Announcing Our First Giveaway Contest

Remember on our 50th post I mentioned there would be a giveaway contest when we reach post number 100? Well, we are on entry number 91 and I decided to host a contest for you guys. The truth is I really want to do this for a while already and you all mean a lot to me. Blogging would be really boring if I have nobody to read what i write. You guys really encourage me and push me forward in my writing. When I first started blogging, my one and only goal was to survive the first 3 months and as of today, three months just went by some couple of hours ago! So yeah, we made it! *proceed to dance incoherently*

The banner I made to take you to the contest

During these 3 months, My Makeup Blog went through a lot of changes including posting 7 days a week to mostly weekdays, having a face lift thanks to Our Blogger Templates, being a part of MyBlogLog community, and receiving two nominations from fellow bloggers just to name a few. I have no monetary gain from blogging and the New York Times has not written about me yet. However, the joy I receive from blogging is unmeasurable: I get to meet really cool people who also love makeup (yeah, I'm talking about you lots), I get to write what I love, and I get to learn about lots of things. If you have noticed, my writing does improve since day one: now I'm actually trying to deliver information in a more compact way than the lengthy Bill Clinton-esque type that I did back in June.

So why am I hosting a givaway to y'all?

Click "Read More" to find out :)

The answer is very simple: To show my appreciation to you guys. Without you, my readers and fellow makeup lovers, this blog would not have made it until today. You are the force behind this and this giveaway contest is for you.

So what are the prizes? There will be 2 packages for two lucky winners: the Travel set and the Girly set. All of the items were purchased out of my own pocket and are brand new.

Set #1: The Travel Set

This set includes four items (L-R): Victoria's Secret Dream Angel mini perfume and body lotion in Heavenly (their #1 best selling perfume), Bodysource Soy wash cycle shampoo, and Clinique pencil sharpener. This set is suitable for the beauty addict who holds a lot of frequent travel mileage.

Set #2: The Girly Set
This set is aptly called "The Girly Set" as it epitomizes the girlishness in all of us. The set includes 3 items (L-R): Hard Candy Bling Bling eye color set in Emerald (has a base color, a black cream eyeshadow, and an emerald pigment jar), Avon Sweet Honesty perfume spray (smells very fresh, clean, and feminine), and Hard Candy Sweet Cheeks liquid blush in Girlie.

Here's the important part: How to participate

• Click here to go to the giveaway contest web page hosted by Mister Poll (same service I used on my last poll.)
• Enter your name and email address: I will contact you via your email if you win so please enter a valid email address that you most frequently check (if you're like me having more than 1 email addresses!) I respect your privacy and will not disclose your email address to anybody.
• Choose what set you want to win and I will select one winner from each group: you need to choose wisely though, if only one person choose one set while a whole bunch of you choose the other, that one person will win the set by default. So again, choose wisely!
  
• If you like to give me some comments or feedback, please write it down in the last question as well.
• This contest is indeed opens to everyone worldwide and is running from now until 11:59 pm Eastern time on Thursday, October 9th, 2008. People in different time zones please synch your clock accordingly. The poll will automatically close after that and your entry will be invalid.
• Each of you can only enter the contest once: participating more than once will void your chance of winning the prize.
  
• You have to enter via the aboved link, any comments in this blog does not qualify you as a participant.
  
• After announcing the winners, I will contact you via the email addresses that you provided for your actually mailing address. Once the packages are mailed, I am not responsible for their lost and damages. If the winner is overseas, it will take longer for your prize to arrive so be patient.
  

So go ahead and participate. I will post the pink banner to link you to the giveaway web page as well. Again, I really appreciate your readership and this contest is dedicated to all of you.

Take care and good luck,
Your Makeup Blogger

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MAC Emanuel Ungaro: It's On!

Today is MAC day for me: first post of the day was about Viva Glam V lipstick and the second post of the day is about MAC's newest limited edition: MAC Emanuel Ungaro. As I mentioned many times before, this is the most anticipated collection for me because I love the ultra-feminine colors that Ungaro does in his collections. Last night I did the craziest thing ever since I started using MAC: I stayed up really late to see when this collection was launched online. Until around 1 am, I did not see anything and went to bed with disappointment.

This morning, the first thing I did was to check MAC website again and until 9:15 am there was still no new collection, boo! But then it happened y'all, it happened!

