Orange Lift

When I got a pedicure, I went for a new twist and tried a color I've never tried before: bright , summery, and citrusy orange.

Yes, I've never, ever, ever tried orange on my toes or nails or lips. The biggest leap of orange I'd go for is P&J's moroccan orange or Fantasy Orange (which I own) on my cheeks and lids. However, I never thought I'd go for bright orange until now and I'm glad I did.

Orange colors are one of my phobias before but I kinda am liking it now, especially with the cheery color it has. You know whenever I'm down and then I schlump my head I get a pick-me-upper when I see my orange nails. It's a happy color, really, and saying, "Hello! Be happy! ORANGE!"

And on the day I guested at MAC again, I sported orange lipstick like MAC lipstick in Morange. At first I was kinda hesitant but I got good compliments with it.

I guess the trick really is to experiment. A friend told me that there is no such rule as girls with this skin tone should avoid this color, because there will always be a color for you. I've found what red, pink, and (now) orange looks good on me. Next up is finding the brown for me. :)

MAC Brush Cleaner Review

Being a makeup artist exposes me to a lot of clients and hence aside from making them beautiful, caring for their skin should be our priority. One of the things I've learned and decided to take into heart is never to let a dirty brush near a client or model's face. As Thalia mentioned in her book, Belleza, Lessons in Lipgloss and Happiness, "dirty brushes are like petri dishes". They can breed all sorts of bacteria. She would even state that before a makeup artist does her makeup, she should be shown that the brushes are clean and free of dirt.

Php 560.00 for a 235 mL bottle





While working on counter as a guest artist, I used the MAC brush cleanser in cleaning the brushes before applying it to a client and also to clean the brushes after the shift. I used it again yesterday and falling in love with it, purchased a bottle the next day when I stopped by the counter to say Hi and to check on any job that I might have left behind.



The cleanser at first, I was skeptical until I tried it. After using a brush on a client, the store had some down time and I did a brisk-brush cleansing on the brushes so that they'll be cleaner and sanitized for the next client.

How it works: For cleaning in-between colors or faces, I place a small amount on a paper towel and rub the bristles back-and-forth until the makeup comes off and reshape and lay flat. The bristles dry up rather quickly. The pink color of the solution and the light scent (that does not irritate the nose) helps too. Oh by the way, the bottle's plastic and it's suitable for Back-2-MAC as well.

I think it's okay. The brushes are in overall good condition. I was very generous in cleaning the brushes since I don't want clients complaining of the brushes being dirty or itchy, but there's still some left on the bottle. Very economical. :) Since the bottle is quite bulky (235 mL), what we could do is transfer the contents in a smaller spray bottle/atomizer.

Bambi Loves Bambi

PM from Von:

"Bambi! Bambi is here already!"

The Disney Collection of Paul and Joe has finally arrived at the Paul and Joe counter in Makati! And yes, being a Disney fan ever since I set foot on the theme park and watched the cartoons and being named after a Disney character, you guys would probably know which one I got:

my namesake, of course! I was the second one to buy from Von. I got the Fantastic Orange face color powder with Bambi on the pretty pillbox.

This is: Paul and Joe Face Color Ball in 001: Fantasy Orange

This certainly would look good on my makeup station at home. Aside from the packaging, what differs this face color powder from other blush colors you might know is that the colors are in forms of balls of warm gold, orange, and warm pink.

The balls are very, very pigmented actually, in fact, the insides of the pillbox are pretty well-stained. The color impact is very natural though and reminded me of P&J's forever sold-out and universal Moroccan orange. Another thing that I adored was the super-soft and super-cute powder puff that comes with it....

heeheeheee...peach ribbon. The other variant, Classical Pink (with Flower on the box) has a pink ribbon.

