As a beauty blogger I am in a unique position to try a LOT of makeup, skincare, fragrances, and other nifty gadgets and services related to beautifying our body. Brands and companies usually send me products to review, and that's cool because I get to sift through a pile of stuff to bring you a curated list of what's worth trying out. But nothing beats trying something yourself, right? That's the proposition of online beauty sampling services, a fairly new phenomenon in the Philippines!

Basically, you can subscribe to a sampling site, pay a fee (depending on the business model) and get a curated box full of products in trial sizes. This way you won't need to buy a full-sized item item only to find out that it doesn't suit you. In the same vein, you can also discover good, spend-worthy products that you otherwise won't venture to try by yourself.

Remember my list of five expensive beauty products that are actually good bargains? That turned out to be a pretty popular post! So I thought I'd do another version, this time on super affordable products that I think should cost way more. :) Isn't that the sweet spot, beauty products that are too good for their price tags?

Here's my top five!

Etude House Nail Polishes. Smooth, opaque, fast-drying, and fairly tough, it's hard to believe that these nail polishes only cost P50 to P175 (for the pricey lines). In my opinion, they're better than O.P.I. and Orly in terms of quality. High-end brands do have the best colors, but Etude is simply easier to wear. Can't believe they're only fifty bucks.  

In2It Waterproof Blushes. Actually, anything In2It is such a steal! I love their eyeliner, foundation, and eyeshadows. I thought of including the blushes here though because they're my best find from that brand. Smooth, pigmented, and long-lasting, In2It blushes are worth more than P375 (for me). The colors are so flattering too!

The richest people that I personally know are ironically the most frugal ones out there. If they can save on something, they would. Every cent counts when they’re doing business or just simply purchasing something for themselves! This means that, even if they have the money to buy something (say a designer bag) they won’t do it if it sets them back more than what they get out of the deal (vis a vis personal gratification).

And yet, these people understand the value of high quality products, and spend accordingly. They have cost-per-wear down to a science. So that got me thinking: what are high-end beauty products that are absolutely worth their hefty price tags? I have five suggestions!

Guerlain Meteorites Perles in Teint Dore 03. I reviewed this wonder powder last April 2011. I’ve been using it almost every time I wear makeup. In one year and five months, I’ve only used up maybe 25-30% of the powder! That aside, however, the powder is the best complexion enhancer that I’ve tried EVER. It smoothens and illuminates skin instantly. To do all that you only need a bit of powder. It’s worth P3,000 but for a product that you can use up to three years, that price is a steal.

Benefit Hervana Blush. This is a fantastic blush because it goes perfectly with fair to medium skintones and most makeup looks you can think of. It’s a harmonious blend of peach, pink, and mauve, so it’s very versatile. It’s P1,600 but you get 8 grams of product which will take forever to finish. (The blush has good staying power on skin too!)

Last Thursday I guested at Karrots Nazareno's show, Live Love Lolz. It was the most fun I've had in a while! There we tried the Pagoda Cold Wave lotion (the real thing), talked about beauty and fashion tips, and blogging of course.

Click the image to view the 44-minute podcast!

Before you watch I would like to apologize in advance for my very obvious scalp (got my hair blowdried and the salon person put something in my hair that sort of separated them on top) and for fidgeting a lot. But! It's okay. Hope you still enjoy watching.

Some highlights:

Pagoda Cold Wave lotion review: the ultimate beauty review. Hehe.

It's that time of the month again! Here are my favorite finds last month. There's quite a few lip products here, I noticed, but there's also a couple of skincare gems that I think I'll stick with.

Here you go!

The Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter is not perfect, but the beautiful color selection, texture, and packaging more than makes up for its shortcomings. It still is a pretty kickin' lip product!

Sleek MakeUP True Color Lipsticks are amazingly pigmented and the colors are just wow! They feel rather dry to me, but nothing lip balm can't fix. Mystic, a deep purple shade, is such a statement color.

