Back to Basics

I am a makeup artist by profession and it didn't take me long to become aware of the fact that I do not need a set of 20+ piece professional brushes for personal use.

I had been eyeing the Bobbi Brown Basic brush set for a while, and I finally gave in today. I realized it's not at all a sin to invest in quality, not to mention practical, brushes for myself. :-)

I have a 26-piece set that looks absolutely adorable. It's extremely cheap, alright.. but I was never really happy with it. The brushes are rather rough even after several washes and conditioning. Moreover, it really is not necessary for me to own all 26 brushes --- because in reality, I only get to fully utilize no more than a dozen of them.



The best brushes I have are from the 22-piece set that I only use at work. They are soft and they distribute colors evenly. I really can't complain. I am so in love with them that I cannot function properly without them. But then, this is an entirely different story. ;-)

So... yes, I splurged and burnt a hole in my pocket but I am smiling like the Cheshire cat until this moment. Christmas is near, anyway. I just hope this baby is worth every cent. :-) Oh, I even got freebies! A small pouch, long-wear cream shadow and cream shadow brush. Yay!

(Bobbi Brown Basic Brush Collection consists of: face blender, foundation, concealer, eyeliner, eyeshadow and brow brushes.)














***Images courtesy of: bobbibrowncosmetics.com & amazon.com

REVIEW: Sana Pore Putty Face Powder

I LOATHE dilated pores. This is a common problem for me, as I have oily skin. Thank goodness I've found products that work well not only in controlling excess sebum, but also in diminishing the appearance of my pores.

My dislike for pores shows everytime I edit portraits. LOL. Take the above photo for example. I did not do much aside from changing the tones and blurring the skin to oblivion. :-D

I wish my skin is THAT good in real life. *sigh*


Moving on, I've read reviews about Sana Pore Putty makeup base before and I bought one out of curiosity. Needless to say I was not impressed. :-( Then, few weeks ago, I was running out of face powder and coincidentally, I passed by Sasa. There was a 30% discount off some items and Sana Pore Putty Face Powder was one of them. I was about to get Red Earth until the sales assistant started to praise Sana Pore Putty. I applied some on my arm, and liked the finish better than my initial choice. To cut the story short, I decided to give Sana a second chance.





I'm glad I did. :-)








Product: 4 out of 5


Packaging: 4 out of 5


Price: 4 out of 5





What I like:

- It does cover pores. :-)

- It doesn't give me that caked-on look.

- It has translucent finish

- It controls oil

- It comes in a cute packaging

- Affordable



What I dislike:

- I need to touch up often (which I don't mind at all---knowing that my skin is extremely oily, anyway..)

- It only comes in two shades.

- The finish is patchy If applied on top of a rather creamy concealer.

- The puff that comes with it is not durable. Wash it once, and it breathes its last.


Will I buy it again?

Certainly. I'm relatively happy with it and I can easily overlook its flaws.

My Blog Is Incomplete Without...

Yeeessss, ladies. I'm going to do product reviews once again. :-)


Perhaps I'll even post some makeup tricks too.


I really missed blogging about beauty. I know that there are gazillions of beauty blogs out there, but my blog is truly not complete without entries a-la Li(z)terati. A beauty-related post every once in a while won't harm, I guess.

Stay tuned! :-)



xo

Color Me Happy

Hello, lovelies. :-)

In contrast to my previous post, here is something jolly.

I did this shoot a few days ago at home. I had a great time gathering the props, and perfecting the wardrobe. I had to blow up about 10 balloons, by the way. Before the shoot even started, my furry babies popped a few of them. So much for effort. :-/

I managed to edit 3 so far, and I want to share them with you.


Model: Tascha

Makeup / Styling / Photography / Post-Processing / Conceptualization: Yours truly. :-)

I Will Never Ever Read The News Again!

Okay, the title is a tad exaggerated.

I had been reading about the tragedy in Maguindanao the past few days. It saddened and infuriated me at the same time. It is beyond my grasp how the perpetrators effortlessly slaughter innocent people. Senseless killings, all in the name of greed.

