December post! It's supposed to be late post for end of November, but I forgot to publish it!
I guess I'll just be blogging my heart away since I miserably fail filming the process of doing my makeup, but then I'm still too eager to shoot a shorter video tonight and I really hope this will be the first video I'll upload on my Youtube Channel.

For today's look, it's inspired by my favorite makeup look of all time, the half-girl half-skull, or simply the Skull girl concept. I've done a half skull look in the past, If I'm not mistaken it has been 5 years ago, and I still think it's pretty dope for a beginner to try it out.. (plus the help of Photoshop) Still, I thirst for a better Skull Girl look without the help of of PS so I gathered up my makeups and face paint and planned the day ahead. Luckily it's my younger bro's day off, so I asked him to help and do the outline for the other half of my face. My bro is an art teacher and he has mastered artworks though paints and airbrush. Doing the outline for skulls were too easy for him. 

On the right side of my face I did my own take of iconic red lips paired with sleek eyebrows and cat eyes. I also did a few eye contouring since I'm not into super winged liners coz it makes my eyes look smaller. I also did soft contouring on my cheeks, nose, forehead and jawline using a darker face powder.

Product Deets

FACE

Quick fx Oil Mattifier/Primer

Naturactor Cover Face Cream Foundation

Revecen Cream Foundation in Nude Beige

Naturactor Powder Foundation

Heroine make Smooth Finishing Powder

BROWS

Makeup Geek Matte Eyeshadow in Mocha

Nichido Mineral Pencil in Chestnut

Avon brow pencil in soft black

Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyebrow Brush

EYES

Mac Eyeshadow in Tempting

Makeupgeek eyeshadow in Badabing

Makeupgeek eyeshadow in Corrupt

Christian Dior Eyeliner in Noir

Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black

Clinique High Impact Mascara

Glintz False Eyelashes

Revlon eyelash curler

CHEEKS

Revecen Mineral Powder blush in Orange

Revecen Mineral Powder Blush in Sandy Brown

LIPS

Mac lipstick in Russian Red

For the left side of my face I sectioned it into half with white face paint from Glamour, and my bro started working it out by doing outlines that resembles that of a skull and filled each with black face paint. After that we just shadowed it out with my matte black eye shadow which is Corrupt from Makeup Geek.

Here's the finished look. My post may be short but the process of doing this took a lot of time, two memory cards have exceeded their memory so I just gave up filming it. I think I should do two separate looks for each instead of one long video.

You can check out my Instagram for more videos about this look and more. @thevirtualvixen

Lastly, I'm so lucky to receive an early Christmas gift from my very own Santa... Yes, I'm talking about my husband. This is the second makeup traincase I received from him this year and this time, it has 4 bulbs!

Just in time for my makeup gig this month, my batchmate/colleague Jurish's wedding day. I was already planning to bring my ring light though it's too bulky, then my husband said I should buy a traincase with light. I was torn between 4 bulbs and 6 bulbs, but the 6 bulb is too big! I don't think I can easily bring it on not so big makeup gigs. I want it handy and cute, besides I already have my ring light if I need to film or do some portrait photography. I'm literally on cloud nine!

As I've mentioned before I'm all out when buying makeups but I'm a bit skeptical to buy them a house, a traincase I mean. It has always been my husband who decides that just like his guitars, my makeups need a shelter, and as my makeup collection grows, then I should add a shelter for them, or buy another one.

This is just the beginning for my makeup journey. Harmonium Music Studio just opened last November 18th, and I was tasked to become their Makeup/Beauty Instructor under art class, so aside from being a dance instructor, I'll be doing another stuff that I love! Life can be really hard at times, but once the blessing comes, it's overflowing.

Thanks for reading guys! Unfortunately, no video on my channel yet! But soon enough, I'll be uploading one, and I really can't wait to share it with you.

Hello there! My follow up blog post didn't take that long, unlike what I have thought.Now I'm sharing with you another short post about my take on fall makeup. It's like almost every year I wear plum lips just to celebrate and welcome fall season, though I ironically we never had fall/autumn in this tropical country. I just love those dark colors that perfectly fits with cold season. Fortunately in this hot county no one can stop me from rocking dark vampy lips and smokey eyes. Everyone should deal with it, for me it's the way of life.

