confessions of an unapologetic makeup junkie

i have been using pillboxes as makeup storage for about two years now. i got these particular pillboxes from the my aunt's clinic (hanging out in the hospital sure has its perks) but i think most pillboxes are available in all leading groceries and drugstores.

storing makeup, especially the cream types in pill/tablet boxes is very handy, especially when travelling. i first did that when i read in one of the makeup forums that mixing pigment with petroleum jelly would make a pretty good lip balm/lip gloss. so when one of my eyeshadow palettes broke, i took the brown and pink, mixed it in several hues and i was able to come up

with quite a good range of colors. also, i mixed a liquid foundation that was too light for me with petroleum jelly, and i was able to get a good nude lips shade.

sorry for the crappy picture above. i swear, it's the flash that's making it look too greasy, in reality it just gives you a moisturized lip look. it almost has a lipbalm-y look.

these are the ones i mixed with an eyeshadow and a blush that cracked. plus, the one i mixed with a liquid foundation

the next batch i did, the very first one was just a darker shaded foundation for nude lips as well, but i took it up a notch. i mixed cayenne powder with it to make an instant plumper (got the idea from jing of girlwithglassesjing). i also mixed careline's loose eyeshadow in mestiza white and vanilla white with petroleum jelly to get that nice shimmery-balmy look, also i mixed careline's plum loose shadow with mestiza white and petroleum jelly, and careline's mestiza white alone wiht petrokeum jelly.

(L-R) Careline's plum loose shadow with mestiza white, careline's vanilla white with mestiza white, careline's mestiza white, and a dark liquid foundation with cayenne powder.

then, i had some lipsticks that is a bit drying for me so i scooped them out of their cases, took a huge spoon and a candle, placed the lipstick and some petroleum jelly on the spoon and melted it over the candle. it gives a nice glossy look. dont ask me for the lipstick shades, i've forgotten 'em already! sorry..

i only have three shades here cuz i only scooped out two lipsticks and mixed them together in one batch. i am still contemplating on what shade to put on the empty slot. right now a mineral blush is stored there.

finally, i had to travel last summer and i didnt really feel like bringing three huge tubes of creme foundation and and a bronzer so i used a clean plastic knife to cut portions off it and make my own home-made foundation and concealer palettes

upper left: my foundation shade which doubles as blemish concealer, upper right: my under-eye concealer, lower right: a shimmerry bronzer, lower left: a darker cream foundation for contour.

there you have it, my home-made palettes! this works best for cream cosmetics. i doubt it would hold up if you put liquids in it or runny cosmetics cuz it's not exactly leak proof. also i would not recommend storing loose cosmetics in it (the way i did) cuz it just tends to create a whole lotta mess. i'm just temporarily storing my loose blush there until i decide on what to do with it. i might mix it withn petroleum also.

i have careline loose shadows in several colors but i decided to make a review on vanilla white

le price:
they're no mac pigments, but for 80 bucks (pesos) a pop, they aint so bad.

le experience:
they're very pigmented too! i have several individual ones and i have duos, and i love them! i just use a good base so that it sticks. being loose and all, it tends to fall out fast, but with a sticky base (i use my white gel liner most of the time) it works fantastic!
this review however is for the individual ones, more specifically, it's for the vanilla white variant.

it has so many uses. most of the time, i use it as a highlighter for the brow bone, the cheekbone and sometimes even the cupid's bow (upper lip area).

most of the time, i mix it with a liquid foundation or even a tinted moisturizer and i'm good to go. i did this mostly last summer, when it's too hot to put on makeup and i just want to put a little coverage and to even out my skin tone. it gives me that subtle glow, and it gives me a kind-of MAC strobe cream look, minus the pinkish tinge, which is okay for me. it doesnt come off as too shiny, oily look, but it just gives my face a certain pop.

i also mix it with careline's mestiza white loose shadow and petroleum jelly and it's my instant lip balm which i use on bare lips and i'm good to go. sometimes i put it on top of a lipstick and it doubles as a great lipgloss. useful, innit? (pics to follow, i left my pre-made one in manila)

you have to watch out for the crappy packaging tho. the bottom part unsticks like 9 out of 10 times and it leaves a serious mess in my trunk, which i hate. i saw the salesladies at watson's festival use a trusty scotch tape to keep it in place, but i dont use scotch tapes, so i used my invisible tape (sticks better, in my opinion)


le verdict:
i find it too oppressive that mac pigments are always, always out of stock here, so i make do with the next alternative.
i give this product 3.5 lipsticks.
i took points off because of its crappy packaging and limited color options.

oh and i bought sunnies! yay me! i know, i look like a bug, but i love love it.