stila smudge pot gel eyeliner

its the best of both worlds!

first, because ive tried pencil eyeliner from l'oreal, the noir eye smoker

which is ok if you're after the smudge look, coz pencil eyeliners are the best for smudged smokey eyes.

and having tried liquid eyeliner from 22k, which i would  really love because its the best in control, its as simple as drawing on your eyes, and you get the most defined lines ever.  but the pointed felt, as good as it feels on my eyelids, dries in a few days, which translates to poor investment. 

and i also tried to buy a hello kitty gel eyeliner but it smudges even if its dry, so i made a mental note not to buy products unless they have been proven and tested by others.  which means i have to search the internet for reviews first before buying something.

so my current favorite is now stila smudge pot!

i've read that its the most favorite gel eyeliner so i tried one from ebay, i cannot remember how much but it wouldn't be more than 10 dollars, and it's fairly small when i received it but i don't use much so i guess it will last for a year, maybe.

and it really is the best!  its creamy and simple to apply, and with the correct eyeliner brush (i use the one from watson's) you can make a decent line on your eye, you can even wing it if you want.  just let it dry (4-6 seconds) and it won't smudge even until you sleep (or i, sleep, in the afternoons), not like loreal where i wake up with raccoon eyes...

i love it!

the weekend before christmas!

alu my sister!  i don't know if you're the only one reading my blog but its for all of you in manila to let you know how im doing here, kind of like my public diary exposed for all of you haha..

anyways, the night before the national day holidays, me, maricel, irish and her wanna-be suitor florin went to gosi and had coffee and finalized our schedule for thursday, which is, to have another city centre day.

and so we did go to bcc last thursday, from 11 am until 8 pm.  bambi said it wasn't normal, and i have to get my head checked for psychological problems.  hello, kulang pa nga yun e... di ko pa nalibot lahat-lahat.

(bcc photos)

anyways, bati na kami, but when he saw my post in facebook regarding jacob black this morning, his ears started to give off steam again...

i don't know why im like this, but maybe its because he left me to wander alone a lot of times while he's playing his computer games and so i looked for things to keep me entertained.  and here comes makeup and twilight.  what is he complaining about?  im a completely normal human being.

so while we were in bcc, i saw some shoes that were on sale.  i bought two for my brothers.  that's why i had to fix my bag today, to see if i still have space for pasalubongs and stuff.

i was originally planning to bring only one backpack since i already went home last may and i wasn't planning to give anything to anyone (kuripot haha), but these shoes changed my plan.  so i took a medium-sized stroller bag and included some clothes that were just sitting in my closet and thought that maybe they'll be of better use to my sister, the other one, rj makulit... she adores me.  i don't know why.

so i think i only have some small spaces left and im just gonna buy chocolates and stuff for the family tree... im bad in remembering them all.  i usually just buy stuff and let kristelle distribute them, otherwise i would probably forget the important people.  she wouldn't.  she's a family girl.  and she knows everyone.

next step for me is to pick the important kikay stuff from my drawer, and from that, still i have to pick the ones i can't go without:

i really planned on going light, so ill just pick my favorite brushes, blush, favorite primer, lip gloss and so on.. they will go inside this cute hello kitty bag i bought from ebay:

it opens up like this and it has a mirror, too!

and i probably picked mostly everything, coz i don't buy what i wouldn't use.  but the fave among the faves are:

hello kitty contact lens case (from ebay.  it has sanitized tongs if you don't want to touch your lenses, and a small squirtable bottle for your solution inside)

Be givenchy.  bambi bought this in the airport last may before we went home.  in my excitement i forgot that i had no perfume on. how gross if i was hugged and i smelled like a 9-hour flight... and i only like a few fragrances, coz other smells gives me a headache.  this one's a dream.  but i specifically use this only when im in manila, kind of like a homesick scent...

1.  sephora eye primer

2.  nivea 10-hour lipstick & gloss

3.  mikajy lip brush (i love this!)