MAC Emanuel Ungaro is officially launched and ready to order!
Yay!

I have to say this year's designer's collection (Ungaro) is much bigger than last year's (McQueen): more colors, more variety, and more strange stuff we don't usually buy (beauty powder, cream colour base, see thru lip color). However, it lacks one thing that I really really love: the paint pot.

Initially, there was one paint pot listed in the lineup called "Essential Beige" and until a few days ago, MAC people in the web chat swore to me that it would be included in the collection. However, I logged on today and spoof! No paint pot for me! Why MAC why? Why do you tease me? You know I heart paint pots! I do hope MAC people read this blog entry and release that paint pot for me. From the way it was described to me, it's a frosty version of Painterly and I bet it would be one heck of a pretty lady.

What am I going to buy, that's a tough question. One thing I know for sure: I need to place my order ASAP! MAC LEs like this one are notoriously quick to sell. I missed McQueen by an inch and in my life, I regret not experiencing the awesome blue-green paint pot from that collection, damn! So please peeps, don't make that mistake and go online now to get yourself some Ungaro makeup.

For now, I have to get over my sorrow of not having Essential Beige and place an order. Here's a free shipping code for all: CREAMSHEEN. If this one does not work, here's another one: CS91LIVECHAT.

MAC also put a whole lot of products on the "Good Bye" category: Select Tint, Hyper Real foundation, cream blush, Studio Mist foundation, Full Coverage foundation, Brow Shader, Brow Finisher, etc. So if you think your favorite products are in the chopping board, please head straight to MAC and order yourself some of them. I see some of the foundation colors are getting the axe and once you find your perfect color, it's hard to see it go. So hurry, click here to see their Good Bye list.

Have fun ladies and please share what you ordered from this collection, ok? I'd love to hear from you.

Take care,
Your Makeup Blogger

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Lippie Week-Day 2: MAC Viva Glam V Lipstick

Let me tell you one secret of mine: I'm a gloss girl! If I had to choose to wear a lipstick or a lip gloss in the same color, I would choose the gloss version in a heart beat. Most lipsticks are drying and not comfortable to wear to me... until I was introduced to MAC lustre lipsticks! MAC, as we all know, is really famous of their lipstick formulas, especially the lustre ones. These lipsticks are pigmented, shiny, and moisturizing. On top of that, they also smell really good: sweet like cupcakes.

MAC Viva Glam V lipstick is one of a few MAC lipsticks that I own and it was a good decision for me to finally have this lipstick. The Viva Glam family is the group of MAC lipsticks created which benefits go to MAC AIDS Fund. The fund was created in 1994 and is used to support men, women, and children affected with HIV/AIDS globally. The wonderful thing about this fund is not just the profit from selling Viva Glam lipsticks and lip glosses go to the fund but every single cent of that $14 USD you pay per product will be contributed. This practice is very uncommon in the business world as most companies choose to donate the profit only.

MAC Viva Glam V as well as other VG lipsticks have red colors instead of silver adornments

The beautiful VG V lipstick

The first time I saw VG V lipstick, I was captivated by the color. This color is described as "neutral pink with pearl" but it looks somewhat brownish-pink to me. Like other VG lipsticks, this version is also universally flattering to all skin tones and colors. I kept on picking the same VG V that the MAC counter scattered around their display since they have more than one lipsticks of the same color. After the 3rd time picking it up, I decided to get it and for the first time I shopped at MAC that a MAC makeup artist expressed a level of admiration and appreciation towards me. Strange, I know!

Here's how it looks on me

As you can see, I did not use any glosses on top but the lipstick by itself looks really shiny already. This lipstick is perfect on days that you only need one product on your lips and run out of the door. I really love VG V because it can be incorporated in many different looks and is very elegant.

So if you're a MAC fan and still haven't bought this lipstick, by all means get it girl! You actually do some good while looking good and it's a good thing. If you already own it, please let me know what you think of this lipstick. I'd love to hear about it.

Take care and stay gorgeous,
Your Makeup Blogger

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Lippie Week: Sally Hansen Line Smoothing Mineral Lip Treatment

After "7 Days and 7 Nights of Mineral Makeup", aka Mineral Week, I was itching to write another week-long installment of a type of products that I love. However, after a lot of brainstorming, I did not come up with anything that's worth to run for a week. Blogging is tough, y'all! Moreover, the timing between two series needs to be perfect, otherwise you guys would just belly up with makeup overdose.

