i have been in fiji for a sun-glorious six weeks now. and it shows in my skin color. i used to be fair, now i’m brown. i’m not going to describe my skintone in newfangled shades that make me sound like i’m a metal (like bronze or golden) because brown is exactly what i am. like a caramel brown (yes, i’d rather be described in dessert terms), that is, a kind of tan with the yellow undertones characteristic to most asians.
while back in manila, i admit, i was among the brainwashed denizens who took insufferable measures to keep their skin away from bright spots or those light beams that shoot from open cracks in the concrete skyline for fear of getting dark, i am now enjoying the tanning effects of the fiji sun.
i could use a fresh glow like vanessa hudgens'.
yesterday, we just received our long overdue freight of personal effects from manila. as i excitedly reunited with my cosmetics, i also came to realize that most of my make-up have now become the wrong shades for my new skin tone. the pale frosted pink lip glosses, latte and silver-gray eye shadows, and cotton candy blush have been rendered unflattering if worn by themselves or worn at all.
so i gathered some online data and went on some sample shopping to see which colors can now thrive in my tropical make-up kit.
face and cheeks
brown complexions do typically have deep honey undertones, a rich warm color, so shades like peach, praline, apricot or those with gold shimmer are best.
i am crazy about l'oreal blush delicieux. i use golden apricot (as shown) or sugar praline.
eyes
the best part about getting a tanned face is now gold and copper eye shadows are part of my neutral palette, not just shades i wear when going 70′s disco dancing.
estee lauder pure color eyeshadow in sun block.
many of my tried and true browns, like the cappuccinos and fawns, can still retain their places in my arsenal.
for times when playful shades are required, a strong navy blue or fatigue green seem the most frivolous yet sensible choices. it’s goodbye to my sky blues and apple greens. as for purples, extreme care should be observed in choosing, as the wrong purple can make me look as if i have a shiner. ouch.
i am loving ysl eyeshadow duo in pearly peach and mink brown.
lips
yay! this time, i have a wider range of oranges to choose from, in fact just about the entire spectrum looks great on brown skin: from peach to coral to red-orange.
i used to stay away from red lips, but now i can actually wear deep or fire-engine red without looking as if i’m off to my burlesque revue.
many of the balm's plump your pucker shades make great color for brown skin. i use cherry my cola (6th from right) or tutti my fruity (4th from right) just about everyday.
considering a tan yourself? don’t forget to run through your makeup along with your skin color change.
the trend: orange lip color
seen on the runway:
dries van noten
carolina herrera
proenza schouler
seen on celebs:
january jones
kate walsh
rosario dawson
how to wear orange lip color:
shop for:
mac morange
givenchy lip lip lip! kiss orange
max factor ms. right
not too many people talk about, much less recommend, avon cosmetics. i have to admit, there is a looming stigma against direct selling, which makes girls shy away from catalogs. but i love catalogs. really, i love them. i patronize avon. and i like that they are giving hardworking, entrepreneurial ladies an alternative income.
it’s strange though, it was quite a mission for me to find an avon lady just a few days ago. i used to assume they were all over town. i guess with the boom in direct-selling businesses, many brands vie for the loyalty of but a few dealers.
anyway…
there are items in avon which i think can outdo many higher-priced variations in the market.
avon glazewear liquid lip color. under P400.00.
i started using glazewear eight years ago, and it hasn’t failed me since. full coverage, creamy, not goopy, and it has such a sweet pleasant scent. i get compliments when i use this. and it comes in so many luscious shades, the color wheel will make you dizzy!
avon supershock mascara. on sale now: less than P300.00
it certainly does deliver the shock, volumizing even the puniest lashes to their greatest potential. like many mascaras in season now, the rubber brush promises to separate each lash and minimize clumping.
avon daring definition mousse mascara. on sale now: less than P300.00
aside from the supershock, i like the daring definitions mascara. it’s the blackest mascara you can find on the market and the mousse glides on easily upon application. it doesn’t flake nor fade, thus saving you from the dreaded racoon-eyes effect.
