MAC Ruby Woo

Last month I fell in love with MAC's Please Me. This month, I decided to "brave it" and start using red lipstick. Now, a lot of beauty gurus and bloggers would suggest to start off with pink toned reds or berry shades before you go all out with a red-red. I on the other hand decided to skip the pink-reds and berry shades because I'm stubborn like that (lol!) and just face my fears and wear a truly red lipstick. I'm not much of a red lipstick fan to be honest, so I was really worried about purchasing a tube of Ruby Woo because I was afraid that I wouldn't like it or couldn't rock it... Boy, was I wrong! *winks* What : MAC Ruby Woo Where : The Vanity Zone Price : P895 MAC's Ruby Woo is described as a very matte vivid blue-based red. Enclosed in the signature classy black MAC case and smelling of sweet vanilla, MAC's Ruby Woo is a real stunner. It comes in a retro matte finish which I've read is one of the most matte finishes in MAC's collection.
Love : *Classic color and part of the permanent line. I don't have to worry about hoarding back ups. *Classy & sturdy packaging. *Great pigmentation & color payoff. This is actually red. Doesn't look any bit of orange or berry on me. * Sweet smelling vanilla scent. * Though it's a blue-based red, it still compliments my light medium skin tone. *Great staying power. This lasted 5 hours on me with very very minimal feathering, fading or transferring even with all the talking, eating and drinking I do! * Attention grabbing. Enough said!
Hate : * The first time I tried applying it on "unprepared" lips, it tugged so harshly that I had to take a step back from the tube! * It is difficult to apply straight from the tube at times. This is most probably because of the fact it's a retro matte finish lipstick which can be very drying. Since it can be very drying, it also has a tendency to emphasize lip lines and settle into any patchy and dry areas.
Tips : *Hydrate yourself properly. Drink lots of water because this helps to keep your lips (skin too!) looking better and more hydrated. *Prime & prep your lips properly. I start by gently exfoliating it with my ELF lip exfoliator. You can opt to try a DIY homemade lip exfoliator using honey and sugar or try the toothbrush method which is when you use a soft bristled toothbrush to exfoliate your lips. After I exfoliate, I slather on a lip balm or a lip conditioner. I use either my Kiehl's Lip Balm, Lucas Papaw Ointment or my Maybelline Baby Lips balm. *To extend Ruby Woo's "life" you can also opt to fill and shape your lips with a red lip liner prior to lipstick application. Overall, I absolutely love Ruby Woo and would recommend it to everyone (no matter what your skin tone is!) because it truly is a classic red lipstick that will take you places! Just don't forget to prep & prime your lips to avoid it feeling too dry once it has set. Ruby Woo is definitely a cult classic that I am glad I fell for! Don't forget to check out more available shades at The Vanity Zone. * Filterless photo taken with my iPhone4. No lip liner was used.

view post

MAC Please Me

A few weeks ago I finally caved in and purchased my first two MAC lipsticks. I even blogged about my little haul in a previous post. I got my MAC babies from The Vanity Zone for a very affordable price of P895! Today I'll be reviewing my new favorite pink lipstick, MAC's Please Me. Quick info for MAC newbies (like me), MAC lipsticks come enclosed in a sleek black tubes and contain 3g of product. I'm talking about the regular shades in their permanent line since some limited edition ones come in more "fancy" packaging at times.  It took me some time before I decided on what shade to get mainly because I was super excited at the prospect of finally purchasing my first MAC lipstick with my own cash. I wanted something classic and wearable. Instinctively I knew I wanted my second tube to be Ruby Woo but since red isn't an everyday color for me, I knew that I had to get something from the pink family for my first tube. A lot of beauty bloggers and online sellers recommended MAC's Please Me which is described as a "muted rosey tinted pink" in a matte formulation. After looking at endless swatches online I finally decided that Please Me would be THE one to purchase first. Love : Sleek packaging. Soft sweet vanilla scent that isn't irritating. Great color payoff , lovely pigmentation! Staying power - stayed put on my lips for up to 5 hours (with all the talking, drinking & eating I did!) Brightens my face by adding just the right amount of "pink" color to my lips without it being too "in-your-face". Hate : Matte formulation can be a bit drying and when applied on lips that haven't been prepped properly, this lipstick could be a disaster. Pricey. Overall, I really like this shade and I'm happy that I decided to purchase it. Despite the fact it can be a bit drying, I've been reaching for my tube of Please Me almost everyday. I get a lot of compliments when I wear it since it's a break from my usual bright hot pink lippies that most of my family & friends have gotten accustomed to. Please Me is definitely a great buy and is already part of my favorites list!

view post

Haulage : The Vanity Zone Edition!

Last week I finally decided to murder my wallet and purchase my first two tubes of MAC lipsticks. I've had MAC lipsticks before but they were either gifted or a prize from a giveaway. To tell you honestly, I was a bit nervous about buying my first MAC lipstick online but I'm so glad I found a reputable online shop called THE VANITY ZONE. I trust that they sell legitimate/authentic products that are worth it. The Vanity Zone now includes a very posh calling card with every purchase. The owner, Miss Bea, is very friendly and accommodating. She made sure to answer my numerous questions about the items like she did with my past purchases. What : MAC Please Me - P895 MAC Ruby Woo - P895 ELF HD Blush in Showstopper - Free! Where : The Vanity Zone She had a limited number of MAC lipstick shades available on hand and I'm so glad that most of the shades available were the ones I've had my eye on for such a long time now. In the end I decided to get a classic red, Ruby Woo, and an everyday pink, Please Me, that would jump start my MAC lipstick collection.  Miss Bea was even so kind enough to send this ELF HD Blush in the shade Showstopper (the only shade that I still haven't been able to get my hands on!) as a gift with my purchase. She knows that I've been looking for this shade ever since I purchased the other shades of ELF HD Blushes from her a few months back. So there's my little haul from The Vanity Zone. Which review do you guys want of first? Ruby Woo, Please Me or the ELF HD Blush? Leave me a comment below!

view post

Travel Makeup + Announcement!

