I wish brands would stop naming their products in numbers and coded letters. It's harder to remember an impersonal "PK238" compared to something like Berry Cherry Strawberry Conundrum, for instance. Or is it just me? Oh but why am I grousing! Today's featured product as part of Blush Week is the Artdeco Blusher in 38 First Love (P550).

This is a warm, peach-pink blush with fine golden shimmer, similar to the famous NARS Orgasm. The difference is that this is more pigmented and leans more towards pink - but you can still see the similarity. This is a blush that can be worn across all skintones. You just need to adjust the intensity, using a smidgen if you're fair, and more layered if you're dark.

Some weeks ago I had a crazy candy addiction. Whenever I'm out I'd buy a bag of candy and just chomp until I feel sick of sugar. Predictably, my weight shot up, so I'm a hundred thirty pounds now. My ideal weight is 120 pounds and 115 if I'm gung-ho about it - but 120 is the just about right. I'm not anorexic and I know that my current weight is still right for my height. I just dislike being bulky and looking terrible in my clothes!

But it's not just a matter of aesthetics. Because of all the sugar and carbs I find myself so sluggish during the day, and a lot more easily tired than when I was eating right. It's a toxic, stressful feeling.

This dress can fool anyone, I swear. It's from Forever 21 btw!

So, I've decided to work out. Dieting is not enough to make me lose weight anymore since I don't have time to prepare the food. :/ I used to have that time, which is how I at least managed to maintain my diet last year, but now I simply don't have an hour to spend in the kitchen. Exercise it is, then!

Since I got a lot of positive feedback regarding my first themed week, I thought I'd continue it with a new series about - guess - blushes! Every girl needs a flattering blush to make her complexion look brighter and more alive. This week, I'm going to talk about some of the latest, most exciting blushes I've come across, and hopefully I can help you find your new cheeky best friend. 

To kick the series off, I'm going to start with a list of my five favorite blushes (not including the NARS Super Orgasm because it's such a cop out to do so). These are the blushes I always pick up because their color works perfectly with my skintone and I can rely on them to stay put for a decent amount of time. They're also versatile, delicately nuanced shades, which means that I can easily pair them with most looks I can think of. ;)

Okay enough yapping, here's the list!

Are you a snob? A snob is defined as a person who believes their tastes in a particular area are superior to others. You can be a music, food, bag, beauty, or shoe snob - all at the same time. It doesn't mean you're a terrible person, just that in the course of pursuing the things you care about, you've already narrowed down the qualities of a "good" find. 

I am a snob. I'm particular about how I dress and the products I use on my face and body, simply because I already know what works and what doesn't. :) However, I'm not as concerned about how luxe a brand is as I am about the quality of the product. If it works and it's affordable at the same time then all the better! In my experience though, quality - the kind I will cherish, enjoy, and maximize to the end - often comes at a price.

And that is why I love Taste Central. It's a well-curated online store that contains only things that cater to, well, snobs. Haha. It's a website by tastemakers for tastemakers; for people who are willing to blow cash on the good suff. Taste Central is actually the sister site of Deal Grocer. Instead of discounts though, you can buy products outright.

There are quite a few awesome things in there for beauty enthusiasts such as we. There are hard-to-find brands like Jo Malone, Aesop, Fresh, Philosophy, and Bumble & Bumble. There are also quietly famous brands you've never heard of before but are too expensive to be hipster (lol) - Chantecaille, Percy & Reed, Red Ken, Mukti, Babor, and Frederick Feckkai. 

I first heard about the Vichy Dermablend Foundation (P1,390) three years ago when Lisa Eldridge, celebrity makeup artist, used it on a girl with severe acne. You'll see in the video how Dermablend magically hid the spots with only the tiniest amount of product! It was just the thing I needed since I had serious acne scarring at the time. Unfortunately, Vichy wasn't a popular brand back then. It was practically impossible to get it in the Philippines short of shipping it from the UK.

Thankfully, Digital Traincase brought it in early this year. *cue trumpets* I just had to get it when I visited the store in Ortigas a few weeks ago! It's out of stock at the moment but expect fresh stocks to arrive next week.

