I was 18 when I started going crazy over makeup. I'd read through tons of blogs and watch lots of tutorials everyday, and when I can afford it with my student budget, I'd buy makeup for myself. I'd pile on colorful eyeshadows and powders just for the fun of it. As I got older though, my enthusiasm reared back a bit. I mean yeah, I still read tons of blogs, buy makeup, and enjoy applying all this gunk on my face, but the real world (work, tiredness, or just plain laziness) intervenes. Hence I have tamad looks like these:

MAC Studiofinish concealer, Colorescience pressed mineral foundation, NARS Super Orgasm, Revlon Colorstay automatic eyeliner, L'Oreal Curl Impact mascara, Paul & Joe Eye Crayon in 01, Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Demure

The goal is to use as less products as possible while still looking pretty and polished.

It's a beautiful Saturday morning! You best get up and spend it outside, lol. I just came from Mercato Centrale with Marco, where we took our car out for the first time. All went well. Whew. Anyway, I was disappointed when I didn't find this mushroom and artichoke dip that I bought a few weeks back. It was quite memorably delish with bread or crackers.

Moving on, I just want to share some great reads from the Beauty & Fashion channel at thePOC! I love the topics we've been publishing lately.

Danica Flores Magpantay wins first place in Ford Supermodel of the World 2011  A Pinay makes it to the top of the most prestigious modeling competition in the planet!

Professional and theater makeup in the Philippines  There's makeup, and then there's Makeup. Find out what the pro makeup brands are and where you can find them locally.

Do men hate what you're wearing? Guys are animals from another planet. What are the things we wear that they just don't get?

A study of trends: The Longchamp Le Pliage bag  Why are Longchamps so popular, and should they even be?

10 common beauty blunders  We never even notice them!

Tête-à-tête with Jot Losa  Here's an interview

In a tropical weather like ours, it's best to avoid heavy, musky fragrances during the day. Why? As the day progresses and the sun goes higher, the heat tends to magnify the scent of the essential oils in your perfume. Imagine it mixing with copious amounts of sweat and natural oils in your body, and you've got a musky, strong smell that's not pleasant at all!

That's why I prefer using light, energetic scents for day. My past favorites are the DKNY Be Delicious EDP and the Benetton Giallo EDC for their lovely floral/ fruity fragrance that's made for beautiful sunny days. Lately though I find myself reaching out for one of Guerlain's best-loved perfumes called the Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca.

As the name suggests, this perfume smells like a basket of fresh herbs. It invokes mental images of walking in a field of grass, just before the sun rises, before the sparkly dew evaporates in the first rays of the day. It's got a pinch of citrus, a sprig of mint thrown in, and a lovely flowery mix just wafting from underneath. 

Today I hung out with Ina Casas, Bobbi Brown's newly promoted Marketing Executive (congrats!). This girl is so fierce! I love all her outfits, plus she's a serious makeup enthusiast. This is a photo of her during last year's Preview Ball:

Panalo! Anyway, while we were chatting today, I told her that I was really impressed with the Black Swan look she posted on Facebook. It was done by Owen Sarmiento, one of MAC's resident makeup artists, for Estee Lauder's Christmas costume party. The look was exclusively designed by MAC for Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis's movie.

Natalie Portman

Ina Casas! Minus the white, mask-like skin and gray pallor of the original

I love! But I'll tell you what the real clincher is: the whole look was created only with Bobbi Brown products. Hard to believe eh?

Another item I got from the We Have It 43 store is this well-raved mascara called the Majolica Majorca Lash Expander (P750). Majolica Majorca is a Japanese brand, a low-end line of Shiseido (the way Kate is the drugstore line of Kanebo). I've been reading about this mascara for years, but since Majolica Majorca isn't available in the Philippines, I can only wonder! Good thing the We Have It 43 store, well, has it.

I find this mascara deserving of all the rave reviews - it does bring my pudgy lashes to such great heights, never before known! Check out the Makeupalley rating at 4.3/5. It has one major caveat for me, however: it's extremely difficult to remove.

