I'm moving!!

I've decided to move to WordPress!

My blog name is the same, so please visit me at Adventures of a Makeup Newbie!

Happy 2011!

Happy 2011 everyone!

To start of the New Year, I share my New Year's resolutions list with you all:

 Personal resolutions:

1. Find a job.
2. Blog more often (I'm aiming for 3 times a week)
3. Learn to take better product photos. (Inspired by Miss.erica's lightbox)  Built myself a lightbox on December 31st, 2010 and finished it at 2am in the morning January 1, 2011! Results are amazing! Hopefully, this would inspire me to take more photos and consequently, write more blog posts!
4. Travel with friends! (Thailand, Kotakinabalu, Bali, Hongkong, wherever!)

Skincare-related resolutions:

1. Stick to a skincare routine that works (I've been doing this for years until I realized my moisturizer is clogging my pores)
2. In relation to item 1, find a moisturizer that will not clog my pores.
3. Find a good, affordable eye cream (recs, anyone?)

Makeup- related resolutions:

1. Perfect the winged eyeliner look.
2. Perfect the smokey eye.
3. Take a makeup class (my friends and I are already signed up! So excited!)

So what do you hope to accomplish this 2011?

Would you purchase from a store like this? Would you reveal a company like this?

If you love a product but question their hygienic practices, would you still purchase from that store?

Let me share the whole story...

I follow a few Philippine-based makeup blogs to keep up with what is happening in my beloved hometown. I noticed that a mineral makeup company is popular among bloggers. When I was back for a visit, I had the opportunity to visit their showroom to see what the buzz was all about. And well, things just went downhill from there.

Going back into the swing of things...

When I first decided to write this blog, I was:

1. Bored
2. Unemployed
3. Had no clue about makeup whatsoever.

And now... well nothing has really changed much to be honest. But alas, after being inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, I write again.

So once more with feeling... let's get this journey started!

Skincare: Shu Uemura Premium A/O Review

As promised in my Shu Uemura Cleansing Oils introduction, this is an in-depth review of the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Premium A/O (A/O = anti-oxidants).

I've been using this product since early 2008, and have only recently switched to Shu's White Recovery Brightening Advanced Formula to see if this product will add that "glow" to my skin. Now on to my review:

How I use it:

I use this product nightly, to remove makeup, and to get rid of any other impurities on my face. The Shu Uemura sales associate I talked to recommended using 4 pumps of product per use. I found this unnecessary; 2-3 pumps per use is more than enough. Two pumps if I have light makeup on; three pumps if I have a full face on.

Step 1: Start with clean, DRY hands.
Step 2: Pump desired amount of product into your hands, and massage oil to your face.
Step 3: Once you massage the product to your face, you should see your makeup starting to dissolve.
Step 4: Splash clean water to your face, and massage your face once again. You should get a light, milky end-product.
Step 5: Wash off.

Results:

What can I say? I love love love Shu cleansing oils. This took care of Himalayan lookalike forehead and chin in a mere week after initial sample. I also noticed that I break out less, and my skin is definitely softer than before. This gets rid of makeup off my skin like a dream, even getting rid of stubborn mascaras in just a wash. Even on the days without makeup, I still get that squeaky clean feeling on my skin after washing my face with it; without that harsh/ dry feeling.

Shu cleansing oils do not leave a residue on my skin. I have eliminated the use of a toner on my skincare routine since using this product.

As for its claimed anti-oxidants/ anti-aging properties, well, let's face it, I'm only 21. I don't see any "aging" on my skin (and I'm going to keep it that way for as long as possible!) but I don't think it is really connected to the cleansing oil. Of course, it is better to be safe than sorry. Any anti-oxidants on my skin gets a big thumbs up from me!

Value:

Shu cleansing oils come in 2 sizes- 150ml and 450ml. Retail price varies from $62 to $75 US for the bigger bottle, depending on what type of oil you are purchasing. In the case of Premium A/O, it retails for $72 (450ml) and $32 (150ml).

I must say that for $72, this product is very much worth it. A 450ml bottle lasts me a good year or so (although I only use it every night).

To sum it up:

Pros:

• It works. Works like a charm in cleansing the face of makeup and impurities.
• Easy to use.
• Not harsh, nor drying. Does not leave any residue on the skin.
• Shu Uemura has different cleansing oils for different skin types. Try it out to see which one works best for you.

Cons:

• Partially expensive initial investment.
• May get pricey if used more often that I do.

***Just to let you know... I bought this with my own money (except for the samples I got at Shu Uemura stores/ counters in Hong Kong and Vancouver.)***


Coming up on my skincare series: Clarisonic Brush Review

Skincare: Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Intro

For me, the first step to good makeup is to have a good foundation. I'm not talking about foundation in the makeup sense, but foundation in the sense of skin.

There a lot of choices in the market that caters to all types of skins. For reference, I have combination/dry skin. I am not acne prone (unless I skimp out on my skincare routine).

It took me a long time to figure out what skincare works for me. When I was in my teens, my routine was simple.

Step 1: Cleanse (Pond's Anti-bacterial Facial Wash)
Step 2: For pimples, any OTC medication that worked (usually Oxy).

And that was it. To be fair, it worked really well for me. I didn't have acne-prone skin. Sure, I had my fair share of pimples and zits and all that jazz but a quick dose of Oxy Cream made it all settle down again.

This part is not related to my review, just my story. Totally skippable =)

It wasn't until December 2007 (yes, I know this review is LONG overdue) that my face started to resemble the Himalayans. No matter what I did (well, to be honest, just no matter how much Oxy I put in my face), my skin just had a never-ending cycle of settling down then breaking out. So while in Hongkong for some holiday shopping, I dropped by the Shu Uemura boutique in Kowloon's Festival Walk in the search of some powder foundation to cover it up (so from 2007 to 2010 my makeup knowledge has increased... zilch), the sweet SA generously gave me samples of their much raved about cleansing oils. Like seriously generous... like practically a month's worth of samples (she probably saw how badly my skin needed it). And that's the day this love affair began...

Story sharing over. Back to review mode

Let's get this journey started...

As my blog title suggest, I am a makeup newbie at the age of 21 years old. Some people call me a late-bloomer, some may think I'm young enough to not get into makeup in the first place. All opinions aside, I can go on and on about why I was never into makeup growing up but I won't. The point is... I have no idea what I'm doing.
So why write a makeup blog when there are obviously better blogs and videos out there? Well, for one, because I can. Second, because I want to remember my experiences with skincare, makeup and all the works just for the heck of it. Think of this blog as my school notes- you write down things you would want to remember. Am I expecting anybody to really follow me and read this? No. Would I want people to? Heck, yeah! But I know there are plenty of beauty blogs that review products, have the most amazing and creative makeup tutorials, and oh... I don't know... know what they're doing?

So really, this is my journey to help me figure out what the basics of makeup are. What do I mean by basics? Well, going my to my first point... I have no idea what I'm doing.

So... let's get this journey started.