So how was it? It's every bit as amazing as shown in Lisa's video - as a concealer. My shade, Nude, matches me perfectly when it's just on spot patrol, but when used all over my face it looks quite, erm, pink. I suppose I could still get away with wearing it as foundation (did it once) but only if people don't look too closely! My face looked light and pinkish in comparison to my neck and shoulders.

Even if I can't use the Dermablend as a proper foundation, it's still a great find. Here's why!

What I love about the product

• It has heavy, full coverage. It can cover very dark blemishes in a couple of layers, and normal blemishes and under eye circles in one dab. Redness is easily banished even if you have fresh pimples and rosacea.
• Even with that coverage, it feels weightless on skin due to the watery, easy-to-spread texture. It's also non-sticky and non-greasy.

Hi Miss Liz! :) My friends and I will be having our annual beach getaway this Saturday. Can you suggest an eyeliner (either gel,pencil or liquid) that won't smudge even if I get into the water? Big thanks! :D  - Kristin

Hi Kristin! No makeup, when it comes in contact with salt water, will survive for very long. The salt will erode whatever you have on your face and the water will take care of the rest. However, there are certain products that will stay on a wee bit longer!

I would recommend you try the K-Palette Real Lasting Eye Pencil as the formula is very solid and fairly waterproof. Just make sure it has set completely before you get into the water, don't rub it at any cost, and make sure you check when it starts to fade away. Remove immediately when it starts to smear.

Hi folks! I was in Mall of Asia yesterday to watch Iron Man 3 on IMAX. I enjoyed the film! There were some cheesy parts but hey, it was funny and heart-stopping anyway. The third installment of the franchise showed a broken Tony Stark after New York (it's a direct sequel of sorts to Avengers). He can't sleep, he gets anxiety attacks, and on top of that he decided to challenge a terrorist called the Mandarin. All hell breaks loose as Tony finds himself on the run, fighting for his life - and his future with Pepper.

But I digress. :P What I really want to talk about is Too Cool For School, the latest Korean beauty brand to hit Manila! I was invited to the press launch last week but wasn't able to make it, unfortunately. I took the first chance I had to visit it yesterday while waiting for Iron Man 3 to start.

Now we're talking: a 3D pop-up of dinosaurs crossing a city

Multi-color Paint (P675)

So yes, the first and so far only store of TCFS is in Mall of Asia. It's on the second floor, a little ways across the stand-alone store of Etude House there (SM Department Store side). The brand is quite quirky and rather heavy-handed with the dino imagery - just the sort of thing I fall for! The products are quite promising with fairly affordable price points, with about P400-P600 as the average amount you should expect to shell out for per piece. There's nothing over P1,300! 

Too Cool For Skin BB Foundation Lunch Box SPF37 (around P900 if I remember correctly)

The AC Clinique line of Etude House is designed to prevent and heal acne, and until recently only features facial wash, toner, and moisturizer. Two new products were recently added to the collection (labeled "intense") that have the sole purpose of spot-treating pimples as they come. I've tried the famous AC Clinic Intense Pink Powder Spot and it's just okay. It's like calamine lotion - smells like, looks like, feels like. I reckon it would also be useful on rashes and other skin irritations. ;)

The star of the collection for me though would be the Etude House AC Clinic Intense Red Spot Balm (P628 when packaged with the facial wash). This is the real deal! It was one of those things that have been sitting in my "to review" box for weeks, until I took it out for a test drive because of extreme annoyance. I had these two large red pimples on my right upper and lower lip (like star-crossed lovers UGH) and they are just not budging after more than a week. That's abnormal for me!

So I thought hey, why don't I try that Red Spot Balm over there. Boom. The two very angry pimples calmed down in an hour, and stopped swelling completely after six hours. No kidding. The next day, they're gone!

The perfect summer look for me would be ultra-light, quick to apply, and fairly sweat-resistant. It would unfailingly involve a punch (or two) of color, just to get into the festive summer vibe. Instead of powder products like eyeshadow and blush, I'd go for a liquid tint on the cheeks and a cream color on the eyes for better staying power.