What I love about the product

• Majorly lengthens and volumizes lashes with only one coat. Two coats and you'll look like you're wearing falsies. It's because the formula has these tiny fiber hairs that helps thicken and bridge your natural lash hairs.
• Zero smudging. It's also waterproof, tear-proof, and sweat-proof. 

One coat

I have tried quite a few lipsticks already, from extremely cheap, to midpriced, and to reasonably expensive. I love all my lippies in some way, but if you must ask me what my current favorite is, I'd say that it's the Avon Ultra Moisture Rich Lipstick. It's got everything I'm looking for in a lipstick: unique shades, lovely effect, and creamy, non-drying texture.

Four color families: Sheers/Nudes, Pinks, Plums, and Corals/Reds

There's really not much to say as the swatches will speak for themselves, but allow me to run a quick review before I post pictures of the 19 out of 20 available shades.

What I LOVE about the product

• Super creamy and smooth texture. The lipstick just glides on easily.
• Non-drying. Although to prolong the moisturizing effect, apply a thin layer of lip balm underneath. 
• Feels comfortable on the lips. It doesn't have that heavy, waxy feel.
• Minimizes lines on the lips, making it look plumper and juicier somehow (you'll know what I mean when you try it). 

For today, I was planning to put up my lip swatches of the new and *awesome* Avon Ultra Moisture lipsticks. However since there are 19 shades and I have at least a hundred photos of them to delete/edit, I ran out of time to finish them all. I need to leave in a bit! So in the meantime I will leave you with photos of Avon's latest collection called Tokyo Allure.

It's inspired by - make a guess - the mystery and romance of Tokyo! Red is the predominant color, mixed with accents of smoky charcoal.

More photos after the jump!

Several posts ago, after I commented on the lack of the Cleansing Oil for Sensitive Skin in Muji High Street, a reader tipped me off that the newly-opened Rockwell branch has stocks. I zoomed off and true enough, the shelf is full of the stuff! I got mild sticker shock though when I found out that the price of the makeup remover is 100%+ more expensive. From P395, it is now P600+. I would have still bought it (it's that good, for me) but the Mild Cleansing Oil variant is cheaper at P425 so I went for that instead.

I don't have much to say about since this works almost the same way as the one for sensitive skin - read my review on it. The main difference (other than the price) is that this is more runny.

I received a bag full of goodies from Revlon today. Among the things they sent me where some of the latest/ reincarnated shades from their Super Lustrous Lipstick line. Of course, the first thing I did was take photos! My favorite out of the bunch is this orange lipstick called Siren. It looks bright orange in the tube, but it's more of a coral-orange mix than just neon orange.

I don't have individual pics of the tube, unfortunately. Don't worry, I'll be reviewing the Super Lustrous lippies in a separate post.

I think Pinays should wear more orangey lipsticks for three reasons - first, orange looks strikingly beautiful on morenas, second, it's always summer here and third, it's trendy right now!

I have read in tons of blogs that the Koreans and Japanese make some of the best makeup and skincare out there. However, the obvious road block is that this stuff is in another country! The good news is that there are a lot of enterprising Filipinas who are very much aware of this demand and know the best products to sell online. One of them is Bon, owner of a store called We Have It 43. I have seen her store way before she approached me, and I was duly impressed by the wide - and I mean WIDE - range of products available there.

She carries popular BB cream brands like Legere, BRTC, Missha, Etude House, Dr Jart, and Liole. She also has famous Japanese brands like Majolica Majorca, Shiseido, Kanebo Lunasol, and Jill Stuart. There are more than 70 brands to choose from! What I like most about the store though is the fact that the prices are not super hiked up. They're more than fair, actually. Bon can afford to do this because she is based in Taiwan and she has direct access to the products, which she ships to a friend here.

