Jesselle the Makeup Junkie: On Kikay Kit #2

As I have mentioned in the first part of this series, my kikay kit #2 mostly contain small items. If I were to downsize my stuff to fit into a smaller bag, I'm less likely to include this kikay kit into it.

However, variety is the spice of life, so I like keeping this small case with me whenever I bring a bigger bag. After all, I never knew when I want to sport a colored eyeliner or a red lip.

Eye Preps

I usually play safe with my eyes -- they sometimes take up much effort to do anything daring with it, unlike with lips where all you need is a swipe of a punchy lip color to be daring (read: Nicki Minaj pink).

However, I knew the importance of prepping in makeup, especially the eyes. Because I tend to wear my eye makeup the entire day, I have to make sure it stays that way for a long time. Thus the need for these items:

Ever wonder why at times your concealer looks darker than your skin, especially during the colder -ber months? That's because during these months, you lose a bit of your summer tan, if not most of it. That is why a web article (can't remember exactly where I read that so I could not provide the link) recommend having two different shades of concealer on hand: one that has a darker shade which you can use during warmer months, and one that has a lighter shade which is to be used during cooler months.

A lighter shade of concealer is also perfect for covering up under-eye circles (which is a perennial fixture in my face recently). Especially if it has a peach-pink or yellow undertone (according to Bobbi Brown), it cancels out the bluish undertone of dark circles. Just don't get too light, though, or you might end up with raccoon eyes.

This one is my cooler month concealer: Natasha Beauty Perfect Cover Concealer Stick in Caramel. Whenever my CoverGirl concealer becomes too dark to my skin, I switch up to this one. It also has the yellow undertone which works well with my dark circles. At times, I blend this one with the CoverGirl concealer to make a 'summer' version of my dark circle corrector.

If you've been reading my blog, I'm sure you have chanced upon my review of Etude House Goodbye Pore Ever Primer Stick. I'm still using it to this day, but because it's about to be used up, I primarily use this as eye primer.


Eyes

Most of the products in this pencil case are, well, eye pencils and some other items for the eyes. Because while I may be playing safe with my eyes, I spruce it up once in a while by wearing eye liner.

I have here Natasha Beauty Day-to-Night Eyeliner in Purple Wine and Emerald Green. I think these colors are ideal for me because jewel-toned colors highlight my eyes. I just keep the rest of my face (cheeks and lips) neutral so that the purple- or green-lined eyes stands out.

These are Natasha Beauty GlamFix Eyeliners in Chocofix and Pearldrop. As you could notice, I have a lot of brown eye makeup, as this is my 'default' eye makeup color of choice. I stay away from black as it is too strong for my eyes -- not to mention looking too 'emo.' There's a little trick I learned using white eyeliner -- apply some at the inner corner of the eyes to achieve the 'wide awake' look.

But while I may be staying away from black in terms of eye makeup, this one is an exception: Avon Simply Pretty Metallic Eyeliner in Black. It allows me to go from natural (plain tightline) to bold (cat eye) without much fuss. Not to mention it's long lasting.

In a crowd of eye makeup, this one is a standout -- this is a makeup trio from Avon that comes with eye (shimmery brown), lip (red) and cheek (peach) color in cream formulation. Since the cheek makeup is already used up, I use this trio for my eyes and especially the lips. This is my instant red lipstick that I could apply either with a brush or with my pinkie finger.

If I want to do more with my eyes, I just take out my Natasha Eyeshadow Trio and this one: Sketches Graffiti Eyeshadow Duo in Hazel Touch. Yes, it's brown again, but with more color depth than the trio one, so it gives me more color variety when I need it.

So there you have it -- the contents of my pencil case kikay kit. For the final part of this series, I'll introduce to you to the essential tools in my primp-up process, plus the newcomer in my makeup arsenal. See you soon!

Jesselle the Makeup Junkie: On Kikay Kit #1

What I like about my kikay kit #1 is that it houses all my essentials, be it makeup or otherwise. Aside from primp-up items, it also contains things like alcohol, perfume, lotion, some medicine, among others.

Now for the pretty stuff:

Face

I have here three different items for the face. On an ordinary day, I use two; on a lazy day I use one; on a very special day I use all of these. But aside from not having much time to fix myself at home, I always determine my 'mood' once I step out of the house; so as I have mentioned in my earlier post, I carry many makeup items in my bag.

I've always been partial to BB creams --  I mean, come on, who does not want an all-in-one product at your disposal, right? But truth be told, I was hesitant at first, because BB creams used to come in only one shade. However, I learned later on that 1) most BB creams blend with any skin tone when applied properly, and 2) it must be applied in five dots (forehead, both cheeks, chin and nose) so that it blends well.

Here above is my current BB cream -- Etude House Shini Star BB Cream. What I like in this one is that 1) it's completely blendable, 2) it's totally compact and 3) it's budget friendly!

This one is actually a foundation but I use this as a concealer. This is CoverGirl Aqua Smoothers Compact Foundation in Soft Honey -- my exact shade that's perfect for covering up pimple marks and blending out dark circles. I like that the formulation is pigment-rich without being too heavy-looking (in short: buildable) and, well, it blends well with my skin tone. However, on days that I need to brighten up my eyes, I put on a concealer in a shade lighter than this one, and I have it on my other kikay kit.

