Shopping Guide: Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard

Shopping Guide: Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard

If you know the song “Ocean Avenue” by Yellowcard, then congrats – you are officially in my good books. And if you remember when it came out, then congrats too – you are indeed very old, and like me, your youth is slowly slipping by… sigh. But seriously – this classic song (and album) came out in 2003, and to celebrate its 10th year of release, Yellowcard has put out an acoustic version of the album, and ugh does the nostalgia hit hard with this song:

So since Ocean Avenue is one of my favorite songs, and it’s the perfect anthem for summer; I thought it would be the perfect inspiration for a little fashion and makeup guide. Here are my picks for an “Ocean Avenue” summer: beaches, parties, being young and having fun.

The perfect summer outfit (in my mind, at least) goes like this: your go-to denim shorts you can throw on, a comfy band tee, a comfortable pair of shoes (Vans are still, and will forever be my favorite), and a perfect leather handbag (my current favorite handbag label is Liebeskind. You can buy the bag shown above on Shopbop). Accessorize with a cool wrap watch (I pretty much love any by La Mer Collections) and a hat.

Beginner Eye Makeup Product Recommendation & Tips

Beginner Eye Makeup Product Recommendation & Tips

Hi Renee! I’m new to the makeup scene and it’s kind of embarrassing to how much I don’t know! I was wondering if you had any tips on makeup for eyes (eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara) and concealer? And possibly which products are good and how to apply them? I know it’s a lot but I’ve been looking for some advice and you seem to be a really good person to go to! Thanks for your time :) – Anonymous via Tumblr

Don’t be embarrassed! It’s my pleasure. When I started wearing makeup, half the fun would always be buying a new mascara to test out every few months! I tried everything from Maybelline (they make great ones) to Revlon (yuck!) to MAC (no good) to Bourjois (yuck!) to Lancome (amazing). For an inexpensive one, I like the ones by The Body Shop and Maybelline, and for department store ones, I like Clinique and Lancome; although I do not use Lancome or Maybelline anymore as they test on animals. So if that’s a cause you support as well then just go for the other two.

For eyeshadow, your best bet is to get an eyeshadow palette which will allow you to experiment a little more. I LOVE Revlon’s eyeshadow quads, they last super long, has a great range of color choices, and it even has instructions on what to do on the back of it! Other brands that do great eyeshadows are MAC and Bobbi Brown.

Are BB Creams Bad for Your Skin?

Are BB Creams Bad for Your Skin?

Ah, the great BB cream debate! My last post, Are BB Creams Worth the Hype conjured up tons of opinions; and I’ve been asked time and time again about BB creams and your skin: Are BB Creams bad for your skin? Do BB Creams make you break out? Are BB creams bad for acne-prone skin?. So many of you mentioned that you heard it was “very bad” for your skin, and honestly…  I think it must be the foundation companies who started that rumour, ha!

Here’s the thing: BB creams, as much as I love them, in my opinion are just glorified foundations with a little bit of extra skin benefits. I really didn’t think they needed a new name for this product (and don’t get me started on CC creams and now DD creams!). So if you’re wondering if BB creams will be bad for your acne prone skin, the answer is yes and no. If your skin tends to break out from foundation, then yes, your skin would probably not like BB creams – but I think it’s more your skin type that is the problem (or a certain ingredient) rather than BB creams as a whole. If your skin is prone to blemishes and your pores get clogged up easily (and therefore form pimples), then any type of makeup product that is “heavy” on your pores will make you break out. If that’s the case, look for ones that are oil-free and made for acne prone skin.

My Top 5 Picks: Timeproof Makeup

My Top 5 Picks: Timeproof Makeup

Hello ladies! First and foremost, happy new year! Sorry for the late greeting and for the lack of blog entries as my December and January had been fully-booked with weddings and other makeup jobs. But I'm back and I'm introducing a new segment "My Top 5 Picks." Every month, I will be posting my favorite five items on a certain category. Today, it's going to be all about the best long-lasting makeup in the market today. All tried and tested by me.

