just acquired

maybelline 2-in-1 impact shadow liner (Php359) which i got from sm department store

the maybelline eyeliner is silky white (ignore the lipstick swatch, i know it's a lovely coral shade!)

maybelline long extreme double stretch (Php 599) which i got from sm department store. i saw this on camille's (little beauty bag) lashes and swore to get it asap. thanks sis!

ever bilena dual ended brushes. these are disposable brushes that has a pointed tip in one end and a sponge tip on the other end..it is about 3 inches short by the way so if you want longer handles it's not for you. got it for Php 48 per 3 pieces at watson's.

i have already used the sponge end of ever bilena dual ended brushes but i thought i ought to show them still. these are disposables i repeat and probably useful to some ouf our makeup artist friends

this is the marionnaud brush that donna of my lucid intervals likes.. cant pass it up for Php89.75. been wanting a pencil brush and i hope it will be useful. havent even washed it though so i cant say anything more

from the suesh studio i got this smudge brush (Php 300) and eyeliner brush (Php 250). i like that the ferrule is black. plus the eyeliner brush looks promising compared to the eyeliner brush that usually comes with the set.

and my blush 15pc brush set (Php1,600). also from suesh, they describe it as a brush set for makeup artists on a budget. im not a mua but im definitely on a budget and so i decided to get this set. i know there've been reviews about how the face brushes arent dense enough but i particularly got it for the eyebrushes. & besides, for 1,600 pesos can i really complain? haha. i used my sister's belle du jour 10% off coupon and only had to pay php 1,440. sweet!

here are the eyebrushes.. extra large eyeshadow brush, large eyeshadow brush, medium eyeshadow brush, small eyeshadow brush and extra small eyeshadow brush.. i like the extra small eyeshadow brush particularly.

see that they have tapered bristles? in my opinion it will make it easier for me to slap on the color on my lids with these tapered bristles. i dont know how they will perform though for picking up pigments..

and here are the angled browliner brush, bullet brush, mascara brush, angled contour brush and eyeliner brush. just from the picture you can already see that i wont be using the eyeliner brush, it's too flimsy and the ends are not pointed enough. the angled contour brush however looks beautiful with a flat plane.

here's the lip brush and i love the fact that it has a lid

the fan brush

and the face brushes..

that's all for now. i shall be washing these new brushes and be giving some initial thoughts on them in a few weeks time.

be glorious,
R

HELP! serious skin emergency!

yesterday afternoon i woke up with this thing on my left cheek!

go ahead and click the photo for a better view if you must

and it's not from sleeping cuz up until now (5:25am or GMT + 8) it's still here on my face..

i didnt even know it was here until my mom told me i got a mayjah pimple coming up. i told her i dont feel anything so i went to look at the mirror and sure enough the red mark is there.

now my sister's opinion is that the skin got scraped raw but im sure it didnt cuz like i said, i dont feel anything. IT'S NOT ITCHY, IT DOESNT STING, IT DOESNT HURT AT ALL.

im sure if it's an allergy, it will be itchy.

and while time to time i get smacked by my kids (or their toys) while we are playing, im sure it would hurt if that was the reason i got this red blotch..

i even consulted with my fellow skin addict claire of extrarys and she asked me if there's any new product im using.. no there aint anything new on my skincare regimen..

the only thing i did out of the ordinary is that i slept on my stila illuminating tinted moisturizer the other night (when i slept on a product it's usually a liquid foundation haha) but i have washed my face the following morning and this nasty red blotch didnt spring up until the afternoon.

do you girls have any idea what this is?

im so uncomfortable that something on my face doesnt feel anything but just wont budge there. i would have been more comfortable knowing i scratched my face, or got sunburnt or allergy cuz i would know then how to treat, but being clueless like this isn't helping at all.

grateful for your comments, ideas and advice.

