If you still remember my post on my dear friend Kristine's bachelorette party, I'd have to tell you that she already tied the knot last week!

Her wedding started at 9:30AM and I was late for the ceremony proper since I still had one patient to attend to.  With only an hour to spare for preps to her wedding, I pushed my luck on just  my amateur prettifying skills, mineral makeups and freshlook dailies contacts to give me some radiance that day.

And it didn't fail me! Yay!  My other childhood friend, Reina, sarcastically quipped that it was dubious that I'm out of time to prepare with the kind of makeup I was wearing.

The No -Makeup Look:

FACE:

Clinique DDMG

Smasbox Photofinish Primer (Original)

Cinema Secrets Ultimate Foundation in 302-65A used as concealer on blemishes, pock marks & undereyes

Aromaleigh URFP in peaches and Cream using Charm stippling brush

Joppa FC Medium 3 using EDM flat top brush (2 layers)

Joppa Grecian Gold using EDM flat top brush (1 layer)

Aromaleigh URFP in peaches and Cream again to seal in all the mineral :-)

LIPS&CHEEKS:

The Bodyshop Lip & Cheek tint patted on cheeks

EYES:

Eye tapes

Freshlook Dailies Contacts in Pure Hazel

Fanny Serrano black gel liner using Fanny Serrano angled liner brush

The Face Shop's false lashes

Fanny Serrano lash curler

BROWS:

Fanny Serrano clear mascara

Lancome dual eyeshadow (Noix shade) using Fanny Serrano angled liner brush to fill in sparse areas of brows

Now these shots were taken after the reception's program.  My lip and cheek stain's awesome job can no longer be appreciated.  My mineral makeup has made me look dewy, not oily.  My eyes, despite the lack of shadows, still popped with the freshlook dailies+flasies tandem.

Reina in her taupe dress, me in my floral number, and Kristine, of course, in her bridal gown.

The three of us have been friends way back Kindergarten days in Maryknoll Child Study Center.  We've been schoolmates/busmates for 12 years, too.  We've fought over stickers, snubbed each other during that time and even caused the entire schoolbus (including our seniors) to be divided as they took sides.  We've sang 'The greatest love of all' with what we then thought was 'voicing', pioneered trick or treating in our village, graduated and made our parents proud altogether.

These people are the closest to my heart although we barely see each other after college (we live in the same village!).  We may have new sets of people we hang out with at present, but we know deep inside us that we are genuinely bestfriends forever!

PS:  These were the pock marks that I had to conceal.  I just thought I had to share.  Natural makeup is very possible even if you have lots of blemishes and ugly, ugly, ugly scars.

Pock marks, pimple blemishes, and monolids.  The solution? (at least temporarily! =D) Mineral makeup, a good concealer, eye tapes and freshlook dailies!

Perhaps one of the reasons why I never really ventured into alot of eye makeup is that it doesn't show up on my monolid eyes. I have unequal (there are days when my right eye crease is bigger than my left, and conversely), monolids that can be a pain to work with when putting on some eye colors (maybe because I'm so much a newb in it?)

I hauled some eye tapes and glue way back April 09 hoping to get a pretty pop with my peepers. And the eye tapes were actually impressive in giving me natural-looking double eyelids!

My monolid eyes

I got them from my Hongkong trip and have seen Sasa.com putting them up on sale these holidays.

I'm using the short eye tapes for my small eyes. I find them best for beginners.

Double eyelids are possible with eye tapes! My eye to your right has a tape.

Double eyelids can give an effortless ooomph to your peepers!

What I love about 'em:

• they're transparent and a breeze to put on (after several practices, yes)
• they make you really pretty. not that i hate my monolids, but they just make you appear doll-like!
• they give you double eyelids even after you take em off (say you've been wearing them for 3hours or so... the double lids last a good 8 or more hours). I'm so amazed!
• not icky sticky
• comes off easy
• no need to tug the eyes so you don't have to brood over getting wrinkles and all that!
• you can still put eye primers/shadows on your lids even if you have em on

Uh-ohs:

• you'll have to practice creating your natural double lids... so this phase will waste a handful of the tapes. BUT You may want to check some posts or vids on how to put it right!
• not locally available, BUT you may want to create your own eyelid tapes! or buy from Sasa.com
• it'll stick out of your crease when placed wrongly
• there are tutorials that involve poking the eyes (like how you would do it with eyelid glues), but I've learned how to put my tapes in a harsh-free manner

STICK EM RIGHT :

1. Make sure you're working on clean, sweat-free lids! blot lids if necessary
2. You may use tweezers, but clean fingertips can work well, too
3. Stick the tape below your desired crease
4. Start sticking the tape on the outer 2/3rds of the lids; never on the inner corners
5. Don't be afraid to adjust! The tapes aren't that easy to lose their stick-on abilities.
6. Harsh-free application means you have to practice, practice, practice!

