Lipstick Bandits: The Secret Santa Look Swap

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!!!

In the Filipino culture, we celebrate on Christmas Eve and take it easy on Christmas Day, so the 24th has always been one of my favourite times of the year. Back in the Philippines, we would go to church for "Simbang Gabi" (translation: "night church") and then head back home for "Nochebuena", which is the meal we all eat at around midnight. After that, we open presents and then head to bed. 

Now that my family lives in Canada, we still continue with the tradition of celebrating on Christmas Eve and then keeping it mellow on Christmas Day (we usually watch a movie in the theatres); a tradition I think I will probably pass on to my own family. 

Anyway, the Lipstick Bandits have decided to do a little Christmas celebrating of their own by doing a "Secret Santa Look Swap". We were each given a Bandit to emulate through our makeup looks and here is what I came up with...

Some hints about my Bandit:

- She has beautiful, flawless skin (ok, they all do, so this is a crap hint)
- She has her flick technique down
- She likes coral-pink lip shades
- She has cuuute freckles
- She highlights the inner corners of her eyes like a pro

Any guesses???

If you guessed Monika of Rocaille Writes, then you are CORRECT!

Hope you like the look, Monika!

I was inspired by the look she created for her review of L'oréal's Infallible Eyeshadow in Golden Emerald. I didn't have the exact shades she used, so I took some liberties and went as close as I possibly could to her look.

Products Used

Face:

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Concealer

Eyes:

Annabelle Eyeshadow in Vert-to-Go

Make Up For Ever Eyeshadows in a grey-taupe, brown-taupe, brown, and black shades (MUFE, y u no put eyeshadow names on the pan?!? >_<)

MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Whisper of Gilt

NYX Retractable Eyeliner in Bronze

L'oréal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes Black Lacquer Mascara
L'oréal Voluminous Power Collagen Mascara

Cheeks:
MAC Mineralize Blush in Subtle Breeze

Lips:
Rimmel lipstick in Airy Fairy
Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Peony

As I mentioned above, I took some liberties with this look. I went a little bit heavier on the eyes because I feel that I need more definition and I decided to go with a lip colour that I see on Monika most often. She didn't do a glossy lip in her look, but I needed Peony to get a better colour. But I think the most telling part of this look is the inner corners of the eyes. Monika almost always highlights her inner corner and although the highlighter I used was more grainy than anything Monika's ever used, it was the one I had that would show up the most on camera (btw, so sorry for the crap quality of my photos. It's been so gloomy the last couple of days and I don't have proper lighting at home).

This post has been a lot of fun and I really hope you guys like the look (especially you, Monika-dear). Now, if you'll excuse me... It's time for me to troll everyone else's posts. I can't wait to see who got me who everyone else got! 

• Call It Beauty
• Eye Heart It
• Getting Cheeky
• Glitter Geek
• Makeup Morsels
• Messy Wands
• Musing on Beauty
• My Funny Valentine
• Rocaille Writes
• theNotice: a beauty blog‎

And a new Bandit this round:

• ChloeAsh‎

Merry Christmas, everybody!

The Bandit Is A Vamp...

Aaaand, we're back! Trust the Lipstick Bandits to get me out of my little hidey-hole. :p

If you haven't guessed by the title, we are getting our vamp on this time around. I normally shy away from really dark lipsticks as I feel it makes my lips look too thick (yes, you read that right); but I've been  becoming more and more accepting of their fullness in the past year, and I thought: why not take the plunge?

That said, I'm actually not a stranger to dark, vampy lipsticks... Back in my dancing days, I used to wear this MAC lipstick called Media -- it was perfect for the stage, since you wanted something that could be visible under bright stage lights. But I never wore it offstage since it was just a bit too dark for my liking.

But since the Bandits chose to go Vamp with this latest round of posts, I have challenged myself to wear this particular lipstick in public at least once before the end of the year... Wish me luck, lovelies!

Anyway, for my vamp lipstick, I chose:

Tan-ta-na-naaaaaan!

Welcome to the Dark Side, ladies...

I was briefly toying with the idea of purchasing Media again, but I decided to choose something different this time around. Dark Side is described by MAC as a "deep burgundy" shade and is an Amplified Creme finish, which is probably my favourite kind of MAC finish.

It's comfortable to wear and comfortable to apply -- there's nothing new with this particular lipstick, as it's from MAC's permanent line. So if you own a MAC Amplified Creme lipstick, then you know what to expect with Dark Side.

If you ask the other Bandits if this shade is "vampy enough", they'll probably say no. But I like to think of it as an "Intro To Vamp" type of shade. It's not quite too dark, but definitely dark enough to stretch your comfort some a little bit. Still, it's a stunning shade, and if you're looking to challenge yourself when it comes to lipsticks, then this one is for you!

Now, I don't know about you, but when I think of Vamp, I think: DRAMA! So for my full face shot, I decided to bring on the drama...

