Surviving The Summer

Summer makes me happy for a lot of reasons - it's time to jet out to the beach, get that tan line (which i'm quasi-done by the way), and just relax with a tall glass of iced tea. However, there's a downside to summer - the sweltering scorching heat, the dehydration, and the occasional migraine i get from the intense heat. Well, at least there's less traffic now.

So, I've gathered a few survival tricks for these 2 months before the rain starts to pour. I dunno if this works truly but it keeps me sane when the temperature rises. Now I really wish for rain to happen

1. Hydrate. Water has been my best friend. I drink lots of it since I dont want to bloat and be parched after walking. I know my bag's been heavier though but I can't get dehydrated and be confined for 24 hours to be hydrated via IV again.
2. Protect. I use sunscreen all-year-round but now I've been religious to apply sunscreen before I go out, even when there's no sun. I certainly don't want skin cancer, wrinkles, or discoloration. My lips have not been spared. I have sunscreen for my lips (MAC tinted lip conditioner with SPF 15 in Popster from the Hello Kitty collection). I use moisturizer with SPF and make sure my foundation has SPF. Some of the products I use: Shu Uemura UV underbase, Paul and Joe Creamy Compact, Shu Uemura sunblock with SPF 50, and Olay Regenerist Day Cream with SPF 15. I keep humongous shades in my bag too
3. Switch to lighter formulations. My rich creams are used at night only on trouble spots and I rehydrate my skin with a lightweight lotion. I know it's hella humid but i still need to keep hydrated. My shampoos and soap bars are also lighter and the scents fresher and citrusy. I switched over to fruity, citrusy scents and baby colognes as well/
4. Tie up - Since I'm growing my hair it's been in a uniform bun perpetually during the day since I like to keep my hair away from my face a lot especially at work. Here's what I do to avoid strays: I gel/mousse it up for hold and then twist it to a bun. When it's nighttime, I let it loose in waves.
5. Wear everything light - I've been sporting dresses/shorts/short skirts/light clothing lately. Maxi dresses and mini-dresses are my first love. At least I'm lucky that I have a job with no strict dress code. :) I also wear more strappy sandals, flipflops, wedges, and all things light. It's too hot to wear the suit-vest combo.
6. Work out - Since I reveal more skin, I should get in shape. And all the more if I'm going to the beach.
7. Have fun - Stressing out on the heat will just wear me out. I might as well enjoy the summer!

I think I should post now my summer essentials, but hey, I'll reserve that for another post.

Kitty Lippy: Hello Kitty Lipsticks at a Glance

Again, I passed by at my lovey MAC to say hi and support their launch of the Hello Kitty edition. Since I already bought my merchandise the day before (and in good decision and so did my friend, as they were pretty much almost sold out by the time I got there). With the Hello Kitty babies on parade and on display, I was greeted with a pretty cupcake that looks good enough for a photo-op:





So sweet and so pretty! Anyway, I did swatches and product shots of the Hello Kitty lipsticks on display, since they're just too cute and I'd like to share them:






From L-R: Cutester, Most Popular, Fresh Brew, and Big Bow









There's also that cute Hello Kitty emblem embedded on the lipstick. I'm kinda iffy if I should use it as it's too cute to be destroyed. The packaging is just adorable too shiny with the HK emblem in black, gray, white, and PEEENK!



And here are some swatches!







Sheer, glittery, and frosty. I still love my mattes but I love the moisty, playful palette of these lippies.


So on the left is Cutester, which is a nude pink shade in a frosty finish. This one looks good with smoky eyes and strong contour. I think this would last me till spring ends. The glossy finish means I don't need much gloss with this, and I like that it would make my lips appear fuller sans collagen injections.


Most Popular is darker and the shade is mauve with a hint of purple. I was supposed to get this but since I prefer something warm and classic, I went for Strayin'. I guess for girls who still want the cool-toned lippie this one would be a choice.


Fresh Brew is now more on the brownish side at first, but it really looks like a nude lippie when I swatched it. In my case, I think I should combine this with a coral shade or lipglass to fit my lips but I think morenas could get away with it. The color reminds me of caramel candies too. Hahahaha.


Big Bow was a color too cute on the tube. It's this iridescent pink with some blue flecks. It kinda reminded me of a cooler shade of my Fafi Flash-N-Dash. From last I saw, there were still some stocks of Big Bow on counter. Maybe if there are still some available, I'll grab this too. Heeheehee.