btw, here are shots of my sad face :(





be glorious,
R

50 QUESTIONS TAG + INNERESTING PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

1. What time did you get up this morning?
I HAVENT SLEPT YET
2. How do you like your steak?
WELL COOKED
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
4. What is your favorite TV show?
DISCOVERY CHANNEL SHOWS
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
INDIA, SINGAPORE, AUSTRALIA OR ITALY
6. What did you have for breakfast?
FRIED RICE WITH LAST NIGHT'S ULAM
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
FILIPINO, INDIAN.PAKISTANI, ARABIC,ITALIAN
8. What foods do you dislike?
GINGERY FOODS, BLAND-FLAVORED FOODS
9. Favorite place to eat?
MY HOUSE, IN HOTELS, ON A BEAUTIFUL STREET
10. Favorite dressing?
TARTAR, MAYO,
11. What kind of vehicle do you drive?
CANT DRIVE
12. What are your favorite clothes?
RED AND GOLD
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
RIGHT NOW I WANNA GO TO LAHORE.. YEA YEA, UNSAFE BUT I WANNA CHECK ON MY SWEETIE AND HIS FAMILY
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
HALF CUP FULL.
15. Where would you want to retire?
IN A MOUNTAIN HOME
16. Favorite time of day?
NIGHT TIME, 10PM ONWARDS
17. Where were you born?
MANILA
18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
TENNIS
19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
NO IDEA.
20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
NO IDEA.
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
MY SISTERS IN THE BLOGOSPHERE :d
22. Bird watcher?
NO.
23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
NIGHT PERSON SINCE I'S 7.
24. Do you have any pets?
NO.
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share?
NOTHING I WANNA SHARE. IT'S TOO PERSONAL :p
26. What did you want to be when you were little?
ASTRONAUT
27. What is your best childhood memory?
HANGING OUT AFTER SCHOOL WITH MY PALS CALLED CARLA, LHYZA, JAUNTU AND MYRICH
28. Are you a cat or dog person?
NEITHER. IM A GOLD FISH PERSON :p
29. Are you married?
NO.
30. Always wear your seat belt?
YES.
31. Been in a car accident
YES. I RAN OVER A BASKETBALL COURT FENCE. FROM THAT DAY ON, I NEVER WENT BEHIND THE WHEEL.
32. Any pet peeves? INSECTS = INSECURE SUCKERS WHO BACKSTAB OTHER PEEPS.
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings?
ONIONS
34. Favorite Flower?
ROSE I GUESS.
35. Favorite ice cream?
VANILLA
36. Favorite fast food restaurant?
MCDONALD'S, SBARRO, JOLLIBEE TOO JUST CUZ IT MAKES MY DAUGHTER HAPPY :d
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
NEVER WENT FOR IT. HAHA. BY THAT TIME I'S TOO CHICKENED OUT.
38. From whom did you get your last email?
TOTALBEAUTY.COM
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
DE BEERS.
40. Do anything spontaneous lately?
NO. I USED TO BE ALWAYS SPONTANEOUS LIKE I TRAVEL OUT OF THE COUNTRY WITH ONLY A FEW HOURS PREPARATION HAHA BUT SINCE I HAD KIDS, CANT BE DOING STUFF LIKE THAT NOW. BESIDES, I DONT HAVE THAT MUCH MONEY ANYMORE.
41. Like your job?
MOMMYING? YES.
42. Broccoli?
SURE.
43. What was your favorite vacation?
THE TIME I DIDNT KNOW I'S PREGNANT W MY WANIA YET & I PARA-SAILED LOL.
44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
THE WHOLE FAMILY AT A CHINESE RESTAURANT.
45. What are you listening to right now?
MY KIDS WITH THE NEW AYAH. PLAYING
46. What is your favorite color?
RED.
47. How many tattoos do you have?
NONE.
48. How many are you tagging for this quiz?
EVERYONE READING THIS!
49. What time did you finish this quiz?
12:26PM
50. Coffee drinker?
NO.

photo credits to this article.

p.s. please answer this tag my gorgeous friends ;D
be glorious,
R

NOTW: muted gold

nail of the WEEK..




one coat of sally hansen hard as nails in bamboo shoots
one coat of the face shop nail enamel in gold111
one coat of the face shop high grade topcoat

here's my nails halfway done. you can see sally hansen bamboo shoots there..

be glorious,
R

i took home AKSHAY KUMAR

lately, i really really started craving again for indian food, thanks to some of my co-bloggers' food posts :P and so i decided to look for indian restaurants in manila. i know of kashmir (my jamil told me about it and i have seen it couple of times while in makati) and of course places like jaipur, (bollywood in greenbelt is no more :( )but those are too far from me. plus, I DONT HAVE A DATE! THANKS JAMIL :p so i googled indian restaurants in manila and there've been a lot of references about u.n. avenue. i knew i had to go there soon.
coincidentally, i needed a new digital camera and i found a seller who offers cheapest in manila. so great luck for me. i'll be hitting 2 birds in one trip :)

i ate at assad cafe cuz there aint any other restaurants there :p
& bought some stuff at little india

their lassi sucks.. made my throat itch cuz the mixture isnt properly done

chapati is ok

chicken masala is more of a chicken tandoori poured with masala.. but i aint complainin..
it was my man who taught me to eat indian/pakistani food and just like a man, i didnt stop eating until i can breathe no more.. hahahah..