Finally, the day just came and it's this week that I decided to run a week-long event of my favorite lip products. When I said "week-long", I mean week days only because we really need the weekends to recharge. Again, I do want makeup overdose here. Before I go any further, I just want to say none of my favorite lip stuff is more than $20 USD. So if you're wishing to see any Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent or Lancome, I'm sorry there will be none of those. However, the ones I write about are really good quality and worth to be mentioned.

Are we ready? Let's start with day 1 and favorite lip product #1: Sally Hansen Line Smoothing Mineral Lip Treatment

I said it before and I'm saying it again: Sally Hansen beauty products are the most understated products at the drugstore! Before I wrote this review, I searched around to see what the world's reaction to this product is and sadly I did not get a lot of information. And I'm wondering what happened because this mineral lip treatment is the best lip product I've ever tried from Sally Hansen.

Sally Hansen Line Smoothing Mineral Lip Treatment
LE shade #1 (top), Rose Quartz (bottom)

I got 2 colors that were buy 1 get 1 free: Rose Quartz is the permanent color and Limited Edition shade #1 is their LE color. Jeeze, everyone and their pets make LEs these days! At first, the golden cap really reminds me of Estee Lauder lipstick case and I was hoping for the brush applicator per Diamond Lip Treatment. Although this is a gloss, Sally Hansen folks really love to use the term "lip treatment" in their glosses.

So what's so special about this gloss? According to Sally Hansen, this is the "first ever mineral based lip treatment that replenishes distressed lips" using retinol, tourmaline, and vitamins. Retinol is the ingredient that's proven to reduce wrinkle so there's actually hope in this gloss. Also, I find Sally Hansen glosses to be more moisturizing and less sticky than MAC lip glasses. So if you don't like the stickiness of lip glasses, this one is for you. Also, it is minty fresh, which is suitable to tote around just in case of special occasion happens.

Rose Quartz lip treatment is a coral color with fine shimmers

The lip treatments have doe-foot applicators instead of brush applicators

Lip swatch taken without flash using natural lightning

LE shade #1 is a gorgeous sheer baby pink color

Doe-foot wand again

Lip swatch: this color is really sheer and enhances my natural lip color

Ingredients (from Sally Hansen website):

Polybutene, Octyldodecanol, Petrolatum, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Silica Silylate, C18-36 Acid Triglyceride, Ozokerite, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Flavor, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Tocopheryl Acetate, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Benzophenone-3, Tourmaline, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Retinyl Palmitate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Retinol, Mineral Oil, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Sodium Cocoyl Amino Acids, Sarcosine, Potassium Aspartate, Magnesium Aspartate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sea Salt, Allantoin, Dipropylene Glycol, Centella Asiatica Extract, Echinacea Angustifolia Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) mLeaf Extract, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, SD Alcohol 40-B. MAY ALSO CONTAIN: Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Tin Oxide.

MAY CONTAIN: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Red 6 Lake, Red 7 Lake, Red 27 Lake, Red 30 Lake, Red 33 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 10 Lake, Blue 1 Lake, Carmine, Manganese Violet.

The Line Smoothing Mineral Lip Treatment comes in 8 shades that are sheer and moisturizing. Each will only cost you $5.99 USD and right now you can print a $1 coupon at Sally Hansen website (click here). I think it's a great drugstore lip gloss that actually enhances the look of your lips.

Even the teddy bear loves it!

So go ahead and get one, you will not be disappointed at all! If you already use it, please let me know what you think of this product. I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Monday ladies, may you have a really wonderful week ahead.

Take care,
Your Makeup Blogger

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My Makeup Blog: Fall Wishes

Hi ladies,

TGIF, everyone! Fall is officially here and this weekend is the first weekend of fall, how exciting is that? I can't wait for the temperature to cool down a bit as it's hot where I live. Also, fall (or autumn for British folks) is my favorite season of the year where I get to see the most drastic and wonderful change in landscape.

Kia from Yummy411 posted her fall wish list and she tagged everyone who read hers. So poor me have to write my own list because I don't want to mess with Ms. Yummy (I'm kidding Kia, love y'all!)

