Hello, Ladies! + Hair Story!!

So many things have happened this past year that I can barely believe my last entry was over six months ago! I haven't had much time to keep up with my blogging or my beauty routines, (shortly after my last blog entry, I switched to MAC and haven't explored many other brands beyond that), but it seems that my hair is the one thing I won't stop experimenting with.

If you all remember, my last entry pretty much had my crazy hair looking like this: Assymetrical and BLUE. (I don't regret turning blue, but I'm glad it was only semi-permanent.)

After this, I felt a bit tired of how it looked and wanted a HUGE change. The blue had faded into a dull green (take note for those who plan to use Manic Panic), and I knew I needed to change it. But you all know how much how boring I find black hair, so I decided to chop it all off and then maybe go back to blond.

I did a shorter asymmetrical cut first, to see how it framed my face. I liked it well enough, but my hair was so fried that I couldn't really color it again. I'm mildly amused at how insane my hair looks with all the different colors. I would have loved this back in college.

After it grew out enough to color, I decided to go shorter and redder, pixie-style. I really liked how it looked, and was intending on keeping it this way for a while:

However, Josh proposed on my birthday in the middle of this year and we set a concrete date for 2012. I realized that I really didn't want to immortalize short hair on my wedding day, so I've been growing it ever since. Now, my hair is a strange shade of copper, and it's almost chin length and wavy (my natural hair).

I suspect I'll be changing it again to a more conventional hair style before the year is out, as I've got some rather exciting adventures on the horizon. I'll certainly miss working in the cosmetics/beauty industry, but hopefully good things are coming. :)

Stay beautiful, ladies~!

The Love Minerals Beauty Bar Launch: A.K.A. Why I Love My Job

I have to admit that working at the break-neck pace of the Beauty Industry is very taxing. Between designing the packaging to making the catalog and the website, my job at Human Nature/Love Minerals has been tough with a capital T. Even my blog has suffered because I haven't had time to sit down and eat lately, much less spend an hour or so  pounding out a blog entry.

But really, when days like this come around, I have to say that all the blood, sweat and tears is so very, very worth it.

Love Minerals Hydrating Lipsticks: Passion Fruit Packaging

Purchase here.

Love Minerals will be available at Beauty Bar very, very soon, and I feel like this is the best sort of validation I could ever get as a packaging designer. I've loved Beauty Bar since I was a vain little college kid, and to have Love Minerals-- a purely Filipino brand-- right up there with all the big brands, makes me really, really happy.

Love Minerals Eyeshadow Palette: Sweet Innocence
Purchase here.

When I conceptualized this design, I wanted something that would stand up next to Burt's Bees and the Balm but at the same time not look too quirky next to high end stuff like Paul & Joe and (god help me) Guerlain. Without going into detail, when you make packaging, you have to consider dreary things like pricing, turn around times, and what local manufacturers are capable of doing.

The road to getting to this point was long and difficult, as I'm sure early purchasers of our initial gold line will attest (the gold, while beautiful, rubbed off when jerked around in kikay kits). Not so with the material used in the Passion Fruit line, so you can rest assured that aside from looking pretty, the packaging also holds up to getting toted around wherever you go. :D

 Earth Angel. My favourite shade!

I hope all my readers and beauty blogger friends give our Passionfruit line a try... I've been using the lipsticks for a while now, and Earth Angel looks absolutely fantastic on morena skintones.

Swatches and looks to follow, as I'm still waiting for my complimentary eyeshadow and lipstick to arrive, haha! ;D Stay beautiful, ladies~!

Hair Story: Mad About Blue!

I have to admit, this is probably the weirdest hair color I've ever had. My never-ending quest to try out new styles has reached it's crazy best (currently, anyway, as I'm certain I'll try to top this in the future) with blue, blue hair!

Manic Panic: Shocking Blue (Amplified formula)
Available at funkystreaks.multiply.com for Php1,150

My last experience with Manic Panic was trying to dye my hair Cotton Candy pink, and it did absolutely nothing to my pale blond hair. Unfortunate, since I was rather hoping I'd get the lovely shade of pink hair that crazy anime characters usually have. :P (For those of you who've never heard of the brand before, MP boasts vegetable dye that doesn't damage your hair upon application. It also doesn't last that long, but hey, you can't have everything.) In any case, when my original try didn't do anything, I turned to HBC's chemical-goodness-- cellophane in Plum. And boy, did that work.

