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 originally posted these reviews at makeupalley.com with a few grammar corrections and all. i just wanted to share these with you guys, you might find it useful if you are thinking of getting some of them.

ive gotten my palettes from anna of mybeautybasket. you can also reach her through her multiply account. please note however that i am in no way affiliated with anna and these are not paid advertisements. i am just one very happy and very satisfied customer! :P

i love love love transacting with anna. she is just soo lovely and nice and patient and all that goodstuff! i think i may have mentioned this in my personal blog too and these praises would seem redundant to anna as she already saw the other blog!

i highly recommend transacting with her. her prices are competitive, if not, lower than her competition and she has a pretty reasonable insurance/return policy.

i also bought several(a lot of!) jars of gel liners from her but law school and time constraints (and pet society) are keeping me from making a decent review.. i know, i know, i am slacking off. will blog more coherently soon! :D

i also have the blush palette and will be doing a review of that soon as well

le price:
i love love love these palettes. i got the regular palette and the shimmer ones about a month ago and i love it. i got them for 2,225.00 php or roughly 48usd. can you imagine that? 176 eyeshadows for less than fifty dollars? that's quite a steal!

le experience:
quality wise, it simply delivers. i don't own a primer potion yet and ive been using a matte white shadow or a stick concealer as base in a while now, and it doesn't crease at all. my class usually lasts 4-5 hours and i have it on for about 6 hours a day the colors are just as vibrant. i guess i wouldve gotten better color pay off if i have primers as well, but i could not be happier with its end results as it is. and that's saying a lot as i am a bit on the oily side.

however, i do not like the glossy packaging as it tends to scratch and look a whole lot of ugly from normal transit. :(

the sponge applicators that come with it are just as bad, i just don't have the heart to throw them away as it is a part of the set and its holder would just look empty without it. luckily though, i have invested in a good set of locally available brushes and it simply works well with this palette.

more useful for me is the regular/matte palette, as it has both shimmer and matte shadows as well as neutrals. with a good moisturizer, i even use it as blush and with gloss, or sometimes good ol' petroleum jelly, i even use it as a lip tint. the shades are simply versatile and it has effectively expanded not just my shadow collection but my color collection in general. the regular palette is the one i have with me everywhere i go. i have a neutral and shimmer palettes but they are both left at home.

the shimmer palette, however is the one i love using when i just wanna have fun and go crazy with colors. it goes on smooth and creamy too and it is a tad easier to blend than the regular matte shadows.

i (used to)twilight as a (non-professional)make up artist for the girls at my dorm, and i use the regular palette on them lots of times and they all love the colors as well as staying powers as well.

as far as skin issues go, i have quite a sensitive skin, but so far i have not encountered any breakouts, nor does my young "clients."

le verdict:
4.5 lipsticks!
i only took off half a point for its packaging. hate, hate hate le glossy black packaging which is scratch-prone and fugly looking. all in all, i love love love these palettes.

note:
i didnt bother to put different pictures as it honestly looks the same with or with out the flash.

ive had this for about a month now, although to be honest i use the88 palette more, ive played around with it a bit and so far so good. ive totally nothing to complain about so far with this product. i even find that it is a good mac alternative, especially for someone like me who is simply on a student budget, and is just starting out with make up. as i am just starting out, i practice a lot on my own, most of the time before going to sleep. i simply don't feel comfortable about playing with my higher end make ups when my efforts would not be seen outside the comforts of my own room. i find this product perfect for practicing. i have traveled a bit with this on as well and even on a long drive, the shadows dont look messy or tired on my eyes, and that's without using a primer portion! i simply use a matte white or nude shadow as base or a stick concealer.

Le Price:
i got it for 900php or roughly 20 usd and i absolutely have nothing to complain. it is dirt cheap!


Le Verdict:
4.5 lipsticks

i am in love with this product, as i am with most of my C/S palettes. my only problem with this palette is that it does not have a mirror. in terms of staying power, even without a base it holds up pretty good. you could get around 3-4 hours with this product without primer. for me tho, since i have really oily lids, i usually put TBS tea tree oil concealer as base. it helps with the oilies a lot.

i love this eyeshadow and blush palette! ive been living in it for a month and a half and i love it. i originally didnt wanna get this because i already have the blush palette, the neutral palette and the both 88 shimmer and regular palette. i felt as though all the colors in this palette would be in one of the palettes i already have. then, i had to go to a trip and i was so annoyed to find out that imma need to bring all palettes in order to survive. i brought the blush palette cuz i didnt wanna bring all my other individual ones, then i had to bring the 28 cuz that's my neutrals and of course i need colors too so i had to bring the regular palette cuz i figured imma have mattes as well as shimmers that way.. and i had to lug all of these all over the country and that was what made me realize i shoulda gotten a blush combo.

Le Experience:
when i finally bought the blush and shadow combo, i was soo glad i did, especially because it had blush shades that werent on their blush palette, and i happen to like the blushes on the 26 palette better.
the shadows have an interesting mix too.. it's not all neutral which is good, as i have the 28 neutral for that, and it has all the right colors.. nothing shocking.. i guess the right term would be, it truly is an earth palette, with all the browns and the golds and the pinks and purples. there's no greens though.. but ts ayt, ive another palette for that.
what i didnt like about the palette is that it doesnt have a shade light enough to be my highlighter. it's what's stopping me from it being the only palette i use for my eyes. but i can live with that, as i have a good shimmer shade for highlighting from the face shop.

Le Price:
price wise, it's not too expensive for the product you're getting. it's just gonna set you back 850PhP

Le Verdict:
4 lipsticks

love love love. if ur just gonna get one or two palettes from c/s i suggest skip the blush palette and the neutral palette and just get this one, plus the shimmer palette that c/s has got to offer.. if ur a neutrals kind of gal still, and your thinking of getting the neutrals and the blush palette, this might be a cheaper alternative for you. i personally did not like all the shades in the blush palette and feel like it's a waste of money, but i like the shades in this palette. i also didn't like the fact that they still did not put a mirror in this one, just like the neutrals palette, so i took points off for that. and the lack of highlight shade, that i mentioned.