I haven't tried this as an eyeshadow though, only as a blush (using the powder puff as applicator), and I used it the following day for lunch at Chi's Brick Oven:

On face:

Paul and Joe Moisturizing Compact #30 to conceal and P&J Creamy Compact in Clair as an all-over foundation

P&J Face Color Ball in Fantasy Orange

P&J eyebrow pencil #4

On eyes:

Kryolan dark brown eyebrow pencil on lashlines

Smashbox e/s in smashing starlit and MAC e/s in Nylon

Clinique High Impact Mascara

On lips:

The Body Shop Lip Butter in Gurana Berry and Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Crystal Shine lipstick in Orange (forgot the shade heeheehee)

I love the warm, natural glow. I was kinda shy with oranges but I like the warmth this type of orange gave my skin.

Tough Femme Look

With my last post on cervical cancer awareness, I got inspiration from the pink and purple theme of the event for another makeup tutorial. However, I did this with a twist - instead of plastic-y pink, I went for an edgy, tough girl look where I muted the feminine colors with gray, black, and brown and came up with this smoky eye look with a tad of balance using a neutral plum-colored lip without overpowering the smoky eye. I emphasized facial structure to strengthen the features but balanced it with the femininity of the color scheme. The look here is feminine due to the color scheme but edgy and astig.

All ready now? Get your brushes ready and let's start.

I went for a clean and moisturized face as always and applied foundation, concealer and powder. In my case, I applied foundation only where needed and dusted this with powder since this is just an everyday easy look. For photoshoots or evening event looks, I might need the power of full-coverage foundation.

Then, I brought out the planes of my face by contouring. Contouring is oftentimes skipped for everyday natural looks, but here, I included contouring to emphasize the facial structure. Now, depending on the facial structure, this could vary. Since I have a square-shaped face, I brough out my cheekbones, shaded the sides of my forehead, temple, and jawline. I contoured my nose too, for dimension and highlighted above my eyebrows and cheekbones and chin. I made sure to blend the contours to avoid any demarcation lines. Make sure to use matte powders when contouring/shading since shimmery bronzers reflect light and defeat the purpose of shading.

Frame the face by defining the eyebrows. I went for definition with an ashy brown pencil like MAC in Lingering.

I lined my eyes with dark brown pencil and got in between the lashes so my lashes look fuller and my eyes more defined.

Normally, I'd just throw in some mascara and lipstick and I'm done but let's take it a step further and add color. Since I like colors to adhere, I prepped my lids with a cream base. For oily lids, I could suggest prep+prime, paint pots, or UDPP to totally seal in the color. Cream bases are good if you have dry lids, like me. I can also use cream eyeshadow in a nude shade or concealer.

Now that my lids are prepped up, it's time for color. I took a bright fuschia shade and dabbed this to my lids and blended well. (most of the shadows here are from my CS 78-color palette)

Wait, so the look is supposedly tough right? But why is a girly bright pink doing here? Okay, we're still gonna mute that. I then got a neutral lilac color in a satin or semi-matte finish and applied this to my inner crease blending towards the browbone.

For a bit of smoky effect, take a plum-brown color like the one shown and apply this to the outer corner of the eye. Arc this to the crease for definition and blend towards the browbone. In this tutorial, I winged this outwards into a cat's eye shape.

Okay, now it's time for more smoky-smoky stuff. Take some black eyeshadow (I used a combination of the black from my CS palette and MAC eyeshadow in Mont Black from the Chill collection) and use a small eyeshadow brush to line your lashlines (meaning both upper and lower lashlines). You could line your lashline first with black eyeliner (want to be intense? get those kohls out) and use the eyeshadow to set the liner for more intensity or just go ahead with the eyeshadow if you wish. I blended the top part a bit to avoid ugly demarcation lines. Highlight the browbone with a neutral matte or satin eyeshadow (or the skintone color in your contouring palette).

I also put silver highlight on the inner corners of my eyes (MAC eyeshadow in Arctic Gray from the Chill collection) for a bit more sparkle.

Finally, I curled my lashes and applied lots of mascara. You could add falsies if you wish. For demo purposes, I didn't use falsies.

For blush, I used a mauve shade and swept a wash of blush on my cheeks. In my case, I applied it under my cheekbones and topped it with highlighter like MAC MSF in Redhead (I used the gold side for warmth) on the apples of my cheeks.

