Tutorial: Ombre Cat Eyeliner

I've been experimenting with eyeliner techniques and colors, especially since colored eyeliners are quite becoming more "in." I still love my black and browns, which have been staples in my makeup bag, but sometimes, it's nice to have a pop of color once in a while. On its own, it's a statement without eyeshadow, giving you a nice, edgy look. I usually use this technique when I need to go to an event after a workout session and I don't really want to bring brushes and all.

In this tutorial, I have a two-toned ombre cat eyeliner using the classic black and plum eyeliner. The cat eye starts off first as plum then wings out to black in the end. It's subdued enough to be worn in weddings or formal events yet it's got an interesting twist to it. You can use the eyeliner technique alone without eyeshadow but if you want to use eyeshadow or a full face of makeup either you feel inspired to put on makeup today or you just want to feel better, check this tutorial out. The warm gold scheme of the eye color contrasts well with the plum eyeliner so the plum stands out because otherwise, nonsense. Maybe you can't use this for your passport photo, but for a wedding, maybe.

Plum gel liner adds a different twist to an otherwise classic look

What You Need:
(I indicated the brands I used in the parenthesis. Feel free to use other brands of your own preference)

• Eyeshadows (Urban Decay Naked Smokey Palette)
• Black Eyeliner (L'Oreal Superliner Superstar)
• Purple/Plum eyeliner (MAC Fluidline in Looking Good)
• Black Pencil Eyeliner (Urban Decay24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion)
• Charcoal Pencil Eyeliner (Eye of Hours eye pencil in Charcoal Obsidian)
• Eyeshadow primer (NYX Eyeshadow base)

(Note: I did already my base, brows, contour, cheek color, and lip color here, so let's go straight to shadow)

Step 1: Apply eyeshadow primer from lashline to browbone.

Step 2: Apply a light contour color on the crease (UD Combust)

Step 3: Dab a shimmery golden color on the lid (UD Dirtysweet)

Step 4: On the outer 1/3 of the eye, apply a darker color with the same shimmery finish as the lid color (UD Radar)

Step 5: Smoke things out by applying a dark gray-black or black color on the outer V of the eye (UD Black Market)

Step 6: Line the bottom liner with charcoal pencil and set this with the same color you used on the outer V. Highlight the browbone and inner corners of the eyes with a bone-colored color (UD Thirteen). Blend the life out of the edges for nice, even transitions.

 Step 7: Tightline the upper lashlines with black eye pencil. Blend and smudge to slightly "smoke" it out.

Step 8: Use a purple eyeliner to line the top lashline, stopping until just before the outer corner.

Step 9: Go over where you ended the purple eyeliner with the black eyeliner and continue on lining the eyes and "flick" out the wing."

Step 10: Your eye liner should look like this: Starting off as purple, then ending with a black wing tip. If you want, lightly blend the transition between the purple and the black so you get a nice, blended ombre effect.

Finish off your look with some mascara on curled lashes. Apply falsies if desired. Finished!

Take this look to your next event or party. It's a way to introduce colored liners to your makeup kit, accompanying them with a basic black or charcoal and an otherwise neutral eye. The wing tip does take a lot of challenge getting even and I really took a long time there. If you have any wing tip tricks  to get both sides even, do leave them in the comments below.  Enjoy this new look for the new year!


Store Directory:

Eye Of Horus
Available at Purbeauty, Landmark, and SM Department stores; available at glamourbox.com, and beautymnl.com; facebook.com/eyeofhorusph; instagram.com/eyeofhorusph

L'Oreal Paris
Available at all leading groceries, beauty hubs, and department stores nationwide; lorealparis.com; lorealparisexclusif.ph; facebook.com/LOrealParisPhilippines

NYX
available at leading department stores; nyxcosmetics.com; facebook.com/nyxcosmeticsph

MAC

click here for a complete list of stores; maccosmetics.com; rustans-thebeautysource.com; maccosmetics.com.ph; facebook.com/MACcosmetics

Urban Decay
urbandecay.com; facebook.com/urbandecayglobal; instagram.com/urbandecaycosmetics

Eating Clean on a Budget

For most of us, one of the reasons to not eat cleaner and better is that it's expensive. Quinoa is more expensive than brown rice and most healthy recipes we find have ingredients that are usually hard to find and/or need to be purchased at a health food store or organic goods store which do not come cheap. Since healthy restaurants cost more, people tend to gravitate to convenience store food or fast food or just hotdog and rice for baon (are you still eating hotdog? Please remove it from your life now).