1. Guerlain Tenue de Perfection Foundation (P3,000.00)

Guerlain, the master of texture, has dreamed up the perfect attire for the complexion: a velvety-soft foundation. Its newest long-lasting foundation promises to blend into the skin for ultimate correction, comfort and sleek matte wear. It was created with absorbent powders and corrective pigments that provide a fresh look and incredible hold while allowing skin to breathe for a full 16 hours. Silica beads capture excess oil to keep the polymer film intact, while the spherical micropowders act like a color stabilizer, ensuring the color does not change or darken during the day. 
Most of the long-lasting foundations I’ve tried have a heavier, drying formula that tend to be unflattering as the day goes except for oily skin types. The texture of this was surprisingly lightweight and the finish, natural. It was buildable to medium coverage; one pump yielded light-medium coverage, a pump and a half more like medium coverage. Two pumps was getting closer to full coverage, but it didn’t feel heavy worn that way. The formula evened out my skin tone and left my skin looking semi-matte. 

Wearing Tenue de Perfection in shade 13 Rose Naturel and Guerlain Meteorites to achieve a natural glow

"Silky-soft and sublime, the complexion has never been so alluring, even after the clock strikes midnight." as the ad says. I can personally testify that they're not lying. The first time I tried this was on a Saturday. I applied it at around 8:00 and went straight to a wedding job. After I did my bride's second look at the reception, I went to two birthday parties that ended at around 10:00pm. I arrived home at 11:00pm and checked out my face before removing all day's makeup and my skin was still silky smooth and pores were barely visible. I was surprised to see that my makeup was still intact even with me skipping blotting the entire day! Almost literally, this foundation really gives a flawless complexion until midnight! 

Available in Guerlain Rustan's Makati and Rustan's Shangri La.

2. Eye of Horus Smokey Eye Goddess Pencil (P990.00)

Want to add definition and intensity to your eyes without the smudge? This is the product for you. The exotic blackest khol effortlessly glides on without tearing even if it's 100% waterproof and smudge proof. Accentuate eyes with one thin layer for daytime and smudge (the pencil comes with a smudger tip) for evening wear. These pencils are uniquely formulated with creamy waxes for smudging, smoking and eye blending. I swear by this liner especially on my clients who request for smokey eyes. I don't need to worry for any smudging once they leave the door for their event. If you're more playful with your makeup, these pencils are also available in other shades such as teal, bronze and charcoal. Check out my review of their other long-wearing products here.

Available online at Glamourbox website and in selected Snoe Beauty stores nationwide.

3. Benefit Longwear Powder Shadow (P1,250.00) 

This silky and soft powder eyeshadow comes in a fabulous long wearing formula in 12 wearable shades and three finishes: matte, satin and sheen. The one I have (photo above) is named Raincheck (smoky amethyst) in a matte finish. Matte finish shadows tend to last longer than the other ones. I skipped my Benefit Stay Don't Stray primer and went ahead to sweeping these on my eyelids and the soft wash of colour didn't travel or fade for a good 6 hours. You can opt to layer for added intensity. If you don't had oily lids and instead suffer from dry lids, try Benefit's Creaseless Cream Shadow in the same product range. 

Available in Benefit boutiques in Greenbelt 5, Rustan's Makati, Rustan's Shangri-La, Trinoma and Mall of Asia. 

4. Ellana Mineral Lip & Cheek Gel (P220.00)

One of the brand's bestsellers, the Lip & Cheek Gel provides a rosy natural glow even after a strenuous workout (tried and tested!). It's perfect for everyday use especially if you're the kind who just wants a sheer no-makeup look. It's an ease to blend as it doesn’t dry quickly, giving you enough time to blend evenly on your cheeks. If you have oily skin that makes powder blush slide off it too easily, this tint is a better alternative for you. I have mine in Ruby, a universally flattering red shade. While the other shade, Amethyst leaves a plummy tint and is best suited for darker skin tones. For my review of some more of their other best-selling mineral makeup, click here.

