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I've had this sitting in my drafts for a while now along with some others. I think majority of this post was written when I was some few days away to my final work day with the company I was employed at from 2017-ish 'til then, 2020.
This is actually a beauty post and me, seemingly going a bit after a brand in the locale I'm not too fond of for a plethora of reasons, most of them coming from just me being a mere mortal.
in the photo: BYS lip liners in latte to go and crimson, forever21 liquid lip gloss in dusty pink rose pale, Beauty Counter lip gloss in blush shimmer, human heart nature tinted lip balm in rosewood (find this in my store's favorites page, just click on view detail to see once the link is accessed from here), BLK all-day lip and cheek tint in red via Watsons (already sold out, I hope they restock) // BLK all-day lip and cheek tint in red via Zalora and something from BLK Cosmetics' older releases I'm not sure of but I use as an eyeliner for the lower lid as it's in brown...hmn..., Maybelline hypercurl mascara in very black (it's on sale in Watson's!)
Lo and behold! Pictured here are some of my current skincare, makeup, cosmetics in general or beauty brands. There are some more I'm interested in, of course and we'll talk about that along the way. Yes. So read on, my dears~
Staples in my makeup bag are stuff from BLK Cosmetics available in Zalora here and also in Watsons Philippines online here: BLK Cosmetics via Watsons (their official website is this one you can also shop their products in: BLK Cosmetics); Australia's BYS Cosmetics available in Zalora here and also in Watsons Philippines here: BYS Cosmetics via Watsons; and of course, Human Heart Nature's cosmetics or makeup line available on their site here. These are the three beauty brands I use on rotation day in and day out and I always tend to have some items or pieces of in my two makeup bags. They're essentials to me, especially when I leave home and stay out for a while in beaches, pools or resorts or even...just in my grandparents' home in the province. I'm a huge, HUGE fan of the multi-use products they offer people, actually. They keep my makeup and skincare bag clutter free. It's really just my skincare products that are constants for me (most all of them are Human Heart Nature, of course but you'll see an errant St. Ives there from time to time now, so yeah) end up being all over the place in my overnight bag/s. lol.
I don't think multi-use makeup is in the US or anywhere else outside of South East Asia yet but they're quite the thing here now. I can't recall when they started being a thing in this region of the world but definitely, definitely...I'm hooked onto them for life. They're like, everything...EVERYTHING to me rn. I predict they'll still be everything to me in the future. Haha.
Some of my favorite multi-use makeup pictured above are: the Human Heart Nature PerfectFlush lip and cheek cream tint in the rosy and BLK Cosmetics' K-Beauty All Day lip and cheek tint in red that's also available on sale now here on Watsons Ph (currently soldout, sad now)! The former is creamy in texture and the latter is watery. Both color the skin nicely, though. They're mostly for the lips and the cheeks but I use the cream tint for the eyelids sometimes, when I'm bored of my regular brown and black or gray smoky shades in the eyelids and the cream tint works fine for me as an eyeshadow too! It's handy when you're out somewhere and you can't bring your makeup bag with all the palettes with you. This is definitely something I'd always have in my bag for when I need to be out for hours without my makeup bag/s (I have two makeup bags rn, yes) or so. Right up there with the tinted lipbalm in rosewood I also love from the same brand and some others. There are really just those times when we need to put a little color into our faces to look as human and decent as possible and this, the tinted lipbalm and the bb cream or cc cream I current use are the three things I can't not have in my bag when in situations like this where I'm on the go. These three in a small bag? Yes, please! I don't need anything else other than these, to be honest.
I'm really big on eye makeup so I can't definitely be without eyeliners and mascaras. Up there, in the photo, is something from BLK Cosmetics in brown I can't figure out. I always thought it to be an eyeliner so I use it for the lower eyelids as it's in brown. It is an eyeliner, I suppose. I must've gotten this one when I didn't find anything of the sort in black in BLK Cosmetics in Zalora. My last purchase of makeup from this brand was actually...right before I left for Taiwan for Pentagon's Prism Tour concert date there. I've actually had this since 2019. lol. Yeah, I haven't been wearing much makeup lately so my beauty stuff are taking more time to exhaust themselves and run out of now. The current eyeliner in black I use now, meanwhile, is a pencil kohl liner that isn't anymore available in BYS Cosmetics both in their Zalora page and Watsons Ph page. It's not on their Shopee page now either. Yep, it's old too. I'm only sticking to it because, well, it's taking time to consume the whole thing and I'm not really fancying at all buying a new one yet. If I were to buy a new one though, I've some options in my head pictured right below here:
From L-R: the liquid liner and kohl pencil duo in black and the really cute and fun liquid liner pen with star stamp, both from BYS Cosmetics in Watsons Ph online and Zalora, respectively; and the waterproof liquid liner in brown from Blk Cosmetics via Zalora.