My Makeup Blog Fall Wish List

1. NARS Super Orgasm blush:

Image from Sephora.com

This is a more pigmented version of the famed Orgasm blush. As we all know, O-blush is coveted as a universally flattering blush color but it's more toward the pale-medium skin tone ladies. Darker ladies simply can't make this blush show on their skin because it's really sheer. Super O, on the other hand, is more pigmented. Right now it's a LE at Sephora but will be in NARS's holiday line up.

2. Make Up For Ever HD Micro Perfecting Primer:

"Not to prime is a crime"- Napoleon Perdis
Image from Sephora.com

I do agree with Mr. Perdis with a really cool first name: priming your face does make your foundation glide better and keep it longer. Since I use mineral makeup, I really need a good primer that does not clog my pores. So far the ones that have dimethicone make my pores congested and this one does have it. However, since it's a color-correcting primer, I think I can get away with not wearing makeup. I hope I can get my hands on a sample to try because I'm really curious.

3. MAC Russian Red lipstick:

I think I'm ready for Russian Red and I've been in a bold lip mood lately. This lipstick is really famous as Madonna wore it in her Blonde Ambition tour during the 80s. It's described as "true red" and right now, I need it!

4. Warm clothings:

A part of living in the Sunshine State is you get to wear really thin layers of winter clothes. My friends from the North who came here during the fall/winter used to walk around in short sleeve t-shirts while I bundled myself up from head to toes. So this year I make sure to get a nice wool coat before they stop selling them.

5. Accessories, nail polishes, and perfumes:

I'm actually feel comfortable not to get them because I have enough of the stuff. Plus I don't wear nail polishes and I already found my niche perfumes (those that smell quite similar to each other.)

However, if I have to get a bottle of perfume for myself, this is what I would get:

Estee Lauder Sensuous
Image from Fragrantica.com

That's all for today, folks! What are in your wish list for fall? Please leave a comment because you know I'd love to hear from you.

Have a nice weekend,
Your Makeup Blogger

P.S: Update on MAC Ungaro release date: 9/30/08 (online) and 10/09/08 (in store). If you want to order online, here's a free shipping code: CS91LIVECHAT.
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Feminine FOTD: A Haiku to MAC Emanuel Ungaro Collection

Hi Ladies,

Do you know what day is it? It's the day MAC Emanuel Ungaro is supposed to be on sale! Apparently MAC decided to move the release date of this collection to 10/08/08, boo! I was really looking forward to this collection but apparently we all have to wait a bit longer. Ungaro is famous for his feminine style with a lot of pink, purple, and brown. After studying the line-up for MAC Emanuel Ungaro, I realize I can make a look using products that are similar to the ones in this LE. My goal is to create a feminine look that is cheerful and soft.

The feminine FOTD

Close up on the eye

What I used:

Schematic explained below

• Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush eyeshadow in Laguna Peach applied all over the lid using its own applicator ("pink eyeshadow" as referred in the picture above)
• Brown color from Wet n Wild Mega Glo in Spotlight Peach as a contouring color ("brown eyeshadow to contour" in the picture)
• Lightest color in the Mega Glo palette to highlight
• Wet n Wild eyeliner in Lilac (650C) used as a purple eyeliner
• Maybelline the Colossal mascara

Cheeks: Maybelline Pure Blush in Pure Passion (retired item from Maybelline)
Lips: MAC Plink! lustre lipstick topped with a pinker lipstick to try to dupe Pure Rose lipstick.

Bonus cheesy shot for y'all!

Now here's the part that I'm trying to write a haiku:

Oh MAC Ungaro!
You immerse me in gorgeous
femininity.

There you have it: a FOTD and a haiku! How good is it to read my blog? But don't press your luck, days like this are rare :D

Have fun y'all! If you decide to get anything from this collection, please share with everybody, ok? I would love to hear what you got.

Take care,
Your Makeup Blogger

Update: I just chatted with a MAC rep and the actual launch date is September 30th for online. You can purchase the collection in store at these locations: Bendels, Bloomingdales, Gibbons, MAC Stores, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue.

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Olive Oil: More than for Salads

Let me tell you a little secret: I LOVE olive oil! I use it mainly as a salad dressing to retain the omega-3 fatty acids (cooking olive oil in high heat is actually not a good thing since it has a lower boiling point than other oils.) However, recently I found out this oil does not only make my salad taste good but also make me look good as well. I think olive oil is something every household needs to have because it is such a well-rounded ingredient that extends its usage beyond the kitchen. In this post, I'm going to show you 3 ways to use olive oil on your body.