For my latest color change, I'd actually intended to buy from HBC again. But they were out of most colors of cellophane at their Eastwood branch and I really didn't want to risk a permanent dye on my already damaged hair. So I went back to Funky Streaks on Multiply, tried to pick a color that ran darker (this dyes better, IMHO), and sent in my order.

One day later, my kit arrived. I chose to purchase the amplified formula because it boasted longer-lasting color, and I crossed my fingers and got to work. Or rather, my boy and I got to work. XD The last time I attempted temporary color on my own, I ended up having patchy spots, so I begged Josh to help me with the back of my head and he agreed. (Yes, I've got the best guy ever. :D)

If you want to color your hair, I'd definitely recommend getting a friend to help out. It's almost impossible to get it right by yourself, and it'll just end up frustrating you once it comes out with uneven colors.

I left the dye on for an hour and a half under a shower cap, periodically heating it up with a blow dryer. The color came out rather perfectly IMHO, as it covered all my blond bits whilst still keeping my black streak visible (it doesn't cover black). Under sunlight, it's a rich, sexy blue. When I turn my head, it turns turquoise. Whenever I wake up and see bright blue strands, a grin spreads across my face. It's such a fun, happy color, and I'm super glad I decided to go with this shade!

I'd originally intended to keep my blond-hair-with-black-streaks a bit longer, but it didn't look so good unless I flat-ironed my hair. And with hair as beat-up as mine, I couldn't afford to apply heat to it that often. With my blue hair, I can keep it curly and loose and it pretty much behaves as my original black hair did. I swear it got thicker after I applied the dye!

If anyone's interested in trying out Manic Panic dyes, you can check out Funky Streaks over here: http://funkystreaks.multiply.com. I bought my jar of amplified cream for Php1,150. Pretty pricey, but definitely worth it if you can't find the color you want from HBC (their cellophane is 2x the size and only costs Php400).

Here's wishing you all a bright, happy Monday! Stay beautiful, ladies~!

Battle of the Lip Stains: Styli-Style, E.L.F., and Revlon Reviews

For someone who constantly says that I prefer lipsticks to lipstains, I own quite a lot of the latter. I've been collecting stains of the Korean variety for quite a while now, and I've loved everything from TonyMoly to Etude House's offerings. Lately, however, I've been starting to expand my lipstain collection with products from Western companies. Korean lipstains only come in two colors-- pink and red-- and both shades are often far too bright for my morena skintone.

With the arrival of Revlon's Just Bitten lip stains, I began to wonder if I was indeed missing out by skipping their products. They were offering quit an array of colors, and I decided to keep an eye out for it whenever I went to the mall. As luck would have it, however, I didn't chance upon any Revlon counters for several weeks, and I ended up trying Styli-Style (from Beauty Bar, Eastwood), and E.L.F. (from Watsons, Eastwood).

I was pleasantly surprised with both brands, and by the time I found myself in a Watsons that carried Revlon, I was a firm believer in the beauty of lip stains. While Korean lipstains are pretty much the same consistency regardless of brand, I was a bit surprised at how different the formulations of ELF, Styli-Style and Revlon were.

For a full breakdown of the pros, cons, and my final verdict on each brand, read on!

ELF, Styli-Style, and Revlon!

Styli-Style Lip stain- As a big fan of their semi-permanent eyeliners, I didn't hesitate to shell out the Php550+ for a tube of their stain. I tried out the brown one first, and though it didn't look like much when swatched on my hand, I was surprised at how great it looked on my mouth. I have lip lines that color tends to sink into, and this formula managed to evenly color my lips. It didn't sneak into the crevices and cake into disgusting lines, and I was incredibly pleased at how well the color suited my skintone. It was also buildable, and easily went several shades darker upon several applications. (You should wait a bit for it to dry before swiping again if you want it really dark.)

I loved this product so much that I went back for a tube of the pink variety, and this was surprisingly pretty on my lips. I expected it to be a bit fluorescent (ala Korean stuff), but it came on as the prettiest pink flush. If you're interested in producing a "no make-up" look, this is the stain for you. With one pass it looks like your lips are healthily flushed, and if you want a deeper, sexier pink, you can just layer it on!

Pros: Affordable, buildable, not as drying as most stains
Cons: None for the colors I have, but I wish they had a darker, blood-red shade.
STAY-NABILITY: 4 out of 5 stars. This won't come off if you talk, kiss, or eat dry food, but it will start to fade once you drink or eat an actual meal.

