Party Perfect Makeup

Hi everyone,

I just came back from the party and I have to say: it was a success! The food was delicious, the party was fun, and most importantly, my makeup was perfect! All that prep work was not wasted because not only I finished applying my makeup before the allotted time, it also came out a lot better. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures but that's fine. I intend to do a tutorial on this look anyways.

With all that said, I came back with a few tips to share with y'all just in case you have an event to attend in the near future.

1. Prime, prime, prime!

I don't care who told you otherwise but my secret to having a perfect makeup look is the primers. For my eyes, I use either MAC paint pots (Bare Canvas or Painterly) or Urban Decay Primer Potion. Both are great to keep the shadows intact but UDPP seems to be friendlier toward nude shades. For my face, I use Mentholatum Acnes Oil Solution gel and my mineral foundation does not melt at all. In fact, it looked even better than when I just applied it as the foundation got time to bond with the primer.

2. Demi lashes rock!

Actually, this pair of Shisem Mild & Smooth Touch demi lashes is awesome! Since it is not a full pair, I don't need to trim it. Also, the lashes flair out at the end to add a romantic touch to the eyes. Although I usually do not wear false lashes, going to a party justifies the need for that. The length of this pair is about the same with mine and it blends really well with my real lashes. Unless you stand really close to me, you can't tell if them lashes are mine or not. On top of that, demi lashes are more comfortable to wear than full ones. I am going to hunt for a few more pairs just in case.

3. When in doubt, go with neutral eyes:

For a while, I was all about colors, colors, colors. Of course, colors are fun and I love them. But after today, I have to rethink about that. I saw a couple of gorgeous women at the party wearing gorgeous dresses. However, they seemed to look out of place because of their over the top eye makeup. Since the makeup did not go with the outfit, it made the whole thing look tacky.

However, neutral eye makeup can go with everything and if you buff the right beige on your eyes, it's going to look very romantic. Have you wonder why celebrities walk the red carpet with neutral eye makeup? It's because they know.

That's all for now, folks! The tutorial is up tomorrow so stay tuned for it. I guess by now, y'all don't even need to read the tutorial to know what I did. The past few posts kinda filled in the blank already. But anyways, it's a fun look to do and I think lots of you are going to benefit out of it.

Stay tuned!

Dao xoxo

Run It Like an Op

Hi everyone,

I have come to believe that opportunities arrive to those who plan. Makeup is fun but there's a time to play and there's a time to bring it. Since I am going to a wedding today, I can't play with my makeup because I only have a short time frame to prep before hitting the road. Therefore, all the planning has to be done before that.

The wedding I went before this one, I did minimal planning and it took me about an hour to put things together. Half of that time was spent to find the things I needed. This time around, I am running it like an op. I have things mapped out to a T and I hope this will save me a lot of time.

Here is how my planning looks like:

1. Do makeup trials:
I actually did two to find out a look I really love. Doing makeup trials makes me realize a lot of things and since they are just experiments, I can find ways to improve it. Also, I believe that you should stick to something familiar when it comes to important events. Trying new things on the actual day is not a good idea since (a) it would take more time for you to do, (b) you may not feel comfortable with the new makeup look, (c) the chance to mess up is huge.

The trials I did are here and here. I learned a lot from both but I'm going with the 2nd look tonight.

2. Select your own army:

This is my makeup table after the last makeup trial. It looked like a tornado just ransacked my house. Makeup, makeup everywhere!

Doing the makeup trial makes me realize I don't need everything, just a selected few. Here are the brushes I am going to use. I washed them last night and now they are dry and ready for me to use.

Makeup I am going to use are stored in this plastic zippy bag. I just love this type of bag as it allows me to see everything while is roomy enough to store the things I need

3. Do your prep work ahead of time:
Since I don't want to fumble around at the last minute, I already took time to do my nails and trim my eyebrows last night. Whatever I can do to make my life easier, I just do it ahead of time. Also, my outfit is ready for the night. Which leaves me only to do my makeup before I go.

I guess I am not used to big event makeup but a bit of preparation can take away the anxiety. The most important thing here is to have a plan and go with it. When you are crunch in time, thinking of what to do next is actually a time waster. So, this time around, I am running this makeup business like an op. We'll see how it turns out when I report back from the battlefield.

With love,
Dao xoxo

P.S: If you like my blog, please subscribe to my feed. Thanks a lot!

Makeup Trial, Part 2: Nailed It!

Hi everyone,

Here's a sneak peak at what I was working on for the upcoming wedding that I'm attending tomorrow. It's a Marilyn Monroe-slash-Kim Kardashian inspired look. It's very dramatic in real life but looks more demure on camera.

Please pardon my hair, I was just playing around and did not intend to fix my hair to my liking

Close-up at the eye
I just love this nude smokey look. Very romantic.
P.S: them lashes are mine, well, partially, of course!

I did a bang up job with the foundation. It was an afterthought since I only intended to do my eye makeup. Anyways, I'll probably end up using this foundation since it looks so good on film. In real life is another picture, though. One more thing: no more contouring for Dao. Did you see how my face is darker than my neck. That's not because of the foundation. It's because I wanted to make my face look slimmer by contouring with a darker foundation only to realize that my face is slimmer than it used to be.

Since I'm happy with the result, I'll probably go with this look. If I have a change of heart, I'll go with red lips since this look is versatile for both pale and bold lip colors.

I would appreciate if you have any feedback for this look. Also, if you want a tutorial, please let me know. Last but not least, the first makeup trial can be found here.

Take care,
Dao xoxo

P.S: If you like my blog, please subscribe to my feed. Thanks a lot!