Reader Question: Bleached or made up brows?

Good day Miss Liz! I have been contemplating for a few months now on whether to have my brows bleached or not since I found out about a brow salon that caters to such services. What's your take regarding this?

Would you recommend a made up or bleached brows? Thank you so much. :) - KD

Hi KD! Bleached eyebrows are only flattering on two occasions: if your hair is naturally/ dyed very light or if you have thick, black, and masculine eyebrows. Bleaching brows is a great way to soften them without any extra product, but believe me - a lot of girls don't actually need to do it!

If you have thin to normal brows then it's best to just have them groomed regularly at a brow salon. Some salons, like Browhaus, even offer temporary dyeing. It's a service called Browgraphy. After sculpting the brows, the aesthetician would shade them with a dark dye that's matched to your hair. The color will stay on for a week! It's an expensive service but if you're going on a holiday and you don't want to bother with makeup, then this is nice to try.

For everyday brow shaping though, there's a slew of excellent products out there. They can go as light or as dark as you wish - without the commitment. :) Here are some recommendations!

You don't need to suffer through bleached brows when there are products like the MAC Brow Set in Girl Boy. This instantly lightens brows due to its golden blonde shade.

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Pond's BB Cream

Pond's joined the BB cream bandwagon rather late, but they believe they came out with something that's totally worth the wait. True enough, the Pond's Flawless White and Age Miracle BB Creams (P399) did not disappoint. It's fairly good considering how much it costs.

I'm pleasantly surprised by how nice the texture of this Pond's product is! It's water-based and therefore non-greasy, and it does help brighten and even out the complexion instantly. It's easy to apply and it also dries in a few minutes. You won't even need a setting powder if you're not particularly oily, but if you want to extend the wear time then you must set it with foundation or at least a face powder.

By itself, this BB cream lasts for about 3 hours before it starts to fade. I don't like to think of it as foundation - it's really more of a skincare/ makeup base, the way BB creams were originally supposed to be.

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Burberry Body Tender Eau de Toilette

The Burberry girl is chic yet classic. She doesn't succumb to trends, instead preferring to invest in basic pieces that she can mix with each other. She's quiet but she's also headstrong. She might not be the life of the party, but she's the girl that people listen to in the boardroom.  

Would you describe yourself this way? I think that people choose their perfume brands according to the affinity they feel for them. I mean, all perfumes are designed to smell good, but which one will you actually wear? Mood and preference play huge roles in the process of choosing, of course, but the brand is still something that sticks in our mind.

Burberry's latest perfume offering, the Burberry Body Tender Eau de Toilette, is a sparkling citrus and floral scent. I feel that it captures the essence of the Burberry girl, since it's quite sophisticated without being flaunty about it. 

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Beauty essentials for your job interview (P3,000 budget)

Congratulations, you just scored your first series of job interviews! You've hurdled college with everything you got, but now it's time to embark on a new journey - one that is considerably tougher and more unpredictable. You need all the advantage you can get. There are thousands of equally experienced fresh grads vying for the same job, so you must find a way to set yourself apart other than a kickass resume. 

Dressing appropriately yet stylishly for a job interview is one way to stand out, but of course, you must also put your best face forward. If you're new to makeup, don't have a clue on what to buy, and only have a limited budget - never fear, here are some of my recommendations! You can get all these for just P3,017, but even though they're inexpensive, they're a great foundation for your "work makeup" kit.

Your job interview makeup should be light, yet polished. You don't want to look like an awkward teenager when you enter the office - you want to look focused and competent but not overly vain. Here are five simple steps to achieve the look!

1. Apply a heavy coverage powder foundation such as the Human Nature Perfect Coverage Mineral Foundation to even out your skintone (focus on spots and dark eye bags if you have them). If you have very dark blemishes, cover them with a concealer before applying the powder foundation. Tip: don't forget to bring the compact for retouching! Do so shortly before the interview begins.

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Rave: Cure Natural Aqua Gel

One of the best things that you can do for your skin is to get a bottle of Cure Natural Aqua Gel (P1,500 at Beauty Bar). I have yet to meet a person who didn't fall on her toes (figuratively) to buy this after a couple of tries! This is actually a cult favorite product in Japan, changing the way women exfoliate their skin for many years now. I'm happy to announce that it's finally here in the Philippines!

Okay let's backtrack a little bit. I tried Cure about two or three years ago, when a friend gave me a sample. I felt it broke me out (my skin was extremely reactive then) so it dropped from my radar. Fast forward to today. I got a bottle of this early this year and held off using it for a month. When I felt that my skin could take a breakout, I finally tried it and holy cranberry - it is amazing! I didn't get any pimples too.

But wait, what does Cure do exactly? It's a gommage exfoliator. It's a gel product that hardens into soft, paper-like bits as it dries. These bits, when massaged onto the skin, exfoliate gently and thoroughly. I cannot emphasize enough how thoroughly this gets rid of dead skin and even mild blackheads! My skin feels squeaky clean after I rinse it off. Think of a newly washed plate, and how the surface is so clean that your fingers get some resistance when you drag it. That's what a newly "Cured" face feels like.

Since I started using Cure twice a week, the tiny bumps around my eyes, nose, and chin have significantly lessened.

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Ben Nye Banana Luxury Powder

How oily are you, on a scale of one to ten? I have combination skin but in this weather, I'm quite oily most days! During normal weather I'd say I'm a 6.5 in oiliness, but this season's deadly combination of heat and humidity makes me feel like I'm an 8! Ugh. Good thing I managed to grab the Ben Nye Banana Luxury Powder (P1,050 for 3oz / P700 for 1.5oz) from Digital Traincase early last April. It really helped me manage the extra oil, and gives my skin a super smooth finish to boot.