To get a more vamp look, I decided to layer Dark Side of MAC's Vino Lip Pencil and it definitely amps up the drama... After seeing how well this combination works, I'm definitely more inspired to wear darker, more dramatic shades. (I'm not quite at Larie Level, though :p)

Aaaaanyway, here comes the fun part -- YOU get to check out what the Vamp Lipstick of choice was for the other Bandits:

• Beauty Reflections
• Call It Beauty
• Eye Heart It
• Getting Cheeky
• Glitter Geek
• Makeup Morsels
• Messy Wands
• Musing on Beauty
• My Funny Valentine
• My Women Stuff
• Rocaille Writes
• theNotice: a beauty blog‎

Are you a fan of the Vampy look?

About Face - Spring For Less

Greetings, lovelies!

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling very Spring-y as of late. My heart has been taken with purples (when is it not, though? <3) and pinks in the past few weeks, so I thought I'd do a looky-look since I haven't done one in a while.

I also wanted to do a look using all drugstore products, so I dug around my humble collection to see what I could use. It turned out to be a good thing, because I rediscovered some products that I haven't use in a while and remembered how much I love them!

Products Used:

Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Serum Foundation - No 53 Beige Clair

Revlon PhotoReady Concealer - Light Medium 003

NYX Cream Rouge Blush - Natural (applied to the back of the cheek)

Joe Fresh Cosmetics Cream Blush - Bloom (applied to the apples of the cheeks)

NYX Cosmetics 10 Colour Eyeshadow Palette - Velvet Rope (purple)

Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio - I'm Getting Sunburned (dark brown)

NYX Cosmetics Retractable Eye Liner - Black

Bourjois Paris Volume Glamour Ultra Curl Mascara - Black Curl

Revlon Lip Butter - Berry Smoothie

Hope you all like this look!

Also, thanks so much for all the love on my first post about my makeup artistry classes. Keep checking in, I'll definitely be writing about my journey often!

What colours have you been reaching for most often?

About Face - Intense Eyeliner Look

(someone forgot to comb their eyebrows >.<)

I was inspired to recreate this look after seeing Michelle Phan's "Fun Eyeliner Looks" video on YouTube. I loved the intensity, so I whipped out the eyeliners and got to it. If you'd like to know how to create this look, then go ahead and take a look at Michelle's video (this part starts at 2:05) because for some reason, I decided to do it the hard way (i.e. using liquid liner from the get go).

Of course, I gave it my own little twist by adding another dimension to the look (you'll see in the photos below), changing the shape up a little bit so it's not as round at the top, and extending the line in the corner a little bit longer.

Products Used:

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation - 005 Natural Beige

Revlon PhotoReady Concealer - 003 Light Medium

Lancôme Star Bronzer - Éclat Bronze

Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner - True Black

NYX Cosmetics Jumbo Eye Pencil - Black

Eyeko Graffiti Eye Pencil - Jet Black

NYX Cosmetics 10 Color Palette - Velvet Rope (black w/ red-violet glitter eyeshadow)

Joe Fresh Matte Lipstick - Poppy

The most complicated part about this look was definitely getting the shape down for the eyes. I used Clinique's cream liner to trace out the shape, NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil to fill in all the gaps (including the upper and lower waterline), and Eyeko's Graffiti Eye Pencil to make the points as precise as I could. To top off the eye look, I patted a black eyeshadow with red-violet glitter shot through on the lids. 

Hope you guys like this look!

* This is a pre-written post queued up for today, as I am currently on a month-long trip. Please do still leave a comment, I will be checking in once in a while. :)

About Face: Runway Edition - Jil Sander

I love this Jil Sander look (from the Fall 2011 RTW show) because of its simplicity.

And yet, even in its simplicity, it's emphatically not boring. The jade eyeliner and the bright red lips make a subtle, but striking combination. Here's my take on this look created by makeup artist and global Creative Director for Chanel makeup, Peter Philips.

Products Used:

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation - 005 Natural Beige

Revlon PhotoReady Concealer - 003 Light Medium

NYX Cosmetics Rouge Cream Blush - Natural

Urban Decay Naked Palette - Buck

Cargo Cosmetics Swimmables Waterproof Eye Pencil - Teal

Wet N Wild Color Icon Palette - Pride (metallic green)

 L'oréal Voluminous Mascara - Carbon Black

Revlon Super Lustrous Creme Lipstick - Fire & Ice

In order to get a shade as close to the original as possible, I simply layered a Wet N Wild eyeshadow from the Pride Color Icon Palette on top of a Cargo Cosmetics Swimmables Eye Pencil in Teal. I winged out the eyeliner as much as I could with the pencil and fixed it up so the tip was more pointed with an angled eyeliner brush. I then applied a few coats of L'oréal Voluminous mascara.

I wanted to try something a teeny bit different with my lips. Firstly, I outlined my lips with Revlon's Fire & Ice lipstick and a lip brush. I wanted to really exaggerate the bow of my lips so I dipped the center line down more than I normally would. I also wanted to make my lower lip look less full by outlining it before my natural lip line. Unfortunately, this didn't work out so well because my natural lip line is quite pigmented. 