Available in The Ramp Trinoma, Glorietta, Shangri La Plaza Mall and online atellana.com.ph. 

5. Diorific Lipstick (P2,000.00)

Shade 002, Raspberry Pop

This true to color lipstick dresses lips with a matte texture and soft-metallic finish. The long-wearing formula flaunts a brilliant intensity, with minimal risk of drying the lips. The formula is so pigmented and opaque, I hardly need to reapply even after eating. Compared to other long-wearing lipstick formulas I've tried, this one feathers less. If you're prone to lipstick feathering or 'bleeding', I suggest use a lipliner to seal the colour in. Read about my experience at the Dior PH counter here.
Available in Rustan's Makati, Rustan's Shangri La, Powerplant Mall and Alabang Town Center.
Stay tuned next month for another of my top five picks. You can email me at diorco@gmail.com if you have any requests or suggestions on a product category that I can feature next.

The Benefit POREfessional Event

The Benefit POREfessional Event 

As mentioned 2 weekends ago, the Benefit POREfessional event was a total blast! Benefit Cosmetics had a special event for their Facebook fans in conjunction with their POREfessional product release. There were 8 Benefit Singapore Facebook fans chosen to receive complimentary makeovers from beauty bloggers in Singapore, goodies and much more! Here is a little photo diary of the event, as well as a review on the POREfessional. Also, read on for a very special treat for Beauty Fool readers. ;)

The bloggers were put into 4 teams (with 2 fans each), me with the beautiful Andrea Chong (who you might recognise as the co-host of That F Word) and I was really excited as we both wanted to be paired up together! We even co-ordinated our outfits for the day (black and white), only to find out we got to wear the fun Benefit trench coats. Love! After meeting our two winners, Aminah and Cheryn, we went outside at the Benefit pop up store for a special treat.

Makeup to Wakeup

Makeup to Wakeup

One of the makeup brands I always hoard in Target in the US has finally arrived in Manila. Welcome Pixi! Bloggers and friends from the media gathered last month for the launch of Pixi Philippines. Swedish makeup artist Petra Strand founded Pixi in UK with a mission to give us women a chance to look flawless in ten minutes or less. Who has the time for a 30-minute makeover when you're too busy living your fabulous life?!

Here are some photos from the launch at Simply Thai, Greenbelt 5: 

With fellow beauty bloggers Kira, Jess, Donna & Ae

The complete range of makeup that Pixi Philippines carry

Flawless Vitamin Veil Foundation, Beauty Bronzer and other multi-tasking Pixi cosmetics

Best-selling product in their range: Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm

Seasonal eye shadow and blush palettes

Eyebrow and smudge proof eyeliners

Clinique Says, If It Ain’t Broke, Fix It Anyway!

Clinique Says, If It Ain’t Broke, Fix It Anyway!

So one of the best selling, iconic, biggest beauty product of all time – the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion by Clinique – just got a makeover. When the dreaded “reformulation” news first broke, loyal fans all around the world lost it – the response was dramatic, to say the least. (I believe my reaction was “!@#$%^&*(*^%!!!”)

Luckily, Clinique knows what they are doing – the reformulation took 3 dermatologists, 53 researchers, 100 formula trials tested on 1600 people across 5 countries (if just one person got any sort of allergic reaction, they would can it and start again). That’s dedication!

But first, why the change? Clinique explains, “The world has changed since 1968 when DDML launched. In recent years, the Orentreichs [the dermatologists that developed Clinique] have been talking about a shift in their patient’s skin profile. Patients were coming in with more and more manifestation they described as redness, itching, burning, breakouts, dryness, dullness… in other words; unhealthy skin. The dermatologists attribute these symptoms to one thing: a weakened barrier. Among the influences that can account for such a shift are environmental aggressors, climate change, traveling more, sleeping less, eating processed food and juggling the complexities of our daily lives.”

Or as Janet Pardo, Clinique’s Senior VP of Global Product Development puts it perfectly: “The world has changed. Skincare technology has changed. And so we changed.”