Etude House Play 101 Pencils: Review + Tutorials

Hey guys! As promised I'm back with another review, accompanied by two tutorials for two different looks you can create with the new Etude House Play 101 Pencils.

These little guys  were kindly given to me at the wonderful people from Etude House to try so here's the low-down how these hold up against the Philippine eat, how they wear and about all the colors sent to me!

Packaging
So one pretty awesome thing about these liners is that they're twist up! No need for any makeup pencil sharpeners and if you want a sharp point, it comes with an attachment at the bottom which is actually a tip-sharpener. Convenient!

One thing I'm not too fond of however is the fact that they're all black, mostly because it's so easy to get dirty. But other than that, this is some pretty good packaging, and for organization purposes it's really convenient as well, since the pencils are color-coded at their bottom, and have the number labels in big, bold, artsy-fartsy print.

Colors and Wear

Let's start off with the two lip colors, shall we?

#21 is a bright, warm-toned and straightforward red, perfect for you classic red lip. It has a glossy finish which unlike the other pencils that are meant to be used for eyeshadows, means that they're prone to movement the first few minutes you apply them. After that first five minutes though, this is great for lining the lips because the color stays put like crazy! Be careful about staining though. As with almost all reds, this leaves a significant stain, but nothing that can't be dealt with with makeup remover and warm water.

#25 is more of a bright fuchsia color that has a cooler tone to it. It's on the same vein of a lot of lip-stains out there and is perfect if you want to achieve that Korean gradient-lip look. 

On to the more glittery and shimmery colors

#35 is a glittery midnight blue that's perfect for that extra pop if you want to line eye your eyes. This is ridiculously smudge proof, so I wouldn't recommend it for a smokey eye, but for some extra lining art or some nice colorful sleek liner, this is definitely what you need.

#4 is that perfect tear-drop shimmer color that can be used as a highligher for on your cupid's bow, in the inner corner of your eyes and some cute looking aegyo-sals. It's also pretty forgiving  when it comes to blending so you can use it as a shimmery base or over some eyeshadow if you want to add some sparkle to your already applied eye shadow.

The next two colors are creamy ant matte and are perfect to use as eyeshadow bases, or even on their own.

#18 is a pale lavender that's very flattering on fairer skin tones. You could probably get away with this as a blush, but it looks best on the eyes where it gives a nice matte finish on its own or as eye shadow base.

#30 is a red-violet aubergine color It has a matte to creamy finish and can be used as a deep blush or mauve eye shadow for more subtle but daring looks.

Here are the swatches of each color. They're truly a diverse bunch with different finishes and uses! Aren't they ridiculously pretty?

Longevity
So I left out the lip colors from this test because, as I mentioned before, their texture and consistency make them really smudgy and they really aren't meant for the eyes anyway.

Here I tested (from left to right) #35, #30, #18 and #4 for water resistance and smudge resistance.

As you can see, #35 and #30 are virtually budge-proof, even after rubbing them with water. #35 exhibits some glittery displacement, but the color still stays intact. #18 loses some color when smudged, but since it's a light color, it's pretty forgiving. That also allows it to be more blendable for use as base eye shadow or as an eyeshadow on its own. #4  is a bit all over the place, but because it's usually only used as a highlight or to accentuate corners that catch light, that's not too much of a big deal.

All in all, these bad boys are pretty tough and wear all day (from experience) on my non-oily lids.

In action
So as promised, I created two looks  using these awesome versatile liners. One girly, classic look inspired by a vintage rose and one rocker party chic look inspired by a midnight mosh pit. Check out how good these eyeliners work in action in the videos below!




So, which look do you like better? do you have any ideas on how else to use these awesome Play 101 liners by Etude House? Leave me your thoughts in the comments below!

Have fun, and play Etude! Ada, signing out.
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HUGE Collective Haul! -- U.S. Makeup Swap + Beauty Bar + Korea Haul + New Vanity Setup

Hey guys! I really haven't been able to post much, so as you can imagine, a lot of stuff has been backed up that I really want to blog about!