Image from Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Olive Oil as a hot oil treatment for your hair:

Store bought hot oil treatment pack, move aside! A new chief just came to town and his name is olive oil. Whenever I need a hot oil treatment or my scalp is itchy, I just heat a bit of olive oil in a pot of warm water and apply to my hair. As olive oil has antiseptic property, it also helps cure itchy scalp.

How to do it:

• In an empty glass, pour 1/4 cup of olive oil (more if you have long hair)
• Immerse the glass with olive oil in warm water until the oil is warm to the touch.
• Pour the oil over your dry hair, preferably before you shower. Then cover your hair with a shower cap and keep it that way for about 1/2 hour. You can keep it longer if you have dry hair.
• Shampoo and condition your hair as usual. You will have soft and shiny hair and your itchy scalp will be less itchy as well.

If you do this hot oil treatment, it's good to give yourself a scalp massage as well to boost blood circulation to your hair. For those with really dry hair, you can use olive oil as a night time leave in conditioner, just make sure to change your pillow cases often.

2. Olive oil as an eye makeup remover:

This may sound crazy to some but olive oil does remove all of your eye makeup, even waterproof mascaras. Moreover, it does not strip away the moisture from your lashes like conventional makeup remover. Olive oil, on the other hand, moisturizes your lashes to keep them long and luscious.

How to do it:

• Apply some olive oil to a cotton pad, then use the pad to remove your eye makeup. It's preferable to do this step before washing your face.
  
• Then wash your face to remove the oil residues on your face. Continue with toning and moisturizing and voila, you're done!

3. Olive oil as a body moisturizer:

In some cultures like India, oil is used very often as a moisturizer. I learned from some Indian friends to massage my body with olive oil before taking a shower to boost blood circulation and keep my skin moist and supple. When it was not so expensive, you could find me during the weekend drenched in olive oil from head to toe for about 1/2 hour to 1/2 day before taking a shower. Especially during the winter, doing this keeps my skin staying moist and smooth without using a lot of extra moisturizer.

How to do it: I like to do this before taking a bath or shower

• Take off your clothes and use olive oil to massage all over your body. If you like, you can add essential oil to it as well. Just make sure not to eat the oil mixture afterward :)
• When you massage, concentrate on areas that are stiff or sore and massage more to those areas (or better yet, ask someone to do it for you!)
• Put your clothes on and walk around do whatever you want for 1/2 hour (more if you want to)
• Then go ahead and take a bath/shower. If you put oil on your head then you need to shampoo/condition as well. Your skin will stay smooth and moisturized after the bath/shower.

If the idea of using oil on your body is strange, it actually is not! A lot of different cultures use it from time to time to maintain good skin. Moreover, olive oil is free from preservatives and a gallon lasts for a long time. And you can eat the leftover olive oil if you want to!

If you've used olive oil to beautify yourself before, please share the experience! I'd love to hear from you.

Take care,
Your Makeup Blogger

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My Home-made CD Eyeshadow Palette

As a makeup addict, I have accumulated a lot of eye shadows over time and opening/closing a whole bunch of them everyday is not a fun thing to do. I prefer my eye shadows to be classified and grouped in an organized manner that only require me to open and close once every time I use them. After a while, I finally decided to make myself an eyeshadow palette using a magnetic sheet and an empty CD case. It turned out to be very pretty and convenient and let me show you mine as well as how to do it.

My ghetto eyeshadow palette from the inside
It holds 12 eye shadows and costs me less than a dollar to make!

As you may know, MAC Pro sells empty palettes with 4 and 15 wells for eye shadows and 6 for blushes. Each of them is $15 USD which is not that cheap for something just to hold your eye shadows. Moreover, I live no where near a MAC Pro store so unless I want to buy MAC empty palettes by phone, I have to make my own. Again, they are not that difficult to make and the whole process does not take a lot of time.

What you need:

• An empty CD case: remove the part that holds the CD as well as the CD itself. You can keep the cover for decorating purpose if you want but I prefer to use my own.
• A magnetic sheet with adhesive backing: this can be found at craft store such as Joann's or Michael's. Mine is a pre-cut pack of four 4x6 inch magnetic sheets that's priced at $2.99 USD.
• A pair of scissors to cut the magnetic sheet
• Pencil and pen
  
• Paper, cut in the same size as the CD art cover
  
• Eyeshadow pans (or depotted eye shadows): there are many ways to depot eye shadows that you can find online, I just use the method that uses heat. Also, you can buy eyeshadow pans from MAC which is cheaper than potted eye shadows.
• (Optional) Cute picture cut to the same size as the CD art cover to use as the new cover
  

How to do a home-made CD palette:

1.Using the CD cover as a template, sketch the shape to the magnetic sheet. Then use scissors to cut it out.

