When I announced Face Contour Week, many of you gals became excited about a tutorial. Hold your horses though - that'll be up on Friday! I need a bit of time to shoot it. ;) In the meantime, I decided to answer a question that was asked several times: what's the difference between bronzer and contour powder? Which one should you go for?

These two products are completely different, although some products that are labeled "bronzer" could be used for contouring. Bronzers usually come in coppery or shimmery tan shades and are meant to be applied on the cheekbones, bridge of the nose, forehead, and chin. It's a product that's designed to create a sun-kissed look - not really to contour, although if your bronzer is deep enough it can be used for that purpose.

Contour powders are usually matte, and can be used define or slightly alter our face shape. You can create a smaller, more angular face with contouring powders. 

My favorite bronzer is the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Bronze, while my best contour powder is the MAC Blush in Harmony.

The most useful advice that I've ever received in my life is Don't Panic. It is so difficult to remember that, you know, when everything is converging towards you in a massive wave and it is impossible to turn anywhere without being swallowed up like a piece of melting chocolate. Well. Grace under pressure is a skill. We can't learn it if we do not truly feel the heat.

The best way to deal with pressure is to take things one at a time. Sounds simple enough. So I'll do that. :)

Today I want to finally talk about the Etude House Color Pop Collection! This collection is all about bright, show-stopping colors in hues of orange, pink, blue, and green. Now it doesn't seem to be available in the Philippines just yet, but I will definitely update this space when it is! For the meantime here are some swatches and quick thoughts about each of the products I received from Korea.

I'll start with the Etude House Color Pop Shine Tint in Sunny Pop. First swatch and I thought I wouldn't like this, for it is such a fiery orange! I tried using a generous amount on my lips and it looked so patchy that I removed it immediately. However, the trick is to use only a couple of dots to get a sheer wash of reddy peach color on the cheeks and lips. It's one of those tints that you can't layer over, as it is meant to be sheer.

This review is part of a series: the Blush Week at Project Vanity. Read my first three blush posts (if you haven't yet)! ;)

It's a Blushin' Week at Project Vanity: My top five blushes | Artdeco Blusher in 38 First Love | MAC Dollymix Sheertone Shimmer Blush

Yesterday I was in a mild panic over losing my entire image database. I use iPhoto to store all my photos, and apparently, it became corrupted. It contains thousands of pictures but I can actually live without most of them - the crucial ones are the few hundred photos of products I have yet to write about. Sure I can retake these photos but I'd rather not because it would take me hours and the products aren't fresh anymore since I've used them.

Thankfully I was able to repair the whole thing. Whew. That's why I missed my blush post for yesterday. So! Today I'm going to talk about the latest product from one of my fave brands: the Bobbi Brown Sheer Color Cheek Tint in Sheer Cherry (P1,350).

This is part of Bobbi's Pink and Red Collection, which is now available in Rustan's. The collection features nail polishes, lipsticks, and glosses in pink and red - two color combinations that everyone says won't work, but do! It's a pretty interesting concept and I would LOVE to show a look to break that myth. For now though, let's discuss this cheek tint.

It's pretty awesome. Red can be intimidating, but this basic color is the most natural and versatile for all skintones. Ever wonder why most tints in the market are red? It's because a sheer wash of red on the cheeks blends seamlessly with any coloring! You can't go wrong with it, no matter how fair or dark you are. You just need to adjust the intensity to your liking.

This review is part of a series: the Blush Week at Project Vanity. Read my first two blush posts (if you haven't yet)! ;)

It's a Blushin' Week at Project Vanity: My top five blushes

Artdeco Blusher in 38 First Love

The MAC Dollymix Blush (~P1,300) is a hot pink shade with very fine silver and gold shimmer - intimidating in the pan, but utterly lovely on the cheeks.  It's is one of the brand's most famous shades, with a whopping 4.4/5 rating at Makeupalley. I can see why!

It's scary off the bat, but once you apply it you won't see much of that Barbie pink intensity or shimmer on your skin. This blush actually looks like a darling medium pink with a satin finish when worn. I guess I better show you!

Liquid blushes are usually watery red tints, so it's refereshing to see a creamy one like the Majolica Majorca Cream de Cheek Blush (P495). These come in four colors I believe, and I have two of them to swatch for you today.

