2012 Rave: The best of the best bloggers and websites that I have encountered in 2012

2012 was quite boring for me. Except for the fact that I graduated from college this year, nothing exciting really happened. That's why I'm quite excited with 2013. It's a Snake year! :D

Anyways, to fill the void in my life, I relied on some strangers to cheer me up, keep me occupied, and get some learnings from. Perfect life noob vanguards.

1. Rant blogs

You know, for those times when you want to complain, rant, scream and be a disrespectful jerk to other people... Keep smiling and let them do the job. So therapeutic.

ItsKingsleyBitch

I love him. I started with RWJ of =3 last year and found him featured there. Moved away from RWJ because of... reasons, but stayed loyal to Kingsley. There is no such thing as "mababaw na problema." Check out his annual, year end overexposed series.

 He's awesome.

Here is a sampling of him ranting about TSwift.

JPMETZ

She teaches losers like us how to apply makeup--angrily. :D What's not to love??? Not so much on makeup techniques sometimes. Hahaha! More on anger. She's perfect and a goddess.

Here's her tanning mom makeup tutorial

2. Makeup/Beauty blogs and sites

Here are my most trusted beauty bloggers and review sites. I check them out first before I purchase ANYTHING MAKEUP-RELATED. I've made some pretty expensive mistakes in the past. It's glorious that they exist.

Bow down and pay your respects.

MakeUpAlley

If I get curious with a product, I simply Google the product's name along with makeupalley, and poof! I get ratings and reviews from real people who have used the product. I check for allergic reactions, breakouts, lasting power, and overall makeup quality.


gossmakeupartist

Legit makeup artist. He's got awesome tips for a lot of face issues. Most beauty bloggers just demonstrate how to apply makeup on their faces. He goes beyond that. Check out his eyeshadow tutorial for all eye shapes.

Kikay trekkie

Her niche is Asian products. Mostly Korean products but now branching out to Japanese products. What I love about her blog is that she's not all always singing praises. She tells it like it is. Very objective reviews. Lots of photos. Sometimes table comparisons. I love it that she posts the product prices too. Also, if you're just starting out with the BB cream craze, check out her reviews. She has A LOT of BB creams. :O I am not kidding. And she replies to comments and questions. And she loves sci-fi stuff.  :D


bubzbeauty
Aaack! She is super cute! I love the step-by-step tutorials. I love it that she includes the hair, not just the face. I love her cute outfits and her dogs. I love the background and overall feel of her videos. I think the best part is that she includes life advice in her blog. Awesomely uplifting.


thebeautydepartment

The background. The color scheme. The layout.
So girly and pretty and neat!!!

The best part, it's like an Idiot's Guide to Beauty. Lots of tips. Straightforward. Like fastfood. Get it. Get it. Done. Lots of practical tips and techniques. A lot of the things they say sound so common sense but I honestly never thought about those things before.

musingsofamuse

This girl's makeup collection is beyond freaky. I. AM. SO. ENVIOUS. She's got reviews on drugstore brands, high-end brands, Asian brands, etcetera. I want to raid her vanity table.

3. Food

I'm in love with Japanese and Korean food so forgive me for the selection.

runnyrunny999

The format is you order food from him, and then he shows you how to cook it. Then he ends the video by eating the food. Nope. He doesn't deliver the cooked food to you. Lol. The recipes are awesome but doable for beginners like me. The food also taste nice. Trust me. I've done some of his recipes.

His charm lies with the mistakes he makes on-cam. Very encouraging and fun to watch.

cookingwithdog

I'd like to say that this is more formal than runnyrunny999 but I can't. There's a talking dog narrating the whole cooking process! :D More pro recipes here, I guess. Even runnyrunny999 adopts some of the techniques shown here. The recipes are awesome. It's a shame that some of the ingredients aren't available here in the Philippines, though. I'd like to replicate a lot of her recipes.

luxirare

High fashion site. But it wasn't the fashion that got me here. It was the food. Not a video type tutorial, though, unfortunately. But still. Goodness, I can't even begin to describe what she has here. "Food porn" can't accurately describe what she does. Just check it out. Please.


maangchi

She's like a super cool mom! :))) Bagets! Her korean dishes are awesome. Since Korean marts are sprouting all over the Metro, her recipes are quite doable already. She's really fun to watch. I love the comments that pop up suddenly in her videos. I love it that she once did a tour and featured her viewers cooking their local dishes. She went to the Philippines! How cool is that?!