i used to order the first generation avon anew microdemabrasion scrub. it looked something like this, but in a plain white tube:
avon anew clinical microdermabrasion scrub
i think this new advanced formulation replaced the old one. it’s so sad to see brands cease production of your favorite products, but even facial scrubs have to evolve with the times. i am more than willing to try this new one, but i didn’t see it in the catalog today. either it’s not available locally or it has yet to come. i’ll wait. avon’s anew line is more expensive than other avon skin care products, but it does deliver visible results.
since i’ve been ordering the same products from avon for a while now, i think it’s time to try something else. i found that this had many rave reviews online, so i quickly jotted it down for the avon lady to order:
avon tinted magix skin perfector. on sale now: less than P400.00
ok, i admit. reese witherspoon’s radiant photo sold this to me.
the tinted magix skin perfector promises to hide imperfections, improve texture and even minimize the appearance of pores. since many ladies gave it a 5, i would surely love to try it. it’s a cream-to-powder make up base that glides on smoothly for a natural finish. i’ll find out on monday if it also gets 5 stars from me!
how about you, do you have favorite direct-selling products?
this is my entry to the contest posted by posh pinay.
as i normally select which of my personal items would be useful for certain days, then leave behind the rest which won’t be of any purpose, i maintain a general weeday pack and a general weekend pack.
this is my weekend junk:
my favorite red bag
weekend pack
this is my weekday junk:
my typical weekday bag
weekday pack
what’s in your bag?
as these days i am drug dependent on lip gloss, i just can’t help but try on everything on tester counters. in beauty stores and departments, i involuntarily walk straight to where my eyes can spot those shiny spectral tubes. i try just about every color, and i don’t quit until my lips get all raw and tender with all that rubbing off and reapplying with cotton buds.
i have written this post about plumping glosses before, when my collagen lips complex was still at its peak, but i have since added a few more brands to my small collection. and i have expanded it to include even those that don’t promise fatter lips. yes, i have moved on with my life.
my favorite lip glosses by competence:
for color: skin by alison raffaele lip gloss. so far, has one of the very few everyday casual reds in the market.
skin by alison raffaele lip gloss available in all beauty bar outlets
for sensation: max factor silk gloss. they’re not kidding about shines like lip gloss, feels like lip balm.
max factor silk gloss available in leading department stores
for staying power: the face shop cushion touch jelly tint. eat through it and the color still refuses to budge.
the face shop cushion touch jelly tint available in the face shop outlets
for shine: prestige vinyl wear lip gloss. it makes me think of the disco 70′s. that’s how high shine it is.
prestige vinyl wear lip gloss available in all beauty bar outlets
for protection: the balm balmshelter spf lip gloss. unlike the usual lip protectants, this is spf 17 in liquid and tinted form.
the balm balmshelter spf lip gloss (photo: didimagazine.com)
there’s just too many lip glosses and too little time! i normally end up using two or three different colors in the course of just one day. apply one in the morning, apply another after coffee break; then another after lunch; then another after yo break… and so on and so forth. i’m not peculiar. i’m sure there are many other girls who do the exact same thing.
don’t you??
we have winners of the chapstick contest! each of these five readers gets one (1) chapstick ultra and one (1) cherry chapstick:
and since we love to give away stuff, we’re giving away chapstick ultra to five more entries! each of these readers will get one (1) chapstick ultra:
congratulations, girls! please wait for our email requesting for your full name and complete address.
thank you to everyone who participated in our little contest! please keep posted for more prizes.
as mentioned in previous entry, we are avid users of chapstick, what with its strong track record and millions of moisturized peckers the world over. so we would like to give five lucky readers the chance to be one of the brand’s many satisfied users!
the first five readers who can successfully email the answer to the contest question gets:
one chapstick ultra spf 30
and…
one cherry chapstick
conveniently delivered right to your doorstep
to join, simply answer this question:
what is the title of katy perry’s hit single which features cherry chapstick in its nicely naughty lyrics?