In addition to my huge Etude House Pink Artiste haul from a while back, I've accumulated a whole lot of other stuff from makeup swaps, general shopping trips and my Korea Trip.

I can't possibly review them all so I guess I'd just share what I got with you and let you do the picking as to what you'd like me to review :) If you see anything you'd like me to review feel free to drop a comment! :)

So first up is a huge haul from my makeup swap with the wonderful Amanda from RiceySupreme (youtube: ahyedizzy). 

This haul is singularly responsible for my recent addiction to lipsticks. I've never been a lipstick junkie before, but I've been more open to exploring different colors after this haul. I'm particularly in love with the Wet n' Wild Lipsticks she sent me, especially the one in Bare it All. It's my favorite nude lipstick thus far!

I've also discovered one of my HG BB Creams from this haul. I never thought I'd fall in love with a U.S.-made BB Cream, but here I am totally in love with my Flower BB Cream in BB2. It's a perfectly yellow-toned BB Cream that's completely matte and ridiculously long lasting! It's perfect for the humid climate here in the Philippines and definitely works wonders on oily skin :)

Another favorite from this haul is the L'oreal HiP High Intensity Pigments Matte Shadow Duo in 807 Poppy. The colors are ridiculously pigmented without being powdery and they remind me of Banana and Nutella! It's my go-to neutral eyeshadow duo and I wear it almost everyday haha.

Needless to say, everything from the swap was extra extra special, but these were the ones that totally caught my eye :)

Next up, one of my smaller hauls. I had to stock up on my essentials before my Korea Trip so I got two of my fave products in the world. The K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner was on sale so I just had to get it. It's my HG eyeliner and literally lasts the entire day (even longer). How do I know this? Let's just say a day-trip to Myeongdong and an overnight stay at the Airport put this eyeliner to the ultimate test ahaha. The same goes with the FairyDrops Platinum Mascara Water Proof Type.

And now, probably the largest haul is from my trip to Korea. I probably would've bought more, but baggage and time constraints really limited what I could get. It's a shame really, since practically all the cosmetic shops were on sale when I went there.

The amount of samples the shops in Korea give out is ridiculous. I actually have more samples than photographed above but I set them aside for giveaway purposes *wink wink*.

I don't have a lot of individual pictures of each thing I bought becuase I haven't had the time to schedule a product shoot yet, but the things that I'm totally in love with as of now are the Precious Mineral Any Cushion, the Drawing Show Creamy Pencil in BE103, the Dear Girls Tint and Lip Balm in RD301, Rosy Tint Lips in #7 and the TheFaceShop Daily Beauty Tools Eye Lashes.

Feel free to request reviews as you feel necessary! :)

Korea is also definitely a fashion haven. I couldn't NOT come home with a few things. Plus they were surprisingly cheap! I love the fact that South Korea takes pride in their clothing being made in authentically in Korea! The make is amazing, and because they make clothes primarily for the domestic market (not for export) the price is very very reasonable, especially around college areas!

I couldn't resist getting some cute socks! Just 1000 Won each pair (~1$).

Not to mention these ridiculously adorable Big Bang socks >_<

There were also an abundance of affordable skater skirts of extremely good quality for 5000 Won each!

I was a bit of a cheapskate when I was in Korea because I wouldn't dare buy anything more than 10,000 Won (~10$). All these tops, tights and skirts are 10,000 Won or less (most are 5000 Won), with a few exceptions. I'm such a bargain shopper ahaha.

One thing I did splurge on is a new bag and a pair of cute sneaker wedges. Can you believe the bag is only 15,000 Won??? It's extremely durable, really good quality and the leather trimmings are legit. The shoes were a bit pricey but I wasn't in the mood to bargain, so meh ahaha.

And last but not least, I have new makeup organizers c/o the wonderful Miss Bella PH. I totally love their new Bella Box and Bella Tray. They are invaluable additions to my growing vanity area ahaha.

You Jelly?

Feel free to drop me any questions and requests! I have more exciting posts to come!

