Makeup

Mermaid Makeup

No Comments

For my 6th (and final) Halloween makeup (yep I reaaaally forced myself to level up from my 5 Halloween makeup looks last year Dios mio sawang-sawa na ako humawak ng makeup brush), I decided to go as a mermaid. I was actually planning to do a mermaid look last year, but a good friend of mine whose name rhymes with cat told me to wait AFTER my inaanak‘s mermaid-themed, 2nd birthday party last December. I of course obliged because apparently, things like that are crucial in girl world.

Man I’m such a good friend.

What I love about the mermaid makeup look is that it seems so otherworldly, when it’s really not that difficult…if you have the right materials though. Of course, the first challenge was to find a freakin mermaid crown in Manila. Unlike flower crowns, I haven’t seen any mermaid crown that’s mass-produced so I knew I was gonna DIY this thing. 

Googling for references can be disheartening…

Where on earth are these ladies getting all of those pretty jewels and shells…and are those starfish?!!? #RhetoricalQuestion #IKnowTheyreFromTheOceanOkay

…but then I realized, why do I need to overload my mermaid crown with jewels and pretty seashells and dead starfish? IMMA GO REALISTIC ON DIS BISH. Soo:

♫ Look at this stuff, isn’t it sh*t? Wouldn’t you think my destruction’s complete? Wouldn’t you think I’m a girl, a girl losing everythingggg…♫

What I did:

    1. Tagay ka muna. 
      DO NOT THROW THIS VERY SPECIAL WRAPPER AWAY

      You’ll need it because the next 2 hours will be spent gluegunning a mermaid crown together, facepainting and taking selfies.

    2. For the mermaid crown: Find a thin plastic headband. Use a glue gun to attach the pendant & loose ends of a beaded necklace (I can’t remember where I got this because I’m not a huge fan of burloloys) to the headband’s center and ends. Find a house that decorated for Christmas way too early and swipe one of these glittery, coral-looking ornaments they’ve stuck to the Christmas tree. Cut into bits, stick to the center of your crown. Cover the headband with seashells (find a Filipino store that sells sungka and you’ll get your seashells). Hang the remnants of your dinner around the glittery corals of your crown–candy wrapper, ketchup sachet, plastic bag that carried your lumpia, etc. (I told you Tagay was needed and no, I didn’t eat a cotton bud, it’s for erasing makeup mishaps!)
    3.  For the face: Use a damp brush to cover your face with the Rural blue facepaint (aka Cerulean if you have to be Miranda Priestly all about it) from the Flash palette. Wear a hair net over your face before contouring scales to your forehead and cheekbones with a matte purple eyeshadow from the Coastal Scents Creative Me palette, and a shimmery purple eyeshadow from the Urban Decay Shadow Box palette.
    4. For the lips: Mix a bit of blue with two bits of pink from your Flash palette. Use your new purple facepaint as your lipstick. Dab a bit of glittery purple eyeshadow from the Urban Decay Moondust palette all over your purple lips.
    5. For the eyes: Use the same purple facepaint you mixed for your lips to draw your eyebrows, add transition shade for your smokey eye makeup, and define your lower lash line. Use a matte black eyeshadow (also from the Urban Decay Shadow Box) to cover your lids and lower lash line. Blend blend blend blend blend. Wing it with Maybelline Hypergloss black liquid eyeliner, use reaaally long falsies with Nichido eyelash glue, then set the falsies with your naturally short lashes with Benefit They’re Real black mascara.
    6. For the extra stuff: Do you remember the jewel stickers people used to stick to their Blackberry phones that’d make Paris Hilton say, “That’s hot”? Yeah, use a few pearl-looking ones and stick them to your face. Feel glad that you made a mistake the other night by mixing a batch of DIY fake blood (hair gel + a pinch of cocoa powder + food coloring) that’s way too runny and had too much blue food coloring when you were preparing for your Stranger Things makeup look so you might as well use that green blood by attaching a plastic lid to your neck with Graftobian Liquid Latex and let your green fake blood drip all over it.
    7. Borrow your housemates’ plastic fork and take a selfie.
Continue Reading

Makeup

Train to Baclaran Zombie Makeup

No Comments

Because it ain’t Halloween without zombies, I decided to update my last year’s zombie look. First because it’s been a year and there’s still nothing scarier than being a daily commuter in the Philippines…so yeah I am dedicating this look to the Philippines’ favorite Tito for defending us commuters, and my commuter friends who’ve learned how to ninja-do their makeup WHILE commuting liek watdahel?!!? Kayo ang tunay na #Petmalu!!!

Susmaryosep

Second because it only took me an hour max. I mean, the goal isn’t to look good after all… 

Train to Busan? More like Train to Baclaran! #PumasokNaEmpleyadoLumabasGustongMangainNgTao  

Third because I was inspired to create something messy and disgusting thanks to Make Up Pro‘s #MUPFREAKYFACE Halloween contest (they’re giving away P30,000 worth of make up yo; can you just imagine how much can that haul help me?!)

What I did:

  1. Cover your face (and lips!) with a thin layer of white + blue + green facepaint (from the Flash palette). I didn’t want it to be too matte because I just wanted make myself appear like I’m running out of blood.
  2. Flaunt your natural eyebags! I tightlined my eyes with red facepaint, blended that out with a bit of blue and brown. I did this using my fingers because again, the goal of this look is to appear as gross as possible. Just use your Before photo as a reference of what you should NOT look like (BTW my pa-candid, Before photo was made possible by my crispy-pata-loving housemate whose name I would rather not mention due to the addition of unnecessary letter H to the spelling, and his very patient wife. Both have gotten used to seeing me walk around the common area with crazy makeup looks so I salute the patience of these two!!)
  3. Use a veeery thin brush to draw the veins using green, brown and red facepaint. At this point I was getting sleepy so I didn’t bother making sure the veins look more, err, veiny.
  4. Fill in your brows like usual with Benefit Gimme Brow in 04.
  5. Soak a cotton ball in Graftobian liquid latex, flatten it onto your neck (this will serve as the zombie bite); do the same with a smaller cotton ball for the eyebrow pencil. Roll cotton balls until they’re long enough to have the same length as your plastic shards, dip them in liquid latex, then attach to your face.
  6. Attach the shards and brow pencil to the latexed cotton bruises, hold onto place until dry.
  7. Paint the bruises with your usual liquid foundation, then top with red and black facepaint.
  8. Go crazy with your fake blood (hair gel + pinch of cocoa powder + red food dye); add streaks of brown and black facepaint to appear messier.
Continue Reading

Makeup

Stranger Things FX makeup

No Comments

K so this post is gonna be super brief because:

I’m on your side…mouth breather.
  1. Paper-macheing the demogorgon brooch alone took me the first 4 episodes of Season 1 already,
  2. I’m not yet finished marathoning Season 2,
  3. I have 2 more Halloween makeup looks up my sleeve and I’m targeting to create another one tonight.