email your answers to: weareshallow@gmail.com.
so scoot, go email now! good luck!
update! we have declared five (5) winners of chapstick ultra and cherry! plus five (5) more winners of one chapstick ultra each! see next entry to know if yours was among the lucky entries…
indulge me: what smell reminds you most of your childhood? mine is sunblock. i think my consciousness was awakened with the heavy scent of coppertone. true story.Â
the summer heat makes me want to burrow in a fully air-conditioned nuclear bomb shelter. but where’s the fun in that?
so much rhapsody has been sung about sunscreen since baz luhrman came out with that spoken music of the same title, but not enough people (specifically in the country) have actually taken his words to heart. i myself am a sporadic sunscreener, but there were a couple of years when i religiously plastered my face with the best spf i could find. so this year, when i realized my skin investment will mature without me knowing, i reincarnated my childhood love affair with sunblock.
for this active summertime, my favorite is vmv armada sport hands down.
vmv armada sport spf 70
possibly the most powerful protection you can find in the local market, i find that it is also the least noticeable upon application. it goes on clean, and feels light enough even for your face. no need for separate face and body sunblocks. as an avid user of the other products in the armada line, there was no doubt i’d rely on this during that hottest day on the beach.
as for my little girl, who is one year and five months old, there will be no early memories of the usual sunblock smell for her. because i am a stickler to brands, no question as to what sun protection she should get.
vmv armada baby spf 60
gentle enough for even the most sensitive skin, this won’t irritate a child like other chemical sunscreens. plus it has vitamin e beads. whatever that does. i just trust it works…
now that we have our face and body covered, we normally neglect the most sensitive part of our skin: our lips. of course, these need just as much sun protection as the rest of our body. but i don’t think any of us would be too eager to slather sunblock on our peckers. screw that.
we have found the solution:
chapstick ultra spf 30
from good old chapstick comes another lip thingy to keep your kisser soft even against the most intense day under the sun. and how could we go wrong? this is concerned about our health, not just our looks. more than the aesthetic value brought to us by cosmetic companies, chapstick is brought to us by a pharmaceutical company. which means they are dead serious about protecting our lips.
so no need for hiding under that coconut tree. they’ve got you covered.
it was a new year, it was a new fetish. the one body part we want fat: lips. we want these puckers pouting like the mysteriously odd fishes we watch on animal planet. many girls want angelina jolie or beyonce lips. excuse me, i want mick jagger lips, or maybe jay-z, since we also mentioned beyonce.
the best way to do this is collagen injection. but for people who are not that desperate, scientific innovations in beauty have been established to serve those of lesser means. we have non-invasive lip treatments in tubes, all promising the same effects as collagen injections, all guaranteeing satisfaction. of course, i don’t believe that drivel, but where’s the enthusiasm without a little faith, right? so i decided, what the hell, might as well invest in something if i want hope for these scrawny lips.
first, i tried a low-risk investment.
sally hansen lip inflation (www.sallyhansen.com)
lip inflation comes in a no-nonsense package, and at less than php400.00 a pop, it wasn’t a difficult decision.
pros: it smells nice, it’s extremely shiny and the shade doesn’t overwhelm. in fact, it’s so sheer, it’s translucent, but i suppose that’s the idea. it makes your lips look silky smooth and soft, no wrinkles nor cracks. i like the cooling minty feel and the wet look it provides. ideal for everyday wear, if you can tolerate the cons.
cons: very goopy. if you’re the type who slathers for maximum shine, i should warn you that the product will run into the corners of your mouth after a few minutes, making you look as if you’re gathering spit. so a little restraint for over-glossers like me. during windy weather, your hair will stick to your lips as if you applied honey on them.
does it work like it says?: my lips did look more shapely and defined in photos, but that can also be an optical illusion. you see, lip inflation shimmers in golden tones, not silvery like most lip products. i read somewhere that gold gives the illusion of fullness, perhaps thus the lip plumping effect.
