The fact that we are living in the future is something we take for granted. Imagine, 15 years ago the Internet was just something rich people and offices had; information can only be found in print. We now have personal computers with touch screens that can fit in our pocket. We have hologram Tupac, dead for 16 years, performing in a concert! But we all take it in stride and shrug it off as the natural order of things. There is no wonder, there is no marvel anymore.

Aside from gadgets, this living-in-the-future bit also applies to beauty products. The skincare industry, for instance, is moving fast with new innovations at affordable price points. Products that used to be only available from high-end brands now have doppelgangers in drugstore brands. It's not exactly the same but efficacy is just as good for what you pay for them.

Now, L'Oreal has been diligent in amping up their skincare lines with two new products: the White Perfect Micro-vibration 3-in-1 Eye Brightener and the Youth Code Pre-Essence.

The White Perfect Micro-vibration 3-in-1 Eye Brightener (P695) is an eye cream with a vibrating applicator. The white cream is moisturizing and offers a bit of brightening because it has some shimmer, but the applicator is the real star here. :D It's metal-tipped so it feels very cool and soothing once you place it on your eyebags. The vibration is gentle yet stimulating, a little bit like getting a massage.

We can't all be gods, professional nail artists, or innately ambidextrous when it comes to applying nail polish. I for one have been painting my nails for years now and I still make a mess, depending on my lack of practice! Nonetheless, people always wonder how I paint my nails so neatly. It's simple: I just clean up the mess with an eyeliner brush.

From messy...

To OC!

Yes, a brush! I saw the technique being used in Dashing Diva. The nail attendant used a straight, short-bristled brush to remove excess polish quickly and efficiently. The brush is kinda hard to find, so I used a disposable lip brush and then an old eyeliner brush to see what works best. I now go with the latter since it's bigger, angled, and thus cleans up faster in a more precise manner.

You can do this yourself as easily as I can. All you need are a few basic materials! 

I love little white dresses, but they don't love me back. You see white is such an unforgiving color on less proportioned body types like mine. It can highlight bulges that no one even knows existed and make the body look much wider than it actually is. That's why I *try* to avoid white outfits, just to be safe!

Well, knowing all that, I still buy white dresses just because. They are so fresh to look at. There's something about wearing white that speaks elegance, clazz, and how good you are in kung fuing your way out of a ketchup stain. Fine, wine stain.

Project Vanity and the people who read it mean a big deal to me. I've been working on this blog for four years now (imagine!) and of course, I want to make it even better, more useful to the people who read it. I can guess, but you can just tell me. ;) That's why I'm holding this giveaway!

Basically, I just hope to get your valuable feedback on how to make Project Vanity better. Just answer three questions and that's it! The winner, who shall be picked randomly, will get this makeup loot. Easy right? Here are the mechanics!

Mechanics

1. Follow me on Twitter (@lizlan) and Project Vanity on Facebook.

2. Answer these questions in the comments below. Don't forget to leave your email address, along with your Twitter and Facebook usernames (so I can track entries).

Hi guys! I just want to share a look that I'm particularly proud of, mainly because I haven't done anything like it before. It was inspired by the dress I wore and since I was going to a party I thought I'd be more adventurous. I had so much fun with this look!  

Celine dress / Parfois heels / Pinkbox necklace and bangle / Marc by Marc Jacobs hobo bag

So! I concocted a blue, green, and brown eye, matched by MLBB lips so as not to overdo things. I lined my lower lids heavily with brown eyeshadow and connected it to the extended eye shape. I listed the details and the eyeshadow diagram below. :D

Face: Lancome Teint Miracle, Cinema Secrets Concealer, Clinique powder foundation to set

Makeup for the office need not be overly complicated or fancy. It only needs to do these things for you: to make you look professional and polished, to mirror your competence and the effort you pour in your job. Now it depends on the office environment, but as a rule, a bare face can make you look lazy and ungroomed. A bit of makeup to liven up your complexion can do wonders to get you and your work noticed!

That's not to say that you should go all out and pile on the products. It's best to keep eyes subtle and soft, with just a hint of healthy glow on your cheeks. As for the lips, you can't go wrong with brown-based colors mixed with plum or pink - they are always flattering but never overbearing.

Here's a list of dos and don'ts when wearing office makeup!

• Keep your skin well-hydrated to make sure that it won't dry out with unusually cold office airconditioning. To moisturize during the day without removing your makeup, spritz on a face mist! The humectants in your moisturizer and makeup will trap the moisture of the water in your skin.

Evian is a nice facial spray. It's mineral water and has a minimum amount of chemicals.

• Invest in good makeup that are fool-proof and will get you out of the door in under 15 minutes. That means getting multi-purpose products like cheek and lip tints, BB creams, eyeliners that can double as cream eyeshadows - the likes. But of course it ultimately depends on your preferences.

