Travel Makeup - 2015 Edition

The other day I posted about what makeup brushes I usually take on my trips. Today I'll be sharing what makeup products I usually take on trips. Yes, I always bring makeup with me even on trip because you always have to put your best face forward! *winks*
Ever Bilena powder foundation in Light Natural * This will serve as my setting & retouching powder. It comes in a sleek black case and has a sponge like applicator too. 
L'oread True Match liquid foundation in Natural Beige W3 * This liquid foundation is very lightweight and natural looking on my skin. I need to take a liquid foundation with me for those night out "laags" I'll be having with my sister.
Revlon age defying concealer in Light Medium * For days when I've lacked a bit of sleep, this concealer is my best friend. It's creamy and very blendable. It doesn't crease and has a lovely finish. Ever Bilena matic liner in Hazel Brown * Currently testing this product out. I love that I don't have to sharpen this as it's an automatic liner. Good for both the brows and eyes!
San San single eyeshadow in Warm Copper Fire * I use this shadow to "lock in" the creamy pencil liner that use to fill in my brows. It's also a very nice crease/transition shade...
Etude House color my brows eyebrow gel in Rich Brown * This brow gel goes really well with my current hair color and has great lasting power. Definitely something I'm looking for in a product as I don't really like having to touch up my brows when I'm out and about. Revlon customeyes waterproof mascara in Black * This is my current favorite mascara. It has 2 "functions", lengthening and volumizing. Plus it's waterproof, so I need not worry when I'm rushing around.
SanSan felt tip eyeliner in Black * I have a review on this baby. I've been through a lot of them because they are really wonderful! I find it easier to use eyeliner in pen form rather than fussing around with gel liner.
Wet N Wild color icon palette in Smoke & Melrose * I also have a review on this palette. I love that it has everything to create both day and night looks without being so bulky! NYX powder blush in Dessert Rose * This is a highly pigmented blush that has a matte finish. It's a vibrant burgundy-pink that adds a beautiful flush when I wear it. This is more night appropriate but when applied with a light hand, you can definitely wear this during day time.
Careline powder blush in Fresh Tomato * I purchased this shade because of this review. It's now one of my favorite blush shades for day time use. It's long lasting, comes in a very slim casing, very pigmented and affordable!
Revlon photo ready bronzer in Bronzed & Chic * 4 shades in 1? Definitely taking this along with me! It's matte so it works beautifully as contour powder. Nichido lip liner in Rosette * This is a great lip liner that goes with almost any lipstick that I layer over it. I specifically chose to take this along with me on the trip because I can wear it on it's own as well. The only down side is that I have to sharpen this once in awhile because it isn't automatic.
Wet N Wild megalast lipsticks in Just Peachy, Smokin' Hot Pink & Cinnamon Spice * Yes, I really need 3 different lipsticks for my trip! Lol. Just peachy is my current everyday lip shade. It's perfect for everyday wear. I brought smokin' hot pink along for when I want a bolder and brighter daytime lipstick. Cinnamon spice is for my night outs
EOS lip balm in Sweet Mint * I really love this lip balm because it performs well and smells really nice. Plus, cute packaging!!!


That's it for my travel makeup... Quick question... If you could only bring 3 (the horror!) makeup products on a trip, what would it be?
Personally I'd take the following : Fanny Serrano 2 way cake foundation ( because you can use it both dry & wet!) ELF eyebrow kit (because it has EVERYTHING you need to create beautiful brows!) Lip & Cheek tint (because I can use it as a blush & lip color!)

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Makeup Brushes I Take On Trips!

