It was very difficult to narrow down my favorite eyeshadow palettes because there are so many great ones that I use regularly. But for the sake of curation, I just picked five palettes that I use the most. They're the kind of palettes that I wear without thinking, especially when I'm in a hurry! You'll notice a lot of neutrals going on there but believe me, they're quite different from one another.

Sigma Flare Eyeshadow Palette. Didn't like this so much initially, but it has the best purple eyeshadows I've ever had! They look great on me so I overlook the chalky formula. The eyeshadows are still pigmented anyway.

Bobbi Brown Tortoise Shell Palette in Sand. This is my foolproof palette - I can never go wrong wearing this. The eyeshadows are have a soft-focus finish so they don't take much effort to apply and correct. This is my favorite when I'm off to work stuff.

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.

Last November, a new fashion brand quietly tiptoed up to the Philippines: Bershka. It’s a brand under the Inditex group, the same company that owns Zara and Mossimo Dutti to name a few. Bershka is like a younger, more carefree version of Zara at more affordable prices so I think you’ll love it!

Expect to see floral and flowy tops, miniskirts, shorts, girly dresses, scarves, and flattering jackets. What’s nice is that the clothes don’t go beyond P1,500, with an average of P700 to P900 per item. Why so affordable, you ask?

People on Twitter are ranting that Jinkee’s cover is ‘shopped so heavily that it doesn’t even look like her. It’s true, it’s Photoshopped to the nines, but not in the way of drastically altering her face. I mean, the woman is naturally pretty and is even looking better these days. Gorgeous makeup and strategic posing can go a long way in making a person look different on camera you know!

I do think they sharpened her jawline and lengthened her neck a little bit, but that’s it for changing her appearance. What annoys me most about the cover photo is how airbrushed and fake it looks. Why did they have to make it look like her skin is painted on when it already looks fine? Yeah Jinkee has some rough pores and maybe a couple of pimples but that can be softened without having the whole thing look too unrealistic.

Mega posted a behind-the-scenes video of the cover shoot last night, but it appears that the video has been taken down. Haha. Good thing I managed to take some screencaps last night! It's now back up! Watch it.

Moisturizers are your first line of offense against your skin's basic issues. Dryness, dullness, and oiliness are some of the things that moisturizers should help you out with. You leave 'em on your skin 24/7 so they should be nothing less than amazing.

Thus, I'm a little leery of trying out other moisturizers, especially from a brand like Benefit which isn't singled out for its skincare products. So many things can go wrong.

Well, none of that sort happened when I started using the Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion (P1,500)! I've been using it regularly for two months now so I can confidently say that this is a pretty good match for my combination skin. Here's why!

What I love about the product 

• Ultra light and oil-free, it is easily absorbed by my skin. It doesn't trigger extra oiliness during the day.
• Leaves an instant glow and silkiness on the face. I love how my face feels like after using this. It also showed improvement over the first few weeks I started using it.

The Elizabeth Arden Red Door Eau de Parfum is a classic perfume that was created in 1989. Since then, it has been a cult favorite around the world and has remained unchanged for the past 23 years. That's not hard to fathom because it is a memorable scent. Once you smell it, it will remain engraved on your brain.

Women my age would find it hard-pressed to appreciate the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Eau de Parfum because it smells, well, middle-aged. It's something your tita or mom would probably wear - heavily floral with a woodsy base, Red Door is a commanding scent that would suit nothing else but a strong personality. I find that older women have more of that secure sense of identity compared to younger ones. Agree or disagree?

I wasn't taken by Red Door the first time I smelled it, but it grew on me after a few more times of wearing it out. Why? Because once you get over the initial floral assault, it immediately softens into more definable smells of ylang-ylang, rose, and jasmine.

It's a holiday, the second to the last day of the year. The day is beautiful and bright, with a cool wind blowing from the south. My mind turns to oranges. I can't wait to go to the fruit market to haggle and hoard. Who wants to spend a day like this blogging? :P That's a rhetorical question though.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my top five lipsticks with you. I already shared a list of my best lipsticks last July so you can check that for more choices. This time I want to share the ones that I ALWAYS keep on hand. In my bag. On the top most tier of my dresser. 

These are lipsticks I can't live without, mainly because their colors work perfectly in sync with my skintone!

Exfoliators are useful in removing product build-up and other accumulated junk on the skin's surface. They also clean up dead skin and pore blockages, two common causes of acne. Nonetheless, you don't actually need to use exfoliators everyday. As with everything else, use them only when you need them!