Anyway, when she asked me if I want to try some of her wares, I asked her what her best seller is. She pointed to the L'egere White Multi BB Cream (P1,000), which she has sold more than 300 tubes of! I was skeptical at first, until I read that it has a 4.4/5 rating at Makeupalley.

The short of it is that this is the best BB cream I've tried to date. Here's why!

Yesterday, I received a package that contained totally unexpected goodies: Guerlain and Bulgari perfumes! I was only expecting small testers for review, but I guess Sigrid of Luxasia has something else in mind:

L-R: Bulgari Eau Perfumee Au The Blanc, Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca, Guerlain Idylle, Guerlain Shalimar

They're extremely photogenic, no? They smell just as good.

...rummage through your guy's closet, or sew something! These days I feel as if all my clothes are too "young" on me. I don't want to look like a teenybopper at my age, for crying out loud. I don't want to look too manang and boring either! The look I'm going for is something feminine, sophisticated, and subtle. I think I'm over those clothes that scream LOOK AT ME.

So anyway, I found this Gap shirt from Marco's closet. I gave this to him for Christmas, but dude's never worn it! How annoying. I decided to, ah, borrow it for this outfit post. I love how the dark sea green works with the bright red rose belt.

The trick to making men's clothing look more feminine is super simple

Loving makeup or clothes is just only one facet of our personality. Often, we have other hobbies like painting, reading, or music! That's the rationale behind this giveaway - it's a combination of two loves! It's super easy to join. All you have to do is tell me which musician is your beauty/fashion inspiration in a fun Facebook post.

I'm giving away this loot:

Estee Lauder brushes (face, blush, lip), Purederm Face Mask, Revlon New Complexion loose powder, Obagi Gentle Cleanser, Purederm BB Cream, Celeteque , Purederm Deep Moisture Hand Mask, Leona Lewis, Michael Jackson and Ciara original CDs (c/o Sony Music Philippines)

Contest mechanics:

1. Like the Project Vanity Facebook Page.

2. On your personal Facebook Wall, share which musician is your beauty and/or fashion icon. Add a photo of your favorite look, too!

I am currently using Estee Lauder's latest moisturizer called Time Zone Night Anti-Line/Wrinkle Creme. It's so good, I want to use it during the day! It's the first heavy cream moisturizer that my skin enjoys. There's none of that greasy feel I just can't stand in other brands. And believe me, I have tried quite a few cream moisturizers.

This age-defying moisturizer works overnight to help dramatically reduce the look of lines and wrinkles. Our exclusive Sirtuin EX1 Technology helps reverse the appearance of aging for a years-younger look-more lineless, radiant and rested.

Helps support skin's nightly restorative actions including natural collagen production with an amino acid complex. And while you sleep, the soothing scent calms and relaxes. 

I am way too young to need help in the wrinkle department, but I like it mainly for its moisturizing and soothing properties. I highly recommend this for mature or maturing skin because this product is designed with repair during nighttime in mind.

I found myself with nothing to do yesterday afternoon so I rummaged through my stuff, hoping there's something interesting to tinker with. I saw some Avon necklaces, and had a semi-brilliant idea!

I thought it would be cool to combine them in one necklace. The one in the middle is from the latest Avon collection called Tokyo Allure (more about that next week) and, unlike other necklaces from the brand, doesn't have a detachable pendant. It would be perfect to have two different pendants on either side.

When I started to get into makeup I harbored the secret fantasy of becoming a makeup artist. I never did push through with it though, because I'm not as happy about applying makeup on other people as writing about it! My forte really is writing, hence this blog. I enjoy the process of gathering information and sharing it.

As my dreams of becoming a makeup artist faded away, I do still want to own a makeup artist's ultimate symbol: the train case. That's why I was blown away when Avon handed me this awesome train case made by Suesh. The huge case was full of goodies Avon thoughtfully put in! This will sound really cheesy, but thanks Avon for making one of my dreams come true! Haha. 

Curious to see what's inside? Click click!