FOTD: Mademoiselle!

Been flooding my Instagram with my FOTDs, so I might as well put them also here in my blog! Pardon the photos as they were only taken by my jurassic phone's camera! =p

A Beginner's Kikay Kit

photo from: http://fashion-beauties.blogspot.com/2010/05/makeup-kits.html

Time and time again I would be asked what are the make up essentials a girl should have. I have planned a lot of time to create a list, but most often than not, the list that I get to create feels too long for a beginner. Having said this, I went on a week long make up kit minimalism (which to everyone who knows me, is a very great feat!) and from there identified the barest minimum make up products I cannot live without.


FACE:

• Primer - This makes the application of make up even and easier to blend. Most primers also help make up adhere longer to the face. This is optional but is nice to have if you have oily skin.
• Foundation/Tinted Moisturizer - Since this creates the blank canvass for your make up, it is very important to note that among all make up products, this should be the one that you should invest in. For foundation, you could either use liquid, cream or powder, depending on the coverage you want to have and of course your skin type. If you feel that foundation is too heavy for you, you could opt for a tinted moisturizer, but only if you have dry skin or you do not oil up that much as the climate we have in our country is really not conducive to wearing tinted moisturizers as a skin base.
• Setting Powder - This could be in pressed or loose form. This as the name suggests, is used to set the liquid or cream foundation to your face, making it more polished looking and long lasting.
• Concealer - for under eyes, use a peachy pink/salmon colored concealer/corrector. This will neutralize the darkness. For spot concealing, make sure to use a shade that is nearest to your skin tone. Remember, a concealer conceals, therefore, it should never be obvious in person and in pictures that you are wearing one!

CHEEKS:

• Blush - This could be in powder, cream or liquid form. I personally prefer powder especially for newbies because for one, the life span is longer and easier to control. I also advise 2 shades, one on the coral/peachy side, and the other in the rosey/pinky tone.
• Bronzer - This is actually optional but a bronzer will really complete the look and make you look more polished if used correctly.

LIPS:

• Lipstick: Like blush, I would suggest one peach/coral, one pinky/rosey, one nude and one red. This could be your only lippies for the next year or two.
• Lip liners: This is optional for a beginner but if you should have only one, get it in a shade nearest to your lip color.

BROWS:

• Brow Pencil - make sure the color is a shade or 2 lighter than your hair color. try to look for cool browns and not the warm, reddish browns. don't ever use black unless you are portraying a villain character. =)
• Brow Powder -  same with brow pencil in terms of shades.
• Brow Gel -  Optional but makes a huge difference. It holds brows in place and the tinted ones lighten up brows in a jiffy, brightening the over all look of the face.

EYES:

• Eye Primer: Makes eye shadows and liners more vivid and adhere longer to the eye lids
• Eye shadows : You can start with matte neutrals. Basic colors will be, black, dark brown, a brown that is nearest your skin tone, and an off white/bone beige color for highlighting.
• Eyeliner : you can start with a black and a brown in either, pencil, lgel or liquid forms. For beginners, i think pencils will be perfect as starters.
• Mascara: a black mascara that is waterproof is all you need. and since you should throw it away after 3 to 6 months of use, it's perfectly okay to use drugstore brands. 

That's it! I cannot think of anything right now that I should be adding for a kikay kit for make up newbies. I will later post one with suggested drugstore/local brands for those on budget or just starting to play with colors. Till then! :)

Initial Review! --- Givenchy Photo Perfexion Fluid Foundation

I believe that if there is one make up product that one should invest for, it has got to be foundation...Of course having good skin to begin with is an added bonus ( a lot of my mua peers woul attest to that!) but because not everyone is blessed with a perfect skin, having the right foundation eases all the make up application after that.

Today I will be reviewing Givenchy Photo Perfexion Fluid Foundation. I got the shade 08 Perfect Amber. I play from NC37 to 42 (MAC) for reference. It has SPF20, which is good for protection, kinda bad for flash photography though from the reviews I have read before purchasing, it was really good for photographs. It promises a dewy finish while giving a long lasting light to medium coverage.

I tested this last November 1st when I went to the cemetery to visit my dad. The weather was kinda cold (I went there in the evening) so I have no idea if it was indeed long lasting on my oily skin or it only lasted because of the weather. I will road test this tomorrow and give an update.

