As a makeup artist and blogger, I am always on the lookout for more affordable alternatives for my readers and clients. Not all of us can afford luxury cosmetics so I am here to give you my version of "Splurge vs. Steal".

Please note that I have personally tested these products, and therefore I would highly suggest you do the same before buying anything. Test them at the counters and always give it time for it to seep through your skin for at least 5 minutes and see if you'll have any reactions.

Our body's acidity varies from one person to the next, so color results may vary. Enjoy!

1. MAC Lipstick in Viva Glam I (P1,000) vs. Kokuryu Moist Lipstick in Sherry Wood (P164.00)

Have you seen the movie Maid in Manhattan? Well, it's one of my favorite movies and my favorite part is when JLo's character, Marissa Ventura, arrived at the ball all dolled up in a gorgeous chiffon peach-salmon floor length gown, and her makeup was just B-E-A-utiful.

I love that she "shined" or should I say, glowed (?), in all the right places. She was just stunning!

Let me tell you what LOTD means. It means my "Look Of The Day".

I didn't have anywhere to go today, but I wanted to put makeup on and just practice different kinds of looks and share them with you. I made the makeup darker on myself so that you can see the highlights and the contour well too. You don't have to make it this dark.

When you see LOTD on the title, I would like you to do the look as well and practice! Of course, please take note that I am in no way comparing myself to JLo. I am merely imitating her makeup look, so haters, please be kind and keep an open mind :)

So... Here we go! Remember! Practice makes perfect! So here is the step by step instruction for you to do:



1. Prep you skin by cleansing, toning, and moisturizing, 10 minutes before putting on your makeup. (Do not skip this step!)

2. Apply your foundation. Use your foundation lightly, meaning, please do not go overboard. Some women think that the thicker the foundation, the more flawless they look. I would advise applying foundation only on areas you need it: your forehead and cheeks. Dot foundation on your forehead and cheeks and spread towards your hair line. I like using my fingers because it warms the foundation making the product blend on your skin more rather than when I use a brush.

     *tip: mix an illuminator with your foundation like NARS' liquid illuminator in Copacabana, to give your skin a glow (plus, this minimizes dark spots!).


3. If after you have applied your base and you still need to conceal under your eyes, conceal lightly. When I say lightly, always start with as little product as possible to avoid caking. After you have applied your foundation, dust loose powder all over your face to set your base.

4. Do your eyebrows. I love using Fanny Serrano's Eyebrow Quad Kit. If you are used to doing your brows, Fanny Serrano's eyebrow kit is one of the best! I used a slanted brow brush from Fanny Serrano as well.

      *tip: if you are not used to doing your brows, invest in Ardell's Brow Perfection Stencils (available in SM, P495/set), or if you want to splurge a little, try Christian's Eyebrow Powder, it comes with stencils and an eyebrow brush already (available in Beauty Bar, P1,395/kit). These kits come with easy-to-follow instructions on how to achieve those perfect arcs!




5. Apply bronzer on your cheekbones going up towards your temples. This will give your face shape but try not to over do it. Brush bronzer lightly along your cheekbones, a little on the apples of your cheeks and then on your temples. Make sure that you apply along your hairline so it blends well. I like using ELF's Healthy Glow Bronzer in Warm Tan (available in SM, P129.75). It isn't too orange, and that's the kind of bronzer you should look for. Use your finger to erase any harsh lines you may have created applying your bronzer.

    *tip: dust lightly a sheer illuminating blush on the apples of your cheeks like NYX's Illuminating Bronzer in Narcissistic to give your cheeks a nice warm peachy glow.



6. Apply an illuminating powder on top of your cheekbones, creating a letter C connected to your brow bones (shown on photo on me above), remember to blend well!

    *tip: use your fingers to apply for a more natural look because you can blend well. I used The Body Shop's Blushing Daisies 01.







7. Now let's move on to the eyes. Apply a nude eyeshadow as your base. Here, you can use shimmer. Apply with a flat eyeshadow brush from your lash lines up to the brow bones.

I used the Sun City shade from CoverGirl's Queen Collection Eyeshadow Quad in Desert Bronze (the second shade in the quad). Contour your crease with a darker shade of nude that is still on the peach side. I used the Champagne shade (4th on the quad) mixed with a little of Down to Earth (3rd on the quad).

*tip: use a rounded tip brush to apply on your creases. Use a "wiper" motion when applying on your creases so that you can define it well. As you can see on my photo, I extended the contours toward the side of my nose blending it well with the nose line so that there is consistence. Blend the edges with a clean rounded tip brush until there are no lines visible.

8. Use your chosen illuminating powder to highlight the inner corners of your eyes to make your eyes glow! I used the same illuminating powder that I used to highlight my cheekbones.

      *tip: if you want more intensity, use a wet brush. But you have to blend this fast because this can dry up pretty fast!



9. Curl your lashes and layer on the mascara for a dramatic look. My current favorite mascara? Maybelline's The Falsies Volum' Express! I swear by this product! As for me, I used false eyelashes though. I am used to putting false eyelashes on myself so I put them on to better demonstrate what false eyelashes can do. So? Practice practice practice!

     *tip: Open your mascara tube and wipe the wand lightly gripping the wand with a tissue and removing excess product. Apply on your lashes and then repeat this process, completely drying your lashes in between applications. This will avoid clumping!


10. Apply eyeliner on top of the lash bands (if you are wearing false eyelashes), but if not, best to apply your eyeliner before applying mascara on your curled lashes. Make the line thin on the inner corners of your eyes, and thicker as you move outwards.

      *tip: Using a firm tipped brush (or eyeliner wand like Lancome's Artliner, will give you better control of the lines you are creating. If you are using a cream or gel liner, choose a liner brush that has short hairs and is a bit firm like MAC 209 brush.



11. When applying lipstick, it's always better to use a lip brush. The reason is that it's more precise, and that it's more sanitary.  For this look, I used Make Up Forever Rouge Artist #39 Lipstick and applied gloss only on the center part of my lips. My lips are already big, and glossing all over will only make it look bigger. By applying only in the middle part will make your lips look poutier, but not HUGE.







So, how did you do? Remember, practice makes perfect! If you have questions, do let me know! You can send me an email at sabshernandez@gmail.com, with the title of this blog post as the subject. Enjoy!

For years, I have been using Makeup Forever's Brush Cleaner... But as the months/years went by, it got harder and harder to wait for the supply to come (*tear*), every time it was out of stock, I would use Beauty Bar's own brand of Makeup brush cleaner but I found it a little bit too oily. I was too stubborn to try anything else after that... So instead of cleaning my brushes every after use with an instant cleaner like Makeup Forever's, I would wash them every time with shampoo and leave them over night to dry on my brush rack. It was soooo hard.

Finally, I was running out of shampoo and got tired of running to the supermarket to get some. I finally bit the bullet and got myself a bottle of MAC's brush cleaner. I used it immediately as soon as I got home from working behind the curtains at Metro Society's fashion show last night. And lo and behold, I was really happy with it! It doesn't smell like alcohol like most cleaners do, and it doesn't dry the brush hairs. So now I am back to shampooing my precious brushes every 4 days, and cleaning them with an instant cleanser after each use.

Will definitely grab myself another bottle before this one runs out.