Sunday fun day! I am bringing Snaps later to a dog meet in Bonifacio High Street. I hope it's fun. Anyway, I just want to share a contest that Benefit Cosmetics Philippines is running as part of their grand launch on February 7!

The prizes at stake are pretty major - P10,000 worth of Benefit goodies, the chance to model at the grand launch in Greenbelt 5, and a meet & greet + makeover + photoshoot with Maggie and Annie Ford Danielson, the daughters of Jean Ford, founder of Benefit Cosmetics.

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Cool right? So join! But if you just want to be part of Benefit's official and exclusive launch at Greenbelt 5 this February 7, I am giving away two passes to one lucky girl. That's right - you can get the chance to attend a fun event and inhale Benefit for an evening. The mechanics are super duper simple:

I am a big believer in fingers when it comes to applying concealer and liquid foundation, but for other products, I have a small coterie of brushes that I prefer to use on a regular basis. I have other similar brushes that I reach out for but this set is always my first choice! 

If you're into makeup for personal use, then you don't really need an elaborate set of specialized brushes to apply your products. Just get few basic brushes and you're good to go for everyday looks. Like me. :P

So, here are my favorite brushes!

From left to right: Sigma E55 / E40 duo, Estee Lauder lid brush I got from a set, fake NARS crease brush, Charm blending brush (from the Charm Travel Pro V3 brush set)

Okay so, I've been using the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrate for a week now. And these are my observations!

• My skin is incredibly smooth right now. The roughness from dry patches, blackheads, and random bumps are very much reduced. 
• Skin is more even and has a glow, so I tend to use less makeup.

Okay, here's something I've been looking forward to since last year! Colour Collection, one of my favorite "dark horse" cosmetic brands (read my reviews here) has invited me to do a university tour. Along with Bianca Valerio and Ning Hilario of Meg Magazine, I'll be visiting a Manila campus to talk about - what else - beauty!

We're still finalizing the schedule at the moment, but I'll definitely update you when I have the date and school. In the meantime, you can catch the first leg of the Colour Collection University Tour: The Colour Collection mobile store will be at UP Diliman from February 1 to 3. It will be located at the College of Arts and Letters.

Whoever invented eyeliner has bestowed womankind a great gift. From the ancient Egyptians, to its rise in the 1920s flapper era, to today's modern woman, eyeliner has served us remarkably well by opening and enhancing our eyes. A simple black line can do wonders for our face - provided it's applied correctly, of course.

Eyeliner can be difficult to use in the beginning, but trust me, practice is the best way to get your perfect line. Why when I started using it in my teens, I was such a klutz! I couldn't get an even line for all I was worth. I just kept repeating and repeating though until my wobbly line became straight and fine.  

Tools: Charm Vegan Pointed Eyeliner Brush and Kanebo Kate Gel Eyeliner

Now, there's no one true way to apply eyeliner. The techniques I'll be sharing here is what I prefer to do with my own eyes, so feel free to experiment and find a method that works best for you. I used a gel eyeliner and a pencil brush for this tutorial but the principle is still the same for pencil, powder, and liquid liners.

Ready? Here goes!

Step 1: Start in the middle of your lash line, then draw outwards.

In a world full of lip balms that you can buy for close to nothing, it's quite a challenge to tell a product apart. Lip balms are made of practically the same ingredients to begin with. The EOS (Evolution of Smooth) Lip Balm, however, became popular not just because of its formula, but how it looks like.

I finally got hold of my an EOS Lip Balm in Summer Fruit (P250) from Digital Traincase, and this is what I think about it!

What I love about the product

• It tastes sweet, with a hint of peach. I've tried quite a few lip balms but none has tasted this good! Even if I lick it a little the balm doesn't come off.
• Smells great, like a confection of fresh fruit - thus the name of this particular variant, Summer Fruit.

Annika Wester is a famous illustrator who has done work for big names like Vogue, Anna Sui, MAC (to name a few) and has shown her art in galleries all over the world. According to her blog, her "...work presents a various number of characters, silhouettes and items displayed throughout her own stylish way of drawing. The features are softened and the colors often bright, which gives the viewer a feeling of joyful indolence..."

The Etude Girl illustrations by the talented Annika Wester

Cool right? And now, Ms Wester has partnered with Etude House for their Wannabe Collection! It's a rather expansive collection with a face palette, powder, lipsticks, nail polishes, scent and gloss combos, and even falsies all incased in Ms Wester's trademark artwork.

The Etude Girl is, surprise surprise, Sandara Park of 2NE1

Okay, this is a rather long intro, but I am just amazed by Annika Wester and Etude House's awesome idea in partnering with her. Whoever said that art and makeup can never mix is deadly wrong! So! I'll be reviewing some of the Wannabe pieces I have with me.

Bed Head is famous for its hair care products, but did you know that they actually made makeup? Yes? Bah. I had no idea. When the brand sent me the Bed Head 4-Play Eyeshadow Palette, I thought it was going to be a crummy product simply because makeup wasn't their specialty. Buuut this palette is actually pretty good!

