Okay so you packed your makeup kit with the utmost care because you want to look your best in a meeting or an out-of-town wedding. But alas! You forgot your blush! You brought three lip balms, gazillions of brushes and all manner of eyeshadows, but you didn't bring something as basic as a blush. What do you do?

a. Fall into pieces and cry like a little girl.

b. Run to the nearest mall or drugstore and buy a blush. Being late be damned.

c. Borrow a blush from an acquaintance/ semi-stranger and revel in what might be a bacteria-infested party on the compact.

d. Use your lipstick as a blush!

Kidding, just kidding. The best answer is D. You can actually use your lipstick as a blush, provided that it's matte or satin, that is.

I'm not a mother yet, so I can't presume to know how it's like to be one. But I do have a general idea because I have a mom, after all! I'm pretty sure that moms must always be busy and exhausted, with very little time to spend on primping themselves. So how do they ever find the time?

Super mom May Samson with her daughter

They should make time. It's understandable that family always comes first, but it's important that moms - or any person, for that matter - set aside some personal time to maintain their looks. It doesn't have to be a lot, but it has to count. It's not just vanity at stake here but one's self-esteem. 

So, here are some beauty and fashion tips for busy moms!

1. Ageing is a natural course of things, but there's no need to hasten it by being remiss in your skincare routine. It's a fact that the older you get, the more your skin is prone to sun damage and dryness. Invest in a great day moisturizer with SPF, a night moisturizer, serum, and eye cream to keep your skin elastic and glowing.

Some product suggestions:

VMV Hypoallergenics Armada Face Cover 30

Lancome Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector 

Wearing blush can be tricky business. However, as long as you have the right shades and the right tools with you, your blush should make you look naturally healthy and glowing with little to no effort at all!

Choosing the right shade

Most women can get away with experimenting with different blush shades - that's what makes it so fun. However, if you're looking for the ultimate blush that's like a great pair jeans you can wear anytime and look good in, you need to be aware of what works best for your skin. Here's a short guide of what shades to use for your skin tone.

Light to medium beige skin tone: Barbie pinks, blue-toned pinks, peach pinks

Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek in Peach Macaron

I've been googling 2012 trends like crazy lately - for work as well as for personal use. I came across some makeup looks that I find interesting and wearable enough to wear here so I want to share them with you! I'm sure you must already be bored with your usual looks (as am I) so listen up.

Bright pops of color. Bright colors will never really go away - it's just a matter of which color is on trend. For this year it seems that there will be a lot of yellows, aquas, and pinks for summer. I like this exaggerated cat-eye shape with yellow eyeliner on top. The pink lips and lapis nail polish adds to that festive yet utterly sophisticated theme.

The "London Look". Sullen and aloof, Londoners have that untouchable yet polished look down to a science. The hair is a little mussed, with deep-socketed eyes and barely tinted lips.

Christmas and New Year are two of the most stressful holidays of the year. It’s even worse because they’re just a week apart! We need to buy gifts and food for the festivities, squeezing between throngs of people to get things done. Then we have to attend parties with a healthy dose of crazy traffic in between - and by crazy I mean spending hours on the road when it used to take only minutes. 

It’s no surprise that our skin looks dull, puffy, and dark around the eyes. That’s because of the stress and over-eating. You may have also probably observed some dryness around the mouth, nose, and eyebrows too, which is usually caused by the cooler December weather. 

So, given all that, how do we look fresh during the holidays? Short of going on a long beach vacation, that is. I’ve got tips!

Adjust your skincare routine. Retire your heavy duty anti-oil, mattifying products in favor of gentler, creamier ones that do not strip your skin of moisture. When my skin is feeling dry, I like using the Sebamed Liquid Face & Body Wash and the Clinique Derma White moisturizer. I also use serum more regularly. More affordable gentle alternatives can be found from Cetaphil, Myra, and Neutrogena.

Exfoliate. Once skin is peeling, there’s nothing you can do to revive it. Just slough it off! Use a holey sea sponge with your facial wash for a natural exfoliation routine (Beauty Bar has those). You can also try using microfiber cloth with warm water; it works wonders! I like the Jane Iredale Magic Mitt but I am sure that normal microfiber will do.

If you must use a product, try the newly-released White Result Exfoliating Gel (available from Tupperware sellers). It does the job but it’s probably the gentlest of them all.

Job interviews are nerve-wracking encounters especially if you really, really want the job. There's even more pressure because you know that you're not the only one after it, what with hundreds of equally (or even more) qualified candidates out to get into the same industry if not the same job. So how do you get it? 

The no-brainer answer is, make sure that you have developed the right skill sets for the position (this is what college is for surprise surprise). Be fluent and relaxed while your potential employer is talking to you. Smile a lot. Look 'em in the eye and mean everything you say. But that's the thing with no-brainers - everybody knows (or should know) this! The real question should be: how do you set yourself apart from being just another person who wants a job?

