fotd: smoked violet

Dang! I havent been posting these in a while huh! Anyway I wore the look to my cousin's baby's christening which I'm one of the 'Ninangs', godmother in tagalog. There was lots of yummmy filipino food, island style. Unfortunately there were too many people so I couldnt take any pics of it. Oh and a few people requested to see how the violet cirlce lens look on me, so here ya go...

Eyes:
Benefit F.Y.Eye
M.A.C. Violet Pigment
M.A.C. Carbon E/S
M.A.C. Femme Fi E/S
M.A.C. Point Black Liquid Last Liner
Geo Angel Cirlce Lens in Violet
Face:
M.A.C. Select Sheer Pressed in NC35
Nars Orgasm Blush
Lips:
Aquafina Lip Balm
Sephora Gloss Ultra Brilliance in #11

No I was not naked in the above and below pics.

Yea the boyfriend wanted to get in the action, haha.

Oh and congratulations to my Brother-in-Law and His GF, Mark & Jenny for welcoming Jaiden Mark into this world, he's the cutest cutie patootie lol. I cant wait till you guys come back so we can meet him.

smaul haul

I ordered two things off of Krystal's Blog Sale last week and I received it today. Yayyy Thanks Krystal! First thing I got was the Famous NARS Blush in ORGASM mmm! lol. It was bubble wrapped so nicely but I noticed some of the product was all over the packaging --stupid post office people, when they see the package says "FRAGILE" they will not handle with care, the more they will just toss it around. I heard a few friend's relatives did that when they worked there ugh-- anyway I already knew before I opened it that it was cracked but I was still praying that it wasnt.

When I opened it I found this and was so bummed : (

If this ever happens to you ladies, dont throw it out just yet. You can actually save it and re-press it, it's just like pressing a pigment. Its kinda unpretty and messy but its better than wasting the cash you spent for it. So anyway here's what you'll need:

Your cracked product, a petri dish, a spatula (in my case im using the end of an eyebrow shaver), a stick to mix, rubbing alcohol (i used green cross isopropyl alcohol with 70% solution but any rubbing alcohol is fine), paper towel(s) and...

anything with a flat surface with a similar shape to what your pressing.

Place your cracked product in the petri dish and smash until they are really broken up and fine. At this point you can eithe follow the next few steps or keep it as it is and place it in a jar with a sifter. You can use it kinda like a mineralized blush : D

Once you get it smashed enough, add a few drops at a time of alcohol and mix. Its better to start off with a little because you can always add and its harder to subtract.

Mix it until you get a pasty consistency. Once you get to that consistency, place it in the middle of the container of your choice with your spatula and tap lightly to evenly distribute and to get rid of any bubbles at the bottom of the pan.

Its should look like this. Let it sit for about five to ten minutes for it to get a little firm.

When its firm enough, take your paper towel and blot it until no more color gets on the paper towel. And then let it sit for another ten to fifteen minutes. While your waiting, you can clean up the mess around it and because the case I used is kinda rubbery, alcohol will help take off some residue but be extra careful and use a Qtip or something similar to that. A bbq skewer stick with a little cotton wrapped around will get into the crevices better.

Be sure not to use your hands directly like stupid ol' me, unless you dont mind, because they will stain it for a while.

After letting it sit for a while take your flat surfaced object and wrap a paper towel (or an old shirt) around it and just press the product firmly. The markings on the paper towel or tshirt will be stamped onto the product, let it dry completely (about an hour or more if you feel it needs more) and then its ready to use again.

Here's a swatch of the re-pressed Nars Orgasm Blush (on my middle finger) LOL dont mind my stained pointer finger. Anyway I hope that helped, im so happy i didnt just throw it out!

Another haul from Krystal's blog sale is the M.A.C. Pigment in Violet. I Also Got the M.A.C. Pigment in Brash & Bold a few days ago and Damn! My M.A.C Counter raised their prices WAY UP again! It is now $30! Im just gna stick to MACOnline.

Pretty swatches!

Dont forget to check out Krystal's Blog Sale and My Blog Sale ! Till next time ladies.

Review: Sigma Makeup's Travel Kit - Naughty in Black

I've been seeing/watching alot of reviews about SigmaBeauty's Brushes Lately. Everyone is just raving about it's good quality, how the brushes corresponds to and how its much more AFFORDABLE than M.A.C.'s. I was kind of skeptical for a while, because alot of companies now-a-days claim their products are high quality but aren't or even because the reviewers are sponsored by that company so they kind of have to say good things about the product. Well I am not sponsored in any way by Sigma Makeup, I bought the kit with my own money at my own will.

