Yes, I'm out of the loop once again. I keep telling myself to take at least an hour off of my 24hours to update my blog, but since things have just gotten crazier and even more stressful at the workplace (what's new, eh?), no amount of pushing seems to work anymore. I have so much to write about --- product reviews, FOTDs, NOTDs, shoots, etc. --- but I always seem to never have enough time for all the things I have to do. Sometimes I feel as though I've bitten off more than I can chew. Now before I continue to rant about how busy and stressed I have been, I'd much rather talk about what my beloved and I have been up to as of late.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, my beloved is a budding photographer and he's currently building his portfolio by, of course, doing various shoots. While I may be his favorite model (I sure hope so!), he also does shoots with other ladies who want to play models for a day. I don't always get to do his models' makeup as I'm always at work during his shoots, but I do help him out as well when I can.
If you want to be a model for a day, you can drop him a line at his online portfolio by clicking here.
But for now, I'll leave you with a photo from one of the sets that my beloved and I did together just recently. Makeup was done by yours truly.
Before I end this quick post, I'd like to give a huge shout out to all my lovely 200 followers. I may not know you all personally, but your comments and messages are among the sweetest ones I have ever received. Your support means so much to me and to my little space in cyberworld. Again, my heartfelt thanks goes to everyone who reads and/or follows Practical Vanity.
Of all the eye shadows in my Glamour Revolution Palette, Label Whore is my most favorite, not because of the name but because of its uniqueness. The base color is reddish-brown with some beautiful specks of fine green glitter/shimmer. I'm not sure if my description gives a clear picture of the color coz Label Whore's too complicatedly gorgeous to describe with words. To give you a better picture of Label Whore, check out the swatch below. You can also read my two cents on the Glamour Revolution Palettehere.
Label Whore is the sixth (6th) from the left.
And because I'm gaga over Label Whore, I decided to use it [again] to create a smokey eye makeup for Valentine's Day. I was very happy with how my eye makeup turned out to be, but my lips lacked gloss and luster despite topping my lipstick with one of my go-to lip glosses.
The photos below were taken on a day when my migraine was at its worst, which accounts for the very few photos I have in this post. Though my beloved took a good number of shots, only these three seemed decent enough to be shared. Excuse the first two for being somewhat provocative (I reckon it comes with using the eyeshadow); they're just among the few that gave justice to how gorgeous Label Whore is.
Smooches to all of my followers and frequent readers. Happy Valentine's Day to all!
Struggling with oily skin and enlarged pores? Wanting a flawless and radiant glow? Needing something that'll look good on photos? Well, Bare Naturals has the answer to your needs and wants --- the Ultra High Definition Mineral Primer!
What Bare Naturals says about it: UDMP is the powder version of SKIN PERFECTING (S5) Primer! Promise of oil-control, lasting makeup and flawless look!
ULTRA-DEFINITION MINERAL PRIMER softens the appearance of imperfections. It has silica and Ronasphere LDP (Light Diffusing Properties) that make lines, wrinkles and minor imperfections unnoticeable. It completely evens out the complexion for a glowing, radiant look!
Best thing about our ULTRA-DEFINITION MINERAL PRIMER it is slightly tinted! (which will suit any skin tone and skin shade) You can use it alone, or as your base powder for maximum oil control and it will NEVER cake up on you!
When you touch or swatch our ultra definition powder, you will notice that it is indeed a cut above the rest! :)
Check out the swatches.
without flash
with flash
Yay!
Price. For Php225 (around $4) for 10g, Php395 (around $8)for 20g and Php635 (around $13) for 40g, this UHD powder is a lot cheaper compared to a lot of HD powders in the market (with the exception of ELF).
Texture. As soon as you touch the powder, you'll feel how smooth and finely milled it is.
Dual purpose. Aside from being a primer, this mineral powder can also be used as a finishing powder or a blot powder.
Matches any skin color. Despite getting a (an ugly tan, that is) tan lately (I hate the sun!!!), this powder still matches my skin color. I've also used this powder on ladies with a much darker color than mine and it has never made anyone of them look ghostly.
Blends well. It will not look streaky or look obvious when used as a setting powder.
Delivers. Everything that Bare Naturals said about the product --- keeps oil at bay, makes pores appear smaller, does not cake, and makes you look glowing and flawless --- is true! I haven't been wearing foundation for the past couple of weeks (just BB cream or tinted moisturizer and this on top) and my skin looks glowing and flawless.
Nay!
Messy. Just as with any mineral makeup or practically anything in loose powder form, this can get utterly messy. Every time I open and close the lid, it just goes POOOF! and the powder flies everywhere.
Inconvenient for traveling. If you're looking for something to throw into your purse for touch ups, this may not be the best thing to tag along UNLESS you're forgiving enough when the powder flies onto your clothes.
