2018 is the Year of the Dog so I decided to make my first post for this year about…cats. #CozImEdgylLiekDat

This makeup look was inspired by the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland–nothing too detailed or special effectsy. First because I wasn’t really planning to create this look; I’ve turned 30 last September and I want to try doing more elaborate SFX makeup looks in my free time (like my White Walker look that made me murder loads of tissue paper), than patweetums shiz like this kitty look that forced me to buy my own kitty headband (I’ve borrowed A LOT of my cousins’ toys and headbands as my props before and I’d like to limit that so I won’t weird them out too much with my paki-Lalamove po bukas sa office yung toy nila ha favors hahahaaa).

Second because I need to pick up the slack after taking a two-month hiatus from this blog because I’ve been busy AS FCUK with work and occasional waldas-pera raket and new hobbies and responsibilities (no joke I haven’t even picked up a freakin makeup brush since my friend’s wedding last December!)

Third because I realized that if I can create content using my mukap and amateur blogging skillz…maybe I can use it to promote the Cats of BGC? What am I waiting for and what the hell is stopping me? It’s inexcusable for someone like me who: writes for a living (hello to the people of HARI who may have noticed that I always have a Facebook tab open–thank you for turning a blind eye!), renewed this domain last October, and was asked by fellow crazy BGC cat ladies to manage the Facebook page. #SupportYourOwn #ButIShallNotAbuseMyFacebookPagePowerToPromoteThisBlogAndExploitTheNeedsOfOurCats #PussiesBeforePageViews

Before I proceed with my Cheshire Cat makeup look how-to’s, lemme talk about the Cats of BGC first. I’ve been working in BGC for a year now, and I remember walking home from OT, stumbling upon what appeared to be a kitty haven around July:

After joining a TNR (Trap, Neuter & Release) activity to get some of the BGC cats fixed (because neutering cats can prevent them from overpopulating AND THERE ARE LOADS OF HOMELESS KITTIES ALREADY) around September, I got to meet fellow BGC cat ladies who all dream of giving FURever homes to the cats. Sure our kitties can be cuddly and entertaining for people who frequent their hangouts but did you ever think about what happens to them when you come home after using them as your furry, purring, stress-relieving machine? There might be other independent kitty feeders (which is why ang taba talaga nila compared to other homeless kitties), but even they can’t comfort the cats especially when it rains. I’m just glad that since they’ve become used to playing with people and they “can” (involves a very pain-in-the-neck process IMHO) receive medical attention (thanks to generous cat lovers who also have their own lives so utang na loob, please don’t dump your cats. Hindi kami rich, empleyado lang din ang karamihan samin!!!), our cats are more adapted to…well, being adopted.

At the moment, the hoomans behind the Cats of BGC has the variety of a 90’s boyband: there’s Claire (who’s been feeding and fixing and fostering the BGC cats for around 10 years now using her own resources IMAGINE THAT TAPOS MAGTATAPON KAYO NG PUSA?! FOR SHAME!!!), there’s May (who, aside from fostering kitties Claire can no longer take in [haha!], has a no-BS attitude when it comes to interviewing potential adopters and EVEN delivering our kitties), there’s Leslie who uses her photography skillz to supply and update us with all the raw cat photos I try to meme-ify and helps me with the PMs when I kennat handle people-personning…and then there’s me:

So far, so good I guess! Fortunately I was able to bully my favorite OT homeguuurl Keith Magnaye (the same person I guilt-tripped into making my Gimme Timmi logo and joining Hyundai’s first Digital Arts Competition where bitch won 2nd place based on our heads’ scoring) into making the the Cats of BGC logo (Me: Keithyyyy gawan mo kami ng logo…gusto ko Bonifacio ket na may katipunero scarf…pero modern huhu. Keithy: Sige mumshie *sends logo of an adorable cat with a tied-over sweater the next day*) so content-wise, that’s one less thing for me to deal with since I suck at illustrating. And if you’re wondering how you can help our struggling, crazy cat ladies team, please consider:

• Adopting our #CatsOfBGC and giving them their FURever homes. No, there’s no actual “Tinpurr” app. But since people keep saying “Okay ang Tinder matches sa BGC a” (I wouldn’t know since I was an OKC type of girl lol), I decided to fashion our cat bios after the app interface because you know, even these kitties have their own personalities. See, we see ourselves more as a matchmaking bunch than a rescue group that has the power to take in all the cats we see–we want our cats to live better lives away from the streets, not keep them happy, healthy BUT homeless.