So that's it for now. I'm still on the hunt for new websites to stalk. :D

Rave: Ben Nye Banana Visage Poudre

What is happiness?

Kind of a hard question. Depends on the day. The hour. The situation....

But right now... It's my discovery of this awesome loose powder.

I found it on some blog. Can't remember where exactly, sorry. I've been looking for something that would set my BB cream. Those Korean BB creams can be quite dewy. Too dewy for me. I feel like an egg could be fried on my face with how my face is shining. Plus, I can't get a damn decent picture since the high SPF has reflective issues. I look like a ghost in my photos and that gets me sad 'coz I can't share it on facebook. Lol. :D

I'm not a beauty blogger. Bleagh. I just can tell you that it sets my BB cream awesomely. Great for Pinay skin. Didn't let me down rain or shine. No breakouts. I don't scratch my face with this on.

 The only bad thing is the paraben content I think. Everyone's against parabens these days. Haven't researched why yet. I'm kinda cool with this for the moment since I don't use makeup everyday.

I got this at  http://thestylequarter.multiply.com/ for 599 pesos. It's out of stock right now so... too bad for you. :D Wait for them to restock, though. It's worth it. And be quick since it's super in demand.

Minty

Minty by wallflower-chic featuring an orange perfume

STELLA McCARTNEY sleeveless top
mytheresa.com

Stuart Weitzman platform heels
bergdorfgoodman.com

Edie Parker box clutch
modaoperandi.com

DANNIJO bohemian jewelry
dannijo.com

Hermès orange perfume
nordstrom.com

Virginia Olsen Minerals :D

Last week, Virginia Olsen Minerals asked me to pick out three eyeshadows from this site:

http://www.virginiaolsen.com/products/eyes/results,1-60



A few days later, these babies got delivered to my doorstep. :3

Above is Pink Diamond, and below is Donnarence

To be honest, I let my mom pick. Haha.

Of course she wanted the safe ones, which was practical, since a few weeks from now, I'm out of college and on my way into office life *shudder*. 

I wanted Chartreuse, Festival and Jirbie... Actually I wanted everything. Lol. :3 Anyways, I let her win. September is her month so I have to be extra nice. <3

But! I had to insist on getting Donnarence. 

Why? 

Look at that color. ;_; So beautiful...

Duuude, have you seen this movie? No? Well, you should.

I was so excited to try them out. Also, my 6pcs Ecotools Eye Brush Set just got delivered (ordered from Stuff in Style) so I was really keen on playing with my new toys. 

Alas, school issues had to intervene and I was forced to keep them out of my sight...

Until today. :D

---- ------ ------

So first things first. Here are my issues:

 I'm not a makeup expert. I rarely wear eyeshadows. When I do, I only use one color. If I have more than one color on my lid, either my mom or some makeup expert did it. I have no experience in using multiple shadows at a time (until today :p). I have creasy/greasy eyelids that turn any eye product into a goopy mess after one to two hours. This is also the first time I'm going to use a brush to apply eyeshadow.

Yes. I use the sponge thingy supplied by the makeup. Yes, I'm a loser. 

Aaand... Another first? I'm going to try an eye primer for the very first time.

Yes. I've let myself wear eyeshadows without primer. Yes, I just recently heard about primers. 



Don't expect me to pull off a Bubzbeauty with this review. This is all from a noob's POV.



So, ready? Here we go.

Pink diamond above (L&R), Donnarence below (L&R)

The ones on the left are swatches without primer. As you can see, the color just jumps out at you when used with primer. They're like... BOOOOOM. PIGMEEEEENT. :D

Pink Diamond is like, light pink fairy dust that's a good shimmer but turns dark pink to violet-y when used with primer. 

Donnarence is more of a red-orange (which I super like) without primer. It turns into a shimmery dark red-pink when used with primer.

I had some free time so I played with 'em separately and together.

