For all the girls who have given up on mineral make-ups (MMU's) or are on the brink of throwing them out... please reconsider.

In between those times I've basked with minerals, I've always thought of going back to traditional foundies especially during those zitty times for their excellent coverage. I never knew that the choice of mineral applicator can make a HUGE improvement on the foundie's coverage.

I've always used brushes to apply them as it was the most popular method of getting an airbrushed look. It wasn't until five days ago that I discovered how sponges can be better mineral foundie applicators for my skin type--- scarred, oily and acidic.

Joppa Mineral Foundie Full Coverage Light 3, $22

The Bodyshop's Professional Sponge, 200php (~$5)

The basics of applying MMU's with a sponge (get the bodyshop's!!!):

1. Transfer a bit of the foundie onto the lid

2. Dip your dry sponge onto the product.

3. Tap the sponge a little to get rid of the excess minerals

4. Smooth onto skin in a downward motion

5. Blend, blend, blend

I've used MMU's for almost a year now, not because they've made me look flawless, but because

• they're gentle on my sensitive skin... Zero break-outs
• they give my face a certain kind of glow after washing it off at the end of the day
• the full-sized jar I bought 9 months back is still half-full
• mineral make ups do not expire

And ever since my discovery on the bodyshop professional sponge+mineral foundation loveteam, I can now add:

• they make me look like I've got great skin

FOTD on Joppa Minerals' Natural Look:

before the minerals, zits on chin+eyebags+pock marks beneath cheekbone

Joppa+sponge tandem worked for me!

I used: Clinique's 3-step

Primer: L'oreal True Match Smoothing Makeup Base

BB Cream: Elianto Miracle Multiplex #2

Foundie: Joppa Minerals Full Coverage Light 3

Finpow: Aromaleigh URFP in Peaches and Cream

Tools: The Bodyshop's Professional Sponge to Smooth on Joppa foundie and

EDM's flattop brush for the URFP

YUP, no concealers!!! weeee!

Before my eureka moment with the sponge, I was lusting for a good concealer (MAC's or Cinema Secrets, based on forums). Imagine my big savings when I dabbed on a sponge?

So girls, before you rip that mineral makeup foundie jar off your kit, please consider using a good sponge. The only downside to it is that you get to use more of the product relative to using brushes. But what the heck, you'd look really pretty and flawless anyway!

New to mineral make-ups? Check out this forum that talks about 'em!

I will start my 'Best Makeup Primers (for Oily Skin) Series' with the first primer I've ever used... Skinhour's.

Skinhour Petite, 250php (~$5) from URU Galleria

I am recommending Skinhour's Mattifying Day Cream to every girl starting out with primers. Why? Because it gives good value to your money. It serves as a good moisturizer, sunblock and a makeup base.

Their mini tubs (15g net) can go as low as 180php (~$4) which will last you at least a month. But it goes out of stock really, really fast.

From the Skinhour multiply site:

A day cream that is non-clogging and oil free. Controls excess sebum the whole day. Also acts as makeup base that makes makeup long lasting. Contains pineapple extract known for its skin clearing properties and carrot to fight skin aging. Serenity variant gives a sweet yet subtle surprise to one’s face. The day cream also has SPF 15 for sun protection.

What the Mattifying Day Cream is packed with:

deionized aqua, organic mango butter, glyceryl stearate, sweet almond oil, organic goat milk, titanium dioxide, pineapple and carrot extract, a-tocopherol, sodium gluconate, organic non-solvent fragrance oils

the creamy product is packed with goodness your face'll love. really.

What I love about it:

• proudly Filipino made!
• unlike other primers that felt kinda sticky on my oily face post-application, skinhour's lived up to its name--- a mattifier. no oily, sticky moments!
• my face makeup stayed put all day! i only blotted twice, max, during all those days I used it under my mineral make up.
• transforms my skin into a perfect canvas for my makeup
• SPF 15
• moisturizing
• locally available and cheap

Uh-ohs:

• the uber fruuuuity scent (pineapple, I think)
• the container. it's an unhygienic tub. lazy me still needs to use a spatula to get the glorious primer out.
• it broke my chin out a little during the first few days. purging stage? beats me. (antidote: clinique's 3-step! yup, I still moisturize... and it stops breaking me out)

Skinhour's Mattifying Day Cream is a superb primer because it delivers. I'd recommend this product to those girls, especially oily-skinned ones like me, who would want to put an end to endless retouching sessions.

Do watch out for my upcoming posts on more effective face primers... till next time!

I was lucky to have been able to try this cheap blush duo on my cheeks. Sebastian Trucco's Blush Creme Duo in Desert Rose offers a pink blusher and a pretty highlighter.

From Sebastian Trucco: "Highlight and blush team up to give your skin a flawless, satiny finish. Cream-to-powder colors and contours bone structure. Silky sheer cream highlight accents and heightens. Subtly enhances natural skin. Housed in a dual-compact"

What I love about it:

• gives me a healthy flush on my cheeks; lovely color!
• 'newbie-to-blushes'-friendly in terms of application/blending
• the creamy blush glides perfectly and miraculously becomes powdery to suit my oily cheeks
• cheap! I got it for 400+ php
• the palette has a HUGE mirror!
• if you over apply the blush (a slim chance), the highlighter works great in toning it down

Uh-ohs:

• I have no use for the highlighter since it'll just emphasize my acne scars
• packaging looks like a coffin
• poor staying power on my oily, oily, oily cheeks
• locally unavailable; but there are a few who sell over ebay.ph

Here are the swatches (click pix to enlarge):

I'm still thinking if I'd purchase again after using it all up. I'm a little bit reluctant since I'm a cheek tint gal.

To anyone using NARS blushes: can this Trucco product be a shade dupe of any NARS blush at all? I was just wondering...

Here are the photos of how typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) devastated our properties:

Dad's car and my brother's sank into the deeps. Good thing that my brother drove the SUV to work, got stranded in EDSA, and was able to at least 'save' one vehicle.

Drum sets and blankets

Bye-bye, amplifier. No more noisy jamming at home. For now.

Bye-bye books and a whole lotta documents.

Dirt, mud, and bacteria

Our heavy, leather sofa made its way to the kitchen. A traveler, indeed.

Bye-bye study room.

The real dirty kitchen.

Our dirty kitchen... at its dirtiest.

Some of the beautiful people in our presently ugly house (soon to be a pretty, cozy home once again):

My mom forcing a smile... she sheds tears every second as she rummages through the ruins.

My sibs... who've been surprisingly masipag all throughout the cleaning and clearing stage!

My little sister cheering big brother up