Anyway, I went out with a friend last night, and when I got home.. I realized I was not at all sleepy. So I surfed the internet, checked my mails and read the news. I came across Maguindanao massacre photos. I have not slept since! It was so distressing.

After Ondoy and the earthquake in Indonesia not too long ago, I told myself I should no longer read the news because I tend to get too overwhelmed. And now this. I guess I'll refrain from reading newspapers/online news for now. I'm such a weakling, I know. It's just too much for me. Yet, like you, I still pray that justice will be served.





***Image courtesy of artsjournal.com

Biker Chick (sans the bike)

Hello, ladies. I've been MIA for a while. A lot of things have happened and I am really not in tip-top shape at the moment. I'm taking medications which leave me feeling terribly unwell. Lovely. :-/


Anyway, here are a few photos from November 17th. It was the first collaboration shoot I did. There were wardrobe stylist, hair stylist and art director. I did not have to do everything for a change --- yet it was still wearying.


Model: Flora
Makeup: Me
Styling: Winnie
Hair: Angela
Art Director: Tuck

BEFORE and AFTER: Princess

BEFORE:



AFTER:



Substantial difference, I know. Haha! As I've said before, it was quite dark when we were shooting this. The great thing about shooting in raw image format is that one can easily edit the files without compromising their quality.


I did the usual steps: adjusted levels, sharpness and color curves. I then cropped it, played with the colors , and added texture. I reduced the texture's opacity to about 20%. I like the end result. It looks princessy enough to me. :-)

Urban Outtakes

Here are some outtakes from the shoot I did last Monday for Straits Times. It will be out Friday next week. :-) I was using my trusty point-and-shoot cam sans flash, so there's a lot of noise. I did the makeup/grooming. I can't wait for the day when I would take photographs for print media too. Dear Lord, please send an opportunity my way. :-)


Someone asked me how is it like to work with gorgeous people. My answer was, you get used to it. Haha! The truth is, the models are in a pretty vulnerable position in the makeup artist's hands. I, who work with them up close, get to see their flaws --- flaws unknown to many, if not most. Yet despite the imperfections, they are still beautiful --- like you and me, of course. :-) Working in the beauty industry has given me realistic, if not down-to-earth, notion of beauty. I still am glad I chose this career.

Sleeping Beauty

Hello, lovelies. I miss you all. I promise to visit your blogs tonight. My schedule has been truly crazy, in a good way though. :-)

I did another photo shoot last Thursday. The second part of my Storybook Project. The location was at Fort Canning Park, which was perfect for the theme, but the problem was: IT DID NOT STOP RAINING. The skies were almost ink black and I was so frustrated. We were stuck at one spot (a lone gazebo with 2 benches, and one was occupied by a sleeping man). There are many beautiful areas in the park, but we could not go there due to heavy rain. Being the persistent and rather patient person that I am, I tried my best to make the shoot happen. I'm glad the model did not lose faith in me, despite our predicament. I have to thank my fabulous lens, as well!

I must say it's VERY VERY VERY difficult to run a show all by yourself. The lovely model I've worked with was shocked to see me carrying all my stuff: a huge trolley for makeup and hairstyling materials, camera bag, props bag, gown (bulky, weighty wedding gown, mind), and 2 bunches of fresh flowers. My first name should be PATIENCE, not Armeliza. :-)


Model: Paula

Makeup/ Hair/ Styling/ Photography/ Post-Processing/ Conceptualization: Yours Truly

Alice in Wonderland

I did a test shoot more than a week ago and I really enjoyed it. The model has a very pretty face and I enjoyed dolling her up. She is very photogenic too, to my delight. I could feel I was a tad rusty, though, because the last model shoot I did was 6 months ago.

Yet, I still am very happy with the results. I have scheduled another test shoot with a German model next week. It's something to look forward to.

I hope you'll like the photos! :-)

Model: Tascha

Makeup / Hair / Styling / Photography / Post-Processing / Conceptualization: Yours truly ;-)