Hello Everyone!

A few weeks ago my friends and I spent the weekend together on a Harry Potter inspired getaway. We went to an amusement park and later our friend's house where we played games based on the books and movies. We were sorted into houses, "conjured" Patronuses, and collected Horcruxes every time we won a game. I was sorted into Slytherin~ very happy to say that my team was the overall champion! We all had a lot, lot, lot of fun and towards the end of the event, we had a Yule Ball photoshoot (even though it was technically still summer haha).

(photo: A. Aquino post-processing: T. Rosario)

We made the decision to make sure that Slytherin streamlined and we had a unified look. The end result was very "Old Hollywood" with the warm defined smokey eye and red lips.

For my base, I did my usual routine with the Bourjois 10-hour Sleep Effect Foundation in #72 and the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone on my cheekbones and down the bridge of my nose. I also used my new Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 15 Fair under my eyes and mixed in with my foundation to cover blemishes. On my cheeks, I used my YSL Blush Variation in 3 Camel. 

On the day itself, I had Danie of That Nugu, do my brows, but here I used the Majolica Majorca Lash & Brow Colorist in BR555 Maroon Brown. On my eyes, I started with the Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze all over the lid and layered on more in the outer V. I deepened that with Erotica, a cool-toned dark glittery brown from the Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette. I took the warm gold Honey Pot shade onto the center of my eye. I blended everything in with Cocoa Puff, which is a warm glittery chocolate brown. Everything applied with fingers and blended with my BYS Synthetic Domed Shadow Brush.

 Then I went in with the Nichido/Precise Eye Pencil in Black Ebony in light dots and small strokes right on the lashline for subtle definition. I used the NYX Retractable Eyeliner in #08 Silky Cashmere on my lower waterline and on the inner part of my lower lashline (not on the tear duct!) I put a line of the Jessica Automatic Lip & Eye Liner Pencil in #22 Metallic Brown winged out slightly parallel to the lashes to elongate the eye. To further elongate the eye, I used my Eyeko Alexa Chung Lengthen & Strengthen Mascara, combing them up and out toward the sides and on the lower lashes. I also used some Andrea Individual Falsies right on the outer lashes. 

Finally on the lips, I prepped with Fresh Sugar Treatment in Rosé. On the day itself, I used Pauline's Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Mandore. To re-create that, first I stained my lips with L'Occitane Lipstick in #0141 Améthyste, then I mixed my Covergirl Queen Collection Lipstick in #Q415 Tawny Port and the VDL Expert Lip Color Lip Cube EX in #502 Hello Stranger.

(photo: A. Aquino)

Pauline (in blue & white) wanted to do a dark red lip (she's also done a post about this look here), Bella (in white) wanted a brown-toned smokey eye, and I wanted to use bronze-gold shades. We even put some bronze and brown shadows on Niño (in blue), which gave a nice sheen and some definition. I'm really happy with how everything came together and we all looked pretty damn good :)) The decision to have similar elements really paid off.

On this shoot, I also got to do makeup for five of my friends and they were all quite happy with how they turned out (especially my friend Marty who tried contouring for the first time XD) This has gotten me really excited for future photoshoots and I hope I get to do another one soon~

P.S. #SlytherWIN

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 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