I ♥ Philippine Drugstore Makeup Tag (and a lot of blah-blah on why I buy high-end makeup)

Maica over at PinayBeautyinaBudget tagged me in this series months and months ago! I've been owing her this response for ages, and it feels good to finally get around to it. First of all, I found it difficult to answer because she specified that the products I have to answer will have to be local drugstore brands, and I don't have much experience with those for several reasons.

Okay, here's where I warn you that the blah-blah starts here. If you would rather, just scroll down to the actual questions-- I won't mind.

First, I'm a self-confessed makeup snob. I would rather have one Guerlain lipstick than ten Wet n' Wild ones just because makeup is my indulgence. I don't shop really horde clothes or shoes anymore like I did when I was younger because I'm trying to keep my life and my closet as simple as possible. I don't get to wear makeup everyday (I say this a lot on this blog, no?), so on the few occasions that I do, I really long for a more luxe experience. 

Second, I do most of my beauty shopping online, or from trusty direct sellers from Avon, Mary Kay, etc. Whenever I go to the mall, I take my little boy with me (sans yaya!) and it takes a lot of things to go right before I can have time to loiter at a local beauty counter. I never really stay long enough to get tempted by an impulse purchase! And well, online sellers mostly carry non-local drugstore brands e. 

Third, I usually check reviews and blogs before I buy something-- and search engines usually point to non-local brands. Which is why this tag is a really good idea, IMO. So finally, here are my answers below. Take note that given my limited experience with Philippine drugstore makeup, I have to modify the rules a bit: when I don't have a suitable answer in the Pinoy-made local drugstore category, I add some non-Pinoy drugstore brands but only the ones that I know are locally available.

One of the requirements I have for makeup shopping is that there must be space and a seat so the Boy can plunk down while I go a-swatching. Even then, I only get like a ten-minute window before he gets bored and asks for ice cream.

1. What is your favorite local drugstore makeup brand? That will be Nichido and Fanny Serrano. I like Nichido for their cheap lip liners and eye pencils. They're like e.l.f. -- their products can be a hit or miss but they have good prices. Aside from the pencils, I would recommend their loose powder (decent) and this green pancake foundation which is only about P150. If you have redness that you would like to neutralize, apply this wet on your face and then top off with a color-matching face powder.

As for Fanny Serrano, the brand is just amazing. It's actually my favorite local brand as of now. I have a Fanny Serrano lipstick (which I reviewed here) and their compact foundation in Rajah which I use as a matte bronzer. I look forward to buying Organza once I make a dent in the many compacts that I still am trying to use up.

2. What are your favorite face, cheek and lip products? For the face, I love Ellana loose mineral foundation (review here). Up to now, I still use it as part of my everyday simple look. It doesn't break me out and it's very light on the skin, plus I found a good shade match because they send you samples so you can try the powders at home.

For the cheek, I'm a Benefit and MAC girl actually but for local brands, I would say Fanny Serrano again. They have a peachy pink shade that I thought looked a bit like Benefit Bella Bamba (don't know the shade name though, sorry).

For the lips, MAC and Guerlain, but Fanny Serrano did impress me again. Also, I have swatched lipsticks by M&Co which I think is by Mikee Cojuangco and they had great pigmentation and staying power-- my arm was still stained the next day!

3. Least favorite product? I don't like face bases by Ever Bilena because when I swatch them, parang wala namang coverage then it had an oily feel.

4. What is the best makeup bargain? I don't go by sales and markoffs when it comes to makeup e. That's another reason why I buy trusted brands like MAC, because it really comes down to cost-per-wear. For example, a powder foundation only costs P200 per pan, but since you have to retouch several times a day, you use up two pans every month so it's just the same as buying a nice powder that has better staying powder-- less hassle pa. 