I was supposed to recreate Pigeon Pie’s look down to a tee (like I even looked forward to painting a vintage floral wallpaper pattern on my face), but then I realized that even I do not have the time (nor skills) for it sooo:

Demogorgonish brooch

  1. Mold an aluminum foil into a flower-like shape
  2. Cover with bits of tissue soaked in Elmer’s glue, air to dry
  3. Add colors using grey, pink & red acrylic paint
  4. Cry deep inside while you roll bits of white clay until they look like grains of rice because holy crap what have I gotten myself into, this is even more time-consuming than the White Walker look
  5. Hate yourself even more when you realize that you gotta paint a thin layer of Elmer’s glue on the Demogorgon mouth surface AND THEN attach the clay bits piece by freakin piece.

Face

  1. Cover your face with a layer of white Snazaroo clown paint (because yellow alone doesn’t show well on your Azn skintone)
  2. Apply a layer of yellow facepaint from your Flash palette
  3. Contour using a matte green eyeshadow from your Coastal Scents Creative Me palette
  4. Add drama to your eyegame by creating a smoky effect using the matte black eyeshadow from your Lorac Pro Palette
  5. Line your eyes and fill your brows and lips your lips with the black facepaint from your Flash palette
  6. Use extra girly falsies with Nichido eyelash glue
  7. Draw the letters and Christmas lights with a thin brush (still using the facepaint from your Flash palette)
  8. Soak a piece of cotton in Graftobian liquid latex and stick that to your neck
  9.  Stick that demogorgon brooch to the cotton, add drops of fake blood, the end.
Continue Reading

Makeup

Arrows In Her Eyes FX makeup

No Comments

Now this is my attempt to make up for the akala-ko-ba-makeup-blog-eh-bat-Thought-Catalog-ata-to content I published as my last post by sharing a more detailed guide towards creating my Arrows In Her Eyes makeup look:

♫Arrows in her eyesss!! Fear where her heart should beeee! War in her mind, Shame in her crieeees…♫

Two months ago, I used my August makeup look to fangirl over the Foo Fighters’ song, Gimme Stitches. Obviously I’m still not done fangirling since this makeup look was inspired by Concrete and Gold‘s “Arrows”, a brooding, it’s-good-but-it-gets-better-when-you’re-angsty kind of song that Dave wrote for his mom.

So without further ado:

EYES:

  1. Rub a bit of eyeshadow primer (Lorac Behind The Scenes primer) to make the colors pop.
  2. I couldn’t be arsed to use more than one palette so I settled on creating a subtle smoky eye using shades from my Urban Decay Shadow Box palette (Baked Cowboy for the lid, Lost along the crease, Sin under the browbone, and Blackout for the outer corners).
  3. Tightline with NYX retractable black eyeliner.
  4. Wing it with Maybelline Hypergloss black liquid eyeliner.
  5. Use extra girly falsies with Nichido eyelash glue, set with your naturally short lashes with Benefit They’re Real black mascara.
  6. Fill in your brows with Benefit Gimme Brow in 04.

LIPS: I wanted to use a color I haven’t used in a loooong time so I chose Revlon lipstick in Burnt Sienna.

ARROWS + WOUND:

  1. For 3 consecutive work days, grab an extra plastic straw from Circle K whenever you’re buying your usual P35 peso Coke Zero lunch drink to make the cashiers believe that you can’t actually consume that amount of Coke Zero alone everyday (SPOILER ALERT: you can).
  2. Consider buying a metallic gold spray paint to make the arrow look…well, metallic…but remember that you have Orly Luxe inside any of the 3 shoebox-sized nail polish stash (aka Timmi’s Addiction 2012). So yeah, I actually used an Orly nail polish to cover the plastic straws. Good thing they’re really pigmented so it wasn’t such a waste lels
  3. Cut one end of the straw lengthwise so you can easily stick feathers into it. Cut the other end diagonally so it can stick better to a round cotton pad using Graftobian Liquid Latex.
  4. Wait til the liquid latex dries.
  5. Line around your eye socket using the cotton pad so you’d know where to apply the liquid latex later to attach the arrows + wound.

FACE:

  1. Prep the face with bareMinerals Prime Time makeup primer so it won’t look too obvious that you just had your supposedly monthly facial treatment two days prior.
  2. Apply L’Oreal Infallible Liquid Foundation (yes I went back to L’Oreal; it’s still the most hiyang, matte-kung-matte full coverage liquid foundation for me) in Sable sand using a beauty sponge (I tried using my new silicone sponge but it was awful what a scaaaam SMH)
  3. Add colors to your cheeks using bareMinerals blush in Tickled. Contour with NYX Sculpt & Highlight. Go #Extra by contouring with bareMinerals All Over Face Color in Warmth and highlighting with Benefit Watt’s Up. 
  4. Make dilig the eye you chose to look impaled with arrows using liquid latex. Attach the arrow wound, hold until dry, add more bits of cotton soaked in liquid latex to secure it.
  5. Apply liquid foundation over the arrow wound so it can blend with your normal skintone…before taking the black facepaint & red facepaint in your Flash palette to make the wound look gruesome.
  6. Dab runny fake blood (red food color + hair gel + cocoa powder) all over the wound.
  7. Last but not the least, mag-inarte as if you don’t have plastic straws na ninenok mo sa Circle K at pininturahan using soshal na kyutiks glued to your eye socket. The end.