Anne Curtis is the hottest celebrity right now. After seeing her in person last week, I understand why! Up close, she looks exactly like she does on celluloid and print - drop-dead gorgeous, with an ultra-slim bod. Someone commented that she looks like a live Barbie doll and I gotta say that's not too far off the mark! #starstruck

Anne's looks aside, I really appreciated that she seems genuinely happy and excited to be there. It seems to be a good fit, Avon lipsticks and Anne Curtis. Anne is famous for her trademark red shiny lips while Avon makes some of the best lipsticks around (at least for me) - call it destiny, predetermination, natural selection!

So, what's the deal with the Avon Shine Attract Lipsticks?

I have emphasized time and again that eyebrows may be our most important facial features. These little buggers can make of break our face, so it pays to keep them well-groomed and well-shaped at all times! That said, I have DIYd my eyebrows since college and I'm pretty pleased with the job I've done so far. However, when Browhaus invited me to visit them last week, I thought I'd come over to see if they can do a better job. :D

The staff recommended that I try Browgraphy (P1,290), which is a package that includes threading, shaping, and dyeing the brows. Since they noticed that I have light, thin, brows, they asked me if I'm okay with having them dyed darker. I'm like, hell yeah! I always shade my brows, so I'm grateful for any time I can take off from the task.

How do you like your scents? I love perfumes that are feminine but not overly twee, girly but grown up and sophisticated. That means sweet floral or fruity notes toned down by a touch of wood or musk. If we have the same taste, then you'll love the recently launched Ralph Lauren Big Pony Fragrance for Women!

There are four variants: Big Pony RL Blue (fresh, invigorating mix of sparkling grapefruit and cool blue lotus), RL Pink (cranberry and tonka mousse to create a sensual, fruity scent), Yellow (infused with the natural radiance of pear notes and mimosa for a dazzling floral scent), and Purple, which is the one I have.

You're gonna love this! Avon recently released new products under the Avon Naturals line: the Shakes Body Lotions and the Antibacterial Hand Gels. In a nutshell, these new products smell AMAZING and feel so good on skin, too. 

The Avon Naturals Shakes Body Lotion (P185/150ml) is housed in what looks like a milk bottle. I really love the design as well as the print because they look so expensive and classy. Packaging aside, the lotion itself is uber creamy, non-greasy, and smells so wonderful. It feels luxe when you spread it on, but the rich cream is surprisingly easily absorbed.

My favorite is the Pomegranate & Mango variant. It smells exactly as it says it does!

When Shu Uemura claims something, I find that it rarely jokes around. If it says brightening, it's brightening! If it says that a product will make you look less yellow, you will look less yellow. That's what I discovered with the Shu Uemura Whitefficient UV Under Base Brightening Mousse (P2,150).

I have to admit that I was extremely hesitant to use this product at first. SPF products tend to break me out so I don't really experiment much. But since most Shu products have wowed me in the past, I thought, why the hell not this one? Good thing I did try it, because now this Shu Underbase is an indispensable part of my day makeup! I've been using it for a few weeks now so I can confidently say that. :P

Okay, down to business!

What I love about the product

• It brightens my face instantly, without the use of shimmer or shine. The Pink Purple shade mixes with my yellow skintone to provide a more enhanced color. Call it color correction, if you will.
• My face makeup looks smoother and more pigmented on top of this! It's a great foundation base in that sense. 

The access to clean and safe drinking water is a basic human right. While it's true that 70% of our planet's surface is covered water, only 3% is fresh, potable water. Most of it is inaccessible to those who need it badly. Many of them live in landlocked Africa, which is why several organizations are at work there to improve the people's access to drinking water.

Early this year, Giorgio Armani launched a campaign called the Acqua For Life Challenge to help the people of Ghana and Bolivia have a sustainable supply of water. This is in partnership with Green Cross International. More than providing communities with safe water, the Acqua For Life Challenge also helps improve education since the children no longer have to travel long distances just to fetch water.

It has been said that giving a person fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish. Likewise, Giorgio Armani is not just donating water, but developing sustainable sources of drinking water through rainwater harvesting systems, wells, and boreholes.

Last year's AFLC collected over 43.3 million liters of drinking water, and this year, it hopes to get more!

I kinda stoppped wearing nail polishes regularly after I got my dog. Snaps is always running about, so he ends up ruining wet nail polish whenever I bother trying. Hmp! That's not to say that I've sworn off nail polish forever. I sneak in a nail job when he's napping, but I only risk it when I have an important event to go to.

That said, the Revlon Top Speed Fast Dry Nail Enamel (P325) is heaven sent for busy women who can't afford to sit still for long. It gives me glamorous tips in 15 minutes, and that's a guarantee (I counted)! I love that this polish hardens in such a short amount of time.