I've seen a lot of fall/autumn makeup looks early in September and I've planned ahead on what shades to mix together to create my own interpretation of fall/autumn. Though I wish I had plenty of time layering it on and blending it more. It still turned out pretty nice though.

Before I did my makeup I also tested my ring light and I've decorated my background, but the lights weren't very visible enough. I've mentioned from my previous post that my ring light is just D.I,Y. and it's composed of 8 light bulbs. My dad did the wiring and wood cutting. I'm so thankful how supportive my dad was. He even bought all the materials needed. He actually wants me to stop with my other job and focus on doing makeups, blogging and in the future, vlogging. He said I'm more successful when it comes to doing my passion rather than doing other things. Well, to be honest, I've earned so much money and recognition though dancing and doing makeups. Now I'm so determined to improve my craft and learn more things that still relates to makeup and dancing.

Product Deets:

FACE

Quick Fx Oil Mattifier

Naturactor Cover Cream FOundation in 151

Revecen Face Cover Foundation in Nude Beige

Naturactor Powder foundation in shade 240

Revecen mineral Powder

BROWS

Nichido Mineral Eyebrow Pencil in Chestnut

Makeup Geek matte eyeshadow in Mocha

Anastasia Beverly Hills eyebrow brush

Avon eyebrow liner in soft black

EYES

Fashion 21 white eyeliner

Etude House House Mix and Mix Palette

Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Mosaic Eyeshadow in Eye candy

Sephora Custom Eyeshadow Palette in Purple

Makeup Geek matte eyeshadow in Corrupt

Heroine Make Liquid Eyeliner

Red Cherry False Eyelashes

Christian Dior Eyeliner in Noir

Revlon Eyelash Curler

CHEEKS

Revecen Mineral Powder in Sandy Brown

Maybelline Mineral Blush in Dusty Rose

Mac Hello Kitty Powder Blush in Tippy

Heroine Make Eye Jewelry in Yellow Sapphire as highlighter

LIPS

Wet n' Wild Megalast Lipstick in Cherry Picking

Sadly this pretty lipstick of mine that has been my favorite ever since I've bought it went missing on Hallow's eve. I've been asking my cousins if ever they've seen it on the floor or somewhere else e but they said they've never seen such. I'm still sad about it and I'm determined to buy one...

I hope you all liked this very short but brief post for my fall look! I hope my next post will be the extension of my vlog! Wish me luck! Ciao once again! :)

Hi everyone! So I was about to sleep one night, mind filled with so many things to do then suddenly I realized I've skipped writing a blog post for October! I was like, "When was my last post?". So I would like to update everyone about what happened last month and early this month, just in case I will also skip writing more updates for November. Anyway, it has been pretty rough and busy for me, October just passed, and almost everyday passes so swiftly. I have so many things to do and I don't have time for everything!

Though there were so many things that happened and should be told,  I also want to rant about the bad traffic we have in this country. Seriously, I always spend 6 hours of my time on the road! That precious 6 hours will never come back, and I just hate this country's situation for that. It makes me want to compare how good it is to live and work in Singapore.. wish I can go back, and bring my whole family in there.

Time to reveal the good news. Last September I've attended the Beauty Bound Asia Manila Event and just like what I've said I couldn't join the contest coz I lack equipment and to my surprise, I was invited by the network manager of the biggest network here in the Philippines, of course none other than ABS-CBN. They're having the multi channel network supporting Filipino vloggers that might make it big on Youtube.

Yes you've read it correctly it's more on vlogging, and after meeting with the network manager at the ELJ Building I've decided to finally pursue vlogging and becoming a beauty vlogger. I really hope I'll reach the guru status on Youtube and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Since ABS-CBN will be helping with the promotion and monetizing my channel I was so happy and I just don't know how and where to start.