Spoiler: you'll be seeing a lot of Natasha Beauty and Sketches makeup in my kits. You see, my mom is a Natasha dealer, and I grabbed the chance to smuggle get some makeup items from her. Case in point: Sketches Shine-Free Blemish Control Pressed Powder. And this one is one proof that cheap doesn't necessarily mean cheap -- it takes out shine and will take you quite some time before your next touch up. A useful tip: use a powder brush to buff it all over your face (thus the reason for the absence of the requisite powder puff in this compact)

Eyes and Cheeks

I always play safe with my eyes. Probably the most daring that I've done is to a smokey eye using both a black-gray palette and a brown palette, but on separate occasions. For the most part, I use only one or two shades of eyeshadows at a time. When I feel lazy, I only fill out my brows with powder, set it with clear mascara and wiggle some black mascara onto my lashes (lash curling included). And when I feel uber lazy (read: tinatamad) I scrap the whole eye makeup thingy altogether, and I go by with BB cream, powder, clear mascara on my brows, blush and lipstick.

The same goes for my cheeks -- I only go for peach or coral-shaded blushes. Go any further than that, and I'll look like a traditional Korean bride (you know, the one that puts on two red dots on her cheeks?). Exception: cheek tints -- any shade will do for me, so long as I blend it very well and pat on powder afterwards so that it imparts a natural look.

This Natasha Eyeshadow Trio in Beachrush is my go-to eyeshadow set, simply because it is in a shade that matches my skintone. As you can see in the second photo, the middle shade (shimmery beige) has been used up, since I use this shade most of the time -- a few swipes is all I need. The left shade (chocolate brown) is used for a bit of eye contouring and also serves as my pseudo-eyeliner (pseudo because I swipe it on the area near my lash line and it looks like I wore a light eyeliner).

Another Natasha product right here: Natasha Beauty Lash Specialist Mascara. And another cheap-but-not-cheap product here: it uses a rubber wand, the same ones used in some high-end mascaras. That's the thing I love in this mascara, as it allows me to apply it on without much clumping; although on clumsy days when I apply too much of it, I separate my lashes with a clean spoolie.

If I'm asked to put only five makeup items in my kit, this is one of those I'll include: Sketches Clear Mascara. I primarily use this to set my brows in place (thus the reason for the 'browning' of the product -- I apply this one after filling out my brows with brow powder) but I also use this as my lazy-day mascara.

OOT: Mommies, if you wanna teach your girls makeup basics but don't want the full-on makeup thingy (some schools prohibit them), this one is perfect. And I personally think that brow grooming must be one of the first 'makeup tips' that should be taught to young girls. Brow threading is optional here, but teaching them how to comb those brows and setting them in place with clear mascara is mandatory.

This blush (Natasha Beauty SecondSkin Blush in CoralCruise) is a personal favorite of mine because of its color. Because it's so all-around, this is one product that I could not go by without in my makeup bag. (Additional tip: after putting on powder blush, swirl a clean powder brush on your cheeks to buff out excess powder. When using a cream or liquid-tint blush, pat on some powder to avoid looking too severe.)

Lips

I actually feel bold enough to play up with my lips -- after all, if you feel awful with one lip color shade, then wipe it off and replace with another one. Because of that, it's also the best way to change looks in a single day: gloss by day, red lips by night; nude by day, plum by night... you get the picture.

The first lipstick is what Liz of Project Vanity calls the MLBB (my lips but better) color -- Natasha Beauty Color Spalipstick in Coco Haven. My lips are in a plum-brown shade, and the lip color is in that shade, but what I like the most is the creamy finish -- it's like lip balm, only heavily tinted. Actually, I'm partial to cream-finish lipsticks ever since my first self-purchased lipsticks...

Which leads us to the second and third lip shades: Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick in Coral Pink and Buff. Today, this kind of lipstick has three case colors which indicates the shade's color family (pink, golden orange, red, brown), but when Moisture Extreme first came out in RP market, it is encased in a red case, just like this one (napaghahalata ang age ng lipstick! hahaha!).

Anyway, Coral Pink is my pink-but-not-too-pink lipstick -- it's actually a peach-pink one which looks a little light when applied to my lips, but actually looks like... my skin when I put on my blush (see above). On the other hand, Buff is my nude colored lip color. When I want a no-makeup look, this is what I reach my hands for.

This one is my 'pink' lipstick: Natasha Beauty Lush Lips Lipstick in Goddess. This is the lightest lip color in my kit, goes on creamy but has a sheer finish. The sheer finish is the reason why I still have it in my kit despite its light color -- when I want a polished or 'pa-sweet' look, this is what I apply.

I'm a huge fan of ChapStick. In fact, back in high school, my makeup only consists of Johnson's baby powder and ChapStick. My favorite variant is strawberry, but I'm currently using the spearmint variant. It was my brother who introduced me to the variant -- he let me borrow his spearmint ChapStick when mine went missing. I eventually found mine, and I let it finish off before buying my own spearmint ChapStick.


Bonus item:

I've mentioned this item once in this post, and I think it's worth mentioning since, after all, it's included in my kikay kit: my Fanny Serrano Lash Curler (see the print on the second photo?). As I've mentioned, I rarely put on anything on my eyes, but I think it works wonders in making my eyes seems awake even after pulling off an all-nighter. *wink wink!*

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So that ends my post of the day. Sorry for the long post, 'cause there really are lot of things in my kikay kit. 'Till next post!