Uhh! Stretching definitely made me feel better, not to mention the jump! (haha!)

Impromptu outings, unlocking my “password protected” self and just go with the flow, breaking my routine and simply do something different – these are part of my blissful existence now.

These days, I’ve been to several places without so much planning at hand. Maybe 2009 was really a year for me to be out and about, be it alone or with my ever reliable friends to hangout with.

The experience was undoubtedly fun and definitely a breather away from chaotic and complicated life here in Manila.

I’m off to La Union and will try surfing for the first time. I am uber excited with the thought: hanging out with friends, meeting new people, boy watching on the side *wink*, the beach and the emotional sunset.

A few weeks back, before I went out of town, I bought a sunscreen for my sensitive skin. Sometimes, it gets annoying though looking for products for sensitive skin, aside from it’s hard to find and you have to read a lot of dos and don’ts, it’s also too pricey. I finally said goodbye to my derma’s sunblock gel (too pricey now for a small tube) and said hello to VMV Armada Face Cover 45.

Although the formula looks like a heavy cream, it was so natural (no artificial scent) and not sticky at all once applied. Unlike other sunblock that I’ve used, this gave me a powdery finish and definitely no more “kabuki” face! Look Ma!

This can also be used as a primer before applying make-up, a bestseller indeed from VMV! While some products are on sale up to 70% off until December 15, this piece of goodness is not! Grrr!

Next must have is a breathable and quick drying Rashguard! Suggestions please? I was thinking of buying either a short or half sleeve one.

Common Sis, knock on a few doors as well and enjoy! Life is good. *wink*

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Last April 30, Kikay Kits was very much present in the Blue Water Day Spa event wherein they launched their new endorsers, Marian Rivera and Piolo Pascual. Yeah, not that star-studded. ( hahaha! ). They also launched their new Sahara Oasis Massage and Chocolate Slimming Massage. Twas a very interesting event as the two new treatments were demo-ed in front of the press.

Since bloggers are curious creatures, we were actually in front, in front of everyone! We managed to talk to the svelte beauty Bianca Valerio, the host of the event, for some kikay chat!

Turns out aside from hosting and modelling , Bianca is a makeup artist, holds talks on schools about saying no to drugs. Of course, as she was talking, my eyes were actually distracted – they were looking at her eyes- which were lined to perfection! So suddenly, I just blurted, “Bianca, I love the way you lined your eyes. What brand of eyeliner do you use?”. Instead of getting bored with my question, I was actually surprised of the enthusiasm on how she animatedly talked to me and Phoebe about makeup, “For pencil, I love Elizabeth Arden! Unlike other pencil eyeliners this one glides like butter! ” For liquid eyeliners, you must guess what she loves!

It’s Fashion 21 ! She loves Fashion21 liquid eyeliners because they’re incredibly waterproof and very good! Well, maybe I should get some of the shades since theyre about roughly more than a hundred bucks for a piece. If it can cooperate with my very oily lids, then I will be really, really pleased!

We here at KikayKits are very much honored to be told such kikay tip! Thanks Bianca!

*Photo courtesy of Phoebe Ramos. Thanks!

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Dear Sophie,

I have a new job right now , and my boss seems to be very particular about image, that she likes seeing me wearing makeup. I’m not the type who wears makeup, actually. What should I do? What do I need to buy? I’d like to save as much as possible and not splurge on makeup.

Love,

C

Dear C,

Well, first and foremost, congratulations on your new job! It seems that your job right now is going to be people-oriented ( PR ) because well, you’d be needing to apply makeup! Don’t fret too much because makeup is not as bad as it seems! Gone are the day when makeup equates to a cakey, powdered geisha look. There are very good makeup brands that offer really flawless and foolproof finishes that it just looks like your skin is very flawless, all even, without a trace that you have makeup on.