For lip color, I lined my lips with lipliner for more structural definition and filled it in. Lip color was a creamy but natural shade like NARS in Damage. I blotted this and then topped it with a shiny and sheer lipcolor with glitter particles instead of gloss such as Clinique in Water Violet.

The outcome:

Eye detail. As you can see... my eye-poking incident is completely healed and there were no detrimental effects to my vision. YAY!

Shoot out HPV: Being astig and fighting against cervical cancer

Don't you love the color pink and purple? At least most of my friends do, especially the girly ones and hence the color scheme for today's event was a very attractive sight:

Bloggers from different genres (both male and female) were invited in an event by Bravehearts, a multi-sectorial coalition dedicated to raising awareness on cervical cancer prevention. Over lunch at Bizu (coherent with the pink-and-purple theme) we were given a talk on cervical cancer and a good news - that it can be prevented and there is a vaccine against it. Yes, there is a vaccine against cervical cancer. I'm not on crack or on too much Bizu macarons.

Over scrumptious lunch, we were given a talk on cervical cancer and facts about it by Dr. Rebecca Singson.

She explained to us what cervical cancer is (basically malignant growths in the cervix and it's an after-effect of the STD known as HPV or human papillomavirus, a wartlike virus that is rsistant to heat and dessication), its causes, statistics, and complications. I found out that here in the Philippines, 10 million women die of cervical cancer every day and it is the highest killing cancer next to breast cancer. Cervical cancer is also the cancer that affects the Filipina at the prime of her life. Plus not only could it affect her health, but also her quality of life and social life as well.

In conjunction, I also found out that women with 5+ pregnancies could be at risk for cervical cancer as well, since the immune system is weakened during this time, making her more susceptible to illnesses and to catch HPV, the virus which causes cervical cancer.

Actually, the thing is, cervical cancer is actually treatable if diagnosed early. In fact, there is a vaccine against cervical cancer already (GSK), and this could be given to females as early as 10 years old. Dr. Singson stated that her daughter has been vaccinated as early as when she was 13 years old. Actually, celebrities have already received the vaccination as a protection against cervical cancer. Vaccines can be administered also to women who have undergone menopause and partial hysterectomies (but take note: for women with complete hysterectomies or cervical hysterectomies, they don't need this vaccine already).

Despite the serious topic, the event lets go of the usual drama and melancholy of cancer campaigns. Aside from the bright girly colors of pink and purple, another activity the event had after lunch was target shooting (Why be drama when you could fight it, right?) Unfortunately, Erika and I were not able to go to this event as we had prior commitments, but the message sure stuck to us. :) We do plan on getting our vaccinations as well (the price of the vaccination has been lowered to fit a wider range). After all, more than good makeup, health is one investment.

(for more info, log on to www.Xoutcervicalcancer.com.ph)

Back To MAC 411

Anyone guilty of being a MAC makeup addict?

I could defnitely see hands raising up. I'm also a MAC makeup addict and my collection of MAC makeup has been growing. It's a brand that I've been a loyalist for 6 years already and although I have other brands as favorites, my love for MAC has been constant. Anyway, I'm here to talk about an ongoing project of MAC. Actually, it's been on for quite some time but very few people know about it, so here I am to talk about it, and this is good news, especially to the MAC fanatics out there.

Anyone heard of Back 2 MAC? Anyway, the Back 2 MAC promo is a forever ongoing promo of MAC sharing their commitment to the environment with their customers. Here, by returning 6 MAC primary packaging containers to a MAC counter, a client receives a free lipstick of his or her choice (except Viva Glam lipsticks). This is for makeup artists who prefer to keep their lipsticks in customizable palettes/pillboxes or depot their eyeshadows and blushers and place them in customizable palettes. That's why I always tell my clients who have MAC containers to keep them until they reach 6 and then return them to any MAC store so they can score a free lipstick of their choice. It's a good way of saving the environment and saving 1000 pesos off our wallets too.

