Ichi Pestano: February 2014

Happy weekend!! I can't believe that it's already March! Whew!

I'm happy to announce that finally, after 2 months, we will be releasing a new collection. Stay tuned for that! For now, enjoy our FREE SHIPPING and DISCOUNTS! Visit The Chic Closet and feel free to browse our available items.

Make Up And Hair (MUAH) - NYX Green Tea Blotting Paper

Make Up And Hair (MUAH) - Real Techniques Core Collection

Beauty Board - Polished Neutral Eyes + Warm Bright Pink Lips

LOOKBOOK - Beautiful In My Way

your sweetest drug,

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Yay for a new series! I decided to name it "Beauty Board". In here, I'll be sharing some makeup looks that I tried and instructions on how to re-create them. Exciting!

For my first post, it's all about neutral eyes. Well, a not-so neutral-everyday eye makeup since I had to make it look more polished because it's for a wedding. It's my first time to attend a beach wedding and can I just say that it's very inspiring! I'll share more photos taken during the event on a separate post and of course, my outfit! HAHA!

Actually, I'm so used to this kind of eye makeup. I've done it many times before. I didn't wanna experiment other looks because my prep time was short. (What's new with that? HAHAHA! Always rushing! That's my thang!)

By the way, the photos of the products above are not mine (got it from Google) and I didn't actually use them - for reference only. To know more about the brands that I used, click on the links below.

So, where to start? Face.

I still don't have foundation so I used my BB Cream. To build the coverage up, I generously applied my concealer on certain areas such as under eyes, nose, sides of the lips and those with blemishes. I set everything with my powder.

I went for full brows, no arch and a little thicker than usual. I used a brown eye shadow first and finished it with my brow tint.

Brow tint is really a must for me because I had to somehow match the color of brows to my new hair color.

For the eyes, it's really simple. No special tricks whatsoever. You know me, I always put on the lighter color on the 3/4 of the lids from the inner corners and put the darker color on my outer corners. I find it the most suitable eye makeup for my eye shape.

I blended the corners to make a soft gradiation. To brighten up the eyes more, I patted on more light and shimmery eyeshadow on the center of the lids.

I didn't wanna go all the way smokey so instead of using the same color I used on my outer corners, I first applied white matte eye shadow on my waterlines. But then again, I need to balance everything so I blended some of the darker eye shadow on my lash lines.

To add more glam, I lined my eyes with gel eyeliner. I also did a very small flick towards the end. I needed help in the lash department so I put on falsies. HAHA! As usual, I cut it in half and placed it on the outer corners. Applying mascara on the lower lashes made a big difference too!

For the lips, I used here my lip tint plus a very pale pink lip liner. Any warm, bright pink lipstick will do.

I finished this look by contouring my cheeks and adding a little blush.

I love my soft curls! See that dress? That's what I wore. HAHAHA! Don't mind my messy bed.

What do you think?

I'll try to improve this series! No makeup videos for now. :)

Good luck!

P.S.

Cheers to 200!! We reached 200K views today! Yay! Thanks for the love and support! <3

your sweetest drug,

5 comments

Sometimes, the key to perfect, flawless makeup looks is the use of the right tools. Do you agree that it's totally fine to invest on makeup brushes? Well, I'm not saying that we have to splurge on luxury brands. You can find high-quality brushes that are really worth every cent. Take this one for example.

Thanks to Kris for giving me this awesome Christmas gift. This set is called Core Collection, created specifically for creating a flawless canvass. I chose this because of the good price, around 900 for 4 brushes! I'm not sure if each could be bought individually, but they offer other types of brushes - sold per piece. It's around 500 pesos each. So with that, I recommend buying a set first if you like to give this brand a try. Really a great value for money!

We bought this from an online shop, an official distributor of Real Techniques here in Philippines - Kalm Cosmetics. There are a lot of shop on Facebook and Instagram, so better check them out.

