Kikay Kit Starters

My first decent kikay kit was assembled with the help of my mom, and consisted of the neneng-nene basics like face powder, lip balm, and clear mascara. Sometimes I managed to steal something of hers with more color like fuchsia lipstick or red lipliner but she never allowed me to keep them for myself because she said red lips and black mascara was only for older ladies. But that was 10 years ago and now that I'm older I can wear all the bright colors I want on my face and pile all the volumising mascaras I want on my lashes! Mwahaha.

So a reader of mine sent in a question about what products she should start with in building her makeup kit, and the products must be affordable and versatile enough to cover all her makeup needs- from day looks to night looks.

Here are my recommendations, broken down into different categories:

Face:

1. Concealer

to cover imperfections and to fake 8 hours of sleep

Try:

 Maxfactor Panstik, Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Concealer

2. Liquid foundation/tinted moisturizer/bb cream

 to even out skin tone

Try: 

Cover Girl Trublend Foundation, Maybelline Aqua Gel Foundation, Etude House All Day Strong BB Cream, Face Shop Face It Power Perfection BB Cream

3. Compact powder

 a must in a tropical country like ours, especially for girls with oily skin

Try: 

Maybelline Pressed Powder, 4U2 Pressed Powder, Myra E Face Powder

4. Bronzer/blush

 You can purchase them separately, but there also products which come in duos

Try: 

Elf Bronzer/Blush duo, 4U2 Dream Girl Double Blush

Eyes

5. Eyeshadow primer

 Makes even the cheapest eyeshadows look more vibrant and long-lasting when used to prep the eyelids

Try: 

Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer, ELF Eyeshadow Primer

6. Eyeshadows 

Start off with the more versatile neutral palettes (earth tones, blacks) because you can already get a lot of great looks from these. Choose those that have more of a matte or satin finish, because glitter overload doesn't look very pretty during daytime.

Try: 

Wet n Wild trio shadows, ELF, Maybelline, and Revlon quads 

7. Eyelash curler

 To open up your peepers and to prep lashes before putting on mascara

Try:

ELF Mechanical Eyelash Curler, Etude House Eyelash Curler

8. Mascara

 Preferably in black, to make eyes look dramatic

Try: 

Maybelline mascaras

9. Black Eyeliner

 Start with pencils or gel liners, since they are a lot easier to control than liquid liners. Use to define the eyes

Try: 

Maybelline Eye Studio eyeliner in Black, Etude House and 4U2 Dream girl eyeliners. Maybelline and Fanny Serrano gel eyeliners

10. Eyebrow Pencil/Brow Gel/Brow Powder

 this totally depends on your eyebrow type (thick/sparse) and preference (I actually use all three, depending on my mood for the day)

Try: 

Etude House Drawing Eyebrows (pencil/spoolie in one) Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Kit (powder, wax, angled brush and small tweezers in one set) Etude House Color my Brows (brow gel) Nichido brow powder

Lips:

11. Lipbalm

 Which I totally forgot to include in the photo; but I'm sure you probably have this already. Always keep it handy in case of flaky lips emergencies

12. Lipsticks

 Start with the basics: a nude, a pink, and a red. Choose one that matches your skin tone

13. Lip Stain

An easy way to add a pop of color to your face for those days when you just don't feel like wearing lipstick

Hope this was helpful!
P.S. How did you start your kikay kit? What was the first makeup product you ever bought?
:)

Review: Etude House Happy Teatime Lemon Cleansing Cream

 Where there is makeup, there must be makeup remover. I always choose oil-based ones because of their ability to easily remove every smidgen of makeup from the face without having to exert a lot of physical pressure on the skin (which can cause premature wrinkles). 

I've tried alcohol and water-based ones but I need to use a lot of product (and tissues!) so I can erase everything. I also noticed that alcohol-based removers dry my skin and cause eye irritation.

My current favorite is this cleansing cream from Etude House, which I just recently discovered. The last one I used was Pond's cold cream, which I have been using since high school. This one from Etude is actually cheaper than Pond's! 

Read on to see why I like it so much.

• Smells good.
• Very good at removing makeup, from heavy foundation to stubborn waterproof mascaras.
• Didn't cause any breakouts or any other bad skin reactions.
• Very affordable at Php 198 for a huge jar.
• Cute packaging
• Comes in 2 variants to suit different skin types. This one is for combination-oily skin, while the Milk Tea variant is for normal-dry skin types.

