Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder

This is one of those times when you have the urge to splurge (ooooh.. rhyme..) upon seeing a product. Friends, let us welcome the Chanel Les Beiges (Poudre Belle Mini Naturelle) Healthy Glow Sheer Powder. I got mine in the shade N20. They have 5 shades, from 10 to 50 (lightest to darkest), based on their official website. However, I have read a few blogs online saying that they have shades 60 and 70 as well. I think this depends on your location. I'm not quite sure, though. 

The powder comes with a black velvet-y pouch which is quite common for luxury brands and in a beige colored compact, which in my opinion is just so elegant yet luxurious at the same time. It also has this done shaped brush with the Chanel logo at the handle. The brush is surprisingly soft. I guess most makeup enthusiast don't use the brushes and sponges that come with compact powders. This brush, however, is a good one to use especially if you won't be carrying brushes for touch-ups - though I personally find it nice to use other brushes such as the Real Techniques Buffing Brush. Chanel released it with a Les Beiges Retractable Kabuki brush, but I think it's too expensive already. I'd rather buy another shade than get the brush. As the packaging shows, you get 12 grams of product. It has SPF 15 PA++, but in the Philippines we don't mind this because it's as good as not having SPF at all with the daily dose of sunshine that we are getting here. 

The Les Beiges in N20 is so sheer that it just gives that faint hint of glow. I think with this kind of formulation and shade, it's safe to say that it can be used as a setting powder when you want glow without the way-too-obvious shimmer. The powder is finely milled and the formula is the kind that won't give you too much fallout when you tap your brush on it which is absolutely welcome sine we really don't want to waste this, do we? It has this rosy scent that is the same with their CC cream but I find that the scent on the Les Beiges is softer and a more pleasant version. I don't know how is that possible because at first sniff they are really the same scent.
This powder, as the name implies, is sheer. It is soooo sheer. So, if you are looking for a powder that is going to give you coverage, this is absolutely not for you. This is for those who would want that glowy, matte finish that isn't overwhelming. One thing that I have thought of, but haven't tried yet, is that N20 might have a white cast when you take pictures at night with a flash since it is too light. I have yet to try this one. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't.
It is absolutely on the price-y side. I got this for Php 3200 from @mupstore at Instagram. I haven't seen other online shops that have this one so I could not really compare. It retails for $57.50 in the US. If you do the math, it is really more price-y in here. And we don't have a Chanel store in here so it's quite a challenge to look for shops that sell them.
Is it a must-buy? No, I don't think so. Is it worth the price? Quality-wise, yes. Am I going to repurchase it? I don't think so (though I'm interested in buying an N40 and use it as a bronzer/contour)

The Makeup Challenge DAY 2

x How did you learn to put on makeup?

After college, Youtube gurus have become popular and I guess, that was the time I really became interested in makeup-interested enough to watch videos and try to recreate their ideas on my face. Honestly, I think the only people I have really learned from are these beauty gurus. You'd actually learn a lot of pretty neat stuff from them. 

Let's start with my favorite: Hollyannaeree.<3

Hollyannaeree's Youtube Channel <---- click this if you don't know her yet (which is a little too impossible =) ) Hollyann is a korean beauty guru who is based in USA. I like her because unlike other beauty gurus, I personally think her opinion on products is genuine and  honest. Although a lot of people criticize her for having negative things to say about a product, I think it's better than actually sounding like you're selling the product. Everytime I'm tempted to try something, I look through her blog and videos first and see what she has to say about the products. 

Another favorite of mine is: Jen of frmheadtotoe. <3

Jen's Youtube Channel <---- go, check her out. :)

Jen is a korean beauty guru based in USA as well. (You get the pattern? Hah! I think it's easier to relate to asian beauty gurus.) I like her because she's sweet, so feminine and and not all over the place. She's not too noisy or overly excited that it get's annoying. And it really is easier for me to relate to asian beauty gurus since our skin tone would be a little similar compared to those of other races, making it easy to see if the products they try on would actually look the same on me. 

The most popular, I guess: Michelle Phan.<3

Michelle's Youtube Channel <---- she has almost 4M subscribers already :)

Michelle is a Vietnamese beauty guru based in USA too. The thing I like about her is that her videos and tutorials are really simple and easy to follow. Since she was among the first from her batch, her ideas on makeup, DIY, etc are kind of new and set the trend. 

In short, these are some of the people I look up to when I was starting with makeup. There are a lot of good beauty gurus out there, but I stuck to them for a very long time before I tried watching other gurus. :)

The Makeup Challenge DAY 1

x When did you start putting on makeup?

Flashback twenty years or so years ago..

I'm sitting on my Mama's vanity chair, looking at this palette which has two blushes ( a pink and a peach one), several eyeshadows ( couldn't recall the exact number but it was of neutral shades), a tube of mascara, eyeshadow applicator sticks and a blush brush. Out of curiousity, and probably an eye for makeup at a very young age, I started sneaking in her room just to play with this palette. Since she wasn't a fan of makeup, she probably didn't notice that I was playing with it almost every chance I get. :)

Fast forward to High School..

