AMW Version: When the Sun Starts to Set

Have you seen the moon?  Lunar Eclipse?  I wasn't able to catch the Lunar eclipse but I was able to stare at the moon for a good 10 minutes last night because I just can't help it but repeat myself, it's gorgeous!  It was full, super bright and looks so close to us! 

AMW Version for the week, I've created something related to nature, I have this liking to take a look at the sky, how it changes from day til night!  Sunsets can take my breathe away!  Not that I am favoring sunset over sunrise, it's just that...I value my sleep!  *teeheee*

I'm not creating sunset looking eyes, I'm inspired to use the colors that I see using sunset in a more toned down version.  This is perfect for office at the same time, wearable even at night time! 

AMW Diagram

If you have oily lids, choose to use an oil-control eyeshadow primer.  In my case, I do not have oily lids but I want a good base for the shades to stay and show up more vibrant!  I applied a thin layer of Benefit Lemon Aid with my clean finger.

 

Step 1:

Using a flat shader brush, I pat on Baked eye shadow from the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Palette.  Baked is a deep gold shade in which you can find a lot of dupes elsewhere!

Step 2:

With a fluffy blending brush, apply Matte Brown shade eyeshadow (in this tutorial, I've used Majolica Majorca BR742), apply gently with a wiper motion a little bit above the crease to create an illusion of bigger lid space.

Step 3:

To deepen the outer v, I used another matte brown eye shadow color but choose 3-4 shades darker.  I used the brown from Bobbi Brown Champagne Quartz Eye Quad.

Step 4:

Instead of my usual "eyelining the waterline", I opted to choose the color of the sky!  Goddess shade from the same Urban Decay Book of Shadows Palette at the outer thirds of the lower lash line. 

Step 5:

Use Smattered or a lighter, sky blue color on the inner thirds of the lower lash line.

I lined my upper lashline with Kate Gel Eye Liner in Black.  Curled my lashes and applied coats of Revlon CustomEyes Mascara also in black.

 

Eye see you! 

(shucks, that was super corny! sorry!)

Here's what's on the rest of my face

 For the Face:

Graftobian Glamour Creme in Temptress applied with Dollface foundation brush
Revlon Age Defying 2-Way Foundation in Buff 04 to set the creme foundation

 For the Cheeks:
NARS blush in Orgasm

For the Lips:

Maybelline ColorSensational Coral Sunset

"When the sun starts to set... 

I see wonderful colors all blended in together in perfect harmony!"

Do you enjoy sky watching the way I do?
Do you get inspired with the colors around you when you apply make-up?

Enjoy your day!
Keep smilin'
Stay happy! 

Eureka Moment: Nail Polish Storage System --- AMW Style!

To those who wonder how I store my nail polishes, I store them inside various cases!  Inside a tiny train case, the rest on random clear plastic cases with cover.  Each time I do nail art, it's a huge hassle to get all 3 storage cases and search the right polish!  I've always wanted to try to put them in shoe boxes but I want them bigger and sturdier!  

EUREKA MOMENT!  At the least expected places!  CD-R King!  What can I find in this place aside from computer related stuff?  Storage boxes!

When you treat your nail polishes like your babies, an A4 box will look like a polish box!  It's cute that they have 3 box sizes available so you can choose it depending on your nail polish collection!

I bought the largest located at the right hand side on photo above. 

You clip it as shown on photo below.  If you want to make sure it won't detach forever, you can glue-gun the cardboard boxes together!

This huge A4 box can house approximately 50-60 nail polishes!  I like the fact that I can see the shades easily!  A tip to share, you can purchase "silica gel" at hardware stores to prevent moist.

Covered well to prevent dust from collecting.  With the perfect size and flat surface?  I can repurchase 3, 6 or even 10 more boxes to stack them up!  Okay I'm exaggerating!  But I have to be honest with you, I already have a second box ready for the rest of my polish collection!

And oh, you dislike the "CD-R King" brand name printed?  You can cover it with stickers or use a black marker to hide them! :) Easy breeze-y!

