Make Brown Eyes POP! using Physicians Formula (Video Tutorial)

For awhile now, I've been trying to figure out how I'm going to squeeze-in pursuing makeup freelancing on the side. After I got my degree, I thought I'd have all these time in the world to go after what I truly love to do. You know when you were in college, you think you'd have all these time in the world for hobbies and just to relax after you've graduated.

Well, not the case. Your priorities actually shift. You start to realize that you actually had more time when you were in school. You have to work full-time to support yourself. It's even more of a challenge when you move out from home. Yes, you do have independence and the freedom, but it comes with a price of having to do everything for yourself.

To save you guys the long, boring details, I won't be able to attend makeup school like I hoped for... at least not for awhile. Although I'm truly grateful for what I have, my dream after college was to be able to do what I truly love.  So for now, I'm just going to teach myself and practice, just like everyone else, and resort to watching makeup tutorials on YouTube. And in the process, I'm going to try and document it by uploading my own videos more frequently. We all have to start somewhere.

Anyway, I was reading Stephie's blog and I've seen that she entered a contest in being hosted by Physicians Formula. It's a long shot, but I told myself I have to at least try doing contests once in awhile just because it'll be good practice for me.



Click on the banner if you want to vote for me! (end shameless plug lol)

Here's a purple look that I did for the Physicians Formula contest. For my eyes, I only used Physicians Formula products (as pictured below).





**NOTE** The Physicians Formula website is taking awhile to process my video, so I'm not quite sure when it'll be up. However, I did edit a version for YouTube :).





Since the palette didn't have names for the eyeshadows, I've labeled the color in the order that I used it for this video tutorial.




Face: MUFE Duo Mat Foundation in 203 using a synthetic face brush. For my cheeks, I used MAC True Romantic beauty powder blush.

Eyes: I applied the Urban Decay Primer Potion to prep my eyes and used Physicians Formula Gel Cream Liner in Purple as my base for my eyeshadow. I used the Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Eye Palette for my eyeshadows. Using a shader brush, I applied PF [1] eyeshadow (lilac eyeshadow) on top of the base applying it all over my lids. Then, with a pencil brush, I took [2] eyeshadow (purple eyeshadow) on my outer V and bringing it up to my crease. To define my outer V area, I used [3] eyeshadow (indigo eyeshadow) with a pencil brush and then bringing up the color up to my crease. I blended the [4] eyeshadow (dark gold eyeshadow) just above my crease color to lightly blend the harsh lines. I highlighted my brow area with [5] eyeshadow (shimmery white eyeshadow) to brighten up my eye area. I lined my lash line and half of my lower lash line with Physicians Formula Gel Cream Liner in black. On the lower half of my lash line, I used PF [1] eyeshadow (lilac eyeshadow) with a shader brush. Curl lashes, and finish of your eye makeup with mascara. I used Physicians Formula Plump Potion.

Lips: Dior Cat Mauve lipstick.

For more photos of the finished look and the video tutorial, click after the jump!

Smokey Look using tokidoki Chromatico Eyeshadow Palette

As I was cleaning my hard drive, I found an old look that I had meant to post on my blog. I have this habit where I would kinda sorta forget that I took so many pictures of a look that I just did and the pictures will be sitting pretty in my laptop.

I used the tokidoki Chromatico eyeshadow palette to create this smokey look. I was particularly happy about how this smokey eye turned out since they eyeshadows blended pretty well. It didn't looked muddy or as if I got punched in the eye. So consider it as a success!




Hoooray for close up eye looks. How fabulous do my lashes look in this picture. Too bad I can't say the same thing for my eyebrows.






PHOTO SHOOT TIME!!!!









I'm not too happy with how my face looked :(. It has a white cast and it looks cakey since I used L'egere BB cream. This was during around winter time which is usually when I'm the palest, but it was still too white for me! I guess you can't have it all? Still gushing how sultry my eyes look though.

