review : Canmake Cheek&Cheek in Orange Bouquet

Ever since my favorite Etude House blush decided to break into pieces and I was forced to throw it out, I have been on the hunt for the perfect orange blush. I wanted to buy the same one from Etude, but for some reason I couldn't find it anywhere. Luckily, I received this cute orange blush from Canmake last year.



Compared to my Etude House Corset Color blush, the Canmake Cheek&Cheek line is matte and has no shimmer in it. This one, Orange Bouquet, has two shades of orange. The shade on the left is a peach shade, while the one on the right is more coral. The thing to do, I think, is to mix the two colors to get a nice gradation when you apply, but I personally prefer to use just the latter. Both colors are pretty pigmented, and a little goes a long way. The brush that comes with it is a bit hard to use, so I usually use a different brush for it. The main issue I have with it is that it is a bit chalky. I've always used and preferred shimmery blushers, so I don't really know. Whenever I mix the two shades, I tend to have trouble with blending; color seems to just sit on top of your skin. Once it's blended out though, the color is really pretty.


Sadly, this blush didn't quite do it for me. I do use it from time to time though. If only it were easier to use, I'd use it everyday. My current blush is also from Canmake, Cheek Gradation in Peach Pink. I like it more than this one, but it hasn't quite reached -favorite blush- status yet. I'm planning on buying another blush from Canmake soon, hopefully I'll like it more than the ones I have.

mellow

Thrifted dress, platform sneakers c/o Rainbowholic, Wear Vintage glasses, apple necklace c/o Chicnova.

First outfit post of the year! Earlier today I shot photos for a makeup tutorial that a lot of people have been requesting, one of mori girl (inspired) makeup! Inspired, because I took a few liberties while creating the look.. maybe one day I'll create one that's very true to the mori girl essence. The look that I created, by the way, is the one I have on in the photos above. I meant to do a mori girl look that would go well with the makeup, but for some reason all of my fluffy jackets seem to have gone missing.. so I opted for a dress that can be used for both mori girl and fairy kei. Going out to shoot without a jacket on turned out to be a bad idea though! Half the time while we were shooting I was shivering like crazy, complaining about the wind and the cold. I feel a bit guilty since my friends in Japan have it much worse, but I really cannot stand the cold! Afterwards I just had to have my coffee fix to warm me up.. Not that it worked though, haha. I seriously cannot wait for warmer weather. In the meantime, I'll be hiding under a fluffy pillow and inside my blanket.

review : Sigma F88 Flat Angled Kabuki

When it comes to makeup, for the longest time, all I've ever been concerned with was making my face look as flawless as I possibly could. It still holds true until now, but getting a perfect base without me looking like I had ten layers of makeup on was proving to be quite a handful, especially since my foundation of choice (the Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation) is a rather tricky one to work with. I've been using the Colorstay for years now, but I've never really found an application method that worked for me. I've tried a ton of brushes, sponges in different shapes, Beauty Blender dupes, my fingers, everything. Though they did do the job nicely, I always felt like my foundation was just lying on top of my skin, like a mask. So when the New Year came in, I decided to finally get a nice, high-quality brush from Sigma for my base makeup. I got a Sigma F88 Flat Angled Kabuki from MakeupHolics, where it was on sale for just P800. It took me a while to decide between this one and its more popular sister, the Sigma F80. I had to read a lot of reviews and watch demo videos on Youtube.. I even used Sigma's "Find Your Perfect Brush" chart for help! I eventually settled on the former, as I felt working with an angled brush would be much easier for me.

I've only used the F88 thrice, but I doubt I'll ever use a different brush for foundation. I've used a lot of brushes for foundation-- The Face Shop's Circle Face Brush, the elf Studio Powder Brush and Stippling Brush, Dashe's Foundation Brush --none of them can compare to this one. It's so unbelievably soft and makes base makeup application a breeze to do. I use it in an alternating stippling and swiping motion to spread the foundation all over my face, then stipple a second layer on areas that need extra coverage. I love it a lot!! (*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ))

Now my eyes have been opened, I need more suggestions - do you use Sigma brushes, and have any favorites? I'm currently eyeing some of their eye brushes, like the Sigma E25 Blending Brush (which is supposedly a dupe for the highly-praised MAC 217). Let me know in the comments!

* * * Sigma brushes are available online on SigmaBeauty.com. For residents of the PH, you can get them locally from MakeupHolics.

Kuala Lumpur, 2013 – day four

By the fourth and last day in KL, I was already coming down with a fever.. I felt so lethargic, all I wanted to do was stay in bed until our check-out time. But I knew we had limited time before our flight back to Manila to buy souvenirs for everyone back at home, so I dragged myself out of bed and pushed myself out the door. Aian and I went to Central Market in Pasar Seni, which is a popular place for buying souvenirs. Took lots of photos as well. Enjoy!

Kuala Lumpur, 2013 – day three

Day 3 in Kuala Lumpur started later than planned.. I knew that packing our four-day stay in KL full of activities was going to be tiring, but I wasn't expecting us to be super worn out after just the second day, haha! I even got a slight fever, wtf. We left the hotel at lunchtime, and headed for KLCC for Comic Fiesta Day 2!

Kuala Lumpur, 2013 – day two

Day two in KL started quite early.. at least much earlier than my days in Manila. I woke up at 9 and took a shower, then Aian and I got ready for Comic Fiesta, the biggest and most-anticipated ACG event in Malaysia. With high-profile guests such as redjuice, VOFAN, stayxxxx, Yuegene, etc.. It's no wonder that even non-Malaysians such as Aian and myself would travel all the way to KL just to attend! Because it was my first ever convention outside of the Philippines, I felt like I was going to my first ever con! It was 2007 all over again for me, haha! Since not a lot of people from the PH knew about Comic Fiesta, I made sure I took a lot of photos for everyone to see! Enjoy! (~￣▽￣)~

Kuala Lumpur, 2013 – day one

Hi everyone, I'm back! This is a bit late, but happy New Year! How was everyone's holidays? The last few weeks of my 2013 were craaazy! Manila → Kuala Lumpur → Manila → Pampanga → Manila → Nueva Ecija and finally, back to Manila on the first day of 2014. Whew! Not sure if I can get used to that kind of life, haha! *hugs bed* Travelling to KL was the beeest though. Probably because it was the place I was most unfamiliar with. I've always wanted to travel, explore the world outside. And by that, I mean be able to explore unfamiliar places, at my own pace. I've traveled a bit before, I've been to Boracay and Cebu and a handful of other places, but all those times I was with family, so I didn't have a lot of freedom to run around and to actually ~get lost~ in the places we went to. One of my life goals has always been that-- to travel, alone, or with one or two close friends. I've always known that I'd go and do it someday, I just didn't know that that someday would happen so soon! That someday just happened to be last year, on December of 2013! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