As soon as I get home I planned everything I need. The camera, lights, background, microphone and more. As of now I just need a good video editing software, and just the perfect time to shoot. Actually, everyday has always been so perfect, except the time wasted on traffic whenever I go to the office and of course as soon as I get home I don't want to waste time and ignore my baby who waited for me for more or less 12 hours every time I go out, and every time we lay on our bed and cuddle I'm always the first one to fall unconscious. It's because being stuck in a traffic jam is so tiring for me, I couldn't stay awake all night.

THE SPOOKS

My favorite time of the year has also passed, and yearly, for Hallow's Eve I have tons of plan on what to do on my face. Donning a freaky costume is actually not on my list, just face paints and makeups. I actually have a lot of ideas and I'm sure though it's past Halloween now, please expect more freaky inspired looks from me soon!

As a Halloween freak, I've done two makeup looks while trying my new D.I.Y.ring light. I did a few trial videos and portrait photography. Though I was busy I was preoccupied with plans and I was even dying to do fall makeup look coz now it's the right time to rock dark, vampy lips, and I've waited so long for it.

I'm trying to venture out with Special Effects makeup and I've already mentioned it in 2012 that I want to learn how to do gore looks and attend a special effects class.At first I thought doing it would be really hard,since tools were pretty expensive and hard to find, but I became motivated when my two MUA friends posted their very own special fx makeup. Sheila did trypophobia wound or burn sfx, and my friend other friend Sheena attended sfx makeup class from Makeup Forever in Taiwan. I was also jealous with their mad skills. They both nailed it!

Sheila Zarraga and her wound with maggots sfx.

Sheena Cong-De Los Eyes and her broken finger. Ouch!

So the jealous me made my first gore look and it's inspired by the infamous Joker smile/Chelsea Smile.

It's also known as Cheshire Grin and Glasgow smile, and it means the mouth's cut from ear to ear, bloody as hell. Common sharpies used were scissors, but in the Batman Movie the Joker has a razor. Most MUAs loved the idea of this look every time Halloween's about to approach, and it makes me think of that scary photo I saw of Black Dahlia that haunted me for weeks after seeing it.

I tried to learn first on how to do it and I've watched several tutorials from pro muas but they're using some serums that shrinks the skin and latex. Since I don't have those everything I did was D.I.Y. and of lesser cost.

I just used a foundation that matches my skin tone, eyelash adhesive, tissue papers, scissors, artificial blood, black, red and dark brown eye shadows, cheap makeup brushes and that's it!

For the ingredients of the edible artificial blood, I raid my aunt's kitchen (lol she's a baker) and mixed corn syrup, water, food colors: red, a bit of green and blue, chocolate syrup from my fridge and flour. Just make sure the consistency is blood like.

Now here's the short video I posted on my Instagram!

I'm always sold whenever I see a compact that's completely filled with everything I need on my face, and it doesn't matter whether they're expensive or not as long as the color palette inside it were from my favorite shades and hues. If a certain compact is filled with just eye and cheek colors, I might give it a second thought since I always want it to come with a lip color. If it has it, then there goes my hard earned money.

For years I've had 5 travel palettes and I love them. Every time I get busy with school and work I always reach for easy to bring compacts that carries all the essentials. I'm not a travel junkie until I reached my late 20's, and now my need for a sleek all in one compact has become inevitable. I need a purse-friendly palette that shouldn't be bigger than the my hands. Christian Dior Travel Kit is the bomb alright, coz it's Dior, but it's too big to be travel friendly for me plus the shades weren't really my type. Yes I'm a fan of colorful and creative eye shadows but not for my everyday use, or work-appropriate. It's my least favorite, except it has the Dior show mascara.

The makeup palette that made me dream of having another one, and the better one.
This limited edition Christian Dior Travel Studio Kit has everything!
Unfortunately I really don't dig the eye and lip colors.

Finally, the compact that I've been eyeing on since 2011 is now in front of me, and I would like to share with you how happy I am! It's actually expensive so it took years for me to have the guts to purchase it, I should thank myself for being Mary Kay's beauty consultant. I paid it for half of its original price.