I've asked which items could be returned for the Back 2 MAC program and these are:

Empty Eyeshadow pan
Empty Trio Compact
Empty Quad Compact
Empty Cream Colour Base
Empty Paint Tube (like MAC paints)
Empty Pigment
Empty Mascara Tube
Empty Liquid Liner Tube
Empty Lipglass, Lipstick, and Lipgelle tube
Empty Skin Care Container
Empty lipliner, technakohl, brow pencil container (the one that's retractable)
Empty foundation compact/loose powder jar
Empty Blush compacts

So far, these are what I know that could be returned for the Back 2 MAC program. Of course, the containers have to be original MAC containers and not dupes or fakes. What you could do is put them in a bag and take it to the nearest MAC store/counter and they let you sign their file and choose a lipstick.

Yep, I've been saving my lipstick/compact containers for this. :) For makeup artists, this saves you a lot of money too.

FOTD: Quick Pink

I've got no time to dry my hair and I only have 20 minutes. Uhm.... I chose to do my makeup instead so here goes:

After cleansing and toning:

Face:

• MAC Mineralize Satinfinish Foundation in NC 35 mixed with Olay Regenerist Day Cream (used as tinted moisturizer) and set with MAC Select Sheer Powder in NC30
• Contour and Blush using Coastal Scents palette

Blush: Elegant Minerals in Pink Glow as a blush/highlight

Brows: MAC brow pencil in Lingering

Eyes: Tightline with Kryolan Dark brown and use MAC Cream Color Base in Shell as a base for eyeshadow to hold and the skintone color of the coastal scents palette to highlight browbone

Eyeshadow: Smashbox e/s in Smashin Starlit from lashline to 3/4 of the way below the crease and then MAC e/s in Swish from that portion where Smashin' Starlit stops up to just above the crease. Blend colors for a seamless look with a soft blending brush.

Mascara: Curl lashes with lash curler and apply 3 coats of mascara (I used Lancome Colour Visage)

Lips: MAC Lipstick in Hollywood Nights

Eye detail:

Closed eyes. I wanted something earthy but added a pop of color to match the bright pink lips that I planned to wear today. :)

Oh... here's why my eyes are forever closed on pictures:

Owie! I accidentally had an eye-poking accident last Saturday while I removed my false lashes. I poked my eye instead. Owwie! Good thing nothing's wrong with it except that red mark, which would be gone in a few weeks. I had it checked already and the doctor told me I'll be okay. Horray!

Mineralize Skinfinish: Blonde, Brunette, Redhead

Just can't let go of it:

Retail Price: Php 1,680 (very limited stocks only)

Mineralize Skinfinish Degrade in Redhead. This baby is responsible in creating glowy highlights for that hydroluminous skin that he created. If you're a fan of Mineralize SkinFinish at MAC, I'm sure you all love that light to medium coverage and glow it gives.

So opening the package:

We see that there are four different colors, which could be used individually as blushers/eyeshadows or in combination as blush and/or highlight. The frosty finish would be good for highlights. Here, I got the redhead variant, which ranges from gold to salmon pink. I'm not a fan of matte popping-pink candy-colored blushers but I like sheer, shimmery rosy glows.

The look is reminiscent of Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks or Body Shop Shimmer Waves. MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish, in this collection has four colors all in frosty finishes and buildable coverage. The difference between this and the other mineralize skinfinish you know is that the colors are arranged in stripes instead of the marbled swirls.

I like it as a blush and highlight. I used the pink side as a blush on the tops of my cheeks and the gold side (left side) to highlight my cheekbones, nose bridge, chin, etc. For an all-over effortless glow, I swirl my stippling brush on the compact and apply sparingly on my nose bridge, chin, and apples of the cheeks for just a slight glow. MAC makeup artists recommend this for weddings or events/pegs/shoots where you need an all-over glow.

Swatches on the individual colors:

Very natural colors, nothing too flashy or pigmented. Just slight frosty tints. If you're not a fan of blush but would want to look a tad bit alive and glowy, this could be a good alternative. Just don't go too all happy go lucky and smother your face in this or you'll look too shiny and oily instead of glowing beauty.