E.L.F. Lip Stain- I'd never bought an E.L.F. product before, but I'd had such a good experience with my Styli-Style stains that I was constantly on the lookout for more shades. I came across this when I was buying goodies at Watson's, and I was immediately attracted to its (approx) Php250 price tag. I snapped up the red immediately, and was surprised at how thick and creamy the formula was upon application. It dried up seconds later, however, and provided the most budge-proof, matte stain that I'd ever had. This stain comes with a gloss side, and boy howdy, do you ever need it.

My lips hurt from being so dry without the gloss layered on top of it, and the formula made my lips tingle upon application (not in a good way). Unlike Styli-Style, the formula of this product is very opaque. It's very close to the pigmentation of a lipstick, but it has the staying power of a stain. It was the color that attracted me to it in the first place, and I was definitely a believer after using it for a few weeks. I went back for the other two available colors soon after. Birthday suit wasn't very suited to my skintone (think Lady Gaga lips), but Fashionista was quite nice. Red Carpet is still my favourite, though, and if you want to try this brand out, I'd definitely recommend that shade.

Pros: VERY Affordable, really opaque color, comes with gloss
Cons: Dries lips like crazy
STAY-NABILITY: 5 out of 5 stars IF you use it without gloss-- it really is budge-proof if you don't mix anything with it. It drops down to 3 out of 5 stars if you use the gloss on top of it, however, as the sticky mix ends up with the staying power of an expensive lipstick.

Swatches for Styli-Style and E.L.F.

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Balm and Stain - Instead of a gloss, this stain comes packaged with a shiny balm on the other end. The applicator is a marker type (like Styli-Style), and the shade I got, Midnight, was a deep, lovely plum. Unfortunately, that's where the good stuff ends.

As a much-blogged about product, I had high hopes for Just Bitten. When I finally found a Revlon counter that sold it, they only had this one shade left. I didn't mind so much because it was a lovely dark color and I was looking for something like it, so it really wasn't a bad buy at Php595. HOWEVER, no matter how cheap something is, it will never be a good buy if the product amplifies your lip flakes, sticks in the creases, and applies unevenly. I exfoliate my lips just like any gal, but the sheer number of steps that you have to take to make this product work for you is insane (exfoliate, moisturize, apply balm, apply stain, apply balm again... ugh.).

I think that Revlon knew this was a terrible formulation when they shipped it, because they had the foresight to include the balm. It's kind of like saying, hey, we know our product sinks into creases and amplifies all the imperfection on your lips. Have some lip balm, because the only way this product will work is if your lips are flipping perfect. :P

I highly recommend steering clear of this cruddy product, or at least until they reformulate. The consistency is pretty much the same as Styli-Style's (sheer at first, but buildable to a nice, deep hue), but it doesn't glide, blend, or moisturize your lips at all.

Pros: comes with a balm (that doesn't retract, whut), nice shade variety
Cons: Applies terribly, dries like nobody's business (and this is even when you wear it with the balm!!)
STAY-NABILITY: 3 out of 5 stars. It stays on for a bit, but when it fades, it fades terribly.

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All in all, I'd definitely recommend picking up some Styli-Style stains if you're interested in a milder, nude finish. If you want a loud, opaque stain, go for E.L.F. If you have perfect lips that are line and flake-free 24/7... try Revlon, lol. 

Stay beautiful, ladies~!

GIVEAWAY "Why I Love My Guy": First Wave Winners Announced!!

Jaz snags the random raffle prize for her entry "It's Rolly's Birthday!" and Zashi snags my top pick for her clever poem over at ZashiArts. Ladies, I've sent you confirmation emails, so please make sure you send me your info as soon as possible.

Free diamond peels for our two lucky winners! :D

As for the rest of my readers, don't despair! Your entries all still have four more chances to win awesome HBC prizes! The contest is still open to new entries, so be sure to join now! :D

A Summer Of Maxis: My Favourite Long Dresses

With the arrival of summer and the inevitable heat wave, I've decided to keep my wardrobe simple and sweet. Maxi dresses look good on practically everyone, and whether you're tall or short, stick thin or curvy, there's definitely a maxi dress for you! I've taken to wearing my maxi dresses with a bolero or a shawl for now, as February is still a bit too breezy for backless pieces. My tan is back with a vengeance (it's what I get for walking around without an umbrella), and I can't wait for summer to arrive completely!