I see Cinema Secrets in beauty aisles all the time, but I've never purchased from them. The price is one factor but another thing that kept me away is how medieval this brand feels! It's not hip (like MAC), cute (Benefit) or aspirational (Lancome), if you know what I mean. It's Cinema Secrets and you take it or you leave it.

Branding aside, Cinema Secrets is famous for being exactly that - the secret of makeup artists for cinema and even the stage. Their products are designed to withstand the heat and effect of harsh lighting, sweat and oil, long hours, and other unpleasant side effects of being an actor in front of the camera or audience.

Cinema Secrets makeup has uses beyond the entertainment industry, however.

I've already shared some of 2012's upcoming makeup trends, and this time, I have more! MAC Philippines recently launched their Spring-Summer 2012 Trend Recap, which features four looks that will be huge this year. We're talking iredescent, lit-from-within skin, strong eyebrows, matte/satin lips, metallic shades, and bold swatches of color in strategic areas.

Nicole Thomson, a Senior Makeup artist at MAC, flew in from Australia to demonstrate the new beauty looks to the press at Midas Hotel. 

And here are the looks to beat this year!

Neo-N

Gorgeous, not grittily graffiti-esque, it’s about wearing neoprene colour against plump, workout-fresh skin and an aerodynamic brow in an effortlessly chic, considered way.

I was surfing through the interwebs yesterday when I saw a young personal blogger wearing a questionable outfit. I won't go into details but the look is so wrong on so many levels! I'm not being mean or trying to position myself as a fashion expert, but I will think of myself as sensible when it comes to clothes. And the things that I am seeing some young women wear these days do not make a lot of sense.

I wore this when I met Daniel Matsunaga last year. I wish. I didn't.

I know I've worn some questionable outfits in the past myself (above), but I have learned not to repeat my mistakes thanks to some people's catty comments. Criticism is painful - often unbearably so - but they need to be said and heard if anyone is to move forward. And this is what I think about the fashion blogger culture and their truckloads of followers.

Do not aspire to (e.g. copy) everything that fashion bloggers show you. That sounds harsh, but again, I am not trying to be mean. Famous fashion bloggers are famous for a bunch of reasons - they are pretty, with (usually) svelte and willowy figures, and they are one step ahead of local trends.

If you are not any of those things, then restrain yourself from copping all their looks.

I'm not a mother yet, so I can't presume to know how it's like to be one. But I do have a general idea because I have a mom, after all! I'm pretty sure that moms must always be busy and exhausted, with very little time to spend on primping themselves. So how do they ever find the time?

Super mom May Samson with her daughter

They should make time. It's understandable that family always comes first, but it's important that moms - or any person, for that matter - set aside some personal time to maintain their looks. It doesn't have to be a lot, but it has to count. It's not just vanity at stake here but one's self-esteem. 

So, here are some beauty and fashion tips for busy moms!

1. Ageing is a natural course of things, but there's no need to hasten it by being remiss in your skincare routine. It's a fact that the older you get, the more your skin is prone to sun damage and dryness. Invest in a great day moisturizer with SPF, a night moisturizer, serum, and eye cream to keep your skin elastic and glowing.

Some product suggestions:

VMV Hypoallergenics Armada Face Cover 30

Lancome Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector 

You knew this was coming, right? I did a list of my top foundations, lipsticks, eyeshadow palettes, and now, eyeliners! Eyeliners come in three major forms - cream pencil, liquid, and gel. It's not a question so much of what is the best eyeliner out there. It's more on what is the best eyeliner that fits your needs?

If you're always in a rush and want a soft, natural line, go for pencil liners. If you want sharp cat-eye lines, go for liquid. If you're a pro and want your eyeliner to be immaculate and easily controled (using your preferred brush), go for gel liners. No brainer!

And so, here are my favorite eyeliners. I use them depending on the look I'm going for and how much time I have to dress up my eyes. ;) PS - my all-time favorite eyeliner is the MAC Fluidline, but I didn't include it here because I simply wanted to share other eyeliner finds.

