Review: Coastal Scents 88 Eyeshadow Palette

Posted on: 14th of November 2008 | Under: Fashion & Beauty

I promised to do a review on the Coastal Scents 88 Eyeshadow Palette that I recently purchased, so here it is. I’m not an expert with makeup, and come to think of it, this is actually my first time to share a look that I made. But I do like to play around with colors, and with the wide range that the Coastal Scents palette offered, I just had to share the fun.

I have to say that the palette is a great starter kit for those who are fairly new to makeup and eyeshadows, and need something to play around with without burning a hole in their pockets. One could probably create hundreds of different looks with just this palette.

The eyeshadows come in fairly small pans. They’re not as big as MAC eyeshadows, but I doubt anyone can finish an entire pan that easily anyway, so I say it’s still a steal. This is how small they are next to a Singapore Dollar and a Philippine Peso:

They’re a little more powdery than MAC or Clinique eyeshadows, but definitely less than most drugstore brands out there. For something so affordable, it is a big surprise that these are wonderfully pigmented.

I used my MAC Paint Pot in Painterly underneath as a base, and I tried this on during the boyfriend’s band’s gig last Saturday. I was very happy with the color payoff, as well as how easy it was to blend, but I was even more thrilled with its staying power! After sweating a little during the gig (it was held outside a mall), taking a bus ride to have dinner, heading out to Clarke Quay for a round of drinks, and coming home for another few hours of drinking with some friends, the colors on my lids were still intact at five the following morning! No creases and no re-application needed!

Using shades of purple and lightly adding black at the crease and outer V, and using one of the light/creamy colors as highlight, this is how my eyes looked:

Please excuse my dark and bushy eyebrows. This was taken prior to grooming and bleaching them. =P

The colors don’t look as bright in these photos (somehow, my camera also made it look very neutral), because I chose not to look too overpowering. Even my eyeliner (I used MAC Powerpoint in Engraved) is thinly done. I wanted a light and subtle look. =)

Overall, I’m very satisfied with the Coastal Scents 88 Eyeshadow Palette. For only Php1,350 (around SGD45), it was definitely worth buying. I’m sure this will keep me from buying expensive MAC eyeshadows for a couple of months (I can see the boyfriend nodding in delight! haha!), because I know I’m still going to have lots of fun playing with the colors of this palette. ^_^

For the Love of Colors: Coastal Scents 88 Eyeshadow Palette

Posted on: 7th of November 2008 | Under: Fashion & Beauty

My brother and Kenn arrived yesterday, and they brought with them this baby:

My new Coastal Scents 88 Eyeshadow Palette!!! Eighty-eight different colors!!! <3 I’ve been eyeing this set for quite some time and was overjoyed when I learnt that someone was selling it in the Philippines. I love how affordable it is. I only got it for Php1,350 (around SGD45)! That cheap for so many colors! Okay, so I’m sure it can’t even compare to the lovely Mac eyeshadows, but it’s a pretty good alternative.

I haven’t tried them yet, because I was out the whole day and only came home a little after midnight, but I promise to post a review soon. =)

Organizing and Storing Makeup, Jewelries and Accessories

Posted on: 3rd of November 2008 | Under: Fashion & Beauty

I’m a neat freak and I don’t like clutter very much. I clean, pick up mess and unconsciouly organize them into piles–even in other people’s rooms! I remember I was over a friend’s house back in High School and literally had a headache when I entered her jungle of a room. She had hundreds of books, magazines and other junk on the floor, and by the end of the day I had convinced her into letting me clean up a bit. Call me crazy, but I actually enjoy spending hours cleaning and organizing clutter.

Since I moved to Singapore, my makeup, jewelries and accessories have been stored in a messy pile. My makeup were all stuffed in small bags, while my jewelries were all tangled up together in small drawers. Sometimes I would lie awake at night, haunted by just the thought of sleeping meters away from all the clutter!

Yesterday, I finally talked JR into getting me new drawers and organizers. =)

I love Muji. They have simple yet stylish products for the home (no office furniture though). I walked into the store and fell in love with their storage items right away. It took a while for me to choose what I wanted, but I came home with these drawers:

I love them! I love how they’re frosted and not completely see through like most plastic drawers that I’ve seen around. They’re also stackable, so I can easily buy extras when I need them.

