Mini Haul ala Watsons

Today was a "me" day, to put it simply. I got my articles/work done fairly early on in the day and didn't really have anything to do afterwards. Add that to the fact that most of my friends are either working office jobs or at school and you have a very lonely Meg. Thankfully, my sister had a movie voucher that she wasn't going to use and I'd been wanting to take a trip to Watsons so I went on a date with myself.

Before I shuffled off to the movie theater to watch Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (which was actually pretty good - entertaining), I strolled into my own personal black hole, Forever 21, and spotted this beautiful Coral leather jacket.

Php1,560 from Forever21 (I think. Thereabouts. )

They didn't have my size (cries) which, I suppose is okay because it left me with more money to spend on makeup and brushes. I'll just as my friend Josh (fashion blogger/designer - check his blog out if you've got the time, he's quite the personality) to make me one (wishful thinking).

So anyway here's the spread.

Let's break my purchases down, shall we? So in total, I got three blushes from Nichido and four brushes, three from E.L.F (eyes lips face) and one from Marionnaud. 

From left to right, the blushes from Nichido are Sunkissed, Tomato and Peach Glow. Each blush costs Php88. As for the brushes, the first one on the left is a concealer brush from Marionnaud which only costs Php69.75. Next to that (all from e.l.f.) are the Powder Brush at Php249.75, then Blending Brush at Php129.75 and the Foundation Brush for Php129.75 as well. 

Separate reviews on the blushes and brushes are soon to follow, tomorrow in fact, along with much better photos as I've finally got my camera business sorted. Hurray for the resurrection of my Casio Exilim camera!

For my curious non-existent readers, I'm fixing up a "weekly pattern" so to speak with ideas from my own head and those suggested by some of my favorite girlies. Till next time!

Tata!

Because Sleep Eludes Me

It's 2:41 in the morning right and d'you know what? I can't sleep. Surprise, surprise. Recently, I've been successful in getting myself to bed by midnight (which is a feat, I tell you), so I'm quite frustrated that I'm not happily snoozing away right now.

Anyway, I've just been doing what I normally do when I can't sleep, which is watching old videos from my favorite beauty gurus on youtube, Pixiwoo.

Samantha (L) and Nicola (R) - the gorgeous ladies of Pixiwoo.

If you haven't heard of them, definitely check them out on Youtube. They're genius, really. Absolutely brilliant. If you're more of a reader, they've also got a blog which you can check out here.

I've just been watching videos from their reviews playlist and I realized that most of the products that I honest-to-God wish I had with me, right here, right now, were all Clinique products (which is ridiculous, really, because Clinique here in the Philippines is just mad expensive - especially for people like me who slave away on articles and such just to make a pretty penny).

Normally, I tend to force myself to dislike Clinique because of the retail prices of their products here, but I do have a tube of their Almost Lipstick in Black Honey and a tube of their Gloss Wear for Lips in Crystal and they are two of my favorite lip products in the world. By the way, I'm not quite sure if they still make the Gloss Wear, I didn't see it on their website.

Fun fact: Clinique actually carried the Almost Lipstick products in their stores here in Manila back in 2006 then it was discontinued. Now, in 2012, they're reintroducing the Almost Lipsticks to the Asian market as a part of their new Spring line.

Clinique Almost Lipstick retails at around Php1,100, I think. 

Anyway, after watching Pixiwoo's reviews on Clinique foundations and mascaras, I've added two different products to my already very long makeup wish list. The first is the Clinique Stay-True Makeup (which is a liquid foundation). I've mentioned this in one of my earlier posts, but I'm not a big fan of foundation in general. But according to Nic of Pixiwoo, the Clinique liquid foundation for oily or very oily skin is actually really nice.

Clinique Stay-True Makeup will set you back Php1,750.

Who knows, if I get around to having enough cash to actually afford this, it might just renew my faith in foundations. The other product that I really want now is the Clinique High Impact Mascara.

Manila retail price for this unavailable. 

I love mascara, but I hate it when it leaves your eyelashes feeling all twiggy. I also hate it when the mascara refuses to build no matter how many times you've brushed the wand through your lashes. Other than the fact that this mascara is used in Pixiwoo tutorials quite often and has proven to be build-able (just a made a word up there), the wand of the mascara also really appeals to me. So, like the liquid foundation, if I manage to figure out how to make money grow on trees, I'll definitely be grabbing myself a tube of that.

Clinique's Almost Spring Collection

February marked Clinique Philippines' launch of the Chubby Sticks and Almost Lipsticks, so I'm not sure when, or even if, they'll be bringing in the Spring collection for Clinique this year. Haven't heard any news on this yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to give you guys a heads up. 