The Kanebo Kate Gel Eyeliner is a nice dupe of the MAC Fluidline, at almost half the price for P660. It's too creamy and skids a little, but who cares as long as it doesn't budge and delivers a solid black line in one swipe?

I love the Majolica Majorca Perfect Automatic Liner. It has an excellent brush that gives me this perfect, precise line everytime, and it doesn't smudge on me all day.

I feel a little apologetic writing this because almost all of my best finds last month teeter on the expensive side (those are what I've been receiving from brands lately). They truly are worth it though, if the specific product fits your skin and lifestyle needs that is! This January I hope to try unforgettable mid-priced products to share with you guys, so hold on to your seats for that.

In the meantime,here's a list of my top 10 favorite finds last December!

The Benefit Brow Zings is currently my favorite eyebrow product. They sculpt and define my eyebrows, giving them this dark tint that I normally won't go for but looks great on me anyway.

Safe for work and perfect for fun, the Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Pink is a lipstick shade that wiill never go out of style. It's one of those colors that works for all skintones.

The Shu Uemura High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil is the best makeup remover out there because it's not just a makeup remover - it's also a pretty awesome skincare product.

Jen Gerodias-Diaz was driving when she spotted a factory that manufactured soaps. She was looking for gifts to give to her friends that Christmas, so she thought of handing out personalized soaps. “They loved it!” she said. That’s when her mind started churning out ideas for what would be one of the rising beauty brands right now: Snoe Beauty Inc.

Running a business isn’t new to Jen. She already owns several pawn shops and gas stations but she wanted to indulge her kikay side this time. With the help of her sister-in-law, Gen Enriquez-Gerodias, the tag team conceptualized Snoe (pronounced as sno-wee).

I've been googling 2012 trends like crazy lately - for work as well as for personal use. I came across some makeup looks that I find interesting and wearable enough to wear here so I want to share them with you! I'm sure you must already be bored with your usual looks (as am I) so listen up.

Bright pops of color. Bright colors will never really go away - it's just a matter of which color is on trend. For this year it seems that there will be a lot of yellows, aquas, and pinks for summer. I like this exaggerated cat-eye shape with yellow eyeliner on top. The pink lips and lapis nail polish adds to that festive yet utterly sophisticated theme.

The "London Look". Sullen and aloof, Londoners have that untouchable yet polished look down to a science. The hair is a little mussed, with deep-socketed eyes and barely tinted lips.

I fancy myself as a foundation expert (humor me) because I've tried a goodly number of that stuff. I've lost count, but I've narrowed it down to six foundations which I consider are the best I've used to date. They're the ones I keep coming back to because of their superb formula and finish. That's not to say that the other ones I've raved about before are not good ha; they're just not the best.

Anyway, here's a list of my favorite foundations of all time! Do click the links to read the full review of each product. I use these regularly depending on where I'm going and what I'm doing so I'll explain that.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation. Yeah you should've seen this coming! Still one of the best there is for me. It has a satin, flawless finish that covers all my skin's sins. It's also so economical that a bottle can last you for more than a year even with regular use.

Last week I actually found out that I still have 20-25% of this stuff left in the bottle, which is mind blowing considering I bought this on September 2010.

I use this when...It's my all-around foundation, especially when my skin is terrible.

I'm a voracious blog reader. Personally, I enjoy reading honest-to-goodness writing and lovely photos. Professionally, I need to listen to the pulse of the industry. That's why I'm happy that there are so many new beauty and fashion blogs that cropped up this year! They introduced me to more individuals with interesting styles and points of view.

Photo from Paul

Aside from following popular beauty and fashion bloggers (like Nikki, Sophie, Shen, Jill, Laureen, Camille, and such), I also like to browse through every blog in the niche that I can find. There are other bloggers, however, whose updates I really look forward to reading. I like how they talk, mostly. :)

Bless My Bag. Gorgeous photos, writing, and blogger. Julia is now working as a professional makeup artist, which I really admire! If you don't follow her blog yet, you MUST.

