Bambikitty Moving Makeover: Raissa

What I love about these fit girls is that they have such wonderful stories to share with how they went in their fitness journey. Aside from hearing them, I love witnessing their fitness journey unfold before my own eyes.

I met Raissa at the yoga studio. She was still a Vinyasa yoga teacher in training and I was in my pre-teacher training yogi self. We usually attend the same classes and get to hang out after class.

Once, my friend (and fitness blogger) Nikki had a  training program and she did that program with a couple of other friends. I've witnessed her do her HIIT and circuit training after yoga (joined one session as well and didn't die!). Coupled with a few lifestyle changes and diet (which includes one cheat meal a week), I've seen Raissa trim down, tone up, and strengthen. She lost weight the old fashioned way, making it a lifestyle change rather than just vanity, which is the key to a very successful fitness journey. She has maintained the figure and upped her fitness game as well as living a well-balanced life. As of the moment, Raissa teaches Vinyasa classes, Hot Yoga, and Power Yoga. I attend her classes which have both restorative and relaxation as well as challenge to help you go deeper in your yoga practice. It was through her that I discovered and embraced yoga being everyday a leg day (also helped with my transitions and practices where I tend to arm out everything and sometimes solely rely and blame things on flexi). I recommend them at any time of the day, whether it's the morning when you want to wake up, or when you're just tired from work. The energy is steady enough while feeling the challenge and it winds down slowly towards then end, and you get and feel the relaxing benefits of yoga, like you came from a spa.

💪

A photo posted by Rai Gatus (@raissagatus) on Oct 27, 2016 at 3:32am PDT

With regards to her exercise regimen, Raissa does yoga, rowing, and cycling. She loves taking walks as well (walking is also a sneaky way of getting some movement to your system).

Two things we also have in common aside from fitness are beauty and food! We love food with flavor and character, in short, happy, good food. We have our veggies as well as our cheese and ice cream. She also introduced me to stay-put makeup products made by her good friend and we talk about our love for brow makeup. We have the same mantra about brows - never leave the house without awesome, gorgeous brows. See how I love these girls?

I did Raissa's look after she taught a Power Yoga class. She would still have one class at night so I made sure the makeup stays put (I used primer, long-lasting foundation, waterproof mascara, and makeup setting spray) as she would be going out after.

Since she was game for makeup, I did warm smokey eyes on her using coppers, browns, and a tad of red or chestnut, a look I fell in love with. I did a nude lip on her (Revlon Ultra HD Matte lip color in Seduction), which are very Kylie inspired. Cheeks were warm and peachy and I added highlight using my Lou-minizer palettes. I skipped the falsies, though as she would be teaching one more yoga class.

I styled her hair in soft curls, the type that when it loosens up, it will look like the donya blow-dry, with the curls loose and volumized just at the ends.

You can catch Raissa's classes at Beyond Yoga branches. Log on to Beyond Yoga's Instagram account for their schedules. Follow Raissa as well on Instagram at @raissagatus to get updates on her fitness journey as well as her adventures off and on the mat. Thank you Raissa for being my December girl!

Bambikitty Moving Makeover: Marissa

Marissa is also one who got me into doing these features. In fact, she organized this get - together in her awesome place with wonderful natural light. Like Cita, I met Marissa in pole dance class. She's the one who will also direct your pole photo of the day so it's picture-perfect. She will spot you until you get the pose, and once your are stable and can drink tea in your pose, she will run, get your phone (or her phone) and take several photos for Instagram. Gotta love these pole mommies!

Marissa is a mom of 2 who's already in her 40s, but I keep telling her she looks so much younger and better than her throwback photos 10 or so years ago.

doing pole doubles with teacher Duds

One thing I love about her is her love for the awesomest yet most basic necessity in life : Food! She is a real foodie (she's less picky than me) yet despite the #thisiswhyidonthaveabs hashtag, her photos betray that statement because she does have amazing abs which shows how strong she is. Krispy Kreme glazed donut? Yes please! Salad? Sure! Lechon belly? A family favorite!