2.Peel the adhesive backing and paste the magnetic sheet to the empty CD on the side that used to hold the CD.

3. Add eyeshadow pans to the magnetic part of the CD: if you depotted your MAC eyeshadow, it will not stick to the palette so you will need to cut out small pieces of magnetic strips and adhere to the pan. Make sure you test out if your pan can adhere to the palette by itself before adding the magnetic strip.

Will look something like this after you're done with step 3

4. Using the blank paper, make swatches of the eye shadows according to their positions in the palette and write their names accordingly: I know EnKore suggested you taking pictures of each color and using Photoshop to label them. However, this method requires you to use a software that you may not have and a color printer that you may not have access to. Making swatches to the paper is faster and much easier, it just requires you and your hands!

It should look something like this after attaching to the back of the front cover

5. Beautify it with a picture

I use a picture from Victoria's Secret

The last step is for you to do whatever you want: you can cut a picture from a catalog, paint your own picture, leave it bare, etc. The possibilities are endless! I use a bit of scotch tape to hold the picture and eyeshadow menu together.

The CD palette is fun to make and affordable. Since my magnetic sheet is not wide enough, my CD palette can hold 12 eye shadows. However, with a wider-size sheet, you can comfortably hold 16 eye shadows. Moreover, this type of palette does not restrict you to a certain shape or size of eyeshadow: you can put square eye shadows or mix with blushes to create a portable traveling palette. If you travel, make sure to wrap it well in bubble wrap as it's a bit fragile.

Right now I'm on my 3rd palette and because I have more colors, I can assemble them in different groups: neutrals, bronze, blues, greens,etc. My CD palettes are cute and does not take up a lot of space at all!

That's all folks! If you have done a CD palette before, please share the experience. If you're curious and want to ask me questions, fire them up already! I'd love to hear from you.

Take care,
Your Makeup Blogger

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The Runaway Beauty Blogger

Once upon a time, there was a wizard who loved to play with makeup. During the dark time in wizard history, the Dark Lord Voldermort, aka He-Who-Not-Be-Named, banned all use of makeup and beauty products in the wizardry community. Those who did not obey would be put in Azkaban Prison, the wizardry equivalence of Alcatraz. Our heroine, being a rebel that she was, sneaked in some lip glosses from her Muggle friends thinking the Dark Lord would not noticed. Little did she know that the Dead Eaters were everywhere and she was thrown in Azkaban. As scary as those Dead Eaters were, they did not succumb her spirit as her heart was pure. With the help of her friends, she marginally escaped Azkaban during a dark, snowy night.

The next day the poster with her face was everywhere and Voldermort wanted to destroy this wizard very much as makeup is really magical and could weaken his power. Plus Harry Potter was on his tail so it was difficult for him to conquer the world when having Harry and makeup as his enemies.

Our heroine the makeup wizard went to France after her escape from Azkaban and met a street artist who loved to paint her pictures on the sidewalks. He was like Fafi with chalks and she used her magic in his drawings: whoever looked at the pictures would help her fight against the Dark Lord.

The magical drawing on the sidewalk

While her magic helped her fight against Voldermort, her pictures helped the street artist earn a lot of money. Since he knew she had good intention, he wanted to help her win the battle. Using his money, he was able to afford a billboard to draw a big picture of her to spread the magic further.

Since a lot of people could see her picture from afar, the good magic was multiplied to a level that it could win over the dark magic. But did it happen? Click "Read More" to find out!

A lot of makeup store owners whose stores were destroyed by Dead Eaters wanted to help her out. Overnight they decided to put the magical pictures all over their stores. Dead Eaters who saw her pictures eventually were weakened and defeated while good magic was accumulated at the same time.


Finally, Lord Voldermort's army was weakened and we all knew his ending: Voldermort was defeated, Harry Potter went on with his life. Our heroine, no longer a wizard, decided to become a beauty blogger. Although not many people could find her, she writes somewhere on the Internet. And she lives happily ever after.