These liquid blushes aren't solid and dense like say, lip gloss. It has powder particles suspended in a sliiiiightly oily but fast-drying liquid solution. They're intended for use on the cheeks but they are surprisingly nice on the lips once you get over the initial powdery feel. I found out just like, right now! You should try it too if you're in a pinch and this is the only color you have on hand.

Anyway. Got a bit sidetracked there! Here's a quick rundown of the Cream de Cheek.

What I love about the product

• The shades are just lovely. I have Shell Pink Cream (PK312) and Kiichigo Cream (RD411), and I love how they look on me. They have a matte, natural finish that seems to melt on skin instead of sitting on top looking fussy.
• It says on for a good four to five hours even in extremely humid weather. To extend the wear, you can top it off with a powder blush!

There are many ways to achieve a healthy flush on the cheeks. My favorite product to get that natural glow, however, is cream blush! Cream blushes give a sort of wet finish to the cheeks, and looks like it's coming from the skin instead of sitting on top. They're also quicker to use than powder blushes since they need no more than fingers for a beautiful blended finish.

One of the latest cream blushes to hit the market is Benefit Fine One One (P1,700). This tri-colored blush in stick form gives a wonderful peachy-coral flush on skin with just a couple of swipes. It has Pink Champagne, Sheer Watermelon, and Soft Coral shades in one tube to give the cheeks some "lift, shape, and pop". I quite agree with this. The well-chosen combination of colors and textures does give cheeks a sort of dimensional look, as if they're plumper (not chubby!) and healthier.

I also love how it makes my skin look brighter. Pink Champagne is a pretty good highlighter by itself, reminiscent of my fave Benefit Watt's Up! (read the review for a mini-tutorial on how to apply a cream highlighter). 

The first stories I ever read were fairy tales. My mother would always buy these little books for me, books about frog princes and warty witches and hapless goodhearted princesses. I grew up loving fairy tales and oh, what I won't give to be a princess myself! And then I got hold of a copy of Grimms' Fairy Tales when I was seven or eight. That one was a shocker for someone who had Disney stamped on her forehead.

Well, I still love princess stories no matter how sordid or saccharine they may get. :) Anyway today I will be reviewing the Etude House Etoinette Special Kit, the brand's princess-themed collection which was released last December if I'm not mistaken. It was inspired by the baroque extravagance of Marie Antoinette.

The set contains a blush, lipstick, kabuki brush, and mirror, all in pretty pastel pink packaging with elaborate dull gold flounces. It rather treads the fine line between looking classy and looking like a toy, but I'm inclined to think that it was all done tastefully. They bring a special brand of cuteness to any vanity!

The products themselves do not disappoint. Well the kabuki brush could be softer I suppose but otherwise I am loving the lipstick, mirror, and blush. Check out the swatches and how the makeup looks like when worn.

The first blush that I ever owned was from Avon, back in my first year in college. It was this peach/coral beauty under their Simply Pretty line and I loved it so much that I used it until I hit pan! It's one of the first few products that made me realize how transformative good makeup can be. :) The right color on your face can really do wonders to brighten up and bring out your features.

Anyway today I shall be writing about another great blush find: the Avon Ideal Luminous Blush in Peach (P299). You know me, I love glowy makeup, and this blush really brings light to the face. The peachy pink powder is nicely but not overly pigmented, so it's easy to get the right amount of color.

What I love about the product

• Gives such a gorgeous, glowy color to the cheeks. Luminous indeed! The peach shade is subtle so it will just blend with your skin to give you this natural flush. It's best for fair to medium tones, IMHO.

I have a LOT of lip products lined up for review so I'm trying to schedule them apart. Still, expect to see a parade of posts from balms to lipsticks in the next couple of weeks! So! Today I'll talk about a nice everyday lip and cheek tint: the Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in Peach (P328).

The color in the bottle reminds me so much of the Benefit Cha Cha Tint but don't be fooled - they're two completely different colors. Cherry Peach is a milky peach shade that's flattering on fair to medium tones. It gives just the right touch of color, while keeping lips moisturized and shiny.