There are actually two other variants: Blonde and Brunette, each have different ranges of shades. The redhead I chose because it's more universal and I like the warm hues of the colors.

A downside with this though: You have to take extra special care with this as these frosty compacts are more fragile. This means no hurling against the wall, placing at the edge of the table, or any place where it could be subject to falls, trauma, or incidents to make it smash into smithereens.

My verdict on this: for a non-blush wearer (I'm more on contour and a slight tint for dimension and highlight), I really like the glow it gives me. I just have to be extra careful in handling this. :)

Night Duty

As I checked my Multiply last night, I got a surprise from Dennis's account and saw that our collab shoot last month is now up



Part 1 of a series:




more could be seen here

Image Credits:
Model: Tray Acuna
Make-up: Bambi dela Cruz
Styling, Tattoo Body Art and Accessories: Dennis Celestial
Assisted by Stevert Honorio and Karlo Pobre
Images by Darz Pobre

I've been introduced to smoky eyes for men by Dennis and it's a style that I've grown to love, at least in photoshoots with dark and conceptual themes. Whereas with ladies I use blacks and grays and silvers with shimmer and satin and velvet finishes, I use matted shades for the male counterpart. I use a matte eyeshadow powder (specifically Kryolan eyeshadow in highlight, which also serves as a highlighting powder for contouring) for browbone highlight and do a lot of blending so there's gradual fading of color. On this one, though, I added a bit of gunmetal silver for dimension and some blue for intensity in case Darrel would be doing some desaturation during post-processing.

Again, I gotta hand it to Dennis for doing the tattoo body art drawn freehandedly meaning no stenciling or penciling in with skintone makeup pencil... it was directly drawn on the skin.

Golden Shoot

For Valentine's Day.... I worked and it could not have been better. I really had a lot of fun and I loved the shoot. The shoot was actually for my good friend Mike's portfolio as a photographer he needed a shoot with gold swimsuits and ottomans. However, the ottomans didn't arrive on time and he made do with his studio set, which still looked fantastic nevertheless. Since we've been working together for quite a long time, we were bonded and the cast definitely was comfortable and all.

So here's Kat, who I gave striking blue-green eyes to contrast the gold swimsuit. If you view my page often, you know Kat before with the long hair but she chopped her hair and I really loved it since it suits her spunky personality more.


That waistline is enough to make me do 100 crunches right before I hit the bed...no contouring there. Kat's eyes are inspired by Britney Spears' eyes in the music video, I'm a Slave For You, and the look I adapted from panacaea's tutorial in Youtube. I used coral for her lips and added golden gloss too. I styled her hair by working in hair wax and separating pieces for a chunky funky look.

Of course I also did some posing.



Thank you Mike! This is faking the fact that I had lechon for lunch and tomato basil pesto for breakfast. Here, I matched my eyes with the gold swimsuit by doing a gold smoky eye look and encircled my eye with black shadow with flecks of shimmer and highlighted the balls of my lids with a high-shine metallic bronze powder eyeshadow. I added falsies. and contoured my face instead of applying blush. I had nude lips and faked huge, full lips with lots of gloss. I also crimped my hair and teased it so I got that kind of big hair retro chic style.

Fun V-day. Anyone worked during this day too?

My New Shape-Up Toy

Another toy to my treasure trove of a toy collection!

As I was viewing Dollface Cosmetics' website, I chanced upon a new product, which was the contouring palette and seeing the very affordable price, I texted Pearl and said I'll be ordering one. As you all know, contouring is one of my obsessions in makeup. In fact, when I'm too lazy, I just put foundation, contour, define brows, apply lip balm and curling mascara and I'm done. For contouring, I've been using my Kryolan matte eyeshadows to do contouring (I combine TV Brown with Sudan to shade and use Highlight (that I sometimes mix with Gelb) to, well, highlight.

My package arrived yesterday (Valentine's Day). I wasn't able to use it at my shoot though, but it's here and in superb condition and this came all the way from Cebu. Thanks for bubble-wrapping it to death! It's super intact and I love the new matte packaging. No more fingerprint marks!

Look at that thick layer of bubble wrap.