Makeup is a big part of who I am. I think everyone in my life knows that. I put on makeup even when I don't have anywhere to go just because I'm bored or I'm feeling "adventurous". Going out of town is no excuse for me to not put on makeup and though it can be a hassle to bring a lot of makeup products and brushes during trips, I've picked out the "essentials". In this post I'll be sharing my essential makeup brushes that I pack up for trips. I have a mix of face and eye brushes that don't really take up a lot of space and make my life easier when it comes to makeup application. I'll be sharing my essential makeup for trips on a different post...
I have 4 face brushes that I take along on trips. First I take the Sigma Angled Kabuki brush (F84). This brush serves as my overall foundation brush and I also use the tip for under eye concealer application. I also take my favorite Beauty Cosmetics flat top brush in pink. I've had this brush for about 2 years and it's served me well. I use this to apply my setting or pressed powder. I also take my ELF powder brush because this is the brush I use to apply my blush and sometimes also my bronzer. Lastly I take my Real Techniques setting brush in orange. This lil one takes care of all my contouring needs. Sometimes I also use it to set my under eye concealer.

Now let's talk about eye brushes. I need quite a lot as each brush has its own use. Since I have a large enough travel makeup kit, I'll be bringing along 7 brushes. On the top most are my Ellana detailer brush for smudging out my eyeliner or a shadow on my bottom lash & Real Techniques detailer brush which I use as a lip brush because its shape gives me much more control when I apply lipstick. Next I have my Marrionnaud double end brush for my brows (sadly the spoil end had gone *poof!*). I also have my CPC 219 pencil brush for a more controlled crease color application and my CPC 253 large shader brush for easy lid color application. My last two brushes are the Urban Decay double ended brush which came with my Naked 2 palette and the Beauty Cosmetics fluffy blending brush which helps me blend my shadows to perfection!
That's it for the brushes that I'll be bringing with me... My next post will be about the skincare & makeup products that I'll be bringing along so watch out for it!
Quick question... Do you have any of the brushes above? If yes, which ones? If no, which ones would you like to try out? *smiles*

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Retail Therapy : Zalora

I did a bit of retail therapy online the other day and decided to shop at Zalora (among other shops) to look for basic black flats. I'm preparing for my trip to Singapore (which I'll be posting about once I'm there!) and I just know in my heart I need basic black flats since they go with EVERYTHING in my closet! It's pretty difficult finding shoes that fit me (I'm usually a size 10 or 40!) so I'm lucky that Zalora carries several brands with my size... The shipping was pretty fast too! I placed in my order and paid via credit card last Saturday (Jan. 17) and it arrived yesterday (Jan. 19)... Read on to check out my little haul... ZALORA Basics - Basic Ballerina Flats Price : P399 Color : Black (comes in 3 other colors)
This is a pair that was originally for me but then I decided that this would look a lot better on my sister because it has an almond shaped toe area. My sister has slimmer feet and since she's off to college, I'm sure these basic black flats will serve her well! Mi Mieux - Alexis Ballet Flats Price : P299 Color : Black (comes in 2 other colors)
This pair happened to be the one I chose for myself. It has a rounder toe and can accommodate my wide feet better. It's not so clear in the photo but this has a simple bow detail on the front part. Can't wait to explore Singapore in these babies! CLN Specials - Zippered Wallet Price : P349 Color : Purple (comes in 8-10 other colors)
Lastly I purchased this zippered wallet to help keep my cash and other little things organized in my bag especially on my trip to Singapore. I wanted a pouch that could hold my keys, cash and other tidbits so that it wouldn't litter around my bag. This is perfect because my phone can also fit inside it! It has three compartments, a wristlet-type cord and is in one of my favorite colors - purple! Will definitely talk more about this pouch in the future... It's going to be included in my "what's in my bag" post soon... 

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Weekly Updates!

