It's only Wednesday, but this week has already been marked with a flurry of meetings and frantic email exchanges. Let me take a short breather by telling you about my current go-to lip products: the Maybelline Watershine Pure and ColorSensational lipsticks!

I'm not a lip person so I rarely buy lip products. However, since I'm out a lot lately, I need two lipsticks that I can wear to all occasions - meetings, events, shopping, dates, whatever! Enter Maybelline's newest lipstick line, the ColorSensational Moisture Extreme Lip Color and an old line, Watershine Pure Natural Water Lip Color (Asia exclusive).

Watershine Pure in BM 23 (a lovely nude pink lipstick), P299 and ColorSensational in Plum Perfect (bright plum), P299

Foundation that feels and looks like second skin - myth or fact? Fact, when it comes to the Clinique Superfit Makeup! I really, really like this liquid foundation but I got one that is too white for me so I haven't used it a lot. In those times I have, I can say that this is one foundation worth the rave.

P1750 at Clinique counters in Rustan's

Why this is great:

• Feels light on the skin and looks like second skin. It's like you don't have anything on!
• Stays on all day without caking. Clinique was serious when they said it's long-wear. It's the kind of foundation that allows the sweat and oil to go through, instead of messing it up. Gross I know, but I'm sure you understand what I mean!
• Even if it's liquid foundation, it doesn't make me extra oily. Sure I get oily by mid-day, but that goes the same even if I use powder foundation. The Superfit Makeup is specifically formulated for oily skin. It's oil-free.
• A little goes a long way. The texture is kind of watery (instead of creamy) so I don't suggest using it with a sponge as it will just be absorbed. Use your fingers, or better yet, a stippling or foundation brush.
• Medium to heavy coverage. I'm all for coverage.
• It's Clinique! I didn't break out. It's 100% fragrance free and dermatologist tested.

Hygienic and ensures that you don't take out too much product. Be careful when you press the plastic bottle as the product is quite watery and might gush out.

More pictures of the product and me wearing it after the jump.

I am not a blush person. I actually don’t get why some girls have tons of blushes! I think a person just needs one peach blush and one pink blush. That’s just me though, because in the end it all comes down to preference. Anyway, I was looking for a blush that will serve as my everyday blush for the next year or so. I really don’t like scouting for blushes, therefore, I settled on one blush which was raved to be “universal”: the NARS Super Orgasm.

This blush, an amped-up version of the cult favorite NARS Orgasm has been reviewed extensively by a lot of magazines and blogs already so I’ll just give you a quick rundown.

Why this is so awesome:

•  The color looks so natural on my face (I’m light-medium with yellow undertones). Since I started wearing it, more people have been glancing at me. It might just be my imagination, LOL.
• Lasts a loooong time. Average blushes fade on me after 2-3 hours while this lasts me all day. It fades of course, but at the end of the day, when I’m just about to remove my makeup, there’s still a strong color. I have combination skin.

Urban Decay produces some of the best palettes around, and their new Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows is not an exception. It contains sixteen of their best-selling shades, two 24/7 Eye Pencils in Zero and Flipside, and one mini eyeshadow primer potion. If you've seen trailers of the upcoming Alice in Wonderland movie, you'll notice that the color scheme Urban Decay used for this BoS is damnably close.

So, without further ado, here are pictures of one of the first three Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palettes in the Philippines!

The Book of Shadows is as big and as heavy as a hardbound book

Pretty amazing pop-up eh? Urban Decay spares no expense when it comes to packaging

More pictures and details after the jump!

I have long wanted to get my hands on the NYX Concealer in a Jar because of the rave reviews online. Of course, the price is too good to be true for the promised quality - $5 or only around P300 from resellers. I had to wait two months after paying to get my hands on it, but I didn't mind because I thought it would be worth it.

It's not.

It's my fault really. I got the one in Medium, which I read was for NC35 skintones. Imagine my disappointment when I opened the jar, swatched it, and found that it's too dark and too beige for my skin! The horror. I waited for two months and it was all for naught.

So yes it's basically as good as trash to me. There's just no way I can use it becaue it's really obvious on my face - like dark patches. More pictures and serious review after the jump!

When it comes to beauty and the dedication that goes into the pursuit of it, no one understands the zest and inspiration it requires more than beauty experts who know what is required behind the scenes of beauty" - Victoria Encarnacion, Beauty By SM Director for Marketing

Wanna know what my top two favorite makeup places in Manila are? The SM Mall of Asia and the SM Makati beauty aisles! I also love their Watson branches. First, the makeup counters and personal care stands are always well-stocked and updated. Second, the aisles are wide and easy to navigate. Lastly, the place looks bright, airy, and clean. Very conducive to makeup shopping since we need good lighting to see how the product looks on our faces.

Thus, it was with great excitement that I attended the official launch of Beauty By SM. Basically, it's the upgraded SM Makati beauty area with new brands, new interior design, and more organized divisions. The place is now snazzy and posh, thanks to the people behind SM. They realized that the modern women's needs and tastes have evolved so they evolved right along with it.

Loved what they did with the place! It's definitely worth a visit. Now, I'm sure you're curious about the new, exclusive brands that they have onboard. I took pictures of the counters so you can check them out. 

This is the most interesting brand that I saw. It's marketed as makeup for professional artists and, what do you know, the quality actually seems to be up to par. The price is quite nice, too.

Extremely silky! The small eyeshadows were P350 while the big version is P399. If you're sick of neutrals not showing up, this is something you should try

Blushes at P450. Not bad eh? They're quite big.

Colorescience has perhaps been one of the best-reviewed mineral makeup brands out there! I've tested some of their products and I'm seriously blown away by the quality. I was also blown away by the price.

Click click!

Let's cut to the chase: I don't like the the Ellana Mineral Stick Concealer in Alive. The coverage is unbearably light, not quite buildable, and the texture is closer to a balm than a cream. It doesn't dry quickly (if at all), so you need to set it with powder or else it will slide off.

What else don't I like? The packaging IS cheap - they didn't even bother to put the sticker on properly! There's smaller text in the sticker but you won't be able to read it since the text is too faint. I guess you get what you pay for, since it's only P250.

5 grams in the tube! Quite a lot of product.

It does have some merits, however. It's nice to use as an undereye concealer since it doesn't set into fine lines and looks natural. Don't expect a lot of coverage though! Ellana suggests using their powder concealers to set this and add coverage, but I don't know if you want to take that extra step.

This concealer has tea tree oil and you can smell it. I personally don't mind. In fact, I like that it has anti-blemish and anti-pimple properties aside from it being healthy for the skin. It's pure mineral makeup so that's a huge plus.

Anyway, here's a demo of how it is for eyebag use. Click click.

Having my own online store can be quite taxing, believe me. When I started out with Lauren I thought that it wouldn't be too hard since I've been shopping online for some time now, and thus have experience. It was not too long until I found out that managing an online store could be a nightmare - supplying, taking care of the logistics, demanding customers - the list is endless! We have a shopping cart store though so it's a little easier.

It's for sellers like me that Platform2U made their advanced e-commerce platform called SMilDS. It's a comprehensive online shopping system that provides you with a user-friendly CMS (Content Management System), allowing you to upload content, customize your store's design, organize orders, basically manage your website. It also provides logistics solutions in terms of payments and shipping - your buyers can pay you through credit cards and other mainstream means, and SMilDS is affiliated with the major shipping companies as well. It has customer support that monitors your sales too.

The starter kit with the manual and CD. SMilDS also provides their own debit card for customers!