GEMINI: A Glasnost x Alati Collaboration

GEMINI: A Glasnost x Aláti Collaboration from OVERMiND Creative Consulting on Vimeo.

Hey girls,

Check out this awesome collaboration of Glasnost and Alati. One of a kind clothes paired with unique accessories. This is spearheaded of course by Glasnost's Stacy Rodriguez and Alati's Gabriela Tatad as they bring you their latest collection.

Pauline Prieto and Helene Belmonte are the muses for this collaboration and watch as they give life to these one of a kind pieces. :)

Video done by Overmind creatives, Photographs by YourEvilTwin An and En Estrada and Makeup was done by yours truly and I had such an amazing time with these girls! :)

What are you waiting for, make your orders now:

Aláti by Gabriela Tatad http://shopalati.com (twitter : @shopalati)

Glasnost by Stacy Rodriguez http://shopglasnost.com (twitter : @glasnostbystacy)

MAC Shopmac lipstick in Watch Me Simmer

Hi Girlies,

I'm back for another lipstick review, this time on Shopmac's Amplified cream in Watch Me Simmer. This year's Shopmac, Cook mac collection surely had a lot of really nice funky colors I couldn't resist. All funky yet, wearable looking shades.

Amplified Cream lipstick in Watch me Simmer

Swatch on back of my hand

Watch me simmer is a beautiful coral-pink shade which at first I thought would not really suit me, so I held back first and not used it for a couple of weeks. Until, I was at a shoot, I had a lot of waiting time, I decided to try out the lipstick on myself, and I guess I was wrong, It didn't look too bad on me. hehe

Watch me simmer on me (please don't mind the puffy eyes hehe)

The only thing I probably don't like about this lipstick is its formula. I really do prefer matte lipsticks because creamier based lipsticks tend to run. But there is a quick fix to this, blot with a tissue after first application and then apply again. Aside from that I guess, I really love the fresh pop of color it gives my lips. :)

This color is perfect for summer! :)


Have you found your summer lippie? :)


Toodles! :)

Carla

Shopmac Lipstick in Naughty Saute

Hi Girlies,

Out of all my Shopmac Lippies that I recently bought, I have been using only 1 so far on a more than once basis. Its creamy barbie pink color is probably what leads me to use this more often, Shopmac's Naughty Saute. :)

Here's what the lipstick color looks in the tube


Here's a swatch on the back of my hand

Now the pictures are low res since they were just taken using an iPad, but i assure you that it is true to its color. It is such a fun barbie pink lipstick, I can't get enough of it, on me and on my clients! :) This is also in cremsheen formula so you have those little glittery particles in the lipstick, but it don't worry it won't make you seem you are wearing a mettalic-y lipstick, it just gives you the right amount shine as light hits the little glittery particles. :)

I recently wore Naughty Saute in an epic night out with my friends and I must say, it stays on pretty long too. :) I really love this color. Here's what it looks like on me, I'm an NC40-42 girl, so it matches even if you're on the morena side. :)

Will do more blogs about the other shopmac lippies as soon as I am able to try them both on me and my clients too. :)


Toodles! :)

It's make your dreams come true day!!

Just want to share with you all something I came across as I was fixing my bookshelf at home. Back in the beginning of 2010, I had this red planner/journal that documented everything I did.


In the opening page of the planner I made a self-message to inspire as I was to take on an endeavor which at that time I really didn't know where it would lead. The self message wrote:

"Start taking the steps to achieve your dreams. It's make your dreams come true day!"

Looking back now after 2 years put a big smile on my face because without knowing it, that's what I did. In the past 2 years there were ups, there were downs. There also was struggle but overall a whole lot of good times. Most importantly though, I gave it my all for the one thing I love most, put in all my effort and put in all my heart to being a Makeup Artist, and it has been the best thing that I have ever done for myself! I took risks because I knew it felt right, because I trusted myself, and it was telling me this is where you should be and this is what you should and want to do. This is what makes you happy. :)

I wouldn't know where to begin with the recount of my wonderful experience in the past 2 years. All the people I have met, worked with, given me wonderful opportunities, all the amazing work which I have been blessed with are all unbelievably surreal to me. Blessed, I am so thankful and elated. It is wonderful, being a Makeup Artist has really fulfilled me, I'm fueled, it's my true passion. And I have RB Chanco to thank for that, My teacher, Mentor, Friend, Family and Maui my best friend who experienced this whole thing together. :)

Had you asked me 2 years ago If I knew I would have achieved this much by this time I would have said no. But definitely I would say that this is where I want to be heading. And right now I am happy to be where I am as a Makeup Artist and I will continue to dream, and just do what I love to do. Because who knows, I may end up surprising myself again. :)

Let's make everyday a "Make your dreams come true day" and before you know it, you will be farther than you ever thought! :)


Thank you for reading girls! Whatever it is, your passion, Go for it! :)


Toodles! :)

Shop Mac and Chenman Lippies!

