My 10-Step Routine Before Facing the World

Manic Monday again!
 

Now I was not born beautiful and flawless. So if you please, I need at least 20 minutes (ok, make that 30!) in the morning to make myself up and confidently face the world. Monday or no Monday.

So what are my favorite basic beauty products and power tools? Let me count the ways.

1. Sunscreen. Four years ago, one Korean student asked me if I used sunscreen and she was aghast that I didn’t. I thought that sunblock lotions were just for the beach, I said. She wondered why Filipinas don’t make it a habit to apply sunscreen when in fact we need it more since our country is hot and humid. I realized the truth in what she said, and have started putting on SPF 45+ ever since. The fight against our UV ray-plagued country should be taken seriously by all of us.

Some of these were gifts from my Korean students.
I guess they don't want a wrinkled teacher in front of them!

2. Concealer. For those days when I wake up with dark circles around my eyes due to late night blogging and skyping with my sister (o, nanisi pa!), which is almost practically every night, my Faceshop concealer saves the day for me. It’s creamy and easy to apply. I just don’t put too much though--lest I end up looking like a tired, wide-eyed raccoon.

The Faceshop Real Secret Perfect Contour Kit,
The Faceshop Premier Essence in Magic Cover

3. Foundation. If I had a genie and were given three wishes, I would first wish for a perfect, flawless, smooth, fair skin. (Second wish is a bottomless bank account; third is world peace!). But since genies in bottles have eluded me, I’d have to make do with foundations in pancake, liquid, or cream form. For special occasions, MAC is my second skin. But for my everyday mask, I have settled for EB (go figure!) since Max Factor practically abandoned me.

Depends on my mood. Clockwise: EB Pancake, MAC Studio Tech,
Skin Food BB Cream, Etude House Moistful Collagen Balm, L'Oreal True Match

Oh, I have discovered that BB creams (Blemish Based), which the Koreans originally concocted, are good for light cover-ups. I insisted that my Daughter use one (now that she’s in college I handed down my Faceshop BB cream to her) since it also doubles as a sunscreen.

4. Eyebrow Pencil. If I only had 5 minutes to do my face, after the foundation, this is my next choice. I think my face isn’t complete if I don’t fill in the gaps in my eyebrows. I found this cheap eyebrow pencil in the department store, and I was hooked to it. It’s the right brown color, it has a brush at the end, and it’s only Php55.00!

Kleopatra Eyebrow pencil--perfect!
MAC Fluidliner for the winged eye look

5. Eye shadow/Eyeliner. That MAC Fluidliner thingy up there (which I bought in Singapore) is now my holy grail to achieve my cat eye look. It doesn’t smear, and it doesn’t dry up in its jar.

My collection of eyeshadow is seldom touched. I only put color on my lids when there’s a special event I’m attending. And in Bacolod, I don’t have an active social life to attend events! Oh, boohoo me!

My eye color stash: MAC, Ever Bilena, Clinique, The Faceshop

So on ordinary days, depending on my mood (and the dominant color of my clothes for the day), I use colored pencils to give life to my drab peepers. 

Nichido, The Faceshop, Maybelline pencils

Wishlist: I've always dreamed of a colored pencil set, much like the 12-piece colored pencil sets used by school children. To my surprise, I saw one set like this on the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Collection set being sold by an FB online site French Macaroons Online Boutique  https://www.facebook.com/frenchmacaroonsonlineboutique
Check it out: (pardon the drool!)

Now why do they have to be this pretty...and pricey? (Php5K+)
Picture from French Macaroons Online Boutique

Unlike other beauty buffs, I'm not into mascara. It feels heavy. It smears.  It clumps. It's hard to remove at night. But that's just me.

 

6. Blush. I admit I’m not so much of a blush-on momma. But again, if I feel like it, I sweep a touch of color on the apple of my cheeks. My favourite used to be NARS Cream blush because it looked naturally blushing when applied. But since it’s a luxury for me to buy it again, my cheaper alternative is Maybelline Dream Mousse in Soft Plum. It blends creamily, but doesn't look oily. The idea is to make it look like I'm blushing like a school girl (Asa pa!Hehehe!).

Maybelline Dream Mousse in Soft Plum, MAC Powder Blush in Fleur Power ,
Fashion 21, Ever Bilena in Shy

7. Lipstick. My 3^rd must-put-on. Almost all my lipstick colors are in the nude shade. I have thick lips and I don’t want to emphasize them by putting red on them. I think by putting on nude colors, I can get away with having lipstick on even in the morning. Note: I don’t particulary like putting on lip glosses. It feels gooey and sticky, and it tends to clump on my lips after an hour.

L-R: Faux, Twig, Siss, Viva Glam II, Blankety, Viva Glam Lady Gaga

Dear Hubby,
Look, my MAC Faux is on its red alert for quite some time now. Please grab me one in Manila? (Update: Yey, he got me one last week!)

8. Pressed Powder. Big pores are my curse. After two hours (or even less), they start producing sebum and it’s gross! So to control these babies a little longer, I dab on some pressed powder with my Kabuki brush (Beauty experts say this is a better alternative).

I wish for a pressed powder to last me my matte look for 8 hours. But as my fairy god mother always denies me this, I still have to retouch every now and then.

Maybelline Angelfit in Beige Ochre, Etude House, Nichido Kabuki Brush
In2It in Beige Blush, Max Factor Facefinity in Porcelain

9. Hair Straightener/Hairspray. If I have the luxury of time, I either heat up the straightener or the curling iron to style my already over-processed hair. But if I am in a tight squeeze, I just do fisherman’s braid to my hair. The hairspray is just for the bangs (Old habits never die!). Then I spray a serum for a simulated (in other words, fake) shine.

10. Scent. Like I said in my previous post, I can live without a scent. But if it’s available and lovingly given, who am I to reject them? Tip to my generous sponsors, I'm partial to light, baby powder scents;-)

Gendarme, Versace Baby Rose Jeans, Victoria's Secret Peony Freesia

                        Before:                                                                            After:                                                               

Piece o' cake!