If you are not fond of wearing foundation, then a good transluscent , or tinted finishing powder would to to even out your complexion. I would recommend mineral makeup as a great candidate for your makeup for it does not contain chemicals and preservatives that harm the skin, and it works like loose powder, only with coverage. If you want a pressed powder, then there are good brands which are not too expensive like VMV Hypoallergenics and In2it. I advice not to scrimp too much on cosmetics specially for foundation because they might damage your skin – eyeshadows and blushes are okay to scrimp on, though.

Aside from a pressed powder or mineral foundation, you would be needing a blush. You can go for a lip and cheek tint ( perhaps, the Body Shop, or Origins? ) that would make things easier, and is a dual purpose product too. It’s also great to invest on a sheer red lipstick ( take note, not high shine gloss ) to make your lips look colored, but not too much. You would know that after you apply foundation and blush, your lips would just feel bare and pale, that you’d be needing some color. My recommended lip stick brand is MAC – it just stays for a long time and the color selection’s fantastic. Maybelline is an affordable choice and the color selections are good, too!

On the eyes, I don’t think that you would need to wear eyeshadow if you hate wearing eye makeup, but do consider wearing eyeliner as it opens up the eyes more and it makes all the difference. If your skin is not too oily, then a pencil eyeliner would be great. If your skin’s oily, a good, waterproof liquid eyeliner like Makeup Forever would be great. If you choose to skip the eyeliner, it’s also fine, but do not forget to brighten your eye area to banish traces of fatigue via your undereye circles with a concealer. And last but not the least, curl lashes, and you’re ready to go!

Well, I hope that helped!

Love,

Sophie

-
P.S. I think I just sounded like someone cajoling someone to indulge in the world of makeup – I felt like I wanted C to try everything that I’m using right now! Haha I’m so sorry but I just can’t help it.

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Last weekend, it was a major shopping spree for me. I spent so much on kikay stuff, and shoes, that I should probably swear off looking at my wallet, or maybe consider having my wallet locked in a safety deposit box so that I would not try to spend again. Oh heck, there’s Gcash. My mobile phone’s in trouble, too.

One very very small part of my loot is my kikay loot.

Bench goodies
Last time, I bought Hairastic Flexible Fibre for my new bangs ( bengs, as I call it ) from Bench, and I loved it. Now, it’s my baby hair that I want tamed down, so I bought Clay-Doh ( Lite ), perhaps to share with my dad as he wanted a sculpting cream for his hair! As I got impressed with Bench hair products, I also got a tube of Straight A-Head, a straightening gel to try because my rebonded hair’s not so straight anymore and I just miss it. I haven’t tried these two yet – they’re in my beauty box now taking their time mingling with my other babies – reviews to follow!

Smiley Perfume
This newcomer fragrance that is offered in Rustans is so cute that it is packaged like some medicine for asthma. It smells of pleasant citrus that’s why I had trouble saying no to my shopping impulse, and I just said “I’ll take it” even when I had the chance to stop myself, and apparently, my bestfriend did not even stop me ( oh men ). I’m just a sucker for clean, citrus scents, and it apparently lifts up your mood and makes you happy. Well, I would know, Roanne has bought one for herself and she can’t stop smiling all day! ( teehee! )

Now, I’m off to enjoy these babies, and tell you more about it.

What’s on your shopping list?

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I might be the biggest whiner during the Holidays , but hey, I still love it anyway. The weather’s so chilly, it feels great, I’ve been longing to cuddle with a book and watch DVDs as soon as I get my much needed time off from work. But you know, during the Holidays , there are so much stress vibes that are just everywhere! Stress from work – total burnout, I swear, stress from preparing and organizing parties, and stress from shopping.

A kikay girl like me has observed some stress in the name of beauty, too. Here are some of my observations :

1. Skin breaking out lately.
More than two girl friends of mine have had really bad breakouts lately. Call it Holiday stress. Blame the Holidays! Rar! ( No, just kidding ). No sleep, restless from coming up with a shopping list, beating the holiday traffic, and nonstop partying. With me, working 7 days a week paved way for this catastrophic event.