Dimension-wise, it's slightly smaller than the neutral palette but bigger than the blush palette, meaning it fits inside my little makeup case quite well. Yep, I did save the bubble wrap that they placed inside to prevent further damage. This contouring palette contains 6 colors, each about 3 inches in diameter. The white, flesh, and yellowish ones are to highlight, like the cheekbones, forehead, chin, the area above the brow, etc. The brown is used to shade parts that you want to recede and sometimes, you can mix the brown with the skintone and/or yellow to tone it down.

There are even two pink matte blushers included. Note that pinks/reds are not supposed to be used to contour. For contouring, I use an angle brush or a small blush brush on larger areas since that gives me more control. To contour or highlight browbones, upper lip, and noses, I use a small brush such as Prestige shadow contour brush or my MAC 217 brush.

These colors are in matte finishes, as shimmers defeat the purpose of contouring since these particles reflect light. Shimmers are good to highlight, though and create a youthful glow.

Swatches to come soon, as well as tips and tricks on how to use this palette. By the way, for those interested, this contouring palette is available at Dollface Cosmetics: http://swtangel.multiply.com/ for Php1,000 (excluding shipping fee, which would depend on your location) .

A Sultry But Simple Valentine's Look

Another tutorial just for Valentine's since it's gonna come in around 2 days. I made this tutorial that features a subtle balance of sultry eyes and colored lips. There is such a rule as focal point, that focus on the eyes or lips and not both but I thought I'd break it a bit in this look and create this very sexy but very simple look for a Valentine's Day dinner using my Coastal Scents palette!

Anyway, I went for a subtle earthy smoky eye and a sheer plumy-red colored lip. Since purple has been the trend nowadays, I went for that color but not too purpley.

So, first we start with our usual clean and moisturized face. Apply foundation, concealer, and powder (mineral or traditional, it's all up to you) and define the eyebrows and contour if desired. We'll talk about contouring later.

Now for the eye. I usually like starting off with a base because I want my shadows to have something to hold on to and to prevent eyeshadow fallout. I'm not a fan of the wet technique of applying eyeshadow. For my base, I used a combination of a smudgy soft black eyeliner (such as a kohl pencil) and a cream color base or creme eyeshadow in a frosty skintone color. I lined my eyes with black eyeliner (also on the inner rims). On the upper lashline though, I applied the liner thickly and smudged it halfway up the lid. I blended in a cream color base from lashline up to the browbone, but I'm careful not to mix in any black liner on the browbone. Here, I used MAC cream color base in Shell.

So here's my almost-nude eye that has just foundation, defined brows, smudged eyeliner and the cream color base. Cream color base grabs color quite well, and this is advisable for powdery eyeshadows or if you want more color to grab on the skin. However, if your lids are oily, you may want to stick with other non-emolient primers such as MAC Prep+Prime or MAC Paint Pots in a neutral skin tone shade.

Okay, so here's the fun part -EYESHADOWS! I kinda borrowed this style from Nikki, when she does her tutorials (hi Nikki!) since I find it efficient in illustrating where to put the eyeshadows. I have numbered here the shades I used in my palette and where I applied them.

[click for a larger version]

And here's the diagram:

I applied BLACK eyeshadow (#1) on the upper lashline, and blended it upwards. Since black is quite intense and we have put a base already, it's best to use little product on the brush and build on as you go. I also applied black eyeshadow on the lower lashline to set the black eyeliner.

Next, I applied a golden-bronzy-brown color (#2) on the lid on top of the black and blended this up to the crease. In applying eyeshadow, for color intensity, I deposit the product first on the lid and then blend. Don't forget the inner eye as well.

After that, for more crease definition, I deposited a tad of a darker copper color on the outer crease and blended this to the browbone (but not touching the brow). Blend upwards and outwards and make sure both sides are symmetrical. Finally, highlight the browbone in a peach color (#4). Blend to make sure the colors are seamless.

I curled my lashes and applied lots of mascara. For more definition, I went over the black eyeshadow with more black for that extra sexy smoky effect.