As I've mentioned before, I don't have the kind of face that can go without any cheek colour, so even though I didn't see any blush on the model's cheeks, I still added cream blush (NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Natural) to give my face a bit of shape. 

Hope you like! :)

* This is a pre-written post queued up for today, as I am currently on a month-long trip. Please do still leave a comment, I will be checking in once in a while. :)

About Face: Runway Edition - Armani Privé

(photo from style.com)

When I first saw this photo from Armani Privé's Fall 2011 Couture show, I instantly fell in love... I just knew I had to recreate it! So here's my little take on this gorgeous look created by makeup artist and Armani Cosmetics' creative director, Linda Cantello.

Products Used:

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - Milk

Sleek MakeUP Palette - Circus (orange and red shades)

NYX Eyeshadow - Tropical

Urban Decay Naked Palette - Creep

L'oréal Voluminous Mascara - Carbon Black

To start off, I applied NYX's Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk all over the lid as a base. Then, I combined the matte orange and matte red shades from Sleek's Circus Palette and applied it all over the lid, just until the brow bone. Next up, I applied Creep from Urban Decay's Naked Palette along the upper lash line, winging it out quite a bit. About midway through the winged out portion, I started lining through the brow bone. I used a fluffy brush to blend away any harsh lines, then repeated the process, alternating between lining and blending until I was happy with the look. Then I applied Creep on the lower lash line as well, winging it upwards parallel with the upper line. I also made sure that I blended the eyeshadow downward so that the line isn't so severe. Next up, I used NYX eyeshadow in Tropical and lightly dusted that along the brow bone, over top of all existing eyeshadow. I used the Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk again to line the lower water line and also to fill in the space between the two lines of Creep eyeshadow. Lastly, I curled my lashes and applied 2 coats of mascara.

Products Used:

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation - 005 Natural Beige

Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Waterproof Concealer - Light

MAC Eyeshadow - Quarry

Korres Lip Butter - Jasmine

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish - Soft & Gentle

According to Linda Cantello, Armani didn't want any colour on the face. Unfortunately, I don't have the kind of face that can pull off no colour; it would look entirely shapeless! So I thought that a bit of contouring might be in order and applied Quarry onto the hollows of my cheeks and Soft & Gentle on the tops of my cheekbones. 

The model's lips look quite natural; in fact, she looks like she's not wearing any product. So, I applied Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine on my lips for a little bit of sheen.

I have to say, I'm quite proud of this recreation. The look is so beautiful and just inspires me to be more creative. Not to mention, it allows for me to work on my application technique :).

Hope you all like this look!

* This is a pre-written post queued up for today, as I am currently on a month-long trip. Please do still leave a comment, I will be checking in once in a while. :)

About Face - The Lipstick Bandit

Here's the thing, on August 30th a conversation took place via Twitter between a few beauty bloggers. As conversations are wont to do, the topic shifted from lip products, to lipsticks, to red lipsticks; all the while, we were pointing the finger at someone else for some pretty SRS lemmings. Anyway, the words Lipstick Bandits were thrown around and an idea was born.

So our task was to create a mask look with red lipstick. Here is what I came up with...

Products Used:

NYX Cosmetics Jumbo Eye Pencil - Black

Sleek MakeUP i-Divine Palette - Storm (black eyeshadow)

Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Liner - 10 Clear

Revlon Creme Lipstick - Fire & Ice

Estée Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation - Intensity 3.0

Lancôme Star Bronzer - Éclat Bronze

I started by creating a line across my forehead, dipping down in the middle and at the edges; but I wasn't really happy with the shape. So out of nowhere, I just started making really short strokes around the edges to create a "feathery" look. Satisfied, I then filled in the (very large) gap and patted some black eyeshadow on the patchier areas. 

After that, I applied foundation in the areas where my skin was visible and applied bronzer to the hollows of my cheeks. Then I applied clear lipliner, outlined my lips with Fire & Ice with a lip pencil brush and filled in the rest of my lips straight from the tube. 

Et voilà, one Lipstick Bandit look! 

I created this look on the 3rd, after waking up (rather late) to a flash of inspiration. It came about pretty quickly actually. I was rather pleased with the look, but I started doubting myself the day after. Should I have made it more complicated? Something flashier? So I started racking my brain for some better ideas but none would come. Also, I became rather attached to this look...

I think I learned an important lesson in creativity: sometimes you just have to trust your gut. I like the simplicity of this look; I like the greasy quality of the mask, I like that it's literally rough around the edges... It's like my Lipstick Bandit persona is the novice: young, brash and needs a lot of work :p.

I'm not the only Lipstick Bandit around! Check out my fellow bandits: theNotice, The Glitter Geek, Eye Heart It, Makeup Morsels, and Beauty Reflections. Their looks are going to blow you guys away!

(Yo lipsticks. I has 'em!)

(Climbin' in yo windows, snatchin' yo lipsticks up)

Hope you all like my Lipstick Bandit look!