Hey girls,

Finally a makeup related post and this is a haul. I have recently been expanding my lipstick range for my kit and here are the latest additions to my kit's collection.

MAC Shop Mac, Cook Mac collection and MAC Chenman collection:

MAC Shop Mac lipsticks

From left to right:
Watch Me Simmer
Runway Red
Naughty Saute
Innocence Beware


MAC Chenman collection

Budding Love

These lovely colored lipsticks are such standouts. I have actually yet to swatch them because they're so pretty to try on still and the box packaging is sooo cute! I think I'll be storing them in the box. But I will do a review on them, which ones do you first wanna check out? :)


Toodles! :)

Back to short! :)

After almost 4 years of keeping my hair long. I have finally gone back to short hair. I got my funkehh back! :)

I actually got bored with long hair and thought that I needed to spice up my look again. And what best way to do that than to do something radical and go short! :)

I have no regrets with getting my haircut thanks to my hairstylist Richard! Richard is a good friend of my makeup mentor and good friend RB Chanco. RB introduced me to Richard and we both got our hair trimmed a few months ago. So when I decided that it was time to do this, I contacted Richard and knew I could trust him entirely. :) He really knew what I wanted and did just that, also he gave me an awesome color too! :)

Richard is the stylist at Hairchitec Salon along Timog right in front of GMA. Their service is affordable and very good! :)

Now that my hair is short, I can sport those funky earrings without having it to look too heavy or busy. :)

Just in time for the coming summer! :)


Toodles! :)

Ice Breaker moment with Joem Bascon

Hi girls,

Just want to share my Ice Breaker moment with versatile actor Joem Bascon. He's just so charming, I had to do the Ice Breaker with him. Enjoy the video guys! :)




This Ice Breaker is made possible by Colgate Fresh Confidence. You too can show your Ice Breaker moves, just Like their facebook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/ColgateFreshConfidencePH

Submit your videos now! :)



Toodles! :)

Etude House Color my Brows

The other day, I accompanied my friend Sheena to the beauty section of the department store. She had asked me to help her in building her basic make up kit. The beauty junkie that I am, agreed without even blinking an eye. The thought of just shopping for make up excited me (even though it's not for me haha). So I asked Sheena what her total budget was and we worked around from there.

Aside from splurging for you base makeup (Foundation, Concealer and Powder Foundation - the most important of all) , another thing worth considering is/are products for your eyebrows. Now if you're a beginner, this can become very tricky and disastrous ( Yes one wrong move or a little too much become TOO MUCH hehe). So one important thing to consider was convenience, the product needed to do the job without the case of disaster from trial and error, it needed to be easy to use. And as I was going around the beauty section, I came upon this product from Etude House:

Etude House Color My Brows
in 1: Rich Brown
PRICE: PHP328!



Here's a swatch of this color:

If you are familiar with MAC's Browset, this product from Etude house is similar to that. It also comes in a little tube and you apply the product with a spooly wand just like mascara. Although it's size is smaller and almost half to the size of MAC's it's definitely worth it for it's cheap price and the amazing quality you will get.

Here's my eyebrow, bare, untamed, shaped but needs more grooming (do forgive, I wish my eye brows looked perfect 24/7 haha).

Now here's what it looks like with just Etude House Color my Brows brushed on, no other products used or tools, this is directly from the wand of the product.

Isn't that wow? I really think this product is amazing, instant color and taming of the brow hairs in a matter of seconds! So when I saw this, I immediately asked the SA to give me 2, one for Sheena and the other for me hehe.

I decided that this product is perfect for a beginner like Sheena since:

1. Very easy to use and can be done in a matter of seconds.
2. Saves you from the horror of intimidating brow products like pencils/powders.
3. Cheap!
4. Colors your brows and shapes it all in one.

Although here are a few things to remember when using a product like this:

1. Your eyebrows must be properly groomed before using it.
2. If you have an extra spooly, use that to pick up the product from the original wand so that first application isn't too thick.
3. If you don't have an extra spooly, scrape of some of the product from the original wand on the side of the opening of the product.

Remember your eyebrows shape and frame the face, properly groomed eyebrows give an instant polish to your overall look.

Overall, I am excited that I saw this product, I give this a total of 3 thumbs up!! :) :) Such an amazing find!


