I slowly started on makeup in the middle of high school. Growing up in a highly conservative, Catholic school environment, it wasn't normal to start dabbling in makeup so early. Even at the age of 24 I still get people meddling with my "inappropriately" orange lipsticks. Read my rant against the nobody's allowed to wear makeup movement here.
Given how a bare face is the expectation in this country, my laughable 3 to 5-item beauty kit was quite progressive for a high school sophomore. If Pixy came here ten years earlier (oh God, I think I grew a liver spot just typing that) these are the items I would have chosen:
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| Dream Starter Makeup: Everything from Pixy! |
Being last in a sibling set of 5 children can be quite tedious, but it has it's perks too! Three girls (I have one brother!) experienced puberty ahead of me and I reaped the benefits: I had a guiding hand during my ugly duckling years.
I first sparked an interest in wearing makeup because I was so fucking pale and my zombie-ness made me really self-conscious. I've had people asking on a monthly basis if I was sick or sometimes even flat-out commenting that my eyebags were like, just soooo dark. I asked my sisters about concealer because I didn't want to live this way anymore!
They gave me a bunch of safe, little girl answers but I demanded the thickest spackle that could cover my bags. They hesitantly suggested the drying but very dependable MAC Studio Fix, which I tried from my oldest sister. We have the exact same shade. See? Having so many women in your life is quite convenient!
Concealer wouldn't be enough as I needed to balance the texture and color with the rest of my face. I mean hello, without foundation, I'd look like I was wearing cream goggles or something!
So finally, after all that progress, I figured I needed powder foundation. I would only learn later on that liquid is much more recommended for dry skin, but I didn't even know that I had dry skin! I just was going off of my sisters' comments that liquid looks too made up and my beginner skills would be overwhelmed with the idea of blending. I agreed and back then, I would probably have chosen:
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| Pixy Ultimate Makeup Cake in Peach Beige, Php 445 / 12.5 g. |
Pixy Ultimate Makeup Cake (Php 445.) It has SPF 20, which my mom always encourages, and lasts 8 hours. I was a really sweaty kid and I'd need something really durable. UMC also has a very skin-like finish; not too-matte but not oily-dewy either.
Lipstick
Then of course, foundation would wash out what little coloring I had. It was time for me to get lipstick. Tinted lip glosses weren't enough; I felt they were too limiting. I wanted actual big girl lipstick, but nothing as opaque nor dramatic as what I see in movies and ads.
My sisters said satin finish is perfect for my tastes: it has color payoff but doesn't cover your lips 100%. The natural lip pigmentation that peeks through makes you look a bit more natural as opposed to if you cover your lips completely with a matte lippie. It also feels the most comfortable, they said.
I would have chosen:
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| Pixy Silky Fit Satin Lipstick in Rosy Pink, Php 245 / 3.8g. |
Pixy Silky Fit Satin Lipstick in Rosy Pink (Php 245.)
Even today, it's a favorite of mine! It's a bit short, especially now that I've used it, but at least it's priced very reasonably. The low level of commitment required is perfect for beginners who don't want to sink their allowances on potential duds! When I was starting to build a lipstick collection, I had no idea how easy it was still is to sink so much money on an unflattering lipstick. You wear it under the glamorous store lights, drop your cash, go to school and suddenly realize holy shit I look like I have two worms on my face.
I love how the Satin line slightly brightens my lip color yet blends in well enough to pass as natural. When I started my makeup journey, I wasn't really experimental and only wanted something that would add a natural-looking flush to my face. I knew that I had to start simply and slowly to avoid looking like a clown. "No makeup" mistakes are easy enough to hide and when I develop finesse in my makeup application, that would be the time to go with more outrageous colors :)
I love how the Satin line slightly brightens my lip color yet blends in well enough to pass as natural. When I started my makeup journey, I wasn't really experimental and only wanted something that would add a natural-looking flush to my face. I knew that I had to start simply and slowly to avoid looking like a clown. "No makeup" mistakes are easy enough to hide and when I develop finesse in my makeup application, that would be the time to go with more outrageous colors :)
Blush
The last item in my starter kit is blush. Paleness continues to be a huge concern of mine and despite the standard spiel of SAs pushing really dark, slut pink on anybody fair, I actually hated pink blushes. They never look natural on me and stand out so garishly against my skin. My extreme warmness makes my natural flush, whenever it was in the mood to show itself, come up a bit coral. So, I favored peach blushes.
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| Pixy Blush On in Carnation Bloom, Php 285 / 3.5g |
Pixy Blush On in Carnation Bloom (Php 285) is perfect for my college taste! It's a shimmery peachy color and I absolutely love shimmery peaches. My first blush was The Body Shop Shimmer Waves in 02, and it was a really glittery baked blush with bronze and peach.... waves.
