of the steps will be screwed up. No amount of proper blending of eyeshadows or sculpting of the cheekbones will save your day if the base is oily, blotchy or uneven.

1. Cleanse
- Wash face to remove prior makeup and grime. If on location, use a cleansing oil or towel. A favorite among MUAs is the Shu Uemura cleansing oil. A little pricey for something that couldn’t be seen: P1300 ($28) for a 150 ml bottle. A cheaper alternative is Elianto green tea cleansing oil P700 (around $15) for a 200ml bottle. The Body Shop and The Face Shop have cleansing wipes at reasonable prices.

2. Tone
- toning removes the rest of the dirt that mere cleansing cannot do. It reduces pore size while freshening up the face and controlling oiliness. A toner contains some amount of alcohol or citric acid so be careful not to use it too close to the eyes. My personal favorite is Dickinson’s Witch Hazel ($7 for 16 oz) which is an organic product. Nivea alcohol-free moisturizing toner ($6 for 6.8 oz) and Neutrogena Alcohol- free toner ( $6.76 for 8.5 oz) are getting raves from users.

3. Moisturize
- the first 2 steps can strip your skin off its natural moisture, hence this is a vital step for your perfect canvas. Properly moisturized skin can keep it supple and lessen the flaky appearance of a chemically-treated or dry skin. If you are on the oily side, it doesn’t mean you have to skip this part. In fact, a moisturizer can help you lessen the oil produced by your overly active sebaceous glands. Your body is a dynamic system that sends signals to lessen the production of oil when it senses adequate amount present. Hence, overly drying your skin creates the opposite effect and leaves you with an oilier skin to compensate.

Olay White Radiance (P499 or $10 for 75 ml) which also comes with SPF 24 gets my thumbs up. If you wanna go natural, virgin coconut oil is a cheap and less toxic option, if the smell of “latik” doesn’t bother you. Otherwise, extra virgin olive oil may be your way to go. Ziaja eye cream (less than P200 or $4) is an inexpensive way to hydrate the delicate zone near your eyes.

- incorporated in this step are lip conditioning and application of sunblock. The lips are crucial to the total impact of your work. After moisturizing the skin, dab some lip balm on your puckers. Burts Bees ($2.99) and Carmex ($1.59) are good finds . By the time you start applying makeup colors and lipstick, you won’t have a problem with lips flaking off because it has been smoothened out during the canvas prep.

4. Prime

After cleansing, toning and moisturizing, the makeup may still slip in no time. A primer is your answer to achieving a smooth surface and lasting makeup. It fills in lines and scars, makes pores appear smaller, forms a barrier to cosmetics that can clog the pores, tames excess shine and allows easier gliding of makeup on your skin. Examples are Smashbox Photo Finish ($38)- a cult favorite, Camellia Rose ($18) – my personal favorite, Bare Escentuals Prime Time ($21) or if you prefer silicone-free preparation, there’s Lorac  Aqua Prime Oil- free primer ($30).

Model: Cherry Ann Co
Photo by: Andrew Reyes

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Prenup Makeup

Last Sunday, I did the makeup for the pre nup shoot of my friend, Styx. I was as usual amazed at the Urban Decay Primer Potion for its ability to hold the eyeshadow colors the whole day. Throughout the scorching-hot day, I made minor touch ups on the foundation, blush and lipstick but not the eyeshadows. It managed to stay vibrant with the help of my trusty UDPP.

I likewise bow down to the power of the Max Factor Liquid Illusion Foundation which I personally used for the long day. Perennial snapshots with the makeup artist always caught me at my most haggard self, but amazingly, no oilies showed up in my photos this time. Absolutely no retouch for me as I was busy taking pictures with my camera during the shoot. Taking photos of my work allows me to check how the makeup registers on camera and alerts me to correct whatever flaws that may show.

Before

Her Vavavooom Version

Formula Used:

Face-

Smashbox Primer with Dermaxyl Complex

Max Factor Liquid Illusion Foundation in Natural

YSL Touche Eclat

Bare Escentuals Fairly Light Mineral Foundation

Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil

Elianto Caramel 2 way cake for contouring

Valerie Satin Sun for Highlighting

Lumiere Mauvelous as blush

Eyes-

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Mac Soba eyeshadow

Mac All that Glitters eyeshadow

Mac Cork eyeshadow

Mac Soft Charcoal on the creases and for filling in the eyebrows

Mac Rice Paper Eyeshadow

Covergirl Mascara

Mac Fluidline in Dipdown

Lips-

Mac Utterly Frivolous

Nyx Lollipop Megashine Lip Gloss

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Read My Lips :Nyx Lip Swatches Part 2

Here are swatches of my second batch of orders from Nonpareilboutique.com. Shipping was fast as the first time. However, I ordered Thalia for the second time but got a Tea rose instead. I compared it with my mom’s Thalia and my Tea Rose  so that’s how I knew it was the latter, although the name on the cap was Thalia.I checked the site but sadly, Thalia is now out of stock.

Some lipsticks came with a seal and some didn’t. The shade is written on the cap so it would be difficult to tell which is which once you got the caps mixed up.

1. Strawberry Milk- a pale pink that I intend to use for special effects  and on top of darker shades.

2. Paris- a  soft pink you can wear on a daily basis

3. Georgia- a shimmery/ frosted pink

4. Doll- a dark rose pink bordering on red on the tube yet lighter when applied

5. Castle- grape-colored shimmery lipstick, great for  creative shoots

6. Circe- a nude brown that works for some but pulls of a sick or dead look for others

7. Herades- if coral or terra cotta is your thing, this is your match

8. Goddess- Orange with shimmers. Blend this well to avoid making you appear like you’ve just slurped on spaghetti.

box cutter

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