Reader questions: Wedding makeup, liquid lip color, pores, foundie dilemma

Hi guys! How was your loooong (still not done) weekend? I'm out of town, and we plan to hit Baguio tomorrow. Right now though we're just chilling - literally - in a hotel here in Pangasinan. It's too hot outside! 

While I have some lazy time, I thought I'd answer some reader questions over at the Ask Liz! Forum. I regularly answer all questions there if I know how, of course. Hehe. However, I found this set of questions particularly interesting so I thought I would dedicate a whole post on them. Here goes!

Hi, I'm getting married next year, and being a girl who depends on makeup to feel pretty and much more confident, I'm being obsessed looking for HMUAs for my special day. The problem is, aside from extremely high prices plus out-of town charge, I'm scared that they might not get what look am I going for, and I might become a bridezilla.

I am considering to do my own makeup for my wedding. I'd rather splurge on foundation + lipstick + blush and do it myself. Should I or shouldn't I? - Bridezilla

I think you should DIY! That is, if you're confident about your makeup skills and/or open to taking some makeup classes. Bridal makeup is fairly easy if you ask me. It's your basic natural look with waterproof or almost waterproof makeup. You can watch tons of YouTube videos for tips and techniques!

Even the Duchess of Cambridge is a DIY wedding makeup kind of girl

I think that it's a better investment to spend your P10,000-15,000 on good makeup or makeup classes because at least you're upgrading your skills and collection, things that you can use again. You can only use a MUA's service only during that event.

Here are some products I would actually use on my own wedding:

Cinema Secrets Foundation Palette #2 is a photogenic foundation/concealer duo, but personally it can look thick if you don't apply it properly. You can use that OR this:

Smashbox Studio Skin 15-Hour Wear Foundation is exactly what it says. It looks nice in person and in photos. It's more expensive than Cinema Secrets though. 

Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer is totally waterproof and can cover the darkest blemishes.

Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Mascara is a great wedding mascara because it's also waterproof and looks like falsies when applied right.

Urban Decay Primer Potion will make sure that your eyeshadow will not stray or fade.

MAC Eyeshadows are available in gorgeous bridal colors. Make sure to pick ones that will flatter your skintone! Not all neutrals look good on all tones.

HOWEVER, if you're not that used to doing your own makeup, it's best to hire a MUA so you'll be sure that you'll look great on your special day. You don't want to leaf through your wedding album and see droopy eyeliner, patchy foundation, and overall melting makeup, do you? It will also save you a lot of stress. Ultimately, hiring a MUA or not depends on how good you think you are with makeup! ;) Good luck!

Hi Liz! I have this weird lip problem that started when I continually used lipstick. It began to chap and no ordinary lip balm or petroleum jelly could alleviate it. Finally, I found a Lanolin based lip balm that helped but I steered away from using lip sticks because the problem returns when I do.

What reasonably priced (or cheap) liquid lip color brand would you highly recommend? TIA and more power to your blog! :) - Rosie

Hi Rosie! You can try the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream, but perhaps you can use it over a thin layer of your lip balm first as it can also be drying. Well at least it's not lipstick! You can also use lip stains like the ones from The Balm or Styli-Style (available in Beauty Bar for around P800) or Benefit (such as Cha Cha Tint at P1,600) if you feel like splurging. :)

Try using lipsticks as a stain, too! If you're not allergic to lipsticks per se that is. Deep red, plum, and purple lipstick shades look amazing as stains. Choose the super pigmented, matte type, apply, then erase most of it. Just leave a nice stain and top it off with your lip balm!

Shades like this are great as stains since the pigments stick nicely and evenly

Hi Liz! I would like to ask how to put make up in order to achieve a pore-less look? I'm so jealous of Koreans since (I think) they have really good skin. As if they don't have any pores! Please answer my question. Thank you so much! - With Love, Yan

Hi Yan! It might be that Koreans are just lucky not to have big open pores in their gene pool. :P But BB creams do help, since the stuff helps fill in minor pores. Then, you can top it off with powder foundation, plus an illuminating finishing powder for a completely poreless look. You don't have to do this all over your face - you can just concentrate most of the makeup where your pores are and then thin it out over the rest of the area. Here are some affordable products I can recommend:

The Tony Moly Baby Doll BB Foundation is a glowy BB cream for medium-skinned girls

If you're light-medium to light, try the Tony Moly Dear Me Petite Cotton BB Cream

Top it off with the Tony Moly Berry Lovely Girl Petit Powder OR

the Majolica Majorca Pressed Pore Cover Powder is specially designed to hide minor pores

If you have really big pores, I recommend you use a silicon-based pore filler like the Z-Pore under your makeup. Basically, the micro-silica fills in your skin and looks like skin, so your pores look much less obvious. It's expensive at P1,600 though. A cheaper alternative is the L'Oreal Paris Base Magique Primer, which is a lot like Z-Pore, just not as powerful. Use it as a makeup base and concentrate where the pores are!

Hey Liz, I super duper love your blog! Daily ako nagvivisit ng blog mo. =) I'm using Revlon PhotoReady powder foundation and paubos na. Since, konti na lang idadagdag sa price, I can buy MAC na. Whats your opinion, should I stick to revlon or try MAC? And what MAC product, if yes? Thanks and more power. =) - ILoveYouLiz

Hi ILoveYouLiz, I love your name! Haha. Well, I am personally not a big fan of the MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation, but I know a lot of girls who are! I hear that it's pretty long-lasting, and the coverage is great. I suggest you try it just to shake things up. You can always come back to the Revlon PhotoReady once you're done with MAC. 

I recommend that you visit the MAC counter in Rustan's to ask about what foundation would best suit your skin and your needs. Also get a shade match while you're at it! Oh, and one last piece of advice: don't buy online. There are so many fake but super convincing MAC makeup flying around the web. I know someone who bought a MAC powder that looks EXACTLY like the real one. Only difference? The product itself is not good. So just buy from Rustans to be sure. ;)

Okay, I hope this helps! If any of you have questions, just leave them over at the Ask Liz! Forum. I usually reply although it may take some time. Oh, if you can also answer some of the questions there, it would be a great help to everybody. As I always say - share the makeup love! :D

Happy Easter!