 

BONUS!!

Let me take this chance to say thanks to my team of hecklers “art directors”. Not only do they help me narrow down my kaya-kong-panindigang-iupload-to-sa-internet choices (which prevents me from uploading DOZENS of similar-looking selfies), they’ve also helped me develop a thicker skin when it comes to criticisms about my looks (basta looks lang a). I guess that’s another thing I learned at 30: If you really want to get better/stronger then put yourself at the mercy of people who can end you. If you can survive their comments, then you can survive (almost) anything lololol Exhibit A:

#SmugNaEwan #StrictNaTeacher #MadrengIna #MatandangDalagaSmile

 

Continue Reading

Makeup

Kintsukuroi Makeup + My Super Late “30 Things I Learned At 30”

No Comments

As I’ve mentioned in my last post, I lost the drive to execute my September birthday makeup look because I didn’t feel like the accompanying, cheesy “30 Things I Learned at 30” list was still applicable. 

But then I realized that: a) life goes on, b) I need to make the most out of this Halloween month c) what’s the use of writing for a living if I can’t revise and recycle my draft?

So scratch that. Let me post my “30 Things…” list with a different makeup look. It’s inspired by the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold called “Kintsukuroi” (or “Kintsugi”).

By this time I should hate everything associated with Japan thanks to that fateful video call that made everything unravel like instant ramen in hot water…but I don’t. First because I admire the philosophy behind Kintsukuroi: it treats breakage/ repair as part of the history of an object; it embraces the imperfections that make the object unique and intact instead of trying throw it away. #ThereIsBeautyInImperfection Second because to stay broken is soo unKintsukuroi yo.

These Kintsukuroi’d vases remind me of the Foo Fighters’ latest album called Concrete and Gold…

 

…so I also tried to add the album design “to get two birds stoned at once.”

What I did:

I don’t really know how I can elaborate about the process…because basically, I just:

  • mixed white & black facepaint from my Flash palette to create gray,
  • applied that all over my face with a beauty sponge,
  • used a matte black eyeshadow (Blackout from the Naked 2 palette) for contouring + smokey eyeshadow, used my black facepaint as lipstick + eyebrow tint,
  • ghetto airbrushed the specks using a wet toothbrush dipped in black & white facepaint for a concrete-looking texture,
  • then drew the broken lines with gold facepaint. Finished the look with falsies dipped in the same gold facepaint.

That’s it! Easy no? You should stop reading now if you came for the makeup look because I’m about to start yapping about my very pa-serious, very pa-grownup, Thought Catalog levels of:

 

