Simplicity is beauty. ♥

Ana Patricia Victorino is one of my favorite makeup gurus and I always look forward to her videos in YouTube. Her voice is so sweet and her videos are very creative. I knew of her because of her sister, ate Abbie. Then, I fell in love with her creativity and passion for makeup.

This makeup look of hers is my favorite, well I like most of them but this one stands out for me. This makeup look is simple yet elegant. It can be worn everyday or in events.

Simplicity is beauty and less is more. This describes the makeup look Ana Patricia made. It's barely there but the skin will look fairer, smoother and glowing. Who wouldn't like that, right? One should put makeup on without people knowing that you have something on your face. It is like even you wipe your makeup with a cleanser, your face will look the same. I love that kind of makeup, where people would even recognize you without having makeup on when they always see you fully dolled up.

Ana Patricia is now having a giveaway for her 2nd Year Anniversary:
http://anavictorino.tumblr.com/post/38682781587/2nd-year-anniversary-x-christmas-2012-giveaway-thank
...and I am eager to have the Gift Set #1 that includes the following:

• 1 Bottle of Skinidinavia Makeup Finishing Spray
• 1 Beauty Cosmetics Brush Set
• 1 Make Up For Ever Workshop Voucher
• 1 Dollface Cosmetics 88 Color Eyeshadow Palette(not in picture)
• 1 MeMeMe Sun Beam Highlighter

Join the giveaway and have a chance to win one gift set! :) 

♥ ixa

Sephora Cream Blush Review

I was hunting for an effective blush. Then, I decided to get cream blush because I read about cream blushes being easy to deal with than powder and liquid. After so, I've been going to SM Department stores and Rustan's to search for cream blushes that suit my rituals... The link below leads to the detailed make up shopping rituals of mine: http://sketchmylookbyixa.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-makeup-shopping-rituals.html

I was about to buy the Stila cream blush but I can't decide on what color to buy. Then, I saw the NYX cream blush on the internet but had some negative thoughts about it. When I went to Watson's I saw the cream blush in Nichido but it is too glittery and I hate that brand because I had allergic effect on their cheek and lip tint so I never did buy from there. Finally, I saw Sayceetee on Instagram and she posted the Sephora cream blush and I never had second thoughts and I bought it. After a month or so, because it is pre-order, it came and I had it.

The Review

What I Like:

As for the Packaging:

It is in normal size, suited for traveling. I think its size is 2 inches by 2 inches circle and an inch tall. The top is a clear plastic with the Sephora logo and name. Around the circle is a black rubber that would not slip easily. Opening is the fun part. It needs to be pushed in the side to open up.

As for the Pigmentation:

It is pigmented. Using a small amount of blush can make the cheeks glow with its color. It is not shimmering, which I like and it is easy to work with. No harsh lines are visible, unlike using a liquid blush tint. (Right picture: Rose Glow Swatch; Left: Blended/brushed)

As for the price:

I think it is worth it. I bought it for PHP900. For other cream brushes, it is almost in the same price but this one has a lot more product. It is in a dome shape and not just flat. 

What I Dislike:

As for the smell:

It smells like old lipstick. I hate it so much. What I do is not smell it and just brush it on my cheeks. Basically, that is it. That is the only thing I hate about this product.

My MAC Lipstick Collection

Ramblin’ Rose (Frost)

It’s my first MAC lipstick my mom bought for me 2 years ago. I am in love with kind of nude and pink lipstick; she knows that, so she bought me this.

What I like about it:

   *  It is sort of an orangey nude color that suit in everyday use.

   *  It stays long in my lips.

   *  It smells great, like chocolate. Well, most of the MAC lipsticks smell like that.

What I hate about it:

   *  It is the glitteriest lipstick that I have.

   *  I hate shimmering make ups.

   *  When I eat, the glitters surround my lips.

Please Me (Matte)

I searched for a matte sort of nude color in MAC and discovered this. I asked my mom to buy this for me when she’s in the States, and when she went home she gave me this.

What I like about it:

   *  I love the color.

   *  It is matte, so it stays a lot longer, even when I eat.

   *  It is pink but not so bright.

   *  Can be used for everyday.