Hello again my lovely readers! Today's a very exciting day for me since I'll be leaving for my lola's (grandmother) hometown. As I'm typing this, it's 8:30 in the morning and I'm halfway through the last minute packing. My flight to Cebu is at 1pm, then to Silay at 6pm, then it's going to be about an hour till I actually get to my final destination. Thinking about it is exhausting that's why I decided to take a short break and blog my last post till I get back home.

You see, my maternal grandmother is ilongga. She comes from a small fishing town in the Negros Occidental area. It's actually called Cadiz City and is about an hour away from Bacolod City. My lola goes "home" every two to three years but I haven't been back home in about twelve years. I'm pretty psyched about going back home. And I realize that my thoughts are kind of jumpy from all the excitement. But anyway....

This post isn't only about that announcement, it's also about the makeup I'll be bringing along. I always used to end up bringing a ton of useless makeup whenever I travel. Sometimes I bring up to 2 kilos of makeup because I insist on bringing my palettes! Then when I get to my destination, I'm caught up in all kinds of activities that I forget to use the makeup I brought along! *ugh*

This time I decided to keep things simple. I'll be gone for only a week anyway. So let's get started on the travel makeup I have, shall we?

My travel brush kit/bag fits inside my makeup bag!

First things first. I suggest you choose a makeup kit big enough to handle all the makeup tools and products you'll be bringing along. This is so that you won't have a ton of small sized bags to lug around. I chose this colorful polka-dotted zippered makeup pouch from a brand called Tickles. I actually have this in three sizes. The one I chose is in the size medium. As you can see, everything I planned on bringing along is inside my orange polka dotted pouch.

My brush kit is from Shopping Bliss Manila (FB)

I got my Tickles pouch from my Ninang as a gift a few years back but the brush kit is a purchase from last year from an online shop called Shopping Bliss Manila. I got it for only P150 and that's quite a steal!

Brought along my "tools of the trade".

I decided to bring only a couple of my brushes with me. I feel that I'll end up using my hands more during makeup application... I brought along more eye brushes than face brushes. I made sure to bring along my favorite face brush though. It happens to be the ELF flat top powder brush which I also use to apply cream and liquid foundation.

Unbranded lip brush and my Urban Decay lip brush.

Since my lip brushes were too skinny to fit into the slots, I kept them in the side pocket of the kit. It's also big enough to have a powder compact fit inside...

Beauty tools!

I also packed up some other beauty essentials like my trusty eyelash curler, puller & sharpener. I know they're all "silver".  I think it's important for you to bring around an eyelash curler if you want to perk up your eyelashes. I have boring lashes and need to curl them to give them that much needed lift. Plus I didn't pack up any false lashes since I don't think I'll be needing them anyway.

LOVE! NYX Nude on Nude Palette.

I also packed up my go-to palette these days. I've had my NYX Nude on Nude palette since last year and have been so in love with how versatile the palette is. I decided that it would be the perfect palette to tag along during my trip since it has a very sleek and compact case plus it comes with a ton of shadows and lip colors too! When you think about it, I don't even have to bring lipsticks with me (but I still did!).

Mascara. Eyeshadow primer. Liquid liner. Pencil liners. DEADLY WEAPONS!

Decided to bring only one mascara, my current favorite. It's actually been a favorite for 4 months already. It's the Pulse Perfection mascara from Maybelline. I also brought my NYX HD eyeshadow base, liquid liner also from Maybelline, and two pencil liners from Ever Bilena and NYX. Deadly weapons indeed! Haha!

Three lip essentials.

EOS lipbalm in Lemon Drop with SPF! I needed to bring this along because I get really dry lips at times. The SPF is also a great bonus! I also decided to bring my NYX soft matte lip cream in the shade San Paulo. I love the NYX lip creams because they are super pigmented plus they stay put for a long time. I won't have to worry about constantly re-applying my lip color. Last lip product I packed up is one of my forever favorites, the Rimmel lipstick in Audacious. It's a lovely nude-ish color that goes well with almost anything I wear.

MAC Studio Fix powder foundation in NC35 & Ever Bilena foundation cake in 01

I packed three foundations. Two powders and 1 liquid. I'm sorry I didn't take a photo of my liquid foundation but it's the NYX HD studio photogenic liquid foundation in 002. I also brought along my MAC studio fix powder foundation and another powder foundation from Ever Bilena.

NYX cream blush in Natural, NYX concealer in a jar in Medium and Ever Bilena powder blush in Earth

Last but not least, I brought along my NYX concealer in a jar in the shade medium, NYX cream blush and Ever Bilena powder blush. I was supposed to bring along a stick concealer but I opted for the one in the jar just because! *wink* I chose to bring along a cream blush because it lasts longer and looks a little more natural than most of the powder blushes I have. The powder blush from Ever Bilena is what I usually use to contour my chubby face! *lol*

So there you go girlies. Those are the essential makeup products and tools I'll be bringing along on this trip, aside from my skin care products of course! I hope you enjoyed my post even if it was rather long. I'll be leaving you guys with some questions down below.

• What are your travel makeup essentials?
• Do you prefer bringing powder, cream or liquid foundations when you travel around?
• If you could bring along only 1 (ONE) makeup product, what would it be?

PS : I'll be gone from January 18, 2012 (1pm) till January 24, 2012. I'm not sure if there'll be free WiFi at the hotel we'll be staying at so I can't promise you guys that I'll be updating much. See you when I get back! <3

view post