Toodles! :)

Delicious Bright Pink!

Hey Girls,

Here's a delicious picture of 3 of my favorite bright pink lippies. This bright almost neon pink obsession started with none other than MAC's Candy Yum Yum. Since I only bought one, the fear of it seeing the end frightened me! Thus I looked for dupes. Here they are side by side. :)

MAC's Candy Yum yum
Sleek Makeup lipstick in Fuchsia
Lime Crime lipstick in Countessa Fluorescent

Don't they just look delicious to you?! :) Do you girls know any other dupes or any notable bright pink lippy in the market? I kinda want more hehe Girls can never have enough lipsticks. :)


Toodles! :)

Traincase up for grabs!

Hey Girls,

Happy New Year! :) Hope you all had a beauty filled Christmas season! Now that it's 2012, I have decided to slowly overhaul my equipment for work. Thus getting rid of some things that I hardly and well most probably don't use anymore. It's time to revamp the whole shebang ! :)

Do you guys remember my first ever makeup train case? :) I bought this baby back in 2009 and was so excited and giddy about this since I got it (Read story HERE). I had kept it very close to my bed and kept it clean like 24/7! haha

These are the photos taken a few days after it was purchased:


The traincase has 8 trays, 4 on each side and the bottom part is pretty deep and can hold a lot of things, even my folded make-up brush belt.

Oh gosh, that was my stash before even starting school! The days! haha

I bought this baby for PHP3500 which I haggled down from PHP4500, a pretty good deal since it had a trolley. I didn't even wear this train case out, since only after a couple of months I decided to buy a Trolley with Lights. It currently does have some signs of wear, like a few scratches here and there. I also still have some of the dividers on hand. But overall, this traincase is still in pretty much awesome shape! :)

If anyone is interested, send me and email at carla.avancena@gmail.com I am willing to give this up for a very reasonable price. I can also send current pics to those interested. However shipping for this item is not possible, only meet ups for this in agreed areas only. :)


Let me know!


Toodles! :)


Carla

I have been good: Birthday/Christmas wishlist! :)

Christmas is literally just around the corner, a time of giving and receiving. Throughout the year we always look forward to Christmas because the festive season allows us to wish and if lucky own the things we want. :) I have been so good this year! haha here's my Christmas wish list:

ZUCA for MAC

These days I hardly bring my portable makeup trolley with mirror and lights to shoots, especially when I know that the place of shoot already has a dressing room fit with mirror and lights but if otherwise I bring my trolley. The reason I hardly bring my trolley is because it is so heavy! Thus 1st on my list is this ZUCA for MAC bag. I think this is perfect, easy to lug around and it also doubles as a chair! Also for now, this is more practical than getting an assistant to help carry my things. Haha :)

Blackberry Bold 9900

I have been a crackberry since 2007 and I haven't turned back since. Blackberry is essential to my life, from emails, messaging and data. So when news came out of this Blackberry Bold, I knew I had to have it. But, my current Blackberry bold is still in perfect condition and even though I want this new Bold badly, I still can't justify spending on cellphones. Hehe this is on my list for Santa haha :)

Tory Burch Eddie Crystal Bow Ballet Flats

Pretty yes? YES. Even prettier when you try them on for yourself. Which I did, and am now thinking that I shouldn't have. I thought I wasn't gonna fall in love with this pair with me harmlessly reaching out for it and trying it on (just because it was my size). But no. It's soft leather and crystal bow glitz and oh so comfortable sole had me captured. Now I AM HAUNTED. And when I get haunted, I HAVE TO HAVE IT. Thus I promised myself, I will only buy it after all my Christmas shopping. But if anyone decides to play Secret Santa, do note that I am a size 6 for this shoe. Haha :)

Wicked The Musical in SG

Above everything that I want this Christmas TO WATCH WICKED THE MUSICAL IN SG tops my list. The story is so dear to me and I really want to watch this musical. For friends who have seen it in other parts of the world, they say that it is one of their favorite musicals. I love musicals, even though I have only seen a few in my life. I must come out to see the confused green skinned Elphaba and Best friend Glinda. I want to cry my eyes out and sing to all the songs. Wicked will be running in SG till February, and I do hope I get to catch a show. WICKED WICKED WICKED WICKED WICKED WICKED (The Secret, saying it over and over will get me there haha).