Most travel kits, like M.A.C.'s, are made up of synthetic fiber. And with synthetic fiber, they can kind of be too harsh on the skin (for me that is). When I first started really getting into makeup, I bought a basic brush set from M.A.C. which comes with almost the same brushes that the Sigma travel kit comes with. And when using it to apply it pokes me like crazy. I gave that away, lol. The Sigma Brush Set however, are made up of natural bristles which are much more gentle and its just like the full sized brushes. Its soft yet dense enough to pick up the products for more coverage and pigmentation.

And the best part is, each individual brush is no more than $20. They also come in kits which cost a bit more, but when you calculate the most expensive kit which is $149, its about $10 for each brush... shipping inclusive (u.s.). And that comes with a brush roll already. You can get high quality makeup brushes and save hundreds. That wont work for me coz I spent nearly $700 intermittently on the M.A.C. brushes I have, talk about shopaholic. My boyfriend thinks I should attend Shopaholics Anonymous or whatever those therapy sessions are called. Haha. Anyway im planning to get the complete brush kit with the roll coz I love it so much.

So the Sigma Makeup Travel Kit - Naughty in Black is $49. It comes with travel sized brushes in the F30 (MAC #150), F40 (MAC #168), F60 (MAC #190), F70 (MAC #194), E30 (MAC #219), E40 (MAC #224), E55 (MAC #239) and a faux leather clutch. They also throw in a travel sized F50 (MAC #187) in the pink handle from the Nice in Pink set as a gift. But me being so obssessive-compulsive about everything, I asked if I can have the F50 in a black handle : D and that's exactly what I got.

It comes in a purple pouch.

Cute faux leather clutch with a zipper pouch inside for extra storage.

They're so cuuuute! I can't wait to travel and take these babies with me.

I requested that the travel size SS187 gift be in a black handle :D and got one, no questions asked. It originally comes with a pink handled one from the Nice in Pink set.

Look! My brushes had babies, hehe so cute.

Pictured is M.A.C.'s 150 and Sigma's F30

M.A.C.'s 187 and Sigma's F50.

I will do a look with these brushes for the next post. So what are you waiting for visit SigmaBeauty.com to order yours.

Geo Angel Circle Lenses

I finally got to order those Geo Angel Circle Lens for me and a friend, since its buy three and get one free, I got 'em in Violet (2, one for me & one for my friend) and Brown for $20 each which were in stock so I received them right away. I got the gray ones for free but they had to be pre -ordered and will take about a month or so ! And that's the one im really excited about. They also each come with really cute cases. And the best part is, FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

The Violets are realllly pretty in natural lighting, but when I took a picture with flash it didnt suit me.

I think the brown ones look more natural on me and I really like them.

These are the cases that it comes with

If you're interested, you can get them over at Ulzzang Style. If you use my name (Sharlene Aquino) as a reference you can get $1 off...you have to mention my name to get it.

Here are other discounts

(these can't be combined with each other)
BUY 3 GET 1 PAIR OF CIRCLE LENS FREE
BUY 6 GET 2 PAIRS OF CIRCLE LENS FREE
BUY 9 GET 3 PAIRS OF CIRCLE LENS FREE
BUY 12 GET 4 PAIRS OF CIRCLE LENS FREE
BUY 15 GET 5 PAIRS OF CIRCLE LENS FREE
BUY 20 GET 8 PAIRS OF CIRCLE LENS FREE

RETURNING BUYERS

$1 OFF TOTAL (1 pair)

$2 OFF TOTAL (2-4 pairs)

$4 OFF TOTAL (5 pairs+ )

REFERRALS

REFER A FRIEND AND GET $2 OFF YOUR TOTAL, YOUR FRIEND WILL GET $1 OFF

REFER 5 FRIENDS AND GET A FREE PAIR

REFER 9 FRIENDS AND GET 2 FREE PAIRS

They have great communication and they answered every question that I asked so quickly. From the time they sent the package it took about 5 days or less (including the weekends) for me to received it.

Cheesin' with my new brown eyes :D haha!

Also check out my blog sale, there are some left overs (lol) and a few new stuff.

xrocksmama's giveaway

Congratulations to XROCKSMAMA for reaching 100 followers.