By the way, for Laura Mercier fans, the Lingerie Eye and Cheek Palette, part of the brand's Spring collection, is already available in Rustans Department Stores and retails at Php2,650.

Bear in mind that this palette IS limited edition as it is part of the Spring collection and it's selling really fast (they only had about 10 left at the Laura Mercier booth in Shang), so if you want one of your own, you better make a lunge for one as soon as you can.

GTKM 2: Skin Care - Megger Style

Hola, makeup addict brethren!

I have always been a firm believer in the thought that makeup should be used to ahem-enhance-cough what yo momma gave you rather than alter your face. Before you get started on the enhance-ification though, it's always nice to have healthy and clean skin. Dirty unkept skin will only lead to an unhygienic mess. A lack of a proper skin care routine will also put you on a one way train to clogged pores and embarassing acne problems. And so, without further ado, I present to you part two of the GTKM Series.

(Warning: Bare face of writer will be showcased and may scare you. Viewer discretion is advised.)

[Cue music.]

I start my skin care routine with the all important samurai/sumo bun. Observe. 

Samurai/sumo bun? 

Check.

 After that, I'll go ahead and take my Clinique Liquid Facial Soap (oily skin formula)... 

All Clinique products used came in a set which set me back Php5,000 but is certainly worth the money as you get tubs and tubs of the products. Clinique is available in Rustans Department Stores. 

...pump a good quarter sized dollop on my palm, and then start working that into a decent lather on my face. Now, ideally, what I should look like at this point is this...

But I'm not in the habit of lying to myself, so in reality, what I do look like (and regrettably so) is this. 

After a good, thorough rinse, I pick up my massive (seriously, massive, like the skin conscious mafia hit woman could conceivably use it to whack somebody) bottle of Clinique Clarifying Lotion...

All Clinique products used came in a set which set me back Php5,000 but is certainly worth the money as you get tubs and tubs of the products. Clinique is available in Rustans Department Stores.

...a cotton pad...

...or a couple cotton balls...

...doesn't really matter, take one or two pumps of the clarifying lotion and wipe it all over my face. 

Next up is moisturizer. Since I've got combination-oily skin, I use a the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. For those who have dry skin, you'll want to use the lotion version of the product. 

All Clinique products used came in a set which set me back Php5,000 but is certainly worth the money as you get tubs and tubs of the products. Clinique is available in Rustans Department Stores.

I use one pump of the moisturizing gel, about the size of a pea...

...give it a good rub in between my palms (clean palms mind you, you don't want to mix all kinds of gunk into your moisturizer)...

 ...then rub it gently onto my skin and give it a few moments to really sink into your skin after.

The skin around your eyes is extremely sensitive and the first signs of aging typically appear around the area. To make sure I don't age too fast for my age in the eye department, I use a moisturizing serum made specifically for the eyes. The product I use is the Eco Vert Eye Serum. 

 Got this small bottle of Eco Vert Eye Serum as a part of a sample set that cost me around Php300. Can't remember the actual prize as I got this a while back. All products from the Evo Vert line are available in any Faceshop store.

I take a generous amount and dab it under my eyes and on my eyelids with my ring fingers to avoid any unnecessary tugging at the skin. Coincidentally, eye serum is actually also a good way to keep your lips hydrated, so if you're not in the habit of licking your lips, I recommend using a teeny bit of the serum on your smoochers as well. 

Take product, like so....

And dab, like so....

Avoid getting the product in your eyes or wind up in pain, like so.

And that's pretty much it really. Nice, quick and simple. Unless there's something really wicked going on with my skin and pores, what you've seen is my typical skin care routine morning and evening. Although in the morning, I will use one of two sunblocks (either the Sun Protective Gel from Forever Flawless or the Sun Guard All Proof SPF 50 from Etude House). 

Whoops, the picture is flipped, sorry about that. Anyway, the Flawless Sun Protective Gel came as a part of the Skin Whitening Set which costs Php1,200. You can get the set at any Forever Flawless center, but I got mine at SM Megamall. The Sun Guard is from Etude House and costs Php398. 

And that's it! I'm very happy with all of the products that I'm currently using. The Clinique products that I use are specially made for combination oily skin. They've got skin care lines for all types of skin so you can visit their website to determine what type of skin you've got and which line would benefit you the most. I know that Clinique is expensive here, but the set that I bought included surprisingly large bottles that will last you a long time. It also comes with a travel pack so that you don't have to lug huge bottles around and about when you're out of town. 

Hope this was educational and until next time, keep your skin clean and scrub-a-dub-dub away every morning and night. 

Peace out!