 

It's so sleek and everything that I need in my daily busy life is here in one small magnetic compact. No more lipstick falling out from my makeup bag, or too many single eye shadow pots that I couldn't even put together, and no more makeup brushes with long handles that are also complicated to bring with me. You can choose from three empty again I repeat EMPTY magnetic palettes, a smaller one that can fit three eye colors, one cheek color and applicators. everything that's inside it were sold separately, and if you fill it with the eye shadow and cheek color of your choice plus brushes and your fave lippie, it'll cost 3,085 pesos.. a little less expensive than Dior Travel Kit. Later I'll give you an idea on how each of them costs.

There are three available empty compacts and I chose the small one that has a room for a lipstick. A space for a lippie? Definitely yes, it made me weak! Since I have the chance to customize everything, I get too excited to build my very own compact.

For the choice of eye colors/palettes this one is the bloodiest. It has to be three and one eye color costs 330 pesos already. Multiply it by three and it's already 990 pesos. There's another available one that costs 700 pesos and holds 4 eye shadow palette but the gold/bronze hues that I want isn't available. The shades I picked were Gold Cost which is a pale gold color that can also act as a highlighter, Amber Blaze which is an orangey gold color and French toast which is a bronze-taupe color. They're all shimmery neutrals and very pigmented.

For my cheek color it has to be my holy grail mineral blush from Mary Kay, and the shade's name's Shy. It's actually the prettiest blush powder I've owned. Labeled as a dupe for the cult's fave and best selling blush of all time Orgasm blush by Nars, it's a gorgeous pinky peach cheek powder blush with golden sheen to it. It gives a natiural looking flush then the gold shimmer acts as illuminator/highlighter for your cheek bones. A big plus is that it's a universal flatterer.

Swatches of the mineral eye colors, cheek color and the true dimensions lipstick.

My brain splits into two as I tried to decide whether to get the True Dimensions lipstick in silver tube (850 pesos) or the signature lipstick in black tube (750 pesos). When my sales director told me that True Dimensions Lipstick helps to plump up the lips and cure cracks and wrinkles, I was sold.

I chose Magenta.Chill. and to my dismay it's too glossy.. I'm not a fan of shimmery glossy glittery lips so I might replace this one soon, however it's a beautiful lip color that smells like a certain flower. Not a rose exactly, there's a strong floral note and a bit overwhelming for me. One thing that it's helpful was when I rode the bus with my husband and I cringe upon smelling the air freshener. I put the lippie on and I kept on smelling it the whole trip. Yes you got it right I need to pout so my upper lip will touch the tip of my nose!

The brush applicators were pretty decent yet they're not synthetic animal hair. For 50 pesos and 80 pesos they''re not a bad catch at all. Besides they all fit perfectly on the space provided for either brushes or more makeups.

When sold separately this is how it all looks like, and this is how you begin putting them together. They're all secured in a thick plastic casing, though if you prefer to just buy them alone without the magnetic palette they're not fall-proof and breakage-proof... Just like what happened to my first mineral Shy blush.

 

Prices:
Mary Kay Custom Compact (unfilled) - 695 pesos
Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color - 330 pesos each
Mary Kay Mineral Cheek Color - 420 each
Mary Kay Brush Applicator for eyes - 50 pesos
Mary Kay Brush Applicator for cheeks - 80 pesos
Mary Kay True Dimensions Lipstick - 850 pesos

Here's my MOTD using the eye & cheek colors plus the glossy true dimensions lippie. It look good though and i love it. On my face I used Mary Kay Time Wise Matte Foundation in Beige 02 mixed with Naturactor Coverface Foundartion in 150, the I used the rest of the colors inside the palette.

You can buy these at beautybymarykay and if you've been linked to this online store through my blog you can avail a 5% discount to each product.

What I didn't expect is my Mac bullet just perfectly fits it! Look! It won't even fall off!

I hope y'all liked this post and little review about Mary Kay's Custom Palette. It's definitely a working woman/busy woman must have since it carries everything and very handy. Now that I'm too busy with work and other sidelines plus unexpected travels and sleep overs, this is all I need. Now I need to buy a new Mac lipstick coz I need another new lippie of good quality since I always talk to clients and I always hang out with my team mates and bosses. That lippie sitting there is none other than Mac Flamingo lipstick.