What do you think? Are you ready to give your eyes a boost with eyelid tapes? Try cutting out your own tapes today for practice!

The Face Shop's Easy Liner (felt tip eyeliner) comes in handy to newbies like me who'd love to break free from the usual pencil eyeliners. I've loved the dramatic look that liquid liners (from Fanny Serrano) gave my eyes, but they can be a painstaking task to work with considering my substandard eye makeup skills.

Thank pen liners for making it easier to achieve dramatic eyes! I've tried the Face Shop's Easy Liner eyeliner in Black and it was a relief that you don't have to be a makeup pro to achieve outstanding eyes!

The Face Shop Easy Liner Eyeliner in Black, ~300php

What I loved about it:

• eye lining became easier with this tool! (it makes the scary concept of eye lining a lil bit easier by letting you literally draw on your lashlines)
• you can easily remove 'wobbly hand errors' with a Q-tip!
• easy to create thin lines!
• length and diameter of the pen makes it easy to use and hold
• the felt tip feature makes it easy to wing the eyes
• cheap, locally available

Uh-Oh's:

• faint color on first stroke; you have to layer it a couple of times to achieve the liquid liner eyes
• this liner is scented (think marker/pentel pens, but it isn't that strong!)
• you still have to do quick tapping motions (like letting the ink sink into the tip) before every use
• takes a minute to dry up; if you're too excited to open your eyes, it'll lead to...

...the greatest uh-oh:

It smudges on me BIG TIME. This was 30minutes post-application. It can look ickier if you don't wait for it to dry up. How bad is that?

Other stuff:

The faint black on first stroke. I think I fared well in lining here (look how thin the line is!). And I can't wing my eyes in this natural fashion if I'm not using the pen liner.

Lined vs. non-lined lashlines. Layering to achieve my dramatic black. See how I've managed to keep the wing in tip top shape (despite having to go through it several times).

It really could've been love if it weren't for the smudging! Or, in another perspective, it could've been love if it weren't for my oily lids. ***sigh*** Now I'm still on the hunt for a good pen eyeliner...

Simply because it makes your eye color splendid!

I've recently experimented with eye stuff and came across eye primers while going through articles, forum posts and Youtube tuts.

And so one night, I played with my Shiseido eye palette I got from Lotus Palace and tried a primed vs non-primed look.

Here's a pic of the experiment taken 3 hours after application (yeah, I walked around the house like a raccoon, and everybody was, "Are you okay?"). The colors on my eye, to your left (no primer), looks like it's slowly being washed out already. The colors to your right, on the other hand, are still "alive" and are still able to make my eyes pop a little.

I used The Bodyshop's Pencil concealer in 03 to prime my lids here.

Lid Primers you can use:

1. Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original or Sin ($17)

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Swatches: (L-R) Urban Decay Primer Potion Original (UDPP), Urban Decay Primer Potion Sin (UDPPS), Too Faced Shadow Insurance (TFI)

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Hailed 'the best lid primer' by many. It isn't locally available but you can check ebay.ph and multiply sites for a handful of resellers (price range: 1100-1300php for a 0.34oz bottle).

Original is sheer and colorless, while Sin has a hint of shimmery champagne color. While most girls claim that they perform equally well, some are inclined to use Sin since it can be an eye color as it is.

2. Too Faced Shadow Insurance ($17)

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This lid primer is at par with UDPP... IF you live in not so humid countries. If you're oily and you live in a tropical country like the Philippines, this'll just melt your eye color away....

This is less popular here in our country, but you might want to try ebay.ph and multiply sites if you're interested.

3. MAC Paint Pots (1,100php in Philippine MAC counters; $16.50 at www.maccosmetics.com)

These are actually eye shadows, but I've read that MAC paint pots come in highly recommended to improve eye pigments, too. The most famous paint pot to prime the lids is Soft Ochre. You may also want o try Bare Study if you want some sort of frost in your lids.

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4. Your usual concealer!

The Bodyshop's Pencil Concealer (600+php/ $11)

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If you're not the type who oils on the lids too much, you can reach for your regular concealer.

I really don't wear eye makeup, so I'm good with Bodyshop's creamy concealer during 'play time'. It can actually make the colors I play with come to life!

I'm actually rooting to get the UDPP one of these days. I love my concealer, but with my uber oily lids (and face!), I don't want to end up looking like I splashed on poster paint on my lids!