FTC: The product used on this post was purchased by me.

RAH RAH AH AH AH: Monster Ball Starring Lady Gaga

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Lady Gaga. She's my favorite female artist of ALL-TIME! So I was just super excited to be able to snag tickets to her concert last Wednesday at the Staples Center six months before the actual concert (both LA shows sold out within minutes). If you are a true fan of her... you must see her live! It doesn't even matter where you sit really, it's about the experience of being there. I've been to a few concerts, and there's nothing quite like her show. It was the best one I've ever been to. Hands down. Besides her awesome, hair raising vocals, there's nothing is remotely close to how awesome her whole concert production was. Her costumes, props, and videos, nothing short from my expectations. In fact, it has blown me away. She really put on a show.

After leaving the concert, I was just still so amped from all the energy. She was also very, very inspiring which made me appreciate and love her as an artist even more. It was just a big party inside Staples Center. Lady Gaga knows how to get the crowd riled up!

Here are some pictures from the concert. You know I had to dress up for it. Yes, I wore a leotard. But no, I was wearing shorts walking in Staples Center. I wasn't about to parade around the LA streets pant-less.

But the atmosphere inside Staples Center was just amazing. There were plenty of us who dressed up specifically for the concert. So many awesome costumes!




And this is my little number. Too bad, it looks something more like a "Single Ladies" video costume. I had to work with what I had already. Surprisingly, wearing a leotard was pretty liberating. I hope one day we'll all be free to wear pant-less outfits (ok just a little).

And can't leave without a makeup picture. I wish I took a proper one after I finished doing my makeup, but we were already running late for the concert and I had little time to get ready after work. When you think of Gaga, you just have to go bold and dark. 

Lovessssss it. Dang these boys know how to rock them heels!
She nailed it!



Look at the sea of people behind me! It was crazy!




Plus 10 points for the Asian pose! Yes, Mr. J went to the concert with me. He was totally against going, but I managed to convince him to go with me :). BUT, he really liked and enjoyed the show after seeing it!

On my face:

Foundation: Makeup Forever Duo Mat in 203
Eyes: Prime with Urban Decay Primer Potion and MAC Soft Ochre paint pot. For a dark base, use MAC Blacktrack on your lash line and dragging it out to your outer crease and crease. Using a blending brush, use black eyeshadow (MAC Typographic e/s) to set the black base and to soften the edges. Blend, blend, blend the crease part for any harsh lines as you "cut the crease". Using a white cream base (NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese), apply the base color in your lid area. Set the base by patting it down your eyelids. Apply a silvery or white eyeshadow on top of the white base. Line your lashline with a gel liner. Apply mascara and use false lashes (Ms. Adoro i#15). Line your waterline with a black kohl liner (Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes in 0L).
Cheeks: Use a shimmery pink blush on the apples of your cheeks (MAC True Romantic)
Lips: Kiehl's Lip Balm for your natural lip color.

PAWS UP!

Swatches: OPI Indi-a Mood For Love Nail Polish

I love pink nail polish! If you were to check my drawer where my bottles of nail polish lies, majority of it is probably pink or red (hey, same color family).

But this particular bottle has stole my heart. OPI's Indi-a Mood for Love. It's the perfect tint and brightness for a pink nail polish. Well, at least for me. This is officially my favorite summer nail polish.













What's your favorite nail polish color for summer season?

So, my post might be pretty sporadic again this week since it's going to be a pretty busy week for me. In a few days, I'm finally going to see Lady Gaga live at the Staples Center! I've bought my tickets six months ago, and I've been anxious to go. And right after that, I'm going to San Francisco for a conference at work. I'm pretty stoked because it's a great networking event for me as a professional, and I'm just really looking forward to learning from the seminars the conference has to offer which will help my professional growth and career.

Anyway, I'm still thinking of how I'm going to do my makeup for the concert. Still trying to gather some ideas. Hopefully, I'll even have time to do it after work.