I've tried other "fast-drying" polishes before but some of them can be misleading. Sure the top layer feels dry, but the lower part is still wet and tacky. Everything WILL fall apart if you happen to bump your nails on something, which totally defeats the purpose.

That's not the case with Revlon Top Speed.

The cool thing about working for a fashion brand like Pinkbox? I get freebies and discounts. :P I honestly like the brand because it has both functional and pretty accessories that don't go overboard. Like any girl, I love making a statement with accessories, but it should be seasoned with a little subtlety, taste, and playfulness. 

So anyway I was organizing my accessories the other day and decided to store all my Pinkbox pieces in one place. Here's a pic! Read on to see my favorites and what I ended up using as a storage solution. ;)

EANVIE (pronounced as "envy") is the latest Korean beauty brand to hit Watsons. According to Andrew Wolff, the CEO of EANVIE's distribution company, the brand has been around for ten years. They decided to bring it to the Philippines because they were impressed by the products' results and felt that it suited Filipina skin.

I met Andrew last month to discuss EANVIE - it's always good to hear from the people who know their brands best! He was very kind, soft-spoken, and seemed passionate about his work. Really cool dude.

Of course I had to ask if Andrew uses EANVIE! He said, "Yes I do. You really have to know what you are selling before promoting it to others. Obviously, being male, it is difficult to try some products like BB Creams.  I let our operations manager Matthew Golar try that one! My favourite cosmetic would have to be the REVITAL CREAM as my "spotty" face has cleared considerably since I started using it."

What's your favorite milk tea place? Mine is Happy Lemon! I love their Green Tea with Rock Salt and Cheese. I can drink that stuff everyday, and for a while a did, hence the weight gain. It's kinda evil of them to open a branch in Bonifacio Hight Street since now I can drop by anytime...like maybe after writing this post? Lol.

Photo grabbed from Foodspotting

Oh but why am I even babbling about this! I just want to share a pink and brown look I wore last Saturday. What I love about it is that everything is very soft and all the colors just sort of blend together. It's quite ladylike but there's also that fun factor because of the pink eyeshadow!

Face: Cinema Secrets Foundation Kit, Clinique Perfectly Real compact foundation

If I had television, I would have watched the Bb. Pilipinas Coronation last night! As it were I just had to get my news from my Twitter feed (please do follow me btw!). Many of them were catty comments on the evening gowns and the Question and Answer portion. Haha. I guess that's part and parcel of the festivities. 

May I present the Bb. Pilipinas court!

The Bb. Pilipinas 2012 queens are: Janine Tugonon as Miss Universe Philippines, Nicole Schmitz as Bb. Pilipinas- International 2012, Katrina Dimaranan as Bb. Pilipinas - Tourism 2012, Elaine Kay Moll as 1st Runner-Up, Annalie Forbes as 2nd Runner-Up

Photo from Adventures of a Beauty Queen

Janine Tugonon is a 22-year old pharmacy graduate from the University of Sto. Tomas. From her profile, you can see that she's a veteran in joining beauty contests, unlike Shamcey Supsup from last year. 

I just realized - I took oodles of photos of my makeup and skincare during my out-of-town trip the other week, but I only have two or three shots of myself to show for it. They weren't even good! I guess I just don't like taking photos when I'm busy doing something on a vacation. Next time though, perhaps I should take more just for posterity. :P

Anyway, I want to show you what I brought with me on the trip. I rather overpacked buuut at least I knew I was prepared for whatever! Hope you like this little show and tell. I brought products that I feel suited the demands of summer - bright colors on the lips, light shades for eyes, and warm cheek colors. For the face base, I just brought a long-wearing concealer + a light, illuminating powder foundation. It's too hot for cream or liquid types. 

I housed my cosmetics in this neat Rustan's pouch that Pond's gave it to me a few months ago. I like that it's big but slim, roomy enough to fit in lots of stuff while keeping them from bouncing around.

It's been a while since I wrote about Snaps here, so I thought I'd share some photos I took the other day. Oh he's doing very well, thank you! He had an eating problem for a while which caused him to barf a lot, but we think he got over it. We got him Royal Canin dog food and pate which he finally accepted as facts of life. His vitamins also help his appetite, too!

"What's up?"

It's difficult not to spoil a dog you love, but you have to make him realize that human food is not the rule but an exception.

Found an interesting fashion blog over on Twitter called Aaron Did Fashion. People were initially laughing at him, but from what the hashtag #TeamAaron is showing, people are admiring his guts. And why not?

There is something about this boy. His enthusiasm in showing off his outfits and doing the du jour fashion blogger poses is...poignant. Honest. The top fashion blogs are all run by beautiful shining people in trendy, mass-produced clothes. I don't hate them for it, but they are sometimes tiring to look at, perhaps because the whole thing looks contrived and semi-professional.