Solution : Catch up on sleep when needed, maintain a strict skin care regimen, drink 8 or more glasses of water (yes, do that), drink vitamins, and keep Sundays free to relax, and exercise somewhat! Lastly, relax. It’s all in the mind. ( Oh I wish I could say this to myself! Haha! )

2. Dry Skin.
The cold weather’s got us bad as it makes our arms, and legs all dry. One scratch from a fingernail and the trace is just so visible. The air is so dry that it makes our skin dry and scalier. Not a good sight, and of course, it doesn’t feel good as dry skin means tight skin.

Solution: Intense moisture is needed, and you won’t even feel the grease with your thick lotions because it’s really really dry weather now, so as soon as you step out of the shower, or while you are inside the bathroom, apply lotion generously on damp skin for maximum absorption. Sleeping with moisturized feet housed in socks would also help!

3. Tired Skin
It shows, and I’ve seen so much people look tired! ( No offense, because I’m one of them! I accept that it’s a normal part of life to have bad moments, you know? ) This is the result of overworking, overthinking, and overblogging ( woops, no, no! haha! ). I mean, overexertion can take its toll on our skin, specially on our face. That’s the worst part because face value is just everything – I don’t mean it superficially like being extraordinarily beautiful, but the overall vibe of the face. You can beam with a smile and make a person forget all of his/her problems. With a tired face, you’d exude the aura of well, being tired. Makes you look older, and heck who wants to look old? Absolutely no one!

Solution: Again, water therapy is a must to replenish body liquids and keep the skin less stressed, and Stress tabs and vitamins would really help to combat the look of being stressed ( I truly believe in that commercial. I skipped one dose of my Cortitrol, a stress supplement, and I loathed on how I looked in front of the mirror. I thought, never again will I skip this thing! ). I know that sleep is very difficult to catch up during the busy holidays, but hey, once you get the time, doze off heavily!

To be continued!

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In all these years of studying, dreaming of becoming either a bigshot Economist, product manager for a beauty brand, or an intimidating lawyer, I think I know what I really want to be.Beautiful. Hahaha. Yes, I want to be beautiful, feel beautiful, and make the world beautiful. I want to be a makeup artist, beauty problogger, and build a beauty empire someday. I believe that all of us have their special missions in life, and well, I bet that this is my mission. I’m not complaining because self esteem is twinned with happiness with oneself, and my dream is for everyone to always feel good about themselves no matter what. To be able to love, one must be able to say that she loves herself, first.

During the Mineral Makeup Weekend, I could say that I had no sleep the night before, but when clients, and friends started coming in, my partner Tin and I started doing makeovers on these beautiful girls, a sudden adrenalin rush came over me as I felt so charged up to apply makeup, do spot concealing, give some glow, and just give these girls advice on what they should do to address their problem areas. I was happy, I was excited for them, and I loved the fact that I was able to help them, at least, in that subject matter. I love the comfort that I get whenever I whip up my makeup brush and start doing what I should do. It feels like home.

I’ve decided to take up Makeup Artistry early part of next year when things are not as hectic like these past few months. Hopefully, I will be able to fulfill my dream. After all, dreams are for free.

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* Lay out all your makeup the night before. At least in the morning, you do not have to rummage to your makeup kit for the look that you want to achieve for the day. ( I always, always do this! )

* Get a makeup quad , or trio. Take for example, this Lauren Hutton Aqua Elements Set already has eyeshadow ( two shades ), eyeliner, and blush! It would be really easy to work around products that are already bundled together.

* Invest in multipurpose cosmetics. A bronzer and eyeshadow in one? A concealer and foundation in one? That definitely buys you more time!

* Get a moisture spray. Evian, Nu Skin Moisture Mist, or MAC Fix++ will do wonders whenever you’re running around town. When you see that your face is totally wrecked or you’re all oily, just spray some on your face, dab a tissue on your face ( do not rub too much ), and you’ll look a lot more fresh!