Ada, signing out!

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Shop Feature: Made in Taft Accessories

Hey guys! I'm taking a break from reviewing makeup for this post to share with you a few new things and segments that I'll be introducing to my site!

If you've noticed, I've finally taken down that old Etude House from my blog header. No worries, if you want to see it, you still can by clicking here. In it's place, I've introduced a Shop Feature tab where I'll be sharing some cute little blogshops and/or FB Shops I happen to chance by! For the time being it'll mostly be shops that I frequently lurk at and stalk, but if by any chance you have a shop or know of one that you'd like to highlight on this site, feel free to contact me or email me :) Every shop feature will get an accompanying blogpost -- that way I can also introduce my lovely readers to fun new shops that they can explore :D

So today I'll be sharing my first online shop find - Made in Taft Accessories. Miss Abby, the owner of this quaint little shop emailed me initially for collaboration and sent me some sample accessories! They have everything from cute little necklaces and pendants to some sweet armcandy in the form of bracelet-fashion-watches!

I was sent these two cute necklaces that are right up my alley. They're very punk/hipster looking  if you ask me. Definitely something that feeds the creative soul.

I love the cute neon-colored chain accents. It's little design quirks like this that make even the simplest jewelry unique :) The prints on the pendants themselves are also quite interesting. These would make a conversation starter out of any outfit haha

You guys should definitely look forward to seeing these babies worn in action in my future posts! If you're interested in what else Made in Taft has to offer, feel free to visit their Facebook Page and follow them on Instagram.

Ada, signing out!

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Etude House Play House Princess Academy + Pink Artiste 2013

Hey guys! This post has been put off long enough! Today I'll be blogging about my fantasmical experience at Etude House Philippines' Play House Princess Academy 2013 held at SM North EDSA The Block last July 28!

Needless to say, this was undeniably the pink-est event I've ever been to, and I'll be honest -- I'm not usually the biggest fan of pink, but Etude really knows how to pull it off and the air of princess-y (and prince-y) cuteness was saturated all throughout the event!

The Play House Princess Academy is, I think, Etude's way of saying thank you to all its valued customers out there with two days of fun activities, makeup workshops and cute pink sweets. The event played host to a number of different attendees - little kids, teens, girls who will stay forever young ;) (*coughmecough*).

Etude House Philippines' President, Andrea Amado wasn't lying when she said that Etude aims to make every customer feel like royalty. So I tried my best to live up to the occasion and dressing in my best cutesy outfit.

Okay, so it's not exactly that cutesy. My makeup was pretty neutral with nude-pink accents on the eyes and lips and my hair was more of an intricate cheat than anything. And while I tried to look as cute and pink as possible to suit the occasion, my outfit turned into more of a pin-up crossover with a milkmaid than a princess haha. But really, I'm not one of those cutesy types of girls - I'd rather stay true to my style but also bring some of my own princess-y cuteness to the table :P

While engaging yourself with the various activities, you also have the opportunity of brushing up on your makeup and fashion know-how with all the workshops Etude House organized just for you!

Activities like Kiss the Prince were definitely a huge hit and there were free makeovers galore to make you feel like a true Etude House Princess. Not to mention you get a cute princess-y souvenir photo afterwards.

*Ninja Shot of my good friend, Amz from Punky Bunny http://amz88.blogspot.com/. Please don't kill me haha*

Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly in the position to enjoy all the activities of the event, having been asked to be on standby backstage. As a result, I didn't even get a chance to meet all the awesome blogger people I had hoped to see during the event itself D: *sadface*. I eventually just gave my ticket to my good friend and partner in girly-crime, Joanna haha. Full support all the way :P

While Joanna was out enjoying the activities, I was backstage, being utterly starstruck at the number of celebrities there. I'm not a huge follower of local media so I barely knew anybody, but good thing Kyala, one of my fellow Pink Artiste Finalists, and her sister were there to clue me in.