Let our budgets and increasing taxes not be an excuse to eat healthy, because we can fuel our bodies with good, whole, real, unprocessed food that's pretty and flavorful without taking a dent in our budget.

Get good nutrition by eating whole, real food without overspending. 

Eat fruits and veggies that are in season

Not only do fruits in season are a lot cheaper, they are at the peak of flavor and nutritional value. Enjoy your guacamole and avocado toast in the summer. Mangoes are available all year round but come summer enjoy making your mango passionfruit sorbets and coconut chia pudding and mangoes. Source your strawberries also locally which cost cheaper than the imported ones or opt for frozen berries instead. In fact, frozen blueberries are picked at the peak of ripeness and flash-frozen so there's very little time for the nutrients to deteriorate (source: dailyburn.com)

Don't be afraid of the house brands

Look for the house brands in the supermarkets, which are much cheaper than the branded versions. It's the same too. I buy house brands of spices, eggs, and condiments. They have no difference from the branded ones, save for the lower price tag.

Watch out for sales

Whenever you go to the grocery, sometimes, certain items are on sale. Take advantage when there's a price markdown of your favorite superfood. I was able to get almond milk for a fraction of a price than what I usually pay for one time and I was able to save about 200 pesos when chia seeds went on sale at S&R.

Bring your own meals

Cooking your own meals and assembling your own salads come out much cheaper than buying your own health food. You are also sure that there are no additives or extenders in what you're eating. Be economical and use the leftover mushroom stalks, carrot, and other vegetables to make vegetable stock or chicken stock from scratch rather than relying on bouillon cubes and powders, which can have a lot of chemicals.

Not everything has to be organic

In the ideal world, we would be eating 100% organic diet - organic eggs, vegetables, fruits, etc. However, we all know that that is expensive. There are produce and food products which need not be organic and are just as healthy. Fruits with a thick peel like grapefruit, avocado,  oranges, melons, watermelon, and eggplant have very little pesticide residue are okay to be bought conventionally. The same goes for maple syrup. It's safer to go organic for salad greens or green leafy vegetables because pesticide residue sticks on them more.

Have water (or a smoothie) with you

Are you hungry in the mall? Maybe you want to go grab some fries or maybe stop by for some fro-yo. While it's okay to have a few snacks during the day, sometimes, we find ourselves mindlessly snacking as the hours go by. We may actually be just thirsty. Keep some water with you. This will also prevent you from buying sweet, sugary drinks.

Source local cookbooks

Most of my favorite go-to recipes are found in local cookbooks. The ingredients are easier to source locally and are in most leading supermarkets. There are only a handful of ingredients that I need to buy in specialty stores. Check the local cookbook section at your bookstore and look for healthy recipes.

Plan your meals and do your grocery shopping when you're full

Sicking to a list will prevent you from overspending or buying ingredients that you won't be able to cook for a while. Doing grocery shopping hungry sometimes makes you want to buy more. Planning your shopping would prevent you from throwing away food that has gone bad that has been sitting in your fridge until it spoil due to poor planning.

Happy Clean Eating!

Makeup Must-Haves For Your ID Photos

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post on ID photo tips. So finally, I was able to get my plastic DL card last week. When I saw the photo, I was just super thrilled because I came up with quite a decent ID photo, probably the best ID photo I ever took with a webcam. My license the last time, I wasn't exactly bad looking but it could use more improvements.

I never really realized how important looking good in government ID photos mattered to most people. It was when I saw how many blog posts were there about it when I saw that indeed, it does matter. Not really a requirement, but it counts in life.

I was quite surprised at the likes and comments I got with my makeup look for that photo (a friend even joked I should have brought my own fan so I can have that Beyonce-ish effect) so I thought about writing a part 2 post on how to look good for your government ID photo, this time enumerating the stuff I usually use whenever I have to do a headshot using a webcam.

get the natural look that radiates on a webcam using these products

Benefit The POREFessional Face Primer (Php 1,800)

This has got to be the favorite of every single makeup artist I know. It smoothens out the face to a nice, velvety texture, makes makeup last longer, and matts out shine. I have this problem on the center of my forehead that tends to look shiny even if I'm not even oily. The POREFessional takes care of that.


Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation (Php 825)

I forgo BB creams and use Liquid Foundation set with loose powder or powder foundation instead. BB creams have high SPF content and may cause a white cast, especially if there's harsh, un-metered flash that makes photos reminiscent of our "Gulat-Me" 80's to early 90's ID photo days. Colorstay lasts long enough, which is perfect in slowing down makeup meltdown most especially for locations where whatever we do, we're still prone to makeup melting. Again, this sets matte.


MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Powder in Dark (Php 2,100)

This adds warmth and contours which create shape and dimension. I just add a tad, instead of photoshoot-level ready, just so my face doesn't look flat. The key to natural-looking contours is all in the blending so blend this well.  Save the heavy contours for fashion shows or theatre performances.


Benefit Blush in Coralista (Php 1,600)

Personally, I stick to warm colors for government ID photos so I don't look super washed out with white fluorescent lights and blue backgrounds. This isn't too flat matte but not too shiny that it looks oily either.


MAC Blush in Mocha (Php 1,200)

A healthy, natural flush of pink also works. This bridal staple doesn't have too much shimmer speckles and delivers a nice, pink color to the cheeks, kind of like a natural glow.


Revlon Brow Fantasy Pencil and Gel in Light Brown (Php 575)

As overhead top lights can sometimes make my brows disappear, I need extra definition. This product gives me a more defined brow that doesn't disappear with the lighting yet it's natural enough for real-life appreciation. It gives me the defined, strong, but still natural type of brows. The mascara tints the brow hairs, (most especially if you have colored hair) and keeps the brows in place.


Happy Skin Eye am Here To Stay 24h Gel Eyeliner in Chic Brown (Php599)

Black liner in the bottom lashlines can look harsh, My alternative is dark brown eyeliner tightlined to make the lash roots fuller. You don't even have to worry about lines being perfect,


Colourpop x Hello Kitty Ultra Satin Lip in Tiny Chum (USD 6.00 at colourpop.com)

Colourpop has been making waves for having major color payoff that's comparable with expensive brands at a fraction of the price. This gorgeous liquid lippie has a pretty, fresh pink shade that's great for fair-skinned ladies. Paired with a blush, you can have a gorgeous, natural rosy glow instead of looking ghostly or pasty,


L'Oreal Infallible Makeup Extender Setting Spray (Php 500)

The long lines plus humidity can cause makeup meltdown. The setting spray does the job of locking the makeup or making it last longer. It also helps blend the makeup as well on the face so it looks gorgeous on photos, more like healthy skin instead of powder.

ID pictures do matter in a way that it represents you for the years it is still valid. It represents you in legal and official documents and it really is a confidence booster when you have an awesome visa or passport photo (that still follows the rules obviously). These arsenals for the gorgeous lasting look can be your best bet, especially if you have no idea what to use. Let me know which ones are your favorite or which one you use for yourself. okay?


Image Directory

Cover Photo shot by Ozzy Lavina


Store Directory

Benefit Cosmetics

1/F Greenbelt 5, Makati; (02) 729-9854; 3/F TriNoma Mall; Rustan’s Makati; Shangri-La Plaza; Mall of Asia; benefitcosmetics.com; facebook.com/benefitcosmetics; facebook.com/benefitcosmeticsphilippines

Colourpop
colourpop.com; facebook.com/ColourPopCosmetics; instagram.com/colourpopcosmetics

Happy Skin
Glorietta 3, Ayala Grand Mall; Greenbelt 5, 2/F; Powerplant Mall 2/F; Robinson’s Magnolia 2/F; SM Megamall. 2/F Mega Fashion Hall; Eastwood Mall, 1/F; UP Town Center, 1/F; available at Rustan’s Beauty Source, Beauty Bar, and Plains and Prints; happyskincosmetics.com; facebook.com/happyskincosmetics; instagram.com/happyskin_ph

L'Oreal Paris

Available at all leading groceries, beauty hubs, and department stores nationwide; lorealparis.com; lorealparisexclusif.ph; facebook.com/LOrealParisPhilippines

MACclick here for a complete list of stores; maccosmetics.com; rustans-thebeautysource.com; maccosmetics.com,ph; facebook.com/MACCosmetics