My high school makeup couldn't really be considered makeup. I used black eyeliner on my lower waterline, lipbalm which was from Avon (of course!) and loose powder from Pond's during my senior years (I'm not really sure if it was Pond's but it was orange with little shimmers in it). And that was everything! I didn't have break-outs back then so I really didn't mind not putting on makeup and gah! at the age of 16, I was still running around the campus, playing! :) 

Fast forward to College..

I started being more curious with makeup during my college years. I began using pressed powders, lip and cheek tints, black eyeliner (a staple, indeed, which doubled as an eyebrow pencil *the horror!*), tinted lip balms and lip glosses. And since I wasn't aware of what was going on in the world of makeup, I pretty much settled down with these stuff. 

Fast forward to After College..

During my not-so-short stint as a teacher of the English language for foreign students (mostly Korean and Japanese), I discovered their love and enthusiasm for makeup. And I fell in love with makeup right then and there. I started looking up videos on Youtube and discovered a lot of gurus that I still love looking up to till now. I began checking out different makeup products as well. And since I was teaching mostly Koreans, I discovered BB creams too. Back then, my acne was in the past already so I needed light to medium coverage so BB creams were very welcome.  ;)

Fast forward to Today..

I am very much a makeup enthusiast and with the help of social networking sites, I have discovered a lot of makeup products that I am beginning to try out now. And though I can go out without makeup on, I still find it fun to put them on almost everyday. 

What about you? When did you start putting on makeup? :)

-danikahklariz <3

Boxes of Happiness: A Sneak Peak

My collection looks like this. Two boxes stacked one on top of the other because I too lazy to look for containers that would look nice on top of my dresser without cramping up my space. It's not the most organized too, although I have sorted lip and eye makeup to make it a bit easier for me to look for the things that I need (not that I have plenty to be that confused). Hopefully, before the year ends, I could fix this. :)

This is how it looks like when opened. As you can see, it's almost full now. The box on the left was intended for my lip products alone, but surprise! I dumped in face products too. *grins* The box on the right was intended for eye products, but oh well, I dumped in a few face products as well. I'll take detailed pictures of the contents soon *and by soon, I mean later* and my opinion on the products I have tried. :)

How about yours? I'd love to see how y'all organize make up and other beauty/skin care related products. :)

The 30-Day MakeUp Challenge

Starting a blog is not as easy as I thought it would be. It's so hard putting into writing a lot of ideas that are going on in my brain. So, let's start with this easier version of the 30-day makeup challenge I got from the beautiful Patrine's Thoughts. For the next 30 days or longer, I'll be blogging about the different makeup questions posted in here. See y'all! 

1.      When did you start putting on makeup?

2.         How did you learn to put on makeup?

3.         Favorite Brand?

4.         Do you like wearing foundation? If so, what’s your color and favorite?

5.         Favorite lipstick, lip gloss and lip liner?

6.         Do you like/wear false lashes? If yes, strip or individual?

7.         Favorite eye shadow color?

8.         What’s your favorite daytime look?

9.         Picture of your makeup collection:

10.        Favorite makeup brush?

11.        Do you like wearing bronzer?

12.        Favorite mascara?

13.        Where do you keep your makeup?

14.        Favorite Youtube guru(s)?

15.        Do you wear blush?

16.        Do you copy any of the celebrity’s makeup?

17.        Favorite makeup artist?

18.        What’s your favorite night time look?

19.        Favorite concealer?

20.        Favorite eyeshadow primer?

21.        Where do you buy your makeup at?

22.        Favorite toner?

23.        Favorite eye shadow palette and blush palette?

24.        Which do you like: cream, matte, powder, sheer, or shimmer eye shadows?

25.        Favorite eyeliner?

26.        Do you wear makeup everyday?

27.        Favorite powder?

28.        Favorite makeup remover?

29.        Do you like wearing liquid liner? (if so, what’s your favorite)

30.        Picture of yourself with and without wearing makeup?

Saying "HELLO" to the World of Make Up

Heya, everyone! 
I am saying HELLO to this wonderful world of colors and as a newbie, I'm hoping this world would be kind to me. *remembers rude comments to beauty gurus in social networking sites and cringes* 
My first encounter with make up was when I was probably 5 or 6 years old. I'd stand on my mother's vanity chair (or whatever you call that piece of furniture in front of the dresser/vanity mirror) and go through her stuff. My mom was never big on make up and she still isn't up to now, but there was this one palette that has blushes, eyeshadows and mascara. I knew I wasn't allowed to go through her stuff at the age since I might break things, but I'd secretly go inside her room and play with it. Of course, I'd erase it afterwards since I didn't want to be caught playing with her make up. She never used it though. I remember seeing it in a waste can when it was probably expired.
Fast forward to high school years, I started using black eyeliner, lip balm and loose powder. Thanks to my "kikay" bestfriend, Mae (check out her blog here: Patrine's Thoughts), I learned how to put a little bit of "make up". However, I didn't begin hoarding and checking out cosmetics, for real, until after college. And thanks to Youtube, I began learning and getting ideas and information about brands, products and their uses.
Soooo, here I am now, a certified make up lover. I am nowhere near a pro make up artist, but I really enjoy and feel giddy everytime I see make up. 
Check out my blog and I hope you and I could exchange ideas about make up and learn from each other. And although I believe that wearing make up is never a necessity, it really makes me happy. Come and join me in my journey to this amazing world of colors. :)