the prices in case you wanna visit
i also took home chicken biryani cuz i wanna make the most of my trip. my dad also likes biryani
and aloo gobhi for my wania..
and keema too (which ended in the garbage as i forgot about it so the maid had to throw it out :p)

the ladoo that never reached home..
this i got from little india. i tasted it & it's not freshly made! i threw it out on the way home

also at little india, near the counter, i saw BOLLYWOOD MOVIES.. automatically i looked for my beloved shah rukh khan, but his movies are sold out..
didnt see anything i fancy so i took home the second best.. akshay kumar.. blue :P

p.s. re-posted it from my other blog.

little by little, i'll include other inneresting things in my life cuz i thought if i love seeing other peeps' adventures, maybe some folks out there need an info i have (such as an advice on where to get indian food in manila!)
this blog shall remain beauty-inclined of course! just mixing it up with some masala!

be glorious,
R

just finished

a box of fine white hyaluron

a can of meiji amino collagen

and 1 bottle of emu oil (still have 2 bottles left)

for meiji amino collagen's review, kindly check my post here.
and since i have only used fine white hyaluron and emu oil for the first time, i shall be making a review in the next few months as i dont wanna blab about something that i barely know about :)
that's all for now! so happy to be finishing my acquisitions little by little :D

be glorious,
R

cosmetic fix: salvage your dried gel and cream liners

a few months back when i bought my first gel liners from dollface, i know that the time will come and they will dry up.
there are plenty of advice i have read that gel liners must be stored in a glass jar for longer shelf life, they must be tightly capped all the time too.
i have tried my best to always have the dollface glass jars capped and i must say that my turqoise and black liners have remained creamy.
sadly though, my favourite blue liner have gone powdery and it started tugging when im applying it.

from the picture, you can see that it has solidified and gone pasty.

i wasnt that alarmed though cuz when i blogged about these same gel liners when i got them, the beautiful sonali gave me an advice right there that if ever they dried up, all i have to do is put a drop of glycerin to make them good as new. and sonali girl, am i glad i kept a mental note of your advice.
cuz sure enough, in a few months, i needed that drop of glycerin.
well didnt know at first i can easily get it from a neighborhood drugstore. (im in the philippines but im sure you sisters can find it easily in your drugstores too :D)but here..

got it from south star drug cheaply at Php31.50 (saw this in mercury drugstore too, but who wants to waste time in the lines right?)

so i used two drops of glycerine (not sure why i used 2 drops and not a drop honestly, lol. i just thought that maybe a drop wont be enough.. here i am again getting excessive)
and i mixed it using a brush butt aka a craft brush handle

you can see it's a bit "wet-looking" isnt it? tried to press the gel into a nice shape but failed.. see the mess i made on my fingers and on the gel? well, it still looks that way and will remain so. im just glad it has indeed gone creamy and when i glided it, it went on smoothly than even before i first got it :D

now the big question.. and the most important of all is..
did the staying power of the gel remain so or did it turn smudgy because of the added ingredient?
and my happy answer is..
it did not get smudgy and the staying power of my dollface gel liner, mixed with 2 drops of glycerin remained fantastic.
see my fotd before this post? it was the "fixed" gel liner that i used for that fotd. manila's heat + too much arcading + sweating and the gel liner has remained in place :D
there.. i hope i had been of some help. you have dried up gel and cream liners? go ahead and fix it!

p.s. my daughters' ayah is gone. boohoo. will be busy in the next few days and might not be able to go online as much as i'd like to. i'll miss you all!

be glorious,
R

FOTD

sofina primavista liquid foundation
vmv gorgeous cheek flush blush in cabana cutie
styli style lip pencil in crimson
maybelline color sensational in pink petal
dollface gel liner in blue


be glorious,
R

NOTD: christmassy nails!

one coat of the face shop nail enamel in red301
topped with a coat of the face shop nail enamel in gold111
protected with the face shop high grade topcoat

be glorious,
R

in FOCUS: (and just FINISHED) vmv skin savvy 60 liquid foundation

so i just finished my first ever liquid foundation. it is VMV skin savvy 60 and i bought it early last year even before i got innerested in makeup. i actually got it as an alternative to vmv armada 60 cuz both of them has spf60 and i thought if armada is great, then this liquid foundation must be great too.

