Eew. Sorry for getting dismayed at my own eyebrows.

So this is how my eyebrows look before they are drawn. Shaped accordingly. Take a closer look ( okay, fine, bratty me used the iPhone because I’m still unwilling to show this in high resolution hahaha! ), and you will get to see that my eyebrows are unevenly distributed – they’re quite full near my nose, but they are really, really sparse by the “tail”-end (easily put in Filipino, “buntot”). That explains why I have to draw, at least, the “tail” every single day as I deem myself looking weird and too undone without decent eyebrows everyday.

I think I started getting obsessed with my eyebrows after my first makeup schooling under the ultra-talented RB Chanco. All the more when I took up an advanced bridal makeup course in Singapore when Singaporeans are ultra precise, and very much strict with well-shaped eyebrows. I believe to have stayed behind after school with my frustrations to get that perfect arch and that perfect shape. At home, I would even be my own model as I would practice drawing my eyebrows for hours. Sigh, oh memories!

With my obsession with eyebrows and fiddling with eyebrow products, I definitely have tried almost every brow product there is. Pencils, wax, gels, powders, and even pens. Yes, eyebrow pens. They reminded me so much of my favorite Chinese calligraphy pen when I was in high school. We were asked to use a calligraphy brush, dipped in black ink to write as finely as we can in small boxes of space ( xiao cai, if you can relate, ) and my aunt from Taiwan just came home one day bearing me presents – one of them is an automatic pen that dispenses back ink like a ballpen already, and the rest was history. I loved those pens until they ran dry. Little did I know that these pens would evolve into being eyebrow pens one day!
Continue reading

Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post  |  TrackBack URI for this post

I don’t normally wear jewelry (coz I’m lazy like that ), but there are certainly some events that you can’t NOT wear jewelry. Say, the prom! Hahaha!

Okay, fine, it’s not my prom but it’s Sugar’s prom. I definitely wore jewelry during my prom ( as far as my memory can stretch ) as accessories and sparkling things really add oomph to an outfit and complete the total look. But as we were on a budget, I was so happy that Avon came up with such a nice collection of jewelry, called the Floral CZ Marquise Collection.

This gold-plated jewelry collection features elaborate flower designs embellished with marquise-cut CZ crystals. Cubic Zirconium is the best diamond substitute material. Show off your brilliant diamonesque jewelry without spending a fortune!

Continue reading

Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post  |  TrackBack URI for this post

Thing about skin care, is that you need to hear it from the experts. I find myself liking to be around dermatologists because I know that they are experts in the craft of keeping skin beautiful and youthful, so when I was given a chance to ask Goodskin Labs’ Global Brand Dermatologist, Dr. Frank, I certainly did not pass up the chance to do so!

So, here’s a run-down of my questions for him, plus his answers :
Continue reading

Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post  |  TrackBack URI for this post

Hello, hello! I am cordially inviting all of you to the grandest, and biggest beauty/makeup fair of the year, Cosmetologie 2012! From Feb 21-22, you will get to go to the biggest beauty wonderland in the country as alot of beauty brands will have their booths there. Take a look, avail their special offers, and just have fun there!

There are so much reasons to go! Let me list it down for you:
Continue reading

Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post  |  TrackBack URI for this post

As my sister and I were in Singapore last week, it was finally my chance to visit one of my most favorite people in the world, my bestfriend in Singapore, Joie Leong, the woman behind Joie The Makeup Bar.

I was quite excited to see her, and of course visit her studio! It’s been a few months, and I believe that she’s been really, really busy with her bridal makeup, and moreso personal makeup coaching! Looks like my darling Joie is clicking well with her students! I wouldn’t be surprised, as Joie has a really sunshine-y personality, and I consider her one of funniest, and nicest people I know! Continue reading

Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post  |  TrackBack URI for this post

Dove for our hair! Hurrah!!!

I would always associate Dove with a brand with glorious, amazing moisturizing powers. So just imagine, Dove giving so much moisture on your skin, can also infuse your hair with its amazing moisturizing powers?

That, I really gotta see.

Just this month, I started to see Dove hair care products at department stores/Watson’s (I might be late to see them, they might’ve even been supplied earlier), and I was fortunate enough to have received a goodie bag with a full range of one variant of Dove Hair Care. I’ve been roadtesting it right now, and I will be giving you results as soon as I can, as I have been observing my hair carefully (now that is a really crazy activity don’t you think hahaha!)

Dove prides itself with the three special ingredients that promises to nourish your hair, and keep your hair healthy -
Continue reading

Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post  |  TrackBack URI for this post

Look for the day!