5. What is your favorite underdog product? (Something you love that often gets overlooked?) Does it have to be a brand? Because my answer would be a brow spoolie brush-- the ones that is mostly called "mascara brush". Newbies often just throw it out when they buy brush sets but it can really help give you well-groomed brows if you know how to use it.

6. A local drugstore product that is overpriced? Most drugstore products, for me, are overpriced. See #4 for the reason. Especially those poor quality eyeshadow palettes and chalky blushes.

7. Local drugstore product that isn't worth the hype? The copycat BB creams that are nothing but watered down versions of crappy liquid foundation.

And because the purpose of a tag is to keep it going, I want to tag

Shayne of Queen of All You See -- we seem to have the same makeup brand loves, I wonder how she would answer these questions.

If you would like to participate in this tag, just go ahead. I'm really just shy about getting initiating connections with fellow bloggers, not snobbish :)

Everyday Simple Look

I'm a work-at-home mom so I don't really wear makeup on a daily basis. However, there are times when I do have to step out of the house for some errands and sadly, the absolutely bare-faced look doesn't work so well for me. (Ha!) The fact that I need at least five products to look natural is a running joke I share with my teenaged cousins. All I say is that in a few more years, they would too get to where I am and when that time comes I'll be laughing and gloating *insert evil laugh*

For those of you in the same 30-something boat, here's a shot of the products I use for my everyday simple look

So we have a pressed powder by Garnier,, NYX Above and Beyond Concealer, Maybelline Collosal mascara, MAC Pink Swoon, Benefit Girl Meets Pearl, and Avon Simply Pretty lip balm. The three tools you see there are the Ellana angled kabuki brush, the ELF stippling brush and a cute animal print powder puff I bought from Suesh.

So here are my thoughts on this daily go-tos:
Garnier pressed powder - it's pressed so it's easy to use, no mess. I like applying it with the Suesh animal print puff rather than use the standard powder puff that it came with, because that one doesn't hold up to weekly washing. As a plus, this powder has SPF 15, not really enough to rely on for good sun protection but better than nothing, I guess.

NYX concealer - Since I've been following a fairly decent skincare regimen complimented with my Clarisonic, my skin is the best it has ever been! I can now get away with no foundation, just concealer for the undereyes and around the nose where redness is.

Maybelline Collosal mascara - I know that Maybelline created the Magnum version for Asian lashes but Collosal works better for me because I have a slight natural curl and decent volume. I would say that this is my HG but then again, I haven't really used that many mascaras so I don't know if there is something better. My only rant is that the Collosal version is not that easy to find locally.

MAC Pink Swoon blush - I just prefer pink blush over peach and MAC blushes are fairly decent. Pink Swoon is matte, so no glitters and all the better for everyday.

Benefit Girl Meets Pearl highlighter - I bought this because of AskMeWhats and I love it! I stock up on the deluxe sizes whenever I find them just because they are more travel-friendly and less fussy than the original packaging.

Avon Simply Pretty lip balm - I try to wear lip balm when I'm not wearing lipstick and I guess it works because I have smooth lips.

Ellana Angled kabuki brush for buffing in powder and ELF stippling brush for the blush. These are pretty much the brushes that I always leave out on my vanity and when I'm not doing eye makeup or contouring, I don't need anything else.

How about you, what products do you use everyday? Do share!

Reader Question: Can I use a stippling brush with loose mineral foundation?

First of all, I would really like to thank you lovely readers, who for some reason or another, happen to land in my blog. I am not the best when it comes to blog promotion and networking and despite spending several hours a day bloghopping through my favorite beauty sites, I just somehow don't find the time to reach out as much as I want.
So anyhow, in my review for Ellana loose mineral foundation fellow blogger Dinna left this comment:

Hi, have you tried applying your Ellana foundation with a stippling brush? French Vanilla is also my recent purchase and I've been thinking of buying a stippling brush for mineral makeup application, but I've been dilly-dallying about buying the brush 'cause most YouTube vids and blogs I've come across with mostly use the stippling brush for liquid or cream foundation. Can you share me your thoughts? Thanks! Your blog and reviews are really nice, btw. :)

Dinna


I actually started replying to this comment and what I intended to be just a few sentences turned into a few paragraphs before I realized that I may as well create a new post about it. That way, I can give a more comprehensive answer.