I ended up getting Cutester, Strayin' (a nude pink in a frost finish), and Popster lip conditioner. The Popster lip conditioner is actually a recommendation by a friend (thanks so much!), and I'm really lovin' it for the staying power, the slight warm corally-pink tint, the hint of candy flavor and the SPF 15 too so my lips stay kissable and protected from harmful UV rays. Also, it goes well with my minimal-makeup look for summer (and this look, yes, I'm sporting right now). Both of these I love and I can't wait to go out in them.


Well, of course, it's makeup. How could I not resist? Heeheeheehee.

Happy Birthday Paul and Joe

Last Friday I attended a birthday party

There were flowers

and cupcakes

turns out, it was the second birthday party of Paul and Joe, the Japanese-French brand that made waves in manila for its cutesy packaging and incorporating skincare with the brand. Of course being the P&J fan that I am, I attended it (and also Von would curse me to oblivion if I missed it. hahahahaha). As always, I'm very punctual in my events evoking my presence hours before call time. So knowing Von would be super busy in the event itself and 1 hour before the event, we posed for a photo-op.

All in good time that I have bounced back from my flu (yet losing weight in the process). Von toured me around the venue as well, which was set up just for the birthday party. The crowd poured in shortly and I was able to spot a few friends and finally met Multiply friend Randy Capinpin. I also said hi to Ms. Mari Wild, who happens to be a teacher at CAS and also one of those that got me hooked to P&J (she purchased also a Bambi blush that day! :) )

As usual, there was a demo featuring the spring-summer trends (pink and peach, naturally the color shades for this season) done by Paul and Joe makeup artists Cherry Pacheco Uy and Lanie Acedillo

Here's Cherry explaining the demo with Lanie at work. The look is very simple, very gorgeous and natural, something that I like since I don't want to be wearing too much makeup since it's summer.

After that, raffles were given where the grand prize winner won makeup worth Php50,000 from Paul and Joe. There were also special prizes given as well. Since there was a sale that day of up to 40% off, Paul and Joe items were flying off the shelves. I managed to score eye color powder #12, which is a pretty gold shade. I first saw this when I attended their seminar at Ascott and their international makeup artist, Craig Ryan French, used this on my model to highlight her cheekbones. I loved the effect of warm gold highlights and now that it's on sale, I purchased one (It was slashed from Php 1,025 to Php 615 bucks!). And all in good luck, it was the only one left.

Of course, who wouldn't be happy to score these babies:

(with my previous MAC purchase), Eye color powder in #12, light cream foundation samples in #30, and WHEEE! more moisturizing compact foundation samples! Since their base makeup is one of the best out there, notice my glee. Oh and they're my shade too. :)

What a way to cap off the night and to a nice vacay mode again. :)

Concert for a Cause

Just In Case you want to party this Saturday night....

Tickets are available at MAC counters. :) There are still some tickets there when I passed by, so hopefully there would be some more pa tomorrow.

A Cute Sign

I had dinner at Bubba Gump a while ago, and funny thing, we spotted this sign on the post that I knew I just had to pose with it. I just found it amusing

He and I were laughing our hearts out and buti okay lang sa kanya pagbigyan ang vanity ko. Sayang I couldnt take the sign out as it was glued there.

R.I.P Natasha Richardson

As I logged on to the Internet, I just saw at Yahoo! News today that actress Natasha Richardson died due to a head injury from a skiing accident. The article had a picture of a blonde lady and when I saw her name, I thought I've seen her before. when I scrolled down the photos... I found out where I saw her ....


Image Credits

That's her on the right with a very young Lindsay Lohan in one of my most-watched Disney movies, The Parent Trap, where she played Elizabeth James, mom to two Lindsay Lohans and wife to Dennis Quaid's character. She was absolutely gorgeous there and so classy. I loved her wardrobe that transcended time.

Plus I saw how versatile she was when her mommy role took a 180-degree turn at Maid in Manhattan where she played a woman totally opposite Elizabeth where she played a very obnoxious and bratty socialite.

And here's the news about her untimely death as quoted from the Wikipedia article on her:

"On 16 March 2009, Richardson was injured in a skiing accident at the Mont Tremblant Resort. She was taken to Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal after suffering a traumatic brain injury. She was listed as being in critical condition, and her husband, Liam Neeson, was reported to have joined her after flying from Toronto, where he was filming a movie. Richardson was flown on March 17 by private jet to Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan and visited by her sons, mother Vanessa Redgrave, and sister Joely Richardson. She died on 18 March 2009 at age 45."