For blush, I chose a deep rose color and swept it across the apples of my cheeks upwards and outwards. I just used a little color since too much of this can be too intense.

Finally, for the lips I applied a sheer plum red color such as Clinique in Guava Stain

another alternative: YSL lip color in Plum Fusion

And here's the finished product:

Eye Detail:

Those with really, really small eyes can line their inner rims with a skintone eyeliner or nude lipliner instead. :). Black can make eyes smaller and more bedroom-y.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Product Spotlight: Make Up For Ever Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector

Those who are eyebrow-obsessed and have problems with eyebrow makeup being wiped off or fading at the end of the day would surely love this one product I purchased a week ago and just got to reviewing today.



It's not a concealer for super-dark skin but an eyebrow corrector/makeup in a cream formulation. When I first heard about it, it felt kind of strange since cream is one thing I avoid for the eyebrows because I thought it would give a waxy and "fake" finish until I tried it for myself and thought, "Why didn't I purchase this earlier!"

This cream formulation can be used to cover an eyebrow tattoo job gone wrong (those that have faded or discolored to a greenish/bluish hue), to fill in empty spaces, or just create that perfect arch to frame the face. Anyway, what differs this from other eyebrow products is that it boasts waterproof ability. YEP! This is a waterproof, sweatproof, and foolproof eyebrow makeup that will not fade when you sweat or get drenched on the rain (or the shower, in the case of shower photoshoots).

This can be purchased as a kit (I forgot the exact price of the kit) which comes with the 5-mL tube of the product and applicators (a small one for finer areas or to use as waterproof eyeliner and an angled one to fill in larger areas) or just the refill (meaning the product). I purchased the refill (Php 1,100) at the Make Up For Ever branch in Serendra since I have brushes.

The best applicator for this is a stiff angled brush. If you buy the kit, the brush is perfect for this but I recommend a stiff-bristled angled brush to apply eyebrow makeup for this such as the MAC 208 brush or as shown here:



The Body Shop Angle brush. Since this has synthetic fibers, it's perfect to use cream products. I only used a little amount here, since we only need a little product. In fact, after I did both brows, I still had a tad bit of product left.

You apply it just like brow powder. I started at my arch and extended up to the ends and blended inwards. This shade is actually Shade 0, which is the lightest shade. I got this because it's the safest shade to use. If I want to go darker, I could top it off with darker brow powder or pencil.




Another reason why I apply a little amount first and build on is that this shade darkens as it sets. Shade 0 is a very light shade but it defined my brows quite nicely. It takes practice though, to use the product, especially if you're not used to cream formulations.

Yes, it is waterproof as shown in this test:



In fact, I tried soaping my skin with Baktolin wash and it would not budge. Cleansing oil got it out of the brush and my hand (hence, the reason of using a brush with synthetic fibers).

This product is available in 3 shades, I chose the lightest one but you can go for the medium one or the darkest, whichever you may prefer.

The Paul & Joe Disney Collection

Heeheehee....

I just can't wait for these babies to come out and play at the Paul and Joe Counter


[Image Credits]

Pretty much I definitely know what variant to get. :) These face color powders are limited edition and I know will be a hit to Disney lovers like me.

Not only will I get my namesake, but I love the peach-orange color with a hint of pink and gold meteor pearls that will definitely warm me up when I'm pale or enhance a sunkissed glow.

Are we all excited yet?

My Sunday Shoot

Filbert texted me if I could do makeup for them on Sunday for a test shoot (so that's why this blog has been silent) for a model folio.

My Answer? Yes! These guys are just amazing photographers and working for them is my definite pleasure. I chatted with Filbert the night before and he showed me pegs of the shoot so I know what makeup to pack.

Tips to photographers: Show a peg to your makeup artist/stylist as well as info on the model as to the shoe size/dress size/skin color/preferences so we know what to pack. It's hard to bring all our makeup. :P

Anyway, we met up at Starbucks that Sunday and we drove to the location where I was introduced to Shiela, the owner of the place, Eric, the stylist, and Daniel, the model. The clothes were shown and we started first with clean look before moving on to something dramatic. Oh, and they did tell me that the model was going to get wet.

photo by Glenn Peter Perez

photo by Filbert Kung

The foundation did stay and I'm glad for that. :) I love waterproof makeup. :D

Then two looks with darker eyes.