The End!

Ok, it's either JK Rowling totally forgot that part or I just made the whole story up. Anyways, I'm a big Harry Potter fan and I think everyone should read the whole series. Watching the movies do not qualify for a cut, y'all! Read the books!

And I want this for Christmas, Santa can you hear me?

The wonderful photos were made by Photofunia. It's very addictive so use with precautions. And don't let your cats near the computer either, the next thing you see on the internet may be their pictures :)

That's all folks! Take care and have fun!
Your Makeup Blogger

P.S: My blog got first place at Our Blogger Templates blog showcase contest, yay! That website provides the best blogger templates I've seen so if you want to give you Blogger blog a face lift, that's the place to be. If you like my blog, please subscribe to my feed. Thanks a lot!

Jane Be Pure Mineral Gel Liner: A Review and Cat Eyes How-To

Although I've been lining my eyes with pencil and liquid eyeliners for a while, I very slowly came to accustom myself to using a gel eyeliner. The truth is not because gel liners are harder to use, it's just the stingy frugal part of me that does not want to shell out money to get MAC fluidlines. To be honest, I was thisclose to getting a Clinique gel liner until I realized the pot was smaller and more expensive than MAC fluidlines. So there went my wish to try gel liners until I went to Walgreens one day and saw Jane Be Pure mineral gel liner for $5.99 USD, which is way cheaper than MAC fluidline!

A pot of Jane Be Pure gel liner in the palm of my hand

Jane Be Pure gel liner compared to a quarter

So how does this low-budget drugstore gel liner hold up to the industrial strength gel liner from MAC? Click "Read More" to find out!

I have to say you guys are great, by this time you realize how manipulative enticing I am to make you jump through hoops to read the 2nd half of the post already! And if you're on this half, thank you so really very much, you're the greatest! I wouldn't do that if I was not schooled in the "Bill Clinton style of writing", aka the long-winding writing style that eventually will send you to sleep-induced comatose. I'm not kidding, did you see how thick his first book is? I have a lot to learn from former President William Jefferson Clinton!

Anyways, let's go back to the gel liner, shall we?

Physically, not only Jane Be Pure gel liner is cheaper than its department store counter parts (ie, Clinique, MAC, Bobbi Brown, et al), it's also heavier in weight with a helfty 5 grams of mineral gel liner goodness. Sweet! More stuff for my bucks! But how does it hold up when it faces the real world?

Usually, when I test eyeliners, I do 2 tests: the rub test and the eye test. The rub test is where I'm rubbing a bit of the eyeliner to my hand and stimulate raining situation by washing it with water and then soap (to clean it up, of course!) In the eye test, I just apply the test subject to my eyes and walk out for some hours. As I'm living in a very humid area and my skin is oily, only the best and the great survives this test without smearing and smudging. In short, if anyone wants to test eyeliners, mascaras, eyeshadows, just throw them at me. If the tester stays after half a day, it's a keeper.

So here is the result of the rub test:

In the above picture, the swatch on my hand was applied from the pot with MAC 266 brush. After that it was washed with water and with soap. The insert picture was the result of the swatch being washed with soap.

Needless to say, this gel liner stands pretty well after washing with water. I was surprised that soap did not totally remove it, which may deem a problem when it comes to removing the liner. So this eyeliner is water resistant, great! But is it smudge proof?


After applying it to my eyes using MAC 266 brush, I just walked around my apartment a bit and checked myself in the mirror every now and then. And OMG! The thing smudged! I could see a little bit of the gel liner transfered to my lower lid! Later that day my brave self went to the laundromat with Jane Be Pure liner and came back with my eyes looking a little bit racoon-ey! Eek!


Sorry, no pictures of my racoon-ey eyes, y'all! I thought of the kids who may stumble into this blog and said to myself, "forget about it!" However, as I remember mineral gel liners tend to smudge and the way to fix it is to set with a bit of setting powder, I proceeded to do so the next time I applied. And voila, problem kind of fixed! It did not smudge that bad but if I wore it for about 8 hours straight, I looked kind of emanciated.