30 Things I Learned/Still Trying To Learn As A 30yo

  1. The world doesn’t owe you anything. I’ve encountered people who deserve better—from the most dedicated still struggling to make ends meet, to the healthiest suddenly inflicted with serious health conditions. I’m not saying that we should stop making an effort to lead a better life; we just need to keep moving forward without bombarding God/our parents/employers/significant others about how much they need to make up for our grief and even the score. In short: sh*t happens. If it doesn’t? Be grateful.
  2. Believe in yourself. I’d like to say thank you to whoever made this statement. I actually have it saved in my phone because I, a fast-walking tornado of introversion and social anxiety, need to remind myself that there are times when I reaaally need to step up (which is how I managed to function during those times I served as a workshop host—I didn’t want to make people regret trusting/paying me for my work!)
  3. “If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter for always there will be greater or lesser persons than yourself.”—from “some poem” I forced myself to memorize to avoid demerits in high school (yeah I like pretending that I can no longer recite nor remember “this poem” lol)
  4. Follow your passion in your own way. I’ve learned that there’s no right or wrong path when it comes to pursuing your passion. Some do it by dedicating every moment of their life to it. I tried that, until I’ve realized that it only leads to me feeling even more burnout and uninterested about what I used to look forward to doing. Like, I can certainly pursue my passion for makeup, but I’m choosing to stick to my current dayjob (that’s waaay far from the cosmetics industry)…first for the stability, second for the new things I never would have learned if I allowed my world to revolve around makeup…and third because I want to continue seeing makeup as my hobby that excites me, and not as an obligation I have to perform. At the end of the day, knowing what you’re passionate about is what matters.
  5. Find peace in your own company. I’ve only started taking solo trips 3 years ago, because I was so scared of people branding me as “too independent” “too antisocial” or even “emo”. It’s not because I hate socializing; it’s because I’ve learned that nothing feels more exhilarating than overcoming your anxieties and having the freedom to discover new places down to their last quirk. Besides if there’s a 90% chance you’re gonna live a life in a humble abode that smells of cat piss, you better learn how to be comfortable with yourself pronto…
  6. Food is not the enemy. There was a time in my life when I religiously stuck to a half rice diet because I was scared of morphing back to my huffing-and-puffing-OMG-I’m-not-even-halfway-up-the-stairs-yet, 2012 self:
    This is what happens if you let yourself go just because somebody loves you anyway with regular midnight Pancit canton cravings because it was soo hard not to eat while performing gerlpren Skype duties for my then-boyfriend who eats his dinner 2am MY TIME.
    But screw the half rice diet! Without full meals, I’d have no brainpower for the entire work day plus my gusto-ko-na-mapudpod-tong-sapatos-ko-so-i-can-start-anew nightly runs. Food isn’t my enemy; being a lazyass is.
  7. Not fat =/= Healthy. While I still support the keto diet (aka THE BACON DIET that helped me trim down from my 160lbs [YEPPP!!] self 4 years ago), I don’t think I can do it again. Now I look forward to eating carbs + meat + what I used to call “rabbit food” whenever possible—not because veggies are diet-friendly, but because I see no point of not being fat if I feel sluggish/bloated all the time. Don’t forget your greens yo.
  8. Trends come and go; remember to #BuyItForLife. If my 4-year-old olive green Northface backpack can talk, I bet it’s going to sound like a tired Kris Aquino doing a tell-all—from namedropping all the places and people we’ve visited, to complaining about the questionable items I’ve hidden in its compartments during my #EdgeLord phase. The point is, it still hasn’t lost its function (aka Why I Bought It In The First Place!) and the usual “Naglayas ka ba?” “Ang laki ng bag mo!” comments didn’t make the world end, soo…I don’t see the need to buy that olive green Kanken bag I’ve been eyeing yet as I’m more excited with the idea of adding country flag patches to my bag instead. #NextLevelNamaste
  9. Money is important…but sometimes, memories are importanter. I’ve tamed myself down in a way that I can enter AND EXIT the mall without even a single tube of new lipstick (as someone who prefers makeup over clothes, THAT says a lot), but I’ve also learned to appreciate collecting memories. I can barely remember what happened on the days I purchased big ticket items, but I can still talk endlessly about my Bangkok trip like it hasn’t been two months since it happened. I guess what I’m saying is: remember to give yourself a break once in a while—and when you do, go for something you can look back on and brag to your future grandkids. “…and then since Thailand doesn’t offer OTC anti-histamines, your lola decided to sleep her allergies off, and then she woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom…without bringing her keycard so she got stuck in the hostel lobby until 5am, itching and scratching…” So yeah, we have the rest of our lives buying material things; don’t miss out on moments that may never happen again.
  10. Stay away from people who are rude to waiters and cashiers. Sure, I’ve had my share of bitchfests with rude waiters, but if someone treats them badly with no justifiable cause (you know the type—the powertripping, give-me-five-star-treatment-or-I’ll-call-the-manager matapobre who probably leads a life so sad, he/she just has to get an ego boost by stepping on others), these are not the people you’d want in your life. You don’t need to be an extrovert to learn how to say “please”, “thank you”, or even joke around with people who make a living serving others.
  11. Respect hard work. I’ve worked with enough creative professionals to know that I can’t just ask them to design my website or take my photo for friendship’s sake—and to do so is very nakakahiya because dude, that’s their bread and butter! If you really value your friendship then you would think twice before taking advantage of them because it’s not as if they can just create something out of thin air. Mahiya ka naman sa eyebags nila, lalo na ng mga nagfe-freelance na walang kasiguraduhan kung kailan mare-release ang TF. Make it worth their while by supporting the fruits of their labor (thus my choice to start purchasing games & apps that I find awesome. Thankfully I can always wait ‘til they’re on sale lololol), or by proposing an X-deal.
  12. People follow different timelines. This is kinda similar to #3: do NOT compare yourself with others. A year ago, I found myself wallowing in self-pity: “Pakshet I was already 4 when my mom was 29. Now I’m 29 and I’m single, I just quit my job, I need to freelance like crazy if I want to survive, I need to find new housemates if I want to keep my place…at ni pusa wala ako!” I’m at that stage in my life where people are getting engaged/married and popping babies out left and right. Sure it can feel alienating at times…but then I’ve realized that even if I suddenly found myself switching bodies with them ala-Freaky Friday? I wouldn’t be happy.
  13. Make the most out of what you have. I have lots of time-consuming hobbies/skills (from experimenting with creative makeup projects, translating stuff, shooping strangers’ photos for good deed/lulz/beer money, recording and editing my own VOs, to caring for rescued furbabies) that often make people say, “Ang dami mong time!”,“Ang lakas ng trip mo!” or the frustrating, “Bakit mo ginagawa yan?” (especially if I’m not getting monetary returns from said skill). But that’s the point—I’m not yet married nor do I have a kid, ergo I still have the time to focus on my own interests/well-being. Instead of obsessing about the things missing in your life and posting one hugot meme after another, keep yourself busy by developing your skills while you still caaan. Pramis that feeling of accomplishment is 10x more empowering than listening to Chaka Khan. Which brings me to…
  14. …never let yourself go. Please refer to the screenshot in #6. I know it’s easy to ditch when the going gets tough, so if you have somebody who loves you at your worst, that’s fantastic! But that’s still not an excuse for you to become a bahala-na-si-Batman-basta-my-partner-loves-me slacker when it comes to your own future and overall well-being. Kumbaga, finding someone who loves you is not an excuse for you to stop loving yourself.
  15. Accept the idea that everyone has his/her own blunder years. My blunder years happened in 2010-2013, when I was in my first relationship-turned-engagement-turned-heartbreak. I do NOT regret that it happened; I regret how I didn’t bother having my own foresight as soon as “we” and “us” were established, which left me scrambling to plan and prepare for my own future at 26. I’ve become the complete opposite of my blunder years self so I’d like to think that I still have the chance to turn things around after learning sooo many things from my experiences. Ay tenkyu baw.
  16. Never stop trying to be Something From Nothing. I swear this is going somewhere, and not just because I wanna add a link to my life anthem: your life may suck now, but it’s not going to get better if you don’t do something. Besides, it feels sooo good when you look back on your Poorita Mirasol days and see how far you’ve come. 
  17. Let people have their own fun. Been there, done that—being a hater won’t make you any happier (except Musical.ly FFS I will never understand dat sh*t).
  18. Stop waiting for the “perfect timing”. This is your life and it’s ending one minute at time.
  19. People outgrow people and it’s normal. I can’t hate the people who’ve outgrown me because I myself am guilty of outgrowing other people. Ganun talaga ang buhay, and the least I can do is be glad that we shared moments of iyakan, tawanan, blah blah that helped me become who I am now. So: Hello besh! I hope you know that I don’t hate you. In case I treated you poorly, I’m sorry. I’ll always be grateful that you became a part of my life and rest assured that I’m always rooting for your success even if I don’t fit in your life now. Salamat.
  20. Choose your people because everything is temporary. Because life is too short to waste by seeking validation from people who obviously don’t care to show if they still exist/check if you still exist, learn how you, too, can choose your people and make a damn effort keeping them so you’ll never have to refer to #19.
  21. Self-awareness is valuable. If you don’t want a fast-walking grumpy girl bitch about your being an inconsiderate pedestrian/MRT commuter/escalator rider in Facebook, DEVELOP SELF-AWARENESS. The world does not revolve around you, so try to always put yourself in other peoples’ shoes before acting like a prick in public.
  22. Sometimes, it really is only words. As someone who vomits words for a living, I can testify that words can be cheap thus they should not cause you to overthink yourself til 4am. When words are used recklessly and waaay too often, they can lose their power. Remember to value actions, as well as the beauty of leaving some words unsaid.
  23. Today you, tomorrow me. Nowadays kindness is even more elusive than that freakin pack of Korean spicy noodles, so if someone performs an act of kindness, remember to pay it forward.
  24. Life’s shitty moments will fertilize your growth. In a few months you will look back on your lugmok-sa-putikan moments and even initiate the mockery of it all while gigglegroaning. You’ll be fine; be thankful that soon, you’ll know AND be better.
  25. People are smart. In the real world, your alma mater doesn’t matter, because there are thousands of people who are as smart as you are (…or even smarter!), in their own special areas.
  26. Enjoy idleness. Tengga moments rarely happen to adults who deal with never-ending deliverables, priorities and obligations so if you find yourself “bored” and restless…congratulations for being able to afford boredom! Make the most out of it.
  27. Research, research, research. Google is continuously innovating their features to make sure that you can school yourself faster and easier–use that to your advantage so you can avoid being a victim of hearsays. Dyusko, sa internet all it takes is a few clicks for you to get second (and third and fourth…) opinion. To remain inutil at this time and age is cancerous.
  28. Everyone has his/her own problems. Worrying about what other people will say becomes useless because they’re preoccupied, dealing with their own lives…unless you’re a celebrity who needs to protect his/her every move because the stakes are higher, of course.
  29. Think long-term. “This palette can probably pay for a 5-night stay in a comfy hostel abroad on February.” (because again, memories stay foreeever!!)
  30. It’s okay to wait. That’s what #s 12, 13 & 14 are for. 🙂
Continue Reading