I believe that *part* of the answer lies in how you dress, rather, in how you phsyically present yourself to a potential employer. I think that few new graduates or even old hands know how to properly dress for a job interview. I see them on the streets of business districts and I already know they're looking for employment; it is, to put it mildly, unimpressive. Familiar with this uniform? With matching brown envelope?

This outfit says, "I am not a creative person. I am probably competent as my resume will tell you but don't expect any initiative or new ideas from me. I will say yes to everything you say even if I don't agree with it." To me, at least. It's a hasty generalization, sure, but you have to admit that anyone who wears this to a job interview looks instantly uninspiring. 

So that's the trick: look inspired. Look sharp. Look smart. Walk your talk (literally with great shoes). That's how you dress for a job interview. And here are more tips!

1. Learn as much about the company as you can and dress to match that company's culture. Google is your friend! Find out what kind of people work there by doing some stalking. Are they chill and laid-back? Are they stiff corporate types?

Are you sick and tired of your blackheads, white heads, and pimples? Tell me all about it. I know how it feels to try lots of treatments and products, get so hopeful, and still end up where you started. It may be that your acne is a genetic pre-disposition, which means that there's not much that you can do to cure it except lessen the appearance and discomfort.

My ongoing battle with acne

But maybe, just maybe, you are doing a few things that you don't know causes or worsens acne. Acne is generally caused by over-production of oil, bacteria, and uncleared dead skin cells which clog pores. Using the wrong product will trigger acne, but sometimes it's what you do rather than what you use that causes the problem.

Here are five common habits that cause acne. Any of these sound familiar?

1. Over-drying your skin. It sounds like common sense to strip your face of oil to prevent more oil, so a lot of people use drying products such as harsh facial washes, alchohol-based toners, and abrasive exfoliators to get rid of the sebum. But it doesn't work that way.

We all know makeup testers can be home to bacteria and diseases, but of course sometimes we need to try them first before purchasing. I wonder: what do you do to avoid risking your health when you want to test products in the store? Thanks! -Leng

Hi Leng! Thanks for your great question! A lot of girls can be careless when it comes to swatching makeup before buying them. They're not aware that it's not safe or even if they are, they disregard the issue because they really want to test the makeup before they buy it. I can understand that; I mean, who wants to buy something that's been untested? 

So here's my main rule for testing makeup on the counters: don't put anything on your face unless you know it's been sanitized. 

One of my readers requested for a tutorial on how to apply mineral foundation. I thought that was an interesting question. After all, mineral foundation IS different from normal powder foundation and therefore requires a slightly separate set of tools and techniques. 

But wait, why use mineral makeup? It depends on your needs and preferences. MMU is great if you want a smooth, luminous finish without all the added chemicals traditional foundations have. You also don't need to use a lot of MMU to get the skin you want, which means that you only use a thin layer that lets your skin breathe.

Unlike normal powder makeup where you just pat it on to get your desired coverage, you have to sort of break down and really spread mineral makeup all over your face. That's why even if you only use a small amout of mineral powder (well, good MMU anyway), you get a lot mileage out of it. It's basically concentrated pigment, unlike traditional makeup where there are comparatively more binders, extenders, and preservatives included in the formula.

That said, I'd just like to share the tools and techniques I use in applying loose mineral foundation!

Choose your weapon

Dense brushes allow you to break down and spread the MMU efficiently.

There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that looks less appealing than a woman with the wrong foundation shade. You could look like Angelina Jolie or Gloria Diaz but with the wrong foundation all your good looks will just look...odd. Gray. Orange. Yellow. It depends! That's why you must pick your foundation carefully, since it could really make or break your appearance.

Always remember that foundation should look natural. It should look like skin. Otherwise, you'll just end up looking like you have a blanket of color on top of your face - and you don't want that! So, here are a few tips on how to choose your best foundation shade:

1. Determine your skin tone. Your skin tone could be one of two: warm and cool. Warm tones include yellow and olive, while cool tones include beige. One way to determine if you're warm or cool is by checking if you look better with gold or silver jewelry. If gold makes you glow, you're warm. Same with silver! Thus, if you're warm-toned, get yellowish foundations. If you're cool-toned, get beige foundations.

We've been taught that a basic skincare regimen includes these three steps: cleanse, tone, and moisturize. We cleanse twice a day because we need to get rid of the dirt our face accumulates during the day. We moisturize because we need to maintain our skin's moisture barrier, thus preventing dry, flaky skin. But why do we need to use toners?

Toners are used after cleansing to remove leftover makeup, dirt, and oil which your facial wash may have missed. They're also good for disinfecting and calming the skin due to their alcohol content and added ingredients (such as rosewater and tomato extracts, for example). 

But the fact is, you don't need to use toner all the time.

I was 19 and still in college when I started Project Vanity. My mom rarely got me makeup, so I bought all my kikay stuff with my allowance. God knows how hard it is to indulge beauty whims on a limited budget! I remember saving my lunch money (P20 palabok at the cafeteria!) and even my clothes money (Divisoria is <3) just so I can buy a product I really wanted!

Me in college! I was still wearing braces and glasses. Definitely gave out that Betty La Fea vibe! Hehe.