Have to go now ladies! This weekend's going to be really busy once again, please wait for more blog post! Ciao~!

 

Hello Lovelies! Things are getting pretty crazy right now and I'm actually tired most of the time. Reason behind this is that I've got a new job as a Property Specialist, met my first sale within 10 days of starting with the company and now I'm juggling work, family and vanity.

My week has been pretty hectic but then I still can say I'm too lucky to attend the much awaited and coveted Beauty Bound Asia.

BUT FIRST! MY SIDE OF THE STORY

I'm so stupid.. I know.. for not knowing what this competition is all about. This past few weeks my makeup buddy and friend Sheena has been telling me about it since she joined Beauty Bound Asia competition in Taiwan. She told me the mechanics and asked me if I want to join since she can invite a friend, and that lucky friend happened to be me! At first I immediately said yes, coz I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, then conflict came as my team with my new job has planned more activities and guest events even on weekeds to meet the sales quota for the month of September. Though Sheena told me the details I haven't fully absorbed it since I'm always tired and sleepy whenever I get home. I have an energetic toddler to attend to, and at night til dawn I usually chat with clients working overseas.

Finally, I learned that Beauty Bound Asia is a competition sponsored by SK-II and they're looking for the next Beauty Creator just like Michelle Phan, and the winner of Beauty Bound Asia will receive more than US$10,000 worth of prizes, including beauty products, an all-expense paid trip to Tokyo and New York, and exclusive money-can’t-buy opportunities to learn and collaborate with some of the world’s top creators!

Anyway going back, Sheena asked me to make an "about me" video as an entry, and though I'm so excited for it, I'm still thinking until now when will be the best time to make it. She told me to prepare for the workshop this coming 19th, and unfortunately there's another activity for work.

That Saturday morning I got up, fixed my hubby's needs coz he has to work, and I get back to sleep. I have an itinerary that day that still relates to work, then Sheena sent me a message around 1pm that I'm one of the semi finalist! I was like, wait, what??

I checked my email and I found out that there's a mandatory workshop that day and it'll start in a hour!!!

I was like "what should I do?" We didn't know it'll be on 5th, Sheena thought it'll be on 19th just like what is scheduled in Taiwan. I actually don't know what to do and can't even decide. Sheena's like an angel whispering to my ears to go get dressed and get your $500 worth of goodies!

Good thing I already took a shower, so I immediately get dressed and put as little makeup as possible, got no time coz I need to get there in an hour. Sadly I left home at exactly 2pm, and surely the event's already starting. To make things worse, the travel time from Cavite to Makati (due to bad traffic) takes about an hour and a half or two.. So I just kept calm and told myself I'll just get the freebies, and it'll be until seven, I still can make it.

ARRIVING AND OBSERVING

When I arrived at the event which is in Axon Green Sun Hotel in Makati, everyone's already inside. When I went to the registration I asked the people in charge there if I'm already too late and the pretty nice girl said I just arrived on time, it's just starting! Then she gave me Bai water, gave my ID which has my name on it (I'm in the New Friend category) and I really saw my name there, they're really expecting every possible semi finalist that they've emailed!

As soon as I got inside I looked around, the place is dark and elegant. I saw the buffet table, saw the girls watching as the host Miss Nicole Anderson's about to introduce the guest speaker: Miss Tu Nguyen from Singapore. She's one of the managers of Youtube.

I sat calmly, saw cameras everywhere... I'm surrounded by pretty girls. Some were girls I just met for the first time, and boy! their makeups were so flawlessly applied. Their hair's nicely done, in different shades from blonde to blonde ombre, to colorful ombres..some tied up their hair, some curled it, some have it straightened. They're the famous bloggers and vloggers for sure, and I gotta check their faces first..