What I love about the product

• It doesn't streak. You get ample time to blend it because the color doesn't sink in immediately, unlike other stains where you only have a few seconds to work the product onto your skin.
• The color is a nice creamy peach - not overly pigmented but not faint either. You might want to apply a thick layer on your lips to really get the color going.

The weather finally cleared! Yay! I don't want to sound like a weather reporter here, but I'm sure you know how  rain can disrupt the whole of Manila. Everyone is in a bad mood. Things don't get done. So at least that's finally over.

Oops, I think I spoke too soon. -_- Major rain and wind here again in The Fort! Ugh.

Anyway, today I'm going to review one of the hottest products to hit Manila recently! The Majolica Majorca Puff de Cheek in Cherry Macaron (P795) is one of the two new blushes to join the popular Puff de Cheek family. Like I said in my capsule review earlier, it is much more pigmented and a bit more long-lasting than the earlier blushes from the line. Not complaining since these two features are a must in this schizo weather! 

Color. Cherry Macaron is a red-coral mix with a bit of pink. It has fine silvery sparkles that are undetectable when worn. It imparts a nice glow on the cheeks, as an illuminator would.

A couple of weeks back, Majolica Majorca introduced its first big collection this year: Psychedelicious. The event was quite literally sweet and colorful! Everyone came dressed in bright outfits and entered a venue that may very well be Hansel and Gretel's sugar house. Except there's no witch, just fabulous makeup. 

I received a few products that I will quickly review for you guys. :)

Popping Shower Powder, Brow and Lash Colorist in BR555, Puff de Cheek in RD414

The Majolica Majorca Popping Shower Powder (P695) is a scented, sparkly body powder. It's infused with Majo's signature Majoromantica scent, a sweet, fruity concoction that I think you'll love.

People always ask me, "How do you find the time to blog?" Many of them even make the mistake of thinking that this is what I do full-time. It's simple, really. I make time for it. I wake up at 6:00 AM on a normal day, putter around the condo for tea and maybe a bite to eat, then settle down for the next three hours writing and processing photos. This isn't a precise schedule, of course, since often there are other things that need doing first. But that's how I am able to run this website. 

I'm telling you this because I want you to know that it's possible to be able to do something you love, a side project if you will, even if you think you are too busy working. There's always time if you want it badly. You just need to make it yourself. :)

Anyway, today I want to talk about a blush that I've been trying on lately: the Models Own Powder Blush in Cheeky Pink (P350 from The Makeup Suite). It's a nice affordable blush that's packaged in an expensive-looking case - something new to bring around if you're looking to impress! Now that I think of it, I think makeup artists will love this because it looks so chic and you get a lot of product in one pan. Really useful for multiple clients.

Here's my review!

What I like about the product

• Pigmented. I only need one or two layers to get a good color going.

In a day this gloomy and wet, it's hard to imagine that summer ever happened. But hey, that's not an excuse to come in to work (or wherever you're going) looking like a drowned rat! Or even a rat expecting to be drowned for that matter. Er. Well my point is that it's important to have some life and color on your face whatever the season is, which is where the Benefit Cabana Glama Makeup Kit (P2,000) comes in!

This palette has everything you need to fake that glowy summer tan. In keeping with my past experience with Benefit products, the items inside are well-formulated and designed to flatter. Here I will discuss them one by one!

Rouge is one of the first types of makeup ever. From as far back as ancient Egypt when men, women, and children painted their lips and cheeks red to the roaring 20s when color on the face symbolized women's emancipation, rouge has been a staple in every makeup kit. Fortunately, we live in the 21st century so we don't have to worry about lead and mercury poisoning from our pots/tubes of rouge. :P

That said, one product has found a permanent space in my bag: the Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Pale Pink (P1,500)!

I love this because it's extremely easy to use. Fingers and one minute is all you need with this to get perfect lips and cheeks! I have tried other cream blushes before but this one is probably the prettiest and most convenient of them all. Here's why!

What I love about the product

• It's easy to apply - with your clean fingers, dab it on the lips then pat it on the apples of your cheeks. It doesn't dry up too quickly or leave streaks so you have time to blend it properly.
• Doesn't feel greasy or thick on the lips/cheeks. It does settle as a normal stain would. 