Lately, I've been receiving a lot of beauty inquiries from girls who are still in school. I find that touching because they seem to trust me on such a big personal issue. As you know, there's so much pressure in college to do well academically; on top of that, there's the pressure to look good. How can a student look pretty and polished on a budget plus a hectic class schedule?

Here are some of my beauty tips for college girls!

1. Commit to a basic skincare regimen. College is the best time to take care of your skin, but don't go overboard with all the newfangled products out there. Use only what you need. A basic routine of cleanse, tone, and moisturize should be enough for your skin. You can miss makeup, but never miss this!

The Clinique Party last Saturday was a blast! United by a mutual love for Clinique, bloggers and their guests got to hang out over makeovers and dinner. I'll talk more about it soon, but for now I want to share a cool tip I got from a makeup artist who did the makeovers at the counter.

Mina, my date to the party, and the makeup artist (didn't catch her name, dang it!)

I was watching the MUA do Mina's face when I noticed this sponge in her kit. I wasn't sure what it was for exactly - could be foundation or just for blending - but I thought this type of holey sponge is an odd choice for those purposes. So I asked her.

It's what she uses as a lip scrub! She said that the whole look doesn't come out right if the client has dry lips under the lipstick. I totally agree with that.

I'm sure that you've already seen the blogger raves for the Charm Travel Pro brush set. All I can add to the conversation is that yes, this is a great set that you really won't regret buying. It's expensive at P2,200 for the whole set, but then again it's an investment that you'll probably use until you're sick of it. ;)

What I like most about this set, aside from the portability, is how useful ALL the brushes are. Some brands throw in brushes just to pad the set and make you pay more for them, but in the end you just use five out of say, ten brushes. That's a waste of money. But this Charm set has a well thought out selection with no repetitive or ineffective brushes in it. 

Now, like the Version 2 set, this set is not exactly for makeup beginners since the brushes are designed for precision application. But I hope that with this post, you'll learn how to maximize this set whether you're a beginner or an advanced makeup enthusiast!

Face brushes

Eye brushes

The Concealer Brush (top) is perfect for hiding spots, eye bags, and uneven discolorations in your skin. It's best used with cream or liquid concealer.

Don't you just hate it when you "run out" of your favorite makeup that's housed in a tube with a brush or doe foot applicator? You know you can probably pick up a few more drops of gloss or cream but you just can't reach the remaining product with the provided wand. This happened to me before. I tried cutting the tube with the knife, but I ended up *almost* cutting off my finger and wasting the contaminated product. So yes, I wouldn't recommend that.

Here's an easier way to make the most out of your tubed makeup: simply pop out the plastic, detachable rim with a thin knife. That rim makes sure that you get exactly enough product for one application, but it also prevents the wand from scraping out the product from the sides. If your makeup is almost out, removing the rim will allow you to get the rest of the product with your wand.

Removed rim

I've been applying makeup on myself for years now. It's all routine so I don't make many mistakes when putting on tricky products like eyeliner, mascara, and heavily pigmented lipsticks. Still, I do get shaky hands or I rush the whole process sometimes, which inevitably lead me to uneven application! Does this happen to you?

To correct makeup mistakes, I dip a cotton bud in either foundation, concealer, or makeup remover (I love the Clinique Take the Day Off for this purpose) and try to erase the errant makeup. It's a neat trick but the problem with using a cotton bud is that it's not precise; I tend to remove more product than I actually intended. Also, this is ridiculous, but I'm too lazy to do the cotton bud routine. That's why I just usually use a finger to even out lipstick or remove mascara from my lid - again, messy!

So yeah, I felt like a total barbarian when I got hold of Tony Moly's Simply Style Makeup Eraser (P398). It's the first time I've ever tried something like it! 

How it works. The rounded yet slightly pointed felt-tip marker is damp with a thin, oil-based makeup remover, which means that you can apply it directly on the messed-up makeup without having to use a clicking mechanism or a separate product.

I love good questions. I love asking them, more so when it comes to answering them! Some insightful readers asked two cool questions: the first is, how does the Kate Blendzone Eyeshadow duos compare to the Majolica Majorca palettes? Second, how does the Revlon lipstick in Siren compare to Revlon Coral Berry?

Japanese drugstore cosmetics, from what I've tried so far, seem to be at par with more expensive American and European brands. These two eyeshadow palettes from Majolica Majorca and Kanebo Kate are proof. But when it comes down to a choice, which one should you blow your money on?

I hate going out during the day. However, work and errands beckon, so I really don't have a choice! I've been out in the sun for the past four days (!!!) but I'm not too worried since I'm currently testing out a sunblock with SPF130. Yeah. I'm smug.

Anyway, it's too hot and bothersome to wear eyeshadows so I depend heavily on eyeliner and mascara to keep my eyes looking good. After much experimentation, I discovered the best combination to get an absolutely smudge-free eye - it doesn't matter how long I was out or how much I sweat and oil up. This combo is deadly. I've been to Tagaytay, Batangas, Marikina, and all over Manila with these two products on and they've never failed me.

Ready?