A few weeks ago, was my uncle’s wedding. Well, he is almost as old as I am, add a few years to my age, but he’s my dad’s cousin! So he’s considered my uncle. It was a family affair, and a day wedding, so I carefully prepared my makeup and my get-up for the event.

For my makeup, now, don’t judge me – I really, really wanted to play with lighter shades, but I really feel that small eyes really look great with smoky eyed makeup. So there, I was about to sport a gold lid with a shimmery black contour, that changed last minute into a a brown smoky eyed look. Black shades nearing the lashline, gradually lightening up with deep brown, and shimmery brown as I go up my lids.

For my blush, I used Sleek Contour Kit in Medium for that added dimension, and added Bobbi Brown’s Tawny shade ( it’s an earthy shade ) on top of the contour. By then, I was looking for some shimmer in my face already, so I found my Beauty & Minerals Mineral Blush in Buff Apricot and swiped it on my cheekbones.

For my lips, well, I was quite excited to use my new shade of lipstick, which is Inglot Matte Collection AMC Lip Pencil #11. The shade is a beautiful, beautiful coral shade, that is just so me! I asked Brigitte to get the most “me” Inglot lipstick as she travelled to Dubai a month ago, and she was definitely spot on! I’m so in love with this perfect shade, and expect to see it in more of my looks!

For my outfit, well, I would need to confess to you guys that I’m getting addicted to all things related to fashion lately. I love reading fashion blogs, and I love online shopping for clothes and shoes! *somebody help me this is getting addictive!* Though I am still not fashionable enough, I think that I am slowly molding my style.

I’ve found a gem on Facebook that sells really beautiful dresses – The Florence Fling. The styles are really feminine and chic, and I feel that the styles are classic and will not get outdated at all. I can even see myself wearing their dresses 10 years from now – oh please Sophie just please don’t balloon into a bigger size!

Here’s me ( please ignore my eyes, they totally disappeared in the photo ) wearing one of The Florence Fling’s dresses – the Alexine Goddess dress in Matte Bronze.

Well, I really really enjoy formal affairs when I can dress up and do my own hair and makeup! I know it’s a tedious task to prepare, but I am loving every single moment of it!

Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post  |  TrackBack URI for this post

So you must be groaning for me, as city girl Sophie is “roughing it” in Sri Lanka. I was actually scared of day two as my friends were teasing me about the “climbing” that we were about to do! But let me tell you my tale of Day 2 of our Sri Lankan adventure!

Waking up to a glorious view of the lake at MPS Village, my friends drank coffee ( and I did not – did you know that I do not drink coffee? it screws up my nerves big time ), and I drank milk, and the thoughtful staff packed us breakfast as we needed to leave MPS Village by 7am to catch up with our itinerary, which was to go to Polonnaruwa, which was supposed to be during day 1, but the van broke down. So, we hopped in the van, and started our adventure!

It was at least an hour drive (or two), we arrived at the entrance of the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, with a licensed tour guide waiting for us by the guard’s station. He hopped in the van with us, and started talking about Polonnaruwa.

The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa is declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site, as this city has well-preserved its history. According to Wikipedia, it is the second most ancient of the kingdoms in Sri Lanka, and this kingdom had so much improvements in technology such as irrigation systems, thanks to one one notable king that Sri Lankans really look up to, King Parakramabahu. King Parakramabahu advanced Sri Lanka in terms of irrigation systems, and made Parakramabahu Samudra ( Sea of Parakramabahu ), the largest reservoir surrounding that area. It was like a beautiful, mirrored, man-made lake that I gazed on the right of my seat inside the van as we travelled around Polonnaruwa.

What’s in Polonnaruwa? Well as we got out of the van, we started exploring. I carried my heavy DSLR camera ( on rare occasions, I bring it out with me, specially during travels ), and started walking around the palace complex.
Continue reading

Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post  |  TrackBack URI for this post

Hello everyone!

I’m terribly sorry for the hiatus of Beautynomics, as when I came back from my trip, I couldn’t find myself moving on without blogging about this trip!

Now as you see, as much as I want to maintain more than one blog for my other stuff, I just find myself unable to, and regretting not documenting fun trips like this! So from now on, Beautynomics will not be JUST a beauty blog anymore, but it will focus more on my life, and how I find beauty in it. You’ll definitely get to know more about me, and it will still be mostly about makeup as I really love makeup and skincare, but you will also see food posts, travel posts, and just random crazy posts! *smiles*

Going back, early this January, as I was dead beat from the bazaar season, I was also very excited as ( let me just reveal ) my friends have booked us a trip to Sri Lanka on January 2012, and I think it was booked during February of 2011? Really crazy right? The reason behind that was, my friend Kats, who is a real bargain hunter in terms of seat sales ( we share the same passion for traveling ) , chanced upon an Airasia sale, and she just picked “Colombo” ( Sri Lanka ) out of nowhere and just asked us if we were game. OF COURSE! My group of friends from college are just too game for anything that we’re so easy to talk to, no matter what the destination was! Last year, it was Cambodia, and I’m glad to have survived it despite my thinking that I’m a city girl. As the days drew near to our Sri Lanka trip, I was actually getting nervous so as what to expect. Is it more challenging than Cambodia, in terms of walking? Too many questions, that just caused me to overpack lots of baby towels – as I have read that it’s scorching in Sri Lanka!

