Your first makeup kit: What should be in it

Mav Duran sent me this question:
I'm thinking of buying my first makeup set. What would you recommend I should buy first? I mean what are the essentials that I should be getting?

When choosing products for your first makeup kit (and forever afterwards!), there are just three things you need to know:

Set the base. 
Concealer hides a multitude of skin sins, foundation creates a smooth canvas to paint on and powder sets your foundation so that it won't melt and move around your face.

However, if you've been very good to your skin, you won't need to exhaust yourself on this first step. So the real first step is take care of your skin! Eat healthy, sleep well, have a good skincare regimen. If your skin is clear and glowing, you won't need to cover up your gorgeousness!

Add color.
Once you've set the base, the face can look flat and pale. Here's where color comes in. Color is really just needed on cheeks (for a pretty glow) and lips (for extra juiciness!). But since eyes are the oft-called windows to the soul, prettifying your peepers is a great idea.

Accentuate. 
This is simply adding structure to your face. Eyebrows must be defined, lashes curled and plumped, eyes lined  to make them pop. You can also use bronzer to contour cheekbones. These products are the dark products--blacks and browns--and are designed to ground your look.

So what do you need in your first makeup kit? Here's a basic list:
Base: concealer, foundation, powder
Color: eye shadow, blush, lipstick
Accents: eyebrow powder, mascara, eye liner

Yes, just nine products. That's the foundation of your makeup arsenal. Then once you become more confident, you can add these fun things: primer, correctors, highlighter, bronzer, lip gloss, fake lashes, and tons of various lip colors.

Here's what's in my makeup kit:
Base: La Mer concealer, La Mer foundation, La Mer powder, Lancome pressed powder, La Mer lip balm

Color: NARS blush in Orgasm, shu uemura eye shadow palette, Bobbi Brown eye and lip palette, lipsticks from Avon, Laura Mercier, Bobbi Brown, Revlon, L'Oreal

Accents: ModelCo eyebrow kit, Lancome mascara, Stila eyeliner, Bobbi Brown bronzer

Hope that helped, Mav!

My makeup for Jessica Soho's show

On Topaz Horizon, I talked about my guest stint on Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, where I was asked about British women and their crazy hats. People who watched it Tweeted me (follow me!) asking about my makeup, especially my lipstick. Like, people were going crazy about it.

So here ya go!

And here's my makeup info:
Skin: La Mer concealer in Medium and La Mer liquid foundation in Honey
Eyes: shu uemura eye shadows, Stila liquid eyeliner, ModelCo eyebrow powder
Cheeks: Nars blush is Orgasm
Lips: Avon Smooth Minerals lipstick in Cranberry

The ultimate in facials: La Mer exclusive facial!

I was lucky enough to be invited to have a La Mer facial at Shangri-la Makati recently. This facial is offered only to their most important clients so I was pretty psyched to get one for free!

Everything about the treatment is luxe--from the spacious hotel suite transformed to a spa to the best fluffy bedroom slippers ever!

Obviously, all the products used for the facial is La Mer. From cleansing and treatment to masks and moisturizing, I was slathered and smoothed with La Mer! So rich! The massage was so relaxing, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I looked great! Ahhhh, La Mer!

To avail of this luxurious treatment, just purchase P20,000 worth of La Mer products. The next facial is this September!

My eyes love this! La Mer Eye Balm Intense

Quick quick post since I've only started using this (total day count: 3 days!) but I still want to say this early that my eyes are feeling the change... and showing it!

I'll make a proper review in 2 weeks. Keep you posted!

La Mer lip balm to the rescue!

I don't know why my husband likes to kiss me because I have the crackliest, peeliest, driest lips in the world! A slight change in the weather does that--from warm sunny outdoors to the frigid office, the humid day to a cold rainy one... That's why I don't use lipstick--it just doesn't look very good on chapped lips! I do have several sticks and pots of lip balms--Chapstick, Burt's Bees--in my purse, on my vanity, in my desk drawer but so far, nothing has really helped.

So when La Mer emailed me to thank me for the post I wrote about their drive to save the oceans and said they will send me any La Mer product as a sign of their appreciation, I immediately said, "I'd like the lip balm please!" Some friends said, "You shoulda asked for the Creme de la Mer!" But, hey, I've heard a ton of good things about the lip balm so I just had to have that!