What I hate about it:

   *  When I am not wearing any make up on, I look pale with this lipstick on.

   *  In pictures, it looks like white on my lips.

Ruby Woo (Matte)

My second red lipstick, but this is my first matte red. I am not really a fan of red lipstick but I have no choice. This came with the Please Me.

What I like about it:

   *  It stays long, even after eating.

   *  It is not the brightly colored red.

What I hate about it:

   *  It is kind of hard to apply. Almost every red color is difficult to apply.

Viva Glam Nicki (Satin)

I am a fan of Nicky Minaj so I bought this from an online shop I saw in Instagram, named Sassycetee. She is a Filipina from the USA, so I trusted her. I met up with her aunt in Market Market, The Fort for lesser shipping fee.

What I like about it:

   *  It is Nicky Minaj inspired! :)

   *  It is bright pink suited for night outs, but I wore this on an ordinary day but applied thinly and it looks great.

   *  It stays long as well.

What I hate about it:

   *  I hate satin, but what can I do this is the only Nicky Minaj lipstick from MAC.

   *  It looks dry on my lips.

OOTD: Decemeber 4, 2012

My outfit of the day is plain and simple because I am not going anywhere today, just in Starbucks near my home. I am going there to study for my super long quiz tomorrow. I cannot study at home because I would just lay around there, sleep, watch tv or just eat, so I went out.

 My top is from Forever 21 that I just bought last Sunday night.  The shorts I am wearing is a cheap one from Greenhills, which I bought long time ago, but it still fits me and it still looks good.

The watch that I am wearing is from Adidas, the necklace is a gold lace with a Jade heart-shaped pendant from Cambodia. And the nails, of course, is the still the same from my blog yesterday. It is a fuchsia and purple sassy nail lacquer, which I bought in Watsons.

I do not wear bracelets everyday because I get irritated. But once in a while I wear some. And I am in search of a beautiful bracelet that I can wear everyday. 

As for the shoes, it is from Badongs. A shoe brand made in Liliw, Laguna, Philippines. It is a yellow pointed flats with studs.

My makeup is simple today. Of course I used my BB cream from The Face Shop and concealed my under eye circles with Elianto Concealer. I contoured my nose, filled my brows, and lined my uper and lower lash line with NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Dark Brown. For the cheeks, I contoured and blushed it with ELF Contouring Blush and Bronzer. Lastly, for the lips I mixed NYX Round Lipstick in B52 and MAC Matte Lipstick in Please Me. The whole makeup is just a simple and fresh look. Nothing extravagant.

♥ ixa

Earth, Air, Water and Fire Inspired Makeup

I was bored today because I stopped playing the game that I am currently addicted to, which is the Aveyond series. :) It was a week when I last posted a makeup blog so I decided to make one. Since the Ms. Earth pageant was held recently, I decided to make a makeup inspired by the pageant. So here goes...

Earth

I pat a blue shade that is quite the same color as the sea on the lid that is close to the eyelashes. Then, a green color above it to make an illusion of the color aqua. Blend it well. Then on the crease, I swiped a brown color to deepen the crease and to make it look like earth. Blend the colors well to remove the harsh lines. With these colors, it looks like a beach close to the shore. Thinly line the upper lash line with black. 

Water

This make up is inspired from the waves in the ocean. I used an aqua blue shade in the lids and created 3 waves. In the sides of the waves, I put a darker blue to have an illusion of 3D. Then I lined the eye, both lower and upper, with a dark blue shade. For the inner corners of the eye, I dabbed a light blue shimmery shade to brighten the eyes.

Air

As for this makeup look, I swipe a white shadow all over the lid and a shimmery white or a silver shadow above it or on the crease area. Blend well. As for the liner, I lined my eyes with a white liner and created a cat eye shape.

Fire

Lastly, but this one is what I did first, is the fire. First is I lined my eyes with gold or a shimmery yellow. Then I outlined the fire shape with a red shadow using an eye liner brush. Then I swiped the red shadow below the outline to blend with the orange shadow that I put next. Line the lower lash line with red on the corners only and the orange color on the center. Lastly, line the eyes again with the gold color to finish the look.

