Archives for November 2016

Review: Make Up Forever Ultra HD Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation

November 20, 2016 by Tina Lee 2 Comments

One of the major beauty items that I really spend a lot of money on is the base. The base may include concealers, color correctors, primer, and of course, foundation.

Because the climate here in the tropics is always humid, ultra light foundies tend to melt within an hour or two after application and while on the search for the best foundation to wear on my wedding, I went for the MUFE’s Ultra HD Invisible Cover foundation, a reformulated version of their old HD foundation.

This was not the first time I used a foundation from the line. My sister gave me a bottle of the old formula and I remember liking the formula so much, I decided that I’ll totally get the reformulated version (Before this, I was considering the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation, another popular long-wearing base).

The Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover is a silicone-based foundation that’s lightweight and buildable. Since it’s silicone-based, it’s a joy to use but it can dry out your skin if you did not prep properly. I wore this over a primer (Make Up For Ever Step 1 Primer) to get the smoothest, most long-wearing coverage.

The MUFE Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation costs about PhP2,700 so definitely not the most affordable base on the market. I got the shade 120, which is ideal for fair skinned lasses with a yellow undertone.

What makes the Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation different from other foundation is that the coverage is 4K ready, which means the skin will look flawless and skin-like using an HD camera. It takes a while to set but when it does, it wears like iron. What I loved about the foundation is that it gets better the longer you wear it, it’s the strangest thing!

Most foundies tend to break down a few hours after application because of sweat, oil, and humidity but I find that the Invisible Cover foundie maintains its skin-like appearance for longer and the skin actually looks luminous, smooth, and fine as the foundation wears on.

On the image above is a comparison between the older formula (top, 130) and the new formula (bottom, 120).

The older formula is creamier, less spreadable than the new one. The reformulated Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation has a thinner formula that glides easily on the skin. This product is not full coverage, though, you gotta build the product as you go to achieve the desired coverage. Don’t expect the Ultra HD Invisible Cover foundie to cover blemishes because it won’t. You’ll have to color correct and conceal that separately for a flawless face.

The application can be tricky and you’ll have to play with the product to discover the technique that works for you the best. Personally, I used a synthetic buffing brush, the Real Techniques Expert Face brush, simply because the brush allowed me to build up and buff the product slowly and evenly.

The foundation wears well too. During our engagement photo shoot, I had this on for more than 8 hours and it never budged, faded, or broke down, this, despite the extremely hot, humid weather. And when I was about to remove the foundie, I was so surprised how good my skin looked despite spending most of my time outdoors.

Is it worth the hefty price tag? I think it depends if you need a long-wearing, buildable foundation that looks good behind an HD camera, yes, this is a great foundation. But if you want an affordable, everyday foundie with great coverage, this isn’t the right product for you.

Do I recommend this product? Totally, I mean I loved the results and my skin looked so nice in pictures as you can see. MUFE’s formula is not perfect, your skin must look its absolute best to achieve a great finish.

I wish I could compare this with Estee Lauder’s double wear foundation, though! I want to get one but I know I won’t be able to maximize it because long wearing foundies have a very specific purpose and I don’t really wear a lot of makeup on the daily.

I actually got to try Double Wear briefly because my sister let me try it. I was impressed with the coverage. However, application was tricky too so I suppose it will take practice to perfect the application for these kinds of a base.

I’m Married!

November 18, 2016 by Tina Lee 2 Comments

It finally happened, I got married on a Caturday!

Posted by Tina Lee-Almazar on Friday, November 11, 2016

I go by Tina Lee-Almazar or Tina Lee-Almie now, hahaha! Our wedding was pretty simple, the ceremony was a straightforward affair, just the way we like it. There were several mishaps that were completely out of our control (I got sick days leading up to the wedding and after, the paper flowers were not realistic enough, our bridal table went missing, etc.) but at that point, we’re just glad the whole thing was over.