all in all: worth it for the price i pay. i use it for the everyday shine and moisture. will i buy another shade? yes, i would.
the next i tried was a riskier investment.
o-plump from smashbox. www.smashbox.com
the first thing i notice about it is it’s size. it’s too tiny for the almost php1,500.00 you have to shell out for it. but the features are very intriguing. its blurbs do mention the cursory plumping effect, but they stress more on its other characteristics. first off, it seems like a really smart one, with the sub-name intuitive lip plumper. i didn’t know cosmetics can have intuition. maybe later, other lip gloss will develop e.s.p. too.
why intuitive? well, it reacts to your lips’ natural chemistry. the product is actually a clear, viscous liquid (you know how your clear watery snot looks and feels like? the product looks and feels just like that), but once you apply, it turns into your own custom shade of pink that looks absolutely natural. shiny, not overbearing.
not at all goopy nor sticky, you can lip-lock with your man without fear. it also has that minty cool feel, which by now i have realized is actually the common feature of all lip plumping products.
does it work like it says? i can’t really tell. and i don’t have before-and-after photos yet to make a sound judgment. is it worth the price? for its features, definitely. for the size, no. would i consider it a good investment? i’ll sleep on this assessment first.
back to a more reasonably-priced lip plumper.
prestige wonder-full
 i like prestige lip glosses because they come in fabulous diva colors for when you feel like courtney thorne-smith or jennifer aniston in the mid 90′s. that is, all the color without the showgirl. i have loved prestige’s lip vinyl in the past, so in terms of color and shine, this is my favorite.
it glides on creamy, but not overly sticky. the color has good staying power, especially if you stay away from balbacua and humba for lunch. it doesn’t leave a serious mark on my drinking bottle and it doesn’t gather along the corners of my mouth. for a lip gloss with good staying power, this one is better than all the other long-wearing lip gloss i’ve tried, because it certainly doesn’t make your lips feel dry. but if you’re not accustomed to wearing color, this would feel pretty heavy.
it uses maxi-lip(tm) technology, the cosmetic treatment proven to reduce lines, improve moisture and fatten your lips with everyday use. i don’t know if i would also believe that it increases collagen too. ideally, with repeated use, this should give a semi-permanent plump. and btw, this is the same technology used in lip plumpers of bloom and pout. incidentally, all these three brands are found in your nearest beauty bar.
does it work like it says? like sally hansen, it also gives the illusion of fullness since i’m using a shade with gold flecks. i’m getting compliments from co-workers about how my lips look, so i suppose it does reduce lines and dryness. as for actual plumping, too early to tell; maxi-lip(tm) technology takes a few days before results are visible, so we’ll see. worth the money? at just below php400.oo, you bet.
here’s some bad news (for those of you who live in caves and don’t know yet): the cosmetics brand pout has ceased production. it had its glory days when celebs like j-lo, britney, beyonce and kate hudson were known to use its products. but the good news is: clearance on the remaining pout cosmetics in beauty bar.
pout plump
including the pout plump lip gloss. just under php500.00 from an original retail price of over php1500.00. now that’s a good bargain on a bad note…
pout plump lip gloss uses the same maxi-lip(tm) treatment as prestige wonder-full.
i am curious too how duwop’s lip venom lip plumping gloss works. i heard it works like magic mainly because it irritates your lips. you know, like applying siling labuyo straight to your lips. is this true? i haven’t bought it because it’s too tiny at nearly php1500.00. i have other obligations, you know. like mascara and pedicure, for instance.
come to think of it, i did try applying hot sauce on my lips. now this is the best lip plumper in the market.
tabasco pepper sauce. www.tabasco.com
if you can stand the heat, try it (i love spicy food, so this is not a very far-fetched idea to me). your lips will swell within seconds. then just apply some lip balm to soothe your skin, top it with your favorite lip color, and you’re ready to go. although i don’t know if this is safe for daily use…
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