EcoTools Bamboo 5-piece Brush Set with Bamboo Cup

Such a craptastic picture, I know. I'm on my new lappy and am too lazy to upload the pics I took of this earlier. I'll do a formal review on this later, but just wanted to give you guys a sneak peek at what I found at Wal-greens! For only $9.99 I picked up this EcoTools 5-piece brush set that includes a bamboo cup to hold the brushes! This is more practical for me instead of the brush case since I already have a MAC brush roll for travel. I'll do a full review on these later! :)

For Ate/Manang Jeni - FOTD (Pic Heavy!)

A little bit late, but here is the FOTD for you! I was going to attempt this last night and post, but I ended up getting another migraine and sleeping. Don't mind the tired look - I just woke up not too long before doing this. Haha!

I told Ate/Manang Jeni that I would do a look for her to copy for her cousin's debut on Sunday. I wouldn't be able to do her make up due to scheduling conflict. :( Her dress had a pattern with emerald green and a deep purple and decided to add both colors in the eyeshadows used and keep the lip defined, but neutral.

I first started off prepping my face with concealer and mineral foundation. If I'm using dark colors then I will only apply just a light layer of each and do another follow up after I'm done.


So tired looking! LoL! I got some bags under my eyes. BAH!

I used a pearly shadowstick all over my lid. This will help shadows adhere and show up on your lid.

I used a light lavender eyeshadow on top of the shadow stick.

I applied this on 2/3 of my lid.

I also extended a little bit of the lavender shadow to the inner corners of my eyes.

Next I used a charcoal gray shadow on the outer-v

Dab a little bit of color on the outer-v. Build up your color instead of starting off with too much on your brush.

Then extend somc color to the contour and crease of your eyelid. Press the brush against your lid and feel for your eye. In a windsheild wiping motion, take the color across this area.




I used an aquamarine shadow in the outer half of the crease.



Then I took a violet pigment to use on the inner half of the crease.

Blend the the aquamarine and violet together so there are no harsh lines.

Now highlight your brow bown with a shimmery shell eyeshadow.

I also blended the highlight over some of the gray to soften the color.


I used a gel liner, but you can also use a liquid or pencil liner if you prefer. Keep the line clean and wing it out slightly.

Fill in your brow with an appropriate color that suites your haircolor. You just want to fill in enough to frame your face and not too dark.


I didn't use any mascara since I was on my way to get my eyelash fill done. Use 2 coats of black mascara on your top lashes. You may do your bottom if you like, but I know you'll be running around being coordinator and it may run!

This is optional, but I thought I would add it in. I contoured my cheeks using a sculpting powder. You can also achieve this with some bronzer.

Start from your hairline and work the color down your cheek. Its important to do it in this direction because if you do it the other way around, it can just look like a dirty cheek. LoL!


Suck in those cheeks! Haha! You like my nostril and fish lippies? :P


A nice rose colored blush on the apples of your cheeks will give you a nice pop of color!



Next apply some highlighter. If you don't have one for your face, you can always use a shimmery shadow.

I apply it at the tops of my cheeks .

And just above my brow.

For the lips, I chose a nude pencil and a mauve lipgloss.

Line your lips and fill in with the liner. The all over liner on your lips will help your color stay on and wear better.

Then apply gloss on top of that and you're done!

Here are the products I used. I intentionally left the names and colors out because I'm not sure what you have in your stash and want you to feel free to utilize what you have to accomplish your look. Hope you have fun tomorrow and let me know if you have any questions! xoxox

Coastal Scents - Contour & Blush Palette & Updates!

I know its been a few days since I have updated. I have had a continuing education class the past couple of nights and have been too exhausted by the time I come home to update. Two 15 hour days! Uggh! I have only had enough energy to do a few postings online for school and then to bed. I have an upcoming FOTD post for my Ate/Manang Jeni that I will be posting tonight when I get home. I wish I had the time to do her make up this weekend, but we had conflicting schedules, so I told her I would do a tutorial for her via my blog for a look to recreate this weekend that compliments her dress.