Backstage with the Pink Artiste 2013 Finalists, Shebby Liquete and Kyala Cristine Oplado

I was surprised as to how down to earth all the celebrities were, and while I didn't exactly have the guts to muster up the courage to actually talk to them, let alone ask for a picture with them, at least I can say I got to see them face to face haha.

The event kicked off with a few words from Etude House President Andrea Amado and the bulk of the event was hosted by the lovely Carla Humphries. There were guest workshops by Ryuji Shiomitsu and the lovely Bianca Valerio, not to mention appearances by Coleen Garcia, Brett Jackson, Miles Ocampo, Paul Salas, Niel Coleta, Ella Cruz, and Dominic Roque! Whew! I'm surprised I remember all of their names LOL. Not to mention, last year's Pink Artiste, Orange Tuazon was there as well!

Despite the star-studded ensemble of guests, we were all surprised to hear that the "main event" was actually our makeup showdown.

I am hardly an expert at applying makeup on other people. I can only reall vouch for makeup on myself. That being said, I tried my best to do justice to the products provided by Etude. We were all rather caught off guard actually. We were hanging on the basis of having 5 minutes to pick up and organize the products we were to use, but because of time constraints, that entire segment was cut and we had to just go straight on ahead to the actual application :P

Despite that, we all managed to finish a Glam Princess look within 15 minutes - albeit my model looked like a hot mess haha. I definitely don't do makeup well under pressure x_x

Not your best angle Andie -- blame the photographer haha.

A special thanks to the lovely Andie Reyes, one of my underclassmen in college, for allowing me to ravage her face with my lackluster professional makeup skills haha. Just goes to show you how she could probably pull of any look :P Seriously, you could probably paint her face brown and she'd still look high fashion.

In the end, Shebby bagged first, I got second and Kyala walked away with third! But by the end of it all, we all felt like winners. We also felt like ants, by the way, considering how tall Bianca and Carla are. We look like hobbits in comparison haha! But like I told Kyala - we're not short. We're FUN-sized. haha

Shebby's absolutely glowing, isn't she? Congrats and do us proud!

Despite not getting first, this truly had been a wonderful learning experience for me and has motivated me to try and pursue makeup to greater heights :) That way I can be the first Molecular Biologist / Makeup Artist / Fashion Model / Blogger to grace the covers of renowned magazines haha.

Also, I got to walk away with these awesome prizes. Tada~! Three mystery bags of Etude House products worth 20,000PHP!

There's still a lot more in store for me, and for my readers *wink wink*. I really would not have been able to come this far without you and your support, so I have a few things planned ahead!

Stay tuned for Part II of this series of Etude House posts, my Etude House Play House Princess Academy Haul! Stay tuned~!

Ada, signing out.

Photos courtesy of Brandon Sy.
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June 2013 Wishlist: Shoes, Cosmetics, Lenses, etc

Whew! It's been ages since I've been able to make a wishlist post like this haha. There hasn't really been much that I've been wanting for the past few months because of all the blessings I've been fortunate enough to receive from my wonderful sponsors, friends and family.

I'm very appreciative of everything I've received, and even a few of the things from my past wishlists have happily been crossed off :) Remember a while back when I wished for more readers/blog friends? Now I've been blessed with 400+ of you guys :P I honestly don't know what I've done to deserve this but thinking about it just brings tears to my eyes :P

I know wishlists aren't exactly always met, but hey, I thought I needed an extra boost of wishful thinking in my posts so I'm bringing this segment back :P Hopefully I'll be able to maintain it :P Also, my usual wishlists aren't this long. It's just that I haven't done one in so long that they've sort of piled up x_x

Shoes
First up is mostly shoes. I wasn't able to blog about this last time, but our house was recently robbed, and along with the thief went some of my more expensive shoes, jewelry, perfumes and some of my electronics. *Sadface* These are a few of the pairs that I've been eye-ing lately.

