We all want to get our grubby hands on the top beauty products that can give us that to-die-for face, but the reality is that we can't afford them all. Expensive makeup is great but there are always cheaper alternatives that work pretty well for the price. 

That said, a lot of readers ask me about cheap products I can recommend to students and those who have a limited budget to spend on miscellaneous stuff like makeup. I already did a feature on the ultimate makeup kit for less than P5,000, but since that's still pricey for some, I decided to come up with a must-have set for less than P2,000.

So, if you're a makeup newbie, student, or passionate bargain hunter, this post is for you! Here I'll list down what you should buy if you have P2,000 to spend on a basic but formidable makeup kit.

I've applied makeup on myself more times than I'd care to count. I've discovered a few shortcuts and tricks in the process because I have to streamline, to cut down the time it takes for me to put on all that junk on my face. Some of these I learned from other makeup mavens. So here are "secret" and not-so-secret shortcuts! 

• On making the nose look more high-bridged: swipe a concealer across the bridge of your nose starting from between your temples to the tip. Use your forefinger. Make sure the concealer is just one shade lighter than your skintone (the usual). You don't have to use contouring powder and brushes to shape your nose!
• Speeding up concealer application: use your finger. Brushes sometimes deliver lighter coverage, less than what your concealer can actually do.

A lot of girls loved the colorful MAC Peacocky look I posted a couple of weeks back. Are you ready for the next round? :D This time, Mikee will be showing off MAC's Wonder Woman collection. It will be launching on March 19 (Saturday) here in Manila!

Launch dates at the bottom. Open image to view full-sized.

The MAC Wonder Woman collection comes in super-sized, toy-like packaging that sports the heroic femme fatale's signature colors. Notable products are the dual-color Mineralized SkinFinish powders (P2,125), Eye Quads (P2,500), and the colored Opulash mascaras (P900). 

Excited to see the look Mikee came up with? Here goes!

Before photo: Say hi to Janelle, our model!

After

Mikee priming the canvas (Lip Conditioner + Fast Response Eye Cream + Prep+Prime Skin). She used the Studio Fix Fluid foundation to even out the skintone, set it with loose powder, then dusted a bit of MSF for a natural glow.

Are you considering red lips for Valentine's Day (or any day)? A lot of women are a little scared of this color because it's loud AND fussy, but I think it's in keeping with the occasion's theme. A bit of fuss during the first application, when done right, is worth it since you probably don't have to apply it again during the day.

Here are some quick tips as well as some lipstick suggestions:

• Prime your lips with balm. Don't slather on too much. A very thin layer is enough to moisturize; too much and your lipstick will just stay on top and slide off.
• Apply a red lip liner just a little bit inside your natural lip line. Red can be an overwhelming color and you don't want your mouth to look like one huge stoplight! Thin but juicy red lips are more sophisticated compared to thick red ones. 

Lined

Shaded with lip liner

I've been looking for a MAC 15-pan magnetic palette (P835) for MONTHS, but finally, MAC Glorietta restocked! I excitedly checked YouTube videos to touch up on my knowledge of depotting, or moving individual eyeshadows, to a magnetic palette. It would be so much easier to have all my eyeshadows in one place, making it more convenient to pick and use colors.

The procedure looked quite simple and quick to do - but I should have known not to judge appearances! It's harder than the YouTube gurus make it seem. However if you're careful, depotting your eyeshadows shouldn't be too much trouble.

Here's what you need:

Potted eyeshadows, thin knife (preferably dull), pin, candle

Thong, alcohol, tissue, small flat magnets with adhesive on one side (not in photo)

Step 1: Place the tip of the knife in the slot near where the cap locks in. Gently pry the eyeshadow loose. This is what it should look like:

Hola! How's your long weekend? Me I didn't do much except shop, eat, read and watch fantasy movies. It's cool. I spent it with my family. 

At the Bobbi Brown Beauty Rules classroom!

