Hello Everybody! 

I really like playing with my makeup. While I do have my staple looks and I do own way too many neutral eye shadows, I've always had fun experimenting with color particularly on my eyes. Partly because it's easy enough to get away with, but mostly because it's out there, but not totally esoteric.

I am extremely pleased that colored eyeliner has come back on the runways and magazines for this year. I have always been a huge fan of colored eyeliner (if my blog title didn't make that plenty obvious haha) and as a result of this I've amassed a bit of a collection. It has dwindled down somewhat after I gave away a few pieces and threw out old ones, but today I want to show you some of what has remained. 

A few of these are from my mom's collection as well because I tend to borrow a lot of them. The colored eyeliner look I tend to go for is the one my mom and her sisters wore all throughout my childhood and continue to do now. It's the two-layer eyeliner: first layer is a black all around the eyes with a flick, the second layer is a sort of out-line or eyeliner for your eyeliner with a colored liner

I won't talk about all of them because that would make this a very lengthy post indeed, but I will tell you a little about my absolute favorites.

Jessica Automatic Lip & Eye Liner Pencil in #18 Dewberry

Starting off with something that has been featured many, many times before on this blog (almost to the extent that it should be called The Dewberry Eyeliner). It is a reddy violet shade that is still a little too blue to be burgundy. It always looks incredibly polished on it's own, but looks even better when worn with a golden eye shadow or liner.

NYX Retractable Eye Liner #08 in Silky Cashmere

Another frequently featured favorite is this gorgeous rose gold eyeliner. This was a really good purchase as I have found multiple uses for it. It makes a great eyeliner for your eyeliner especially for a very simple chic look. It also looks really good along the waterline or in the inner corners for brightening your eyes. If you move quickly enough, it also makes a lovely eyeshadow when blended with fingers and it sets really fast.

Clio Gelpresso Waterproof Pencil gel Liner in #15 Bloody Devil

A new love for me. I bought this in Hong Kong a while back and it was in my New Year New Things post. I bought this after I threw out a red liquid eyeliner that had gone lumpy. I wasn't such a fan of the glitter or the formula at first, but oh my god it is gorgeous. It really adds drama to a simple liner look, but you will need a black liner along your lashline first. 

Peripera Saturday Night Liner in #4 Thursday Ocean

I am a big fan of a solid blue cat eye (especially for going to parties) and this was just the thing to use. You get so much more precision for a cat eye with a liquid liner than a pencil. It was a great going-out-makeup item because when it sets it stays on for HOURS. I've also used it above a black cat eye and in the inner-v with a bronze cat eye. I love the shade as well, it's a metallic neon blue and it gives of an Aztec feel when paired with gold shades.

Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer in #230 Deep Ocean

Speaking of solid blues, this is a drop dead gorgeous sapphire blue shade that I love stealing from my mom. It looks amazing and really brings out the brown in my eyes. Like the Peripera, it goes really well with golden liners and shadows, but is incredibly chic on its own. With a blue this dark, you don't really need a black line to define the lashes or much else really. It also looks good on most complexions as blue brings out the best in a skin tone.

It's amazing how many new colors and formulas are out there for eyeliner. Lots of companies from the road brands to the high end have really gone out of their way to broaden their range of hues. So I am very sure there is a shade or two or five out there for everybody. What are your favorites?

 Hello, hello, hello! This month I’m featuring my lovely cousin, Kim! She’s studying to be a nurse and then a doctor (best of all, she wants to be a dermatologist and has promised me discounts haha!) 

She also does hospital duty as a nurse-in-training. At the hospital her makeup looks are more subdued and natural. After hours she amps up everything from the big lashes, to the red, red blush, to the bold vampy lips. While she was at my house we had a long chat about the contents of her makeup bag and which products she felt she had to have with her, on-duty and off. 

Lips

I use Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain in LA Exclusive and Parisian. They’re very longlasting. LA isn’t as longwearing as Parisian though, maybe because it’s a lighter color. It’s moisturizing, glossy, but not sticky. I can’t wear Parisian when I do hospital duty though, because the patients get surprised. I don’t want to give them heart attacks.

When I have extra time, I gradate the Etude House Play 101 Pencil in #23. It’s really good for the gradated lip look. It’s not drying and stays on for a long time so you don’t need to reapply it too often. It’s a bit expensive for me at over Php 300 for a pencil from a Korean road makeup shop. When I do the gradated lip, the boys in my class ask, “May kinain ka ba?” (Did you eat something?) Boys don’t get it.

