I love presents!

Lots of people look forward to Christmas for presents! But I don't usually expect anything too 'big' (my family is bigger on the food prep than the gift-giving. So we don't get presents, we get fat! Hahaha!) That's why I love it when a friend gifts me with something that I can use for my makeup clients.

Everyone knows makeup don't come cheap. At least not the good kind haha. So for this year, my happiness level got amped up, first by my good model/photographer friend Nina Villanueva, who gave me a cute little black and pink eyeshadow palette from Forever 21. It contains 7 shimmery shades and one black matte (she knew that I'd been looking for a really dark matte black! How thoughtful, hahaha!). It is really compact and slips into my purse easily, which is why I have taken to bringing it with me wherever I go (just in case :P)

(Forever 21)

And that wasn't all! :)

How does 'Makeup by I-ann Monzon' sound?

I've been wanting to develop my own cosmetic line.

It started with my realization that some colors of foundation are so uncalculated for natural skin tones (manufacturers don't always think of acidity/humidity/stress factors that affect skin tone). Especially here in the Philippines, foundation colors are not very tonally varied, and makeup addicts resort to direct sellers of mineral makeup such as Ellana or Milea, both of which I've found to have a fairly wide range of tones to suit every kind of Filipina.

Even celebs can look like ghosts with bad foundation! (Google Images)

Beyond coloring however, I also very recently developed a curiosity with the performance of some cosmetic products, such as primers and serums, whose properties can fall short of what is advertised. One of my older sisters used to teach me how to read labels of products, so I knew when something had special benefits (ie: sometimes un-advertised are Vitamins E, C and B, or Tocopherol Acetate, Ascorbic acid, Niacinamide). Really knowing what chemicals you slather on your face tends to make you insightful about what these products are there for! :D

New Site for the New Year!

Hey guys! Sorry to have been on a sabbatical. Not having a decent camera can really affect some serious blogging. The old Casio EX-Z90 that I started out with was stolen while I was partying at Fiamma, while my camera after that, a Casio EX-Z550, fell on the floor from quite a height and the repair store MOVED without giving me back the camera or leaving any return address -.-

Update! I'm alive!

Hello everyone! Wow! It's been so long since I've been able to update this blog, but a renaissance is definitely on the horizon. I do apologize, since I haven't been able to post as often (or at all! Haha) due to lack of consistent internet access, which of course is not a good excuse but there you have it :)

To those of you who had consistently followed this blog, I do thank you. And to those who followed up on the lack of activity (teehee, my bad), more thanks are in order, since they made me see that this blog DOES have some life :D And that means YOU, dear reader, so thank you!

My Updated Regimen

I've gone through so many different "styles" of cleansing and treating and maintaining my skin (which historically has been REALLY REALLY REALL BAD. Bad enough to have it in All Caps!)

From experience, the simpler regimens have yielded better results for me. I used to try those typical anti-acne products that seem to jump off the shelves when they come out (serums, gels, essence, spot treatments, etc). Even if a certain product worked for a bit, I'd still revert to my not-so-good skin.

So here is a shortlist of the more effective regimens I've tried, in numerical order based on when I use them :)

I am coloring my hair Blue!

You heard me right.. Blue!

Okay, I only wish I could get my hair completely blue, haha! It would match my newest literary hero, Percy Jackson :)

Buuut... sadly, nope, not electric blue, although my "dye" is that precise color. Actually, I've been plagued by really brassy, orange-tinted hair since my ash-based haircolor has faded a bit. I looked up all sorts of natural remedies, and found the following:

- Lemon juice
- Hair developer
- Purple or blue Toner
- Coffee/Tea
- Grape Kool aid

Which one did I use?

Shoot: Video with UP Indak Oryantal

Finally, after more than a month of shooting and editing, here is my latest (third) video for UP Indak Oryantal :)

Produced by UP Indak Oryantal

Directed and Edited by I-ann Monzon (Me!)

Special thanks to Nathan Dominguez, Babs Peneyra, Erika Pascua, Lucky Limbauan and Mark Lopez for their cooperation!

I Just Had A Good Hair Day :)

Oh alright, it sounds pretty random and insignificant, but having permed hair means I usually get a messy bunch of frizz by the end of the day! But today, I tried out a very (stupidly) simple solution, and it worked, and my hair was amazingly bouncy and defined after 18 hours of moving around :)

Review: Celeteque Advanced Light Cleansing Oil

Most beauty aficionados are likely to be familiar with the term ‘cleansing oil’, which until recent years, has almost referred exclusively to the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil. Other brands have followed suit, although with varying degrees of similarity and function. Recently, local hypoallergenic brand Celeteque (which apart from the Garnier line, is my go-to for the best “basic” skincare) has introduced a cleansing oil to their Advanced (anti-aging) line of products.

Let me explain how I came by this in the first place. I have slightly sensitive but extremely oily skin, and it’s been that way for a while. All throughout high school and early college years, I had constant breakouts and I only enjoyed clear skin when I discovered Celeteque (for maintenance skin care) and Garnier (for treatment-based skin care) in 08-09. 

Shoot: Deconstruct with UP Architecture Forum

This was by far the most work I've done in a single shoot, and it was a lot of fun :) Models walked in and out and each look had to be a bit unique for each person.

The shoot was for the posters of Deconstruct 2011, an annual back-to-school party hosted by the UP Architecture Forum. Most of the "crew" were my college classmates, so it was a lot of fun!

For more information regarding this shoot, read Nina Pilapil's post here :) These photos are directly from her blog :)