In the Spotlight: Bare Naturals Pigments Review + Swatches + Rants

Hi guys! Hope your day went okay. Mine started out as other days would; but things took a spin in the late afternoon when a unit at the building next to ours burst out in flames. It's a residential building, and it was right next to us. It was freaky and all, but seeing how sluggish our firemen were irked me and made me feel embarrassed about being a Filipino. Don't get me wrong, I am proud of being a Filipino even though Filipinas were once defined as 1. prostitute; 2. domestic helpers in a dictionary of a certain country. Going back to my feeling ashamed about being a Filipino... 1. Our judicial system sucks, big time; 2. Politics makes me sick in my stomach. Don't you find it stupid how some celebrities desire an office in the government, and how some politics die to be in a movie? This and many other things about the government make me wish I was born a different nationality. Shallow, eh? Sometimes it gets to a point when enough is enough. 3. Our rescue teams are a bunch of sluggards. I don't understand what takes our rescue teams too long to get to the area of the incident. The police, the ambulance, the firefighters, etc. In other countries, help comes after a split second. Here in the Philippines, you'll grow old waiting for help to come. That's exactly how the firemen were earlier today. There were firetrucks surrounding the building, but there seems to be no movement of some sort. Well, okay, apart from the spectators wanting to get a view of the burning unit, there was barely any movement among the firemen. They kept sounding their sirens for hours, but as if that would help put the fire out. Our other office manager even said that that's pretty much all that they can do --- sound their siren. The fire went on for more than an hour. It was contained in what my coworkers and I assume to be the living room. Around 6pm, the fire was out. The firemen stood still, but by 8pm or so, the same unit, perhaps the kitchen area, exploded. Yup, something seemed to have exploded and we assume it was a gas tank. There were blue flames and it spread so fast to the other rooms in the unit. An hour later, the fire was out again. I shook my head at the firemen. I appreciate what some firemen do. I mean, c'mon, sacrificing your life to save others' ain't no easy thing to do. But seeing how our firemen are, I just bite my tongue, shake my head, and walk away.

This is the third fire incident in our little area in Ortigas in a month and a half. The first one happened on May 18th. A residential building right behind the Philippine Stock Exchange Center (PSEC) in Ortigas went on fire. A month after, the fourth floor of PSEC was in flames. Roughly a week after, Parc Royale, the condominium next to ours, burst out in flames. I hope the fire doesn't hit my building next. If it does, I sure wouldn't know what to do.

On a lighter note, here's a review and swatches of the twenty-some pigments that I received in my last order from Bare Naturals.

A few weeks ago, I ordered an FS of the Purederm BB cream, primer and liptint from Bare Naturals. Along with my order came free samples of twenty-something pigments and sample bars of Bare Naturals' emu oil skin perfecting soaps in Cocktail and No-Breakout-to-Makeup. To be honest, I was more excited about the freebies that came with my order simply because I have never tried any of their eye products and I was curious about the pigmentation of the eye shadows. So the moment I got my hands on them, I swiped a couple of shades on the back of my hands and admired the pigmentation. A week later, I took out some shades from the bunch and decided to play with them. I was even more amazed when I applied them on my lids. They're all finely milled and extremely pigmented. They apply so smoothly and blend seamlessly with other colors. They'll be no fallouts granted you don't put too much on your brushes. To give you a glimpse of how pretty these pigments are, I provided a few swatches of the colors that I got for free. Thanks Ms. Lami!

The pigments were swatched dry, wet and with UDPP as base (photos are labeled). All the pictures were taken with my trusty old Sony Cybershot at my room's window. I might change the photos once my brother and I get to taking better pictures of the pigments. For the meantime, these will do. (Click to enlarge photos)

The Pinks/Reds (all shimmer)

Dizzy - a fuschia shade with red and golden undertones
Vintage - another fuschia shade but with purple and gold undertones
Bordeaux (Monave) - almost identical to Vintage, except that it seems more subtle

Colors that don't belong to any group :)