Hence I've come up with this look featuring a couple of cheap-ass eyeliners. By cheap I mean they are only P150 from Watsons! These eyeliners from a new brand called Essence (blogged it here) and believe you me, they're pretty long-wearing for the price. I wore this to the mall and came home after six hours with intact eyes. I applied primer beforehand though. 

Moving along, here's a step-by-step tutorial on how I did my retro summer look. I used Cool Down (electric blue) and Bling Bling (golden copper) on my eyes. Let's begin!

Step 1: I used Urban Decay Primer potion all over my lids to ensure that these cream products stay on. I then picked up Bling Bling and drew it all over my lids, just stopping at the crease.

Something's been nibbling at my brain lately. I think about it during odd moments of the day, trying to resolve some inner conflict about what being beautiful means to me. I have always believed that being beautiful is important but - why? This all started when I saw the Dove ad.

The message is simple, yet powerful: we are more beautiful than we think. According to the video, how we perceive ourselves physically affect the way we handle our relationships, the jobs we take, pretty much every aspect of our lives. Taken at face value, that sounds exceedingly shallow. Being beautiful certainly shouldn't be our raison d'être and/or the delicate scale by which we measure our self-worth. There are far more important and valuable things to nurture, such as our unique set of skills and talents, our knowledge, our love, kindness, and empathy for others. 

But we live in a world where people judge us by our looks. That's a hard fact to swallow, but it also makes sense to me as a survival instinct. We judge a person's face and the way he or she dresses and that impression guides us in our relationship with that person moving forward. Guide, not control, alright.

Whenever I use the Guerlain L'Ecrin 4 Couleurs Eyeshadow (P2,998) I never fail to get compliments. People think I did something new with my skin or wore a new, more flattering blush. They say I look less tired. At first I thought that it's everything else but this palette, but now that I think about it I mostly get those sorts of compliments whenever I have it on.

So why?

Our eyes are the first things that other people look at when they see us. It's the focus of our whole face, the main feature by which our emotional and physical status are read. If your eyes and droopy and tired then your companion will think you're tired; if they are happy and bright, then you will appear to radiate that all over your face.

My theory is that the Guerlain Les Fauves palette is like "blush" for our eyes - it brightens and freshens that particular area with rich hues of coral, copper, and darkened champagne. They are warm and flattering (on me), as you can see here!

If you're very fair then this would be more of a smoky palette on you, but if you're mid to dark Asian like me then this brings out the golden tones of the skin juuuuust right.

The Bobbi Brown Retouching Powder in Rose (P3,550) is a superfine tinted powder than can be used all over for that rosy glow, or layered as a subtle blush. It smoothens pores and adds that elusive freshness without ANY shimmer. I'd say it has a petal-matte finish. 

I prefer to use this as a blush more than a retouch powder because, well, it's in loose form. Staying power is average. It's the super smooth texture and the finish that attempts to justify the luxe price.

When I saw the promo materials for the MAC Fluidline Brow Gelcreme in Dirty Blonde (P1,100) I knew that we were destined to be together. I thought, with absoute certainty, that everything was gonna work out between the two of us.

I was correct. This product was exactly as I imagined it would be - super creamy, long-lasting, and flattering on my skin and hair. Well, I wasn't that surprised because I've been using my MAC Fluidline eyeliner in Dipdown as an eyebrow product for a while now. You should check out the tutorial, the results are pretty amazing. ;)

I have a lot of excellent eyebrow products but I love the Fluidline Brow in Dirty Blonde because it's easier to control. I barely have to tweak or blend it out once I've shaded my brows! The level of pigmentation and color is so exact that once you draw it on, it looks perfect as is - on me anyway.

A lot of people think it takes me forever to do my face (forever being an hour and a half upwards) but the truth is quite far from that. I don't have time for foolin' around so over the years I've cut down my full face routine to about 30 minutes, 40 tops. Spending 30 minutes can get me a nice, colorful look but an additional 10 could mean a glamorous dark smokey eye. Quick yet polished, they should write that on my gravestone.

So imagine what I could do with just 10 minutes. I'm a quick worker, but I won't take all the credit!There are certain products that help cut down the time I need to be polished and presentable, and one of them is the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Rose Gold (P1,550).

