♥.HE's worth the wait.♥: #COVID

Simple and Natural Make-up Routine

#COVID Monday, June 01, 2020

One thing I liked about going out was getting a valid reason to make myself up. To be able to doll up even for just a little tiny bit was such a breath of fresh air especially for someone like me (stay-at-home mom) who is always cuddled up inside our house for most days of the week. This was also the reason why I liked to run errands myself no matter how hard it is with a toddler. Just so that I can go out of our house and breath a different air, feel the sunlight on my face and see a bit of blue skies. I am happy doing my daily mommy routines at home but it could sometimes choke me up so much that I also get the need to go out and see a different environment aside from the four corners of our house.

However, ever since the WORLD'S NEW NORMAL, I wasn't able to go out anymore for more or less 2 months already as of writing this post. I wouldn't want to risk my pregnancy either. Thus, leaving me no reason to do the makeup that I would only wear when going out. I was pretty much looking like my natural haggard face EVERY SINGLE DAY probably except for the first hour from after taking a bath because that's the only time of the day that I don't look tired and exhausted even without makeup.

My husband hardly see me decent and made up anymore. That's honestly making me feel a little bit bad. Pregnancy could be an excuse for my laziness but for the sake of me feeling better, I decided to do make up for a change. It was actually already late in the afternoon when I suddenly wanted to do this on a whim. So I decided to go for a light makeup -- something that wouldn't make me look like I'm out of my mind :D

Just a heads up and a disclaimer: I used a crappy old android phone when I filmed this so please excuse the low quality GIFs. It doesn't really show much details of the makeup I made but I think it's decent enough. By the way, I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL. I do things my own way. Whatever works for me is what I do though they are not necessarily always the standard procedure. Alright, let's Start!

1. BROWS

Some people start their makeup with the base and there are also a few who start with their brows. Because I like taking my time when doing my brows, I'm one of the "few" who always start their makeup with it. When the brows are done, it feels like I'm already halfway done with my makeup because they help frame my face. I can even dare go out with just my brows on and nothing else on my face.

Brows for me are important that's why I own every kind of brow makeup you can think of: cream, powders, gel, wax, pencil, etc! Yes, I alternately use all of them depending on my mood, occasion, activity and time.

For this routine, I decided to use my Ka-Brow by Benefit. This was a favorite because it has good longevity and the product's consistency makes it easy to mimic brow hairs making your brows look natural. I always just use the applicator that came with it because it's nice and thin though it's short.

2. BASE/ FOUNDATION

By the way, I already moisturized my face but I did not show it here because that's part of skin care, not make up. I usually apply a setting powder right after moisturizer. That might sound weird to you but it's a technique I'll explain maybe on some other post.

Instead of doing my usual routine, I did the ordinary steps that most people do which is starting with a primer or a base. This makeup is just for showing off and impressing my husband. I was not really going anywhere so I skipped primer and went right ahead to base or foundation.

Here I used Maybelline 24H Superstay Foundation. True to its name, this foundation is a "superstay" because it can hold up several hours before I start to oil up. I wouldn't say that it can really last 24 hours but it's longevity performance is way better than the other foundations which usually lasts me only about 4 hours. This one from Maybelline can last on me for 6 to 8 hours without getting too greasy. I might get a little bit of shine but it'll look great again after using a blotting paper.

3. SETTING POWDER

Koreans do look young and fresh with their dewy finish makeup. They're the ones who made it a trend in the makeup industry for looking glowy. Here in the Philippines though, dewy makeup doesn't always look good because we are in a tropical country. Korea's climate is typically almost "always" cold, so it works on them. However, if you will just be inside an air-conditioned room for most of the time, dewy makeup will do you good. As for me, I will be constantly moving around the house and we'll definitely not gonna use any AC so it will probably just make me look oily. I better say NO to DEWY-ness this time.

To lock in the foundation and make it last even longer, I applied a loose setting powder from COVERGIRL Clean Professional. It's translucent so it won't mess up the shade of my base. I'm using a fluffy powder brush to dust it off my face. I don't like applying too much of the powder because the foundation I applied is already matte. I also like to apply a thin layer of powder over my brows to make it look natural.