#1 Nature Breeze Amani Studded Two Tone Lace-Up HI-Top Sneakers in CORAL or SEA GREEN. These babies just look gorgeous. I was planning on getting some wedge sneakers but I thought that in the long run, some flat shoes would do more for me in terms of everyday use. I saw these shoes available on Amazon, Make Me Chic and locally available at Luxury Mall. I'm leaning towards CORAL and then SEA GREEN but if I'm not mistaken, these are also available in colors Tan and Grey.

#2 Nature Breeze Gwen-01 Hi-Top Sea Green Vintage Lace-Up Military Ankle Boots. Perfect for the impending rainy season to come IMO. I know that since they're lace-up, technically they're not waterproof  but galoshes are just way too stuffy to wear throughout an entire day. I'm loving the Doc Marten's style it's going for and in Sea Green, it's the perfect balance of sport and girly chic. Available at Make Me Chic and locally at Luxury Mall.

#3 Nature Breeze Halston-01 High-Top Fashion Ankle Lace-Up Boot Sneakers in TAN or RED. These have been on my wishlist for ages. I first saw them on the Luxury Mall page but they've since been unavailable. Now I've been stalking everywhere for them because they are my ALL-TIME FAVORITE style of shoes. I've found these lovelies for sale at Ebay. Please do tell me if you guys find anywhere else that it's available for cheaper.

And lastly for shoes, surprise surprise, another set of shoes from Nature Breeze.

#4 Nature Breeze Gwen-02 Hi-TopBoots RED Floral Multi. These are pretty similar to #2 but come in this girly floral pattern and instead of Patent, are apparently made of leatherette/fabric. They're less severe-looking so they're more pairable with girly outfits that I tend to wear. These are available at Amazon, Make Me Chic (in other colors as well) and locally at Luxury Mall.

Cosmetics
I haven't really been wanting much in the realm of cosmetics, but I'm almost out of my favorite BB Cream from FairyDrops, which I use as an alternative to foundation on special occasions only. I'm planning on repurchasing, for use on a daily basis now, so I've been on the scout for a replacement "special occasion" foundation haha. Aside from that, a few things on this list are whimsical wants lol.

#1 ARTDECO Refillable Double Finish Foundation in #8 Medium Cashmere or #4 Late Summer Beige. The ARTDECO display at my local BeautyBar totally caught my eye. They have a pretty legit selection and IMO, from swatching, their base makeup and foundations are pretty exceptional. This Double Finish compact in particular caught my attention because the texture is pretty creammy but on your skin it settles with a matte powdery finish that doesn't cake at all. In other words, MAGIC lol. From first impression it also has some pretty decent coverage so I'm really looking forward to trying this out some day.
http://www.artdeco.de/en/makeup/face/foundation/double-finish.html

#2 ARTDECO Long-Lasting Foundation Oil-Free SPF20. The name really says it all. They actually have a huge selection of other types of foundation, but this one seemed to settle best on my skin and the lady at the counter said it was perfect for the Philippine heat. It's also available in a decent amount of shades so I'm pretty sure anyone can find a color match with this one. My tone in particular is leaning toward #18 Sweet Honey, but I find that when I'm on one of my more anemic days (yes, I have mild anemia TT_TT), #25 Light Cognac suits me better.
http://www.artdeco.de/en/makeup/face/foundation/long-lasting-foundation-oil-free-spf-20.html

#3 The FACE Shop CC Cream Smart Capsule. After trying out my first CC Cream, I think I'm ready to try out some other variants. I swatched this one at my nearest local FACE Shop and this looked absolutely lovely on my skin with less of a dewy finish than that of Tony Moly's Luminuous Pure Aura CC Cream. It also smelled absolutely lovely and was a lot less heavy. I might actually get this in the future, but for now it shall remain on my wishlist.