And so here it is!

Ahh, the La Mer lip balm. I dabbed it on right away and loved how luxurious it felt on my dry chapped lips. I'll tell you how it works in a few days! I truly do hope that this will be the answer to my lip problem!

Mad Men's January Jones and La Mer join forces for cleaner, safer seas

Today is World Oceans Day. And if you haven't cared for the plight of our oceans, now is the time to sit up and be alarmed. In the wake of the ongoing massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, we just can't pretend anymore that our oceans are huge and will be okay on their own. We need to do some cleaning up, we need to change what we use and what we eat, and we need to start saving the sea and the life in it.

Courtesy of The Huffington Post.

For more photos of the world's worst oil spill, click here.

For five years now, beauty brand La Mer has made it their mission to help save the oceans. La Mer, which means "the sea" in French, partnered with Oceana, an organization that advocates ocean awareness; its campaigns are comprehensive--from promoting habitat protection and pollution control to responsible fishing and safe seafood practices.

Over the years, La Mer has donated over half a million dollars to Oceana. Most recently, La Mer donated $200,000 to the group. Considering that the famous Creme de la Mer's ingredients are from the sea--sea kelp, for example--it's only fitting that the luxurious miracle cream is giving back to its main source of income! So for this cause, La Mer came out with a special 100ml jar of their famous cream--a jar as blue as the sea.

Hollywood actress January Jones, also known as the steely housewife of Mad Men, is the spokesperson of Oceana. As you read this, January is in Belize for a deep-sea dive to highlight the beauty and plight of the Belize Barrier Reef. She's also been actively involved in promoting a cleaner and safer environment for marine life, like sharks, which January is especially fond of.

Here's a video of January's dive:

Celebrate World Oceans Day with January Jones from Oceana on Vimeo.


The world needs our help, people! Please do your part in saving the environment!
*interview courtesy of La Mer

Loving my La Mer lotion

I feel very soft and young and luscious lately because of a gift Ina Casas of La Mer gave me a few months ago--a big tube of La Mer Body Creme. She told me it was a "Congratulations on your pregnancy!" gift but I haven't been using it because, well, I wanted to try out Palmer's Cocoa Butter first.

Now I use them both--Palmer's on the ever expanding parts of me and La Mer everywhere else. And my skin is so soft! I feel so gorgeous and delectable. And it's also so hydrating, I don't need to use it every day. So even if it's pricey, I don't feel like my money is draining away because I hardly use it. In other words, it lasts longer.

Support Breast Cancer Awareness with beauty

My weekend had a lovely start when I checked out the World Pink event yesterday at Rustan's Makati. The pink-themed affair was sponsored by Estee Lauder Group of Companies so I was very excited to see not just Estee Lauder products but products and activities from their other brands as well (La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Clinique).

The focus of the event is our wellness. So women attendees, especially those from the I Can Serve Foundation, had a fun time learning to value their health. There were cooking demonstrations, yoga classes, makeup lessons, facials, skin consultations plus the yummiest hors d'oeuvres served by Intercontinental Hotel. And, did I forget to mention the fabulous freebies? We all got a little pouch with a fluffy towel, a Bobbi Brown lip-and-cheeks pot rouge and mini blush brush, and--of course!--a pink ribbon.

Healthy food need not be yucky, guests learn at the cooking demos.

Exercise is needed for complete wellness so guests gamely do yoga.

This lady has her skin professionally scrutinized by a Clinique expert.

Everyone gets pointers on how to look good!

Beauty writer Marie Calica gets a pampering session from La Mer.

A guest goes through a makeover at the Bobbi Brown counter.

Each guest brought home a pouch full of prettifiers

Raise awareness on breast cancer and care more for yourself and the women in your life by going to World Pink this weekend. You still have all of today and tomorrow to enjoy some pampering!

First photo details: With the Estee Lauder ladies and fellow editors. That's me at center in a white Kate Torralba dress featuring embroidered pink cherry blossoms, Bayo cardigan, Schu flats and Longchamp clutch.