What I like most about this palette is how sophisticated its colors are. There's a dusky purple, a white gold, a taupe-purple, and a pretty pink in the mix. They're something you can wear for the day then intensify for night time. 

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 

The name of this product cracks me up. Get this: according to the label, it is the Snoe Body Ritual Recipes Scrumptious Body Spritz in Honey Dew Melon Yogurt (P249). The person who thought of the name is a sigurista, that is, he or she definitely wants to cover all the bases when it comes to naming things. :P 

Kiddng aside, I like this cologne. It smells of sweet melon candy, with a touch of the creaminess of yogurt. Lasting power is not too bad for a cologne at two to three hours too.

I've done quite a few looks in the past, but I think this purple eyeshadow confection is my favorite yet. This deep-socketed, sunken eye look gives the face a sense of drama and mystery without looking overdone, methinks.

For this look, I used the Lancome Teint Miracle + Benefit Watts Up highlighter to get luminous skin. I did my eyebrows using the Benefit Brow Zings, contoured with the NARS Laguna Bronzer, and blushed with Benefit Hervana. And now, for the eyes!

Step 1: Apply an eyeshadow primer like the MAC Prep + Prime Eye Base. Then, apply a matte purple like Allure from the Sigma Flare Eyeshadow Palette on your lids.

There is a dizzying bevy of anti-aging products out there, with extraordinary claims to bring back your skin's youth. How do you find out what actually works? Simple, you try them! After some research on reviews and ingredients, of course.

That said, I want to give you a bit of information about Avon's latest anti-aging product: the Anew Genics Treatment Concentrate (P1,799). It claims to help skin look ten years younger with the help of the brand's patented YouthGen Technology. It is supposed to re-activate one's "Youth Gene", that genetic component in our cells that keeps skin elastic, wrinkle-free, and glowing - young, in other words. 

Sounds too sci-fi? Perhaps, but it is quite intriguing. Promises aside, the quality of the serum itself is pretty good.

What's your ideal lipstick like? For me, it has the comfortable texture of a lip balm but with the opacity of normal lipsticks. I've always wondered why companies don't make a product like this more often. Perhaps it is too expensive? Not enough demand? In any case Revlon took it upon themselves to make a kickass lip product called the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter (P525).

There are serious raves about these lipsticks online, and I can see why!

What I love about the product 

• As the name promises, it does glide on like butter and feels moisturizing on the lips. It doesn't feel waxy or thick at all. Girls who can't stand lipstick will love this!
• Colors are gorgeous and trendy, with great color payoff. It feels like balm but doesn't look like one when you have it on.

I was going through my traffic stats when I noticed that a lot of people were coming in from a US website/forum called Makeupalley. In case you don't know - I love Makeupalley! It's a sort of bible for me, my ultimate reference when it comes to information about products I want to buy or review. So, it's a big deal for me that one of my links is over there. 

Of course I clicked to the page where the link is. Apparently, it's a forum thread about guesses on how old I am. The general consensus is that I am in my thirties, although a couple of people threw in some forties guesses. The guesses were based on this post. 

I was mortified! At first. I know I look quite mature for my age, but I always thought the general perception is that I am in my mid to late twenties.

Last Christmas, my boss from Pinkbox gave me this lovely jewelry box as a gift. You know how I'm such a sucker for boxes so I shall say no more!

Every girl needs a bright and sophisticated red lipstick in her purse. However, not everyone has the chutzpah to wear it yet; red lipstick is an idea one needs to grow and nurture in the mind before it debuts in person. :P If you're not ready to wear a full-on red, then I suggest you try on a "training wheel" red like the Tony Moly Kiss Lover Lipstick in RD03.

RD03 is a juicy cherry red that shies from being opaque. It's red, sure, but it's not the scary kind which makes it perfect for those who are just starting to explore the shade.

When Liz of Estee Lauder asked me if I wanted to try the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrate (P4,800), I was like, "Fug. Not another anti-aging product!" in my head. I am up to my ears with anti-aging products - and I'm only 23! I am extremely reluctant of using one for four weeks tbqh, but since I like Liz, I thought I'd give it a chance.

So that's the challenge: use the ANR serum for four weeks and write about it once a week during that period. I just got to try it last night because I broke out last week plus I was sick, so I don't have much in the way of a review just yet. I will however share my first impressions for now.

Not an anti-aging product LOLZ

Okay. First off, the ANR serum is technically not an anti-aging product (read the description). I just assumed it was, on first glance, which is very careless of me but it is admittedly a common misconception. Estee Lauder is associated with mature women after all!

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

This time, I have two people that I want to say thanks to. They always comment, and they offer useful - and sometimes funny - tidbits about the stuff I write about. :P So, for the Commenter of the Month for December, I have Iko Hanajima, who will get the VMV Hypoallergenics gift certificate. Nicole Eniego will also get something, I just haven't decided yet! But it'll be fun. 

And now, for the January gift!

The winner will get a P2,500 gift certificate from FReSH Fragrance bar. FReSH has an extensive selection of premium imported scents—from luxury designer brands to retail favorites, as well as the latest from sports, fashion, and entertainment superstars.