Last but not the least...what's the BEST part?  The box costs only Php150.00 (approx $3.48)!  A true blue EUREKA MOMENT!

How do you store your polish?
Any other cheaper alternative?

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Nail Art Tutorial: Colors of the Philippine Flag - Gradient Version

Philippine Independence Day --- celebrated last Sunday.  I think the "Nationalistic feel" should not end in a day but prolong it to our whole lifetime!

I want to draw the Philippine Flag on my nails but I don't want to cause issues as you know how sensitive our country is when it comes to using the Philippine Flag!  I don't want to be harassed because the 9 rays of the sun wasn't shown clearly because my nails are too small, or the color blue is not the right shade!  You know what I mean!

In this week's tutorial, I've decided to create a nail art base on the color of the Philippine Flag.  I've done it last year and I'm doing it again --- in the form of Gradient Nails!

Who could have thought that the colors of our Philippine Flag - Red, Blue, Yellow and White can achieve a good, complementing gradient nails?  I was surprised myself!  I had a nail polish remover ready the whole time I was doing this nail art!  Thank goodness I didn't have to use it!

Step 1:

Apply your favorite base coat to protect your nails from dark colored polish.  It's ZOYA Base Coat in this tutorial.  Apply 1 coat of OPI Dominant Jeans (lighter blue) and another coat of OPI Blue My Mind (darker shade).  2 different shades of blue were used to create an iridescent shade of blue.  Not too light nor too dark! 

Step 2:

Making sure the base color is COMPLETELY dry, use an eyeshadow sponge, in my case, I am using a styrofoam to dab on the yellow shade on top of the blue.  Elianto Yellow Nail Color is used.

Step 3:

As soon as the yellow polish is dry, I added up a light orange shade from OPI Totally Tangerine, orange is not part of the Philippine flag, the color won't show up anyways but it gives a nice base for the next color plus it shows a nice 2-3 toned flower.  (You will see this later on.)

Step 4:

Using  Revlon's ALL FIRED UP or any red polish you have available, pat on the top most portion of your nails as shown on photo below.  Try your best not to cover the shades you previously applied.  Try as much as possible not the cover the yellow portion.

Step 5:

With White 2 Way Nail Art Pen, I wanted to draw our local flower Sampaguita but it didn't came out right!  (It helps to at least try if the design you want is feasible or not!)  I ended up with regular flower!  

To create a flat, non-embossed flower, apply any clear polish or top coat like the one I used in this tutorial, OPI's Start to Finish Base and Top Coat.

Immediately drop 5 dots while the clear polish is still wet.

Step 6:

With a needle, drag one part of the dot inwards with a bit of pressure so the base color will show up making it look like 2-toned flower.

Step 7:

Wait for a couple of minutes before you apply your top coat.  I am  using ZOYA Armor Top Coat in this tutorial.

All those crazy colors I thought would end up looking like garbage on my nails actually do not look bad at all!  The shades reminded me of Superman and Wonder Woman as well!  Now, aren't we all heroes in our own tiny ways?

Hope you like my nail art design for the week!
I want to remind Philippine readers to join the Estee Lauder Gives: What's Your Mood Today contest which will be ending....tomorrow! :)

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

AMW Reviews: Nature Republic and Tony Moly Nail Polish Remover

Happy Monday!  How was your weekend?  Mine went 50/50!  50% felt super tired and under the weather while the rest of the 50% was fanTAbulous!  I spend some "me" time eating, watching tv, playing my favorite PSP game, had a drink of coffee made from French Press and a whole lot more!  I'm all charged for the week!  I hope you are too!

I will be reviewing 2 nail polish remover that I bought from Korea last year!  I bought quite a number and would you believe I wish I could have bought MORE?

Tony Moly 

Party Lover Nail Enamel Remover

Price in Korea: approx KRW2000 (Php80.00)

 Nature Republic

Color Day Green Tea Nail Remover

Price in Korea: approx KRW2000 (Php80.00)

I'll give an overall review for both as they work the same as the rest of the Korean Nail Polish removers I've tried!