So my bottom line: I would not recommend Jane Be Pure mineral gel liner to the oily skin sistas as it smudges. However, for those who are blessed with normal to dry skin, go ahead and get it girlfriend! The formula comes with 4 different colors: navy, dark brown, wine, and black. At $5.99 USD a pop, it's one of the most affordable gel liners in the market right now.
How to rock it: I know it's difficult to transfer from pencil liner to gel liner because this type of liner requires a good amount of precision. I use MAC 266 to line it and so far so good. However, do not expect yourself to draw a straight line with one try. The best way to line your eyes with gel liner is to connect the dot: I start from the inner corner of my eyes and slowly draw bit by bit to the outer corner of my eye. It should look something like this:

Just connect the dots, y'all! If you want a thicker outer corner, just draw that area again


This is more of a "cat eye" look where I flick the end up a little bit

You know who rocks the cat eyes the best? Amy Winehouse!

She looked quite beautiful in this picture, see!
Image from hotmusicbeat

Although I do not like her music or lifestyle, her cat eye makeup piqued my interest: the woman must have gone through a jar of Fluidline a week! Her liner is dark and thick and she rocks the look (as well as the beehive hair) quite well.


Another person who sports the cat eyes really well is Angelina Jolie: her cat eyes are more on the sultry side where Amy's version is more dramatic.

Angie's cat eyes
Image from Glam.com

Whether you like a dramatic or sultry cat eye look, using gel liner is fun. With some practice and lots of eye makeup remover, you will soon master this new eye lining material.

Have fun and be gorgeous!
Your Makeup Blogger

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Who Got a Haircut?

I did! Actually, my new 'do was a week old already but I did not get a chance to take some pictures and upload here, sorry!

Since I moved to the Sunshine state, I did not find a place that gave me good haircuts at an affordable price. When I was in Maryland, we had this hair place that was near my place and this lady gave me a really good haircut. Plus she listened to what I wanted and delivered. Since I'm a wash and go kind of girl, a good haircut means a lot to me: it saves time to style and money to spend on hair styling products.

Now my really straight Asian hair is not hard to cut but to make it look va-va-voom is another issue. Most stylists either use lots of hair styling products to fluff it up or does not give it enough layers. So yeah, I suffered from bad haircut days for a while.

But not anymore because I found the best place to get a good haircut in town: Aveda Institute, home of the 12 dollar haircut!

The front of Aveda Institute

They even advertise it very proudly!

A friend of mine came there first and got a royal treatment which prompted me to go there as well. Aveda Institute is a beauty school that trains students to become beauticians, hair stylists, estheticians, and spa/salon managers based on the Aveda concepts. Students are supervised by instructors and don't worry, you are in good hand.

Before I came to get a haircut, my hair was like this:

Overgrown bang and layers, I need a haircut!

To get a haircut, it's better to call ahead for an appointment to guarantee an opening for you. Of course you can walk in but it does not warrant you a spot as the Aveda Institute is pretty busy. With that price tag, I would be surprised if it does not!

Once you get in, a student will ask you what you want to do: haircut, color, styling, etc and then he/she will give you a scalp and neck massage using Aveda massage oil that's very soothing. I really enjoy this part very much. Then you are taken to the wash station where your hair is washed and conditioned. If the student is generous, he/she will throw in some special conditioner cocktail to your hair that makes it smooth and luscious. After that is the cut which is pretty standard. The one thing I noticed is Aveda students tend to be more detail oriented and that makes a big difference in the quality of the cut.

I asked for a shorter bang and since my layers were overgrown, I asked her to trim them up as well. In the end, I looked like this:

I got about 1/2 inch chopped off, a much shorter bang, and healthier looking hair thanks to Aveda products. The picture was taken after I washed and air dried my hair at home. I did not use any styling products on my hair and it looks fine.

Besides the famous $12 haircut, Aveda Institute also offers other services such as facials, massages, manicure/pedicure, and waxing. They actually make facials quite affordable:

Facial for 30 bucks?! Holy cow!

If you think, "The price is so cheap, they must be using dollar store stuff on me!", you're wrong! Since it's an Aveda school, all products used are from Aveda. Plus students pay money to go there to learn so the price is offset a bit from that as well. As the students need to earn points for their license, they are willing to make you happy and I like that part...a lot!

If you want to locate an Aveda Institute near you, go here for more information. Not only you're getting a good haircut, you also help a student earning his/her license as well. I know $12 is the price they set in my hood but it should not be higher than $20 USD. New York Aveda Institute charges $18 per haircut I think. And they have one in Australia as well!

Ciao for now, bellas!

Love,
Your makeup blogger

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