Trance - lavender with a bit of shimmer
Famous - shimmery pale yellow that looks like a bit lime green-ish
Celebration - white shimmer (perfect as base and for the inner corner/ducts)
No name shade - this is the first eye shadow sample I received a long time ago. I just thought I'd throw it in. It's a shimmery baby blue shade; color payoff's not as vibrant as the new batch of pigments

Some Browns & a pearly one

Jet Setter - a rich shimmery coppery/bronzey shade
Mod - shimmery gold
Broadway - reddish brown with satin finish
Whimsy - pearl white/pale lavender

Browns/Bronzes

Rustique - bronze pigment
Twilight - medium brown with satin finish
Urban - a deep matte taupe
Supernova - shimmery pale taupe

Blues & a Purple one

Cosmo - shimmery royal blue
Soul - shimmery sky blue
Superb - shimmery powder blue
Luck - shimmery pale aquamarine
Stiletto - shimmery purple

Greens

Soldier - rich olive green
Splash - shimmery green
Tealy Eyed - a beautiful teal shade
Lush - a pretty turquoise shade

What I love about them?

• Color payoff is remarkable
• Staying power is great
• Price. Selling at Php 135 (roughly $2) a pop.
  
• Finely milled
  

What I don't like about them?

• As you can see in the photos, the colors are not as vibrant as when they're used wet or with a base.
• Range of colors is not that wide. (this is just 20something of Bare Naturals' 30+ pigments)
  

Will I buy a full size pot?
Most certainly! In fact, I've already listed down some pigments that I will be including in my next purchase.

For inquiries, visit their website or email Ms. Lami at barenaturals@gmail.com. It might take her a while to respond (she gave birth to her third child just recently), but she surely will.

That's it guys. I apologize for the extremly long post today. I just had to rant a bit.

Will you try out their pigments? You should!

First Contest Entry: Playful Summer Look

I'm really not one to enter contests not because I think it's nonsense, but because I lack the time and creativity to attempt to do a look. But while struggling with Vance, I snatched a couple of hours to do this look for Sassy Jadore's Summer Look Contest. Yes, it's my first time to join a contest. If you wanna join too, you gotta hurry up as Tuesday is the last day for submission of entries.

Bright colors come to mind whenever I hear the word "summer." Fuschia, bright yellows, greens, oranges, blues, and other bright colors are what we see around us during the summer. These bright colors represent the lovely and fragrant flowers that bloom during these sunny months.

Even though a nude-bronzey look is what most people would usually wear in summer, others play with bright and colorful colors, which is exactly what I did in this particular look. Yellows, fuschia, orange, bright green, teal, purple and some red are what I used to achieve this look. Luscious pink lips and glowy cheeks topped with intensifying false eyelashes (big lashes are the trend in summer, and practically the whole year round!) to complete this playful-sexy summer look inspired by the colors of summer (see photo).

Ze Inspiration

Products Used:

Products Used:
Bare Naturals S5 Skin Perfecting Primer
Purederm BB Cream
Silica Powder
Fashion21 Concealer in Almond
Ellana Mineral Concealer in Smile
Milea Mineral Foundation in Beige
Milea Mineral Bronzer
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Coastal Scents 96 color palette
Bare Naturals Pigments in Stiletto, Dizzy, Jet Setter, Celebration, Splash and Tealy Eyed
Nichido Liquid Eyeliner
Ever Bilena Black Eyeliner Pencil

Prestige White Eyeliner
Bare Naturals Dollface Cheenee Blush
ELF Intensifying Lashes
NYX Round Lipstick in Tea Rose
Amuse Brow Powder
L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara
Venus and Mars Lip Detox

That's just about it! Hope you guys like it!

Snaps: Dark Seduction

Hey everyone! I hope you kicked off your week just fine. Mine went pretty okay. It's a typical Monday so the beloved and I did a bit of picture taking (we usually take photos on a Monday coz we have more time and we're not as tired as compared to other days). Also, I decided to come up with a new series called "Snaps," just because my beloved loves taking my photos. It may be (a bit) repulsive, I know, but my beloved loves hearing comments about his work, which is the main reason I'm posting them here.