Overall I really like this, but just a tip: since this comes in a big jar, use a spatula every time you use it to avoid double dipping and contaminating the product, which can shorten its lifespan. You'll know if your cream's contaminated/expired if it smells different and if it causes eye irritation.

Have you girls tried this one? Did you like it too?

:)

Nail of the Week: Red on Red

And so my obsession with glittered nails continues... Picked this up at Etude House, and I immediately thought it would look great with the nail color I was currently wearing (the red Sally Hansen). I layered it on and indeed it was the perfect match! I love the effect, very vampy and almost reminds me of blood. Haha. If you want to try it out too here's what I used:

Nail Colors:

1. Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine in 08 Vivid- a deep dark red with a glossy finish

2. Etude House PBK 801- red glitters (various sizes) in a sheer black jelly base

How To:

1. Apply the base color, the dark red shade

2. Top with 2 coats of the glitter polish

3. Let dry

Video Tutorial Delay :|

Last night, I posted on my blog's facebook page that I would be uploading my first video tutorial. It's not up yet because unfortunately, I didn't know how much of a pain in the *ss it is to edit videos. For my first attempt, I used this free video editing software but when I was finished there was this horrible-looking watermark right in the middle of the video, so I just couldn't use it. 

I tried Windows Live Movie Maker next, but it was too slow (computer problem) and there wasn't any way I could alter the video's speed. And today, I installed a new editing software but then realized that my trusty pink netbook could not handle hard labor. I guess it is as "kikay" as its color. It's perfectly fine for basics like web surfing, work stuff and can even handle Adobe CS3, but when it comes to video editing, pretty much every program I tried to install gave a prompt that "computer  lacks system requirements". So I guess I'd have to edit my video somewhere else while I find a way to upgrade my system.

For the meantime, here are some out takes from the tutorial, this is my favorite look for work which features matte eye shadows. I did a gray on brown combination, it's so easy to wear and is a subtle way to wear eye shadows for daytime.

 

Review: MAC Browset in Girl Boy

Another HG product of mine! I'm addicted to eyebrow stuff, I like how I can change my look from demure to fierce with a slight change in eyebrow shape, or by using different products for grooming them. Currently, I''m obsessed with the "perfect eyebrow look" (at least my interpretation of it hehe)- not too thin, not too think, nicely arched and filled in and set.

I just ran out of my Etude House eyebrow mascara so I got the MAC browset, which lasts a lot longer (it contains twice as much product) and doesn't dry up as fast as the EH mascara. 

Product Description:

A brush-on gel that brushes the brow hairs in place and deposits a sheer tint to the brows. Think of it as mascara for your eyebrows! It doesn't stiffen the brows, and it doesn't flake. It can also be used on the sideburns and facial hair. Contains 8 grams of product.

Shades:

Mine is in Girl Boy, a fawn blonde shade. I have black hair but this doesn't look weird or too light at all.I like that the lighter color gives me a softer look.
 Other shades available are Clear, Beguile (a full-bodied taupe), and Show-Off (rich brown). 

Texture:

The gel doesn't dry up easily, and true to their claim, it doesn't flake on the eyebrows. 

Staying Power:

Lasts all day, I do my brows in the morning and my face oils up and sweats throughout the day but the gel doesn't fade or budge.

Ease of Use:

It's really easy to use, you just brush it onto your brows to color and set it into place. 

Packaging:

I like the clear tube it comes in, I can see how much product I have left. 

You might like this if:

• You have thick, dark, unruly eyebrows
• You just dyed your hair a different color 
• You products that last at least 6 months
• You like products that have a sweet scent

You probably won't like this if:

• You prefer pencils or brow powders
• You have very thin, wispy, or barely-there brows (it's difficult to apply if there's not much hair to cling to)
• You don't like scented cosmetics
• You're on a budget. It's a bit pricey at local MAC stores (Php 950) but if you're lucky enough to drop by a Duty Free or get it in another country it costs less (around 700-800)

comes in a clear, plastic tube

in Girl Boy

looks like your standard mascara wand

It looks shimmery in the tube, but won't give you glitter/shimmer overload when applied

Have you tried this product too? What did you think about it?

:)