4.  loreal eyesmoker in black (my current fave eyeliner)

5.  benefit lip beads (lip exfoliator)

6.  maybelline xxl curl mascara (super long & thick lashes)

7.  contact lens case

8.  sephora face primer

9.  benefit high beam

10.  prestige ultimate brow definer (why i love it?  it has a liner on one end, and a mascara-like brush on the other end)

11. mikajy blush

12. 22k lip palette

13. bare escentuals mineral veil

14. benefit some kind-a gorgeous foundation faker

15. bare escentuals mineral foundation

16.  bare escentuals clear radiance (subtle shimmer without dewiness)

17. benefit blush in thrrrob

18.  olay total effects 7x (my new moisturizer)

1. colourland face brush

2.  bare escentuals flawless face brush

3.  colourland lip brush ( i use it on my eyeliner, and it totally uses every centimeter of it!)

4. colourland flat stiff brush

5.  colourland angled brow brush

6.  bare escentuals maximum concealer brush

7.  angled eyeliner brush (i got it from watson's)

8.  paula's choice pencil brush

9.  smashbox shadow brush

10.  nars smudge brush

im not planning to bring my konad stuff, although i would love to paint rj's nails... i just want to bring stuff that i wouldn;t bring back, coz i know when i come back i'll have a lot to bring.  so maybe next time.

and since i have been in manila earlier this year already, im not planning on splurging anywhere.  ijust want to spend time with my little monster...


to my officemates: thank you for covering up for me.  have a nice holiday!

ps. this is where im going:

manila ocean park*

market market*

sm bicutan*

sm mall of asia*

*images from the internet, no copyright infringement intentions!

olay natural white

guys, share ko lang...

i am getting too many happy compliments on my face after olay natural white. i only added it to this month's grocery shopping to try, but irish and maricel already noticed it after one day.

it was when maricel took a photo of me and irish first week of september and she said my cheeks were sparkling while she was trying to focus the camera on us.

remember this?

so i want to share the product to my cheek's success (corny):

my new facial wash, non drying, not bubbling either.

but leaves my face squeaky clean.  although i wash my face first with belo whitening soap...  they said double cleansing your skin is a must-do every night, after the day's pollution.

and my moisturizer.  you can see the effect after using.  no lie.  or maybe it's like a tinted moisturizer although instead of giving tint to your face, it whitens.

i stopped using toner coz i've read that it dries up your skin and not using a toner doesn't make much difference (i know, im gullible, right?)  and it was too bad coz i just stocked up on my loreal pre minimizing toner a while ago...

in fairness, my toner was non-allergenic and you can really see on your cotton pads the dirt that normal washes cannot remove, but ive grown lazy using it at the moment.

neutrogena's deep clean is my weekly scrub, and fair and lovely was my previous moisturizer (i was loyal for three years, san ka pa!).





anyways, of course to each her own. this, in my opinion is the so far my best moisturizer. it kind of put a flawless mask on your face and you can see your face's nice finish immediately. the facial wash doesn't have too much bubble, but you'll feel and see the difference on your face after using it, i noticed smaller pores and luminiscent finish.

try them.  you might like the improvement.  as they say, 'change is good'.

and i love them both!

thank you to my sponsors (hehe)

i love this pic! see how my cheeks shine?

i don't have special regimens, and i use only the affordable products on my face. always i avoid to be high-maintenance.


it was interesting coz when i was in highschool i had oily skin, but in mid-college when i went to dubai i must've left my oil glands at home coz my skin started to dry.

then my skin thought it would be funny to try all skin types coz when we transferred here in bahrain i started to have combination skin - oily on the t-zone and dry everywhere else.


anyways, my daily regimen 101. (with matching reviews in fairness)

to start with, i wash my face in the morning only after i take the shower. they said the stuff you use on your hair reacts with your sensitive face and more or less it might be the cause of your skin problem. i just use normal soap, although using clean and clear, belo or skinwhite soaps shows better results.