* Do not ever forget, even if you are in a hurry, apply your moisturizer and sunblock. If you can get a moisturizer and sunblock in one, it would be great. Being in a hurry does not give you the license to neglect your skin care routine! Even if you are in a hurry, there is no reason to aggravate your crammed lifestyle with a face that looks stressed – the cram would not be worth it , for sure!

* If you cannot move in a leisurely manner during the day, make sure you take some time when you get home from school or work for some beauty rituals at night! Make sure to apply some night cream to hydrate the eyes and night cream for the face to keep skin smooth , supple, and healthy. We can’t afford dry, stressed , harrassed-looking skin!

picture source :germes-online.com

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The article on me got published! You can view the article here. Yaynesss!!!!! Above the recognition, I’m glad that beauty blogging has earned a feature on the Manila Bulletin – not just my blog, but beauty blogging itself. I’m just so so happy, that I am doing this. Beauty is my passion. Beauty blogging is the reason that I’m still very much happy with myself. Really.

Here’s to more kikay entries, kikay question and answers, and a whole lot more of kikay fun!

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This is just a reminder that if you are planning on having your nails grown long to be always careful with your actions! This is high maintenance!

The beautiful manicure only lasted me a week because I was busy packing minerals for the Beauty & Minerals Day, opening containers, and stuff.

During dinnertime, I saw my pointing finger ( right hand ) with the nails cracked horizontally. I had to take a second look to check if it was the product of my deteriorating eyesight, but with my touch, it is indeed cracked! Waaaaahhhh!!!!

I had no choice but to cut it short, and good thing, Aileen sent me a gorgeous shade of OPI Bubble Bath that I had an emergency manicure done by me , 2am in the morning, after I finished packing.

OPI Bubble Bath is a lifesaver because it looks good on short nails. It’s a sheer white color, that makes nails just look very very clean. This is three coats worth, for I loved glassy opaque shades . Surprisingly, my nail polish application looked even, thanks to the streak-free performance of OPI Bubble Bath. What I love about OPI is that they dry oh so quickly. Hands down, they’re the best nail polish brand in the industry.

Here’s how my nails look now :

Until my heartaches end, until my nails grow longer, I am wearing this beautiful, safe shade.

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I have just started giving attention to my nails this year for I felt that I wasn’t getting any younger. I am incredibly high maintenance in terms of doing my makeup and fixing my hair, but when it came to nails, well, I sorta abused them way back. Used to open things using them, and do heavy-duty stuff, being the merciless master. Awww, they must hate me now. But I guess it’s time to make up for my wrongdoings, so I’ve decided to indulge myself in a mani-pedi like an obedient schoolgirl every three to four weeks.

I’ve been asking Cristine’s brother ( thanks ahia! ) to ship stuff from me from the US, and thank god , they have so much great nail polish brands there. My first addiction was Orly nail polishes, specially the French Mani ones. They can also be bought at Rustans, by the way. What I like about French Manicure shades is that they’re sort of transluscent and sheer, and don’t go too opaque. Apply three coats and they’d have a solid color, but still not quite. They’re not chalky and I hate chalky. The shade that I am wearing in the picture is Flirty Girl (very, very opposite my personality, but hey, hopefully I can get the vibe from it! )

Flirty Girl is a sheer, Barbie pink. The pink is one of the prettiest that I have ever seen. It’s sheer, and take note, that’s already three coats, and the moons on my nails are still visible. No french tips for me , since I feel that they chip off quite easily.

When my mani-pedi at Jesse Mendez Galleria ( with very very kind and experienced nail technicians, I must say ) was done , I was immediately smitten. This is love. Yes, crazy, mad love. I love it!

Gosh, I’ve been staring at those nails for the whole week! To the point that if they’re glass, they’d break from my stares….Oh no. Oh no. I can’t say!!!

Stay tuned for the next entry, of the fate that my nails had!

Hint : If love never lasts forever, tell me, what’s forever for?

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