Disneyland & California Adventures || Universal Studios ft. Harry Potter World 2016

I went to Disneyland/Universal Studios three weeks after my vacation from the Philippines. I was in California for four days with my boyfriend. We celebrated our six-year anniversary a few weeks earlier.

Tips on How to Contour & Highlight

Identify Face Shape

*Face chart shows how to get an oval face shape especially for individuals who have a different face shape.

Skin Type

For oily skin types I recommend powder highlight and contour.

For dry skin types I recommend cream highlight and contour.

For combination and normal skin tones you can wear any as long as you set your foundation with a translucent powder. If you're using a cream contour and highlight I would set with powder after countering and highlighting. If you're using a powder contour and highlight I would set with powder before contouring and highlighting

Matte contour powders are the way to go, you don't want anything shimmery because the glitter will enhance the area instead of receding it. For highlighters it's okay if it's shimmery or not the shimmers just intensifies the look, any area with a highlighter is already noticeable because it's a lighter color.  

You would want to highlight the areas that you want to enhance and contour the areas that you want to recede. Taupe, gray tones/cool tones for a contour is key, you don't want to look like you have dirt on your face because of the warmer tones.

Products

I have used Benefit Hoola for a more subtle contour and also Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer in Chocolate Milk. My holy grail and my go to since it came out is the Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Palette. It's a complete set I can use it for a day contour or intensify with the darker colors, I also can highlight my cheekbones and set my under eye concealer with Lyric (what I mostly use).

If you don't want an intense contour you can add color and bronze your face. I use the Benefit Hoola Bronzer, Nars Laguna Bronzer and Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Bronze Light (if you're fair/light I recommend using the Luminous Bronze Light shade). I could also bronze with my Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer, and Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Palette if applied lightly.

For highlighters, most of them are going to be wearable for you but, for girls with a darker skin tone that tries a pearly white highlighter it might look ashy on the face so it's always best to try it on and see which ones will work out the best for your skin tone.
For me, I love Thunderstruck Metal Crush Eyeshadow from Kat Von D because it has a peachy undertone, and I also love Jaclyn Hill x Becca Highlighter in Champagne Pop because it has a golden warm tone, but also been using and loving The Balm's Mary Lou manizer. I also love my "That Glow" Glow Kit from Anastasia Beverly Hills. Popular new highlighters from Jeffree Star, Jouer, Sleek makeup, Ofra Cosmetics, Laura Geller, also great affordable ones from Milani, Nyx, E.L.F, and  Wet n' Wild.

Tools

The brushes I use for powder contouring is MAC #135, Sephora Collection #74 and for my powder highlighters I use Sigma F25 , Hakuhodo x Sephora Collection  small tapered brush.

For cream contour and highlight I use Sephora Collection #80 , and I also use my beauty blender.

How to apply

To apply the contour shade, use your ears as your guide, angle a brush from the top of your ears and follow the cheekbone down, swipe sideways and don't apply the product too close to the mouth area, leave about two inches away.  Blend the product upwards and just keep blending up and sideways until it looks seamless. For highlighting you can highlight on your brow bone, cheek bones, cupids bow, and even the inner tear duct of the eyes.

 For nose contouring I personally love using cream first. I create two parallel lines on the sides of my nose bridge and at the tip of my nose I make a little upside down triangle and make them meet in the middle, and then I blend towards the sides of the nose. To accentuate, I apply the highlighting shade along the nose bridge right after contouring to ensure that what I'm accentuating didn't get blended away with the contouring shade, then blend everything out. If you want to be more intense with the nose contouring just apply powder contour and highlight using the same guidelines.  

Some gals can get away with using a stick foundation, any foundation, and concealer that is 2 shades darker from their skin tone for their contouring creams.

Tip

My tip to really have an intense highlight/contour is to use cream highlighter and contour after applying your foundation/concealer and then set the makeup with translucent powder and use a powder highlighter and powder contour/bronzer on the areas where you placed the cream highlight/contour and lastly set it with a setting spray to make it look a little bit natural and blend in the skin better.

Good luck!

Philippines 2016

 I wanted to blog a lot more last year but I was really really busy with school. I took three classes for a total of 10 credits for summer 2016. I took four classes with a total of 14 credits last fall. I'm currently taking three classes for a total of 11 credits this semester, please bear with me. 

I went to the Philippines at the end of June 2016. I was in the Philippines for a total of three weeks.

My family and I had a day off after landing in the Philippines. The next day, we had an early flight to Malay, Aklan and we were in Boracay for 4-5 days? We went to ride an RTV, Paraw Sailing, and my brothers did the Flying Fish and also Scuba Diving. I was busy with school work and I wasn't feeling very well so I took that time to do homework, rest, and enjoy my vacation and just relax and unwind.

The next week, we had huge family get together with all my family/relatives. We went to a lot of malls (which was my favorite), they have huge malls  with a lot of great, delicious food that are very affordable and  a lot of cute things to buy for cheap! We went to Fort Bonifacio, High Street, Forbes Park, SM Megamall, Market Market, Green Hills Mall, and of course Divisoria. I forgot some of the places that we went to so I do apologize. Our last week in the Philippines, we went to Tagaytay to see the Taal Volcano, we ate lunch and took pictures, and we dropped by a mall on the way home. I can't wait to go back and see my family again. 