For repurchase? Definitely. Since purchasing the product early January, this UHD Mineral Powder from Bare Naturals has never left my vanity table and purse, albeit messy and unfit for traveling, all because of the benefits I get from using it. The promise of shine-free and oil-free face, smaller pores and radiant and glowing look can be achieved with this amazing, heaven-sent product.
*This product was purchased by me for personal and review purposes. I am not affiliated with nor was paid by the company to write this review. This is an honest review based on my personal experience with the product.*
I know I've been away for so long and no amount of apologies will ever suffice. It's just so hard to keep your blog updated when your hands are overflowing with things to do. But thank you all so much for leaving me comments and messages on my chatbox and for sending emails. I'll try to reply to all of them as soon as I can. For the meantime, I'd like to share with you the things that I've purchased this past month. Bear in mind, however, that my reason for posting my [monthly] hauls is not to brag about my purchases but to keep track of my spending because it was while I was taking photos of my purchases that I realized that doing so helps me keep track of my expenses and control my spending.
These were purchased together with the hot pink lipstick and the romantic beauty stand, both of which I forgot to take photos of. Etude House nail polishes are among the must try's of the brand. They're relatively cheap, have excellent pigmentation, and never goopy. Oh, and excuse my dirty brush. I realized how dirty it was after the photo was taken. It went straight to my bathroom counter after this.
I bought these Revlon Colorstay Mineral lipglazes the moment I saw them selling for Php350 (around $) 7on Ebay (mall price is Php520 [around $11], I believe). I love these and I want to collect all the shades. I also got a tube of one of my favorite mascaras, L'Oreal Voluminous, coz my two other tubes have already dried up. I was so glad to see someone selling this mascara on Ebay coz L'Oreal Philippines does not carry this line. I always have to ask my beloved to get it for me in the US. The Covergirl Lashblast, on the other hand, was purchased coz I'm a sucker for volumizing/thickening mascaras. The two shimmer cremes on the upper left were freebies from the seller.
Since purchasing waterproof mascaras in December, I've always felt the need to get a bottle of makeup remover especially made to remove waterproof makeup. Thank God for this cheap yet effective gentle makeup remover from L'Oreal.
I bought the sponges and brush cleanser at the Suesh booth at the Rockwell bazaar sometime last month.
This is one of my most exciting [and expensive] purchases for January. This roll unfolds to reveal...
...a 30pc brush set from Dashe Cosmetics! While some find Php3000 (around $66) pricey, this 30pc brush set is still way cheaper compared to MAC brushes which are priced at $20-$30 each.
This nose contouring brush is one of my favorites from the set.
Bare Naturals is one of my most well-loved mineral makeup companies; their products always impress me.
Please don't ask me why I got another brush set. I know I have way too many brushes (I own all of the brush sets that BN sells) but I just felt like I had to get BN's deluxe brush set because of their gold handles. They look so classy! By the way, the mineral bronzer (the one with the black lid) and the Natural Pink Lip and Nipple Gel along with the sample size soap and other samples in makeup baggies are all freebies.
I don't really use moisturizers (I'm tooooo lazy), but I signed up on the J&J website and got this set for free.
Been wanting these pencils since forever, so when I saw the set on Ebay, I immediately placed my bid until I won. I may have paid more (almost $10) but I think it's worth it. I love Urban Decay 24/7 glide on pencils.
I got the Himalaya's face packs because of the raves I've been reading about them. They may not smell that pleasant, but they work well. The pimple gel from Eskinol is just an experiment.
Here's what I got for my beloved. He's been eyeing this since we saw it at The Fort. He didn't buy it then (coz I told him not to), coz I had plans of getting it for his birthday. He's so stoked to have this; he wears it only on special occasions.
And his birthday cake :)
These may not be a lot for many others, but I feel like I've bought so much more than what I need. I have enough makeup to last me a forever, but it's so hard to pass up good deals on some items you've always wanted to have. Besides, it's such an eye candy when you see your collection growing.
Thanks for stopping by beautiful ladies. Have a good night sleep.
Thank God it's Friday! It's the day we all wait for; the last day of the work week. For a lot of people, Fridays mark the beginning of a lethargic weekend. For others, it's the start of endless partying and happy time. Unfortunately for me, I won't be curling up in bed this weekend coz I'll be out with my beloved to celebrate our nth anniversary. It's a good thing, I guess, since both of us have been terribly stressed and tired from work. In fact, it's one of the many reasons why my postings are a bit erratic as of late. I have so much to write about --- product reviews, FOTDs, hauls, etc. --- but STRESS has seem to have gotten the best of me and my time. I hope the next couple of weeks will be a little kinder to me. Oh wishful thinking.
Here's another FOTD/photoshoot that my beloved and I did exactly a week ago. What can I do? I'm his favorite model! Well, if I wasn't, I'd surely strangle him to death :)
I always thought that animal prints were tacky. But I learned that using the right colors can actually make animal printed nails look interesting and artsy.
Here's my version of animal printed nails using Copper Rock from Caronia, a special black polish, and my m57 image plate from Konad. It was simple, quick and the end result was nice.