#draping #fitting my new #KATRICEwear #bespoke #capelet #playsuit in #soft #flowy #christmas #red #cotton May be nice in a different color so it doesn't seem like a #superhero 😜 #madetomeasure #mto #madetoorder

A photo posted by marissa ampil mendoza (@marissaampilmendoza) on Sep 22, 2016 at 11:57pm PDT

She's also our go-to person to have custom-made clothes. Our weird pole dancer bodies have actually made us semi-give up on RTW and just run to Marissa to have outfits custom-made. This lady is the one behind Katricewear, which does made-to-measure outfits.  She understands our broader backs and shoulders and cross-ankle legs and how off-shoulder outfits pop out of our shoulders and become weird boat-necks. I still have to muster enough confidence for the belly-low plunging top or jumpsuit she tells me to wear - bawal skintone net (one day, I will. bumubwelo lang) .

We were so engrossed with telling stories to each other we forgot to take a super before photo: So this is her photo with just base makeup, which is a somewhat before since I used foundation with medium-light coverage. The eyes are still subtle smokey brown, because I wanted this to be like a look you would wear going out, and a bit of "smoke" on the eyes looks amazing in photos and makes our eyes pop (yes in makeup whatever it is, there's this obsession on the eyes).

I usually see Marissa in bright pink lipstick. I still kept the pink but made it a lighter shade, not really the  rose pink but the light fresh pink, She always wears her hair straight. I tried to add just some curl at the ends and gave the bangs some volume. When the curls straightened via a bit of finger-combing, it became just relaxed waves, like the not-super-straight hair trend from New York Fashion Week.

Doing her makeup has been fun. She's so funny she's making me eat as I do her makeup as there were sliced Fuji apples and potato chips on the table. She's an amazing host, a talented pole dancer and entrepreneur, and she's got a beautiful and well-balanced life.

It was a super fun makeup session! The looks were so much fun to do on the gorgeous ladies that I have put makeup on.

Bambikitty Moving Makeover: Cita

I mentioned in my update a new feature in my blog, which I called Bambikitty Moving Makeovers featuring makeovers that I have done on some of my friends. I chose ladies who are inspiring on their own and as they have given me positive energy and motivation, I hope they do to you too and spread wonderful vibes. I call it moving makeover because I'm  like a mobile salon! :)

I start first with one of the ladies who got me doing this feature in the first place.

Cita is like a living Barbie doll. She's got the perfect hourglass figure, long legs, and long, flowy hair. This Barbie doll, however, is no limp noodle because she's super strong and athletic. She does pole, goes to the gym religiously, runs, and does Crossfit. She also takes wonderful care of her three children. Yes ladies, this sexy, strong lady with amazing muscle tone and rock-hard abs is actually a mom of three.

Doing a handspring in their pole dance recital last year

I decided to give her the favorite celebrity look during events and noontime variety shows: The smokey brown eye and used a nude brown lipstick to match because browns are super back right now and I'm quite obsessed with them myself. This makeover was done after her pole dance class, you guys. Cita sure does have a lot of energy.

Without makeup, Cita has excellent bone structure. Her skin is gorgeous and when I asked about her skincare, it's super low-maintenance. That's what I love so much about these fit girls - despite a super low-maintenance and simple skin care routine, their skin looks amazing, toned with a natural glow.

I used Shu Uemura Face Architect foundation, which feels super light on the face while delivering excellent, dewy skin finish. It's actually one of my personal favorite foundations. Contours were done to achieve warmth and dimension. I didn't really play up on the blush but kept it light with a slight, dewy shimmer since her skin is already naturally rosy. I really wanted to make her eyes pop with her smokey eye.

I didn't use falsies here and used lots of volumizing mascara for to really frame her eyes. A little drop of gloss on the center of her lip to for a highlight.

As for her hair, I smoothed it out before setting it in big curls with a large-barrel curling iron as I did her makeup. When I let her hair down, I curled sections of her hair with a conical curling iron used to make mermaid curls and separated it when it cooled. A bit of teasing on the crown and some hairspray to hold and she was good to go. I just didn't overdo the hairspray as she has very fine hair and a lot of product might weigh her hair down.

This is one way of showing how brown can look sexy and gorgeous and not too tita and ageing. Cita looks like a Barbie doll - ready to work out!

Thank you very much Cita for letting me do your makeup!