So! I'd like to tell you what's new at Bobbi Brown. They recently launched the Bobbi Brown Beauty Rules Book and a Face Palette to go with the theme. The book is about makeup for teens and young twenty-somethings, so that's something you should own if you want to learn new techniques on the best possible makeup for your age and features. Of course, it also features Bobbi Brown's philosophy not only on beauty, but motherhood as well. 

pictures from Temptalia.com

The Beauty Rules Face Palette ($45, around P3,000 locally) is created for girls who are just starting to use makeup. It has the colors you would need for a natural day to an evening party look, and the makeup is formulated in such a way that you don't need to use a lot of tools. In fact, the makeup artists recommend using your fingers! Bobbi Brown Singapore makeup artist Cecilia Tay demonstrated how to pull it off to the press:

This is an old post from the old Project Vanity blog. Thought to put it here in case you haven't read it yet - I think it's useful!

Good makeup is usually expensive. Of course there are exceptions, but any make-up guru will tell you that it’s often a safe bet to invest your money on high-priced, but quality products out in the market (like MAC, Shiseido, Shu Uemura, and so on). But then, there’s eBay! It’s like you died and went to make-up heaven, with all the cheap but branded stuff they’re selling over there. All you need to do is browse, click, send your payment via your cellphone or computer, and voila! Your order is at your door.

You have to realize, though, that buying online is risky business. For one, you can never really know if the product that looks so pretty on the computer screen is authentic. Buying cosmetics online is not like buying a shirt—if it doesn’t fit, no biggie, no harm done (unless it’s to your pocket). But once you buy bad makeup and use it on your face, terrible things like zits, allergies, skin darkening and peeling may occur.

I think its about time I show you guys the upgraded Project Vanity Headquarters. Hahahaha. Okay seriously, this spot in the condo is where all the magic happens. This is where I come up with looks, do all my swatches and product photos. It's also where I store my current makeup, skincare, and scents. I store my unused stuff somewhere else but that's another story for another day.

So, I'll try not to talk much and just show you what's here.

The top level contains my day-to-day brushes, skincare, hair care, and a couple of liquid foundations.

Here is a picture of me with zero makeup and photo processing. I have okay skin lately, but as you can see, I have a number of blemishes and roughness in some areas. I also have natural eye bags that I really can't do much about. Like everyone else, I want to put my best face forward, so I started my enthusiasm for beauty products in the quest to fake perfect skin.

There are literally cartloads of stuff that you can use to look as if you have a flawless, glowing face, so the only question really is this: how much are you willing to spend for it?

I rummaged through my beauty collection to find the best way to fake perfect skin in terms of cost. I came up with two sets of products: one that's affordable, while the other one not so much.

Damage: P2,410

Pond's Flawless White Day Cream (P300), Purederm Magic BB Cream (P660), Revlon Beyond Naturals concealer (P750), Ellana Mineral foundation 6g (P420) and finishing powder (P280)

Damage: P12,200

Clinique Moisture Surge (P2500), Smooth-365 Serum (P2600), MAC Studionfinish concealer (P900), NARS Sheer Glow foundation (P2450), Colorescience pressed mineral foundation (P3750)

Before we get to how the products actually look and perform against each other, let's start with how my beauty routine goes. I find that this works best to create that flawless face.

1. Start with a good moisturizer. Make sure that it absorbs on your skin well, leaving a matte yet glowy finish.

I am born with stick-straight pudgy lashes. It sucks because my brother was born with curly, thick lashes that no decent boy should have had! When we were kids all my parents' friends and visitors would compliment his lashes! Huff. Oh well. Even though I'm not happy with the lashes I have, I'm not obsessed about them at all. I don't use lash enhancing products and services unless you count mascara - I'm much too lazy for anything else.

Bare lashes

So I wasn't that psyched when I received the Glambox Mink Lashes for review. I seriously can't afford to put extra time in my usual routine, plus I have really short patience for "matrabaho" procedures when it comes to beauty. But hey, I might as well try these falsies right? Always be adventurous when it comes to beauty, I say.