:'(

Even if she's already gone, her legacy will always remain and will make her immortal

MAC Prep+Prime Lash

Okay I finally gave in and purchased a lash primer. I know, I have never owned one since I thought I could just do with the regular mascara but hey... I could not resist because it was MAC and after I used it on counter... I loved it so much and I'm so obsessed with having bulked-up lashes. I needed a mascara base for my Lancome Colour Virtuose Mascara, which I've been using for quite a while but it didn't seem to make any difference in my lashes, if you notice in some of my FOTDs, where I use Lancome, so I purchased my own MAC Prep+Prime Lash tube.


Retail price: Php 800.00 at all MAC outlets

Slick Black Tube. :) I could be having hard time rumaging for it though in my makeup kit since it looks similar to my other tubes.


The wand tip is interesting, though... aesthetically speaking... I dunno, I just find the brush/wand shape cute:


Hey look... Spirals!

Like all lash primers, this is applied to the lashes before mascara and sort of "bulks up" and lengthens my lashes. When I applied it, I could see that it coats the strands and there are white fibers sticking to the ends of my lashes, sort of like "extending it". For personal use, you can apply this directly. For clients, a mascara brush may be needed.

So here are my curled lashes before applying primer:

There's makeup already here, so my eyes do not look too nonexistent or dead yet my lashes are almost invisible even if they have been previously curled. I have thick lashes but they're not that long. boo. :(

So anyway, with primer+mascara (I used Lancome Colour Virtuose mascara here. On its own, the effect is subtle, not bulking level, at least that's my experience) But with Prep+Prime:

Hello Lashes! No post-processing done here. I think this one made my regular mascara stick more and I like the extra lengthening effect. I have no problem with my lashes bulking up with more volume but with length, I need extra help. Plus this primer's lighter and much more comfortable than sporting false eyelashes again. I don't go for eyelash extensions since I like to play with my lashes a lot, and I don't want the comittment of too much touch-ups. There are other alternative lash primers too, but since I've already tried and tested MAC's, I went and got out this one and I'm sharing my opinion. Plus, it's a relatively cheap mascara base as compared to other bases.

If you're asking, can it be used for Back-2-MAC? yes it could. along with the brush cleanser bottle. I just need 3 more and I could score myself a free lipstick! Horray!

My Tagaytay Makeup Kit

Summer vacation #1: Tagaytay

Of all the weirdest places to go swimming. Hahahaha. That's right. Went to Tagaytay to go swimming @ Canyon Woods. My tan was just a tad sunkissed but not burnt to a crisp tan, but at least I got some color. I still got a few beach trips hopefully as summer looms in more so I'm taking advantage of the water to get a summer color. :)

Anyhoo... being a makeup addict I packed in a separate makeup bag with these babies:

It couldn't fit a small pouch bag so I settled for a mini-train case. I filled it with the essentials and a few colored items in case I want to go adventurous. Since I presumed that I'd get darker, I packed in bronzer and illuminizers. I still got my trusty bronzer - E.L.F. Healthy Glow Bronzing powder, my bronzer that I swear makes me look like I got that back-from-the-beach glow even if I didn't or if I did, it enhances my skin tone.

• Olay Regenerist Serum, which is my fave moisturizer/makeup base
• Obagi Eye Cream for the skin around my Eyes
• Shu Uemura Face Architect Smoothing Fluid Foundation #764
• The Body Shop Gurana Berry Lip Butter
• MAC eyeshadows: Arctic Grey (from the Chill collection), Nylon, and Swish
• NYX pigment in Oro
• The Body Shop brown eyeshadow (which I also use to define brows)
• The Body Shop Eye Luster Pearls #01 (Blue)
• Revlon Creme Eyeshadow palette in Not Just Nudes
• MAC Studiofinish Concealer in NW30
• MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder in NC30
• MAC Mineralize Satinfinish powder in Redhead
• MAC lipsticks in Hot Tahiti and Russian Red
• Sephora Lipstick in N27
• MAC Lipglass in Viva Glam V
• Skin Food Choco Eyebrow Powder Cake
• Make Up For Ever Eyebrow Corrector
• Paul and Joe Eyebrow Pencil #4
• The Body Shop Cheek Color #04
• E.L.F. Healthy Bronzing Powder in Warm Tan
• Miners Sparkle Wand in Zinia
• Kryolan Eyeliner in Dark Brown
• Italia Ultra Fine Lipliner in Soft Pink
• Fasio HyperStay Mascara (shock-free)
• MAC Prep+Prime Lash
• Lancome Colour Virtuaose Mascara
• Shu Uemura Lash Curler (both full and half-size)
• Watercolors Eye Perfector

I didn't bother much with eyeshadows and just focus on perfect skin, lipsticks (notice the reds I brought and some neutrals) and define brows and lots of lashes and long-lasting mascara. This is also where I tested my MAC Prep+Prime lash (review to come soon) I tend to bring a lot although I'm mostly in the water or just eating (EEEK!) since I have this "Just in case I need to doll up" feeling. heeheehee... at most I just came up with this natural look, which I wore going home:









Just evening out the skin with concealer and powder, framing the brows with eyebrow makeup, a bit of eyeliner and bronze pigments, mascara, and bronzer. I forgot to put lipstick here, and since I just attacked some mcdonald's fries and Coke (Zero) Float, I just had lip butter here.