I'm waiting for my gd carpool to get it together so we can leave. I finished up my day by 1 PM and don't have anything else to do at work. Its a perk that I can bounce a lil bit early, but the drawback is I have been in meetings for almost 6 hours. So here I am waiting in her office for her to hurry the f*ck up so we can leave already. Geezus crise. If I didn't love her, I would have b*tched vocally by now. :p

I have been lurking on Coastal Scents and saw this Contour & Blush Palette! I do have MAC's Sculpt and Shape powder that I use every now and then to contour some cheek bones and thin out my jawline. That is usually only when I go out and know that I'll be in camwhore mode. The blush colors look pretty neutral to just add a good flush of color. I'm curious about the highlighting powders and how sheer or opaque they show up on different skintones. I just ordered this 2 days ago and its on its way from Naples, FL!



Note to Ms. B my BKK cutie - I want to test this out first and see if its worthy enough swap material! I was tempted to buy 2 already since I have been on the hunt for the matte highlight powder for you!

Pampering with a bonus!

Image from Jetsetter.com

Last week was my first week back to work full time. I was lucky to start on when I did because we had an offsite meeting and event on Friday! I had a migraine from the night before and wasn't feeling up to par, but having a more relaxed day helped. This was the first time the girls on our team have gotten together and just relaxed while getting pampered and enjoyed some wine and cheese. I work for a minority owned consulting firm and our team is ALL WOMEN. We all get along and well, we're kind of all crazy. o_O Our day started off with a team meeting in Two Union Square where we put the current issues and action items on the table for review and how we were going to accomplish our goals. We ran out of time before we could get through our entire agenda, so we called it good and moved on to lunch at Benihana. Food was aight...I just needed to get some caffeine in my system to help with my headache. After lunch we had some time to kill before our spa treatments so we meadered to Louis Vuitton. **swoon** I hope they make make some purses in the Damier Graphite! Like in the Trevi PM! I'm overdue for a new bag. :p

And now finally....Vida Wellness Spa in the Pan Pacific Hotel in DT Seattle. I had been waiting all day for a massage in hopes that it would help alleviate my migraine. Our manager was kind enough to treat us to a 90 minute therapy of our choice. I ended up choosing the Ayurvedic Massage.

From the website:
VIDA AYURVEDIC TREATMENTS
Many of our treatments are based on the principles of Ayurveda, a 5,000-year old system of holistic Indian medicine. According to this philosophy the
key to a long and healthy life is achieving a balance between body, mind and spirit. Achieving this sense of well-being requires an approach based on
the needs of your dosha. Ayurvedic treatments work from the inside out to bring your dosha into perfect harmony so you can enjoy perfect health.

AYURVEDIC MASSAGE –
Nourish and Revitalize
A unique massage method that applies generous amounts of warm, sesame oil
over the body with extra attention to the head, neck and scalp. This technique
optimizes the body’s systems, mobilizes joints and enhances tissue suppleness.
Experience a sensation of profound relaxation that will stay with you for days.

The spa itself has a clean, organic atmosphere that is quiet. Except when we were in the building. Haha! Once checked in, you are lead to the women's changing area where they supply you with large or small lockers, robes, slippers, towels and other ammenities. After changing, we were lead to the lounge where they have some light snacks and lemon & cucumber water or tea to sip on. Depending on the service you receive, you are given a questionnaire that helps your therapist understand what type of person you are based on characteristics and that will help them to tailor your service to focus on issues you may have. I was surprised when the cute masseuse walked in and called my name. My gaydar was OFF and I really couldn't tell if he was or wasn't. Geezus. After asking me a few questions about my health and what I would like for him to focus on, he lead me to a warm, dimly lit room. When they say generous amounts of warm sesame oil, they weren't kidding! You are really literally drenched! This massage was one of the best I have had because he was attentive to the areas I had requested him to focus on and having all that warm oil smoothed on was quite sensual. I was so relaxed that I snored a teeny bit. *embarass!* I will be definitely heading back to Vida Spa for a massage, but I am also curious about some of the other body treatments that they have. Oh and if you're wondering if my masseuse was gay or not...he WASN'T. Ahahaha! Even more of a bonus to return. ;)

Rite Aid Haul - Ooh la la!, L'oreal & N.Y.C.