I advocate shimmer blush for beginners as the shine tends to distract from patchy or heavy application, which may happen more often than you think. You can choose any color, but I just favor peach or orange hues because it's the closest shade to my natural flush. And again, just going with what's natural helps a beginner look like she (somewhat) knows what she's doing!
Bonus Tip: Container!
Although I'd like to assume that everyone has a Clinique mom, it's not safe to say everyone will have a mom who has tons of GWP pouches lying around. My mom had one to pass on to me (which I still love and use up to this day!) as soon as I started on makeup.
If this is not possible, a simple pouch type, pencil case will do! I've heard some people use even the tin pencil cases but I don't support that idea. Just as automakers have moved on from really rigid chassis, a rigid makeup case makes the contents vulnerable to all the rough-and-tumble and could result to shattered makeup.
I advocate shimmer blush for beginners as the shine tends to distract from patchy or heavy application, which may happen more often than you think. You can choose any color, but I just favor peach or orange hues because it's the closest shade to my natural flush. And again, just going with what's natural helps a beginner look like she (somewhat) knows what she's doing!
Bonus Tip: Container!
Although I'd like to assume that everyone has a Clinique mom, it's not safe to say everyone will have a mom who has tons of GWP pouches lying around. My mom had one to pass on to me (which I still love and use up to this day!) as soon as I started on makeup.
If this is not possible, a simple pouch type, pencil case will do! I've heard some people use even the tin pencil cases but I don't support that idea. Just as automakers have moved on from really rigid chassis, a rigid makeup case makes the contents vulnerable to all the rough-and-tumble and could result to shattered makeup.
In sum:
Pixy would've gotten me my complete starter kit all for Php 975. CRAZY! That's even less than what my first foundation cost! (It was a Shu UV pact, whose elegance I did not even fully appreciate because I was a stupid kid!)
It's great to stick to one brand that you can try all your starter makeup from. While you're learning to do makeup, it helps to build confidence when you're more or less sure of the product quality. If you go too adventurous with makeup shopping (already trying to compile a drugstore to high end collection,) you would just be overwhelmed with the information! As a beginner, you wouldn't know if it's just your skill or the product itself that's to blame for when you're looking seriously fug.
I would've trusted Pixy with all my kiddie money as there's a high level of confidence that our environmental concerns and general skin profile are addressed by these Japanese-formulated, Indonesian-made cosmetics. To wit, there's lots of warm-toned foundation shades to choose from, and many of them have SPF and are long-wearing. SPF and durability are super important because the friggin heat and humidity in this land are friggin makeup erasers! The shade selections on the other hand, are great because a majority of Asians have warm skin tone.
It's great to stick to one brand that you can try all your starter makeup from. While you're learning to do makeup, it helps to build confidence when you're more or less sure of the product quality. If you go too adventurous with makeup shopping (already trying to compile a drugstore to high end collection,) you would just be overwhelmed with the information! As a beginner, you wouldn't know if it's just your skill or the product itself that's to blame for when you're looking seriously fug.
I would've trusted Pixy with all my kiddie money as there's a high level of confidence that our environmental concerns and general skin profile are addressed by these Japanese-formulated, Indonesian-made cosmetics. To wit, there's lots of warm-toned foundation shades to choose from, and many of them have SPF and are long-wearing. SPF and durability are super important because the friggin heat and humidity in this land are friggin makeup erasers! The shade selections on the other hand, are great because a majority of Asians have warm skin tone.
I also supremely enjoy the wide selection of "demure" lip and cheek colors. Pixy carries a lot of safe shade choices that are soft and natural, yet sufficiently pigmented. I always, always advocate that makeup beginners start with safe choices until they figure out which direction to go crazy in. It makes the entire makeup journey a little less terrifying and a bit more manageable. I think a lot of people who started makeup late held off because they were so overwhelmed and intimidated and didn't quite know where or how to begin.
Lastly, everything from Pixy is ready-to-use. Foundations (even refills) come with their own sponges, blushes come with their own brushes and eye shadows come with their own foam applicators. So for those who don't have brush collections yet, Pixy will definitely ease you into makeup as slooowly as you want.
Lastly, everything from Pixy is ready-to-use. Foundations (even refills) come with their own sponges, blushes come with their own brushes and eye shadows come with their own foam applicators. So for those who don't have brush collections yet, Pixy will definitely ease you into makeup as slooowly as you want.
Stay tuned for my #TBT back to college FOTD using this Pixy starter kit!
Last August 6, I was able to attend the Pixy's official Philippine launch. The Mandom team (Pixy's mother company) flew in from Japan and coordinated with their Philippine counterparts to officially introduce Pixy cosmetics the Philippine media and blogosphere.
I received a starter Pixy kit, which I used along with my self-purchased April BDJ Box, to inform this article. I was not instructed to create a positive feature nor compensated for such.
Pixy is available in Watsons stores. You may follow their Facebook page, PIXY Philippines.