So how did I find the Glambox Mink Lashes? One word: transformative! I loved how it looked on me. Read on for my detailed review!

What I love about the product

• It's made of 100% genuine mink hair. No animal cruelty involved is the claim.
• Hypoallergenic. There are lots of cheap plastic lashes out there, but when it comes to putting stuff at or near my eye, I don't want to leave it to random testing. I didn't suffer any allergies or redness from these mink lashes.

A lot of enterprising Pinays have built a business out of selling US-brand makeup online. This is great news for us makeup lovers, but many of these resellers overestimate the demand for such luxury products so they tend to overprice their goods. But really, while I want this really nice piece of makeup, there's no way I would pay for a 40%+ markup! Frustrations just rage all around.

Thus, I'm glad that Shirlina of Get Sophisticated contacted me to check out her site. She sells Urban Decay products, Coastal Scents brushes, NYX makeup, China palettes, and a mix of popular items from other US brands like Too Faced, Rimmel, and E.L.F. What I like about her store is that the prices are competitive. The items she sells are also well-picked - she's obviously a makeup enthusiast because she knows some cult favorites.

I decided to get a Too Faced Shadow Insurance eyeshadow primer (only P1,100) since I read some rave reviews. Many contend that this is better than the Urban Decay Primer Potion.

Have you guys ever come across a fashion blog called Karla's Closet? It's amazing! I love Karla's sensible, modern style that's far from boring since she always incorporates romance, whimsy, and vintage into her looks. Aside from her fashion sense, I love her makeup! She doesn't wear that much actually. I just like her signature looks: dark blood red lips (which compelled me to get NYX Dark Cherry) and nude lips with barely there eye makeup.

This time, I saw something different on her: pale lips with smoky eyes. Nothing new but I love the whole "thrown-together", effortless feel of the makeup.

I liked it so much that I decided to cop the look. It's super easy! You can do this in less than 10 minutes. You just need two eyeshadow colors; although you can technically do with one (black) I want something a tiny bit more polished.

Are you ready? Here's what I did!

Step 1: Do the ground work. Prime your face and brows. For this look, I used: Revlon Beyond Natural concealer, Ellana Caramel Latte mineral foundation and Ellana Espresso Con Panna finishing powder.

Step 2: Pat on black matte or semi-matte eyeshadow on the lid. I used Urban Decay's Oil Slick eyeshadow.

Contouring is a neat trick to have up your sleeves. You can easily loose a couple of pounds off your face, lift it up, and just generally make you look different. Prettier too, if done right!

Now the thing about contouring is that it's quite easy. You just need to remember three things: find the right angle, use the right brush and contouring color, and then blend like mad.

Just a small note: this is a tutorial for basic, everyday contouring on the cheeks. It's not the whole deal for the face, because that's a little more complex and time-consuming.

Step 1: Finding the right angle to darken

The easiest way to do this is to just suck your cheeks in and then apply the color where the hollows are. A slightly harder (but better and more natural) way to do it is this: go under direct light, then observe where the shadows fall on your face. To illustrate -

I used to find myself intimidated by Clinique. The products are expensive, and the clean aesthetic of the packaging - even the counters - can be alienating to those on a budget. However, after meeting the people behind the brand and using their products for a year now, I can say that your skin (and your money) is in very good hands.

May from Clinique invited me to their Rustan's Makati counter last Thursday to introduce me to two of their newest products: the Derma White Bright-C Stick Makeup, a cream foundation in stick form, and the Lash Power Volumizing Mascara. I got the mascara so I will be reviewing that separately (one word - wow). For now, I'll be talking about the Derma White stick makeup and how hands-on the brand is in teaching its clients to maximize the products.

Derma White Bright-C Stick Makeup SPF 15/PA++ is a two-in-one foundation stick that incorporates makeup and brightening benefits in one product.  The formula contains a high concentrated infusion of potent Vitamin C and Vitamin E located at the center of the stick to help brighten and soothe damaged skin immediately.