That said, many exfoliators out in the market now have a tendency to be harsh on skin. Their scrub beads can be abrasive and the formula drying so they may do more harm than good. If you feel that your current exfoliator fits that profile, then perhaps it's time to switch to something more gentle yet equally effective.

Say, the new White Result Exfoliating Gel (P300 ish), for instance. It is a gommage exfoliator that starts out as a gel and dries to form physical scrub.

This Exfoliating Gel is mostly water infused with botanical extracts like bilberry, sugar cane, and citrus fruits. It also has moisturizing ingredients and film-formers in the ingredients. Once it's massaged (a minute or two), it becomes this soft, papery film that scrubs out all the junk on your face.

Observe:

Thw White Result Exfoliating Gel starts out as a cloudy gel

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.

Not gonna lie: the Lancome Teint Miracle foundation (P2,200+) is one of the best foundations I've tried this year. It claims to be a "natural light creator" and a "bare skin perfector". These are two hefty promises if you ask me, but by jove this foundation delivers them!

I was unsure about this at first because it broke me out the first few times I used it. Good thing my skin got used to the formula after three, four uses of this product. Whew. I wouldn't want to miss out on this illuminator + foundation combo, for reasons I will state below.

Fine shimmers can be seen from the bottle, but don't worry, they're not visible on your face except as a nice glow

What I love about the product

• Perfect finish. Looks like glowy skin. This is the first thing I look for in any foundation!
• Medium to heavy coverage. It's very thin and watery but a light layer of this immediately gives great coverage - it will hide lighter marks and redness without further help from concealers.

Why do you need to "set" makeup? If you like using cream/ liquid foundation or concealers, it pays to make sure that they won't slide off when you sweat or oil up. Think of wet makeup as if it were, er, pizza dough. It's malleable and easy to form in a shape you desire. Once you're done working on it though, you need to dust it with liberal amounts of flour to keep it in that shape and prevent it from sticking everywhere.

Likewise, to protect the makeup's integrity, you need to set it with a final layer of powder that will absorb our bodily excretions as they come. Gross but it happens, so be prepared!

Currently, I love using the Smashbox Photo Set Pressed Powder (P1,550). It's a winner in keeping oil at bay, plus it never looks makeup-y. It has an invisible finish that smoothens and evens out skin. As it promises in the press materials, it blurs imperfections too!

What I love about the product

• Keeps me oil-free for a good four to five hours even in humid weather, even if I'm using it on top of liquid foundation.
• Has a light coverage that minimizes imperfections such as pores, uneven patches of skin, wrinkles and light blemishes. It can be used alone, on top of concealer, or as a finishing powder.

I had work last December 15 which is why I wasn't able to catch the 11am launch of Benefit Philippines, but that didn't stop me from dropping by later in the afternoon to check out the store. Like the brand, its local store is all pink and cheeky, with big white budoirs and rose-patterned wallpaper.

Things you must do while inside: swatch everything, get a makeover from their well-trained counter assistants, and try the Brow Bar! Read my sneak peek post for product photos + complete price list.

So, without further ado, here's a tour of the place!

All the makeup is neatly laid out for you to try

I loved the concept of the Etude House Party Queen Gradation Nails from the minute I saw it. Frosts and silver glitter, oh, count me in! It's a gorgeous set of matching polishes that'll really draw attention to your hands in any party.

I've had Etude House nail polishes before and really enjoyed using them. They're easy to work with and dry quickly which makes them such a steal at only around P50 each. Please do read the review for a few more details, but the short of it is that these polishes are pretty good considering the price. 

To use this gradation nail set, all you have to do is apply them in three layers, from the lightest to the darkest.

Christmas celebrations will start tomorrow, so you should be done with your gift shopping by now. In case you aren't though, troop to VMV Hypoallergenics to get rescued! They have gorgeous holiday sets available, like this one:  

There are tons of sets out there but I think VMV trumps them all. The packaging is gorgeous - boxes come with tissue and some fluff inside, neatly tied with a grosgrain ribbon accented with mistletoe - plus you get products that your recipient will probably love. It looks expensive (but it's not since one set is on averge P1,500). It's already wrapped. The products of VMV are amazing. 

Everybody wins!

The set I have here is called Merry Goin' Round.

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.

The other day, a package arrived from Pond's. One of its contents was a gold box:

With a note:

I’m thinking of getting a new camera lately. The one I’m using now is an oooooold, old model that’s about five years old! It does take good photos though, no? My beauty blog wouldn’t be anything without such a trusty and amazing gadget.