If the Philippines is the Pearl of the Orient, Sri Lanka is known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. (I reseached it! Haha! ) It’s right below India, and about 45 minutes away travel time to Maldives. It was part of the Silk Road, has a really rich history (recorded!) and culture. It is also one of the important places in Buddhism if you want to trace the history of the said religion. Sri Lanka means “venerated (Sri) land (Lanka,) and almost everyone is a Buddhist here, with a minority of Christians, Muslims, and Hindus. One of Sri Lanka’s old names is Ceylon, in which I would read about it from history, and even romance novels! Ceylon was famous for its tea plantations, as they produced ( and still do ) one of the best teas in the world. Oh wow, so much to see there, don’t you agree?

Overpacking – Sophie Style

So a week before my trip, I really, really thought so hard about what to pack! I researched about the weather and it was hot – so I was encouraged to bring the most comfortable clothes – jogging pants, and my airy blouses from Bench ( I LOVE them, I can wear them everyday! ). It was a Buddhist country so conservative clothing was encouraged (goodbye, shorts) – so my getup for this trip was loose top, jogging pants, and a really comfortable pair of rubber shoes that I borrowed from my..baby sis. Hahaha! I also brought the hat that I previously bought in Cambodia. Oh, I love that hat!

I also brought with me tons of medicines for headaches, fever, and for allergies, and also packed a big bottle of insect repellent, as it was written in Tripadvisor to do so.

I didn’t bring alot of makeup – I didn’t see the point – just a concealer, pressed powder, a lipbalm, and a powder blush. My toiletry kit, on the other hand, was really heavy – soaps, shampoos, sunblock and all that jazz! I also overpacked with wipes! I neeed wipes for travel! I think I brought with me 4 huge packs!

I was close to 13 kilos after packing all these. Goodness gracious.

Well without further adieu, let me tell you our story about our trip to Sri Lanka!

How We Went There

Well, there is still no direct flight from Manila to Sri Lanka ( or if there were, it must’ve been expensive so we wouldn’t consider it anyway ), so we booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur when Cebu Pacific had a seat sale, then flew to Sri Lanka from Kuala Lumpur, via Airasia. Airasia is a new airline that has really low-priced seats that lets you fly to really good destinations, even to France or London! I love this concept as I dream of traveling the world, but I would not be able to do it with exhorbitant plane ticket prices! So thank you, Airasia! You’re making my dreams come true one trip at a time!

We spent a few hours at the budget hotel near the airport in Malaysia, Tune Hotels ( also owned by Air Asia, I believe ), as we arrived there around 1 am and our flight wasn’t until 6am. The rooms were really inexpensive, but really, really small! I didn’t even get to sleep, and just rested there til the clock ticked three thirty am, and started taking a shower. It was a blur, as everyone was just so tired and it was just such an ungodly hour, so all I could remember was we were already at the airport, waiting for our flight. Sri Lanka, here we come! Continue reading

Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post  |  TrackBack URI for this post

They say we look alike.

and that, is probably why I am so hands-on with her with her prom preparations, it’s like me going to the prom over and over again! Last year was quite an experience for us ( I describe it as exciting, exhilarating, and refreshing ), and as this is Sarabeth’s last year in High School, and she is attending the Junior-Senior Prom again, hello??? Sister Sophie is on top of all things!

Here’s Sarabeth bare-faced, squeaky clean of anything. Sigh, I miss that kind of youth wherein you can just wear your face like that, look really cute, and just be happy! Well, what’s my idea for her look?

Anything but ordinary. Reason? Because it’s what she is. Extraordinary. I am in fact so proud of her that she has self-studied herself into excellence maintaining good grades, and being on the swim team. I sometimes feel so bad for her that she stays late at night to finish alot of homework, and studies really hard for exams, and takes her studies seriously. She’s also a super-friend who is always smiling, always positive, and has the corniest jokes *kidding, Sugar!* Continue reading

Blogsphere: TechnoratiFeedsterBloglines
Bookmark: Del.icio.usSpurlFurlSimpyBlinkDigg
RSS feed for comments on this post  |  TrackBack URI for this post