Anartechoke. Ae looks like a model, but she's actually an architect. Her makeup musings and looks are practical and straight-to-the-point, but she has a quiet glamour about her. I know because I met her once. Love.

If you're a girl with a budget to mind, it pays to know where you can penny pinch or spend big on beauty goodies. It should keep you from buying expensive items that have more affordable substitutes.

However, if you have a bit of windfall once in a while, it wouldn't hurt to buy big-ticket beauty items simply because they feel luxurious to use (in terms of packaging and texture), plus they're simply more reliable (in terms of overall efficacy or staying power). Most expensive products are pricey for a reason.

Ok let's go!

Beauty products to splurge on:

• Moisturizer. Moisturizers are the kind of things you can't take a chance on. Use the wrong one and you break out. Simple. Use the right one and you have moisturized skin. Period. Use a great one and you have glowing skin! These are usually expensive, but that's for a reason.

• Serum. If you like giving your skin an extra boost, serums are your best bets. They offer to alleviate problems like wrinkles, oily skin, blemishes, roughness, and so on. And whoop tee do, the really good ones actually do. For a price.

Yesterday, I dropped by Market! Market! to pick up a lovely gift from Etude House. We agreed that I was to pick it up today, but since I was in the area yesterday, I thought I'd take a chance and just see if the package was already available. And it was! I know that sounds like a small thing but it was a very pleasant surprise for busy bee me.

I got the Wanna Be Collection as illustrated by Annika Wester. The packaging is, to put it mildly, absolutely gorgeous! The illustrations are ace but the matte, thick cartons really add to that expensive feeling. I can't bear to throw the boxes away!

The Etude Girl illustrations by Annika Wester

Here we go again, my list of top finds last month! November has been a good month for me, blogging and work-wise, because I got to try a bunch of great stuff plus finalize new projects. It also ended with good news, so I'm in a really great mood right now. Happy is the word. How was your Movember?

Before you let me know, read through my top picks first! Lol.

The MAC Mineralize Blush in Love Joy looks amazing on me. It's a gem of a shade. This is my favorite blush as of the moment! The formula is a little intimidating to use at first but once you get the hang of it you'll love it too.

Love the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Mineral Makeup SPF15! It's my default foundation of late, when I expect to be out for half a day (I use a longwearing foundie when I plan to be out 8-12 hours). It looks amazing on me - like, no joke. Really looks like skin just better! 

Looking for eyeshadows on a budget? Fret not, for the IN2IT Eye Colour Palettes are there for you. They're pigmented and the texture is amazing. Must-try.

Christmas is in two months, and while that's more than enough time to prepare, it pays to start early. Malls will be unnavigable by November so it's best to start your Christmas shopping right now. Are you out of Christmas gift ideas? No sweat, I have a few of my own!

Of course, this list is intended mostly for your female friends and relatives. Even if they're not kikay, they'll definitely appreciate these very affordable beauty treasures! They're guaranteed to brighten anyone's day since they work extremely well. On your end, they don't cost much BUT they're far from looking cheap and ending up on your recipient's re-gift basket. ;)

Let's do it!

Asian Secrets Lulur is hands-down the best body scrub I've EVER tried. More importantly, I'm not the only one who thinks so! Almost everyone has tried tried it loved it. No joke. It's only P130 in Watsons too.

WHO TO GIVE IT TO: A friend or relative who's always stressed, with skin looking a little dull. This scrub instantly brightens skin and allows the user to loosen up and enjoy the gentle scrub beads.

The Avon Ultra Moisture Rich Lipstick is one of the most user-friendly lipsticks I've ever tried, with a quality similar to high-end brands. It's moisturizing so you don't need lip balm - swipe and go! It's perfect for your low-maintenance friend who's looking a little pale.