♥ ixa

My Obre Nails

I painted my nails yesterday with the colors fuchsia and purple. :)

I am not a typical girl that paints her nails once in a while but I got hooked with painting my nails last week. I went to Watsons drug store yesterday and saw this 2 beautiful colors and remembered the ombre tutorial that my sister showed me. I bought the nail lacquers and gave it a try. :)

The first step I do is moisturizing my hands. Then, I paint my nails with a base color first, which is a translucent one.

Then I paint my nails with the color that I want as a base for the ombre, so I picked the pink one. Next is having an acetate or something that is plastic. I used the plastic that came with the blush brush. I dab the pink polish in the plastic and the purple one beside it. With a small stick, mix the 2 colors. Not too much, just  for the 2 colors to meet. Then, with a sponge, dab it in the mixture like so...

And pat it in the nails to look like this...

Lastly, cover the paint with the transparent nail lacquer to have a shiny and the paint will stay longer than having none. :)

♥ ixa

Nov 26: Makeup of the Day ♥

I used 3 eye shadows in Revlon Colors in Bloom - the light pink (almost white or a cream color), charcoal and toast (rose color). I used the lightest shade in the inner corners of my eyes up to the center of the lids. Then toast in the center of the lids. Lastly, charcoal in the outer corners of the lids in a "v" shape. And of course, I blend the colors so no harsh lines will be visible.

I used Skin Food Pomegranate lip & cheek for my cheeks and my ELF contouring blush and bronzer for contouring my cheeks. Lastly, I paired my eye makeup with my MAC matte lipstick in Please Me.

♥ ixa

Nov 23: Make Up of the Day

The Red Lipstick

Almost every girls nowadays wanted red lipsticks. I went to school last Friday wearing red lips. I used the bottom super lustrous lipstick from my Revlon Make Up Set. Then I top it off with Nyx Round Lipstick in Fire.

I don't know why I wore red lips because I usually have pink or nude lips. Maybe I just feel like it and it suits me. I am really not a fan of red lips and I think red lips are just for night events but I wore it just for school and with my uniform. It kind of stayed the whole day, especially the Revlon one. I just retouched the lipstick later in the afternoon.

Choosing red lipsticks must suit the skin tone of a girl, not just her preference. There are a lot of blogs and write ups about this and I read a lot. So here is what I read recently (From Tumblr):

Revlon Colors in Bloom

It includes 5 super lustrous lipsticks, 5 colorstay 12 hour eye shadow and 2 powder blushes.
I used this set a lot of times and it really stayed 12 hours, even without eye primer. I love the pigmentation of the product but what I hate is that the eye shadows are shimmering. I somewhat hate any shimmering eye shadows and blushes. The lipsticks are pigmented as well that it lasts almost the whole day. As of today, I bring it always because it includes 3 products with brushes for each, it has a medium size mirror, and it is lightweight.

NYX Round Lipstick in Fire (LSS 599)

This lipstick is saturated and it s moisturized so it does not leave the lips dry. Fire isn't the "wow" red color but it has the hint of pink, and I love it. It suits my skin tone and it just cost me 140PHP or less than $3. It is cheap and it is very wonderful. I ordered it online because I rarely see it in the market here in the Philippines so I did not smell nor swatched it. I hate it's smell because it smells like makeup as is. But it is bearable, not like other makeups. So I might still give it a thumbs up.





♥ ixa

My Makeup Shopping Rituals

I suppose everyone who's buying make up have their own "rituals" before buying what they are looking at. I have my own and my friends do too. But mine and theirs are way different. One of my friends look at the name of the product that is why she is a fan of Benefit. She's also brand conscious. Another friend of mine buys one that suits her color or just suits her budget. We are unique and we have different perspectives about makeup, and here is mine:

When buying makeup, I do not swatch it right away on the back of my hand, the first thing I do is smelling the product. I am very sensitive to smell, in everything not just in make up. I hate when it smells like makeup. Yeah! I know it is a makeup but it should smell something better and not pure chemicals or just plain makeup. This is why I love MAC lipsticks, well not all. I love their matte lipsticks because it smells like chocolate, and sometimes I just want to bite it. Haha! I know, I am weird. :)

I don't know what comes next. Maybe everything else is second. Smell is just my first priority in makeup. :) 

I look at the name of the product as well, like my friend. I get hook to a product when I like the name. For example (I'll stick to my MAC lipstick example), I always check the bottom of the lipstick to check on the name. Even if, sometimes, I like the color but I don't like the name, I would not buy it. 

