Maybelline Superstay Better Skin Skin Transformation Liquid Foundation

Before I left the US, I went on an intense and crazy make-up shopping spree because of how affordable their drugstore brands were. I got a product from almost every brand I knew or have heard of but never tried. A couple of the items I got were from Maybelline, simply because I knew the brand and they didn't have a lot of Asian brands anyway. One thing you must know though is that I didn't really read through each product I got. If I thought the label looked interesting, I got it. If it was available in my current shade, I got it. One of my favorites (so far) is Maybelline's Superstay Better Skin Skin Transforming Foundation.

Maybelline's Superstay Better Skin 
Skin Transformation Foundation
in Classic Ivory 20
$9.98 (more or less P446.00)

I've been using this liquid foundation for almost two months now. To be honest, I didn't really notice anything great about the product. I just needed another foundation while waiting for my original skin color to come back (so I can go back to using my BB creams.) But as I continued using this foundation, I noticed my skin looking better. I thought it was just the lighting, or my phone's camera, but no. My skin actually looked better. Smoother. Finer. I had no idea it was the foundation since this is the first time I'm actually discovering and experimenting with make-up that is actually healthy for my skin too.

First Day High: Hello, Junior Year!

Things will be lighter, they say.

Things will be easier, they say. 

Junior year just started and it feels like we're halfway through the sem already. Loads are heavier, professors are scarier/harder to please, and our bodies are getting weaker aka growing older. I don't think law school will ever be easy, we just get used to it as the days (weeks and semesters) go by. Instead of pouting, worrying, thinking about things we have no control over, I try to maintain a happy disposition despite the bad recitations or the unfinished reading assignments. I also try to look presentable as much as possible because, as an old friend once told me, "If we fall, at least we fall with grace." And I think I'll be falling quite a few times this semester huhuhu. 

Since I can't blog as much as I want to as well, I've decided to document my Junior Year in Law School look. I have yet to see the effects of some of the new products I bought so for the mean time, here's a quick review of some of them.

L-R: Maybelline Fit Concealer in 20 Sand Sable, MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation in NC 25, Maybelline Cheeky Glow Blush in Peachy Sweetie, Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12-Hour Wear in 01 Black Lace, Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water, Max Factor Colour Corrector in Lavender, Benefit's The Porefessional Primer, and Maybelline's Superstay Better Skin in 20 Classic Ivory.

MUA Experience 101: The First of 2012

This is my second attempt, a successful one I guess, at being a "make-up artist." My fried needed someone to do his model's make-up for one of his photoshoots. Since I am also an amateur at what I do, he decided to let me do the make-up of his model (he's a budding photographer) so I can practice my skills too. His theme was something along the lines of fierce. Here is my attempt at making Iza, the model, fierce.

I began prepping her face by applying a primer all over. I used Skin Food's Black Egg Pore Primer. I then combined Etude House's Nymph Aura Volumer #2 with Skin Food's Peach Sake BB Cream #2 in a 1:3 ratio. Skin Food's Peach Sake BB Cream, I think, is best for girls with a more Filipina-like complexion. It is not too white, and it doesn't make the skin look oily after application.

For her cheeks and lips, I used Tony Moly's Backstage Sure Tint in Peach (02). It made her cheeks and lips look very much alive, but not in an overpowering sense. I also added a drop of the Nymph Aurora Volumer on top of her cheeks to give it a certain glow.

For her eyes, I lined it with a thick layer of Maybelline's Waterproof Gel Liner, for that rockstar, I-am-fierce effect. I finished the whole look by dusting Majolica Majorca's Skin Remaker Pore Cover in OC20 all over her face, and neck.

Again, I am still getting to know make-up so don't expect expert-like make-up results. Here she is. :)

Disclaimer: I am not an expert, constructive criticisms are most welcome.

Photos courtesy of Christopher Lee.

on thin lines and thick lines: eyeliners

I'm no make-up fan. I don't love make-up but I do like fixing myself up. Since the day I noticed how bad my eyes look, especially my eyebags, I started paying attention to how they look. Concealer became my best friend. It wasn't until a couple of years later that I stumbled upon these eye-popping coloring materials they call eyeliner. They help divert the attention away from my under eye are, which I would really want to happen, especially when I wear my contacts.

Over the years, I've tried different kinds of eyeliner. The pencil liner, the liquid liner, colored liner. Then I discovered more like the automatic, no sharpening needed cream liner, the pencil cream liner, automatic liquid liner, and most recently, the pen type liner. When I was first trying out eyeliners, the most common problem I encountered was the smudging.

I rarely had air-conditioned classrooms back in college and most of my org activities involved me running around campus. No matter how made up I was, I almost always ended up looking like an emo zombie because of the smudged, black eyeliner under my eyes. I didn't know much about eyeliners back then so my only solution was to make sure I wipe away at the slightest hint of smudging, usually after running or sweating during hot, summer days.