So in response to the lovely Dinna's question, here goes:


Hi, Dinna! Thanks for the compliment. So the deal with stippling brushes is that the duofiber has thinner bristles at the tip, which lets you apply products lightly. You can actually use stippling brushes for powders too, especially when your intention is to avoid using too much-- for example, when you don't want to go overboard with applying a very pigmented blush or bronzer. This YouTube gurus love using it with liquids and creams-- liquids and creams tend to have heavy formulations and a stippling brush is perfect for applying just a thin layer so you get an airbrush finish (well, depending on how good your technique is).

Now with mineral foundation, you really have to pack it on in order to get the coverage and a stippling brush is not the best tool for that, unless you are going for a barely-there look.I do use a stippling brush with my Ellana foundation, but only if I'm already wearing a full-coverage BB cream underneath. That's because I only need to use a little powder to mattify since I'm getting the coverage from another product. Using the stippling brush actually helps me avoid caking. When I use a stippling brush with French vanilla, I get very minimal coverage-- yung parang biglaang retouch ng face powder ang peg, if you know what I mean. You won't be able to build the product up enough for the foundation to do its intended job. Flat top brushes are still my best bet for mineral foundation.

A stippling brush is still a great investment anyway. You are bound to get a lot of uses, so if you have the budget one of these days, get one too, even if it's just an inexpensive one from elf (only P250, if I'm not mistaken).

Hope this helps, Dinna! Feel free to drop by anytime.

Your die-hard flat top brush fan,
The Kikay Mom

Kikaymom Find: Ellana Angled Kabuki Brush

It’s no secret that I love Ellana’s mineral foundation (click here for review). With my skin acting up lately plus me having to wear makeup a little more frequently, I really needed something that will give good coverage while still letting my skin breathe. And so, I ended up putting away my MAC Studio Fix and using up my entire stash of Ellana French Vanilla in Perfect Blend.

A good thing too, because as it turns out, their Intensive Blend is actually much more suited for oily skin types like mine. I just had Perfect Blend before because when I shopped online on their website, I failed to see the distinction between the two formulas. Perfect Blend was actually for normal/combination skin. I was also glad that this time around, refills were available. And so, for 6g of product, I only had to pay P295 instead of P425, quite a savings for just reusing my old tub with the rotating sifter.

When I headed over to their West Avenue showroom to buy the refill, I also got to see that they had new makeup brushes in stock. Now I already have flat top and conventional kabuki brushes, but I still didn’t have an angled one so this baby came home with me:

(Scroll after the pictures to know what I thought)

Ellana Minerals Loose Powder Foundation and Finishing Powder Review

I opted for the oil-absorbing formula and the perfect blend because the Ellana website explains that they are best for oily skin like mine. The smaller jar is actually the awake concealer.

Last summer, I was in desperate search for a great blush. You see, my HG blush was actually from Elianto and when I finding something I absolutely love, I stock up on it. That time, I had already hit pan on my last blush, but I thought I had enough time to shop around for a replacement. Until my friend J dropped it and that was that.

It was only a few days after that I found out that in the past two years that I have been using up my blush stash, Elianto had pulled up stakes in the Philippines. I went on their website and checked how much it would cost to have my order shipped internationally all the way from Malaysia, and said to myself: forget it. In the meantime, I just trolled a couple of beauty blogs and found a few reviews about Ellana blushes.

The blushes themselves were as cheap as P100 each (for 2g jars) so I thought why not? After all, mineral makeup was supposed to be good for your skin, so even though I tended to have reactions to some makeup, I plunged ahead and took a risk.