Packaging. That is the first thing people see, right? So when I don't love the packaging, I would not even stare at it and swatch it on. I would be looking at something else. The perfect example for me is the Cover Girl makeup, I hate their packaging. I don't go to their stalls and not buying their brand.

When I buy a specific thing, not just in makeups, I just look around and one thing would just call me. I mean that thing will catch my eye and I could not go out the store without buying it or even remembering its name and checking it in the internet.

Swatch the product. It is definitely a must but it is the last thing I do before buying makeup, well not really but most of the time this is my routine. I swatch the product on the back of my hand and checking if it suits my skin tone or even my liking. I check if it is pigmented and if it is easy to work with. The quality of the make up is under this category.

Price. Of course I have a budget for makeup because it is not really a necessity. I check on the product and its price. I would think if it is worth it. If the product is worth that price. I am a practical person and I really do consider the price of the product. I would be spending less on a product that is disposable, like a mascara, and would spend more on a product that would be beneficial to my skin, like BB cream, long lasting lipstick and eye shadow palette.

♥ ixa

ELF Cosmetics Review

I admit it. When it comes to drugstore makeups, I am an ELF fan. This will be my review for the ELF products that I currently have.

The first product in ELF was their gel liner.

I was so in love with this eye liner because it is so pigmented and is easy to work with. After a few months, it dried up and I just did not use it. But when I needed it again, I revived it with a few drops of eye drops and stirred it very well and it is like new again. Gel eye liners tend to dries us once in a while so it needs to be revived. It was a good buy because it served me very well.

Second is the Contouring Brush and Bronzing Powder.

I loved the bronzer but it is too shimmery. I’m not a fan of shimmery things but this one is a great bronzer for it is pigmented and it contours my face well. As for the blush, it is so glittery that I barely use it. It is not so pigmented but it gives a glow in the cheeks. I used this as a highlighter sometimes and it works great. I may not repurchase this, but I would find another duo like this or may try the cream instead.

Consequently, I bought the 100 piece marble eye shadow palette.
I love the colors in this palette but it is not too pigmented. I don’t know if it is not pigmented because I don’t use a primer or it just isn’t. When I need a color to be pigmented, I damp the brush in a water or in a petroleum jelly for the color to stick in my lids. I would not repurchase this. I would rather purchase the palette in Dollface, BH cosmetics or Coastal Scents.

A few weeks ago, someone bought me the eyebrow kit in light.

I was in love with this when I tried it with my blockmate’s, but when I have this one and tried it on me I was so disappointed. The gel was not pigmented at all and I don’t see the use of the powder. I hate this but I still use it. Well I am gifted with my brows so I think I don’t need such. I will not repurchase this but would purchase a brow clear mascara just to set my brows.

Lastly, I kind of stole my mom’s waterproof eye liner pen. She doesn't need it anyway because she has this eyelash lengthening eye liner.

I love this eye liner. It is so easy to deal with. But in the ling run, the tip spreads out and became shaggy. I would repurchase this because it does not dry quickly and it suits my liking. 

♥ ixa

My Make Up Routine ♥

1. First of all, cleanse the whole face, and moisturize the face, neck and lips afterwards.
2. Apply BB cream with fingers, brush or a sponge. Blend the BB cream to the whole face starting from the center and fading out up to the neck.
3. Conceal any imperfections with the finger and blending it with a sponge.
4. Contour the nose with a cream brown shadow.
5. Powder the face and the neck to have a matte finish look.
6. Shape the brow with an eyebrow duo kit and a flat brush. Remove the excess product with a spooly.
7. Brush the eyelids with an eyeshadow base to make the shadows last even longer.
8. Apply a dark eyeshadow in the crease (powder or cream). Blend the shadow as for the desired darkness and shade.
9. Pat a lighter shade in the center of the lids and under the lower lashes. Blend well.
10. Highlight the desired areas - inner corners of the eyes, on the brow bone, center of the two brows, tip of the nose, above the cheek bones, cupid’s bow and center of the chin. This will enhance the glow of the face.
11. Line the eyes with the desired color and shape - upper lash line and/or lower lash line.
12. Curl the lashes and apply loads of mascara. One thin mascara application and another for more natural look.
13. Contour the cheeks up to the sides of the forehead in a “C” stroke.
14. Brush the cheeks with a blush of your choice on the cheek bones with an angled blush brush in a downward stoke.
15. Apply a lip liner for base. Choose a lip liner with the same color as the desired lipstick.
16. Swipe the lipstick on the lips.
17. Apply a gloss only at the center of the lips.
18. Spray a setting spray to help the makeup stay for the whole day.