4. BRONZER

After applying the base and setting powder, my face looks just flat white. Very unnatural if I leave it just like that. To fix it, I applied a bronzer to help me bring back the warmth on my face and give it some shadows it needs. Bronzer doesn't really look that much but trust me, it provides a huge difference which some people will only realize after seeing a side by side "before" and "after". The key is to apply bronzer on the right places to make it look natural. On my case, I don't really contour my cheeks so I use the bronzer as my contour as well -- it's what they call BRONTOUR - contouring using a bronzer. JEEZ, people nowadays are so smart.

Anyway, out of all the bronzers I've tried, this one from Physicians Formula called BUTTER BRONZER is my favorite. It works like magic especially for morenas like me. It is beginner friendly because it isn't too pigmented and overwhelming. However, the pigment is also buildable so you can build up the color according to your needs. Did I mention that it's smell is amazing? Yes, it smells like an actual delicious butter coconut you will definitely enjoy applying it on your face!

5. CONTOUR

I don't contour my cheeks but my nose definitely needs some help. The nose bridge isn't there so the contour will help me fake it to somehow make me look like it has the bridge, LOL.

When contouring my nose, I always start at the base of my inner brows down to just the top part of the nose bridge. I do not like dragging it all the way down because blending will do that for me later on. Applying the contour on my nose has to be precise to achieve the effect I want so I use a medium angle brush to apply it on my nose. I will then use a small blending brush that's fluffy enough to diffuse the shade and blend it well from top to middle -- then bottom to middle. I kind of make the top and bottom contour meet halfway.

Here I used the very popular AURA CONTOUR from Vice Cosmetics in the shade "cofeeerm". The shade is honestly kind of too brownish for my liking but it blends really easily so the color is not that much of a bother anymore. Got this from Watsons for only Php 149. Such an affordable price for a very nice makeup quality.

6. BLUSH

Now that I've added warmth and a little contouring on my face, it's time to add a little bit of color on my cheeks. Nowadays, drunk blush effect is becoming a trend among teenage Filipinas as influenced by the young local female celebrities. I have tried it myself and it does look good ONLY if done right. However, doing it right is quite a tricky thing to do as you have to consider a lot of things like proper positioning. You can't apply it too high or too low on your cheeks. You also have to pick the right product type and shade - it can't be too pigmented or else you'll look like you have a big colored stripe on your face. I myself is still a hit or miss when it comes to achieving a perfect drunk blush look which is why I opted for a regular blush style for this look :D (Dami ko sinabi about drunk blush di ko naman pala gagawin, sorry na agad haha!)

This warm blush palette from MORPHE is actually a gem. It has a good warm blush shade range that suits morena skins of most pinay. Some shades are a little bit tricky because they are too pigmented. But there are also subtle shades that are buildable in case you want the color to pop some more.

7. HIGHLIGHTER

Here comes my favorite part: the highlighter. This was never a big deal to me before. But when I started to know more about makeup, I now understand why lots of make up artists (and even celebrities) are getting obsessed about highlighters. They don't only make you glowy, but they also make you look happy and healthy. Now it doesn't matter that much anymore if I can't do dewy makeup because my dear highlighter will take care of my glowy-ness!

I love highlighter probably second to brow products. I own different types of highlighters - I have a liquid highlighter and a cream one too. This one right here is a pressed highlighter from Vice Cosmetics called AURA GLOW in the shade "splendid". Trust me, you have to get one to understand why it is being hyped by most beauty vloggers on youtube. They were not lying when they said that this product is so good. I also like the buttery feel of the product itself. I am impressed by the subtleness of its shade and the buildability in case I want my highlight to look more blinding. I also got this from Watsons for the same price as their Aura Contour.

8. EYESHADOW

Here's the thing about eyeshadows: it isn't just there just to give colors to your eyelids. It is also there to provide dimensions and depth. It helps you to look more wide awake, sultry, or glowing -- anything that you are trying to achieve.

The usual mistake beginners end up doing with eyeshadows is treating it like a tint that they can just slap on their eyelids. Girls, I know you are familiar with brushes and applicators -- you don't use them just to put the eyeshadow on. You are supposed to use them to blend in the colors on your lids!