The shoot ended at around 6 pm with 10 layouts. :-) Love it! :D

Photo by Filbert Kung

photo by Glenn Peter Perez

Thanks guys! You're the best!

Credits:

Model: Daniel Benjahmin

Photographers: Filbert Kung and Glenn Peter Perez of Blackfox Photography

Stylist: Eric Poliquit

Makeupbybambi goes to the MAC Pro Workshop

When I got the text from MAC Makati announcing that John Stapleton will be arriving in Manila and would be conducting a workshop of their spring-summer trends, I wanted to attend. It really was a good deal -for a Php3,000 gift check redeemable of MAC products (I scored myself a Studiofix foundation in NC50, A 217 brush, and cream color base in Shell), you get to attend this workshop where you could meet and greet him and probably ask a thing or two.

I first heard of John Stapleton when he was interviewed by Alessa of Pursebuzz. I loved the makeover he did on her and it was such a fun interview with lots of stuff to learn. Plus, he's worked with so many celebrities like Mary J. Blige, Fergie of Black Eyed Peas, and Kelly Osborne just to name a few.

The event was held yesterday, February 7, 2009 at Attica Bar in the New A-Venue Mall in Makati Ave. Again, I told the cab to just step on it to get me to the venue on time and since I had a shoot right after, I brought train case, pull-on trolley and five-inch pink stilettos with me. Good thing that I wasn't late and I arrived like 2.5 minutes early. I deposited my stuff at the ground floor and begged them to guard my makeup with their life and proceeded upstairs.

We were greeted by a preview of the new MAC collections coming up, and maybe MAC addicts would have heard now about the Hello Kitty Collection, which is one of the much-anticipated collections coming, and I got that question a lot when I was their guest artist last week.

Ngiyaw!

Lovely Lovely lippies!

Lovette!

When we finally got to our seats, a short video presentation was shown featuring the Spring/Summer trends on the runways ranging from a natural, pretty look to the high-on avante garde with gold brows and thick eyeliner that could go from very Bond Girl cat eyes to this interesting shape reminiscent of butterly wings. From the runway, we were shown two looks which we could wear for everyday - a subtle smoky eye featuring earth tones, lots of mascara, and a glossy lip, and a fun look using just a hint of blue on the eye and a bright magenta lip. Both looks had one thing in common -dewy, glowy skin, which they termed as "hydroluminous skin" - shimmery, youthful and glowy without looking too oily. Products used to contour were a deep shade of mineral foundation applied with a fluffy brush gradually and Mineralize Skinfinish to highlight. John advises to just highlight the tip of the nose to contour rather than shading the sides for a more natural finish.

The technique that stuck on to me was the lipliner technique. I kinda get lazy with lipliner and just draw on but he showed us a technique on how to do it perfectly. Line the top lip and have the lips pressed together naturally rather than opened or stretched out and sketch the outline as if you were painting and fill in. Then, have your model or client smack her lips together and you'd see that the top lip's color sort of blots on the lower lip in perfect symmetry and just fill in. I tried this during my shoot right after and it worked and guess what I was wearing? Magenta lipstick! :)

After the demo, the participants got to mingle with each other and pause for quick photo-ops and chats.

Some of the participants (Hello Kang of MAC Makati at the back)

I got a picture too. :)

(Currently sporting MAC Russian Red lipstick and MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder and mascara)

John's definitely very friendly and accomodating to all our queries and questions especially the makeup artists who neverendedly kept the questions coming. It was such a pleasure to meet and greet a famous MAC Artist and learn a thing or two. I sure hope that I get to bump into him when I fly off to L.A.

Okay then, so after the event I did dash to my shoot and guess what: I applied everything I learned. :) Pictures to come out very very soon :)

Thanks to MAC Makati and John Stapleton for the really fun workshop!