Hi folks! It's Independence Day today! I'm sure no one is throwing a party, but I hope that we can all sit down for a moment and think about what this day means to the Philippines (technicalities aside). Freedom is something we take for granted here in our country, I think.

We complain about the corruption and the poverty, but we sometimes forget that here we live in relative freedom - we're free to worship wherever, speak our mind, work the jobs we want, dress the way we want. We can choose our partners (gender notwithstanding) without much hate from society. The Philippines is far from perfect, but freedom is (for me) one of our strongest suits.

Anyway, today I'm going to quickly review the Etude House Dear My Blooming Cheek Blush in Breathless Pink (P548). It's a pretty blush-highlighter hybrid that gives a pinkish sheen on the cheeks. Don't be scared - I know how you guys are averse to shine! But if you use just a small amount of this blush, a pinkish glow is a swipe or two away.

A product's packaging is important to the overall experience of using that product. It's not just how it actually looks like on you; it's also about how it looks like on your dresser, how it feels like when you hold it in your hands. That's why it's not surprising that people gravitate to good-looking products. The experience of using and keeping something gorgeous is just too good to pass up.

The Milani Illuminating Face Powder in Beauty's Touch (P490 at Digital Traincase) called out to me as soon as I laid eyes on it. I love the rosebud surface of the powder compact! It's too pretty to touch no? The compact itself feels like thick, sturdy plastic with a gold base. Very luxe and chic. 

Packaging oohs and ahhs aside, this powder packs a pretty wallop on skin. It has no visible shimmers or glitter but it gives this subtle pinkish glow on my face with only a few swipes.

I love makeup - not just products per se but the whole process of painting it on. It's a calming and deeply satisfying activity for me, so I don't mind setting aside some time for it. However, I gotta admit that I have lazy days too. There are days when makeup is the last thing on my mind, so I turn to no-brainer products that take only seconds to put on perfectly.

My latest discovery under this department is the Shu Uemura Creamy Dome Blusher in Fairy Pink. It's a cream to powder blush that has a very soft finish, so you don't need to blend it much or even use any tools. Just swipe and go! It's a godsend for hectic and/or lazy makeup days because it takes only all of 10 seconds to wear this.

Fairy Prink is a peachy pink shade that's not too pigmented - it's just right. I usually swipe across my cheeks twice to get a natural pink flush.

Wanna hear about a vampire-inspired beauty product has captured the imagination of girls everywhere? The Majolica Majorca Blood On Cheek Tint (P495) is a blush and lip color in a balm formulation. It feels exactly like lip balm, actually, but it's a very, very thin one and isn't waxy at all.

To be quite honest, I was lukewarm to the idea of a balm tint. I was worried that it would feel sticky, thick, and that it would clog my pores. But none of those things happened.

I think that a lot of Filipinas are wary of highlighting and illuminating products because these might make them look oilier than they already are. It's not like the weather is forgiving, no? Which may be why there's that semi-obsession with a matte face devoid of anything that remotely glows.

But I think that's an awful way to go about face makeup. Faking a glow is the best thing you can do for your face - it makes your skin look healthier, more natural, just a subtle leap ahead of ordinary and blah. Ever heard of the Benefit Watt's Up! Highlighter (P1,600)?

Before anything else, I would like to apologize for yet another Benefit rave. The brand gave me a bunch of stuff for free so you might think I am biased - but I get a bunch of stuff for free and I don't rave about all of them. So. With that out of the way, let's proceed to the review!

 What I LOVE about the product:

• This cream-to-powder higlighter is the perfect champagne shade that works with my skintone, plus it has no visible sparkles!

Okay so you packed your makeup kit with the utmost care because you want to look your best in a meeting or an out-of-town wedding. But alas! You forgot your blush! You brought three lip balms, gazillions of brushes and all manner of eyeshadows, but you didn't bring something as basic as a blush. What do you do?

a. Fall into pieces and cry like a little girl.

b. Run to the nearest mall or drugstore and buy a blush. Being late be damned.

c. Borrow a blush from an acquaintance/ semi-stranger and revel in what might be a bacteria-infested party on the compact.

d. Use your lipstick as a blush!

Kidding, just kidding. The best answer is D. You can actually use your lipstick as a blush, provided that it's matte or satin, that is.