(The others not shown here have been adopted/up for adoption. Man I love people sometimes.)

• Attending to a sickly BGC cat you encounter. As much as we’d love to be the James Deakin or Top Gear of every BGC cat in need of help, I’m pretty sure that we cat ladies are like normal human beings: we have our own lives…careers…hopes…and dreams. We may not have reached the stage of asking for monetary donations yet (as much as we’d appreciate that since you know, we don’t have unlimited funds!), but we’d definitely need help when it comes to attending to sickly cats AND NEVER DUMPING MORE CATS. Please keep your money or your cellphone or your laptop, and please inform us should you encounter someone asking for those–if we need it na, you’d definitely learn about it from our FB page. Baka nga i-unfollow mo pa sa sobrang hard sell ng We Need Money posts ko if ever–EVEN WORSE THAN THIS lol)
• Spaying/neutering your own cat so you’ll never have to dump unwanted kitties elsewhere. Especially in BGC, where my dinner will be more likely spent on more catfood because of your rejected furbabies who will then give our current adoptables less chances of getting adopted dahil biglang nagiging survival of the fittest ang peg–both for the cats and hoomans letse
• Spreading awareness because who knows, someone in your circle might be looking for a furbaby…or a serious bitchslap to unlearn his/her kitty-abandoning ways. Learn more by Liking https://www.facebook.com/bgccatsph/.

Right. Now that I’ve taken that outta my system, let me bore you with my Mukhang Pusa (literally, this time):

WHAT I DID:

1. Prep your face with bareMinerals Prime Time makeup primer so it won’t appear as if your breakouts don’t make your face as smooth as a cat’s tongue.
2. Apply L’Oreal Infallible Liquid Foundation in Sable Sand using a damp beauty sponge from Daiso (berate me all you want for not using a Beauty Blender but I ain’t gonna use a thousand-peso sponge to create a quick makeup look I’m gonna wash off after an hour!)
3. Give up your membership to the Contour Cream Club by contouring and de-chubbying your face with Fashion 21 Contour Kit–this is in powder form so it’s easier for me to blend and build-up the color without looking like I fell asleep resting my cheeks on a V-shaped steel bar covered in grease.
4.  Level-up your highlighting game by applying your favorite highlighter (Benefit Watt’s Up) on your browbone, nose bridge, cheekbone…and then dabbing Platinum from your new Sleek Highlighting Palette over those areas. #PagNamanDiPaKuminangAngBoneStructureKoSaHighlightEwanKoNa
5. Fill in your brows with Benefit Gimme Brow in 04.
6. Rub a bit of eyeshadow primer (Lorac Behind The Scenes) all over your lids because you’re gonna need to make the Cheshire Cat pink pop.
7. Do another one of your life’s smoky eye: Tease (from Urban Decay Naked 2) over the crease for transition color, Magenta facepaint (from Flash Palette) on your lids, Neon Bright Pink (from Coastal Scents Creative Me) over Magenta to reaaally make the pink appear pigmented af, Flash (the shimmery Ultra Violet dupe from Urban Decay Shadow Box) for the outer corners, and Black (from Lorac Pro) to define the outer corners/make them look smokier.
8. Tightline with NYX retractable eyeliner (black on the upper lash line, white on the lower lash line)
9. Dab a bit of white facepaint (Flash Palette) on the inner corner of your eyes, then wing it dramatically with Maybelline Hypergloss black liquid eyeliner–note that I even used it under my lower lash line to trace my kitty eyes. Use this same black liquid eyeliner for your whiskers.
10. Use extra girly falsies with the holy grail that is Nichido eyelash glue, set with your naturally short lashes with Benefit They’re Real black mascara.
11. Draw your Cheshire kitty nose, mouth and neck using different types of makeup brushes (gel liner brush for the nose and mouth, and a flat blending brush for the neck) with the pink, black and white facepaint from Flash palette.
12. Complete the look with an eighty peso kitty headband and a beauty app for your fake yellow kitty eyes because you’re still too kuripot to hoard weird contact lenses.
13. Hate yourself for the next few days because you completely forgot how pink and red facepaint/eyeshadows can stain your skin no. matter. how. you. scrub. Avoid outdoorsy activities that require you to tie your hair up, fearing that people would find you weirder than ever because the pink striped marks on your neck were probably from some crazy BDSM choking mechanism (pass!)