Here are some of my favourite pieces from my maxi dress collection:

HAZE (Eastwood Mall); P750

My new favourite! I bought this at 50% off at HAZE in Eastwood Mall just last weekend. The cut, cloth, and pattern are just To-Die-For. I'm 5"4 and wearing 4" platforms with it, and it makes me look ridiculously tall. I love it!

HAZE (Eastwood Mall); P750

I scored this dress at the same sale at HAZE, and I've got to say that they were absolutely wonderful buys. When worn without heels, they drag on the ground, so it's actually a bit longer than the previous dress. Definitely can't wear it with flat sandals, but its vertical pattern really elongates the figure. I'd recommend looking for a pattern like this if you're on the curvy side.

Estrellas Accessories

I purchased this dress from Estrellas Accessories on multiply ages ago, and I've only just gotten around to wearing it again. I love how vintage it looks-- everything from the low waist to the pattern makes it look so old school. I'd recommend this cut for ladies with a bit of tummy; it's great at hiding it. ;)

It's a pity that they don't sell a lot of clothes at Estrellas anymore, but if you're in the mood for some fashion accessories, you might want to check out their site.

Details (PowerPlant Mall)

This TDF piece came from Details. I don't actually remember how much it was, but I think it was in the P2,000 range. My gorgeous aunt got it for me when we went shopping with my mum a few weeks ago, and I really, really love the venus-cut and bold pattern. I'd recommend this dress for the taller ladies out there, as the mid-ankle length might make short girls look even shorter.

Cache Cache (Eastwood Mall); P2,000 (approx)

This was the first maxi dress I bought after a fairly long drought, and I bought it during the Christmas season of 2010. I wore it during many nights out with my family, and I had such a fabulous time wearing it. The pattern was so cheerful that it made me feel instantly festive. I'd recommend this type of cut for girls who aren't very curvy (but want to be!). The cut makes you look bustier than usual. ;)

Forever 21 (Megamall); P500 (approx)

Definitely the best bargain of the lot, this cost me a mere P500 during the Forever21 sale earlier this year. I also got it during the Buy 1, Take 1 sale, which also got me a gorgeous top to boot! I love this dress because it's simple but sexy, and it's made of this light, cottony fabric that is a breeze to wear. This is one of my all-time favourite casual dresses, and if I'd known I was going to wear it this often, I'd have bought two of the same kind, haha. This cut will suit practically any figure, as the upper area isn't too sexy and you can wear it with a wide belt to give it extra "oomph".

For laid-back glam and a breezy summer, you can't go wrong with a closetful of Maxis! :D Stay beautiful, ladies~!

GIVEAWAY "Why I Love My Guy": Diamond Peel Sessions, Giftpacks, and More!

February is the month of hearts, and I'm sure all you ladies had wonderful Valentine's Day dates with your honies. As we bid February a hearty goodbye, let's celebrate the beginning of several AWESOME giveaways from HBC! I'm giving away several prize packs over the next few weeks, and all you have to do is answer the question: "Why do you love your guy?"

Prize Pack 1!
 Five free diamond peel sessions each to two lucky winners!

Prize Pack 2!

  P500 worth of HBC best-selling items each to two lucky winners!

Prize Pack 3!
P1,000 worth of HBC Gift Certificates each to two lucky winners!

To join, you must:
1) Write a post about why he/she loves his/ her guy (this can be your boyfriend, hubby, dad, brother, son, or guy friend). Post length must be 50-100 words and MUST link back to this page so other people can join, too. :D
2) Follow "I Draw For A Living"! (via google connect!) ;)
3) “Like” the HBC Fan page on Facebook
4) Drop a comment with your name, email address and link to your blog entry.
*This contest is open to Philippine residents only.

That's it! Easy, eh?

This contest runs from today until the respective draws on March 7 (prize pack 1), March 28 (prize pack 2), and April 28 (prize pack 3), so get cracking and start writing! I will be picking TWO winners on March 7, TWO winners on March 28, and TWO winners on April 28. All you have to do is enter once and you'll get 6 chances to win!

During each cycle, I will be choosing one winner at RANDOM and one winner through judging. (Hint: I love romantic entries! ;D) HBC is where I get my hair products, so I'm sure you'll enjoy these lovely treats!

Good luck and Stay beautiful, ladies~!