L: No primer. R: With primer

Shown above is Donnarence. Even without primer, I still like the color. I wanted a more reddish one, remember? It's closer to the one worn by the lady in the movie poster. Matte-ish too. I'm not much of a shimmer/glitter fan. Too bad it's gonna crease and goop up later on. The "true" color is okay too, but I just prefer the no-primer version's color. :D

I had to use a primer with Pink Diamond. My lids are too oily to pull it off. Unlike some other brands I've tried in the past, even if Pink Diamond swatches like fairy dust  without primer, you'd still see that there's something pink there and not just glitter. Other glittery shadows I've tried would just leave a fart of glitter here and there. No trace of pigment. And they're not even cheap!  

My mom liked this one on me. She says that it's good for office makeup. It's not too outrageous. Actually, it's a sneaky, subtle way to add a bit of color when you're working in super strict, conservative and formal setting. I guess when I get bored with using neutrals and earthy colors, I'll have this one then. Nice discovery!

And now a noob tries to get creative! Ack! Don't laugh. I really don't know anything about eye shadows and blending and such. :D My Ecotools brushes have labels on the handles so that was kinda helpful. The hairs were kinda prickly, though. :| Or maybe I'm just sensitive. I cry easily while applying eyeliners.

I used LEFP Majolica Majorca for my lashes. Lily Cole Collection Liquid Eyeliner from The Body Shop.   Proof 10 Eye Primer. Aaand...  Lol. I wanted a third color. So I... uh... I sort of scraped a bit off my Sweet Cupcake #1 (baked eyeshadow), 

and blended it with the Pink Diamond. I got a sort of a cream with flecks of pink. I used it on the inner area of my lids. 

 Man, I had so much fun. I'm not sure if I did alright but I liked it. Hahahaha. This is my first time to mix three colors and blend sooo.... hahaha. Please don't be too harsh on me.

Will I purchase some more of their eyeshadows??? 

Lol, for Php 150, it's the definition of sulit. And the colors they have are awesome. No allergies so far. They're good for beginners like me. The powdery form is a bit tricky, though. I'm used to eyeshadows that are pressed flat. When you dip your brushes in straight to the  powder, you might get a whole lot more than you need. What I do is I flip the container upside down for a sec. Some of the powders cling on to the underside of the cover. I use that little amount, and then build little by little. Iunno... Is there some other way/technique? Teach meeee... :D

 Anyways, yeah, I think I'll purchase some. Imma try the crazier colors. :3



 Follow Virginia Olsen Minerals on Twitter: @Virginia_olsen for more deets.

***** ****** *******

Virginia Olsen Minerals gave the two samples for me to review.  All opinions here are my own. I wasn't influenced or coerced by anybody to say this or that. There was no makeup artist involved (lol, I wish). This is purely a noob's POV.

No editing was done on the pictures. It took 4 hours with my trusty not-so-powerful digicam and lots of playing around with fluorescent lights to take "decent" pictures shown above. Stress, I swear, but worth it. :D

***** ***** ********

Third world dilemma

So I bought some awesome rain boots like a month ago. It was during that awful two weeks marathon of rain that flooded my city. I thought I needed it so bad since I commute and have to deal with nasty puddles. I don't live in Singapore, unfortunately. People spit their phlegm everywhere in this country. Guys pee on walls and trees and... well, everywhere. Mix with a bit of flood and what do you get?

Yeah. My rain boots are pretty much justified. And they're so purrrty! :3

so photogenic

Too bad. It'll probably never see the light of day for the rest of the year. Haha. Get it?

such beautiful clouds

Yeah, it sometimes rains. Like in the morning, it rains heavily that I end up sloshing through the halls with my wet ballet flats. I'd regret my footwear for a second, but then the sun would suddenly peek through the clouds, making me relieved somewhat that I didn't wear the dang rain boots.

Can you imagine wearing rain boots for the rest of the sunny, bright day? Awkwaaaard.

Schizo weather is messing with my wardrobe forrealz!

And now we're entering the "BER" months.

Goodbye to rain, hello to cold days.

Life lesson: Buy the rain boots BEFORE the deluge of rain. Not during. Not after.

Not afraid to go cheap

There are those who would never let themselves be caught wearing something "cheap."

I'm not one of those people. Bargains can be tres chic, especially if you end up looking like a million bucks compared to someone who did spend a million bucks but ends up looking like the next door floozy out to catch her nightly john.