#4 FairyDrops Platinum Mascara Water Proof. I'm a huge fan of FairyDrops' Volume Burst Mascara so when I heard that the Platinum variant would be available in the Phil I was totally ecstatic. I'm just waiting for my original tube of mascara to finish and I'm grabbing this one. But I'm gonna need to burst a huge hole in my wallet for this since the Philippine markup is pretty sad D: Anyone know where I can get it cheaper? D:

Next up is Circle Lenses
I've been pretty into trying out circle lenses lately and a few of my favorite ones are expiring in a few months so I'm on the hunt for some new ones. Most of the ones that I've been trying have been brown. And while they all look pretty natural, I found that brown lenses tend to wash my skintone out, especially when I'm on my bouts of low blood pressure x_x

So now I'm thinking some grey lenses might do the trick. At the same time, I've been looking for some low-diameter lenses that I could probably use for daily wear because the larger diameter lenses require much heavier eye makeup and I just don't have the time for that every day D: So these are a few grey, low-diameter lenses that I've been eyeing.

Forgive me if the names are wrong (and feel free to correct me in the comments if I am!). Contact Lens nomenclature confuses me haha.

#1  Barbie Crystal Grey. This one, out of the four, stands out with its design and is the one I'm most inclined to. It's print is pretty vivid without being too detailed to make it look unnatural. And it apparently looks really natural on the model and still hides/blends well into darker brown eyes.

#2 GEO Nudy Grey. These ones aren't as vivid (or maybe it's just the picture that I've found). It's not completely grey on the inside and apparently it lets some of your natural color shine through. I'm pretty curious how my dark brown eyes will look blending into pale grey LOL

#3 Puffy 3-Tones Grey. I have the Brown Variant of this lens and I'm totally in love with it! It's the most natural looking of all my lenses but still manages to make my eyes look special LOL. Only problem is, like I said, when my skin tends to be more yellow it highlights it way too much. So I'm really curious how the grey version will look on me.

#4 GEO Angel Grey. This one has the largest black circle around it compared to the three, and from past experience, this tends to make the eyes look more dilated. BUT from reviews, it says that this one isn't very opaque, so the large circle balances off with your natural eye color to make it seem more natural. I'm not entirely sure if that's true, but hey, it's worth a try :P

Next up is Clothes
All of these clothes can be found from the ToFebruary website. They always have the cutest stuff but they're always so expensive TT_TT Most of you might be wondering why they're all jumpers/long sleeved when it's so damn hot in the Philippines. Well, it's because while it may be hot outside, during my long hours of labwork I'm subject to inhumanely cold air conditioning TT_TT. So my rationale is, when it's hot, I can always just take these off. But I'll definitely need something warmer under my labcoat to keep me warm. Plus, I want to be the first molecular biologist to wear a panda on their head while they work LOL.

#1 Panda Head Jacket. Self explanatory. I MEAN LOOK AT IT. IT'S ADORABLE. Plus the hood goes all the way over your head if you want it too. So you can be a legit panda!

#2 Hello Panda Long Sleeves. This just looks so cozy and warm. Plus, if you haven't noticed by now, I totally adore pandas. I prefer the grey one but I wouldn't mind having both haha. I'm pretty sure a guy could get away with wearing this as well, but he'd have to be pretty secure about his sexuality LOL.

#3 Angel Wing Jacket. There's another variant of this where the wings are on the hood, but this one looks way cuter. Plus. It's the one Yunho wore so double the incentive :P

Miscellaneous Wishes
I've been wanting a clipless curling iron (preferrably one with a larger diameter barrel) for more natural looking curls. I can usually curl my hair with my flat iron but it's just such a hassle and the Amika Clipless Curling Irons just make curling hair so much easier.

And since school's back next week (wait, did it even end? Stupid summer class). I'm in need of a new bag X_x My other bags just can't withstand the beating I usually give them. I really need to be more gentle with my belongings. This bag from Jatalo is pretty sturdy and in the color Sarape Classic, it just looks perfectly hipster/hippy/vintage, doesn't it? Not to mention that Jatalo donates a years' worth of schoolbooks to sponsored children for every purchase on one bag. So you're not only making my wish come true if you get me this, you're making another kid's wish come true as well :) YAY FOR GOOD DEEDS!

And that's pretty much it.