Makeup

Retokada SFX makeup

No Comments

ONCE AGAIN I’ve failed this blog by letting an entire month go by without a single post…to think that back in July, I even mentioned having my August & September posts “figured out”. I already knew what to do; I just lost the drive to actually execute my September look. It would’ve involved a photo of myself with a birthday candle sticking out of my forehead like I’m a mutant candyland unicorn accompanied by a cheesy “30 Things I Learned At 30” list…but due to unforeseen circumstances that happened when I was supposed to create it (a week before my BKK trip), huwag na lang!!

So now I’m gonna make up for it by aiming to post a makeup look every freakin week for the entire month of October. First because I don’t want to lose the street cred I’ve gained from friends who remember to tag me whenever they find makeup videos in Facebook (more recall=more raket opportunities).

Second because I need to match my Halloween output last year, which was fueled by my desire to avenge myself from a chicken pox phase and my then-unemployment/free-spirited freelancer days:

October 24, 2016

 

October 26, 2016

 

October 28, 2016

 

October 29, 2016

 

October 31, 2016

Yep, I had five different Halloween makeup looks for 2016. SYET BA’T BA KASE AKO NAG-ADIKKKK

Anyway, this makeup look was obviously inspired by the Marlou-is-now-Xander brouhaha that has taken the internet by storm. I didn’t follow it closely (but I do know that I love the PR people behind that diabolically brilliant move to cover up the…basta. Galing!) because my feelings for Marlou/Xander hasn’t changed. I still don’t like him…as much as I DO NOT like every teenager who does all of those cringey, pa-cute hugot sh*t. Now, I’m not going to pretend that I’m one of those, “Dapat pag-aaral ang inaatupag nyo!” types since I wasn’t exactly the studious type during my teenage years…but I do know that my teenage interests were more injury-prone than soul-crushing. Man, I don’t even know how teenagers do it nowadays—I’m so thankful NOT to be one, in a time when my crazy fits of immaturity can be watched, saved and shared by the mapanghusgang lipunan ng social media.

But as much as I tend to be the judgmental Tita who hates basic teenage cringefest, I can’t help but feel sad for Xander. Here’s a boy who, aside from being more “aesthetically-challenged” & bully-magnet than I was during my elementary years (when I barely had an ounce of self-esteem because I was teased for my fish lips) or during my 2012 Michelin Man metamorphosis, obviously doesn’t know any better. I feel agitated whenever I see him do things that’ll make the internet salivate because he’s like that oblivious victim in a slasher flick—why are you doing this to yourself?!! Better, run run run run, run run run away!!!! (<–Internet high five if you sang that) Not gonna lie, I know beauty is a huuuuge commodity, but to put yourself at the mercy of people who’ll surely tear your self-esteem into pieces just for the chance to be rich and sikat, is both foolish and masochistic. I mean, there are other ways to be rich and famous besides becoming a performing monkey for the public. And it’s even more frustrating to see brainless keyboard warriors (read: those who opt for “Pakamatay ka na” kind of comments like woooow really? You’re really going to wish that another human being kills himself just because you find him ugly and annoying?!) make extra efforts to destroy him even after his transformation sickens me. T*ngina naman, when will this boy get a break? Are we really going to push him until he kills himself?

I don’t care if people go under the knife because at the end of the day, it’s not my face, it’s not my money, and it’s not my life at stake. So if Marlou has chosen the plastic surgery route (which is a sad proof of how much he has suffered), and if we’re really incapable of feeling remorseful for the actions he has taken, the least we can do is leave him the fcuk alone so he can finally be happy.

But anyways. Here are the products I used for my #Retokada makeup look. #LousySegueIsLousy

The nose bridge that launched a thousand Aviators. Salamat po, DIY modeling scar wax!!!

EYES:

  1. Rub a bit of eyeshadow primer (Lorac Behind The Scenes primer) to make the colors pop.
  2. Create a smoky eye look with: a glittery blue eyeshadow (Vega from the Urban Decay Moon Dust palette) as the base color of your lids, matte light brown eyeshadow (Taupe from the Lorac Pro palette) as the transition color along the crease, shimmery purple eyeshadow (Flash from the Urban Decay Shadow Box palette) as the second color of your lids, glittery green eyeshadow (Lightyear from the same Moon Dust palette) on the center, and a matte black eyeshadow (Blackout from Urban Decay Naked2 palette).
  3. Tightline with NYX retractable black eyeliner.
  4. Wing it with Maybelline Hypergloss black liquid eyeliner.
  5. Use extra girly falsies with Nichido eyelash glue, set with your naturally short lashes with Benefit They’re Real black mascara.
  6. Fill in your brows with Benefit Gimme Brow in 04.