Animal Print Inspired Eye Make Up

"Animal Prints look good in clothes, and it looks perfect as an eye shadow too."

Everybody is in love with Leopard Print. Everywhere you look you will see fashion trends with Leopard print, such as in top, pants, shorts, bags, wallets, shoes, and a lot more. This time, I tried to include leopard print in terms of make up. I have seen some leopard print eye make up and I tried doing this today.

I used taupe eye shadow as a base and used a dark brown to deepen the crease. Then, I just used a liquid eye liner for the print and the cat eye liner. This looks simple but if you don’t have a good eye liner, this would be difficult.

I am in love with the colors of the peacock feather. The flow of green to blue, purple to pink is so beautiful and is very pleasing in the eyes. I really want to have a peacock in our garden. I even started drawing peacock feathers in random papers, especially in my planner. I was really addicted to its colors that I wanted to have a tattoo of a peacock feather in my lower ribs. 

I used light green shadow for the base and darken the crease with a dark green or a black. I added blue in the center of the lid and pink in the inner corners of the eyes. Blend the colors to remove the harsh lines. This eye shadow is inspired with the colors of the feathers of peacock and not the whole outline of the bird.

I love zebra prints. I even have a skirt with the said print. Most of the ladies are fan of leopard print, and I am not into the fad in the current period. I like being different as long as I can be comfortable with it. One time in a Home Depot, I found a kitchen design with zebra prints and I was staring at it for a minute or so. I was amused with the combination of zebra print and red in a kitchen counter.

I found several zebra prints make up and I made my own. I used concealer as base on the whole eye lids and applied white shadow to set the make up. I added lines, a zebra like lines, with the use of a pen liner. Add a cat eye liner and highlight the inner corners and the outer lower lash line with pink. Also use a pink blush and a pink lipstick to contrast the look. 

I have never seen a make up that is inspired with a skunk. I find the color and the streak of white very cool. But the smell of skunks are deadly. Green should be added in the end of the eye or the liner I guess.

Skunks are known for its black and white stripes, so I line the eye first with a black shadow and thicken it to the point of desired. Then, I continued the black line above the crease and extended the wing line. Lastly, add the white shadow in the middle and silver on the brow bone and the inner corners of the eye.

To finish the look, apply a red or a deep dark red lipstick to have a contrasting colors. This complete look remind me of the villain in the 101 Dalmatian, but I love this look. I really do.

Lady Bugs are too small that we can’t barely see with out eyes. But if we look at it closely, it is red with small black dots and realized that it is beautiful even if it is an insect. I was searching through Google about the different animal print inspired make up and found this one. I was amazed by it.

The lids are brushed with a red e/s and enhanced the crease by applying dark red or black shadow. I added dots with the use of a pen eyeliner and a gel eye liner to have a precise dots, but if you can see in the picture below my output is a mess. I also created a dual winged liner, but I forgot to put it in the make up I did below. This will serve as its legs or antenna.

As for the lips and cheeks, I prefer nude or a nude pink stain to balance the color and/or to focus on the eyes. Since the eyes has a bright color, the lips and cheeks should have the other way around.

I love butterflies. I love how they transformed from a caterpillar to something that has beautiful and colorful wings. This inspired me to create this look. 
Orange and Pink are not really my favorite duo but I used the color for a summer inspired butterfly. Blend the colors thoroughly to remove harsh lines. I remember Dunkin’ Donuts when I see pink and orange and I don’t know why.
I draw the butterfly sideways starting on the corners of the eyes using a black liquid liner. It consists of 3 oval shapes, 2 lines with a swirl on the end and some dots. Apply a barbie pink lipstick.
It is so easy to do and so cute. Well, it is like a fairy tale related make up. A make up full of fantasy. Even add rhinestones to exaggerate the fairy tale look. 