OMG MOMENT

When I looked on my left, I saw Ana Patricia Victorino! I was like OMG it's her. She's sitting next to Rai Contawi. When I looked on my right I saw Shebby Liquete (I'm a big fan of Shebbychic!) infront of me sits Kristine of RealAsianBeauty and to stun me more, I saw another pretty lady from far right smiling, it's Say Tioco Artillero (another fan girl here!) What a day!!! I'm inside a room filled with my favorite people on Youtube.

Now I realized why of all the days I wore tons of makeup, why I didn't wear much today?

I felt ugly though. Then I listened to Miss Tu and we had our 20 minute break. That's when I went to the restroom and planned to put makeup on.

so this is how I basically look that day.

When I looked at the mirror I thought I didn't look bad at all, besides my light makeup just made me look simple, so I just swirled mineral powder and a flat top brush on my face and put on again my Mac Flamingo lipstick... and I found myself standing next to Shebby. It's awkward! Should I say "Hi!" or ? so I just looked at her, I don't know what to say..

yes that girl who's caught just walking behind me is Kristine of RealAsianBeauty

the next pretty girl behind me is none other than Ana Patricia

THE AGENDA

The whole activity was about guiding the beauty enthusiasts and introducing us to the world of vlogging in the correct way. It was also mentioned how to monetize from your Youtube account, optimizing and growing an audience, what to do and what's not... I was so convinced to start up my own channel

THE WORLD OF VLOGGING

It's fun I know, and I'm so encouraged and now I'm determined to start vlogging though for sure it won't be soon.It takes commitment. Most of my friends and relatives have all been pushing me to start my own channel and do tutorials, and I've heard it all since 2008, but I just ended up blogging my heart out. With blogging, I can do it on my free time. There's too much effort for me when it comes to filming and editing, not to mention the fear of copyright issues with music.

The three judges for the said event were Say, Ana Patricia and Kristine of RealAsianBeauty. There was an interview with Miss Tu about how they start up with their channels, a few advice and tips and even how to deal with haters.

The event ended at around 6:30 pm, and I get the chance to have my picture taken with my favorite vloggers. First I went beside Ana Patricia, though there were so many girls already surrounding her doing their public vlog. After successfully having a picture with Ana, though it's blurred, I went straight to Shebby. She's so nice, she asked for my name coz she already saw me earlier. we had a picture, a bit blurry too. Then the girls were too busy with their groups so I went straight to Say. She's a darling and I must say the friendliest. She asked for my name, had a picture together and this time it's bright and focused. I told her I'm new to this and I haven't vlogged, no friends either and she's like "then I'm your friend now!" and hugged me! I was so happy I'm such a fan girl. She even asked me about the interview they had (she must be nervous) and I told her she looked the most real and most humorous, which is really true coz she cracks me up while she was sharing her experiences.

Finally! With Ana Patricia Victorino

With my fave Shebby Liquete (Shebbychic)

With my fave Lindsay Tioco Artillero

With my new friend/makeup buddy Shiela Zarraga

It was a great day, a good event, I met a new friend and she's Sheila Zarraga (so young and pretty). We even ate together, had a good talk and I really hope we could hang out once again, she's fun to be with!
I went home with a big bag of goodies which says "Do not open until you're ready to film!"

Of course the more they say DO NOT, the more I WILL OPEN IT. I think it's pretty ok to share what's inside it now since some have already opened theirs and submitted their entry. The contents will be part of the "Unboxing" challenge, and what's inside is a very expensive/luxurious Skincare brand  SK-II. (will review about it next time)

 I'm still not sure yet if I can actually compete and join, let's see this week if I can find time, film 3 videos and edit it.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. But then if not, then I'll just wait for the right time. I'm not in a hurry.

As soon as I reached home I checked out the IG accounts of the pretty ladies I've met from the event and did a follow spree. It feels so nice to be surrounded by people on the same field as you and of the same interest as if they're your tribe. I hope my friend Sheena will also make it in Taiwan and become Asia's Next Beauty Creator. I promise I'll follow suit but by next year, maybe. I want to be fully equipped! Coz once I start there's no turning back. :)

Good luck to the Semi Finalists and I hope to see you all again soon, and this time I'll be friendlier and less awkward! Much love and kisses!!