Hello everybody! The makeup bag I got to dig through this month belongs to the ever so lovely, Pauline of Catpacking! I thought it was high time I did a feature of her since I never fail to include her in my posts. I mean seriously, there are very very few posts on this blog where I do not make even the slightest mention of Makeup Queen Poreen. Our taste in makeup in terms of colors and consistencies is very similar and I find it very difficult not to want the things she raves about (and I am told the same is true of her haha!) Really excited to get started so here we go!

A quick look at her blog and you'll see immediately that more than anything else, Pauline is all about skin. She talks a lot about having the right products for cleansing and nourishing her skin and all her primers and the bases she's tried. It then comes as no surprise just how many of these products she has in her makeup bag as you will see later on.

"I've had (the NARS Translucent Crystal Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder) forever. I've already hit pan, but it's still usable and there doesn't seem to be an end to it." It's a great powder if you don't want to alter the color of your base and great for setting makeup as well. It isn't so great if you're looking for oil control though. "It's better for drier skin. So it's nice, but not something I'd repurchase."

The NYX Powder Blush in Pinched has been lauded as one of the top Nars Orgasm dupes in the drugstore. Pauline says though that it is "not as shimmery as orgasm; there's more color than shimmer." This color is also a very big deal since she normally isn't one for coral tones. "I like this though the color is uplifting." I feel that a review of this coming soon on her blog so watch out for that! 

Pauline absolutely love, love, loves the Koh Gen Doh Aqua Foundation. I see her talk about it all the time. "I have a lot of bumps and textured skin so I need a smoothening thing." She spends quite a bit of time on her base makeup (often up to 25 minutes!) She used to use a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to buff this in or her Too Cool For School sponge, but recently she's been using this method to apply it.

The Fairydrops Platinum Mascara is something she and I both love. She posted a review of the Waterproof one recently and I did one for the Film Type one sometime last year. We both agree that, "it’s an all-in one: lift, volume, length, curl, and without any flaking." However, it is getting harder and harder to find these anywhere. "It's magic. What am I going to do without it?" What indeed :(

"I first saw this on Jen of frmheadtotoe. Everything she uses is so good." The Lioele Automatic Eyebrow Pencil is what Pauline has been using since she recently got into brows and says that, "it's nice for beginners." The shade she uses is quite dark, a grey-brown as a lot of the lighter ones tend to be too reddy-browns which just make brows look orange. 

This lipstick is a fairly new addition to her collection and is in fact her first MAC product. She initially stayed away from MAC lipsticks because "they dry your lips and turn it into a desert." This isn't the story with MAC's See Sheer as it is a Lustre so the finish is more moisturizing than the others. "The official color description is a grapefruit pink, but I think it's a muted warm coral." 

Fai"

The Maybelline FaceStudio Master Conceal is also very new to her collection as she had bought it the day before we met up. Her first impressions of it were along the lines of how light it was and how it was "liquid enough for undereye concealing, but not too slippy for spot concealing." She also says that it's quite pigmented and a little of this goes a long way. 

"It smells nice!" Pauline is really cute sometimes :)) She says EOS Lipbalm in Strawberry Sorbet is better than her Kiehl's Lip Balm #1 in Mango during the day, but she combines the two at night for when she's going to bed. She also says that the EOS is great under lipstick, but not so good for touch ups because it will stain the the lip balm.

Pauline didn't used to be a fan of the Benefit Porefessional, but this has since changed when she discovered that the trick was to apply the smallest amount so it wouldn't look patchy under makeup. "I don't know if it's a security blanket or if I really need it, but I cannot go out without it. It just feels wrong. My makeup lasts longer with it so why stop a good thing."

"I don't do powder highlighters. It's either a lot of shimmer or a lot of glitter." So she uses the Benefit Watt's Up. It's a cream formula that is better for blending into the skin. Plus it comes in a stick which is always good. Other highlighters also tend to be more white or gold colored and when they do get warmer the shade takes on a more pink tone. "It’s a golden champagne highlighter it look more natural on my warm skin than a pink highlighter."

Pauline has quite a few skin concerns so really addressing those with her makeup and skincare is very important to her. "I am a person with acne prone skin who wants to pretend I don’t have acne prone skin and does not want to aggravate it." She also feels like something is off when she puts on makeup and doesn't do the primer + concealer + base + powder formula. So when I asked her what she would call her makeup bag (I jokingly suggested "All Your Base Are Belong To Us") we came up with Cover All Your Bases. Because with five out of ten items in her makeup bag devoted to skin, Pauline's makeup priorities are very clear indeed.

P.S. Poreen and I snapchat each other a lot 

Just

 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