Well, actually there is one more thing. If you've been reading this blog for long, most of you would know, because DAMN, I keep incessantly plugging it, but I'm in the running to be Etude House Philippines' Pink Artiste for the year of 2013. It's probably one of my biggest wishes to be able to win because not only do I love the brand, I also honestly think that I'd be good at it. So if you have time, it would really really mean a lot to me if you could check out and like my facebook entry by clicking the linked picture below and hitting 'like'. 1 Like=1 Vote for me, so every like counts. Most of you might be sick of my plugging by now, but it would really mean a lot to me :)

Please and Thank You!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Tell me if there's anything up in the list that you too have been wanting, or if you've tried anything from the list, or any of your other whimsical wishes. Let's all be wishful together! Haha.

Ada, signing out.
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FOTD + OOTD = LOTD Casual Camo

I'm horrible with all this beauty blogger terminology. I don't even know if LOTD is a legit term. It reminds me  more of Land of the Dead than it does Look of the Day. *Shudder* what a horrid comparison. This post is an FOTD-OOTD combo so I guess it counts as a Look of the day? Hahaha, I'm hopeless.

click to enlarge

Ohemgee it's GREEN. Lol. I heard that this year's color was emerald green. To be quite honest, I cringed internally when I heard the news. I'm not a huge fan of green, despite my site layout being partially green :P In an effort to get into the hype, I started wracking my brain as to what I could do to pull green off in a makeup look. And while this isn't exactly emerald green, I feel like it's a hundred times better. BUTT-KICKING CAMO GREEN FTW.

Like a lot of my colored looks, the eye makeup is pretty subtle. Unless I'm playing around in my room, I don't tend to go crazy with makeup. I made this very wearable because, well, I was wearing it out that day :P My outfit wasn't exactly camo to be precise. It was more of a dull grey-olive military green so I thought why not try to incorporate it in my makeup? The result wasn't too bad.

There really isn't much out of the ordinary in this makeup look, just the pop of color from the green eyeshadow I used in my VS Palette. Other than that, it's almost exactly like my Everyday Peach FOTD. Surprisingly the color stands out a lot more IRL than it comes out on camera.

To make the colors stand out more IRL, I weant with a super nude lip by dabbing just a tiny bit of my Lip and Cheek Tint from The Body Shop and then subsequently concealing it with some liquid concealer. A secret step I like doing is applying a thin thin thin layer of petroleum jelly and dusting some of my  E.L.F. Peachy Keen blush on so the result is matte with a peach tint and the color from the lip tint popping out just a little bit. This way I have a subtle nude lip without making my lips look too dull.

Because this technique is quite drying, I made sure to moisturize my lips with some chapstick before applying all the product. I wouldn't recommend this technique for people with dry lips, you might just end up looking like you have gunk on your lips x_x When done correctly with practice though, the result looks a lot better.

If you'll notice in the above picture, my face is a few shades lighter than my neck. I tried to hide it with some matte bronzer, but all the blame goes to Lioele's Beyond the Solution BB Cream. Let's just say I tried it out, was disappointed with it, but didn't have enough time to remove it. So I tried my best to make do hahaha. I hope it isn't too obvious.

My actual outfit, however, has little to do with camo other than its color scheme :P Nothing I'm wearing is above 500 php (12USD), unless you count my shoes, but I wear them so often I'm sure their net value has dwindled down to a tiny little sum. LOL. Despite the cheapness of my outfit, I got a lot of compliments on it. BUDGET SHOPPING FTW!

Despite popular opinion, I think my pigtails look cute in this outfit. Who says pigtails have to be juvenile, eh?

Anyway, that's it for another FOTD and OOTD. What did you guys think? Are you all for emerald green this year? Or are you as averse to it as I am?

Ada, signing out.

Review: Miss Dior Cherie Blooming Bouquet

Hey guys! Well the New Year's hype has somewhat passed (at least for me it has), so I thought I'd kickstart the year with something I've never really done before, which is review a perfume.