Cheap and steep. I'm not always about the high end products. While I do favor them based on quality, pay off and wear, I have been lucky to find some fun and inexpensive products that I like to share with my readers. In reality, I should be on a make up diet, but getting that retail therapy from a cheapy goodie is too hard to pass up. What I like about Rite Aid is finding some different brands that aren't offered in other drugstores, their BOGO sales and their easy return policy. Although I haven't returned anything since I've been pretty content with the stuff I have accumulated. :)


The haul (some stuff for Ms. B and for me) - Ooh la la! Blush in Bronze Medallion, L'oreal Infallible Never Fail Lipgloss in Modern Mauve, N.Y.C. Metro Metals Collection Chroma Face Glow in Sunstone and Moonstone & Marbleyes Pressed Eyeshadow in Tiger’s Eye

N.Y.C. Chroma Face Glow reminded me of MAC’s Mineral Skin Finishes and for only $4.99 each, that was a bargain I could not pass up. I couldn’t decide if I wanted one or the other so I picked up both Sunstone and Moonstone for myself and snagged a Moonstone for Ms. B. Sunstone has more of a peachy, copper color while Moonstone is more of a rose color. These are very shimmery - reminds me of my favorite MSF in Shimpagne.

-What they say on N.Y.C’s website:

CHROMA FACE GLOW is a richly pigmented metallic powder that glides on with a velvety smooth finish and luminous, modern glow. Sweep over face for instant polished radiance… or add shimmering highlights to cheeks & brows!

Marbleyes Pressed Eyeshadow in Tiger’s Eye reminds me of MAC’s Mineralize Eyeshadows. These were only $3.99, but I chose to only get Tiger’s Eye for the versatile neutral tones, whereas Aquamarine was more bold and is similar to colors that I already have in my collection. I usually swirl my brush to catch all the colors or I will concentrate on just the white. I caught the N.Y.C. collection on a good day since it was buy 1, get 1 50% off!

-What they say on N.Y.C’s website:

MARBLEYES PRESSED EYESHADOW lights up your lids with shimmering, multi-dimensional metallic color. A swirl of marbleized pigments creates breathtaking effects! Use each shade solo or blend for custom color.


L'Oreals Infallible Never Fail Lipgloss in Modern Mauve. This is definitely a long lasting lipgloss that I will repurchase! I picked a pretty pink for both me and Ms. B. It goes on very sheer and doesn't leave a tight feeling like most of the long wearing lippies do. What I love about this gloss is the applicator! Its a tear drop shape that really applies the gloss well! For $10 its a great buy and since it was BOGO free, it was an even better buy!



Ooh la la! Blush in Bronze Medallion. What a bargain for $2.99! I bought Pink Panther for Ms. B since I think this would be a great pinky color for her skintone. Bronze Medallion was a better choice for me since I already have plenty of pink toned blushes and wanted something with more of a neutral tan color. I haven't tried this out yet.


Just like the eyeshadow, the pretty design is only on the surface! Once you swipe over the shimmer, its gone. Boo!

EOTD: To Costco - Baked

I really just wanted to play around with the shadows from my UD Sustainable Shadow Palette! I'm really loving Half Baked and Twice Baked. As I stated before, some of the colors have super chunky glitter. Not really my fave & a challenge to work with, but very doable if I'm careful. You'll see an upcoming FOTD where UZI is specked all over my face. When Cat and I were out, it got EVERYWHERE. LoL!

I did this EOTD before heading to Costco. Had to get the essentials! Toilet Paper, Water and a Polish dog!

Products used:

Eyes-
MAC Paint Pot in Painterly all over lid
UD Half Baked on 2/3 of lid
UD Twice Baked lightly on outer-v
Filled brows with Anastasia Brow Powder


Extensions still in tact! They are thinning out now though! Sad! I'm heading to Lady Lam to get a fill this weekend!