This look seems to be a cross between Kim Kardashian/Nicole Scherzinger and Morticia Addams (maybe more Morticia Addams than Kim Kardashian/Nicole Scherzinger). That's a pretty interesting combination! Well, what I did was kinda like sultry-goth (can't think of a word to use) that's somewhat subtle. I don't know if that makes sense, but as you can see, that's pretty much how this look turned out to be, which explains the title, "Dark Seduction." I would have made my eyes look a little bit more sultry by adding black eyeshadow on the crease and outer V if I didn't have to work. As with the outfit, well, I couldn't find what I really intended to wear on the first day of the week. As a result, I slipped on this sexy black dress which I've worn only twice. I think the last time I wore this dress was sometime in August last year. I know it's not corporate looking in any way, what with the decolletage and all; so I adjusted and secured the neckline with a safety pin to keep it looking more decent than sultry.

Anyway, here are the photos.

If you could tell, this is the only photo that was shot under florescent lights.

On Face
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
No name foundation primer from Paula's make up sale (thank you Paula!)
Silica Powder (dupe for MUFE's HD powder)
Purederm BB Cream
Everyday Minerals Concealer in Lavender (just a light dusting of it to brighten up my skin tone)
Everyday Minerals Original Glow Foundation in Golden Medium
Ellana Minerals Powder Concealer in Smile for my dark circles
Bare Naturals Illumiglow Finishing Powder in Sunshine
NYX Powder Blush in Mocha

On Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Bare Naturals Pigments in Celebration (all over the lid and on the inner corner), Rustique (over Celebration), Twilight (on crease and outer V)
Prestige Eyeshadow in Golden Sun as highlight
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner in Carbon Black
Fashion 21 Black Liquid Eyeliner
Ever Bilena Pencil Black Eyeliner
L'Oreal Clean Definition Telescopic Mascara for Lower Lashes
L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara

On Lips
NYX Round Lipstick in Rea

Go Make Me Over Sneak Peak

My 18y/o old cousin who usually sleeps over at my place is attending a debut at Trader's Hotel at Roxas Boulevard right now. Her dress was sewn by her mom (her mom's a fashion designer); her hair and make up, were done by none else, but her very loving cousin, me.

Below are some of the photos my brother took when I was doing my cousin's hair and make up. Ignore the pj's and everything else you see. I hadn't taken a shower then (ewww, I know) as I was kinda fresh out of bed.

Me keeping the oilies away by dusting silica powder.

Me curling Beanne's lashes.

Applying mascara

The lipstick

Applying foundation on her neck and shoulders (see, told ya I was in pj's)

On Face
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
No name foundation primer from Paula's make up sale
Silica Powder (dupe for MUFE's HD powder)
Everyday Minerals Original Glow Foundation in Golden Medium
Covergirl Advance Radiance Age-Defying Foundation in Soft Honey
NYX Powder Blush in Mocha
Purminerals Live, Laugh, Love Collection (Bronzer and Glow)

On Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Bare Naturals Pigments in Stiletto (all over the lid), Vintage (on the crease), Cosmo (on outer V), Celebration (on tearducks)
NYX Trio Eyeshadow in Ceramic (for adding depth to the outer V)
Covergirl Eyeshadow Quad in Berries and Cream (used the lavender shade for highlight)
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner in Carbon Black
Fashion 21 Black Liquid Eyeliner
Ever Bilena Pencil Black Eyeliner
L'Oreal Clean Definition Telescopic Mascara for Lower Lashes
Covergirl Marathon Waterproof Mascara Hydrofuge

On Lips
Ellana Minerals Lip Scrub in Strawberry (to exfoliate and get rid of flakes)
Ellana Minerals Lip Treatment in Strawberry (to condition)
Lancome Lipstick Cream Lipstick in Love It!
Maybelline Shine Seduction Lip Gloss in Born With It!


May I present to you my lovely 18y/o cousin, Evianne "Beanne" Anonuevo.

How did I fare?

I'll be posting Beanne's photos taken by my brother in my next post. Also, watch out for a review on Bare Naturals pigments.

Tata!