LIPS:

  1. I used the most nude color in my stash (NYX Liquid Suede in Soft-spoken)—I don’t have a lot of nude shades because they tend to make my lips look. Even. Bigger.
  2. Topped it off with a really shiny, really sticky lip gloss (bare Minerals lip shimmer in Diamond Glaze) to make my lips look plasticky. God, even with the fake burned skin glued to my face, this lip gloss was still the most uncomfortable part of this look for me.

FACE:

  1. Line your face with Graftobian liquid latex to make the scar wax (which will serve as the damaged skin) adhere to your skin.
  2. I WOULD HAVE used Graftobian modeling scar wax for the damaged skin if it was available when I was looking for it. The good news is, I’ve checked Pure Beauty Glorietta and they’ve got stocks of it now that the Halloween season has started. But if you don’t want to pay P295 for a little pot of scar wax, you can make your own by mixing equal amounts of petroleum jelly, flour and a few drops of your liquid foundation until you feel like you’re 8yo again, trying (and failing) to mold Sailormoon’s head with PlayDoh.
  3. Roll bits of scar wax until they look like flesh-colored leeches and stick them to the liquid latex trail you made earlier. Smoothen the scar wax until they start to look as if it’s part of your face…then mangle the outer part to make it appear as if your face was sliced by a rusty pizza cutter while you’re being transported on a bumpy road. Cover your face (and scar wax) with liquid foundation (Revlon PhotoReady Liquid Foundation in Natural Beige).
  4. Use an eyeshadow brush to smear fake blood (red food color + hair gel + cocoa powder) on top of your mangled skin. Dab a bit of purple and yellow matte eyeshadow (from the Coastal Scents Creative Me palette) under your eyes for a bruising effect.
  5. Finish your look with a gauze scarf wrapped around your head. #GauzeCouture
Wans agen wans more: side view for dat nose bridge yoooo
Continue Reading

Makeup

Gimme Stitches Makeup

No Comments

If you can read this then it means that I’ve arrived safely in this really quaint, millennial capsule place called The Cube Hostel (that I managed to book for THB400/day so super nice, super suliiit!), the first of the four I’ll be staying in for the next few days (aaand it means that they’ve got wifi since I managed to publish this draft from my phone)…and by the time that you’re reading this after it popped up into your FB newsfeed, I’m probably on my way, looking for harem pants bargains for instant Namaste before Singha-ing myself to sleep because I’m gonna scream or cry (or both) my head off to Foo Fighters tomorrow night.

I’ve seen white people wear harem pants when they travel to Asia, so I’ll buy harem pants because I’m traveling to, well, still Asia.

TBH I wasn’t planning for this trip when this year started, nor did I think that I’d have the guts to Learn To Fly to Thailand (my first!) just to catch a concert alone (another first, because even in my commuting-to-Manila-after-my-last-class-to-watch-a-local-gig phase 12 years ago, I had fellow fans from the same Yahoo Group to cling to lololol Yahoo Groups was the shiiiiz man #ThoseWereTheDays)

But Honestly, it’s not just an ordinary concert. It’s the #FooThaiNang Foo Fighters concert and everyone who knows me have probably heard me vent my frustration for years now (I even mentioned it last April, when I made my A Sky Full of Stars-inspired makeup look for the Coldplay concert). Can you blame me? The first and last time the Foos went to Manila was in 1996. I was 9 then–still very much into boy bands, still very ignorant that in the Next Year, they’d release some random song I’ll forever bury and never associate with someone because it’s reserved for the moment I get married or have my first cat (whichever comes first).

So when I found out that they were coming to Singapore and Thailand (but not the Philippines, probably much to the dismay of the people from this FB page), I knew I had no other choice but to postpone my original Treat-Yo-Self plan for the year (postponement has turned into full-blown cancellation). I’m sure there are older fans who’ve been waiting for the Foo Fighters to return to Manila for the past 21 years, so in Times Like These, why should I continue waiting when I can simply accept that life is full of surprises so Stranger Things Have Happened, work my ass off with rakets left and right so my travel funds can be Something From Nothing, and use this chance to Namastay (typo and it stays) in Bee Kay Kay?

So anyway, here’s GimmeTimmi’s Gimme Stitches makeup aka Pangtawid Content Masabi Lang Na May Post This August:

DRESS ME UP IN STITCHES IT’S NOW OR NEVER, TIRED OF WEARING BLACK AND BLUE

Face:

  1. bareMinerals Prime Time makeup primer
  2. Revlon PhotoReady Liquid Foundation in Natural Beige
  3. L’Oreal True Match Crayon Concealer in I-kennat-remember
  4. NYX Sculpt & Highlight duo PLUS bareMinerals soft focus in Warmth PLUS Benefit’s Watt’s Up for the contouring/highlighting
  5. black, white, red, blue, purple, & yellow shades from the Flash Color Palette for the bruise, stitches, and FF logo.
  6. red food color + hair gel + cocoa powder for last-minute fake blood (red food color can stain like a b*tcccch; I actually went to work with red marks on my face myghad)

Eyes:

  1. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in white as eyeshadow base
  2. Nude (for the browbone highlight) & Black (for the smokey eye) from Lorac Pro palette, Electric Blue from Coastal Scents Creative Me palette for the, well, blue. Oh and I dabbed Vega (glittery blue from Urban Decay Moondust palette) over Electric Blue.
  3. NYX retractable black eyeliner for tightlining
  4. Maybelline Hypergloss black liquid eyeliner for the winging
  5. Benefit They’re Real Tinted Primer Mascara + Benefit Roller Gal Mascara
  6. Benefit Gimme Brow in 04 Medium for the brows

Lips: Maybelline in Nude Nuance

Directions:

  1. I don’t know what to tell you. I simply recreated the Foo Fighters logo on my face using my shirt as reference. I was winging it since my plan to use my DIY scarwax for this look failed so I just added the bruise, stitches (I was planning to use an actual metal cord for the stitching for a 3D look) using facepaint–things I learned from Youtube tutorials. #KumaCalligraphy #GMG
Continue Reading

Makeup

White Walker SFX Makeup

No Comments

HERE comes my most pretentious post yet!! Because unlike my other makeup looks (usually inspired by songs/movies/pop culture characters that I actually love to death), this makeup look was done simply so I can finally stop obsessing about my July makeup project, since I’ve already got my August & September projects all figured out. Kudos to my colleague Dan for (once again!) having the tendency to inquire about the stuff he sees on my computer screen lololol (it’s actually my pet peeve as an introvert [that I’ve been trying to work on…!] which is why this is my only professional ambition, but hey, at least it resulted to something!) So yeah, I’m not a huge Game of Thrones (or fantasy stuff, for that matter) fan, but the hype is sooo stroooong and the materials are soo simple, I couldn’t resist taking advantage of it.