I shared makeup with my mom and sister back in Manila, so I could only take a few of them with me to Singapore. I am starting to build my own collection now (I’ve been crazy over makeup these past few weeks), and the small stash that I currently have fit just right in the three-drawer (two small and one big) setup that I got. I’m thinking of getting another two-drawer set so I can organize the makeup better by separating them according to their use and purpose.

For my jewelries and accessories, I got these plastic dividers to organize my rings and a couple of my earrings. The size is just perfect, as they’re big enough to store my bigger rings (I love over sized rings!). I love how organized it looks and how I can see every one of them. It will definitely be easier for me to pick them out. Although, I was disappointed when I realized that these didn’t come glued together. I had to spend several minutes taping them together, so they wouldn’t fall apart. I’ll check back in the store whether they have some that are ready to use.

I didn’t manage to fix my drawer full of my necklaces, because I just don’t have enough space to organize them properly at the moment. I need to get more of those drawers (like the ones for my makeup), and bigger dividers so I can complete the project. =)

What about you guys? How do you store your mekeup and accessories?

For the Love of Being a Girl

Posted on: 27th of October 2008 | Under: Fashion & Beauty

I am a girl who loves clothes, shoes, bags, mirrors, makeup, and everything that can be classified as kikay. Don’t get me wrong, I am actually quite a geek who likes to bury my head between books, but I love being girly too. And I’m very lucky, because the boyfriend supports my love for pretty things. Try reading through my archives, and the proof is there.

A few days before our fifth anniversary, the boyfriend even took me to a MAC shopping spree! Look at what I took home:

  • Paint Pot in Painterly. I use it as an eyeshadow base, and it keeps my makeup intact. I even fell asleep with my makeup on one afternoon and woke up with my eyes still looking all glam.
  • Eyeshadow 1: Bronze (Frost).
  • Eyeshadow 2: Black Tied (Velvet).
  • Eyeshadow 3: Dreammaker (Starflash).
  • Eyeshadow 4: Honey Lust (Lustre).
  • Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved.
  • Blending brush #217. Before heading off to the Mac store, I was already set on getting the #222 brush, but it turns out that they don’t even sell it here in SIngapore. :-/ I’ll have to ask my cousin in Canada to get it for me instead.

I am a spoilt little girl, aren’t I? <3

Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup

Posted on: 24th of October 2008 | Under: Fashion & Beauty

I’m not much of a foundation user. I don’t like the heavy baggage feeling on my face whenever I slab some on. I also have combination to oily skin, so I’m always in fear of collecting shine all over my face throughout the day. But, there are days when I do like looking a little put together, so I went out in search for a new foundation.

I ended up at the Clinique counter. Most of my previous foundations have been Clinique, but I decided a different bottle this time. The sales lady recommended the Perfectly Real Makeup in #66 True Beige, and I loved it right away.

The packaging is not something that I would’ve chosen at first glance, because really, the usual foundation glass bottles are a lot more prettier! But the tube style packaging of Clinique’s Perfectly Real Makeup is quite handy, and makes squeezing out the foundation so much easier. It allows just the right amount needed to be dispensed.

It’s smooth application on the skin is blendable, and I love how it sinks just right in. The light to medium  coverage is also perfect to even out the slight imperfections and old acne marks that I have, without the heavy feeling. It didn’t feel like I was wearing any foundation at all! I love the natural look and feeling! I wore it during our Anniversary dinner, and did not have to worry about shine or oil the entire night either.

The Clinique website is right: Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup feels like nothing at all, yet creates your skin’s most perfected, natural look.

I love it, and now I might not mind wearing foundation on a daily basis.

Inside My Bag

Posted on: 6th of November 2006 | Under: Fashion & Beauty

The last few days before the weekend was quite busy for me. I was working on the design for a project that my architect uncle and I are doing. It entailed several late nights rendering perspectives with markers, soft pastels and color pencils. It was actually the first time in weeks that I was engaged in something related to my line of work.

Now that all the designing is over (for now), I’ve been pretty much idle.

To save myself from utter boredom, I took out my camera and decided to take pictures of my bag’s contents (yes, I am that bored!). I actually remember doing this in one of my old blogs a couple of years ago, but I just felt like doing it again.

Wanna see what’s inside? =P

Read the rest of this entry.