Tan development #1 done... Hopefully, I'll end summer with a more distinct tan line.

Love From China

Look what I got from China.... :)

This is the real deal. :) It's cheaper at Duty Free. I dunno the RMB exact cost but the peso equivalent is about Php 1,800.

I'm shade #764.

It's one of my favorite summer foundations when I need to go full-face with makeup but since we have a superbly hot summer, I don't want my face feeling suffocated or do I want makeup sliding minutes after I apply it. I received a sample shade (my exact shade) a year ago and I fell so much in love with it I was really saving and maximizing the sachet until not a drop was left. Scent-wise the scent was not heavy to the nose. For some reason, I get sensitive to strongly-scented makeup when the temperatures rise. I love also the feel on the skin. It wasn't sticky or anything and guess what? NO BREAKOUTS AFTER! I still go with a hint of foundation on hot days by diluting it with my moisturizer (Olay Regenerist Day Cream since it's got SPF or Shu Uemura Sunblock SPF 50) just to get an even tone and set with sheer powder since I'm going for sheer coverage.

I test-drove this yesterday and I love the subtle even skin tone I had and I got compliments with it. Plus no icky sticky feel despite the scorchingly hot weather.

There's also a cream formulation of this one, which comes in a jar, which is slightly richer (but not heavy, mind you, I've tried it as well) but I prefer the fluid variety since I like my foundation light.

Who's Excited for Hello Kitty?

Hello Kitty will be launched this April and guess what I stumbled upon while surfing @ YouTube:



For those anticipating the MAC Hello Kitty collection, here's a preview on the whole "feel" of the collection. I sure can't wait and still can't decide which to get as there are dozens too that want to get hold of them. :)

See you next month darlings!

Makeupbybambi is Sick. :(

If any of you wonder why I wasnt in much events this week or not posting is because I've been bedridden since yesterday (still am now. got frontal headache owwie). Last Wednesday night, my fever shot up to 40 and I've had bouts of it yesterday plus my sinus passages were super clogged. I'm recovering right now and dunking all drugs and liquids and whatever recuperating equipment I could use. Blame it on the weather shooting up again plus the house is having a paint job exposing me to chemical fumes.

Right now I've got no fever though, just my colds and cough but this I could handle. I'm also trying not to talk much to avoid laryngitis issues. :)

Till then I'll be back for more posts and all :)

MAC Lingering Brow Pencil

2 years ago, I was at the MAC counter with a group of friends. It was our field trip during makeup class and I was the model that they used for the makeup demonstration done by product specialist Mikee Raymundo. One of the products that was used on me was the eyebrow pencil in Lingering, which was one of their bestsellers. We all loved the effect because it wasn't waxy and the brows looked defined but not overly done. Two weeks ago, I purchased a pencil and here's what I have to say

Retail price: Php 850 at MAC Counters.

This brow pencil is thinner than regular MAC pencils and it's the retractable kind, so no need to sharpen and applicable for Back 2 MAC. Yay!look at how thin it is:

(The camera on super macro setting)

For makeup artists, before using it on clients, if you're OC with sanitation purposes, you could dip the tip in alcohol and wipe clean before and after use. The tip is fine and texture is hard enough to simulate hair so it doesn't get that waxy pencilled-in look. I apply this in short, hairlike strokes then brush it with a stiff angled brow brush for a natural look. I use this if I want my brows strong and defined.

Color on my hand:

The brown is a cool brown color that looks natural on the brows. I do have FOTDs where I used lingering but for illustrative purposes, here's a picture of my model that I used the pencil on:

Model: Roscel Aguilar

Photographer: Atty. Raymond Fortun

Again, I'm using the picture for illustrative purposes only, to show an example and neither the model or photographer is selling or modelling the products. The model had good eyebrows to begin with. I just wanted to give it more definition so it frames the face better. I used the pencil in short, hairlike strokes to fill in the gaps and create definition and blended with a brush so it looks more natural.