I consider it an art. And I'm an instant fan of anybody who could pull off bargain bin, no-name pieces.

With that said, I don't condone wearing cheap imitations. I hate seeing clothes, shoes and bags with logos screaming Chanel, D&G, YSL, etcetera. I once saw this super cute top with all the graphic art and vivid colors. The quality was nice too. Unfortunately, it had a patch of LV on it. Totally ruined my day, I swear.

Ugh.

Yeah, I get those people who hate cheap stuff. Most of the time, you get what you pay for. Which is... peanuts. It'd be best to save for the more expensive one than wasting money (even if it's just a small amount) on poor quality items that would just cause stress.

 But I can't help getting irked with people who raise eyebrows at something reeeeally nice (even they would admit that the piece is indeed awesome) just because it's priced cheaply.

Anyways, that was a pretty long rant.

I just want to post my find for the day.

I used a colorful banig bag as a background. lol. 

Super duper comfy flats for only Php 399. Yep. that's the price for two. So that's Php 200 each. 

I love the color. Super soft. Doesn't chafe the back of my ankle. Awesome colors! And no weird bows or some unnecessary design. Just plain, awesomely colored flats that would be perfect when your feet are tired, or when you're gonna drive.

The minimum price for flats that I'd like to have? About 800 pesos, and I'm already super lucky if I find a pair priced like that. And those could still hurt my little footsies. I'm very particular with comfort. That's why it's super rare for me to get no name, cheap brands for shoes. Cheap ones tend to hurt me, and I ain't buying that even if it's cheap and super unique and pretty.

Speaking of awesomely comfy shoes, I'm on the lookout for the comfiest high heels.

I'm currently sticking to Rockport but the designs are so limited! Ugh. 

  

Err on the side of danger #1

Basically what happens when I am procrastinating have too much free time is I search homemade stuff for face, hair and body. I've been doing it since high school. The Internet wasn't so big in our school back then. Still kind of a luxury. So I resorted to books. So awesome that a science high school has such a collection of books for the vain. Obvs right now, things are different and I have wifi at my disposal.

Back then, I would just stare at the ingredients and read about the promised good effects of putting homemade so and so on face. But now, I have my own kitchen, and some people I could ask to go to the market for me. (Gahd, I hated the dorm life.)

So yeah. There you go.

-----

The first thing you should know about "natural" stuff is that... just because it's all-natural doesn't mean it wouldn't wreak havoc on your body/face/hair. It could. There's this thing called allergies.

Yeah.

So I'm testing this all-natural, homemade, just-put-in-a-blender-and-whirr-together kind of product.

Ingredients:

Avocado
Bananas
Sunflower Seed oil
Oatmeal
Lemon juice
Honey

 This recipe is actually a mash up of like 5 or so recipes. Whatevs. They say it's all good for hair and face.

Sounds yummy, but no. I don't think so. The recipes called for olive oil. I used cosmetic grade sunflower oil instead. It's good for hair and face too.

Just put 'em in a blender and  run a 3 for a minute or so.

Face:
Smack 'em on your face. Leave it there for 15 minutes. Massage it in. Rinse it all off.

Review:
I have combination to oily skin, with fairly a bit of pimples. This mask is actually for dry skin. It's supposed to moisturize it big time.

Basically, nothing magical happened to my face. I noticed that I didn't get too oily in the face, though. I've read that your face produces oil to compensate the dryness so maybe there's the root of the problem. Still, I don't think I'm going for this again. Too risky to play with something that isn't for your skin type.


Hair:
Slather it from the middle to the tips. Be careful putting it too close to the scalp. It might be too heavy and leave your hair flat. Leave it on for ten minutes. Wash off with your fave shampoo.

The mixture is heavy and sticky but have no fear because it washes off easily with water. The oil will need some shampoo to get off, though.


Review:
I have weird hair. It's oily, that's kinda flat and then dry, and then it's got split ends. It's coarse too. This thing was like a dream come true. My hair suddenly became slippery and smooth, and didn't show off fly away tips when I dried it. It's not a miracle hair cream, though. I'm reviewing just using my one time experience after all. But I'm definitely doing it again next weekend.