Rules:
There are 2 ways to enter
Regular Entry:
- You have to be my follower on this blog and my jewelery blog Sweet Remix (have to follow both to be qualified as an entry), then leave a comment in this post simply state "I'm following you".
That's all.Gold Star Entry:
- Be a follower on both blogs, then post a link on your blog about my Giveaway and leave a comment to let me know your blog post link. Don't have a blog? Twitter this Giveaway will do :)
(If the winner is a Gold Star Entry, the Gold Star Entry winner will receive an EXTRA PRICE on top of the giveaway prices)

contest winners ~ congratulations

As promised, I will have the winners by the end of the week. Like me, you guys had your favorites, the ones who stood out the most to you. It was hard to choose between four of them, I wish I could've made them all winners but my poor wallet has been hurting from my shopping sprees LOL. So anyway without further ado *drum roll please...

1st place winner

onlyxlindah

I chose her because of her blending skills. This girl can blend! I love the gradient effect and it works well with the colors she picked out. And the overall look was so bold and daring.

2nd place winner

simplyclairemakeup

I love how her look is different, she kept it on the dark side (lol) instead of using bright colors. Her flawless face and neutral lips made her eyes really stand out. I would wear this look out to anywhere.

So congratulations to the winners you gals did an awesome job. Please send me your Full Name and your mailing address through email at sharlenemaquino@hotmail.com. Thank you to everyone who entered my contest, you all did extremely good. Look out for upcoming contests and giveaways. Thank you thank you thank you!

contest entries

My contest has come to an end and before I show you the entries, I want to post up the rules and requirements just coz some of the girls didnt follow all the rules. Some aren't a follower while others didnt post links/rules and requirements like I asked. So please double check all your entries and if you've made any changes regarding your entry please let me know on this post only. I hate to eliminate people for things as simple as not following the rules.

Anyways, Thanks to all the girls who have entered my first contest, I might be having more along the way (maybe! My blogger anniversary is in November). You all did great and I am having such a hard time choosing the winners, i'll be posting up the winners as soon as I can. So enjoy, let me know what you think and who are your favorite contestant(s).


Theme:
Create an Arabic Style Inspired Makeup. From what I noticed, when I google 'Arabic Style Makeup', They usually have flawless, porcelain-like skin, and really bright colors on the eyes yet it still looks smokey because of the heavy eyeliner on both the lashline and lower lashline.

Rules & Requirements:
·First of all you must be a member of blogger.
·You must be a follower of my blog.
·Post as an entry to your blog. Copy these rules onto your entry and link back to this post.
·Take a picture of: Your face, one with your eyes opened and one closed. And a freestyle pose. ·Also include your inspirational photo, if any. Don't forget to list down and take a picture of the products you used.
·Send in your contest entry url as a comment to this post only [for organizational purposes].
All others will not be aknowledged, sorry!

Deadline:
August 31, 2009 11:59 PM Guam Time.
Note: Guam time is advance a few hours from U.S.

Winner Selection:
There will be two winners, also open to international.
My boyfriend will help judge but the decision is still mine.
Your overall creativity, skills, techniques used as well as the ability to abide by the rules will be a factor in determining the winner. Props, Hair and Outfit is a plus : )

The Prizes:

First Place Winner Gets...

Profusion 98 Color Eyeshadow Palette, NYX Eyeshadow Trio, NYX Pressed Eyeshadow, 4 NYX Loose Powder, MAC Lipglass, 3 BeautyFromTheEarth Multipurpose Minerals

Second Place Winner Gets...

Giovi 72 Color Eyeshadow Palette, 2 NYX Loose Powder, 6 Eyeshadow Quads, Purple and Black Houndstooth Print Bracelet and Earring Set

And now for the entries, please click their names for better quality/more pictures and information



1.
CosmeticFixation



2.
GracifiedShopaholic



3.
ChulaLouie



4.
MakeupxJunkee



5.
FemaleMia



6.
LittleMissKessa



7.
MandaxLeslie



8.
Sherry



9.
Janeuarymmiv



10.
FabulousHoodChick




11.
Ash-Tan



12.
Thiamere



13.
LittleBeautyBag



14.
simplyclairemakeup



15.
OnlyxLindah



16.
MyMyGanda



17.
MyLucidIntervals



18.
CherieKoala





Again, a big thank you to all the ladies who entered my first contest. I will announce the winners as soon as I can (meaning when/if im off from work because September is a busy month for us) but dont worry I wont take more than a week (hopefully). Dont you just love suspense? Haha.