FOTD: SHIMMER AND LOUD

My last FOTD for this month, attending my best girl friend's bridal shower. I opted to use some shimmer on my eye make up and a bronzing powder since it's at night time and I also used a bold red color for my lips. 

Here's the look:

What I've used:

THE FACE SHOP Lovely Me Ex make up base in #2

REVLON Photo Ready liquid foundation in Shell

ELF Eye shadow primer

MAC e/s in All that Glitter

ACTIVE Cosmetics e/s in Gold

ACTIVE Cosmetics e/s in Pink

MAC e/s in espresso - used for the nose line

ACTIVE Cosmetics e/s in beige - used to high light the brow bones and inner eye corners

ELF Cream eyeliner in black

ETUDE HOUSE Color My Brows

ETUDE HOUSE Oh My Lash mascara in black

ELF Bronzing powder in Warm tan

MAC lipstick in Russian Red

MAC Select Sheer Pressed powder - blotted on face to set make up

More FOTD's for the coming month.

See you next month loves! xoxo

Favorites for NOVEMBER

It's the time of the month again for my favorite make up items from my kit! Christmas is coming and that means getting new items for my kit too. :)

Anyway, here they are:

From left to right:

ETUDE HOUSE Oh My Lash Mascara in black

ELF Eye shadow Primer

ELF Tone Correcting concealer

AVON Eye Defining Pencil

ELF Cream Eyeliner in black

THE FACE SHOP Lovely Me Ex make up base

BENEFIT Hello Flawless powder in "I love me" Ivory (from the How to be the Best of Everything kit)

Left: ELF Bronzer in Warm tan

Right: ACTIVE Cosmetics Eye shadow palette

My fave lippies (again) for day and night:

MAC Russian Red

MAC Chatterbox

So there goes my faves for this month. Hopefully, I can keep my promise of not getting a new powder and lipstick 'til the new year comes. :)

'til then! 

Review: ELF 24K SHIMMER EYELINER PENCIL

Hello loves! The last piece (so far) of ELF Cosmetics item on review for this month (though I have different colors) will be my ELF 24K Shimmer Eyeliner pencil in Black. This may be a good dupe to other brand of products alike.

Kohl pencils are very useful for it does not only act as a good eye definer, but also used more often for doing smokey eye make up. I enjoy using these kind of pencils 'cause you can easily smudge them with a blending or pencil brush.

It has a sharpener on the cap

swatched twice

smudged easily with my fingers

notice that it has some glitters on it

PRO's:

- very affordable

- easy to glide on lids

- nice color

- it shimmers

CON's:

- can easily be smudged if not applied properly

- very hard to remove, must use an oil based remover

So far, I'm glad about using this for smokey eye make up purposes. Other than that, I can't recommend this for use as an eye liner and for waterline application since it easily smudges. Maybe as an eyeshadow, it can work good too.

For the price, I'm not sure since it was a gift from my hubby's aunt and it comes in a pack of six. I'm not pretty sure if it's already available in the PH market.

There goes my last review for my ELF products. Hope I can take a chance to try out their other products in time.

'til then! :)

My CHRISTMAS Wishlist

So before November ends, I just have to post my wishlist for Christmas as Santa is already asking me for it. Actually, my own Santa. You know who he is! :)

You know that I'm really interested in pursuing make up lessons and workshops especially by the start of the year, so to add for my business venture since I'm now a home based working mom. Well, here's my simple wishlist for this Christmas.

 BENEFIT COSMETICS: Finding Mr. Bright

CHARM Brush: Sonia Limited Edition Pro Brushes

MAC Studio Fix Liquid Foundation in NC25

MAC Powder Blush in Pink Swoon

MAC e/s in Espresso

MAC e/s in Satin Taupe

That's just a few of my items on the wishlist this Christmas, well that's what I can think of right now. I'm more on a bag person so maybe I'll add a new bag on my list soon. :)

Anyway, calling my Santa and relatives. Hehe! 

xoxo

Review: ELF MAKE UP BRUSHES

I have reviewed my ELF products for this month, also wrote my remedy for cleaning my brushes. So how could I forget my reliable brushes from ELF then?

Well since I got introduced to ELF cosmetics two years ago, I have noticed their lovely and affordable pieces of make up tools whenever I pass by their counters inside the malls particularly SM department stores. Before their studio line (the tools and make up products in black) were launched, they already have these brushes in a more budget-friendly price.

Here are the ELF brushes that I have:

 I have four (4) brushes from ELF that is essential for my gigs :)

ELF Total Face Brush

(+) affordable price

(+) soft bristles after first wash

(+) can be used daily

(+) doesn't bleed too much

(-) bristles may dry if not washed properly

* Overall, I use this brush for blushers and loose powder, for touch ups as well.

ELF Foundation Brush

(+) affordable

(+) gives a smooth finish in applying liquid foundation

(+) soft bristles

(+) nice color

* I love using this every time I apply liquid foundation, it makes application smooth and easy.