Revlon
Available at all leading department stores nationwide; revlon.com; facebook.com/Revon; facebook.com/RevlonPhilippines

New Year Updates, Class Schedules, and Blog Stuff

The first week of 2017 is done and everyone's easing their way from Holiday mode to get back into the grind and onto regular programming. I was actually paranoid about getting sick during the Holidays after the late nights, getting to one place and the other and all these activities we have during the Christmas and New Year. There's the feasts too. I actually never had so much food and been to a lot of buffets in a span of a little less than two weeks. Since there's so much going on, I've been sticking to mostly quick burn workouts or just training and working to 30 minutes instead of a full hour. Cleaning out my stuff does count as cardio and powerlifting, right?

The blog also went on vacay mode during this time, and this is actually my first post for the year. Last week, I just wanted to get back on track and lose the feast weight. I started getting more serious about training and cleaning out the baddies in the ref. I'm not really going through a cleanse diet but more of reintroducing good food in my system and reducing the bad stuff, like eating more yogurt instead of ice cream, sicking to brown rice/quinoa, and lessening the chips and dip. I kinda felt heavier too and sluggish, probably from all the refined sugars and all but once I get my energy levels and up and better food fueling me for the day, I'll be back on track. I have more time to cook again too!

108 Sun Salutations 

I ended 2016 and started 2017 with 108 Sun Salutations over at YogaHive. It was my first time doing the 108 Sun Salutations with a large group of people. Sun Salutations in yoga are like our warmups to get the body started. It's a great day to greet the day, just getting good energy and positive vibes into our system before we get to work and all. The number 108 actually has a meaning, and not just a random number chosen to torture us. The number 1, signifies Higher Truth, or in a religion, God. The number 0 stands for emptiness (like we empty out our thoughts or distractions in meditation to really focus) or completeness. The number 8 signifies eternity. Doing 108 sun salutations isn't easy and I admit, I paced myself and paused when I felt my arms and core were about to scream and turn to pudding and came back when I got a bit of strength and energy back. It was a great way to just totally let go of everything bad that happened in 2016 and just start 2017 strong and fresh.

YogaHive teachers Bambikitty, Marky, Paulo, Quino, and Isobelle

With that also I'm announcing as well my class schedules!!! Yaaay! For this month, I will be teaching yin yoga over at YogaHive in Salcedo Village, Makati.

I will be teaching two classes - Wednesday mornings at 9 to 10:15 am and Thursday nights at 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. These are all open level, beginner friendly classes (circus contortionist level flexibility not required) and are great midweek chillax sessions and gente re-energizers. amd recovery stretches for your active yang yoga practice, pole, aerobics, zumba, or even the busy things happening in life.  For the month of January, my classes are more on twists and re-energizing our liver and gallbladder meridians which are very detoxifying to start the year clean and just ridding ourselves of all the negative things physically and emotionally that do not serve us. These twists are also prep for my focus on the  February classes.

So that takes care of my January classes and updates, and now let's talk about this blog. As you all know, blogs evolve throughout the years. I also read up on my entries and just take a good look at my blog sometimes during my spare time to just see what it can be and how it can grow. Before it was just on beauty, makeup, some fashion too and all. Now, I've been actively putting more fitness and health-related posts over here at the blog. It's really been fun and actually, it kept me motivated to eat better and train harder. Did you know that my workouts actually helped me not just get stronger but also it literally kept me sane? The endorphins from working out and exercising plus eating healthy are good for our mental health. Hopefully, these fitness posts I write can encourage us all to live healthier and be happier. I want to add more workouts, recipes, tips, healthy restaurant option reviews, stuff like that.

I will be continuing on with Bambikitty Moving Makeovers showing my makeovers done on friends and colleagues who live healthy, happy, and well-balanced normal lives. There will be more fitness and health posts here but there will still be beauty. Beauty is what keeps this blog grounded, since it is the root of this blog too. There will be tutorials, FOTDs, reviews, swatches, work photos, and everything we love in this beauty blog. In fact, there's one post cooking up, due to insistent demand.

There's so much more to be done, and thank you to those who take time to read my blog in all its craziness and all - cats, compacts, camatkarasanas, and cross-ankle releases. Most of my almost daily shenanigans are happening over at Instagram so you can also follow me there. Hope to see you all soon, comment, follow, leave a smiley, or see you on the mat!