Clinique contacted me last week and asked if I'm interested in holding a Clinique party for Project Vanity readers. What a cute question - of course I am! As you know, I am crazy about the Clinique Moisture Surge and Clinique makeup. I would like you, dear reader, to try Clinique for yourself with no pressure to buy.

If you've always been curious about Clinique but never got around to trying it, going to my party is the best time. ;) Clinique agreed to lower the minimum purchase for their Clinique Bonus Time promo exclusively for Project Vanity readers. Instead of P3,900 worth of products, you only need to spend P3,000 to receive this gift.*

Avon accessories are getting better and better, don't you think? These pieces will speak for themselves:

The Spring Green Jewelry line has this faux jade centerpiece set in silver. It has tiny stones in an ornate pattern which I think makes it look oh-so sophisticated! The Spring Blossom Jewelry line, on the other hand, is gold with white enamel flowers and clear stones. 

The first skincare product I EVER reviewed was the Pond's White Beauty cream. That was in 2008! I loved it, and I used it for two years until I switched to the Flawless White variant (more potent and slightly more expensive than White Beauty, but almost the same thing). I switched moisturizers again - I found awesome, expensive ones in the course of trying out so many things for this blog - but at the back of my head I sometimes wonder if they're better than my first love, Pond's.

Best skin ever with Pond's: A few pounds lighter, two years younger

I encourage you to click the links above because they document my long-time affair with Pond's, and maybe you'll also understand why I work with the brand. :) If you read beauty blogs, I'm sure you've already seen that there is a Pond's Flawless White Blogger Contest where bloggers and their friends document their 14-day experience using the Flawless White line exclusively.

It's a contest with a prize, so of course everyone wants to win. I think that fact may make you think that the point of the contest is undermined. You may think that our "reviews" are already compromised because of the campaign. There's a high probability that you'll be reading raves for Flawless White from all the contestants, and it may also be difficult to believe 100%.

As a beauty blogger, the only thing I can really be proud of is credibility

I rarely buy makeup at this point in my beauty blogging career. Aside from the review products I get for this site, I also have this (stupid) belief that I've found the bestest best makeup I can possibly use for my face. My mind is already fixated on NARS for blushes and foundation, MAC or Urban Decay for eyeliners and eyeshadows, L'Oreal or Majolica Majorca for mascaras. But who am I kidding! There are so many other great finds out there, and like Bianca Valerio said (met her yesterday! Starstruck!), you don't really need to spend a lot to be beautiful.

But let me clear that up. There are certain expensive brands I like, and I like them because I can rely on them. If I run out and if I can afford them, I don't see why I shouldn't buy again. It's that simple. Buy what works if you can afford it - quality, not cost, should be the issue.

So. One thing that works amazingly well is the In2It Waterproof Gel Eyeliner. The quality is similar to Urban Decay and MAC and better yet, it only costs P380! That's a steal considering how good this eyeliner is.

What I love about the product

• Goes on like butter! It's like applying the Urban Decay 24/7 liners or even the MAC Fluidline. Swear.
• Waterproof. Doesn't smudge. 

My oldest pair of Ipanema flipflops were from waaay back in 2009. I don't use them anymore mainly because they're at my mom's house (I keep forgetting to bring them here), but I'm happy to report that they're as good as new! The print has faded a bit, but the rubber isn't worn down or scuffed. They're quite sturdy and comfortable, to boot.

My current house slippers are Ipanema as well. The thick rubber feels so soft on my feet, and yes, they're also as good as new since I got them last year. They have lived through many out-of-town and mall trips!

My other pretty Ipanema flip flops

All my Ipanemas are well-worn yet they've withstood time in terms of quality and trendiness. I used to think that paying more than P1,500 for a pair of flipflops is ridiculous, but after two years of wearing this brand, I can confidently say that it's definitely worth it. They don't get outdated, they're comfy and sturdy at the same time.

Anyway, I'd just like to share Ipanema's new summer collection with you. It's called the Gisele Bündchen Hot Sands Collection. It was launched via a fashion show held at the SM Prestige Lounge, SM Megamall, featuring young models wearing Coco Cabaña’s swim wear creations complemented by colorful flipflops.

I haven't bought accessories in, oh boy, months. So when I was in Mall of Asia the other day, I can't help but get these super cheap (but gorgeous!) goodies:

I think I only spent P620 for all of this. The oversized flower clip is only P150, while the animal print clip is just P150. The faux beaten gold and turquoise necklace is P350. Not bad eh?

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.

Remember my post last February? Majolica Majorca is now available in the Philippines! You can already find it in SM Makati's Beauty By SM area. There was supposed to be a big launch at Opus yesterday, but due to the unforeseen disasters in Japan, it was only right that the event was moved as a sign of respect and mourning for the country's losses.

Moving on, I was so delighted when I received a gift from Majolica Majorca last Sunday. It was hanging by the door knob when I got home from my vacation - cute, but thank goodness it wasn't stolen! Haha. Here's what I got:

Trivia: Project Vanity has received 3,395 comments since it went live last year. I don't get to reply to every comment (I try though) but I read each one and I do appreciate them. I don't really earn anything significant from blogging - sometimes it's grueling, sometimes I even wonder why I keep pouring so much time on this. But when I get a comment saying this small project of mine is useful to someone, it's all worth the work.