ELF Eye Shadow Brush

(+) affordable

(+) can be used daily

(+) easy to clean

(+) doesn't bleed

(-) bristles may fall after first wash

(-) may dry if not washed properly

 

* It's very economical to use, you can purchase a number of this brush since it's so affordable. So you don't have to keep on washing your brushes whenever you apply different colors of eye shadow.

ELF Blending Brush

(+) affordable

(+) easy to use

(-) bristle shape may be deformed after several washes

* As you can see from the photo, the bristles already deformed after washing it for quite a number of times. For its price, you can't expect for a very good quality but I can say that it does the job well. I have used it for more than six (6) months with several washes so I think I've already used up its quality then. :)

WILL I REPURCHASE THEM?

If for the price and quality, YES. Especially if you have other people to use your brushes with.

'til then!

Review: ELF EYEBROW KIT

Another staple product that I have from ELF Cosmetics is an eyebrow kit. Well yeah, I gave it a shot few months ago and I think I can now make a review about it.

The packaging 

 

It has a wax and powder, a mirror also comes with the compact

the applicator that comes with it 

the swatch

How to use it:

1. Brush your brows with a brow brush in the direction of its growth.

2. Apply a generous amount of  brow wax using the brush applicator.

3. Brush with brow powder to set the wax in place.

PRO's:

- price (it's from ELF so it's very affordable)

- easy to apply

- quick fix for brows

CON's:

- it's wax so it bleeds at times especially on extreme heat

- staying power is not too long

- run your fingers through the wax and it's gone (sigh)

WILL I REPURCHASE?

Maybe not. I have other brow products which are more dependable especially with their staying power.

'til next! :)

Review: ELF EYE SHADOW PRIMER

I'm on ELF Cosmetics review this month, so I should not forget about this one thing that's very essential for doing eye make up. I've been using this for quite some time now and I can say that it does the job well for keeping eye shadows intact.

 The packaging

Product comes in a solid stick form 

 Swatch

with camera flash 

using ACTIVE cosmetics eye shadow in gray

If you've noticed, the shadow on the right side (with ELF primer) is more pigmented than the one without primer. I just applied same amount for both but you can really see the difference, without primer, your shadow won't stay good enough on your lids, especially if you have oily lids.

PRO's:

- it does its job well for making eye shadows stay intact

- price locally is around Php 200 (US $ 5) 

- very easy to apply

- non sticky

- smells nice

CON's:

- staying power isn't too long

- they should have worked more on the packaging

WILL I REPURCHASE?

Thinking about it since its staying power isn't long enough to hold eye shadows especially on humid places like our country.

More ELF cosmetics review coming up! :)

NOVEMBER Mini Haul

Hi! Sorry for haven't been active to blogging lately. My client on my home based work requires a lot of meetings so I'm already exhausted at day time and all I need is some sleep. 

Anyway, let me share with you my "mini" haul for this month:

Let's check them one by one:

COLGATE Optic White, available at Watson's for Php 49.75 (small tube) 

ETUDE HOUSE Color My Brows, Php 328 

MAC Lipstick in Innocence shade from the Glamour Daze Collection, Php 1,100  

It comes with a nice pouch, an ipad can actually fit inside :) 

HUMAN NATURE Products

left: Sunflower Beauty Oil - Php 125

right: Bug Spray - Php 149

(prices may not be exact)

available at Human Nature Branches Nationwide

Review on these products to be posted soon! 

'Til then! :)

My Remedy for Make up Brush Cleansers

Just this morning, I realized that I need a new stock of cleansers for my brushes. Running out of make up brush cleansers is a big NO especially if you use your brushes regularly. But then, I need to wash them and use what I have in my kit.

These two products are what I've used to clean the brushes:

left: Pure Beauty Perfect Cleansing Oil

right: Johnson's Baby shampoo 

Why these two?

Pure Beauty Cleansing Oil - a lot of make up artists and enthusiasts uses olive oil to clean their brushes if they don't have cleansers. I just thought that I can also use this since it's mild enough and it is a cleansing oil. It removes make up even waterproof ones, so it can also remove those on brushes. I have made a review here and I mentioned that this oil emulsifies. Once mixed with water, it will turn to milk. 

Johnson's Baby shampoo - it's a baby shampoo so it has mild ingredients that won't harm the brushes. It won't make your brushes dry unlike other liquid soaps. I have tried and tested this a couple of times so I know it's a good cleanser if you're not in a rush to clean your brushes.

So here's what I did:

I used some of my brushes from ELF (since these brushes are cheaper, at least I can easily replace them in case this experiment will fail)

I put 3 drops of Pure Beauty Cleansing oil in a container and dipped the brush 

Stroked the brush on a piece of tissue to take out make up residue 

Look at all the residue that came off from the brushes! 

Then, I put a small amount of Johnson's Baby shampoo on my palm 

Also, dropped with water and stroked the brush again to cleanse off the oil 

Washed with running water while stroking my hands on the hair to make sure 

that it's totally rinsed off. 

Let it dry (hair should be on the edge, not laid flat)

So there, if I don't have a brush cleaner, I can always make use of these two, if I'm not on the go. The cleansing oil made a good job in preventing fall outs and bleeding of the brushes. :)