I've definitely tried other liners like the gel pot and quill types from Maybelline and L'Oreal and BLK Cosmetics' older liquid liner but for now, I'd like to try these out when my pencil liner runs out one day-ish. I think the one I got from BLK Cosmetics ran out fast so I got BYS Cosmetics' kohl pencil liner in black instead. There're only so few of the gel pot and quill liners and they're non-existent in drugstore brands like Maybelline and L'Oreal now so the pens are the way to go, I suppose, and the pencils that 'til now, continue to go on. South East Asian drugstore brand Nichido's pencil liners are pretty fine, too, I think. I remember using one of theirs not too long ago when my Special Education class in college went to Cebu City for a sightseeing trip and a look into some of the special education classrooms in the city. It wasn't bad for an insanely cheap pencil eyeliner. That one I had definitely got in a lot of use since then. The time we went to Cebu, too, was one period in my 20s my then closest friend and I were crazy about eye makeup and sat side by side on the bus to do our eyes. lol. Fun times~
Mascara has always been Mabelline's Hypercurl mascara because it's really cheap both at Watsons and SM Supermarket branches everywhere here but I'm currently thinking about venturing out and looking into other slightly higher priced but pretty good drugstore and some non-drugstore mascaras. Some of those I have in mind rn are:
from L-R: Lash Blast Fusion Water Resistant Mascara in Very Black, COVER GIRL; Infinilash Maxvol, Absolute New York (it's 50% off on site now!); the Fresh Sunkissed Volume Boost Waterproof Mascara and the Volume + Lash Extension Mascara (also available in Watsons PH online), both from BLK Cosmetics; the what the fake! volumizing and lengthening mascara (I read on a US beauty magazine online...not sure which it was...that this is all the rage where cheapie but really good mascaras are concerned and it's selling a lot on Amazon so yeah, it intrigues me...), the get BIG! LASHES volume boost waterproof mascara, and the I love extreme volume waterproof mascara all from essence cosmetics on shopee
Essence Cosmetics is, I think, a German brand but it's sooo cool that it's here already and the selection on their shopee page here is massive it's literally makeup playground. Kind of reminds me of BYS Cosmetics' that has some face and body glitter and some others I'm quite interested in plus...they even have metallic gold lipstick! I'm not big on lipstick, we'll talk more about this later, but It'd be really cool to have that one.
Ah, Essence Cosmetics is cruelty free and contain no hazardous to one's health chemicals which makes it all the more sweet for a cheapie, non-drugstore makeup brand. BLK Cosmetics and Human Heart Nature makeup are the same. So you can see why I'm easily drawn to them like moth to fire. I mean, who wouldn't be? Right?
I am doing the eyeshadow or eyelid colors last because this is where some things get tricky. I already mentioned I use the PerfectFlush lip and cheek tint from Human Heart Nature on the eyelids when I'm on the go and have little time to put color on my face so a bunch of multi-use makeup actually make it to this section along with some eyeshadow palettes I have in mind. Right now, I still have a face palette from the US, the Complete Look palette from Almay and a tiny, compact eyeshadow palette good for the daily day to night use. I also have Human Heart Nature's Perfect Eyes Mineral Eye Shadow palette in Earthy Beauty and it's too much rn to try to finish all 4. Someone help me. Lol.
I'm talking about these three palettes pictured below:
This is a ton to finish, right? Yes, it is. And to top this, I also tend to prefer the multi-use lip and cheek tints (they're lip and cheek tints but I use them for the lids too) like the Human Heart Nature PerfectFlush lip and cheek cream tint in rosy for the eyelids so yeah...RIP all the palettes I own at the moment because I'm pretty sure my multi-use makeup stuff will get more use than those. Multi-use makeup are just sooo good and so compact to bring with you everywhere that's why I like them a lot lately. I already own one of BLK Cosmetics' and Human Heart Nature's so let's look into more that I'm thinking about rn, hmn?