Malay, Aklan- Boracay

Tagaytay, Taal Volcano

Top 10 Skincare Favorites 2016

Mario Badescu Skincare

1. Enzyme Cleansing Gel- the only cleanser I used all year by itself or with my Clarisonic Mia 2. It's gentle, doesn't irritate my eyes or my skin. I mainly use this at night but it's good for the day as well. I'm half way through this cleanser. It's a big container and it's pretty affordable.

2. Cucumber Cleansing Lotion and Seaweed  Cleansing Lotion (not in picture)- I finished both of these last year, these didn't irritate my skin. I use this after washing my face. I love using these with the Shiseido Cotton Pads. I also love the packaging, great for traveling.

3. Honey Moisturizer- great day moisturizer especially for dry skin, also very lightweight. The whole tiny bottle lasted me for almost the whole year. It also has great packaging safe for traveling.

4. Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs, and Rosewater- I love using this in the morning after I put my day moisturizer, it soothes and refreshes my skin, and preps it for makeup.

5. Drying Lotion- love this drying lotion, it's very similar to Kate Somerville's EradiKate. It's an acne spot treatment. This is the last thing I put on my face with a q-tip and spot treat any breakouts. It dries  the acne pretty quickly, it didn't irritate my skin. The product dries pretty quickly so I can sleep right away and it doesn't get on my pillowcase. Do not shake the bottle, the pink part is supposed to be at the bottom of the bottle, the packaging is also available in a plastic container instead of a glass.

Mario Badescu Seaweed Night Cream- this is a thick night cream. I use this right after my toner. This leaves my skin feeling really smooth and moisturized in the morning.

Simple- Cleansing Wipes- my all time/holy grail makeup remover has been the only makeup remover that I used for about 4-5 years now. It's a great makeup wipe, it doesn't irritate my skin or my eyes. It takes out waterproof mascara but I have to really get in there gently. It's not a dry cloth like some wipes where it doesn't feel like there's enough product to go around the whole face. I usually get this at Ulta or Walgreens when they have BOGO and I also use their coupons and maybe use some of the money from my rewards.

Boscia-Tsubaki Oil-Infused Exfoliating Powder and Exfoliating Peel Gel- these are daily exfoliators that are really gentle on the skin. I love them because they take out all the flakiness that I have around my nose. It smoothes the surface of my face and take out dead skin. My face looks brighter and younger. I use the Boscia Powder with water or oil and mix it together before putting it on my face. The Boscia Peel Gel is applied on dry skin, all the gunk that you rub off are dead skin, it's gross but it's also cool.

Shiseido Facial Cotton- I never thought this wouldn't make a difference, but it does. It absorbs more product than the ones I get from Target or the drugstore. It's also very soft and I'm able to use both sides to clean my face. I already repurchased. This is around $9 and it lasted me for a good 3-4 months. I use this for toners, essences, lotions, and micellar water.

Garnier Waterproof Micellar Cleansing Water and Simple Cleansing Micellar Water- I love these cleansing water. They are both very gentle for daily, twice a day use. It helps me remove makeup that I couldn't get with my wipes or after washing my face. I love using the Garnier Waterproof Cleansing Water around my eyes. They both are not irritating and they are fragrance-free.

Dr. Jart Dermaclear Micro Milk Peel- My new found love. My coworker showed me how amazing this product is. I put this on my hands and I could see the difference, my skin looks brighter and softer. This is gentle enough for daily use, even for both day and night. It's a great chemical exfoliator that works with enzymes. This comes with cotton pads, one with a smooth side and one with a rough side that you can use to exfoliate better. I usually use the rough side around my nose only.  I'm already repurchasing this! I love it so much.

Fresh Umbrian Clay Mattifying Mask- I love this face mask. This mask is for oily/combination skin types. The clay helps magnify the face. I only use this around my t-zone and some on my cheeks. It doesn't irritate my skin and I only leave it for 20-30 minutes and wash it off. My skin feels smoother and softer. I use this once a week.

Sephora Collection Green tea sleeping mask- this is a treatment mask I use especially when my skin needs a little more hydration. I would apply this after my night cream has dried. This is a leave in sleeping mask for overnight. I don't have to wash it the next day or anything. It dries within 5 minutes and it doesn't transfer on my pillowcase. I love how my skin feels really supple and hydrated in the morning. I love all the scents, they have different scents for different skin concerns. I have been buying this for 2 years now, and Sephora usually put this in a set for Christmas for a really good price, great for stocking stuffers or goody bags.

Biore Face and Nose Strips- I've been using this for a couple of years now and it's a pretty good blackhead remover for a very good price. I apply it mainly on my nose and sometimes on my chin or forehead. I usually use this once a week or bi-weekly.

Farmacy Lip Bloom in Apple Rosemary- very moisturizing on the lips, a little bit thick but it's a great lip balm to prep my lips before any drying lipsticks. I have been using this more often during the winter time because my lips were always really chapped and dry and this really brings my lips back to life. It smells amazing!