[SPOILER]………………This is how I look when I’m hangry
What I did:

  1. Start with a clean face. No primer this time, since I was scared it was gonna reduce the adhesion of My Graftobian liquid latex.
  2. PROTECT YOUR HAIR AND EYEBROWS BECAUSE LIQUID LATEX WILL CLING TO YOUR HAIR LIKE AN OVERBEARING PARENT ON HER SON’S FIRST DAY AT KINDERGARTEN. Use a headband and stick a thin layer of tissue all over your brows with Elmer’s Glue if you don’t have scar wax (which, I’ve learned after regularly dropping by cosmetic specialty stores like Pure Beauty, is very hard to find in the Philippines if it’s not the Halloween season yet!). Elmer’s Glue is a lot more forgiving to hair–unlike liquid latex, which has made me demote my Naked 2 brush into one of my facepainting brush after I accidentally dipped it in liquid latex when I was creating this look.
  3. For the White walker’s wrinkly skin, rip & roll tiny bits of one-ply tissue until they look like anorexic cocoons. This was the most time-consuming part for me (because I like to make sure they all have the same size), so I suggest you get a cat who can shred your tissue for you.

    If you want your own smug-looking, tissue-shredding monster of destruction, I heard you can adopt one from CARA. I heard, ha. 😛
  4. Draw the White walker skin wrinkles on your face using an eyeliner pencil (color doesn’t matter since you’ll be using facepaint later anyway)
  5. Trace the lines you just drew with liquid latex, which is what’ll get those tissue wrinkles to stick to your face. Do it one at a time because the latex dries faaast. I even added a layer of tissue over my nose to give it more definition.
  6. Once everything’s dry and secure, cover your face (and neck and hair) with Snazaroo clown white face paint.
  7. Use an angled eyeliner brush to do the shading: gray facepaint for your strips of real skin, and black facepaint to define the nose and make your face look like an albino bitter gourd (aka ampalaya but since I’m already being pretentious by making this makeup look, why stop at that?). I lined my waterline with NYX Retractable Black liner as if it’s 2006 and I’m pretending to like My Chemical Romance all over again.
  8. Form a pathetic-looking beard with cotton & mooore liquid latex, use a beauty app for fake blue eyes (because I’m too stingy to buy blue contacts I’d barely get to use…and I have just recovered from a really mean eye stye so nope nope noooope)
  9. Feel good about yourself. You know you’ve managed to do a pretty neat job kahit ‘di ka naman fan. #OMGImLikeSoInSaUso

 

Continue Reading

Makeup

A Sky Full of Stars makeup

No Comments

So Coldplay’s gonna hold their first Manila concert tonight. I’m sure everyone–even the most internet-challenged, anti-social mold under a rock–knows it, seeing as 8000 Coldplay tickets were sold in 6 freakin minutes, and people have been bitching about the difficulties of scoring tickets ever since. I won’t bother discussing my shock (…upon seeing hoy-nangungutang-ka-lang-nung-isang-araw-diba people suddenly capable of acquiring tickets) further since I’m trying to be less of a basag-trip, and I don’t want to appear bitter since I won’t be attending the event.

Sure I like Coldplay (and yes I’ve listened to their albums and I can name other songs aside from Yellow or The Scientist), but not to the point that I’d actually make an effort to score an overpriced ticket or find people to hang out with (as much as I’m used to doing things solo, going to a concert still scares the living crap out of me and I don’t want to wait around for friends–out of town trips nga ang hirap na matuloy, concert pa with hard-to-find-and-afford tickets?!). And anyway, ever since I let the chance to attend the 2015 National Convention of Titas (the Backstreet Boys concert which was a dream come true for my 12-year-old self; I could’ve gotten a ticket for “free” but the stakes were too high/I wasn’t willing to sell my soul lol) slip out of my fingers, I figured I’d survive missing out on this one. I’d rather wait and choose my battles which include: Foo Fighters (P*NYETA NAMAN DAVE KAHIT ISANG GABI LANG AFTER ALL THESE YEARS I STILL HAVEN’T UNLIKED THIS FB PAGE), Daft Punk, Radiohead, Spice Girls (still debatable), and IF they finally bring Miss Saigon back to Manila (SH*T LANG SH*T LANG TALAGA PLEAAASE). 

Anyway, here’s the A-Sky-Full-of-Stars-inspired makeup look I created last November (?), as soon as I heard the news. If I remember correctly, this look just took a little over an hour for me to create–still longer than the time it took for Coldplay tickets to get sold out. Ayus. 