This week has been a rushed kind of week. So many things to do, so little time! I've been rushing around the house trying to get everything together. Why? Well, I'm leaving for a little trip on the 24th and I want everything in order at home before I leave. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but I live next door to my grand folks and as my parents are away most of the time, they are my legal guardians. They're the ones taking care of me BUT in reality, it's the other way around! *laughs* The past week has has me making meal plans for them, preparing for lola's birthday tomorrow (01-19-15) and everything else in between but I also promised myself I'd try my best to update this blog regularly. So, here's a weekly update. I'm still fallowing a calorie-counted meal plan from One Tomato ZC and above are some of my favorite meals for this week! Curried chicken rice and veggies, grilled tuna belly with pickled veggies and upland brown rice, greek pita wrap (chicken) with yogurt dressing, beef pot roast with mushroom gravy and upland brown rice, grilled salmon with sprouts and upland brown rice and lastly, my ultimate favorite meal this week : roasted chicken with apple sauce, veggies and upland brown rice! This little cutie pie happens to be my first "child" client. Her mommy (a co-worker) had me do her makeup because she was a flower girl at a wedding the other day. I despise heavy makeup on kids so all I did was add a bit of definition and sparkle. I tried to stick with pinks and very light browns to emphasize her youth. That barbie-hot pink lipstick is MAC's Candy Yum Yum, by the way. I also received my items from Prinsesitasarah Cosmetics this week. I ordered a "cult" favorite, the L.A. Girl gel liner in black. I also ordered additional Wet n Wild megalast lipsticks in just peachy and cinnamon spice. I have a growing collection of these lipsticks and I knew I just had to get these particular shades since I've been tracking them down for forever! Yesterday I went to run some errands before I started to tinker around in the kitchen. I decided to put on a "full face" and use my new lipstick. It's the cinnamon spice one. Cinnamon spice is a brick red with a lot of brown undertones. It looks really nice on my medium light-medium skin tone and is actually very wearable even in the day time! I also made fondant from scratch and even if it was a bit ugly at first, it finally came together in a cohesive ball. I wrapped it up in cling wrap and left it to "season" a bit. I also baked fudgy brownies this week. After trying out a couple recipes, I finally found one that I really liked. Its thick and fudgy on the inside but crinkly on the outside. I bet this'll taste even better with a topping of toasted almonds or a drizzle of salted caramel!!! *drools* Lastly I made butter sugar cookies with royal icing design. These are definitely on the menu at Sugar Works for this upcoming Valentine's Day. I'm all about the L-O-V-E, baby! *laughs* I'm going to end this post with this fun collage I made with an application called PhotoGrid. It's for free in the App Store. Go get it! It's pretty cool and easy to manipulate...
That's it for this week. I'm off to start packing my luggage for my trip. Till my next post! 

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Weekly Songs (01-05-15 to 01-01-11-15)

Sharing videos of several songs I've been loving this week!

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Calorie Counting : The Beginning!