From L-R, going down: Coloursnap in Bloom, Coloursnap in Beachy, and Coloursnap in Waves, all three from Colourette Cosmetics; K-Beauty Intense Color Liquid Eyeshadow in Daisy, K-Beauty Intense Color Liquid Eyeshadow in Jasmine, K-Beauty Intense Color Liquid Eyeshadow in I Love You, all three from BLK Cosmetics; Airy Matte Tint in Daze, BLK Cosmetics; Holiday All-Day Lip and Cheek Tint in Punch, Fresh All-Day Lip and Cheek Tint in Very Berry, Fresh All-Day Lip and Cheek Tint in Feeling Peachy, and K-Beauty All-Day Lip and Cheek Tint in Cherry, all from BLK Cosmetics; Face Stack Multi-Pot Pan & Lid in Wanderlust, BLK Cosmetics; Fresh Creamy All-Over Paint in Coco Crush, BLK Cosmetics; Face Stack Multi-Pot Pan & Lid in Jetsetter, BLK Cosmetics; K-Beauty Creamy All-Over Paint in Peony and Fresh Sunkissed Creamy All-Over Paint in Summer Time, both BLK Cosmetics; Universal Multi-Tasking Matte Color Stick in Rose, BLK Cosmetics; Fresh Creamy All-Over Paint in Very Berry, Fresh Sunkissed Creamy All-Over Paint in Golden Hour, both BLK Cosmetics; Face Stack Multi-Pot Single Pan in Tan Lines, BLK Cosmetics; Little Luxuries Mini Creamy All-Over Paint in Sunstone, Little Luxuries Mini Creamy All-Over Paint in Pink Topaz, both BLK Cosmetics; Universal Multi-Tasking Matte Color Stick in Merlot, BLK Cosmetics; Intense Color Liquid Eyeshadow in I Love You (Shimmer Bronze, BLK Cosmetics.
Missing: Universal Multi-Tasking Matte Color Stick in Mimosa, BLK Cosmetics Multitasking Glowstick in Sunset, and the BLK Multitasking Glowstick in Desert Rose, also all BLK Cosmetics.
Christ. The Coloursnaps from Colourette Cosmetics make me want to live forever by the beach in a hut or a shabby chic cottage right there and so do the Sunkissed Fresh line from BLK Cosmetics. And all of those multi-use makeup! Ugh. I'm struggling and weeping internally at the same time rn because I want and need a lot of the ones on the photo above so I can proceed and completely hermit by the beach or the pool...either in a resort or some other. This doesn't even include the shimmery stuff that double as highlighters...
And without further ado, we have the highlighters and the multi-use ones too that can also double as highlighters, from L-R as usual: vegan glow (creamy highlighter) in radiant and sparkle by The Vegan Beauty in shopee (it's only Php 120 now!); shimmertint in crystal prism, shimmertint in rose quartz, shimmertint in tiger's eye, and shimmertint in yellow diamond all by Colourette Cosmetics. You can shop their shopee site here, too: Colourette Cosmetics; Little Luxuries Shimmer Jelly Multi-pot in pink amethyst, Little Luxuries Shimmer Jelly Multi-pot in pearl, Fresh Sunkissed Shimmer Jelly Multi-pot in Golden Hour Glow, contour, blush, & highlight palette in flushed, BLK Cosmetics multi-tasking glow stick in sunset, and the BLK Cosmetics multi-tasking glow stick in desert rose, all by BLK Cosmetics.
Some of the items from BLK Cosmetics are a repeat of the above but they also double as highlighters so I'd include them here.
The Vegan Beauty on Shopee is another beauty brand that's local that I also stalk some days. Aside from their creamy highlighters, their clay blushes look good and seem worth a try. And in terms of prices, they're super affordable.
I'm currently tempted to get Colourette Cosmetics' Coloursnaps in Beachy, Waves, and Bloom rn along with the Vegan Beauty's two highlighters. They're only Php 120-150 a piece rn on shopee so they're very, VERY hoardable...if that word ever exists in the dictionary or somewhere else. ....and I have to think this and go about this very carefully before I spend so much on those and not leave anything else for others. lol.