♫ I don’t care go on and tear me apart…I don’t care if you do, ooh…cause in a sky, ’cause in a sky full of stars I think I saw your fly open you ♫
  1. For the galaxy face:
    1. Rub a bit of makeup primer (bareMinerals Prime Time) all over your face to the foundation and face paint appear as if it’s applied on an acne-free canvas.
    2. Use an eyeliner pencil to draw an inverted triangle on your face.
    3. Fill that triangle with black face paint (like Snazaroo).
    4. Release your pent-up frustration for missing Coldplay by tearing cheap beauty sponges into pieces or until they look like coral reefs. Use these sponges with white facepaint (I still used Snazaroo) to add random white cloud marks on that black triangle, so you can have more shades/dimensions when you start filling everything with galaxy-colored eyeshadow colors. (I went even further by using the same sponges with blue, purple and pink facepaint.)
    5. Make the triangle look more space-y and go crazy with the eyeshadow. Gather all the pink, purple, blue, dark blue, green, silver, gold, metallic, glittery eyeshadow pans you own and apply them randomly all over the triangle with different types of makeup brush. I used these palettes: Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box, Urban Decay Moondust, Coastal Scents Creative Me 1 & Coastal Scents Creative Me 2.
    6. Create the stars/white spatter using an old toothbrush dipped in diluted white face paint. Flick the head 6 inches away from your face until you’re happy (get yer mind out of the gutter I’m talking about the toothbrush!!)
    7. Trace the outside area of your space triangle with streak of liquid latex (I’m using Graftobian and I’m impressed with its stickiness). Stick a zipper along the liquid latexed area before it dries.
    8. For the rest of the face, I used L’Oreal Infallible liquid foundation and NYX Sculpt & Highlight for contouring.
  2. For the eyes:
    1. Fill and shape the brows using the darkest shade from Coastal Scents brow kit.
    2. (For the life of me I cannot remember the exact eyeshadow colors I used for the normal eye it’s been months since I made this look huhuh.)
    3. Line your lids with a black eyeliner pen from K-Palette. Tightline with a black retractable eyeliner from Nyx (because, you know, I don’t wanna go blind if I use an eyeliner pen on my waterline).
    4. Make your eyelashes seem longer than your patience with Benefit’s They’re Real tinted eyelash primer +Benefit’s Roller Gal mascara.
  3. For my lips, I used my BYS Viva Violetta lipstick. It’s one of the makeup freebies my good friend, Gus Villa received from an event he attended months ago–so syempre sino pa bang gagamit? 😀 #IHaveTheMostSupportiveFriends #LordPleaseGetHimInvitedToMoreEventsWithKikayFreebies
Continue Reading

Makeup

St. Patrick’s Day makeup

No Comments

Due to force of habit I always remember March 17 as St. Patrick’s Day even if I’m not Irish. I’m not even going to pretend that I know all the saints; the only reason I love this day is because it gives you a free pass to drink until you see rainbows and until leprechauns start looking like Chris O’Dowd (or Michael Fassbender or any Irish dude you find attractive but this is my blog so I’m going with Chris O’Dowd). Some might argue and say that I’m stereotyping because not all Irish people drink but I swear, there’s European level of drinking (which is something even I haven’t met with my 8-Pilsen record)…and then there’s Irish level of drinking. It’s in-freaking-sane.

I also made a St. Patrick’s Day look last year

but it wouldn’t be fun if I just repeat it for this year, would it? Plus, I need to show progress somehow, despite my dwindling makeup addiction soo:

HAPPY PADDY’S DAY BITCHES! I swear to God I didn’t look this white it’s all in the selfie light heh
  1. First things first: You’re going to attached a freakin beer can on your face so make sure it’s clean. Clean a Guinness by spilling every drop of that rich, dark, roasted goodness down your throat. 
  2. Regret nothing. Convince yourself that you’re drinking FOR A MAKEUP PROJECT FOR YOUR BLOG; surely you are still the more responsible, more mature Tita that you are now!!!

    Dear self, your days of imitating Sweet Dee’s drunken antics are over. Pra.Mis.
  3. Trim it diagonally, rinse and set it aside.
  4. For the eye: 
    1. Rub a bit of eyeshadow primer (Lorac Behind The Scenes Eye Primer) to make the colors stick and pop.
    2. Apply 2 shades of brown eyeshadow on the crease. Lorac Pro Palette’s Taupe for the inner corner, and a warmer brown like bareMineral’s soft focus face color in Warmth for the outer corner.
    3. For the green eyeshadow I went with Urban Decay’s Graffiti but I didn’t like how bright it was so I added a layer of shimmery dark green eyeshadow like Coastal Scent’s Balsam over it. Dab a bit of glittery green eyeshadow like Urban Decay’s Lightyear on the center. Repeat step for the area under your lower lash line.
    4. Darken the outer corner of your lid with a dark, glittery gray eyeshadow like Lorac Pro’s Slate. Repeat step for the area under your lower lash line.
    5. Blend like every stroke burns calories.
    6. Line your lid with a black eyeliner pen from K-Palette. Line your lower waterline with a gold retractable eye pencil from Nyx.
    7. Make your eyelashes seem longer than your patience with Benefit’s They’re Real tinted eyelash primer + Benefit’s Roller Gal mascara.
    8. Fill in your brow with K-Palette Tattoo Real Lasting Eyebrow Liner in 01-Natural Brown.
  5. For the lips, I used a dark green liquid lipstick like LA Splash in Nagini. Totally appropriate because St. Patrick totaaaally drove all dem “snakes” away from Ireland amirite
  6. For the face:
    1. Rub a bit of makeup primer (bareMinerals Prime Time) all over your face to make your liquid foundation (L’Oreal’s Infallible in Radiant Beige) appear as if it’s applied on an acne-free canvas.
    2. Cast a shadow on every area you wanna trim down (this technique does not apply on your tummy not that I tried…) with bareMinerals soft focus in Warmth, and highlight with Benefit’s Watt’s Up). Add a bit of blush if you want.
    3. Use an eyepencil to trace the area where you’re going to stick the beer can.
    4. Line that area with little bits of tissue soaked in liquid latex (YES SA WAKAS NAKAHANAP NA AKO AND I’M USING GRAFTOBIAN)
    5. Stick the beer can before the liquid latex dries. Add more bits of liquid latexed tissue to secure it.
    6. Because it’s so hard to see with only one eye, you’ll discover that you mistakenly grabbed one of your good brushes (that brush that came along with your Naked 2!!!!) to apply the liquid latex. Hate yourself, repeat until you lose some sleep because how else are you gonna replace that brush without buying a new palette?!?!!?
    7. Mourn for the loss of a good makeup brush by dabbing a bit of purple eyeshadow around the beer can area for some kinda bruising effect.
    8. Once the tissue bits are dried, cover them up with the same foundation you used on your face.
    9. Let fake blood (a mixture of cocoa powder + pancake syrup + red facepaint) drip around the beer can to make it appear as if some Irish dude with super drunk Irish strength impaled your smartass face with his drink.

Continue Reading