I'm one of those kids who was raised on an array of different scents. My mom was a perfume junky and my dad loved to pamper her with different perfumes he'd buy on the plane on his travels (Apparently, he's traveled on planes more than 500 times and his passport is unimaginably thick, so you can imagine the amount of time he spends browsing the in-flight shopping magazines).

In particular, my memories are filled with the memories of Christian Dior scents - Poison, J'adore, and Addict being the most prominent of the lot. I remember my mom allowing spritzes of her perfume on me for special occasions - parties, figure skating competitions and school ceremonies - which is probably why I've grown attached to the scents as well.

But as I grew my father's shopping escapades started to include hauls for me as well, which is why I now have a mini collection of Dior products that I hardly use because I feel like I'll waste them haha. One of the things my dad goth me however was Christian Dior's Miss Dior Cherie Blooming Bouquet.

You can't tell because it looks practically unused, but I received this quite a while ago in 2011 or early 2012. I've only really been using the travel spray on the far right, but I've grown to love the scent still.

I can't exactly vouch for how well I'll be reviewing this perfume, but I'll try to give it a run down to the best of my ability. The best way I can describe this is exactly how it's named: a blooming bouquet. I've actually been quite fond of the Miss Cherie line Dior has been putting out and owned a small version of the original, which had more of a vanilla-y sweet undertone to it, but this one is markedly different.

While most Dior scents have been stereotyped to be for the posh jet setter or a more mature audience, I think the Miss Dior line gives somewhat of a compromise between its posh, elegant aura and the tastes suited for a younger audience. The scent itself is very light and youthful, not overbearing and perfect to wear if you're going for a more innocent vibe. I could compare it to a more intense, long lasting and permeating Johnson's Baby Cologne, but that wouldn't be doing it any justice, really.

I'm not an expert, so I can't really pick out specific notes for the scents used, but I think the scents that stand out are definitely floral, mixed with a bit of citrus for freshness. Probably rose or peony. It's definitely not one of those bakery-sweet smells that tend to make you lethargic. In fact, it's rather invigorating, perfect for the spring or summer (or the Asian climate in general). Where staying power is concerned however, it leaves more to be desired. But one thing that makes up for it is that it stays true to its scent (even under err, sweaty conditions). I've had experiences with perfume that just turned plain mucky with a little bit of sweat, but this one, while it does need touching up, at least keeps its floral scent.

Plus, the packaging isn't too shabby either: You get 100mL of the natural spray (it actually looks like more if you ask me), plus a refillable 7.5mL travel spray which you can refill yourself out of the 100mL or from a newly purchased bottle.

The more youthful packaging with the bow definitely tips you off to how different this scent is from those like J'adore or Poison. I'm probably just a shallow immature little girl, but I squealed when I first opened this up. It's just too adorable lol.

One thing that I'm definitely thankful fore is that this set comes with a Refillable Travel Spray (and instructions on how to refill it yourself), so I don't necessarily have to lug a perfume bottle around just to stay fresh. Plus, it makes air-travel and packing a helluva lot easier. The cute exterior is also a plus. It makes you feel really posh bringing it out in a hotel bathroom and having girls ask you where you got it LOL.

To be honest, I've really only been using this baby up, a few spritzes on my temples and wrists on special occasions, and I'm set. I'm surprised I haven't run out yet, but judging by how heavy it feels in my hands now, I'm not far from having to refill it. I guess I can rely on my dad on that aspect since this alone is way out of my student budget. I don't even have to ask and he comes up with new lipglosses and travel kits for me and my mom x_x Sometimes I wonder where my dad gets the sense to buy these things. He's the major source of all my mom's cosmetics after all LOL. Every girl definitely needs to find a man like my dad (if only they were so common haha).

All in all, I definitely recommend this perfume to the younger ladies out there if you're ready to venture out for a more heftier priced perfume. If you're pressed for cash, they sell these in smaller sizes and without the travel spray if I'm not mistaken, and honestly, a little goes a long way so it's a good investment (especially if your potential Mr. Right is fond of the smell as well haha).

Hope you enjoyed this review! It's definitely something different, but hey, change is good :P

Ada, signing out!