To thank Project Vanity followers, I run contests (check out the current one for Inches Off shapewear) but winning contests are too chancy. So, I thought of setting aside a personal thank you gift to readers who follow this website regularly.

It's quite silly to wear makeup during a vacation, unless it's the type where you're going to meet a lot of new people you expect to see more of in the future. Why wear makeup when you should be spending time exploring the place right? I brought a bunch of makeup but I only used the concealer, powder, and eyeliner during my trip to Bellarocca. The goal is to just chill.

I used a nifty pouch from Estee Lauder. It can house my stuff securely without having them bump around too much. 

I was thinking of putting this off since I have a few looong overdue beauty posts, but I figured, if I don't write this down now, I'll never get around to it. It will probably suffer the same fate as my Boracay trip last year - I have dozens of photos, even a video of us helmet diving, but I never blogged about it. And now I just have a hazy memory of a vacation to show for it since I left all the photos in my old Macbook.

So! Last weekend, Marco, Luis, Vanessa, and I went to Marinduque to visit Elefante Island. The solitary island houses a beautiful, Satorini-inspired resort called Bellarocca. To say that I enjoyed my stay there is an understatement! The place was breathtaking, private, warm (in terms of service), and just perfect. I am obviously running out of adjectives so it's time for a photo dump.

The only airline service that flies to Marinduque is Zest Air. It's a 40-50 minute flight from Manila.

We're here!

Bellarocca provides a 40-minute van transfer to their jetty

If you follow Hollywood red carpet affairs, you'll notice that a lot of celebs prefer what looks like minimal makeup. They usually wear flawless foundation, a bit of contour, lined eyes, lashes heavy with mascara and falsies, and an MLBB lipstick or, depending on the look they're going for, something loud yet classy like red. You'll rarely see Hollywood celebs wear heavy, colorful eyeshadow!

Mila Kunis at the 2011 Oscars: the quintessential Hollywood look

The eyeshadows they choose to wear are kind of sneaky. Like a good contouring powder for our face, their eye color of choice (like what Mila Kunis is wearing) serves more to contour the eyes rather than to make them pop. The color is subtle, barely there, yet it does a great job of prettifying the peepers without a lot of hassle and drama.

MAC Soba seems to do just that for me.

Ola! Haven't updated you guys about Clinique in a while. Well, I'm just in time! They're holding their bi-annual Bonus time right now, so there's no better time to check out a Clinique counter near you. If you buy P3,900 worth of products, you'll get generous samples of some of Clinique's best sellers for free.

There are a couple of new things to try at Clinique too, like the Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Color Balm (P920). They look yummy no? There's also the Clarifying Lotion Twice A Day Exfoliator (P1,300/200ml) in four formulas of varying strengths.

Haven't you always wondered how orchids can live so long while looking as fresh as the day they first bloomed? Guerlain did. They gathered 30,000 species of orchids to discover their secrets until they found "the one". It's called the Vanda Coerulea, a blue orchid found in China that could live more than 80 years in extreme weather conditions. After ten years of research in three different parts of the world, Guerlain has finally managed to distill the molecular extract of Vanda Coerulea with two other orchids into the Orchidee Imperiale Cream.

The Orchidee Imperiale is Guerlain's flagship anti-aging product which they released just last year. It promises to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and restore the skin's strength and luminosity. Now, I put this to the test for more than two weeks, so I can confidently say this: it's awesome. If you can afford it, go run out and get it. This is the best moisturizer I've tried to date although I will admit that I didn't like it at first.

We were off to a rocky start.

I finally got a copy of this! I heard from a friend two weeks ago that she saw me on BLUSH magazine. I was thrilled, of course!

Kim Chiu on the cover of BLUSH mag's Jan-Feb issue

BLUSH magazine is perhaps the only local magazine that's exclusively focused on beauty. If you love reading beauty blogs and discovering the latest makeup, skincare, or haircare gems, this is the magazine to read. It's only P140 at Fully Booked and National Bookstore (do let me know where else this is available).

Want to get your very own slimming underthings for free? I liked Inches Off so I want to share it to three lucky Project Vanity readers. Here's how to win! Read after the cut to see the full mechanics.

Mechanics

It's not a secret that I am extremely conscious about my weight. I exercise and I try so hard to eat right, but it's an uphill challenge. It's always easier to lie to myself that I won't get fat if I miss one exercise or eat one bag of chips - I keep doing it until suddenly, my waistline is an inch fatter.

While there is no, and I repeat, no better way to lose weight than to eat right and exercise, a girl can always use the help of waist-shapers like girdles and corsets. I am not advocating them as a permanent way of life, but they are pretty useful while you're trying to get a slammin' body (and hopefully a healthy one as well)! One product that I've recently tried is the Inches Off Instant Body Shaper.

I got the High Waist Tummy Flattener Firm Control Panty. I wore it the other day under a thin, jersey dress and I can really see and feel the difference.