I use the EOS Lip Balm (in Sweet Mint) every night after I do my skincare routine. It’s great because in the morning you feel your lips get really moisturized. Afterwards, I just scrub and apply my lip products. The scent is relaxing as well. I’ve been using it for a year and there’s still a lot of product. The only thing I don’t like is that it gets sticky and you can’t use it over lipstick because it will stain the EOS.

I just bought this Maybelline Baby Lips Electro Pop (in Mint Sheer) and it isn’t very good. It smells like Lemon Maxx candy. I expected it to smell minty. It’s very watery too and you have to blot it after applying. Unlike the EOS, you can use it over your lipstick because it’s cheaper and you won’t care out it getting stained.

I got this (Estée Lauder Pure Color #14 Rose Petal) from Mama. If I don’t do a dark lip, I use this.  I use this when I’m on hospital duty so my patients aren’t too shocked by the color. It’s like a lighter version of a berry color. It’s moisturizing too.

Blush

The Mocha MAC Powder Blush is my first MAC product. It’s called mocha, but it isn’t mocha-colored. The color is like, what is it like? Pink, but not pink? It’s mauve! That’s the word. It seems more like a sculptural blush. I use it under my cheekbones, on top of the Happy Skin powder I use to contour. It’s matte so I use it when I’m going to be under the sun. So when I’m walking to school, I won’t look oily.

I only use (Nars Blush in) Torrid for special occasions or if we’re going out at night. It’s a bit dark so you need to apply it lightly. I use a flat Etude House brush that came with a contour kit I didn’t like. I don’t like the packaging of this though. It gets dirty and end gets dented easily. So really, it isn’t okay to put it in a makeup bag unless you have partitions, but I still keep it in there in case my friends want to go out after hospital duty. For people with my coloring, instead of Orgasm, this is the shade.

Eyes

I should really throw this K-Palette (Real Lasting Eyeliner in Black) away it’s gotten so watery. I only keep it when I want to do a wing or if I’m going on a night out I don’t worry so much about it smudging.

The 3CE (Creamy Waterproof Eyeline in #1 Cats) irritates me if I use it on my waterline otherwise it’s okay because it doesn’t smudge and the color is really black and the finish is matte. I use it more for above the lashline. The finish is more natural than the glossy K-palette. Sometimes it breaks when I sharpen it though

I have the Revlon (Colorstay Eyeliner Crayon Contour in Black) for tight-lining. It’s a lot like the 3CE, but it breaks really easily. I haven’t really found the eyeliner that I really, really like. I want to try the Bobbi Brown gel liner, but it’s in a pot so I need to practice. I used the Tony Moly backstage gel liner before and I enjoyed the process of applying it so I might like the Bobbi Brown.

Maybelline the Magnum Volume Express Waterproof. This one for when I am stressed. Just this so I look more awake and so I don’t look so haggard. I like that’s waterproof. I’m oily so it’s easier for mascara to smudge. I like the brush. It reaches the lashes on the corners. The only thing is my lashes clump together so I really need to use a lash comb. It’s metal and I have a hard time cleaning it. Sometimes I get lazy and just leave the clumpy lashes.

The Oh! M’Eye Lash Top Coat is supposed to be a top coat, but I use it when I don’t want my lashes to look too done up. First of all, when my lashes are too done up, it’s hard to remove. Secondly, if you’re just in school, especially since we’re all in uniform, I don’t want to stand out too much. We’re trained as nurses not look too bold. If my makeup is too bold I might get told off by a professor. And my patients aren’t allowed to get shocked they might have heart attacks. Deadly pretty.

Powder

I used up my Makeup Forever HD powder, I’d hit pan and finished it all off.

Unlike the Makeup forever, Clinique Stay Mattte Sheer (pressed powder oil-free in 02 Stay Neutral) doesn’t make you look too matte. You still retain some dewiness. And since I have dry patches, I need certain areas to look brighter and healthier. I was supposed to get a translucent shade, but it was out of stock so this was recommended to me.

Etc.

I have Chronic Rhinitis so when I get attacks, I put Vicks VapoRub on my nose. When I have a cough I put it on my chest area and it’s soothing. I keep it my makeup bag because I need it all the time and I don’t really have a medicine bag. I keep it there so I know where to find it when I need it. It’s also the product in my makeup bag my friends borrow the most often. They dab a bit on the sides of their nose to decongest.

As a nursing student she has seen it all. From people being born to people at the end of the road and has her fair share of interesting stories and anecdotes about curious ailments. It comes as no surprise that when I asked her what she wanted to call her makeup bag, she answered, “a Myocardial Infraction Makeup Kit or a mini-heart attack kit. It won’t kill you, but it will paralyze you for life. My beauty will paralyze you.” I must agree that she is very pretty and kind of looks like Pocahontas haha. 

P.S. Kim posing as Pocahontas