Here's a rundown!

What I love about the product

• Helps me control oil on my face longer. I usually oil up in two hours, but if I wear a layer of Ben Nye on top of whatever foundation I have on, I delay the oil for at least two hours.
• The translucent, slightly yellowish coverage allows me to wear it with any base makeup. In fact, I can wear it by itself and it would still smoothen and somehow brighten my skin (due to the yellow tint).

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Liz Asks: What part do you enjoy most in your beauty routine?

Routines help us make sense of the universe, or, since we're on a beauty blog - they help us make sense of messy hair, oily skin, pimples, and whatever else fate throw at us. Without routines we'd be like plankton, floating aimlessly in the ocean. (According to National Geographic though even plankton has its own cycles, but thank goodness they're not sentient...or are they?)

Okay enough with the crazies! I shall focus! Today I have a question, the answer to which I would love to hear from you: what's your fave part in your beauty routine? The part you enjoy the most? Not just talking about skincare here ha, I also want to include your makeup routine. Sometimes we get lazy to do one thing or other in our beauty ritual, and some parts are non-negotiable (like facial wash), so I'm curious to know what you actually relish doing!

 

My favorite part would have to be choosing and applying lipstick. Surprise, surprise. I like the fact that I have a lot of options, and it's always challenging to choose the right lipstick for the right look. Is there such a thing as a lipstick connoiseur? Because I'd love to put that in my resume, haha.

A close second would be the process of applying serum on my face. I feel like I'm nourishing my skin, and helping it be the best version of itself. Most people would skip the serum - indeed, you don't need need it - but for me serum is crucial. It's a great, concentrated solution to a specific skin issue. If you can find the right one for you then you've hit a gold mine.

So! It's your turn! What part do you enjoy most in your beauty routine? 

My top 10 favorite finds last April

What is it they say - happiness shouldn't be a goal. It's a journey. We spend much of our life thinking that if we suffer just a little bit more, we'd be rewarded with happiness in the end. By who or what we're not likely to know, which is why we shouldn't bet on it so heavily. We ought to try to find pleasure and joy in what we have right now. It might all end in flames - or not - but at least we know how things stand in the present, and that we can influence it.

Okay hope that made sense. :P Moving on, here are my top ten favorite finds last month! 

I am a huge fan of Avon lipsticks. I was already pretty happy with the Ultra Moisture Rich formula (even with its limited staying power), but the Avon Totally Kissable Lipstick blows the UMR out of the water. It stays on better, while the colors are pretty daring. Hope Avon makes this line available again, stat!

My favorite brow product right now is the MAC Fluidline Brow Gelcreme in Dirty Blonde. It's the perfect shade of brown for me, and it still works even with my new slightly reddish hair color. It's easy to apply, doesn't slide off in humid weather, and looks quite natural while still giving much-needed definition to the brows. I wish MAC makes this permanent in the future.

And here's my current concealer - the Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation. I've always wanted to have this since Lisa Eldridge featured it. Now that Digital Traincase carries it, I've finally gotten my hands on it! It's back in stock girls.

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The Yoga Report

I took my first yoga class last Wednesday, with minimal expectations. Well I expected to struggle (I did quite a bit of that since I went for hot yoga on my first try) but I didn't expect the feeling of lightness and calm after the class. I felt happy, focused, less worried about all the things I can't control. So I went back, and today I've already gone through my fourth yoga class this week!

Yoga helps me clear my mind and challenge my body. I have the flexibility of a wooden plank but that doesn't stop me from trying. ;) It feels good to stretch and stretch until I can't go further, and then try another day to see how my body has improved in that span of time.

I love yoga because it gives me a workout without making me tired. I tried it with the sole purpose of losing weight, but now it's not a priority anymore. The huge burst of energy and overall feeling of well-being after each class is more than enough for me! Okay let me list down all the other reasons I'm into yoga right now:

• It makes me sweat SO MUCH. After each hot yoga class, I'm dripping wet as if I took a shower. The sweat is a great way to remove impurities from the body, moisturize the skin, and unblock pores on the face. Now that's natural skincare!

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Top five beauty services to try in Manila

So you have a big event, a broken heart, a life overhaul, or just want a little grooming and relaxation. You find yourself in need of pamper and polish. Where do you go? Let me help you there! Here's a list of where I go when I need something (non-invasive) done on my body. These are my absolute favorite beauty services in Manila!

JURO Salon. The best hair cut and color I've ever had was from Jude and Rose, the owners of JURO. They are the most talented hair professionals in Manila, I believe, with over 20 years in the industry. Having your hair done by them will cost you P7,500 but I swear they're worth it. As it happens I just got my haircut there recently (another short one) and my love for this couple is still as strong as ever.

If you're not willing to shell out that much money for your hair, you can go to their junior stylists. It's about P1,500 per cut. I would still trust them to do a great job because they're trained by Jude.

Wink Laser & Wax Studio. This is a new business but it's already making waves in the local hair removal industry. The place looks expensive and chi-chi, but not in a snooty way. The people are warm and easy to talk to so you'll find yourself relaxed while getting your treatment. Oh, they're also anal about hygiene here, so no double-dipping and all paper sheets are used only once!

Even with the upscale look and location (BHS Central), Wink is surprisingly affordable. A full leg wax for example would be only P850, while a Brazilian is P680. The painless laser is also inexpensive compared to its competitors, plus it's offered on installment too.

Blo Blow Dry Bar. For girls who are clueless on how to style their hair, Blo is their savior. It's quite expensive for just a blow dry since it's about P500 per session. However if you're going to a special event and don't want to leave your hair up to chance, or worse, in you're inexperienced hands, then Blo can give you the best possible version of your current cut and color.

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