Unblended 

Unblended

Blended

Blended

The consistency is not too runny nor too thick, but what impressed me is that not only does it blend like a 

dream, it's finish gives you a dewy glow without being really dewy...It's hard to explain but, here is what happened, upon blending, I was kinda waiting for it to be absorbed or to dry before I set it with powder, and because it still looks kinda dewy, I thought it was still wet...I got impatient and blotted my face with one ply of tissue paper (yes, that's right!), and to my suprise, nothing transferred! I touched my face to validate and yes, despite of the dewy appearance, my foundation was already absorbed and dry. I didn't even set my whole face with powder, just the t-zone areas where I tend to get really oily. 

It felt so light on my skin, reminds me of a tinted moisturizer sans the greasy feeling. I got home around 3am, and my make up was still intact, no oiling up or whatsoever. Picture below was taken after 6 hours of application.

Overall, I am impressed. I never even thought that it would last me 4 hours but as I have said, it is still too early to tell. I will update this post once I get to test it under normal weather with my normal activities. Till then! :)

Ladelu...Lalalala

I have always believed that wearing something local is better than wearing knock off/imitation products...This goes for almost everything, including and most especially cosmetics and perfumes. The challenge that we have in our country right now is that we only have a few options to choose from as consumers. Sure, there would be some products that would pop out of the market, but oftentimes they are not that competitive enough to replace or even just be in rotation with the imported brands we have been using.

Then one boring weekend, I was browsing through some kikay forums, lurking on some items that were up for sale when I saw a thread regarding a locally manufactured brand of perfume that promises of high quality and affordable price, but what caught my attention is that they said that they don't have inspired perfumes...I got curious, so i went to their website...

http://www.ladelu.net/

I was neither dismayed or impressed. To be fair a local brand, I find their website at par with other non local online boutiques, though they could use a little more funk or zest.

Ordering was a breeze, they accept bank deposits, paypal and gcash. They also accept ayments thru bayadpo.com (customers can pay thru the courier upon receipt of products purchased for a certain fee).

I initially ordered Cotton, which reminded me of Clean...I honestly love it because it reminds me of the scent of  "just got out of the laundry shop clothes". I love that scent because it's simple, it's clean, just like fresh laundry and downy. :)

And because I was impressed, I ordered another 2 bottles.I ordered Good which reminds me of gradeschool and highschool colognes that I used to have but with super longevity. As the name of the scent says, it makes you reminisce of the innocent days. hahaha...clean, crisp and light...perfect for those hot and humid days. Celestial on the other hand is like Good but with more crisp and vibe to it. Think of a young girl with some attitude! I think the lavander did it!

I forgot to mention that when you buy a 50 ml. bottle of Ladelu, you get to receive 3 samples of the scents you have not yet purchased or received as samples. If you want to add more samples, you can ask them and just pay Php20 for each sample vial. Not bad eh? So far I have received samples for all the remaining scents and I can't wait to buy some of them again.

All in all, I only have praises for this company. I was super impressed with the customer service, communication, delivery, the packaging and most importantly, the quality of the products. I just hope that they will come up with more products for the Filipinos who like me are still hoping that the Philippine products can still be competitive with the foreign brands without straining our budget! 

Abbie's Make Over

Model: Abbie
Peg: Neutral Smokey with Pink Lips

Make Up used: I forgot...sorry...

Classic Red Lips and Neutral Eyes

Model: Ennie
Peg: Classic Red Lips and Neutral Eyes

Face:
MAC Studio Fix in NC 35
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW25
Guerlain Parure Brightening Powder

Cheeks:
Burberry Blush in Russet
NARS Laguna as Contour
NARS Albatross as highlight

Eyes:
Benefit Dippin Dots - Lid
Urban Decay Tease - Crease
Urban Decay Booty Call - Brow Bone Highlight

Brows: MAC Brow set in Beguile

Lips:
MAC Ruby Woo

Coral Lips and Blue Smokey Eye

 Disclaimer: Images below were taken by a flimsy camera phone. Model is not a professional one. Just a friend from work who happens to be as kikay as me...

Face:
MAC Studio Fix in NC 35
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW25
Guerlain Parure Brightening Powder

Cheeks:
Tom Ford blush in Flush
Prestige XL Bronzer (as contour)

Brows:  MAC brow set in Beguile

Eyes:
Urban Decay Evidence - lid
Urban Decay Asphalt - outer corner
Urban Decay Kinky - brow bone highlight
Urban Decay Cannonball Mascara
Maybelline Gel Liner (black)

Lips:    Chanel Ravissante