FOTD: Pink, gold, and daring fuchsia
My go-to lipstick lately is my Revlon Colorburst in Fuchsia. For this look, I challenged myself to come up with an eyeshadow combination that will not clash with the loud lip. I thought of warm colors like gold and pink to flatter my skin tone as well as lend a hand in accentuating the fuchsia!
Photo tutorial up ahead.
Step 1: Pat a warm pink eyeshadow (Urban Decay's Sphynx) all over the lid.
Step 2: Pat on a gold eyeshadow (Twice Baked) on the outer third of your lid.
Makeup on a budget: Get the best for under P5,000!
I need makeup but I don't know anything about it. What should I get? This is a question I get asked a lot. The type of women who ask aren't usually vain beyond lip balm and the occasional foundation, but needed to step up their looks because they're looking for a new job (or their work requires them to be presentable), a new love in their lives, or just a makeover to feel good. At some point, all of us have to look better, and that's where makeup comes in!
I have already written about how important it is to have quality products in your daily routine. I believe that it's best to spend big for items that you will use for at least one whole year. After much thinking, my peg is P5,000 for the whole deal - foundation, concealer, blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, and lipsticks*. That's actually pretty cheap if you think of it in terms of cost-per-wear.
So here are my suggestions for the ultimate makeup kit!
This foundation has received consistently good reviews from, oh I don't know, most of the beauty bloggers I know! It's cheap and does its job amazingly well. It's TONS better than the MAC Studio Fix, in case you're wondering. The silky texture and feel is quite similar to my Holy Grail foundation, the Shiseido Supplist. The In2It is only ~P450 for the refill, around P600 for the case.
Invest heavily in concealers because they need to provide good coverage and lasting power. My personal favorite so far is this cream concealer from MAC because of the wide color range and pigmentation. Yeah, I take back what I said in my review! I use this everyday now. For a cheap but mindbogglingly limited alternative, try the Etude House Surprise Concealer for P300.
Reader Questions
Hi Ms Liz!
Where can I buy affordable but good quality tinted moisturizer? Im not exactly the kikay type but I do take the time to wear even just a little makeup when I go out. Right now, I use Mary Kay liquid foundation even during the daytime (I know it's a NO NO but Im not satisfied unless I get a really even complexion even if I already have blemish-free skin. Im that insecure). I only apply tiny dots all over my face before I spread it. Problem is, even if I only use little, there are still some "flakes" near my hairline and chin area which I have to tediously brush away. Is this normal? This prompted me to give tinted moisturizers a try. Maybe you have cheap but good ones in mind?
Also, how do I get rid of my dark undereye circles? People either think Im insomniac or a junkie! But I do sleep as early as 9pm during workdays and I've never actually seen, much less use, "shabu". So far Ive tried Mary Kay and Garnier eye roll-ons but to no avail. Do you have an effective but affordable recommendation?
Hi Weng! If there is flaking when you apply foundation, it could mean one of two things: your foundation sucks, or you have very dry skin. The first step to fixing the latter is to get properly hydrated - drink lotsa water! Then pick a heavy moisturizer that's especially designed for dry skin (if you don't have one already, that is). Unfortunately I can't suggest anything as I have oily-combination skin. You should visit Nikki's blog since she has dry skin and has a lot of recommendations.
Tinted moisturizers...if by cheap you mean less than P500, I can't help you with that. The cheap drugstore ones like Nivea, Skinwhite, and Maxipeel feels like cheap crushed face powder mixed with body lotion. Well that may be a little OA, but yes, I hate the texture and the feel. You're better off investing in higher-priced TMs. To start off, the Etude House Magic BB Cream is really nice. Only P598, too.
Graduation Makeup Tutorial
It's graduation season! Sigh, just thinking about it reminded me of my own graduation last year. It was a solemn event shared with friends and family, who were all so proud of me, and me of them. I've done so many things since then, things I never even once considered while I was studying Political Science at UP Manila. Well! That's another story, haha.
I made a tutorial for all you young graduates out there. Graduation makeup, of course, should fit the occasion - formal, somber, respectable, but not necessarily boring! Hence, I used gold eyeshadow to bring out the eyes while the rest of the colors (different shades of brown) were used to contour the eyes to get a more photogenic effect.
Basic Day Makeup
Something smells like Christmas today! I hope you’re enjoying the holidays. Anyway, a lot of readers have been asking me how to do basic makeup so I made this video to help them along. If you have more requests or feedback, please do email me or leave a comment.
Pre-Foundation
Good skin precedes good makeup. Make sure that your face is properly cleansed. Use a toner that has no alcohol and then pat on a moisturizer with SPF. You should try using tinted moisturizer since it acts as a primer, making your makeup last longer.
Foundation
For beginners, I suggest using powder foundation. It’s fool-proof, convenient and (for my oily skin) is the best foundation type. Blend the foundation all over your face in downward strokes. Pat a little on your eyebags to serve as base for concealer. I used the Shiseido Supplist in this video.
Concealer
Dot concealer on problem areas first and then blend using your ring finger. The ring finger is the weakest so using it to blend out concealer means that you won’t be able to exert too much force. Use a concealer shade that is close to your skin tone or at least one shade lighter. For eyebags, yellow or salmon concealer is best since these shades cancel out their purplish undertone.