I like v-neck shirts. I love watermelons. I LOVE THIS STUFF. This simplifies my makeup routine immensely! It's a cream eyeshadow that you can just draw on your eyes without needing any brushes. Use your fingers to blend the edges and poof, you're done. Seriously, this is perfect for girls who are intimidated by eyeshadows.

The shimmery pinky gold shade can make your eyes look brighter and more awake in an instant. Aside from using it as a lid wash, you can use this on your waterline and tearduct area to banish the redness that appears from exhaustion. It can make tired eyes look whiter.

There are so many facial care brands out there that encourage us to buy their complete line of products so as to maximize/build up on their promised effects. I get a little confused with the order in which I should apply each product. What should come first, so that my skin can absorb them all more effectively?

I know it starts with toner, but what's next? Serum? Spot Corrector? Eye cream? Cream? How confusing.

Oh, and if there are primers (for the face or for the eye area) involved, do I just add it on top of everything or is there a product I can skip and replace with primer instead? - Matromao

Hi Matromao! Thanks for the question. As a general rule (as one of the commenters said in your forum thread), it's best to apply the lightest/runniest-textured product first before sealing everything in with a heavy moisturizer.  I apply my skincare in the following order after toner: serum, moisturizer, and then eye cream. Eye cream is last because I don't want to get any residue of it on the rest of my face.

If I'm using acne-drying products or a separate spot corrector, I just apply that directly on top of skin after the toner, and don't apply anything else on that area afterwards.

"Shimmer" is a word that has a lot of negative baggage in terms of cosmetics. Especially here in the Philippines, girls run the opposite direction when they hear about shimmer in face products! Well, it's hard to blame them when everyone is so oily and sweaty all the time here. Nonetheless I personally like a bit of shimmer on my face. I like how my complexion looks brighter overall, more skin-like and fresh. 

Now I've said this before and I can go to my grave saying it: nobody does shimmer like Bobbi Brown. It's sooo fine, subtle, and twinkly when it needs to be! It's never vulgar or cheap-looking, but more importantly, it doesn't make skin look like a disco ball.

I'm currently loving the limited edition Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Lilac Rose (P2,400). This looks like blush at first glance, but it's really more of a skin illuminator and highlighter than anything else! It's a sheer golden pink shade that makes the skin look flawless and fresh. Seriously. Illuminators like this are the cosmetic world's best obvious secret.

I've had Bobbi's Shimmer Brick in Bronze for about two years now so this is more of the same, except it's considerably less pigmented. It can be a veeeeeery subtle blush if you layer it with a blush brush.

Hi! I've read so much about finding the perfect red lipstick for your skin tone, and thanks to this blog I now have 3 :) Anyway, I wanted to ask how to find the perfect shade of pink for your lips. You see, I was never really a pink girl and I feel funny wearing pink, especially the baby-pink clothes that make me feel like a walking ball of cotton candy, BUT I like the way it looks on other people's lips. I like the understated pink that kind of brightens your face and makes you look fresh, but the last few tubes of pink lipstick that I've bought tend to make me look uh... anemic and I feel more awkward wearing fuchsia/ hot pink shades more than I do wearing red... So, uh, any tips? I would greatly appreciate it :D

My skin's fair, with warm undertones. :) and the red that looks best on me would be the tomato-red kind of shade, if that helps. Thanks! - April

Hi April! Thanks for the question! Now not to brag, but I have enough lipsticks to know that finding the perfect shade isn't about our skintones. It's not a rigid "baby pink is only good with beige skin" formula. More than anything, the right lipstick is about our personality, preferences - our style. Look at Nikki Minaj. Anyone would have told her that a pale neon pink won't work for her skintone, but now it's her signature color!

That said, I do have a few tips to make it easier for you to find your flattering pink shade. I will also include recommendations of some of my favorite pinks.

Fair but yellowish skin typically look good with peachy, cotton candy, and baby pinks. The warmer you are, the more brown your pink has, the better. Medium skin looks better with bright pink that has a brown base, plummy pink, or a straight up true pink, while darker morenas would benefit from reddish, purply, or deep pinks. Again, this isn't a strict guideline, but it can quickly narrow down your choices.