This is something I would repurchase because it's easy to use. It might be pricey for a makeup pencil but since I'm OC about eyebrows since they frame the face (now I'm beginning to conquer my fear of them), it's worth it. Plus, it delivers well and I could use this in combination of my two other favorite eyebrow makeups (i.e. Paul and Joe eyebrow pencil and Make Up For Ever eyebrow correctors)

Photoshoot Look Tutorial: Helen Of Troy

At last Saturday's shoot, Mike told me he wanted to do a Grecian look. When he showed me the white dress I would be wearing for the shoot, I did a clean look which focused on well-defined eyebrows, moist lips, and glowing skin without too much color but without looking pale.

This is a no-makeup look that's dewy instead of matted.

Photo by Mike Yu of Mantra Photography



Photo by Glenn del Rosario

Model's own Makeup

Here's How to recreate the look:

Face Prep and Base: These photos aren't photo-edited yet, so I made the skin glowy without being shiny and oily by play of matte and shimmer textures.

• Prepped clean skin with Olay Regenerist Serum and Shu Uemura UV Underbase
• Evened out with Sally Hansen Airbrush foundation as an all-over foundation (brushed using a foundation brush) and concealed imperfections with VOV cream foundation #3
• Set with Nu Skin Powder and Elegant Minerals Setting powder in translucent
• Contour with CS Contouring palette
• MAC MSF in Redhead as blush (on the salmon pink side) and highlight (on the gold side)

On eyes: - strong brows to frame the face and neutral colors of eyeshadow with a tad of shimmer. I stuck with warm palettes of peach and browns and lots of mascara to keep it feminine since I didn't use falsies in this shoot.

• Make Up For Ever Eyebrow Corrector #0 and MAC Lingering to groom and enhance the eyebrows
• Kryolan brown pencil to tightline eyes. Smudge this to get into the roots of the lashes.
• MAC cream color base in Shell on eyes as a base
• Peach and brown shades from the CS 78 color palette as color (Neutral matte for highlight, peach on lids and a warm brown to contour crease. Bronze eyeshadow on lashlines). Lids can be highlighted with MAC MSF in redhead (the gold side)
• The Face Shop Gel eyeliner in black on the top lashes
• Curl lashes with Shu Uemura lash curler and 3 coats each of The Face Shop Freshian Volumizing Mascara and Lancome Color Virtuose Mascara (at this point, I didn't bother with falsies)

Lips - neutral lips that are moist without overpowering

• Nude lipliner on lips (I kinda exaggerated the fullness a bit)
• MAC lipstick in Style it Up and blotted. This is a frosty nude color but since the look can get pale, I went with a pinkish gloss.
• MAC lipglass in Viva Glam V - I used a smidgen of this... just to add moisture and a hint of shine.

The hair is actually a wiglet. It's one of those cute wigs you buy in SM and clip on the hair.

The Kikay Tag

When Nikki Tags, I'm here to grab and answer

what’s your favourite eye shadow color to wear?
Color? it depends on my mood. Right now I'm more into matte browns and peaches because I'm into strong lips.

what’s the one product you wouldn’t leave your house without?
a humongous pair of sunglasses to 1) prevent squinting and 2) hide whenever im makeup-less. :P

what’s your favourite makeup look – high drama OR natural?
depends on my mood but I always like looking fierce.

which feature do you play up the most?
lips. hence my collection of red lipsticks

which feature do you try to downplay/cover up?
my forehead because it's broad.

your favorite makeup brand, if you could pick only ONE to exist?
it would be hard as i love them but i'll name my top 3 in no particular order: MAC, Shu Uemura, and Paul and Joe

which product have you re-purchased OVER and OVER again?
MAC lipsticks

which product would you NEVER repurchase again and why?
Elianto Eyeshadow. I know! I'm guilty of how much I loved it before pero later on as time goes on it cracks into gazillions of pieces and gets too powdery and chalky. Baxi works so much better.

one beauty treatment you would always PAY to have done?
Brazilian Waxing. After one treatment, it can be addicting (yet still painful). Eva Longoria Parker is right. Oh, and haircuts. Certain pedicures too

one beauty treatment you would NEVER pay to have done?
Makeup because I prefer doing my own makeup (even when I model)

one beauty trick you can share with everyone?
BLEND BLEND BLEND BLEND BLEND BLEND BLEND BLEND BLEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDD!

best advice you've ever been given regarding beauty and makeup?
Never sleep with makeup on. My makeup removers are always my best friends.

Now, I'm tagging anyone who would want to copy this post too! Of course not the answers!