When going for a natural look, it doesn't mean you'll just have to skip eyeshadow altogether. What you need is the right shade according to your preference and the right tools to use. Then treat it like how you would with a face contour. You use the eyeshadows to contour the crease of your lids or highlight the brow bone. Here I used only 2 colors from the NAKED 3 palette of Urban Decay. They called this palette "naked" because the colors are different shades of naturals and nudes. When you see my finished look, you can't even easily tell that I have eyeshadows on unless you will really look into my eyes. My go-to shades are a deep nude color for my crease and a light shimmer to put all over the eyelids. Not too much, but just enough shimmer to make them shine when light hits them on some angles. That's how you can end up looking naturally made-up. We honestly need to learn more about the koreans when it comes to looking made up and natural.

9. TINTED LIP BALM

I am usually a long-lasting-matte-lippie kind of girl. Because when you have a toddler, a non-budging lip color is a savior to make you somehow look "alive" no matter how much dead you feel inside because of exhaustion. :D toddlers have bottomless energy and my makeup just have to keep up too. Thank God for all of the invented long lasting matte lipsticks!

In this look though, I went for a tinted lip balm because I am not going anywhere. This tinted lip balm from LipIce is a new favorite. My previous favorite was the Carmex Moisturizing Lip Balm that I put on every night. I still like it because it is minty and feels nice on my lips but I had to switch to another lip balm because I ran out of it and it's no longer available in our nearby local stores. I found LipIce while searching for a new lip balm at the drugstore. This doesn't have the minty feeling that I love in Carmex. However, it gives a natural looking sheer pink color on my lips that I really like too! I ended up using this the whole day while at home. Unlike Carmex, this balm doesn't last the whole night but the tint it gives on my lips is long lasting. My lips look gorgeous every morning :)

10. MASCARA

I don't usually do mascaras on the last part but I honestly forgot about it this time :D Better late than never, right? Haha!

Maybelline's HyperCurl Mascara is my ultimate favorite. But their TOTAL TEMPTATION mascara is also the bomb! The only thing I don't like about it is that it's not as fast drying as the Hypercurl. Other than that, I like everything about this mascara. From its packaging, wand/applicator, down to the product itself. It's quite pricey but I guess it's still worth it. I still won't let go of their Hypercurl though. It's my first love <3

And that's it! Here's my finish look:

Does it look like I used 10 different make up products in my face? No. Partly because my crappy phone's camera isn't great in registering details. But I swear that even in person, you'll see me still natural looking despite the several products I used. My husband likes it simple and that's probably how I learned applying make up on my own way: simple and decent. After all, it's my husband that I want to impress and not anybody else. Charot!

'Til then, See Yah!

Share |

HOME STUDY During Quarantine

#2020 Friday, May 29, 2020

Going back to school (physically) during the current pandemic is still not totally allowed. There are some few exceptions that are being considered like limiting to 20 students per class but it is still subject to discussions and lots of debates. Just recently (as of writing this post), President Duterte expressed his disagreement about students going back to school until an effective vaccine is already on a roll -- which in my opinion is the best route to take during this health crisis. I am also glad that the government is providing several options for students to continue studying without putting their lives at risk. A couple of the plausible options are online schooling and studying through modules for those who are not capable of doing online study.

Our daughter is just 2 yrs old so I'm not really worried about the schooling matter. But before COVID happened, we did plan on enrolling her to a summer workshop, nursery or a playgroup (whichever is available) this summer. Considering our location, the best one is KUMON from the neighboring city which is just 20 mins away from our municipality. We also planned on joining her in our Church's Summer Pre-Kindergarten Program which did not also push through because of the said pandemic.

I had to change some plans. I wanted my daughter to continue learning despite of being quarantined at home. Yes she is just 2 years old but I'm happy that she somehow already has some basic knowledge about shapes, colors, numbers, letters and reading. She's on a roll and I don't really want to lose the momentum especially when she's obviously enjoying our learning activities at home. I did some research here and there and stumbled on several helpful sites and social media groups that share ideas and printable materials for home schooling. I have no plans on home schooling her, but that's what I had to do at the moment while being quarantined.

I ended up buying school supplies to pursue our learning endeavors at home. I'm one kuripot momma but I do splurge on some things that I consider worth my money and investments. Or should I say splurging "the kuripot way" - HAHA!

Share |