Swatch: Marilyn Monroe + MAC

Finally, the lipsticks arrived! I was very excited to see the collection in person. And now I have a bit of extra time to swatch all of them side by side.

From left to right: Pure Zen, Love Goddess, Scarlet Ibis, Charmed I'm Sure, Deeply Adored

Pure Zen is the nude shade of the bunch. It's very pale but has a bit of pinky-rose in it. It has a creme sheen formulation, which means it's staying power is not as long as the others.

Love Goddess has a satin finish and shade is quite bright red. More like cherry for me with a hint of pink.

Scarlet Ibis has a touch of orange and has a matte finish. Being matte, it's staying power is longer. I'm a bit worried about this shade on me. My skin tone doesn't really go well with orange-y shades. I have to match it with a natural shade of blush.

Charmed I'm Sure is a true red and also a matte finish. I love this shade! It's one of those reds that looks good on me. Although a bit bright still, it's red is darker than Love Goddess. I have MAC Russian Red and it has almost the same red-ness level. This is the old Hollywood red I know.

Deeply Adored is my lipstick of the moment. It is the red that is perfect for me. It's on the reddish wine side... more brown than Charmed I'm Sure. I love wearing it with just a touch of blush and black liner. It's also a matte finish.

My mom's friends who lined up for her in MAC said the collection was sold out in minutes. I am super lucky to have these because I know it's even harder to get the Marilyn Monroe collection when it hits the Philippine stores. 

Cheap and Cheerful for P2000

If you do the usual rounds of popular blogs, you'll see pretty bloggers all made up in expensive signature clothes. Nothing wrong in that. Why not right if you can afford it... or if you're famous enough that you get everything for free!

And there are those who can only afford department store, tiangge or thrift clothes. I'm one of those. Occasionally I get lucky and my mom or aunts would buy me designer shoes and bags. Clothes I prefer buying cheap and cheerful ones either online or in Divisoria.

cardigan from tiangge, corset dress from Mzd14nn3 Shop, sandals from Shoe Love Gallore, fold over clutch from ALT Manila c/o Zalora

The whole look is less than P2000. I don't remember how much each item is but the bag is the most expensive at P650.

Every girl would love to splurge on clothes and shoes... but not so expensive clothes can look fashionable too if put together well.

Marilyn Monroe + MAC

The bombshell known as Marilyn Monroe is MAC's new inspiration. Coming out with a Marilyn Monroe Collection for Holiday 2012 of make up. Of course you'll see the classic vibrant red lippie and also black liners.

See the lashes?! So Marilyn! Also love the nude lipstick. Great shade to pair with the Penultimate Black Liner.

Maybe it's a sign that mommy is going to the US. Hope I can convince her to bring me home a lippie or liner...

Check out www.maccosmetics.com for the complete list. Released today in the US and October 2012 to the rest of the world.

Tomorrow is the B-day!

Hmmm, I didn't get to add anymore stuff on my wish list. Too much work in the office I didn't get to go around and think of stuff I'd like to have. Although lately I've been feeling really bad about my post pregnancy weight that I don't feel like shopping for clothes (did I hear my husband's applause?!). I'm still hoping to lose it soon. 

How? I wanna do bikram yoga again. Bikram is doing yoga in a heated room. Really, really hot room. It feels so good after! You sweat all the toxins out of your body.

Then I wanna do Barre3 too! Sort of ballet, yoga and pilates all rolled into one.

I'd like to join a marathon too. I promised myself I'll do one of those marathons before the year ends.

And I wanna get a bike too so I can spend time with my husband who bikes during the weekends. I'm hoping if I share this activity with him, we'll both lose weight. Not so happy with his weight too.

Oh well, another year... wonder what's in store for me...

Teaching Kids to Beautify

I saw my niece post her face of the day on her Instagram account. I was amazed how much she knew about putting on make up and she was just 13? 14? When I was her age I hated putting on make up. Those were the days. 

Now, like any other tita, I encourage my niece's passion for fashion and everything else beautiful so I ordered make up brushes for her. Having the right tools will help her develop her skills even more.

I found a site that sold really affordable brushes on FB, Shapes and Shadows Boutique, and bought this 24-piece set of brushes for P600. I think this is a good starter set for an aspiring make up artist. Bristles are soft and picks up good amount of product.

The site has a variety of synthetic and animal hair brushes to choose from. All comes with pouches or cases.

I sent this picture to her and she went crazy! Suffice it to say, mission accomplished.

Note: Brushes and make up in the site are from Singapore and China