For starters, L’Oreal’s wonderful ladies, Jannie Villacorta and Kristine Coronel-Dy, graced the event. Kristine summoned the guys carrying our “present”.

Inside this lovely gift box was a list of instructions, each representing a Luxe booth and a beauty-suggested activity! I myself just had my personal scent tested in the Luxury Scents booth, featuring the new fragrance of Giorgio Armani: Attitude Extreme. Aback were the drool-worthy pictures that made it to the photo contest. I also discovered the newest skin care products from Lancome, particularly the Genifique Youth Activator that piques my interest greatly. Of course, I had some moment of relaxation with the a hand massage treatment using Kiehl’s products, not to mention met Kiehl’s product manager Sheena Dy.

Lastly, I had super fun as John Pagaduan of Shu Uemura fixed my once unkempt brows. Finally, I don’t have to visit the salon this week, and fit it with my uber-busy schedule. Instead of waxing, he had my brows tweazed slowly but surely. I really love how my brows look now.

Also, took a peek on Shu Uemura‘s Tokyo lash bar, whilst supping my drink for the gods/goddesses from Kiehl’s.

Of course, more reviews & product updates coming up!

More Pics!

*Gorgeous ladies Jannie Villacorta (L) & Kristine Coronel-Dy (R) of L’Oreal*

*Had fun with the beauty bloggers: Phoebe, Nikki, Shen, Jaimee, Kim & Bambi*

I always have been a MAC fan–not Macintosh, should you presume. I have my love for MAC Cosmetics since I first tried to put some makeup.

For the base, I used to love MAC Studio fix. It may be really heavy on the skin, so a pat here and there does the trick in pronto. It really really blends well, and holds the concealer into place sans smudging it or making it look obvious.

I don’t know if there’s been a change in formulation, but recently, I’ve been hating MAC Studio fix. It now tends to cake and streak on the skin; it’s not that buildable anymore. The compact also has a tendency to solidify, making it a lot harder for the sponge to get enough powder onto it.

To mitigate my annoyance, I decided to explore using a new brand for my base. There you go, I got myself a Shu Uemura White Recovery RX Powder-Foundation. It has SPF of 22, which obviates the need to put on a sun block prior to application. It acts as a powder when used dry, or as a foundation when used wet. It’s sheerer than MAC Studio fix, that’s why it really feels light on the skin and smells great, too! The problem with this, however, is that the color is hardly buildable when used as a powder. It doesn’t actually cake or streak, but it doesn’t blend well to the skin, specially those parts over the concealer. Sometimes, I need to use my hands just as to blend it, which smudges the concealer and making my blemishes (dark spots) look more noticeable rather than camouflaged. Another thing is, it’s a lot more expensive.

I’m planning to go back using MAC. I heard that MAC Lightful is the SPF version of Studio Fix Powder, only less opaque and more expensive (but the price is at par with Shu Uemura White Recovery/Velvet Power-Foundation). I also have another MAC options such as MAC Studio Tech or MAC Mineralize SPF 15 Loose Foundation. I’m thinking of getting one this weekend

Going back, a relative from Japan gave me my first Shu blush in Amber; I already forgot which Amber shade exactly but I’m pretty sure about the base color. Anyways, trying it on didn’t fail to impress me the first time since it really delivered a rich but natural hint of color. The staying power’s so good, it almost obviated me from retouching. My skin tone’s neutral-to-warm and a bit of coral shade works best for me. A lot of people were faked by it ‘coz all they thought it was my cheeks’ natural color. It took me till College to utilize this as my favorite cheek color, until I totally emptied the pan out!

Geez, it’s been so long since I tried Shu Uemura Glow-on. I’ve been into NARS, MAC and BeneFit, but something inside calls me for a Shu Uemura addition to my loot.

Right now, it currently has over 30 shades to choose from, adding newest shades from the Paradox Mode Collection: Stoic Pink and Vicious Apricot.

Unfortunately, it costs about Php 1,800 (about $40) here in the Philippines compared to only $21 in the States, talking about a huge, overpriced price difference! So, I guess I have to try asking someone from there to buy me instead.

My amazement in Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler started when I got a Shu Uemura loot on sale [together with Shu's cleansing oil in fresh]. The moment I laid my hands on it, I knew that there was something different from this curlash. As I gave it a try, I instantly felt the tough grip of its silicon rubber pad without pulling off or hurting my lashes. A single squeeze on its tong-like handles made a difference! And that difference took a toll on about a day!

In hindsight, I observed that my previous curlash didn’t do the same job as Shu did. First, my La Cross Eyelash Curler had a very soft and elastic silicon rubber pad that tugged my lashes whenever I oversqueeze it–the upper lashes outside the corner of my eye were stuck on the upper portion of the curlash that meets the rubber pad. It was really painful and not easy to remove my lashes! As a result, some were actually pulled off the roots! That gave me quite an ouch! However, La Cross has more extra silicon rubber pads than Shu, but such is really inferior to Shu’s super sturdy silicon rubber pad.

Another thing is that using my previous curlashes didn’t give me dramatic results, like making it last for a day! Whenever I got to use them, the curling effect didn’t last long and just lasted for, say, a couple of hours or three or four, but no more than 8 hours. I beg not to give a ballpark figure on the number of hours because I didn’t really reckon how long did the effect last.

Right now, I already ditched my old curlash, and perennially switched to Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler. This is totally my HG product. I love how it naturally curls my lashes. Don’t be fooled if it may look like your ordinary metal tongs. You must see try it to believe it!

Colors are available in black and silver. With extra silicon rubber pad. Retails for $ 18 [or about 1,000 pesos in the Philippines].

Shuuemura-usa.Com: The exclusive design of the shu uemura eyelash curler is curved at an angle that suits all eye shapes. Its silicone rubber pad allows for the appropriate amount of pressure to curl lashes naturally. With a swipe of Basic Mascara, curled lashes remain in perfect shape all day. An InStyle Best Beauty Buy and awarded as one of Town & Country’s “Top 150 Best Beauty Products”.

Also, Madonna has this in 24-K Gold. Beat that? =P