here's what it says on the vmv website:

Ultra-High Protection, Creamy Perfection, Liquid-Créme Foundation Skin Savvy 60 Ultra-High Protection, Creamy Perfection, Liquid-Créme Foundation Ultra-high protection and creamy perfection. This skin lightening, skin-caring coverage is Armada Face and Body Shield 60 in a perfect –finish foundation. Opaque, full-spectrum protection against indoor and outdoor UVA, UVB, Infrared, and Visible Light: SPF 60, High PFA, PFI, PFV. Helps prevent hyperpigmentations, photoageing and skin cancer. Regular use can help lighten hyperpigmentations and help enable overall skin to lighten naturally. Full-coverage liquid-créme masks blemishes and gives skin an up-close-touch-it-perfect finish. Light weight comfort. All Skin Types. Full Coverage. Validated Hypoallergenic: VH-27. SPF 60. 100% All-Types-of-Fragrance-Free. 100% Preservative Free. Usage and Patch-Tested. Non-Comedogenic. Net Content: 0.88 Oz. (25g) To Use: With bare fingers or a sponge, apply over face and neck as needed. Blend well. Active Ingredients: Zinc Oxide – 6.9%, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid – 5%, Titanium Dioxide – 3.62%, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane – 3%, 4-Methylbenzilidine Camphor – 1%. Other Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Triethanolamine, Glyceryl Laurate, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Dimethicone/Methicone Copolymer, Tetrasodium EDTA, Aluminum Hydroxide, Tocopheryl Acetate, Zirconium Dioxide, Iron Oxides. May Contain: Talc.

and here's what i say about vmv skinn savvy 60

coverage: perfect 10! it has full coverage and whenever i feel my undereyes have gotten too dark i only wear this and there's no need for a concealer. i may not have acne scars to hide but i think this shall be able to hide acneic skin as well.

finish: i give it 8 out of 10. it's because it gives inconsistent finish, depending on how my skin is and how the weather is. sometimes i get a dewy finish and i mostly get matte finish with this one. take note that im not crazy about face primers so im pretty sure it's my skin condition + the weather that's making it behave that way. i would prefer a liquid foundation to give me the finish i want (always matte or always dewy) so i can decide whether it will go with the look i want for the day.

staying power: oh oh oh! another perfect 10 for this category. i know there've been raves about revlon colorstay and i honestly cant compare vmv skin savvy 60 with it cuz i havent tried colorstay but im pretty confident about the staying power of this one. picture this: i put on the makeup 8am, went to the zoo with the kids, imagine the p.i.a. heat in manila, the stress of chasing after a toddler, checked my face 11am, makeup still good (and i havent used finishing powder or spray on my face). went to the mall for lunch and more games, imagine me playing at the inflatable playground w my toddler, checked my makeup, and only the area on my upper lip and nose looked a bit worn off. i just used my fingers to fix and :) 4pm at home from a very active day and makeup still good :D

sun protection: a perfect 10 again. it has spf60! and if you read what vmv said on the above quoted description, i wouldn't need to say anything more.

consistency: well, it is a bit hard to blend being thicker than your regular liquid foundation. so i give it an 8 out 10 points.

skin matching ability: another perfect 10! it has loads of shades to choose from (and im pearl) so all you gotta do is try it on IN PERSON to get your match.

hypoallergenicity: it is vmv HYPOALLERGENICS. what else but a perfect 10. it is rated vh-27, free of all 27 known (and sadly common to most cosmetics) allergens. fragrance-free. paraben-free. and for someone like me who gets allergic rhinitis from nasty scents or ingredients in cosmetics or even food (like right now!) it is important that a foundation is hypoallergenic.

availability: 10! it is available in sm department stores (who doesnt have an sm in their area?lol), i believe robinson's and landmark carries it as well and vmv has their own booth in alabang town centre and has their flagship store at bonifacio high street.

affordability: it can be relative. just in my opinion the price is good. i believe it cost me Php 1,660 (website price is 50usd). some would say it's expensive cause you get less than an ounce of the product, but imagine a sunblock and foundation in 1? i save on the sunblock when i wear it. perfect 10 in my opinion.

and there you have it. so happy about this review as i really am confident im giving you an honest and great advice about a product that i truly believe in.

p.s. skin savvy 60 is on sale right now on the website!

be glorious,
R