A short background first. These innovative brushes are created by two famous and pro makeup artists, Sam and Nic Chapman. They are also the creative minds behind the successful beauty and makeup Youtube Channel, Pixiwoo. They have a lot of tutorials you can follow, but I think most of the looks are hard to achieve if you have small lids or Asian eyes. :)

Core Collection is composed of 4 face brushes and each set includes a panoramic holder-case in 1. You can turn it like so. You can add 3 more here.

What a nice idea!

I'm still using my ELF brushes. Here's the C brush. I also like their blending brush. HIHI!

If you want to display your brushes, just bend it and pull the cord. But I prefer it as a case.

These are synthetic brushes. The bristles are really smooth and soft. They are also color coded. Orange for face brushes, purple for eye brushes and pink for finishing brushes.

I think the combination in the Core Collection is just right. You already have the basics in one set. If they add a stippling brush, that would be awesome! Face makeup application all covered!

They are all very dense and there's a white part at the top. It's useful that way because you'll know if there's leftover makeup. In other words, if they need some cleaning already.

I love the aluminum body. It's very sleek and fits perfectly in my hand. It looks very sturdy too. Noticed the black rubber ends? It's for that extra grip. The design is just adorable. Ooh, the name of each brush is also printed on the body. Well, practically, you don't identify a brush by it's name when you're doing your makeup, but instead by it's look.

It's time to get to know more about each of these face brushes. All of them can be used with any type of makeup - mineral, powder, cream, liquid, etc.

Detailer Brush

Best Use: spot concealing, as a lip brush

Can Also Be Used: in highlighting the inner corners of the eyes, patting cream eye shadow on lids, blending on lower lashes

Buffing Brush

Best Use: setting powder

Can Also Be Used: blending liquid foundation/BB cream (apply with your fingers first - use it after to even out some areas), applying blush

This is the most abused from the set. HAHA!

Pointed Foundation Brush

Best Use: creating "V" on the under-eyes, applying concealer, blending on the sides of the nose

Can Also Be Used: applying foundation

Contour Brush

Best Use: perfectly fits the hollows of the cheeks, applying highlighter on the cheek bones, blending bronzer and blush,

Can Also Be Used: setting under eye makeup/concealer with powder

Each brush gets the most amount of product and transfers it well. My 2 faves are the buffing and contour brush.

I already tried giving these babies a shower and so far, I haven't encountered any fall-out. The bristles seem to be intact and attached well. The way these are tapered is really great.

I'm planning to get an eye brush set but from another brand. Maybe Ecotools this time?

What do you think?

Visit Real Techniques website for more information. They offer a lot more individual brushes and sets.

Great value, multiple use, perfect grip and high quality. If you're looking for a new set of face brush or a replacement to what you currently have, then I recommend trying this out.

Good luck!

your sweetest drug,

2 comments

Shiny t-zone? Na-ah! I hate it. Sometimes a dewy face looks more healthy and younger (on some people), but I think it would be a little hard to pull off especially when you're in a tropical country like mine.

I don't recommend patting on powder every hour just to get rid of the excess sebum. The fastest, most convenient way of beating that oil factory is using oil control sheets!

It's definitely a must have. No arguments needed. I've tried a few brands and so far, my fave is the Palladio Rice Paper. You can check out the others on the bottom part of this page.

Cute packaging!

Here's a new one from NYX called Green Tea Blotting Paper. They also have it in Peach (Tea Tree), Purple (Fresh Face) and Black (Matte). Each box has 100 sheets. That's a lot!

It basically has green tea as an ingredient. A bonus on every swipe.

The actual sheet is thin. It tends to rip easily as it absorbs oil but still manageable.

One is enough for a shine-free t-zone. You can use either side.

I've never experienced any irritation, though I'm still not sure if the green tea thing is making a difference. It's hard to tell actually.

Yep, that's the price. It's like 3.90 pesos per sheet. It says that it doesn't remove your makeup. Well, I don't completely agree. After using it several times, almost everyday, I saw traces of my BB cream/concealer on it. I'm not sure if it's because I rub it on face instead of dabbing it. Regardless, it might remove some of your face makeup but not an issue for me.

Oh... and the scent? Smells like normal paper. HAHA!