Project Vanity and Carefreeshopper NYX Giveaway

Since I started getting into make-up, I've always turned into Liz Lanuzo's Project Vanity for product reviews and swatches. Her take on make-up is right up on my philosophy when it comes to shopping: practical, wearable, and affordable beauty. So it's no surprise that my make-up must haves ended up being the ones she featured on her blog: Urban Decay's Alice in Wonderland palette, MAC's Studio Finish Concealer, and lately, NYX Round Lipsticks. Her swatches of Thalia and Tea Rose are so convincing that I headed over to Carefreeshopper the minute I read her take on these inexpensive lipsticks.

This time, both Project Vanity and Carefreeshopper are teaming up to give readers a chance to win P1,600 worth of NYX products. Exciting, right?

Here are my choices!

2 NYX Lips lipstick in Gardenia and Narcissus
1 NYX Diamond sparkle lip gloss in Pink Sparkle
1 NYX Ultimate pearl eyeshadow in Baby Pink Pearl
2 NYX Chrome Eyeshadow in Golden Peach and Exquisite

I had the hardest time choosing the shades I want because Carefreeshopper stocked so much good stuff in her site! Even if I don't win the raffle, I might end up buying those things for myself anyway. Lol.

Still, free stuff is free, so keep your fingers crossed for me, guys, and JOIN, JOIN, JOIN!

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On Dollhouse: Why won't they just let Joss Whedon do what he does best?

I've always have a penchant for shows on the brink of cancellation; it's almost natural for me to be drawn to Dollhouse. I got hand-me-down DVDs from my father because he thought the series was too violent (really, my father who watches Dexter thinks this is violent), and my best friend is afraid to watch it with me for fear of nightmares. And I thought I was a sissy.


Just like the Arrested Development that got cancelled too soon*, Joan of Arcadia that they didn't even bother finishing, which also goes for Veronica Mars (oh Veronica Mars), Dollhouse got booted out even before it got really good. But not too soon for me to not feel bad about it going off air.

It's a solid Whedon-esque alternate universe that only Josh Whedon himself can conjure. Human blank slates or dolls that get imprinted with personalities based on their clients' preferences or wildest desires. These dolls, being literal tabula rasas, take on the identity of their imprints and become trained assassins, girlfriends, sous chefs, and whatever person that exists and can exist in this world.

But beyond fantasies and desires, if you look at it close enough, Dollhouse is a mind-boggling, constant debate on ethics, human existence, and the extent of human greed (or quest for knowledge, what have you).

How far will humans go to pursue a technology that is inherently good but on the wrong hands can be potentially evil? What right have we to take away a someone else's core, even if it is with consent, and strip someone of his own memories, defense mechanisms, and basic right to choose?

What I like most about the show, aside from its basic mind bogglery, is that it constantly traipse between the line between Good and Evil. On one hand, you have a technology that has the potential to do good. As an example, in Briar Rose, Echo (Eliza Dushku) was imprinted with the grown up brain map of an abused kid to help the kid cope with the trauma by showing that she, through Echo, will get through it. In Instinct, Echo was imprinted with a mother's brain map in order to lactate and take care of an orphaned baby.


Then again, this technology, this imprinting, can be a weapon so deadly you can program armies proficient in the deadliest combat techniques to start with. So what do you do? Do you continue developing a technology to push the boundaries or do you stop when it's becoming too uncomfortable and dangerous?


In a way, I am glad that this ended too soon because by the looks of it, two or three more seasons and we'll find ourselves with rehashes of cliches and personalities. It's a task to stretch the show's premise into years. I guess in a way, having an impending cancellation atop Whedon's head made him speed up pace of the story and tie up loose ends as cleanly and unquestionable as possible.


With its two seasons, Dollhouse already delivered what it is suppose to deliver: a smart, well thought of action-suspense, sci-fi drama. The only regret I have for this show is that I won't get to see more of it.


*I still hate you for this, America.

All about my red lipstick

A few weeks back, I had to write all about red lips for POC's Beauty and Fashion Channel. I planned to turn it into a piece about my personal experience in looking for the right shade of red lipstick, but the article ended up in a different direction. I already have a few notes and already took some pictures for it, so why put all of that to waste? I figured I'll just extend the tutorial and share with you the things I learned about finding the right lipstick shade for me.

Take this as an accompanying blog entry to show you what you can and cannot take from my article. See what will work for you as I shared what did for me.

There's really no strict guide in knowing your skin tone. Knowing your skin tone comes hand in hand with knowing the right shade of any make-up for you. Forget about all the conflicting tutorials about olive, peach, tan, dark, light, and whatever skin tones. More often than not, your skin tone is a composite of several tones that cannot be defined into one type.

My skin, for example, is right smack in between fair and beige-toned. I am neither chinita nor mestiza, but I am not exactly morena either. The closest color I can think of in describing my skin is caramel, a word away from being a Starbucks drink.

Since I am neither any of the cookie-cutter skin tones mentioned in beauty magazines, for a burgeoning make-up enthusiast like me, I opted to play it safe. I chose a true red or a lipstick that has no noticeable undertone. It's fool-proof and it saves me the trip to make-up counters.

My red lipstick of choice: Lancome's L' Absolu Rouge in Rouge Rayonnant that came with my Lancome palette.
First: with flash. Second: without flash.

Let me pause for a while and gush about Lancome. Although Lancome's generally marketed for women with older skin types, I can't help but be drawn to how their colors are always clean and sophisticated. I like how I always end up looking polished even if my make-up is haphazardly put on when I use Lancome.

A few pounds thinner and doned in Lancome blush and eye shadow. Back when putting on make-up was synonymous to face painting for me.

I only get my Lancome products as gifts from relatives abroad and thank goodness for that! I checked how much a tube of L'Absolu Rouge costs in the Philippines and it's a whopping P1,300! No worries; for a color pay-off this great, I am willing to save up for that.

Yes, on red lips. Admittedly, when it comes to lipstick, I'd rather choose expensive brands than cheap ones. As Liz already highlighted in another article for The POC,  there are pros and cons to branded make-up; one disadvantage is branded make-up can be too expensive for some. But in the long run, color pay-off, texture and comfort, and longevity of wear will outweigh the cost.

When I was just starting to dabble with make-up, I bought this popular lipstick palette that most Filipina beauty bloggers are gushing about. Sad to say, 4 months in my possession and I barely used it. That's what I got for being too lazy to swatch lipsticks. I thought that if I get this palette, I can be over and done with lipsticks and just use this palette forever. WRONG. Since it's a palette as huge as a notebook,* it's too bothersome to swipe out in public comfort rooms. Also, even if the colors look pretty on the palette, they look horrible on me. There is also the issue on moisturizing capacity, how long it will stay put, and product quality that, unfortunately, most cheap lipsticks do not have. So lesson learned: lipstick is not one product I can buy cheap.

Lastly, this does not need to be mentioned again but a clean face highlighted with neutral make-up will really look best with red lipstick. Experts are not just making it up. It's a fact.

How about you? What red lipstick do you use?



*They do have a smaller palette but they ran out of stocks when I bought one.