I’m quite happy with the little details, such as the arrangement of the souvenirs on the sponsors and guest tables, respectively:

Our guest tokens were a hit, as predicted:

And of course, the cake buffet, which was my personal favorite, was another hit!

Thanks to Ann Lim and Purple Oven for the wonderful cakes, everyone loved the sweets 😀

Other snaps I took from Leycel, my cousin in law’s Facebook page:

Here’s us with my family

Here’s us with my in-laws

Here’s my events stylish Ann (who happens to be my sister’s high school friend) my sister and I. As usual, I can’t help but make faces on cam, hahahaa!

I did my own makeup btw and the hotel lighting was so terrible it’s a miracle I pulled it off. I got so many compliments (guests didn’t know I did my own face)!

For some reason, I did not go through the same process that I went through during my practice. After priming my face, I pretty much slapped the products on but I’m glad the makeup was great and it held up nicely despite the humidity and the long hours spent entertaining guests.

Here’s us internalizing on camera, ahahahah!

I also did my own hair using White Rain maximum hold hairspray (it’s nice!) and finished off with a bejeweled headband that looked a lot like a tiara. The wrap-around dress I wore as my wedding dress was a gift from my sister.

My sister is a fashion designer and this dress was also designed by her, which made it even more special. She could’ve designed a piece of rag and I’d still wear it with pride lol. SO happy I got gifted with a unique dress to wear on my wedding day! 😀

I love how it rained ever so lightly a few minutes before the ceremony started. I’m not superstitious but I was hoping for rain for luck! The best part of the wedding was the hubs’ (that’s his new codename now, a step up from “the boyf” title) musical performance, hahaha! It was awesome.

That’s it, pancit! We’re headed to our honeymoon next week starting with a pitstop at Putipot island (a getaway gift from my cousins) and then it’s off to Bicol for six solid days of no work, woot!

Review: Majolica Majorca Lash King

November 16, 2016 by Tina Lee Leave a Comment

If there’s one thing I’m most insecure about, it’s my tiny Asian eyes. I wanted to have green eyes with noticeable crease plus lush lashes. Obviously, I didn’t get what I wanted and there lies the problem, hahaha!

Being monolidded and having sparse, thin, and stick straight lashes, I never really thought my lashes will ever be show stoppers so I didn’t bother investing on a great mascara. I’ve tried high end and drugstore mascaras before and nothing holds the curl long enough to give drama to my peepers. Well that, until I tried the Lash King.

Now, I’ve said it a thousand times, always trust the Japanese when it comes to beauty products. I’ve never tried a Japanese beauty item that 1) I didn’t like and 2) didn’t work. You guys, the Lash King is an awesome mascara and it’s only PhP 800!

It’s hard to take a good picture of my lashes because they are so microscopic but I had to try:

The pics aren’t much but when you squint really, really hard, you can actually see the shadows of my lashes, hahaha! You better believe it, I was wearing the Lash King mascara in this picture. It’s not noticeable but I swear, my lashes looked so good in person!

The Lash King’s formula feels light and it doesn’t make my lashes crunchy at all. It comes with tiny fibers that cling to the lashes, pumping every hair follicle with volume to keep it plump and black as night. Of course, you can’t see that from this pic, heh. I used a Shu Uemura lash curler and the Lash King for this look.

I like the brush because it gives you more control over the product, preventing you from getting product all over the lids. I don’t use mascara often and smearing the product all over my eyes is a common problem for me thanks to larger-than-necessary mascara wands.

The mascara dries quickly but you are given several seconds to play around as you go. Once it dries, though, not even a nuclear bomb can keep your lashes from staying put. My curls are set in place all day!

Now for the caveats, this mascara leaves a thin layer of pigment on my under eyes. I don’t have oily lids but somehow, this mascara is giving me slight panda eyes several hours into the wear.

Also, tiny chunks of dried mascara end up under my eyes a few hours later but this is normal when you’re wearing mascara so it’s not really a deal breaker. If you have oily lids, I think this won’t be a great choice because of the slight color transfer but overall, I loff this mascara and I highly recommend it!