So those are the things that are on my Christmas wish list. I really hope that I can come around and get some myself or get some as gifts. Haha Anyway, Tis the season to give and to receive. But above all, Tis the season to share love and happiness. :)

Share the joy my friends! :)


Toodles! :)

My favorite neutral crease colors

Hi all, a blessed Sunday to everyone and to the girlies from Manila; A cozy snuggle-fest weather to you. :) I recently discovered my addiction to neutral colored crease eye shadow. The crease color can depend on what type of makeup look you are going for, but for me the safest way to go are neutral colors, my favorite are the mid tone brown shades.

Here are my favorite crease color shades:
From top to bottom:
Soba, Cork, Wedge

Swatches:
Soba, Cork, Wedge

From left to right:
Seedling, Moleskin, Outre

Swatch from left to right:
Seedling, Moleskin, Outre

These are my most favorite crease colors from MAC. The reason why I have a lot of crease color favorites is because, not all shadows colors go well or actually even register color on everyone. So having a number of choices is good. :)

What are your favorite crease colors? :)

Toodles! :)

Lime Crime Lipstick in Countessa Flourescent and Centrifuschia

When I saw swatches and pictures online of people wearing Lime Crime lipsticks, the first thing I that came to mind was literally "WOW", the bright lipsticks were so hard to resist that I just needed to get me at least 1. But before I usually purchase a product, especially If I have to buy it online, I do a ton of research so that I won't regret the color I'll be getting. In to my research, I was getting pretty skeptic because of the mixed reviews. So I decided to get the lippies that had the more positive things said about them, the lippies I got are:

Countessa Flourescent and Centrifuschia

Countessa Flourescent Swatch (Top)
Centrifuschia (Bottom)

From the bright swatches, there's no question that your lips will be the focus that everyone will notice right away. That's what I love about these lippies, they can stand on their own.

I decided to get Countessa Flourescent because the reviews said that this was the closest shade compared to MAC's famous Candy Yum Yum, now I love Candy Yum Yum and I'm super sad I only got 1 tube. The fear of running out of Candy Yum Yum haunts me, so I decided to get this Lime Crime dupe. It did not fail, it is as bright and as amazing as Candy Yum Yum. Even my mentor and friend RB Chanco thinks so too. :)

On the other hand I chose Centrifuschia too well, just because i thought it was a pretty color. Hehe. Again it did not fail me, it goes on so smoothly, lasts long and hardly bleeds. :)

This is me wearing Centrifuschia

I've had these lippies for a few months now and I'm pretty happy with their performance, though here are some tips to note down if you are planning to buy Lime Crime Lippies:

- Some of their lipsticks after applying settle in a funny way. This was one major consideration and one of the biggest negative review of the lime crime lipsticks that I read. Some of their lipsticks settle in the lines and look oily (my experience with Countessa Flourescent), BUT, do not fear, here are some solutions to avoid this:

a) Use a lip brush to apply, I've noticed that this way it doesn't settle
b) If you don't have a lip brush, apply lipstick directly on lips, Blot, and re-apply.

- The lippies also have a tendency to bleed, so I suggest using a lip liner first. :)

- These lipsticks last long, and have lip staining ingredients in them. So at the end of the day, give your lips a good scrub to make sure that no residue is left on your lips. :)

Hope this review helps! :)


Toodles! :)

CHALK Dec-Jan issue

Hey guys, grab a copy of CHALK Magazine December-January issue with Xian Lim on the cover. The Beauty Editorial features the trends from Fall/Winter 2011 that you can surely sport in this season's many many celebrations. :)

Makeup by yours truly and Maui, thank you once again Chalk Beauty Editor Michelle Katigbak-Alejandro for trusting and believing in us! Awesome styling by Kate Paras and photos by Dix Perez :)

Here's are the looks that I did for model Isabel Collins :)

Happy Monday all! :)


Toodles! :)

SLEEK Makeup lipsticks

Hey all, a blessed Sunday to everyone! I just got home from a quick afternoon shopping at the St. James Bazaar in Alabang. This bazaar is a yearly thing from me, you can practically find anything you want and need for yourself and presents for others. We got lucky with parking too, parked right in front of the entrance. :)

One of the surprises i saw and immediately chose from was a wide selection of SLEEK makeup. I only know of this brand from other international bloggers as they blog mostly about the Sleek eye shadow palettes. I was more fascinated with their lipsticks at only PHP400 per tube!

Here's what i came home with:

Sleek Lipstick in:
Mystic (Matte)
Fuschia (Sheen)

Swatch of Mystic (left) and Fuschia (right) and a showcase of my arm candy hehe


I really really love how pigmented the lippies from Sleek are, I am actually regretting I didn't buy more. Hehe

Here's me wearing Mystic:

Goodnight All!

Toodles! :)