♥ ixa

Post Halloween: Unicorn Inspired

Halloween Inspired: The Unicorn

I wanted to be a unicorn for Halloween, so I searched in YouTube a tutorial for Unicorn Make Up. I found a lot of videos but because I love Promise Phan and her skills in make up, I chose hers. This is the exact make up she did for her video Flo as a Unicorn.
Unicorns are colorful and I chose the colors pink, purple, teal and gold for the eyes, a pink blush and a barbie pink lipstick. Colors used are shimmering, to copy the glow of the unicorn. To add more shimmer, glue rhinestones to the sides of the eyes up to the sides of the forehead.

This is Promise Phan’s video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQdiSgsys2M&feature=g-user-u


♥ ixa

November 9 Madness

November 9, 2012

I have no classes that day that my crazy friends invited me to swim in our friend’s village. Unfortunately, it started drizzling and we became lazy to swim, so we just ate at McDonald’s. When we got back to the house, I pulled out my eye shadow palette from ELF and I began putting make up on on Julienne’s face. She wanted me to try my Penguin inspired eye shadow on her and this is the finished look:
After her make up, I searched for what I will put on mine because of our boredom. We was very bored to get out of the bedroom. We were just singing in the karaoke and inviting other friends to come over and to see the finished product (of our face). I found a pink and green leopard print inspired make up and I grabbed my eye shadow brush and started blending the colors. I was about to make a faerie like make up but too tired to search for an inspiration.

I did mine in a fast manner because our guy friend wants us to make him look like joker in the movie Batman. He was lying in the bed when Julienne put concealer in his whole face to have a light shade face. I did not bring all of my make up, so we alter the look. We were laughing so hard while creating this joker-like make up.

Lastly is another guy friend who wanted to look like Kiss. I let him put concealer in his whole face, like the first one. I made a line in his face first to have a pattern, then filling it all with black eye shadow.
Julienne and I exaggerated our make ups to blend in with the boys’ look. I enlarged the amount of black shadow to her and extended the leopard print to one side of my lobes.

We were so freaking crazy that day. We were like “Halloween is over, why are we doing this?” It’s our post Halloween celebration, I guess. The craziest thing we did that day is that we went out of the house, went to a store and buy something with those make up on. We’re cool like that and didn't care what everybody else’s think.

♥ ixa

Post Halloween: Sugar Skull

The left sketch is inspired by many make up artist who did sugar skull make up. I admired the YouTube guru named MadeYewLook by Lex. She did a lot of exotic make up tutorials and her sugar skull make up was amusing that I made one as well.

The face is divided into half; the half is the sugar skull make up with the colors fuchsia, purple, teal and black. The whole eye up to the eyebrow was the colorful part of the face and it looks like a flower with a big center. On the forehead was a spider web, and a lot of black design was drawn on the nose and under the eye. A dark red blush was contoured on the cheekbones to create a slimmer face. Lastly, the lips was the most simple one but the scariest part because of the black lines to create a sliced face.

The other half of the face is an elegant look with a black shadow and a cat-eye black liner. Brows are done with a color that is close or one color lighter than the hair color. A pink or a peach blush on the cheeks with some contouring underneath. To complete the look, a bright red lipstick for the half of the lips.

The right sketch is an innovation of a sugar skull make up and a vampire. The eyes was covered with black ink and was given an illusion of melting. It is contoured with a red shadow to enhance the look of a bloody face. The cheekbone is contoured with black or dark brown shadow to have a slimmer face that looks like a skull. Color the lips with a concealer of foundation to have a color that is the same with the color of the face and have a red lipstick that drips on the side of the lips to create an illusion of blood. It is like the vampire sucked a person’s neck.

Like the sketch in the left, the half of the face was a neutral look. Only the cat-eye liner gave life to the face. This has no blush, only a pink lip stain to complete the look.

♥ ixa