Ugh. All of these that remind me of the beach and the sea and us still not being able to go out, travel and all, backpacking wherever because Miss 'Rona's still out there, hovering around us and she hasn't even stopped mutating for the worst and now we have new, more ferocious, scarier and even more dangerous and infectious variants from South Africa.
I'm already resigned to the fact that we're going to have Miss 'Rona around us for a long time but at the same time, I'm also thinking: 'when will this ever end?' I'm pretty sure a lot of us are going this way.
That said...this post...in a nutshell...all I can think of and say is, those multi-use makeup products are really something huh? I don't think I can ever get enough of them in this lifetime. Hah.
Anyway, kind of going back but kind of not also...because...we're more like, going forward in here to something that's been on my mind for a while...
I'm picky with my makeup and skincare stuff as I am with clothing, shoes, bags and more. Yes. This post and the previous ones establish that.
Now, to what I was getting at...
If you notice, there's no mention here of a specific brand that's hot now and has been so since around...I don't know...two years ago? Pre-pandemic era. I'm talking about SunniesFace.
A lot of my co-workers at the office I worked at until sometime late-ish last year are crazy for anything from this brand. I can understand why. Their products are packaged much like another cult favorite's, the Glossier. I know of a similar brand though, with really cute and minimalistic package design: Cloud Cosmetics. They used to have a website but now they seem to be selling their stuff on shopee too, right here: Cloud Cosmetics on Shopee. But I'm not really here to talk about their packaging. I actually have no issues with whether SunniesFace wants to be a the Glossier copycat where that goes, really. What I want to bring to the front here is their owners' issues and there are a lot, apparently.
The first issue I know of was the instagram post of theirs on their vacation or trip to China wearing the Chairman Mao's hat. This one is still circulating forums 'til now. I'm pretty sure this also made its rounds around the beauty community in Reddit among other issues the brand's owners are embroiled in. This was from some years back but I imagine some still are mad about how that ig post came to be and have called boycott on their brand. I have no problems boycotting the brand of owners that do not respect the history and such of another country including that of China although I'm much that into that country for some...well...different reasons. Anyway, for that ig post, their brand definitely deserved being boycotted by the socially aware people.
Ah, if you want to know more about the Chairman Mao's hat issue and their ig post on that, you can read on the significance of the said hat here on the hatrealm. Apparently, the hat has so much symbolisms embedded in it due to its history and all so you're only allowed to wear it if you're using it as a stage prop in a theater or when you're in a very communist area in China. It's disrespectful and gross to wear that one and post pictures on social media sites like instagram just for fun or something...to attract more views into your feed. Please, let's respect historical items, relics like this even if they're merely replicas now.
I actually wanted to say I liked Sunnies Studios better because they do have pretty cool and quite affordable, fun sunglasses, eyewear in general but then I came across this article from coconuts dot co. This is sad because I used to like Georgina W. when she was studying in Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and some features of her I'd come across on the local teen and all fashion, sports, university happenings/events magazine, Candy, way back when I was in late high school to sometime in my early college years. I was even excited before and when the brand was launched that I even thought that one day I'd get at least one eyewear, sunglasses from her brand but...yeah, no. Now, I won't even bother thinking of getting anything from her brand. There are others with better eyewear and less problematic, better, much more human in that they're very relatable to the likes of me...owners. If you know what I mean. Business people being humans and not delusional their feet don't touch the ground anymore.
We're at a delicate time right now with the Philippine national elections getting nearer and nearer and nearer with every day that passes. I think we should try to be more compassionate and empathetic and especially, be a better judge of character where choosing people we hang out with and people whose businesses we patronize especially here in the locale. Now I know it's petty of me to drop such a brand like these two I mentioned (and they're owned by the same people since yeah, everything starts with Sunnies) especially because this is just...well...business but it actually feels better to back brands that are socially aware and socially responsible to their employees, their source of raw materials and more. Human Heart Nature is one of those. Another brand that's the same but I hardly talk about here that's BeachBorn is another and so is Colourette Cosmetics.