I've always been on the heavy side since I was a little kid. People always told me that I'd outgrow it and lose the baby fat. Well, I'm in my early 20's and that baby fat hasn't gone away. Not even an inch! So, as part of my 2015 new year's resolutions, I've vowed to make an effort in getting healthy! My first step is to start eating healthier... I used to live off junk food and fast food meals. Burgers, fries and large iced teas were my best friends. So was pizza, potato chips and a lot of cupcakes in between! Needless to say, I gained so much weight in 2014 that I went up 2 dress sizes! From a UK18, I became a UK 22... At first it didn't really bother me but I had a major wake up call from my dad due to several health incidents last 2014. In the later part of 2014, I did try to lose weight and I came down to (a still heavy!) 107kgs or 235.89lbs... My current correct height is 5'1" and according to BMI, my healthy weight should be 45-57kgs or 99-125.66lbs. That's a LOT of weight I need to lose! Aside from exercise (which I'll be talking about in another post), eating healthy has always been difficult for me because most of the food, even the home cooked meals, are high in calories and fat plus I always seem to end up having double servings. Thankfully One Tomato ZC opened up last year and this year it's going to be one of my allies in my weight loss journey. One Tomato ZC is a Zamboanga based healthy food shop that is the brainchild of Sandy Balagapo, nurse & certified chef! The great thing is that she has this healthy food program which takes care of my lunch & dinner meals. Ready to eat, calorie counted and best of all, yummy! Here's a peek at the meals I had this week... *L (lunch), D (dinner) Monday : L = Chicken Ala King with Upland Brown Rice, D = Country Style Fried Chicken Salad Tuesday : L = Beef & Bean Noodle Salad, D = Korean Fried Chicken with Upland Brown Rice Wednesday : L = Sweet & Sour Fish Fillet with Upland Brown Rice, D = Korean Bibimbap Salad Thursday : L = Japanese Chicken Omurice, D = Dory Burger with Organic Kamote Chips Friday : L = Roasted Tangigue with Upland Brown Rice, D = Asian Chicken Salad Saturday : L = Chicken French (Lemon Butter) with Upland Brown Rice, D = Tuna Sisig with Upland Brown Rice
For breakfast I had either whole grains cereal with low fat milk, rolled oats with low fat milk, or 1 pandesal & a boiled egg. As for the One Tomato ZC meals...I thoroughly enjoyed all these meals except the roasted tangigue which is probably because I'm not a huge fish eater! My favorites were the korean fried chicken meal, japanese chicken omurice meal and the asian chicken salad!
I'll be blogging regularly about my journey to weight loss. Watch out for my exercise post soon! Wish me luck on this challenge to become a healthier and happier version of myself!  PS : Weekly meals cost P1350/program plus an additional P150 as delivery fee. No more hassle because my meals get delivered right at home! Sundays are supposed to be CHEAT days but I ordered extra Saturday meals...

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Review : Red District's Glam Blush Palette

One of the makeup products that I don't have much of happens to be blushes. I'm not a big blush fan as I've always been conscious of my big fluffy cheeks but over the past few months, I've caught myself reaching for my little stash more and more. Not to mention, I've been needing more blushes for makeup gigs. The problem I had was that I didn't want bringing so many little pots of blush so I knew right away I had to invest in a blush palette. Luckily I stumbled upon an online shop called Red District that sells several kinds of makeup palettes. Last year I picked up their Glam Blush Palette which seems to be pretty similar to the Coastal Scents one. What : Glam Blush Palette Where : Red District Price : 350php Description from site : "This 10 Color Glamorous Blush Palette contains soft nudes, pretty pinks, and deep berry shades in matte and shimmer finishes. Create the perfect flirty flush for day or night!"
Ingredients (according to site) : Talc, Mineral Oil, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Stearate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Lanolin, Methylparaben, Proplyparaben, BHT. May contain: Mica, Iron Oxides, Ultramarine Blue, D&C Red No. 7 Ca Lake, FD&C Red No.40 Al Lake, FD&C Yellow No. 5 Al Lake, FD&C Blue No. 1 Al Lake Top, Left - Right : Light pink - satin Light coral brown - satin Medium pink - satin Bright coral-orange - shimmer Deep coral - shimmer Bottom, Left - Right : Natural pink - matte Orange - shimmer Peachy pink - matte Deep fuchsia - matte Light coral - shimmer My personal favorites are the ones marked by stars. I've been using the light pink & peachy pink blush overtime I wear makeup. Now onto swatches! Here's an old photo (prior to me chopping off my hair) of me using both of my fave blushes from this palette blended into each other! It's very pretty in real life. What I Liked : * Affordably priced. * Sleek but sturdy packaging makes it every makeup artist's dream come true. I don't have to worry about my blushes breaking while inside my trolley. * Most of the blushes are pigmented and long wearing. * Works with almost all skin tones. * Blush colors are true to pan colors. * I didn't have any allergic reactions to the blushes. * Diverse collection of colors, with no two blushes alike. What I Didn't Like : * Only available for online orders. * I would have loved this even more if it had a blush that could act as a highlight and a blush than can double as a contour or bronzer. It would then be such a complete palette! That's about it for this review. Check out Red District for more gorgeous palettes for makeup artists and makeup enthusiasts alike!