Pros

• Smells great!
• Though the packaging is made of plastic, the polish does not evaporate.
• Does not create a white film on the nail.
• Removes polish easily.

Cons

• Will take longer time to remove polish with glitters! (Same as the rest of the nail polish removers)

Overall
Really good inexpensive polish remover worth giving a try!

Tips

• Use a cotton pad instead of cotton balls, cotton pad removes polish easily due to its flat surface and it does not absorb a lot of product!
• Make sure to close the cap well to prevent polish remover from evaporating.
• Do not store polish remover under direct sunlight.
• If you are removing hardcore polishes, leave the cotton pad with polish remover on top of the nail for 30 seconds before you start rubbing.

Will I repurchase?
YES!

To whom do I recommend this to?
Anyone who are into nail polish application and hates the regular acetone scent!  This one smells good!

Where to purchase similar nail polish removers and how much?

The Face Shop, Skin Food, Etude House and Tony Moly are available locally!  If I may add Elianto also sells good quality polish removers!  The price range goes approximatelyl Php100.00-Php150.00 (approx $2.30-$3.50) Don't take my word for it! I could be wrong! :P

What's your favorite nail polish remover:?
My bet is on Korean Nail Polish removers plus the ORLY Nail Lacquer Remover!

Have a great start of the week!
Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Weekend Food Tripping at: Jay-J's Inasal

Happy Independence Day to all Filipinos! 

**photo taken from Google Image

Since we're talking about Philippine Independence, I might as well talk about Filipino food for weekend food tripping!  We had this mid-week actually and I cheated and had Chinese and Korean dishes over the weekend! 

Jay-J's Inasal branch that we visited is the one near Mr. AMW's office, Macapagal Avenue!  I went for what I was craving for that night.  

Beef Tapa

Served with garlic rice, egg and atchara

Php155.00 (approx $3.60)

I am very happy with this order of mine because the beef tapa was served without those extra fats that some has!  It's very tasty and easy to chew!  The dish is actually part of "Breakfast All Day" and I wouldn't mine going back for this.  Actually I'm salivating right this very moment...want to catch? :P

Pork Sisig

Php170.00 (approx $3.95)

You can also choose between Chicken, Bangus or Pusit for Php190.00 (approx $4.40) per order.  I am disappointed because the dish came out super oily!  It would be better if they add more "chicharon"/cracklings.  I only had 1 spoonful of this and went back to my Beef Tapa!

Bibingka (Filipino Rice Cake)

Php60.00 (approx $1.40)

I am not a fan of Bibingka but Mr. AMW is, I asked for his opinion and he told me the price came out a bit too expensive for such tiny Bibingka!  We will go for Quattro's Bibingka anytime of the day!

 

No service charge and 12% VAT inclusive, the restaurant accepts both cash and credit card and there are ample parking spaces right outside the restaurant.  

Jay-J's Inasal

Hobbies of Asia

8 Pres. D. Macapagal Ave.

Pasay City

Tel no: (632) 556-1308

Oh! Before I forget, I FINALLY tried BonChon Chicken!  The verdict?  Well, I was super hungry and I had this for "to-go".  I actually like it!  The chicken itself doesn't have much taste but I love the crunchiness of the skin and the taste!  Considering I'm not a fan of anything with "skin"!  My best is on the Hot & Spicy while Mr. AMW likes the Soy Garlic flavor!  Thank goodness, we don't have to fight for it! :P

It was almost closing so we ended up with Wings! 

6pcs Wings

Php185.00 (approx $4.30)

My husband starts to call me the "Tazmanian BonChon" as I was eating inside the car, in the dark, in the middle of traffic like someone's gonig to take the chicken away from me!  I took an anti-histamine after... :P

BonChon Chicken

Ayala Triangle Gardens,

Paseo de Roxas, Makati City

How are you spending your weekend?
I'll spend it with food, with family and with nail art! :)

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!