I like the brands and their owners and founders I like to be relatable and decent human beings, companies that show care for people. By this, I mean, they care not just for their employees but even for their clientele, customers, audience...whatever you'd like to call that one they primarily cater to. It makes me proud actually, that I'm using products made by such kind, socially aware and responsible, very decent human beings that give back and are always thankful of people around them. I'm entirely sure how to put it but there's this light and airy feeling about supporting such brands.
In the case of BLK Cosmetics, it's more that I know of its owner, Anne Curis-Smith, now Heusaff, being a gracious celebrity person though I've never met her in real life and just followed some of her stuff on and off and I'm pretty sure BLK Cosmetics, her biz, likely took long to materialize. It's still a small and growing brand to this day and from what I see of her, even if Solenn H. is her sister-in-law, she's not really like Solenn and company. Solenn and co feel like the type who don't touch the grass outside very often and can be quite unrooted from the grimness and of stark reality even when its around them. I gathered this from a tweet of someone I'd read in passing. The tweet mentioned about her and her friends', people's E! Philippines' (probably very Kardashian family-like in just how shallow, vapid, just business it can be) reality show. One thing I really like about Anne is that she worked hard to be where she is now and she continues to work just as hard to continue what she does best and be her best self so yeah, that's why I like BLK Cosmetics aside from the fact that it, like Colourette, is a treasure trove of everything an islander chick (yes, I just called myself that because... /eyeroll) like me needs.
I dropped the Sunnies brand and I'm not caring for it not because I'm petty but because I'm socially aware of a lot of things, my twitter and blogs are a testament to that if you've been following me here, on instagram and even on livejournal (especially on livejournal because I've been putting out posts on social, socio-political issues there slowly but surely). Their, Sunnies' business owners' values just don't really align with mine that have actually changed (and some have never really changed since I was young) over time. But I do hope the owners of the brand wise up and become better people one day...someday. There's still a lot of opportunities and time to be better people (not just for them but all of us, too). Life is, well, quite long after all.
Having been there for brands like Human Heart Nature when they first started 'til now made me realize a lot of things. (Just a bit of veering away from topic of this ending part of this post: Although I started this blog originally as a fashion blog, I actually meant it also to be a platform where I can shout my love for this brand and others like it so...yeah...this explains why we're here now.) My main realization is that I think and believe that businesses really shouldn't just be all good vibes and all that fluff and stuff: fake, shallow, vapid, very commercial and just there because, well, CAPITALISM! And that it makes the owner/s a lot of money. I think a business and its owner/s should also show some social responsibility to people, their employers and their clientele, the people they cater to. They should have it in them to give back to those less blessed compared to them as those same ones among others are who keep their companies up and running. Much like the environmentally good, sustainable cycle in clothes and such that I know some bloggers I follow or stalk on and off are into these days (I'm a bit into that too so lately, I have been going back to thrifting when I can, hehe...I just don't overdo with things like shopping anymore now so...), the beauty and skincare, selfcare industry both local here and abroad should aspire to be like the ones I follow as of late. Some have their political stances with people they share the same values with and some, although not very vocal in politics and/or socio-politics, have at least a show of social responsibility to the masses that support them year in and year out.
I'm an aspiring business owner or entrepreneur myself and it's so good to have people in that industry, especially here in our country these days that are good and worthy of being emulated. It's not just the good vibes but the good feeling that you get from supporting a company that gives back and knows to be thankful to the people that supports it and appreciates even those less privileged than them. I'd want a business, my future business that I'm still, at the moment, taking tiny bits of steps to eventually, one day materialize here, that's not only good in product offerings but also, good, kind, compassionate, empathetic, sympathetic in treating people, it's clientele and those who aren't, all the same. A very kind and considerate business or company that has a cycle of all things good going for it like the sustainable cycle that's going around the clothing, shoes, fashion industry these days among some blogging circles. Yes, I'm aware as I'm an avid follower of such bloggers since the times of BryanBoy, Rumi Neely and more.
I'm looking forward to that day that I have such a business I run (maybe even with a friend or two here in my city, my locale) that is known for being kind to everything and everyone.
Okay, so I'm not saying at all to be like me where choosing products and companies to follow and patronize goes but I'll just end this blog entry with this: In everything, choose kindness. Let's make this world, our nation especially, a better place to be in one kind, nice act and decency, grace and all at a time.
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