my secret weapon - bare escentuals skin rev-er upper. it preps my face for mineral foundation, and helps it last longer.  although it smells weird, it really makes a difference using this first before foundation.



then my daily face routine is to buff bare escentuals mineral foundation, then my mineral veil and finally - clear radiance.



the fine mineral powder foundation hides the discolorations and pigmentations, while the mineral veil gives a "soft focus camera lens effect" (no lie, this is the one i can't not do coz it gives my face a soft finish), and the clear radiance gives me that glow on my cheeks.

i started using these since i saw their video, and i never bought another foundation again.  i really do not want heavy makeup, and this is perfect for me.  it's so light, you wouldn't even feel like you're wearing foundation.  and it's really pure, the tagline says 'you can even sleep with these on your face'.  plus it lives up to its name with regards to effectiveness.  and easy to apply, which is the number 1 reason why i use it since i usually wake up 30 minutes before our office starts.  who wouldn't want to use this?

unfortunately they are available only from US, so i buy on ebay to stock up way before i run out.


if i want a dewy look ill use the body shop's illuminating vitamin e cream on my cheeks. it's tested and proven, and it was so convincingly beautiful that ariane actually started using this when i finally told here why my cheeks are glowing, after months of her asking me.



and at night-time if i want sparkles ill probably dust my fez with penshoppe's face it face glitter. it doesn't have big glitters, just small fine ones perfect for your face.



and for my most healthy-looking blush! ive been using it for 6 years now. it's also a good lip stain but it fades fast. it's just perfect as a blush. ariane became an avid fan, too. i've been getting the most compliments saying i have natural healthy-looking cheeks because of this baby:



in the afternoons when i come back to the office and i want a darker blush i use bourjois' rose amber blush. it helps contour my face to eliminate chubby cheeks! ariane asked me about this blush too but it didn't work for her coz we have different skintones.



for mascaras i either choose avon black waterproof mascara if i want dark eyelashes, or the body shop's brown mascara to accent my brown eyes, or borjouis deep black mascara if i want lengths. i got this for free and i wasn't expecting much from it but it is awesome because it makes my eyelashes look longer and it looks so natural!  the body shop makes my lashes thick, while avon makes them long.




for face brushes i never use anything else with mineral foundation except for this facebrush from bare escentuals called flawless face brush. i love it coz it's so soft, it makes the mineral powder feels like silk on my face! the next one is an angled blush brush, good for contouring your cheeks. the two ones are from hongkong and im not using them except if my facebrush falls on the floor on one clumsy morning.



i wash these with jared's shampoo by the way:





then the lips. these are my favorites: the battered one is the body shop's born with it strawberry lipbalm for a more healthy looking slightly-red lips. ariane tipped me that. i use it everyday and it's always in me bag, then penshoppe's fruity pout lip jelly if i want mega awesome glossy lips, and my everyday balm, chapstick, which never fails me. i always stock up on this when im in manila.



for lipsticks, well, i don't really use lipsticks coz i hate their smell. plus i hate their quick disappearances when i needed them the most. i use nivea 10-hour extreme resist lipstick, which comes in a creamy tube.  so far, the longest it stayed on my lips was 5 hours.  i don't use the attached gloss though, coz it looks so oa for normal days...



this is a staple in my bag: a mini-mineral veil and the body shop's retractable brush. for oily t-zones.




then at night if i feel grubby ill wash with my sister's neutrogena, otherwise just my favorite whitening soap again. then loreal's pore tightening toner. if i have remaining makeup on ill wipe it with a makeup cleanser (my sister left me with givenchy clean-it-all), and i moisturize. always i moisturize.





in all fairness, i know every girl has their own, be it quick or time-consuming, as long as you're comfortable with it.

these are all basic, and i know i will add more come salary time. i will gladly update as soon as i have a new pretty discovery!