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What I Got For Christmas 2014

Calendar check - January 05, 2015! I still have a 2014 food hangover from all the stuff I ate but I'm not complaining. I find myself very lucky to be this blessed. Anyway, today I'm sharing my first ever "What I Got For Christmas" post. I don't think I've ever done one of these before. Before I get started, I just want to clarify that I have ZERO intention of BRAGGING about anything in this post. Most items were gifted by generous family members & friends and the rest are stuff I bought with money I saved up from my sideline job - freelancing as a makeup artist & a baker for Sugar Works! Having said that... Let's get started! My sugar fix - Green Tea KitKat & chocolate bars from my mum & lil sister. Several new tops from my mum. I'll be posting some "outfit-of-the-day" posts soon with these new pieces. I'm particularly fond of that gray checked long sleeved blouse that's barely peeking out. New hankies from mum. The Lord knows I need new ones! A polka dotted fleece blanket from my mum because she knows I love my soft warm blankets as much as I love my bed. Charles & Keith 2-in-1 handbag & cross body bag from my dad. I really like this bag. It's my first "semi adult but still fun" bag that looks really classy. Sandra (Tan) Bag by Tannery from my Ninang Sam. You can get yourself one of these beauties here. This is a great slouchy hobo for those dress down days where I run errands and need a lot of bag space to stuff my things in! It can even fit my 15" macbook pro! Michaela 2-in-1 handbag & cross body bag that I bought for myself. This is what I consider a small bag. It can fit my everyday essentials like my wallet, keys, phones, a pack of tissues and an umbrella. This is what I've been using most of the time. Blue Perllini wallet from my mum. I asked her for a new wallet that's a tri-fold because my old wallet was too big for my liking. I really like this new wallet of mine because it's blue! Apple Blossom bath set from my Ninang Tess. I've yet  to open the seal on them but I'm already using the mini pink bath scrub. Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea Lotus perfume from my mum. A clean and crisp new scent to add to my slow growing collection of perfumes. My lil sister received this last year and I've been hooked to the scent. Glad to finally have one for myself.  Contour kit & Blush palette from Red District. L'Oreal True Match liquid foundation from PrinsesitaCosmetics. Brush Egg from Beauty Cosmetics. Ever Bilena pencil and Goody elastics from local mall. All these items are my gifts to myself.
Revlon Suede Lipstick from my Tita Mei. I've swatched this a couple of time and wore it twice out. I've yet to come up with a review for this baby.

Books from my lil sister. She knows what a huge bookworm I am and I always appreciate getting books. I'm currently reading A Certain Age.

Pandora Essence bracelet from my mum. It has the charms Taurus, Love & Health. I plan on adding 2 more charms on this beautiful bracelet.

Kitchen scale from my dad. As I'm expanding my small business to fondant & gum paste cakes, this beautiful scale will definitely be a constant baking companion!

Decorating wheel/lazy susan & Fondant/Gum Past mold from my sister. Fondant roller from my Ninang Sam. These tools will definitely come in handy on my upcoming baking adventures. That fondant roller is just screaming "USE ME!"

Own print mittens & apron from my sister. She knows me too well. I'm a sucker for cutesy stuff and this definitely is cute. It's useful too! This will definitely keep me from staining my clothes and bring myself as I handle baking pans in the oven!

Last but not the least.. The biggest gift I got last Christmas was this beauty. A brand new iPhone 6 plus in silver. Needless to say, I'm in love. I'm still tinkering around with it but I'm very grateful to have it.
That's about it for my list. How about you guys? What did you get for Christmas? *smiles*

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HMUA : The Perfect Storm

"I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature." - Paulo Coelho
Last year I teamed up with the very creative Sefi Curada and had this fun shoot with two very beautiful models. I hope you like the eye candy! All photos by Sefi Curada. 

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